[ 2012-08-05 ]

President Mahama is deep and not reckless - Pratt
The Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper,
Kwesi Pratt Jnr. has described President John
Dramani Mahama as an extremely cautious and
reflective person.

Mr. Pratt is convinced that President Mahama and
his Vice President designate, Mr. Amissah-Arthur,
have a semblance of the character of the late
President J.E.A. Mills.

“One of things I know about him and which I can
testify publicly is that he is not a reckless
person. He is extremely cautious and reflective,”
Mr. Pratt said in an interview on Radio XYZ 93.1
FM on Thursday.

The veteran journalist who expressed shock at the
demise of President John Mills last week said he
is confident that the late president’s successor
can do a good job.

“I have tremendous confidence in our current
president. Indeed, I can say without a shred of
doubt that he will be as Prof. Mills was. He is
not a vindictive person, he is tolerant, he is
affable and he is deep,” he affirmed.

He expressed his satisfaction at the manner
President Mahama reached out to all groups to join
hands with him to build the nation, adding,
President Mahama’s direct appeal to the youth for
support is also proper especially because the
younger generation is in the majority.


Determination vs. Experience

He however took issues with what he said was the
benign suggestion by the President that older
people should take a step back.

President Mahama told a crowd of mourners who
converged at the Efua Sutherland park on Tuesday
to mark one week celebration of the death of
President Mills that the mantle had fallen into
the hands of a new generation by divine reasons.

“God in his wisdom shifted the mantle of power to
a new generation and I call on the generation of
young people in this country to stand by me and
let us show our fathers that we are ready to take
over this responsibility and make a good job out
of it,” President Mahama said.

But Mr. Pratt indicated that such a suggestion is
a bit problematic and that it is important to
strike a perfect balance between the two
generations.

“Everybody is needed, including the old people.
They have tremendous wealth of experience that
young people do not have and we need to benefit
from that experience. So it’s more of a balance
between the exuberance, determination and the
enthusiasm of the youth, and the sober, stable,
reflective attitude of the aged.”

He said even though the president probably did not
mean for the statement to come out the way it did,
there is a need for it to be cleared up.

Change Strategy

Touching on the effect the death of President
Mills will have on the political strategies of the
various political parties, Mr. Pratt said due to
the unprecedented circumstance that the country
finds itself, the political parties must of
necessity change their strategies.

“Strategies in all the political parties have to
go back to the drawing board. Something has
happened to this country which is unprecedented
and whose consequences we cannot even fully
evaluate.”

He stated emphatically that the demise of the
President “will make an impact in the upcoming
elections.”

Mr. Pratt said for many people who were close to
Prof. Mills, it will take much more than a week to
recover from the shock and pain his death has
caused.

Source - RadioXYZonline.com

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