Features
Economic situation: Who to blame
• Economic problems not limited to Ghana
Since the emergence of the economic problems encountered in Ghana and other parts of the world, many are those who have tried and attempted to put blame on other people for the economic turmoil.
Here in Ghana, the blame has been put on the Akufo-Addo administration even though in the view of objective minds, the blame is unfair. Others have singled out the Finance Minister, Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta and even accusing him of behaving recklessly even though we know and agree that he’s one of the best Ministers of Finance in the world today.
The economic problems of Ghana cannot be limited to only this country. The economic challenges extend to other parts of the world and that is why we need to be very careful before putting blame unjustifiably on anyone.
If we are to blame anyone, then irrespective of political affiliation, we need to be bold enough to call on past leaders who mismanaged the economy when they were in the helm of affairs. The economic problems being encountered today could have been avoided if the right steps had been taken in the past.
What is happening today is the result of certain wrong policies and decisions made in the past.
We should not easily forget about the loss of revenue that should have accrued to the country if the right things had been done. Investments in guinea fowls which we were told flew to Burkina Faso has become a laughing stock and goes to show that some of our past leaders ought to bow their heads in shame for failing to live up to expectation as far as sound economic policies are concerned.
This can be dovetailed into corruption which has been embraced in various parts of the country. Corrupt practices are shameful but this is what others have used to enrich themselves to the neglect of the nation. This situation is very unfortunate.
Corruption is practised not only by Ghanaians but foreigners as well. Many Ghanaians have proved to be so corrupt that they will do everything necessary to ensure that revenue due the country is denied it. These Ghanaians collaborate with their fellow nationals to destroy the economy and to deny the country what should come to it by way of revenue.
The collaboration in corrupt practices is sometimes carried out with foreigners and when this happens, it is as if Ghanaians do not care about what happens to their country even if foreigners are simply coming in to destroy it in any way they like. People need to learn to love their country rather than conniving with others to destroy the country’s dignity.
One of the things that readily comes to mind is the GH¢52 million paid to a man called Woyome for no work done to the state. Such “woyomisation” of the Ghanaian economy is part of the reasons we find ourselves in the present economic mess.
Another issue similar to this is ISOFOTON. This is a foreign company that also enjoyed the payment of millions of dollars for no work done to the country. All these could not have been possible without the connivance of some Ghanaians whose selfish interest they placed above that of the nation. These are shameful acts and occurrences that have contributed to the economic woes of this country.
Furthermore, a banking crisis was looming over the country because arrangements were put in place to relax the setting up of banks, a situation which led to lack of confidence in the banking sector. This forced the Akufo-Addo administration to look for some millions of Cedis to clean the banking sector.
With regard to the banking sector, some educated Ghanaians who were not patriotic connived with one another to take some monetary assistance from the Bank of Ghana to strengthen their so-called banking institutions. The support received in monetary terms was converted into dollars and taken abroad for their personal and selfish investments. All these have contributed to the economic difficulties the country is facing today.
Many of the economic problems we are facing today have been created by Ghanaians themselves yet they turn round to put the blame on the Finance Minister Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta and also the entire Government of Ghana today.
There is no doubt that external factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and its disastrous effects have contributed to the country’s problems. It has been argued in certain quarters that the pandemic was deliberately created by certain people in certain parts of the world. However, whatever it is, we cannot put the blame on any specific group of people in the world.
It is equally important to note that the economic difficulties that Ghana and the rest of the world are facing are partly the result of the Russian-Ukraine war. As a result of the war, the food chain connecting various parts of the world has been disturbed in a way and the result has been inflationary trends in various parts of the world including Ghana.
Again, if things are to be made better for all Ghanaians, then among other things, Ghanaians must put up a positive attitude towards work. This is what will make it possible for productivity to go high in order to be able to increase the welfare of all citizens in the country.
It is, therefore, wrong for anybody or group of persons to put the blame of the present economic turmoil on any persons. Let us look inward within ourselves to see where things have gone wrong and how these things can be made better for each one of us.
If this is the case, then almost everyone in this country is blameable for the current economic difficulties we are going through, especially the vociferous critics in Ghana today.
Let us learn to accept the blame ourselves and refrain from blaming others unduly.
*Contact gmail address/ whatsApp number of author:
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BY DR. KOFI AMPONSAH-BEDIAKO
THE typical itinerant salesman in Sikaman is a herbalist. He is normally a slim macho with the capacity to perambulate the expanse of area covering the triangle of Accra-Tema-Ashiaman. In short, he can walk a total of 60 miles a day, marketing a product that cures every disease, including poverty. 
The door-to-door herbal pharmacist advertises his product by word of mouth. He has nothing to do with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB). After all, his concoctions do not feature on FM stations.
