Where is our President?

Concerns are being raised across the length and breadth of the country as to the whereabouts of President Mills and why he has chosen America as his holiday destination of choice, taking three long leaves in America in recent times, including taking extra time off during his September UN General Assembly trip.

Speculation is rife, with the health of the President being at the heart of it.

What is more worrying is that, the President is in the US at a time that the Obama administration is announcing a wide-ranging effort to use U.S. foreign aid to promote rights for gays and lesbians abroad, including combating attempts by foreign governments to criminalize homosexuality.

This comes just after the US government launched its new Partnership for Growth initiative and chose Ghana as one of four pilot countries, with the others being, Tanzania, El Salvador and the Philippines.

In a memorandum issued Tuesday, President Barack Obama directed US agencies working abroad, including the State Department and the US Agency for International Development, to use foreign aid to assist gays and lesbians who are facing human rights violations. And he ordered US agencies to protect vulnerable gay and lesbian refugees and asylum seekers.

"The struggle to end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons is a global challenge, and one that is central to the United States' commitment to promoting human rights," Obama said in a statement.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was also expected to speak about the announcements in Geneva later last night.

The White House said Tuesday's announcement marked the first US government strategy to combat human rights abuses against gays and lesbians abroad.

As to how the Mills government intends to react to this will be interesting. Currently, Ghana has been the only country that has been late in preparing its documentations to access the multi-billion dollar Partnership for Growth fund.

President Mills embarked on his annual leave for a second time without his wife, Mrs Naadu Mills, according to NDC sources.

The Director of Communications at the Presidency, Koku Anyidoho, Monday, indicated that President Mills was currently in the United States of America resting his bones after working hard for two weeks in Canada.

However, the extraordinary length of President Mills’ stay outside the shores of the country within a period of less than 3 months has heightened calls within political circles wondering if, for instance, President Mills is seeking medical attention.

The Presidency has never really come clean on the state of health of the Head of State.

It is recalled that President Mills left Ghana on September 13 2011 to attend the UN General Assembly, 10 clear days before he addressed the UN General Assembly. In between that period, Ghanaians were not apprised of the details of the President’s whereabouts.

The Ghana Embassy in the US stated that President Mills would not be meeting with the Ghanaian community in the states whilst on the visit, leaving analysts to wonder what President Mills was doing since he, officially, was not on leave.

The President arrived in Ghana, from the UN General Assembly, four clear days after delivering his speech.

Barely 40 days after arriving in Ghana, President Mills left Ghana once again for the US the 12th of November 2011 for United States, enroute to Canada for an official visit.

President Mills left the US for Canada on the 18th of November for a four-day official visit. During his visit, President Mills met Mr Lucien Bradet, President of the Canadian Council for Africa; held discussions with officials of the Canada Commercial Corporation; engaged the Ghana-Canada Parliamentary Caucus, in matters of mutual interest; commissioned the refurbished Chancery Building in Ottawa; and met with the Ghanaian community in Canada.

After his four day official visit to Canada was over, President Mills departed for the United States on the 22nd of November 2011, and once again Ghanaians were not privy to his itinerary till he allegedly met the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, on the 2nd of December 2011; a gap of 10 days unaccounted for.

On Monday, 5th December 2011, Koku Anyidoho in an interview with Radio Gold stated that President Mills has begun his two week leave, starting on Monday, to ostensibly rest his bones.

Going by what Koku says, President Mills is expected to complete his leave on the 19th of December 2011 without his wife, just as he did in August 2010 when he went away for two weeks “to reflect on his performances and find ways of addressing the shortfalls in the implementation of the ‘Better Ghana’ agenda”.

This is his second ‘holiday’ in a row that he has chosen to stay in the United States of America. It also comes as a coincidence that the best hospitals for ear, nose and throat cancer in the world are all situated in the US.