The State Of The Nation Address From The Layman’s Point Of View

Monday, February 23, 2015, all the news media; both the print and electronic as well as almost all the social media in Ghana carried the banner headlines: HE John Dramani Mahama will, on Thursday, February 26, present the State of the Nation Address to the 275 Members of Parliament, all Ghanaians and the whole world as to how the governance of Corporate Ghana is concerned. Some of the headlines read thus; JDM for the Showdown on Thursday; 'The D-Day is here again'; 'The Black Thursday', 'The same old thing'; 'The End of the Dumsor, Dumsor to be a thing of the past after Thursday' et cetera. The next news we heard later was that as usual, the function would be 10.00 o'clock in the forenoon of that fateful day.

The much awaited Thursday came and that emphatic time turned out to be 10.14 a.m. May be the 14 minutes lateness or delay could be attributed to the fact that His Excellency had to visit the Speaker's chamber for the pleasantries and take time off to pant for breath. Who knows? Then as stated earlier, as soon as the Chief Executive Officer of Corporate Ghana arrived in the House, he was heralded with the fine tune of cultural display by the Ghana Dance Ensemble from the School of Performing Arts from the University of Ghana, Legon. When finally he arrived in the House and stood in the attentive position, our National Anthem was played by the Ghana Police as thus - “God bless our homeland Ghana, And make our nation great and strong, Bold to defend forever, The cause of Freedom and of Right, ….. ” Without much ado, he started with the State of the Nation Address by complimenting the efforts the leadership of the House headed by the Rt.-Hon. Edward Doe Ajaho, and his near full house had hitherto done to consolidate the gains of the Legislature before going straight into action. Mind you, unlike former president Jerry Rawlings, who on countless number of occasions, interjected his speeches with “Ladies and Gentlemen” intermittently, John Dramani Mahama IV (John Rawlings I, John Kufuor II, John Mills III and John Mahama IV) was not caught in that frenzy mood but continued without hitting the jackpot. His lengthy speech, though bored, continued till late after noon time when, as expected, the bootlickers thinking that those from the Minority side of the House would occasionally hoot or bombard him with numerous boos and cat calls, had their dreams shattered and left in the limbo. The entire House behaved unusually as the floor was as quiet as the cemetery to allow the No.1 Gentleman to veer off many times and to back-track to the road i.e. to realize that he had actually gotten lost and to struggle to see from the i-pad from which he had reached on his specially hoisted screen from which he read the address. His conjectures were as if he was standing in for the Minister of Finance on a budget hearing day on the floor of Parliament. The only sterling incident one could hear and notice from the background of the floor was the occasional feeble yea, yea, yea from the ruling bench even though, such weak compliments did not really matter nor did it even merit such compliments for that day. Now straight to the point as the State of the Nation Address as depicted by the hundreds of cross-section of persons this junketing writer interacted with.

 JDM stated in his SNA that his avowed aim was to seek ye first the political kingdom and wealth, riches, et al will be added onto the avalanche of his goodies. By inference, he used all available means including passing through the back-door to bust onto the political limelight so, if he decides to run his governance this way, Ghanaians should not be perturbed but to endeavour to swallow the bitter pill he has forced down our throats as such.

 The State of the Nation Address -SNA for short – dwelt too much on the 2015 infrastructure development the NDC government headed by JDM will be doing for this nation even though, as required by the 1992 Constitution, it was incumbent for every government to offer some infrastructure development for hamlets, villages, towns, cities and for the relief of all the citizenry. But in JDM's case, even half a kilometer stretch of road that needed laterite earth was tabulated. To those persons, it was just needless. An old man just mentioned to me that it was reminiscent of the speech he gave at the UN Assembly a couple of years ago when he had the chance but spent so much of the precious time to inform the august House on eradication of guinea worm from the system as well as building solid structures for school children learning under trees. That was a precious time wasted! Instead of selling this country to let the world know our big, big problems, he failed to do just that.

