(Part 1)

NPP Ministers: Afiyi Meko Nsawam?

It is very excruciatingly sad how some people elected into office of trust, quickly forget the plights of the people who queued most often in the sun or the rain to vote for them. The growing interest of some political leaders in self enrichment at the expense of the masses is outrageous and completely unacceptable.

Some eight years ago the erst-while NPP government appeared very enthusiastic about the level of tolerance for corruption in this country, little did we know that it was a “white elephant” and a calculated mischief targeted on some innocent Ghanaians like Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata and others to suffer incomprehensible injustice. This goes to emphasize that corrupt dictators like the NPP use tools which breeds fear, intimidation and terror to the citizenry. The whole country was thrown into confounded dismay when it came to public the kind of rot the NPP had accumulated and shielded over the last eight years. These corrupt acts so far has given credence to the descriptions like lootocracy, manya mayna, waawaa, abaa yeni, noko fio, etc.

Indeed this goes to emphasize that the NPP are a bunch of stomach politicians and political vampires. The entire nation was thrown into a state of quagmire when it came to public the kind of astronomical and super-extravagant ESB’s inconsiderably cooked for the former president and his compatriots. This kind of package was being demanded in the phase of the huge sums of “kick backs” that has been received over the years.

Indeed the continous protection and shielding of audit reports of the past eights is completely uncalled for and disgraceful to a country which is striving to break about 300 years of developmental gap between the western world.

The hoopla did not end there the former speaker of parliament beyond his expectations of a gigantically sumptuous ESB package also swept his residence of every single item including pepper and onions. This act has sprung an endless debate on why a very wealthy man by all stretch of imagination will committed such act of sacrilegious thievery. This debate has even grown to become acrimonious upon efforts by the shameless leaders of the erst-while government to explain this unfortunate incidence.

I believe the definition of property owning democracy is now clear to the populace; the gross disregard for the poor and the vulnerable, the unearthly desire of riches irrespective of the source and the risk. This endorses the number of government cars that were stolen and the insulting amounts they bought some of the cars from themselves. Having known this, it is even not surprising that out of over 882 vehicles and 86 motorbikes imported from 2003 to 2008 at total cost of $ 20,174,159.39 only 125 could be located and accounted for. The question is where are the rest of the cars?

After the ordinary Ghanaian has suffered the democracy of nepotism, non accountability, power to the rich and power to the cocaine dealers, with a complete disregard for the electorates, the NPP further worsen our wounds by leaving with all our properties and money. If our leaders, entrusted with the power to govern will woefully mal-handle the tax payer’s money, why won’t the youth indulge in unholy acts like armed robbery, phone snatching, sakawa etc? As for the Ghana@50 scandal the least said about it the better, the entire idea of such an extravagant celebration was a diplomatic ploy to steal from an ailing economy like ours. I guess Ghanaians are relieved to some extent upon hearing the inauguration of a committee to probe into the Vodafone deal. The corrupt revelations gives course to believe that, the Vodafone deal was not without a “Kick back”.

It is about time we got serious as a country against corruption and support for civil anti-corruption groups like the CJA. This is because nobody can solve our corruption problems for us unless we rise together as Ghanaians united with common purpose, eschewing all political colors to fight against such criminals hiding under the guise of politics. Such individuals are a disgrace to the body politic of this country.

Fellow Ghanaians, keep your finger crossed, there is more to come because the revelations has just began. Watch out for part two (2).

OTOKUNOR BOAMAH PETER peter_otokunor@yahoo.com