GHANA TRANSITION – SOME ARE NERVOUS!

By: Kwaku A. Danso

Folks,

When a transition to power takes place in 2 days under cover of night, in a nation that is known to have challenges in honesty and integrity and not rating well in the TI Corruption Perception Index, and there are smiles, beer and wine, some of us are nervous.

The report by citifmonline.com on Jan.30, 2009, (http://www.citifmonline.com/2009/01/30/wereko-brobbey-satisfies-transition-team/) which was posted on our GLU forum for discussion makes some of us nervous for the new administration under President Atta Mills. A caution is hereby given. The report said that the Chairman of the Executive Assets Transfer Committee of the NDC's Transition Team, Dr. Don Arthur and his team are “satisfied with explanations offered them by the Chairman of the Ghana @ 50 secretariat, Dr. Charles Wereko Brobbey”

Whiles this sounds good, in the report certain words are used without details that portend potential trouble if not taken care of immediately.

Can somebody tell me what these words mean? “have resolved many issues”; “smooth transfer of executive assets”; “suitable understanding and were willing to work harmoniously”; “share in their experiences”; “working cordially with the NDC's team to forestall uneventful occurrences in the future”.

Folks, such words are good for democracy and for civilized organizational behavior, and we all welcome the idea of living together as brothers in peace. However, Ghana has accumulated over $8 billion in debts and we do not even have water to homes, nor can we boast of even 200 miles of decent non-stop highway between our 4 major cities! For God’s sake, show us where the moneys went!! Tell us who is guilty and who is going to jail and have their assets confiscated to the state!

Folks, people are tired and we cannot continue having executives of the state, elected by the people of Ghana living like Kings, when it is known that about 78.5% of the people live under $2 per day! We simply cannot spend money on useless exhibits and showmanship, medals and gold chains, mansions and edifices, while we keep begging foreign nations to subsidize the spending habits of elected officials! No! This must stop!

When moneys are lost and we are trying to find the cause of the increase from $30 million to $78 million, or why proper accounts were not provided of taxpayers’ money, some of us are not happy with these members of the “old boys club” coming out with such words?

Anybody who has lived at considerable extent in Ghana and observed the political scene knows these men in power know each other and know the tricks of the trade. As such for decades now we talk about corruption, but hardly ever have evidence how huge sums in the hundreds of millions of dollars vanish. Relevant Questions that need to be answered openly are: Were the over-invoiced expenditures approved by parliament? If not then a law was violated. What are “executive assets” and who approved them? They make some of us nervous. Were the projects performed as contracted? Were the purchased items and amounts verified as authentic? Do we have a list of all Government Assets, residential and commercial real estate (homes and offices and warehouses), vehicles, when acquired and purchase price, etc?

If these are answered, I think the people of Ghana will know how our moneys were spent.

Folks, we need to get going when the world economic machinery is running. We should learn form the best how democracy works. See the case in Illinois, USA, where a sitting Governor soliciting for bribes to replace the Senate seat left by President Barack Obama, and caught on tape, has been impeached within a matter of two months! No more dancing around when we talk $295 million found in the Auditor General’s report and people in government remaining silent. No more dancing around when $603 million in grants and loans for water cannot be found! No more dancing around when invoices for $30 million change to $78 million overnight! Come ooooon people!! The people of Ghana voted for the new Mills government not to continue the public corruption sanction that seems to have been a collusion between the former President and his cabinet and Parliament.

LET PRESIDENT MILLS TEAM GO TO WORK, and NOW!

Thanks,

Dr. Kwaku A. Danso, k.danso@comcast.net President, Ghana Leadership Union, Inc (NGO) Moderator, GLU Forum http://groups.google.com/group/glu-ghana-leadership-forum