General News of Sunday, 7 October 2018

Source: yen.com.gh

6 smart expressions Ghanaian politicians like using

There is a general impression that politicians are liars There is a general impression that politicians are liars

It is no surprise that most Ghanaians just have no trust in their politicians. Although Ghana's political landscape is one of the most active and boisterous in sub-Saharan Africa, the very players in this space - politicians- are often seen as liars who could do everything possible to have a good image.

Here in Ghana, the political language, although complicated to understand is also rife with some languages that many of us may have heard anytime we listen to them on radio or television. We bring you some expressions by politicians in Ghana today:

1. It's in the take-off stage When a politician tells you something is in the "take-off stage" you must know that what he or she is trying to reveal to you is that there is no plan to focus or make the subject matter work. If something is in the take-off stage, it could mean it now needs time to grow and mature. By this, urgency is never the point here.

2. We are looking into it Forget about any action from a politician if he or she tells you they are " looking into it". This is one of the lame yet wise ways by which a politician escaped further inquiries into a controversial matter. The truth of the matter is that the politician will never look into the situation should they give such an assurance.

3. ...it's in the pipeline... We have heard this term time and time again and this is enough to let us know that when a politician tells you something "is in the pipeline", what they actually mean to say is that nothing at all has been done about the issue.

4. I can't confirm or deny... Just know a politician knows the truth of a story or controversy when s(he) tells you they are not in the position to confirm or deny. This is a clever tactic politicians use to prevent them from reacting to highly sensitive cases of corruption or scandal within their government.

5. What we need now is a legal framework Every administration has the privilege of getting legal frameworks established especially when they have a majority share in parliament. It tends to be very interesting that when a politician tells you a project or draft policy cannot be executed because of the lack of parliamentary approval. What a politician rather mean is that the said project will and can't be executed in the short to long term.

6. We are awaiting parliamentary approval We all know that a Parliamentary approval on any issue gives room for the execution and success of such projects. Without parliamentary approval, none of government's policies and programs will be existing