Open Letter to the Citizens of Ghana on Need to be Vigilant on National Affairs - Continuation on Fixing the Country Part 37

Fellow Citizens, I wish you are all fine and looking forward with prayer for an early rebooting of the economy.

Once again, as part of fixing our country agenda beside seeing to the amendments of the 1992 Constitution and the correcting of the wrongs in our nation, let us note that we need to Think Big and Think Positive and be innovative or work hard to upscale our ventures by increasing the size and or improving the quality of our products and or our services as part of the economic recovery plan and the subsequent navigation towards a new Ghana, beyond Aid.

Fellow Countrymen, the issue of debt exchange program is on the front burner and this need to be concluded as soon as possible. Individual Bondholders are now to be affected with a haircut (reduction of their investments). An act which some of us suffered with our huge investment with farm managers during the initial financial crisis. Hmm some of us were paid an initial maximum amount of GHC50,000.00 notwithstanding the size of your investments and some of us including or especially myself never received a pesewas or yet to receive bail out. But life must go on. So with pains, we had to adjust and dance according to tune of the music (So Much Trouble in the World and Country Jungle by Bob Marley and ‘It is not easy’ by Lucky Dube).

Folks, you must by now be shocked with parts of the recent speech of Alan Cash, the former Minister of Trade and Industry therefore a member of the cabinet of Ghana who has now gained his freedom (that is no more within the claws of a “lion’’ or a Putin of Ghana). You should as well be very shocked with the comments on the individual bondholders with regards to the debt exchange plan, which was made by the Majority Leader of Parliament, who doubles as the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and a member of the Cabinet of Ghana, also speaking in public in the same page in the book of lamentation like us about the same matter.

Fellow Countrymen, the demeanour and language of the Majority Leader of Parliament have confirmed a suspicion that the current cabinet of Ghana is chaired with iron style by an elephant or a Putin of Ghana in the Cabinet meetings or room, so some matters were/are not discussed at all or inputs from other members were/are disregarded, hence a possible culture of silence is suspected to please the Putin of Ghana at the Cabinet level.

Folks, Cabinet of Ghana is required by the Constitution to be the final or the real economy management team after receipt of the recommendations from the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) as stipulated in Article 87 of the 1992 Constitution for a National Development Plan or National Manifesto for Presidential candidates or political parties to tweak as the Candidate’s or for a political party’s manifestos. You may therefore term the NDPC as a pseudo-Ministry of Economy planning and that is exactly what it is but with Constitutional flavors and the Minister of Finance is to find the money, come out with a budget based on the Cabinets approval of the recommendations of the NDPC. More on this later. Hence, please let us join in the discussions and call for cool heads and sober reflection on this Debt Exchange plan.

Folks, you should by now know that we really have a Putin of Ghana because like Putin of Russia his philosophy is ‘all die be die’ so he is not ready to stop the war in our (Ghana) case is the war for him to reduce his appointees or reduce cost and or the war for the postponement on national budget allocation to or spending on the National Cathedral.

So, with the Debt Exchange plan, there must be a give and take by parties involved that is some sacrifices from both sides. So, let us get the Minister of Finance to listen to the affected persons and both parties must come out with ways acceptable to the parties. Listening to both parties, it may involve the use of discriminatory means to resolve the impasse. So let urge those individual bondholders to approach the matter in godly manner for the sake of national security and come to a compromise in the next meeting.

So Folks, the affected persons should let common sense and not the law to prevail. This is the gospel (good intelligence or message) from me, your compatriot who is a very recent converted Christian especially a new member of the House of Abraham otherwise Straightway International Church of Ghana, Stansi, Kumasi branch.

Fellow Compatriots, there are three ways to breakthrough financially; these are (1) serious investment in the provision of a product, say in the case of a farmer cultivating of crops and or rearing of animals. (2) a serious provision of a service say in the case of security officer his guarding services, for a Food vendor, the selling of food (3) serious provision of both a product and service like a farmer and a teacher.

These three ways must be coupled with honesty, hard work/diligence and commitment in consonance with the provision in the Holy Bible at Proverbs 27:23 that ‘Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks’ simply means one should pay much attention to one’s means of earning a living, for success in life. We also need to take note of Proverbs 27:24 ‘For riches are not for ever nor shall a crown endure for generations and generations, for short, the present state of prosperity may not last forever nor will the King and the President be King and President forever respectively. Simply No Condition is Permanent.

