…experts declare
Posted: The Chronicle Tuesday, April 21, 2009
By Charles Takyi-Boadu
President John Evans Atta Mills may have given himself high marks in his own assessment of his 100 days in office as President of the Republic, but experts including the likes of Nana Ato Conduah, an Economic Consultant, Dr. Kwesi Aning, Head, Conflict Prevention Management and Resolution Department (CPMRD) of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) and Nana Asante Bediatuo, an Accra-based legal practitioner have challenged the President’s claims 
They believe the Mills administration has not done enough to show its commitment towards the targets they set for themselves within their 100 days in office. At a symposium organised by the Danquah Institute, in partnership with Accra-based radio station, ‘Citi FM’, to reflect on the first 100 days of the Mills administration, Dr Ato Conduah pointed at the absence of policy, as one major problem facing the Mills administration.
Whilst emphasizing that he was not calling for new policies and programmes, he stressed the urgent need for the government to continue pursuing existing policies which are prudent. “I don’t want to mention what we need to do with the NHIS, the National Youth Employment Programme and the Health expansion programmes, which should have been continued, but it seems that they have all stagnated”, he emphasized, asking “why do we have a policy vacuum.”
Though he admits that it takes a while to formulate policies, Dr. Conduah noted that “as an in-coming government, one of its first priorities is to outdoor its policies, they could even speak to the wind that we want to do this or do that, before the main policies come out.” At the moment, “there are Ministries which have been scrapped, there are also civil servants sitting idle in the Ministries, and I don’t think this augurs well for our government.” This, he said, was evident in the fact that the civil service plays a role in linking the country’s governance system down to the people who are the ultimate beneficiaries of state policies.
Dr. Conduah said it looks as though the government was on a long holiday and, therefore, stressed the urgent need for the Mills administration to put its acts together to move the country forward. “We do not know whether we are moving or sitting at one place.”
On his part, Security expert at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra, Dr. Kwesi Aning, expressed hope in the composition of both the Armed Forces and Police Councils. He however, expressed shock and disappointment at the increasing rate of crime in the country, thereby raising questions about the response mechanisms that have been put in place.
“What are my general impressions, I think there is still fear in town, people are beginning to fear that when I talk, they will be arrested”, he said. He added that “you will notice a re-militarization of the oversight procedures”, making specific references to the appointment of former military officers to positions of Minister of Defense, National Security Coordinator and the Security Advisor to the President.
Though he appreciates the fact that they are educated, he said it goes to create the impression of re-militarization of oversight procedures. Generally, he thinks there is need to improve surveillance at the country’s borders, since according to him, the security there are terribly weak.
Nana Asante Bediatuo of Ampem Chambers raised very serious issues with constitutionalism and legalism in the country, saying that they are gradually getting out of hand. He still could not fathom why the President has not seen the need to retake the Presidential oath in spite of the fact that he fumbled in saying it during his inauguration.
For him, this constitutes a serious breach of the country’s constitution and, therefore, asked the President to take a lesson from his colleague U.S President Barack Obama.
They believe the Mills administration has not done enough to show its commitment towards the targets they set for themselves within their 100 days in office. At a symposium organised by the Danquah Institute, in partnership with Accra-based radio station, ‘Citi FM’, to reflect on the first 100 days of the Mills administration, Dr Ato Conduah pointed at the absence of policy, as one major problem facing the Mills administration.
Whilst emphasizing that he was not calling for new policies and programmes, he stressed the urgent need for the government to continue pursuing existing policies which are prudent. “I don’t want to mention what we need to do with the NHIS, the National Youth Employment Programme and the Health expansion programmes, which should have been continued, but it seems that they have all stagnated”, he emphasized, asking “why do we have a policy vacuum.”
Though he admits that it takes a while to formulate policies, Dr. Conduah noted that “as an in-coming government, one of its first priorities is to outdoor its policies, they could even speak to the wind that we want to do this or do that, before the main policies come out.” At the moment, “there are Ministries which have been scrapped, there are also civil servants sitting idle in the Ministries, and I don’t think this augurs well for our government.” This, he said, was evident in the fact that the civil service plays a role in linking the country’s governance system down to the people who are the ultimate beneficiaries of state policies.
Dr. Conduah said it looks as though the government was on a long holiday and, therefore, stressed the urgent need for the Mills administration to put its acts together to move the country forward. “We do not know whether we are moving or sitting at one place.”
On his part, Security expert at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra, Dr. Kwesi Aning, expressed hope in the composition of both the Armed Forces and Police Councils. He however, expressed shock and disappointment at the increasing rate of crime in the country, thereby raising questions about the response mechanisms that have been put in place.
“What are my general impressions, I think there is still fear in town, people are beginning to fear that when I talk, they will be arrested”, he said. He added that “you will notice a re-militarization of the oversight procedures”, making specific references to the appointment of former military officers to positions of Minister of Defense, National Security Coordinator and the Security Advisor to the President.
Though he appreciates the fact that they are educated, he said it goes to create the impression of re-militarization of oversight procedures. Generally, he thinks there is need to improve surveillance at the country’s borders, since according to him, the security there are terribly weak.
Nana Asante Bediatuo of Ampem Chambers raised very serious issues with constitutionalism and legalism in the country, saying that they are gradually getting out of hand. He still could not fathom why the President has not seen the need to retake the Presidential oath in spite of the fact that he fumbled in saying it during his inauguration.
For him, this constitutes a serious breach of the country’s constitution and, therefore, asked the President to take a lesson from his colleague U.S President Barack Obama.