Time To Work For What We Deserve

Most of those who seek our votes mean well. This is my belief, which is born of experience. There are of course those who are so fanatical about shaping society their way that they will organise thuggery, bribery and corruption to win elections.

Generally, however, most politicians and aspiring statesmen and women are so convinced about the superiority of their ideas and plans, and their own capacity that they would succumb to a few unseemly acts to win the power to improve society and the lot of man.

And generally, we the people by our actions and behaviour endorse the path taken by our rulers to win power.

Not long ago it was sardines and corned beef that lured us to vote for a particular party. These days T-shirts, money, and other inducements do the persuasion.

Of course not all of us are so easily bought and gullible. And it is the duty of those who are privileged by education and enlightenment to show by example how the vote can be used to establish and enhance the public weal.

The public must know that the government does not pluck money from mango trees. The money it uses for development comes from us directly or indirectly. It also borrows for specific projects and the like; but eventually we the people or our children and grandchildren must pay for it.

The government may also beg in ways that hide its scrounging supplications. But then we the people should not be surprised if because of excessive reliance on others we are not respected by our benefactors who may flout our municipal laws and town plans with contempt.

We may borrow wisely for specific purposes and use assistance from outside to promote our plans but we should realise that we Ghanaians are responsible for our own development and progress.

We should elect a government and representatives who will promote national well-being and not personal advancement.

The international atmosphere is not favourable for our economic and social development and progress.
 
But we cannot wait for the global village to turn in our favour. We cannot plead for the US dollar to be salvaged from its present crises because of the apparent dire consequences on our economy.

We should leave the mighty Americans alone to solve their problems and “cry their own cry”. We should find out what we can do in present circumstances to promote Ghana's interest. We should “cry our own cry”.

We trade with the dollar as many countries do. We are, therefore, involved in the ongoing “inclusive globalisation”. The important thing is to understand the global village so that we may work within it to advance Ghana's interests.

For example, if the dollar falls greatly in value, does it not mean that American goods become cheap? Why do we not then influence the local environment so that Ghanaians buy from the US market when this is beneficial?
 
 We need a government that will set its experts to work in these areas and design programmes and procedures that will be in Ghana's interest.

And so let us ask the presidential and parliamentary aspirants what they would do to take advantage of events in the global village. Let us ask them whether it is wise to continue to price our cocoa in dollars, and if not, what action they propose to take in collaboration with the major cocoa producers.

Gold price has gone up considerably recently. What advantage have we derived from the rise in the value of gold? How far has the gold price increased or improved our balance of payments and reserves?

We should ask these questions not to embarrass the government but to ensure that we exploit happenings in the global village with intelligence to move forward with confidence while we endeavour to eradicate unnecessary corruption by good husbandry.

Good management of our resources will not succeed with endemic corruption and massive flouting of procedures, rules and regulations. We should, therefore, insist on enquiry into revelations of massive misdeeds.

The last hearings of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee made sombre reading. Any self-respecting Ghanaian should have been greatly annoyed. Taxpayers' money, that is your money, appeared to have been looted on a massive scale.

Donor funds were not spared. It was made clear to the discerning that no amount of sophisticated procurement laws would halt the advance of the art of sophistry in the pillaging of public funds.
 
We need a comprehensive enquiry leading to the dismissal and prosecution of those found to be criminally involved.

The system must be purged. If the enquiry cannot start this year it should be among the first decisions of the next parliament. We should ask the views of those who seek our votes.
 
We should not vote for those who would not agree to take action on the Parliamentary Accounts Committee reports.

This is the time to make sure that we are properly governed. We should not be swayed by mere sentiments and ignorant shouts about market forces and Socialism.
 
 If it is socialist planning we want we should outline it and show that we have taken account of the global village and the character of Ghanaians who alone can transform the economy.

If we want to rely on the market we should be true to the philosophy of free enterprise and not frustrate Ghanaians who want to enter into business by a suffocating web of institutional impediments.
 
Such impediments drive the Ghanaian to trade in goods manufactured in other countries and thereby diminish local enterprise and employment.

We should not ignore things under our noses. If we do we encourage worse happenings. The rain some two weeks ago left a pool of water on High Street near the Bank of Ghana. Therefore, over a short distance the dual carriageway became a one-way route.

This has led to congestion from the law courts to Standard Chartered Bank. Nothing has been done to remedy the situation for two weeks.
 
What if it had been a flood? If we cannot deal with such a minor incident how can we say that we are ready for floods, which may follow the heavy rains expected?

Are there no institutions and individuals responsible for making our roads passable? Those who seek our votes should tell us what they would do to institutions and individuals who fail to perform their duty.

The future is in our hands and this is the time to demand the government we deserve.
 
 By K. B. Asante