The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says he takes both the blame and credit of his government.
Delivering his last-but-one message on the State of the Nation, the President e xplained that while the contribution of other government officials could not be underestimated, it is the President who takes both the blame and credit.
“Under the Constitution, the executive power of the State is vested in the President of the Republic. Ultimately, the President is responsible, and, therefore, takes the credit or the blame for whatever happens in his or her government,” Nana Akufo-Addo said.
“There is no ambiguity about where the buck stops, when it comes to responsibility for what happens in the government. It stops with the President, he or she has ultimate responsibility,” he added.
“It would be an “unwise” President that would pretend to have all the answers, and refuse the advice of his officials, but the fact remains that the President holds the executive power. The Cabinet, the Ministers of State all act in an advisory manner,” the President echoed.
He explained that a member of the government could take an idea – generated by the President, an official or a committee, and turn it into a huge success, but any honour emanating from it ended on the doorsteps of the President.
Nana Akufo-Addo, however, called for continuous improvement in the performance of institutions that holds the State together, and not undermine the integrity of the various arms of government for parochial reasons.
“There is definitely much room for improvement in the workings of the Executive arm of Government, the Judiciary, and our Parliament. Even those who have had Parliaments as part of their governance systems for hundreds of years still make mistakes, and, sometimes, get things alarmingly wrong,” he said.
Lauding all Ghanaians for their contributions in sustaining the country’s democracy for the past 30 years, the President noted that it was important for programmes originating from the Executive to undergo rigorous public examination and debates.
“We all now take for granted and, sometimes, even bemoan the vigorous media and civil society organisation scrutiny that characterise public discourse,” he said, adding that he took pride in such development.
“It gives me quiet satisfaction and great pride to hear young Ghanaians, today, who believe that criticising the President of the Republic and challenging government proposals are normal, regular activities,” he said.
GNA