My fellow Ghanaians, as 2013 draws to a close, I would like us to reflect on a disturbing pattern that may be lost on the struggling masses. Honestly, the struggling masses are not oblivious to what is going on but their burdens have been maximized with the increased tariffs on fuel and utilities that translate into high prices of foodstuff. While the long suffering Ghanaian figures out a way to feed his family, we have witnessed within one single year, some major events that have either advanced or seriously reversed our economic and political development.
Dear reader, I want you to set aside two things as you read this article: one, your partisanship - the very element which is depriving us of objective analysis, and two, the Ghanaian fatalism that “all shall be well” (‘ebe ye yie’ syndrome) that leaves us from tackling serious challenges.
Our Electoral Commission and our Supreme Court judges (and even a monarch) have been accused of or are perceived as having compromised our democratic process. The opposition alleged that the incumbent party corrupted both institutions with heavy bribes that were funded with money that has resulted in budget deficits and the collapse of phony government initiatives. If this is true, then our democratic process has seriously retrogressed within just one year and the perpetrators must be viewed as the major enemies of our country. If the allegations are false, then they are cruel and must be treated with contempt. Why are we not seeing the NPP make more noise about the corruption (exception of Kofi Jumah) or the NDC fight vehemently the allegations of corruption? Are Ghanaians being more ‘matured’ about it and acknowledging that corruption is here to stay and that we live in a “survival of the fittest” kleptocracy of whoever steals the most wins? Where is the confrontation? What happened to the Peace Council?
For a country that professes freedom and justice, and sing “help us to resist oppressors rule”, have we become so partisan that our consciences have been numbed to the extent that we can watch the pensions of our hard working citizenry evaporate in a $38 million dollar loan to a tycoon who happens to have political connections to the same administration that is alleged to have corrupted the electoral commission, judiciary, a monarch, and now the Central Bank?
Mahama must be one genius to have succeeded within a short period of time in his quest for power, to have undermined all the so-called independent institutions who are supposed to be responsible for the welfare of Ghanaians. If these institutions have been compromised as a result of partisanship and corruption, then, we have none other than ourselves to blame for the squalor in which our folks live and the lack of dignity that the African suffers despite hailing from a rich continent. Singapore, South Korea, Belgium, and Denmark have little to no natural resources. Yet, these countries utilize their resources well to create a society that dignifies their citizens. When will Ghanaian leaders suffer just a little for its citizens? The level of impunity in our society is sickening. Is our major problem our failure to hold our leaders accountable? If so, where are the community leaders – chiefs, pastors, imams, and professors? Are they no better than the politicians?
Okponglo Guy
