When the popular Arab-street revolution reached Libya from Egypt, the North American branch of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) latched on to the refugee crisis, which the beginning of the subsequent civil war in that country created - and sought to exploit it for maximum political advantage.
Thinking that it was a mission-impossible, they demanded that Ghanaians in Libya be evacuated home, immediately, by the Mills regime.
This was at a time when even the wealthy nations of the West, were finding it difficult, for logistics reasons, to evacuate their own citizens.
Yet, as has been the case with President Mills, ever since he came to power, without fanfare, his regime quietly and efficiently went about the business of organising the return of all Ghanaians in Libya, wanting to return home (a majority of them undocumented aliens, in that country to boot, too!).
And as every sincere Ghanaian will testify, in the main, virtually all the returnees from Libya have been successfully re-integrated into Ghanaian society - and many are picking up the pieces of their shattered dreams to carry on with life, even as we speak.
(I am yet to hear them congratulating the Mills regime, for doing exactly what they wanted it to do. However, hopefully, to demonstrate their undoubted concern for the welfare of the returnees from Libya, one hopes the North American branch of the NPP, will do some fundraising over there, to enable them send some money back home, to be used as seed-capital, for their party to start a fund to provide micro-finance for Libyan returnees sympathetic to their party, who want to start their own micro-enterprises. But I digress!)
The same people-centred efficiency has been brought to the once-chaotic and hitherto "chop-chop" riddled business of organising the annual pilgrimage of Ghanaian Muslims to Saudi Arabia, and back. The president's concern for the welfare of ordinary people, has also driven the widespread development projects, at the grass-roots level, nationwide.
Other achievements that can be added to the long list of achievements chalked by the Mills administration, within the little over two and a half years it has been in office for, also include: reducing the fiscal deficit from 14.5 percent of GDP on cash basis at the end of 2008, to 9.7 percent of GDP in 2009.
That enemy of wealth-creation, inflation, fell for 16 consecutive months from 20.74 percent at the end June 2009, to 9.38 percent in October 2010 - the lowest in the last two decades; Ghana's gross international reserves stood at US$3,973.0 million at the end of October 2010 - which exceeded three months of import cover: compared with reserves of US$2,036.2 million at the end of December 2008, which could barely cover 2 months of imports; paying off debts owed by the Tema Oil Refinery, the Volta River Authority, and owed in arrears from the NPP-era to many contractors nationwide.
Given the fact that Ghana was virtually bankrupt when he assumed office, does the leader of such a regime not deserve a good public image, I ask, dear reader? It is a real pity that the geniuses in charge of the Mills administration's public relations (PR), have not yet thought of the one thing that will help ordinary people in Ghana connect with, and get to know President Mills better.
It is time they had a documentary film made about President Mills. It will provide a much-needed intimate portrait of President Mills for ordinary Ghanaians - who in a very real sense hardly know their current leader's many good qualities, as a democratic and sincere leader, who is right for the Ghana of today, despite the outrageous and unfair things that Flt. Lt. Rawlings (who many now feel is unfortunately proving daily, by his actions and utterances, that he is truly yesterday's man, indeed!), says about him.
Ordinary Ghanaians need to know how lucky Mother Ghana is, at this critical juncture of our nation's history, to have a firm believer in the rule of law, such as President Mills, leading the remarkable, modern and united African nation-state of diverse-ethnicity, which Nkrumah's extraordinary vision and leadership, helped bring into being.
To be blunt, it is an outrage that a gentleman who is by far the most honest, caring, principled, as well as the humblest individual to lead Ghana, since the overthrow of the great Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in February 1966, has such a bad press and a poor image.
There are those who blame the situation on what they say is the monumental incompetence of the smug individuals whose job it is to project the president's image positively: to the good people of Ghana, and beyond.
Such critics say his small army of well-paid and over-pampered PR geniuses, bereft of any original thinking, almost to a man, ought to bow their heads in shame, that despite President Mills' calm, good-natured and phenomenal hard work as the nation's leader, Ghana's humble and honest current president, still has such a poor image as a leader, amongst so many ordinary Ghanaians.
