Culture of insults is Ghana’s problem, not culture of silence!

When I come across comments about Ghana now going through another 'culture of silence' era, I really wonder! To me, disturbingly, what seems to be prevalent, rather, is a culture of insults!

Where is the evidence that Ghanaians are now afraid to express contrary views, whether it's about politics, the ruling party, traditional rulers, the economy, or people in authority? Looking at the media scene, notably on the social media platforms, I don't see anybody too scared to speak their mind about anything!

Daily the public space, media, is filled with the most caustic comments - and direct insults, including, shamefully, even four-letter words. Furthermore, many are gratuitous insults, not different views meant to educate or enlighten. Expletives for the fun of it; and because they can get away with it!

The danger for the country too, is that, conceivably, this culture of unashamed rudeness can affect the attitude of our youth.

Of course the anonymity offered by the internet platforms, fuels the use of vile language, since there is no requirement to reveal one's true identity. People who otherwise wouldn't dare, feel free to use vulgar language online. They can hide under aliases and pseudonyms, and insult at will, no matter who their target is - even if it's the President or the Vice-President.

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia recently came under a deluge of abuse merely for saying that the Government is working on a policy (emphasis supplied) for introducing electric vehicles (EVs) into the country, because the world is turning to electric cars and Ghana can't afford to be left out.

Apparently, to those critics, because Ghana is in a cost of living crisis, for which they blame the administration of President Nana Akufo-Addo, the Government shouldn't even contemplate any future development plans!

The EV news, as reported by the Daily Guide under the headline, Bawumia Pushes For More Electric Cars on September 28, 2023 was that Vice President Bawumia had stressed the need to invest more in the production and use of electric cars.

He believes this would not only save the huge cost of buying fuels and maintenance cost but will also save the environment from further pollution.

This was on September 27, when Dr Bawumia paid a familiarisation visit to the premises in Accra of Solar Taxi Ghana, a ride hailing company that is serviced solely by electric vehicles in Accra.

He said the e-vehicle company's vision was in tandem with the government's agenda to promote the use of electric-based transport system in Ghana to reduce greenhouse gases and ensure cheaper transportation cost.

Apart from that, he said it is also in line with the world's plan to transition from the use of fossil fuel to renewable energy sources. The Government is in the process of putting in place a e-vehicle policy framework to guide the use of electric vehicles and therefore considering inputs from various stakeholders, he added.

Solar Taxi Chief Executive Officer Jorge Kwadwo Appiah, said the company started operations in Ghana in 2018 and had so far supplied 500 electric vehicles to the Ghanaian market.

However, he explained, lack of funding has been a major setback in its ability to scale up production the Guide reported.

The online salvos attacking Dr Bawumia started from the National Chairman of the Concerned Drivers Association of Ghana. He was identified only as Paa Willie in a Rainbowradioonline report under the striking headline, 'You can't manage an economy yet promising commercial use of electric cars – Bawumia challenged'.

He evidently took strong issue with the Vice President's statement that the Government is developing a policy to allow commercial usage of electric vehicles. He asked Dr Bawumia to focus on delivering his “failed promises” to ensure economic stability and stop making promises he can't keep.

Paa Willie said the Vice President has supported President Nana Akufo-Addo to destroy the country and worsened the plight of Ghanaians. “We find this announcement as yet another empty promise, as a similar announcement made by this same Government where sky trains were promised ended up being a fiasco and the state even incurring a debt.”

Also, he claimed that Dr Bawumia has deviated from his core mandate as head of the Economic Management Team; and even though he caused all Ghanaians to believe that he was an economic wizard who would turn the country's fortunes around, he has ended up portraying himself as an IT expert.

Referring to what he termed unfulfilled promises to supply vehicles to tricycle operators, and drivers, he said “Bawumia's master deceived us; and he, too, wishes to deceive us.”

Of the over 80 reactions to this report on the GhanaWeb site, most of them were extremely rude. supporting the anti-EV position. The few excerpts I selected, have been slightly edited; and the first is representative of the anti-EVs stance.

AKWASI K. B. WROTE:
Do some of our leaders really think deeply about their pronouncements when they stand on platforms or pick up the microphone? On which roads are they expecting Ghanaians to drive those electric cars?

