Is Lordina John Mahama that powerful and influential?

Before 2013, if there was any first lady in the history of Ghana who could have been said to have wielded so much power and influence in governance of Ghana, that person should arguably be Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings.  A wife of charismatic but dreaded President Jerry John Rawlings, even with her husband’s autocratic posture, Nana Konadu’s power and influence were hardly undermined. Especially riding on the back of Rawling’s popularity and 31^st December Movement, Nana Konadu became a common name of many households and establishments of State.

One may not be able to specifically determine the full extent to which Konadu Rawlings must have influenced government appointments, contracts and policies. But it definitely is the case that she lived a fulfilled life in the power to control and influence political decisions of her husband during the period Rawlings was sitting President of the republic between 1981 and 2001. However, during this period when she was overwhelmingly exposed to the largesse of the State, little would she have recognized that unmeasured use of too much power gets you addicted. And that when you allow yourself to get addicted to such power, you would eventually get to lose yourself anytime you no longer have the grips of it.

The reason for which Mrs. Rawlings, instead of enjoying her retirement in the comfort of her husband, rather looks frustrated is primarily because she had apparently abused the enjoyment of political power to the extent that she almost may have thought she would have had in her bosom the political power forever. So when the tenure of her husband finally ended in 2001, she amazingly saw a mirage in the image of apparition chasing her in her day dreams as if the lack of power reality that had dawned on her was fictitious. Neither her political party (NDC), a party founded by her husband, could contain her nor could any institutional structure. Without she and her husband in grips of political authority, nothing ever appear to be working well in Ghana again, to her flattered mind.

To this day, I suspect, Mrs. Rawlings would have wished she had treaded cautiously when she and her husband  ruled the country for more than one and half decades. The manner in which two succeeding first ladies postured themselves with political power was largely perceived to be clothed with humility. Thus, Mrs. Theresa Kufuor (President Kufuor’s Wife) and Mrs. Ernestina Naadu Mills (President Evans Atta Mills’ Wife) respectively succeeded Mrs. Rawlings as First Ladies of the republic in 2001 and 2009 but theirs is a story of fulfilment and let-go. Because they may have handled political power and influence with measured steps and expectations when their husbands were Presidents, they simply have been able to live quiet and uninterrupted lives after the departure of their husbands from the Presidency. The crowing of the cock is said to be a harbinger to the dawn.

The interesting precedence that has been set by previous First Ladies should therefore be a license to the more reason why Mrs. Lordina Dramani Mahama, current First Lady of Ghana, must wake up to the call of treading very cautiously with political power while her husband H.E President John Dramani Mahama  is still president of Ghana until 2016 or 2021. If the news making rounds in respect of Mrs. Lordina’s use of political power and influence were to be thought of, a few triggers other than worries would emerge in the reasoning processes.

Can the seemingly ludicrous insinuations, for example, by Nana Akuffo Addo that Mrs. Lordina lords over government’s contracts be borne out of factual grounds? Is Lordina Mahama in charge of ministerial and deputy ministerial appointments? Is Lordina Mahama in charge of appointment of board members and chief executives of state institutions? Is Mrs. Lordina in charge of distribution of projects, resources and opportunities to individuals, groups, regions and communities? Is Lordina Mahama managing the country from behind the scenes other than President John Mahama? How powerful really is Mrs. Lordina in influencing political decisions in Ghana? Is she using the name of the President to amass wealth?

Is the perception that Mrs. Lordina is the real President ill-perceived or overhyped or intentionally distorted or calculated attempts to get at President Mahama through his wife? Is Mrs. Mahama’s prominence in international scene and her support for the needy with the help of OAFLA and Lordina Foundation as well as her husband’s travels and popularity a fundamental reason behind the perception of how much governmental power she actually wields?

Undoubtedly, a good wife should be a strong pillar behind every successful home. It is hard to therefore think, for a minute, that any righteous President including President Mahama would not allow his wife including Nana Lordina to have a say in his government. At least, opinion or advice of the wife would always be sought by the husband on decisions that affect lives.  Also, in order to support the husband well in his political endeavor, the wife may have been given a political clout so that she would have some command to be respected in her dealings with the public.  It, however, gets awry when it tends to appear that the role of the president is usurped by the wife who should only be adviser and supporter.

