Throughout the ages, men and women have fought over, and have died over, the meaning of freedom, and what it takes to determine one?s own understanding of the good life. In short, people have died to bring meaning to the word ?democracy?. In 1787, the U.S.
Constitution was written, in Philadelphia, by the Continental Congress of the new American republic and was officially adopted in 1789. The U.S. Constitution is the central instrument of government and the ?supreme law of the land?. It is the oldest written Constitution in the world that is in force. That Constitution has given America abundant blessings. As we understand it, is not merely a written set of words, it is man?s attempt to reflect a progressive faith in the power of human liberty. A Constitution, in other words, is something not to be taken lightly.
Ghana?s 1 992 Constitution similarly, is a bold document that encapsulates the aspirations and hopes of the framers.
On April 28th, 1992, Ghana?s new Constitution was approved by national referendum. With a 92% approval rate, this means that Ghana?s constitution was a document that was approved with a popular mandate by all voters! The Constitution entered into force on January 7, 1993, to begin the Fourth Republic. Ghana?s Constitution begins with a preamble that reads,
?We the People of Ghana, in exercise of our natural and inalienable right to establish a framework of government which shall secure for ourselves and posterity the blessings of liberty, equality of opportunity and prosperity; in a spirit of friendship and peace with all peoples of the world; and in solemn declaration and affirmation of our commitment to; Freedom, Justice, Probity and Accountability; The Principle that all powers of Government spring from the Sovereign Will of the People; The Principle of Universal Adult Suffrage; The Rule of Law; The protection and preservation of Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms, Unity and Stability for our Nation; do hereby adopt, enact and give to ourselves this Constitution.?
In short, this preamble, a strong proclamation of freedom, could not have been written by, and signed into law, by anyone who did not also believe in the sanctity of freedom.
Ghana?s Constitution separates the actions of constitutional government from those of military government. Therefore, Ghana?s Constitution separates the actions of the NDC from those of the PNDC. It establishes the identity of all political parties formed thereafter, including both the NDC and NPP, as separate from that of the revolutionary PNDC, an unconstitutional entity that existed from 1981 to 1992. SO THOSE WHO CONTINUE TO INSIST ON CONFLATING THE NDC WITH THE PNDC ARE DELIBERATELY IGNORING AND UNDERMINING WHAT GHANA?S CONSTITUTION STANDS FOR. IN DOING SO, THEY REVEAL THEIR IGNORANCE OF THE SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND, DISPLAY THEIR DISDAIN FOR THE CONSTITUTION AND WHAT IT STANDS FOR, AND DEMONSTRATES THAT THEY ARE ALL TOO WILLING TO SACRIFICE FREEDOM FOR POLITICAL EXPEDIENCY. In short, those who continue to express little difference between democratic politics under a constitution, and those under military rule, are not only being unpatriotic, they refuse to face reality. They are the ones who would have willingly condemned Mandela as a terrorist, without any recognition of the facts at the time, just as they speak of Rawlings as a murderer without any court declaring him so to be.
In 1944, Nelson Mandela helped to co-found the African National Congress (ANC) to defend the rights and freedoms of the black African majority in South Africa. In 1961, after brutal retaliation by the white minority leadership, the ANC decided that the methods of non-violent resistance, as used by Gandhi against the British colonial empire, were not appropriate to the brutal system of apartheid. So, although bloodshed was to be avoided as much as possible, the ANC, under Mandela?s leadership, decided that it was time to engage in military tactics, targeting and sabotaging the government?s resources. Thus, in 1962, Mandela was arrested on charges of terrorism, and was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964 on Robben Island. Mandela was released on February 11 1990, and with his leadership, South Africa's first democratic elections were held on April 27, 1994, with the ANC winning a landslide victory, and Mandela becoming South Africa?s first black President. And to this day, the ANC has been South Africa's governing party (in a coalition) since the establishment of majority rule in May 1994.
Today, the ANC has been lionized in the West for its battle to end apartheid and install a democratic government in South Africa. Indeed, times have changed.
In his first speech after 27 years in prison, Mandela made a speech saying,
?Our resort to the armed struggle in 1960 with the formation of the military wing of the ANC was a purely defensive action against the violence of apartheid. The factors which necessitated the armed struggle still exist today. We have no option but to continue.
We express the hope that a climate conducive to a negotiated settlement would be created soon, so that there may no longer be the need for the armed struggle"
It is worthwhile to note that today, since apartheid ended, and reconciliation began, Mandela is now considered an international statesman. Interestingly, Mandela, however, has never renounced the ANC's military campaign. Those who deliberately mix together NDC policies with PNDC policies show their willingness to abandon history and reality for the sake of political convenience. These opponents of the NDC refuse to accept apologies for the mistakes of yesterday, and always hold grudges. In their unforgiving nature, they show themselves to be un-Christian, not realizing that their refusal to move forward has negative consequences for Ghana?s development.
