Our Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa makes news for negative reasons.
With the attribute of the internet not forgetting anything Ghanaians are treated to the many things the minister said when he was in opposition one being his position on a replacement for the Presidential jet and his sudden change.
He said the aircraft was in perfect shape for the use of the Commander-In-Chief when Nana Akufo-Addo was President. Fit-for-purpose was how he put it when the idea of a replacement was broached.
He spoke like an aeronautical engineer or even a pilot with many log hours of flying to his credit.
Roles have changed and now his party is in government and he is minister of foreign affairs…his opinion about the aircraft said to be grounded in France is that it be replaced.
His approach to the replacement was made rather subtly so his position shift won’t be obvious but that has not been the case.
Questions are being posed as to what has accounted for his changed position. Are his perceptions or impressions influenced by the positions he holds? Should such persons be held in high esteem?
We have mentioned it before that integrity especially in politics matters a lot and so those who find themselves in this occupation must be guided by this principle and to be steadfast in their beliefs, unwavering.
Politicians and indeed all others should not be seen to speak with two tongues.
We are now torn between whether or not to consider the aircraft as being in the best of shapes and fit to serve till 2030 as the minister once said or take the last word of replacement and rightly consider him as a man bereft of principles?
He once said that if an official in his government travels by private aircraft he would resign his appointment. The Vice President did but he did not resign. One of the tests of a principled person is their ability to walk their talks.
A lot of things are happening in this government today many of them beyond our ken.
How was the decision to allow West African deportees from the US to be accommodated in Ghana until their final movement to their home countries taken?
It would appear that an earlier Supreme Court ruling that such a decision be taken by Parliament is being breached.
During the GITMO 2 case when some inmates of Guantanamo were received by Ghana under Mahama 1 questions were posed about the legitimacy or otherwise of the decision. It was a Cabinet decision not parliament our foreign minister then on the campaign trail defended the decision.
Today the reception of these deportees from the US regardless of its security risks is staring us in our faces. It is a foreign affairs matter and we expect our minister to brief us further. Will he and should we not take whatever he says with a pinch of salt given his penchant for mendacity?
Governance is a serious business one of whose attributes is consistency. This is lacking in our governance and it is worrying.
