Open Letter To President John Mahama

Dear Sir,

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS

I present to you warmth greetings from the teeming Ghanaian Youth who have been the strength of your government’s support in this country - accept our compliments. Mr. President, I also wish to congratulate you on your State of the Nation Address to the Parliament of Ghana.

Sir, a section of the Ghanaian people (mainly opposition elements) had criticized your postponement of this address from Thursday 20th February, 2014 to Tuesday 25th February, 2014. .

They made Ghanaians to believe that you postponed the address for a week because you had nothing to tell your people.

They said you were running away from your constitutional duties. They even said there were a lot of pressure on your government and that you had nothing to tell the people’s representatives.

On the contrary Sir, your appearance, posture and delivery in Parliament was superb – in fact, I was wowed! You appeared relaxed, not intimidated, focused and above all on top of your delivery.

Before your address Sir, Ghanaians have been inundated with noise of huge public debts incurred by your administration with the opposition questioning how monies borrowed by your government have been utilized.

Your Excellency, I say without any shred of doubt that you proved your detractors wrong with your address. You clearly demonstrated that all monies borrowed by your government have been practically utilized to the benefit of the Ghanaian people.

On sports infrastructure and youth development, you mentioned the construction of the Cape Coast Sports stadium which commenced in June last year. You also indicated your readiness to launch the ten million Ghana Cedi (GHC10m) Youth Enterprise Support (YES) initiatives to provide opportunities for innovation and creation of decent jobs by the youth of Ghana next week Tuesday. The Youth of Ghana is grateful to you and your government Sir.

I was particularly astonished when I heard you say that government has supplied modern equipments and rehabilitated sections of the Korle bu Teaching Hospital worth GHC276million in 2013. This expenditure you said covered the restoration of the pediatrics theatre, which had been closed for more than 8 years, intensive care and baby units, neonatal, mammography centre as well as the laundry and kitchen.

Your Excellency, your delivery on the roads sector alone is enough to put your critics to shame. It was exceedingly revealing to note the huge investments your government has put in our road sector to the extent that the 147km Fufulso – Sawla road which had never seen construction predating Ghana’s independence is in steady progress.

Sir, seeing they say is believing – I travelled to the Builsa Districts of the Upper East Region from Accra just last week where I saw and used the newly constructed Nsawam by-pass, Nkawkaw by-pass, Techiman-Kintampo and the Buipe-Tamale; all first class roads.

JM, many were those who disagreed with your government’s withdrawal of huge subsidies on fuel and utilities and the introduction of the automatic adjustment pricing policy. It is now clear that your decision has paid off because these monies which hitherto would have gone into the payment of huge subsidies has been effectively transferred to the provision of infrastructure for economic growth.

Mr. President, at a time that utility hikes, fuel price increases and many economic challenges appear to walk the nation’s psyche towards despondency fueled by a section of the opposition media to paint a gloomy picture in perpetuity, you surfaced with fashionable enigma.

Your announcement to introduce PROGRESSIVELY Free Senior High School education beginning 2015/2016 academic year has warmed the heart of many Ghanaians. Surprise they say remains a vital ingredient of great leader’s presentation. You espoused a PROGRESSIVE free secondary education way back in 2008.Your voice could have won the famous “Nobel Price” for supporting free education in a tape played profusely by the opposition NPP and their appendages in their quest to viciously prove to Ghanaians that you are an apostle of free education. I recall you have told the entire world during the 2012 Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) debate that free SHS is a constitutional injunction and not a birth right for an individual but you believed that the basics such as infrastructure, teaching and learning aides among others must be set first before making it free.

But, conversely, Mr. President, much as your position on secondary education is conspicuously unambiguous, your cynics and avowed critics say your announcement to implement a PROGRESSIVELY free SHS is a STOLEN one from the pages of the “Gospel of Akuffo Addo” and his elephant family. They say it was their campaign promise ahead of the 2012 General Elections.

‘Tweaaa…’ I laugh out loud when I hear such accusations because it is only the uninitiated who does not know that there is a constitutional obligation of PROGRESSIVE introduction of free secondary education on any government of our country. Sir, you were very clear on the projected cost of this policy for the 2015/2016 academic year; it will cost GHC71,152,275. And this policy intervention will make secondary education free for Day Students whiles it will significantly reduce the cost burden on boarding students.

Again, your quest to construct 200 new Community Senior High Schools was significantly articulated in your address to Parliament.

Sir, Ghanaians will be elated to see you commissioning the construction of the first batch of the schools which will be completed within 18 months on 3rd March, 2014 as you stated.

Mr. President, I see in you a leader to be remembered even after a century of your reign. I pray for you and your government to continue on this path of success – Amen Thank you

Yours in the Service of Mother Ghana

Brogya Genfi

(A citizen of Ghana) egenfi@gmail.com