Where the better at?

And last week came and went oooo, and now we are in November with only one year left to the elections but more importantly, we have only 61 days to the end of “Dumsor”.

As promised to us in the State of the Nation address by His Eminent and Most Venerable Excellency President John Dramani Mahama, once Communications Minister of Ghana and former Member of Parliament for Bole Bamboi in the Northern Region which holds seventy-five constituencies and a population at last Census count in 2010 of 61,593 of which 56% are registered to vote.

His Most Uncreative and Emphatically Under-performing self-ariser to the throne of President trumpeted his voice and clearly told all of us he will “fix” it.

However, his accolades say he never gave a date. True, he didn’t. So he wants to take forever?

We have it on record that dumsor is over at the end of this year. We have sixty-one days left, today inclusive.

In paragraph 96 of the Mid-term review given by Seth Terkper, Chief Bishop of the Eminent Monarch of Ghana on 21st July 2015, he made all these very clear. The master plan for the Better Ghana had been considered and laid out for this sector.

“Following His Excellency the President’s promise in the 2015 State of The Nation address in which he promised to fix the challenges in the power sector, the following power projects have either been commissioned or completed:

First, emergency power projects at various stages of preparation, approval or commissioning, include the 225MW Powership-IPP project;

250MW Ameri in Takoradi (under Build Own Operate and Transfer arrangement); the 370MW AKSA; 110MW TEI; and 300 GE Early. In addition, the 220MW Kpone Thermal Power Project (KTPP); 110MW Tico Expansion Project; 180MW Asogli Phase 2(1); and the VRA TT2PP (38 MW) expansion project will be completed before the end of the year.

Second, the 360MW Asogli Phase 2, 350MW CenPower, 360MW Jacobsen, and the 240MW Amandi Projects will be completed in the medium term to add power in excess of 3,000MW”.

So I am expecting dumsor to end. Whether Dr. Minister of Power resigns or not is not my care. We are expecting a final end to this interminable situation at the end of the year and if it does not happen, no member of the NDC executive should come and perambulate in front of us with excuses.

The only thing left will be for them to “go-way” and stay away from us for us long as possible.

I don’t have anything nice to say for this Government. The last time they were in charge, we went HIPC. This time too we are in HIPC and trying to lie our way out of it.

I think we should see a very concise summary in language that the ordinary Ghanaian can understand of where all the borrowed money has gone and what projects this Government has started and finished during their time from 2009. I know I am biased, but I will be happy to trumpet a success story any day.

Where is any real change that Ghanaians should have seen, and I mean tangible change that you and I can put our hands on our hearts and say this happened from 2009. Isn’t it important that we at least see something real? Where the Better at?

So let’s keep it simple. Just ask yourself, since the fuel prices started coming down from a peak of Ghc3.97 per litre at the pump, has the cost of your lorry fare changed? So who is making all the money? And your pump prices are about to go up soon. Where the Better Ghana at? Making money for those politically connected to the sector and building a petrol station on every corner they can find in the urban cities.

Parliament sits there dithering on how to call Prof. Badu Akosa and Prof. Stephen Addai to the privileges committee to explain to us why they (Parliament) are judged corrupt. Well, we are waiting for the call up.

My shout-out to the two professors. Please go speak your mind. We need to get out of this Gestapo state, where police persons maim and destroy somebody’s eye when they are on a peaceful demonstration. And all these should start from calling Parliament to do an unbiased job. This week they asked for a Police Post to be stationed near them. What are they afraid of? This Ghana is peaceful and supposed to be getting better, but they need more protection? It is the same police brutality specialists they have invited who will maim them.

But let’s record some macro statistics, as this will one day become a historical piece (I am hoping). I can go through these numbers ad-nauseum, a professional bent I was sucked into these past forty years, but I will lose most of you and that will just reinforce Seth Terkper’s approach.

Paragraph 73, mid-term review once more.

“Based on the revisions the macro-economic targets have been revised as follows:

The 2015 overall real GDP growth revised from 3.9 percent to 3.5 percent;

non-oil real GDP growth revised from 2.7 percent to 2.3 percent;

end-year inflation revised from 11.5 percent to 13.7 percent;

overall budget deficit target revised from 6.5 percent of GDP to 7.3

percent; and Gross International Reserves is projected to remain at not less than 3

months of import cover of goods and services”. [downward – emphasis mine]

“Mr. Speaker, as a result of the revisions made to the macroeconomic framework and the fiscal performance for the first five months of the year, the 2015 revenue and expenditure estimates have been revised”. [emphasis from Mr. Terkper]

Notice. Good statistics going down, bad ones rising. But it is getting better. “The fundamentals are strong and the medium to long-term future is bright”. That is John and Seth when they stand to lie to the donors and international investors and us.

Most often I wonder if there is something really sinister going on between those two that we all don’t have a clue about. It cannot be possible that even two people who, if they don’t have any idea of the use of money, are simply blind to the limit of how much money you should borrow. Is this the Ibrahim school of business management?

The public forum of the Electoral register is a nice joke. I won’t worry my head too much about it. The new EC has already matured into the job and found her trenched position. Her summary and demeanor at the end of the second day was clear as the “Galamsey polluted Oti River”. For those of you who listened to Koku the “grave walker”, you will understand.

But above all this is the insincerity I gather from this Government. I maintain that the NDC is not really interested in a prosperous Ghana, they are focused on the next four-year term by voting any means possible. Their plan, as I watch it unfold, is always to do enough to get continuity endorsements to the next election. And if that includes cheating?

The Better Ghana Agenda is a good slogan. A very good friend of mine created it. Yes, I have friends in the NDC, and we argue all the time about my perceived Ghana-less direction.

I can’t see the change. Many people I talk to can’t see change for the better, they feel the pain in their worsening situations. Many persons believe and agree with me and what I say. I am grateful to all of you who meet, greet, shake my hand and encourage me and OccupyGhana to keep it alive, because there is very little hope left.

So where is this “Better Ghana At”, if not now confined to the bins of history?

A while back, I changed my closing slogan from “Another great week to come”, to “Another terrible week to come”. Men abr?.

Ghana, Aha a y? din papa. Alius atrox week advenio. Another terrible week to come!