 The true SNA was more of partisan campaign rhetoric; bluntly, it was like reading the budget statement for the Minister of Finance, Seth Tekper.

 Again, the SNA was quiet on the illegal airlift and export of US$4.5m against international financial norms (yentie obiara – to hell with your good advice) aboard a presidential jet to bail out the Black Stars and officials insurgency during the 2014 World Cup tournament in Brazil.

 The Address failed to give an explanation on the recall of Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, ex-minister of Sports who led the Black Stars to the presidency after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil (in which Elvis was named as being embroiled in countless number of corruption scandals) thus confirming the perception that the seat of government always butters its daily bread with corruption to graciously deserve the IEA's No.2 slot for the corruption index.

 Many people this author contacted, the SNA was just a repeat dose of the 2013 scenario.

 The SNA's numerous projects that were enumerated by JDM turned out to be false or a fallacy within hours because many people who phoned in on an Oman FM Boiling Point programme that particular night of February 26 confirmed same from various places that the said projects had either been commenced or completed.

 The third SNA by JDM of 2015 was again silent on the Nsawam-Apedwa stretch of road that links 6 of the 10 regions of Ghana and one cannot fathom the reason why till date, no definite explanation has come from government circles.

 The President, as someone who had worked with the Japanese Embassy in Accra and probably knows some of the proverbial norms and culture of his former co-workers before becoming a parliamentarian, would have been the first to commit suicide by stabbing himself with a knife for the unprecedented failure instead of unashamedly, standing before most of his former colleagues to rattle the Queen's English on trivial matters that did not hold water.

 The SNA by the president did not explain why his party chairman, Kofi Portuphy, the substantive co-ordinator of the NADMO still was at post to derail the 1992 constitution. Do we take his obstinate position to be a positive defiance of the 1992 constitution? Only time will tell.

 Not this but also Messrs Kwame Peprah and HE Dan Abodakpi, who are both ex-convicts, still hold membership positions on public boards and one wonders why he failed to hint us about this 'job for the boys expedition' during the SNA.

 Do we take it that the president is pregnant with tons of unfulfilled promises as the current SNA yet added the expansion of the Accra-Tema motorway from the existing four way lane to six-lanes i.e. each lane on either side?

 Strangely, the true reflection of the 2015 SNA is that the Ghana Police has no, repeat no money at all to purchase fuel for their fleet of vehicles for both official and operational duties to combat the crime wave that is on the increase.

 The SNA by JDM swerved Ghanaians on the world market price of crude oil that has come to the lowest level in a decade - US$48/barrel but for which no mention ever was made to alleviate the poverty situation and ameliorate our economic purchasing power.

 The SNA failed to address unemployment situation hence the high rate of armed robbery and the associations of unemployed graduates and prostitutes.

 Due to the harsh economic measures and high taxes in place that JDM failed to acknowledge in the SNA, it is no wonder why the military, the police and their hard-nut civilian criminal counterparts are now the major players who corroborate and engage in serial armed robberies all over the country.

 The SNA currently is that a young couple within the Ablekuma Constituency (Dansoman area) in the Accra Metropolis who had just wedded less than a fortnight was killed recently from the fumes they inhaled from their newly purchased electric generator in a matter of days because of the dumsor, dum, dum, dum, syndrome (12 hours electricity and more than 24 hours darkness and no hope in sight for all Ghanaians (except, perhaps, those in the three northern regions who enjoy electricity uninterrupted probably because of their perceived radical violent nature) for fear of thieves stealing it when it was left outside their room but decided to keep it indoors in a single 12' x 12' room. Ghanaians are yet to know from the outcome of the post-mortem or the autopsy report from pathologists at the Korle Bu Hospital whether their death was anything different from the long hours of poisonous fumes they inhaled while asleep during the night before their untimely and undignified death.

