By:
Dominic Mensah
In the Federalist Papers Alexander Hamilton wrote, "It has been
frequently remarked that it seems to have been reserved to the people of
[Ghana}, by their conduct and example, to decide the important
question, whether [Ghanaians] are really capable or not of establishing
good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever
destined to depend for their political constitutions on [greediness,
selfishness, banditry, and stupidity]." For the past 56 years, we have
as a nation refused to rely on our own powers of reason and judgement,
i.e., the freedom of the human mind to determine the goals of our
society and what's best best for us.
In view of the "corruption" in the operations at the Ghana Youth
Employment and Entrepreneurial Agency (GYEEDA), isn't it an open secret
that high profile entrepreneurs team up with government officials
(mostly their former classmates and/or closed linked tribesmen and
political sponsors) to rape Ghana daily? Isn’t it yet another open
secret that Ghanaian politicians hold private business under pseudonyms
in order to, contrary to our constitution, offer themselves lucrative
State contracts? The whole practice of State doing business with
private individuals have always amounted to massive transfers of wealth
and welfare in favour of high profile government officials and the so
called entrepreneurs. How much Better Ghana Management Limited is truly
retaining out of the 80% managerial cost, we will never know. How much
of this flows back to government officials, bribery cover-ups, party
sponsorships, patronization and so on, interested Ghanaians may never
know. But isn't this business in Ghana as usual? If it comes out that
some government officials-- past and present-- are involved in this
unpatriotic barbaric dehumanizing practice and loss of revenue to the
State, would anyone's political career be in jeopardy? Of course, not!
Time will eventually erase this disastrous story from the memories of
Ghanaian electorates when they are given the illusional privilege once
again to choose who's best fit to lead them to another chapter of Better
Ghana. Lamenting about the lack of a universal improved business
condition for all interested Ghanaians, I shared the following quote
from the article "What are the Drivers of Change in Ghana" (Tony Killick
et al. 2005) on Facebook two months ago:
"All regimes since Nkrumah, civil and military, have attracted an
opportunistic business class seeking advantage by access to state
favours of a more or less discriminatory sort. One effect of this type
of state-business relationship is that neither party to the relationship
applies rigorous performance standards to the other, except perhaps in a
crisis...Assessments of Ghana’s economic-growth performance depend a
great deal on the time perspective adopted. A particularly sobering way
of viewing the growth record is to look at the whole post Independence
period. Recent research suggests that by 2000 real per capita GDP had
only just recovered to the level achieved in 1960. That is, the average
Ghanaian was no better off in 2000 than four decades earlier...Many of
these issues have to do with chronic failures on the part of the public
service... Complaints continue [...] about the politicization of private
business. This phrase refers to the fact that some Ghanaian businesses
have become associated with either the NDC or NPP and that, when in
office, each party favours its allies and discriminates against those of
its opponents. In other words, the pattern of government-business
relations remains very much in the patron-client mould. Both organized
business associations, such as the Association of Ghana Industries, and
individual entrepreneurs generally prefer to cultivate politicians with a
view to protection or other special treatment, and not to exercise
pressure for better general conditions for investment."
So until the structures of how business and governance are conducted in
Ghana are altered, our Motherland as a whole will remain impoverished.
And to the faithful journalist, I pray that the Lord grant him the
strength, wisdom, knowledge and heart to always serve Ghana. Ghana has
become like a chronic unfaithful wife/husband, who deserves to perish
but one’s love and commitment keep her/him going somehow instead of
giving her up for good. The good journalist is definitely going to need
some extra human strength if he’s not going to end up giving up on
Ghana, especially when the majority of Ghanaians refuses to recognize
his efforts. God “bless” Ghana!
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