Features
Who speaks for the millions of vulnerable Ghanaians?
The founding fathers of this beautiful country called Ghana, who fought for our independence from the British colonial administration in 1957, will by now be turning in their graves and asking about what is happening to a nation which they fought with their sweat and toils to free the people from their oppressors.
Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah of blessed memory, first President of Ghana and others who spearheaded this country and positioned it on the international arena, would be disappointed about the economic mess that this country has been plunged into by our current leaders.
Operations of Parliament
Law making is considered to be the most important function of Parliament. Under Article 93 (2) of the 1992 Constitution, the legislative power of Ghana has been vested in Parliament and exercised in accordance with the 1992 Constitution.
Nobody other than Parliament has the power to pass any measure with the force of law except by or under the authority conferred by an Act of Parliament. The legislative function of Parliament consists of passing bills and scrutinizing statutory instruments and deciding whether to annul them or allow them to take effect by the effluxion of time. Besides, Chapter 13 of the 1992 Constitution variously vests the control of public funds (power of public purse) in Parliament.
Mouthpiece of the Electorate
In effect, Parliament is therefore an important institution in the democratic practice of our country and, therefore held in high esteem by the people. Whatever emanates from Parliament is considered as an important weapon to the administration of this country.
It is therefore, a sacred institution which must be protected and safeguarded by the players of this noble institution who are the parliamentarians. They are the people representatives and, therefore represent the interests and welfare of the people in the august house.
Strictly speaking, the parliamentarians, noted as MPs, represent the views and mouthpiece of the people in their constituencies to approve and oversee the revenues and expenditures proposed by government aside any other functions.
Walkouts in Parliament
The over 30 million Ghanaian population cannot be in Parliament at the same time and that is the reason why the 1992 Constitution has prescribed a limited number of 275 parliamentarians to the house to represent their constituencies and to participate in all matters and issues relating to the welfare of their constituencies as well as matters that affect their constituents.
It therefore, presupposes that since the MPs were elected by the people to represent their interests, it will be absolutely wrong and suicidal for them to behave in such a selfish manner when it comes to parliamentary proceedings such as debates and approval of bills among other functions in the house.
Staging walkouts in the midst of parliamentary sittings, are sometimes normal practices in parliament all over the world. It indicates a way of registering a protest and that is accepted in most parliaments across the globe. However, when this is overdone in such a way to affect the lives of the people who put them there, it becomes a huge problem to contain.
Ghanaians Patience Growing Pale
This country is evolving and therefore, the majority of the people are now discerning. The poor management of the economy by people appointed by the government to see to the growth of the economy which has brought about severe hardships among the people, has indeed, served as an eye-opener to the millions of Ghanaians since they cannot make ends meet.
They have therefore, resolved that they would never sit unconcerned and allow the economy to be downgraded in the midst of the vast economic resources at our disposal. They are therefore, drumming home to their representatives in Parliament to do the needful by holding government, especially its appointees, accountable to the economic mismanagement of the country. They are demanding that the non-performing ministers whose inefficiencies have led to the downturn of the economy must be shown the exit without further delay.
General Frustration Among The People
The general frustration among the citizenry has emboldened, toughened the people and energized them to voice out their sentiments freely without fear or favour on social media platforms. They do not care about emerging consequences whatsoever.
Even the little JHS students are abreast of the current economic downturn and are complaining. The hopes of Ghanaians are shattered and the question they keep asking is, who speaks for the millions of the vulnerable in the society?” Some of our parliamentarians are turning the august house into a charade, making it to appear different from what it is supposed to be and that is most unfortunate.
Recent Drama in Parliament
The recent walkout staged by the Majority MPs when it came to the vote of censure against the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, spoke volumes of how some of our parliamentarians are not showing any seriousness in the business of the house.
Many Ghanaians including MPs from the Majority side had hitherto, condemned the abysmal performance of the Finance Minister and had called on the President to relieve him of his post. The Majority Caucus led by its leader, Osei-Kyei Mensah Bonsu, had met the President on this particular issue who pleaded with them to allow the Finance Minister to conclude the on-going negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after which a firm decision would be taken on the matter.
The Speaker of Parliament constituted a committee to go into the allegations levelled against the Minister, after which a report was presented to the full house which was debated upon by both the Majority and Minority caucuses.
