ARE THE DAYS OF IMPUNITY FOR CORRUPT INDIVIDUALS IN GHANA FINALLY OVER?

I had a long phone conversation last night, with a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who thought my previous article entitled: “Mrs. Rawlings: Please Let Bygones Be Bygones!” made interesting reading. Most of our conversation dwelt on the longstanding complaints made by the NDC’s hawks against the Mills regime: That it is far too slow and has not been vigorous enough in prosecuting and jailing the crooks in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) – who they think are getting away with their many crimes against our homeland Ghana. The question is: Why do intelligent politicians, who ought to know better, think that a democratic regime, can act like a military dictatorship, in the Ghana of today, and get away with it?

By definition, is a democracy (a system of government built on the concept of checks and balances, and underpinned by due process), not an extremely slow creature that does not have even a scintilla of speedy-action, built into any of its genes? How then can any regime, operating under a system in which the law courts can negate every executive action, which does not follow due process, be expected to make any meaningful changes in the lives of ordinary people, and take the necessary steps needed to jail the crooks of yesteryear, overnight, I ask, dear reader? Is the bargain we make in choosing democracy, not that in exchange for continuing to enjoy the fundamental human rights guaranteed by various international conventions, as well as all the other freedoms we enjoy under our constitution, we will accept that the pace at which fundamental change occurs in society, will, of necessity, be painfully slow at times?

Surely, that is not such a bad bargain, is it, dear reader – especially if it will prevent dictatorship in our country and ensure that we are not eventually enslaved by any of our rulers? President Mills has been a model democrat. Those who criticize him for not jailing all the rogues into whose dishonest hands Nkrumah’s Ghana fell during the Kufuor-era, must pause for a while and ponder the dramatic events that could soon unfold in our country: For their information, the successor to the spineless and now-defunct Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the new Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO), will soon start deploying its extensive powers, to enable it deal with the sundry white-collar criminals in our midst. As we are all aware, many of those loud-mouthed crooks, before the passage of those new laws, had hitherto remained virtually untouchable, largely because of their ill-gotten wealth.

Well, now that President Mills’ regime has finally put into place all the necessary laws, which will enable it deal effectively with the crooks of the Kufuor-era (and the present-day ones lurking in the shadows in the present administration too!), perhaps we shall frequently hear many of the NDC‘s hawks repeating a sentiment expressed by a witty young lady-supporter of the NDC, who, during a current affairs discussion programme on Radio Gold’s Asem Edikai programme, said: “Yen jaili womu a, womu edi womu pen, ewia Ghana sika, nu, enyinaa!” (To wit: “We must jail all those who used their pens to steal Ghana’s wealth!”). With such tough new laws finally on our statute books, perhaps we can now ensure that Ghana’s oil wealth never falls into the hands of unprincipled politicians, who are wont to offer our nation’s resources, such as timber concessions in our forests, and blocks in our oil fields, to favourite members of their family clans; their cronies; and to influential fellow party members, deemed to be high-profile trouble-makers – in order to placate them and stop them from embarrassing their parties during their tenure.

The NDC’s restless hawks must be a little bit more patient now – as they will soon see many of the super-wealthy crooks of the Kufuor-era being prosecuted and jailed for their many crimes against the people of this country. President Mills was right all along in insisting that due process must be followed in dealing with past corruption (as well as present-day corruption!). It will now be virtually impossible for those biased and pro-NPP individuals, in the equipoise institution in our democratic system, the judiciary, to continue frustrating the “Better Ghana” agenda. The NDC‘s hardliners will do well to devote their considerable energies to fishing for leads to give to the EOCO – to enable it build water-tight cases against present-day crooks and the wealthy rogues from the past. The NDC’s hawks must end those counter-productive and outrageous public insults – designed solely to weaken and eventually destroy a hardworking regime led by the most honest and principled leader to rule our nation thus far, since the overthrow of Nkrumah in 1966: for, the days of impunity for corrupt individuals in Ghana, are finally over. 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) 30 2976238.