Beware IMF, World Bank moves Experts warn Mills
Kwabena Amankwah , 11/03/2009
World Bank's Country Director
The National Democratic Congress government has been urged to be wary about attempts by the Bretton Woods institutions to pull the nation back into the group of developing economies that are entangled in their web of conditionalities.
Experts in economics are convinced that it will not be in the interest of the nation's development to be pulled back into the conditionalities fold of the International Monetary Fund, after the nation had taken a bold decision in October 2007 to wean itself from off IMF-conditionalities and direct annual funding assistance.
While not against requesting help from the country's development partners, they also believe that the nation is not confronted with such desperate economic circumstances that require her to access the Poverty and Growth facility of the International Monetary Fund which will pull her back into the conditionalities fold of the IMF.
The IMF has named Ghana among a group of 22 countries that, in its estimation, are "highly vulnerable” to the global financial crisis, and may need as much as $25 billion additional funding this year to cope with the economic downturn.
According to the projections of the IMF, the 22 countries could need up to $140 billion if global conditions were to deteriorate sharply. But in exchange for its financial help, the Bretton Wood institution is demanding some major reforms from those countries, including Ghana.
But in the view of Henry Jackson, a Senior Economics Lecturer at the University of Cape Coast, the nation's economy is not in such bad shape as to justify placing its economic control under the 'gentle mercies' of the IMF by accessing its Poverty and Growth facility that will make it mandatory for the nation to return to the conditionalities fold.
“The nation's economic circumstances are not as bad as some people want us to believe. The nation is in good financial standing, and it is therefore unfortunate that with the change of government some people, in the name of politics, have sought to create a very negative impression about the national economy,” Dr Jackson told The Statesman yesterday.
According to the Senior Economics Lecturer, an economy which was “resilient just about a year ago cannot deteriorate to such a level that will require unusually desperate measures to handle.
It is the wrong perception created about the economy that is making things look bad within this short period of the change of government.”
The view of Dr Jackson is strongly supported by Kwaku Kwarteng, a former Spokesperson on the economy under the erstwhile Kufuor administration, who is strongly against any attempt by the IMF to woo the nation back into its conditionalities fold.
Speaking to The Statesman yesterday, Mr Kwarteng noted that it would not be a prudent decision for the nation to willingly return to the embrace of the IMF after the previous government had worked hard to extricate the economy from the shackles of IMF conditionalities.
“We don't find ourselves in any desperate economic situation that requires the decision to access IMF's Poverty and Growth facility. I don't think the current strength of the economy renders it incapable of supporting itself. To take that decision, therefore, will be very unfortunate, as we will lose control over major economic policies.”
Since the transfer of power from the erstwhile Kufuor administration to the current Mills government in January, the Bretton Wood institutions have been ardently seeking to pull Ghana back into its conditionalities fold. Analysts believe the IMF's desire has become sharper in the wake of the discovery of oil.
The subtle moves to woo the Ghanaian government began with a report authored by the World Bank country director to newly elected President John Atta Mills pledging the Bank's support in what it projected to be difficult times for the nation.
In return for some extra funding, expected to be in the region of $100 million, the IMF is said to be demanding two major reforms:
(1) That, subsidies to state-owned enterprises, especially within the energy sector, should be scrapped or cut by at least 70%.
(2) That, divestiture or private management of certain state-owned enterprises previously considered as “sacred state assets” must go ahead. The list includes the Tema Oil Refinery, Volta River Authority, Electricity Company of Ghana, Ghana Water Company Ltd., Ghana Commercial Bank, and Agricultural Development Bank.
Even though he is not against the policy of privatisation, Dr Jackson argues any “quick rush” to privatise strategic state institutions, such as the Tema Oil Refinery, will not be in the best interest of the nation.
Also speaking to The Statesman, Asare Otchere-Darko, Executive Director of the Danquah Institute, cautioned the Mills government against being stampeded into cutting a deal with the two institutions
“It is important that in negotiating with them [IMF and World Bank], government does not operate from a position of weakness. After all, we have an economy resting on a strong foundation and that has weathered the global storm remarkably well.”
He points out that in the West, governments are being encouraged to inject money into their economies by spending more on capital projects in order to stimulate the economy and encourage lending.
While the desire by the Mills administration to reduce the deficit is laudable, the approach - being modest in setting targets and cutting spending – runs the risk of stifling economic activity, further depressing the economy.
Mr Otchere-Darko argues that partly or wholly privatising or handing over management of an important state asset is not necessarily a bad thing, since it has such benefits as streamlining operations and injecting needed capital. But, he insists, any decision to divest should be done not because of the demand by the two bodies, but because it is in the overall national interest.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
WE NEED EC-ZWICH VOTING IN GHANA
THE CASE FOR BIOMETRIC VOTING IN GHANA
Asare Otchere-Darko, Executive Director, Danquah Institute
The NPP is already busily working out how it can avoid, what I would call, the Volta Voter Virus. The NDC may also be trusted to be working out how they could avoid what they may see us the ‘Manhyia sham’ becoming the norm. The fact that Ashanti Region alone, supported somewhat feebly by the Eastern Region, could hold back the other 8 regions must be a serious cause of worry for the NDC.
What it means is that if the NPP sets out to do in the Ashanti Region alone what the NDC managed successfully to do in the Volta Region with the blessing of the Electoral Commission, then Election 2012 is a must-win for the NPP.
What happened in about 9 constituencies of the Volta Region, where agents of one party were effectively barred during election as a result of orchestrated violence, makes it more poignant when one considers the closeness of the margin and the number of votes delivered to the NDC from the affected areas, over 360,000 votes. What Ghanaians should take note of is that this can be replicated in multiple numbers elsewhere across the country.
In the searching words of Nana Akufo-Addo, “By stating that there was criminal conduct in some constituencies in the Volta Region and yet announcing the result, the Electoral Commission has given the unfortunate impression that it does not matter how votes are obtained as long as they are duly recorded.”
One cannot help but agree with the defeated presidential candidate’s words of caution that “Our democracy will not be complete until the day when Ghanaians regardless of their party affiliation or region of origin can participate fully in our election as voters or polling agents everywhere.”
Election security must be ensured in every stage of the process. Experts have identified three objectives to be addressed:
• Physical security of premises and materials;
• Personal security of voters, candidates, party workers or officials, electoral officials, and the general community;
• Security of election information, computer systems and software, and communication systems. Powers to enforce election security measures in these regards would normally be legislatively defined.
Clearly, the 2008 elections showed that a lot more work needs to be done on all three fronts. Also, while decisions on and conduct of prosecutions of voter fraud would generally, and more appropriately, is the responsibility of civil law enforcement authorities, it has become the global norm that the electoral management body requires systems in place to fulfil two specific responsibilities:
• Detect and document all attempted cases of voter fraud, so that suspected perpetrators may be identified and subject to the appropriate processes under electoral or other legislation and regulations;
• Determine, if at all possible before the finalisation of counts and the announcement of election results, if the extent of any detected fraud regarding voting is sufficient to have a possible effect on the results of any election.
It may require the law courts in Ghana to tell the EC that it does not have to seek to close the latch after the horse has bolted with results. Of course, where voter fraud is suspected, proper investigations would generally be undertaken after the close of voting. The framework within which these investigations take place can only be determined by the legal provisions relating to challenges to election outcomes and investigation and prosecution of voter fraud. The methods by which the EC responds to any responsibilities given to it under the legal framework will be governed by its management framework for dispute and challenge resolution. There appears to be a significant gap in that framework which either case law or legislation can cure. This must be done before the next general elections.
Indeed, to the extent that alleged fraud cited by the two parties was if detected sufficient to have possibly affected who became President of the Republic, the EC, which felt it lacked jurisdiction to overturn results once declared, could have itself made application to the law court to seek to set aside the elections in the affected areas. This would have aided in projecting the image of the EC’s vigilance, professionalism, and integrity in the face of attempts to manipulate election outcomes.
