ROBERT DAMBO
Indeed the sovereignty of every nation resides in its people through their freedom to operate.
The cause and drive for our independence was on the premise of socioeconomic and political emancipation through the argument and struggle were defeated when the power drunks and imperialist subverted our Will from the very day of the pump and pageantry [ads1]declaration.
Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah had a vision. A vision which was bigger than Ghana, a vision which is/was about the independence of the sub-region and Uniting Africa under a common Umbrella from the partition.
Nkrumah would have been worshipped as Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed should he had originated from the West, indeed the aforementioned were never accepted by their own until after their demise. Osagyefo actualized the dream of an industrialized Ghana but the bigger dream of Free Trade, One currency, One market, borderless and One Africa for Africans.
We have had a lot of leaders after Nkrumah but none have been able to deliver or better still sustain the legacies of Osagyefo. We have always been at the mercy of corruption, incompetence and visionless crooks who think only of themselves looking at the pecking order. The first coup in our political history on the overthrow of Nkrumah the God of Africa continue to be the most useless haunting albatross impeding our growth and development.
Leadership is measured by performance and results and the spirit of true leadership has often indicated same.
Fast forward 2016 General elections, Ghanaians clamored for change, change that would restore hope, New beginning and proper institutional restructuring.
All seven political parties presented Ghanaians with alternative policies that would achieve our needed restructuring and accelerated growth and development.
PPP, NDC, NPP, CPP, NDP, PNC All presented convincing manifestos to be given the mandate to deliver but the axe fell on the NPP to “chop”. Ghanaians trooped to the streets to a welcoming jubilation when the elections were declared.
Nana Akufo Addo won by a landslide margin to fulfill his childhood dream of being a leader of mother Ghana. Indeed the President on his swearing-in read a fantastic speech for Ghanaians being citizens and not spectators but only to be greeted with international ridicule of a plagiarism and civil society were wondering how the President could condescend to that level considering his age and experience in politics, others also called on the head of Eugene Arhin.
Ghanaians moved on but our dashed hopes were awakened once again when the President implemented the much anticipated Free Senior High School Education. The president earned the respect of many local and international bodies, commendations trooped in left right center albeit the glaring challenges that persisted which led me to write an open letter to the first gentleman of the land “Free S.H.S A need or a misplaced priority an open letter to the president” I underscored the need for Free SHS and how we could address the challenges in our educational sector.
The Free SHS program is facing financial setback but heads of these institutions are mute for fear of being shown the exit should they voice out. As I am penning down this publication most of the third year students have not had their second mock which is a performance assessment tool for the main exams because they are cash strapped, the little funds are being channeled to cater for the first year students.
Our Educationists, parents and civil society are calling all hands on deck to help arrest the problems therein.
I have always indicated that policy implementation is not only about appending signatures but assessing the policy critically and providing strategic windows to address any unforeseen circumstances.
Free SHS is a good policy but poorly planned and poorly rolled out cos the challenges that existed just increased which is crippling the effort of studies.
One District One Factory.
Tiffany Madison, ” If we don’t fight for what we stand for with our passionate words and honest actions, do we really ‘stand’ for anything. Indeed, there is a growing discontent as to when the Nana Addo led government is going to start the much-touted flagship program One district One factory. The project which was earmarked to begin last year with a budgetary allocation of GH 450 million has still not seen the day of light. Nana Addo keeps praising himself of making Ghana an industrial hub and as a result, his party apparatchiks and social commentators are often eulogizing him of being a solution to our unemployment challenges as a country but where are the factories??.
This government rode on the agenda for job creation but it seems the data on employment continue to be a nightmare to the extent that the young government of Nana Addo couldn’t give us the data on jobs created since he assumed office.. We are yet to see where this project has been rolled out and the kind of project that is in operation. This government is on a parroting spree amidst the many failed attempts to make the policy operational. Ghanaian youth are in despair and their despondency is as a result of our unchecked unemployment which is catastrophic to our growth, security and development.
Ghanaians greeted this project with the enormity of hope but it seems majority a Ghanaian is disappointed since government and his communicators are bent on rhetoric and mere propaganda than seeing to putting in place proper planning and implementation strategy to help alleviate the wasteful youthful population. Life must be breathed into the agenda for job creation because, its suffering from paralysis. Governance is a serious business but not about running a diarrhea mouth co’s it will expose you as Dr Bawumia indicated in times past.
One Village One Dam
Agriculture is the backbone of Ghana and Africa at large but our people are dying in hunger.
Ghana is blessed with arable and fertile land capable of producing in excess but the only challenge we are facing as a country is a misplaced priority as to how to add value to our products and how we can be tapped into mechanized farming to help address the issues of achieving food sufficiency.
