By Richard Agobodzo

..as government headed by Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo shows the primeras signs of plagiarism..

The word plagiarism used in this context has nothing to do with the local, national and international embarrassment and disgrace the Nana Addo Akufo-Addo, the president of republic of Ghana has brought upon us

I mean, during his inaugural ceremony, 7th January 2017, at lndependence Square, sections of speech delivered by the incoming president were mysteriously lifted from inaugural 'speeches' delivered at inaugural ceremonies of US ex-presidents like JF. Kennedy, Bill Clinton and George Bush

As US is seen as 'super' country hence plagiarising part of former ex-US presidents' inaugural speeches is a sign of superiority but on the contrary his overzealous copied inaugural speech has been captured by local, national and international media and the embarrassment is gigantic

If we should break down the and try to analyze the reason why NPP which is full of professors and intellectuals couldn't write simple and powerful speech without plagiarising any speech, it will boil down to inferiority complex

I will take cue from apology offered by staffers at the presidency not to delve that much into his inaugural speech and its aftermath consequences. Pressing domestic issues of national interest needs to addressed too;

Even as l wrote to question the necessity and the role of 'council of state' in our system of government, NPP ideologist, tried to put emphasis on the function and essence of council of state, and that, as he continued, it would be political suicide to contemplate not appointing them

He vigourously tried but failed to hammer home the need and role of the members of council of state, he only stated their professional status prior to being dominated and appointed and whose responsibility it is to apoints them, which he reiterated as of the sitting president

But l was able to put up cogent argument that since the role of council of state is advisory which already is the same as presidential staffers hence there is need to review the organ which forms part of governing body of Ghana to deduce if there is need for such supportive body to enhance governance

So, the term plagiarism in this context suggests that the newly composed government of NPP headed by Nana Akufo-Addo may repeat what has become known as lack of good leadership in Ghana and the so-called change is just political rhetoric to raise expectations of voters, in other words NPP government has started with sign that they will copy from previous administrations

Even as we wait for the Nana Addo Akufo-Addo, the president of republic of Ghana to finalize things on ministerial appointment, so far, there is no telling things are going to be that different. That is to say, real change could be in the wind as rhetorics aimed at calming the nerve of Ghanaians like; 'is not easy,' 'the real state of the economy must be made known to Ghanaians' and 'be patient' are beginning to emanate from officialdom

The so-called change in form of political, economic and social reforms must be made to encourage efficiency and productivity as we strive to eliminate the lackluster unproductive approach which is reminiscent and epitome of Ghanaian, infact continental African leadership

Composition of council of state needs to be reviewed, ex-gratia though am not against it but the content could be exaggerated in some cases, so ex-gratia need to be reviewed, ministerial appointments, that is the number of ministers should be reviewed with the aim of forming agile and austere government

The structures which form foundations of economy, society, education, etc. all need to be reviewed and those that do not serve any meaningful purpose should be replaced with new one or scrapped in order to get rid of unnecessary hanger-ons and redundancy which have always hampered efficiency and productivity

So far the incoming government has started on the wrong note as continuous reverting of j flagstaff house (seat of government) to jubilee house is not only act of mediocrety but it also shows there is no inter-parliamentary, if you wish inter-party cooperation between NDC and NPP the largest political parties in Ghana

The kind of cooperation seen in other democracies when laws and decisions made irrespective of which political party is in power they do not change when the previous government is succeeded by new one

Though the decision of Nana Addo Akufo-Addo, the president of republic of Ghana, to merge both ministeries of petroleum and power is a good one, a sign that NPP will come with the reforms that Ghana urgently needs to stimulate economic growth and job creation, the announcement of senior ministerial portfolio and creation of extra region in the horizon has completely dimmed the expectations

Creation of extra region making a total of 11 and new senior ministerial portfolio will be albatross on the national purse which is already huge in hole

Lastly, though not the least, the common question among average Ghanaian is; what will economic management of this administration consist of, is it the usual borrowing that will balloon the debt and put us at mercy of neo-colonialist cum imperialist countries?

Agobodzo, Richard
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