A cross-section of Ghanaians has spoken about the urgent need for President John Mahama to apologise unreservedly to them (Ghanaians) for using their tax payer’s money to spend holiday in overseas.

According to them, it is obvious that President Dramani Mahama and his National Democratic Congress (NDC) government which cannot turn the economy around have rather chosen a holiday spot or destination in United Arab Emirates (UAE) with his family for the Christmas celebration.

President Mahama’s annual leave with his family to the UAE for the Christmas celebration has elicited criticism from some Ghanaians and they have taken to the social media to slate the president for taking the trip in the wake of the current economic hardship.

The latest to join the bandwagon is the Director of Programmes of Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG,) Mr. Davis Opoku Ansah, who has accused the president of setting a bad example as a father of the nation.

President Dramani Mahama and his family, on Monday, December 23, 2013 took a short annual leave for the UAE for the Christmas holidays.

A release from the Office of the President said, in his absence, Vice President, Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, would act as president.

The AFAG programmes director stated in an interview with Today that the First Family’s Christmas trip of the President will bring nothing of worth to the country, except to rather deepen the economic woes of the country.

“We, Ghanaians must wake up and ask ourselves that is it the right example the President is setting for us to emulate? Our president has been an unfeeling father who will leave us to our fate in times of trouble without any care.

“…we do not have food, water and electricity and the President, Dramani Mahama doesn’t want to share the moment of hardship with us in Ghana for this august occasion,” Mr. Ansah noted.

According to Mr. Ansah the president’s trip to the UAE simply shows the country lacks holiday resorts and an indictment on the tourism industry, and further seems to suggest to those who can afford the luxury to travel outside to follow suit in the face of pressure.

Mr. Ansah also mocked President Dramani Mahama’s recent remark that his outfit is working to remove all schools under trees saying the NDC government built quite a number of them.

“We cannot see Mr. Mahama delivering on any of the promises made to Ghanaians because Ghanaians were told by the President that by the end of this year, several schools would have been built, yet not one block has been produced,” he noted.

Mr. Ansah wonders: “How anyone can trust this government” with the numerous failed promises and corruption allegations surrounding the Mahama Administration.