The politics of retrogression

Many a times I struggle to come to terms with the direction of politicking in our beloved Country. What is going on in the country at present will never help the country in turning her fortunes around. We have politicians who know nothing and understand no language than the one of vindictiveness and the settling of scores. And if you have a president, who is not a leader; who just endorses and accepts anything push down on his throat, then the future of the country looks bleak and grim. Folks, this kind of politics will always take us back to the anachronistic era; and this is what I have termed the politics of retrogression. The politics of retrogression is the situation where governments have as a policy, the desire and attitude of undoing things that have been done by their predecessors or political opponents. What is the sense in the government removing the images of the other five members of the big six from the new 2 Cedis note, leaving only that of Kwame Nkrumah? If this is not pettiness; if it is not sabotage; if it is not a sign of a government without ideas, visions, and direction, then what is it?

In the first place, what do the NDC party and the president seek to achieve by this divisive act? Is it because they are so petty, or because they are dearth of ideas? Can they tell us what they have been able to achieve ever since they formed the government? This is a government that has specialized in majoring on the minors, whilst important things dear on the heart of the citizenry are let down the gurgler. I have always tried to be circumspect about any work I put in the public domain because Ghana is the only country I have. But for a president, who is also a professor to endorse this divisive act shows the extent of damage done to our politics.

There is no doubt that the contribution of Kwame Nkrumah to our national development is enormous. We can never underestimate his contributions, not only in Ghana, but also on the continent at large. He deserves our commendation, and he will always be on our mind as a living legend. But to assume that he is the only person that deserves the credit for the emancipation of the country is to suggest that he was an island in our struggle for emancipation. The fact that he was the leader when we attained independence does not mean that he was the brain child of our independence; and he cannot be the father of the nation either. He is one of them, though. He was not, and could not have been the founder of the country.

If we agree that the attainment of independence was a process, then why are some disgruntled individuals trying desperately to distort history by making Kwame Nkrumah appear to be the only person who won us the independence? The more we try to discredit the significant contributions of the other heroes, especially the other members of the big six, the easier we will be polarizing the country. And that is what the poor president and his petty party have done. As much as we recognize and appreciate the contributions of Nkrumah, we have got to understand that the other five also deserve an equal commendation; and thus I find their exclusion from the new currency unacceptable and an act of disingenuity.

Apart from this divisive act, there are other evidences that show that this current administration has fallen into the trap of the politics of retrogression. Before I point out some of the instances, let us take a look at some of their actions when they were in opposition. When they were in opposition, what they did best was to sabotage almost all the efforts of the prior administration. All the projects and important interventions that were initiated by the Kufour-led administration were needlessly criticized, and in some instances demonstrated against by the NDC party. It was like they were hardwired to be saboteurs.

They opposed the national youth employment program, the national health insurance scheme, the school feeding program, the Vodafone deal, the building of the presidential edifice, the representation of the people amendment act, etc. etc. I mean everything; and now they are in power, but have not been able to initiate anything. We voted them into office to add to what the previous administration, in spite of the huge debt they inherited when they assumed the governance of the country was able to accomplish. They are not doing that; but only embarking upon the politics of retrogression. At times you ask yourself what they would be doing had the NPP government not embarked upon these worthwhile projects, all of which they are revisiting. They have spent almost a year and a half of their 4-year term trying to redo (undo) what the NPP did. This is not even stagnation—for that would even console us—but rather retrogression. Here are some of the instances of the politics of retrogression we are witnessing in the country under this administration:

First, is the Vodafone deal. After vehemently opposing the Vodafone deal when in opposition, and even instituting a committee to review the contract that had been approved by our parliament months after they formed the government: an action which had the potential of putting the nation in a bad light within the comity of nations, can they tell us the usefulness of such an exercise? And this is obviously politics of retrogression. After this exercise in futility, we are still back to square one, folks.

Second, is the national health insurance scheme. Instead of burying their heads in shame for opposing the idea and implementation of the scheme, and rather look at ways of making it better, they are still stubbornly sticking to the pie in the sky one time premium. From the figures the deputy health minister presented to parliament a couple of weeks ago, it is now crystal clear that the government has no clue about what they are talking about. I do not understand why Africans, especially Ghanaians find it so difficult to concede when they get it wrong. If the government would listen to the voice of reason, and discard their entrenched stance of the steep slope one-time premium, and rather think about improving the current system, I believe we would be somewhere better by now. But because of the politics of retrogression, they would be happy to “kill” somebody’s otherwise brilliant idea.

Third, is the representation of the people amendment act (ROPAA). We all know for a fact that ROPAA has, as things stand now replaced PNDCL 284 which gave the right of Ghanaians domiciled abroad to vote to only a privileged few: those who worked in our missions, students on government’s scholarship, Ghanaians who represented the nation in international organizations, and those serving in the armed services abroad. Now ROPAA, the 699th act of the 4th parliament of the 4th republican constitution which was assented to by president Kufour on 24.2.2006—which is in concert with article 42 of the constitution—which allows every Ghanaian of 18 years and above and of a sound mind to vote in elections and referenda, has set aside PNDCL 284. This is the fact; and we have to respect the decisions of our presidents and parliament as long as they were made within the remit of the law. But in his speech during his state of the nation address, the president indicated his intention of forming a multi-partisan committee to reexamine PNDCL 284; thus repudiating or repealing act 699 (ROPAA) which is enshrined in the constitution.

This action, if indeed carry out by the president, for me would not make sense; not at all. Instead of moving forward as a people, we are only preoccupied with undoing what others have done. What a waste of resources? And the president’s reason for embarking on this exercise in futility is that the introduction of the bill and its eventual passage into law during the NPP administration was flawed and also lopsided. I think it was so because he, together with his party did not want it to pass because of their fear of the former government using it to rig the 2008 elections. So, Mr. President if the NPP also decides not to give a damn about your so-called multi-partisan committee, and the bill is passed into law, and in future they also decide to set it aside, who suffers? Not you and the NDC anyway, but the country, right? That supports the theory of the politics of retrogression. We only love moving backwards all the time. What we expect the president to do is to empower (resource) the electoral commission to figure out how to implement the law, and not to reintroduce another bill thereby rendering the current law null and void.

Finally, is the duration of schooling at the senior high school. Instead of the government trying desperately and “sabotagingly” to revert it to the former 3 years, let us look at how to make the current system better. Let us address the obvious fundamental problems that have bedeviled our education system from umpteen times. (Example: teachers who have not been paid their salaries after working for 8 months and more.). Changing a new system, without allowing it to work for us to assess its potency suggests that we are only interested in the politics of retrogression. And if we are not careful, this attitude is going to lead to a vicious cycle. (You do me today, and when I get the opportunity tomorrow, I also do you some.). And the victim is obviously the nation and posterity.

In summing up, folks, you do not need to be a rocket scientist or a brain surgeon to figure out why the government is underperforming. It is not only about whether the administration consists of teams B or C, as some leading members of the party have been insinuating. It has more to do with their philosophy—the politics of retrogression. And until they change gear, and embark upon the politics of progression, the country would be let down; but we do not want that, Mr. President. God bless Ghana!!

Source: Kingsley Nyarko, PhD, Psychologist & Educational Consultant, IAF- Munich, (kingpong73@yahoo.com)