Mills� Accusers Might Have A Hidden Agenda- Mahama Ayariga

The Presidential Spokesperson, Mahama Ayariga, has sounded a note of caution to NDC party members bent on constantly criticizing the President, signalling them to adhere to the party�s internal communication system, rather than washing their dirty linen in public. According to him, the critics should be questioned as to whether they have the best of intentions for the government or whether they have a pre-conceived agenda against President Mills, by needlessly accusing him of being slow at implementing his campaign promises. Speaking exclusively in an interview on arguably the best morning show programme in Ghana, PEACEFM's �Kokrokoo�, Mahama Ayariga disclosed that the President was oftentimes baffled at the flak he has been receiving lately, most especially those coming from notable party figures who even form part of his cabinet. �What is a source of worry, is when those who are involved in charting that path, do not use the appropriate fora for expressing their disagreements and concerns," he said. He said, �using the media as an outlet, is where some people get worried, and that is where sometimes the President might get worried. Not that he is worried about the fact that they come out in the open, but he will naturally be worried when certain individuals put them out in the open. He, not just the ex-president (Rawlings), but every other leading party member who has access to the president, can express his concern to the president at the appropriate forum,� he told Kwami Sefa-Kayi. The Presidential Spokesperson also implied that there might be an agenda by these some leading members of the party, though he stopped short of naming what that agenda might be. �The channel remains open, maybe we should ask them exactly what their agenda is, exactly what they seek to achieve by the way they go about expressing those grievances; maybe we should be asking why it is so, because the channel remains open. What baffles the presidency most, is the fact that, some of the accusers are cabinet members...I can tell you of people who have spoken out openly, and yet the same people attend cabinet meetings, which is really a platform where if there are policy disagreements, they should be expressed...I also know people who have access to the President," he stated He continued, "they cannot say when they are coming to the president anybody in this country will restrain them...and yet in spite of that access, they choose to use other platforms. We should be asking them, "exactly what is your agenda?" Why do you choose this other platform when everybody knows that indeed you have the proper platform,� he added. In spite of all this, he gave the assurance that the President was not distracted by the calls from the cynics to hasten up implementing his campaign promises. He added that the President rather sees the criticisms as matters to be expected when leading a country, as such he remains firm and focus in achieving results for his set goals. �They are not matters that will distract the President,� he stated. Mr.Ayarigah said the President takes on board every criticism which he thinks is genuine, adding that "when he hear those criticisms, he (President Mills) takes on board those that he thinks have some basis, and he corrects the mistakes where they are." "Infact he always says that, the person who is charting a path, often doesn�t realise that he is veering off it, or it is going crooked. It is those who are standing behind and watching who are sometimes able to tell you, that the path is getting crooked...If you are a listening government as the president is, you will listen, you will take corrective measures and then you will move forward in the right direction� he stressed.