As far as opposition party members are concerned, the theme of Akufo-Addo’s first 100 days is ‘lawlessness’. But let’s have a look at the facts…
The first 100 days of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo being in office as the President of the Republic of Ghana has just elapsed. Sworn into office on Saturday, 7th of January, Monday, 17th of April made it exactly 100 days Nana Addo assumed that position of great importance.
As it is the normal routine in almost all democratic states, both the leaders and the led are usually expected to react to the achievements of the newly inaugurated administration; especially when there was a change of government, as is the case of Ghana now.
From the time Akufo-Addo’s first 100 days in office was coming to an end, the President, public office holders, stakeholders and other Ghanaians have been making comments on the new government’s successes and failures so far. Let’s take a look at some of the most striking ones.
Few days to the end of his first hundred says in office, President Nana Akufo-Addo took to his official twitter handle to count the feats he has achieved so far with the hashtag #KeepingPromises. For Nana, it was a 100 Days of Honest and Effective Leadership; and among the feats he achieved are:
Payment of $60m out of Ghana’s debt to Nigeria Gas
Below is a short video summary of the major achievements so far, as outlined by the presidency.
To mark the new government’s first 100 days of leadership, Accra-based Joy Fm organised a Multimedia Town Hall event at the new court building, the Makola Law Complex in Accra on Monday, 17th April, 2017. At the event, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia who was the keynote speaker, presented a lecture tagged “100 Days of Change”.
According to Bawumia, the government made one achievement on each of her first 100 days, with 3 extra achievements, making it 103. He made it appear to Ghanaians that the new NPP government delivered excellently, while also adding a generous ‘ntosuwou’ to their delivery!
Describing Nana Addo as a workaholic president, the VP pointed out that although they didn’t issue out 100-day promises to the people, they have been able to make significant achievements in the short while. Ranging from paid and re-profiled public debts, increased foreign reserves, to cedi appreciation; Dr. Bawumia counted one by one the phenomenal achievements the Akufo-Addo administration have recorded just in 100 days.
“From independence in 1957 to end of 2016, Ghana’s total foreign reserves was some 6 billion dollars, in less than 100 days we have increased this reserves to 8 billion dollars,” Bawumia stated among other numerous achievements.
Members of both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and other parties, stakeholders, other groups and individuals have been reacting to Akufo-Addo’s first 100 days in office, both before and after it elapsed. While some, especially NPP supporters are lauding the President’s achievements so far, others have faulted his administration’s performances; making major reference to the violent activities of vigilante groups in recent times. Let’s take a look at some of the reactions.
Despite all the negative comments flying around, Dean of Graduate Studies at the Institute of Local Government Studies, Dr Eric Oduro-Osae has commended Nana Addo’s performance in his first 100 days in office as regards his timely setup of his governing team. For him, that is a good start for the new government which is quite laudable.
Mr. Oduro-Osae also appreciated the fact that some of the NPP’s manifesto promises are featured in the 2017 budget; a move he said shows honesty on the part of the government. He concluded by saying: “all in all I think they have gotten all the governance indicators right, except for a few excesses… They are on course and some of the challenges they are faced with are normal”.
Akufo-Addo’s First 100 Days better than Mahama’s 1,642 Days – CVM
CVM has rated Akufo-Addo’s first 100 days in office excellent; giving it a 99.9% score. Citing 30 significant achievements of the new NPP government in a statement signed by the group’s president, Razak Kojo Opoku, the Ghanaian voter stated that the first 100 days of the Akufo-Addo led administration is better than the 1,642 days of the immediate past Mahama-led government.
As far as the opposition are concerned, the theme of Akufo-Addo’s first 100 days is ‘lawlessness’. All speaking to Citi News, these are what members of other parties have to say about the hiking insecurity and lawlessness in the country as a result of the attacks of NPP-affiliated groups:
“He [Nana] speaks at the State of the Nation address and assures us that the hooliganism will end, he tells us that the police have the authority to operate, but the hooliganism just escalates,” NDC’s Koku Anyidoho said. Continuing, Anyidoho said that Nana Addo has lost a great deal of the goodwill he had from Ghanaians at his inauguration, due to “gross lawlessness, brigandry, hooliganism, show of weakness, incompetence and his inability to stop the hoodlums of his [Nana’s] side.
“The famous vigilante group menace is something that this administration has failed woefully to deal with,” PNC’s General Secretary, Atik Mohammed noted.
“There are seeming levels of insecurity in the country given the activities of the vigilante groups trying to take our laws into their own hands, which is very disturbing, and has no historical precedent in our country…” Kadir Abdul Rauf, CPP’s Director of Communications stated.
Member of Parliament for the Keta Constituency, Richard Quarshigah, a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has described Akufo-Addo’s first days in office as one that is characterized by chaos and confusion, Making reference to the recent disturbing activities of NPP-affiliated groups, the NDC MP accused Nana Addo of failing to keep his promise of governing in accordance with the rule of law.
Missing State Cars and Ban on Purchase of New Gov’t Vehicles
One of the first major incidents that rocked the newly inaugurated Akufo-Addo government was the missing state cars brouhaha. After assuming office, the presidency had announced that over 200 official vehicles which are supposed to be at the service of he presidency were no where to be found. Following the ugly observation, security operatives were dispatched across the country to sniff out the vehicles. So far, only two persons- spokesperson of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Kofi Adams and popular actor John Dumelo, also an NDC activist have been intercepted on the matter.
Meanwhile, Nana Addo placed a temporary ban on purchase of government vehicles. The President ordered that no ministry, department or agency is allowed to purchase a new vehicle till further notice; insisting that everyone must make do with the available ones no matter how old or worn out they are. After all, he is using one that was bought 10 years ago. The ban according to him, forms part of his administration’s austerity measures – all geared towards cutting down waste and restoring the health of Ghana’s economy.
The issue of disturbances and attacks by NPP affiliated groups, especially those of the vigilantes is another big hurdle the new government must cross, or risk losing a great portion of her integrity both in the local and international communities. Since after the NPP were declared winners of the last general elections, some thugs in the cloak of party supporters and vigilante operatives, or whatever other names they go by, have been terrorizing the country’s residents beyond imaginations. Read more about the latest vigilante group attacks.
Another problem that is trying to outweigh the newly inaugurated NPP government is that of illegal gold mining commonly known as galamsey. The public outcry over the worsening environmental consequences of the illegal occupation has come to its loudest ever since Nana Addo became president. Constant calls mixed with harsh criticisms have continued to come to the presidency to wipe out the menace as soon as possible.
Among several other steps being taken by the government, the issuance of mining licences to small scale miners have been suspended for the meantime. According to Vice President Bawumia during his 100 Days Lecture delivery, government is planning to restructure the gold mining sector through a five year multilateral mining integrated project. The veep said the project will protect the environment, as well as to allow Ghanaians to mine in a regulated and sustainable manner.
What’s your own take on Akufo-Addo’s performance so far? Please, let’s have your views at the comment session below.