While the NDC is determined not to relinquish the power it lost eight years ago, the NPP can also be trusted to revert to the pre-2001 determined mode, where it was not prepared to be cheated or out-gunned in the propaganda warfare. The NPP has, in last year’s general elections, set the standard of how not to use the coercive power of the state to suppress, oppress and repress your opponents. The world would be watching the NDC, too. What is left is the electoral system – how to ensure a better EC for a better Ghana.
In the 2007 Jamaican election, the island country employed a technology, which we here in Ghana must begin to study. They employed the use of the Electoral
Voter Identification and Ballot Issuing System (EVIBIS), which is a computerised method of verifying fingerprints, similar to those used here in E-Zwich or by immigration officials in the United States. With EVIBIS, registered electors are identified and verified at the polling station by using their fingerprints after which the system will issue authenticated ballots for voting. The elector will then proceed as before to mark the "X" with a pencil on the paper ballot issued or thumbprint (as it’s done in Ghana).
The main objectives of EVIBIS are to prevent: (1) Impersonation of an elector (2) Multiple voting by persons (3) The use of unauthenticated ballots.
Though in 2007 EVIBIS were only dispatched to 100 voting stations in Jamaica,
(because they are new and expensive) it did so much to add confidence to the electoral process in areas where the electoral machinery has been challenged in the past. The Jamaican elections were hotly contested between the Jamaica Labour Party
(JLP) led by Bruce Golding and the People’s National Party (PNP) headed by the
incumbent, Portia Simpson-Miller, amongst sixty constituencies with an electorate of 1.3 million. There were 6,380 polling stations throughout the country with 803,000 voting which constitute 60.8% of the electorate. Ultimately, the JLP captured 33 seats and the PNP 27. The results were so close that recounting had to be done, amidst allegations of irregularities from defeated Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller. Without sufficient guarantees of security at all stages of the election process, there can be no guarantee of election freedom, fairness, and integrity.
Thanks to Dr Paul Acquah, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and others at the Bank of Ghana, a technology that would have been considered too advanced for Ghana is now being used by market traders – the e-Zwich. E-zwich, a name for the National Switch, is an initiative by the Bank of Ghana in collaboration with other banks in Ghana to bring the payment systems in Ghana up to the best international standards. The e-zwich operates on a Biometric Search Station which checks the finger prints of each smart card account holder through all other finger prints held in the system to ensure the unique identity of each account holder.
It allows the general public to benefit from a more convenient, safer and easier way to spend and receive money by using the smart card.
All that is required now is to transfer that technology, based on the Jamaican experience, to our electoral system and you have EC-Zwich!
Asare Otchere-Darko, Executive Director, Danquah Institute
The NPP is already busily working out how it can avoid, what I would call, the Volta Voter Virus. The NDC may also be trusted to be working out how they could avoid what they may see us the ‘Manhyia sham’ becoming the norm. The fact that Ashanti Region alone, supported somewhat feebly by the Eastern Region, could hold back the other 8 regions must be a serious cause of worry for the NDC.
What it means is that if the NPP sets out to do in the Ashanti Region alone what the NDC managed successfully to do in the Volta Region with the blessing of the Electoral Commission, then Election 2012 is a must-win for the NPP.
What happened in about 9 constituencies of the Volta Region, where agents of one party were effectively barred during election as a result of orchestrated violence, makes it more poignant when one considers the closeness of the margin and the number of votes delivered to the NDC from the affected areas, over 360,000 votes. What Ghanaians should take note of is that this can be replicated in multiple numbers elsewhere across the country.
In the searching words of Nana Akufo-Addo, “By stating that there was criminal conduct in some constituencies in the Volta Region and yet announcing the result, the Electoral Commission has given the unfortunate impression that it does not matter how votes are obtained as long as they are duly recorded.”
One cannot help but agree with the defeated presidential candidate’s words of caution that “Our democracy will not be complete until the day when Ghanaians regardless of their party affiliation or region of origin can participate fully in our election as voters or polling agents everywhere.”
Election security must be ensured in every stage of the process. Experts have identified three objectives to be addressed:
• Physical security of premises and materials;
• Personal security of voters, candidates, party workers or officials, electoral officials, and the general community;
• Security of election information, computer systems and software, and communication systems. Powers to enforce election security measures in these regards would normally be legislatively defined.
Clearly, the 2008 elections showed that a lot more work needs to be done on all three fronts. Also, while decisions on and conduct of prosecutions of voter fraud would generally, and more appropriately, is the responsibility of civil law enforcement authorities, it has become the global norm that the electoral management body requires systems in place to fulfil two specific responsibilities:
• Detect and document all attempted cases of voter fraud, so that suspected perpetrators may be identified and subject to the appropriate processes under electoral or other legislation and regulations;
• Determine, if at all possible before the finalisation of counts and the announcement of election results, if the extent of any detected fraud regarding voting is sufficient to have a possible effect on the results of any election.
It may require the law courts in Ghana to tell the EC that it does not have to seek to close the latch after the horse has bolted with results. Of course, where voter fraud is suspected, proper investigations would generally be undertaken after the close of voting. The framework within which these investigations take place can only be determined by the legal provisions relating to challenges to election outcomes and investigation and prosecution of voter fraud. The methods by which the EC responds to any responsibilities given to it under the legal framework will be governed by its management framework for dispute and challenge resolution. There appears to be a significant gap in that framework which either case law or legislation can cure. This must be done before the next general elections.
Indeed, to the extent that alleged fraud cited by the two parties was if detected sufficient to have possibly affected who became President of the Republic, the EC, which felt it lacked jurisdiction to overturn results once declared, could have itself made application to the law court to seek to set aside the elections in the affected areas. This would have aided in projecting the image of the EC’s vigilance, professionalism, and integrity in the face of attempts to manipulate election outcomes.
While the NDC is determined not to relinquish the power it lost eight years ago, the NPP can also be trusted to revert to the pre-2001 determined mode, where it was not prepared to be cheated or out-gunned in the propaganda warfare. The NPP has, in last year’s general elections, set the standard of how not to use the coercive power of the state to suppress, oppress and repress your opponents. The world would be watching the NDC, too. What is left is the electoral system – how to ensure a better EC for a better Ghana.
In the 2007 Jamaican election, the island country employed a technology, which we here in Ghana must begin to study. They employed the use of the Electoral
Voter Identification and Ballot Issuing System (EVIBIS), which is a computerised method of verifying fingerprints, similar to those used here in E-Zwich or by immigration officials in the United States. With EVIBIS, registered electors are identified and verified at the polling station by using their fingerprints after which the system will issue authenticated ballots for voting. The elector will then proceed as before to mark the "X" with a pencil on the paper ballot issued or thumbprint (as it’s done in Ghana).
The main objectives of EVIBIS are to prevent: (1) Impersonation of an elector (2) Multiple voting by persons (3) The use of unauthenticated ballots.
Though in 2007 EVIBIS were only dispatched to 100 voting stations in Jamaica,
(because they are new and expensive) it did so much to add confidence to the electoral process in areas where the electoral machinery has been challenged in the past. The Jamaican elections were hotly contested between the Jamaica Labour Party
(JLP) led by Bruce Golding and the People’s National Party (PNP) headed by the
incumbent, Portia Simpson-Miller, amongst sixty constituencies with an electorate of 1.3 million. There were 6,380 polling stations throughout the country with 803,000 voting which constitute 60.8% of the electorate. Ultimately, the JLP captured 33 seats and the PNP 27. The results were so close that recounting had to be done, amidst allegations of irregularities from defeated Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller. Without sufficient guarantees of security at all stages of the election process, there can be no guarantee of election freedom, fairness, and integrity.
Thanks to Dr Paul Acquah, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and others at the Bank of Ghana, a technology that would have been considered too advanced for Ghana is now being used by market traders – the e-Zwich. E-zwich, a name for the National Switch, is an initiative by the Bank of Ghana in collaboration with other banks in Ghana to bring the payment systems in Ghana up to the best international standards. The e-zwich operates on a Biometric Search Station which checks the finger prints of each smart card account holder through all other finger prints held in the system to ensure the unique identity of each account holder.
