SUGGESTIONS TO HIS EXCELLENCY, PRESIDENT JOHN EVANS ATTA MILLS DURING HIS MAIDEN VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES AS THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA DURING THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER, 2009.

BY: ATO ESSEL, SECRETARY, NDC – MASSACHUSETTS, USA.

Your Excellency, Honorable Ministers of State, Distinguished guests, fellow Akatamansonians. I thank you so very much for given me the honor and the privilege to meet with you. I also thank you for given me the opportunity to contribute to the discussion for a better Ghana. I hereby make the following submissions for your kind consideration and necessary action.
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATION, PRESS SECRETARY, AND SPOKESPERSON:
In most western democracies, especially in the United States, Presidential Spokespersons usually double as Press Secretaries, or name them Communication Directors. For the purposes of consistency and avoidance of contradictions on issues bordering on presidential pronouncements, I humbly wish to suggest that you realign the communication directorate, and the strategic communications at the castle to operate directly under the supervision of the Presidential Spokesperson or the Press Secretary. Under the current arrangement, there is the high tendency for one group to assume that the other is acting on an issue, when in fact nobody is actually acting. There have been instances of contradictions and inconsistencies among these groups. Incorporating them into one body will increase efficiency and enhance rapid response to issues of national importance, thereby minimizing the probability for the public to speculate about executive initiatives and activities.
GRASSROOTS PARTICIPATION OF GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC INTERACTIONS:
It is said that, in the absence of timely factual and truthful presentations, attempts are made by others with hidden agenda to fill the void with sugar-coated falsehood. And over time, credence is given to such falsehoods. The good thing however, is that truth shall always prevail over falsehood no matter how long it takes, but often times, delayed truth does not come out without a price.
I therefore wish to humbly suggest to your Excellency to consider the urgent need to reinvigorate the Communications and Public Relations Departments of our party, (the NDC) right from the national headquarters in Accra to the constituency levels as well as all the overseas branches so as to enable them (the leaders) to aggressively compliment the efforts of government with its information dissemination and public engagements. In short, I wish to suggest that our party leadership at the national, regional and constituency levels should be sufficiently resourced and oriented about government policies and projects to enable them effectively engage the masses and explain government initiatives. At the same time, they will be in a better shape to receive and collate feed backs from the grassroots for the information of government. This will go a long way to minimize if not eliminate entirely the incidence of misinformation and fabrications by our political opponents.
MULTI-DISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO AWARENESS CREATION:
There is the urgent need for all NDC party functionaries to be incorporated in government information dissemination and awareness creation. The late Abraham Maslow, a distinguished American Psychologist once stated that, “if your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail”. In the highly competitive political environment in which we operate as a government and mindful of the fact that we shall go back to the polls in less than four years to renew our political mandate , we need to employ every available tool at our disposal to meet the expectations, and the aspirations of the electorate. In retrospect, I think that we (the NDC) could have done a lot better in terms of information dissemination, awareness creation and public sensitization prior to the petroleum price increases early this year. I also think that the public need to be made sufficiently aware and clear about the state of the economy as we inherited in January. Especially, details of the financial waste and malfeasance that characterized the previous administration’s stewardship (over costing of contracts and other public procurements).
DE-MYSTIFYING THE BUREAU OF NATIONAL INVESTIGATIONS (BNI):
I also wish to humbly suggest that a lot more public awareness need to be created about the indispensable role of the BNI in our quest for a transparent, accountable, and responsible public service in Ghana. Again, the constitutional mandates of the BNI as a state investigative body, which is authorized to investigate and prosecute public officials who are found culpable of criminal offences need to be made abundantly clear to the general public. This will also help to reduce several incidences of arrogance, legal restraints, and defiance against the BNI of late.
INFROMATION SHARING AND THE SNOWBALL EFFECTS:
So far, the Minister of Information and her Deputies are doing well. However, their efforts need to be complimented by other members of the executive branch. For instance, whenever they have information for public consumption, be it press statement or a rejoinder, they can circulate the same message to all sector Ministers, Regional Ministers, Metropolitan and District Chief Executives, all NDC regional and constituency executives, as well as NDC Members of Parliament. This will help eliminate inconsistencies in our information dissemination and also help give clear and concise messages at all times.
FROM SODOM AND GOMORRAH TO “I CARE FOR YOU” HOUSING PROJECT:
Sodom and Gomorrah present a unique opportunity for the NDC government to leave a lasting legacy for the Ghanaian working masses in contrast with the so-called presidential palace that was built by the previous administration. It is regrettable to note that the name Sodom and Gomorrah invokes unpleasant biblical truth which incurred the displeasure of the almighty God. And no peace-loving and progressive nation would want to reenact or revisit the atrocities, and the consequences which are synonymous with the name. Ghana deserves better than Sodom and Gomorrah. This is our time to change this unfortunate phenomenon for a better Ghana.
In this respect, I suggest that government should utilize the land as a matter of priority for the construction of multiple stories, low-cost gated community houses, and rent them out to Ghanaian working class citizens. The government shall then show case it as a model of a peaceful, lovely, and law abiding community and not Sodom and Gomorrah. Politically, we can even name the place “I Care for You Housing Project” or “Ghanamanmba Asomdwoefo Fie”. THE ECONOMY AS A MATTER OF PRIORITY:
Your Excellency, it is said that politics and economics are powerful social forces, intertwined like the strands of a DNA double helix. Economic conditions are the best single predictor of voters’ evaluation of how a President is doing his or her job. There is therefore no doubt that economic conditions profoundly affect voters’ electoral decisions, and that the connection between economic conditions and voting is real. Therefore, I humbly wish to suggest that among all other competing demands, kindly make the Ghanaian economy one of your very top priorities.
ALL HANDS ON DECK:
Your Excellency, I humbly wish to make a passionate appeal to you to appoint more loyal and qualified NDC party members, especially those of us in the Diaspora to serve in your government because there is a lot we can offer our party and mother Ghana. Also, that is another sure and direct way of transferring some, if not all, of the good ideas, the expertise and the innovations we have acquired here back home to help build a better Ghana for all. Your Excellency, once again, I thank you for the opportunity given me. You are warmly welcome, to the United States of America.