Posted: Daily Guide |www.dailyguideghana.com
Tuesday, 05 October 2010
By Charles Takyi-Boadu
The former Chief of Staff under the erstwhile Kufuor administration, Mr Kwadwo Mpiani has described the renaming of the Jubilee house to Flagstaff house as “very funny”.
The Flagstaff House, which once housed Ghana’s first president Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, was rebuilt into a Presidential Palace and renamed Jubilee House by ex-president John Kufuor when the country celebrated its 50th independence anniversary in 2007.
Although it has not been officially confirmed, indications are that the Jubilee House built by former President Kufuor would be restored to its original name, the Flag Staff House. A metallic inscription to that effect has been embossed on the wall of the Presidential edifice.
Speaking to Citi Eyewitness News on Monday, October 4, Mr Mpiani said the name Flag Staff is not part Ghana’s history since that name was bestowed on the residence by the Americans. Mr Kwadjo Mpiani took a swipe at the Atta Mills-led government for what he sees as an attempt to obliterate the legacies of ex President Kufuor.
“How did we get Flagstaff House, who named it Flagstaff house, I hope you know the history of Flagstaff house, it is not part of our tradition or anything, it was named by the Americans during the war when they had their offices there. It wasn’t anything named by Ghana or Nkrumah or by any Ghanaian”.
“Nkrumah’s old residence is still there, the president took the decision that we should preserve it as part of the whole complex so that it could be sort of a tourist attraction so people can even go there and look at where the first President even lived…you know there is something funny going on in this country, we sit there and we hear assemblies renaming, facilities renaming because these facilities were named in Kufuor’s administration and we all sit there as if nothing is happening…I mean this thing is funny”
Asked whether there was any legislative instrument during the renaming of Flag Staff house to Jubilee House during the Kufuor administration, Mr Mpiani said he is unaware whether such legislative procedures were followed.
“I am not aware of that, I don’t know of any such legislative instrument”
Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister for Tourism, Kobby Acheampong, says the name Jubilee house was unnecessary because there was no legislative instrument to that effect.
According to him since the renaming of the Flag Staff House to Jubilee House under the Kufuor administration was done by the word of mouth, the name Flag Staff still holds.
“The fact of the matter is this the flagstaff house was the original name and when the new Presidential complex was built the name was supposedly changed to Jubilee house, go into our records, there is no legislative instrument that allows that to be made. It was done by word of mouth and as long as it was done by word of mouth the name flagstaff house still remains”.