You are here: HomeOpinionsArticles2010 12 14Article 199410

Opinions of Tuesday, 14 December 2010

Columnist: Transient Justice

Atta Mills you are not doing well…

Over the last few months Dr. Atta Mills has been enjoying some success. He has
signed some housing deals and, started many projects with countries in the
East. He has also managed to calculate the economy correctly to reflect its
true state. A simple feat the most brilliant economist from the NPP could not
figure out. All this is great and, many NDC foot soldiers can go around the
country spreading the “good news” to hardcore NDC voters… The problem is, when
one looks holistically Dr. Atta Mills has failed and, is not doing well…


Let’s start with oil. Oil is something talked about ad infinitum in the Ghanaian
media. Everyday some charlatan comes up with advice for the gov. on what to do
and what to not do etc etc… With Ghana set to start pumping oil on the 15th of
December some of the most BASIC things have not been done… For example, the
accompanying gas from the jubilee field will be flared into the environment.
This was revealed by Joy business.

Source:
http://ghanaoilonline.org/2010/12/jubilee-field-to-flare-gas-contrary-to-government-assurances/


This means that the environment is being polluted and damaged for short term
gain while the masses will be made to pay the price in the future… What is
damning is the fact that the gov. promised this would not happen but, because
the government has no integrity they failed to hold the companies accountable…
What the gov. must know is the fact that these oil companies are snakes… A
recent report that was leaked online has shown that Shell Oil Company basically
runs the Nigerian government. That is to say, they do as the please and,
essentially have the Nigerian government in their palms. I don’t want this to
happen in Ghana and, the way to avoid it is to have Strong men of integrity who
can look these Scumbag oil companies in the eyes and tell them that if you don’
t meet our objectives you pay X Million dollars a day…. Money often gets the
attention of companies of this sort. While if you act like a neocolonial girl
with a miniskirt on you will be treated as such… Thus, on holding oil companies
accountable, Dr. Atta Mills has failed. This is not the only issue I currently
have with Dr. Atta Mills.



Atta Mills is running the country like he ran is campaign. Namely, it is big
idea after big idea but, there are no real concrete results and, there is no
accountability. The newest big idea is using the oil money as collateral to get
loans to develop the country. I will say that I support using the oil money as
collateral for getting loans to perform big projects which can rapidly develop
the country and, create a concrete base to stand on and develop from but, under
the current levels of transparency I fear what may happen… Namely, there are
still many corrupt team C ministers thus, in 10 years we may still be looking at
a similar development level if the money “vanishes” …. That is to say, if the
gov. is not more transparent the “oil money as collateral for loans” idea is a
terrible one which could bankrupt the country and, leave it with nothing to show
for all the “money” spent. Even this dire news is not my only issue with Dr.
Mills currently.



Atta Mills has been showing weakness in dealing with countries like Burkina
Faso. Every year they open their Dam and flood areas in the Northern part of
Ghana. Why can we not wage a war on them for ruining the lives of many citizens
of Ghana? This sounds extreme but, their gross disrespect for the people of
Northern Ghana has to come at a consequence. I am tried of this “Fa ma Nyame”
attitude. If they are going to flood parts of our country every single year
with impunity there has to be a consequence. This flooding has even killed some
families etc etc. Thus, why is Atta Mills so Weak? Does he simply not care or,
is he aloof?? The point of having a gov. is to work this stuff out and, if the
gov. cannot do it then, they should not be in power!

Lastly, generally speaking there has been no real move on Education, no real
move on rural housing, no real move on sanitation, no real move on improving
health care. Everything is the same as it was in 2008 when he came in power. If
his term ended tomorrow it would be fair to say that Atta Mills wasted Ghanaians
time and accomplished very little. Let’s hope things changes for the sake of
Ghana.


Penname: Transient Justice