Thursday,
July 31, 2014
Folks, sometime ago, I posted an
opinion piece to complain about the “whom-you-know” or “who-knows-you” syndrome
in Ghana, which is nothing but a negative attitude to national reconstruction.
I complained that our Establishment has too many loopholes that let
unscrupulous public office holders off the hook and portray them as “angels”
instead of the despicable criminals that they are to be punished!!
The Supreme Court’s verdict
against Alfred Agbesi Woyome in the deplorable judgement debt saga ties it all
up for us to flush out all those working against the interest of the state. If
the economic resources of the state are not protected and used to grow our
democracy, there is no way that democracy can be sustained. Thieves, liars, and
murderers parading themselves as nation builders should be flushed out as the
laws of the land are used to streamline governance. And governance means more
than the perpetual acrimony that we see about the NDC, NPP, and all the
mushroom political parties whose leaders and functionaries continue to bore us
with issues that negate our aspirations.
It boils down to the role of THE
LAW in the affairs of human beings. Where laws are enacted, interpreted, and
effectively enforced, human behaviour is positively influenced. And that
positive influence improves governance and facilitates efforts at nation-building.
In sum, no society can make progress if its citizens are lawless. A democracy
that doesn’t punish lawlessness is doomed to fail.
And one major area that threatens
every democracy is mismanagement of its lifeblood—the economic sector.
Mismanagement involves not only the government’s inability to use the resources
of the state for public weal but the use of carefully woven criminal networks
by unscrupulous characters to steal those resources or to act in a manner that
promotes bribery and corruption. In truth, then, a democracy that cannot punish
those who suck its lifeblood will collapse.
As the situation has panned out,
we know how the US system is taking care of itself, swiftly exposing and
punishing those who fall foul of the law. No matter what flaws it may have as a
human institution, the US’ version of democracy is thriving because it provides
no safety net for those who breach the law.
THE WORKINGS OF THE LAW
The trial on corruption charges against the
ex-Virginia governor, Bob McDonnell (a Republican who is accused of accepting loans and
lavish gifts from a supporter) has begun and is set to run
its full course. Jury selection has begun and McDonnell has begun keeping his fingers
crossed already. He was indicted after
leaving office in January 2014 and charged with accepting $165,000 (£97,144)
from the head of a dietary supplements firm in return for promoting its
products. His wife (Maureen) is also on trial. They face decades in prison if
convicted on all counts. Both are charged with 14 counts in total, including
fraud against the citizens of Virginia, obtaining property under colour of
official right, and false statements. Mr. McDonnell was once considered a
possible running mate to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney running
in 2012. He says he exercised bad judgment but did not break the law. (Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-28529670).
The BBC report casts a wide light on the matter: The federal
investigation into the finances of the once-rising Republican star cast a
shadow over his last few months as governor. He left office in January after
his four-year term ended, and was succeeded by Democrat Terry McAuliffe. (There
is no talk of witch-hunting here because the malfeasance has nothing to do with
partisan political interests).
According to prosecutors, Jonnie Williams, former chief
executive of Star Scientific, gave the McDonnells a $50,000 loan without
paperwork, multiple golf trips, vacations at Mr. Williams’ vacation home, and a
shopping trip for tens of thousands of dollars in designer clothing for Mrs.
McDonnell.
In return, prosecutors say Mr. McDonnell used his influence as
governor to help Star Scientific on an “as needed basis”, including inviting
the company’s executives to a reception for healthcare leaders in Virginia, as
well as making a personal pitch about a company product to state officials
during a meeting about reducing staff healthcare costs. The indictment also
accuses the McDonnells of attempting to hide the loans and other financial
benefits from Mr. Williams. Mr. McDonnell has said he paid back $120,000
(£70,650) of the money in question.
Mr. Williams will testify against Mr. McDonnell under a deal to
protect him from further prosecution. Other potential witnesses on the
prosecution's list, released on Monday, include Maureen McDonnell and the
couple's three children, Sean, Rachel and Bobby.
Lawyers for the former governor say federal investigators were
criminalising common political courtesies, like hosting receptions and
arranging meetings, and that no government grants were awarded, nor did Mr.
McDonnell take official action on his behalf.
LESSONS TAUGHT
This case is one of many that prove that in the US, the law is
no respecter of persons (at least, from what we know about law enforcement). The
administration of justice calls for equity. And the jury system is used to deal
promptly with cases and to ensure that justice is neither delayed not denied.
The jury system may have its pitfalls, but it is admirable for its immense benefits.
If for nothing at all, it ensures that cases being tried are not unnecessarily
delayed and that the accused can tell that they have peers (lay people) to go
into the charge. It instills confidence in the citizens and proves that justice
delivery is not as esoteric as the technicalities of the law may suggest. I
know that some limited jury system is functioning in Ghana; but I have reservations
on how it is set up and implemented. Knowing the general malaise that has
afflicted the Ghanaian system, I shudder to think that what we have is really
designed to solve problems.