Rockefeller used to be the richest person in the World, he was replaced by Onassis and recently Bill Gates who is now the 8^th richest persons and he is considering giving out a greater percentage to the benefit of fellow human being, a noble idea and thus doing away with the Crown. In 2016, God replaced ex-President Mahama with President Nana Addo, whom some of us thought that he will never be the President of Ghana.

Folks, God had a purpose for Ghana, so in 2020 he re-nominated or maintained Nana Addo as the President for the second term. Hmm ex-President Mahama the presumptive Presidential candidate of the NDC may have 50% chance to be the President of Ghana again. Likewise, a nominated candidate from the NPP. The suffering may favour either candidate from the NPP or NDC, so the winner, is going to be the one who has gone through the mill and appreciate very well what should be done with the and inputs from the NDPC and the Cabinet of Ghana. Thanks to God both Hon Alan Cash and Dr Bawumia were in the mill as at the time of the resignation of the Minster of Trade, a member of the Cabinet of Ghana and an alleged member of a counterfeit Economic Management Team hence a Tea Party. Folks this is not politics but a revelation that Dr Bawumia who is just a Constitutional Spare tire like past Vice Presidents who were all sidelined in the vehicle of the Cabinet of Ghana shall triumph in both elections, this is the truth and so I want you to keep this true prophesy in mind that will really confirm my triumphant entry to the House of Abraham as one of his child.

Folks, let us be guided by the innovation of Dr Mrs. Esther Ocloo (who came out with the idea of the Shitto product etc and the trading of same) had to create employment for herself in 1942 by a cottage industry in the food value chain when she completed Achimota College and there was no job with the associated serious hardship in the Country then, because the supply chain etc were greatly hampered then, due to the Second World War. This gave her the idea of value addition venture in the eateries. So, by hard work and commitment, the Nkulenu Industries was established in 1942 and it is now one of the leading foods processing Industry or Company in Ghana.

Folks, every misfortune is a blessing in disguises, for instance the high prices of established brands of sachet water have given room for new entrants into the Water Sachet industry to sell at a lower wholesale price of GHC5.50 which is retailed at GHC6.50 as against GHC8.00 or more of the established sachet water though both are using the same material for the manufacture of sachet water. Likewise, the high price of Ideal milk has given room for new type of milks at a lower price. Reason may be used of cheap labour etc or work at break-even point to gain a foothold in the Market.

So, the current situation is a good omen or a Game Changer stimulus for us to change our attitude especially our penchant for foreign goods and adopt home grown solutions (domestication) to produce our needs including value addition through industrialization and ensure to patronize them just like what we did for our survival during the peak of the COVID-19 Pandemic, which saw the local production of all sort of Hand Sanitizers, as against imported Carex Sanitizer or Hand Gels from PZ Cussons brand which was/is imported from UK as well as locally made Facemasks, liquid soap etc. Hence, an appreciation and up scaling of the commendable policy of One District One Factory or Industry, which should be a mantra for among others for the citizens to take up economy activities in value addition as well.

This policy of One District One Factory or Industry must capture cottage industries like what Dr Esther Ocloo did in 1942. We must appreciate you crawl before you walk and run as well as the new development of no or little brick and mortar ventures made possible by the IT Revolution; So the State has to see how we can bring this seemingly informal sector to the tax net to increase national revenue. But in a VAT and e-levy economic, we need not to worry very much with the informal sector due to their seemingly contribution to national revenue by the payment of VAT, E-Levy etc and may be SSNIT contribution, made possible by them.

Facts are facts and honesty is the best policy, hence, please be informed that part of our woes is due to mismanagement of the economy or the Country since 1982 and not the Constitution. To be explained later. Folks, the mismanagement and corruption in the current Administration may be said to be monumental but the value may be the same because US$1 dollar remains with the same store of value as in yesteryears but the Ghana Cedis equivalent of the US$1 dollar changes drastically with time due to inflation etc, hence the exchange rate variable can cause an increase in our debts without further borrowing in the dollar money market.

This has been one of the woes of Ghana, since 1982, the result is macroeconomics instability anchored on debt unsustainability hence Ghana had to opt for over 17 bailouts from the IMF to attain financial credibility or macroeconomic stability. Ghana opting for IMF is not news to a security risk analyst, the only problem is the delay in doing so.

