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President Mahama, listen to the
cries of your own people (Part I)
By Dr. Michael J.K. Bokor
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Part
I I
Our democracy may still be regarded as young and pardoned for
not helping us move our country out of the woods, more than 20
years of its adoption; but our leaders cannot be pardoned for
failing to use the opportunities provided by the democracy to
improve conditions in the country. That the 4th Republic has
survived so far is more adventitious than carefully
orchestrated, I daresay.
Certain happenings confirm fears that our leaders do not have
the tact and commitment to help us grow our democracy. Thus, we
continue to deceive ourselves that the ritualistic holding of
general elections every four years to put a President and
Parliament in office is a mark of success. Or that the election
of two-thirds of District, Municipal, and Metropolitan Assembly
Members is an accomplishment to thump our chests over.
These political rituals are a mere window-dressing and don’t
sustain democracy. Just as one swallow does not make summer, so
do these rituals not constitute any advancement in democracy to
celebrate. A democracy is acknowledged as viable when it helps
put in place feasible parameters that function to serve the
needs of the people and country!! The existence of a mere shell
doesn’t confirm the existence of life therein. Unfortunately,
that is what our democracy has been all this while.
It is regrettable that despite the sacrifices being made by the
people to sustain our democracy, those in leadership positions
are not committed enough to help change the situation for the
better. Happenings in the country indicate that the old order of
doing things has not changed, and Ghanaians can hardly see any
difference between what was and what is now—or what is to come.
Talk about moral decadence, economic stagnation, political
depravity, and ideological bankruptcy! What about tribal
politics, nepotism, cronyism, bribery and corruption—grand
designs to loot the national coffers? You have them all on a
regional scale in our democracy. What, then, is the difference
between then and now?
What makes a democracy really worth its while is the manner in
which the people get involved in decision making and actions
that affect their lives. We may be boasting of a local
government system that ostensibly suggests that there is
widespread local-level participatory democracy, but the reality
proves otherwise. Not until the people take responsibility for
governance, whatever happens will not suit their needs. Such is
our case in Ghana.
Do the MPs consult their constituents to know what specific
concerns there are to place before Parliament? Who appoints the
Chief Executive Officers for the Metropolitan, Municipal, and
District Assemblies? Why should the President appoint a third of
members of the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District and all
others to state boards, corporations, and many more?
In effect, our democracy is a mere façade and still vests
Central Government with all the powers, thus depriving the
people of their rightful role in governance. This lapse has
wide-ranging negative implications, some of which we are
manifesting in the local communities all over the country.
Since President Mahama released the list of nominees for
Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executive (MMDCE)
positions, several open demonstrations against the nominees by
the citizens and rejection of some by the Assemblies have come
to notice. In some cases, so angry were the people in the
various communities that they took the law into their own hands.
A classic example for you: A group of irate youth of the
governing NDC in Wulensi (Nanumba South District of the Northern
Region) burnt down a party van and ransacked the party’s office.
The vandalism by the youth on Tuesday was part of protests
against the president’s re-nomination of the former District
Chief Executive, Alhaji Amidu Seidu.
Other protests include:
1. Sekondi-Takoradi
A group calling itself “The Concerned Youth of Sekondi-Takoradi”
has petitioned the president through the deputy Western regional
minister, to replace the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of
Sekondi-Takoradi. They claim that the MCE, Captain Anthony
Cudjoe (Rtd.), has neglected the city and performed poorly in
his two years in office and should not be given another
appointment.
2. South Tongu
Some youth of the South Tongu District of the Volta Region have
asked the President not to re-appoint the current District Chef
Executive, Daniel Ameloku. Their reason? There has been no
“meaningful development of the area” during his tenure of
office; and is not physically fit to be in office, suggesting
that the President appoints a young talented energetic person to
administer the affairs of the district.
