Ghana In Crisis – Otumfuo Indicts Mahama

Otumfuor Osei Tutu

The Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has added his voice to numerous calls on the John Dramani Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government to sit up and deliver Ghanaians from the current economic hardship.

'Although, the occasion of a special congregation has to be a happy one, I am sure no one here will dispute that the country is going through some trying moments,' he said.

'From where I sit, I hear cries from farmers, workers, traders, professionals, business and captains of industry, they cannot all be wrong,' the Asantehene noted.

The Asantehene said it was time to prevent the country from slipping from crisis situation to national disaster.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II was speaking at a special congregation held by the University of Professional Studies (UPS) formerly Institute of Professional Studies (IPS) for him and two other distinguished personalities in Accra last Friday.

The two were Edward Doe Adjaho, Speaker of Parliament and Albert Kan-Dapaah, a former Member of Parliament.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and Mr. Kan-Dapaah are both past students of IPS and they were honoured for their contribution to the development of the institute while Speaker Adjaho was honoured for his contribution to democracy in the country.

High Utility Tariff
The Asantehene said 'recent high energy tariff has brought the country face to face with the prospect of a general strike. My interactions with captains of business and industry have revealed substantial disquiet about the effect of energy cost and on the cost of doing business in Ghana and a potential hindrance to job creation.'

He said that beyond energy, 'there are seemingly intractable problems around education, healthcare delivery, not to talk about the infrastructural overhang from uncompleted projects.'

He conceded that although every nation goes through periods of turbulence, 'it is how institutions of state manoeuvre through this turbulence that marks the difference between the stable and firmly rounded state and an unstable state.'

'We continue to believe that we have laid the foundation for a stable democratic state. We therefore hope that our institutions of state will rise up to the challenge to manoeuvre the ship of state through these storms. To do this, they must listen to the pain and anguish of the people they are paid to serve.'

'Let creative minds step up the plate and find a compromise and not wait till we move from crisis to natural disaster.'

Single Spine
The Asantehene said that stakeholders' intention of establishing the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) had been good but its implementation 'has been fraught with problems.'

He said that the policy represents an enhancement of public sector emoluments. However, 'handling of conversion differences, premiums and various categories of allowances have led to industrial unrest and threat of strikes.'

'Before we embarked upon a scheme of this kind, we should have calculated the possible effects of our ability to service our debt. Is it any wonder that global rating agency should be downgrading Ghana?'

'Government must have the courage to deal with these issues in a spirit of fairness and good faith…We should come on board in good faith to create a roadmap that allows an extension in the implementation of the SSSS and give space for the problems identified to be resolved over time.'

He called on institutions to 'help before the single spine develops into Ghana's broken spine.'

Corruption
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II also touched on corruption saying it is canker that poisons the fabric of the society.

'It affects us all, public or private sector, in government or in opposition and the blame game won't help us here. We must all collaborate to uproot the canker.'

'Institutions like the CHRAJ and EOCO must be resourced to deal with corruption. However, the President and those in authority have an important role to play.'

He urged President Mahama, ministers and anti-corruption institutions to 'deal decisively with incidence of corruption that are brought to their attention by the public and the media.'

'The President must crack the whip without fear or favour. It is only when people know that the price they pay for corruption is a high one that they would be deterred from the practice.'

Accountants
Turning his attention to accountants, Otumfuo who himself is Chartered Accountant said they have 'a critical role to play in Ghana's economic development growth. They are responsible for the integrity of the financial systems of the country.'

'We must regard the Auditor-General's report, public hearings of the PAC of Parliament and the public hearings of the Sole-Commissioner on Judgement Debts as very worrying.

'Countless instances of misappropriation and misapplication, downright theft of public resources are an indictment on our honour as guardians of the national purse.'

He said the Internal Audit Agency was brought in to save the situation 'but there do not appear to be abatement in the hazards of public funds placed in the care of accountants.'

He hoped institutions like UPS would analyse the Auditor-General's reports and look into the reasons for the breakdown or non-adherence to systems and controls that led to such dissipation of public resource.

Media
The Asantehene also had a word for the media saying 'recent events compelled me to touch on this subject again.'

He noted that the media were spreading and had become influential with a positive outlook but added 'side by side with this positive outlook is the ugly intruder who seeks to use the media as a weapon of national destruction to attack, insult and violate the honour and integrity of individuals and institutions without any compunction.'

He said 'true media professionals should stand up and defend the integrity and honour of the profession.'

By William Yaw Owusu