Can these NPP people be honest for once?

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Many people have been wondering why I can't leave the NPP out of my opinion pieces; and I have a simple answer for them, which is that I won't because the NPP always gives me cause to say something about them.

Others wonder why I hate the NPP so much as to condemn it every day. And my answer for them is that it is not that I have chosen to hate the NPP; it is because the NPP and its leaders and followers always do and say what makes people like me distrust and hate them for what they are, what they say, and what they do to confirm our doubts, fears, and suspicions about them. They tell too many lies. 

Now, here is why I am writing this post for discussion. I consider the duplicity with which the NPP is operating as motivated by political mischief, concentrated dishonesty, childishness, and churlishness—and above all, the desire to make the country ungovernable—which will all fail.

The “True State of the Nation Address” and the NPP’s Quixotic politics

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

My good friends, I have been putting two-and-two together to attempt comprehending all that has been going on in the country in this post-Election 2012 season, especially within the context of the NPP’s protestations and on-going challenge to the outcome of Election 2012.

The Constitution mandates only the President of Ghana to present a “State of the Nation Address” to Parliament once a year to serve as his government’s blueprint for handling national affairs. Parliament itself is enjoined to debate that Address as a way of offering input for policy formulation or for controlling the ship of state.

The Constitution doesn’t mandate any other person, institution, or political party to present anything in the name of State of the Nation Address” (whether qualified or not). But the NPP today came out with what it labelled the “True State of the Nation Address,” which its Minority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu presented in Parliament.

The NPP meets its own ghost at the Supreme Court

Monday, February 25, 2013

Folks, you might have heard it already to know why the NPP is in court. The pond is gradually drying up and the fish must know how to behave; otherwise, it will soon be out of water. And you know what a fish-out-of-water is, right?

The NPP says it is afraid of collapsing as a result of losing Election 2012; hence Akufo-Addo’s dashing into the dark chambers of the Supreme Court for redemption to have grips on himself and help the NPP remain intact. The ghosts are gradually emerging one after the other to scare their owners!!

After dancing around in circles, putting up appearances and intensifying their game of calculated deception, the NPP leaders are now emerging from their closet to reveal why they rushed to court—and are taking every measure to remain there as the last resort.

Why does Kufuor want to remain relevant?

Monday, February 25, 2013

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor says he is committed to ensuring that he remains relevant to Ghana and Africa’s human development. He adds that he wants “to remain relevant to the development of the society, bring added quality to humanity."

I agree with him and urge him to press on. One may, however, be quick to point to lapses in his own leadership style for the 8 years that he ruled Ghana; but having stepped out of the saddle to see things from a more disinterested perspective, he can dispassionately approach issues and offer ideas to society, which is why his decision to establish this Foundation is commendable.

Ghanaian politicians: Why wash your faces upwards?

Saturday, February 23, 2013

One fashionable strategy being adopted these days by the mainstream political parties to disguise their activities is the formation and use of politically motivated groups that they disguise as civil society groupings.

Mushrooming all over the place, these so-called civil society groups have every attribute of these political parties no matter how hard they try to camouflage themselves. The only difference is in the name. The modus operandi, composition, and substance of their rhetoric are not different from what their mother political parties have given us to know about them. They are also fixated on insults and ethnicity.

They can be traced right to their roots in the NDC or NPP. These are the two main parties jumping on each other, forming these mushroom groups to rope in some known activists of the splinter political parties that are dying because of their irrelevance to contemporary Ghanaian politics.

Whom are those forming these groups or sponsoring their activities deceiving? We are smart enough to know them for what they are—offshoots of the parties we already know. In their ignorance, they deceive themselves that we can’t sift the grain from the chaff to expose them. We can.

The President and Parliament fighting over the Council of State?

Friday, February 22, 2013

Have you heard the news? Parliament and the Executive are on a collision course in matters concerning the Council of State, which is intriguing for several reasons.

The MPs are unhappy that the President went behind them to act in a manner that did not only violate the Constitution but that also undermined their integrity. Or rather, the President slighted them and acted ultra vires (beyond his powers). This is not the first time that the MPs have complained of being sidestepped by the Executive, but the particular issue against which they are protesting itself is pertinent to our current political dispensation.

Kwame Pianim’s idiot tears the party’s flag

Friday, February 22, 2013

When Kwame Pianim said before the 2008 elections that any idiot can bear/carry the flag of a political party, many didn’t understand him. Is he not right, after all?

Of course, he was reacting to the rejection of his preferred Presidential Candidate, Dr. Frimpong-Boateng, by the NPP’s delegates who went for Akufo-Addo instead. His reaction provoked outrage and was deemed as highly unpalatable by his critics in the party, some of whom even went to the extent of denying him his rightful place in the NPP’s pecking order.

Others called for him to be ostracized. Forget about the insults rained on him. He has since been dormant in the affairs of the party, at least, as far as his public utterances about goings-on in the party are concerned.

But his poignant statement can’t be forgotten, especially when the moments are always ripe for it to be revisited or recalled to explain contemporary political developments. I will quote him as far as the word “idiot” in our political parlance as used by him is concerned. Don’t blame me.

The Appeal Court jumps the gun—and Ghana suffers!!

