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15.08.2014 Feature Article

The World Cup And Matters Arising - The Brazilgate Saga

The World Cup And Matters Arising - The Brazilgate Saga
15.08.2014 LISTEN

'It is sad that we end up with a story about a strike, where the players won't play unless they receive their money'

Jerome Valcke FIFA Secretary General

'When there is a problem, you look at where it started, not where it ended'

- Adam Larsen Kwarasey, Black Starts Goalkeeper

 
The scandalous decision by the corrupt and incompetent John Dramani Mahama NDC administration, a political administration bereft of any cogent ideas in nation building and management, to airlift US$4.5 million in physical cash by either the presidential jet or a chartered plane at a cost of US$500,000 to the nation to Brazil to pay the bonus of non-performing Black Stars and the  parasitic GFA officials accompanying the team attracted so much negative attention on the international news media which made all righting thinking Ghanaians to hung their heads in shame.

It was a clear case of economic rascality and financially unwise decision which broke all the rules of international trade, an unacceptable populist action which has been the hallmark of the NDC administration all along.

This is a bankrupt administration, which stole eight billion Ghana cedis of the national wealth to prosecute its 2012 political campaign and has virtually taken the nation back into HIPC for the second time in the NDC administration of this country. This is a corrupt, greedy and incompetent political administration which has supervised the creation of corrupt looting machineries like SADA, SUBA, GYEEDA and Woyomegate and now Brazilgate to loot the nation's resources and share them among its members. This is the corrupt, incompetent greedy political administration which engineered the free downslide of the cedi from a dazzling height of one point two cedis to the dollar to an unacceptable and unbearable low level of four cedis to the dollar in a period of six years and thus making it the worst performing currency in the whole wide-world.

After the nation has been weaned off IMF unpalatable conditionalities, the corrupt and incompetent John Dramani Mahama NDC administration has taken us back into the lion's den as a result of reckless and careless dissipation of the national wealth, thus rendering the country completely bankrupt in a short period of two years, an international record in the history of any nation.

I wish to reproduce how the BBC captured the folly of the John Dramani Mahama NDC administration in its shameless act of money laundering, the unraveling of Brazilgate, the new corrupt and fraudulent machinery created by the John Dramani Mahama NDC administration to loot and share the nation's wealth.

The report of the BBC under the title: 'World Cup 2014: FIFA 'Tried to Stop' Ghana Bonus Row' reads as follows:

'FIFA has revealed it was ready to pay Ghana's players their World Cup bonuses directly and deduct it from the Ghana Football Association's prize money. After Ghana's players boycotted training in protest at not receiving their money, the country's government flew $3m (£1.8m) in cash to Brazil. FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke described the situation as sad.

'The players have the right to receive their money but it would be much easier to do this by bank transfer,” he said.

“The fact that the money came in cash is also sad because I was ready to sign a letter, as long as I had a copy of the agreement between the national association and the players, that the money would be paid by FIFA by bank transfer into their personal accounts….FIFA would have made sure to deduct the players' money from the prize money paid to the national association.”

'While Ghana has now gone home from Brazil, having been eliminated from the tournament at the group stage, another bonus row is ongoing involving Nigeria. The Super Eagles, who are due to meet France in the last 16 on Monday, refused to train on Thursday over fears they would not receive their bonus payments from the Nigerian Football Federation, the BBC understands. FIFA has revealed it was ready to pay Ghana's players their World Cup bonuses directly. It prompted Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to speak to senior players on Friday to assure them that the money will be paid. There was a similar issue with Cameroon, whose players refused to board their plane to South America because of a row over appearance fees. They arrived for the World Cup a day later than scheduled.

'The issue is not a new one – Togo went on strike over bonus money at the 2006 tournament in Germany and FIFA was forced to intervene. And Valcke says that something needs to be done. “Future World Cups will ask the national associations to provide us with their agreements with their players to make sure that this kind of episode does not happen again,” he said'.

