Friday,
September 19, 2014
Folks, in response to the
controversy raised by the huge sum of money paid on hotel accommodation for Ms.
Lauretta Lamptey (head of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative
Justice, CHRAJ) a contributor made an insightful contribution to an opinion
piece that I wrote a few days ago:
“Not only CHRAJ but these too,
NMC, Energy Commission, PURC, NPA, and many others... their duties and functions
can be done by a Supervising and Monitoring Directorate of their related
agencies... What are the Parliamentary Sub-committees there to do if not to check
any excesses by these state institutions?”
This opinion is rich and needs a
thorough discussion. Thus, I have expanded the contributor’s ideas to come up
with this prompt to guide us as we continue to explore issues regarding our
democracy. I hope you will add your voices to our good friend’s and mine as
well. Enjoy!!
The problem created by Ms. Lamptey
has brought to sharp focus many issues that should make us question the
efficacy of our democracy. Amazingly, she is not ashamed of herself within this
context nor are the appointing authorities even bothered by any qualm of
conscience to act decisively against her. Spending public funds with impunity
and against the grain should be regarded as a punishable offence for which Ms.
Lamptey stands accused.
The truth is that she isn’t fit
to hold that position anymore; and if she is adamantly refusing to resign at
her own volition because she isn’t well-cut-out to know what morality enjoins
public servants like her caught up in such self-created acts of immorality to
do, the authorities who put her in office should act decisively to save their
own faces too! But no one is acting, apparently because all conscience is
seared with a hot, branding iron!! A democracy that is designed to succeed
won’t tolerate this kind of criminal flippancy.
Many people who know the shortfalls
of this democracy have already drawn their conclusion: that Ghana cannot make
any progress under the current political dispensation. Too much nastiness going
on! Probably, some credit may be given to Rawlings when he said that he won’t
admire this kind of “ballot-paper democracy”.
It is undeniable that a democracy
can grow and serve the purposes for which it was adopted only if it addresses
the exigencies that necessitated its birth. Our Ghanaian version of democracy
has turned out to be a huge mockery. It is an albatross on the necks of the tax-payers
to be derided and pooh-poohed for not only cushioning those who know how to
manipulate it for undeserved personal gains but also for worsening the plight
of the voiceless millions whose sweat, toil, and blood feed the national
coffers on which it depends. Disgraceful.
And the problem can be traced to
the institutions of state that have failed to shape and shave the democracy to
meet the needs of the people. These institutions have not only functioned to
perpetuate the status of the privileged but they have also acted in despicable
ways to close doors to the poor majority of Ghanaians seeking to effect any
change for promoting their well-being. This kind of democracy is sham and not
worth supporting. And the institutions of state downgrading it stand accused.
Is it really necessary to retain
and sustain all these institutions of state just to prove that we have a
democracy that is to be respected as a political umbrella? To me, the most
important element that should validate a democracy is the economic and social
aspects of human existence. If the democracy cannot solve problems to make life
worth living, it is useless and should be discarded.
Mind you, I am not trying to be
an anarchist; but I just want to make it clear that the kind of democracy that
exists in Ghana places too much emphasis on the “political” element, which isn’t
solving problems to help the citizens live their lives in comfort. All that our
democracy ensures is the right to vote on Election Day to put in place
political toads who have no compunction feeding fat and fast on the national
coffers. The voters can huff and puff all they like, but the fast-feeding
frenzy will continue while their sentiments are massaged in readiness for
another Election Day.
Even then, the voting is characterized
by intrigues that detract from the fundamental principle of democracy
itself—the free will of the people to choose their leaders. We know how much
manipulation and inducement goes on when the politicians and their lackeys criss-cross
the political landscape to corrupt the electorate with gifts (roofing sheets,
corn mills, cars, promises of good jobs, and many others that end up not being
fulfilled as soon as the elections are over).
We also know how the main
political actors manipulate the institutions of state to suit their agenda. So
also are the desperate efforts by those not favoured at the elections to
attempt twisting arms so they can enter the corridors of power by the backdoor.
Our democracy isn’t growing; it isn’t serving the purposes served by
democracies that are designed to succeed. History tells us a lot and we have
come to know the truth about democracies to the extent that when we take away
the political aspect (the mere casting of ballots), we can tell how hollow and
deceptive our kind of democracy has turned out to be.
It is practically in place to
cushion those who know how to manipulate the system to advantage. And there are
lots of them parading as human rights activists, philanthropists, and
what-have-you who, when given the nod to be in power, end up being hyenas
feasting on the system that they quickly construct as carrion!! Ravenous
scavengers devouring carrion and feeding their own whims and caprices at the
expense of the vast majority of the people. Fie on them!!
As currently configured, our
democracy serves the best interests of such people. That is why they aren’t
interested in overhauling the system so our democracy can be reformed to
empower the citizens. They fear empowerment of the citizens because it will
spell their doom. That is why they can’t even pass a simple bill on the Right
to Information to help the citizens know as much as they need to know about how
those put in authority are functioning. That is why they cannot open themselves
to public scrutiny. They adopt face-saving measures and run away from the truth
when threatened. They fear the beam of public scrutiny and operate confidently
in darkness.
Ask me why the government cannot
sustain its “Meet-the-Press” series or even follow through its own agenda of a
weekly press briefing at the Flagstaff House (as the former Deputy Minister of
Information, Murtala Mohammed, had announced many months before he got pushed
out of contention. He is still holding a position of trust but has learnt to
seal his mouth so he can enjoy the benefits of public office without attracting
the searchlight to himself. And there are many of his type in this Mahama-led
government).
As the Italian writer (Mario Puzo)
puts it, even in the mafia gangster community, “fools die”! And the Ghanaian
democracy has a lot of fools who will die for lack of knowledge and for recourse
to shortcuts to wealth at the expense of the state and people. Too bad for our
democracy. I say in conclusion that the profligacy displayed by Ms. Lamptey is
characteristic of our loose democracy. There are many of her type all over the
place; but in tying up the loose ends, she has sent herself to the slaughter
house and must be so dealt with. She has to go and others behaving like her
fished out and sent packing too. Who has the nerves to act decisively in the
interest of our democracy?
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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