Resign And Save Ghana � Political Scientist Tells Mahama

The Head of the Political Science Department at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, (KNUST) says it will be in the best interest of the President, John Dramani Mahama to step down if he is not ready to take the blame for occurrences in the country. Dr. Richard Amoako Baah was reacting to media reports that quoted the President as saying he is not to be blamed for the current economic conditions in the country. The president�s comments on his official Facebook page come in the wake of harsh economic conditions in the country. The president, on the page, explained that the country was only reacting to the current global economic downturn and so his government could not take the blame entirely. �Since the beginning of this year, several countries, with stronger economies than Ghana�s, have seen their currencies depreciate in value due to the moves of international players on the stock market. In January, for instance, Argentina�s peso fell more than 20%, Turkish lira lost 6%, the South African rand fell 7% and so did the Russian ruble. The president said, �the government is aware of the effect this depreciation has on your lives,� and urged the country not to panic at the current economic trends since �panic only worsens things in the financial market. �Concerning the depreciation of the Ghana cedi, this is not caused by our national decisions. We are part of the global financial system and so we share both its ups and downs� Mr. Mahamah wrote on his face book page. However speaking on Kumasi-based Ultimate Radio�s news analysis programme �Fact File�, the outspoken astute political science professor, argued that the pronouncements made by president Mahama betrayed his ignorance and misconceptions about the very issues concerning his own country. Articulating his discontent with the President�s appreciation of national issues, he said the President was behaving like a chief and not like a Head of State in charge of the country�s affairs. Flabbergasted at the President�s plea not to be blamed, he said �he comes out to tell us that the whole world is going through [a similar situation] but he forgets to tell us the Ivory Coast and Nigeria are not losing their currency this disturbingly. These are our neighbors! And instead he goes to give us Argentina and forgets about the CFA and the Dollar and the Pound. What is he talking about� he inquired. �I will tell you right here and now, President Mahama should do the honorable thing and resign. He should do the honorable thing and save his country from further decline because this is a serious issue,� he suggested strongly. �People are unemployed, criminals are more and more empowered because they have no food to eat and I can go on and on. And if you can�t take responsibility for it how then can you take the initiative to find solutions to it?� he asked passionately. He queried, �If the president is just sitting aloof hoping that the international community will do something about Ghana�s ailing economy then what did we vote him for?