It allows the general public to benefit from a more convenient, safer and easier way to spend and receive money by using the smart card.
All that is required now is to transfer that technology, based on the Jamaican experience, to our electoral system and you have EC-Zwich!
NPP, STOP BLAME GAME, FIRE MILLS
Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko
“Just take a deep breath and exhale slowly,” said a veteran politician in the wake of a presidential defeat. “Forget about the finger-pointing, and start figuring out the way to a future that makes us relevant not just to our traditional constituency but to independents and independent-thinking” NPP and NDC sympathisers.
Nonetheless, the blame game is in full swing. In the wake of the declaration of Prof John Evans Atta Mills as the President of the Republic, Kukrudites are engaged in a ‘losing’ party's ritualistic exercise of recrimination, re-examination and very little rebuilding. Bang in the middle of this licking and healing of wounds process is The Blame Game. The President, the Presidential Candidate, Campaign Director, National Officers, Regional and Constituency Officers, former presidential aspirants and close aides to Akufo-Addo are all being fingered in what was after all the most innovative campaign in Africa’s political history.
While it may help deal with a ‘defeat’ that is shocking, controversial and was more than avoidable, it risks creating new cracks for a party that can certainly look forward to a Happier 2012 than this New Year.
My bottom-line message for hyperventilating Kukrudites sorting through the wreckage of their declared defeat at the polls is this: the New Patriotic Party should quickly move away from group or individual blame game and focus its attention on re-examining, and causing to reform, systems and structures that paved the way for the sword of office to be snatched away from the Elephant’s jaws of victory and fumbled over to the National Democratic Congress.
Regardless of what might have gone on in the past, especially during the presidential primaries, no leading member of the NPP, from President Kufuor through justifiably ambitious ones like Alan Kyerematen and Dan Botwe, to constituency chairmen like Nhyiaeso’s Jokad, would have wished defeat on the party they love. After all, there is even better protection and comfort in being perceived ‘opposition’ within a ruling party than being in opposition with your party.
However, when full direct, effective communications are compromised, rumours and presumptions have their own peculiar way of manufacturing their own realities from facts conjured from the fertile but destructive imaginations from characters afflicted with the classic Pull Him Down syndrome of the Ghanaian cultural environment. This is the danger that the NPP faces as it continues to lick its wounds by using scapegoats as a soothing balm.
Within some very serious circles of the party, John Agyekum Kufuor has been accused of doing Nana Addo in. An abominable thought about a man, who sacrificed over 30 years of his political life to the Danquah-Busia tradition before being duly elected President of the Republic. Mr Kufuor is a very pained man. Pained by the fact that he could not hand over power to a deserving successor from his own party, Akufo-Addo. Pained by the fact that his decision to back Mr Kyerematen in the primaries has allowed his contribution to the 2008 campaign to be reviewed (after the facts) with suspicion.
On the other hand, some are saying that “the campaign team was made up of JAK’s enemies and thus no one wanted him to be involved.” They have conveniently ignored the intimate and strategic roles played by Kufuor loyalists such as Edward Boateng, Alan Kyerematen, Oboshie Sai Coffie, Albert Kan Dapaah and Kwadwo Mpiani in the campaign.
After 8 years in office, facing the electorate in a year that global food and oil prices reached unprecedented heights, this was a year certainly for opposition politics: just refer to high cost of living. Especially, facing an opposition that was ruthlessly sharp in connecting with the vulnerabilities of the poor masses and was not afraid to climb on the ladder of tribalism to occupy a new presidential palace the investment on which it convinced Ghanaians it would rather have seen gone into a poultry farm, the incumbent NPP had its work cut out.
It is always easier after a defeat to say the NPP was not attacking hard enough, not responding to attacks, nuanced responses to difficult questions, etc. Now, people are wondering why the NPP did not make Prof Mills health an issue or whip up Akan sentiments. Some are even angry that the President did not use the coercive powers of the state to call a state of emergency in the Volta Region or Tain. I believe posterity would judge the NPP, Akufo-Addo and Kufuor favourably for not allowing the threat of defeat to compromise long-held principles. It was rather the NDC (then an opposition party) which issued threats of ‘victory or violence’. The NPP has every reason to be proud of its record of performance both in office and in the polls.
In rounding-up terms, even if one discounts the oddities of the Volta Voter Virus, Nana Akufo-Addo won the endorsement of fifty percent of Ghanaian voters. The NPP is very strong in the legislature, with an exciting leadership that include the experience of Kyei-Mensah and the energy of Ambrose Derry. For those stuck in the low gear of the blame game, the cheers from the thousands of party rank and file that greeted the arrivals and speeches of Chairman Peter Mac Manu, Nana Akufo-Addo and J A Kufuor, at Saturday’s Thanksgiving Service at the Trade Fair Centre, said it all: the grassroots want the blame game to stop and campaign 2012 to begin now.
Let’s learn lessons without apportioning blame.
I believe some of the fundamental answers may be found by taking a reconstructive look at the party’s constitution. The focus must be on how party officers and candidates are nominated. How to ensure logistics and money deployed to party branches do in fact get there. How the party branches can be revitalised to serve more than mere election machines. How the party can begin mapping out plans for a new grassroots movement that will give them a path back to power.
Signs are that the next two years would be economically difficult. Akufo-Addo sounded the alarm bells when he held a press conference on the effects of the global financial crisis on Ghana, which his opponents thought was too pompous (too known). The party must begin putting the Mills government on its toes. No sleep for the populists. Now is their chance to care for the populace.
The December 2008 debacle should not be seen as a repudiation of the NPP. We should rather see it as a period of deep reflection for the average Ghanaian. The country now has four years to assess the gap between populism and performance; between propaganda and delivering an agenda; between NPP and NDC and between Akufo-Addo and Mills.
We shall all be pro-active witnesses on how the Mills government focuses on the concerns of average Ghanaians, many of whom we now know as floating voters. The NDC, after making all the cheap but effective noises in opposition must now show they have compelling answers for the problems they identified as uppermost in the lives of the Ghanaian people.
Winning or losing election is not so much about individuals but by building efficient and reliable structures and systems. For example, a monitoring system that would guarantee that money allocated from the centre gets to the intended recipient.
The NPP has not the luxury to engage in infighting. Their first responsibility is not to advance the egos of any inner group or individual, it is to the people whose interest politicians seek to advance - the people.
In the words of an Australian opposition leader, “and that really means we have an obligation to, in the, you know, gladiatorial nature of politics in this country to do what we can to ensure that we are in government as soon as possible, given that we are in opposition everywhere. And that in government, we are actually able to produce the best possible role… results, for the people that we are seeking to serve. Calm down -- and start building a bigger tent.”
The author is the Executive Director of the Danquah Institute, and a campaign strategist for Akufo-Addo’s 2008 bid.
Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko
“Just take a deep breath and exhale slowly,” said a veteran politician in the wake of a presidential defeat. “Forget about the finger-pointing, and start figuring out the way to a future that makes us relevant not just to our traditional constituency but to independents and independent-thinking” NPP and NDC sympathisers.
Nonetheless, the blame game is in full swing. In the wake of the declaration of Prof John Evans Atta Mills as the President of the Republic, Kukrudites are engaged in a ‘losing’ party's ritualistic exercise of recrimination, re-examination and very little rebuilding. Bang in the middle of this licking and healing of wounds process is The Blame Game. The President, the Presidential Candidate, Campaign Director, National Officers, Regional and Constituency Officers, former presidential aspirants and close aides to Akufo-Addo are all being fingered in what was after all the most innovative campaign in Africa’s political history.
While it may help deal with a ‘defeat’ that is shocking, controversial and was more than avoidable, it risks creating new cracks for a party that can certainly look forward to a Happier 2012 than this New Year.
