Ghanaians must leave Mahama alone – NDC guru

A senior member of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) Alhaji Abdallah Ahmed Abdallah, has charged Ghanaians to vent their anger on managers of state institutions and not attack President John Dramani Mahama.

According to him, Ghanaians should attack the chief executive officers and directors of the state institutions who are failing the country and not blame the President.

The former Brong-Ahafo Regional Chairman of the NDC said, “President John Dramani Mahama cannot be blamed for the erratic power and water supply the country is currently experiencing because institutions such as VRA, GRIDCO, ECG and the Ghana Urban Water Company are mandated to ensure that consumers enjoy quality and efficient services.

“Instead people should rise up against the leaders of the above state institutions and not the President because they are there to make sure that there is constant supply of power and water to consumers.”

“The reason why they have been employed is that they have the expertise to solve problems. So why can’t they give us water and power when they have been given government bungalows, ride in state vehicles and also paid fat salaries?” Alhaji Abdallah Ahmed Abdallah, who made this known in an interview with DAILY GUIDE, noted that what angered him most was the fact that the utility service providers had recently adjusted tariffs upward astronomically, not because they wanted to render quality services to consumers but in order to make sure that they receive fat salaries.

“We should attack them and not the President,” he suggested.

He said it was inappropriate for Ghanaians to keep blaming the President whenever they experienced power outages and did not have water flowing through their taps.

He said, for instance, if residents in Ashaiman want water they should be able to make demands from the directors at the Ghana Urban Water Company in Ashaiman without necessarily calling the attention of the President.

He suggested that heads of various states institution should be made to sign performance contract, adding that those who do not meet their target should be sacked.

He believed that the performance contract would make people in state institutions sit up since they know they could be sacked if they did not perform creditably.

Alhaji Adallah, focusing on the June 4 celebrations, bemoaned the level of indiscipline and lack of respect for the elderly which he said had become the order of the day.

He regretted that the probity, accountability and social justice that June 4, 1979 uprising brought to the fore had, to some extent, been eroded.

Recounting some of the events that led to the June 4 uprising, Alhaji Ahmed Abdullah noted that, for instance if you wanted to buy cement you were supposed to send your building plan to the district administration.

He said the officers were very selective to the extent that “they will look at your face before they will allocate bags of cement to you,” adding that the situation was so bad that “traders who retail goods such as milk will intentionally hoard them in order to create shortages and increase prices.”

Although the June 4 had excesses, according to Alhaji, it brought sanity in the system.

He pointed out that many perceive that politicians are the only people who are corrupt but he argued, “I can say it is all of us .Our attitudes and behaviour is pushing the country to where it is not supposed to go.”