Opinions of Thursday, 19 January 2006

Columnist: Lartey-Adjei, Festus K.

Well Done Francess, Obed Asamoah & Co ...

; FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE OF ARIEL SHARON AND OFFER AN ALTERNATIVE.

Ghana will not be intimidated by crooked politicians who have done us more harm than good in the past or in present times. No, we will not be forced to choose between corruption and despotism! Obed Asamoah and Co should not be afraid; they should come out and form a new party. They should form a party which will invite all who are dissatisfied with both the Rawlings NDC and Kuffours NPP.

Such a party should place itself in the center to accommodate both the dissatisfied supporters of the left and of the right. It should also aim at recruiting young politicians both home and abroad but most importantly, such a party should be a broad based alliance, which can accommodate the other minor opposition parties. Executives should be chosen on the basis of their principles.

Obed and others should then concentrate their energies on telling the Ghanaian public what they believe in. What their dreams for a better Ghana will look like. Our infant democracy will only survive if there is a proof and guarantee for an alternative politics tomorrow. An alternative we all can live with; which we are sure can effectively take care off our soaring problems and deliver a better future for tomorrow?s children, an alternative worth waiting for.

All and sundry will agree with me when I say that the purpose of life is to progress, go forward, develop and mature into perfection. This is also true of our various endeavours in life, so that life and all human activities tend to be dynamic bringing with it perfection for the common good. That is why I salute Miss Frances and Dr. Obed Asamoah for standing up to dare dictatorship in the face! Well done.NDC is not all and life must go on. Ghana needs sons and daughters like you. Follow the examples of the Israeli prime minister and you will realise not very long that Ghanaians like Israelis will like to see and support those who seek to secure their future.

The NDC has been in opposition now for some time and it was expected that they had reflected enough over their deeds and misdeeds when they were in power and later came into opposition. It was expected that they had grown, learned their lessons and are now mature for a comeback. It is precisely this reason of giving them time-off that led Ghanaians to opt for a change of government kicking them out of power. To give them a moment of respite, self-check, reassessment and period of regrouping. For the NDC was not without faults and the Ghanaian electorate were as frustrated then as they are today. The methods of intimidation and arm twisting which characterised the recent NDC congress is a fair sign to all that the party is not yet ready to take over power. For Ghanaians will never want to go back to the terrible Rawlings days, instead we will look to going forward.

We all were victims of those days although our memories are often short.

Hence we welcome Obeds decision to stay on in politics awhile to demonstrate examples of political principles. He should team up with other well meaning Ghanaians and offer us a third alternative which is devoid of tribal sentiments and has a clear vision for tomorrow. They should come out and enlighten us on the following should they form a party;

1. ?Agenda 1? Corruption; how they intend to fight corruption. Corrupt officials in government, what reforms they have for the police and law enforcement agencies, and how it intend to change peoples mindsets on monies acquired unlawfully. Which checks and control mechanisms are to be put in place for fighting corruption?

2. Environmental issues; Pollution and waste management, promotion of cleaner surroundings, bushfires, drought, deforestation and forestation, protection of our waters and watersheds. What are the plans?

3. Brain drain, how they intend to conquer it.

4. Shortages in our schools and the need to extend basic education to all b) shortages in our hospitals and quality health care to all.

5. Our bad roads and road accidents, how to fix the problem.

6. Job creation and reduction of the unemployment rate

7. Promotion of investment in the rural areas to offset migration to the cities.

8. Rural empowerment and decentralisation, how to make it effective.

9. Safeguarding rights enshrined in the constitution, both for the populace and institutional freedoms

10. Build a durable economy, stronger currency and encourage competitiveness.

11. A better standards board and quality control mechanisms

12. How to make our bureaucracies and democracies work effectively.

13. Burying tyranny and despotism for ever.

In my view, these are only some of the very important areas we wish to see some action on, but generally we want the opposition in effect to present a shadow government with shadow policies which will throw more light on how matured and ready the opposition parties have been. In the mean time, we will continue with the good help of the media to question the credibility and inaction of the sitting regime judging them from the way they manage our affairs and to help the people to decide who to vote for next time.

For we have now understood that it is not the persons, but the policies and the things that the party stands for, that matter in our infant democracy. We also await the various opposition parties to hear what they have to say or offer. They must show us how grown they have been.

The worst is when Ghanaians are forced to choose between two bad governments. God forbid! I for one will support a government and a party which stands for freedom of speech and the protection of individual rights inter alia. I used to sympathise with the NDC because I wanted to see a strong opposition emerge. Now I don?t anymore, with Rawlings being its owner. I feel it is an insult on Ghanaians in general for members of a party to assault anybody due to their opposing views. We won?t be intimidated and taken for granted. Well done Obed Asamoah, Mrs Francess for showing us the way to conquer our woes.

For God and country!

Festus K. Lartey-Adjei
Labour Consultant


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