My bottom-line message for hyperventilating Kukrudites sorting through the wreckage of their declared defeat at the polls is this: the New Patriotic Party should quickly move away from group or individual blame game and focus its attention on re-examining, and causing to reform, systems and structures that paved the way for the sword of office to be snatched away from the Elephant’s jaws of victory and fumbled over to the National Democratic Congress.
Regardless of what might have gone on in the past, especially during the presidential primaries, no leading member of the NPP, from President Kufuor through justifiably ambitious ones like Alan Kyerematen and Dan Botwe, to constituency chairmen like Nhyiaeso’s Jokad, would have wished defeat on the party they love. After all, there is even better protection and comfort in being perceived ‘opposition’ within a ruling party than being in opposition with your party.
However, when full direct, effective communications are compromised, rumours and presumptions have their own peculiar way of manufacturing their own realities from facts conjured from the fertile but destructive imaginations from characters afflicted with the classic Pull Him Down syndrome of the Ghanaian cultural environment. This is the danger that the NPP faces as it continues to lick its wounds by using scapegoats as a soothing balm.
Within some very serious circles of the party, John Agyekum Kufuor has been accused of doing Nana Addo in. An abominable thought about a man, who sacrificed over 30 years of his political life to the Danquah-Busia tradition before being duly elected President of the Republic. Mr Kufuor is a very pained man. Pained by the fact that he could not hand over power to a deserving successor from his own party, Akufo-Addo. Pained by the fact that his decision to back Mr Kyerematen in the primaries has allowed his contribution to the 2008 campaign to be reviewed (after the facts) with suspicion.
On the other hand, some are saying that “the campaign team was made up of JAK’s enemies and thus no one wanted him to be involved.” They have conveniently ignored the intimate and strategic roles played by Kufuor loyalists such as Edward Boateng, Alan Kyerematen, Oboshie Sai Coffie, Albert Kan Dapaah and Kwadwo Mpiani in the campaign.
After 8 years in office, facing the electorate in a year that global food and oil prices reached unprecedented heights, this was a year certainly for opposition politics: just refer to high cost of living. Especially, facing an opposition that was ruthlessly sharp in connecting with the vulnerabilities of the poor masses and was not afraid to climb on the ladder of tribalism to occupy a new presidential palace the investment on which it convinced Ghanaians it would rather have seen gone into a poultry farm, the incumbent NPP had its work cut out.
It is always easier after a defeat to say the NPP was not attacking hard enough, not responding to attacks, nuanced responses to difficult questions, etc. Now, people are wondering why the NPP did not make Prof Mills health an issue or whip up Akan sentiments. Some are even angry that the President did not use the coercive powers of the state to call a state of emergency in the Volta Region or Tain. I believe posterity would judge the NPP, Akufo-Addo and Kufuor favourably for not allowing the threat of defeat to compromise long-held principles. It was rather the NDC (then an opposition party) which issued threats of ‘victory or violence’. The NPP has every reason to be proud of its record of performance both in office and in the polls.
In rounding-up terms, even if one discounts the oddities of the Volta Voter Virus, Nana Akufo-Addo won the endorsement of fifty percent of Ghanaian voters. The NPP is very strong in the legislature, with an exciting leadership that include the experience of Kyei-Mensah and the energy of Ambrose Derry. For those stuck in the low gear of the blame game, the cheers from the thousands of party rank and file that greeted the arrivals and speeches of Chairman Peter Mac Manu, Nana Akufo-Addo and J A Kufuor, at Saturday’s Thanksgiving Service at the Trade Fair Centre, said it all: the grassroots want the blame game to stop and campaign 2012 to begin now.
Let’s learn lessons without apportioning blame.
I believe some of the fundamental answers may be found by taking a reconstructive look at the party’s constitution. The focus must be on how party officers and candidates are nominated. How to ensure logistics and money deployed to party branches do in fact get there. How the party branches can be revitalised to serve more than mere election machines. How the party can begin mapping out plans for a new grassroots movement that will give them a path back to power.
Signs are that the next two years would be economically difficult. Akufo-Addo sounded the alarm bells when he held a press conference on the effects of the global financial crisis on Ghana, which his opponents thought was too pompous (too known). The party must begin putting the Mills government on its toes. No sleep for the populists. Now is their chance to care for the populace.
The December 2008 debacle should not be seen as a repudiation of the NPP. We should rather see it as a period of deep reflection for the average Ghanaian. The country now has four years to assess the gap between populism and performance; between propaganda and delivering an agenda; between NPP and NDC and between Akufo-Addo and Mills.
We shall all be pro-active witnesses on how the Mills government focuses on the concerns of average Ghanaians, many of whom we now know as floating voters. The NDC, after making all the cheap but effective noises in opposition must now show they have compelling answers for the problems they identified as uppermost in the lives of the Ghanaian people.
Winning or losing election is not so much about individuals but by building efficient and reliable structures and systems. For example, a monitoring system that would guarantee that money allocated from the centre gets to the intended recipient.
The NPP has not the luxury to engage in infighting. Their first responsibility is not to advance the egos of any inner group or individual, it is to the people whose interest politicians seek to advance - the people.
In the words of an Australian opposition leader, “and that really means we have an obligation to, in the, you know, gladiatorial nature of politics in this country to do what we can to ensure that we are in government as soon as possible, given that we are in opposition everywhere. And that in government, we are actually able to produce the best possible role… results, for the people that we are seeking to serve. Calm down -- and start building a bigger tent.”
The author is the Executive Director of the Danquah Institute, and a campaign strategist for Akufo-Addo’s 2008 bid.
PRESS STATEMENT:
Tuesday 10 March 2009
DANQUAH INSTITUTE TO HOLD SYMPOSIUM ON FIRST 100 DAYS OF MILLS’ PRESIDENCY
The Danquah Institute today announces that it will be holding a symposium on the first hundred days of H.E. John Evans Atta-Mills’ Presidency on Monday 20 April at the Alisa Hotel, North Ridge, in conjunction with Citi FM.
This event will examine the developments during the first 100 days of the new Presidency, reflecting on the actions and announcements made since 7 January, and their implications for Ghana across a range of policy areas.
The ultimate aim of this event, as with all Danquah Institute events, is to improve the quality of the decision-making process in this country, and provide greater scrutiny and analysis of policy formulations.
His Excellency Vice President John Dramani Mahama has been invited to open the symposium with a speech outlining the Government’s view of their achievements in this period. Both Government and Opposition politicians, will then participate in the subject-specific forums in which a wide range of well-respected academics with expertise in the field will present high level analysis of the actions taken by his government since 7 January 2009.
There will be a chance for members of the audience to put questions to the panel members, moderated by a well-known radio host. Sections of the day’s events will be carried on tv and live on radio stations to fulfil our intention that the symposium act as a stimulant to considered public evaluation of political developments.
By way of background, the Danquah Institute was set up on February 5, 2008, and we are now refocusing on our original mandate to act as a policy think-tank, research and analysis centre. Whilst we regard ourselves as both guardians and ambassadors of the liberal conservative philosophy as propounded by Dr J B Danquah, we are not an arm of any political party and remain firmly committed to maintaining a critical degree of neutrality and impartiality.
For further information please contact the Danquah Institute on 021 782878 (8am-6pm)
Tuesday 10 March 2009
DANQUAH INSTITUTE TO HOLD SYMPOSIUM ON FIRST 100 DAYS OF MILLS’ PRESIDENCY
The Danquah Institute today announces that it will be holding a symposium on the first hundred days of H.E. John Evans Atta-Mills’ Presidency on Monday 20 April at the Alisa Hotel, North Ridge, in conjunction with Citi FM.
This event will examine the developments during the first 100 days of the new Presidency, reflecting on the actions and announcements made since 7 January, and their implications for Ghana across a range of policy areas.
The ultimate aim of this event, as with all Danquah Institute events, is to improve the quality of the decision-making process in this country, and provide greater scrutiny and analysis of policy formulations.
His Excellency Vice President John Dramani Mahama has been invited to open the symposium with a speech outlining the Government’s view of their achievements in this period. Both Government and Opposition politicians, will then participate in the subject-specific forums in which a wide range of well-respected academics with expertise in the field will present high level analysis of the actions taken by his government since 7 January 2009.
