If the law is an ass… What are the courts and judges? (Part II)

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

We insist that the Supreme Court’s ruling that the NPP’s Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey did no wrong in acquiring a state bungalow is appalling. It is disappointing and will go a long way to encourage thievery at the highest level and to the most frantic extent unless something else happens to curb it. The verdict has set a horrendous precedent that we must explore further.

Bad Precedent Number Four:

And here comes the most annoying aspect of the decision, which says that “the former erstwhile Kufuor appointee did not abuse any law of the land by purchasing the house.”

Of course, the Supreme Court might be focusing on “abuse of law” but it is obvious that we have no such law against acquisition of property. Fair enough. But what makes sense is that a government functionary occupying a state property must not use his position to acquire that property. What will happen if all government appointees rush to acquire state property at their disposal? Does the country have the resources to provide such property? And should public property be so (mis)appropriated at will?

If the law is an ass… What are the courts and judges? (Part I)

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

The Supreme Court’s judgement, legitimizing Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey’s acquisition of a state property (bungalow) is bad. It flies in the face of decency and sets a very horrible precedent that won’t encourage good citizenship for the benefit of our democracy.

Let’s be bold enough to tell those judges whose decision favoured Obetsebi-Lamptey that they have given Ghanaians a backhanded slap in the face. And we won’t take it without question.

Those simpletons who have already politicized the case and seen the verdict through an NDC-NPP dichotomy are sick in the head as well. This case is not a loss for the Mills government and a win for the NPP. It is a matter of public conscience and how the Supreme Court has harmed it.

Sekou Nkrumah and the Ghanaian jinx

Friday, May 18, 2012

When a Ghanaian politician behaves like a butterfly and flits about as the pendulum swings, he makes me laugh out loud. Carpet crossing is usually motivated by something in the politician’s character.

I am reminded of a former classmate of mine at the completion of the “O’ level programme many years ago who went for his testimonial and had the following from the Assistant Headmaster:

“An incorrigible character. His employer may employ him at his own risk for further study of his character before giving him a permanent employment.”

I don’t know what became of him after that. Some people doing politics in Ghana deserve a testimonial of that sort. One of them is Sekou Nkrumah who has just announced his marriage of (in)convenience with the NPP with the sole aim of propagating anything he can to discredit President Mills and work for his defeat at Election 2012.

When a hen eats its own egg…

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Indeed, Nature is inscrutable. As human beings, we may tap into it to improve our lives but if we think that we can know all about it and bend it to suit our personal desires, we will be deceiving ourselves. Truly, Nature provides numerous opportunities for us to learn from it so as not to run fools’ errands in life or swim against the current toward self-destruction. But some choose otherwise.

I will use only one example from Nature around which to weave my opinions in this article. It is about the domesticated hen and the lesson that its life teaches.

Akufo-Addo, your “Zongo Development Fund” politics sucks!!

Thursday, May 17, 2012

As if he has just woken up to the reality that bad leaders are elected by poor citizens who do not vote, the NPP’s Akufo-Addo is on a campaign of sorts, dubbed as “Restoring Hope,” to move the electorate to vote for him in the December elections.

But he seems to be digging his own grave more than uplifting himself to the vantage point. I will be brazen to say that he is not restoring any hope but rather dampening it.

He has so far not said anything new to restore anybody’s hope that he has what it takes to outdo the incumbent or previous governments whose visionlessness hasn’t taken us out of the woods yet. All that has come from him is either promise-making or a scathing attack on President Mills and his government.

Rawlings brings himself again!!

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Former President Rawlings is in the news again; and, as is characteristic of him, he is in for the wrong reason.

Speaking at the 30th Anniversary ceremony of the 31st December Women’s Movement, he was angry at what he called “unprecedented monetization of the political space,” being perpetrated by members of his own party in government (MyJoyOnline, May 15, 2012). He was reported as mincing no words in describing those government functionaries as “traitors who have betrayed the ideals of the National Democratic Congress.”

To him, the government has “enviably lost the sense of political morality and demeaned itself in a crass manner.” He said the NDC is now faced with fighting two enemies—traitors and the perceived enemies. Thus, “We cannot fight these two enemies… one must go.”

In political terms, such strong, pejorative words (“traitors” and “enemies”) connote a lot of dread. I am not surprised they are coming from Rawlings because that’s the true reflection of his psyche. Need I say more?

Woyome, AFAG, and the ugly side of our judicial system

Saturday, May 12, 2012

The inadequacies of our justice administration system have once again been brought to public attention. The Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) has issued a press statement decrying the circumstances surrounding the trial of Alfred Agbesi Woyome over the huge judgement debt paid to him.

The substance of the case and the fact that the case is before court notwithstanding, AFAG’s concerns should be shared by all well-meaning Ghanaians.