A quick note to Father Joop Visser - the Wandering-Priest, who loves his adopted country, Ghana, so passionately

Sage1, may 2023 be a good year for all who live across the entire landmass of Ghana. You really  are insightful, paaaa, oooo. Truth be told, it is hard  to avoid wondering whether  wanting to be the government-of-the-day (benefiting from  pork-barrel  politics delivering state-capture benefits to the established powerful rent-seekers who dominate our system and fund both the constituent parties that make up the New Patriotic Party (NPP)  National Democratic Congress (NDC) duopoly that dominate the 4th Republic so), isn't what actually drives the most vocal critics, of the current ruling party.

If that weren't so, for the NDC crowd, why do they not tell us precisely  how they will govern our debt-distressed country that risks ending up like Sri Lanka, and is likely to default on due interest payments for our massive foreign debt - without ruining living standards and stoking up inflation too, for example: so that voters can be confident that voting them into power again won't result in business as usual, for a greed-filled hard-of-hearing ruling-elite, which loves to party and drown in booze, even  in the face of a horrendous cost-of-living crisis, ruining millions of families simultaneously?

Have you seen or heard about any planned policy to use the Bank of Ghana's (BoG) Central Bank Digital Currency  (CBDC), for growth- boosting, levelling-up generational-empowerment-initiatives, such as giving all families and individuals that  request it, CBDC 1 million credited to them in BoG bank accounts opened for them to use to build new homes, in planned new climate-resilient green communities (to replace existing urban and peri-urban slums), and start new green economy businesses - all to be paid  back in 99 years:  with ultra-low installment payments that will provide assured-revenue for governments-of-the-day, from any government critic, yet, for example?

Furthermore, have you heard about any government critics talking about holding discussions with local private sector businesses to back them to find and partner global private sector  infrastructure providers, to self-finance the construction of 6-lane dualised tolled concrete motorways from Accra to all the regional capitals, own and maintain same, for 35 years, with the foreign partners guaranteed 100 percent profit repatriation, before the next presidential and parliamentary  elections, in 2024? Ditto a private sector funded and owned network of high-speed railway lines from Accra to all the regional capitals, on the same terms?

I don't know about you, Sage1, but I haven't heard any government critics in the NDC, promising, thus far,  to initiate new legislation that will give the Auditor General prosecutorial powers, when they come to  power in January 2025,  yet, oooo. Have you, by any chance?

Ditto get Parliament to pass new asset declaration laws making it mandatory for all political appointees (and top career  public servants), and their spouses,  to publicly publish their assets before assuming office,  and immediately after leaving office, should they win the presidential and parliamentary elections, and form the next administration in January 2025?

And, who takes seriously, amongst today's regime-critics, the idea of the passage of new legislation indemnifying all whistleblowers from prosecution, and guaranteeing them 35 percent of recovered stolen public funds, resulting from evidence they provide prosecutors, in  high-level-corruption recovery-trials, when the NDC returns to power again, Sage1?

Above all, should 16-year old Ghanaian citizens not be allowed to register to vote too  - as it is their future that they are watching being stolen from them in plain sight, in broad daylight, as things currently stand,  I ask,  in all humility? I stand to be corrected, on all the above,  naturally, Sage1, Father Joop Visser - you, the Wandering-Priest, who loves your adopted country, Ghana, so passionately. May 2023 be a good year for all who live in Ghana.

How should the Global North's younger generation Blacks deal with the harmful-stupidities of never-ending-racism?

Perhaps the key lesson that younger generation British Blacks ought to learn from the unfortunate lunacy of the racist broadcastor, Jeremy Clarkson's, widely-dessiminated latest uncouth-insults rained on the person of the Duchess of Sussex (whose only crime really for such idiots is that she is mixed-race and married into the British Royal Family), is that they must no longer tolerate being treated as if they are second class citizens who are half human - by making sure that at all material times, they excel in all their undertakings: in similar vein to the resolve of resolute Black boxers who let technical-knock-downs (of all their white opponents), do their refereeing and rounds-score-card-judging for them, in tournaments in boxing rings on British soil.

