Jon Benjamin had a different style of leadership – British High Commissioner

The British High Commissioner to Ghana Iain Walker has said that he would not exhibit similar leadership styles as his immediate predecessor Jon Benjamin because ‘he had a distinct style’.

Speaking on Accra-based Starr FM, Walker said “if you want to be happy you don’t compare yourself with others, you don’t trade your originality for approval from others."

“I believe my predecessor had his own distinct style and I have my distinct style too. My priority is to make the very best of my time as I find myself here.”

Most Ghanaians see Jon Benjamin as the most controversial diplomat to have ever served in Ghana.

He was criticised by political parties for his often public commentaries on internal politics of the country. He is on record to have taunted former President John Mahama when he embarked on what appeared like a project-commissioning campaign ahead of the 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections.

His opinion on corruption in Ghana caused outrage early in 2017.

At a public event in Accra in June 2017, Jon Benjamin said “we have seen far too much greedy, wanton corruption in too many spheres in government, in politics, public administration, in business, in traditional leadership, in football and in the media and there are too many levels from top to bottom. I refer to highly padded single-source contracts and unfairly awarded tenders. I refer to obvious conflict of interests by those using state positions to promote private business interest.”