To my mind, even though it is difficult to see smoke without a trace of spark of fire, the allegations being raised against Her Excellency Lordina Mahama may just be far too fetched. She may simply be playing her supportive role as wife of President of a republic where expectations and demands are too overwhelming on anyone that holds public office especially those deemed to be closer to the President or Presidency. 

Whatever the situation may be, Mrs. Lordina Mahama must be reminded that political power comes and goes. She must handle the opportunities she has now with utmost care, humility and prudence, knowing that she would be better placed to become a fulfilled former first lady in future only if she does not overplay the power and influence her husband has been given by the good people of Ghana. 

Haruna Iddrisu May Just Be A Victim Of Circumstances

Public Sector Management

       One of the major challenges facing public financial management in Ghana is unreliable, irregular and insufficient flow of funds from finance ministry to other ministries and their agencies and departments. The other challenge is expenditure on irrelevant and non-prioritized items induced either by the public management system or by indiscretion or indeed incompetence and rent-seeking.         In the case of Hon. Haruna Iddrisu (MP for Tamale South and Employment & Labour Relations’ Minister), the nature of the public financial management system of Ghana may have bugged him down in respect of the over a million Ghana cedis paid for membership dues and trip of 16 people or so to ILO Conference out of the coffers of Youth and Employment Agency (YEA) of Ghana.

Dilemma

         Apparently, the ministry of employment and labour relations was starved of cash and, so as a solace, Haruna Iddrisu succeeded to use the 'law' and ‘inappropriate best practice in the public sector' to, at all cost, find funds in order to meet Ghana's international legal obligations - the result of which was to unfortunately take funds from an agency not only in its formative stages and targeting the despondent and frustrated youth but also that which had been tainted with corruption scandals. Hon Haruna Iddrisu should have known better and acted differently even under desperation.

         But then, where was he to get the money to meet Ghana's obligations? Could he have denied Ghana's participation in ILO conference and also deferred payment of dues? Yes, he could have done that but what would have been the ramifications, especially so when President Mahama was scheduled to be a guest speaker or so of the conference? 

           But was it a must for President John Mahama to agree to be a guest speaker in the conference if he was told that the ministry of labour had no funds to sponsor the trip except to borrow from the YEA  which was struggling to survive?  In the past, how many people used to attend such a conference for Ghana?  Was spending over a million Ghana Cedis on  the dues and conference a continuation of what used to happen in the past or was this prudent and improvement or worst scenario thereof?

Final remarks

          All of these bring us back to a self-inflicted constrained finance ministry that appears to be out of touch with best practices of at least getting funds released on time to meet budgetary expectations of ministries, departments and agencies. It also tells us a weird spectacle of poor public financial management architecture in the country.  It also reminds us of the huge amount of monies developing countries including Ghana pay as membership dues to international organizations such as ILO, the overall comparative benefits thereof can generally be said to be questionable.  What Haruna did may have been lawful and authorized but it could not have been a prudent decision to take any pesewa from YEA to attend a conference, under normal circumstances and in the dire situation of YEA.

            Honestly, I don't think a whole government ministry (all other ministries included) should use funds of an agency to buy vehicles for supervisory purposes. The ministry itself should budget for such vehicles and allow the agency to budget for its own vehicles. They each should use their released allocations to purchase what they budgeted for.  Is this too much to ask for? Or is supervision of the agency not part of the mandate of the ministry? What is the basis for the law allowing funds to be taken from the agency by its ministry in discharge of the ministry’s mandate? I simply don’t seem to get it!

What if PNF Doesn’t Petition the President Against Charlotte Osei of EC!

              It is often said that ‘a stitch in time saves nine’ and that ‘it is only unitiated sheep who does not remember that the lion which had sprung a deadly surprise on goats could easily redirect its devouring spree to anyone it finds on its way, especially when the lion is seen lingering around the neighbourhood appearing to be hungrier’. The case of PNF and Mrs. Charlotte is that of intriguing narrative.

