The Government Can Reward The Black Stars, But

Black Stars

Should not short-change other professionals who are also serving the nation in diverse ways. Yes, the Black Stars, the senior national football team has done the country and the continent proud; we salute you boys. Before the commencement of the mundial, and especially after our 4-1 drubbing by the Netherlands, a lot of Ghanaians, including you and me did not give them a dog's chance. For me, the success chalked by the Stars is commendable since the GFA and the technical team, even in their wildest dreams, did not have that expectation.

As we shower praises on the team, which is a normal thing to do, we should never in our history forget the heroism of Asamoah Gyan. This guy is anything, but a coward. When I hear people suggesting that a different player might have scored if he had been allowed to take the penalty kick, I am tempted to laugh, because honestly, some of the other players we think might have scored thanked their lucky stars when Asamoah Gyan stepped forward. Why? Because that particular moment is every player's nightmare. Most players, knowing the consequence of a miss, will shit their pants when call upon to take the kick.

Now let us look at the substantive issue of this write-up. Was the government right in appreciating the Black Stars for that sterling performance with an amount of 20,000 dollars each for the players and 10,000 dollars each for the other members on the team (i.e. a total of 460,000 dollars for the 23 players, excluding the technical handlers and the GFA members on board) after they had been paid fat bonuses by same? Some think that this gesture from the government was a red herring since the team had been handsomely rewarded by the bonuses they received. But I wonder if this genre of people would decline such an offer if they happened to be the beneficiaries. I tell you, even the most patriotic Ghanaian, will not decline such an offer; I will not, dude!!

Others also think that the government was spot on by extending that gesture to the stars. The line of thinking of this group of people is that the exploits exhibited by our darling Stars have repositioned Ghana on the world map and the implications of these exploits can never be quantified in monetary terms. But, surprisingly, they cannot give us any evidence, except to conjecture. They might be right if it's only football that can bring a country such as Ghana from obscurity to the global stage.

I agree with the government in doling out that huge amount of money in principle. No qualms, the government is spot on. But we do not want them to come back to us tomorrow and tell us that there is no money in the national kitty because they inherited a broken economy. A broken economy cannot afford this amount of money, if it were really broken. I think the economy is not broke; it is the people that are broke. Honestly, I did not know that the government is sitting on “gold-” Ghana is bloody rich, I tell you.

As said earlier, my problem is not the money that was given, but rather the hypocrisy with which our governments act. They should understand that what is good for the goose is also good for the gander. I think it is about time we all became footballers in the country if it were possible—that is the only job that prompts the government to be sensitive to the needs of the citizenry.

We are living in a country where contractors and employees in the public establishments, especially teachers have not been paid for several months, because according to the government there is no money. On Good Morning Ghana—a news paper review program on Metro TV on Tuesday, 13.7.2010, the deputy minister of trade and industry, Mr. Mahama Ayariga justified this untruth by saying that the government is not able to pay contractors, and even release funds due the National Assemblies because there is no money to service the huge debt owe them. But, when it comes to our football stars, the spontaneity and alacrity with which they act to appreciate their efforts is awesome. It beats my imagination that they always find money to pay the bonuses of the athletes, and also reward them after the tournament, but fail to pay teachers their salaries so many months after assuming duty.

The nauseating aspect of this hogwash is the government making thousands of dollars available to fly supporters of the national team, most of them being disgruntled foot soldiers of the party of the ruling government to South Africa to watch some of the matches on giant screens placed outside the stadiums—a complete waste of the public's purse whilst hardworking teachers, like the one I will be talking about are left thinking about where their next meal is going to come from.

About a couple of months ago, I published an article on this and other platforms titled “the hungry teacher.” In the said article I recounted the woes and agony of a female teacher, who commutes between Kumasi and Offinso every school day, but has not drawn a salary since assuming duty on 1.9.2009. As I was writing this article, she has still not received a cedi. And folks, she is not the only victim; there is a plethora of them suffering under the presidential mantra of a better Ghana. You employ somebody for 10 months and refuse to pay her, but somebody takes part in a tournament for less than a month, and aside his regular wage, is given an additional amount which is about a thousand times the accumulated salary of this already impoverished female teacher and others in her situation. This should tell us the priority and vision of the government in strengthening the foundation of the economy moving forward.

It is good to support our athletes, especially after putting up such a monumental performance, but it is equally good to pay those who have been employed by the government. This culture of not paying the wages of teachers and other public servants for months running is a complete joke and evidence of the disrespect our governments hold towards these professionals. They will not pay teachers after honoring their obligation, but still expect them to be efficient in promoting educational effectiveness in the schools. It is good to appreciate the Black Stars, but let us not starve those who taught them the letters of the alphabets. What is good for the goods is also good for the gander! The government is not doing teachers and other public servants a favor, nope; they supply their man-hours and thus need to be treated fairly. God bless Ghana!!

Source: Kingsley Nyarko, PhD, Educational Psychologist, Accra ([email protected])