7 January 2009
editorial
THE OUTGOING President of Ghana, on Monday gave his final State of the Nation address to Parliament, which contained some really pithy words for the incoming President, and sprinkled them with equally complimentary words of praise for Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate, for putting up an impressive fight.
He indicated his preferred choice, but deferred to the people of Ghana, who expressed their sovereign will: "I had hoped that after my tenure, I will be succeeded by a candidate from my own political tradition. But, as things have turned out, the Electoral Commissioner has declared that the electorate of Ghana has decided otherwise."
'As a democrat, I acknowledge this declaration', going further to congratulate Professor Atta Mills, the president-elect. President Kufuor's address, even if it was brief, less than half an hour, was not lacking in candour and substance. He used his own long political life and the travails of his pursuit of the ultimate dream of most politicians, to paint a picture of the greasy pole of politics, spanning 40 years, punctuated by two terms of imprisonment. He also reminded the House that he had been on both sides of the House, and served as a junior Minister into the bargain.
The outgoing President advised that the new information age empowers people to access information in milli-seconds, and makes it possible for the smart, but cynical, to respond to policy proposals and programmes quickly, thereby putting a lot of pressure on an incumbent government.
Even though the by-product of such scrutiny is a government that is continuously on its toes, it breeds cynicism, if it is executed merely to score political points, which is a phenomenon that should never be encouraged.
The Chronicle could not agree more with this observation.
When programmes are hatched by technocrats, and put forward as a policy to be implemented, it is expected that it would usually take some time before the actual implementation of that proposal. Today, as soon as the proposal is put forward and agreed, the cynics take over and criticize it to death, without the usual gestation period that follows.
As soon as a newspaper gets wind of the proposal, it is picked up by one radio station and then another, and before the Minister can get his team to implement it, panelists are assembled, mostly from opposing political parties, and tear at it from different perspectives.
That is the kind of cynicism that greets policies put forward by governments in Ghana. There is no doubt that this situation exists in Ghana today, and it is never an example in transparency, because the so-called panelists always have a political agenda, and are mostly mischievous.
It has developed a culture all of its own, cancerous and eating up everything in its wake, before the programmes germinate and bear fruit. It is the sort of phenomenon that President Kufuor squashed, and probably led him to propose a review of the five-year term for the Presidency, which would enable him and his constituents to see and behold the full fruits of his labour.
There is no doubt that at a ripe age of 70, and with a rich sprinkling of grey hair, the 'Old Man' is qualified to advice both Professor Mills, and his younger brother Nana Akufo Addo.
Of course, as happens in the fast world of today, both men are free to take the advice, and equally free to ignore it. In the opinion of The Chronicle, it is a golden piece of advice which Mills, who is now in the seat, has the capacity and the wherewithal to curtail and contain, before it becomes endemic.
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