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Opinions of Tuesday, 25 April 2017

Columnist: dailyguideafrica.com

If Change had not come

President Akufo-Addo President Akufo-Addo

Had Nana Akufo-Addo not assumed the political leadership of Ghana, we could have been just a pace away from the precipice, almost close to tumbling over. Of course, it was that bad.

The chickens are slowly returning home to roost and with that many details emerging about how things had fallen apart, their fallouts too glaring for all to see and appreciate the decay, safe those who still have wool over their eyes.

In spite of the outcomes of bad governance, occasioned by the outright varying of standards by state institutions at the behest of politicians, a few persons seek to muffle the rest of us, the majority, from saying ‘Hallelujah God listened to our prayers.’

These are persons who benefited from the contamination of governance, and for who hypocrisy is a hallmark.

They want us to, for instance, say there was nothing wrong for one person to vary the standards for importing goods into the country. They want us to clap when monies, which should have been paid into the state kitty, find their way to an individual’s personal accounts.

We recall the special prayers in some places of worship, asking God to bestow upon us a group of politicians whose tenure would bring grace to Ghana.

If indeed the Omnipotent and Omniscient listened to the fasting and prayers of His servants, which we know he did, then we are on course towards a Better Ghana where state institutions can work.

We doubt the country could have survived beyond the tenure of President Akufo-Addo’s predecessor, given the indisputable state of rot we beheld when the old order gave way.

We are beginning to see signs of a Ghana waking up from a Rip Van Winkle slumber.

Imagine the power of pardon abused with impunity by President Mahama after the sentencing of the Montie 3, even when it was palpable they did not deserve such a concession from the man entrusted with the authority to do so.

Many things passed under the bridge, which are beyond comprehension: they represent the acne of greed by some individual Ghanaian politicians.

We wonder why those at the throttle decided to treat their country the way they did.

Why is President Akufo-Addo able to reduce taxes to a level unimaginable under the crop of Ghanaians he took over from? How did he restore the nursing and teacher trainee allowances when his predecessor said it was impossible to accomplish? The then vice president said the government could not restore the allowances because the funds were needed to fund infrastructural development.

Why did government officials allow the payment of monies to contractors who had not executed contracts and allowed the country to suffer further financial haermmohage?

We are being told that the revelations about government’s favourite personalities being allowed benefits from varied regulations from the Ports to the award of contracts are but a tip of the iceberg. Many more are yet to emerge and as the Yankees would say ‘we ain’t seen anything yet.’ If change hadn’t come, hmmm!