Don't Be Confused By The NDC

I was in a cab in Accra in early August this year when I began asking the driver as I customarily do about what he thought of the political goings-on in the country. It has become a practice of mine because if you want to have your ear to the ground in any country, the cab drivers are your best bet.

The driver gave high marks to the Kufuor government for its commitment to freedom, but then went on to wonder why it wastes “so much time going after the Rawlings people instead of fixing the country as it promised to do.”

Believe me, this cad driver echoed what many have been talking about on the internet and nearly everywhere Ghanaians gather to discuss their country. And believe me, after five minutes, this cab driver absorbed a semester’s worth of political education from me. When he dropped me off at the Arts Center, he understood a couple of things that he did not understand when he picked me up. It was not a spin; it was setting the record straight.

You see, Democracy is still young in Ghana so it is understandable that those well versed in it, but motivated by other not so dignified interests, will twist the facts every once in a while, Also, those who may not be as politically astute will be confused every once in a while because the empty barrels make the most noise. But please, do not get confused. It is not as complicated as the naysayers of the current administration would like you to think it is.

First, governments subscribe to the concept of “Division of Labor.” That means every sector or ministry does its part to make the whole government achieve its objective. So while the detractors would have you believe that the entire Kufuor administration has stopped everything it is doing just to “go after the Rawlings people,” the fact is that only the Attorney General’s office is, among other things, investigating matters of criminal allegations brought by citizens to its attention. In fact, it would be abdicating its responsibility if it did not investigate and prosecute those allegations.

Second, while the Attorney General’s office is doing its job, all other ministries are busy doing theirs. The road and Transport Ministry is busy working on building new roads and facilitating movements of people and goods, the Finance Ministry is on time submitting its budget to Parliament, the Local Government Ministry is busy solidifying local governments, the Ports, Harbors and Railways Ministry is busy figuring out how to enhance rail travel to ease the congestions we all face on our roads, etc.

In fact, I am yet to see the Finance Minster, or any other minister than the Attorney General talk about any Rawlings man or woman causing financial loss to the state. Those are the facts, but the NDC would have you believe that everything has stopped in favor of “witch hunting” of former government officials.

But here is where it gets interesting. For those who cry so often of being the subject of “witch hunting,” is it not interesting that they are the first to accuse Kufuor’s government officials as “causing financial loss to the state.” The NDC’s presidential Candidate was all over the news with a laundry list of instances where some current government officials are alleged to have behaved fraudulently, and thus warranting investigating. I guess now it is okay for the Kufuor administration to stop everything in favor of investigating those officials. And let me guess; that would not qualify as “witch hunting.”

Don’t get me wrong; I do not condone any form of fraud whether it is committed by the NDC or the NPP. And no government has been tougher on corruption than the current NPP government. But when one considers the fact that Rawlings came in and executed government officials for perceived crimes that were never tried in any court of law, ended up heading the most corrupt and dictatorial government in Ghana’s history, and still has the nerves to shout about trivialities that pail in comparison to his atrocities, one cannot help but conclude that we Ghanaians are ill-informed about the virtues of democracy.

The Kufuor administration, like any administration, is certainly not perfect. But the fact that we can tolerate the absolute nonsense by characters who destroyed our country is in itself evidence that we are slowly but surely maturing into the tolerance part of democracy. We still have work to do in the accountability department without having “witch hunting” blared into our ears every minute.

The Ghanaian public is being tricked into believeing the Kufuor administration is all about “witch hunting” members of the NDC government. But the fact remains that these people incurred a total debt of $5.8 billion on our behalf (that is $2,900 per Ghanaian citizen). Where in the country is that amount of money evident?

Remember that it takes longer to build a house. It takes relatively less time to tear it down. And when that happens, it takes even longer to rebuild it because this time you want to build it such that it is harder to tear down. The NDC took 20 years to tear HOUSE GHANA down. Just imagine how long it takes to rebuild HOUSE GHANA. Be patient, but do not be confused. Confused is what the NDC want you to be.