There will be a chance for members of the audience to put questions to the panel members, moderated by a well-known radio host. Sections of the day’s events will be carried on tv and live on radio stations to fulfil our intention that the symposium act as a stimulant to considered public evaluation of political developments.
By way of background, the Danquah Institute was set up on February 5, 2008, and we are now refocusing on our original mandate to act as a policy think-tank, research and analysis centre. Whilst we regard ourselves as both guardians and ambassadors of the liberal conservative philosophy as propounded by Dr J B Danquah, we are not an arm of any political party and remain firmly committed to maintaining a critical degree of neutrality and impartiality.
For further information please contact the Danquah Institute on 021 782878 (8am-6pm)
Monday, March 9, 2009
Insincerity or Sympathies for Ghana's foreign minister
Ras Mubarak
I read with a lot of interest a beautifully crafted feature titled ‘Why Mumuni has my Sympathies’. The article was written by the Executive Director of the Danquah Institute, a right wing think tank in GHANA. The feature was about Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, who is under a barrage of criticism to step down following accusations of alleged misappropriation of public funds during his tenure as Minister of Employment and Social Welfare under Jerry Rawlings in the late 90s.
Gabby Otchere Darko’s argument in his feature was that – yes an alleged $3 billion USD may have gone missing, but don’t blame it on the newly sworn in Foreign Minister. The author alleges that the honourable minister may have been used by his superiors to siphon the funds for the ruling party’s campaign for power in the year 2000. Gabby reminded us of a forensic finding against Mumuni 5years ago when John Kufour (Ghana’s immediate ex president) was in charge as head of state.
According to Gabby, there are claims that Alhaji Mumuni had the sympathies of Mr. Kufour, hence the reason why he was not prosecuted. Now that is very exciting. I remember very clearly how Mr. Kufour in a BBC interview said he took action anytime he had a whiff of corruption. The ex president came to power promising a zero Tolerance for Corruption and justified the sentencing of former government ministers as ‘fulfilment of revelation’.
Gabby is an experienced journalist, a lawyer and an insider in the former regime. I have a lot of admiration and respect for Gabby’s work as a journalist. I think he is meticulous and largely fair. He understands the art of media management and must be fully aware of the implications of repeating an allegation that suggests the former president condoned corruption (even if attributed, he has given the ruling party another ammunition to use against his own party). If indeed what Gabby suggests is anything to go by, then it is a big indictment on the former president. His Excellency John Kufour would have to absolve himself of the accusation explain to Ghanaians why there was a cover up if the case ends up in court and Mumuni is found guilty of wilfully causing financial lost to the state.
Again, this allegation of a cover up gives credence to accusations that members of the Ewe ethnic group have been largely targeted by the Kufour regime for prosecution on corruption charges. Why would the former president allegedly sympathise with Mumuni and not Tsatsu Tsika, Dan Abodakpe or Victor Salome all of whom are of Ewe extraction and serve under Jerry Rawlings? How many cases of alleged corruption have been swept under the carpet by the previous regime, who knows what and why the cover up? Have kickbacks been given with the view to stymie investigations into corruption allegations? And who got what? These are genuine questions that the former president must answer.
What I also find rather exciting about Gabby’s feature is his conclusions. He concludes that if Alhaji Mumuni survived the calls by his detractors to resign, he would become the man to watch as successor to Prof. Mills. And Gabby’s reason – Mumuni “is seen by many political analysts as possessing more political substance and gravitas than Vice President John Mahama: deeper in intellect and probably a greater unifying force within the NDC than Betty Mould, John Mahama or Spio-Garbrah.”
There are a couple of things I gleaned from the article. The author’s beautifully couched feature is a smokescreen to drive a wedge into the ruling party’s unity. There’s no question about Mumuni’s intellectual prowess. He’s politically astute and one of the finest lawyers in Ghana. Mumuni is very capable of leading our nation as head of state. He was the running mate to Professor Mills in the 2004 elections and has served as a ranking Member of Parliament on Constitutional and Legal Affairs. He is one of the many best qualified members of the ruling party to succeed Professor Mills. I have no problem whatsoever with him leading the party as long as he is not tainted. As a matter of fact I would be most excited if he became president. It is a normal thing to want to see someone you can relate to become your country’s leader. Many Africans rallied, prayed and chanted for Obama to win not necessarily because they believed in his agenda for change but simply because he’s of African descent. People like the 106 year old Ann Nixon Cooper (she was mentioned in Obama’s victory speech) voted because Obama is Coloured. Even George W. Bush’s minion and former US Secretary of State, Dr Condoleezza Rice, said she “felt exceptionally proud” as an African-American that the US elected its first Black President. It is human instinct. I would feel very proud as a native of Kunbungu if Mumuni became president as we hail from the same place.
But I find Gabby’s reasons for concluding that Mumuni would be the man to beat after Professor Mills as very disingenuous. Gabby compares Mumuni to his colleagues and perhaps derogates their influence and ability to be flag bearers and maybe leaders. He adds that Mumuni is Professor Mills’ choice as successor and that the agile Law Professor has appointed Mumuni as Foreign Minister in order to neutralise the Vice President’s chances to succeed John Mills.
That is most unfair a part of the grand scheme by the institution Gabby heads, to create confusion in the ruling party, bang heads together and plant in the minds of sympathizers that Mumuni is ‘better’ than his colleagues including the vice President, John Mahama. The beneficiary of any infighting in the governing National Democratic Congress is the opposition New Patriotic Party and its sidekick – The Danquah Institute. I hope well meaning members of the party would see through Gabby’s craft and scheming. Anything free advice by the Danquah Institute should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Ras Mubarak
(Ras Mubarak is a member of the Committee of Concerned Journalists, British of Association of Journalists, Law Student and former Television & Radio Producer/Host at GBC).
I read with a lot of interest a beautifully crafted feature titled ‘Why Mumuni has my Sympathies’. The article was written by the Executive Director of the Danquah Institute, a right wing think tank in GHANA. The feature was about Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, who is under a barrage of criticism to step down following accusations of alleged misappropriation of public funds during his tenure as Minister of Employment and Social Welfare under Jerry Rawlings in the late 90s.
Gabby Otchere Darko’s argument in his feature was that – yes an alleged $3 billion USD may have gone missing, but don’t blame it on the newly sworn in Foreign Minister. The author alleges that the honourable minister may have been used by his superiors to siphon the funds for the ruling party’s campaign for power in the year 2000. Gabby reminded us of a forensic finding against Mumuni 5years ago when John Kufour (Ghana’s immediate ex president) was in charge as head of state.
According to Gabby, there are claims that Alhaji Mumuni had the sympathies of Mr. Kufour, hence the reason why he was not prosecuted. Now that is very exciting. I remember very clearly how Mr. Kufour in a BBC interview said he took action anytime he had a whiff of corruption. The ex president came to power promising a zero Tolerance for Corruption and justified the sentencing of former government ministers as ‘fulfilment of revelation’.
Gabby is an experienced journalist, a lawyer and an insider in the former regime. I have a lot of admiration and respect for Gabby’s work as a journalist. I think he is meticulous and largely fair. He understands the art of media management and must be fully aware of the implications of repeating an allegation that suggests the former president condoned corruption (even if attributed, he has given the ruling party another ammunition to use against his own party). If indeed what Gabby suggests is anything to go by, then it is a big indictment on the former president. His Excellency John Kufour would have to absolve himself of the accusation explain to Ghanaians why there was a cover up if the case ends up in court and Mumuni is found guilty of wilfully causing financial lost to the state.
Again, this allegation of a cover up gives credence to accusations that members of the Ewe ethnic group have been largely targeted by the Kufour regime for prosecution on corruption charges. Why would the former president allegedly sympathise with Mumuni and not Tsatsu Tsika, Dan Abodakpe or Victor Salome all of whom are of Ewe extraction and serve under Jerry Rawlings? How many cases of alleged corruption have been swept under the carpet by the previous regime, who knows what and why the cover up? Have kickbacks been given with the view to stymie investigations into corruption allegations? And who got what? These are genuine questions that the former president must answer.
