THE GHANAIAN MP’s NEEDS ONLY ONE JOB

The policy between government Minister's and Member of Parliament concerning their private business needs to be reviewed. The major reason being that, if Ghana as a third world country wants to be developed, it needs to appoint Ministers and Member of Parliament, whose sole responsibility would be to work in government only, and not involve in any other private businesses.

Mr. David Cameron, the Tory Leader in the United Kingdom has banned members of the shadow cabinet from holding second jobs in the lead up to the general election. This was one of the best ideas I've heard all year - if only it would be applied as a universal rule within the Ghanaian Executive and Legislature.

In any successful Company, it is very clear that the staff only concentrate on one assignment, which makes them use all their strength in achieving the goals of the company. When we make the same comparison to governance in Ghana, we find out that some of the Parliamentarians are also Ministers of State, Board Members, and other private and public businesses they are involved, which makes it extremely difficult for them to achieve the targets set by government.

A quick glance at the Portfolio of Parliamentarians Interests reveals just how many Parliamentarians have directorships in major companies in Ghana. Having a business background is seen as an asset for an MP - and one can see why that might be. Experience of running a large company could be valuable training for running a large government department. However, when you sign up to become an MP or Minister of State you are becoming a public servant - you are signing up to devote your life to public service until the next election. This cannot be a half-hearted thing, if the government is devoted in developing Ghana.

MPs and Ministers of State whine about making enough money - several high profile Majority and Minority MPs have openly baulked at the idea of giving up their second (and third and fourth...) incomes gained from other secondary jobs, since they are okay with all the jobs they are employed to perform ( greed for money). I have a suggestion for them: if you got into politics to make your fortune, you've been tragically misinformed. Try banking instead.

Increasingly, being an MP seems to be a springboard for making the leap to the board room and untold wealth after you leave parliament. No one has the right to dictate what MPs and civil servants do after they leave government - and the sheer number of former Ministers of States on Major Companies in Ghana bears testament to this. Although perhaps a period of 'gardening leave' before you're able to join a company that seeks to influence the policies of the very department you used to head up wouldn't go amiss.

It's the MPs who hold directorships and board memberships while 'serving the taxpayer' that concerns me. There's a reason why these companies want MP's as board members - it's not for the benefit of the taxpayer, it's for the benefit of their shareholders. That's what business exists for - to make money for those involved in that business. Any suggestion that it is, or has any remit to be, somehow beneficial to the common good is laughable - whatever the individual company's claim to "corporate social responsibility".

Allowing MPs to be a servant to two masters' leaves the door wide open for lobbyists and business interests to influence government policy - and what's good for big business is often in direct conflict to what is good for the ordinary voter on the street. If poverty in Ghana has taught us anything it's that the argument for a "trickle down" effect from the top often leads to nothing but draught at the bottom. When you join the executive or the legislative you sign up to protect the economic well-being of the country - not big business. And until the loopholes and tax havens in global tax laws are closed, the two are not necessarily the same thing.

It's not only the MP's and Ministers of State who are at it. There have been several high profile 'sleaze' cases in the government recently. Former ministers in the Kuffour government's and Rawling's administration were accused in giving contracts to companies they were directly or indirectly involved in, which impeded developments in Ghana, because in the long run, competent companies where denied access to jobs, and rather non performing companies were allow to work in Ghana.

In conclusion if Mother Ghana will developed, and the ordinary man in the society alleviated from poverty, then we need to enforce a law that would ban MP's and Ministers of State from taking any secondary private and public appointments apart from what the State and Tax payer have assigned them to perform.

Author: Paul Rex Danquah
East London