A Better Ghana: the New Two-Cedi Note

At best the new cedi note to become legal tender to commemorate the centenary anniversary of the late Dr Kwame Nkrumah can be magnanimously described as the loss of focus of the current Administration and a perfect example of political bigotry. This statement is not meant to take anything away from Dr Nkrumah’s contribution to the political history of Ghana. However, any action with a political undertone should be unveiled and brought to public scrutiny so that all well-meaning citizens of Ghana can judge for themselves the relevance of such an action.

It is my firm belief that anyone who reads this piece, for the sake of fact-facing and the love of truth, will comment on the facts therein and not because the issues raised are against Political Party A or Political Party B. Without mincing words, it is somewhat inconceivable to recognise that political parties-- and all political parties are guilty including the NDC and the NPP--promise so much in their manifestos and then trivialise those promises when they win elections and come to power. It is true that it is too soon to judge the current government but printing a new two-cedi note in honour of a former president is the least of Ghana’s problems at this moment. And one can certainly infer that with all the wrangling in the country at this moment, overlooking them and giving Ghanaians another cedi note is tantamount to belittling the promises-laden manifesto upon which the NDC rode to power.

Consequently, one would not be far from the truth if one should say the current government has lost touch with reality or to put it bluntly, the government has lost its focus! Well, maybe the Mills Administration wants to make a statement: sometimes, a whisper is louder than a shout. Therefore, it could be that Professor Mills wants people to know that he shares the political ideologies/philosophies of the late Dr Nkrumah unlike Dr Rawlings who maintains all that the first president of Ghana did for Ghana was perhaps the National Flag and the National Anthem. Otherwise, how could any right-thinking person justify the new-cedi note?! To honour Dr Nkrumah is the reason but how ridiculous is the idea when the so-called “Big Six” who started Ghana’s fight for independence are all over the Cedi currency. Maybe Kwaku Baako is blameable for this state of affair as he has been at the forefront of criticising the NDC government of lacking a political ideology.

However, there calamitously seems to be very intelligent individuals who are ready to vindicate whatever the government does. One of such persons is David Annan. From his pronouncements, one could be bold to state that if the holocaust was committed by the NDC, this man would have been enlightening Ghanaians that, that heinous crime against humanity was the kindest thing that happened to the sufferers. Why would anyone say this? This fine learned gentleman was on Joy FM’s “News file” programme on the 3rd April 2010 justifying the perpetration of violence by some obviously irate youths of the NDC for the apparent poor performance of the government in power. No matter one’s political lineage, violence has no place in a democratic country. It is shattering to observe that Ghanaians will thump their chests to the effect that Ghana is the gateway to Africa and the beacon of Sub-Saharan civilisation yet; acts which should be confined to the pre-slavery and pre-colonial eras are being validated in 21st Century Ghana. Mr David Annan’s comment leaves much to be desired. This is a very learned and very good talker using his talents mischievously on the vestiges of political expediency in favour of the NDC. He was giving the thumbs up to the rampaging youth who were locking up hospitals and threatening people in authority with death.

Accordingly, the “A Better Ghana” agenda is in full swing. The current government’s “A Better Ghana” agenda are being adhered to and if they continue, Ghana will be a developed country in a decade! Deducing from all that is happening in Ghana, “A Better Ghana” is where a prominent chief says my government is in power and so I can do whatever pleases me; so I will arrest a lesser chief who does not pay homage to me, a Ghana where NDC youth can heckle with impunity their own superiors with divergent views, a Ghana where the youth wing of the NDC government are above the law and can therefore take the law into their own hands and determine who should hold what position and which calibre of people should be working in what department, a Ghana where car seizure of well-established businessmen is the order of the day, a Ghana where a group of people can summon the government into action with intimidation, etc, etc. Ghana will be a paradise very soon!

Nevertheless, one must extol the NDC government for fulfilling their promise of job creation. What with 1.6 million jobs in fifteen months! I am so elated that this benchmark has been set and we will all use it as the yardstick to measure future government’s performance. Job creation has always been a very strong political point for all political parties especially, the NDC and the NPP. What I know of other countries is the fact that they all have a National Office of Statistics to measure job creation and job losses/unemployment. What discerning minds want to know is that the propaganda machinery or the very many spokespersons of the NDC are able to back their claims of a boom in job creation with at least facts and figures from the Ghana Statistical Service. At least, I believe that is what being educated means: a common man on the street can say anything and try to get people to believe him but an educated person will talk and back it with proofs to authenticate what he has said. This kind of extreme intellectual arm-twisting and political dishonesty is only fit for the kingdom of the stupid if not for the dustbin.

Above all, a lot has been said about how bad Kufuor’s Administration was; how Kufuor offered Ghana its worst leadership in its 53 years of existence. But, ex-president Kufuor’s vile policies have given jobs to some Ghanaians. The School-Feeding Programme, the NHIS and the Youth Employment Scheme have all received the worst of reviews by ardent NDC fanatics. Yet, the NDC is yet to use its creativity to fathom jobs for the so-called masses. I have got news for the current government: that sacking a hundred people from their jobs and replacing them with another hundred card-bearing members of the party in power is no job creation, period!

In summing up this article, I do not mind how many invectives are poured on me. I must also point out that I do not mind who is in power. All that I care about is that Ghana—a country which once could only be compared to South Korea and Malaysia—becomes a middle income country in about twenty years’ time. It thus behoves on the ever-fumbling Professor Mills whose pronunciation of Economy (ecomini) is as doubtful as his management of it to begin to listen to the constructive criticisms of Ghanaians and the anger-ridden ranting Rawlings. In opposition, the NDC promised to listen if they won the elections. It is about time they listened to the ceaseless wailings of Ghanaians which have been drowned in the howling of lying radio commentators who are no better than stooges, bootlickers and political sycophants whose express intentions are to please for the sake of filling their pockets and their pot-bellies.

Let me admonish the current government against frivolities, of which a new bank note with the portrait of Dr Nkrumah (Dr Nkrumah is already on the Ghanaian bank notes with the other members of the “Big Six”) is prominent. Instead, the government’s efforts should be channelled into solving the never-ending economic hardship, poverty, bad roads, lack of social services/amenities and creating jobs with the aim of making the “A Better Ghana” schema a reality. I would like to remind Professor Mills and his henchmen that Ghana has had a lot of great sons and daughters who, though not politicians, have done so much for Ghana and deserve to be honoured. For instance, Ghana will be nowhere without cocoa and so maybe having Tetteh Quarshie’s portrait on a Ghana bank note will be highly laudable.

Thomas Dickens.