 The SNA should have placed some premium on apologies to the people of Cape Coast for the Kotukuraba Central Market that was built in the Commander Hill's era whose refurbishment was promised by JDM 'decades' ago but not a face-saving sod-cutting has taken place yet as you read this piece.

 Just as a certain elderly woman who pleaded anonymity confided in this writer with her comment; this 2015 mind-boggling SNA, according to her Mr. Mahama should not have bored us with more confusion to worsen our plight about the 76 out of the 200 community day-schools which by all intents and purposes, his listening and socialist government with expertise in wide scale corruption and daylight thievery of the national kitty day in and day out, will construct to ensure that they see the light of day before December 31, 2015.

 As one would expect, the SNA failed in its bid again this year to remain aloof about the inability of JDM's government for not honouring the constitutionally mandatory payment of the MP's Common Fund for rural development.

 As characteristic of JDM, he swerved Ghanaian workers, SSNIT pensioners and the world over, the clandestine and unpatriotic manner his “Better Ghana” government played in the wrongful sale and cheeky handover on a silver platter of the Merchant Bank that has been re-christened 'Universal Merchant Bank' for pittance to Ghanaians which has remained in secrecy and controversy.

 Strangely enough, this author can conveniently and authoritatively confirm from an Accra FM radio commentary by one veteran pensioner named Sergeant Tetteh, aged 91 years and domiciled at Kasoa, who painstakingly takes home a monthly stipend of Gh¢20.00. Could this figure be true or not for someone who once laid down his life for his country in far away Burma while serving as a member of the West African Frontier Force?

 The SNA as read by JDM last Thursday, the president gleefully watches the theft, and supervises the ever-increasing corruption and the emptying of the national purse day in and day out by members of his government and other appointees and remains silent in the course of the long propagandist address.

 The SNA said nothing about the unequalled, unprecedented corruption of gargantuan proportion in Ghana's history since independence and JDM'S inaction to punish the known culprits to serve as deterrent, must have served as catalyst to ignite the great fire that swept the Central Medical Stores at Tema recently that pundits suspect to be an in-house operation because everyone keeps stealing from the national coffers.

 The SNA was very silent on the report of the 2010 World Cup staged in South Africa that raised an embezzlement/corruption involving some US$430m tax-payer's money with HE Akua Sena Dansua who was then the sector minister for the Sports Ministry; but, instead, in JDM's wisdom, has flatly refused to let the cat out of the bag and re-assigned her to such a prestigious and juicy position of Ghana's Ambassador to Germany. “Wo ka koraa a, na meye no “more”, to wit, the more you probe for information and corruption in my government, to hell with you brats.

 The least talked about the Clement Kofi Humador's corrupt practices at the Sports Ministry re the Maputo fiasco before Hon. Akua Sena Dansua's era and the golden silence by the SNA is very worrying and nauseating.

 To talk about the Joe Gidisu's BMW 735 Series saloon car for road inspection is just to spills in JDM's 'tuo zaafi's green green delicacy'. By the way, who has the custody of that expensive car?

 To add insult to injury, the SNA was again silent on the recently refurbished Kumasi Airport runway lighting system that, no doubt, would be under 10,560' or 3,249 meters that aviation experts with international aeronautical reputation and experience, strongly dispute the authenticity of the US$29m that was utilized for the project. If this figure is what JDM government used for the Kumasi Airport, how much money would the U.S. Federal Aviation Authorities use for the lighting system re JFK Airport in New York that is about five times or more in length? Hon. Minister for Transport, Mrs. Dzifa Ativor, please come clean and save your reputation and integrity for the sake of future and posterity otherwise one day could be for the master.

 How does JDM pride himself as Leader of this Nation who has been declared by the SC and always delights in blame game and would always shift the goal posts by making unnecessary references on the past leaders with regards to the power outages locally dubbed “dumsor, dumsor, dumsor?”