What I also find rather exciting about Gabby’s feature is his conclusions. He concludes that if Alhaji Mumuni survived the calls by his detractors to resign, he would become the man to watch as successor to Prof. Mills. And Gabby’s reason – Mumuni “is seen by many political analysts as possessing more political substance and gravitas than Vice President John Mahama: deeper in intellect and probably a greater unifying force within the NDC than Betty Mould, John Mahama or Spio-Garbrah.”
There are a couple of things I gleaned from the article. The author’s beautifully couched feature is a smokescreen to drive a wedge into the ruling party’s unity. There’s no question about Mumuni’s intellectual prowess. He’s politically astute and one of the finest lawyers in Ghana. Mumuni is very capable of leading our nation as head of state. He was the running mate to Professor Mills in the 2004 elections and has served as a ranking Member of Parliament on Constitutional and Legal Affairs. He is one of the many best qualified members of the ruling party to succeed Professor Mills. I have no problem whatsoever with him leading the party as long as he is not tainted. As a matter of fact I would be most excited if he became president. It is a normal thing to want to see someone you can relate to become your country’s leader. Many Africans rallied, prayed and chanted for Obama to win not necessarily because they believed in his agenda for change but simply because he’s of African descent. People like the 106 year old Ann Nixon Cooper (she was mentioned in Obama’s victory speech) voted because Obama is Coloured. Even George W. Bush’s minion and former US Secretary of State, Dr Condoleezza Rice, said she “felt exceptionally proud” as an African-American that the US elected its first Black President. It is human instinct. I would feel very proud as a native of Kunbungu if Mumuni became president as we hail from the same place.
But I find Gabby’s reasons for concluding that Mumuni would be the man to beat after Professor Mills as very disingenuous. Gabby compares Mumuni to his colleagues and perhaps derogates their influence and ability to be flag bearers and maybe leaders. He adds that Mumuni is Professor Mills’ choice as successor and that the agile Law Professor has appointed Mumuni as Foreign Minister in order to neutralise the Vice President’s chances to succeed John Mills.
That is most unfair a part of the grand scheme by the institution Gabby heads, to create confusion in the ruling party, bang heads together and plant in the minds of sympathizers that Mumuni is ‘better’ than his colleagues including the vice President, John Mahama. The beneficiary of any infighting in the governing National Democratic Congress is the opposition New Patriotic Party and its sidekick – The Danquah Institute. I hope well meaning members of the party would see through Gabby’s craft and scheming. Anything free advice by the Danquah Institute should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Ras Mubarak
(Ras Mubarak is a member of the Committee of Concerned Journalists, British of Association of Journalists, Law Student and former Television & Radio Producer/Host at GBC).
A BETTER GHANA NEEDED A BETTER BUDGET
A BETTER GHANA NEEDS A BETTER BUDGET
By Asare “Gabby” Otchere-Darko
Prof Mills often said during the campaign that NDC would not depend on the expected oil revenue to fund his party’s promise to bring about a better Ghana. Yet the details of his first budget (misnomerly named ‘Investing in a Better Ghana’) gives very little clues as to sources of funding for the push for a better Ghana.
This year’s spending programme has a lot to be modest about. It is a mere 2.7% more than that of 2008. With average inflation target of 15.3%, this year’s budget will actually be smaller than last year’s. All the talk about savings (GH¢4 million from “the rationalisation of ministries” from 27 to 23; from cutting down protocol budget – foreign travels, workshops and conferences - GH¢70m) is made nonsense by the single largest significant budget increase: that of the Presidency – from GH¢110m in 2008 to GH¢290m. So you save GH¢74m and lose GH¢180m! It begs the question: what exactly are the Castle and its annex going to do with all that money?
The government would have to explain why the Office of Government Machinery deserves a 163% budget increase when ministries such as Justice (and Attorney-General) and Interior – two areas crucial to fighting crime – are receiving huge spending cuts.
The only one obvious area of hope is the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, which will have GH¢202.6m to spend – 133% more than last year. Kwasi Ahwoi has a big opportunity to make the Mills government succeed and our agriculture, too. If he fails the NDC experiment at bettering Ghana fails.
But for the next two years, Ghanaians should not expect to see any real signs of the Better Ghana promised. The budget itself admits as much on page 47, where is states: “For 2009 in particular, and the medium term in general, the Government will be committed to correcting the large fiscal imbalance experienced since 2006 by focusing on, among others, tackling underlying issues to enhance domestic revenue mobilisation; rationalizing subsidies to State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), particularly, in the energy sector; and rationalizing public sector wages and other expenditures”.
Yet Prof Mills promised voters in his manifesto that there shall be no increases in taxes, going further to exempt specifically taxes that directly affect income, such as VAT and PAYE.
Rather than large subsidies for lifeline consumers of electricity (GH¢19 projected this year), the government seeks to reduce utility prices through efficiency! He also promises to strengthen the independence of the PURC. This may be good news for the World Bank and Ghana in the long run, but for the Ghanaian who expects her cost of living to improve today, this means utility prices can only go up.
Winston Churchill said “The best argument against democracy is a five minute chat with the average voter.” A seemingly snobbish thought from an upper crust mind. I was reminded of this quote in a sotto voce conversation with a PhD student at the SOAS (University of London) library last month. After highlighting the achievements of the NPP she sighed with angst, citing as the latest cause of consternation what seemed to her an obsession on the part of the new government with the seizure of cars. Her problem was in ‘struggling’ to understand why Ghanaians would vote out the NPP and in the NDC. My response was that ‘small things matter in liberal democracy under a very poor environment, where ‘ignorance’ is an art.” She walked to her seat with a conceding, pondering look, clutching her copy of Robert Calderisi’s ‘The Trouble with Africa’.
My sister, who was visiting Ghana during the run-off, recalled riding in a taxi where she not only had to endure the domineering odour of a driver who chooses to exercise without restrain his freedom not to use deodorant, but his pardonable ignorance, as well. Navigating the Akufo-Addo Circle, by the Togo Embassy, the driver commented: “Wo-aah look… The man is not yet President and he has a Roundabout named after him!”
My sister thought she was educating the driver when she corrected him that the Akufo-Addo, whose statute was in the middle of the Circle, was the former President and one of the Big Six. But the driver would not be moved.
My take on it when she recounted this tale was that the driver chose to be ignorant because it was convenient. The propagandist may call it the expediency of selective ignorance. The maxim ignoramus et ignorabimus meaning "we do not know and will not know", is really at the heart of what this culture of partisan-induced ignorance in Ghana is all about. Now, there are those who, eaten up by their hardship, were genuinely taken in by the false populist campaign of the NDC, voted for them and are now eagerly awaiting their share of earthly deliverance. Then there are also those who use ignorance as an excuse to love one and despise the other.
On TV3 News at the weekend a message from a viewer read to the effect that the 2.8% reduction in the price of diesel will benefit every Ghanaian because fuel touches all of us and that it would make lives better for the ordinary Ghanaian. This same person has conveniently forgotten that even when fuel prices were reduced, 10%, 5% and another 5% in the weeks before December 2008, the commercial drivers did not find the reductions significant enough to be passed on, until the 17% or so post-Dec 7 reduction which, though significant was conveniently used against the NPP.
President Mills on Thursday, through his Finance Minister, showed Ghanaians how a campaign promise can be fulfilled in appearance yet hopeless in substance and even counterproductive in its consequences.
Starting from today, a gallon of petrol will sell at GH¢3.51 from GH¢3.69, representing a drop of 5% and diesel will sell at GH¢3.89 from GH¢4.00 representing a 2.8% decrease. We are told by the Finance Minister that these reductions, however insignificant, translate into annual losses to the exchequer of about $60 million (based on current crude oil prices). That is about one-fifth of HIPC debt relief inflows this year and more than twice what would be distributed through the District Assemblies and MPs from HIPC funds (GH¢26.47) to finance “activities aimed at reducing poverty and improving the economic and social conditions of Ghanaians.”