While lamenting the unthinkable act of the John Dramani Mahama NDC administration to airlift that huge amount of money to Brazil, we should also not lose sight of the other ignominy which arose from the World Cup. John Dramani Mahama NDC administration announced to the whole world that it was sending NDC cadres as football supporters to Brazil to cheer the Black Stars. Observers were therefore surprised when these same NDC cadres, once in Brazil discovered to their chagrin and amazement that the NDC had used lies, propaganda and political subterfuge to mismanage the country.

The 'Better Ghana' agenda was only a political slogan meant to enslave the people of this country. The difference they discovered in Brazil was clear. Dear reader, please read the BBC report on the NDC supporters seeking political asylum in Brazil, which was captured under the heading: 'Ghanaian Football Fans Request Asylum in Brazil'

'Brazilian federal police say that some 200 Ghanaians have requested asylum after entering the country on tourist visas to watch the World Cup. The Ghanaians say they are Muslims fleeing inter-religious conflicts in their home country. They have filed their applications in the southern city of Caxias do Sul, in one of Brazil's most prosperous areas. Another 1,000 Ghanaians are expected to request refugee status once the tournament is over, police said. The Brazilian authorities believe many of the Ghanaians are looking for the right to work legally in the country. This region – Serra Gaucha – is known as an area of full employment. It has became a magnet for foreign workers,” federal police chief Noerci da Silva Melo said in Caxias do Sul. “You go through the streets and you can see many Haitians and Senegalese selling pirate CDs and watches. The area is overcrowded now,” Mr Melo told the news agency Agencia Brasil.

'Caxias do Sul is more than 1,600 km (1,000 miles) away from the venues where the Ghanaian team played – the north-eastern cities of Natal and Fortaleza and in the capital, Brasilia. The team, known as the Black Stars, lost two matches – to the United States and Portugal – but drew with World Cup finalists Germany. They failed to progress to the knockout stages of the competition. Ghana went home without a win and failed to qualify for the knockout stage of the World Cup

'Brazilian legislation allows potential refugees to work legally in the country once they have filed for asylum. The fact that the Ghanaians have entered the country on tourist visas should not be taken into consideration when considering whether to grant them asylum, a Justice Ministry official said. “Asylum cannot be requested at a Brazilian embassy. The asylum seeker must be in the country to apply,” said Joao Guilherme Granja.

'We have hundreds of Syrian refugees in Brazil at the moment in the same situation.” Most of the Ghanaian asylum seekers in Caxias do Sul have been given shelter by local Roman Catholic churches'.

Oh Africa, why only Africa? When will the continent rid itself of these greedy, corrupt, incompetent power usurpers who find themselves in entrusted positions in every field of human endeavour mismanaging our humble lives? Today, greedy corrupt and incompetent usurpers portraying themselves as the political leaders of the African continent with their uninspiring cohorts are enjoying the glittering lights of Washington as the guests of Barack Obama, the USA President, all in the subtle attempt to sell the continent's birth right to the Americans for pittance. The relatively  little handouts from the USA establishment will be greedily received by these monsters which from all accounts would also be recklessly squandered before their planes even touch down on the African continent on the return journey.

Many African leaders in Washington are far richer than their own countries and their wealth is stashed away in foreign banks in the western world.  Who can now doubt Prof, James Watson when he stated:  'I am inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa because all our social policies are based on the fact that their (black people) intelligence is the same as ours (white people) - whereas all the testing says not really…. people who have to deal with black employees find this not true….you should not discriminate on the basis of colour, because there are many people of colour who are very talented, but don't promote them when they haven't succeeded at the lower level'.

The time has come for the poor suffering people of this continent to boot out their non-performing greedy, corrupt, incompetent and fraudulent leaders who seize the least opportunity like the FIFA World Cup in Brazil to create loot and share the nation's wealth among themselves.

By Kwame Gyasi
E-mail:  [email protected]

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