Few would disagree that the our President, John Dramani Mahama is a good man with genuine intentions. However, we all wonder why he seems quite disoriented and unable to inspire members of his own government and the nation to action around specific party goals. A number of factors may help explain this, but Ill focus on two in this article. Ill also draw on Ex-President Kuffours political strategy as a point of reference to make a case for how the president can turn the nations fortune (and his fortune) around. It is easily observed that President Mahamas administration is not organized around any identifiable policy action, apart from the vague Better Ghana Agenda. Put differently, the President is trying to do everything at the same, and thus, unable to do any of them particularly well. The infamous parliamentary renovation project, which went contrary to the Presidents own directive for patronizing made-in-Ghana products, is a case in point. The Presidents MPs are the majority in parliament, so why did they blatantly defy his call, which ironically, was made in the same parliament just months ago? The answer may lie in the fact that the President’s political appointees and parliamentarians know that the he is a nice, soft, and easy-going fellow. He is trusting and cracks the whip rarely, a typical laissez-faire style of leadership that became associated with the late Ex-President Mills. These qualities appeal to the Ghanaian moral sentiment, but they are ultimately ineffective in the notoriously rugged and bumpy political terrain of Ghana. This is where the President and his party can learn from Ex-President Kuffour and the NPP from 2001-2009. Kuffour went past the equally vague Positive Change campaign mantra to organize his entire administration around very specific and ambitious goals. He then made intentional effort to ensure buy-in from his political appointees, Ghanaians, and development partners. Thus, he was able to mobilize and energize the entire nation toward the achievement of specific goals, among many others. These are: a) Poverty reduction (cocoa sector revamp, National Health Insurance Scheme etc.) b) Zero-tolerance for corruption and c) Private sector growth Granted, Kuffour scored poorly on point b (corruption), but he performed remarkably on points a and c. Under his leadership, Ghana became the first sub-Saharan African nation to cut in half the proportion of its people i) suffering from hunger and ii) living on less than a dollar a day. Poverty rate dropped from 51.7% in 1991 to 26.5% in 2008. Hunger was slashed from 34% in 1990 down to 9% in 2004 (WFP, 2011). For these achievements, he won the coveted World Food Price Award in 2011. Foreign Direct Investment was at all-time high; from the low 1.68 point in 2001 to 9.52 point by 2008 (WB, 2010). These major gains revitalized the local economy and generated revenues in taxes that went into major infrastructure developments. Additionally, Ex-President Kuffour’s appointees were seasoned and accomplished individuals. It came as no surprise that some of his ministers, including Dr. Duffour, the late Bah Wiredu and Osafo Marfo, were recognized variously as best performers in Africa. Besides, Kuffour was not afraid to sidestep people in his own administration to appoint Paa Kwesi Nduom, as Minister for Public Sector Reform, Energy Minister, and Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission. To Kuffours credit, Nduom performed exceedingly well, earning the accolade, “Adwumawura.” At this point, it is obvious what the President needs to do in order to turn things around in the country, but I’ll go ahead and list four points: 1. Narrow focus to few but critical strategic goals and attempt them with excellence (e.g. corruption, energy supply etc) 2. Intensively market this vision to his party, Ghanaians, and development partners and rally all of them around a common cause 3. Appoint the best people who share similar vision into key positions (Spio-Garbrah’s appointment is a step in the direction) 4. Hire an independent private company to develop an open, performance appraisal system for all ministers; let the company monitor progress and then report periodically to you. Consistently fire non-performers and reward performers. This way, the president can still enjoy his “nice guy” status without compromising on his grand vision. H Kwasi, Hosanna,Dela, Stan, Edudzi, Komla, Jacques B., Anor, Loveson, Bright, Godwin, Justice, Kwame Agoogi, Kwame Sarpong, Kwadwo, Alexis Kwame, Kwamena Essilfie, Kow Essuman, Kofi B, Shaka, Occupier Nana, Marcia, Atseo-me, Ekua, Papa, Kwame, Kwame Boafo, Kwame Gyan, Gabby Asare, Nana, Kojo Anan, Franklin, Selorm, Kofi Blankson, Lloyd, Sly Kwame, Vitus, Theo, Sam Dzata, Penelope S., Emmanuel K., David, Kwame.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 22:05:34 +0000
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