Ghana The Failing State

Once upon a time a country called Ghana with sparkly luminous lights around it, noticed from afar as the beacon of Africa. The founding fathers knew Ghana is endowed with creative intelligent people, and quickly harness the collective energies of the masses in building a solid foundation, and the speed in which the human and physical developments being advance was to the chagrin of the colonial masters.

The colonial masters were surprised Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was given meaning to his independence proclamation of, the black man is capable of managing its own affairs. The colonial masters were not enthused with the massive developments being executed and the speed at which other colonies were being declared independence. He became a threat to their interest in Africa hence master minded his overthrown with local collaborators.

The overthrow of the first republic dimmed the sparkle luminous light and lost in the wilderness and no leader want to ignite that sparkle lights due to few of not incurring the displeasures of the foreign masters. Whenever GHANA is mentioned it comes with nostalgic feelings to every patriotic African.

Successive Governments appetites for wealth and fame, deliberately blighted the emerging nation from accomplishing its purpose. The exploitative tendencies of the ruling class made it possible of subordinating the other arms of government to executive control.

It is sad, those messiahs that claimed to liberate, to progress, to redeem, are supreme, to revolutionalize, to defend, to democratize, and patriots, kept this nation under subjugation. All of them were guilty of neglecting national strategic assets to rot with reckless abandon, and some of the assets abandoned were the silos, factories, farms, schools, hospitals, bungalows etc, scattered everywhere in the country and investments in those projects wasted.

These barbaric actions can only happen in a failing state were the media have been captured by the political class and all voices of conscience are held hostage. Those acclaim messiahs don’t have the competence skills and courage to navigate the nation back to its previous status, also does not want to be accountable to the people, chose silencing everyone and having absolute control over the masses and they’ve gradually led the people into abject poverty, misery, hunger and squalor

It is also sad all these liberators, redeemers, revolutionalist, democrats and patriots were unable to harness the abundant human and material resources available to create healthy and prosperous country, rather very comfortably dealing with their foreign allies by exploiting the natural resources for a token.

Succeeding leaders are afraid of the powers that overthrew Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s regime and are lackeys of those powers and are being dictated to everyday, hence the heavy dominance of foreign interest in every sectors of our economy. Meanwhile the founding fathers had set the pace for rapid progress and development and the blueprint is available. Even though his dream was cut short by the 1966 coup d’etat, that should not have stalled the progress march of the country if really the succeeding leaders were alive to their names, liberators, redeemers, revolutionalist etc, Ghana should not have found itself in this quagmire of neglect and bankruptcy.

Ghanaians are capable and willing of taken on any task when challenged, and have the skills and competence of transforming this country and did demonstrate those energies post- independence by building landmark edifice notable one the Parliament House, solely done by Ghanaians tradesmen and engineers.

Our leaders have been brain washed not to have faith in their fellow black man, and programmed to rely on foreigners for everything. Recent example is a test case of how we spite our own C K Akunnor and brought in a coach that dumped us in South Africa almost twelve years ago, and comfortably led Ghana Black Stars to a disastrous tournament in Cameroun.

Today we can’t boast of any local contractor solely involved in any landmark projects within the country, because the ruling class do benefit from contracts awarded to foreigners and are not in haste to upgrade the competence of the local contractors. (Let Us Extricate Our Mind From Mental Slavery)

Based on the governance model that is being practiced by the ruling class, placing square pegs in round holes, it’s obvious Ghana has falling into the category of failing states and everything is in disarray nothing seems to work. Members of Parliament whose responsibilities is to be a check on the executives are seriously playing second fiddle consciously for favors and appointments from the Executive arm and the judiciary appears to be a lamed dog.

It’s only a failing states that political actors will beg the electorates for vote with the assurance of developmental projects which would accelerate progress in the lives of all, after the electorates had fulfilled their mandate by voting for them, it turns out to be a curse. The elected governments consciously imposed hardships on the electorates while the ruling class loom large in comfort luxury, and the arrogance in which they ignore the cry and plea of the people, whenever the electorates are overwhelmed with the suffering.

The political class used deceits and lies to divide the electorates on tribal and political lines and had succeeded in blindfolding almost all of the citizenry especially the youth. They engaged some of the youth to do their dirty works of hunting down critical voices, and finally dump them when their services are no longer needed

Is it not strange some heads of organizations earns more remuneration than the President who appoints them and no one care to question the reasons why such appointees are entitle to such level of emoluments, Heads of some of those institutions are, Governors of Bank of Ghana, Commissioners General of Ghana Revenue Authority, and the Chief Executives of Ghana Cocoa Board and Social Security & National Insurance Trust etc.

1. It is alleged the Governors of the bank of Ghana are the highest salary earners, meanwhile they are unable to discharge their duties creditably. Due to their negligence in the performance of their Supervision and regulatory functions it’s culminated into the financial sector crises of 2017-2018, and that had placed a burden upon government to spend over GHs 20billion to reimburse the customers of the affected financial institutions.

Why should we continue to remunerate an individual or group of individuals whose emolument are over and above the president and his ministers? And are not capable of delivery on the core functions to formulate and implement monetary policy aimed at achieving the objects of the bank: to promote by monetary measure the stabilization of the value of the currency within and outside Ghana.

Ghanaians were assured of re-denomination as the magic of stabilizing the Cedi, after fifteen years down the line the Ghana Cedi had depreciated over 650% from the inception of re-denomination, One cedi was equivalent to a dollar and the current exchange rate today is GH₡ 6.50 to a dollar. Translation of GH₡ 6.50 to old cedis amounted to ₡ 65,000.00 a clear indication of how the cedi has depreciated.

