Kofi Adda
The video of a government appointee, MP for Navrongo Central supposedly landing on Navrongo soil in a chopper to file his nomination papers made regrettable headlines a few days ago.
Expectedly the video which at first sight appeared to bear traits of Chad Republic turned out to be our own Upper East Region. The logo of the Ghana Air Force embossed on the side of the chopper explained it all about the ownership of the aircraft, the people of Ghana.
Political killjoys made mincemeat of the unfavourable spectacle, which of course, is a total variation of the President’s trademark humility.
Even during his trip to Ho for a TESCON programme, the President did not fly to the venue from wherever he was at the time in Oti or Volta Region on Tuesday where he was attending to official engagements. He went by road as he has always done when he plans meeting his compatriots.
We expect government appointees, including the man who is also the Aviation Minister, to emulate the examples of the President by avoiding ostentation.
For want of something to hold on to as the Airbus scandal has silenced them, NDC activists played on the spectacle although they would have rather it flew to a dizzying altitude for damaging effect.
But for the rather terrible PR setback the opposition has suffered in recent times, we bet the Aviation Minister’s gaffe would have been such a wonderful political Manna directly from the NPP to the NDC.
The minister, Kofi Adda, is yet to respond to the finger-pointing for the nauseating ostentatious show on home soil. We are unable to tell under what arrangement he used the Ghana Air Force chopper for the trip from Tamale to Navrongo. Be as it may, he must be surcharged because he has after all deviated from the path the President expects his appointees to tread by using a state facility for his personal assignment.
President Akufo-Addo his boss does most of his trips by road, an experience which affords him an opportunity to appreciate the state of the road network.
When former President John Mahama was president and flew aboard state aircraft for his campaign trips, he had no knowledge about the deteriorated state of the roads especially in the Western Region. He could, therefore, afford a cheeky response to the then opposition NPP’s flagbearer Nana Akufo-Addo when he complained about the bad roads.
If the then President John Mahama knew the state of the cocoa roads, he would not have had a wrong impression about them and therefore avoided telling Nana Akufo-Addo that he was sleeping and so could not appreciate the high quality roads he was travelling on.
Next time the minister wants to travel to Navrongo from Tamale, let him do so by road. This will add to his knowledge about the state of the roads. Flying a chopper as he did has not inured to the interest of the party. Let him go to the President and consider his ways so he can steer away from opulence.