The job is too difficult; I’m ready to quit in 2016 - Mahama

Embattled and clearly frustrated, President John Dramani Mahama yesterday gave a tacit indication of how hot the ‘kitchen’ of the presidency had become for him, with indications that the demands of his office and the increasing criticisms of his unsatisfactory style of leadership were wearing him out.

Also, to apparently appease the people the presidency describes as ‘enemies within’, the president dropped a subtle hint of what appeared to be his intention to abandon the presidency in 2016, so that he could have his peace of mind.

Mr. Mahama consequently pleaded with the ‘enemies within’ who want to see his exit from the presidency, and so had been accusing him of presiding over ill-administration and corruption, to be patient with him, reminding them that 2016 was not far away.

In fact, Alhaji Bature, a leading member of the NDC, on Peace FM Monday, warned that President Mahama may not be able to end his four-year term if he failed to heed the advice offered by other leading members of the party, such as former Minority/Majority Leader, Alban Bagbin.

The New Statesman can report that in the course of the 2012 election petition trial, President Mahama met the Northern caucus of the NDC, with Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni as the only prominent member missing, and complained to them that he knew the likes of Alban Bagbin, Benjamin Kunbuor and Mr Mumuni were working against him. Mr Mahama thought it was not right for his brothers from North to be the ones working to undermine him.

Mr Bagbin has incurred the wrath of President Mahama and his close associates in the NDC, following his pubic criticisms of the president, who he accused of doing little to check the growing canker of corruption and also relegating the true NDC members who toiled to put him at the presidency to the background by running ‘family and friends’ government.

Unhappy about the repeated insults hurled at the very senior member of the NDC by the likes of Stan Dogbe, a presidential staffer, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, a deputy Information and Media Relations Minister, and Hannah Tetteh, Foreign Affairs Minister, General Secretary of the party, Johnson Asiedu Nketia called for ceasefire on Monday.

Speaking on Citi FM, Mr Nketiah said the NDC “will not fault” the former Majority Leader since some of the issues he had raised were evident in the party, stressing: “I will not fault him as such because during some of the internal communications we had in the party, these challenges were identified in those meetings and we are working very hard to smoothen out the internal communication.”

But the presidency does not share the position of the NDC General Secretary. As if the repeated attacks on Mr Bagbin were not enough, President Mahama yesterday defied the call by his party’s General Secretary for ceasefire, and issued a presidential response to the MP with over 20 years parliamentary experience who is described by the presidency as an ‘enemy within’.

Addressing an orientation workshop for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives, President Mahama indicated that in view of the enormity of the governance responsibilities he was confronted with, he least expected to be criticised by the likes of Mr Bagbin, a member of his ‘Three Wise Men’ in charge of ‘Special Priority Projects.’

The president described Mr Bagbin and others who disagree with him in terms of his governance style and criticise him as people “anxious” to see him out of the presidency, and assured them to be patient since they could see him out of office after the 2016 general elections.

“For those who disagree with me and are anxious to see my back, [they are] not to worry. 2016 is not too far away; I will urge them to be patient. In this difficult job, the least one expects is comradeship and solidarity,” Mr Mahama told his critics.

President Mahama and his government have been accused of gross incompetence not only by opposition parties, but also by some senior members of his government and party.

When it comes to the fight against corruption, which has now reached alarming heights, many have expressed doubts about his commitment to tackling the canker, even though the preponderance of media reports on alleged corrupt deals relating to government contracts and pilfering and plain stealing at governmental agencies have attracted committee investigations commissioned by the government.

Mr Bagbin, a very senior member of the Mahama administration, last week told Joy FM that he was yet to see any political leadership in the fight against corruption, adding that the ministerial committees to investigate allegations and reports of corruption were the wrong way of dealing with the canker.

But President Mahama yesterday said those who doubt his ability to the deal effectively with the increasing spate of corruption had misjudged him, insisting that those questioning his commitment to fighting corruption do not really know him.

“Recently a few of my comrades have questioned my commitment to fight corruption. I dare say they don’t know me,” he told his MMDCEs.

The President gave a charge to his local appointees: “Recently the issue of corruption, transparency and accountability has become topical. Our people expect us to demonstrate that we are able to deal with the canker of corruption decisively; both in terms of putting in place the systems that make it difficult for corruption to thrive and also deal decisively with cases of corruption wherever they may arise. They also expect us to be transparent and accountable in everything we do; I send you to your posts with my full backing to do everything you can to stamp out corruption.”

He said although there were many anti-corruption legislations, some loopholes in the laws were being exploited by corrupt persons to perpetrate the canker, adding that his Government would in the next few days announce new measures designed to tighten controls and make it impossible for corruption to thrive.