…For imposing Avoka, Pelpuo on Parliament
Posted: The Chronicle |Monday, February 1, 2010
By Charles Takyi-Boadu
A leading activist of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mohammed Abdulai Mubarak, popularly referred to as Ras Mubarak has done what most Parliamentarians, especially those on the Majority side of the House have not been bold enough to do.
He has criticised President Atta Mills for attempting to impose Mr. Cletus Avoka and Rashid Pelpuo, out-going Interior and Sports ministers respectively, on the leadership of the Majority NDC in Parliament.
In an exclusive interview with The Chronicle over the weekend, Mubarak, who contested but lost the position of National Youth Organiser of the NDC, said “the move to impose leaders for the Majority in Parliament was a massive blunder”, stressing that “the authority of Parliament is supreme and Ghanaians must not countenance any maneuver to undermine the democratic structures of state.”
He said Leaders of the House should be voted for by Members of Parliament (MPs) themselves, and not be chosen or appointed at the behest of any individual, including the President, since the process has to meet every democratic principle.
“Those who are interested in becoming Leader of the Majority or Minority must put themselves up for election and the responsibility for who becomes leader of the House must rest with only members of the House” he noted with emphasis.
For this reason, Ras Mubarak noted that “the panoply of lawyers at the Presidency would have to do better”, since according to him, “the Executive must impose on itself a measure of restraint when dealing with the other arms of government.”
On the issue of management of the economy, he described the actions of the President in the first year of his four-year mandate as cautious rather than bold. He, however, noted that the year 2010 is key year for the President since in his own words -”time is very short.”
The NDC activist noted that “He (the President) has to do something new and wean himself off the accusation that he is being slow”, and added that “he has to win back support within the party if he wants to go unopposed as the Presidential candidate of the party in the 2012 election.”
Furthermore, he noted that President Mills ought to rebuild the coalition that took him to the Castle and regain the support he got from young voters, saying “the presence of leading figures like the NDC founder, JJ Rawlings, Dr. Ekwow Spio and Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings by the side of President Mills would give the President's second term bid a boost.” This, he said, is because the President needs the support of well-known faces in the party.
Mr. Mubarak believes the NDC is blessed with consummate politicians, and said President Mills must bring them on board, saying with emphasis that “the creeping attitude of 'we and them' mentality by some of his appointees would not get the party anywhere.”
Last year, many Ghanaians lost their passion because of the government's soft-touch approach to fixing a broken nation. There was complete erosion of responsibility under President Kufour where Ghanaians suffered a lot and now have an appetite for something fulfilling. For him, the government cannot dash the hope and aspirations of Ghanaians.
In spite of all the unpredictable problems President Mills inherited, Mubarak noted that has finished a difficult year on a good note. However, the case may be that “he needs to do more” since “social democracy is about helping improve people's lives. The problems we face are big and urgent.”
For him, it is high time President Mills dealt with the flash point issues of justice, poverty, illiteracy, crime, failing schools and energy.
That notwithstanding, he noted that the Mills administration has to answer critical questions like; “what guarantee does government have for school leavers? What guarantee does government have to ameliorate the plight of vehicle users who need fuel for their vehicles? What plans does his government have to tackle illiteracy?”
Under the current circumstance, Mubarak says Ghana as a country needs to make massive investment into education, since in his opinion “the state must be able to finance our development.”
Taking into consideration the fact that the Tema Harbour was not constructed by borrowing, but out of development revenue created through the ingenuity of Ghana's first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and his colleagues, he noted that “with the uncertainties in the global economy, we must be careful about our dependence on borrowing.”
He therefore stressed the need for President Mills to focus less on borrowing and more on technical assistance from donors, since “the people of Ghana, especially members of the ruling National Democratic Congress have justifiable anxieties.”
Cognisant of the fact that the task of building a broken nation is tough and requires a lot of sacrifices from all, the NDC party activist noted that since the President has laid a foundation for rapid development, there is need for every Ghanaian to support him in delivering the 'goods'.