The Finance Minister was allowed to defend himself through his lawyers at both the committee meeting and also the floor of the house. It therefore, sounded strange when the minority walked out during a secret voting on the case.
Ghanaians Feeling Short-Changed
This is where most Ghanaians are feeling that, they are being short-changed by our parliamentarians by not calling a spade a spade. On the surface, you see the MPs disagreeing when it comes to debates on issues, but when there is the need to take decision on behalf of their constituents, you find them wanting.
The Finance Minister should by now know that he has lost confidence in the majority of the people including those from his own party. The problems of this country have indeed overwhelmed him and his economic management team and, therefore he should pack his bag and baggage and leave honourably.
Exactly as the Editor of ABC News Gordon Asare-Bediako pointed out recently on social media, “this matter should not have come to this level because for 98 Members of Parliament to write and publicly declare that they don’t want you any longer as Finance Minister, he should advise himself”. According to this writer, Mr. Ofori-Atta had allowed himself to be subjected to public ridicule.
President Must Do The Needful
Once there is a clarion call by the majority of Ghanaians to the President to reshuffle his ministers, it behoves on him to listen to the voices of the people and take action as early as possible. His adamant posturing, is not in the best interest of his party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the way forward to the next election.
Once Parliament has concluded its assignment on the budget, the President should take an advantage to prune down the size of government, reshuffle some of his ministers and retire his Finance Minister honourably.
The President should take an advantage of the resignation of his Trade and Industry Minister, Allan Kojo Kyerematen and the Agriculture Minister, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, who have all resigned from his government to contest for the flagbearership position of the NPP in the next general election in 2024 to reshuffle his ministers in order to introduce vibrancy in his administration.
It was Ghanaians who gave the President the mandate to govern this country and, therefore they have every right to make suggestions as to how this country should be governed. It should not be a one-man show.
Contact email/WhatsApp of author
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By Charles Neequaye
Features
Tears of Ghanaman, home and abroad
The typical native of Sikaman is by nature a hospitable creature, a social animal with a big heart, a soul full of the milk of earthly goodness, and a spirit too loving for its own comfort.
Ghanaman hosts a foreign pal and he spends a fortune to make him very happy and comfortable-good food, clean booze, excellent accommodation and a woman for the night.
Sometimes the pal leaves without saying a “thank you but Ghanaman is not offended. He’d host another idiot even more splendidly. His nature is warm, his spirit benevolent. That is the typical Ghanaian and no wonder that many African-Americans say, “If you haven’t visited Ghana. Then you’ve not come to Africa.
You can even enter the country without a passport and a visa and you’ll be welcomed with a pot of palm wine.
If Ghanaman wants to go abroad, especially to an European country or the United States, it is often after an ordeal.
He has to doze in a queue at dawn at the embassy for days and if he is lucky to get through to being interviewed, he is confronted by someone who claims he or she has the power of discerning truth from lie.
In short Ghanaman must undergo a lie-detector test and has to answer questions that are either nonsensical or have no relevance to the trip at hand. When Joseph Kwame Korkorti wanted a visa to an European country, the attache studied Korkorti’s nose for a while and pronounced judgment.
“The way I see you, you won’t return to Ghana if I allow you to go. Korkorti nearly dislocated her jaw; Kwasiasem akwaakwa. In any case what had Korkorti’s nose got to do with the trip?
If Ghanaman, after several attempts, manages to get the visa and lands in the whiteman’s land, he is seen as another monkey uptown, a new arrival of a degenerate ape coming to invade civilized society. He is sneered at, mocked at and avoided like a plague. Some landlords abroad will not hire their rooms to blacks because they feel their presence in itself is bad business.
When a Sikaman publisher landed overseas and was riding in a public bus, an urchin who had the impudence and notoriety of a dead cockroach told his colleagues he was sure the black man had a tail which he was hiding in his pair of trousers. He didn’t end there. He said he was in fact going to pull out the tail for everyone to see.
True to his word he went and put his hand into the backside of the bewildered publisher, intent on grabbing his imaginary tail and pulling it out. It took a lot of patience on the part of the publisher to avert murder. He practically pinned the white miscreant on the floor by the neck and only let go when others intervene. Next time too…
The way we treat our foreign guests in comparison with the way they treat us is polar contrasting-two disparate extremes, one totally incomparable to the other. They hound us for immigration papers, deport us for overstaying and skinheads either target homes to perpetrate mayhem or attack black immigrants to gratify their racial madness
When these same people come here we accept them even more hospitably than our own kin. They enter without visas, overstay, impregnate our women and run away.
