Why did Mahama reassign Sports Minister and his Deputy and didn’t fire them? Kweku Baako

• Posted on June 28, 2014June 28, 2014
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Editor in Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper Malik Kweku Baako Jnr is incensed by the decision of the president to reassign the Sports Minister and Deputy for superintending over what he called an “unmitigated disaster” in Brazil.

While admitting that politics sometimes gave room for presidents to massage the egos of non-performing ministers with a reassignment, the Editor, said given the “public anger” that came with Ghana’s early exit it was required that the minister, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah and his Deputy Joseph Yammin “should have been made to go home and rest.”

President John Mahama on Saturday reassigned the two ministers, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah to the Presidency and Yammin to the Ashanti Region as Deputy Minister.

Kweku Baako Jnr is not impressed by the action of the president.

On Joy FM and MultiTV Newsfile programme Saturday, he said the reassignment of the two is an admission by the president that the minister and his deputy have failed relative to the assignment given to them in Brazil.

“We must locate the lines of responsibility for the huge mess and unmitigated disaster,” he stated, adding that sanctions must be applied.

A day before Ghana’s game against Portugal on Thursday, the ministry again facilitated the flight of some 75 supporters from Ghana to Brazil and that too got Baako Jnr incensed.

“That is crazy. Flying supporters to Brazil on Wednesday to watch a match on Thursday?  Kweku Baako burst out, adding they did not even watch the match.

The newspaper Editor was also embarrassed by the decision of government to fly an amount of over $3million to Brazil to satisfy the demands of the players.

He was even more angry with the Deputy Minister who decided to announce to the world that an amount of $3 million was being flown from Ghana to Brazil to pay the players.

“That was indiscreet,” he noted.

He was also critical of the president, saying he must take part of the blame.

“A fair amount of the blame should be heaped on the president,” he noted saying the mere fact that the presidential jet was used is testimony that the president gave his blessings for the monies to be flown which was in clear violation of Ghana’s laws.

The Deputy General Secretary of the governing National Democratic Congress Kofi Adams was sympathetic towards the reassigned minister.

He said given reports that the minister was virtually ostracised by the angry players, there was little he could do.

He criticised the players, especially Sulley Muntari and Kevin Prince Boateng for their indiscipline.

By: Nathan Gadugah