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Opinions of Monday, 24 February 2014

Columnist: Eric O.A.A

Preview of Nations address by President Mahama

The president of the Republic is expected to communicate the status of Ghana to all citizens through the State of the Nations Address next week Tuesday.

As a well meaning citizen of this great nation, I want to do my own preview of what is expected of him; as we have often observed him do in his talkative presidency witnessed the last 18 months of his free fall talking government.

Frankly, I don’t think this president will have any forward looking address next week other than frivolous engagement of the entire nation on the same old issues of Economy, Security, Education and Health.

I know the biggest nightmare of this inept Mahama ‘talkmatrick’ government is the unprecedented “manna” like the fall of the Ghanaian cedi. I know he will try to use his pampered title of been a Communication guru to hoodwink Ghanaians of his government ability to arrest the situation. Unfortunately for him, even a first year SHS student have awakened to the fact that, when you unnecessarily dish out hard cash to undeserving cronies in the name of judgment debts, GYEEDA, Suba etc, obviously the cedi will suffer.

The interventions of the government through BoG are result less, myopic and draconian that it will bear no fruit to this bizarre economic situation we find ourselves under NDC governance. Indeed this is not as a result of any global economic down turn as some spin doctors of the government wants us to believe. If that is so, why didn’t we see this drastic fall of our currency in 2007, when almost all economic giants went down with an up surging crude price? The free fall of the cedi is nothing but the recklessness of Mahama 4-months continuation of Prof Mills’s government, the abuse of office through naked dissipation of the tax payers’ money in 2012 elections. In fact, the president will try to instill some confidence in our development partners, donors, investors, but that will not yield us any good results because they know all the measures of the government is inconsequential to the issue at hand.

Again, he will try to allay the fears of our people on a number of some wicked demolition exercises going on and his commitment to look into it. On this regard too, all he will say, will be mere rhetoric as he seem not to know what is actually happening as far as the nations state of security is concern. Only days back his national security coordinator exposed the president, by his comment that he doesn’t need any permit to perform his duties. But we know the president is the Commander in Chief of the Arm Forces. This definitely shows how ineffective the president has been on the happenings in the country.

As for education, the president will have nothing to say, because the promises made in his “edey be k3k3” manifesto to build 50 new SHS across the country each year has proved to be another of NDC’s many unfulfilled promises since the days of Rawlings. As for the quality education they promised the least said about it the better.

On the matter of health, the president and his government have failed gargantuanly at all levels from NHIS, CHIPS compound constructions, to the beating up of Doctors and Nurses at KATH. Healthcare is increasingly becoming a preserve of affluence and “cash & carry” is gradually showing its ugly face again!!! The president will intelligently dodge issues of corruption, judiciary, incoherence policies that has no bearing on national development, unemployment, robbery, energy, water, agriculture and other very sensitive matters that affect the ordinary Ghanaian.

I will be extremely shocked and surprised if, the president will have anything positive or convincing to tell us, because one of his own appointees Dr. Tony Aidoo has boldly told the world of this government’s failure and asked the government to apologize to the nation of its inability to fulfill the numerous promises. In all fairness to Ghanaians, the president must be bold and precise by not shying away from telling us, how precarious the nation’s state has been under his watch.

The president, obviously will be met in Parliament with the over growing lexicon”Tweaaaaaaaaaa” even though the speaker of Parliament has smartly tried to band it.

Thank you.

By: Political Activist

anneric2009@gmail.com