Look Who’s Killing the Elephant!

Some New Patriotic Party (NPP) communicators are behaving the same way communicators within the National Democratic Party (NDC) did in their last days in government, by behaving as if they are the sole repository of socio-economic wisdom.

In fact, isn’t it amazing how some of them have been consistently inconsistent with their own submissions, when it comes to giving interpretations to issues in the media? What is even more ridiculous is how they, in their haste to impress their bosses, end up confusing followers of the party and the general Ghanaian populace.

Mention can be made of the handling of the notorious AMERI deal, Kelni-GVG agreement, and even double-track Senior High School (SHS) system, but most notable is this issue of whether members of the Board of Directors of any institution have the power and influence over the day-to-day running of the institution; and what the limits of their oversight roles are.

When in May, 2018, the misunderstanding between the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company (GCMC), Frances Essiam, and members of the Board escalated, several NPP communicators shouted at the roof top that Board members have no legal right to interfere with the daily affairs of the company.

They insisted that the CEO is the all-in-all in the company, and advised members who are displeased with the modus operandi of the CEO to resign from the board.

It was therefore not surprising when in early July, 2018, the President dissolved the entire GCMC Board. Per a letter signed by the then Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko, the Board Chair at the time, Frank Boakye Agyen, was directed to hand over documents and items belonging to the Board to the Company Secretary.

Even though the letter did not state the reason for the dissolution of the Board, it was undeniable that the decision was dictated by the tension between the CEO and the Board, whose ‘crime’ was that its chairman reportedly queried the CEO over her handling of the company, including the award of contracts without the approval of the board or the Energy Ministry.

Today, just three months down the line, communicators for the same party and government are all over the place singing a different tune on a similar development.

They are calling for the head of Pastor Mensa Otabil, spiritual leader of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) and Board Chairman of the defunct Capital Bank, for not ‘doing something’ when he noticed that management of the bank were misappropriating resuscitating monies injected into Capital Bank by the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

Some of them are even rubbishing Pastor Otabil’s line of defence that his role was a non-executive one, which did not allow him access to the day-to-day management and operations of the Bank.

Like the many Ghanaians who are closely following the reactions of political communicators, THE PUBLISHER is amazed at the inconsistent posture of people who claim to be the mouthpiece of the current government.

While the paper has no interest in who is (or is not) culpable in the goings-on at both the GCMC and the Capital Bank, and for that matter any organisation, we think communicators for the ruling party will do the government a lot of good if they come clear and are unswerving on the issues.

It appears some of them are, out of the compulsion to speak, slowly killing the elephant.