Cheating The Good People Of Ghana Has Consequences!

I was flabbergasted by the breathtaking arrogance displayed by Mr. Sammy Crabbe, during a radio discussion programme on Choice FM, broadcast on the evening of Saturday, 8th May, 2010, and hosted by a Mr. Carlos von Brazi.

Apparently he was reacting to something Dr. Tony Aidoo had said earlier that day on Radio Gold.

I did not listen to Dr. Tony Aidoo on Radio Gold – but it will be recalled that rather than invite reputable international carriers, such as Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Airlines, to partner Ghana in setting up a new national carrier, to replace Ghana Airways, the Kufour regime rather chose a group of Americans who neither owned a scheduled airline, nor possessed a single aircraft.

Many discerning minds predicted at the time that the venture would end in tears – as it simply did not make commercial sense.

I am pretty sure that no patriotic Ghanaian who opposed that daft deal, which brought Ghana International Airlines (GIA) into being, and who had the misfortune of listening to that Choice FM programme, would have failed to be outraged by the arrogance of Mr. Sammy Crabbe, on the aforementioned Saturday.

 Incredibly, it seemed to escape him completely that the good people of Ghana would never have allowed the New Patriotic Party (NPP) regime to liquidate Ghana Airways, if they had had the slightest inkling, that by the end of the tenure of the Kufuor regime, taxpayers would be subsidizing the airline by as much as US$1.5 millions per month.

That is why many today find it intolerable that a genius like him,  participating in a radio discussion programme, as “a minority shareholder” of GIA, can have the effrontery to taunt some of the people of Bunkpuruguyoyo; show utter contempt for the government of the day, and seek to give the false impression that  has gained currency abroad that businesspeople in Ghana are being harassed by the present regime - all because he is standing trial as a result of his alleged underhand dealings in connection with the selfsame GIA.

Perhaps it is time someone told people of that ilk a few home truths. First of all, during the run-off of the December 2008 presidential election, we all heard a tape-recording played on Radio Gold FM, of a conversation in which Mr. Atta Akyea and Alhaji Malik Yakubu Alhassan, talked about the importance of having a "right judge" sit in a case that was of interest to their party, then.

I do not recall ever hearing him complaining that it was not right that that sort of thing went on, throughout the period his party held power. Just where is principle in all that, I ask, dear reader?

Secondly, it is a fact that leading capitalist nations such as the U.K. and the U.S.A., always prosecute even errant blue-chip companies such as Goldman Sachs, Daimler-Benz, and British Aerospace - in order to ensure the integrity of free markets and maintain confidence in the capitalist system.

In the same vein, far from making Ghana unattractive to reputable foreign investors, the prosecution of corrupt and dishonest businesspeople in our country, whose business activities are not underpinned by corporate good governance principles, and are at variance with the concept and ethos of transparency, will rather send a clear signal to the international community that the people and government of Ghana, are serious about eradicating corruption from our national life.

The Sammy Crabbes of this world must also know that it is no secret that some individuals in Ghana’s financial services sector (who prospered mightily during the golden age of business for Kufuor & Co.!), are the very sources whose input is sought by overseas analysts and results in most of those negative stories about Ghana that appear in the Western media (one of which the smug Mr. Crabbe took great pleasure in mentioning on Choice FM).

No one who “chopped Ghana small” during the tenure of the NPP, will succeed in getting away with the crime of exploiting our national economy for their personal benefit. That is called justice – not witch-hunting.

Cheating the people of Ghana has consequences – and all the members of our political class must understand that clearly. Period.

If Mr. Sammy Crabbe knows that he has a clear conscience, he should hold his peace – and let the law take its course: and be cleared of the charges against him in the law courts.

Finally, he accused his critics of being envious of his "success." The trouble about Ghana's the-end-justifies-the-means-brigade - whose blinkered world-view created the dog-eat-dog selfishness culture of the Kufuor era: with greed-for-money as its common currency -  is that they forget that not every one is driven by unfathomable greed.

The question is: With so many well-bred individuals who hail from Chorkor, around town (and whose salt-of-the-earth goodness can inspire one, so), why would anyone envy a quintessential philistine like him?

Let him learn to be a tad more humble – if he wants the world's sympathy. Above all, he must understand clearly that cheating the good people of Ghana, definitely has consequences.

Tel (powered by Tigo – the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works! ): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.