Perhaps if they had done their work well, the events now taking place in their party, may never have seen the light of day. If the impossible were to happen, how do they know that Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings will not focus on them, if she does become their party leader?
Could she not easily decide to make it her priority, to order a thorough investigation into their handling of taxpayers' money - by having a forensic audit conducted into all the overt and covert activities of both the Osu Castle PR team and those in charge of the information ministry?
Naturally, there are also those in whose opinion, criticism of the government's PR team, is unfair.
Whatever be the case, it is a most unsatisfactory state of affairs, if truth be told. The president certainly deserves a better image - for he has achieved a great deal in such a short period: despite being handed a terrible inheritance by the NPP, which amounted to the economic equivalent of a poisoned chalice.
A documentary film, showing ordinary Ghanaians aspects of the president's working week, is long overdue. At this critical juncture, it is important, for the sake of the stability of the country, that it is shown nationwide to ordinary people - particularly by using the information vans of the Information Services Department (ISD) of the information ministry, to do so in rural Ghana.
Amongst other things, it must show him doing the following: chairing a cabinet meeting; talking to his security chiefs in their daily briefing for him; having discussions with some of his key advisers; doing his daily exercise; and at home with his family and pet dogs on a weekend.
All of the above must be interspersed with him on some of his foreign trips meeting other world leaders, and sharing his thoughts with viewers, on various issues of interest to ordinary people, in an interview conducted by someone like Kweku Sintim Misa; Nii Moi Thompson; or with the gentleman who does the "Time With David" show on one of the local TV networks (and whose name and the name of the network his show appears on, I unfortunately forget - but he was the Convention Peoples Party's (CPP) spokesperson during the campaign for the presidential election of December 2008!).
The documentary film of President Mills, must be shot by someone of the calibre of the gentleman who was Nkrumah's official photographer (if he is still alive - and whose name, alas, I also forget, unfortunately!). He is world-class - and will do a perfect job: just as good as any BBC documentary film about a leading political figure in the UK, would be.
It will also provide the president with an opportunity to, amongst other things, tell Ghanaians, why, for example, he takes the public criticisms of his regime by President Rawlings and others in his stride; why he is determined to remain focused in order to leave a legacy, which will result in an improvement in the overall quality of life of ordinary people, by the end of his tenure; why it is important that as a people, and nation, we follow due process and allow the rule of law to prevail in Ghana; and the importance of putting in place transparent mechanisms for safeguarding revenues from the exploitation of Ghana's oil and natural gas deposits (in addition to ensuring that those deposits don't end up being divvied up amongst our grasping ruling elites!).
Finally, for the sake of the continued stability of our homeland Ghana, and to provide the nation with a sense of assurance that issues of concern to ordinary people, which crop up from time to time, are being dealt with by an administration in firm control of the country, why don't the government's PR geniuses arrange for the president to speak directly to the nation regularly, henceforth, from his office: on TV, You Tube and the online social networks, as well as on radio - whenever the occasion demands it?
US presidents have done so, weekly, for decades, have they not? Surely, ordinary people in Ghana, do not have to wait for the state of the nation address to Parliament, in order to listen to the president of the Republic of Ghana telling them precisely what he and his regime are doing to resolve particular issues, for which the public mood demands timely answers, which only the president addressing them directly, in a broadcast, will assuage the fears of Ghanaians, and reassure them that their elected government is in firm control of the nation and on top of issues?
Is it not time the president started talking directly to ordinary Ghanaians, instead of his relying on the virtually non-existent goodwill, of a mostly-hostile Ghanaian media, to enable him do so from time to time?
What fair-minded and independent-minded Ghanaian, isn't aware that the Ghanaian media landscape, is full of entities and individuals with a hidden agenda -helping the NPP to return to power again to continue from where it left off: asset-stripping Ghana for the benefit of foreign interests and their local lackeys; and of course the enrichment of such journalists themselves too, in the process (classic examples being the takeover of Ashanti Goldfields by Anglogold, and the takeover of Ghana Telecom by Vodafone!).
The question is: will those government PR geniuses listen to good advice - and will they act quickly? Well, I do hope, for their own sake, that they get cracking with all the above - and sooner, rather than later. For, alas, time is not on their side. A word to the wise...
Tel (powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
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