A team of 21st century Presidents led by OAU Chairman, Obasanjo are showing positive signs of good governance. The recent G8 meeting in London was a milestone as the G8 finance ministers agreed to write off the $40 billion owed them by 18 of the world's poorest countries, 14 of them in Africa. 18 countries became eligible for the debt relief by virtue of policies and programmes implemented under the HIPC initiative.
Africa is debt ridden because of one thing; greed. Past Presidents after Presidents, Prime Ministers after Prime Ministers of the countries in debt should be blamed for the Africa's debt. When a country asks for foreign aid for a project, The World Bank, International Monetary fund and the African Development Bank would help and when the loan is given to the country, how much goes to the project it is intended for , and when the project is completed what profit is the country making to pay back the loan?
The sad situation is whenever a country gets a huge amount of money for projects, there are some officials in the country who rejoice and think the loan is a gift. They fail to realize that the payback comes with interests. There are those who will be paid for consulting, the percentage that goes to the "Oga" who leads in order to get the loan. Then it comes to allocation of the funds to the bidders/contractors. Those who demonstrate they can do the job sometimes don't get the job done but get paid.
There are also instances; where not a penny of the loans is spent on the projects but end up in somebody's Swiss account. These sort of "me, myself and Irene" or "Only me syndrome" has led to the situation where loans are not paid back and the debt continue to pile up.
The fight for debt write off had been fought for years by rock star; Bono, who previously visited Ghana with former Treasury Secretary; Paul Oneil and Film Star, Chris Tucker. Africa brought the debt upon itself because there are some individuals who think being in Presidential or a ministerial position is a jackpot. Loans are meant to help the country to move forward but some think they are gifts. We don't find ways and means to generate our own money in order to pay the debt.
President Kufour and his government while dogged by many allegations of corruption should be commended for implementing policies of good governance and also implementing programmes for HIPC initiatives. Aid agencies and campaigners of the debt relief including musician Bob Geldof have welcomed the deal. It is a milestone in the right direction for Africa.
The government should continue to implement mechanisms to increase domestic production. The G8 countries are great because of its aim to produce domestically and depending less on imports Mr. Kufour while proud of this milestone should institute severe measures to deal with several allegations of malpractices in his government. Transparency in punishing culprits shows an evidence of taking control of certain situations and not only targeting those in opposition who are found to be corrupt.
This milestone is to be welcomed by minorities and all Ghanaians because credit should be given to those who deserve it. The President and his government deserve a big round of applause and a standing ovation on this issue. "Hip Hip Hip, Hooray, Hip Hip Hip, Hooray".
A time would come when those greedy ones who are the cause of Ghana's debt would not be able to steal money anymore because they will be caught and punished severely (Life sentence or an arm amputated). All the Swiss accounts will be closed so watch out thieves.
Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of GhanaHomePage.