We are being citizens not spectators - Amissah–Arthur to Akufo-Addo

Former Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Kwesi Amissah- Arthur has said that he’s had significant challenges and problems in understanding the State of the Nations Address by President Nana Akufo-Addo.

According to him, President Akufo-Addo, should have admitted to some of the problems that he’s had in achieving the objectives that he laid out to the nation a year ago, adding that since the President has a number of people working for him they should have implemented programmes that are at the heart of his government for a year.

Mr Amissah Arthur made the statement on Friday when he granted an interview to the press on his views on the current situation in the country and the State of the Nations Address.

He was not impressed with President Akufo-Addo’s delivery, said the President must try to mobilize the country to support him because nobody says that the job is an easy task,

The Former Vice President stated that it’s a very difficult task but the President must use the political capital, so that he can mobilise to achieve his vision for the country.

Mr Amissah –Arthur said when he heard him extolling his ministers that they are all geniuses, he was surprised because the president doesn’t admit to any problems even though a number of his flagship programmes have not been implemented, and he’s also not calling for an all-inclusive Ghanaians approach to help him to achieve it.

He said “we are not spectators in this event, we are also citizens, we are supposed to be doing the things for ourselves.”

The former Vice President said though the president spoke well, it didn’t meet his expectation of the 2018 State of the Nation’s address and that he had doubts.

Next was his super ministers and everything that he spoke about. He thinks it’s good to commend ministers for their hard work and praise them small, but the praise must be balanced.



“If you over praise them they become complacent. He said they are already geniuses in your own field, so what is it that he’s going to do to get them to do some extra work, I think that it was a little of overdone. What about the ministers who were not given the accolades, how are they supposed to feel when there is going to be a reshuffle? So that it means that the ministers who have been praised don’t have any problems and weakness that they have to improve upon.

He said another issue he has a worry, was on Corruption which he said there are two aspects of it. He noted that in one instance President Akufo-Addo implied criminality in all the initiatives by the previous governments except that of the Kufuor’s government.



“But in his particular instance there is no criminality, there’s no corruption everybody is super in there. And that worries me because both the Commissioner of CHRAJ and the parliamentary committee raised significant issues that needs to be addressed and we all saw on at what happened.”

He said Ghanaians spent time watching and he’s had the opportunity to read both the majority report and the minority report. The minority report raises significant issues and again the President says that no wrong was done,

Appointment of Martin Amidu–Special Prosecutor

Mr Amissah –Arthur said he knows Martin Amidu well as they both served for any years in the PNDC and NDC, and that he considers him as a brother and a friend who’s a very upright citizen.

He was hopeful that he will do what is necessary to stop the bad growth of corruption.