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| President Akufo Addo |
At the Flagstaff House [the
seat of government], in the Greater Accra region, the President invited
journalists to come listen to him tell Ghanaians what he has achieved so far after
six months in office.
On Tuesday, July 18,
2017 at exactly 12:30pm, the President’s guests were seated; so was the larger
populace, outside the Flagstaff House, either glued to their television or
radio sets waiting to hear the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces
speak.
Touching on almost all
sectors of the economy, President Akufo Addo touted his government’s achievements.
He noted he has restored the teachers and nursing trainees’ allowances which
will take effect at the beginning of the 2017/18 academic year.
One thing that got me
admiring His Excellency was his frankness on issues. Questions posed to him
that were beyond his wits, he directed to his Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu
Bawumia, and others.
On security, the President
was spot on as he admitted that incidents of the Delta Forces and Invisible
Forces (vigilante groups within the New Patriotic Party) have brought the
government into disrepute.
Social media was
flooded with score cards on who asked the most intelligent question as
journalists took turns to do so.
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| Bernard Avle of Citi FM asking a question |
For instance, Citi FM’s
Bernard Avle, Joy FM’s Evans Mensah and Ghana Broadcasting Corporation’s Abdul
Hayi Momeen were highly praised. On the flip side, Abusua FM’s Kwame Adinkra
was not spared the rod of ridicule. Social media commentators have described
his question to the President on road infrastructure in Kumasi (Ashanti region)
as that of a typical serial caller on radio.
Personally, I think Kwame
Adinkra was too bias in his question. He implicitly implied that the former
President, John Dramani Mahama’s administration did nothing for Kumasi.
As if his politically
bias question wasn’t enough, he went about needlessly praising the President on
how nice the African print he wore was. For Heaven’s sake, this is the
president of the nation and no one expects him wear tattered shirts!!!
I was not present at President
Akufo Addo’s media encounter so I did not get the opportunity to ask my
question. However, if I did, I know by now social media would have still been
discussing me. Yes!
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| The writer, Solomon Mensah |
I would have been the
talk of town. I would have, however, pardoned whoever would call me stupid or
insane. Why? This is because I would have asked the simplest of questions.
“Hello Mr. President. My
name is Solomon Mensah and I work with Media General (specifically 3FM and
TV3). Could you please tell us the last time you passed through the Kwame
Nkrumah Circle Interchange, Kaneshie, Lapaz, Madina and other suburbs of the
capital city?”
Having asked this, I
would add, “If you have had a pass through these suburbs of Accra since coming
into office, did you [with all due respect] see the filth engulfing the city of
Accra? Would you say the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources you created
has been of help so far? Thank you.”
Until recently that All
Nations University students in the Eastern region launched a satellite into
space, what pertains beyond the clouds has not really been our concern. One of
our major concerns, however, has been how to battle filth.
Sadly, all the measures
the Mahama administration put in place to deal with this canker did not work
because they were themselves problems. Talk of the National Sanitation Day
where we are indirectly told to fill the gutters with rubbish and go back to
clean it at the beginning of every new month. Sickening!
When President Akufo
Addo created the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, I thought our
problems were going to be dealt with. Six months on, I will score the ministry a
lousy 1 out of 10. They have basically done nothing substantial to improve upon
our sanitation!
The biggest mistake
past and present governments have made is to entrust the Accra Metropolitan
Assembly (AMA) to spearhead the agenda of cleaning Accra. I have said on many
occasions that the AMA is more incompetent than the word itself. In fact, I
strongly believe that apart from the responsibility of drivers at the AMA,
almost all the other roles could be played by class one pupils.
Recently, the AMA
issued a statement threatening to exhume dead bodies buried illegally. Even
inmates of Pantang Hospital will not consider this as the best solution to curb
illegal burial in Accra.
Perhaps, officials of
the AMA must be sent to Sunyani, the capital of the Brong Ahafo region, on a study
tour to learn how effective and efficient things are done there. To the best of
my knowledge there is no way one can bury their dead at any cemetery in Sunyani
without approval from authorities. Why? There are security men at the gates of
the cemeteries!
Mr. President, my colleagues
asked about the number of jobs you have created and whether you have been tamed.
They were all good questions. I am much concerned about the basic things that
require no certificate but common sense to handle― sanitation. If you really have
your promise of seeing Accra become a clean city at heart, please, let the AMA
stay away from this.
The traders, for
instance, who were recently ejected from the Kwame Nkrumah Circle Interchange
are happily back to their business there. Circle, despite the facelift, has
become dirtier than before.
Mr. President, can you
enforce a by-law that will get people who litter indiscriminately pay a fine?
Can you let people be responsible for their irresponsible behaviour?
Mr. President, in this
21st century, it is a total shame that malaria is still among the
topmost diseases tormenting Ghanaians. It is a shame we still battle cholera and
other filth-related diseases.
If the war on galamsey
is yielding results, can we launch a similar war on sanitation in this country?
A healthy nation is wealthy nation. Everything starts with good health. When we
have good health, we can effectively talk about all other issues, I believe.
The writer, Solomon Mensah, is a
broadcast journalist with 3FM 92.7. Views expressed here solely remain his and
do not, in anyway, reflect his organisation’s editorial policy.
Email: nehusthan4@yahoo.com
Twitter: @Aniwaba
Instagram: @Aniwaba
