Opinions of Saturday, 19 November 2011

Columnist: Damptey, Daniel Danquah

Why mills and the NDC are afraid of biometric verification.

“Order id Heaven’s first law. But discipline begets order. Hence a disciplined life is an orderly life – a disciplined nation and an orderly nation. It is in the midst of discipline and order that a nation or an individual can make genuine progress in any desirable direction”.

You may not agree entirely with everything I have stated in this write – up. But I think this is a fine platform for further thought and discussion. You have only to read this to make up your mind for your own constructive contribution towards the election of Efficient and Sane Minds to take charge of affairs of Ghana, the country we all claim to love and cherish so much.

A king must be seen to be ruling, not reigning. The Constitution provides for an Executive President not a Ceremonial one. But Mills has abdicated his powers to a gang of unpatriotic unfriendly friends of the masses who I believe, are holding the President hostage. Just fall out of the good books of these political atavists, and you are chucked off just as the Friend sent their rulers to the guillotine during their Revolution. Thus we have Mahama Ayariga being relieved of his position as Presidential Spokesperson when he incurred the wrath of Almighty Capricious and Whimsical Koku Anyidoho

For being outspoken and supporting Former President Jerry John Rawlings, whom latter day saints in the NDC wanted to cut to size, The NDC’S Don King at the Castle, Ato Ahwoi issued a fatwa to the effect that Ekow Spio Gabrah would be appointed into Mills Cabinet only upon his dead body. And just last week, the Municipal Chief Executive of Ga South Assembly was booted out of office because Nii Lante Vanderpuye, a Presidential Aide at the Castle hates to see his face. Another crime of the deposed MCE had to do with the forum organized by the Land-Lords Associations of Israel, Lominava, Alhaji, Tabora, Nii Okaiman and its environs. The deposed MCE and the MP for Weija Constituency arrived at the venue of the meeting holding hands. Earlier on Nii Lante Vanderpuye has asked the MCE not to put himself for the NDC candidature. You see, even though power is transient, it is very sweet.

Go to the nooks and cranny of the country and you will see despondency written on the faces of Ghanaians. You will be shocked at the level of human caricature the inhuman policies of our President have turned Ghanaians into. It is no surprise therefore that our President, when he drives past prefers to wind up his windscreen and close his eyes. He is ashamed of the simpletons his obnoxious policies have turned Ghanaians into.

But is the President in charge of affairs of the country? The answer is a big no! His administration was flawed right from onset when he fumbled in reciting his oath of office as was being administered by the Chief Justice. And they want to compare him with Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo! Remember his “ecomini” mantra and one can only come to the conclusion that power is not something this myopic and clueless regime can handle even if it remains in power for donkey years.
Do you remember the insults that were traded between the Central Regional Minister, Ama Benyiwa Doe and their Regional Propaganda Secretary, Allotey Jacobs? The Minister accused her colleague of being very greedy and that her problem with him was based on attempts by Allotey Jacob to grab almost every contract in the Region. She said she had give Jacob some and that she had to spread the largesse to cover other members of the party in the Region. “He has received his legal share. Wherein lies the need to struggle for more?” the Regional Minister chided Allotey Jacob.

Under this clueless regime, discipline has been thrown overboard and NDC members have had a field day doing what they know best – insulting their political opponents and looting the national treasury with both hands and legs.
The Training School for National Investment Bank got sold under dubious circumstances on the orders of the Board members just to satisfy the yearning of chief capo at the Castle, Ato Ahwoi. Reliable information has it that our Don King at the Castle used the building as collateral for a loan he got from the bank. When he defaulted in payment, the bank took possession of the buildings and converted them into a Training School. But when the NDC regained power, the Board decided to do the absurd, unpatriotic and unthinkable by auctioning it to the lowest bidder just to satisfy the whims and caprices of Ghana Don King. Infact, it was the hand of Esau that teleguided the whole bidden process. And the President who is touted as a man of God, but who has given tacit support to his party men to insult members of the Catholic Bishop Conference, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and other Religious Bodies is superintending this criminal act. And the President is a Lawyer!

