Opinions of Friday, 10 February 2012

Columnist: Keelson, Richmond

Woyomegate Is Proof That Ghana Need Strong Institutions

And The Progressive People’s Party

Not too long ago, the Progressive People’s Party had just cause to issue a press release questioning the actions/inactions of H.E. John Evans Atta-Mills especially the dismissal of the Attorney-General Martin Amidu for what was called “… misconduct at a meeting chaired by the President on Friday the 13th of January 2012.”

We wrote then that “The action of the president has dealt a huge blow to the fight against corruption. It was our expectation that the president with the executive authority would support his Attorney-General to recover the monies paid unduly to Mr. Alfred Woyome. When the President’s Attorney-General alleges that some big men in his administration are corrupt and milking the nation dry, we expected him to act in an urgent manner to uncover the truth.”

All of this supports our position that it is about time to review the constitution and bring on board an independent prosecutor who cannot be influenced by the government of the day. This is why we will work relentlessly to amend the 1992 Constitution to make this happen. We cannot afford as a nation to have an Office of the Attorney-General that is influenced by political patronage and partisan considerations. We must not just express indignation at the Woyome affair. We must strengthen our institutions by giving them the independence needed to do the work required by the people of the Republic of Ghana.

The PPP’s political platform offers a way out. We want to strengthen our state institutions in order to improve the performance of Government. That way, the performance of the Office of Attorney-General, the Ministry of Finance & Economic Planning and others can perform in a way to inspire confidence in the Ghanaian. Reforming state institutions with technology, personal discipline and improved processes plus modern record-keeping methods will help. Above all, Ghana needs incorruptible, collective leadership at the top.

Many people have asked us what the Progressive People's Party (PPP) stands for. It is simply this - it wants the opportunity to implement an Agenda built on four pillars - Stewardship, Education, Healthcare and Jobs. We will implement the Agenda using the spirit of inclusiveness that will enable us to use the best Ghanaians; full participation of women and the youth; and above all a leadership that is incorruptible. By dealing with corruption, we can double government revenue which we will use to pay for our transformational initiatives in education, healthcare and job creation.

Awake Ghana!

Richmond Keelson

Director of Communications 020-8135-309