Former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Victor Smith, has stated that the tenure of office for all state appointed officials should be exhausted before they leave office, except in special circumstances when it is necessary for them to leave office.
In an interview on the ‘Epa Hoa Daben’ show with Kwame Afrifa Mensah on Happy FM, Mr. Smith said, “we should be patriotic, put Ghana first and not party first”.
According to him, governments should cease the practice of always appointing new people to exalted positions when a different party comes to power as it affects the work of that sector.
He added that when the government appoints a new person into office, that appointee will have to learn the ropes of the job and this affects effectiveness and efficiency of work while the just dismissed one has the requisite skill to run the sector.
Citing the Late President J.E. Mills as an example worth emulating, Mr. Smith stated that when the late president came to power, he maintained the then Chief Justice, Georgina Wood even though she was appointed by a different government.
He made this comment in relation to the recent violence during the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election where some people got hurt because of lapses in security. Mr. Smith attributed the lapses to the various appointments in the security sector when the immediate past ones were capable.
By: Joel Sanco
