Kweku Baako, contributing in a panel discussion programme “Kokrokoo” on Peace FM Wednesday morning, stressed that the new name by the Mahama-led NDC government smacked of propaganda.
He explained that the initial change of name of the Presidential edifice from the Golden Jubilee House to the Flagstaff House by the Mills-Mahama government was done under the cover of darkness and so, “it just didn’t make sense in terms of good governance or authoritative governance.”
The Information Minister, Mahama Ayariga, admitted in an interview with Kwami Sefa Kayi on Wednesday, that the governing National Democratic Congress under the leadership of President John Dramani Mahama has changed the name of the seat of government from the Flagstaff House to the Jubilee Flagstaff House.
The multi-million dollar palace which was constructed to mark the 50th anniversary of Ghana's Independence, had its name reverted to the Flagstaff House by the Mills-Mahama NDC.
The edifice which served as the residence and office of Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, courted controversy when Ex-President John Agyekum Kufour commenced renovation works on the site to serve as the seat of government.
The erstwhile Kufour government went ahead to build the Presidential palace to house his successors but was somewhat neglected in 2009 by the late President John Evans Atta Mills on grounds that the establishment of the edifice was incomplete and also poses security threats to the Presidency.
President John Dramani Mahama, upon assumption of office, however, relocated from the Osu Castle to the Flagstaff House on February 7, 2013 as a matter of principle to commence his official duties.
There has since been controversy over the choice of name for the edifice as some critics wonder about whether the palace should be called Golden Jubilee or remain Flagstaff House.
When he heard of the new name “Flagstaff Jubilee House”, Son of Ghana’s first President, Sekou Nkrumah said he was totally thrown into a state of uttermost shock.
Speaking to Asempa FM yesterday, Sekou Nkrumah stated in a derisive manner that the sudden change may have resulted as “part of the reshuffle" by President Mahama.
"What!!! since when? is it Flagstaff House or Jubilee House?" he blurted out, asserting that if it turns out to be true, then “there is serious confusion going on" in the incumbent government.
Kweku Baako on the flip side also said the President’s relocation to the Flagstaff House proved that “there’s an element of reversal in the previous position” of the NDC government.
According to him, the Kufour government did nothing wrong in establishing the Presidential palace.
He further expounded that the Flagstaff House was a colonial relic, hence the need for a new seat of government; which Ex-President Kufour envisioned to do under his reign.
He therefore denied reports that the palace sometimes used to be waterlogged due to the poor construction of the edifice; part of the reasons why the late President Mills refused to move in.
Describing as “unprofessional”, analysis by some NDC pundits that the site was unsafe for the Presidency, he noted that the construction of the edifice was timely and so, the NDC government should have deployed an appropriate Presidential security core to protect the President when they felt the place could endanger his life.
“Golden Jubilee is representative of the 50th Anniversary of our independence. It is politically neutral…Golden was representative of the number of years that we had become independent. And as I said, was politically neutral and Flagstaff House in reality was unrepresentative of Nkrumah or Ghana. For whatever reasons, he chose to maintain it, but it is not everything that Nkrumah maintained or retained, that 50 something years later; Ghanaians will want to maintain or retain,” he said, adding that it is just a “needless propaganda-driven” tool by politicians to bring the issue at the centre of controversy.
Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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