 It is unfortunate that Hon. Mahama Ayariga, the successor to Elvis Afriyie at the Sports Ministry, after the 2014 debacle in Brazil has not yet learnt any lessons by now. To bluntly refer Media practitioners and journalists who wanted available information concerning the national budget for the AFCON 2015 in Equatorial Guinea and call them names just as the people of Accra (Gas) would say in their language, 'yaka gbemo' i.e. born to lose.

 The SNA took many people spellbound as since he was sworn in on the night of Tuesday, July 24, 2012, on the mysterious demise of Prof. John Mills, as the substantive president, JDM's official coronation speech soon after the event incorporated the retrieval of the controversial judgment debt payment of Gh¢52m that by inference, the beneficiaries; Betty Mould Iddrisu and Barton Odro, (leading members of the NDC) which to date, JDM's dreams and nightmares have never reached such perimeter. People became relieved and thought JDM would be an action man but did not know that the rhetoric was a hoax.

 As someone puts it, the millennium puzzle is that, if Technocrat facilitator Nerquaye Tetteh of the Attorney-General's Office was 'gifted' with a whopping Gh¢400,000.00 from the Alfred Agbesi Woyome's unjustifiable judgment debt payment by the latter, then your guess could be as good as mine as to how much the two sector ministers named in the penultimate paragraph would gain for themselves. The Supreme Court can go hang for no action by government regarding the ruling that such payment should be returned to government chest.

 The SNA forgot to stress that John IV has completely messed up with the NHIS, Energy, education, agriculture or you name it.

 Fellow readers, the real SNA is that the chicken have come home to roost because according to the CEO of the NHIA, Sylvester Mensah, emphatically confirmed today, Thursday, March 5, 2015, that only Gh¢700m out of the Gh¢1.03tr. arrears owed by the government to providers for 2013 and that the projections for 2014 had not been taken into consideration yet. He said this in an interview when answering questions from the host, Fiifi Boafo of Oman FM radio morning programme dubbed 'National Agenda' in Accra. Also most of the pharmaceutical companies have been black-listed by their overseas suppliers for non-payment to them.

 From all indications, the SNA remained silent on the Ruby Nayele Ametepe, a.k.a. Ruby Appiah, alias Ruby Mahama's historic millennium cocaine haul of 12 ½kg, aboard British Airways flight BA.087 of November 24, 2014, into the U.K. and even though if government did not have a hand it, that would not readily have prompted Ambassador Victor Smith to instruct a chauffeur to place a limousine at the London Heathrow Airport to swiftly whisk her to the new haven. By the way, on whose authority did the 32 year old globe trotter pass through the VVIP lounge?

 The point blank truth about the SNA is that the Finance Minister has not to date been instructed to pay up statutory payments that run into trillions of cedis even including the peanuts for the physically challenged persons and the handicapped in the special schools. Why and why the obstinacy on his part, only God knows?

 To date, almost all teachers in public schools buy their own common writing chalks themselves to write on blackboards because JDM's government will not buy it for them and this is an undeniable fact. JDM was silent on this during the address.

 Even though the president had been an MP for Bole Bamboi constituency for 12 consecutive years (1997-2009) before becoming “Goodluck” John Dramani Mahama, on the night of July 24, 2012, thanks to the mysterious circumstances that led to the sudden death of the late president Mills. As a former ranking member of foreign affairs and someone who should be very well versed with the 1992 Constitution, he needed no rocket scientist such as Hon. Afenyi Markin of Effutu constituency to tell him that his cabinet was over-bloated to 20 ministers instead of 19. And yet, due to his pregnant arrogance and disrespect for Ghanaians, he did not render an apology in that address to appease Ghanaians.

 Fellow countrymen and women, as regards JDM's total disregard and disrespect for Ghanaians, he forgets that no condition was ever permanent, and has gone ahead to appoint tribesman Baba Kamal as National Security Advisor (a sensitive position as such) even though he was officially implicated in the Mabey & Johnson bribery and corruption scandal. The British authorities have since convicted and jailed the top executives of M & J for fraudulent practices before winning foreign contracts including Ghanaian officials in 1998 or thereabout that Baba Kamal cannot extricate himself from the net.

