The Minister for Policy Monitoring and Evaluation hit the proverbial nail smack on its head, when he reportedly admonished President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo recently to slam his gavel hard in order to ensure that rowdy and undisciplined members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) were promptly brought to order, if his administration is to achieve the aims and objectives set forth in his electioneering campaign agenda (See “Discipline Undisciplined NPP Members – Dr. Akoto-Osei to Akufo-Addo” Graphic.com.gh 7/3/17).
In the main, the former Finance and Economic Planning Minister under former President John Agyekum-Kufuor was reported to be concerned about the high spate of violent protests and demonstrations that have greeted District Chief Executive appointees all over the country. Presently, the Constitution mandates the President of the Republic of Ghana to directly appoint all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives. Nana Akufo-Addo has announced that he intends to make these local administrative positions elective by the end of 2018. However, legal complications may delay this highly welcome and progressive decision until either 2019 or during the December 2020 general election.
Until such change is tabled in the form of a referendum, Dr. Akoto-Osei thinks that it is inexcusably tantamount to a gross violation of the integrity of the authority of the Presidency for any bona fide members of the New Patriotic Party to so cavalierly presume to impugn the mandate of both the Leader of the ruling party and substantive Commander-in-Chief of the Republic of Ghana.
Speaking to the concerns of his constituents, the NPP’s Chairman of the Tafo-Pankrono Constituency, a Kumasi suburb, whose parliamentary seat is occupied by Dr. Akoto-Osei, namely, Mr. Moses Kwame Donkor, explained that such indiscipline has been occasioned by the high expectations that his constituents have of the Akufo-Addo Administration. Needless to say, there is absolutely nothing wrong with harboring high expectations of the present government, which is clearly poised to remarkably outperforming the erstwhile Mahama-led regime of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
What is unhealthy, however, is unrealistic expectations, which includes the luridly importunate demand that President Akufo-Addo’s local executive appointees satisfy each and every constituency executive or party delegate. The threshold of consensus ought to be a simple majority, just about the way that it would be were these local administrators elected by universal franchise like our presidential and parliamentary candidates. The heartening fact of the matter is that unlike his predecessors of both political parties, Nana Akufo-Addo fully appreciates the progressive impact of democratic culture on both the local and national development fronts.
The preceding notwithstanding, one cannot agree more with Dr. Akoto-Osei that when local party members begin to contest the authority of the ruling party, especially the authority of the Presidency, there ought to be great cause for concern. I have said this before and hereby reiterate the same, that Nana Akufo-Addo stayed too long in opposition to feel smug about luxuriating in rampant and unnecessary travels abroad. Besides, it is too early in his government for the President to be so inordinately fixated on foreign policy. Nana Akufo-Addo needs to be staunchly focused on the country’s security and development needs for at least the next two years.
An atmosphere of chaos and insecurity cannot be a good recipe for a smooth reelection campaign, if the former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice hopes to stay at the flagstaff House beyond December 2020.
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