Volta Region, the 'cash cow' of the NDC

Welcome to our world Your Excellency.

I hear the former President, His Excellency Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings will be visiting the Volta Regional capital soonest. I enquired of the date and found out it is 31 December so didn’t bother asking for the purpose. Because it is of certainty there’s going to be a remembrance of some sort as we did for the birth of Christ; Christmas.

My Government teachers back at Mawuli School Messrs. Soglo and G. C Akpadie; the latter failed in an attempt to be Secretary of the NDC in this same region taught me some reasons that led to what is going to be remembered. So I quickly dashed out for a book my Dad (of blessed memory) subtly forced me to read many years back ‘Ghana and the Rawlings Factor’ because the tenets of the revolution as espoused by Kevin Shillington must be tested.

So my test tube is the Volta Region, why Volta? Because it is host to the celebration and touted as the home region of JJ as well as ‘world-bank’ of his party.

I poured in our roads; those that link major towns, Ho-Aflao, Ho-Accra and the Eastern corridor roads. It is shameful to assert that ‘they’ are oblivion of the enormous economic benefits of these roads to the poor people especially in the northern part where some roads in district capitals have never smelt coal and its accompanying tar, yet we say they are our food hub.

I can continue to pour in business opportunities, the long promised oil explorations in the Keta basin, the many untapped tourist attractions, sports talents that die naturally because they lack opportunities. The dilapidated sports stadium stares beautifully at us each day. After the likes of Emmanuel Adjogu and Johnson Eklu the most we reach is a coast team. Arable lands with a youthful population which could fuel any factory but remains unused. This is no witchcraft but neglect.

Yes neglect by the very people we gave ‘our all’

This sends me back to my comment on a recent Facebook post by Efo Agbemebease where I queried the intent of his post; idolizing JJ just because he is our own. This got me into a prolonged discussion with a brother; name withheld for Political and also issues that border on International Relations.

He asserts that our MPs and Ministers that worked under JJ should be blamed for our under development rather than the head; that argument is still ensuing because I believe JJ should take majority of the blame. That brother is just like my grandmother who believes that the scars of the scarcity of basic commodities/amenities of the late 70s into early 80s were healed by JJ so; say no evil of him. If that argument was tenable then Osagyefo shouldn’t have being overthrown because he delivered independence.

My brother in making his case reminded me of the ‘folktale’ of a Minister of Roads who received some slaps from JJ because not even the road to his village was tarred at the point of his exit from the position. Still I say getting physical like in the case of the late Ackah solves not our problems but rather setting specific targets with timeliness and firing people who don’t meet them.

He further stated his surprise at MPs for a Constituency in the region with the second highest votes for the NDC but fails to secure a ministerial appointment; that again he believes is a proof of incompetence by those that represents us; MPs. So on Sunday 31st December 2017 on the streets of Ho as these ‘failed’ MPs and former ministers parade for a march, I ask…

How different is the state of the Volta region from Ghana as described by JJ some 36 years ago? ….‘The Public perception of those years however, was primarily one of poverty and hardship for the majority, contrasted with the wealth and self-satisfaction of the elite’ (Shillington, 1992, p. 73) Would we say that a march on the 31st of December 2017 be an attempt to justify our neglect? To presuppose that we ‘Voltarians’ do not know and feel what has been going on since 1992 …..

‘Briefly, it has been nothing short of a clear denial of our fundamental rights as a people to enjoy the wealth of our labour’ (Shillington, 1992, p. 81) Could we boldly conclude that this has been the most disgraceful government in the history of this region? Because ‘..It is only in recent times that criminals and such like have become respectable in our society…’ (Shillington, 1992, p. 81).

It is indicative that Probity, Integrity, Accountability, Social Justice; tenets of the Revolution is lost even on its actors.

Just as the cash cow by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) growth share matrix, little was invested into the Volta Region yet we consistently give utmost returns. The caution is that we would be milked till we have not enough to give which sends us into the 'dog' quadrant; with a pitiful price tag for our sale.

The earlier we demand equity from them, the better our lives. An awakened citizenry makes governance easiest. Let us unite to develop our region not behind jargons that makes no meaning not even to its connoisseurs.