Record of PNF

              Progressive Nationalist Forum (PNF), a Pro-NPP youth group and great advocate for respect of 1992 Constitution of Ghana, began to earn my congenial respect when it successfully fought a constitutional battle to have Madam Lauretta Vivian Lamptey removed as CHRAJ Boss under article 146 and co of 1992 republican constitution. She was said to have flagrantly abused her office as Chairperson of CHRAJ by having unwisely spent tax payers’ money on hotel bills.  Hitherto, PNF through Mr. Richard Nyama also got a favourable Supreme Court Judgement directing government to comply with the GETFund Law of transferring statutory funds to GETFund on time.

PNF and EC Chair in tangle

         On the particular case of  Madam Lauretta which has some semblance with that of Mrs. Charlotte Osei’s, the spirit of the constitution watched on while public outcry struggled to come to terms with why she could be that profligate. When PNF started the case against Madam Lauretta, she was recalcitrant and called the bluff of PNF to have her impeached. At least, if she had acted timely and yielded to the key demand of her to resign, she would have saved some face.  She had waited until the situation got worst – beyond repairs.

           So when the same PNF frontally came out recently to allege that Mrs. Charlotte Osei may have been in breach of the constitution, Article 44(4) in particular, I was one of those whose interest was quickly drawn to it. One because of PNF’s past spirited defence of the constitution, and two because of the deep respect I had cautiously developed for the EC Chairperson, Madam Charlotte. Frankly, part of my respect for her was based on her good professional background and much the way she carefully, intelligently and attractively articulated the views of EC during the EC dialoguing conference on whether or not to compile a new electoral register for 2016 general elections.

            However, the next time I heard Madam Charlotte spoke, I was partly impressed and partly disappointed. She spoke to Samson Lardy Anyenini on ‘Joyfm Newsfile’ on 9^th day of January 2016. I was so impressed about the way she responded to all the questions on the electoral register and the processes that would lead to November 7, 2016 elections. She was dazzling as usual and caught the admiration of many listeners who appeared to be convinced like me that she is really best fit for EC Chairperson in critical times like election year.  

               I was nonetheless saddened that instead of to have used the opportunity to clear the air that she was not in breach of the constitutional provision in question as had been alleged by PNF, she rather chose to be evasive. She was of the view that the air will be cleared on the matter should PNF carries out its threat of  petitioning the President or sending her to Supreme Court or whichever place to seek for constitutional interpretation and  her removal.

              Question is: what if PNF does not file a petition against Mrs. Charlotte, how do we get the air cleared on whether or not she is in breach of the constitution? Wouldn't some sort of misperception linger on in people’s minds which may affect her integrity and that of EC?

            Before Charlotte intimated  that the air would be cleared when petition is filed, she kept saying to Samson, “you are a lawyer” and then – Samson read out from the constitution what the term means, which goes as, public office “includes [but may not be limited to] an office the emoluments attached to which are paid directly from the consolidated Fund or directly out of moneys provided by Parliament and an office in a public corporation established entirely out of public funds or moneys provided by Parliament” (Article 295:1, 1992 Constitution of Ghana).

        She was apparently persuading Samson and his listeners to infer therefrom that Ghana Reinsurance Company Ltd (Ghana Re) is not a public office and thus she could not have been in breach of article 44(4) of the 1992 republican constitution of Ghana which says that, ‘the Chairperson and the two Deputy Chairpersons of electoral commission shall not, while they hold office on the Commission, hold any other public office’. I have mixed feelings and understanding primarily because I don’t have the full information on what kind of company Ghana Re exactly is – save reading from website of Ghana RE that it is a government company!

Expectation on integrity

            In matters of integrity, even though you have the right to be measured in your response to legal issues so as not to be taken out of context or used against you in court, as long as you believe in merits and conviction of your actions, you don’t have to give the slightest chance for anyone to impugn culpability thereof. You have to, without wasting time, be bold to respond directly to allegations levelled against you in the best bravado of stamina you can marshal. This is especially more applicable to a deeply politicized society where the opposition NPP has already tried hard to raise integrity issues against Madam Charlotte, especially in respect of her unfortunately alleged soft-spot posture towards NDC.  Swift response is also particularly needed in light of the very sensitive and centripetal nature of EC.

