Former Trade and Industry Minister, Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah has expressed his disappointment in President Akufo-Addo, Vice President Dr Bawumia and senior government appointees for not attending the late Prof. John Evans Atta Mills’ fifth-anniversary memorial and wreath-laying ceremony.

The event which was held at the Asomdwoe Park on Monday 24th July 2017 was attended by family members, members of the National Democratic Congress and the clergy.

The former minister said Prof. Mills made very good contributions to the nation and as such deserved more from the government.

“We are disturbed by the fact that even at this function which is a state function … the government of the day, for a former president, chose not to be represented in any senior level.”

He was of the view that the Vice President or Chief of Staff, as well as several ministers, could have attended the function even if the President was busy, the Vice President, Chief of Staff and several ministers could have attended the function in his place but none of them did which was sad.

He said “this government has not found it fit to be represented at the fifth-anniversary celebration of the death of a former president but all presidents will die sooner or later. So are we saying that when other presidents die because they belong to other parties the rest of the nation should abandon them? I don’t think this is the kind of practice we want to establish”.

Dr Spio-Garbrah also expressed his displeasure with the rate at which government is dismissing people from their office even when they were not politically appointed into their positions.

He said, “when you’re president and you come into office, you don’t look for those you think are your political opponents and start dismissing them as it's taking place right now at all levels of the public service even below the political appointee level …”.

He called on the President and the leadership of government to “revise their practices and think about Ghana first, not political party first”.