FSHS & NABCO:Is NDC Cursing Itself With Negativism?

The Author

According to Psychology Dictionary - Negativism is the persistent resistant to suggestions of others, even when these suggestions may be entirely logical and actually more helpful or efficient than the current working process. Negativists will normally reject these ideas on the basis they are someone else's and therefore prone to failure. Negativism has been associated with a low self-esteem

This definition highlights National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) positions on social interventions introduced by the ruling National Patriotic Party (NPP) since the latter came into power in 2017. Two of the policy interventions are the free senior high school (FSHS) education for all qualified Ghanaians and the Nation Builders Corp (NABCO) - a temporary employment for unemployed graduates from Ghanaian tertiary institutions. Each and every one of these policy interventions has been subjected to negative criticisms by the NDC.

On the FSHS, the Former Ashanti Regional Minister Peter Anarfi -Mensah (deceased) described it as a ‘window dressing’ - a ‘superficial’ policy designed by the government to score cheap political points. Joseph Yamin has stated that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is being over ambitious about the implementation of the FSHS policy. The former Central Regional Chairman of NDC, Bernard Allotey Jacobs thinks “the policy is just a lullaby mothers sing to their babies, because they are just deceiving Ghanaians”.

Edward Bawa called FSHS “a scam”. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, former deputy education minister suggested that “it is big on equity but small on issues of quality and access”. Statesman K.B. Asante doubted if the government can sustain it. Peter Kotoe Nortsu suggested that Ghana is not ready to start the implementation of the much-hyped FSHS Program because of infrastructure deficits in various second cycle institutions in the country.

It is believed that Ex-president Mahama of NDC feared that if the FSHS policy became successful, his chances of becoming president again would be dashed. It’s therefore alleged that NDC had initiated several sinister plots to make sure the policy failed.

Among the initiatives are that: (i) NDC had invited some South Africans into Ghana to tour the country and come out with a clear-cut ‘fiendish’ policy that would help destroy the Free Education policy; (ii) NDC is also soliciting support from the Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) operatives who are loyal to the party, especially in the three northern regions as well as the Volta Region, to tap information for the party on how to undermine the NPP’s flagship FSHS; (iii) Ghana Education Service (GES) staff, including regional and district directors of education as well as heads of educational institutions in the three northern regions believed to be known NDC supporters and sympathizers have also been specifically tasked to work clandestinely to kill the policy.

While some leading members of NDC have kept bastardizing FSHS on grounds that their members would be brainwashed and therefore praying for its collapse, Ex-president Mahama is on record that he would review the policy, if he came to power again. This has been politically interpreted that he would abolish the policy completely.

NDC’s stand and pronouncements on the FSHS policy is troubling. Among other things a considerable number of academically intelligent and qualified Ghanaians could not access high school education mainly because of funding issues so that if others were being offered the opportunity, the effort should be applauded. The writer had post-basic education through the free four-year teacher-trainee education because his parents could not afford the twenty-two cedis then required for enrolment as a first-year high school student.

Incidentally, NDC as a political party that had ruled Ghana before could not see anything good about FSHS, a policy that covers all Ghanaians. It is very worrying that NDC seemed to see everything from the ruling NPP in negative terms especially since the party (NDC) wanted to return to power again. In real terms NDC’s cursing itself and determined to be glorified in opposition, for the more one saw things in negative terms the more the attraction of negative results in all events. For it is said be careful for what you wish for your neighbor, you would get same in multiples. In effect NDC is saying that it wanted to remain in opposition for life because they always see doom for themselves.

NDC should review and possibly suspend its call for parents to be part of the funding for their wards. It is true that some parents would be ready and willing to pay for their children’s education, the facts on the ground would not support it. The very people who are willing would be the same who would manipulate the system to their advantage.

It had always been either the politically connected, opinion leaders or the “rich” who benefit from pro-poor programs. The very poor for whom the system would be designed would end up either paying more or withdraw their wards from the program. It must also be noted that the purpose of FSHS would be defeated the moment parents were asked to contribute even a pesewa towards the program’s success. It would be no “freer”. Again, there is not enough data to support the call for parents to partially fund FSHS, until then FSHS should remain “as is”- not to be touched.

It is believed that NDC would be better served, if the party chose to capitalize on the loopholes involved in the implementation of the policy to its advantage and stop rubbishing it. The party should stop the uncoordinated low level “housekeeping” attacks on the FSHS policy that put NDC on a suicide mission, for it is nauseating to continue both the monotonous and cacophonous “singing band chorus” of build more schools before implementing the FSHS policy. Whose child should stay home?

