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Ghana Elections: The Absence of a Concession and ...

Sat, 9 Feb 2013 Source: Danso, Kwaku A.

Ghana Elections: The Absence of a

Concession and the Powers of the Supreme Court

In Ghana, the search for power seems more important than delivering for the

people after elections. It has been suggested jokingly by a school of

thought that Africans move in a different time frame. Interestingly this

was also the observation of Lee Kuan Yew, former Prime Minister of

Singapore, who led his nation to independence from colonial Britain around

the same time in late 1950s. Lee Kuan Yew worked feverishly to put

institutions and systems in place to instill discipline in his people and

workers, to attract investors and set up manufacturing to create jobs for

his people and to get his nation out of poverty and third-world status to

join the "First World" class in 35 years.

On the other hand, most nations in Africa such as Ghana were going through

numerous military coups. Chaos and poverty was the opposite of what Lee Kuan

Yew did for his nation. Instead of working together with common vision

towards common goals to transform Ghana, most elected and appointed

officials only thought of themselves and never worked hard to effect any

changes. Buildings, factories, water and utility service systems, and even

hospitals built by Nkrumah were closed down or left to deteriorate! In the

20 years since the new Parliament was created after eleven years of

dictatorial rule, MPs do not have completed offices but more MPs are added

by the electoral Commissioner according to some formula that makes no

financial and economic sense.

After the first 9 years when first Premier Nkrumah set Ghana on a path to

transform Ghana, the lack of discipline of the Ghanaian in power and office

turned the nation backwards. Systems and institutions collapsed, replacing

elected governance with civilian and military one-man dictatorial rule. It

is for this reason that Singapore, with far less natural and human capital

and resources, has grown more than 30 times the GDP of Ghana. Ghanaian

elected and appointed officials do not work with due consideration of time

and inconvenience to their people. Rural and urban water, electricity,

hospitals, roads and highways built forty or more years ago are all in

shambles. One Ghanaian Professor has called the leaders stupid, and one

former President has used the word "greedy bastards" for some of these

executives in power. However we look at it, educated Ghanaians in power

show no concern for the rest of the people. It is no wonder that Judges of

the Supreme Court see no reason to stress themselves to reach a decision for

the nation. More than 80% of Ghanaian live without potable water in urban

and rural areas, and nobody seems capable of or willing to use their brains

to figure out solutions to the daily problems of basic electricity, sewage

management, traffic congestion, or anything at all to expedite it for the

convenience of their fellow humans!

What should have taken seven days, maybe ten or fifteen days to resolve, the

Supreme Court of Ghana seems to want to dance around and seems to lack

absolutely no sense of urgency. This is outrageous when the nation is

waiting and mistakes made in executive decisions today will be harder to

correct!

What kind of people are we when we look in the mirror, some with their white

wigs! Do Ghanaian appointed Judges, Parliamentarians, and Presidential

staffers think they are better than the rest of the society whose sweat pays

them? It is our strong advice to the Judicial and Legislative bodies in

Ghana to ensure that this election dispute be resolved no later than

February 28.

We produce Prof. Kwaku Asare's opinions here in full in support of his view.

If we cannot push ourselves to meet any deadlines, then maybe some are right

to look down upon us and we should bow our heads in shame begging other

nations for money to balance our budget! Perhaps what we need is partnership

in the art of love for our people, in the art of government and not the

money. We need to learn the art of caring for others and thinking to solve

problems for our people instead of the chaos we live in but seem oblivious

of!

Kwaku A. Danso,

Columnist: Danso, Kwaku A.