President Mahama’s annual leave with his family to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the Christmas celebration has elicited criticism from some Ghanaians.

They have taken to the social media to slate the president for taking the trip in the wake of the current economic hardship.

The latest to join the bandwagon is an activist of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Asante Yeboah, who has accused the President of setting a bad example as a father of the nation.

President John Dramani Mahama and his family, on Monday December 23, 2013, took a short annual leave for the UAE for the Christmas Holidays. A release from the Office of the President said, in his absence, Vice President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur would act as president.

Taking into account the economic implication of the president’s trip, the NPP communicator averred in an interview with Peacefmonline.com that the first family’s Christmas trip will bring nothing of worth to the country, except to rather deepen the economic woes of the country.

“…we should ask ourselves, is it the right example the president is setting for us to emulate? He has been an insensitive and a bad father who will leave his people to their fate in times of trouble during the Christmas period without any care in the world how his children will celebrate the festivities…..no food, water and electricity and he doesn’t want to share the moment of hardship with us,” he pontificated.

To him, the president’s trip to the UAE simply shows the country lacks holiday resorts and an indictment on the tourism industry, and further seems to suggest to those who can afford the luxury to travel outside to follow suit in the face of pressure.