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Opinions of Wednesday, 18 January 2012

Columnist: Baafi, Alex Bossman

Mills – led Government Is Unworthy for Second Term

By Alex Bossman Baafi

This Mill – led government of NDC is unworthy and worthless for a second term in office because of many reasons. For want of space, I have homed in on few that in my opinion make this government not worthy for the mandate of the good people of this country for a second 4-year term in office.

I personally think that this government planned to fail in the first place because the team assembled to deliver the ‘Better Ghana Agenda’ was not the best. There are many square pegs in round holes. Their contributions towards the overall objectives of the government tend to be negative. Because the coach had no game plan or strategy to serve as a yardstick to evaluate performances, it becomes difficult for him to detect outputs that are off-track and therefore make the necessary timely changes.

Anytime a leader fails to obey the principle of discipline to correct deviations when the need arises, then of course that inaction or leniency will tend to be a weakness and perhaps that is what is militating against this government’s leadership.

There have been some major policy failures of Mills’ government. Those have worsened the plight of many good people of this country. The first policy failure of the government happened in the areas of education where this government reversed the 4-year SHS duration to the 3years even in the face of ample evidence that the later will go a long way to improve the quality of our educational system.

Mills – led government carries a large deficit of empty promises. That has kept the good people of this country in suspense for a long time. It has weakened inter-sectorial synergistic advantages and hence the expectations of the business community and the consumer confidence in this country. A case in point here is the shameful failure of the controversial STX- government housing deal. For me, red flags concerning this dubious deal were raised by experts in the industry far ahead of time, yet the government proved stubborn and disregarded the wise counsel of industry players and genuine concerns of the generality of the people of this country. Other empty promises that have shattered the hopes of many people to their bones include fuel or petrol prices that had been increased astronomically. Other unfulfilled promises include onetime premium for National Health Insurance, absence of money in peoples’ pockets because of lack of jobs for the mass majority of jobless people who continue to wallow in abject poverty and deprivation. These and a lot more unfulfilled promises are weighing down heavily on this government in addition to credibility issues.

What has made Mills government unpopular its attitude towards corruption. Many people are disappointed in the president’s handling of the numerous corruption cases that have bedeviled his administration so far. This government came to office because of the way the president articulated the alleged corruption issues of the NPP administration in his campaign platforms throughout the country when in opposition. Serious alleged corruption cases including the cocoa smuggling one that was unearthed by Anas Aremeyaw Anas, Carl Wilsons’ naked robbery of forceful seizure and confiscations of genuine cars legitimately imported through our ports, Bui Dam’s block manufacturing issue and the silence of the president about them are all clear examples. The last and current case that has revealed beyond every reasonable doubt about how deep this government in deeply intoxicated in corruption is Alfred Agbeshie Woyome’s GHc58million scandal. Form my unprofessional legal point of view, this is a case that the government’s prominent ministers are involved and present sufficient grounds not to renew the mandate of this government to continue looting the state.

This Mills – led NDC government perhaps does not to know why it is in office. It does not believe in the fact that government is a continuous process. The neglect of the affordable housing project, major roads infrastructure such as the Achimota-Ofankor, Suhum-Nsawam, Apedwa by-pass on the Accra-Kumasi high way, all started by Kuffour-government, indicate how this government is irresponsible to the plight of the good people of this country and hence, should not be allowed to continue to waste our precious time in this country. We live in a country where rail transport virtually does not exist. Goods and services are exchanged and transported between the north and south where the Capital and port cities are situated. If the government cannot imagine the economic importance of the highway linking Accra and Kumasi and beyond to Burkina Faso what good thing can they imagine for this country.

Under this government, the economic hardships of the ordinary man of the street have double-doubled because excessive taxation has led to dwindling incomes. Most officials in government love lies than truth. Many are very arrogant, disrespectful and are full of insults. Bad policies have led to the decline in the output of agricultural sector that has been the mainstay of our economy. Healthcare and education services are in disarray. At best, Mills has succeeded in polarizing the ruling party and the nation. His administration promotes mediocrity, laziness and massive corruption all because, the president is not in control. To change the destiny of this country for the better, a government that lacks focus and direction must be changed in the coming 2012 general elections and that is the only way we can save this nation and have hope in the future.