The Independent reports that Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, the Minister of Economic Planning and Economic Cooperation, currently holidaying in the United States, has fired back at his adversaries who claim his short vacation is a subtle way of saying goodbye to the Kufuor government.

In an interview with the paper, Dr Nduom, who was traced to his vacation address in the US said "I am still committed to the job entrusted to me by the President and I will do it diligently for the improvement of lives of the Ghanaian people within the end of term of the current administration".

He disclosed that he is due in the country on Saturday to prove to his critics that he is not a coward to resign in that manner.

Perhaps, as the first in its kind for a Minister of State to publicly ask permission from his boss, the President, to grant him a few days rest, Nduom's vacation had been misconstrued in some quarters as a way of quitting government on the quiet.

An Accra private radio station fuelled the suspicion last Monday when it reported that, the Economic Planning Minister was not at post when it inquired from the Ministry of Economic Planning and Regional Cooperation.