Opinions of Thursday, 1 February 2018

Columnist: Kwaku Badu

Boisterous homicidal terrorists in our midst: Who created the monsters?

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“Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it” (Adolf Hitler).

Apparently the nomination of Mr Martin Amidu by President Akufo-Addo to be Ghana’s first Special Prosecutor, with the responsibility to nab the nation wreckers, was greeted with mixed reactions by Ghanaians amidst bizarre proclamations of alleged insecurity by the opposition NDC.

The opposition NDC faithful are ironically up in arms squalling and nagging about the supposedly insecurity in Ghana since the NPP government assumed power on 7th January 2017.

Actually the opposition NDC’s pronouncements could not have been entirely correct because peace is never a mere absence of war or conflict. Ghana’s problem, though, to some large extent is as a result of economic insecurity created by successive governments.

Indeed, there would be no peace in the midst of unpardonable economic injustices, sleazes and corruption amid unbearable socio-economic standards of living as witnessed in the erstwhile NDC administration.

There is no denying or hiding the fact that lack of viable employment for the jobless youth can create insecurity. Suffice it to state that the successive governments have over the years woefully failed to create conducive atmosphere for jobs creation.

It is, therefore, quite ironic that despite their irrevocable infelicities, the outgone NDC administration would somehow find it convenient to shift all the blame on the embryonic NPP government.

Trust me, the funds involved in the bribery and corruption cases of SSNIT, SUBA, SADA, GYEEDA, Woyome, Bus branding, Brazil World Cup, NSS, amongst others would have reduced the alleged insecurity if those monies had been put at the disposal of the jobless youth.

And considering the fact that Mahama’s government left huge debt amidst huge unemployment and uncontrolled insecurity, one would have expected the officials of such coarse administration to show a little remorse, but this is not the case.

Believe it or not, there is admissible evidence of profligate spending, gargantuan bribery and corruption including monies that could have been put towards jobs creation but were abhorrently given to individuals who did not render any services towards the national development. Madam Akua Donkor of GFP, so to speak, comes to mind.

While I do not want to acquiesce to the widely held assertion that politics is a dirty game, one would not be far from right for suggesting that the political terrain is full of propagandists and manipulating geezers.

We should, however, not lose sight of the fact that political opportunists and cozeners are not limited to Africa, it is a global phenomenon. However, in my humble opinion, it is our part of the world (Africa), where political insobrieties and gimmicks are obsequiously entertained by the citizens.

Perhaps, more than anything else, this is so because we have greater number of unlettered folks, many of whom cannot choose between unrepentant tricksters and morally upstanding politicians.

It is, indeed, quite baffling to see the opposition NDC loyalists trying their level best to hoodwink the unsuspecting Ghanaians to believe that the NPP government has wilfully created insecurity in Ghana.

There is no gainsaying the fact that if the NDC administration had not wilfully increased the country’s debt from GH9.5 billion in 2009 to an incredible GH122.4 billion, we could have equipped the demoralised and depleted police in their fight against crime.

Truly, the insecurity would have been reduced to the barest minimum if the insensitive NDC administration had not clandestinely imported about 43 vehicles at a staggering cost of $9 million at the blind side of the incoming NPP administration.

Besides, the economic insecurity amongst the poor farmers would have been brought under control if the officials of the outgone NDC government had not incredibly dipped their hands into the poor farmers’ funds and built a luxurious mansion at an alleged cost of GH7.

I bet the GH800 million dubious judgment debt payments, including the GH51.2 million to Woyome which resulted in the drastic reduction of capital expenditure would have reduced the insecurity to the lowest minimum.

Take my word for it dearest reader, the erstwhile NDC administration disgustingly created massive insecurity in the country through corrupt practices. The sleazes and corruption, so to speak, resulted in excessive public spending, less efficient tax system , needless high public deficit and destabilization of national budgets, heightened capital flight and the creation of perverse incentives that stimulate income-seeking rather than productive activities (‘create, loot and share’-apologies to JSC Dotse).

K. Badu, UK.