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Opinions of Tuesday, 12 June 2018

Columnist: K. Badu, UK

If mere allegations connote culpability, NDC apparatchiks would have been languishing in Nsawam

Some member of the NDC during a party rally Some member of the NDC during a party rally

If mere allegations connote culpability, NDC apparatchiks would have been languishing in Nsawam

There is no gainsaying the fact that African politics is characterised by vindictiveness, mudslinging, gratuitous bickering, manipulation, dishonesty, vile propaganda, rancour, fiendish backstabbing, amongst others.

Somehow, political observers believe that since NDC lost the 2016 election at the backdrop of gargantuan corruption scandals (Bus branding, SADA, SUBA, GYEEDA, SSNIT, STS Housing deal, the Brazilian aircraft deal, Mahama’s Ford Expedition Vehicle, amongst others), the loyalists of the party are doing everything possible to taint NPP with the same brush, hence incessantly trumpeting at the rooftop about spurious corruption allegations.

The election defeat was so painful to the extent that a section of the aggrieved NDC supporters could not hide their arousing disgust over the unbridled sleazes and corruption in the outgone Mahama administration.

The prominent among the disgruntled supporters is the Ex-President and founder of the party, J. J. Rawlings.

The extremely livid former President Rawlings has since been aiming accusing fingers at the derelict and corrupt NDC leadership for the election defeat.

Unsurprisingly, however, Ex-President Rawlings’s relentless accusations infuriated the brassbound NDC faithful, who discourteously decided to revenge by tearing their founder former President Rawlings into shreds.

Consequently, the disgusted supporters have vehemently been repudiating such allegations and rather accusing Rawlings as the one who has been indulging in corrupt practices.

Apparently, some supporters have gone to an extent of spurning Ex-President Rawlings and challenging him to evidence his corruption allegations against the NDC leadership.

But then again, it is not only Rawlings who has been accusing the Mahama administration of indulging in wanton sleazes and corruption.

A few months ago, a group of organisers within the opposition NDC who could not hide their disappointment about the rot in the erstwhile NDC administration beseeched the National Executives of the party to allow Mr Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin to go unopposed in the party’s forthcoming flagbearership contest (See: Alban Bagbin must go unopposed – NDC organisers; ghananewsagency.org/ghanaweb.com, 12/03/2018).

“So many people in the party feel Hon. Bagbin is the best person to lead us into 2020 and the reasons are pretty clear: he is the exact contrast to former President John Mahama in the matter of marketability and yet retains the Northern extraction that will satisfy the need to have a Northerner complete an eight-year mandate.”

Apparently, the spokesperson for the group insisted that since corruption would be a key campaign theme in 2020, and the fact that former President Mahama administration had issues with corruption, Ghanaian voters would be forced to reject him if he was to be elected as the next flagbearer.

Well, given the rot in the erstwhile Mahama’s administration, I am not least surprised that some concerned supporters within the NDC are forcefully ventilating their arousing disgust over the highly anticipated comeback of former President Mahama.

Ghana under the corrupt erstwhile NDC administration, as a matter of fact, went into economic asphyxiation which regrettably brought to pass harsh socio-economic standards of living.

It is, therefore, quite bizarre that the NDC loyalists who are currently enjoying uninterrupted electricity, reductions in electricity tariffs, low inflation, tax reductions, favourable economic growth, gargantuan savings on free SHS amongst others, are blissfully clamouring for the return of Ex-President Mahama and their beloved NDC.

Let us face it, though, no true Ghanaian should shrill and thrill over the GH800 million dubious judgment debt payments, including the GH51.2 million to Woyome which resulted in the drastic reduction of capital expenditure. And as a consequence, most contractors were not paid by the erstwhile NDC administration.

It is also worth mentioning that all the secondary school students would have been covered by the free SHS scheme if the erstwhile NDC administration had not wasted our scarce resources through dubious judgment debt payments and other corrupt practices.

Dearest reader, if you had managed to take time off your busy schedule to watch the Brazil World Cup Commission of Enquiry sittings on television, you would have realised that some people ridiculously shed crocodile tears to the amazement of discerning Ghanaians.

Well, it is being rumoured that the crocodile tears shedding cabal bought a ball of ‘nkran dokono’ at an amazing price of $20.00, a whole coconut for $200.00 and paid the Brazilian escort an incredible $4000.00 per journey to a local market. To be quite honest, all those monies would have refurbished all the dilapidated sports stadia in the country.

Let me ask you dearest reader: don’t you feel for the impoverished citizens of the Northern part of Ghana?

Well, if you really feel for the poor and disadvantaged in Northern Ghana, why is it that you are gleefully clamouring for the heartless individuals, who out of sheer cruelty, embezzled funds meant for development in the area to come back?

And how did you feel when millions of Cedis originally budgeted to develop our schools were bizarrely spent on bus branding? Wasn’t that an illustrative case of a misplaced priority? It would, indeed, have been very helpful if the erstwhile NDC administration had not wilfully wasted Ghana’s scarce resources through wanton corruption and sheer mismanagement.

K. Badu, UK.

K.badu2011@gmail.com