From A Better Ghana To A Bitter Ghana “ Atta Mills

(P.I)

Most Ghanaians have still not recognized the fact that Prof. Atta Mills always does the opposite of what he says. In his bid to become the president, Prof. Mills in his campaign tour made all sort of promises which he latter termed it as Campaign Promises€. I’m waiting to see when he will make a serious promise. To me, the only consistent thing I found with Prof. Mills and the NDC government is their inconsistency.

For the benefit of my readers, I would want to cite some of the promises he made which he has surprisingly acted contrary.

For instance, in 2008, when president Kuffour and his team reduced fuel prices, the then candidate Mills said the Kuffour administration is being insensitive and that his government will reduce fuel prices drastically when he assumes office as president, but in his normal opposite way increased the prices of petroleum drastically.

Secondly, he promised to eradicate corruption and punish any member of his government who is found to be corrupt. But less than one and a half years after coming to power, John Abu Junipor has put up a mansion; Ama Benyiwa Doe has done a similar thing and is also putting up another. A DCE from one of the Districts in the Volta region who has also put up a huge mansion claims it was the money he won in the National Lotteries that enabled him to put up that building.

Worse of all, a Minister was accused of embezzling state’s fund and further accused of conflict of interest in the person of Mr. Muntaka Mubarak (a.k.a Pampers). Prof. Mills openly defended this Minister and emphatically made this quoted statement this is not the first time a Minister of state is traveling abroad with his girl friend€. Wao! What a religious and God’s fearing father. With this, I’m tempted to believe that the president promotes corruption instead of fighting corruption.

Furthermore, one of his endless unfulfilled promises was when he said he will put money into the pocket of every Ghanaian. When Ghanaians started feeling the heat of poverty and dried pocket which is not reflecting to what he said, the President, Mr. Mills vividly denied of making such promise and started pointing fingers at the opposition party the NPP for being the architect of that promise in his state of the nations address read in Parliament in February 2010. This just reminds me of an adage that says if the naked promise you of a cloth, never forgets his name.€

I’m hopeful you have not yet forgotten his so call €˜father for all’ slogan. With this, what do we see; sacking people perceived to be NPP sympathizers from the NHIS, School Feeding Programme and the Youth Employment Scheme just for him to get enough space to fix people from his own party. Do we refer to such a man as father for all? Or father for some group of people? The answer is yours.

The President who is also a law professor and believes in freedom of speech as a pillar of democracy, sat down unconcerned when his party followers recently trooped to Top Radio and in a violent mood nearly lynched an NPP sympathizer who was only expressing his opinion on the recent fire that burnt down all the properties of the former president Rawlings, acquired during his Nineteen (19) years as head of state of our dear nation.

In 2008 elections, the major campaign message the NDC preached in the Greater Accra Region was that, the NPP have sold to themselves Ga lands of which Mr. Jake Obetsebi Lamptey became a victim. On this very issue I don’t want to talk much because the NDC Attorney General has cleared Mr. Jake Obetsebi Lamptey that there was no conflict of interest as regards the purchase of that land.

My major worry is the fact that, the policy which the NPP used to sell that piece of land to Mr. Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, was the same policy that the NDC used to sell the large parcel of land stretching from the Osu Castle through the Independence Square to the Arts Centre in Accra to one Togbe Afade, who is now a board member of the Bank of Ghana.

I don’t want to get into tribalism because it is not my style, but a fact remains a fact. If a Ga land is legally sold to a Ga (Jake) and it raises a high range of argument, how much more selling a Ga land to a none Ga (Togbe Afade) who is also a high ranked personality in the NDC Government. Where are the CJA, the NDC's Forum for Setting the Record Straight and the Ga-Dangme Youth Association? Where are all those who two years ago were bitterly complaining about government lands going into the hands of private entrepreneurs? Have they all suddenly lost their voices?

Has the NDC forgotten that what is good for the Geese is also good for the Gander ? I hold my fire for now. Watch out for part II.

By Baah Acheamfour danop200@yahoo.com