WHEN WILL GHANA’S POLITICAL ELITE CEASE THEIR NEGATIVITY?

No educated and sincere Ghanaian who has any real knowledge of economics can fail to acknowledge the undoubted skill with which the government’s economic management team, has succeeded in stabilizing the Ghanaian economy, up to this juncture, in the tenure of President Mills’ National Democratic Congress (NDC) regime. Perhaps one can be charitable and forgive the mostly-clueless individuals (the so-called “serial callers”) who daily phone-in to contribute to interactive current affairs radio programmes on Ghana’s over one hundred and twenty FM radio stations: giving opinions that in effect amount to self-serving and one-sided contributions to their own political party’s propaganda war effort.

Luckily for Mother Ghana, however, dear reader, even little primary school children across our nation realize that in a debt-ridden economy, throughout which resources from the productive sectors have to be marshaled to service a mountain of debt, fiscal discipline (and its attendant initial period of enforced austerity!) is a sine qua non for a prosperous tomorrow. They understand perfectly that things have, of necessity, to worsen before they can get better. They are also aware that even relatively better off nations such as: the US; the UK; France; Italy; Spain; Portugal; Iceland; Greece, etc., etc., are all experiencing economic difficulties that have resulted in their governments’ becoming deeply unpopular with their citizenry.

That is why it is a tad baffling for many of Ghana’s independent-minded and discerning citizens (the seventy thousand or so swing-voters whose crucial votes determined the outcome of the run-off of the December 2008 presidential election – and will make a similar difference in the December 2012 elections too!) that the politicians who sit on the minority benches in Parliament (as well as the Rawlings wing of the NDC, incidentally) take the rather jaundiced view that tackling the budget deficit in the debt-ridden economy, which the New Patriotic Party (NPP) handed over to the NDC regime of President Mills, and putting in place the building-blocks for sustained growth, going forward, amounts to a failed economic policy of an incompetent and laggardly regime. Do they not even understand the true significance of the payment by the government, only a few days ago, of a substantial part of the gargantuan debt owed by the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), to Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB), one wonders, dear reader?

Perhaps the question we must ask the doubting Thomases within our political class, is: Can one describe as incompetent, a government that inherits an economic legacy amounting to a poisoned chalice, which does the following at the initial stages of its four-year tenure: puts in place policies that will ensure plentiful harvests of traditional staples, as well as an increase in local production of rice; succeeds in reducing the budget deficit, whiles at the same time paying outstanding sums owed by the state to local contractors who executed government projects during the NPP era, but were never paid by that most profligate of regimes; and on top all of that, dear reader, successfully lowering inflation and putting our nation on a path of sustained growth, going forward into the future?

Well, the cynics amongst our political class must realize that Ghana’s patriotic swing- voters are watching their mischievous activities across our nation, and listening to their one-sided pronouncements on national issues – and will decide how to cast their votes in the December 2012 election, accordingly. Ghana’s power-hungry and self-seeking politicians may count on the loyalty of the millions of the “My-party-my-tribe-right-or-wrong” myrmidon-types (the so-called “foot-soldiers” who do not know the meaning of personal sacrifice in the national interest!) whose blinkered support of our political parties is gradually destroying them – but let them always remember that there are thinking Ghanaians who will actually determine who rules Ghana, at the end of the day. Let them end their endless negativity – and say and do things that will bring our country together and help move it forward for our common good.

They must not think for a moment that Ghanaians are a gullible people who are easily fooled. Discerning Ghanaians (as opposed to the zillions of the “My-party-my-tribe-right-or-wrong” party fanatics – most of whom are too thick to think for themselves, sadly for Mother Ghana!) are aware that they are micro-managing their nation-wrecking political strategy of “sabotage-by-remote-control”: fine-tuning it on a daily basis, in close collaboration with the mercenaries in the Ghanaian media, whose consciences they bought whiles in power (and continue paying for by installments with their ill-gotten wealth!). We are also aware that they are all working in tandem with their well-placed fellow rapists (guilty to a man, of taking part in the gang-rape of Mother Ghana, during the NPP era!) in the upper echelons of the public sector agencies, to wreck the better Ghana agenda of President Mills: in the hope of returning to power again in 2012 – to enable them “chop Ghana small” again. Well, they will all realize in 2012 that they were on the wrong side of history. Let them redeem themselves now by ending their endless carping and negativity – if they want to be on the right side of history, that is. A word to the wise…

Tel (powered by Tigo – the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109 & the not-so-hot and clueless Vodafone wireless smartfone: + 233 (0) 21 976238.