I read with utter consternation the Press Release issued by the novice of a Propaganda Secretary, Richard Quarshiga, titled: “Nana Akufo-Addo is insincere”. My initial reaction was to consign the entire piece into the nearest garbage basket, for really that was the exact place it belonged. However, I was galvanized into taking this action by responding to some of the issues raised in the said release because I felt my stony silence will keep Ghanaians in the dark and give the likes of Richard Quarshiga and others who are precursors to the mindless manipulation of genuine facts and figures the opportunity to do what they know best – the act of deception. We should also not overlook the fact that “Evil thrives when Good People do nothing”

My confidence in tackling issues with Richard Quarshiga is further buoyed by the fact that the office of Nana Akufo-Addo has already come out with figures to debunk most of the erroneous assertions, lies and pure fabrications contained in the said Press Release.

Let me state here that this Press Release is based on my own personal conviction that Richard Quarshiga has unsettled the hornet’s nest and like Macbeth, he will have no peace till the true state of affairs is given. I am therefore providing facts to debunk such spurious allegations which Richard, in his hatred for the truth, attempted to foist on the conscience of Ghanaians. Even though this rejoinder has come a bit late, I crave the indulgence of readers to allow me tear to shred the porous evidence Richard Quarshiga provided which in no way comes closer to the conclusion that Nana Akufo-Addo is insincere. Nana Akufo-Addo just did not wake up to make his public pronouncement on the NDC. He did a lot of consultations, asked probing questions and checked the records before coming out with his statement. Earlier on, he had asked the NDC Government to ‘fix’the economy if it claimed the government had met a ‘broken economy’, but his patriotic call went unheeded.

We want authentic facts and figures: My good friend, Richard, in a rush to prove to his masters that he is equal to the task wrote: “Nana had stated the unemployment level in Ghana at the time was 10%. Sadly for him, it leaves out that there was no justifiable basis for the figure he put out as it was believed that ….” Hey, stop there! What do you mean by, it was believed that? You refute a point with authentic facts and figures, not based on people’s perception. If Richard has facts to disprove Nana’s figures, let him come up with them or forever hold his peace. What he did in his Press Release is to portray himself as a weeping child whose futile attempts at stealing meat from the cooking pot ended in a fiasco because he got his fingers scorched in the process. If Richard Quarshiga doesn’t know how to handle his portfolio effectively, I will advise him to go to the Igbos to learn the rudiments of the game. I will even plead with my good friend, Comrade Uche Chukwumerije to have sympathy with him and tutor him very well on the act of deception.

Allegation that Nana was being mischievous: Richard goes on to state that it was mischief on the part of Nana to state that the number of Ghanaians currently living below poverty level has increased by 500,000 persons, a figure he (Nana) attributed to the World Bank. This is because the World Bank which he (Nana) sourced his information from is yet to release any figure for 2009.

Richard Quarshiga’s line of argument does not hold water. In the first place, let it be drummed into his ears that unlike he, Richard Quarshiga, who, in a desperate bid to malign his political opponents will throw caution to the wind, and do the unthinkable, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has his hard-earned reputation to protect. Those who are familiar with him will tell you that Nana does his work with a fine tooth-comb that even the hyper-critic will have little to complain of. If something is black, Nana will say so and if it is white, he will say it is white. And the most important aspect of the whole thing is that he does not rush into making judgement or jumping to hasty conclusions. So there is no way he is going to conjure facts and figures from nowhere to score cheap political points as the NDC would want the whole world to know. The NDC as a party is fond of doing just that.

