Sam George’s appointment unknown to Mahama

The circumstances leading to the appointment of Sam George as presidential staffer was unknown to President John Dramani Mahama, a source with knowledge of the happenings has told ghanabusinessnews.com.

Sam George was appointed as communication consultant at the presidency several months ago, another source said.

According to ghanabusinessnews.com, the sources, who didn’t want to be named, all said the President got to know about the appointment after it was done and “he only fumed about it.”

Mr George, a graduate of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, for months now has been representing the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) on radio talk shows in the capital Accra.

He speaks on almost every matter including the economy.

However, his recent Facebook comments and swipe at Ivor Greenstreet of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) during the NDC National Congress in Kumasi has generated hot debates and calls for his dismissal if indeed he was a presidential staffer.

In his response to Mr Greenstreet’s scathing criticism of the NDC government about the country’s current economic difficulties and power outages, Mr George remarked that Mr Greenstreet needed “an elevation to see” the good works of the NDC.

While some Ghanaians and party sympathisers consider the response appropriate to what they considered an attack on the ruling party, other citizens and party supporters see it as inappropriate considering the fact that Mr Greenstreet is disabled and uses a wheelchair.

Mr James Afedo, a communications expert and sympathiser of the ruling party, wrote on his Facebook page expressing his disagreement with MrGeorge’s swipe at Mr Greenstreet. In the said Facebook post, Mr Afedo described Mr George as “of the office of the president”.

But in a comment on the post Mr Stan Dogbe, a presidential staffer, challenged Mr Afedo, saying among other things that “you may want to also check and verify exactly where your friend, brother and comrade works, operates and supporting our party and government from, because your very conclusive position is not the fact. And Sam does not speak for the President either.”

When ghanabusinessnews.com reportedly wrote an email to Mr Dogbe asking him to clarify Mr George’s position at the presidency he declined, describing the request as “misdirected” and asked that they contact the Communications Minister instead. Efforts by the outfit to reach the Communications Minister were unsuccessful.

But several sources close to the presidency have reportedly indicated to ghanabusinessnews.com that Mr George is a presidential staffer.

Meanwhile, according to ghanabusinessnews.com, a Ghanaian Palaver report available to them purports that Sam George has tendered in his resignation.

The contents of the report can however not be confirmed.

“The Ghanaian Palaver can confirm that the Presidential Staffer and key communicator at the Presidency, Mr Samuel George Nartey, has resigned from his post following certain comments he made about the physical ability of the General Secretary of the Convention People’s Party over the weekend.

In a four-paragraph resignation letter dated 23 December 2014, addressed to the President and copied to the Chief of Staff, Sam George, as he is popularly known, thanked the President for believing in him and giving him the opportunity to serve in his government,” the introduction to the report stated.