So, since 1976 Ghana unlike the regime of the late General Acheampong’s with his operationalized OPERATIONS FEED YOURSELF POLICY had the robbing Peter to pay Paul Governments (especially the Administrations of the PNDC, NDC, and NPP) in a voodoo economy by the yearly cycle of dependence on Cocoa Syndicated loans or Foreign Direct Investment including the recent deal for the Thailand investors to replicate their efficient rice production in Ghana. Folks, coincidentally or ironically the provision of consultancy service that led to Nigeria to breakthrough in the production of the farm product called rice was done by our own fellow Ghanaian, Hon Abraham Odoom.

Facts are facts and honesty is the best policy, folks identifying or diagnosing the problem is the surest way to succeed in any endeavor. Besides mismanagement, greed and corruption/looting schemes which are the common denominator of the regimes since 1982. But both the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia Ukraine war to some extent activities of the Federal Bank of USA have come to aggravate our economy woes. Unfortunately, some of us are wrongly comparing the era of previous Heads of State of Ghana with the regime of President Nana Addo in the era of/thereafter the COVID-19 pandemic/coupled with the Russia-Ukraine War.

It must be made clear to all persons globally that the era of/thereafter of COVID-19 pandemic which has caused the speeding of the digitization and digitalization process globally by the fast IT or Information revolution has defined or created a new world era or order different from the era before COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, psychologically/spiritually a New Ghana has been created which is attempting to move beyond the old industrial Revolution (era of Old Ghana) using the digitization and digitalization process championed by Vice President Dr Bawumia. So in economics we say you can only compare two situations when all things within human controls remain equal (Ceteris paribus), so, please let us tune our mind to be in the same wavelength in or for the current situation.

Folks with the seemingly New Ghana, we may soon do away with the bricks and mortar structures including meeting in conference room or Great Hall concept of doing certain things, hence KNUST is organizing a virtual 56^th congregation or graduation this year and most media houses are using Zoom Virtual as against inviting participants to their Stations. Hence, anyone can set up a seemingly TV Station from outside a building or in the bedroom.

Once again, let me assure you that Ghana’s economy is going to realize some remarkable recovery in 2023, as a result of the above points coupled with the IMF bailout which will take place in 2023, the gold for oil trade in2023 for at least a respite, the US$160million Thailand and Ghana (through the Jospong Group) Rice project, the 13million Dollars investment by the Word Bank in greater Kumasi. Furthermore, the operations of the McDan Group through the large scale salt industry at the Songhor Lagoon and the aviation wing of McDan Group which has signed an agreement with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) secretariat based in Accra, as the number one choice for the African continental trade especially using the electronic platform of the Ghana Commodity Exchange initiated by ex-President JD Mahama for trading in goods and use of the Airline for air cargo and business persons and tourists travels.

We also have the coming into operation of TOR, a Chinese oil refinery in Tema, then Ghana Air, which is a joint venture between Ashanti Airline and the State of Ghana, as well as the likely expansion of the Agric sector with the support of the African Development Bank etc and other production areas by individuals and Corporate bodies in conjunction with the Ghana Commodity Exchange. Not forgetting of the possibility of debt cancellation or forgiveness by bilateral creditors as championed by the MD of the IMF, if successful it would help in the rebooting of the economy in 2023.

Furthermore, the President will reshuffle his administration and a new Finance Minister will give some positive signs to the investors/economy, some massive economy growth at micro economics level due to various campaigns in various elections to nominate candidates as Parliamentary candidates, and the Presidential hopefuls, hence the cocoa harvest season by Delegates, so money will certainly be pumped into the system, at least the Sachet water sellers’ market may expand.

Fellow Citizens, as you are fully aware that in our attempt to consolidate our multiparty democracy, we are faced with some challenges including mismanagement, overstaffing, massive corruption/looting schemes, greed and inter/intra party battles, these details are devastating and dispiriting, so fellow citizens, we especially the youth need to be imbued with sense of patriotism, honesty and discipline as well as we must be very responsible and keep very vigilant at all times.

Talking of vigilance as the game in the Fourth Republic, let me on your behalf warn the current Administration that the aviation center should be a no go area by any Government in Africa. Both Ghana Airways and Ghana International Airline owned by Ghana and Air Afrique owned by some States in Africa collapsed by 2003 and 2012 respectively, and the alleged collapsed of Antrack Air of Alhaji Asoma Banda fame, among others speaks volume of mismanagement and poor patronage by locals or nationals so the State should reduce her stake in the yet to be operationalized GhanaAir (the joint venture with Ashanti Airline of the Despite Group etc) to zero% otherwise 5% as planned by the elsewhere regime of ex-President Mahama. The best is the State should restrict itself to the provision of Airport infrastructure, regulations etc.

