Can The Hen Crow?

Ever wondered why it is the rooster that crows, even though both the rooster and the hen are fowls? Indeed, it is not only the rooster that recognizes the break of a new dawn. The hen also recognizes the break of a new dawn. The question therefore to ask is why doesn't the hen too crow to usher in the new dawn?

I vividly remember the response my octogenarian grandmum gave me when, as a teenager, I wanted to know why it was only the rooster that crowed to usher in the new dawn. She said the hen could also crow but it was only out of respect that she always allowed the rooster to crow. She was also quick to add that for the hen to crow to announce a new dawn whilst the rooster was around would be abnormal.

Unfortunately, however, it is becoming increasingly clear that our President, John Dramani Mahama aka Mr. Baloney, is refusing to acknowledge this simple fact. He is not alone in this. All those standing under the eagle-headed Umbrella are also refusing to acknowledge this basic fact. They fail to understand that trying to imitate the rooster does not make them roosters. For the rooster crows only when it sees light.

We all know there are many political roosters in this country. One thing is however very certain; Mr. Baloney is not one of them. The political roosters were the ones who saw the light and crowed to the hearing of the world that the people of the North needed a special initiative to accelerate the improvement in their standard of living. They therefore proposed the establishment of the Northern Development Fund (NDF).

The political hens did not see any light, yet they tried imitating the roosters. They started crowing long after the sun had risen from its bed. They replicated the NDF with the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA).

MOST Asomdwekromanians, especially those of us from the North, were very elated. We were elated because we felt it was a great opportunity to improve the pitiable life of our people. We felt it was a rare opportunity of reducing, to the barest minimum, the incidence of poverty in the three Northern regions and even beyond.

The SADA programme started on a very wrong footing as the seed cowries promised by the government were not forthcoming. When some of the cowries finally came, the authority attracted series of bad press occasioned by dubious investments and questionable management practices.

Need I remind you of the infamous 'akomfem' project which attracted a lot of hubbub across the length and breadth of the country? I hear Asongtaba, the company partnering SADA in the 'akomfem' project, says it is ready to refund the 25million cowries SADA paid as its share of the project.

Laughable, isn't it? What about the so-called 3million cowries SADA paid to Asongtaba for feasibility studies and sensitization of farmers? And would they pay interest on the 25million cowries? If yes, how much? These and more are the questions we want answers to.

We also read about the questionable afforestation project SADA embarked on. We were also told how some of the tress got razed down by bushfire. Yet we are now being told the afforestation project had over 80% success rate. Who would believe such a Kwaku Ananse story?

SADA was in the news again last week. It was, as usual, in the news for all the bad reasons one can imagine. The latest Auditor General's interim report has exposed them. It was revealed in the report that contrary to Public Procurement Act 663, the authority had used 'inappropriate mode of selecting consultants'. That inappropriate act alone cost the authority over 620,000 cowries.

It was also revealed that top officials had blown hundreds of thousands of cowries in the name of trips. How a seed buying company metamorphosed into a travel and tour company and organized trips for SADA officials is still a wonder to many. In all, six officials have been asked to refund over 830,000 cowries.

Abusuapanin, did you hear Mahama Ayariga on the issue? He has appealed to me and you to measure our criticism lest we destroy the SADA initiative. But he conveniently shied away from criticizing the reckless use of the authority's resources.

You see, we did not tell officials and the board to approve cowries for sight-seeing trips. Neither did we tell them to pay dubious amounts to so-called consultants when they had highly skilled professionals to do the same job. So it is obvious Ayariga is barking up the wrong tree. He should rather direct his advice to those who have milked the cow dry.

It is indeed very sad to note that the initiative to alleviate the suffering of the people of the North has become an avenue for others to line their pockets. It is even sadder that those who mismanaged the SADA funds hail from the North. They should bow their heads in shame; that is, if they have any shame at all.

For sure, the innate malaise SADA is suffering from was that a political hen tried crowing when it had not seen the light. When such a hen starts imitating the rooster again by promising a progressive Free S.H.S policy, one would not be far from right when one says it is just another opportunity for the greedy bastards to milk another cow dry. It is a great shame!

See you next week for another konkonsa, Deo volente!