 The plain truth of the SNA is that more than 2,000 nurses nationwide have worked for some 24 months and the best the government arrogantly would do is to pay them for three months.

 The SNA is that as many as 30 tribesmen form the nucleus of JDM's 102 member government.

 The latest Ghana's milestone it has chalked is that the following personalities – Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan, Col. Atentanwe, COP Rita Bio Atenga, DCOP Ayalingo, DCOP Patrick Timbila, Mohammed Yakubu, retired but recalled to man the police Armoured Squadron, Hamza Yakubu, Moses Asaga, of the NPA, Hon. Cletus Avorka, Major. Rtd. Mohammed S. Tara, Budget Director, Finance ministry, Haruna Iddrisu, Inusah Fuseini, Amadu Suley, Baba Kamara, Benjamin Kumbuor, Mark Owen Woyongo, Alban Sumaila Kingsford Bagbin, Mohammed Muntaka Murbarak, Mahama Ayariga, Alhaji Suleimana, the embattled and disgraced National Service Secretariat guru, Amadu Sorogho, Baba Jamal, Dr. Garba, Abuga Pele, Clement Apaak, Mohammed Iddi and many, many more whose names do not readily click but outnumber the list above enjoy juicy and rosy perks in Mahama's administration. “Adze wo fie a oye”!, But is this not very worrying for this nation as tribal politics can be clearly seen from the political mirror?

 For your information, inflation is now resting coolly at 18%, while interest rate ostensibly is pegged at 34% with the crawling cedi also at Gh¢3.5/US$1.00. Mind you, Ghana is gradually and unnoticeably crashing headlong and potential businessmen and prospective investors are hardly hit in the face but this was not mentioned in the SNA.

 The fact is that about 70% of our general importers have intentionally diverted their merchandise and other goodies through Togo and la Cote d'Ivoire (both the eastern and western borders) because of astronomic high tariffs as well as the presidential task force of square pegs in round holes under the guise of ensuring sanity there but in actual sense, their bidding is to extort money to make their living from there. May be people have not thought about the economic implications here – an average of 200 or more containers that were discharged daily at Tema has reduced drastically to 9 and this is a very serious economic lapse as the diversion to other ports is a great loss to Ghana's economy and a great gain to our close neighbours - penny wise, pound foolish. Isn't that a foolish and childish approach?

 In this 21st Century, due to filth that has engulfed the whole nation due to poor hygienic conditions and indiscriminate dumping of rubbish anywhere, has created unnecessary mountains of filth. The breeding of cholera, that is easily preventable, was neglected to devour as many as 500 lives within a couple of months while 3,000 were lucky to sail through after treatment by the various hospitals /health posts. And Ghana still prides herself as the Gateway to Africa and the first country south of the Sahara to gain independence. Independence for what, self-government to steal from the public purse or what?

 At the moment, school pupils who still learn under trees in our rural areas number more than 50,000 but members of the sharp-teeth, dwarf looking ministers and appointees will definitely dispute this bare fact. And that is John Mahama's governance for you but deliberately ignored that in the SNA.

 Due to the impoverished economy, a cash-strapped medical doctor had no option than to go in for a 6 year old boy to satisfy himself and eventually landing at the law courts with sodomy preferred against him as his charges.

 Lest I forget, by the president's own admission, he was delegated by the late Prof. Mills to do everything presidential. With him as CEO for Corporate Ghana he reversed the existing 4-year SHS duration to 3 years as per the NDC manifesto to cause the poorest showing and disgrace in the WASSCE for the 2014 academic year in the sub-region – The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and Nigeria – 28% passes and 72% failures, probably, the hopelessly poorest in 50 years. What is your stake, Madam Prof. Nana Jane Opoku Agyemang, sector Minister for Education? Incredible indeed!

