Buck stops with me as President — Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has reiterated the position that he bears responsibility for whatever challenges the country has gone through.

“There is no ambiguity about where the buck stops, when it comes to responsibility for what happens in the government.

 It stops with the President, he or she has ultimate responsibility,” he stated.

“It would be an unwise President that would pretend to have all the answers, and refuse the advice of his officials, but the fact remains that the President holds the executive power,” he told Parliament while delivering his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Tuesday.

His acceptance of responsibility of the challenges comes in the wake of criticisms of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flag bearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, that as Vice-President, he was an assistant to the President in the governance of the state.

While encapsulating his vision as the flag bearer of the NPP for the 2024 polls at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Dr Bawumia pledged to lead Ghana into an economic boom and promised to cancel a number of taxes including the E-Levy introduced by President Akufo-Addo.

“As Vice-President, I was asked by the President to assist in solving some of the problems that were inhibiting the transformation of Ghana’s economy.

My approach was to help formalise the economy through digitalisation as stated in our 2016 manifesto.

 This is why my office has had oversight responsibility for many of the government’s digitalisation projects,” he said.

But those comments received a lot of blacklash for abandoning the President when it came to the challenges that confronted the country but claiming ownership in areas that the government had chalked up successes.

Executive presidency

But during his SONA, President Akufo-Addo reminded Ghanaians and Dr Bawumia’s critics that under the 1992 Constitution, the executive power of the state was vested in the President as the country was practising the Executive presidency type of governance.

He explained that the Cabinet, the Ministers of State all acted in an advisory manner, though a member of the government might take an idea, be it generated by the President or the official or a committee, and turn it into a huge success, and the honours would be claimed or shared where public perception falls.

“But ultimately, the President is responsible and, therefore, takes the credit or the blame for whatever happens in his or her government,” he added.