Political Responsibility and the NDC

The NDC is gradually and increasingly earning the notoriety for insults and the use of vulgar language in politics with impunity. It’s appalling the NDC preaches virtue but practices vice. The level of political responsibility is so low under the NDC. President Mills is on record for denouncing publicly this incipient problem. What the President has failed to do is to hit the hammer at the right spot.

President Mills speaks against the phenomena, yet top functionaries of the NDC or his appointees continue to indulge to his disregard or inaction. Even the Vice president had the guts to describe the NPP’s position on the collateralisation of our oil revenue as foolish. The use of insults by the likes of Tony Aidoo, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, James Agyenim Boateng, Kobby Acheampong and innumerable NDC functionaries is regrettable.

There’s nation-wide increased in the level of riots, unrest and indiscipline amongst the youth of the NDC. A single day does not go by in recent days without news of a DCE being held hostage and one or another government organisation having its CEO chased out of office by the errant NDC youth.
When will President Mills take his campaign on decency in politics, political responsibility and his reputation as ‘King of Peace’ to the NDC? The president recently admonished ‘di wo fie asem’ the need for people to deal first with their own internal problems before stepping out to help others. When will he start dealing with the use of insults and indiscipline crumbling the NDC?
Anyway, it seems the President is helpless and can do little as the NDC was founded on indiscipline and justifies Rawlings’ thirty-year effusions and booms as normal because people in the media booms every day. Let president Mills and his NDC know the level of responsibility on them is so high since Ghana’s post-independence political life has largely been shaped by them. It’s time for the NDC to take responsibility! The economic problem of Ghana is largely as a result of the ineptitude of the NDC and its antecedent PNDC.

The President acknowledges the outlawed 31st December 1981coup d’état as a founding day of the NDC, having nothing against its celebration but have never attended its commemoration ever since being President of the Republic of Ghana. Why? Is the president being hypocritical? I believe there is no doubt in the mind of the president that the day ought not to be celebrated let alone with the resources of the state but lack the political power to say so.

The 31st December 1981 coup d’état set the stage for the current indiscipline, corruption and political irresponsibility. And as a founding day of the NDC, it derives its values and virtues from that illegality. The day marks the most regrettable and hypocritical days in Ghana’s political history, when the apostles of probity and accountability turned around to commit the same offence upon which they had sentenced others to death by firing squad with impunity. Isn’t amazing and staggering how they are able to portray themselves as saints in Ghana’s political history?

Most NDC adherents or supporters assume political power with virtually nothing and leave office as millionaires, live like the Joneses and use political patronage to prop up subsequent leaders to perpetuate their legacy. They abuse, impugn and denigrate the integrity of hard working Ghanaians, mock their enterprise and create disaffection for their industry and success as products of corruption and bad deeds. The success and hard work of the Ghanaian has been constantly attacked by these people with state confiscations of private assets and official condemnation of enterprise and private property ownership for so long that it is becoming a norm for Ghanaians to be weary of success and increasingly sapping the Ghanaian confidence and energy to succeed.

It’s laughable the deputy minister of education Agyenim Boateng had the audacity to criticize president Kuffour and for that matter the NPP for appointing taxi drivers as ministers, in apparent reference to the appointment of Ghanaians who had lived tough lives abroad working and at the same time improving their skills and knowledge in support of their families and Ghana’s development back home. What the minister should remember is that the NPP believe self-industry, entrepreneurship, hard work and rich experience should be the mark of political leadership. The ability to leverage on personal success, industry, entrepreneurship and experience in support of others and in the betterment of the Ghanaian are the cherished values of the NPP and will continue to be so.
In the NDC unlike the NPP, Ghanaians virtually pay for their dowries since most NDC functionaries come into government owing their in-laws. This can be explained to a large extent by the fact that most of them assume political power having virtually no work experience and the financial means to have performed marriage rites.
Moreover, the carrier developments of most of these guys are paid by the poor Ghanaian. They combine working as full time state functionaries drawing their salaries from the tax payer while at the same time attending full time studies. Others also secure government sponsorship to study abroad. How can a minister be a full time student at the Ghana Law School and perform effectively his duties as a minister? How’s the course financed?

I am not for a single moment suggesting that people should not upgrade themselves however any sure personal development should not be at the detriment of the organisation, in other words Ghana. Moreover such opportunities should also not be there for only political appointees through patronage. How many Ghanaians have the privilege of working full time and at the same time studying? So many Ghanaians home and abroad would want to cease such opportunity which is preserved as NDC’s patronage.

It seems the fruits of social democracy is only enjoyed by the privileged few NDC’s officials, yet they preach egalitarianism or equality. No wonder there’s a nation-wide agitation by the foot soldiers to cease and chase the privileged few away from their loot.

Indeed, an objective historical analysis of political leadership in Ghana will prove the NDC leadership as a bunch of nation-wreckers, social vampires or parasites and economic saboteurs who want the masses to be impoverished, uneducated and quiet while they enjoy their loot with impunity.

No doubt the Ghanaian psalm is ‘Professor Mills is the shepherd I did not want, he leads me through falsehood into government, unleash poor performance and high taxes. He restores my faith in NPP, he guides me in the path of unemployment to poverty for his party's sake. Yea though I shall bare more hunger for no food is with me. Surely poverty and hard life will follow me but hope will sustain me until 2012’

Yaw Awuah Boadu Ayeboafo, Tepa-Ashanti aayeboafo@hotmail.com
Note: I’m in no way associated with Mr. Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafo, the accomplished journalist and editor. Neither do I seek to be identified as such even though I respect and admire his achievements. It’s sheer coincidence I bear quite a similar name.