COMMENT: Creative thinking will save Ghana - and move it forward

By Kofi Thompson

The tragedy for Ghana, is that given the same political situation in the country, and the same set of economic conditions, had the New Patriotic Party (NPP) held uninterrupted power from December 2008 to date, many of those now busy condemning the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration of President Mahama, would be telling Ghanaians with straight faces that they had never had it so good.

(Naturally, one could also say the same thing, had roles been reversed, and the NDC was the main opposition party.)

Those selfsame critics of the administration of President Mahama, would be insistent, for example, that Ghana's low rate of inflation was ultimate proof of the soundness of the government's economic policies - and repeatedly state that a low and stable rate of inflation engenders confidence in the business world, which leads to investment decisions being made by companies: resulting in future GDP growth and the creation of jobs.

It is such double-talk, and the constant desire to see the country in disarray when they themselves are not in power, which shows the insincerity and cynical nature of many in the world of politics in Ghana.

Although he himself is not afflicted by this unfortunate malady, the decent and gentlemanly Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo's NPP, is particularly guilty of this terrible crime against Mother Ghana.

Should the desire to maintain the international reputation of Ghana as an oasis of peace, and a stable multi-party democracy, not be uppermost in the minds of all Ghanaian politicians?

Now a notion gradually gaining some traction in Ghana, luckily, some of us have repeatedly stated, for nearly two decades now, that the Ghanaian media should neither tolerate nor encourage those who engage in endless criticism of governments of the day, in what is still a poor developing country with many problems, without offering viable alternative policy solutions to the problems we face as a people.

Is it not time that that tiresome trait of the smug-arrogant and the too-clever-by-half mediocre - endless criticism without the offer of sound alternative policy solutions - was made a thing of the past in the Ghanaian media?

(Speaking personally - and I say this humbly, and only to make a point - it gives me great satisfaction that from the gem of an original idea of mine, in one of my previous articles, a whole class of self-employed youth has been created quietly and without fanfare by the NDC, across the nation, through the Local Enterprise Skills Development Programme (LESDEP) and its growing variants. But I digress).

As can be seen in the impoverishment of millions in member states of the European Union, and the economic upheavals being experienced in so many highly-indebted wealthy nations in the eurozone today, the old certainties in economics no longer apply.

The only certainty today, is uncertainty. What ordinary Ghanaians need to hear, are the creative alternative solutions, which those who criticise the way their nation is run - as well as complain about the actions and inaction of public officials - propose as their solutions to the difficulties that confront Ghanaians and their nation daily.

The decent and gentlemanly Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo's confounded NPP, will find that if its small army of 'communicators' concentrated on offering creative solutions to Ghana's many problems, it would redound to the party's benefit, when the next presidential election is held in 2016.

It is time all Ghanaian politicians understood clearly that creative thinking (not endless criticism instead of constructive criticism) is what will save the enterprise Ghana - and help move it forward. A word to the wise...

Email: peakofi.thompson@gmail.com.