Probity, integrity, transparency, and accountability were great words that were introduced into the national political discourse and culture by Rawlings in the early 1980s but the man himself turned out a pretentious fraud be ... read full comment
Probity, integrity, transparency, and accountability were great words that were introduced into the national political discourse and culture by Rawlings in the early 1980s but the man himself turned out a pretentious fraud because he assumed the love of a culture that is alien to him. During his entire reign, transparency into government business was non-existent. In 1992, he handpicked members of a constituent assembly that penned the Fourth Republican Constitution. With the might of their pens these he/she Rawlings adulators put these 4 beautiful words to their final rest in our political history. Subsequent political administrations have benefitted from the provisions of the constitution that give the incumbent President absolute power and authority with no transparency and accountability. Because the President is protected from prosecution by the constitution he is able to get away with underhand deals that are hardly detectable. Since Presidents are immune from prosecution and armed with absolute power there is no limit to what they can and will do, especially with a vociferous partisan support base that hears and sees no wrong.
If we were to handle our politics like the way professional sports is run in the civilized world we would hold politicians' feet to the fire and demand probity, integrity, transparency and accountability as these words truly mean . In professional sports the only contract that is valid is a winning record.So let it be with our politics too. Until we cease from political sycophancy,until we shed the herd mentality, until we can think independently and outside the box, until we begin to reward hard work and success instead of laziness and failure, until we take out the partisan political beam in our eyes and until we reform the 1992 constitution and change it from the presidents' to the people's constitution and make probity, integrity, transparency and accountability guide the day to day political business we will never see the light of day. Long live Probity, Integrity, Transparency and Accountability. Long live our freedom. Long live Ghana.
John Daniels-LEGON 9 years ago
TOP 5 REASONS WHY GHANAIANS ARE
"hungry and desperate"
=============================
1. Ghanaians are used to easy-living. Minimum effort for maximum pay. Ask every single employer in Ghana, since 2002 they have perfect ... read full comment
TOP 5 REASONS WHY GHANAIANS ARE
"hungry and desperate"
=============================
1. Ghanaians are used to easy-living. Minimum effort for maximum pay. Ask every single employer in Ghana, since 2002 they have perfected the art of doing nothing, using connections, lying, cheating and talking loudly and insulting everyone who is not going to help them sustain this life style. Allan Cash calls it NATO ( No Action Talk Only)
2. They are waiting for a messiah preferably "kuffuor-like" and hence Nana Addo, who will come and get some free money from foreigners who are sympathetic, blind or wilfully ignorant like them. The money will be shared among the politicians and their extended families, cronies and friends who will then a)import commodities and set up table-top shops in every corner, nook and crany of the land. b) quickly convert the monies into dollars and take-off to Europe, Americas and south Africa to invest or hide.
The current Government tried to copy this template but failed woefully. Different times different conditions. Now they wished they had listened to JJ Rawlings when he said they should have jailed as many of the Kuffour Brigade as possible. If you follow a "giant " to the hills make sure you are prepared to climb high mountains.
3. Unfortunately right now it seems over 75 % ( according to Bawumia Arithmetic) of the population simply believe all that is required is for Nana Akuffo-Addo to become president. They believe he can get the money. After all, unlike poor fumbling 'northerner' JD Mahama, he has friends in London and Texas and Seoul waiting with open checkbooks, just like Kuffour. And he is already "rich" and "noble" ( he pays more taxes to the UK in year that he has paid in Ghana in the past 10 years). All he will need is to wave his magic wand and the slyly-cloying marauding voracious barracudas calling themselves variously as "financial engineers" and "to-na-ton" mercenaries (aka the middle-class?) will change their ways overnight and he will serenely go about providing free education to the 2-million or so hopelessly maladjusted 10-15 year olds. While at the same time continuing to allow the cash to flow as in 2006-2009.
4. Every Ghanaian of average inteligence and status seems to have a plan to individually and separately get money by fair or foul means to a) build their mansion/house b) get pot-hole proof vehicles ( ideally of Toyota/Nissan Brand). c) send their kids to private school locally or overseas d) enough US dollar/Pound Sterling reserve to enable frequent unfettered travels. And to do all this from a government subvented salary as a civil/public servant/MP/MCE/PM/DAC/teacher or even a "party foot-soldier". Then they turn around talk about corruption. People everywhere in the world want these same things but they know that they will have to work extremely hard over a very long period of time to get these things. But we seem to excel in coming up with ways of getting the good things in life by doing little or nothing at all.
