Monday,
January 21, 2013
When the NDC decided not to field
a physically challenged candidate for one of the constituencies in Accra, it
created much furore. Some disparaging comments had it that the NDC didn’t have
room for that segment of the population. Some even threatened to punish the
party at the 2012 elections for that matter. The rest is history.
But as if stepping forward to
prove those cynics wrong, President Mahama has taken the boldest decision ever
to appoint a visually impaired personality to head a Ministry.
For the first time in Ghana’s
constitutional democratic governance, he has appointed a physically challenged
person to head a Ministry. He is in the person of Dr. Henry Seidu Daanaa who is clinically blind and has been the
head of research at the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture. The President has
elevated him to be the Minister of the re-designated Ministry of Chieftaincy
and Traditional Affairs.
What could be more illuminating
than this strategic move? It is an appointment worth celebrating. It is not
just cosmetic; it is meant to tap into the expertise of a physically challenged
Ghanaian who has weathered the storm to be counted!
This peculiar aspect of the
President’s moves strikes a particularly resounding chord that leaves me in no
doubt that President Mahama is bold.
This
appointment must give every Ghanaian the signal that the President is carving a
niche for himself as someone who recognizes competence and taps into it for the
good of the country, regardless of ethnic or political inclinations. For the
records and purposes of my arguments in this opinion piece, let me say that Dr.
Daanaa holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology of Law from the London School of Economics
and has worked with almost all Regional Houses of Chiefs in the country.
His
appointment will surely not please only the physically challenged segment of
our population in Ghana and outside but it goes to prove the long-held slogan
among the physically challenged themselves that “Disability is not inability.”
Already, the Ghana Federation of the Disabled is rejoicing over Dr. Daanaa’s
nomination, according MyJoyOnline (January
21, 2013).
Dr.
Daanaa has described himself as “a pioneer all my life," noting that he
was the first blind person in Ghana to be called to the bar on 4th October
1987.
I am impressed by his own
assertion that although he knows he will be faced with challenges, he is
prepared for them. As he put it, he has already surmounted a major challenge
which is rooted in the tradition and customs of some traditional areas in the
country that don’t permit chiefs to shake hands with the physically challenged
like him. Coping with this disdain takes a lot of moral courage and physical
endurance. He has survived and is now being put in charge of that Ministry. I
know he will disregard such disdain and reach out courageously to all manner of
chiefs to achieve the objectives for which the President has appointed him.
Other challenges are novel.
Because the blind are accustomed to using the Braille, I wonder whether there
is any such facility already existing at the Ministry to expedite his
performance. Or whether documents to be handled by him will be processed
quickly for him not to lag behind schedule. Then again, it is obvious that
anything coming from him to others not suffering his kind of physically
disability will have to be reversed to the standard format (prose) to be
deciphered and acted on. This means more pressure on officialdom. I hope enough
provision will be made to enable him to work unimpeded.
Another challenge will involve
the staff that he will work with. It is imperative that staff be conscientized
to assist him instead of frustrating him or taking undue advantage of his physical
challenges to undo him. It must be clear to all that the President went for him
because of his competence, which demands that they do everything possible to
make the country benefit from his expertise.
I am particularly thrilled at
this appointment, although some may refer to it as the President’s preferential
leaning toward those of Northern Ghana extraction—what they have begun labeling
as nepotism in the appointments so far made. As they would have it, a breakdown
of the preceding 31 appointees on regional basis reveals the following: Greater
Accra Region, 5; Northern Region, 4; Upper West Region, 4; Eastern Region, 4;
Upper East Region, 3; Volta Region, 3; Central Region, 3; Western Region, 3;
Brong-Ahafo Region, 1; Ashanti Region, 1.
Now, after making more
appointments, the President has taken the tally from Northern Ghana to a higher
level. The likes of Dr. Daannaa, Hon.
Mark Woyongo, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, Hon. Abdul Rashid
Hassan Pelpuo, Mr. Nayon Bilijo, Hon. Alhassan Azong, Hon Alhaji Mustapha Ahmed,
Alhaji Limuna Mohammed Muniru, Hon. Alban Bagbin, and Hon. Cletus Avoka have added to the list.
I am really not bothered about such claims
because there is no basis for them. The President hasn’t yet completed the task
of appointing personalities to fill vacant positions, and we should give him
enough elbow room in which to operate. Certainly, the President isn’t go for
his own Dagomba or Gonja kith and kin from the Northern Region (Upper East and
Upper West excluded), which is encouraging because in our kind of politics, it
is difficult for such a person wielding so much power to move away from
ethnicity. We know that the Constitution calls for regional balance but
precedent exists for us to know who went for his own clansmen and the notion of
“old boyism” in making appointments.
I would be bothered if these personalities were
not capable of doing what has been assigned them. The President knows why he
has settled on them and shouldn’t be stampeded by anybody. If they don’t
perform well, it won’t take long for them to be booted out. But for now, the
benefit of the doubt resides with the President and should remain so.
In choosing these appointees to
fill Ministerial posts, President Mahama has gone a long way to include personalities
from diverse ethnicities as well as fields of endeavour. He has so far
nominated 38 to form the team that he expects to help him implement his “Better
Ghana Phase II” agenda. We have already written opinion pieces to commend him
for looking above party confines to rope in those he feels can help him do the
work.
Some faint voices of dissent have
surfaced to create the impression that he is not doing wide consultation to
select those appointees. I disagree and opine instead that he seems to know
what cards he has in hand and is playing them well. He has demonstrated
level-headedness and must be given the encouragement as he forms his
government.
At
this early stage in the life of the government, enough exists to suggest that
the government is made up of people from varying professional, social, and
political backgrounds who are being brought together on the basis of competence
to prove their mettle. I congratulate these appointees and urge them to be
prepared to go the extra mile in helping President Mahama make the much-needed
difference in governance.
That
difference is nothing but enunciating and implementing policies and programmes
to develop the country and take Ghanaians out of the narrow circumstances in
which they have been living all these years as if cursed. It is disturbing that
despite all the abundant natural and human resources of the country, the people
should live under the poverty line while their leaders wax in untold ill-gotten
wealth.
Yet,
these are the very people who vote to put these leaders in office. The President
and his team must not lose sight of this fact as they ease themselves into the
groove of governance. If for nothing at all, they need to know that four years
hence, they will return to those very long-suffering citizens for a renewal of
their mandate.
The
tumultuous events that characterized Election 2012 should remind them that the
people will vote massively for only those they trust, those who connect with
them, and those they believe will work for their betterment. Only then will the
mandate be renewed. The appointees have it as their bounden duty to prove their
mettle.
For
Dr. Daanaa, particularly, the going may be tough; but knowing the sort of
person he is, I am confident that he will brace himself up for the challenges
and tackle them with alacrity and the genuine desire to uplift standards. If he
succeeds, he will pave the way for others like him to be recognized and
appointed to the high echelons of political office. Once again, congratulations
to the appointee for brazing this trail. And more congratulations to President
Mahama for making this particular appointment!!
I shall return…
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E-mail:
mjbokor@yahoo.com
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