Castle Staff have sacred duty to be loyal to Govt -JAK

President John Agyekum Kufuor on Monday said Staff at the Castle had a sacred duty to be loyal to any government elected to serve its tenure of office.

"You provide the underpinnings of governments; they come into office in a significant way but you are paid by the taxpayer," he said.

"Therefore you must be loyal to the government elected by the people to serve its tenure of office well for the socio-economic development of the country," he said in an address to Staff of the Castle, Osu, at the President's end-of-year party.

He said the Castle would continue to be the seat of serious government business where policies, budgets and other issues were discussed and made available to the people adding that this seriousness had made it very remote from the people.

President Kufuor said the renovation works at the Castle would be completed soon for his family to live there to balance the image and offer a human touch.

"My family will soon move into the Castle; we want Ghanaians to feel this is the family seat of all, a place where they could seek comfort," he added.

President Kufuor said although the task ahead in the coming year would be difficult and tough, God would provide the renewed strength to overcome them.

Mr Kwadwo Mpiani, Chief of Staff, said the task ahead required a renewed dedication, loyalty and sacrifice in addition to good attitudes. He said efforts would be made to enhance the comfort of the staff next year to enable them to improve on their performance.

President Kufuor presented awards to nine members of Staff made up of eight men and a woman for their dedication and long service. They were Madam Elizabeth Donkor, a cleaner for the past 22 years who had a 20-inch colour television set.

The others were Mr Wassa Kokomba, Supervisor of Stewards who served for 35 years, Mr Seth Tetteh, Assistant Chief Driver, Mr J. Yaw Nyame Chief Driver, Mr D. Norweh, Senior Technical Officer and Mr R. Sakyifea (rpt Sakyifea) Assistant Chief Driver who had a refrigerator each.

The rest were Mr C. Karimu Mensah, Principal Technical Officer (posthumously), Mr P. K. Baniba, Chief Estate Officer and Mr J. B. Ansah, Assistant Chief Driver, who had a 20-inch television set each.