We, the citizens also need to be very patriotic by patronizing State transport ventures. Just go to the STC buses terminals at area of Circle Dubai, Accra and Asafo Bus station in Kumasi and you will be shocked by the unpatriotic attitude of the Ghanaian by a bypass policy by the same Ghanaians who are crying for roads and other infrastructure. So we need to change our Pull Him Down orientations and support the government of the day especially in the economy and social sectors.

Folks, Vodafone used to be One Touch owned by Ghana Telecom or the State and it was riddled with incompetency, mismanagement and the canker of corruption. Those days of One Touch, you had to go to Ghana Telecom around 2am to queue so that you can get a single one Sim Card at more than GHC100.00. So, you can imagine the state of corruption then. I can remember when I was then Officer Commanding 2BN Rear in 2000, I could only get 10 Sim Cards with an official letter Sim Cards for over 600 persons mainly for troops (from 2BN, Air force Station, Takoradi and Naval Base Sekondi) on internal security operations at the Mine Sites of some members of the Ghana Chamber of Mines and other areas and their spouses at the barracks.

Enter MTN with better GSM initially with the Sim Card packed in a very beautiful case type CD. Hmm the MTN with better GSM Sim Cards were sold everywhere like tomatoes or ‘partha’ condoms hence no queuing for the MTN product and at very low price of not more than GHC5.00 per one or so then. A folk, MTN originally or at one time was Spacefon later as Areba and were allegedly owned by a Ghanaian, I guess one Mr. Aggrey.

Folks, recently, our Government Officials with their usual noted cankers bought AirtelTigo, a goldmine, since it is in the Telecom or IT industry but like National Lotteries Authority (NLA), it is seemed it is poorly managed or underutilized.

So, please join me to wake up the sleeping management team of AirtelTigo for them to rise to the occasion in order to generate more dividends to the State by attracting more nationals from the claws of MTN and Vodafone through cheap and more bundles as well as rebranding or adverts or marketing. For instance, I am at lost why GHC3.00 will give one a total of 471MB data bundle and 100% air talk for 7 days on the MTN platform but GHC4.00 will give one, less than 220MB data bundle and zero bonuses. It is high time the State sells at least 70% of her stake in AirtelTigo. We should stop this buffoonery of job creation (social sector) for the girls and opt for wealth creation which will truly create more jobs at good wages to attract the youth.

The State Supervisory Agency needs to get management of NLA to up their game to entice clienteles from the Banker to Banker operators otherwise one may think that they are on bed with the operators of Banker to Banker etc or some of them are the operators of this private venture. It is yet to be made clear why NLA asked the Banker to Banker Operators to reduce commission from 30% to 20% at this hard time when Workers under TUC are getting over 34% COLA or so.

NLA under a District Lotto law should have rather approved a commission of 30% or more for all agents (with Banker to Banker operators and NLA), introduce bonus number(s) etc, register each lotto kiosk in Ghana and through a District Lotto law from the Game commission collect a monthly fee of GHC20.00 that is a yearly fee of GHC120.00 from each kiosk (with flexible payment) through a share of 50% of the revenue with revenue collectors including Rural Banks. It is envisaged the GC20.00 per month to be collected from each kiosk of the Banker to Banker maybe acceptable if their commission is reverted to 30% or more.

Folks, let us fight for the Boss at NLA to adopt the works of past MDs like in the caliber of the late Brigadier Ahiaglo or the late Col Ohene Asante (both were my Commanding Officers for Peace keeping Operations and pals).

As for the Small Scale Mining Sector, I have written copious documents on how to correct the wrongs at this sector. So please keep reading my Column at the website of Modern Ghana for credible news and the fixing Ghana process or Agenda, hence the name Modern Ghana for further and better details on Ghana including the Mining Sector, especially on how to reduce Small Scale Mining to the barest minimum to be submitted very soon.

Folks, the Government especially our President and the Media personalities must understand that you can only succeed if you know much about the enemy or problem, they must be educated that Small Scale Mining is synonymous with Galmasey in local parlance, period. They should check with the World Bank for proper definition of Small Scale Mining and they will reckon that it is regarded globally as a disaster sector by millions of operators who operate irresponsibly in a nomadic manner and see their operation as God given right or means to escape from the misery of poverty.

Folks, let me at this juncture break any boredom by giving you three interesting true stories about Corruption. The PNDC came into power in 31 December 1981, by accusing the regime of the late ex-President Hilla Liman as corrupt but did not find any member of the Liman’s administration in any corrupt act. The Ex-President Hilla Liman like the late President Mills had only an estate house in Accra and Liman had only a Peugeot car which he acquired when he was a diplomat with the UN at Geneva.