Don’t trust the Ghanaian when it comes to anything that can be
set up to yield personal gains!! We have ever heard of the case of a juror in a
case being tried in Koforidua who approached relatives of the accused for a
bribe to turn the table in his favour. He was eventually found out and
discarded. Many others may not be reported, which worries us that our justice
delivery system is still problematic. There is still too much rot to worry
about. The Chief Justice is largely good at theorizing about endemic problems
in the Judiciary but not taking any concrete action to solve problems. She is
virtually a politician in wig!!
THE WAY FORWARD
Folks, I have raised all these issues to argue that our democracy
can grow only if backed by efficient law enforcement. Ghana has a lot to learn
from what is being done in other democracies, especially in view of the
numerous happenings that suggest that some people are immune to prosecution,
regardless of how much harm they cause to our democracy by their wanton and
reckless attitudes that endanger public funds and morality.
Talk about what has happened in this 4th Republic and
how the culprits end up being whitewashed to remain in public office and you
should be wondering why our democracy is still not helping us solve our
existential problems. It can’t because it is skewed in favour of those walking
the corridors of power, those who know how to manipulate it for personal gains.
This kind of democracy is ridiculous as a drain on the resources of the country,
even though the citizens don’t want to discard it because they hate its obverse—military
jingoism (for all that it entails. Experience will remain the best teacher
here).
But are our democratically elected leaders and those in
positions of trust doing what the citizens expect? If not, should the citizens
continue supporting this democracy or look for something else (if the ongoing
incitement by political opponents of the incumbent should be considered at all.
They are asking President Mahama to resign or that the soldiers should step in.
Pitiable narrow minds)? The conundrum persists.
In our own case in Ghana, we have
instances of impropriety on the part of political office holders and their
cronies which qualify as a gross violation of the law and ethics. Be those
violators politicians or civil/public servants, nothing has been done
scrupulously to bring them to book—and to prove to Ghanaians that by choosing
democracy as the means to determine their fate, everything would be done to
level the playing field. Of course, democracy entails equality before the law and
equity in the sharing and enjoyment of national resources. So, if events prove
that some are more equal than others, the consequence is grave: a lowering of
morale and incitement to acts of selective sabotage against the very democracy.
We may be complaining about the
high crime wave in the country or misdeeds at the workplace or in society,
generally; but we shouldn’t go far to know why. When a people are not assured of
security and better living conditions under a political system that they have sacrificed
their lot to establish and prop up, they will resort to anything that can help
them live their lives anyhow. And if it
comes to that crunch, the very acts of commission or omission of the people
will have dire consequences for the democracy itself. Ghana’s democracy isn’t
maturing to cater for such exigencies, which angers the people.
It is not difficult to tell why.
Over the years, many acts of malfeasance involving so-called high-ranking
officials have come to notice and dragged on in the corridors of THE LAW!!
Obviously, at the pulling of strings, the police don’t investigate such acts;
they don’t prefer any charge against the culprits; even if they prefer charges
against them, once the case enters the labyrinth of the Judiciary, it drags on
till infinity while the culprits go about their daily lives as if not perturbed
by anything that our democracy abhors. What sort of society do we hope to
establish with this kind of laxity?
For our democracy to grow, it
must be used to solve problems. It can’t do so if it is easily bent to serve
parochial interests that undermine the Establishment and confirm the citizens’
apprehensions.
There are many cases involving
public figures that have so far either been swept under the rug or put on the
back burner because of lethargy on the part of the law enforcement agencies or
some kind of criminal complicity to pass off bad nuts as role models. If our
Ghanaian system can be cleansed to do the right thing, we should be seeing a
new order.
Unfortunately, no one is
interested in cleaning the stables. The result is that those who should have
been punished for wrongdoing are rather applauded and upheld as role models.
This kind of misjudgement will doom our democracy. If we really want to grow
our democracy, we should be more serious than we have been so far. The law must
bark and bite deeply as happens in the US and other countries that we quickly
point to in our theoretical assessment of the values of democracy.
In our case, there is too much recourse
to theory. Democracies are not built on theory but practical action to right
wrongs. Let’s shift attention to the practical aspects of governance so we can
grow our democracy. The bitter truth is that those in charge of affairs in
government and the opposition are skewing issues to suit their narrow political
purposes, damn the consequences. Are we really sure of where we want to be in
the near future so we can live our lives in decency, almost 22 years after
establishing this 4th Republic? I wonder; I really wonder!!
I shall return…
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E-mail:
mjbokor@yahoo.com
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me on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/mjkbokor to continue the conversation.
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