The transitional period of President Atta Mills government continues. On Thursday he gave his first State of the Nation Address and among the various announcements made was the revocation of the appointments of every single local authority chief executive in Ghana – all 140 plus of them. These are political appointments and therefore every one of them, regardless of the political loyalties of the residents of their districts, belongs to the ruling party. The NPP chief executives must therefore be replaced with NDC ones.
In fairness, it was an announcement expected much sooner. The President’s failure to oust the NPP chief executives on day one had provoked the first outburst of dissatisfaction from former President Rawlings. In 2001, President Kufuor had sent the then NDC chief executives packing immediately and Rawlings expected the same treatment for their successors. It was left to a government spokesperson to state that clearly the NDC had failed to explain fully to Rawlings and others why it had not been appropriate to dismiss the chief executives sooner. The NPP chief executives stayed on in a kind of limbo for more than six weeks. There will now be a period without chief executives when the newly appointed regional ministers are expected to be held responsible for the authorities. No doubt, they will work closely with the co-ordinating directors, the most senior civil servant in each authority.
This means the end of the road for the Honorable Nana Adjei Boateng as Municipal Chief Executive of the New Juaben Municipal Assembly. Notionally he was my boss during my initial placement in Koforidua. An imposing figure, particularly when dressed in one of his traditional smocks, Nana has the gift of being able to talk off the cuff to any group of people on any subject at a moment’s notice. He came to the local launch of the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership. ‘So Richard,what’s all this about?’, ‘Er, helping cocoa farmers in deprived communities’ and he was off for ten minutes on the issues facing cocoa farmers with conclusions not dissimilar to the ones which Cadbury’s research had uncovered. I have seen him address everyone from meetings on inclusivity in education, to presentations on Farmers’ Day, to turf cutting for school extensions, to passing out parades for the local disaster recovery team. The most alarming was when he suddenly appeared as guest of honour at the local rotary club a.g.m. It’s a long story as to what I was doing there, but I think he took great relish in ensuring that I took part in the dance interlude.
There was usually a sting in the tale to any of his ad hoc speeches. They would usually contain some kind of reprimand to the group concerned. This was probably a throw back to his previous career in teaching, but it meant that nobody was immune from a quick telling off whether it be the municipal HIV/AIDS working group – ‘we need more commitment from you, if we are going to do something about having the highest prevalent rate of HIV infection in the country,’ or the local umbrella group for organisations for persons with disabilities – ‘you’re not going to get anywhere if you don’t work together.’ His views on the evils of discarded water sachet bags are well documented.
He would arrive at every appointment, however close to the assembly, in his chauffeur driven, freshly polished black 4WD with smoked glass windows. You could never tell if he was in it or not, but whenever he saw me at the Assembly, he would always say he had spotted me recently on some street corner or another.
Had the NPP won the election, Nana would have been assured some worthwhile kind of promotion. As it is I’m not sure what will happen to him next, but at least he won’t be watching me through the smoked glass windows.
In fairness, it was an announcement expected much sooner. The President’s failure to oust the NPP chief executives on day one had provoked the first outburst of dissatisfaction from former President Rawlings. In 2001, President Kufuor had sent the then NDC chief executives packing immediately and Rawlings expected the same treatment for their successors. It was left to a government spokesperson to state that clearly the NDC had failed to explain fully to Rawlings and others why it had not been appropriate to dismiss the chief executives sooner. The NPP chief executives stayed on in a kind of limbo for more than six weeks. There will now be a period without chief executives when the newly appointed regional ministers are expected to be held responsible for the authorities. No doubt, they will work closely with the co-ordinating directors, the most senior civil servant in each authority.
This means the end of the road for the Honorable Nana Adjei Boateng as Municipal Chief Executive of the New Juaben Municipal Assembly. Notionally he was my boss during my initial placement in Koforidua. An imposing figure, particularly when dressed in one of his traditional smocks, Nana has the gift of being able to talk off the cuff to any group of people on any subject at a moment’s notice. He came to the local launch of the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership. ‘So Richard,what’s all this about?’, ‘Er, helping cocoa farmers in deprived communities’ and he was off for ten minutes on the issues facing cocoa farmers with conclusions not dissimilar to the ones which Cadbury’s research had uncovered. I have seen him address everyone from meetings on inclusivity in education, to presentations on Farmers’ Day, to turf cutting for school extensions, to passing out parades for the local disaster recovery team. The most alarming was when he suddenly appeared as guest of honour at the local rotary club a.g.m. It’s a long story as to what I was doing there, but I think he took great relish in ensuring that I took part in the dance interlude.
There was usually a sting in the tale to any of his ad hoc speeches. They would usually contain some kind of reprimand to the group concerned. This was probably a throw back to his previous career in teaching, but it meant that nobody was immune from a quick telling off whether it be the municipal HIV/AIDS working group – ‘we need more commitment from you, if we are going to do something about having the highest prevalent rate of HIV infection in the country,’ or the local umbrella group for organisations for persons with disabilities – ‘you’re not going to get anywhere if you don’t work together.’ His views on the evils of discarded water sachet bags are well documented.
He would arrive at every appointment, however close to the assembly, in his chauffeur driven, freshly polished black 4WD with smoked glass windows. You could never tell if he was in it or not, but whenever he saw me at the Assembly, he would always say he had spotted me recently on some street corner or another.
Had the NPP won the election, Nana would have been assured some worthwhile kind of promotion. As it is I’m not sure what will happen to him next, but at least he won’t be watching me through the smoked glass windows.
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