Opinion
All too soon the second term of the NDC administration is drawing to a close and the battle for 2016 has begun and for those who celebrated in white apparel after the Supreme Court's “strange”' verdict, time, the determining factor in all events has shown them the yellow card. My old man of blessed memory used to say that “things don't just happen, and if you don't understand the happenings around you, just wait for time.''
In time the inexplicable becomes explicable. Time has a magical way of loosening tongues and the most tight lips easily open to spill beans of dreadful stories that make “Vickileaks” sound like bed time stories. Time can heal wounds but not memories and for those who think that Ghanaians have short memories, let them live in their dream houses built with our stolen monies and wait for the unfolding events leading to the 2016 elections.
Today, slogans such as “I care for you”, “Better Ghana Agenda”, lies, propaganda and deceit the NDC used to humbug Ghanaians to win the last election have been badly exposed. As time has gone by, men thought to be humble have become so arrogant and words from their mouths do not only smell but stink. School leavers have become billionaires, the apostles of probity and accountability, the incorruptible NDC has become the epitome of corruption and the Chief Priest has gone dumb.
If these developments had taken place in any developed country, the Government would be preparing handing over notes let alone predict “one touch victory” in 2016. Unfortunately due to the high level of ILLITERACY, the NDC is very hopeful.
To expect a level playing field for the 2016 elections is completely out of the question and the EC's failure to prepare a new voter register to restore some confidence in the Commission has compounded the problem. In my previous articles, I appealed to all Ghanaians who are not beneficiaries of the stolen monies and suffocating under the current excessive taxation of petroleum and utility tariffs to assist NPP to remove this “competent Government” from power.
This is because the NPP cannot do it alone without the massive support of Ghanaians as many people are still so ignorant especially people in the rural communities regarding the true state of affairs in the country. We therefore need to let them know the current hardships that have been imposed on us by a Government that SIMPLY DOES NOT CARE about corruption, stealing and misuse of our resources by its appointees.
These issues can only be best explained in our local dialects by close relatives who understand the issues, to our relations in the rural areas and convince them to ignore some of the deep seated notions of lies, deception and indoctrination of the NDC from their minds.
This article is therefore meant to appeal to the conscience of our teeming supporters and sympathisers who are prepared to put their shoulders to the wheel and help restore some dignity, transparency and honesty in Government.
We can only win if we campaign well through the length and breadth of this country and convince our brothers and sisters in villages and hamlets who have been deceived and continue to be deceived to understand the issues at stake so that when their stolen monies are dangled in front of them as a bait, they will gladly take the monies because it belongs to them and vote wisely.
Every Ghanaian comes from a village and therefore those living in the cities and towns should return to their roots and campaign there. We should not wait for the unexpected to happen and start unnecessary post mortems. On visits to the villages and hamlets for funerals and other activities we should carry the messages to them. Those who can transfer their votes should do so in order to make their presence felt at the various polling stations during the elections.
The simple definition of “CAMPAIGN” in politics to me is “to convince someone to vote for a party of his/her choice”. ISSUES, TARGET GROUPS and MESSAGES are the three most important subjects to be understood in campaigning. The issues revolve around the Government's promises, developments and how it has governed the country since it took over the administration. The target groups are the registered voters and the messages are coached from Government failures.
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On promises, the only thing the NDC did not promise before the 2012 elections was to change a man into a woman otherwise they promised everything under the sun but failed to honour them. They promised to build ten Colleges of Education and 200 Community SHS within four years, introduce free SHS education, REDUCE FUEL PRICES DRASTICALLY, put money into peoples' pockets, build a factory in each District in Ghana, eliminate all schools under trees, clear all filth in the cities within 100 days, PAY ONE TIME PREMIUM FOR NHIS, build 200,000 houses within five years through the STX Korea deal and 30,000 houses for the Security Services, expand the school feeding programme to cover all public basic schools, put an end to armed robbery, provide meaningful jobs to the youth, GENERATE FUNDS INTERNALLY AND NOT RELY ON IMF,WORLD BANK OR FOREIGN LOANS FOR DEVELOPMENT, bridge the poverty gap between the North and the South, build Eastern and Western corridor infrastructure, cut down waste and profligate spending, PROSECUTE CORRUPT MINISTERS AND APPOINTEES WITHOUT ASKING FOR EVIDENCE, modernise agriculture, expand all social intervention programmes introduced by NPP, NOT TO INTRODUCE NEW TAXES TO OVERBURDEN THE PEOPLE, wage war against narcotics trade, PAY PROFESSIONAL ALLOWANCES TO PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS AND INCREASE THE ALLOWANCES OF TEACHER TRAINEES, form a GOVERNMENT OF COMPETENCE AND EXPERTISE and many others.
In this piece, I will like to restrict myself to failed promises and national debts because they are so serious that the NDC must not be allowed to get away with them. The one time premium on NHIS was a deliberate plan by the NDC to destroy the most popular social intervention legacy of President Kufuor and it has succeeded.
The Government has no idea of generating funds internally and that has led to the astronomical borrowing amounting to a total DEBT of 70% of GDP. The increases in taxes in general, fuel and utility tariffs in particular have brought to the fore the insensitivity of the Government to the plight of Ghanaians.
On the debts, it is interesting to note that President Rawlings who sent Ghana to HIPC left with a debt of $6 billion, President Kufuor who took Ghana out of HIPC also left behind a debt of $8 billion and President Mahama yet to complete his term has already accumulated a national debt of $35 billion.
The debt burden has impoverished the country because thirty-five pesewas of every cedi earned today by the country goes to service the interest on the debts. Apart from the hardships, the security of the state is being threatened (thanks to the compassion for Al Qaeda foot soldiers). Are these not enough to show this Government the RED CARD?
From the above it is very clear that NDC does not deserve another chance to rule this country and how would it present its case to Ghanaians for the next elections? As usual, the NDC will continue to rely on what they know best and that is lies, deceit, propaganda and vain PROMISES.
The President is already promising to put money in Ghanaians' pockets in 2017, an indication that the deceit has already started. In 2008, the NDC gave the same promise but has rather dug holes in Ghanaian's pockets after eight years and obviously this vain promise is only meant to deceive innocent Ghanaians to cast their votes for the President.
With these failures, the NPP has enough ammunition to develop its messages and must embark upon a serious campaign to reach its target audience and counter the misinformation of the electorate especially those in the rural areas by the NDC. The message must be simple, relevant and appropriate to the particular community it is intended to address. Politics is all about a solution to LOCAL problems and these differ from communities, districts and regions.
The Party MUST therefore create voluntary groups of all those who are willing to help, break them into smaller groups and assign them to carry the messages to our rural folks.
The party must avoid campaigns based on large rallies in the towns and cities because such campaigns do not win votes but rather wastes money and resources and create false impressions of popularity.
The NDC is allegedly boasting in some circles that they will MAFIA the NPP again but I say these are some of the distractions, irritants and psychological warfare they usually engage in and we should ignore them and work assiduously and with commitment, and with the support of suffering Ghanaians, INSHA ALLA, they will be laughing at the wrong side of their mouths.
