Opinions of Wednesday, 19 March 2008

Columnist: Agyepong, Benjamin Opoku

Only in Ghana is bad behaviour rewarded

ONLY IN GHANA, DO WE SEE BAD BEHAVIOR REWARDED!!!!!!!!!

Yes, only in Ghana can we see this, only in Ghana can this be done, and perhaps only in Africa can we see some ugly thing happening and yet people applaud it. Only in Ghana can politicians say one thing and mean another. Only in Ghana can politicians hold the masses in ransom and tell them that after they have voted for their party and president of choice, their voices cease to be important in matters of governance.

Sometimes one wonders what politicians take us for when they come to us (the masses), to canvas for our votes and promise all sorts of things when they clearly know that, when they get to power, they would not adhere to any of the promises made on the campaign trail.

The most ridiculous thing that has happened in the Ghanaian body politics recently is the re-nomination and the subsequent confirmation of Richard Anane (the fucker). Did president Kuffour not promise Ghanaians that his government will have a zero tolerance for corruption policy? What happened for the sadden U-turn in policy? The president has every right to go back on his word, but what he should not try to do is to insult the intelligence of Ghanaians and the CHRAG for the marvelous job they did in exposing the corruptible nature of Richard Anane by telling us that the case against Anane was not proven.

I am not a lawyer, but it does not require one to be a lawyer to understand basic logic and basic legal procedures. Whereas we all read that the case against Anane (the Fucker) was thrown out of court because the Supreme Court asserted that there was no formal complainant to CHRAG to warrant their investigation of Anane, the August court in no way touched on the substance of the case. So I do not know where Kuffour read that his darling boy was exonerated from all the charges. Can the lawyers help to straighten up the president since it seems he has forgotten his law studies at the London College?

About six months ago, I run a red light in New York City, I was pulled over and ticketed and booked for a court appearance, on the court date, the police officer who issued the summons to me failed to show up to prefer the charge against me, the case was therefore, dismissed because my accuser failed to show up. Does that mean I did not commit the offence? No. But I guess by the logic of president Kuffour and Anane’s supporters; I could convince myself that the offence was not committed. This is what Kuffour is telling us and wants us to believe about Anane even though, evidences abound that Anane ordered money transfers from the defunct Ghana Airways account in U.S. to his mistress and child. By Kuffour’s logic, since the courts threw out the case for lack of formal complainant to CHRAG (a pre-requisite for CHRAG to commence any investigations), the facts of the case were unproven. KEJETIA LOGIC.

In New York State, the governor Elliot Spitzer had to resign for a stint with prostitutes, the call for his resignation was so strong and thunderous that he could not do otherwise. Former President; Bill Clinton was impeached for having an affair with an intern and almost lost his position as the president, and Newt Gingrich stepped down as Republican National Chairman after it was revealed that he has had an affair outside of his marriage, but in Ghana, not only did Anane have an affair when he was on a national assignment paid for from the national coffers, but also had a child from that unprotected sex when he was a minister in charge of health attending AIDS conference in the U.S., and sponsored this child with transfers from Ghana Airways Account in the USA, thereby, contributing to the demise of the former national airline( causing financial loss to the state), yet he is rewarded for his sordid behavior with re-appointment as a minister of state. What a shame !!!!!!!!!!

The sad thing about the whole saga is that, it seems none of the NPP parliamentarians and appointees finds the behavior any big deal. One recalls that at the inception of the Kuffour’s government, a sports minister by name Mallam Yusif Issah was fired and even prosecuted over the lost of $46,000 (a token amount of money compared to what Richard Anane stole from the state and Ghana Airways for his girlfriend and child’s upkeep), which gave the whole nation a false sense of hope that the Kuffour’s government was indeed up to the task of bringing sanity into government, but with hindsight, we can only conclude that the sports minister was treated harshly because he was not of the NPP party as he was PNC party member who accepted to work with the NPP. He was only used as a sacrificial lamb to atone for the subsequent sins of other ministers like Anane.

Kuffour’s attitude of hear no evil see no evil could at best be described as pathetic. I guess since 2001 that Mallam Issah was prosecuted for losing $46,000 no other minister has lost or embezzled money belonging to the state. What is annoying is that, Kuffour keeps telling Ghanaians that if anybody has evidence of corruption against any public servant, the person must come forward with the evidence. Who is the president kidding? When some group of people from central region volunteered to present evidence of corruption against Isaac Edumadzie, who was prepared to listen to them?

Nobody!!

What evidence is stronger than the evidence that CHRAG uncovered against Anane? Now we know that the whole slogan of zero tolerance for corruption was a joke to say the least.

It is high time politicians lead by example and also serve as role models for the youth to emulate and they can only do that if they begin to practice what they preach and live by what they promise the masses during campaigns. The politics that put politicians above the law must stop for the progress of the nation. Anane’s behavior will forever remain a black spot on Kuffour’s administration and posterity will never forgive Kuffour for ignoring the popular sentiments of the masses to refrain from re-appointing Anane, which he sadly ignored, thereby, putting party loyalty before national interest. God help us all to develop a sense of political maturity and do the right thing for Ghana to progress.

Slogans do not develop nations, honesty, loyalty and self-sacrifices do. God Bless mother Ghana!!

God help our politicians to zip their trousers!!



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