We Must Not Allow Access To Our Elected Leaders To Be Auctioned Off To The Highest Bidders

As a  people we must never allow a powerful and greedy few - unelected and accountable to no one -  to take control of our country from the shadows: and profit mightily from doing so at the expense of the rest of Ghanaian society.

That is why it is so important that the more responsible sections of the Ghanaian media work hard to ensure that there is transparency in our system - and that good governance principles underpin the work of all those appointed by the president to serve our country and the good people of Ghana.

The media must prevent naive politicians from unwittingly debasing the presidency by allowing unethical private-sector entities and greedy entrepreneurs to profit from access to Ghana's president - made possible through brown-envelope-influence-peddling in the corridors of power - under the guise of collaborating with public-sector entities to organise events for  presenting awards to deserving achievers.

As a people we all agree that high-level corruption is destroying the moral fabric of Ghanaian society. We must therefore strategise to kill corruption before it kills Mother Ghana and orphans our younger generations - leaving them to face a bleak future. Yes, Ghana is open for business - but it is not for sale at any price: because it definitely is priceless.

Never again should it be the case that those heading state institutions allow private-sector entities and crafty entrepreneurs to devise clever schemes - such as the presentation of dubious awards to 'deserving' individuals and organisations - to cloak their business model:  making money charging for access to those we elect to govern our nation.

Yes, we must do everything possible to make Ghana's private-sector grow and thrive. But we must also ensure that our nation's private-sector is underpinned by an ethical ethos. We must support only ethical entrepreneurs with a belief in corporate good governance principles - and ostracise the powerful and  wealthy crooks in Ghana's business world. Full stop.

Sitting close to the president of Ghana at state functions ought to be a means of giving recognition to selfless individuals in our midst who make exceptional contributions to the nation-building effort  - not a golden business opportunity for well-connected influence-peddlers to enrich themselves charging high net worth individuals (some of whom may or may not be super-crooks ripping off Mother Ghana) obscene sums to sit close to Ghana's president.

The fact that it is done elsewhere does not mean that  we must sit and remain unconcerned when access to our nation's elected leaders - to all intents and purposes - is being auctioned off to the highest bidders. Haaba.