             If you know you don’t have cobwebs in your cupboard, you don’t need to be found wanting when asked by a stranger to open it. It just did not sit down well with me as to why Mrs. Charlotte could not boldly state her position on the fact that, despite being EC Chairperson since July 2015 she was, as at December 2015, still a board member of Ghana Re, a 100% government owned company – according to www.ghanare.com (retrieved 9/Jan/2016: 12:30 pm).

               As a lawyer herself, after her appointment as EC Chairperson, she may have had addressed or averted her mind to conflicts of interest situations she could find herself in based on constitutional provisions. Did she do self introspection vis-à-vis integrity protection relative to relevant constitutional provisions before or after she accepted the job as EC boss? What did she find? Didn't she think that doubling as a board member of company with government of Ghana having 100% shares could draw her into some sort of controversies – rightly or wrongly?  

Final remarks

           In the scheme of things and the exigencies of the times, Madam Charlotte should do the honourable thing if she thinks or have gotten to recognize that Ghana Re is a public company and that she may have flouted the constitution of the republic. My candid and very considerate advice, in this regard, is that having already said to have resigned as board member of Ghana Re, she should quickly go ahead and refund to the State all the emoluments she took from July 2015 when she was made EC Chairperson - as demanded by PNF.  Further on, Madam Charlotte should publicly apologize to Ghanaians for any error of judgement on her part or for likely defilement of public interest.

             This may, at least, redress any perceived dent on Charlotte’s integrity and persuade PNF to seize the long haul battle it intends to have with her as it successfully had against Madam Lauretta. But for the meagreness of any alleged breach of the constitution and the closeness Ghana is to very crucial elections, my very principled position would have been, if proven culpable,  to just ask Madam Charlotte to immediately resign and give way to someone who has no such associated blemishes.

               On the other hand, if Madam Charlotte is convinced and persuaded to believe that she was or is not in conflict of interest situation being with EC and Ghana Re, then she should quickly issue a press statement denying that she is or was in conflict of interest situation and therefore shall not resign as EC Chairperson. She must respond and act decisively NOW.

                   We can’t afford to be debating her personality and extra-activities at the time when our focus should rather be on the best processes towards transparent, credible, free, fair and peaceful general elections in November 2016. In fact, we don’t have the luxury of such a time to waste. 

NEUTRAL PEOPLE MUST NOT BE NEUTRALLY IMPOSSIBLE ON EC

Neutrality

        I sometimes see neutrality as a meretricious subterfuge being brandished as a stance unassociated with the biases of either side of view or divide - almost far from being real.  I still, nonetheless, must be persuaded by the conviction that people who, by their own volition, have been captured into the family web of neutrality ought to be reminded to comply with the ideals and standards of being neutral. 

            For me, abstaining from commenting on, vouching for or doing any such thing that would have otherwise painted an objective picture of a given situation cannot be said to be a neutral act. Rather, neutrality largely concerns the extent to which people carefully and critically acquaint themselves with the facts of all sides and reaching a reasonable, logical and unbiased conclusion on what is appropriate or inappropriate. A neutral person or entity may have to be careful not to be directly specific on who or which is right or wrong. The unblemished facts often speak out the mind of a neutral arbiter.

              Neutral persons or entities necessarily ought to first give out a rendition on the standards and then allow credible factual narratives determine what is appropriate or otherwise. In this piece, attention would be drawn to entities or people who by their objectives, stature, stance, definitions, prescriptions, frameworks, constitutions or actions do portray themselves to the general public as neutral with independent and unbiased views on other people or entities who act in the interest of the general public.  In the eyes of the general public, for instance, unrented, un-idiotic and non-ideological Media stations, Pastors, Churches, Christian Associations, Imams, Mosques, Muslim Associations, and Civil Society Organizations including Think Tanks and their leaders are deemed neutral. Also,   the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) and the Courts are particularly seen and must be seen as unbiased arbiters – they are crucial democratic pillars and peace bastions of any nation.

