Monday,
November 25, 2013
My
good friends, President Mahama has appointed 10 Ambassadors-designate,
introducing new faces who have nothing to their credit but political activism
and other credentials verging on academic work or journalism and public service.
(Source: http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=293194)
We
don't yet know which country these Ambassador nominees are designated for, but
we can tell that some of them immediately evoke mixed feelings that will make
us wonder whether anything new will happen at all in Ghana's Diplomatic
Missions as far as the non-career diplomats are concerned.
Certainly,
this batch doesn't have any career diplomat in it. One may quickly conclude
that the injection of politicians into the country's foreign missions is not
the best; but the President must be thinking otherwise.
So
far, Ghana's foreign missions have been unable to serve useful purposes to
warrant their being retained. All that they do is not being felt in terms of
productive benefits to the country and its people.
I
may be making sweeping statements here but my assessment of the performance of
all these missions proves to me that they aren't actively promoting the
country's interests.
And
the appointing authorities don't even seem to be reforming those missions,
redefining their purview, or ensuring that they serve the interests of Ghana
and its citizens wherever they are.
How
many of these foreign missions, for instance, have been able to promote
trade-related transactions from which Ghana could benefit? How many of them
even have any database containing information on Ghanaians resident in their
areas of jurisdiction? How do they even serve the needs of Ghanaians calling at
the missions?
More
often than not, the staff of these foreign missions lack the sense of urgency
and can't even do their assignments expeditiously and courteously to promote
anybody's interests but their own well-being. In other words, serving in these
foreign missions has become a mere job-for-the-boys case.
Let's
consider some of the newly nominated people, for instance, and we can quickly
conclude that they are just being pushed away to "enjoy" the foreign
breeze, cool off, and return at will to energize the NDC's political machine.
Dr.
Tony Aidoo is erudite, very eloquent, and courageous, speaking his mind without
fear or favour. But he is controversial and hasn't cut any
"diplomatic" image for himself. How qualified is he to be an
Ambassador on that score?
Is
he being sent out for his office to be shut down? Apparently, his recent
criticisms must have sent the signal that he can cause trouble if not
"greased". Well, let him prove me wrong if he can do so through his
performance.
The
others such as John A. Tia, Emmanuel Victor Smith, Zita Okaikoi, Kwadwo
Nyamekye Marfo, Moses Magbengba, Sam Pee Yalley, and Madam Akua Dansua are not
new faces on the scene.
Each
of them left office, leaving traces behind: either as not really competent or
being embroilled in questionable circumstances to warrant their losing their
positions. Are they being rehashed or recycled to redeem their image? And
through foreign service?
Of course, Kwadwo Nyamekye Marfo
did a great job in the Brong-Ahafo Region but was not retained as the regional
Minister, even though numerous appeals from there were made to the President.
Should we assume that this appointment is a "compensation"? Probably,
he may stand out as a difference!!
We all know how Victor Smith
functioned in the Eastern Region and his rash reaction to the choice of K.B.
Amissah-Arthur as Vice President---and the embarrassment that he created, which
some adduced as the reason for his being dropped by President Mahama.
He has been an Ambassador before
and is only being restored to that status. As to whether he can outperform
himself this time round, I don't yet know. But he also has a baggage,
especially as a politician whose public utterances and image have raised
disturbing questions on propriety and diplomacy.
We (those living outside Ghana)
want to be sure that our foreign missions care for us---not by meeting our
material needs but by ensuring that they know us and can deal with us as
Ghanaians. We want to participate actively in national affairs, particularly in
choosing our leaders and in offering ideas for policy formulation. That is why
our foreign missions must be "virile" and purposeful in their
dealings with us.
Take the law on Ghanaians living
outside and their voting rights (ROPAA), for instance, and you shouldn't go far
to see our foreign missions as doing a huge disservice to us.
We cannot vote because there is
no record on any of us as Ghanaians eligible to vote. We are forced to return
to Ghana before voting, which is nonsensical.
If nationals of other countries
residing elsewhere in the world can register and vote through the work of their
foreign missions, why can't the Ghanaian ones also do same?
You see, my good friends, the
lethargy that is our bane in the handling of public office is all over the
place, which is why I don't think that merely pouring new wine into old wine
bottles will solve the problems that we have identified with our foreign
missions. It's been so for many years, and nobody in authority seems to care.
How sad!!
Indeed,
the time has come for much work to be done on our foreign service so that those
who are fit for heading missions (because they have the acumen and the natural
bent to do diplomacy) to be appointed. These "political diplomats"
won't help us that much.
I
have aired my views without any malice (aforethought). It is as plain as plain
can ever be. As someone who has written many opinion pieces on the inadequacies
of our foreign missions, I deem it my bounden duty to step in so early at this
point to reiterate my concerns.
The
President has to do his job but we have every right to comment on what that job
is and how he does it. Ghana matters most!!
I shall return…
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E-mail:
mjbokor@yahoo.com
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