Thursday,
May 24, 2012
Where are the real patriots of
Ghana? Join me to say a very big “kudos” to the Government of Ghana for
demonstrating the guts that might have eluded it all this while in its response
to matters concerning its political opponents.
The
government says it will not sell the controversial state land and bungalow former
Minister and NPP Chairman, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, is said to have bought
(Myjoyonline, May 24, 2012).
A
statement by the Information Ministry says Cabinet took the decision at its
meeting today, describing the decision to be “in the supreme interest of the
people of Ghana, and taking cognisance of the Supreme Court ruling in the
matter of Mr. Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey’s immoral acquisition of a state property
he occupied as a Minister of State.”
The
Statement is entitled “Government Will Not Sell Property to Jake
Obetsebi Lamptey” and
signed by Information Minister, Fritz Baffour. Its major import is that “The
property in question thus continues to remain the property of the State.”
Hurray
to morality and commonsense! And shame to the insensitive, greedy property
grabbing demagogues parading as democrats and their backers in the anathema
that they have turned the judiciary into.
If
they were true democrats, they would operate in such a way as to live and let
live; they will know the extent to which to take their self-acquisitiveness so
as not to harm the interests of the very people whose sweat sustains the
democracy; and they won’t exploit loopholes in the democratic dispensation to
inflict harm on those ordinary Ghanaian tax payers. Shame on them, I say again
with unprecedented alacrity!!
For once, steel will cut steel (“Dadie
be twa dadie”) in Ghanaian politics. The swift decision by the Mills-led
government to stamp its authority on this matter concerning public property is
laudable. To all intents and purposes, it deserves commendation for coming out
to act in the general interest of the country.
There is nothing illegal about
the government’s move. It is the appropriate action to take in the best
interest of the state and its citizens. Looking on for Obetsebi-Lamptey to
acquire this property will be the worst disservice to have ever been done to
the state.
If the Kufuor government could be
so immoral and wicked as to divest the state of its assets, this one shouldn’t
be seen as condoning that thievery. It is now time to take inventory of all
state property and retrieve them from the wrong hands. No condition should be
created for what belongs to us all to be taken over by a few greedy do-nothings
parading the corridors of power.
I am extremely happy at this
sudden turn of events. Now, the stage has been set for a showdown that should
stretch the matter to its fullest limits. We’ll see how it will all unfold and
how the mighty will fall.
Let’s see if
Obetsebi-Lamptey will return to the Supreme Court for it to overturn the
government’s decision. If he does, we should expect many twists and turns to
test the strength and character of the judiciary itself. In the end, the public
will rise up to defend its interests!!
Ayikoi
Otoo, lawyer for Obetsebi-Lamptey has already given a hint that his client will
advise himself over the government’s decision to repossess the bungalow “which
was sold to him by the Kufuor administration.” What a cheap shot! But
what do we expect from another property-grabbing democrat?
As for the aspect of
his statement that the government’s decision is
a “regrettable decision” and amounts to rolling back the gains the country has
made under its present constitutional dispensation, the least said about it,
the better.
What
is this ridiculous reference to the “gains the country has made under its
present constitutional dispensation”? Are these “gains” available to the
citizens to enjoy as much as they have become the preserve of those
unscrupulous politicians manipulating the system to serve their narrow and
parochial interests?
Is
Ayikoi Otoo so dishonest or unconscionable as to imply that Obetsebi-Lamptey’s
acquisition of a public property “nicodemously” is acceptable, even at a time
that no notice on the sale of that property was made available to the public
for those capable of bidding for it to put in their stake?
Again,
is he saying that of all needy Ghanaians, Obetsebi-Lamptey is the most
fortunate to acquire that property and turn it into a commercial venture, even
when public officials face acute accommodation problems that neither the Kufuor
government nor the incumbent has been able to solve?
His
flight into this aspect of the matter to suggest that the President has flouted
the Constitution and faces impeachment is a clear demonstration of his
frustration and mischief. He is just making a mockery of himself.