Those herbalists who cannot walk to propagate the herbal gospel, liaise with drivers of mass transportation and their mates. They are, therefore, given the chance to sell their products on Benz buses that ply the routes.
Normally, the herbalist starts his sales message with a prayer and Bible study. He asks the passengers to bow down their heads in supplication to God the father, the son, the Holy Spirit.
When a herbalist asks the passengers to close their eyes and bow their heads, Moslems on board naturally feel offended. They feel that the herbalist has no right to assume that every passenger is a Christian. They think such an assumption is an affront to Islam.
So a Moslem on board will raise the hand for a point of order. He’ll remind the herbalist that it would be in his own interest to mind his language.
“Be careful the way you address people in a public place. Not every person here is a Christian,” he’d state assertively.
Of course, the herbalist will promptly ignore him, but would all the same “watch” his tongue. Who knows whether or not the Moslem brother is inspired by Quoranic zeal to defend the tenets of Islam to the hilt?
When he starts saying, “Wallahi!” and “Inshallah!” it could be the beginning of proclaiming Islam as supreme, a point which must be driven home with talibanic precision.
So the herbalist must tread carefully lest he steps on fire.
The herbalist could even add a measure of mirth to it all, by announcing that Christians on board today have very interesting company on the journey, but that should not detract from the business of the day.
The Moslem brother will weigh the words carefully and offer a wry smile.
He must be careful the occasion does not degenerate into the use of semantics and proverbial oration to deride his conviction that public utterances must be mindful of religious sensibilities. He has made his point very clear and expects that it is taken in good faith in the interest of a peaceful journey.
The herbalist will now open the New Testament and preach salvation, stating clearly that salvation can come only through Jesus Christ and NOBODY else.
The Moslem brother will now start twitching his moustache. The visible and almost revolutionary reflexes of his upper lip can be an indication that sentiments have begun superseding reason, and the outcome could well be tragic now shift uneasily in his seat.
The time has come for him to also express his right to the religion of his fore-bears. He’ll put his hand into his pocket and rise to his feet. The time has indeed come!
This article was first published on Saturday, September 9, 2006
When the cause of a particular problem like sickness, disease, sudden illness, a social issue etc. are not known, it stands to reason that resolving it becomes a huge challenge.
Citizens would understand the government when public announcements are made to the effect that government is trying to find a solution to the issue, even though it is taking a while for it to be resolved because citizens are rational beings.
On the other hand, if the solution to a particular issue is known to everybody but the government for whatever reason, is dragging its feet in resolving it, citizens become frustrated and begin to lose trust in their leaders.
One such issue is the heavy traffic along a section of the Kasoa – Odokor road. A short stretch of bad road between the traffic light at the Weija Government Hospital and the entrance to the entrance of the overhead that leads to the N1, is the cause of the problem but nothing is being done about it, day after day, week after week, month after month. Thus is clearly unacceptable.
Another issue that requires urgent attention is the lack of pavements along a lot of streets in parts of the various Municipal Assemblies. Exercise is a prerequisite for long life and healthy living and for those of us who it has become a way of life, this issue of people putting up structures right to the edge of the drains beside the roads, are making life difficult for us.
We are compelled to walk along the roads, putting our lives at serious risk. Pedestrians should never be compelled to compete with vehicles on our streets and roads. Roads and streets are made for vehicles and pavements are made for pedestrians. That is the norm. Any attempt to normalise a situation where pedestrians are mingling with vehicles is insanity.
It is the road regulations that makes it so and therefore district or municipal assemblies are to take responsibility and ensure that spaces for pavements are not encroached upon. Citizens have rights that must be protected by their leaders and making pavements available to pedestrians, is one of them.
When we hear of teachers having sex with students, it appears it is something recent. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been there since Adam. Perhaps this issue is getting much attention due to the proliferation of social media. It was an open secret in times past when Teachers were in relationships with female students and some married them immediately after completion of school.
Some teachers were also known to be having unholy interactions with female pupils but due to the times that these acts occurred, human rights issues and the awareness around it, allowed such unscrupulous teachers to get away with their crimes.
Now we are in a different era and so a Headmaster is now in hot waters. He is alleged to have raped about 19 female students and as usual, some officials tried to cover it up and are also in hot waters and their actions or inactions in the matter are under investigation.
Why the man has been allowed to roam freely without being arrested is simply mind boggling. It appears that the law applies differently, depending on who you are. This issue came to public attention sometime in August this year, yet the police had not arrested or invited this man for question regarding the rape allegation.
It has come out that he is a Constituency Secretary of the ruling party and the question in the public domain is that, is it because he is a political figure that is why he is still walking around without questioning? I believe in the rule of law so let us hold our breadth and let the proper thing be done.
The police must however be seen to be active in this matter. God bless.
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