Bawumia’s silence on corruption is worrying

In August 2022, Mr Richard Quason, Deputy Commissioner of CHRAJ, stated
that endemic corruption swallows, on average, about 20 percent of Ghana’s
national budget annually. The amount represented over 300 percent of all aid
Ghana receives it annually, which translates into 25 percent of the 2016 annual budget estimate for foreign aid.

Therefore, it will be prudent to expect that anyone seeking to be president of this country would emphatically denounce corruption and state their plans
to fight it, one of the major problems currently affecting Ghanaians is
corruption.

However, I have observed with keen interest that the flagbearer of the New
Patriotic Party (NPP) Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has been silent on the topic of
corruption throughout his recent campaign tours. This is in sharp contrast to
the activities of all other major political parties and their candidates who have emphatically stated their positions on corruption and how they intend to fight and minimize, if not eradicate, it, except the NPP’s flagbearer.

According to Ghana’s anti-graft body, Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), which is
Transparency International’s Local Chapter says that as a country, "we lose close to US$3 billion to corruption annually.” This is the exact amount of money Ghana is getting from the three-year International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.

Corruption is a dangerous act used by a few greedy government appointees to enrich themselves and their families and leave “citizens in poverty without jobs in their broken homes and with shattered dreams,” said a statement issued by the National House of Chiefs, the highest body in Ghana that unites all
traditional rulers, chiefs, and kings.

Former President John Dramani Mahama has been categorical about his stance
against corruption and how he intends to fight it if he wins the upcoming 2024
December 7 general elections. Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, during her
outdooring as the NDC’s running mate revealed that “John and I have agreed
that whoever has participated in the plunder of the state will be held
accountable, this is not a threat; it is a promise which is premised on the
wishes of the citizens across the political divide and hinged on the principles of accountability.”

This indicates that the majority of Ghanaians are appalled and dismayed by the
amount of corrupt activities currently perpetrated by the Akufo-Addo
Bawumia government and its appointees, and would like to see an action to
deal with it.

It is therefore pathetic that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has decided to
conspicuously stay away from stating his position on corruption and how he
intends to fight it in the highly unlikely event that he wins the upcoming
general elections (perish the thought) despite the obvious rot going on in this country.

The fact is that Dr. Bawumia will be extremely disappointing in terms of
fighting against corruption. The capture of state lands, embezzlements, overnight riches, and the display of opulence and wealth by the appointees of this government cannot skip the attention of the vice president. He has never said anything about PDS, Cash for Seat, the Australian Visa Scandal, SML, the BOST contaminated oil scandal, the National Cathedral, or the mighty Agyapa stinking scandal.

I believe the vice president has no moral basis to comment on corruption
due to his and his wife’s alleged involvement in the stealing of state lands in
the poshest part of Accra in Cantonment and Labone, as stated by Hon. Fiifi
Kwetey, during the inauguration of the Aldershot branch of the NDC branch in
the UK.

During his opposition days, the vice president and his wife were loud on
corruption, accusing the NDC government of corruption. Today, they are
allergic to the mention of corruption because they are alleged to be deeply
involved in these disgraceful practices.

The implication of this is that in the highly unlikely event of him winning the
2024 elections (perish the thought again), the status quo will remain the same. Dr. Bawumia will not be able to deal with corruption because he will be
controlled and manipulated like a puppet by the same corrupt individuals who
are desperately trying so hard to make him the president in order to conceal
their corrupt activities and by his greed and appetite for worldly gains.

Voting for President Akufo-Addo was the greatest mistake Ghanaians have made.
but voting for Dr. Bawumia will be the greatest of self-inflicting woes Ghanaians will ever make. It will be the cherry on top of the icing on the cake for the NPP in their quest to allocate Ghana to themselves and their unborn
generations, through Agyapa deals and PDS-like transactions.

Let us avoid Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia like a contagious virus when we go to the
polls.

His victory will be an endorsement of the current corruption, opulence, arrogance, and chicanery being displayed by this bunch of greedy appointees of the current government. The only way Ghanaians can be assured of fighting corruption is by voting for the NDC and H.E. John Dramani Mahama on December 7.