One of the fundamental problems undermining our agricultural sector is relying on rain-fed agriculture which has been defeated by global warming. The weather can no longer be a determinant to our plowing and tilling of the land but making good use of building dams in our agricultural zones.
The government of Nana Akufo Addo promised building dams in all the three northern regions (though its a hoax) to ensure all year round farming and bumper harvest to feed our hungry population and embark on trade through export.
The irony is that there is a budgetary allocation for 100 dams to be constructed in 2018 but the vice president in a regular public debate indicated that government is going to construct 570 dams but the variance indicates that this administration is interested in public sympathy and cheap political space than performing to the social contract they signed with Ghanaians.
The many graduates we are churning out without plans of engagements must be integrated into the agricultural sector.
Farming inputs and seedlings or livestock must be provided at no price as an incentive to get them going. The various MMDCEs must be tasked to identify growth poles with proper selection and monitoring of persons to help undertake this project.
The only problem hampering the public sector continues to be poor supervision but this time, the president must have the balls to sack anyone who does not perform to task to help make this project a success.
One Million Dollars, One Constituency
Ghana is bedeviled with a lot of developmental challenges and the district assemblies common fund is woefully inadequate to help bridge the gap.
The hopes of Ghanaians were ignited by Nana Addo when he indicated there is money in the country but the incompetence of the then John Mahama administration has brought unbearable hardships to Ghanaians and given the opportunity he Nana Addo and his competent team are going to create wealth for all Ghanaians. The pledge of Nana Addo keeps re-echoing in my head ” sika now) ha” but it seems Ghanaians were bamboozled since we are in the second year of this administration and no constituency or whatsoever have received their fair share of the money as promised in the country.
This policy among many other policies was announced by then candidate Akufo Addo in the heat of the 2016 elections but the monies are yet to hit the account of the various constituencies in the country. Government over the years have tried everything possible to bridge the district and constituency development gap. Opinion leaders welcomed this news with ecstatic pump and pageantry but the said amount is yet to hit the accounts of the various constituencies. The government of Nana Addo without mincing words are much satisfied with propaganda than delivering on their mandate. Indeed talk is cheap.
Ghana Beyond Aid
A country that can boast of being the food basket of Africa, home of gold, timber, bauxite, diamonds, Cocoa etc cannot boast of economic independence. Ghana is still battling with economic independence after 61 years of self rule this is ludicrous and we must all be abashed by this development.
Ghana is always at the forefront begging for chicken peas to build schools, hospitals, and toilet facilities what a shame.
Nana Addo promised to wean Ghanaians off this canker of over-dependence but it seems he is preaching the virtues by enjoying the applause but practicing the vices.
“There was a time I thought I can trust the government” Zybejta Beta Metani. We were/are hoodwinked because, there is no clear-cut policy direction to this claim and indeed talk is cheap.
The government as usual is on a parroting, populists and petty politicking to garner public sympathy. The various loans this government has taken clearly defeats the argument of Ghana beyond aid agenda which lacks proper or critical policy direction withou a single document to the house of the peoples representative to deliberate on. It seems to me we have purchased our spiritual death on the installment plan.
“A president cannot defend a nation if he is not hold accountable to its laws” DeShanne Stokes.
Article 1 (1) The sovereignty of Ghana resides in the people of Ghana in whose name and for whose welfare the powers of government are to be exercised in the manner and within the limits laid down in this constitution”
The Ghana-U.S military agreement is the most useless agreement in recent times. A government that is struggling on revenue deficits is now satisfied with granting the sovereignty of this country to the U.S for them to enjoy tax exemptions on their types of equipment to be imported into the country for free and without inspection. The simple question is, can the same agreement be done with the U.S to the fee or even 200 million dollars for us to enjoy same conditions as spelled out to us???
Indeed, the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda must not just be a slogan but program with combine efforts with rest of African states but not the United States of America to help address challenges we are bedeviled with “If we do not unite and combine our military resources for common defence, or individual (African) states, out of a sense of insecurity, may be drawn into making a defence pacts with foreign powers which may endanger the security of us all” Dr Kwame Nkrumah. This is a pure vision of Africa beyond aid and our criticism is justifiable not because Ghana would be prone to terrorist attacks but we are going to live with the terrorists.
Donald Trump suggested to us for being a shithole but I now realized that our leaders are a bunch of shitheads who think of themselves but not the constituents that elected them.
This agreement was visited with a barrage of criticism and public outcry but our dis-honorable did their usual thing, party loyalty, and benefits over the nation and its electorates. “Never doubt that a small of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has lived” Margaret Mead.
By Robert Dambo