Duty of care is intrinsically woven into any public contract no matter who
is appointed, selected, elected or chosen to hold a public office. It is
assumed that when individuals have forsaken their private lives and have
given themselves up to be used by the state to make a contribution towards
the national stability and development, it is incumbent upon the state
to take good care of them and their families. As a nation, we are too
backward to understand that holding a public office apart from it being a
privilege, involves in a lot of risk, you become the state’s property and
every tom dick and harry look at you as the person who has answers to all
their problems. However, the sad part of it is that nobody cares about your
welfare and the Ghanaian would tell you “But they are paid handsomely”. As
a nation I think we let the late President John Evans Atta Mills down big
time.
We are practicing the Western democracy where in all situations the view of
the majority is respected. In the same western democracy they have laid
down rules that govern the rights of public officials. They have
independent bodies outside the public sector to look into the affairs of
public office holders like the President, Prime minister, cabinet ministers
and their assistants as well as the parliament and anyone who holds a
public office. In such matters, it is non-partisan so that when there is
change of government and the other side fails to win power, both those in
government and those in opposition sing from the same song book. The only
sad aspect for those in opposition is their loss of power so you can see
they work together for the common good of the country. I will entreat the
Ghanaian to watch the healthy debate that goes on in the UK Parliament
every Thursday, where you see Synergy at its best.
Let us look at how democracy works in the United Kingdom, the USA, Canada,
Republic of Ireland,France,Australia,just to mention but a few and compare
it to that of Ghana and you will think we are in a different planet. In
the countries I have just mentioned and almost all the West, Political
parties are seen as vehicles that make it possible for the parties to
travel to win elections. Political parties present their manifesto and
programmes to the electorate and it becomes the duty of electorate to
decide at any given elections which of the parties deserve to be given the
right to govern the people for a specified term. Politics to those in the
West is the quest of the politicians to put their skills at the disposal of
the people, most of the time it is the skill and their desire to do
something to help better the lots of their societies that attract them to
political or public life. Yes, they clamour for prestige but in almost
every situation, it is what they want to do for society that is paramount.
Yes, they will be remunerated and looked after handsomely, but because such
societies have a strong built in control systems, corruption is not too
rife.
Come to Ghana, the name of the game is power. In Ghana, you have power you
have access to riches and more corruption. The Ghanaian politician sees the
holding of any public office as a right. They assume it is their God given
right to head public office instead of seeing that role as a privilege. Let
us look at the way the party in power in Ghana treated our President. The
late President John Evans Atta Mills was not just the leader of the NDC; he
was the elected leader and President of the Republic of Ghana. Those around
him, like the Anyidohos, the Segbefiahs, the Okudjato Ablakwas,the Omane
Boamahs, Lante Vanderpuiyes and on and on, the list will become endless,
never saw the need for Ghanaians to have the feel of a president. They
instead saw the rest of us as irrelevant to the occupant of the highest
office in our land and because of their selfish and personal interests,
they mastered the grand art of deceit and each day had its portion and dose
they had to administer unto us. These people made the president’s life very
difficult and as a result, Ghanaians never knew what was happening around
him. What the over 21million adults and teenagers saw as something wrong
with our president’s health, these sycophants made us believe we were blind
to speak like that about our president. These are genuine Ghanaians who
wanted to show our love and concerns for this fine gentleman but, they kept
pushing us away with their chronic lies.
Within a day, these people who have all acquired degrees in LIES and
Fabrications would change statement of importance and meant for public
consumption about hundred times. Ghanaians deserved to know what was
happening to their president because when they queued during the elections,
they were entrusting their rights and power unto the president as a lien on
his life so that he could carry out his assignment of leading our nation to
development, prosperity and improved standard of living.
Where in the world should it become the duty of a few people that decided
what the nation should hear and what they should not? The NDC and the few
power drunk adventurers in the government prevented we Ghanaians to
demonstrate our true love and the duty of care for our late president. The
late Professor was right to have given these young men, the opportunity to
taste public life but I am afraid Ghanaians are going to think very hard in
selecting immature young men like the Ablakwas and Anyidohos into public
life. The Professor knew very well that the future of Ghana depended on the
younger generation but if in Ghana, the so called FUTURE generation cannot
marry such opportunities with
decorum,responsibility,trust,truth,sincereity,duty of care,intergrity and
all the virtues embedded on cool heads, then what future generation can
this country entrust their children and their children unto? I am never an
NDC supporter but Professor John Evans Atta Mills was my president. I would
not have voted for him if I had the right to vote but the bottom line still
remains he was my president. I did not need any sycophants to have
surrounded him to the extent that even the “breath he took”, he needed some
people to determine it.
Dear Late President John Evans Atta Mills, your passing and parting is very
sad. It has touched me so much even when I lost my mother, I never felt
like I am feeling now. I am sad because the opportunity was there for you
to have taken an extended sick leave to recuperate but they would not let
you. When I watched the clip that you were instructed as a PR exercise to
jog at the airport, it hits me so much and that it has opened my eyes very
well to know how wicked people have found their way into public life. They
put 2012 elections ahead of your life. They were afraid that without you
not in a million years will they have this same opportunity in public life
so they had to resort to the game they know best, more lies and twisted
facts forgetting to look after the “Milk Cow” that produced the milk well.
Now the milk cow is gone where will their milk come from? Selfish and
unpatriotic people.
Ghana let you down too much in the duty of care and I pray that the Good
Lord will keep your soul in the bosom of Abraham and I can assure you, if
they had told us you were not well, we could have voted to let you take an
extended rest until you were well after all we elected you into that office
and they owed us a duty to have told us instead of the pack of LIES coming
from people we never queued to vote for. Till we meet, Mr President Rest in
Perfect Peace. May your passing become an eye opener to our public office
holders that we the electorate owe them a duty of care but until they are
truthful to us, it will become a mirage; we could not offer it to them. *It
is simple*: The President is not well so he has taken an extended leave to
seek medical attention and rest. What is wrong with that?
SOURCE:ghanamindset.com