Same advice goes to younger generation Blacks across Europe, and to young African Americans, who must also abandon individual-snowflakery, and leadership-gaslighting that endless complaints against racism represent, and focus instead on excelling in all their lawful undertakings, ensuring, above all, that racist police officers looking to arrest them unjustly, can't successfuly harass them: because they are aware of, and conversant with, their  constitutional rights in what is supposed to be a democracy built on the bedrock of freedom. In one's humble view, that is how the Global North's  younger generation Blacks ought to deal with the harmful-stupidities of never-ending-racism. Enough, really is enough, now. Haaba. Case closed. Full stop.  Yooooooo...

We must not sit unconcerned while our rapacious rent-seeking state-capture big-thieves-in-high-places get away with murder

Ghana's 1992 Constitution enjoins leaders of sundry governments-of-the-day to refrain from sanctioning  secret clauses in all the agreements they sign on behalf of the good people of Ghana,  and the Ghanaian nation-state. Fellow Ghanaians, is the best way to ensure that,  not simply to have Parliament pass new asset declaration laws, that require all public office holders to publicly publish their assets -  and those of their spouses, anaaa? Yoooooooo...

The question that follows a priori, therefore,  is: When are we going to tear up all the oil and gas sector agreements signed since that with Kosmos Energy, during the Kufuor-era  - and institute production sharing agreements, to replace all such tainted oil and gas sector so-called hybrid oil agreements: that are one-sided and have resulted in Ghana being denied the US $120 billion,  minimum that would have been her due, had we had production sharing agreements, in place, from day one?

Furthermore, should we also not tear up the obnoxious SynoHydro agreement, apparently signed with secret clauses in them that are allegedly  detrimental to the overall interests of ordinary people and that of Mother Ghana, too, anaaaa? And, in light of all the above, when are we going to tear up all the agreements with the biggest private sector state-capture rent-seekers-extraordinaire,  the Jospong Group, Ghanafuo? Corruption has resulted in many Ghanaians losing their lives. It kills mercilessly. No question. That is why as a wise and aspirational African people, we must not sit unconcerned while our sodden big-thieves-in-high-places get away with murder.  Literally. Enough, really is enough, ooooo. Yoooooooo...

Ghanaians: Let us force our hard-of-hearing ruling-elites to step out of the shadow of conventional economic thinking

Now, more than ever, Ghana's ruling-elites must step out of the shadow of conventional economic thinking, if we are to rid ourselves of the massive debt mountain blocking the transformation of our homeland Ghana into a prosperous and equitable society.

Failure to do so, will lead inexorably to the chaos and destruction that Sri Lanka experienced when it defaulted on paying interest on its gargantuan external debt, here too, as sure as day follows night. No question. Yooooooo...  

Surely, as a wise and aspirational African people, we have the nous and gumption to think up creative and innovative ways, to help us reduce our external debt, without impoverishing ordinary people, in the process, do we not,  Ghanafuo? Haaba.

Why, for example, do we not leverage the value in our forests reserves (definitely more valuable than all the minerals underneath them,  combined), by leasing them to ESG-bedrocked carbon trading companies,  for 99 years, for US$60 billion, I ask, Ghanafuo? Was Twitter not purchased for US$44 billion, recently, anaaa, I ask?   Haaba.

And, were we to leverage the value in all the research institutes under the aegis of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), by repurposing them into cutting-edge commercial research entities, and invite genuine and reputable social impact investors to buy 70 percent for US$60 billion, would that not also reduce the huge debt mountain currently impeding our progress, one wonders?

Furthermore, to end corrosive high-level corruption, why do we also not get Parliament to pass new laws to incentivise whistleblowing - by indemnifying all whistleblowers from prosecution, and rewarding them with 30 percent of recovered purloined public funds, resulting from their exposure of high level corruption, by Ghana's rapacious greed-filled big-thieves-in-high-places? 

 

Finally,  why do we not get Parliament to pass new laws giving the Auditor General prosecutorial powers? Our ruling-elites  cannot go on as they have been carrying on,  any longer, ooooo, Ghanafuo. Enough is enough. The time for them to step out of the shadow of conventional economic thinking is now upon us - and we must force them to do so now as a wise and aspirational African people: not tomorrow. Yoooooooo...