President John Evans Atta Mills undoubtedly stirred political controversy in the manner he managed or mismanaged some of the issues raised during his interaction with a cross-section of the Ghanaian media at the Castle.
If the carefully-arranged engagement, make-up et al, was intended to commemorate his first anniversary in office with a touch of outstanding elegance, we are afraid the objective was not met.
Aside the foul and outlandish defence he put up for Hon Muntaka Mubarak, he wobbled and exposed his underbelly for public opprobrium even as he put up the for-the-TV-cameras performance.
He blundered when he said Hon. Muntaka did the unprecedented by resigning his position, denying himself thereby, the honour of truth, given that the resignation was induced with nothing to do with morality or strength of character.
Coming to the substance of today�s commentary, we would like to note that the President went overdrive in his postulation over what he described as his shared vision, or better still, of his party.
Interesting postulation it was, but lacking in seriousness and sincerity! Here we are smarting after the closest presidential polls in the history of this country. The man who had the mike most of the time at the Castle meet won, from all indications, with less than 40,000 and given that the Tain election was not properly contested, we are looking at a situation in which the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) is not commanding the support of half of the population of Ghanaians.
It follows therefore that about an equal number of Ghanaians do not share the vision of the NDC, puncturing a big hole in the postulation of Mills.
It is also a fact that this country is governed by a constitution, Chapter 6 of which sets out what can pass for a national ideology for development. This, therefore and not the transient dream of a political party, is the thing which matters under the circumstance and not a crazy shared vision in the mould of the so-called revolution which tore this country apart.
Admittedly, President Mills, like others before him, is expected to choose his own ministers, DCEs, Special Assistants and so on.
It remains a debatable subject, however, whether the headship of public organizations requires the bearing of the membership card of the ruling party as a prerequisite.
More so, when people, and for that matter bona fide Ghanaians, have risen through the ranks to reach the pinnacle of their various places of engagement.
The debate over the appropriateness of actions which have seen such personalities lose their jobs because of their political party incorrectness would continue to stand as a source of argument among Ghanaians in the years to come.
Already, the axe has fallen on many persons perceived not to belong to the President�s party, sadly and unfortunately.
We wonder whether good governance and political civility should countenance this clear aberration.
Clearly, in civilized societies, not banana republics, the trend is to consider such appointments not as spoils of electoral wars but on merit and competence.
Unfortunately, the current trends make top staffers in government departments shudder with trepidation when their names are associated with a party other than the ruling one.
And thinking that this is happening in a country whose country outlaws a one-party state is not only worrying, but enough to make one throw up.
We know the President knows we know he is aware about the anomalies but only tries to veneer them by presenting a picture about their non-existence.
If only President Mills could be real in his approach to issues, what a difference that would make to his administration.
He is only behaving like the naked king who does not know that he is without clothes, having been deceived into believing that nothing is amiss by his subjects.
If one is hard-pushed for evidence of Mills� unrealism, his declaration that his relationship with ex-President Rawlings is not frozen and that the man is not on his neck, is an ample example.
We shall return in tomorrow�s edition.
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