In part one of this article, I recalled the days of yore when Ghanaian pupils in the elementary school studied civics. For the benefit of those who had no idea about the subject, I explained that the course was all about responsibilities and obligations of the citizens of a country, usually categorised into the good and the bad, depending on their behaviour. Then, I inferred that the whole concept boiled down to the idea of the Construction Crew and the Demolition Squad. Beginning with the government, the article dealt with the various instances of injustice that most Ghanaians, especially the rural folk, are made to endure perennially by government after government. I paraphrased George Orwell’s satirical novel – Animal Farm – juxtaposed it with the situation in Ghana and submitted that after independence our motto, Freedom and Justice seems like a mirage. It is still my contention that justice has taken a back seat and the motto has remained, at best, a mere rhetoric. I continue from where I left off.

In the previous article, I asked three questions and I repeat them. Does Animal Farm ring a bell in Africa? Does it sound familiar in Ghana? Do you see those who have now put on airs?

Just a casual glance around the corridors of the Ghanaian society is enough to reveal that themes of Animal Farm continue to reverberate in every aspect of our body politic. Where is the justice when scholarships meant for poor and brilliant students somehow find their way to children of the rich who can afford everything without sweat? I am not talking about free senior high school.

It is on record that the Scholarship Secretariat has now decentralised its operations, initially, to the regional level in the 2018/2019 academic year, and then all the way down to the Metropolitan, Municipal and District levels in the 2019/2020 academic year. Good enough, at least, on paper!

According to the Secretariat, this has led to “significant strides or achievement in the increase of scholarships awarded to Ghanaian students pursuing higher education in the local tertiary institutions, both public and private. More than thirty thousand (30,000) Ghanaian students in the locally accredited tertiary institutions benefitted from the scheme in the 2019/2020 academic year.”

Now, the question is: How many of those 30,000 scholarships were given to applicants under the categories of Merit Awards, Hardship Awards (that is, for needy but brilliant students), and the Presidential Independence Day Awards? And how many qualified from the districts? Are they not the children of rich politicians and other affluent people in the cities – those with connections – who still benefitted despite the noise about decentralisation?

If the process were transparent, the records would be readily available and easily accessible at the District, Municipal, and Metropolitan Assemblies for all to find. By the way, how many farmers in the villages have even been notified by their respective assemblies that they can access scholarships for their needy but brilliant children who qualify for such grants? Transparency, indeed!

Where is the justice when the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer? Is it not criminal that the poverty-stricken masses are saddled with loads of care in the form of high transportation cost, utility bills and other encumbrances while those who can virtually afford everything get them free of charge? Do not tell me they are the perks that accompany certain positions. The truth is these benefits are just an icing on the cake, yet majority of the citizens do not have any cake to eat at all. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, and rightly so, that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

After cajoling the longsuffering masses to vote you into office, whether as Assembly Members, Union Leaders, Members of Parliament, or having been appointed Ministers, do you now behave like Napoleon the pig, (Animal Farm) and think only of your welfare and that of your family?

Are you accessible to your constituents? Can they reach you on your phone? No! And they can neither come to your house because the preventive duty of your trained, wild dog is well defined and noticeably advertised. Under the guise of deterring criminals from attempting any mischief against your property, you have conspicuously hung the sign: “Beware of wild dogs.” In reality, however, it is a coded message directed at perceived intruders from your constituency. The sign echoes an implicit message loudly: “Do not dare to approach this house; you are not welcome here.” How will anyone venture a visit under such circumstance?

These patient citizens live in resource-filled parts of the country yet do not have potable water in this day and age. Their school buildings are dilapidated and at the mercy of the elements. While their gas, oil, gold, bauxite, and other resources are extracted for the collective good of the country, they, as the custodians of these assets, have little or nothing to show for their potential prosperity all these years.

Maybe, the right person is nominated for the position of M.C.E. or D.C.E. to help administer and, hopefully, transform the various constituencies.But as an assembly man or woman, you see the confirmation process as an opportunity to dig gold. You, therefore, insist on a token, a euphemism for bribe, else you would not vote to approve the nominee. Meanwhile, your constituents put you up there to help them get their fair share of the national cake. Where do you belong, the “Construction Crew” or the “Demolition Squad?” What happened to your civics lessons?

Dear Civil Servant, thank you for all the hard work you put in despite the paltry salary. But I have a problem with those who pretend that somebody’s file is missing only for them to dramatically recover it from the “sinkhole” into which it dropped.

“Eureka! I have found it,” he would exclaim, just after his palms are not only greased, but lubricated well. Otherwise, not even the most powerful laser – Light Amplification by Simulated Emission of Radiation – can track and retrieve the missing document needed urgently to transact legitimate business for the mutual benefit of the client and the nation. This is the modus operandi of the “Demolition Squad.” No nation can develop with this attitude.

Sadly, this brazen exploitation has become so systemic that it has degenerated into a contagion of epidemic proportions permeating every fibre of the Ghanaian society. Just apply for a passport or try to register a company at the Registrar-General’s Department. You may also attempt to obtain a driver’s licence. You would not only understand what I am saying but you would also be amazed at the scope of rottenness prevailing in the system.

Issuance of passports was decentralised decades ago to enable Ghanaians to access travel documents easily, affordably, and speedily. But what was meant to be a division of labour to boost productivity, has evolved into the decentralisation of corruption. In the past only those in Accra had the chance to indulge in the practice. Now, it is “EGLE” – Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere. Did you know that once upon a time there was a political party by that name? Ei! Ghana! Trailblazers in everything!

Anyway, at the various passport offices spread over the country, they have rates of bribe that applicants must pay before they secure their passports, depending on how badly they need them. The faster you want it, the more you pay. Now that new regions have been created, I would not be surprised if people have started lobbying to be sent there. And why not? After all, the fastest and easiest means to make it in Ghana is ready for grabs.

Mr. Immigration Officer and Matthew, (a customs officer who became Jesus’s disciple), why did you enter these service institutions, to join the Construction Crew or the Demolition Squad? Why do you insist that your pot must be sweetened before you do what you are paid to do? It is no longer a gift if you demand it. It becomes a bribe. Plain and simple! Matthew repented and became, not just a disciple but one of the twelve apostles. Over to you!

A stitch in time saves nine!

Contact: teepeejubilee@yahoo.co.uk

BY TONY PREMPEH