5. Most Ghanaians seem to have the IQ of a lizard ( apologies to all lizards everywhere). Take this example: You are a Ghanaian living somewhere in the Eastern/Western Region, You have a piece of land your ancestors used for farming and some "creative" off-season traditional gold-mining.For ages thiey were able to use this system to maintain a rich culture and eco-balanced economy. You decide to sell this land as part of a concession to a group of young Chinese (and college grads from Utah, USA -check PBSonline for the documentary). They come with zeal and smarts as well as heavy equipment and completely destroy the land, the surface vegetation and rivers. Then you run to Accra and organize press conferences with tribal leaders and chiefs in sartorial lizard- colors to denounce the Government, insult the President. To add insult to injury, of course now you cannot even feed your own children in School with even plantain, cassava, cocoyam that all used to grow free and wild. Yes! you need a loan from Denmark (pop. 4 million, where everybody pays tax) for a dubious School Feeding Program and diet based on perfumed-rice from Thailand. Come on! Can you look into the eyes of a lizard ( cold blood, needs heat to survive etc.) and say you are smarter? But you see you are a Ghanaian so you are not allowed to think, reflect or even consider your actions. All you are required to do is find a convenient target to complain, blame, insult and if possible steal from- and everything is fine.
Kwame Wusu 9 years ago
This is a well researched piece on Accountability. As much as the title is appropriate to the Topic, I would like to take some liberty to add my two cent idea to the title by saying 'Accountability in soccer and politics and ... read full comment
This is a well researched piece on Accountability. As much as the title is appropriate to the Topic, I would like to take some liberty to add my two cent idea to the title by saying 'Accountability in soccer and politics and beyond. Much as the invectives appear to be pointing to the coaches, handlers, the bunch of the "Samamos" the hangers-on and a whole host of people who did not know why they were in Brazil at the expense of the poor tax payers of Ghanaians, I think it is appropriate to hold to account everybody in a position of trust/responsibility to Ghanaians. I am not making a blanket statement here by saying that everybody in a responsible position behaves the same way as most others do. No! Far from that. I truly and sincerely believe that to hold people in authority to account, the general public must be educated to know the limits to which these so-called 'Big Men and Women' can go. Let's look at it this way; If voters would keep their representatives in what level of governance to account, perhaps we would start from somewhere.
Let me create some scenario: Passengers, will you be prepared to challenge the bad police officer who is taking a bribe from the driver and by the same token can you challenge the driver who is trying to circumvent the law by paying a bribe? Congregation in a church situation, can you take your pastor to account on all the monthly or weekly collections that come to the church as income? Students, will you be prepared to ask your teacher of professor why he or she is late for class? I am not saying we must not show respect to our leaders. I can't understand why a village head teacher would ask a student to go and pound his wife's fufu while classes are in progress. The average Ghanaian is so scared or intimated by people in authority that some of them perceive them as demi-gods! Let me end by telling a story I saw on a Ghanaian Talk Show Program called, "ADEKYEE NSONOMA" hosted by T.K as he is popularly called. One of the guests was looking for LP gas to fill his depleted gas cylinder. To make a long story short, when he got to the place where people had queued for gas, because at that time gas was in limited or in short supply. On arriving at where people were in line to buy their gas, this gentleman, so-called 'big' man, according to him knew the owner of the station, so in Ghanaian parlance, the owner 'cut' him 'protocol' and got served over and above of those in line. Here is a guy who has lived and worked in the US. Could he have done that in the US? No way could he have jumped the queue, because the people ahead of him wouldn't let him. I was disappointed in the host for not asking him whether what he did was right or wrong. This program happened on July 9, 2014. So folks, don't get scared of people in authority. perhaps you have more power than what they think they do.
Probity, integrity, transparency, and accountability were great words that were introduced into the national political discourse and culture by Rawlings in the early 1980s but the man himself turned out a pretentious fraud be ...
read full comment
TOP 5 REASONS WHY GHANAIANS ARE
"hungry and desperate"
=============================
1. Ghanaians are used to easy-living. Minimum effort for maximum pay. Ask every single employer in Ghana, since 2002 they have perfect ...
read full comment
This is a well researched piece on Accountability. As much as the title is appropriate to the Topic, I would like to take some liberty to add my two cent idea to the title by saying 'Accountability in soccer and politics and ...
read full comment