He
has been quick to say that by provisions of the Constitution, neither the
President nor Parliament has power to oppose decisions of the judiciary in whom
judicial power is vested. But will Ayikoi Otoo tell us what the Kufuor
government did when the Supreme/Appeal Court ruled that the former Immigration
Service boss, Hodari Okine, be reinstated and his entitlements paid him?
The
Kufuor government flouted that court’s order with impunity. Was that a clear
case of disrespect for the judiciary to undermine the judiciary in our
constitutional democratic dispensation? What was it about that court order that
made it difficult for the Kufuor government to obey which makes it less
important (or constitutionally mandated) than this case involving
Obetsebi-Lamptey? Is one citizen more equal than the other in the eyes of the
NPP leadership?
By
this selective amnesia, this Ayikoi Otoo comes across as desperate and mindless
of the implications of what he is complaining of.
In
making this decision, the government has just taken the first step. It must go
ahead to insulate all public property against this kind of white-collar thievery.
I expect the government to either enunciate Executive Instruments to protect
public property or to quickly initiate a bill to be placed before Parliament
making it criminal for any public official to attempt acquiring public
property, especially if the acquisition is motivated and made possible by
political connections.
It
is unfortunate that public officials into his care public property has been
entrusted are the very people turning round to acquire such property under
disturbing circumstances and using useless legal technicalities and the support
of the judiciary to perpetuate fraud.
I
consider this aspect of the Cabinet’s decision that no political appointee
should ever be allowed to engage in any such unacceptable transaction as too
weak to have any effect. It must go beyond a decision to be established as a
legal injunction. What happens if this government leaves office and its
decision is not binding on the new administration? Such decisions must be set
in stone and enforced by legal means. That is why the need for legal action to
reinforce the Cabinet’s decision is paramount.
The tide has surely turned
against this Obetsebi-Lamptey, who might have joined his fellow
property-grabbing democrats and well-wishers in the NPP fold to celebrate the
Supreme Court’s decision supporting his acquisition of a state property. As Fate
will have it, that celebration has turned out to be a short-lived Pyrrhic
victory with dire implications.
The animated reaction to that
verdict should tell every reasonable follower of the NPP that unlike other
court cases in which some high-ranking NPP functionaries were exonerated, this
particular one is peculiar and holds nothing worth counting as a political
windfall. It is a victory whose boomerang effects will not redound to the NPP’s
political fortunes.
I have already pored over the
tons of comments on the verdict and can conclude that the repercussions won’t
help the NPP in any way. Any member of that party thumping his chest now will
live to rue it all when the dust settles.
Although the case may pass off as
a purely personal one involving Obetsebi-Lamptey’s material interests, it has
already assumed an overarching political dimension. It is so because it
reflects and reinforces public perception of the damaging implications of the
NPP’s property-grabbing democracy.
Ghanaians are making the
connections and seeing the danger that they will expose themselves and the
country’s assets to if they return the NPP to power at Election 2012.
President Mills may be accused of
not being dynamic and assertive enough to provide the kind of leadership needed
to galvanize the citizens or harness the country’s vast natural and human
resources to solve the country’s problems; but they won’t just throw him out of
office to bring in those whose conduct threatens the public good.
Obetsebi-Lamptey’s greed and
disregard for morality (as he claimed yesterday not to be bothered in this case
by moral issues) is a clear demonstration of the danger that the NPP’s
property-grabbing democracy holds for us.
And it is only a matter of deep
relief that the government has stepped in to cut short his mortifying greed. Such
a character is a bad example and must be stopped in his stride before he
corrupts others. Public property must remain public property for as long as it
is needed to serve the public good.
The indecent zeal with which they
are running around the political landscape pestering the electorate for their
mandate to return to power is enough to forewarn me of what they have up their
sleeves. Let’s be careful how we handle matters so as not to open ourselves to
harm. The rampaging political wolves are just too hungry for my liking.
Rather irritatingly, these were
the very people portrayed by the former Vice President (Aliu Mahama) as people
who had already made their wealth before entering politics; and that they were
not doing politics to enrich themselves. Nothing can be more insulting than
this utterance.
Away with these marauding
property-grabbing politicians who have no conscience to guide them in their
self-acquisitiveness! Let’s cut them to size.
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Great piece. As usual.
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