You see, when the Vetting Committee was interviewing people for positions of District/Municipal Chief Executives, the Regional Executives of the NDC, particularly those in Ashanti Region imposed a levy on all the aspirants which they paid. The President gave an order that the monies paid must be refunded. But as I write this piece, the monies are yet to be paid. Is this a President that is in control of affairs? And you want to compare him to my Flag-bearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

You remember the NDC MP for Sene, Twumasi Appiah? Well, the first time he got up to answer a question was three years into the tenure of that Parliament. The Speaker, the late Peter Ala Adjetey asked whether he was a Member of the House. The entire House burst into laughter. Well, this same MP brought into the country some “Oyibos” and “fleeced” them of their dollars under the pretext of supplying them Gold. He ended up giving them fake ones. I learnt the money was used to oil the NDC electoral machinery. The poor miserable man was sent to court, but till date, it appears the case has died a natural death. Trust the NDC, they can manipulate things to satisfy their own ego.
Have you forgotten the Isa Mobilla issue? The NDC had made the prosecution of Issa Mobilla’s ‘murderers’ a campaign issue, but when they came to power, they reneged on it. The NPP Government handed the four accused persons to the NDC Government. But the Government allowed one of the accused persons to escape from the country under dubious or mysterious circumstances. And do you know the funny part of it? The security agencies deliberately refused to inform Ghanaians until nearly four months after his escape. Why? Just to give the fugitive enough time to cover his tracts.
The President told the people of Volta and Brong Ahafo Regions that the Government was going to establish a University each in the Regions to offer admission to prospective candidates in September, 2011. We are in November and the paper has just been place before Parliament to enable the House pass the Enabling Act. Meanwhile the land the President went to cut the sod for commencement of the project has become a subject of litigation in the Volta Region. Yes, this is a regime of deception, dashed hopes and expectations.
This brings me to the issue of illogical inconsistencies in the NDC. Asiedu Nketiah asks why the Catholic Bishop Conference is asking for abrogation of the Computerized Selective System but advocating for voter’s verification. To him it smacks of hypocrisy. But I see nothing inconsistent in their demand.
Readers would agree with me that when the system was first introduced by the NPP Administration, it received a lot of acclamation from many Ghanaians. But when the NDC came in everything went haywire. The NDC new policy is for each candidate to select six schools of his/her choice. Abba, why? They have also introduced other innovations like quota for Old Students, Sons/daughters of the soil, traditional rulers and many others. I don’t say these are not good. No, but the measures are prone to abuses. These new measures are to create rooms for the NDC to manipulate the system in their favour. The party feels it is now their turn for their children to attend better schools in the country. If you want your ward to attend any of the “Ivy” schools in the country, just see tome top shot in the NDC and the deal is struck.
With all these manipulations and under-current tactics going on, how do you expect the System to work effectively?
Now, the NDC is advocating for verification for pensioners, but at the same time refusing to extend same to voters during the 2012 Elections. Why? Because they have skeletons in their cupboards and are afraid of losing out if verification is included in voting. If there is verification for those using biometric passports, why cant there be verification for voting process?
If the Nefarious Destructive Contraption is interested in handing over peacefully to the acclaimed winner of the 2012 Election, it should as a matter of urgency create an enabling environment to enable Ghanaians exercise their franchise without any hindrance. If the NDC is genuinely interested in the peace of the country, I challenge the party to make possible the verification and we shall see who is who in Ghana politics. They should not take our silence to mean we are docile and so can be intimidated. No, they cannot, and should not try. They are not the only people having the recipe for violence. Alhaji Bature, who was full of praises for Akufo Addo as a man of vision and good presidential material is singing discordant tune to the effect that when it comes to violence, the NDC has always beaten NPP. Well, if that is his mindset, let him hive in his own small world and act like Nero, the mad emperor who chose to play the fiddle as Rome was burning.
We shall not tread the path of violence, but we shall use every legitimate means at our disposal to ensure that the will of the people is remains sacrosanct. I am using this medium to ask Our Heavenly Father, the Creator of the Universe, without whom anything will work to unleash Thunder and brimstone on any individual who will help perpetuate or help to perpetuate rigging and violence during the 2012 Elections. May God strike down any person who attempts to thwart the will of Ghanaians!

Rawlings handed over a peaceful and united Ghana to Kufuor, who also did the same to Mills. Come January, 2013, Ghanaians and the International Community expect nothing less than that. We want peace in our Country. Let the NDC not try any “mango mango” or any funny tricks to set the country ablaze
Let the NDC not try the peace patient Ghanaians have been enjoying all these years. Its time we left the Mills’ State of Nature for the Brave New World promised us by Nana Akufo-Addo.

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo leads and we follow. Vision 2012 is on course.

Daniel Danquah Damptey (damptey_daniel@yahoo.com) 0243715297