Former President Flt. Lt. Jerrry John Rawlings
The founder of the NDC Party, Ex-President Rawlings, rather stated the obvious when he recently opined that Akufo-Addo inherited national corruption at its worst from the erstwhile National Democratic Congress administration.
Former President Rawlings averred: “By the time this administration came into office, the country was literally drowning in the practice of corruption with impunity. This administration has, therefore, inherited national corruption at its worst.”
Well, believe it or not, sleazes and corruption, as former President Rawlings has aptly asseverated, were so pervasive in the outgone NDC administration.
Regrettably, however, some of us have shockingly incurred the wrath of the NDC Party loyalists for upbraiding the erstwhile NDC administration on its failure to curb the rampant sleazes and corruption which obviously brought about Ghana’s massive economic meltdown.
It is, indeed, an undeniable fact that the erstwhile NDC government’s dreadful economic management and gargantuan corruptions sent Ghana’s economy deeper and deeper into the mire.
Ironically, however, former President Rawlings is said to have founded the NDC Party based on the principles of probity, accountability and transparency. Yet sleazes and corruption were so prevalent in the outgone NDC government.
And, worst of all, if we honestly compared the alleged corrupt practices of the murdered army officers in the 1979 coup d’état with the sleazes and corruptions which took place in the erstwhile NDC administration, we cannot help but pronounce that the Generals were “shot for less”.
The sleazes and corruption, as a matter of fact, and observation, pervaded every facet of the erstwhile NDC administration, and hence earning the famous descriptive nickname, ‘create loot and share’ government.
Dearest reader, the sleazes and corruption, so to speak, were so widespread to an extent that, the founder of the NDC Party, Rawlings, once shrieked and grouched openly: “I want to remind people that we could not have possibly forgotten that Generals were executed. The greed, corruption and injustice of today is a thousand times more than what these Generals were executed for, and if we are unable to restore a firm measure of integrity into our dealings, then the blood of many would have been shed in vain” (Rawlings 2017).
It certainly goes without saying that despite their much touted mantra of transparency, probity and accountability, we witnessed so many scheming guiles, sleazes and corruption in the erstwhile NDC administration. Who are they trying to deceive?
The outgone NDC government’s officials, regrettably though, have been committing the same crimes (sleazes and corruption) their party founders pathetically accused and exterminated many innocent people for.
Of course, there is nothing wrong for any individual to tag himself/herself as a proponent of transparency, probity and accountability. However, it is somewhat hypocritical and dishonest when a group of people who claim to be the exponents of such ethos would then turn around and dip their hands into the national purse as if there is no tomorrow.
After all, aren’t the NDC apparatchiks claiming to be preachers of transparency, probity and accountability?
So why are they blatantly refusing to practice what they have been relentlessly preaching to us all these years?
Are they wolves in sheep’s clothing? Maybe they are.
Perhaps, they are false prophets, who have been relentlessly preaching to their unsuspecting followers: ‘it is written in the Holy Book that thou shall not steal’. Meanwhile, they would cunningly turn around and dip their hands into the offering bowl as if the judgment day will never come.
Let us face it, though, we have in our midst manipulating politicians, whose primary objective is to clasp political power by the hook or by the crook so as to advance their vested interests.
Dearest reader, just take a look at Ghana’s political landscape and you would agree with me that most of our politicians harbour vested interests, and, have no empathetic qualities whatsoever.
If that was not the case, how could a group of politicians allegedly conspire and surreptitiously withdraw a whopping $400 million of Ghana COCOBOD’s money meant for the upkeep of poor farmers?
How on earth would people who claim to be social democrats incredibly dip their hands into the poor farmers' money and build a luxurious mansion at an alleged cost of GH¢7.7 million for their own comfort?
How could the insensitive NDC politicians clandestinely import about 43 vehicles at a staggering cost of $9 million at the blind side of the incoming NPP administration?
If those politicians aren’t heartless and insensitive to the plight of the impoverished Ghanaians, how come they conspired and paid dubious judgement debts to a tune of GH¢800 million?
If they are morally upright, how come they created loot and shared monies belonging to GYEEDA and SADA, which were meant to transform the lives of the needy in society?
Where are their honesty and integrity when they squandered funds meant to transform the lives of the penniless in society through dubious deals such as the Brazil World Cup, the infamous bus branding, SUBA, SSNIT among others?
Clearly, their much trumpeting ethos of probity, transparency and accountability is a charade. It is rather an illustrative case of preaching virtue and practising vice.
