By Prof. Kobby Mensah
It’s exactly a week since I accepted my appointment as the Acting CEO of GTDC. My first action was to thank his excellency, Pres. John Dramani Mahama, for acknowledging my competence and finding it worthy to help the national cause and his vision to build the Ghana we want.
I also called on my University authorities to directly inform them of the development and the way forward for me.
I also called my family and friends to inform them formally from the horse’s own mouth.
Next was to introduce myself to my sector Minister, Hon. Abla Dzifa Gomashie, on the phone and later in her office, assuring her of my total commitment to her goals for the ministry towards the vision of His Excellency.
The following day I paid a informal visit to the outgoing CEO, Mr. Kwadwo Odame Antwi, who graciously spent three good hours with me on the operations of GTDC and the priority areas.
He later introduced me informally to the staff. We scheduled a formal meeting and handing over ceremony for Monday. On the weekend, I met about 5 key stakeholders in the areas of programme development and collaborations.
I also met the outgoing and incoming CEOs of GTA to appreciate the relationship between the two entities. I really learnt a lot in these interactions.
On Monday, we officially met to be introduced to the management and staff and for the outgone CEO to officially hand over the reigns of GTDC to me. The event was a solemn as well as hopeful one. After that I used the day to meet staff individually to understand their work role and their expectations for the future.
The following day, Tuesday, was a visit by my sector minister to the agencies, including mine. The meeting was exciting as it was full of hopes and enthusiasm for reset. The minister outlined her vision and that of the President by which our operations must align to ensure delivery of the mandate given to the government by Ghanaians. After the minister’s visit, I continued with my individual staff engagement for insight, advice, and commitment to the reset agenda.
I also invited the Marketing Communications (Marcomms) team for a brief session on Brand Journalism, our now to be implemented marketing communication philosophy. The team really loved the new approach and is eagerly looking forward to its full operations.
On my third day in office, management met for a product development brainstorming session. In this session we reflected on our mandate, investment, and development of tourism infrastructure, serving as the commercial arm of the ministry.
We agreed that this mandate means a number of things. After a thorough deliberation, we concluded on four strands to our mandate, bordering on infrastructure, human capital, technology and innovation, and sustainable cultural assets.
In a nutshell, as one would say, ‘so far so good.’ We are absolutely hitting the ground running, as his excellency President John Dramani Mahama has no time to waste and my team and I are absolutely committed to the speed of his excellency to deliver the Ghana we all want. So help me God
NB: On the trivia, I answered over 2800 WhatsApp messages over 3 days after my announcement. Just wanted to answer each and everyone individually so I’m not accused of … I’m grateful to my solid networks for being there for me Tanko Musah Eugene Allotey Chris Atadika
Source: newsthemegh.com