 The SNA was the unprecedented one in recent history because it failed to hammer on the Ruby Nayele's 12½kgs. cocaine haul to the U.K. on November 24, 2014 even though the Foreign Minister, Hanna Tetteh Kpoda had alluded that the limousine that was hurriedly sent to the Heathrow Airport was to pick army officers who were on board that flight but strangely, no, repeat no Ghana Army Officer(s) travelled on that particular BA.087 flight and should honourably bow her head in big SHAME if she does not wash her face bottom to top!!

The true reflection of the SNA is that because of the excessive heat and unprecedented corruption at the presidential kitchen (to quote Brig.-General Nunoo Mensah) i.e. Jubilee Flagstaff House placing second on the I.E.A. corruption index after the Ghana Police), hence the joint resignations of Messrs. Dotse Malor, Prosper Bani and Raymond Atubuga as presidential spokesperson, Chief of Staff and Executive Secretary respectively within days.

 The SNA was quiet on the illegal export of $4.5m cash airlifted by a chartered flight to Brazil to bail out the Black Stars when they went on the rampage during the 2014 World Cup tourney.

 The SNA should not have been silent on the serial suicides committed by teenagers because life in Ghana under Mahama's presidency has been very unbearable.

 To quote the celebrated Pastor Dr. Mensa Otabil of the ICGC ministry fame: “If some of the Ghanaian authorities were generational thinkers, who have foresight and imbibed with prudent economic management backed by constant maintenance culture, definitely, no Ghanaian at age 21 years, of both sexes, would be struggling to marry a life partner or purchase a piece of land and start building a house for decent living or vice versa”. But this cannot be found in JDM's daily vocabulary.

 Since when did Moslem police women in Ghana wear the veil to office? Since when did Moslem lawyers appear in court wearing the veil? If you go to Rome, do as the Romans do.

 Events unfolding these days clearly are just reminiscent of the 1965 era that led to the catastrophe a year later. Ghanaians should be more prayerful to avert the dreadful calamities that were visited on Ghanaians some 50 years ago and nobody should blame and brand the author a doomsday prophet if such an eruption like the Burkinabe mass movement occurred.

 The real SNA is that if the 126 huge transformers had not been offered to the Sierra Leoneans for free, our dumsor, dumsor, dumsor situation will not have reached this desperate and alarming proportion.

 The pressing newsworthy that was to be embodied and read from the SNA was to apologize to Ghanaians and plead for clemency, repentance and remission of abominable sin for the dastard and bestial killing of three former Army Generals as Heads of State by his predecessor idol, John Rawlings - Akwasi Amankwaa Afrifa, Ignatius Kutu Acheampong and Fred W.K. Akuffo – between June 9 and 16, 1979; the abduction and murder of 3 high court judges and an army officer – Justices Cecilia Koranteng Addow, Sarkodie, Agyei Agyepong and Major Sam Acquah and finally setting their mutilated bodies ablaze at Bundase military firing range, near Ada, on June 30, 1982; the senseless killing of Osofo Amoako of Kumasi in the heat of undeserved revolution and burning of his body at Kejetia as well as the arrest and killing of a policewoman who was at church service around the sports stadium by wee-smoking soldiers. Their aim was to teach the people of Ashanti a great lesson so as to be sub-servient to that needless and boisterous second revolution. Also worth mentioning is the near miss of the Tagoe Sisters who nearly met their death on the Kasoa-Winneba road which the air force helicopter commandeered to airlift the wounded picked only the soldier and left the civilians to their fate. Incredible.

 The SNA was again silent on the sudden disappearance of 232 Ghanaians whose deaths continue to be a mystery but could be the reason of our predicament.