With our 40 percent asphalt roads they are thinking of electric cars!

Such unrealistic behaviour show how disrespectful our leaders can be when they are in power, thinking that we are fools and can't reason.

Fortunately, there were different views, although only a few:

NANA WROTE:
“The most difficult people to lead are people who don't believe in themselves and are extremely negative and insecure.”

BOSS:
Most Ghanaians are ignorant. That man (Paa Willie) has no idea that electric cars can help improve the economy.

SIMEONE: Top of Form
Dr Bawumia didn't promise any sky train. It was a private entity that signed an agreement with the Government to build a sky train on BOT (build-operate-transfer) basis. If the investor decides not to pursue that venture any longer, how does that make the Vice-President a liar?

DEEDEE:
People should use their common sense and not allow self-seeking politicians to mislead them about the truth and reality on the ground. Since when in the history of Ghana, or even America or anywhere in the world, does a Vice President manage his country's economy?

Managing the economy is done by the Finance Minister and the President; and that's how it's been since the Fourth Republic.

The fact that VPs chair the Economic Management Team doesn't mean they dictate and control the economy.

A chairman or VP can only suggest and point out what they feel is the right direction to go, but the dual decision lies on the Finance Minister and the President. If the President decides to listen to only suggestions from the Finance Minister, that's what is implemented.

So no one can blame a VP for a bad economy. The political opponents know the truth, but for fear of their candidate losing the election, they are pretending that the economy is run by Bawumia.

RUTHAN:
What did ex-President John Mahama learn when he studied in the USSR? Are NDC foot soldiers aware that electricity has been used for buses for the past 50 years in Europe?

EKOW JONES:
People who don't think outside the box express their ignorance for all to see. Name just one country in the world where everything is rosy. We are too myopic in our thinking.

Personally, until recently, the idea of electric cars – not to mention even driverless ones – had seemed somewhat esoteric to me, almost in the realm of science fiction. I had no idea that Ghana, too, is already part of the EV revolution!

Dr Bawumia's remark, that “electric vehicles are the future” is the same opinion I heard expressed on October 7 by an IT pundit on the BBC programme, Tech Life, during a discussion on EVs. “The future is electric”, the expert summed up.

What makes the EV news even more relevant are recent news reports about a new mineral found in Ghana, lithium, which is said to be a critical component in the manufacture of EVs.

A curious aspect of the bashing of Dr Bawumia is that he wasn't even the first to reveal Ghana's entry into the fast growing EV fraternity!

Indeed, as far back as last year November, JoyOnline reported, under the bold headline, “Ghana will switch to electric cars – Chief Director of Environment Ministry” that “the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation has revealed that it is partnering with car assembling plants in the country, to scale up the production of electric vehicles.

“Chief Director of the Ministry Cynthia Asare-Bediako made this known in an interview with JoyNews. "There are already engagements going on with the car manufacturing companies to also produce more of the electric cars so that we can move away from the fuel cars, and a few have already been piloted. There is already a committee that has been put in place to facilitate this so we are working on it,” she said.

Thus, evidently, what Dr Bawumia said was just an update of the EV project already announced. But did Chief Director Asare-Bediako get a torrent of abuse for her disclosure? I guess not!

Maybe because of the general, escalating struggle to make ends meet, to some people until life becomes easier, it's insensitive of the Government to talk about any new developments. But how realistic would such a stance be? Certainly development plans have to continue, even as efforts are being made to stabilise the economy.

For the record, on his passion for IT, notably spearheading the Government's digitalisation agenda, Dr Bawumia has explained that: “In fact, it is because of the economy that I'm focusing on digitilisation, because without building those (digitalisation) pillars, our economy will just not be able to stand on its own feet.”

Regarding the first 'Culture of silence', under the administration of former President Jerry John Rawlings, the term was no misnomer. People were actually afraid to express views or criticise that Government because of the dreaded, certain repercussions. Memorably, during that period, newspaper owners took refuge in producing sports papers – politics was deemed a no-go area!

I recall that at a point there was even a government censor at the then P & T, (now Vodafone) office on High Street, Accra, to check what stories those of us reporting for the foreign media were filing.