Richard claims that the World Bank has not released any figures on those living below poverty level for the 2009 is the biggest lie of the century. When compared with Biblical Ananias, Richard will appear the devil while Ananias will be acclaimed the angel. Doesn’t he owe Ananias a post-humous apology for attempting to covert the latter’s accolade as the greatest lair that ever walked upon the surface of this sinful earth? Does Richard want to tell the whole world that an international organization like the World Bank will default in the release of its reports, four good months after the year has come to an end? He should go and tell such Ananse stories to his two year old child but not to an enlightened Ghanaian public. If my good friend, Richard is so lazy to source for reports or information, he should say so and not assume that all Ghanaians are as lazy as he is. He should also not hide under the cloak of “the Ghanaian syndrome” of doing things behind schedule as is happening under the NDC regime. Why is Richard trying to force this lie on Ghanaians? If under the regime of Baba Go Slow, things are not done on schedule, let him be told that it is not so with international organizations like the World Bank. It appears that this clueless regime, like the tortoise always recoils into its shell and only reacts to an external stimulus. The sackings of the Yendi Municipal Chief Executive, the DCE for Gushiegu, Dr Ampofo of TOR, Carl Wilson of the Castle Assets Disposal Committee and the prosecution of the alleged killers of the Ya Nah are only a few of such cases to buttress the above point. We should also not overlook the fact that Ghanaians are complaining that they have not had it so bad as they are experiencing under this visionless regime. With taxes being levied on anything with a name and at such astronomical increases why shouldn’t the standard of living of Ghanaians fall below poverty level? I have always said and I will repeat it. Let Ministers of State go to their respective home towns and villages and attempt to justify the hardship the NDC regime is inflicting on Ghanaians and see the reaction of their own kinsmen and women. This of course should be without the intimidating presence of their security operatives. Everybody in the country is complaining about hardship except perhaps those who are feeding fat on our sweat and toil, including of course, Richard Quarshiga. The feeding formula has fallen down to 0:0:1 or 0:1:0 as only few people can afford more than one decent meal a day. And was that not what Nana Akufo-Addo was portraying in his address?

Has Unemployment figures gone up? If unemployment figures have gone down, Richard should tell us why their own members are complaining about lack of job opportunities? Have you forgotten what Issaka Amoani, spokesperson for the NDC Observers Pressure Groups said. Hear him: “We are the foot soldiers of the party. We have been neglected. No jobs and future for the youth”. On another occasion he stated that when they complain about lack of job opportunities, the leadership of the party would give them fertilizers to go and farm while they award contract amounting to thousands of Ghana Cedis to themselves. What does Richard Quarshiga have to say to these? Can he be kind enough to tell Ghanaians why their founder, ex-President Rawlings is complaining about Baba Go Slow? Ex-President Rawlings is telling us that things are going in a reverse order. Do you know what he means by reverse order? Well, if you don’t, I will tell you. He meant the NPP regime turned the country’s economy around but Baba Go Slow has turned back the clock of the wheel. In other words, ex-President Rawlings is telling us that he doesn’t know what message to take to Ghanaians - come 2012, since Baba Go Slow has shown by all inclinations that he doesn’t have the panacea to take us to our El Dorado.

Tremendous success in Food Production: Once more, listen to the pathological lair at work. “It is pertinent to note that it was around 1999 that Ghana chalked tremendous success in agricultural production when it rankled 3rd in the world after China and Jordan in agric (food production)”.Could Richard be kind enough to tell Ghanaians where he sourced such statistics from. May be, I am the only stranger in Jerusalem, for I have never heard of any such achievement under the NDC. If it is true that Ghana indeed chalked such successes in food production, why did the NDC not use that claim in its campaign during the 2000 General Elections? Let us go back into the archives and play back any such information captured on tape which featured prominently during the campaign period. Such a blatant lie has depicted Richard Quarshiga as the greatest fabricator of phantom claims and figures in the history of this country. It is pertinent to ask these questions: If living standards under Baba Go Slow are better, why are the various Youth Wings of the NDC accusing the government of reneging on its promise to create job opportunities for them? Rawlings is complaining, the foot soldiers are complaining, some of their MPS and top party functionaries are complaining. Certainly, all of them cannot be wrong at the same time. What does Richard Quarshiga have to say to such complaints? To further debunk the spurious claims of Richard Quarshiga, I would like to refer Ghanaians to the statement attributed to Haruna Iddrissu, the Minister of Communications to the effect that the problems which ex-President Rawlings has been complaining about had existed during his regime (1981 – 2000) and that they were even worst during his regime. If we were to go by Haruna Iddrissu’s assertion that problems such as unemployment, poor standard of living, interrupted supply of power and water, fuel shortage, corruption, contract killings, armed robbery, higher taxation, arbitrary dismissal of workers, ostentatious living by government appointees, tightening of budgets, spiral inflation, high crime rate and ‘what have you’ had all existed during ex-President’s Rawlings regime, why should Richard Quarshiga blow his horns that the living standards of Ghanaians in 1999 was better than the 8 years of Kufuor’s administration.

