Editorial: Bartels, Party & Gov't are different

Last week, a report by an Accra-based private newspaper, The Insight, reproducing the copy of a letter by the Information and National Orientation Minister, Mr. Kwamena Bartels, dated July 26, 2006 requesting Ghana Telecom to install certain communication facilities for certain individuals at state expense, got many Ghanaians dumbfounded.

The inclusion of key functionaries of the ruling party in the list of the proposed 21 beneficiaries is very worrying, but that of the two ‘Senior Journalists’ who were listed as being among the supposed ‘Information and Communications Management Team that will help disseminate Government policies and programs to the public’, was more surprising.

One of the justifications given by then Chief of Staff, Mr. Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, for the flooding of the various ministries with special assistants and spokespersons was the absence of qualified persons to do public relations work for the ministries. Most of the special assistants turned out to be no more than propagandists.

One would have thought that over five years on, conscious efforts would have gone into strengthening the various ministries with the supposed qualified persons they were said to lack, leading to the engagement of the services of special assistants, if we are to take the explanations of Mr. Obetsebi Lamptey seriously.

Unfortunately, going by the names on the list of the minister, it seems the Government is much more interested in propaganda work than getting professionals to do decent communication work devoid of partisan politicking.

If that was not the case, how could Mr. Kwamena Bartels even dream of spending the taxpayers’ money on telephone, fax and internet services for the NPP National Chairman, Mr. Peter Mac Manu, its National Youth Organiser, Mr. John Boadu, as well as sitting Members of Parliament (MPs) of the party, for the purposes for which he claims he requested for the communication facilities.

It is very sad that the Information and National Orientation Minister does not appreciate the difference between party and Government such that he would embarrass government with such indiscretion in the way he has handled this matter so far.

The Minister and one of the many Government spokespersons, Mr. Frank Agyekum have both indicated that the two journalists Messrs Egbert Faibille and A. C. Ohene, whose names were included in the list had declined the offer to be part of the said team.

Mr. Agyekum had said on radio that another letter had replaced the one that had the names of the two journalists, excluding the names of the two. But that was not all. He said the second list had many more names added.

The thought of even co-opting the journalists in the first place should in itself be problematic for us.

Ghana is still a HIPC country. Newly born children and their parents are still being detained in our hospitals for lack of financial capacity to pay hospital charges, even as we delude ourselves into thinking that the ‘cash and carry’ system is over.

The taxpayer is still saddled with a lot of bills, some of which, ordinarily, should attract Government subsidy. Workers are demanding for improved conditions of service, to enable them survive the harsh economic conditions – so, teachers go on strike and the children suffer. But we have often been reminded of how low the depth of our national kitty is, and therefore the need to tarry awhile - sacrifice.

The Chronicle would like to appeal to Government, to, as a matter of urgency, get this anomaly corrected and get the beneficiaries of this ministerial indiscretion pay to the state the costs of the installation of these communication facilities and any bills that might have accrued from their usage.

It is clear that looking at the caliber of persons on the beneficiary list and the positions they wield in the NPP, these bills ought to be picked by the NPP rather than government.

But, above all, Mr. Kwamena Bartels has demonstrated that he needs orienting to understand the difference between party and government and someone must teach him now.