Rockson Adofo
What a disgraceful and a charlatanistic 2012 Budget as presented by my own Kumawu compatriot, the Finance Minister. I could not help laughing my head off and intermittently scratching my head and eyes in total disbelief when he pontificated about the achievements of the decrepit President Mills' NDC administration.
Sadly, the respected Finance Minister seems to have stooped too low to the trickery of the NDC by falsely aggrandizing their achievements in his 2012 Budget Statement. I wonder how he could allow himself to fall from that high cliff of integrity, credibility and ingenuity to the valley of deceit, propaganda and political party activism. One may think he is living on another planet, as he appears not to know that most of his professed NDC's achievements are in total contrast to the reality on the ground. He alleges President Mill's administration has successfully achieved their "Better Ghana Agenda" as proposed and implemented.
Yes, all their implemented policies are bearing positive fruits to the appreciation of all and sundry. Carl Wilson was able to raise a lot of money for the benefit of the NDC through the confiscation of imported vehicles. He almost practically impounded all luxury cars imported into the country to share among some NDC gurus on reason that the owners had stolen them from abroad. What a nice better Ghana agenda that makes all Ghanaians accomplices of the thievery if indeed the importers stole the cars and the Government sold them and kept the money. The Finance Minister failed to announce how much was the percentage revenue in terms of the nation's GDP that Carl Wilson raised for the country through his dodgy actions. How can he mention since the money may have gone directly into the 2012 Campaign chest been raised by the crafty NDC party?
Yes, President Mills has successfully achieved his better Ghana agenda when the highly emaciated General Mosquito Asiedu Nketiah becomes an umpire and a player at the same time. He sits on Bui Dam Project as a Board member but still sells blocks to the contractors working on the project at twice the ongoing price. Is this a better Ghana agenda to catapult the country into prosperity or a middle-income status in 2015? The list of the negative achievements contrarily believed by the current NDC government with the Finance Minister inclusive, to be positive achievements, is too long to make. Yes, the achieved Better Ghana Agenda is where some NDC government functionaries are greedily lining their pockets with embezzled funds.
I am very much aware like any deft Ghanaian that our DCEs, MCEs etc, are inherently corrupt. They take a kickback of 10% from any contract awarded in addition to their salary. They keep a lion share of this and pay a fraction of it into the NDC's coffers for the party's use. I am sure the Finance Minister will not behave like an Ostrich claiming unawareness of what goes on at the District and Municipal levels as far as the orchestration of this gargantuan corruption goes. He then decides to release huge sums of money to the Municipalities, districts etc, allegedly in line with the ongoing decentralization policy but in effect, in tandem with the NDC's ever sure quest to win the 2012 elections through probable vote buying and election rigging. More money could as a result be crawled back into the NDC's campaign chest.
I cannot think of any cogent reason for people wanting to move Heaven and earth to ensure President Mills wins a second term in office. President Mills in truth is not a man of himself. He is more of a puppet than anything else when it comes to running the country. Ghana needs a dynamic person but not a remote-controlled person to run the affairs of the nation as it appears to be the case now. To the unsuspecting, President Mills is a Christian. He is actually a weak President who is a victim of some illness of some sort hence, unable to exercise his Presidential powers to fulfil the functions of the presidency.
Ironically, President Mills timidly condemns politics of insults yet robustly presides over a government that is full of foul-mouthed Deputy Ministers of State who are as well novice in their posts. What a Better Ghana Agenda that makes my noble Kumawu compatriot proud. Ghana abounds in armed robbers yet the government tells us all is well under President Mills. Did it not take an old granny to tackle an armed robber in Accra recently when the adrenaline-triggered fearlessness in her to jump to the aid of her daughter who was kidnapped after the robbers carjacked her? The brave granny held one of the Nigerian armed robbers by the balls and continuously squeezed them so hard to disable him. This is an ascertained fact but not the dust-throwing propaganda the NDC and the Finance Minister are instituting directed at blinding Ghanaians to re-elect them at election 2012. Ghanaians are wiser now. Politicians should not think to be able to fool Ghanaians all of the time.
I am rushing this article for publishing as a precursor of more analytical but sarcastic ones to follow until Ghanaians are able to tell the wolves from the lambs. No more lies telling. Ghanaians have come of political age. They will no longer allow for politicians underestimating their intelligence just for winning their votes. Enough is enough with the charlatanry of Ghanaian politicians.
Rockson Adofo