To Confirmed MMDCEs:  Be Moderate, Eschew Corruption, Avoid Arrogance

“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls”– Joseph Campbell

By the time this article is published, 90% of the President's nominated MMDCEs might have been confirmed by their respective assemblies and that is good. I have followed keenly, the intensive lobbying, the sleepless nights, the anxiety, the shattered dreams, the backbiting, the backstabbing, disappointments and the sheer jealousy among applicants in the run-up to the confirmation of these MMDCEs and that too is normal.

Now that the battle has ended with some of the nominees getting 100% nod, the time has come for hard work. MMDCEs should gird up their loins because there are so many hurdles ahead and the job is onerous. There will be no time to lose since the President, Nana Akufo Addo has served notice that he is in a hurry. Promises have been made and they must be kept. As MMDCEs, you carry a huge load on your shoulders. You dare not fail the president because failure is not an option. In fact, if you have the word failure in your lexicon, rub it off.

I heard people talk about someone who has 'a lot of baggage'. Meaning they are carrying a lot of problems with them. MMDCEs should see this as unnecessary; especially in this age when traveling light is the goal. If they want to succeed they must try to avoid the gravitational pull of dispensable weight. The problems will come but as the sages say you cannot prove your merit on quiet waters. You have to swim against the tide. In fact, if you don't have problems then you don't have a job. All what you have to do is to focus on your goals, not your problems. In view of the fact that the expectation of Ghanaians is very huge, MMDCEs should be thorough because being thorough means being meticulous. They should deal with obstacles like the way eagles deal with chicken. Indeed, many of these MMDCEs may not have any experience as far as the workings of the assemblies are concerned but they must learn very fast. Ever watched children when they are trying something new? They are exited, they are eager, and they welcome the challenges. That is an attitude to recapture or to try and emulate by these new MMDCEs

These newly confirmed MMDCEs should see the flagship programmes of the Akufo Addo-led government as a guard post and work towards its realization. The one district, one factory is so dear to the heart of the president that as a candidate, he trumpeted it anywhere he went. He told Ghanaians that the idea is feasible and as such we should buy into it and we did. MMDCEs should quickly identify which type of factory they think could be sited in their respective districts and work towards that. They should not hesitate to consult the chiefs since nothing good will come from the programme without the support of the chiefs. After all, are the chiefs not the custodians of the land on which these factories would be set up? MMDCEs should not wait for the government to come to their districts to set up factories. Instead, they should fish for strategic investors who would be interested in establishing these factories. The truth is that we have investors who will be ready to take up the challenge if an enabling environment is created.

If each constituency is going to get one million dollars for development, it stands to reason that traditional areas which can boast of two districts will get two million dollars. What is very important is supervision. MMDCEs should not sit down for corrupt officials to take the people of their respective constituencies for granted. We all know what Civil Servants can do to derail the program for their own parochial interest. The issue of the SADA saga is there for these MMDCEs to learn from. Unlike what happened when the NDC was in power, this time around we are all going to be watchmen watching the government's watchman. Very soon when the Whistleblowers' Bill is passed by our Parliamentarians, everybody, particularly those of us in the inky fraternity will be whistleblowers. I am going for a FIFA recommended whistle to blow if I see or hear anything fishy.

When the free SHS takes off in September as promised by the government, MMDCEs will have a very significant role to play. Undoubtedly, some Headmasters are going to use any way possible to make money from parents if the MMDCEs close their eyes. These Headmasters will create avenues to impress upon parents to pay unapproved fees and levies, thereby rubbish the free SHS idea. As an American will say; “we aint going to allow that”

It was not for nothing that President Akufo Addo is keen in making sure that a dam is built in every village in the three northern regions. If this dream becomes a reality, the youth in these regions will not migrate down south to do menial jobs and an all year round production of food crops will be possible. MMDCEs in these regions should work in concert with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to make sure this programme works successfully. We are already aware how some northerners who were put in charge of programmes like SADA; Asongtaaba etc allegedly ended up stealing our monies and abandoned the programme. Trees were planted during the harmattan season and guinea fowls which were reared in Ghana migrated to Burkina Faso and never returned. We don't want to hear such Kwaku Ananse stories anymore.

You see, if you are called to represent a president who in the run-up to the general election told the world that he was not corrupt, has never been corrupt and will never be corrupt, you have been pushed to the wall and you dare not be corrupt. We saw what happened when the outsmarted NDC held the country at ransom. I saw a certain DCE whose best qualification is BECE certificate since he dropped out of school when he was in SHS form two. When he was appointed to the position of DCE in one of the districts, he quickly started amassing wealth and grabbing contracts from his colleague DCEs in other districts. Before Norman the Gambler could blink an eye, this guy had built two mansions in his home town, bought five luxurious air conditioned buses, sent three of his children to the US, demolished his family mud house and replaced it with a huge mansion. In fact, there was a frenzied pursuit of cash as if Ghana will turn into Syria. It was an era of make hay while the sun shines.

There was this one who got so deeply involved in 'galamsey' business and became so rich that he was nicknamed Pablo Escobar, in reference to the killed Colombian drug lord. He strutted the land like Colossus and dared anyone to report him to the president because after all, he had got what he wanted. When one day some security men arrested two of his workers, he drove straight to the police station and threatened to transfer all the police men at the station to remote areas to teach them a lesson. Before he could finish talking the District Commander, who heard him from his office quickly came out and instructed the sergeant on duty to release the boys because he 'didn't want any trouble'. Who say man no dey?

One of the factors which led to the embarrassing defeat of the NDC at the 2016 polls was the behavior of some of these MMDCEs. They grew Epicurean and exhibited their wealth openly at funeral grounds, wedding parties and other functions to the anger of the people. Because they were men of straw before grabbing the position that they founded themselves in, they treated chiefs and queenmothers with contempt. After all, because of poverty, some of these chiefs and queenmothers stooped so low just to get something for the day's meals. Instead of the chiefs and queenmothers inviting the MMDCEs to their palaces, some of these chiefs and queenmothers would wake up early in the morning and go to wait for the MMDCEs at their residences. Some MMDCEs did wake up around nine o'clock, have their bath, eat their breakfasts, dress up before inviting the chiefs in. These MMDCEs were caught up in the web of arrogance of power and as such they could not uncoil themselves from the web.

These new MMDCEs who have just taken over power should learn from the mistakes of their predecessors. If they think they are going to use their positions to make money like the way the past MMDCEs did then they should forget it because people did put their noses on the grindstone for the party to come to power. Some even paid the supreme price during the electioneering campaign. They should be reminded that what we did to the NDC when we smelled corruption at their camp will be replicated when they too toe that line.

As for the ladies who have found themselves in these enviable positions, they need to be reminded that if they mess around, they will destroy the chances of other women who are equally qualified to handle the job. I have very soft spot in my heart for women so I will only wait for them to start work so that we can all contribute our quotas to make them successful. As MMDCE, you have been called to duty at a time the economy is in tatters. All you have to do is to work past exhaustion. The universal adjective is perseverance and you know what? Perseverance defines visions, foresight and creative discernment.

Eric Bawah