Labelling of EC

            It therefore gets pathetically dangerous when some political interest groups and their surrogates in the otherwise neutral entities, have labelled or tried hard to label EC as a biased arbiter without any shred of credible basis to do so. In the history of electoral governance and management in Ghana, it is almost addictive of political parties and their surrogates in the media and civil society to praise EC when results of elections are declared in their favor.  In the same vein, the losing Parties have always found a way of chastising and denting the image and integrity of EC. Both National Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patriotic Party (NPP) have been in this kind of game unashamedly.

Election petition and electoral register

                This came to a head in 2012 general elections, when after all parties fairly and transparently participated in the elections upon which the losing NPP nearly held the whole country to a ransom for about a year. This they apparently did by trying to hide under legalese and technicalities not only to reverse the universal mandate of the people but to dent the image of EC while projecting their image to their unsuspecting supporters. The live proceedings of the case in court evinced that in spite of few lapses, the results as declared at 26000 + polling stations, in the full glare of all political reps, media, political observers and members of the public with additional strong room crosschecking by Party reps, had not been in any way tampered with by Dr Afari Gyan and EC – therefore should remain as such – the verdict concluded.  This, indeed, should have been the credit to EC that another neutral body, the Supreme Court, affirmed a neutral job done by the EC. The least neutrally expected rendition was to say EC image was battered by the court proceedings and verdict thereof.

Neutral people’s stance on register

               Ironically, the media that particularly got the results before Dr Afari Gyan got his in the ‘strong room’ of EC, intentionally and consistently allowed NPP and its surrogates to vociferously trumpet the erroneous understanding that the integrity of EC has been dented and almost thrown to the dogs. This is farther from the truth.  The project of making the EC look bad because one candidate fairly lost, even when his lyrical MPs who were supervised by the same system, continued unabated; That the register with which they claimed to have won 2012 elections was now under serious vibrating attack from NPP and its surrogates. A clear demand was therefore made on the EC to get Ghana a new register as they labeled the current register as ‘incurably flawed and not credible’. Minors and foreigners on the electoral register and, more seriously, stapled pictures compromising the whole biometric register were key amongst the reasons adduced.  

              Being an independent neutral body, EC instructively brought all stakeholders to a dialoguing conference where eminent panel of experts carefully listened to and questioned presenters on their position on the register. Clearly, the recurrent theme in the presentations was that despite some few challenges with the current register, a new register could not mitigate the situation. Rather, until what motivate the lapses on the register is dealt with, the traditional methods of cleaning up the register during exhibitions and so on could be the only plausible, cost effective, reasonable and legal option immediately available given the limited time to the 2016 general elections.

            The eminent panel then submitted their report to EC in December 2015 or so. EC saw wisdom and persuasion in the position of the report and decided to adopt the report which said that the current register should be maintained – new register was unnecessary. EC also responded to each of the allegations which NPP used to advocate for a new register.  The allegations were either dismissed or deemed unmeritorious. The net effect was that NPP did not have a very strong convincing case that could merit neither a new register nor the negative tagging given to EC.

              In all these, any neutral person or entity would have been very careful enough not to chastise EC for not yielding to the demands of NPP. At least, such a neutral person or persons should have been aware that NDC was cautiously against NPP’s position and waiting to see whether or not EC would go by the recommendations of the non-partisan eminent Ghanaians who constituted the panel. It would have been further noticed that any other position aside what EC took would have presented an unworthy precedence which could have been a recipe for disaster. For all you may know, if treated unjustly, NDC could equally be capable of unleashing the terror feared of NPP by the neutral people that are seen chastising EC for no just cause. In any sphere of arbitration, decisions reached by the arbitrators ought to be respected by all who care and have integrity.

Final remarks

           That said, what then would have been the basis for some supposed neutral people to pontificate to EC to have yielded to the demands of NPP or NDC – even if such demands were unmeritorious? What would have been the basis for saying, for example, that ‘EC should not take Ghanaians for granted’?  Which Ghanaian has EC taken for granted and where? A stance that obviously inhibits glister of neutrality of EC is a defeatist posture and an impossible neutral demand on EC.   The supposed unrented media should at least do Ghanaians a great favor to be very informed and critical on the so-called neutral people and insidious support they give to either NDC or NPP. This would expose any party planning mayhem to be quickly identified and dealt with by the largely peaceful Ghanaians.

