Real Change: The Buck Stops With President Mahama

Having snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, President Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) must be magnanimous in victory.


He  must  reach out to all  those  defeated by his party in the presidential and parliamentary elections. They too have  vital roles  to play in the coming transformation of Ghana.


He must also use the model that enabled the Democratic Peoples Party's members to return to the NDC,  to  reconcile his   party with the breakaway anti-Mills faction that formed the National Democratic Party.


This is the time for Ghanaians from across the spectrum to reconcile with one another. The task ahead of the  nation is an arduous one - and Ghanaians  can only succeed if they are united.


Above all, President Mahama ought to  move swiftly to consolidate his power, once he is sworn-in on 7th January,  2013.


He must put the past when he played second-fiddle,  and then went on to serve out the rest of President Mills' tenure, behind him.


He must  chart a new course as an elected leader -  selected by ordinary people to transform the enterprise Ghana and empower the younger generation of Ghanaians.


He would be wise  to align himself to his party's founder, President Rawlings  - by making him the chairperson of a new presidential task-force on  corruption.


It will enable him  quickly reconcile the various factions in the National Democratic Congress (NDC).


Perhaps he can begin that process by appointing Dr. Ezenator Rawlings to the Ministry of Health. Mr Martey Newman ought to be sent abroad to China as our new ambassador. China is a key ally of Ghana's.


He must be replaced as Chief of Staff at the presidency, by a  consensus politician - who will  become  Chief of Staff and Minister for Presidential Affairs. There are those who say that the  Hon. Alban Bagbin would be a perfect choice.


Above all, whatever he does going forward, he must never forget  that as President of the Republic of Ghana, it is he who history will judge - not the late  Mills' powerful  inner-circle:  who kept him on a tight leash throughout the late president's  tenure.


They will be mere footnotes in the recounting of the history of the period when he led Ghana - and as a student of history no one need remind him of that.


In bringing about real change in Ghana during his tenure, after he is sworn into office as President  next year, the buck really does stop with him. A word to the wise...


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Email: peakofi.thompson@gmail.com