“Benchmarks” of an ineffective and inefficient Head of State.-Recipe for the disastrous NPP government
The Kuffour Administration's demonstrated protocol in times of national difficulty has been first, to do nothing. The second move is then to applaud the efforts of countless hundreds or thousands of Ghanaians who are pulling together, who are rolling up their sleeves and getting down to work. The third is the frequent flying of the President to unknown destinations.
What the Administration holds up as signs of righteous and resourceful citizenry are also glaring signs of an ineffective government, an irresponsive government, a broken social contract. Once a central function of government, the provision of social services in this country has essentially been outsourced to corrupt and overburdened party sympathizers and cash-strapped community groups.
When Kuffour landed in the flood ravaged areas to finally "tour" the devastation in the region, JAK acknowledged that the results of the recovery effort "are not acceptable. The president made no mention of the fact that tens of thousands of people are stranded without adequate food, water, or medical attention. The rescue stage is still not yet over, and has been horribly botched, the relief stage has yet to be made effective, and above all this, JAK’s top concern is traveling. But that's not out of character for this administration. Our government's function has been streamlined to consist solely of corruption and policing. Meanwhile, the not-for-profit social service organizations and the middle class Ghanaians are left scrambling to pick up the slack and attempting to provide a modicum of social welfare for other indigent citizens.
While Ghanaians ask the question "JAK where are you?" the question right behind that, the question which may not leave patriotic lips, but is nonetheless creeping into consciousnesses is, "How come a Party that is able to have numerous Presidential aspirants investing billions of cedis in their campaigns is not able to give the average Ghanaian a decent living standard?" Or "How can government officials spend millions of dollars on their children’s education abroad, but the government cannot build decent schools for our children?" What the floods have shown into the national view are not just images of ravaged flood victims. They're the images of average Ghanaians, long left stranded by their government. This is the other part of Ghana- forgotten, ignored, shoved so effectively under the carpet that it takes flood and an opening of the flood gates of Hell to force their story onto primetime TV and into the national discourse. The reconstruction and rehabilitation that will be needed over the next few years from the devastation of the floods is almost unimaginable in scope. Estimates of up to thousands of people need homes, jobs, healthcare, and schools. And this number will surely increase over the next couple of months. It is likely the government has no plan yet for how these needs will be met. At the same time, the number of "homeless" in this country from the longstanding national disasters of poverty, joblessness, lack of schools and accessible healthcare are also growing. Long after the last floodwaters have been drained from the areas affected, the effort needed for real relief and reconstruction in this country will still be gargantuan. And though they're great at what they do, the NGO’s are not up to the job.
2007-10-27 Kufuor leaves for the United Kingdom
2007-10-23 Kufour to "division himself into twice"?
2007-10-22 President Kufuor to visit UK
2007-10-17 Kufuor leaves for Equatorial Guinea
2007-10-03 Kufuor leaves for Addis-Ababa
2007-09-26 Kufuor's One-Week Vanishing Act-JAK WHERE WERE YOU?
2007-09-24 Kufuor's Canada trip was "cancelled"
2007-09-22 President Kufuor Arrives In New York
2007-09-14 Kufuor off to Canada
Enough is enough!!! Can someone convince Ghanaians that any of these trips was of any consequence to the well being of the citizens? Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of US once said that “you cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today”. Mr. President, do not escape or evade your responsibility to Ghanaians. STAY AT HOME AND TAKE CHARGE OF AFFAIRS!!! Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown that is the more reason why the buck stops with you. Needless to say, the buck will cease to stop with you come December 2008.
Atimpoku
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