It appears the flagship social intervention programme on the face of the 2009 budget is the provision of free school uniforms for a planned 1,665,644 pupils in public basic schools. That whole programme is projected to cost GH¢11.7m. Even after enjoying a 50% budgetary increment this year, the Capitation Grant is less than GH¢23m. Ghana government’s contribution to the School Feeding Programme this year is GH¢17m.
The NDC, focused on cutting down costs, has put on hold its promise to expand the lunch-per-pupil programme to cover all basic schools.
Yet just imagine what that GH¢60m from reducing excise duties on fuel products could have done for real people fighting real poverty? That GH¢60m dash on fuel prices would be as useful for alleviating hardships as sprinkling a bucket of water on an Olympic size pitch under a hot African sun is for keeping it green and soft.
A better Ghana could only be a possibility with a better budget than the one we have been given this year.
The author is the Executive Director of the Danquah Institute, a think tank that promotes the libertarian conservative ideas of Dr J B Danquah and others.
By Asare “Gabby” Otchere-Darko
Prof Mills often said during the campaign that NDC would not depend on the expected oil revenue to fund his party’s promise to bring about a better Ghana. Yet the details of his first budget (misnomerly named ‘Investing in a Better Ghana’) gives very little clues as to sources of funding for the push for a better Ghana.
This year’s spending programme has a lot to be modest about. It is a mere 2.7% more than that of 2008. With average inflation target of 15.3%, this year’s budget will actually be smaller than last year’s. All the talk about savings (GH¢4 million from “the rationalisation of ministries” from 27 to 23; from cutting down protocol budget – foreign travels, workshops and conferences - GH¢70m) is made nonsense by the single largest significant budget increase: that of the Presidency – from GH¢110m in 2008 to GH¢290m. So you save GH¢74m and lose GH¢180m! It begs the question: what exactly are the Castle and its annex going to do with all that money?
The government would have to explain why the Office of Government Machinery deserves a 163% budget increase when ministries such as Justice (and Attorney-General) and Interior – two areas crucial to fighting crime – are receiving huge spending cuts.
The only one obvious area of hope is the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, which will have GH¢202.6m to spend – 133% more than last year. Kwasi Ahwoi has a big opportunity to make the Mills government succeed and our agriculture, too. If he fails the NDC experiment at bettering Ghana fails.
But for the next two years, Ghanaians should not expect to see any real signs of the Better Ghana promised. The budget itself admits as much on page 47, where is states: “For 2009 in particular, and the medium term in general, the Government will be committed to correcting the large fiscal imbalance experienced since 2006 by focusing on, among others, tackling underlying issues to enhance domestic revenue mobilisation; rationalizing subsidies to State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), particularly, in the energy sector; and rationalizing public sector wages and other expenditures”.
Yet Prof Mills promised voters in his manifesto that there shall be no increases in taxes, going further to exempt specifically taxes that directly affect income, such as VAT and PAYE.
Rather than large subsidies for lifeline consumers of electricity (GH¢19 projected this year), the government seeks to reduce utility prices through efficiency! He also promises to strengthen the independence of the PURC. This may be good news for the World Bank and Ghana in the long run, but for the Ghanaian who expects her cost of living to improve today, this means utility prices can only go up.
Winston Churchill said “The best argument against democracy is a five minute chat with the average voter.” A seemingly snobbish thought from an upper crust mind. I was reminded of this quote in a sotto voce conversation with a PhD student at the SOAS (University of London) library last month. After highlighting the achievements of the NPP she sighed with angst, citing as the latest cause of consternation what seemed to her an obsession on the part of the new government with the seizure of cars. Her problem was in ‘struggling’ to understand why Ghanaians would vote out the NPP and in the NDC. My response was that ‘small things matter in liberal democracy under a very poor environment, where ‘ignorance’ is an art.” She walked to her seat with a conceding, pondering look, clutching her copy of Robert Calderisi’s ‘The Trouble with Africa’.
My sister, who was visiting Ghana during the run-off, recalled riding in a taxi where she not only had to endure the domineering odour of a driver who chooses to exercise without restrain his freedom not to use deodorant, but his pardonable ignorance, as well. Navigating the Akufo-Addo Circle, by the Togo Embassy, the driver commented: “Wo-aah look… The man is not yet President and he has a Roundabout named after him!”
My sister thought she was educating the driver when she corrected him that the Akufo-Addo, whose statute was in the middle of the Circle, was the former President and one of the Big Six. But the driver would not be moved.
My take on it when she recounted this tale was that the driver chose to be ignorant because it was convenient. The propagandist may call it the expediency of selective ignorance. The maxim ignoramus et ignorabimus meaning "we do not know and will not know", is really at the heart of what this culture of partisan-induced ignorance in Ghana is all about. Now, there are those who, eaten up by their hardship, were genuinely taken in by the false populist campaign of the NDC, voted for them and are now eagerly awaiting their share of earthly deliverance. Then there are also those who use ignorance as an excuse to love one and despise the other.
On TV3 News at the weekend a message from a viewer read to the effect that the 2.8% reduction in the price of diesel will benefit every Ghanaian because fuel touches all of us and that it would make lives better for the ordinary Ghanaian. This same person has conveniently forgotten that even when fuel prices were reduced, 10%, 5% and another 5% in the weeks before December 2008, the commercial drivers did not find the reductions significant enough to be passed on, until the 17% or so post-Dec 7 reduction which, though significant was conveniently used against the NPP.
President Mills on Thursday, through his Finance Minister, showed Ghanaians how a campaign promise can be fulfilled in appearance yet hopeless in substance and even counterproductive in its consequences.
Starting from today, a gallon of petrol will sell at GH¢3.51 from GH¢3.69, representing a drop of 5% and diesel will sell at GH¢3.89 from GH¢4.00 representing a 2.8% decrease. We are told by the Finance Minister that these reductions, however insignificant, translate into annual losses to the exchequer of about $60 million (based on current crude oil prices). That is about one-fifth of HIPC debt relief inflows this year and more than twice what would be distributed through the District Assemblies and MPs from HIPC funds (GH¢26.47) to finance “activities aimed at reducing poverty and improving the economic and social conditions of Ghanaians.”
It appears the flagship social intervention programme on the face of the 2009 budget is the provision of free school uniforms for a planned 1,665,644 pupils in public basic schools. That whole programme is projected to cost GH¢11.7m. Even after enjoying a 50% budgetary increment this year, the Capitation Grant is less than GH¢23m. Ghana government’s contribution to the School Feeding Programme this year is GH¢17m.
The NDC, focused on cutting down costs, has put on hold its promise to expand the lunch-per-pupil programme to cover all basic schools.
Yet just imagine what that GH¢60m from reducing excise duties on fuel products could have done for real people fighting real poverty? That GH¢60m dash on fuel prices would be as useful for alleviating hardships as sprinkling a bucket of water on an Olympic size pitch under a hot African sun is for keeping it green and soft.
A better Ghana could only be a possibility with a better budget than the one we have been given this year.
The author is the Executive Director of the Danquah Institute, a think tank that promotes the libertarian conservative ideas of Dr J B Danquah and others.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
TO HELL WITH THE ECONOMY! FOCUS ON EX0GRATIA!
GHANA’S WOE – GRATIAPOLITIK IS THE WORD
It’s been a while. Qanawu had to lay down his gloves for a while, certainly not for fear of hitting below the Queensbury Rules. For Qanawu to soften his punches would be tantamount to sterilising the needle for a lethal injection – superfluously redundant exercise in the exercise of saying it as it is. Indeed, it is argued that it is far freer to pull no punches from opposition than in a position where throwing objective punches are sometimes taken by the less enlightened as own-blows. Moving along the zeitgeist, ‘change’ certainly has taken place in Ghana. But, the quality of it is yet to emerge from the changing room onto the playing field. Qanawu’s hope is that Ghanaians will act as active supporters of this change rather than spectators.
