President John Evans Atta Mills has warned that as a responsible father of the nation, he would not spare the rod and spoil the child but rather, he would make sure all his �erring� and �recalcitrant children� are disciplined. He affirmed that his promise to be father of all Ghanaians firmly holds, however, it does not mean he would not correct his �children� who go wrong or wayward.
�I will discipline when I need to discipline,� he said this in response to the belief in certain quarters that he is being a president only for his party members and punishing his political opponents. According to the president, he is there for all Ghanaians but as a responsible father, he would not hesitate to apply the rod to correct his children who are �stubborn�. The president was speaking at the first ever review meeting for his regional ministers since he assumed office in January.
It was attended by chiefs, ministers of state, DCEs and NDC party faithfuls at the residence of the Eastern regional minister on Friday. The president was particularly concerned about how his team will be able to deliver on the �sweet� promises he made during the campaign of the 2008 elections to change Ghana for the better. He said the electorates are watching with the eagle�s eyes how the nation's resources would be used to alleviate their problems, charging his ministers, as well as district chief executives, to discharge their duties above mediocrity to be able to meet the expectations of Ghanaians.
�Our mandate is intrinsically linked with our closeness to the electorate and we must never take the electorate for granted,� he said, adding that real power does not belong to politicians but belongs to the electorate and they can use it as they want. �Let us stay anchored to our social democratic principles of honesty, humility, truth, modesty, accountability, efficient use of resources and concern for the less privilege since it is these pillars that will make us deliver on our �Better Ghana� promise to give Ghanaians the change they voted for and renew our mandate in 2012 to continue to build an even better Ghana�.
He said the NDC's local government policy which includes deepening local level democracy, accelerating decentralisation and facilitating local level development and empowerment will be strictly adhered to. According to the president, it is the aim of his government to review the local government system after 20 years of its implementation to make it more responsive to the needs of the people.
The Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Joseph Yieleh Chireh, said his ministry will complete the legal process associated with the �Comprehensive Decentralisation Policy�, support the Local Government Service to perform, get the revised Environmental Health and Sanitation Policy endorsed by cabinet and also adequately resource the newly-created districts to enable them to function properly.
The Eastern regional minister, Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, who hosted the review meeting, on his part, welcomed the president's directive for forensic audit to be done in all the district assemblies, saying that it is a known fact that most of the assemblies are now heavily indebted to contractors, consultants and suppliers and that many of them are being threatened with court actions for not being able to meet their contractual agreements. He assured President Mills that the regional coordinating councils will step up their supervisory and monitoring roles to ensure that every penny spent by the assemblies is accounted for.
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