How can Ghana move forward if people stay in the past? Ghana?s Constitution makes the distinction between military and constitutional rule, but NDC?s opponents refuse to do so. Do these historical amnesiacs consider themselves above the law? Even where pastors gather together to reconcile two individuals, the NDC personality is a willing participant, while the NPP personality offers spurious excuses not to reconcile.
Here?s a quick refresher, for those who don?t remember. In 1990, Ghana was under PNDC military rule and was preparing for multiparty democracy. Elections were held in 1992, and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) won. The NDC was in power for 8 years (1992-2000). The New Patriotic Party (NPP) then won both the 2000 and 2004 Presidential election. It was a successor government taking over from a previously democratic government, not from an unconstitutional one. NDC laid foundations for the democratic experiment.
Ever since 1993, the NDC time, the Constitution mandates that Ghanaians have a say in deciding what to do. In a nascent democracy, because tyranny is the system being replaced, it is most important to establish what the historian and philosopher Isaiah Berlin termed as ?Negative? and ?Positive? Freedoms. In his work ?The Two Concepts of Liberty?, Berlin said that negative freedom was ?freedom from?, being able to act without interference from government action, etc. On the other hand, positive freedom, is ?freedom to do?, the ability to act, determine and control one?s own actions. In both situations, tyranny is banished and free volition of the individual is granted. Such is the guarantee that Constitutional Democracy offers citizens. For the NDC therefore to create a Constitution that bestows both freedoms is a testament to its abiding beliefs in self determination and freedom. NPP HAS NO MONOPOLY ON FREEDOMS.
So why is it that the NPP today denies NDC believed in Freedom during the 8 years it was in power? The NPP would have you believe that the NDC twiddled its thumbs for 8 years, and that all the positive freedoms and liberties that Ghanaians enjoy today are solely the makings of the NPP. What the NPP would have everyone believe is that freedom in Ghana only began on January 7, 2001, when Kuffuor took the oath of office as Ghana's president.
The NPP has taken the oft-quoted adage, ?To the victor go the spoils? to ridiculous level. They have taken the re-election of President Kuffuor to mean that it can rewrite and re-arrange the history of the Republic of Ghana to its own dictates and liking.
In today?s Ghana, the ruling NPP assumes there are no constraints on the party?s ability to quote half-truths, twisting facts to suit its purpose. The NPP has taken it upon itself to re-write history, casting itself as the source of all of Ghana?s progress and freedoms, while denying others any credit.
President Kufuor and the NPP have claimed most of the credit for the peace and stability in Ghana. In Kufuor?s 2003 Voice of America Interview in Washington D.C., he claimed that his government was responsible for Ghana?s democracy and freedom. Kufuor said, ?Now freedom of speech in the Ghanaian society is so rife all over the place and if you turn on the radios in the morning and you hear the contributors, you will know that that's where power is issuing from?.This one, we've worked for and even though I am criticized heavily on, I say it's a welcome development?. So in one stroke, Kuffuor single-handedly takes credit for inventing a free press in Ghana. What audacity! The foundations for a free press, independent judiciary and market enterprises were all laid by the NDC. Indeed, if there was no press freedom before the NPP, how was Kuffuor able to go onstage, issue provocative television/radio adverts and campaign for his eventual victory?
In 1992, Ghana returned to constitutional multiparty democracy. In drafting the Constitution, the folks who would later coagulate to form the NPP boycotted the writing process. As a result, despite invitations to do so, the Founding Fathers and membership of today?s NPP deliberately decided to leave the masses to do the work of writing the Constitution. The very Constitution which clearly speaks the language of the people who would form the NDC in an entire chapter dedicated to freedom of expression and media independence. If those who later formed the NDC did not believe in freedom of speech, why would they participate in writing a Constitution that would guarantee it?
Article 162 (2) of the 1992 Constitution, ?Freedom and Independence of the Media?, states that ?subject to this Constitution and any other law not inconsistent with this Constitution, there shall be no censorship in Ghana.? It also states ?There shall be no impediments to the establishment of private press or media; and in particular, there shall be no law requiring any person to obtain a license as a prerequisite to the establishment or operation of a newspaper, journal or other media for mass communication or information.? The NDC can truthfully claim that press freedom was well and alive on its watch.
The NPP?s search for a new history is nothing short of amazing. In our previous MOJO odysseys, we discussed how the violence-prone forebears of the NPP have been shelved from scrutiny, and the NPP put up as a party without a past, except vague references to the Danquah-Busiah dichotomy. Even there, the NPP is searching to re-write its historical origin. What will it take for the NPP to face up to the historical facts?
We have shelved indefinitely discussion on mass transportation, etc, for lack of important data. Should we come across some original research, we will gladly return to the topic.
The MOJO Odyssey continues.
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