Why Did It Take Ghanaians So Long To Realize Akufo Addo–Bawumia Running A Cartel Government?

It baffles me that even though Ghana is home to numerous academics, professors, graduates, researchers, and qualified professional journalists, no one seems to be aware that President Akufo Addo and Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia are running a cartel government. What is a cartel government? It is an organized group of people or companies that establish a monopoly in a particular business sector, thereby controlling the marketing and pricing of a product.

Throughout Akufo Addo's first four years in office, I soon realized that he wasn't the man he wanted Ghanaians to think he was. One of his deceitful comments that Ghanaians fall for is, "Give me the power; if I fail, sack me from office." I knew it was a trap because I understood his frustration after he lost his first and second attempts for president. Unfortunately, I had a terrible time telling Ghanaians that Akufo Addo is a criminal since everything in Ghana is political.

I was the only columnist to expose Akufo Addo's corruptible deals, such as the printing of the new high 100 and 200 currency notes and the missing excavators, in the February 28, 2020, article "Which One Is Easier To Say, Akufo Addo Is Corrupt Or A Thief," challenging the government while many narrow-minded journalists, tribal bigots, and the media were pushing his cartel agenda, which was harming the people and the country. Akufo Addo is a professional criminal who used his father’s influence in politics.

To seize control of Ghana's resources and gain a monopoly on the country's finances, Akufo Addo appointed his relative Ken Ofori-Atta as Finance Minister in the early stages of his cartel government. The biggest mistake made by Ghanaians was to tolerate this unprecedented appointment, which enables and encourages corruption, leads to joblessness, collapses economies, mismanages public funds, and results in poverty, without protest. The result today is a catastrophe.

Shortly after the Akufo Addo-Mamudu Bawumia administration took office in 2016, Ken Ofori-Atta, the finance minister, who wants to maintain the monopoly of his Data Bank, sought to purify the banking sector. The finance minister should have been aware of the consequences of his actions if he is a certified banker. The licenses of eight owners of financial institutions were withdrawn; however, no one anticipated that this would be one of the factors contributing to Ghana's economic collapse.

Financial institutions serve as middlemen between savers and borrowers. Therefore, by receiving deposits and subsequently lending these monies to people, companies, and governments, banks enable the flow of capital. The technique aids in mobilizing savings and directing them toward profitable ventures, promoting economic expansion; consequently, only fools or non-banking professionals like Ken Ofori-Atta will decide to collapse banks that are struggling rather than saving them.

When one digs deeper into the reasons behind the closure of the impacted banking institutions, it becomes clear that the government intentionally destroyed them so that the private owners would suffer. Ken Ofori-Atta, who is the owner of Data Bank, wouldn’t like to tolerate any competition. The government claimed to have used GH¢21 billion to destroy the banks, although the amount those banks needed to survive was less. This is another factor that suggests the banks were deliberately destroyed.

As was previously mentioned, Akufo Addo is not a politician; rather, he is an ordinary criminal who entered politics through the influence of his father and since had no plans, building a cathedral was one of his primary goals. Like a gangster mismanaging a prostitute's money, the lazy, and corrupt leader, began squandering state funds by traveling to places that don't advance national interests. The cartel government appointed the greatest number of justices to the Supreme Court to defend him.

Akufo Addo participated in unscrupulous financial businesses that served the interests of a small number of people, most notably, his family and the NPP government, at the expense of the suffering masses. His steadfast support of illicit mining which has polluted the nation’s major rivers and devastated the ecosystem, is simply one more illustration of his deceit. Furthermore, he engaged in money laundering, which the Belgian authorities uncovered, resulting in the closure of the bank accounts of the Ghana Embassy in Brussels.

State properties are sold with impunity under Akufo Addo-Bawumia's administration, and corruption has surged over 200%, allowing numerous NPP politicians, including Cecilia Dapaah, to embezzle public funds without being apprehended or prosecuted. In an investigation named "Gold Mafia," the global media outlet Al Jazeera, revealed the president's participation in illicit gold transactions, in which proceeds were siphoned into foreign accounts of the president.

As he has been violating Ghana’s Constitution, and terrorizing Ghanaian journalists, leading to the death of Ahmed Hussein-Suale, Akufo Addo believed he could threaten the international press. The president’s secretary, Nana Bediatuo Asante, wrote a letter to Al Jazeera, requesting an immediate withdrawal and apology for showing an unfair and erroneous documentary. However, the foreign media refused to offer an apology to the government based on the veracity of their investigation.

Ghanaians are being threatened by the NPP government, which claims they would never cede power to the NDC. However, the government's fear of handing over power has been made clear by MP Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa's exposure to the government's major financial crimes and sale of state properties. The Akufo Addo-Bawumia wants to hide more of the significant financial crimes that Ghanaians are unaware of. Thus, Bawumia's campaign is only to cover up NPP’s financial crimes as president.

In a nation where roughly 33% of the populace has been driven into poverty by a thoughtless and corrupt administration that doesn't even give a damn after the collapse of the economy, enterprises, and investments, the issue is: Would Ghanaians allow the NPP to rig the elections? Ghana does not want its riches to be taken over by a Mafioso or any cartel government, therefore, Ghanaians should wake up from their slumber, and focus on the election of 2024, to remove this awful administration from office.

The national debt accumulated over the eight years of the Akufo Addo - Bawumia administration is GH742 billion. The question now is, who will pay this amount?