Opinions of Sunday, 8 September 2019

Columnist: Kwaku Badu

Will Owusu Bempah’s 16 years prophecy on NDC really come to pass?

Leader of the Glorious Word and Power Ministry, Reverend Isaac Owusu Bempah Leader of the Glorious Word and Power Ministry, Reverend Isaac Owusu Bempah

I may not be a pastor, a soothsayer, a prophet, or a black magician, and yet I was the first person to predict through a couple of articles that NDC will stay in opposition for at least sixteen years (see: ‘Why Dr Bawumiah could keep NDC in opposition for sixteen years-part Iⅈ ghanaweb.com/modernghana.com,16/12/2016).

Please, don’t call me ‘Man of God’. No, my earlier prediction was not from God. I am no Man of God; I am only an obdurate sinner who God would not send to deliver a message to his children, while the likes of Rev Owusu Bempah and ‘Angel Obinim’s are still around.

As a matter of fact, I based my prediction on Ghanaians overwhelming acceptance of the NPP government and a retrospective analysis of the successive NDC governments performances in the area of socio-economic standards of living.

As it was expected back then, I received an avalanche of unmeasured criticisms from the brassbound NDC supporters following the publication of the aforesaid articles.

So I was taken aback when Rev Owusu Bempah prophesied on 31st December 2016 that the ‘NDC will stay in opposition for sixteen years’ (see: ‘Owusu Bempah’s seventeen prophecies for 2017’-ghanaweb.com, 01/01/2017).

Upon hearing and reading Rev Owusu Bempah’s 16 years prophecy on NDC, I soliloquised: “My 16 years prediction on NDC may come to pass after all.”

Well, you may have a valid reason to chastise me for putting my trust in the firebrand prophet, but who am I to judge? After all, hasn’t the Holy Book (Bible) said judge not?

Verily, I have no supernatural powers to know whether Rev Owusu Bempah’s prophecies are from God or not.

Apparently, it is being rumoured that some of Rev Owusu Bempah’s predictions or prophecies more often than not, come to pass.

If you may recall, Rev Owusu Bempah boldly predicted that Nana Akufo Addo was going to win the 2016 general elections and dared his sceptics that his mission house should be burnt down if his prediction failed to come true.

Truth be told, NDC’s abysmal performances over the years are so conspicuous that one does not necessarily require God’s prophecy before realising that the party will struggle to come back to power so soon.

Obviously, the outcome of the 2016 general elections gives credence to the fact that Ghanaians have overcome their memory loss after all, contrary to former President Mahama’s earlier pronouncement about Ghanaians chronic amnesia.

Yes, on 7th December 2016, Ghanaians remembered NDC apparatchiks unpardonable incompetence and the gargantuan sleazes and corruption.

Ghanaians stencilled on their mental sheets:
• The dubious Embraer 190 aircrafts deal which prompted former President Mills to set up a Committee to investigate the then Vice President Mahama.

• The $250 million bill we incurred on the unsuccessful STS housing deal which was spearheaded by the then Vice President John Dramani Mahama.

• The bizarre GH800 million judgement debt payments over the last seven and half years.

• The undeserving GH51.2 million judgement debt payment (create, loot and share) to Woyome.

• The weird $30 million judgement debt payment to Waterville, which the Supreme Court of Ghana ruled as unconstitutional and ordered the NDC government to retrieve, but to no avail.

• The wrongful $25 million judgement debt payment to ISOFOTON, which the NDC government has failed to retrieve despite the Supreme Court’s order.

• The scandal (create, loot and share) at the National Service Secretariat which cost Ghana millions of Ghana Cedis.

• The SADA scandal which deprived the people of the Northern Region millions of Cedis meant for development.

• The SUBA scandal which cost Ghana millions of Cedis meant for the improvement of the economy.

• The GYEEDA corruption scandal which deprived the youth of Ghana millions of Cedis meant for the creation of jobs.

• The amount of $250 million from the Euro bond which was meant for infrastructural development was lodged surreptitiously in an unauthorised bank account.

• Inflated costs of infrastructural projects (the former Minister for Local Government, Collins Dauda raised concerns).

Let us face it, President Mahama and his NDC apparatchiks went haywire in their desperation to cling on to power during the 2012 general elections.

They broke all conventions. Many government departments spent over and above their allocated budgets.

Thus, many observers hold a strong view that Ghana’s economic downslide came about as a result of the unbridled sleazes and gargantuan corruption that have been associated with the NDC government over the years.

The general believe among Ghanaians back then was that the NDC apparatchiks bought votes with the tax payers money.

Apparently, they retained power following the controversial election on 7th December 2012.

The previously single digit inflation and budget deficit doubled astronomically. The GH9.5 billion debt which former President Kufuor and his NPP government left in 2009 rocketed astronomically to GH122.4 billion with a little to show for.

As a matter of fact, the worst economic conditions, coupled with the business crippling dumsor, brought untold hardships to the good people of Ghana and the vast majority of Ghanaians would not wish to revisit the dark days.

Believe it or not, if President Akufo Addo and his appointees were to honour most of their Manifesto promises of one district one factory, one village one dam in the northern part of Ghana, one million dollars per constituency, Free SHS, tax reductions, among others, trust me, NPP will keep the NDC in opposition for a very long time.