             Everybody or at least most Ghanaians by now know that despite its inadequacies, EC in Ghana cannot or hardly can rig elections for any political party, with the current biometric electoral register and electoral system. It is only political parties especially NDC and NPP who, without vigilance from other political actors, may succeed in rigging elections in their strongholds where they may be able to hijack or coerce electoral officers to do the unthinkable. Let’s keep a Godlier eye on NDC and NPP so they do not slip by.

            The hysterical hypocrisy permeating the overtures of political corridors in the election year 2016 is dangerous – indeed very dangerous. Although it is difficult to stand the test of neutrality, neutral people in Ghana, must at least strive hard to merit being called neutral when it comes to electoral governance and management. People of integrity and of courage must not sit by aloof and let things get out of hands before they act.

                Have a splendid time!

The New Year and Competition between Political Actors towards 2016 General Elections in Ghana

         As energies and lights of 2015 got sapped and faded out all too fast to give way to 2016, I and many others were apparently having mixed feelings about the future of Ghana. The curious feeling that would have especially engulfed the thoughts of many others was that of the ugly danger associated with the contours of Ghana’s political landscape fully occupied by agitation, tension, desperation and disjointedness. Regardless of failures, successes, huge potentials and bright prospects of Ghana, these contours must present a scaring nightmare to all those who have Ghana at heart.  It is, nonetheless, a call to more proactive and transformative actions by Ghana’s leaders.

The centre could hardly hold in NPP

       The unsettling nature of power blocks in the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) where the centre could hardly hold did vitiate their strength to give viable alternative policies and programmes to Ghanaians. It also weakened NPP’s ability to effectively put the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and its government in check.  NPP’s Leader and 2016 Flag-bearer, Hon Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo was apparently seen to have been thrown into a mesh woven by flesh eating worms with debilitating prowess far too powerful beyond the containment and survival stamina of an otherwise political colossus and prominent lawyer. He almost surprisingly became a political dinosaur largely due to Overarching Clashes of Personality Interests (OCPI) and Acute Leadership Deficiency Syndrome (ALDS).

        Nana Addo simply was overtaken by emotive tendencies as he watched on while NPP appeared disintegrated and non-viable alternative in the eyes of many Ghanaians. Instead of rallying all interest groups in NPP behind him, Nana’s unrelenting quest for power may have swayed him into thinking that labeling interest groups as ‘spies and crushing them’ would pave way for him regardless of how much significant such interest groups were. This sense of reasoning may have been a direct consequence of misleading advice and anti-Nana tagging.

Holding the center in NDC but its government dangled

       On the other hand, whereas NDC party appeared well settled at the centre, there was enough simmering dissatisfaction at the grassroots to suggest that all was not too well with the party. As if that was not to be enough, NDC’s government led by H.E President John Dramani Mahama appeared to have stepped on the toes of many residents by the way and manner the economy and energy situation of the country was bizarrely handled by a number of the President’s appointees and functionaries. The raging grapevine suspicions attributable to this less than expected performance of some of these government functionaries were that while some of them were thought to have been intentionally sabotaging President Mahama’s better outlook, others were said to have been busily grabbing the largesse of the Masses as they engaged in murky deals to their selfish gains and to the exclusion and detriment of the interests of President Mahama’s government and the people of Ghana. 

      As President Mahama struggled to effectively put his feet down and go beyond the powerful machinations of general poor attitudes of Ghanaians, inefficiencies of State Institutions, political patronage and godfather/godmother syndrome, it was just about the effectiveness and efficiency of his leadership and government which altogether was to be called to question. Many people kept wondering why an otherwise excellent leader could have allowed himself and his government to be drawn into public dungeon of outrage by few non-performing and clueless elements in very strategic ministries, departments and agencies.

 Successes of Political Actors

       In the end, before 31^st December could help complete the year 2015, Ghana was saddled with competition between joint forces of mediocrity and disillusionment and apathy and frustration which succeeded in making 2015 a ‘difficult year’ for many businesses and households. However, many good things happened.