 The unqualified apologies that should be included in the SNA are the envious confiscation of Kowus Motors business, Asafo Boakye Mattress business, S.C. Appenteng's Panbros Salt business, Appiah Menka's Apino Soap business, Safo Adu's pharmaceutical business, J.A. Addison's cement paper business, B.A. Mensah's tobacco business and how Ghana Revenue Authority (CEPS Division), W.A. Wiafe's Novotex furniture and joinery business at Nkawkaw, J.A. Kufuor's brick and tile business and many more. The pith of the envy was that Akans wielded economic power and to break their superiority and front was to foolishly concoct stories about tax evasion, under-declaration of import duties etc. The worst offenders were Kwamena Ahwoi and Tsatsu Tsikata; the legal brains who, due to sheer envy and hopelessness in life there and then, pontificated the freeze and seizures of assets and liabilities of these well-meaning Ghanaians who had toiled all their lives to attain recognition just to break their economic strength and empires forgetting that Ghana Commercial Bank Account No.48 then at Legon still remains a mystery.

 The truth is that due to poor agricultural measures in place, common staples like plantains and cocoyams are periodically carted by road in huge quantities from Cote d'Ivoire by traders. Haaba!

 Again, the useless sale of some AGC shares to Ghanaians that have since rendered them impoverished ought to have been mentioned to appease the unsuspecting victims.

 The mad rush for investments in Dubai, Equatorial Guinea, Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Africa should have been tabulated in the SNA.

 JDM deliberately glossed over the stealing of a brand new expensive Lexus vehicle by the sacked Energy Minister, Dr. Oteng Adjei which the public ought to know.

 Finally, As you read this piece, JDM's government is the luckiest of all and whose tenure has roped in much more taxes than any other government. It has again witnessed the largest loans ever contracted by Ghana since independence that runs into $90bn and runs into the neighbourhood of opepepeepeepeee huhaaaaaaaaaaaaa Cedis locally; but still remains as the poorest and hopeless one that has performed abysmally in terms of infrastructure development due to gargantuan corruption of all shades including creating, looting and sharing of the national cake desp[ite the oil-backed economy.

 It is just unfortunate that till date, HE the Vice President, Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, hitherto, a versatile NDC card-bearing member and one time Deputy Finance Minister and lastly the Governor of the Bank of Ghana before being lucky to be nominated as the veep on the death of the late John Mills, does not have a clue of the 1992 Constitution and thinks the District Assemblies and for that matter, the MMDAs can have the leeway to run their respective jurisdictions until after the Electoral Commission has finished with their frozen elections before things will normalize as before.

 The true SNA is that the wastage of the Gh¢317m by the EC and their bid for yet another Gh¢90m should be judiciously worked out and surcharge the entire EC officials and deducted from their retiring benefits to serve as a deterrent for the future.

 To bring the curtains down, the author will like to be joined in the latest song composed by a hard-hit tailor, 'mema mo dumsor, dumsor ooh, x 3, 'yaa Mahama ooh; Mahama kanea eso na adum, Mahama kanea, edum na aso, eso na adum'.

I will end by quoting a saying by the celebrated Prof. Agyemang Badu Akosa – ''The great risk involving excessive lust for something is that if you cross a great river to marry a wife, you must be ready and prepared for the risk of night journey by canoe.'' Just as Mr. Mahama opted for political kingdom first, and relegated the fear of the LORD to the background, try as he may, the governance of this nation will always continue to be an uphill task no matter how many shiploads of US Dollars that may be sent to him in cash because his avowed aim was to grab, grab and grab all the wealth in Ghana during his tenure of office.

But he should equally be guided by the equation of the above story and learn a lesson about past leaders such as Saddam Husein, Bro. Muamar Gaddafi, Mobutu Sese Seko, Sanni Abacha, Moshud Abiola and others and how they ended their lives in disgrace. If I were JDM, I would emulate the lifestyle of the celebrated African legend, the late Nelson Rolihaha Mandela of South Africa of blessed memory and eschew greed and avarice.