Ghana Elections: The Absence of a
Concession and the Powers of the Supreme Court


In Ghana, the search for power seems more important than delivering for the
people after elections. It has been suggested jokingly by a school of
thought that Africans move in a different time frame. Interestingly this
was also the observation of Lee Kuan Yew, former Prime Minister of
Singapore, who led his nation to independence from colonial Britain around
the same time in late 1950s. Lee Kuan Yew worked feverishly to put
institutions and systems in place to instill discipline in his people and
workers, to attract investors and set up manufacturing to create jobs for
his people and to get his nation out of poverty and third-world status to
join the "First World" class in 35 years.
On the other hand, most nations in Africa such as Ghana were going through
numerous military coups. Chaos and poverty was the opposite of what Lee Kuan
Yew did for his nation. Instead of working together with common vision
towards common goals to transform Ghana, most elected and appointed
officials only thought of themselves and never worked hard to effect any
changes. Buildings, factories, water and utility service systems, and even
hospitals built by Nkrumah were closed down or left to deteriorate! In the
20 years since the new Parliament was created after eleven years of
dictatorial rule, MPs do not have completed offices but more MPs are added
by the electoral Commissioner according to some formula that makes no
financial and economic sense.
After the first 9 years when first Premier Nkrumah set Ghana on a path to
transform Ghana, the lack of discipline of the Ghanaian in power and office
turned the nation backwards. Systems and institutions collapsed, replacing
elected governance with civilian and military one-man dictatorial rule. It
is for this reason that Singapore, with far less natural and human capital
and resources, has grown more than 30 times the GDP of Ghana. Ghanaian
elected and appointed officials do not work with due consideration of time
and inconvenience to their people. Rural and urban water, electricity,
hospitals, roads and highways built forty or more years ago are all in
shambles. One Ghanaian Professor has called the leaders stupid, and one
former President has used the word "greedy bastards" for some of these
executives in power. However we look at it, educated Ghanaians in power
show no concern for the rest of the people. It is no wonder that Judges of
the Supreme Court see no reason to stress themselves to reach a decision for
the nation. More than 80% of Ghanaian live without potable water in urban
and rural areas, and nobody seems capable of or willing to use their brains
to figure out solutions to the daily problems of basic electricity, sewage
management, traffic congestion, or anything at all to expedite it for the
convenience of their fellow humans!
What should have taken seven days, maybe ten or fifteen days to resolve, the
Supreme Court of Ghana seems to want to dance around and seems to lack
absolutely no sense of urgency. This is outrageous when the nation is
waiting and mistakes made in executive decisions today will be harder to
correct!
What kind of people are we when we look in the mirror, some with their white
wigs! Do Ghanaian appointed Judges, Parliamentarians, and Presidential
staffers think they are better than the rest of the society whose sweat pays
them? It is our strong advice to the Judicial and Legislative bodies in
Ghana to ensure that this election dispute be resolved no later than
February 28.
We produce Prof. Kwaku Asare's opinions here in full in support of his view.
If we cannot push ourselves to meet any deadlines, then maybe some are right
to look down upon us and we should bow our heads in shame begging other
nations for money to balance our budget! Perhaps what we need is partnership
in the art of love for our people, in the art of government and not the
money. We need to learn the art of caring for others and thinking to solve
problems for our people instead of the chaos we live in but seem oblivious
of!

Kwaku A. Danso,