Open Letter To President John Attah Mills

Dear Mr. President,

I would like to start by congratulating your government on the prudent management of the nation’s economy. Your administration has created jobs; instituted better social policies; maintained a budget deficit of 4.5 per cent of projected GDP; intensified your commitment to fighting narcotic drug trafficking and improved Ghana’s credit history amongst other successes in spite of the very bad economic situation you inherited.

Despite the substantial debt relief from Ghana’s bilateral and multilateral partners, the previous government left behind a public debt of US$8,073.3 million by the end of December 2008. The NDC government has been able to reduce Ghana’s stock of public debt from US$ 8,073.3 million to US$7.841.3 million as at the end of June 2009. Your government had had to recently make a request to parliament for additional budget support because you had uncovered “some arrears and other outstanding commitments” by the previous government that hitherto were hidden from you.

It may have been nearly a year now since the opposition New Patriotic Party was booted out of office, your government of the National Democratic Congress and working families in Ghana are facing the nemesis of the last eight years and it may take a little longer to clear the mess. President John Kufour and his team created an illusion of financial strength that was not there and this aggravated and resulted in your request for GHC252.8 million to shore up the 2009 budget. Your Excellency, Ghanaians have become very discerning in recent times. Electorates are asking very important questions about what government does with tax payers’ money. It has therefore Become very critical to address what communication strategy works, why it is working, what doesn’t work and why? It also pays to recognise the complex political undermining of government’s positive efforts.

Every objective observer of our politics knows that one of the reasons why the New Patriotic Party lost power is sleaze, yet the National Democratic Congress under your leadership is the one receiving flak (even when you are doing so well).

Under your stewardship, the country’s economy is springing back to life in spite of the burdensome debt left behind by Kufour led NPP. Your government is fighting crime and helping the people of Ghana get jobs.

The opponents of the NDC and their allies in the media have a strong political motivation to scuttle your message and they would use the same trope about things being slow and ineffective until the NDC revises its communications strategy. A recent effort by the Deputy Information Minister, Samuel O. Ablakwa to inform Ghanaians about government success stories was distorted by a very large section of the media and described as “self praising.” This is the kind of bias your government is up against.

The NDC cannot afford to let itself be wrongfully accused of not moving faster. The government’s failure to clearly and unequivocally let Ghanaians know what mess the NPP left the country in and how difficult it has made your work may hurt the party in the future.

Recent estimates by the Non Formal Education Programme, show illiteracy rate in Ghana at an estimated 38.3 per cent. What this figure means is that there are still large numbers of people who would buy into the lies and deceit being peddled by your political opponents.

According to the Right Honourable Finance Minister, Dr. Kwabena Duffour, “provisional Data for the first half of the year indicate that both revenue and expenditure were below their budget targets” even though this government had collected more revenue (17.2 per cent higher in domestic tax; 29.6 per cent increase in direct taxes; 8.9 per cent higher than the outturn for 2008 in indirect taxes; 24.6 per cent higher than what the NPP recorded over the same period in 2008 as VAT and a higher non tax revenue as compared to what the NPP raised over the same period) than the NPP over the same period in 2008.

We may have in place various types of revenue reforms to improve tax administration procedures; the government cannot ignore the fact that it needs the people to honour their tax obligation. Your Excellency, the NDC cannot get the people on board if they (the people) are falling for the opposition threadbare argument that government is slow and doing very little for them.

The Right Honourable Majority Leader Alban Bagbin is reported to have called for a reshuffle of your cabinet; I do not know if it would entirely solve the NDC’s ineffective communication problem where its major opponent the NPP is acting as if they know how to run a country better.

I would like to however draw Your Excellency’s attention to a statement I made in the tenth paragraph of this letter that the NDC “cannot allow itself to be wrongfully accused of” moving at a slower pace.

The NDC is up against a tenacious enemy; our duty is to get the people with us. We do not want disaffection and anger; we need the people of Ghana with us and we can do that by letting them know what good things we have done, our shortcomings and what we want to do.

I thank you and wish you the best.

Mohammed Mubarak aka Ras Mubarak.

mmubarak79@yahoo.com +233 24 4478267