Good Evening Ghana host Paul Adom-Otchere has revealed that President John Mahama may not always be getting the full picture of what is happening outside the Jubilee House because ministers and officials are more likely to report positive developments to him.
He said this can create a gap between what the President hears in meetings and what ordinary people experience.
“Sometimes you don’t feel what is happening outside the Jubilee House. You see, it’s like a spirit. The Jubilee House holds you and you don’t really get to know what’s happening outside,” he said during an interaction with YouTuber Kwadwo Sheldon.
Adom-Otchere explained that ministers have an incentive to present their work positively during meetings with the President.
“They have to report good to you because if they don’t report good to you, you come after them,” he said.
He stressed that this does not mean ministers are necessarily doing a bad job, but said a President can still miss important issues if he relies too heavily on official reports.
He used demolitions and public complaints over some government actions as examples.
“I do not think that John Dramani Mahama, the President, is fully aware of the extent of demolitions that have been done,” he said.
He also referred to a recent case where a government figure was forced to publicly deny responsibility for an action after people began associating it with him.
Adom-Otchere said the media should have pushed further by asking who was responsible.
“If it’s not you, then who is it?” he asked.