3. Asante Akim North
The Asante Akim North District Assembly rejected Mr. Paul
Kinsley Aweh Averu (a Laboratory Technician at the Agogo
Presbyterian Hospital), as their DCE at a special meeting held
at Agogo on Wednesday.
4. Agotime Ziofe
Even though Mr. Michael Kobla Adzaho, the DCE of Agotime Ziofe,
has been re-nominated by the President, the chiefs and people of
Agotime Traditional Area have kicked against any move to retain
him. The delegation of chiefs had gone to the former President’s
office to elicit his personal support to carry out their
sentiments and frustrations to the government for action.
5. Assin North/South and Ekumfi
In Assin North, Alex Antwi Boasiako was rejected and government
changed 14 Assembly members before he was confirmed. Kennedy
Agyapong (NPP MP) has accused him of embezzling the MP’s share
of the Common Fund and is calling for his arrest by the BNI. In
Assin South, Sabina Appiah-Kubi was rejected twice. In Ekumfi,
Ibrahim Kwaku Dawson was also reject once but was confirmed by a
35 ‘YES’ to 2 ‘NO’ votes in the second round, following the
warning by the Regional Minister.
6. Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam
In Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam, Peter Light Koomson was rejected in the
first round, and he had to practically beg Assembly members for
votes even after the government had changed eight assembly
members to pave the way for him to sail through.
Despite all the plea for votes, Koomson still failed to obtain
the two-thirds majority votes required for him to be confirmed,
but the Presiding Member still declared him confirmed, which
triggered a court action by some 23 elected members of that
assembly.
Many more are likely to follow suit over the next few days when
the Assemblies sit on the matter.
Clearly, those opposed to the nomination of these personalities
can’t all be lumped together as NDC fanatics. In most cases, the
negative reaction transcends partisan political lines, which
even worsens the situation. It means that the President will
lose the people’s goodwill if he digs in, which will translate
into political traction and detract from his worth in all the
affected localities. Is that what he wants?
Generally, the rejection of these nominees suggests that
something is not adding up properly and must be addressed. Our
democracy stands to gain if grassroots consultation replaces
this kind of imposition, which hurts the people’s will.
The President hasn’t deemed it necessary to reach out to these
aggrieved people to allay their fears and reassure them that
whatever is being done is geared toward addressing pertinent
problems in local governance. This silence or inability to
tackle the problem is disturbing. Why should the President not
be in touch with these people who are crying out against
officialdom’s imposition of Chief Executive Officers on them?
Instead, Samuel Sarpong (Central Regional Minister) has given
them a bitter pill to swallow by. His statement that “President
Mahama can rubbish rules and impose nominees on District,
Municipal, and Metropolitan Assemblies” is the most idiotic
pronouncement that I have heard in many years.
That is why his warning that the way the various District and
Municipal Assemblies in the Central Region “are rejecting
President John Mahama’s nominees can cause the president to
change the rules and impose his nominees” deserves maximum
condemnation. So also does his haughtiness in making that
pronouncement: “I want you to understand that if the President
nominates someone for the position of DCE and you refuse to
confirm him as such the president can set aside your decision
and appoint the person in acting capacity… it is as simple as
that.”
Then, he capped it all with this one: “In this world, the only
law which cannot be changed is the Biblical Ten Commandments …
but every law made by man can be changed by man … it’s as simple
as that …and nobody has the right to tell us that what we have
done is wrong... nobody… it’s as simple as that.” That was what
he said he told members of the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam Assembly.
Such an utterance is reprehensible and antithetical to a
democratic dispensation. In a democracy, where consultation and
consensus are expected to guide human actions, such
pronouncements from a high-ranking government official
demonstrates “mental and intellectual laziness” (apologies to
Kwame Pianim) and a deep-seated disregard for civility in
governance. I hope that Sarpong’s pronouncement doesn’t have
President Mahama’s backing. Otherwise, it spells more than doom
for him.
I shall return…
• E-mail: mjbokor@yahoo.com
• Join me on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/mjkbokor
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Part I I
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