Akufo-Addo’s directive for appointees to follow in bus not necessary – Former Minister

Former Minister of State in charge of Public and Private Partnership Alhaji Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo says President Nana Akufo-Addo’s directive that all appointees who want to join him should come in a bus and not use their private cars is not necessary but rather he should focus on the specific issue and bring along the ministers who are in charge of it.

“I think that there are two sides to it,” he began, “first of all, is it the fact that it’s a necessity for any minister to follow the president or join him in the bus? The second one is why should they join or be in the bus to follow the President?

“The President goes to a community and his focus is on a specific issue. If he goes there and his focus is on inspecting roads, we will expect that the Road Minister should be with him. If it is on starting a project like 1D1F, then the Minister responsible for special project should be with him.”

Mr Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo, who is also Wa Central Member of Parliament, was speaking on 3FM’s Sunrise on Monday.

He said that the president can’t give options to ministers about who want to come with him because everyone will be there and the president will have to provide rooms for each of them.

“We can’t have a President going and give options to ministers who want to follow him. Every single Minister would want to follow him.”

He said it is only hypocritical on the president’s part to ask them to join one bus.

According to him, the ministers are of public interest and that their lives are critical to public interest.

“And coming in the bus is unacceptable for Ministers who are public property. Once you are appointed as a minister, you are a public property. You are of public interest and then if anything happens, it becomes a public issue.”

He said in the unfortunate case of an accident, “and then you have two of them passing on, or getting seriously injured, needing special care, and then there is a command to flights to fly them to UK or to South Africa or another country”.

“Can you imagine the cost involved? Can you imagine the anxiety and the general concerns about it, the anger it’s going to generate, the families and others?”

He, therefore, said it was bad “to expose ministers to such kind of things”.

“I think it is something that we need to reexamine".