Just mention one policy Mills Government has put in place since its inception: In the last paragraph, Richard Quarshiga stated that 16 months is not enough yardsticks with which to judge a government that has a four year mandate, especially as the state of affairs it inherited was a malaise one. I wish Quarshiga had stated the true facts as they are and stop making reference to the NPP. Obama campaigned vigorously to turn the US economy around if elected President. He won and plunged into action immediately, putting in place policies which would make the dream of every American come alive. He tapped resources from both the Democratic and the Republican Parties. He did not procrastinate. He did not say he has a Four Year mandate and so Americans should not expect any good thing from him within the first few months of his administration. He did not go about hounding his perceived political opponents from their jobs. What new policy has the NDC regime led by Baba Go Slow put in place since it came to power?

If Quarshiga is sincere to his conscience and to Ghanaians, he should be bold enough to tell us the contents of the letter the NDC submitted to the World Bank. Did the party not tout the good credentials of the NPP Administration in helping to attain the commanding heights of the Ghanaian Economy? My good friend Richard should tell the whole Ghanaians if the NDC did not praise the Kufuor’s administration for putting in place sound economic policies? I want Richard to publish the contents of that letter and tell us whether or not the claims in that letter were hoax.

Fraudsters masquerading as Angels and Redeemers: It is pertinent at this juncture to alert the general public that fraudsters did not just emerge from outer space. They have been with us right from the time of Creation. Do you realize that the snake used vile and deceit to make Eve sin? The snake told the “goodies” that awaited the husband if they ate the ‘forbidden fruit’. We should also not forget the role of Rebecca and her Isaac played in order to get Jacob bless Isaac instead of Esau. What about Absalom’s attempts at getting the kingship and David’s treachery in getting the husband of Uriah killed so that he could marry the wife? Are we aware that Sapphira’s attempt to cover the sin of Ananias, her husband was a fraudulent act?

Richard Quarshiga should realize that those who willfully and maliciously twist facts and figures in order to bring the character and reputation of their political opponents will not escape the wrath of God. Such people will definitely meet their Golgotha when lime and brimstone will descend on them like it happened to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Sinister motive of the NDC: What the NDC wanted to do was to use such baseless and provocative statements to tarnish the image of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, a man who has created a track record of honesty and transparency through the use of hack and jaundiced writers like Richard Quarshiga who have thrown away the concept of due process, balanced and fairness to the dustbin.

Richard has, by the content of his Press Release depicted himself as one of those “unrepented greedy bastards” within the corridors of power that ex-President Rawlings always refers to. Can he look straight in the eye and tell Ghanaians that all is well? Has he, by his Press Release, not joined the bandwagon of those have who have sold their conscience for pittance like Esau did with his birthright? I have always said that in our desperation to covet the Golden Fleece, we should not forget that some moral aspects t go with such attempts. Politicians, as the conscience of the people owe Ghanaians just that. Richard Quarshiga has failed his first acid test as a propaganda Secretary of the ruling government because he aimed his attack on the wrong person. We should rather demand an apology from Richard Quarshiga for assaulting our collective intelligence with his barefaced lies and unwarranted attacks on Nana Akufo-Addo. Such cheap and spurious claims are only meant for imbeciles. Conclusion: Will Richard sit on the fence or join the deprived and malnourished Ghanaians who, because of the hardship imposed on them through an obnoxious tax system, have adopted the mantra, “Nneama nnko yiye” (things are not moving well)? He should rather praise Nana for alerting Ghanaians and the NDC to the looming danger that awaits them should they decide to follow President Mills on his chosen route to Golgotha. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, a fearless and courageous politician who knows his aces well makes deep seated positive pronouncements which, if adhered to would benefit Ghanaians. He is the conscience of the people.

Whiles Richard’s NDC government is trying to appear ‘populist’ by proclamation, a canker is gradually seeping through the pores of our society. It issues such as this that Richard and his propaganda outfit should devote their time and energy to expunge. He should rather talk about his party the NDC, where corruption, double standards, deceit, misdirection, violence, lack of transparency, misrule, inefficiency, vindictiveness and barefaced criminality are the oaths of allegiance.

Let me state here for the avoidance of doubt that perhaps the only people having things comfortably in the country are the beneficiaries of Mills largesse- the Ministers and Political Appointees who, because they owe allegiance not to the Ghanaian nation, but to the President are falling heel over themselves to outdo one another in defending policies, including obnoxious ones, put forward by the Mills Administration. Yes, they have all become ‘’Yes” men.

But the truth of the matter is that: “No matter how tall the iroko tree is, it will surely come down when the owner wants it”. The President has a problem – People’s verdict. He has not performed.

Daniel Danquah Damptey (danieldanquah_damptey@yahoo.com)