EC - Sabotage or Fair Game?

GNP CONGRESS STOPPED AT LAST MINUTE.

On Thursday March 27, 2008 a report on MyJoyonline indicated that the Ghana Electoral Commissioner has barred the Ghana National Party from holding its planed National Delegates Congress. According to the EC, the congress was to take place on Saturday March 29, 2008.


Folks, don’t let us deceive ourselves! Most Ghanaians know the conditions in Ghana and what the politicians are doing. Even GNP press releases have been twisted by GNA as they typed the press releases, making GNP look bad, and they refused to apologize. Why did the EC wait till the last minute?


We all know Government runs everything, including the major media houses such as GNA, and the government paper, the Daily Graphic is larger than all the papers in Ghana combined! The NPP criticized this when in opposition, but now use the same system to maintain their power. One should note that everybody in Ghana in the public service is paid by the same system. So what do we expect? Our Judicial system, as well as our Legislative branch of government, are not even independent in thinking and policies, due to the manipulation and centralization of funds. Even lawyers to challenge the government are afraid to take cases in obvious cases of abuse of power and unethical behavior of the executive! Most everybody is suffering but nobody can raise a finger! Such is our current system that some of us are trying to change! Our democracy is stifled by greed and abuse, based on a defective constitution with over-centralized powers. We all need to stand up together and challenge it if we love our country!


Friends, it is quite unfortunate that the EC waited till 3 days before the congress, after all preparations had been made, the EC office had been informed at least 1 to 2 months in advance, for them to realize that GNP had not met some of their requirements.


QUESTION is: What was the EC doing all this time after they were informed of the date? Who is being paid for a job like this to make sure certain requirement are met? Who is sleeping on the job?

Whiles we are on the topic, why is it that in all the effective working democracies we know, people are allowed to register almost all year long, and in Ghana the government allows only a window period of a week or few weeks for all people who have come of voting age and or moved back home and qualified in the last year to 4 years to register to vote? What is so difficult to manage an election for Ghanaians overseas if indeed the ROPAA was of serious intent? Think about it!


ANTI-DIASPORA PROPAGANDA IN GHANA – There is massive propaganda machinery in Ghana to dissuade people about a Diaspora party. Many Ghanaians with goodwill may not know what is happening, but should have known that in any power struggle where there is so much corruption, it’s like a mafia! A few people in power, using the taxpayer funds for their own self interest and unable to account for the massive loans they have incurred for the nation, are trying to prevent their power to be shaken or accept competition. They have friends in the system and will do anything to prevent competition. Surveys have shown up to 70-90% dissatisfaction in Ghana but many are even afraid to join a new political party because of possible loss of their jobs or contracts! Is this what we call democracy? Does anybody doubt why nations in Asia have left us behind in development and our leaders are even begging some of these nations we started the independence journey with!


None of the GNP founders can be accused of using taxpayer funds to buy their cars. We are not part of the system! Can the government officials and Ministers say the same, traveling around the country in entourages at the taxpayer expense even while campaigning for office?


Look, we all know how the game is played. Our people are assessed duties and taxes of 50-200% on personal cars and goods. The government is taking massive loans using the Ghana magic to let half the money vanish, and putting Ghana in debt at $7.1 Billion as reported by the Governor of the Bank of Ghana. Let’s add using taxpayer funds to order private Jets and build mansions when people don’t have water, the NPP members and their supporters are scared to death! They are using their friends in high positions to sabotage any attempt to shake their powers.


It is the vision of GNP to stop the abuse of executive power, misuse of public funds and open corruption and mismanagement from continuing in Ghana! We are not going to deny that GNP was initiated overseas. We are not ashamed of that. As Chairman of the Global division of GNP, I have notes of all conversations we have had with the EC office and dates, and I can cite if need be, how much effort we made and how many trips to their offices our members in Accra have made in for some officials to communicate with the EC officer in Tamale before they would even certify our founders forms since October 2006.

Folks, things are not as they appear in our democracy and you all know changes need to be made. Those of us overseas who joined with others in Ghana to found the party were never under the illusion that it was going to be easy to take power from these greedy and selfish people who take loans of $500 million and grants of $103 million from the World Bank for water systems, and cannot deliver water in 3 years! Something that should cost $3 million to build is being billed as $50 million without open cost estimates and we all know the game!


We of GNP will do whatever we can on our own limited but honest resources, to save our country. None of us are interested in any self gain. Most Ghanaians have questioned the source of financing for the 19 NPP Presidential candidates during the December 2007 primaries. No single founder of GNP cares to have a single dollar from the taxpayer funds for ourselves! GNP stands for great new possibilities, and we are not going to give up! Most of us can serve without pay and without government cars and bonuses that are not recorded. We don’t need somebody’s tax money to live middle class lifestyle!! We are relying on the goodwill of the Ghanaians. We just want to help our people and save them and our country from the pain, the shame and the global disgrace of living in the year 2008 and not having water in pipes for 70-90% of our people and over 70% reported unemployed!!


People have a right to ask if GNP did not notify the EC in time, follow the rules, or the EC is playing an intentional dirty game. Why did they wait till the last minute leaves room for questions! Don’t get us wrong. Some of the top people at the EC we know personally and can even consider as friends from the old days. They are very nice. But they are all employees of the same system! What people are wondering is why do they seem to have a system that for 15 years has not seen changes and made more efficient? Is it sabotage or controlled manipulation?


Dr. Kwaku A. Danso Diaspora Chairman & Co-Founder - Ghana National Party. Email: Kwaku.Danso@natlpary.com