Our Politicians Are Thieves, Let's Revolt

Sarpong, Justice Our Politicians Are Thieves, Let's Revolt

The news below hit me in the guts and made me really angry about how our Parliamentarians are disguised armed robbers in suits using their pens as weapons to seperate the working class from their money to benefit themselves.


"General News of Thursday, 20 May 2010 Source: Daily Guide Ex-Gratia Saga: Veep, Others Overpaid


»DAILY GUIDE can authoritatively confirm that about 176 former Ministers of state and Members of Parliament (MPs) were overpaid their end-of-service benefits or ex-gratia, and not only five ministers under the Kufuor administration, as reported by the media. According to the Auditor-General’s report on the verification of emoluments for the former public officials, among the people overpaid are Vice President John Dramani Mahama and high-profile ministers in the current National Democratic Congress (NDC)."


Fellow citizens, whether you are an NDC, NPP, CPP or any other Party supporter, lets calm down now and assess how our Politicians, those in power now and in the opposition are stealing the country to 'bankruptcy without batting an eye doing it.


In this short article geared mainly towards our Parliamentarians corrupt atitude, some people are going to be shocked about how some Parliamentarians are using their positions to rob the country with the backing of the constitution. This article will address three areas of corruption that our constitution has put its stamp of approval to.


1. What is the meaning of end of service benefits? According to our thieving Parliamentarians, end of service benefits which is about $50,000 to each of the 230 Parliamentarians are paid every four years at the end of the general elections. My layman's understanding of end of service benefits is when one retires from his job, but it means a whole different thing to our Parliamentarians.

Some of our Parliamentarians have been in Parliament since 1992 and that means they have collected this end of service benefits four times, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008. One such Parliamentarian is Alba Bagbin who is involved in this recent brouhaha about collecting more than what he is entitled to. He is not alone, there are a lot of NPP and NDC members who have collected this booty four, three or two times. My fellow citizens, this is as bad as armed robbery only that these people in suits are doing it by passing laws that allow them to steal legitimately. How many workers receive end of service benefits four or five times in their lives?


2. Almost every Ghanaian living in Ghana, whether working for the government or a private company pays his or her own rent, electricity, water bill and transportation to work and back except our Politicians in the Judiciary, Executive and the legislature branch who are the top earners in our society in terms of salary and benefits and living rent free with electricity and water service with maid and garden boy service provided free of charge and paid by the hardworking hoi polloi who have a hard time making ends meet while our Politicians are still maintaining the colonial mentality of having their bills paid by the poor while they bank their fat checks.


Is it fair to ask a teacher earning about GHc200 a month to pay his own rent, electricity, water bill and transportation cost while a Parliamentarian earning about GHc3,000 a month is living rent free on this poor teachers taxes?


3.What is the meaning of ex-gratia? It is defined as a favor rather than as a matter of right so how can these Parliamentarians use ex-gratia as a collateral to secure $50,000 loans to buy cars? Can the Doctors, Nurses, teachers, civil servants at the Ministeries go to any Bank and access loans by telling the loan officer, I want to use my end of year bonus as a security when one is not guaranteed to receive one? But hold on people, the Parliamentarians have passed laws to make this favor as right and even know the amount they are going to receive. People, don't get confused, this ex-gratia is not the same as retirement benefits because when these Parliamentarians retire from government service, they are going to receive their retirements.


If one was a teacher before becoming a Parliamentarian, he or she will receive his retirement as a former teacher.


I am appealing to my brothers and sisters in Ghana, especially the workers, Professors, teachers, Pysicians, Nurses, Accountants, Engineers and the educated Professionals to educate others about how their representatives are using the law to steal and agitate for changes in the constitution to deny our Politicians these benefits which they do not deserve. Let's make it crystal clear to our Politicians that, we are tired of their stealing and will not take it anymore.

This is a serious issue and should be taken as such so I am providing my email for interested people to contact so that we can start a popular movement to get our Politicians to do the right thing by living on their salaries like any other Ghanaian.


sarpongjustice@ymail.com


Justice Sarpong


Houston, Texas