The importance of sincerity in politics cannot be over-emphasised because, as a sterling virtue, it forms an integral part of what should by all standards be a noble occupation.
Unfortunately, however, politics has been denigrated by some elements in the occupation and today it is generally associated with greed, avarice and mendacity, the last being the favourite path of those seeking political power.
Such politicians denigrate their colleagues with all manner of cooked-up allegations in a bid to win the votes of gullible compatriots. It has worked for such people but, unfortunately, for those behind it, foundations built on lies are unable to stand the test of time as the truth shall always pop up eventually like a piece of balsa wood from the bottom of a body of water.
It is heartbreaking to observe how over the years politics has provided opportunities for crooks who present themselves as good people who eventually rip off the public purse and get away with it through weaknesses in the legal system, and above all, non-commitment of people in authority to the cause of the state.
The public purse will continue to suffer from the concealed thievery by ruffians regardless of the tribulations such smelly acts etch upon the lives of the ordinary man in the street.
Former President Kufuor did not mince words when he highlighted the many instances of insincerity on the part of the NDC administration when he spoke during an NPP activity at Asamankese last Sunday in this Eastern Regional town.
What came out pointedly was the fact that the NDC has sought over the years to create an impression of an idle NPP which, for the two terms that it was in power, did nothing to advance the cause of Ghana.
We long for a culture of veracity steeped in sincerity so that our country can move forward. The Metro Mass Transit programme, the National Health Insurance Scheme, the enhancement of the coastal road in Accra, the Circle to Nsawam road by no means exhaustive, all testify boldly to the achievements of the Kufuor administration.
What is difficult about acknowledging the achievements of one�s predecessor when especially these enhance the living standards of Ghanaians? It is amazing how in the name of political campaigning, we allow our partisan interests to overshadow sincerity.
There is an advertisement in one of the newspapers pointing at the completion by the freshly inaugurated NDC government of 1,600 community health centres in 2008, an obvious untruth.
There is also the hullabaloo about the University of Mines and Technology (UMAT) (formerly Tarkwa School of Mines) in Tarkwa, an already existing institution upgraded to the status of a university by the NPP administration, yet the NDC has claimed credit for the achievement. We could go on and on.
When politics is reduced to the antics of claiming credit where it is not due, we begin to wonder whether our democracy is actually growing or remains static or even deteriorating in quality so many years after independence.
Someone remarked recently, �Folks, let us be serious and stop these political pranks which would take us nowhere.�
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