The late General Acheampong had only one house and while as Head of State, he stayed in a very simple building at Arakan Barracks, Burma Camp, Accra and he together with the late Col Roger Felli others were killed for alleged corrupt acts. But the late Col Roger Felli, just took a loan of GHC5,000.00 from his Bank to be paid with interest, shockingly he refused GHC10,000.00 cola from one Alhaji Danlandi of Bolga which he saw as a bribe and exposed Alhaji by reporting him to the Police. Alhaji was prosecuted and fined guilty by a Court with a fine of GHC10,000.00 and he over paid by GHC10,00.00, that is he doubled the amount and it was two weeks later that Col Felli was killed for the flimsy corrupt act. The so called apostles of anti-corruption in the PNDC/NDC minus the late President Mills were/are not only swarmed in corruption but were and are also symbols of corruption.

The last story on corruption is very funny and interesting. Under Ex-President Liman was the father of Lawyer Barbara Sawyer of NDC, that was the late Hon Harry Sawyer (nicknamed as Harry Sawyer of Tata buses fame as part of the then services of the Metro-buses), who was the Minister for Transport. He trickily asked a British delegation for negotiation for the purchase of new planes what was in it for him (his financial engineering or arrangers fees, normally 10% or so).

The British delegation was shocked because they heard that Ex-President Liman and his appointees were incorruptible and honest and felt Hon Harry Sawyer as one of them was an incorruptible and honest man. The delegation offered him 10% of the negotiated price. So he told them he will think about it and asked for meeting the next day. At the next meeting with them, he asked for them to up the offer to 15 percent, and after consultation with London they agreed. He then calculated the amount involved as tips and said if you can give me 15 percent of the cost it meant you can sell the planes at less than 15 percent of the quoted price to Ghana and still make profit and he said I take absolutely nothing. And really, he did not take a pesewas but got the planes 15% lower.

I doubt whether we had or can get persons, type Harry Sawyer in the political cycle in the 4^th Republic. Hmm the 4^th Republic is characterized with persons engulfed with looting schemes in the name of constructing more infrastructures and arranging for more foreign loans. So all Finance Ministers in the 4^th Republic for that matter the Head of State (because the buck stops with him) ignored the need for the transformation and modernization of the Agric Sector through massive investment of not less than 10% budgetary allocation for the Country to breakthrough. None of the Heads of State of Ghana 4^th Republic gave more than 0.5% budget allocation to the Agric Sector.

Folks, the financial engineering by Mr Wayome should come to your mind by now, so let us find out how much we have retrieved and what next or is the chapter closed.

Folks, my next paper will be on the amendment on the 1992 Constitution which is very necessary and with my military law background on Board of Inquiry same as Commission of Inquiry (COI), so by the law of Ghana and the 1992 Constitution, a Commission of Inquiry is a fact finding body set up by the Executive Arms of Government to investigate the state of affairs in the Country generally or in particular which are of public importance or interest, on morality, safety and matters as categorically specified by the Constitution as in section 2 of Article 5 of the 1992 Constitution.

So, the only justification for COI is the existence of public concern about particular event or set of events. Yes public interest for amendment of the Constitution was available by 2010. But it was handled wrongly by the then President of Ghana. So President Nana Addo needs to read the next submission on the subject, so it may be an open letter to him to act cautiously. It is hoped, the Council of State which has a significant role in the amendment of the 1992 Constitution did proffer good advice to him.

So, with my experience in some laws and a victim of BOI (COI) which I was made to pay over 750,000 Cedis without the Ghana Army following the laid down procedure for an accident Steyr truck which occurred when conveying soldiers etc in Liberia for a Dance, which duly organized in Monrovia as part of Soldiers’ welfare program dubbed WASSA. Likewise my experience as a member of a Military Court Marshal when I was with the Ghana Army, with senior lawyer Addison as the lawyer of an accused Military Officer or Defendant and a Prosecutor for the Ghana Armed Forces or the State, who both could not dribble me (member of the Court Marshal), with their deep knowledge of the law and the Constitution, so, I will apply the same arguments to point out the illegality and or unconstitutionality acts by the late President Mills (a law lecturer) or his regime with the use of the Commission of Inquiry and the Government white paper. Stay tune for very explosive scholar work.

Warmest regards.
Major Mohammed Bogobiri (rtd)