<<Print>>

With 2013 racing to a fast close, I have taken stock of all the major events that went on in Ghana and I have come to the conclusion that the current government we have is extremely corrupt, incompetent, vindictive, insensitive and is only there to enrich it cronies/family. The masses have been impoverished and neglected. Corruption has engulfed the nation. As far as I am concerned, President Dramani Mahama has personified corruption in today's Ghana. When I hear him speak, I can't help but hear the voice of corruption. When I see his face on TV, I see the face of corruption. You may think I am being unfair to Mahama. But can somebody tell me why after the revelations of the corrupt deals in WOYOME, ISOFOTON, GYEEDA, SUBAH, SADA, etc (that cumulatively run into billions of US dollars) we have seen no action being taken to bring people to book. We hear of commission after commission being set up, and yet the people who had been implicated in these sagas, continue to have cozy relationships/contracts with the government. So I have come to the said conclusion that Mahama is extremely and/or extremely incompetent. Now the sad aspect of our governance is that the government is its own prosecutor. The Attorney General (A-G) is required to prosecute corrupt and criminal cases that are perpetuated against the state. Now what happens if the government leaders are the one that is perpetuating the crime/corruption? The A-G is also the minister of justice and as such part of the government. In fact, he/she is a cabinet minister. How would a thief would prosecute itself. That would never happen. No wonder, anytime a corruption case comes up, no action is taken by the A-G. The constitution of Ghana has given the President far reaching powers to protect our nations resources and seek the welfare of Ghanaians. However, our resources are being looted with impunity by government cronies. Just look at the recent shady Fortiz/Merchant Bank deal. I know some people would argue that it is a purely commercial deal and the President should not be dragged into it. I beg to differ. President Mahama's hand is written all over the deal. If it is not, he should stop the sale and have proper due diligence conducted into the sale. Now to Parliament: As far as I am concerned, parliament is not independent and our constitution is to be planned for it. As it stands now, most of the government ministers are required to be appointed from parliament. This provision in the constitution makes parliamentarians highly disposed to tow the line of government, because if you do the bidding of the President in parliament, you just might be rewarded with a ministerial appointment. As far as the government's party is also the majority in parliament, you can forget about the minority party in opposition. I consider them as a toothless bulldog. They may make all the noise, but the majority would have its way. Forget about the Judiciary too. Have you ever had a case in court? The clerks/bailiff want to take bribes before your case would be processed. Some of the judges/magistrates take bribes and in the process pervert justice. Even when a case is ruled in your favour, the bailiff also want money before they would carry out their duties. It is a shame, but that is the reality in our courts. In the era of a depreciating Cedi, increasing utility prices, increasing cost of education, increasing fuel prices, increasing transport prices, increasing food prices, increasing this and increasing that, tell me how the Ghanaian is suppose to cope? The taxes we pay and the revenue we receive from our natural resources (Oil, Gold and Cocoa) are being siphoned by corrupt officials with impunity. The government is stealing from its own people under the cloak of democracy and rule of law. Jacob Obetsebi-Lamptey's purchase of a government bungalow in 2008 (was it $400,000?)was certainly in bad test, but the current Merchant Bank sale (for US$40million) to Fortiz(with the President's lawyer as lead council for Fortiz) smells to the heavens. Yet, the two deals had been masterminded to look like no laws were/are being broken. Ghana's constitution is good in a lot of aspects, but extremely flawed in others. I would go into our constitution in my next article. With regards to our economy, the least said about it the better. All that we keep hearing is that there is no money. No money for school projects, no money for subsidies( subsidies for fuel, fertilizer, etc), no monies for road, no monies for public toilet, no monies for this and no monies for that. Somebody should tell me "WHERE IS THE MONEY"? At any rate, I must end here. But you should be reminded that you are on your own. The executive is stealing from you, parliament is not effective and the least said about the Judiciary the better. Actually if you are spiritually minded, you would have your God with you, but you can certainly forget about the government. Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year to the good people of Ghana. May we see a more responsible and a less corrupt Ghana in 2014.