Will President Mahama Work With Martin Amidu To Rid Ghana Of High-level Corruption?

There are many who believe that Ghana's younger generation hold the key to securing victory for candidates in the upcoming December  presidential and parliamentary elections.


Idealism and youth often go together. For that reason, in the days, weeks and months following the burial of President Mills,  to enable it win the youth vote,  the National Democratic Congress (NDC) ought to put aside   the cynicism of the older generation, in any post-Mills election strategy it adopts, going forward.


There is no doubt that high-level corruption is destructive. It sets our country back and is an insidious  cancer -  slowly eating away at, and killing,  the  vitality of our people  at  all levels of Ghanaian society.


There is not a single young  Ghanaian who does not  want his or her country  to become   an efficient and  prosperous society -  in which those who hard work and are honest, can always succeed.


Corruption - accompanied by its handmaidens of  nepotism and tribalism -  saps the creative energy of our nation and prevents it moving forward.


That is why there must be the political will to deal with it in the most ruthless of fashions. In that regard,  former President Rawlings was  right in saying that punishing the crooks in the NDC by prosecuting and jailing them,  ought to be the priority in the fight against high-level  corruption in Ghana.


It is only after that has been done that going after the New Patriotic Party (NPP) crooks who repeatedly gang-raped Mother Ghana during the tenure of the Kufuor regime, can then be taken up in earnest.


Such an even-handed approach to ridding Ghana of corrupt politicians and public servants, will find approval amongst younger generation Ghanaians.


The NDC must understand clearly that it will put itself on the path to  winning the upcoming  December elections, only if it reinvents itself as the political party  most determined to rid Ghana of high-level  corruption.


President Mahama can take the important  first step to that goal,  by publicly publishing his assets, as well as those of his dear wife. He can then go on to  find a suitable  ambassadorial position for Mr. Martey Newman - and replace him with a new chief of staff and  minister for presidential affairs.


A consensus politician who believes that the job of politicians is to work together across party lines to  protect the national interest - such as   the Hon. Alban Bagbin - would be ideal for that position.


And a  return to the cabinet, as Attorney General and Minister for Justice, by Martin Amidu - after a reshuffle - will send a clear signal to the nation that  the fight against high-level corruption, is back on track


That selfsame reshuffle ought to be an opportunity for the president to also weed out all the disrespectful Mills appointees,  who have gained notoriety for  insulting  their opponents publicly.


Examples that come readily to mind  are: Kobby Acheampong;  Nii Lantey Vanderpuije;  and  Hanna Bissiw. Their departure will show that we now have a leader who will not hesitate to discipline government appointees who become purveyors of abusive language in the public domain.


Having unexpectedly reached the pinnacle  in Ghanaian politics, President Mahama would also be wise to choose to make the ultimate personal sacrifice for the sake of Mother Ghana -  by immediately  declaring, after the burial of President Mills,   that he will not be  a candidate in the upcoming presidential election.


That will  give him a free hand to deal with high-level crooks in his party ruthlessly - and make it possible for him to concentrate on working  together with Martin Amidu and other like-minded politicians (from across the spectrum),  to do what has to be done to put the whole machinery of state on a war-footing to deal with high-level corruption.


Progressives in Ghana now have an opportunity to take steps to protect the resources of our  nation from sundry white-collar criminals.


President Mahama  would be wise to choose to leave a legacy  as the president  who brought back Martin Amidu to start a cross-party  house-cleaning process designed to  rid  Ghana of high-level corruption. A word to the wise...


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