Currently, on any given day, anybody who follows the Ghanaian media, or even just the main headlines, will realise that they reflect a wide variety of news angles and opinions, some very negative and hostile to the Government.

To my mind, Ghana has achieved commendable media plurality and free expression. If the views expressed don't seem to impact on policies, or appear to be ignored, should that lead to a conclusion that people are not free to express opposing views?

The culture of insults that seems to have taken root is the problem the nation has to tackle – and speedily. Needless insults generate much heat but they don't create light, no clarity; nor do they help the nation's progress.

And maybe what the Concerned Drivers should be concerned about is getting the Government to factor into the EV policy draft the needs of all the branches of the transport sector.

Because it appears that there's no running away from the fast spreading EV phenomenon. Seemingly, “the future is electric”. In any case, the EV revolution is already happening in Ghana and I doubt very much that insults will stop its advance.

The 'A Plus' incident

Sometimes it's not even a verbal expression that is meant to be an insult. For example, tearing up a letter from anybody, and publicly too, can be seem as the ultimate insult.

That act is definitely meant to show the utmost contempt; and is bound to be taken as the highest abuse by the source of the torn letter.

In recent days, a United Television Ghana (UTV) entertainment programme, 'United Showbiz', has been in the news because a group of New Patriotic Party members stormed the studio to protest the reaction to a letter they wrote to UTV about what they deem are unfair attacks on the Government on that show. One of the programme's regular panellists, Mr Kwame Asare Obeng, better known as 'A Plus', tore up a copy of the letter on live television.

I have seen a copy of the NPP letter, signed by the Mr William Yamoah, Director of Finance. Dated September 19, 2023, it was addressed to the UTV General Manager, copied to other senior management, as well as the programme's Executive Producer.

It observed that in recent times, the programme's content “has significantly deviated from its original purpose and relevance” and if it is now “a political talk show”, favouring the opposition National Democratic Congress, then the NPP feels that it should be given fair representation on it.

Reportedly, it was the tearing up of the letter during the programme's September 30 edition, that infuriated some NPP members and led to their invading the UTV studio on October 7, to confront A Plus.

Some of the invaders allegedly escaped, but 16 of them were arrested and, rightfully, are to be prosecuted for their most outrageous act. As members of the ruling party, they should have known better and taken their complaint to the National Media Commission (NMC). That is the channel offered by the national Constitution in Chapter 12 ('Freedom and Independence of the Media'), for redress of media complaints by the public.

Even if the UTV management didn't want to take action, but A Plus felt the NPP letter was offensive to him personally surely he, too, could have used the NMC to lodge a complaint.

Of course the NPP members had no right to invade the studio, but at the same time, it raises the question: if the NPP Government were really intolerant and truly intimidating the media, as is being interpreted by some commentators, would A Plus, have thought it safe to tear up a letter from the ruling party, notably on live television?

But I'm curious about why A Plus felt he was the one to respond to the letter. Is he part of the UTV management? Was it not up to the management to respond, or complain to the NMC if they felt the letter was an infringement of Chapter 12?

The letter is being interpreted as an attempt to interfere in the work of UTV, an assault on freedom of the press. But is that the case?

It needs to be pointed out that the same Chapter 12 also insists that people should have the right to have their side heard, the right to send a rejoinder to a media house if they feel it has been unfair to them (emphasis supplied). Clearly the framers of the Constitution knew that sometimes the public need mandatory protection from us, the media!

Furthermore, it stipulates that in such a situation, that media house is obliged to “publish a rejoinder, if any, from the person in respect of whom the publication was made.” Thus corrective action is implied and I believe that the spirit of that chapter applies in this UTV matter.

To me, the letter from the NPP was a rejoinder. So why was a copy of a letter addressed to the General Manager in the hands of a panellist? Was he to act on behalf of UTV? And if so, was tearing it up the best response?

To my mind, it was UTV management that was supposed to act on the letter, to accept the criticisms or possibly forward it to the NMC as an example of the “interference by Government” cited in Chapter 12. Why didn't UTV do that?

Again, it is appropriate that the invaders were arrested, but I think for his part, A Plus too needs to know that he was seriously out of order. In my view, he should render an apology to the NPP, as well as to the viewers who witnessed his shocking, needless and clearly spiteful act.

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