       For example, after all the internal wrangling in NPP and suspension of their general secretary, chairman and second vice chairman including some constituency chairmen and executives, the party eventually succeeded in rallying forces together and organized a  national conference at Sunyani where Parliamentary candidates  and the national campaign team of NPP were inaugurated. Party Officials and some MPs thereof were also in the media, at least defending the courses of action taken by the party and chastising almost everything about government albeit without alternative propositions. 

    President John Dramani Mahama also showed remarkable performance in infrastructural development in essential sectors like health, education and transportation across the country. He also found nerves and disciplined some erring and less performing functionaries of his government. Some of his ministers, of course, performed very creditably and appeared to have put a shine on the overall performance of the government. Many Ghanaians are carefully watching the space to see how the energy and spirit of greater sense of urgency will be pumped into all government functionaries so as to make many more people feel that there will be brighter light at the end of the tunnel.

NDC Party, which President Mahama also leads, especially demonstrably performed well by the way it successfully held the first  polling station based elections of MPs and Presidential Candidate where all registered members were eligible to vote.  Moreover, it was amazing to see how the party managed to hold different interest groups together after the polls which, of course, suffered some technical challenges.

Demanding a new paradigm in the New Year

        However, having crossed over to 2016, indeed in the first few days of the New Year,  most if not all of residents of Ghana are looking up to seeing a different political landscape that promises a trouble-free 2016 general elections. Although it will be irresponsible to accredit the self-seeking sensations of doomsayers and war mongers with platinum of relevance and loudspeakers, it will be in the best interest of all and sundry to wake up to face the following reality dispositions head-on.

       The kind of performance put up by the NDC government, in 2015, must not be allowed to repeat itself in 2016. We need better performance than that and deserve to be governed more responsibly and proactively, without fail. The urge to galvanize all spirited forces to undertake public business not as usual but with both highest sense of integrity and greatest sense of urgency should not only be inspired by positive desire to win 2016 general elections. It should most importantly be motivated by the passion to leave a lasting positive legacy where every resident of Ghana including opponents will be proud of.

        What President Mahama therefore needs to do differently this new year, is to first focus attention on putting more sanity and discipline into his government where his political appointees and public servants will regard him not just as humble and friendly but a man who is very firm, no-nonsense and intolerant for mediocrity, scapegoating /useless excuses, inefficiencies and ineffectiveness in running public business. While also focusing on ensuring that his campaign promises are fulfilled through extra hard work, he should pay very keen attention to ensuring that political actors are treated fairly by State Agencies including Electoral Commission and security services.

          Also, we do not need the kind of irresponsible opposition performance, in 2015. We need and deserve a far better opposition organization and activism. NPP should concentrate in sanitizing and reconciling its ranks and come out with credible alternatives and constructive criticisms. They must not be given a hearing on the way they always tried to blame all their woes on NDC and its government. Nana Addo must know how more discerning Ghanaians have become. For him to see any light of the day he must present to Ghanaians united, credible, quality and peaceful party, else he should forget about the presidency. He should not be deceived into thinking that doom saying or war mongering will make many Ghanaians or even the NDC government take him and his NPP party seriously. Nana Addo is a respectful elder and must leverage this to preach to his followers and the larger Ghanaian public that he is more interested in peace and development of this country than being President. That way and together with credible alternative programmes and united party, Ghanaians could choose Nana Addo over President Mahama.

         This in the light of the fact President Mahama  together with his NDC party is realistically ahead, right now due to their more peaceful and united nature. It is also at the same time that President Mahama has incumbency advantage with huge infrastructural projects to show. He is also seen to be more affable with greater appeal to many people. This presents a tough competition which requires Nana Addo to work extra harder in order to make himself and NPP fraternity more able to favorably compete with President Mahama.

Final remarks

           At the end of the day, 2016 must be a year of competitive performance for the overall benefit of everyone in Ghana. Above all, everything possible must be done to ensure that there is peace and unity before, during and after the 2016 general elections regardless which political party emerges the overall winner in Parliamentary and Presidential Electoral Counts.

           I submit therefore that while it’s very important that political actors must lift up their game to a more exciting level, they must do this with highest sense of responsibility. They must note that everyone will be the ultimate beneficiary when peace, stability, unity and development continue to reign after a winner fairly, transparently and creditably emerges.

            Happy and Prosperous 2016!