Tuesday,
April 29, 2014
My
good friends, the news is that National Security Coordinator, Colonel Larry
Gbevlo-Lartey (retired), has been removed from office by President Mahama and
replaced with Yaw Donkor, former Director of the Bureau of National
Investigation (BNI), effective May 12, 2014.
A
statement signed by Information and Media Relations Minister, Mahama
Ayariga said Col. Gbevlo-Lartey is to be
re-assigned to a yet-to-be named designation.
It
said President Mahama commended the out-going Security Coordinator for his
"loyalty and dedicated service to the state".
(Source:
http://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2014/april-29th/gbevlo-lartey-removed-as-national-security-coordinator.php)
MY
COMMENTS
There
is one particular aspect of the changes made by President Mahama that won't go
down well with those who know what the pecking order is at the BNI. The
appointment of Pious Awelinga as acting director of the BNI has already begun
raising storm and creating a bad atmosphere.
My
information is that Awelinga is lower on the pecking order than the two
Deputies over whom he has been uplifted. There is talk that President Mahama is
playing the ethnic card in this case, which won't bode well for the institution
and the President's own image.
I
don't know what credentials Awelinga has that the two Deputy Directors lack. In
any case, if he is as is being said, then, President Mahama stands to lose out.
The BNI is not the kind of institution with which to do "tribal"
things. It is too sensitive an institution for such games.
If
what I have been told is true, then, President Mahama needs to reappraise his
move and do the right thing to ensure a congenial atmosphere at the BNI.
Now,
to other issues.
Col.
Gbevlo-Lartey has played his part as a dedicated and patriotic citizen and
should be commended as such. Rising through the ranks to head the Forces
Reserve Battalion (64 Infantry Brigade) under Rawlings only to be victimized by
Kufuor and disposed of like a piece of trash on trumped-up allegations of
orchestrating a coup d’état didn't take anything out of his accomplishments;
hence, his reinstatement by the late President Mills and confirmation by
President Mahama until now.
Of
course, under his tenure, much happened to create the impression that his
office was abusing the authority/power vested in it (I have in mind the
demolition of the toll booths constructed by the University of Ghana and its
consequences) and many others.
He
did have firm grips on the security situation and weathered the storm generated
by the so-called "excesses", especially the stentorian calls by the
NPP functionaries for his outright removal from office. The dust has now
settled and we know that come May 12, he will no more head the National
Security Secretariat.
It
doesn't mean that he is a spent horse and will be discarded. He will still be
on board because he still has a lot to offer Ghana in ensuring national
security and stability. Those who may be celebrating his removal may be doing
so because they really don't know the stuff of which he is made. Those of us who
know him will continue to admire him for all that he is!!
His
replacement (Yaw Donkor) is a capable hand too; and I trust that he will use
his expertise to ensure national security and stability. Political opponents
who will be quick to associate him with happenings at the BNI (especially
involving the arrest and interrogation/prosecution of certain personalities)
may grumble that he is carrying a baggage along to the national security
apparatus; but they can't do anything to demoralize him. He knows his job and
will do it without blemish.
Putting
everything together, then, I see the changes as consequential and wish that
President Mahama will turn attention to other sectors and reshuffle his team.
How
long hasn't it been since he began appraising his appointees at the Ministries?
What has become of that assignment? Or is he not aware of the problems that
most of those appointees cannot solve where they are?
If
he can as well turn the situation around to inject some dynamism into his team,
he should be seeing better performance than the mediocre one that is fast
tarnishing his government's image and making it come across as incompetent and,
therefore, not readying itself for a second term.
The
country's under-development problems are still terrifying the citizens as their
living conditions worsen. Can President Mahama not act expeditiously to
reshuffle his team?
The
kind of piecemeal changes that he is making won't solve any problem. He must
stop cherry picking and act decisively to galvanize his team and the citizens
to take action toward solving national problems.
When
will President Mahama remove the deadwood hampering his own efforts at solving
national problems? Obviously, 2016 is not far off.
I shall return…
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E-mail:
mjbokor@yahoo.com
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the conversation.
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