The Editor of the Insightnewspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr has descended on ministers of state who have been following President John Dramani Mahama on his ‘Accounting to the People tour’ describing it as a waste of time, resources and needless.
According to Mr Pratt, the ministers as political heads should work by providing direction for their various ministries and should not be following the president like a “duck and its ducklings” on the regional tours the president was undertaking. He said regional tours by nature was not bad for ministers to undertake but when they wait till the President was going round to follow him, then there was something wrong.
Speaking on Atinka FM Monday morning as a studio panelist, Mr Pratt said ministers who even report for work at 8am and close at 11pm and then turn round to boast that they were hardworking should be reminded that they are just to provide political direction for the staff to work.
According to him, “it may be reasonable once in a while to ask say the Minister of Education to follow him [President] to respond to questions or the specific nature of what he is going to do in a particular area.
“For example if he is going to the Eastern corridor area it may be necessary for him to go with the roads minister and that can be understandable. But when everybody is following him the President should be able to tell them to 'get back and work'”, Mr Pratt noted.
The ace journalist said it was unnecessary for the various ministers to be following him up.
“This practice where all the ministers abandon their offices and follow the President on the tour must stop. It is needless and I am against it. This one ‘logo logo’ line of everybody following the president is a waste of time. While the president is going round, others could be elsewhere explaining government policies,” he said.
Several ministers are seen accompanying the President as he visits various regions to commission and showcase the various projects his government has undertaken since assuming office.
He has so far visited the Western, Central and Eastern regions and scheduled to visit the Volta region Tuesday for three days.
Although the government has explained that the ‘Accounting to the People’ tour is not meant for political campaign, the President, nonetheless, is using it to establish the fact that his government has done enough to deserve a second four-year term.
He has touted his achievements in infrastructure projects and other initiatives, backing his claim with evidence.
Source: Daily Graphic
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