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Christine Churcher On Her Knees

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 Source: Kwansema, Ekua

By Ekua Kwansema

Politics in Ghana has become very sweet these days. In fact it has become so sweet that certain segments of the people who were never regarded by politicians until election time have now become major political brokers as the country gears towards Round 2 of the presidential election. Did anybody hear that a former minister of the Kufour administration, Ms. Christine Churcher, who is one of the leading campaign members of Nana Akufo-Addo, was reported to have knelt at the hot sands at the Winneba beach begging the fishermen to vote for the NPP? Asem beba dabi!


When people are desperate, they tend to do everything. Sometimes they do stupid things without realizing the consequences. Desperate situations always lead to desperate measures.. It would not surprise me if I hear that Christine Churcher even entertained the fishermen as a strip dancer.


Now the big question is why would Christine Churcher do something like that? A lame person would say she just wants to help the NPP to retain power. But a closer look would portray something else. This woman who fell out with President Kufour has joined forces with Akufo-Addo so that when he wins, she would get her fair share of the spoils. By the way has anybody noticed that all the ministers and party officials who fell out with President Kufour have joined forces with Akufo-Addo?


Now that the NPP wants to win badly, I guess this is the right time that Ghanaian workers would have had all their unresolved issues resolved if they raise them before Round 2. What do you think would happen if doctors and nurses wake up tomorrow and ask that government do something about their allowances? How about the Railway workers who have been suffering as a result of intermittent payment of their salaries? What do you think would happen if teachers also throw in their hats to agitate for more pay?


I would be the biggest fool if I say that the NPP has done nothing since they came to power. They have done something, and to that I congratulate them. But what they have done falls short of the expectations of Ghanaians hence their struggle in the polls a week ago. Its like going for your annual review with your manager and being told that you did a couple of things right during the year, but fell short on the key responsibilities. This is the predicament facing the NPP today.

If their supporters doubt what I am writing they should answer these basic questions. The NPP people claim they have done much more than any past governments in Ghana¢s history. If this statement is true why would Christine Churcher be kneeling on hot sand at the beach begging fishermen?


If the NPP government has made a lot of traction in terms of real economic growth which reflects in the pocket of the ordinary people on the street, why would the government rush to reduce the prices of fuel just when Ghanaians are preparing for Round 2? And the lame excuse the NPP people are giving Ghanaians is that the National Petroleum Authority(NPA) is autonomous so nobody can influence their decisions. Everybody knows that the NPA it is autonomous, but who appointed the people to the NPA? I guess they did not appear from the moon.


Again, if the NPP has transformed Ghana as they continue to trumpet at every opportunity why would Akufo-Addo go begging some of the party supporters which he claims are aggrieved. Aggrieved of what? And who made them aggrieved? Why some NPP supporters would be aggrieved when the government continues to claim that everything is good and that they have created an economic boost in Ghana?


Now I want to ask my very last question. NPP believes in the rule of law which is why they send law breakers to jail. So why is rumours swirling around that drivers who were jailed for breaking the law are going to be released just in time to vote for the NPP on December 28?


I wish I were there when Christine Churcher was kneeling on the hot sand. I would have informed the fishermen to ask her to provide them there and then what the government promised them but failed to deliver. Reason being that if they get a change of heart and vote for Akufo-Addo, the next time they would hear from Christine Churcher would 2012.

I am now convinced that Christine Churcher would have many sands to kneel on. Her next stop should be Apam, Mumford, Moree, Cape Coast and all the way to the fishing towns in the Western Region. I don¢t know if she started at James Town. If she did not then I suggest she better go there and beg the fishermen there too.


With the little that the NPP has gone through next time when people entrust their lives into their hands, they would govern well without resorting to arrogance and winner-takes-all attitude. This is a warming signal to all those who aspire for higher office. By the way, Christine Churcher should stop by my doorstep and beg me too.


ekwansema@yahoo.com

Columnist: Kwansema, Ekua