I am sure all and sundry will jump at the call for the Minister for Finance to resign. But let us examine if we have been fair to ourselves.
This is a man who was seriously ill and could not attend his vetting. His vetting was postponed until he was well enough to report to parliament. We halted the affairs of state for one man.
This moment, without getting to the point we are now, was the perfect time for him to resign. Even if he was competent, at that moment he was incapable of carrying on with the duties of his office.
But we have opposition MPs, 137 of them who argued that he should continue so all blame can be heaped on his head for the mismanagement of the economy. What kind of thinking is this, I wondered at the time? And indeed it was very bizarre.
Time has proven that apart from being unwell, he has failed to restore confidence in the economy. The 137 opposition MPs have been the worst bunch we’ve had since 1992.
We must learn to see the end from the beginning and not only when we are hungry. Principles are what build a nation, not bread.
In developed democracies, political appointments are considered a daunting responsibility; in underdeveloped democracies, they are the source of great joy.
The current Vice President Dr Alhaji Bawumia set 190 Economic questions for late former Vice President Amissah Arthur to answer. Why is he running away from the questions and responsibilities he set?
Political power does not, in any way, make a person arrogant; it rather serves as a highly efficacious catalyst which quickens the chemical reaction that unveils the authentic, but long-hidden, the character of the individual.
In 1960, 1tonne of cocoa could buy a brand-new Toyota pickup; today, you need 30tonnes of cocoa to buy the same vehicle. This calamitous global trade parities between the global north and south, actually permeats every aspects of the multilateral and bilateral global system.
That’s the real causative factor of our economic predicaments, which of course, is often exacerbated by poor managerial skills of political officialdom. We might be feeling the heat, vis-a-vis the prevailing economic storm, but, we must be very careful with alternatives we crave for.
We export $6b worth of gold but only $2b was officially recorded as the benefit to Ghana so this narrative of we being the 2nd highest producer of gold in Africa is a myth.
I experienced the real benefits of gold mining when I first visited Sandton, a municipality of Johannesburg in South Africa. Impeccable architectural aesthetics!!
But look at places such as Obuasi, Bogoso, Tarkwa and other towns and villages where precious minerals have been mined, since the days of Don Diego d’Azambuja!!!
That explains why Africans, when given political appointments, will hold elaborate thanksgiving services, where great dancing skills are exhibited by family members.
To those that have become abominably arrogant and despicably disrespectful because of power and wealth, please be reminded that, indeed, power is ephemeral.
The real Ghanaian wisdom can be found in the village, not the city; think about it. Ghana is poor because our politics is egregiously bereft of personal PRINCIPLES.
Whoever becomes Ghana’s next President in 2024, must not allow a group of people to behave as if it was through their efforts, alone, that victory was possible.
A President of a nation is not indebted to any group(s); he/she is indebted to the ordinary citizens, and that must take precedence over any infinitesimal cliques.