About half of foreigners in this country do not have valid resident permits and was not a bother until recently when fire was put under the buttocks of the Immigration Service
In fact, until recently I never knew Sikaman had an Immigration Service. The problem is that although their staff look resplendent in their green outfit, you never really see them anywhere. You’d think they are hidden from the public eye.
The first time I saw a group of them walking somewhere, I nearly mistook them for some sixth-form going to the library. Their ladies are pretty though.
So after all, Sikaman has an Immigration Service which I hear is now alert 24 hours a day tracking down illegal aliens and making sure they bound the exit via Kotoka International. A pat on their shoulder.
I am glad the Interior Ministry has also realised that the country has been too slack about who goes out or comes into Sikaman.
Now the Ministry has warned foreigners not to take the country’s commitment to its obligations under the various conditions as a sign of weakness or a source for the abuse of her hospitality.
“Ghana will not tolerate any such abuse,” Nii Okaija Adamafio, the Interior Minister said, baring his teeth and twitching his little moustache. He was inaugurating the Ghana Refugee and Immigration Service Boards.
He said some foreigners come in as tourists, investors, consultants, skilled workers or refugees. Others come as ‘charlatans, adventurers or plain criminals. “
Yes, there are many criminals among them. Our courts have tried a good number of them for fraud and misconduct.
It is time we welcome only those who would come and invest or tour and go back peacefully and not those whose criminal intentions are well-hidden but get exposed in due course of time.
This article was first published on Saturday March 14, 1998
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Features
Decisions have consequences
In this world, it is always important to recognise that every action or decision taken, has consequences.
It can result in something good or bad, depending on the quality of the decision, that is, the factors that were taken into account in the decision making.
The problem with a bad decision is that, in some instances, there is no opportunity to correct the result even though you have regretted the decision, which resulted in the unpleasant outcome.
This is what a friend of mine refers to as having regretted an unregretable regret. After church last Sunday, I was watching a programme on TV and a young lady was sharing with the host, how a bad decision she took, had affected her life immensely and adversely.
She narrated how she met a Caucasian and she got married to him. The white man arranged for her to join him after the marriage and processes were initiated for her to join her husband in UK. It took a while for the requisite documentation to be procured and during this period, she took a decision that has haunted her till date.
According to her narration, she met a man, a Ghanaian, who she started dating, even though she was a married woman.
After a while her documents were ready and so she left to join her husband abroad without breaking off the unholy relationship with the man from Ghana.
After she got to UK, this man from Ghana, kept pressuring her to leave the white man and return to him in Ghana. The white man at some point became a bit suspicious and asked about who she has been talking on the phone with for long spells, and she lied to him that it was her cousin.
Then comes the shocker. After the man from Ghana had sweet talked her continuously for a while, she decided to leave her husband and return to Ghana after only three weeks abroad.
She said, she asked the guy to swear to her that he would take care of both her and her mother and the guy swore to take good care of her and her mother as well as rent a 3-bedroom flat for her. She then took the decision to leave her husband and return to Ghana.
She told her mum that she was returning to Ghana to marry the guy in Ghana. According to her, her mother vigorously disagreed with her decision and wept.
She further added that her mum told her brother and they told her that they were going to tell her husband about her intentions.
According to her, she threatened that if they called her husband to inform him, then she would commit suicide, an idea given to her by the boyfriend in Ghana.
Her mum and brother afraid of what she might do, agreed not to tell her husband. She then told her husband that she was returning to Ghana to attend her Grandmother’s funeral.
The husband could not understand why she wanted to go back to Ghana after only three weeks stay so she had to lie that in their tradition, grandchildren are required to be present when the grandmother dies and is to be buried.
She returned to Ghana; the flat turns into a chamber and hall accommodation, the promise to take care of her mother does not materialise and generally she ends up furnishing the accommodation herself. All the promises given her by her boyfriend, turned out to be just mere words.
A phone the husband gave her, she left behind in UK out of guilty conscience knowing she was never coming back to UK.
Through that phone and social media, the husband found out about his boyfriend and that was the end of her marriage.
Meanwhile, things have gone awry here in Ghana and she had regretted and at a point in her narration, was trying desperately to hold back tears. Decisions indeed have consequences.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT’
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