As egregious high-level corruption worsens, perhaps the
question that Ghanaians ought to ponder over is: Why do our
ruling-elites not incentivise whistleblowing? It could be done by
simply passing new laws to indemnify whistleblowers who help recover stolen
public funds, from prosecution, and rewarding them with 25 percent of
such recovered stolen funds. Will that not help us retrieve trillions
of old cedis regularly siphoned off by big-thieves-in-high-places?
Haaba.
It
is also worth pointing out the fact that Ghana's finance minister, Hon.
Ken Ofori-Atta, made his fortune, mostly from commissions and fees
earned from investment products, sold by Databank.
As
it happens, some of his critics have accused him of focusing on
policies that earn fees and commissions for regime-cronies in Ghana's
financial services sector - to the longterm detriment of Mother Ghana.
That is a moot point, in my humble view. However,
that he is not suited, to be in charge of our country's finances, is
now obvious to many independent-minded and discerning-folk, across
Ghana.
Some
of us made that point, early on, during the first term of President
Akufo-Addo's government - when it became clear that far from not
borrowing, as they had promised Ghanaians, while campaigning for power,
in 2016, he and his colleagues were rather going to saddle Ghana with
yet more debt, which would end up crippling our nation: for which reason
we thought the president was better off without him, strategically.
In
light of their debilitating-penchant for borrowing, for the umpteenth
time, Ken Ofori-Atta and his colleagues, need to be told to the face
that they must stop borrowing for infrastructure projects. It doesn't
make sense.
Ghanafuo,
the provision and expansion of our infrastructure, ought to be
outsourced to private sector companies - which should bid competitively,
in transparent public tenders: to self-finance, build, own and operate
roads, markets, railway lines, airports, etc., etc., and then hand them
over to the state, after say 35 years, during which their profits should
not be taxed. Simple. Case closed. Haaba.
If
that becomes government policy, will we not still get all the roads,
bridges, modern railway network, airports, markets, etc., etc., that we
need, that way - without incuring yet more debt: and saddlingt future
generations of our people with crippling interest payments that never
end? Haaba.
The
trouble about the arrogant sods now in power in Ghana, is that they are
full of themselves - yet haven't a clue about creating
empowering-opportunities for entrepreneurs to thrive, and drive growth,
create wealth and generate meaningful jobs: all in sustainable fashion.
Instead
of relying on the e-levy, funding for innovative start-ups, creating
wealth and meaningful jobs, at any given point in time, ought to be from
the annual U.S.$200 million gold royalties cash, oooo, Ghanafuo. Yoooooooo...
One
challenges those twits to tell us why the nation shouldn't give U.S.
$50 million from the annual U.S.$200 million gold royalties cash, to the
Forest Research Institute (FRI) of the Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR), for example, to develop green leather from
mushrooms - to create a new green industrial sector export-niche, producing and selling high-end luxury-class shoes, bags, apparel, and other luxury leather goods, globally, to
create wealth that stays locally, and meaningful bootstrapping-jobs,
nationwide, for our younger generations. Haaba.
And,
if innovative road construction companies, such as TerraFusion
International, were invited to self-finance the reconstruction of
Ghana's entire rural road network, into a tolled-network of world-class
roads, and operate them for 35 years without their being taxed, won't
that ensure food security and create prosperity for smallholder farmers
nationwide, without burdening hapless taxpayers in the process? Haaba.
Finally,
why do our ruling-elites not incentivise whistleblowing, to stop the
siphoning off of trillions of old cedis of public funds, into private
pockets, to enrich Ghana's big-thieves-in-high-places, who are
ruthlessly milking Mother Ghana dry, with their endless-greed?
Can
that not be done by the simple measure of granting whistleblowers, who
enable stolen public funds to be successfully recovered, indemnity from
prosecution - and offered 25 percent of such recovered-sums, as the
reward for their patriotism? Will that not end corruption in our country? The time has now come for the finance
minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, and his colleagues, to start outsourcing infrastructure projects
to the private sector and incentivising whistleblowing with cash
rewards, to save Mother Ghana from ruination, oooo, Ghanafuo. Yooooooo..
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