https://www.myjoyonline.com/ghanaians-react-to-boris-johnsons-resignation-on-joy-sms/-------https://www.myjoyonline.com/ghanaians-react-to-boris-johnsons-resignation-on-joy-sms/
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson makes a statement at Downing Street in London, Britain, July 7, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson's tenure came to an end on Thursday after he tendered a resignation. 

A historic party revolt over a series of ethics scandals forced him to step down.

It took the resignation of nearly 60 members of his government -- almost half the payroll -- for Johnson to finally abandon his attempts to cling on to power.

His decision has triggered conversations about whether such an instance where a Public Officer or government appointee would willingly resign over engaging in misconduct.

On social media, particularly on Twitter, there were calls for President Akufo-Addo to emulate the UK Prime Minister.

The discussion continued on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show where host, Winston Amoah, and panelists, Pharmacist & fellow, Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Kwame Sarpong Asiedu and Kwaku Antwi-Boasiako, a concerned Ghanaian took a dive into the matter.

Expressing his views on the matter, Mr Antwi Boasiako noted that government officials may want to resign or not based on their principles and their motivation for being in office.

“It’s a matter of principles. The bottom line is what motivates a person to get into public office. If the motivation is to serve people genuinely, then whenever you have a situation that prevents you from being able to offer service, then you have to step down,” he said.

He noted that in the case of Ghana, many people’s motivation to serve in public office is not in the interest of the public.

“The motivation is to go and serve their personal, parochial interests and that’s why we may never see such an instance in the country,” he said.

After his resignation, the Prime Minister insisted that he would continue as a caretaker leader while the Conservative Party launches the process of choosing a successor.

Some senior figures in his party say even that will be unsustainable, given the dwindling number of people willing to work for him.

Others are already lining up to replace him. Party officials say they will announce the timetable for a leadership election by Monday.

Speaking in front of the famous 10 Downing Street door, the same place where many of his predecessors delivered their own resignation addresses, Johnson announced that he would be stepping down -- without actually saying the words out loud.

"It is clear now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore, a new prime minister," Johnson said.

"The process of choosing that new leader should begin now," he added, saying the timeline will be announced next week.

In a sign that he is planning to stay in the office for as long as he can, Johnson announced he had appointed a new cabinet "to serve, as I will, until a new leader is in place." Appointing new cabinet ministers means that the government can continue to function as he prepares to depart.

Johnson spoke of his attempts to stay on as leader and how "painful" it is for him to step down, but made no mention of the scandals that have proved his political downfall.

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