Editorial: From Grace To Grass

Kwame Pianim, the renowned economist startled the nation with some utterance at a public forum which raised eyebrows and kept people wondering whether he was in full possession of his mental faculties. What did he want to achieve by ingratiating himself with President Atta Mills? Is the rejection by the President of brown envelopes whether as bribes or thanksgiving solid ground for conclusion as evidence of incorruptibility? Does that give enough indication that the President is on top of the nation�s fight against the phenomenon of corruption? Where was Mr Pianim when the President rejected the supposed bribes? What did the President do when he was confronted with the tantalizing envelopes? Were those bribe givers foreign or local citizens? These incidentally were the fundamental questions Mr Pianim�s utterances elicited. As a statement of NPP who at one point attempted to lead the party in a presidential election, he apparently did not figure out the repercussion his expression was going to make. How come the whole party machinery should turn against him and even the nation at large? His expression was an overly puerile one which borders on sycophancy. Any display of incorruptibility is left only for the nation at large to pass judgement. Otumfuo the Asantehene is now widely known throughout the country as �King Solomon� for his great wisdom in resolving seemingly impossible chieftaincy conflicts, far beyond the capacities of the civil courts. Anybody who had dared visit Otumfuo�s court before never failed to appreciate the wonderful depth of Otumfuo�s wisdom. President Atta Mills is barely one year in office but bumped into situations that kindled aberrations over his ability to be on top of corruption. His handling of the Muntaka Mubarak�s issue at the Ministry of Youth and Sports is a conspicuous case for attack. He caused a lousy committee to probe the affair and asked Muntaka to resign as Minister. The President followed this up by causing the interdiction of the Chief Director and the Accountant. Was the President not ashamed after the competent law of jurisdiction re-instated the two civil servants? Has any action been taken against Muntaka for causing financial loss to the state? It�s regrettable that Kwame Pianim did not see this cover-up affair. How sad that such a great economist should fall from grace to grass.