The banter between the Finance Minister and the Agriculture Minister in the media has exposed the fault lines in the John Mahama government.
These fault lines suggest undoubtedly the President’s inability to crack the whip when he has to. Put alternatively the President has lost grip of the reins of government.
Under the circumstances and in the absence of effective control of the ship of state the outcome is what we are witnessing today…the unprecedented trading of accusations between government ministers.
With no precedent of such altercation in public between ministers Ghanaians could only watch in awe as each tried to puncture the underbelly of the other to expose their moral failings. For a person especially a government minister to be accused of lying matters can be said to have come to a head and demanding immediate disciplinary action from the President.
Appointees who lose the important attribute of integrity no longer have the moral right to head a ministry. The President when he fails to deal with this act of indiscipline drops to the lowest rung on the performance ladder.
So who is lying between the two ministers? Ghanaians have the right to demand action from the President in this issue because it borders on the integrity of the government.
For now though we do not have any hope that the President would comment on the subject let alone take any substantial action to obviate future recurrence. As it were therefore we shall witness more of such public dirty linen washing from government appointees.
It is a year and half since the President took over the mantle of leadership of this country from his predecessor but the optics leave much to be desired. If the President’s popularity rating is dropping it is because of this and many others.
Discipline is a bedrock of all institutions, governments especially. Unfortunately this attribute has dissipated rather early one reason being the obsession to bear the flag of the NDC for the next elections by persons who have been described as not possessing the presidential attributes.
The stakes are high and the drawbacks being witnessed now show how desperate the prospective candidates in the ruling party are. They would do everything including disrespecting the President to achieve their goal.
Not even the warning that they avoid such clamouring at this time has been heeded.
By the end of the year the ‘thank you’ tour by a man who was not the flag bearer of the NDC would have encouraged such indiscipline in the party that the President would be overwhelmed and lost further grip of the governance rein.
The President is heading for the end of his tenure and his inability to steady the ship of state is too visible that he is almost useless at the bridge, orders he issues being completely ignored.
With the Secretary to the President now issuing out useless orders to appointees to relax on the succession race, as the Chief of Staff looks on helplessly, things are really falling apart if they have not done so already.
