President Kufuor is said to have asked the Ghana @50 Secretariat to close down following concerns that the organization of the jubilee celebrations were fraught with problems. The Secretariat was expected to continue its activities to the end of the year, including a key role in the organization of the upcoming African Union Summit due to be held in July. However, Joy News sources reveal that President Kufuor is unsatisfied with the organization of the jubilee celebrations and has therefore asked that the secretariat wind down its operations. The President’s directive comes in the wake of concerns raised by the public, including some government officials, about the manner in which the Secretariat handled the organization of the jubilee celebrations and its finances. The Secretariat was expected to play a key role in the organization of the AU summit, but our sources said the President wants to avert another embarrassment he and the country faced with the poor organization of the jubilee celebrations. President Kufuor was reported to have personally gone looking for accommodation for some of his guests few days to the March 6 celebrations which attracted about 30 heads of state and government. Despite the success of the 6th March parade itself; reports say there were several organizational challenges, which caused the country some embarrassment. But the Chief Executive of the Secretariat, Dr Charles Wereko-Brobbey told Joy News that he has not received any directive to close down. “I don’t know where you heard the report from. Nobody has asked the secretariat to wind up for resources to be verified. Obviously in building up to the climax of 6th March there were numerous activities which required numerous hands to be on deck. And once we have passed the climax even though the celebrations are continuing…the pace of activities clearly is reduced,” he said. Dr Wereko-Brobby continued: “Therefore we need to examine whether all the hands that were engaged are still required so without anybody prompting us we are looking at ways of optimising our resources – downsizing the secretariat. But it is not from any directive.” Dr Wereko Brobbey said the Foreign Ministry is the main organizer of the AU summit. His outfit’s only role will be to provide transportation and accommodation for the visiting dignitaries. “The secretariat has been involved in the development of an organisation of logistics for the celebrations and quite a bit of these logistics would be available for the Summit especially the vehicles that were bought and also the housing that are being developed at La and Ridge,” he stated. He announced that the houses would be ready by the end of May 2007. However, other jubilee projects such as the toilets the secretariat promised ahead of the March 6 celebrations are not so ready. Dr Wereko-Brobby said funding has been the main hindrance. “The toilets are under construction. Unfortunately in Accra we ran into one or two problems with access to the sites. There were squatters who refused to move from the sites and so it delayed things a bit. But we expect that in the next two to three months all of these would be completed,” he stated. Nevertheless, Dr Wereko-Brobbey believes despite the rough bumps the Secretariat has had to face since its establishment, it is still on course. For him, the magnificent edifices at the various jubilee parks and the remodeling of the National Archives into a state of the art centre is a worthy legacy the Secretariat will leave behind even after it is closed down.