In Praise of Rebecca

“There have also been calls for Lordina Mahama and Co to return their cash, but I doubt if this call is legitimate, and even if it is, life in opposition does not support such magnanimity. Economic temperature in opposition is an inferno, and those making that call may not compare apples to oranges.”

My postulations last week, on the small matter of allowances for the wives and concubines of our president and his deputy still occupy the front row of my thoughts.

You see, part of the trouble we have in addressing problems in this country is that we often rush through them breezily, scratching them in the surface but never really solving them. This tender habit ─ what should I liken it to ─ premature happiness perhaps, is a weakness we must overcome. But enough of my preamble!

So the gentle women ─ the First and Second Ladies ─ upon seeing the euphoria that colored their consolidated salaries, honorably disassociated themselves from the uproarious prescriptions of the emolument committee! Truly, this was a significant evolution in the whole emoluments affair.

But that is not all. They also returned, or rather promised to instantly return all allowances paid them in their capacity as First and Second Wives, in order to preserve their good name, which as we all know, is better than all the stockpile of cash in the Bank of Ghana.

But how would we know that that the monies have been fairly returned if there is no validation of the refund by nonpartisan officials? You see, politicians being different from the rest of us in their absolute greed towards spending state money, many of us tend to look up, when they tell us to look down. We distrust them to the highest heavens for sure!

Nevertheless, women politicians are generally different from their male colleagues. They are either better than men or worse. You see the rapidity of movement and speed by which the honorable ladies promised to return the money? You think our men species would budge or nudge if the tables were turned?

Indeed, several leading men of the party have urged the honorable ladies to rescind their decision because their swift action of regrets and ultimate repentance suggest some wrongdoing, which could be counterproductive if not injurious to the health of the party.

At the same time, there have also been calls for Lordina Mahama and Co to return their cash, but I doubt if this call is legitimate, and even if it is, life in opposition does not support such magnanimity. The economic temperature in opposition is an inferno, and those making that call may not compare apples to oranges.

I agree with them on one point though! If the allowances were approved by Parliament as we have heard variously this past week, then there was really no justification for returning it. The virtue of being First and Second Lady requires state preservation and modest support in keeping with the role, as long as it is not ruined by certified greed, as proposed by the emolument professionals.

Yet still, I am full of praise for Rebecca and Co for responding to the mass hysteria by summarily rejecting the extravagant allowances. The honorable ladies have shown sensitivity and compassion to the plight of the common folks of this country and have earned my greatest respect.