A New Presidential Jet For Ghana?

I was recently accosted by an irate neighbour, who usually calls me, every time I appear on Alhaji Bature's popular Saturday discussion programme,"Alhaji and Alhaji," on Hot FM, to berate me, for "showing gross disrespect" to the current regime - and its hypocritical leader.

So you can imagine my sense of disbelief, dear reader, as I listened to him, telling me, how right he thought I had been about our current president, and the regime he leads, all along : "Awose yedi womu enyina eko prison, Kofi!"

And why was this "my-party-right-or-wrong" fanatic, and relatively well-off stooge for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), hoping that the leaders of his party, would all end up in jail? Well, he had just heard the rumour that President Kufuor had bought a "private jet", which is apparently scheduled for delivery, in 2010 - when he would be out of office.

I tried to explain to this irate NPP foot-soldier, that although it was classified as a private jet, it did not mean that it was President Kufuor's private property - and that if the rumour was true, it simply meant that Ghana had acquired a class of jet, made mainly for private business owners: and that in that sense, the rumour was not strictly accurate. For, the plane would be the property, of the Ghanaian nation-state.

The purchase of the new presidential jet, if true, illustrates perfectly, how our hypocritical ruling elites, constantly pursue their own interests: at the expense of our nation - and its hard-pressed people.

The man, who, at the onset of his tenure, refused to use the Gulfstream 11 presidential jet, acquired by the previous regime, because its purchase was shrouded in mystery (and apparent illegality), is now ending his tenure, with the acquisition of a much more expensive presidential jet: purchased without the approval of our spineless parliament. And only heaven knows what financial skulduggery has gone into the financing of its purchase - knowing the unfathomable greed that motivates our government of waa waa "super-kickback-specialists".

And to add insult to the injury done to taxpayers' pockets by this profligacy, it is apparently being funded by the same foreign bank, which was once successfully sued in the US courts, by Tsastu Tsikata, for giving the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), self-interested (and patently bad!) advice, to invest in derivatives, much to the GNPC's detriment - a case Tsatsu Tsikata won.

And if readers will recall, significantly, shortly after assuming power, the NPP halted a case Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata's GNPC had brought against that self same French bank and some of its roguish executives, in the London law courts - and hastily settled the matter out of court: ignoring the fact that the money they were going to pay out to those French rogues in any possible settlement, was a great deal more, than the legal costs, which they claimed was prohibitive: and were hence ending the case.

And today, some of those who sanctioned this rip off of our nation, are fighting each other ( spending billions in the process!), to have the chance, to become Ghana's next president - in order, presumably, to be able to supervise, personally, from the very top, the continued gang rape of mother Ghana, even more effectively (and profitably for themselves; their extended families; and their greedy favourites, amongst our anachronistic and hypocritical double-land-selling traditional rulers)! Hmmm, eye asem o!

And that, dear reader, is how over the years, our nation has been ripped off by our leaders, acting in concert with foreign carpetbaggers! If the rumour turns out to be true, Mr. Kufuor will have the dubious distinction, of being labelled the most hypocritical leader Ghana, has ever had the misfortune, of electing into office, thus far!

It will certainly be interesting to know the actual details of the loan agreement for the purchase of the new presidential jet, from that greedy French bank, which has aided and abetted our leaders' financial skulduggery since they assumed power, in a number of questionable deals - a prime example being the cynical role they played in the takeover of Ashanti Goldfields (the so-called "merger"!).

The main problem, however, is that the parliament we are currently lumbered with, and which could effectively trace the paper trail that would reveal how this regime financed this outrageous deal, which was clearly entered into without parliamentary approval (and should put those who carried it out in prison, for a very long time, some day: for recklessly causing financial loss to Ghana!), is now showing its deficiencies: and it is being exposed to be the toothless bulldog, which those who gave birth to the 4th Republic, intended it to be - so that their dictatorship could successfully metamorphose into a democratically elected civilian regime, in 1992: and enable them carry on exactly as before, with their high-handed ways!

And if the hypocrites now running our country think that they are being clever, by building a new and modern prison: so that those of them who will be tried and jailed for wilfully causing financial loss to the state, when they are turfed out of power in December 2008, will be able to serve their sentences out in comfortable conditions, they had better think again - for, they will be made to serve their sentences, in the worst of the prisons in Ghana. And they can then experience first hand, the consequences of their years of neglect, of much of our nation's public buildings!

It is clear, that the regime President Kufuor leads, is blithely mortgaging the anticipated oil revenues, of our country - for how else could the apostles of the rule of law, have had the audacity and nerve, to purchase a presidential jet, for nearly US$ 40 million, without parliamentary approval: when we have still not made it possible, for example, for all our law courts to be adequately equipped, with recording equipment and computers, to relieve our judges, of the unacceptable drudgery, of having to write down the proceedings of court cases they are hearing, in longhand (in the 21st century ICT world!)?

President Kufour, and the regime he leads, must remember the Ghanaian saying: "No condition is permanent". They must not think they can continue to find endless clever ways to shortchange Ghana, and get away with it. One fine day, the ordinary people of Ghana, will bring the Rawlings-Kufuor era to an end, by dismantling the creature spawned by the sly architects of the December 31st 1981 military coup: the discredited 4th Republic - and replace it with a new 5th Republic, which we shall create in the current conditions of freedom (one of the current hypocritical regime's few truly significant achievements!), as opposed to the days of silence and fear, that saw the birth of the 4th Republic.

President Kufour certainly has the dubious distinction, of leading the most profligate government, ever elected to power, in our country. Today, the man who began his tenure, telling Ghanaians that as a people, we would have to learn to cut our coat, according to the size of our cloth, is building a new presidential palace complex (which I predict will end up costing over US$150 million, by the time it is completed!), to leave as his main legacy. Perhaps having built himself a palatial home before becoming our leader, he knows what benefits such an obvious outward sign of "achievement" brings.

Apparently (if the bush-telegraph is to be believed!), for years, after he built his own monument of personal success at Airport West, it made it possible for him to project an image of a successful man: even though rumour has it, he had to struggle financially, after making his very public statement of having arrived in society, with the completion of his new mansion! And now to top it all, he is also going to leave another sign of his idea of 'success' as Ghana's leader: by acquiring a new presidential jet, costing the impoverished Ghanaian taxpayer, close to US$ 40 million!

Obviously, the mentality of our current leader and his profligate crowd, is that as long as they can point it out to Ghanaians that an expensive acquisition will not benefit them personally, but rather benefit their successors of the future, they can get away with dissipating as much of Ghana's projected future oil revenues they can get away with, today. But it is flawed and dangerous thinking - for, Ghanaians know who the waa waa kickback-specialists are, in the Ghana today - and they will all be made to pay for the reckless errors of judgement they are making on a daily basis, as they near the end of their tenure!

It is a pity the obtuse gang of ruthless tribal supremacists now controlling Nkrumah's Ghana, appear not to have heard of the new developments in the private jet sector - the very light jets (VLJ): most of which cost less than US$ 3 million: but can do all the things larger and infinitely more expensive business jets like the French-made Falcon, do.

Against that figure, the nearly US$40 million they have spent in acquiring the new Falcon from the French plane maker, positively looks criminal. Hmm, eye asem o, Ghana! Asem abeba debi! May God bless and protect our homeland Ghana always. Long live Ghana! Long live freedom! Kofi Thompson can be reached by email at: http://uk.f264.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=peakofithompson@yahoo.co.uk and by SMS text message on: 027 745 3109.