THE IMPRESSIVE 365 DAYS OF THE MILLS ADMINISTRATION

Ghanaians were promised a better Ghana for all and the campaign apparatus of the NDC explained this to mean that under their regime there will be a massive boost in the economy and a radical change in the country’s governance system.
The NDC promised a transparent and accountable government, a strong economy for real jobs and a pledge to invest in people and expand infrastructure in the country. With their social democratic beliefs the NDC says its priority will be on job creation for the enhancement of the lives of the poor.

As per its own manifesto promises the National Democratic Congress envisaged that by the beginning of its second year in office its successes would include among others a competent and effective administration with a very lean manpower. This it expected to achieve by rationalizing some of the ministries it inherited from the previous administration.

The disability council would have been established, and membership of commissions and boards re-constituted based solely on expertise and competence. The safety of Ghanaians was assured because the promise was that the security agencies would be well resourced or equipped to deliver.

The promises also included making filth in the country a thing of the past by taking bold and comprehensive measures to deal with problems of inadequate, inappropriate and ineffective waste management system practices.

Agriculture mechanization was high on the lists of the promises of the NDC. The party said it will facilitate agricultural and industrial programmes at all levels and in all sectors of the economy to ensure that Ghana once again begin to produce enough locally to feed itself and for export. This particular promise was needed at the time because the country’s food import was accelerating.

We were further assured that the new NDC in power will review the National Health Insurance System (NHIS) to take away bureaucracy and corruption in the scheme. There was the promise of reviewing and resourcing the School Feeding Programme, Capitation grant and the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund).

They stated also that within a short period in office the NDC government will reform parliament to enable legislators to uphold their guaranteed rights under the country’s constitution and serve as an instrument that will demand accountability from technocrats and politicians.

Engendering governance by actively encouraging women’s participation in all levels of governance, reform and deepen decentralization and local governance were all part of NDC’s promises.

In accessing the performance of this government therefore, the measuring indicators have to be based on these promises that were made to Ghanaians compared to how they were delivered upon. Especially when the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) keeps highlighting one year after loosing power that the NDC came to power on the ticket of deceit.

The delivery on the promise of a lean and effective government is with mixed reactions. As at the time of leaving office, President Mills’ predecessor, John Agyekum Kufuor had a total of 87 ministers serving in his administration. Each of the ministers had a special assistant or a spokesperson that were being paid from government coffers. The Mills administration is operating now with about 75 ministers and 23 ministries. Though many have lauded the move as a commitment to streamlining government others say the reduction is not significant and does not reflect his lean government principles.

According to political scene watchers, there are still some people going round carrying themselves as special aids to ministers and their deputies as well as other government officials but the public is yet to receive any statement from the government to the contrary.

The Mills administration is also noted to have cut down on profligate expenditure to some extent. A cursory look at government’s spending over the last one year shows that the pumps and pageantry that was associated with the presidency previously is missing. The number of conferences and national seminars organized by government within the past year has reduced drastically.

So far the President himself has travelled less outside the country and anytime he does it is only on very serious international and diplomatic matters. We have also seen a drastic reduction in the presidential convoys. In fact, the convoys of the President and his Vice has been reduced so much that security experts have warned it could be very dangerous to their safety.

One of the major early steps this administration took upon assumption of office which has been hailed nationally is the establishment of the disability council to champion the needs of the disability community. Even though the council is currently facing its own administrative challenges it has succeeded in negotiating for an increment in the disability community’s share of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF). This is expected to reflect from this year.

Little has however been said about the freedom of information bill which is believed to be at cabinet level and the purported review of the whistle blower’s act.
When the NDC said in opposition that it will ensure that about 40% of its appointees are women many gender advocates hailed the idea. This according to them is because women empowerment in this country has come of age. However one year into the administration the government is yet to make this dream materialize.

One aspect that this government has received bashing from is the reconstitution of membership of boards and commissions. The NDC promised to do that within the first 100 days in office. It promises to do it solely based on expertise and competence, eschewing partisan and familial considerations.

However, governance experts have said that there are some few boards which are yet to be constituted. They have urged a quicker pace on this because they claim it is hampering the work of some aspect of the economy. The competences of some of the appointees to some boards have also been criticized by the opposition. They have described the exercise as job for party people.

The government has also received high marks for its efforts so far in resourcing the security agencies so they can perform better. Recruitment of personnel into the police service and the military was halted in the early days of this administration. The reason was to enable the authorities solve their accommodation problems and other needs.

According to the public relations outfit of the police service they are so far impressed about the government’s commitment to their welfare. The service has so far received about 70 vehicles to augment their activities. Observations by security analysts suggest that crime in all levels reduced significantly in the country last year as compared to the previous year. “At least for the first time in a very long time Ghanaians were able to celebrate Christmas in peace” the police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kwesi Ofori stated in an interview.

There have also been attempts to clear the city of filth by the appropriate arms of government. Courtesy of the decongestion exercise by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), and other Municipal and District Assemblies.