Thursday, February 14, 2013

My good friends, the Woyome judgement debt scandal continues to remain what it is—a blot on the image of our government, the judiciary, and all others connected with the scandal.

It is certainly disturbing that even before the substantive case against Woyome could be tried to its logical conclusion, the Appeal Court, by a unanimous decision, has jumped the gun to order that accounts belonging to Woyome be released to him.

The Court ruled today that except the accounts held at the Agricultural Development Bank (through which the 51 million-Cedi judgement debt was channelled to him), all other accounts belonging to Woyome must be returned.

Why is the government afraid of the Chinese? (Part II)

Monday, February 11, 2013

We are angry that the government is not solving the problems caused by foreigners, especially the Chinese, who have entered our country anyhow and are doing acts to endanger the economy and lives in the various communities. We are not happy that despite all the reports of the illegal activities of these undesirables, nothing is being done to rid us of their menace.

Forget about the actions taken against the Fulani. Those half-hearted measures are politically motivated and shouldn’t be applauded as the solution. Even then, how long didn’t it take before the government put in place those cosmetic measures to contain the situation?

Undoubtedly, the government seems to be more focused on hardcore political issues now than stepping out to tackle problems that threaten the economic sector. I challenge it to prove me wrong.

Why is the government afraid of the Chinese? (Part I)

Monday, February 11, 2013

We have had good cause to complain about inefficiency in the governance of this country over the years; and we will continue to do so until our leaders change for the better. We will not leave them to do things at their own pace, though. Very soon, we will take our protest a step further to put sustained pressure on them at both the local and national levels until they act responsibly to solve problems, not to create new ones to add to existing ones.

No empty sloganeering about a “Better Ghana” or a “Positive Change” will deter us from taking our leaders to task. We are serving notice so they don’t continue to mistake our leniency for a weakness to exploit.

When Ghanaians went to polls, they endured physical pain and mental agony to exercise their franchise in the hope that those to put in charge of affairs will be responsible enough to know their plight and work hard to uplift living standards.

They didn’t endure all that inconvenience to put dummies in charge of national affairs. Consequently, they will not sit down unconcerned for those in office to continue rubbing salt into their wounds.

To hell with these Prophets of Doom

Friday, February 8, 2013

The so-called prophecy by Rev. Isaac Owusu Bempah (Founder and leader of Glorious Word Ministry International) that President Mahama will die this year is the most outrageous message coming from the pests that parade our country, masquerading as “Men-of-God.”

I have written several opinion pieces to make it clear that the preponderance of prophecies from all manner of people calling themselves “Men-of-God” is not only annoying but it is also a clear demonstration of the depth of moral depravity to which the country has sunk—which creates the loopholes for such charlatans to exploit.

Those researchers who recently placed Ghana atop of the list of countries considered to be most religious have opened to us a huge window through which to view ourselves as a nation at risk of being thrown apart by the morbid Christianity that has dominated our national life.

Leave President Mahama alone to die

Friday, February 8, 2013

The Founder and leader of Glorious Word Ministry International, Rev. Isaac Owusu Bempah, is in the news again for the wrong reason. He is reported to have predicted that President Mahama will die this year unless he and his advisers take steps to reverse it.

Making matters worse, he didn’t tell us what specific “steps” they should take. This is the annoying deception that charlatans of Owusu Bempah’s ilk spring on us. They make such issues open-ended, leaving it to chance in the hope that if anything happens to fit into their agenda, they will quickly turn round to claim undue credit for it.

What exactly will the NPP’s lawsuit add to our democracy?

Thursday, February 7, 2013

The lawsuit filed by the NPP is gradually exposing a lot that we must continue to interrogate as we monitor the developments unfolding right in front of our eyes.

I am still struggling with the rationale behind the NPP’s lawsuit and want to raise some nagging aspects for our discussion. What exactly is the NPP in court to achieve? And how will that achievement add any value to our democracy?

One major justification that the party’s leaders and supporters used to support the court action was that it would help us refine our democracy and curtail future manipulation of the electoral process. They haven’t ceased couching their claims in that fluff.

But I don’t see how this lawsuit will do anything of the sort. Plainly put, how can the demand that the Supreme Court annul 4,670,504 valid votes cast at the 2012 polls and declare Akufo-Addo as winner of the Presidential elections add any value to our democracy? On what basis is this “value” being framed as such? What will make anything of the sort a “value,” at all?

Mahama Ayariga scores government’s first OWN goal

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Mahama Ayariga, the new Minister of Information, is on the loose all too soon, scoring the first own goal against the government and setting the stage for goofs that will damage the government’s public image beyond measure if not reined in.

He has been reported as categorically denying that President Mahama had known Andrew Solomon, an acclaimed US author and a renowned gay activist. His denial was in response to claims by the President’s opponents that he was sending mixed signals on his stance on homosexuality.

Andrew Solomon is the founder of the Solomon Research Fellowship for the rights of lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender and is alleged to have raised funds for President Mahama's 2012 campaign after paying 20,000 dollars for a copy of the President’s book launched in New York last year.

Now, the government has admitted that President Mahama, in fact, met and interacted with Andrew Solomon when the former was then Vice-President, quite contrary to the earlier report that the two had had no prior close relationship.