“The events in Kumasi are being brought systematically under control in the way that they should be and we assure the nation that we are not wavering from the commitment that we made that we were going to serve Ghana under the conditions of the rule of law,” he said.

 On the recent developments concerning the vigilante group, President Akufo-Addo said the criminal and judicial systems of the country were addressing the matter.

Addressing the media at the end of a three-day retreat for members of his government at the Peduase Lodge, near Aburi, in the Eastern Region yesterday, the President reiterated his unalloyed commitment to the rule of law in fulfilment of the promise he made to the people of Ghana.

He announced a ban on the purchase of new vehicles by any member of his government, saying: “These are difficult times for the people of Ghana, for which reason no extra expenses will be made by way of vehicular purchases.”

Rather, he said, members of his administration would have to manage with the available vehicles, no matter how dilapidated they were.

Purchase of official vehicles

Going forward, the President said, no member of government would be allowed to purchase his or her official vehicle, as the case had been in the past.

That, he said, was to put a decisive end to the practice of government officials buying the official vehicles allocated to them for official work, leading to the situation where vehicles needed for the running of the government machinery were sold to state officials.

Nana Akufo-Addo observed that that policy had been abused, for which reason “that policy will not work again”.

Essence of retreat

Touching on the essence of the three-day retreat, President Akufo-Addo said it had been three months since he took office, while some of his ministers had been in office for two months, and that it was important to meet to review what had transpired over the period and to chart a way forward.

“That is what we have been doing over the past three days: review what has happened in our government over the past two months and satisfy ourselves about the things we need to do to realise the agenda we have set for our country,” he said.

He said the opportunity was also used to strengthen the bonds among members of his administration, noting that the success of the government would depend more on a unified and cohesive corps of members.

The President said he would not prefer an administration based on individualism or cliques, saying the strength that came with a unified body was what he intended to count on in his effort to make good his promises to Ghanaians.

For that to happen, he said, there was the need for the “spirit of teamwork and co-operation”, adding: “These three days spent here have established for me the sense of togetherness and oneness that we need. So we are leaving here in high spirits.”