Political Cheekiness and Lack of Respect For Citizens Growing

Read Comments Comments (3)

• dunaa 9 years ago

  I do not know the author of this piece, but reading what he has written tells me immediately he or she is one of the many intellectuals Ghana has produced. He (or she) is right in their analysis. However he seems to be missin ...
  read full comment

  I do not know the author of this piece, but reading what he has written tells me immediately he or she is one of the many intellectuals Ghana has produced. He (or she) is right in their analysis. However he seems to be missing a point. Pretend as we might, ^Ghana ins are not a very smart people, even if we try to pretend we are. In fact in Ghana, it is an axiom that the people of Ghana have shirt memories. I am reliable informed that in significant portions of Ghana, come election time, all one to do is buy some fried rice for people in certain constituencies and give them 5 cedis, and they will do what you want them to do. The issue should therefore be one of civic education. One can do all the intellectual analysis of disrespect for the electorate but the truth is that the electorate is dumb. There is no other way to put it. If you are a political operative instead of an intellectual, then you work with this reality. Jan or Kirkegaard has nothing to do with it. Only gaining political power matters.

  reply
• Opium Wars 9 years ago

  I could not agree with you more. The problem is, most of these politicians walk around with a sense of entitlement to govern - spewing all that garbage. Yet in reality, are bankrupt and have nothing substantial to offer the p ...
  read full comment

  I could not agree with you more. The problem is, most of these politicians walk around with a sense of entitlement to govern - spewing all that garbage. Yet in reality, are bankrupt and have nothing substantial to offer the populace to better their lives.
  
  The people then not knowing any better, are hoodwinked and bamboozled into lapping up the empty promises of these politicians with sardines etc., and cheap slogans, into giving away their most precious votes.
  
  The solution then is Civic Education of the masses as you rightly point out.
  
  There should be a programme for making Citizens aware that, no one person or group of people were born to govern. As citizens, we all have that opportunity and one vote each.
  
  But as we cannot all gather in Parliament and other Assemblies to enact laws regulating our daily activities, that is why we choose people as representatives to represent us.
  
  Thus, these representatives are really are servants and not our masters. Hence they should never be made to lord it over us.
  
  I think, there should also be a law to the effect that, all public servants, especially politicians, must not be allowed to hold private property nor be allowed to draw any salary.
  
  All their needs will be catered for by the State. This then will prevent those who enter public life just to enrich themselves.
  
  This then, I believe are some of the measures that are likely to curb the thievery and wanton disregard for the Citizens by Public Officials and Servants.

  reply
• Paul 9 years ago

  Lies and damned lies and politics are indeed bad for democracy, and in this we are not alone. It is probably worse in so-called established democracies like Britain and America. I agree we need our politicians to be truthful ...
  read full comment

  Lies and damned lies and politics are indeed bad for democracy, and in this we are not alone. It is probably worse in so-called established democracies like Britain and America. I agree we need our politicians to be truthful and transparent, and to be held to account on what they promise during campaigning for office.
  
  This holds true for all our politicians and all our political parties, irrespective of who is in power.
  
  More so for the media too who should report the truth, and expose the lies from all sides, and not take sides or attempt to distort the truth. They should also query and challenge those politicians not in government who try to distort the truth by manipulating figures about the economy, don't you think?

  reply