Long ago I concluded in the Part 1 of the intended series:
RULERS AND THE RULED: CONMEN, CROOKS, CHARLATANS, USURPERS AND IMPOSTORS IN POST-COLONIAL GHANA.
"THE RULED: The “ruled”, of course, refers t ... read full comment
Kofi,
Long ago I concluded in the Part 1 of the intended series:
RULERS AND THE RULED: CONMEN, CROOKS, CHARLATANS, USURPERS AND IMPOSTORS IN POST-COLONIAL GHANA.
"THE RULED: The “ruled”, of course, refers to the rest of us civilians, from the rich, wheeling dealing business tycoons who bribe, wine and dine with the rulers; the drivers who tip off the Police constables on a daily basis, to the rural rustics who are supposedly the much oppressed and bamboozled subjects. However, the ruled, by no means, are not averse to, or not adept at adopting the same means the conmen, impostors, the crooked businesspeople and rulers employ to perpetuate their swindle on the whole population. They are therefore not entirely passive victims of the protection racketeers manning the state apparatus, as they are masters of the game themselves, employing all kinds of survival and coping mechanisms on a daily basis to survive. This irony, of course, has been commented upon by scholars, mostly European scholars. Just take the number of young, rootless and wayward people getting involved in “sakawa” - all kinds of 419 scams - to defraud people both in Ghana and abroad, and the fake “political refugees” of yesteryears with tall tales of persecution, to appreciate what I mean. The prisons are filled full with convicts from the ruled class. The ruled, in short, are just as compromised in this saga as the rest of them, as in the era of civilian rule, the ruled indeed supply the rulers. Psychologists tell us that abused persons often grow up to become abusers, and the ruled are definitely part of the induced warped mentality of the past. Together with the rulers, they all play cops and robbers in the drama that underpins the canker of bribery and corruption, plain thievery, rogue behaviour and lawlessness that unfold daily in Ghana. Any talk of a principled and conscionable civil society in Ghana working for good governance is therefore largely bogus, as we just have compromised partisan groupings that support their side of the hood. The vocal exceptions are few and are seen as oddities or odd balls swimming against the tide."
So in brief, I had summarised what you had written here.
When one visited to Ghana in the past and asked how they are surviving, they'd tell you Ghanaians were magicians. Well, they are not! They are just crooks, "thieves and thiefettes".
Andy-K
Kofi Amenyo 8 years ago
Looks like Anas' coup will produce some bubbles which will gradually fizzle out and we will be back to another equilibrium level of our corrupt selves. Our people will find ever more ingenious ways of doing the same bad thing ... read full comment
Looks like Anas' coup will produce some bubbles which will gradually fizzle out and we will be back to another equilibrium level of our corrupt selves. Our people will find ever more ingenious ways of doing the same bad things...
The vocal exceptions are, indeed, few and seen as oddities. But it will be necessary for these exceptions to continue fighting and fighting for laws that will force us to change our attitudes. We won't change on our own. We need to be forced to...
Thanks, ol' boy - you always read my pieces...
C.Y. ANDY-K 8 years ago
But we can minimise it tremendously, once the critical level of a conscientious civil society is built ready to expose and fight corruption. We don't have that yet. As we both noted, it takes more than individual oddballs to ... read full comment
But we can minimise it tremendously, once the critical level of a conscientious civil society is built ready to expose and fight corruption. We don't have that yet. As we both noted, it takes more than individual oddballs to fight the canker. It takes an organised force to do so.
Just see what Tiger Eye PI alone is capable of. What about if you have other organised groups with public support backing it. Unfortunately, we don't have any such organised group of people yet.
We may be on the verge of seeing the emergence of such a group though. Yes, a group whose member will openly say we had paid enough bribes but we shall no longer pay - do what you're being paid for pronto or we shall sue you, we shall scandalise your name in the media, etc., etc!
Andy-K
LONTO-BOY 8 years ago
Efo Amenyo, this is an interesting topic that would attract varied comments. Kofi, of course, I get your point. You see bribery as a 'two-player' criminal activity, hence both should be held criminally liable as effort to tac ... read full comment
Efo Amenyo, this is an interesting topic that would attract varied comments. Kofi, of course, I get your point. You see bribery as a 'two-player' criminal activity, hence both should be held criminally liable as effort to tackle bribery/corruption. However, I think this must be based on individual cases.
Yes, corruption has become endemic in our country and bribery is so engrained in our lives. We corrupt our already corrupt public officials in Ghana. Nonetheless, it is important to remember that not all bribes are paid with money. I just think that in most cases, not all 'bribe-givers and takers' can be held criminally liable for the offence. It depends on the ability to distinguish between the various forms of bribes, the evidence and the capacity to determine who is criminally liable for that criminal activity.
Kofi Amenyo 8 years ago
He is the gatekeeper to Mahamas deals. He knows the deals with huge commissions that have to be paid promptu because Master says, and those such as salary of teachers and doctors which can wait.
Such gatekeepers are very di ... read full comment
He is the gatekeeper to Mahamas deals. He knows the deals with huge commissions that have to be paid promptu because Master says, and those such as salary of teachers and doctors which can wait.
Such gatekeepers are very difficult to get rid whether they are competent or not because massa needs him to watch and keep guide at the gates.
