Monday,
July 21, 2014
Folks, there is much tension in
the country, apparently because of the street demonstrations by various
interest and pressure groups and other acts or utterances that touch raw nerves
and muddy the waters. Many comments have been heard to the effect that the
government is insensitive to the plight of the people. Is the government really
being insensitive? What does it hope to gain from being so, anyway?
As organized labour gears up for
its demonstration on Thursday, the impression being created is that the
Mahama-led administration is implementing policies that are worsening living
conditions. The 23% hike in the prices of petroleum products by the National
Petroleum Authority, leading to a 15%
increment in transport fares, as well as the rise in tariffs
imposed by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission seem to be the main
factors provoking discontent among organized labour. Added to that provocation
is the government’s imposition of taxes and other measures that seem to be
pushing the citizens into a tight corner from where those belonging to
identifiable groups are now springing to take on the government through these
street demonstrations and wanton condemnation in public utterances (on radio
and in other forums).
In
effect, the workers want to express their frustrations about the worsening
socio-economic conditions in the country. They are doing so at many
fronts:
·
The President of the Ghana Medical Association,
Dr. Kwabena Opoku Adusei, says workers can no longer cope with the present
economic situation where utility tariffs are placed on an automated adjustment
system while salaries remain static. According to Dr. Opoku Adusei, the
state of affairs of the economy has rendered workers poorer as their earnings
cannot take care of their upkeep due to the rising cost of living, coupled with
the continuous dwindling value of the Ghana cedi against its major trading
currencies. He described government as being insensitive to the plight
of Ghanaians though workers have made several appeals to government to come to
their aid.
·
The University Teachers Association of Ghana
(UTAG) has hinted of embarking on an industrial action over the non-payment of
their book and research allowance.
·
Members of the Polytechnic Teachers Association
of Ghana (POTAG) have since May 2014 vacated the lecture halls in protest over
government's delay in the release of their book and research allowance, which
has forced the institutions to announce a nationwide shut down to date.
Some
of the factors are not labour-related but reflect what is generally known about
development projects. Residents of some communities have also taken to the
streets to protest at the state of affairs in their localities, especially deplorable
roads and other services.
Clearly,
these agitations and threats of street demonstrations point to one issue: Is
the government really being insensitive to the plight of workers and the
citizens, generally? What for? Or is it facing challenges that have forced it
to act the way it is doing only to be accused of insensitivity and incompetence?
Given
the diverse groups that are rising up against prevailing circumstance es in the
country, it is obvious that the tension will heighten, especially if some
politically mischievous groupings infiltrate the ranks of those now flexing
muscles and manipulate the situation to foment trouble. We already know of some
street demonstrations by such groupings and their insistence on painting the
government black. Others have been propagating the dangerous message that
President Mahama is incompetent and should either resign or be removed from
power. Too unbecoming in a democracy; not so?
The
fundamental issue, though, is why the government would choose to be insensitive
to the plight of the people by imposing hardship on them. What will the
government hop to achieve by doing so? Can it be said that the government’s
recourse to removing subsidies from the petroleum sector, shifting cost to
consumers, and the raising of tariffs by the PURC are genuine efforts at raising
revenue to support the government’s agenda regarding national development? If
so, should the government come across as insensitive? Or are the critics of the
government more concerned about how public funds are being spent than anything
else, given the rumpus over projects such as GYEEDA, SUBAH, etc. that were
characterized by theft of public funds? If so, then, where will we take
governance to?
The essence of governance is that
those wielding political power will use it for the good of the country and its
citizens; that they will use the resources of the country to improve the lot of
the people. In a democracy, it is imperative that in using that political power,
the rulers should be influenced by the exigency of the situation so as not to
impose needless hardships on the people and incur their displeasure. Of course,
a judicious use of that political power should improve governance itself, promote
good citizenship, and lead the citizens into a brighter future.
In our Ghanaian situation,
governance over the years has proved to be difficult, apparently because of how
political power is used. We recognize the fact that the fight for independence
from the British had a noble objective—to empower the indigenes so they could
determine how their country should be governed; hence, the birth of the First
Republic. Dr. Nkrumah’s successes and failures are still evident. The story of
the Second and Third Republics is still being woven and told. That of the
Fourth Republic is still unfolding right in front of our own eyes. These are
political eras in which political power was willingly given by the electorate
to the rulers.
Not so for the other crop of rulers
who entered political office through the barrel of the gun under various
guises—“National Liberation,” “National Redemption”, and “People’s Revolution”.
For good or bad, these military toads have also left their footprints on the
sand of Ghanaian politics. Their successes and failures can’t be glossed over.
But our main focus should be what
is unfolding right in front of our eyes because it suggests many twists and
turns that reflect many troubling tendencies. The spate of agitations and
street demonstrations won’t easily bring about any solution to the problems motivating
them; but it will create the impression that the government isn’t serving the
needs of the people. It will also help the government know where it is failing
and probably redirect it toward doing things in a more resolute and purposeful
manner, especially as it assumes a pointed political momentum.
The government claims that it is
implementing policies that will allow for a more judicious use of resources for
national development; but those agitating now (and those swallowing the bitter
pill in a silent protest) see things otherwise. What is it that the government
knows which the citizens don’t? And should the government’s determination to
use resources the way it considers it useful for national development pit it
against the very people who will turn out to be beneficiaries of these
measures?
Has the government set standards that
are at variance with the expectations and interests of organized labour and
political opponents, hence this collision course on which they are? What will
the government hope to gain from being insensitive to the plight of the people?
Indeed, our democracy is being tested. How we handle all these challenges will
go a long way to determine its success or failure.
I shall return…
·
E-mail:
mjbokor@yahoo.com
·
Join me on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/mjkbokor to continue the conversation.
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