We congratulate Ambassador Quartey, but let’s bridge the partisan gap

One of the key events at the just-ended 28th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was the election of Ghana’s career diplomat, Ambassador Thomas Kwesi Quartey, to the high office of Deputy Chairperson of the AU Commission.

The Daily Graphic congratulates the very experienced diplomat on capping his over 35 years of unbridled service to Ghana in several countries and at the seat of government with his election as the vice chair of the continental body.

While we express pride in his elevation to that high post, we also laud the government for offering him the much needed support and backing to enable him to receive 44 out of the 54 votes cast at the assembly, representing about 82 per cent of votes from the Heads of State gathered.

 Ambassador Quartey’s election last Monday, January 30, 2017, brings the number of Ghanaians elected to positions within the AU Commission at the 28th summit to three.

Before his election, the Executive Council of the AU had, on Thursday, January 26, 2017, elected Kathleen Quartey Ayensu to serve on the AU Commission on International Law (AUCIL), while Mr Daniel Batidam was elected to serve on the Advisory Board on Corruption.

Of course, last Monday was not the first time that the government had supported a citizen viewed as capable enough to contest and win an international position.

The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, received the full support and endorsement of the Kufuor government to take up the position of Executive Secretary of ECOWAS, from where he became the President of the sub-regional body.

Others who benefitted from governmental support were Ambassador James Victor Gbeho, whose nomination for the position of President of the ECOWAS Commission was approved by West African leaders in Abuja, Nigeria, on February 16, 2010, and Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni, who was elected as the Secretary General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of states to serve the unexpired term of Dr Ibn Chambas.

But while we laud the government for pushing for the appointment of Ghanaians to occupy international positions without recourse to their political colouration, we also urge that a similar sense of apolitical thinking should guide positions in public office locally.

There have been one too many instances of the termination of the appointments of people heading public institutions just because they are perceived or thought to belong to an opposing political party.

As we have said time without number, we believe that the practice does not augur well for our development as a nation and is becoming the tragedy of our democracy.

The Daily Graphic believes that each government is entitled to have people it believes will champion its ideals at the helm of affairs at public institutions.

Yet, we are of the view that desire or entitlement does not make it right to fire heads of public institutions just because a new government is in power. If those chief executives are, indeed, the professionals that we believe they are and are delivering, then they must be allowed to complete their full terms before replacements are made.

Otherwise, we urge the government machinery to state in very clear terms that those positions are tied to the fortunes of a ruling government, so that when that political party loses power in an election, those occupying those positions will know that they have lost their positions too.