General News of Thursday, 2 October 2014

Source: Daily Guide

Mahama chased in US

President John Dramani Mahama was over the weekend chased with an assortment of placards of protests by Ghanaians resident in the United States, a source at the Ghana Embassy in Washington DC told the Daily Guide.

This was when he went to Worcester to address Ghanaian residents on the sidelines of his UN General Assembly meeting on Saturday, September 27.

Long before his arrival at the event venue, a group of concerned Ghanaians had besieged the St Spyridon Church, located at number 102 Russell Street in Worcester, Massachusetts, with a protest against harsh economic conditions in Ghana and the increasing spate of corruption in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government under his watch.

“It was very embarrassing to see the president being smuggled through the back door by his security details to avoid public humiliation,” the source disclosed.

Upon arrival, President Mahama was whisked away by his security details and protocol officers to avoid being hooted by the protesters who wielded placards with various inscriptions, some of which read, “Ghana is sinking under your leadership” “Stop corruption in Ghana”, “Mahama, declare your assets,” “Prosecute your corrupt friends, Mr. DJ!”

Other placards read, “Stop the create, loot and share schemes,” “Afriyie-Ankrah must be jailed,” “When is the dumsor going to end?” and “Ghana is crying for a visionary Leader.”

Feeling despised and angry at the President’s decision to avoid them, the demonstrators, who were clad in black and red apparel, were said to have marched around the venue for the event with their placards.

The well-attended event was planned by the Ghana Embassy in Washington DC to afford the president the opportunity to explain some of his policies to the Ghanaian residents there and to listen to the concerns at first hand.

One of the organizers of the demonstration, Amoako Mensah, who confirmed the incident to 'Daily Guide' from his base in the US, described President Mahama's action as "an act of cowardice unbecoming of a leader of a sovereign state".

Amoako Mensah said he was so appalled to find out later that President Mahama deliberately avoided his own countrymen and women who had gathered at the venue to make their concerns known to him.

He, therefore, called on Ghanaians to rise up and take their country back.

An obviously unhappy Amoako Mensah also urged Ghanaians to re-examine the current economic and infrastructural state of the country to enable them to make informed and better electoral choices in the 2016 general elections.