Is President Mills Desperate and not in control?

Last week marked the second anniversary of the Mills-Mahama administration. There is a cloud of uncertainty with regards to the success of his Better Ghana Agenda. However, one thing is certain and clear, Ghanaians are increasingly becoming frustrated and feel hoodwinked, conned, tricked and let’s face it, fooled for voting them into power. The level of frustration is so high that even Rawlings who hand-picked Mills to lead the NDC is as well frustrated given the level of corruption and poor performance of the NDC’s government.

Rawlings and his supporters within the NDC are so frustrated that, as a last measure to save the NDC’s government from losing the general elections in 2012, they are seriously agitating for the President to be replaced. Whiles Ghanaians share in their frustration for the poor performance of the Mills-Mahama administration, Ghanaians do not share their solution. Replacing Mills will not change the fortunes of the NDC in 2012 and the economic development Ghanaians seek. The Ghanaian antidote is to replace the Mills-Mahama led administration in 2012, an option that stares the NDC in the face with desperation. After all, the poor performance of president Mills is a reflection of the incompetent team he has put together and indeed the entire NDC.

President Mills is desperate and seems lost in the avalanche of promises he made to Ghanaians before being elected in the midst of his poor performance so far. The level of inaction and non-performance is so high in the government that, the president in his desperation has declared 2012 as an action year while NDC supporters are on constant rioting riots in the face of their frustration in the performance of their government. Impunity is the order of the day and corruption is uncontrollable.

Indeed, President Mills and his cohorts used vile propaganda to raise the expectations of the Ghanaian above the novel performance of the NPP government. It is unsurprising there seems to be general regret on the lips of Ghanaians having fallen to the NDC’s bait in the face of the harsh economic situation fuelled by the government’s poor performance and inaction.

It’s laughable the president’s first action in the ‘action year’ is to increase fuel price to an unprecedented level. The petroleum price increment is at variance with the president’s position during the electioneering campaign. Indeed, the current crude oil price on the World market does not warrant the increment. The increased component of the TOR debt recovery tax put the president in an unprincipled position given the passion he used to campaign against the introduction of the tax by NPP. It’s dishonest for President Mills to justify the increment with the TOR debt and the need for government to stop subsiding fuel prices. President Mills, when did you realize government’s subsidies to be bad? What was your promise with the National Health Insurance Scheme’s premium? When are you going to abolish the premium payments? Are you trying to rob Peter to pay Paul? It seems by the unprecedented increment in the price of fuel, the president will use the windfall to pay for the NHIS somewhere in the future when the general elections is nearer in redemption of his failed promise.

Yet another desperate move by the President is the reshuffle of ministers. The reshuffle seems to buttress and shove the point that the president is in control contrary to the point that he is not in control. Rawlings stresses the later by explaining that the president is not on top of his government and that some vital appointments are made at his blind side. The reshuffle is just like changing musical chairs as noted by Jake. The declaration of the year action as ‘action year’ is a non-starter, because by just changing the designation of the team that has not been able to perform over the last two years would not change anything. Ghanaians should brace themselves for two more years of hardships due to the inaction and poor performance of the NDC led by the professor.

Awuah Boadu Ayeboafo, Tepa-Ashanti