President had no knowledge of Sam George’s appointment – Sources
The circumstances leading to the appointment of Sam George, as presidential staffer was unknown to the President, John Dramani Mahama, a source with knowledge of the happenings has told ghanabusinessnews.com.
Sam George was appointed as communication consultant at the presidency several months ago another source said.
The sources who didn’t want to be named all said the President got to know about the appointment after it was done and “he only fumed about it.”
Mr. George, a graduate of the University of Science and Technology, Kumasi for months now has been representing the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) on radio talk shows in the capital Accra, and he speaks on almost every matter including the economy.
However, his recent Facebook comments and swipe at Ivor Greenstreet of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) during the NDC National Congress in Kumasi has generated hot debates and calls for his sacking, if indeed he was a presidential staffer, but there has never been clarity about his position at the presidency.
In his response to Mr. Greenstreet’s scathing criticism of the NDC government about the country’s current economic difficulties and power outages, Mr. George remarked that Mr. Greenstreet needed “an elevation to see” the good works of the NDC. While some Ghanaians and party sympathizers consider the response appropriate to what they considered an attack on the ruling party, other citizens and party supporters see it as inappropriate considering the fact that Mr. Greenstreet is disabled and uses a wheelchair.
Mr. James Afedo a communications expert and sympathizer of the ruling party wrote on his Facebook page expressing his disagreement with Mr. George’s swipe at Mr. Greenstreet. In the said Facebook post Mr. Afedo described Mr. George as “of the office of the president”. But in a comment on the post Mr. Stan Dogbe, a presidential staffer challenged Mr. Afedo, he wrote among others, “you may want to also check and verify exactly where your friend, brother and comrade works, operates and supporting our party and government from, because your very conclusive position is not be the fact. And Sam does not speak for the President either.”
When ghanabusinessnews.com wrote an email to Mr. Dogbe asking him to clarify Mr. George’s position at the presidency, he declined, describing the request as “misdirected” and asked that we contact the Communications Minister instead. But efforts to reach the Communications Minister were unsuccessful.
But several sources close to the presidency have indicated to ghanabusinessnews.com that Mr. George is a presidential staffer.
Meanwhile, a Ghanaian Palaver report acquired by ghanabusinessnews.com purports that Sam George has tendered in his resignation. The contents of report however, cannot be confirmed.
“The Ghanaian Palaver can confirm that the Presidential Staffer and key communicator at the Presidency, Mr. Samuel George Nartey, has resigned from his post following certain comments he made about the physical ability of the General Secretary of the Convention People’s Party over the weekend. In a four-paragraph resignation letter dated 23 December 2014, addressed to the President and copied to the Chief of Staff, Sam George, as he is popularly known, thanked the President for believing in him and giving him the opportunity to serve in his government,” the introduction to the report says.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi