Our Presidents And Foreign Trips

President Mahama has come under attacks for his official trips. While his critics say he has surpassed formers President Kuffuor on this score another school of thought is that his travels are in order and beneficial to the nation. Without a stretch of imagination one can point to some visible benefits the entire sub region is deriving from the moves by President Mahama who is current Chairman of the Authority of ECOWAS as far as the Ebola scare is concerned. 

Global attention to the devastating consequences of Ebola has been drawn and the response in terms of donations and pledges of cash is encouraging. On the President's trips to Asia Europe, North and South America, one can mention the ongoing Kwame Nkrumah Circle exchange project, the continuation of work on the Bui Dam and the Ghana gas project as concrete dividends. In much the same way former President Kuffour went on similar journeys to broker peace- and pursue loans to begin the Bui Dam, build new stadia in Tamale and Sekondi and refurbish two in Accra and Kumasi stadia. 

The Accra-Aburi dual carriage and other road projects vindicate those trips. No wonder, all those who opposed the trips by President Kufuor have apologised for wrongly criticizing him. In much the same vein we must spare President Mahama any blame for travelling on the ticket of the nation. 

Under the 1992 Constitution a President is required to exercise his powers as Executive President from whom all Government projects, programs and policies emanate. 

The current President is not doing anything different from his predecessors. As Head of Executive arm of Government, he is responsible for reaching agreements with the countries, donors and banks for loans. In so doing he has to travel sometimes. The first Presidents for excessive travels, we might be wrong. 

The first President Dr. Kwame Nkrumah who became Executive President in 1960 when Ghana became Republic, had to travel and use resources from our foreign partners including the United States to build the Akosombo Dam, the Tema Motorway, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology to mention but a few, Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia and Dr. Hilla Liman whose governments were truncated after only two years in office each, also did well to plant the seed of true democracy tolerance, rural development and agricultural development in their terms of office. 

In all these, Presidents had to use experiences of other nations to develop Ghana. No one can quantify their contributions in cash terms but we are living the values in the project tangible and intangible they bequeathed to us, in all we do.

However if the foreign travels by our Presidents under the current dispensation is worrisome we must do something about it. The nation must relook at the constitution,  that grants unlimited powers to the President to travel on any trip. We should also look at the expenditure on those travels as against the benefits to the states. This can be done if the travels are audited and given consideration to determine their benefit to the nation as against their expenditure. 

Before then there is nothing we can do except to pray for the presidents to live up to expectation by going on trips that are absolutely necessary to bolster our economy.