Turbulent year

Tomorrow the world takes another leap into a New Year.

While the rest of the world can point at various developments such as the heightened ISIS activities and the merciless operations of the Boko Haram and the record migration of refugees into Europe – the worst since World War II – we in Ghana have our own tale of woes.

The seeming intractable energy debacle and the fallouts thereof have all raised the political temperature, giving enough ingredients for media discussions.

An unusual spate of invectives on the political plane has given politics a bad image and reduced it to an occupation of the daredevils somewhat.

Good persons squirm in their seats at the level of political immorality torn between intervening with the appropriate counsel and be damned by sharp-teethed young politicians or sit down and watch the country go down in reduced esteem.

The economic history of the country is underpinned by worrying footnotes, although those at the helm will hardly admit in the open that the challenges which sometimes bring activities, especially in the private sector, almost close to a halt are real.

Many have lost jobs and investments from the many fallouts of the worst economic regime in recent times.

There have not been shortages of promises even as reneging on them remains a cornerstone of policymakers and implementers.

Lofty programmes, the brainchild of a previous political administration, have shuddered and even ground to a halt somewhat as evidenced by the School Feeding Programme and the National Health Insurance Scheme, among others.

We have observed as do many Ghanaians, the concentration of propaganda in the affairs of governance development which has reduced governance in many instances to mere theatricals.

Those who point out such shortcomings are stereotyped and enveloped in lavish invectives by persons specifically engaged for such occupation.

For a country largely spared the kind of international news network attracting force majeure, the June 3 Circle record death toll was enough to have citizens posing many questions.

It was difficult to consider the disaster as a natural occurrence, given the reckless management of urban developments.

It was not the first but the worst. Those before it should have offered us adequate lessons to obviate a repeat.

The cause of the disaster and how to obviate a future occurrence should have been contained in an easily accessible report for the citizens of this country.

Such a report remains a part of the dust-covered documents in a shelve at the Interior Ministry waiting to be transferred to the Public Records and Archival Administration Department in future.

We are stepping into a New Year which most prominent highlight is the general election.

The stakes are high – perhaps the highest – when compared with the last polls.

It is our demand that those assigned the responsibility of managing the elections will do so with the fear of God as an obligation and the love of country as a passion.

May the good Omnipotent, Omniscient God bless us and put asunder any mischievous plans that could threaten the stability and cohesion of the country.

Happy New Year our esteemed compatriots.