Audio Attachment:Listen to Kwadwo Mpiani |
Former chief of staff under the Kufour led administration, Kwadwo Mpiani has lauded President John Mahama for his braveness to operate from the Flagstaff House as the official seat of government despite some foul avowal from his party members.
According to Kwadwo Mpiani, former late President Prof Atta Mills was overwhelmed when Kufour toured him in the then �Golden Jubilee House� when he was elected as the President of Ghana.
�President Mills when elected into power was toured in the building which I (Mpiani) was there myself. The president was pleased with the good works done by Kufour. He congratulated him (Kufour) so we (the NPP) knew President Mills would work from the Jubilee House but he did not,� he asserted, adding that some leading members of the NDC raised issues which led to the abandonment of the Jubilee House by President Mills� administration.
The Flagstaff House, which was used by Ghana's first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, was reconstructed by the Kufuor administration to be used as the seat of government.
The project, which was financed by an Indian loan and grant, was inaugurated just before the former president ended his term of office and renamed Jubilee House, but the NDC reverted the name to Flagstaff House after it took office in 2009.
It has both office and residential accommodation for the president, the vice president and the supporting staff.
However, the late former President John Evans Atta Mills did not use the edifice, citing security concerns.
Flagstaff House To Golden Jubilee House
Speaking on PEACE FM�s morning show programme �kokrookoo�, Kwadwo Mpiani extolled President Mahama for taking such a bold initiative to operate from the now Flagstaff House and believes it�s a good development for his led administration.
He told Tweneboah Kodua (TK) host of the programme that President Mahama has shown braveness despite all the security issues raised and must be commended for utilizing the place since it caused a lot of money to erect such an edifice.
But he(Kwadwo Mpiani)has beseeched the president to consider changing the name from Flagstaff House to its original name, the Golden Jubilee House, since it was constructed in commemoration of Ghana�s 50th independence anniversary, therefore had more meaning.
He further said the Castle was not built to house the Presidency but rather where slaves were kept for sales.
�The Castle was for the foreigners who were into slavery and at the same time protecting our country when they located here in Ghana. If you enter the Castle, it�s not a place for a President to live and work, they (the NDC) know,� he said.
Source: King Edward Ambrose Addo/ Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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