Read the news carefully and you would notice that military equipments (frigates, attack helicopters, jetfighters) alone that have been commissioned in the past 3yrs is close to $500m. At the same period you would even be lucky to get $100m invested in educational infrastructure in primary schools across the country. That tells you the intent of the gangsters in power.
And when the Eurobond loan shark money hits the treasury account the first people to get paid are these cronies. Go through the booksand you would see that whereas tteachers, doctors, and nurses are owed years of arrears no defence contractor is owed a penny.
Terkper is not interested in your fundamental economic weaknesses. He is there to do a particular bidding and is not going anywhere. He sure knows what he us saying. Urs just tongue in cheek.
Yes, these gangsters would rather buy $100m attack helicopters than invest same amount to upgrade primary schools in the villages.
The future of the African child and continent is bleak!
Kofi Amenyo 8 years ago
I don't know how this comment came to bear my name and a title to my response to LONTO-BOY but it was not written by me...
I don't know how this comment came to bear my name and a title to my response to LONTO-BOY but it was not written by me...
Kofi Amenyo 8 years ago
Yes, not all bribes are paid with money, LONTO-BOY. Agreed. Some are paid with goats ... (the guy didn't want a ram, he wanted goat!!!) lol.
I think I get your point - you mean the type of bribe where the quid pro quo is ... read full comment
Yes, not all bribes are paid with money, LONTO-BOY. Agreed. Some are paid with goats ... (the guy didn't want a ram, he wanted goat!!!) lol.
I think I get your point - you mean the type of bribe where the quid pro quo is not a tangible good. Examples like the boss who renders a service to a female worker and gets paid with sex, (we can't hold the lady criminally accountable), or people who exchange one favour for another in corrupt ways with no money exchanging hands...
Yes, these can be difficult cases where one (or even either) party cannot be easily held culpable of an offense. Then there is this our Ghanaian culture of giving "goro" (like people who make presents to doctors they believe treated them well in government hospitals). When do such presents flow over into bribery?
Then there is the very unique case of Anas (or other undercover agents, for that matter), paying bribes as part of their investigative work. But this topic is so toxic that I don't want to make any pronouncements on it.
But most of the bribe giving and getting in Ghana involves money. It is the easiest way because of the qualities of money. So I think we have a lot to go on.
Thanks, LONTO-BOY, for the comments... and for being a regular reader of whatever I write.
C.Y. ANDY-K 8 years ago
Indeed, there is a lot of corruption ongoing under "influence peddling",e.g., name dropping, "elbowing", e.g., do you know who I am?, etc. That's when Akufo Addo said he hadn't "seen any judge before in chambers," I shook my ... read full comment
Indeed, there is a lot of corruption ongoing under "influence peddling",e.g., name dropping, "elbowing", e.g., do you know who I am?, etc. That's when Akufo Addo said he hadn't "seen any judge before in chambers," I shook my head and asked if he could sincerely say that he never gave a call to a judge or met a judge and used his considerable weight to lean on on him/her to bend the outcome of a case to his or lawyer friend's favour?
Studies in countries with gift giving/exchanging as part of their culture, e.g., Algeria and Japan, showed how problematic concretising or defining corruption is. We haven't even scratched the surface of the issues that arise in Ghana. A friend/mate and colleague from the AdmOrg Dept, Univ. of Bergen, is writing a PhD on the subject though. But, like almost all PhDs which focus on a narrow spectrum, on the language of corruption. Like what words signal that the bribe taker wants to be tipped. If you're smart, you bit the bait quickly and make an offer. "We are thirsty here ooo!" from a Policeman on a desolate barrier can be an invitation to bribe. Can a judge sentence driver who then gave them some money for ice bottled water for a week?
Finally, you don't have to thank me or anyone for reading your articles. Those who don't read them are poorer for it.
Kofi,
Long ago I concluded in the Part 1 of the intended series:
RULERS AND THE RULED: CONMEN, CROOKS, CHARLATANS, USURPERS AND IMPOSTORS IN POST-COLONIAL GHANA.
"THE RULED: The “ruled”, of course, refers t ...
read full comment
Looks like Anas' coup will produce some bubbles which will gradually fizzle out and we will be back to another equilibrium level of our corrupt selves. Our people will find ever more ingenious ways of doing the same bad thing ...
read full comment
But we can minimise it tremendously, once the critical level of a conscientious civil society is built ready to expose and fight corruption. We don't have that yet. As we both noted, it takes more than individual oddballs to ...
read full comment
Efo Amenyo, this is an interesting topic that would attract varied comments. Kofi, of course, I get your point. You see bribery as a 'two-player' criminal activity, hence both should be held criminally liable as effort to tac ...
read full comment
He is the gatekeeper to Mahamas deals. He knows the deals with huge commissions that have to be paid promptu because Master says, and those such as salary of teachers and doctors which can wait.
Such gatekeepers are very di ...
read full comment
I don't know how this comment came to bear my name and a title to my response to LONTO-BOY but it was not written by me...
Yes, not all bribes are paid with money, LONTO-BOY. Agreed. Some are paid with goats ... (the guy didn't want a ram, he wanted goat!!!) lol.
I think I get your point - you mean the type of bribe where the quid pro quo is ...
read full comment
Indeed, there is a lot of corruption ongoing under "influence peddling",e.g., name dropping, "elbowing", e.g., do you know who I am?, etc. That's when Akufo Addo said he hadn't "seen any judge before in chambers," I shook my ...
read full comment