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President John Dramani Mahama left Accra on Monday, December 23, 2013 for the United Arab Emirates, where he and his family spent the Christmas and the New Year holidays. The announcement of the president�s trip for a Christmas break generated what some considered to be a storm in a tea cup with many, especially from the New Patriotic Party (NPP), questioning the timing. The General Secretary of the NPP, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, for instance, saw no reason why the president should �abandon� his people for a luxurious get-away in Dubai in such difficult times. Asked by Kobby Fiagbe what informed his choice of Dubai as a holiday destination in light of the brouhaha, President Mahama stated categorically that, �Dubai was not a wasted vacation�. �When I took my leave, for strategic reason I decided to go to Dubai because I received an invitation from the ruler of Dubai to pay a private visit. As we are all aware the Middle East and the gulf region have some of the largest sovereign funds in the world and even Western leaders are going there to the UAE to attract investors into their country� ��I did not only take a leave to enjoy myself but took the opportunity to meet the ruler (Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum) and other powerful people. I also met the investment group and through the discussion I have with them they have committed to send their technical team here early this year to look at investment opportunities here in Ghana. So my leave wasn�t a wasted vacation,� he noted. President Mahama urged all working Ghanaians to at least enjoy their leave periods to have a refreshing mind to help improve their working input at their various working places. �Everybody must take a leave at some point so that nobody will see himself as indispensable. Everybody must take a leave. Nobody is indispensable. For transparency sake it is good for people to go on leave for others to take over until they return. In my case, i had a competent Vice who held the fort whilst i was away,� he said.