2. Ghana Cocoa Board always went for syndicated loan to purchase cocoa, and the performance of its management all this while appear ordinary, meanwhile their emoluments way above the remuneration of the president.

3. SSNIT is another institution whose management kept mismanaging pension funds and the leadership of that institution lives in comfort luxury while the pensioners suffer in penury.

4. Ghana Revenue Authority is one strategic organization that has the capacity of generating more revenue to the state when favorable atmosphere are created for all. Undue interference, undue favors and naked discrimination are the precipitating factors for the under performance of the revenue generation functions of the authority. The Commissioners General are not the ones that bend their backs or walk on the sun and ensures the taxpayers fulfilled its tax obligations. The salary disparities between The Commissioners General and other subordinates totally inequitable.

What are the rationale behind successive governments creating offices and adorned it in comfort luxury for its occupants and service conditions quite different from their subordinates. The only reason why governments consciously promotes this discriminative salary schemes, it serves as a tool for subjugation.

It’s only a failing state that the political elites shamelessly used lies and deception to confuse their citizenry and exploit them. Governments are scared of its citizenry becoming conscious of their rights, and the organization whose responsibilities to educate and elevate the awareness of the people is the National Commission for Civic Education are deliberately being denied the needed resources in performing its core functions.

How could liberators, redeemers, revolutionalists, patriots and democrats abandon projects of their predecessors to rot whenever power is shifted to another ruling class, such behaviors of the political elites are inimical to the growth of the country and also contributed to the rapid debt buildup, because more loans would be needed to execute similar projects.

President Kufuor was seen as a messiah when he needed power desperately and said all the wrong things about President Rawlings administration. When power and authority eventually handed over to him as the President, the first surprise he sprang on Ghanaians was an increase in petroleum products by 60% within few weeks of taken office and further escalated the prices of everything.

President Kufuor knew the ailing health of the economy and was the reason he opted for HIPC support for debt forgiveness. How could a president presiding over highly indebted country deliberately abandon projects of his predecessors to rot, for the facts that when he complete it the credit may not reflect his achievements?

Other grievous mistakes he made was to abandon about one hundred (100) brand new Gallopers to rot and refused to use the presidential jet, and allow the jet to depreciate in value and later it was disposed of, and billions of cedis expended to refurbish bungalows vacated by former appointees, also gave out each Minister of state cross country vehicle and salon a car. It is sad someone that went begging for debt forgiveness would plunged this country into further public debt, and these were blots on his legacies as president superintending over a Highly Indebted Poor Country.

The president that pontificated zero tolerance for corruption was unable of fighting the infectious syndrome of corruption. He managed to prosecute Mallam Issa his Sport Minister and few of Rawlings appointees jailed on corruption related charges.

President Kufour and the New Patriotic Party never exhibited any exceptional leadership while in government, they committed similar blunders they accused President Rawlings and the National Democratic Congress of. The new Patriotic Party subjected most of Rawlings appointees to serious political persecution even Rawlings was not spared, bloated government machinery, nepotistic behaviors, currency depreciation, high dependence on imports, high unemployment, rising fuel prices, endemic corruption etc.

Under his Presidency, government bungalows and lands were sold to cronies and party sympathizers at giveaway prices and allow his appointees bought their official vehicles at discounted price, facilities he refused to grant former government appointees even went further using security personnel to retrieve vehicles sold to former government officials without refunding monies paid by most of the appointees.

The subsequent governments were no better, they perpetuate same policies and practices of previous regimes. Former president Prof. Mills decided to discourage government official from taken away official vehicle home at giveaway prices, hence the cancelation of the policy that allows government officials to purchase their official vehicles at giveaway prices.

After the 2012 general elections President John Mahama ordered reversal of the policy and makes it possible for some of his appointees to acquire their official vehicles, and knowing very well it’s a cost to the state of replacing those vehicles sold. The reason for reversing his former boss decision, time will tell.

Our beloved Ghana is at a crossroad based on how the political elites have hijacked the nation and freely squandering state resources for self- aggrandizement, and careless about the plight of the very people that gave them power, and in their mind they have subdued everyone, and at liberty to oppress the citizenry.

The actions and inactions of these political elites of the fourth republic and having mismanaged the economy and subjected the country into rapid debt buildup and it’s suffocating the government and the people of Ghana. Due to the ostentatious lifestyle of this government the economy is on life support and as a consequence of that, government officials are employing all tricks of convincing the citizenry to accept the imposition of E-levy.

IF WE ARE SERIOUS PEOPLE, ALL THESE LEADERS SHOULD HAVE BEEN CANDIDATES FOR PROSECUTION.

CEIC Data. All the indicators on upward trajectory

Everybody residing in Ghana are much concern about the deteriorating economy and the inequalities in the lives of the people, and if care is not taken it may create a social upheavals which may not be contained. AND WE ARE LOOKING ON AS IF EVERYTHING IS NORMAL. The Voices of conscience have gone to bed while some Chiefs have been reduced to speech readers of the political elites and the most divine nature of MAN. THE SPIRITUAL AND THE MORAL VALUES HAVE BEEN SACRIFICED FOR MONEY AND FAME.

To conclude the only thing expected from the masses is to tell the leaders the truth therefore, three (3) years is good a time for the current government to pull the breaks, reflect on the past five years of their administration and correct whatever not in consonance with their brand.

ARISE GHANAIANS TO RESCUE THIS COUNTRY FROM THE CLAWS OF THESE MARAUDING POLITICAL ELITES.

The writer,

Executive Director, Oliasah Foundation for the Aged

Email: [email protected]