NDC would be redirected to: (a) review the funding sources and secure the policy’s sustainability without involving parents; (b) Improve and/or upgrade facilities in all existing schools; (c) expand existing schools by building NDC’s signature “E-Block” buildings on their sites; (d) build and resource new schools in deprived areas as part of taking development to the rural areas; (e) provide accommodation and house all teachers on school premises; (f) attract and maintain qualified teachers into rural areas by giving them special monetary incentives and promote them a year ahead of their counterparts in urban centers and (g) abolish the double track system.

President Nana Addo is steadily and confidently ‘growing’ his almost two million additional voters for the 2020 election while NDC continues to curse itself to remain in perpetual opposition with its negative attacks.

One other social policy that has received negative bashing from NDC is NABCO. According to the government, NABCO is to engage 100,000 unemployed graduates and equip them with skills through a process of value addition and training under seven modules: Educate Ghana, Heal Ghana, Feed Ghana, Revenue Ghana, Digitize Ghana, Civic Ghana and Enterprise Ghana. As part of this initiative, graduates would be engaged for a period of 3 years and each given a non-taxable amount of GHS 700.00 a month.

The Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) described NABCO “as a thoughtful initiative by the Government to address the current unemployment situation in the country with the propensity to resolve the socio-economic challenges facing the youth in the country. It would afford graduates the opportunity to earn a decent income and at the same time expose them to the world of work while improving their skills and employability in the module they find themselves”.

A professor at the University of Ghana (UG), Ansah Tawiah, has said it is better for Ghanaian graduates to be enrolled onto the NABCO program and be paid GHS700 as monthly stipend than for them to stay at home jobless, … the initiative will afford the teeming unemployed graduate youth the opportunity to utilize the skills they acquired while in school.

As expected NDC folks see it differently. Kweku Rickets Hagan has described NABCO as ‘useless’ while Richard Quashigah, viewed the initiative as “mediocre.” Kojo Dankwa, accused the government of engaging in “populist agenda to score cheap political points.” According to Kwabena Donkor “Ghana does not need NABCO now because it is a short cabinet measure and as it is now, we do not need a short cabinet measure.

NDC Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, believes NABCO is a political propaganda tool ostensibly designed to meet the needs of members of the governing NPP. Richard Acheampong, the Bia East MP, believes that NABCO would only be “a hub for thievery, corruption and reduce productivity since the beneficiaries have not gone through proper training pertaining to their specific duty under the module, they will be operating under”.

Did NDC consider the population involved in NABCO before trashing the program? If they did, they would know that they are graduates of our tertiary institutions – some of the best, brightest and most intelligent group of people in Ghana. They are among the very people who would “capture the commanding heights of the Ghanaian economy” apologies to General Kutu Acheampong, a former Head of State of Ghana.

If some NABCO beneficiaries had the same chances as some of these NDC politicians, they would excel and even do far better than most NDC people. They should be respected for not going awry in their period of psychological trauma but sticking their heads above water and responded positively towards the challenges facing them and the government.

A positively thinking NDC would at least look at the exit strategy of NABCO as announced by NPP and capitalize on it to its advantage. NPP had said that the beneficiaries would exit the program at the end of its third year – that is 2021. If NDC won power in 2020, it would be the party in power in 2021. At that time majority of NABCO beneficiaries would have been employed elsewhere leaving a reduced number to be let go. Again, NPP’s One District One Factory (1D1F) initiative would have taken shape and ready to employ more Ghanaians by 2021. From these two positions alone, instead of rubbishing them, NDC could conveniently promise NABCO beneficiaries that they would exit the program with permanent employment alongside a payment structure that would take their three years’ experience into consideration - good pay.

This is how to criticize a policy as a political party - provide an alternative to win electorates to your side. NDC should desist from insulting the conscience and sensibilities of NABCO beneficiaries and rather applaud them for sacrificing for the nation.

Consciously and negatively attacking anything NPP appeals to NDC’s base but throws away individuals who associates with positive related issues. If NDC was interested in coming back to power again in Ghana, they should stop cursing themselves with their negative reactions towards anything NPP. Too much negativity is a curse. Anything negative is bad.

Is NDC so bad that it had to curse, baptize and confine itself into perpetual opposition by immersing and majoring in negativism?

OPANIN KWABENA MENSAH