One successful story that the Mills administration will continue to highlight in its one year review is the area of agriculture. In the fulfillment of its campaign promises to the people government last year assisted over 300 young people to cultivate a total of 1,440 hectares of land in Damongo in the Northern region.

“These young people are working on a Block Farm Concept which has 1200 hectares of the land being cultivated with maize and 200 hectares with rice and the remaining 40 hectares planted with Soya beans,” deputy minister for information Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa stated in an interview, adding that “the beneficiaries did not put in any money up till this stage, as tractors to plough the land, seedlings, fertilizers and pesticides were all provided by government.”

He further noted that over 20,000 jobs would be created when the programme is finally implemented across the country. On the fishing industry, Ablakwa disclosed that two out of six patrol boats for the Ghana Navy has been secured to “protect our fishermen who suffer from heavy lights thrown at sea by big trawlers”.

On the promise of providing infrastructure and incentives for the delivery of quality education, it would be recalled that government during the cause of last year increased the capitation grant per pupil by 50 percent and provided GH¢1.3 million to support the School Feeding Programme. Government further announced during the year that it had started paying the full tuition fees of all teachers who have decided to pursue further studies through distance learning.

The government, has also announced the commencement of the process of positioning science, technology, research and development at the forefront of its activities with funds made available for the establishment of the first ever Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) Park within the Tema Free Zones enclave. The 2010 budget and economic policy of government have captured this very well.

It is also worth mentioning the efforts of the Mills administration in fighting the drug menace in Ghana. The promise was to purge Ghana as a fertile ground for narcotics trade which was at the time gaining dangerous notoriety as a transit country and buoyed on by “very dangerous drug barons”.

At least it is evident that there is no perception now as it was in the past that some powerful people in government may be collaborating with drug barons. It can be observed also that in a complete departure from the past, during which very pitiable and inadequate measures were put in place, the Mills administration is not only demonstrating the required political will, but also implementing very key strategies and measures aimed at combating the very disturbing drug problems it inherited as a government.

Significant work has also been done by this government so far in streamlining the National Health Insurance Scheme. An audit was conducted into the scheme last year to purge it of corruption practices which had engulfed it since its inception. This has resulted in the interdiction of some officers of the scheme.

The government says it is determined to honor its campaign promises of making sure that by the end of its second year in office there will be only one time premium payment for the scheme. Despite stiff opposition from some health experts, Minister for health, Dr. Benjamin Kunbuor insists that the ne time premium payment for the scheme is possible and will be implemented by the end of this year.

On good governance, many experts have given the administration high marks and have predicted a bright future ahead. President Mills himself has been described to be very calm and disciplined despite the internal and external attacks that have characterized his administration through out last year.

His appointments and delivery on the lean government promise have been widely criticized by his opponents. Within the NDC fraternity, some elements have not minced words in criticizing the pace at which things are moving. But despite all these, the president has kept his cool with continues pronouncements that the various comments are being done in good fate.

Experts also believe the Mills administration has fairly handled the various allegations of corruption against his government well.
There was an allegation of malfeasance and indiscretion against a minister of youth and sports, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak which led to his resignation from government as a minister. The President orded investigations into the matter. Even though the former minister was not found to have infringed any law, he was not allowed to return to government. At least not yet.

There was another allegation against some sitting and former government officials by Marbey and Johnson, a British construction firm. Apart from accepting the resignation of some of the ministers the President also asked the Attorney General to take up the matter. This are the steps that political analysts have lauded.
However, the former law professor's first year in office, as the President of Ghana, also saw some developments and controversies in the country's political history, most of which cannot go without mention.

Many of the issues range from perceived harassment of political opponents to alleged human rights abuse on the part of security agencies, and administrative lapses among others. It is also significant to note that the governments threats of reviewing the Vodafone deal while it was in opposition has not as yet materialized. A committee set up to investigate the deal has recommended a re-engagement of the deal. This government has announced it is considering.

First was the hullabaloo and the brouhaha after the then President-elect, Prof. Mills, named his transition team, headed by one of the country's respected politicians Paul Victor Obeng, to oversee the handing over of power from the then administration of President Kufuor to the Mills administration. The cost of the four month sitting of the transitional team which was pegged at Ghc3.6 became a typical political issue that lasted on the airwaves for month.

The seizure of private cars by some (NDC) faithful also became an issue. There were also reports of toilet seizures across the country by thugs, believed to be members of the ruling party, and while these acts were ongoing, some alleged supporters of the NDC, in pursuit of vengeance, allegedly assaulted and brutalized people believed to be sympathizers of the opposition NPP at the Konkomba market in Accra.

The unending controversy of ex-gratia to former government appointees, the invitation and detention of the former Chief of Staff Kwadwo Okyere Mpiani, by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), and the subsequent solidarity demonstration by former ministers and minority MPs are some of the few political incidences that cannot be easily forgotten.

In July last year, Ghana was put under the global media microscope when the first African American President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama, paid a historic two days visit to the country.