However, being philosophical, I, Qanawu, would dare say that this change may even benefit the NPP better than the NDC. Not that I fully subscribe to the pun that politicians, like diapers, have to be changed frequently - and for the very same reason. I say so because it appears the NPP, like the path-mower, was growing increasingly careless to the zig-zags in the path it was clearing and struggling between the forces of addressing what the public needs are and what politicians consider to be in the public interest. The party was running the risk of jettisoning the dreams of August 4, 1947 in convenient exchange for the satisfaction of provincial desires, some of which were not different from what my wife describes in a dissertation on petroleum policy as the ‘Delta Disease’.
The four years of opposition presented by the 2008 electoral defeat must be constructively seen by Nana Akufo-Addo and his NPP as a period of catharsis rather than catastrophe. It must be seen as an opportunity for reflection rather than punctuation for depression. It must be exploited to expose the vacuity in false populism, and at the same time exploited to explore the advantages of populist posturing in opposition politics! It must be used to mend ways and instil greater discipline in the NPP and especially in its leadership.
So, what are my chances of suing the Electoral Commission for wilfully causing me a constant reminder of a painful defeat? Seven weeks after the run-off, and ten weeks after December 7, two of my fingers still bear the dark scars of those two epic battles. Yes, I do wash daily -- and pretty well too. Perhaps in defence, the EC can simply cite the many people who quickly applied paraffin after voting to clean up the ‘indelible’ ink; and whilst at it Afari Gyan can add how effective this was in facilitating multiple voting. When George W Bush said, “A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls,” it was dismissed as one of his no-brainer howlers. But, how profound that statement really is when applied to Ghana! A high turn-out means a bloated voter register!
There’ve been some false starts by the new government whose leader promised to hit the ground running. Sometimes it appears he hit the ground too hard to have torn a ligament or two. The sacking of Moses Asaga got me wondering that the man I once described as a ‘poodle’ may be too anxious to shame the likes of me that he risks over-stating his ownmanship.
Reports that both sides of Parliament were ready to fight President Mills over attempts to vary their so-called ex-gratia awards were warmly greeted by many as a sign of a brave new legislature. Sadly, it is the kind of optimism that makes that of Presidential Candidate Nduom’s come across as woefully modest. Asking MPs to oppose their own ex-gratia payments is like setting up a Joint Committee to investigate marijuana use.
So far the media have been kind to President Mills, but expecting the media to treat you fairly because we are constantly reminded by Messrs Pratt and Baako that you are a nice man is like expecting the bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian. Mind you, the likes of Kweku Baako are being patient with the NDC because one important rule in politics is to never interrupt your opponent while he's busily and artfully making mistakes. Unfortunately for hounds like me waiting to bark and bite, the opus magnus of the NDC government has been about how cleverly they have kept the conductors of political rhetoric occupied with the encore symphony of ex-gratia payments.
I’ve been out of the country for some weeks now, which has sparked rumours that Qanawu has joined the exodus from Ghana’s state-sponsored mediocrity. But, I’m not so sure how long I can last in this cold, wet country, where everybody’s job is at risk, living on toxic borrowed money and illegal immigrants on borrowed time. Here in the UK, just like in Ghana, when people talk to God, it's called prayer. Yet, when God talks back, it's called schizophrenia! Churches have been turned into furniture shops and pubs.
Britain is a country, where in the government’s eagerness to please Moslem extremists, free speech is being deported. Just last week that anti-Islamist extreme rightist libertarian oddball Dutch MP, Geert Wilders, was refused entry to the United Kingdom for the premier (at the House of Lords!) of his offensive and unenlightened 17-minute film, Fitna, which erroneously depicts the Koran as entirely inflammatory, feeding terrorism and violence across the world.
But, how different is his entry refusal different from the Fatwa Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran issued for the death of Salman Rushdie for insulting the Prophet Mohammed in his book The Satanic Verses? Indeed, the move by the British government was rather an insult to Islam. It portrays Moslems as a bunch of intolerant fanatics who would violently attack free speech. If literal criticisms or caricature of Moses or Jesus Christ of Nazareth can be deemed as okay by the Brits then why should they think that Moslems, generally will be offended by an ill-informed movie by a man whose anti-Islamism is not that different from the anti-Americanism most common in the Middle East?
Last week, I had the enjoyment and endurance of listening to proceedings at the vetting committee of the Ghanaian Parliament and watching British Parliamentarians grilling the former bosses of RBS and HBOS banks over the multi-billion pound bail-out of the two banks. The quality of questions from the Treasury Select Committee which is conducting an inquiry into the banking crisis here were even criticised by some experts as lacking the requisite expertise to ask the relevant questions. But, for a lay ear like mine and that of Bernard Avle (formerly of Citi FM and now at Warwick University), who was visiting me in London, the performance of our legislatures was at most parts embarrassing as compared to their UK equals.
It exposed the nature of, what I will call, our gratiapolitik – where politicians believe they have no obligation to perform above the bar of mediocrity. An issue that has dominated the first month of the Mills administration and the way it has been treated by the powers that be (including the media) has very little or nothing to do with the agenda of change for a better Ghana.
Today, every Ghanaian, literate or otherwise is familiar with one Latin phrase. And, that is "Ex gratia" – not the more common one exempli gratia, meaning for example (e.g.). Ex gratia translates into: "out of kindness, voluntary". An ex gratia payment is made not because it is a legal necessity (tell that to Article 71 of the Constitution) but because of a moral obligation.
Of course, there is always the compelling populist argument that for a poor developing nation like Ghana there is very little reason for MPs to still be seen as feathering their own nests. Taxpayers should not have the extra burden of finding the extra money for the people who represent them, an argument that has been eloquently made in the UK, where the Prime Minister is also moving against the “gold-plated” arrangement that entitles UK MPs to large, final salary retirement schemes.
British MPs contribute either 6 or 10 per cent of their salary, which gives them a pension of either a 40th or a 60th of their salary for each year of service, up to a maximum of two-thirds of their £63,291-a-year salary.
Beyond that, there is the Resettlement Grant, payable to any MP who leaves the House of Commons at a general election. The grant ranges from 50 to 100 per cent of one year’s salary depending on age and length of service, with the first £30,000 of the grant attracting no income tax.
Prof Mills’ ‘offense’ was to have directed that instead of the payment of five months’ salary to the MPs for each year of service, in addition to a resettlement grant equivalent to two months for every completed year of service, as recommended by the Chinery-Hesse Committee, the MPs should be paid an ex gratia equivalent to four months’ salary.
My frustration with the excruciating ex gratia debate in Ghana is that nobody appears to be saying what needs to be done to create an institution that would withstand any partisan-laced controversy. Article 71 leaves room for a law to be passed to establish a permanent commission or body to periodically set out the rates. The UK has such a statutory body, the Senior Salaries Review Body, which reviews emoluments for people who would be covered under Ghana’s Article 71.
Indeed, we can perhaps begin to fight the gratiapolitik that maintains the quality of our politics and legislators low if we go the way of the Brits by considering equipping MPs with PCs, etc and the cost of employing up to three full time members of staff (Office Manager, Junior Secretary and Research Assistant) for each Member. In the UK the 3 staff are now on a combined salary range of about £77,000 to £87,000, depending on whether staff are based in London.
In Ghana, just like in the UK, there is recognition that in view of the significant public interest in parliamentary pay and allowances, any recommendations for up-rating existing scales or changing the present arrangements have obvious potential for generating controversy. The overriding general principles include: pay should not be so low as to deter suitable candidates, or so high as to make pay the primary attraction of the job; pay should reflect levels of responsibility rather than workload; whereas those with outside interests should not be deterred from entering Parliament, those who choose to make Parliament a full-time career should be adequately rewarded to reflect their responsibilities; pay should not be augmented in an attempt to compensate MPs for job insecurity, which is not unique to MPs; there should be no pay progression linked to length of service; and a clear distinction must be made between salary and reimbursement of expenses.
I shall be back…
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