AFAG On President Mills’ State Of The Nation Address

Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG), is a pro democracy group in Ghana with an objective of making sure governments are accountable to the citizenry.

The Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) is disturbed by the half-truths and great deception which characterized the Presidents recent ‘State Of The Nation Address’.

In line with article 67 of the 1992 Constitution, a president is to deliver a message on the state of the nation at the beginning of each session of parliament and before dissolution of parliament. It is however interesting to note, that in fulfilling this statutory obligation, H.E. John Evans Atta Mills left many wondering if he truly gave an address on the current state of Ghana or an address to members of the NDC propaganda outfit to subsequently churn out ahead of the general elections in December.

Speaking on the themes, Economy, Education, Job Creation, Agriculture, Energy, Corruption, Health, Roads, Youth and Sports etc, the President at any given occasion reinforced the widely held believe that he is completely not on top of the happenings in the country.

On the Economy, President Mills did not cease to sing his usual song of reducing inflation to single digit without establishing a linkage on the cost of living for Ghanaians. Thus as government is quick to tout its achievement in reducing inflation, the reality is that, prices of basic commodities have tripled and in some cases quadrupled, leading to high cost of living for the ordinary Ghanaian. It should be said that, President Mills is on record to have said on several occasions that, macro and micro economic gains are irrelevant as long as it failed to reflect in the pockets of the masses.

On education, the President woefully failed to prescribe a single solution to tackle the declining trend in the area of results at the basic level in the past three years. Whiles government’s commitment to removing schools under trees is commendable, AFAG is of the view that the basic level is the most important stage on the educational journey and should be given the needed attention. The President again failed to address the rising cost of education, a situation which is gradually making education a preserve of the rich.

On job creation, the President failed to throw light on which sectors the purported 1.6million jobs have been created. Given the problems associated with unemployment, it is in the interest of this government and any future government to find innovative ways to stem the tide. The Mills-Mahama government should therefore move away from creating phantom and imaginary jobs to the creation of real jobs to address the high rate of unemployment we are saddled with as a country.

AFAG has at all times called on all Ghanaians to fight corruption, given the negative effects it has on a nation. Surprisingly corruption only constituted a minute aspect of the president’s address. More shocking to us was the president’s refusal to comment on the huge judgment debts paid to undeserving individuals and companies as well as purported beneficiaries who have publicly denied receipt of payment.

In the area of sports, the President got it completely wrong, when he suggested Ghana was ranked 14 by FIFA in 2011. For the records, the only time Ghana has been rated or ranked 14th was in the year 2008 and not 2011 as suggested by the president. AFAG is also petrified by the reason the President gave for the exit of the Black Stars from the recent AFCON Competition. The President’s comments sought to suggest that, one player should be blamed for the exit of the entire team. AFAG sees the game of football as a team sport, thus one player should not be blamed for his inability to convert a spot kick. This is unhealthy to come from the father of the nation.

In conclusion, it is obvious that President Mills better Ghana is being enjoyed by only a privileged few who find themselves in government. These privileged few as a result of the largesse which comes with being in government have simply found it difficult to comprehend when the ordinary man makes a demand for better living conditions. They sing better Ghana whiles the masses sing bitter Ghana.