Opinions of Friday, 6 November 2015
Columnist: Berko, George
What’s Hindering His Court Action To Retrieve The Loot For Us?
As per the Article entitled “ I fear for Ghana--Akufo-Addo” that appeared in the Media, including Ghanaweb.com, on Thursday, 5 November 2015, we learn that the NPP Flag-bearer, Nana Akufo-Addo has steeply descended into the pit of the proverbial political amphitheater to do his gladiator battle, directly charging Mahama's Administration of supervising theft of the People's Money. This serious criminal charge must be not be glossed over by any patriotic Ghanaian.
If the former Attorney-General makes such serious accusations, he should have garnered the relevant details of such crimes to enable him to proceed to the Courts with for adjudication and Justice. What then is keeping Akufo-Addo from directly and personally leading a legal suit against the Government on the Citizens’ behalf to swiftly retrieve all those Funds he finds missing from our coffers?
If Akufo Addo really wants Ghanaians to take him seriously, and is sincere about reclaiming our Economy from a bunch of kleptocrats, he should not wait till he is elected the next President but must promptly move to resuscitate the Economy with such a suit. He has the expertise to lead such a case, and ostensibly, also, the evidence for him to make that public charge against the Government.
If Akufo-Addo does not intend to take that matter up in the Courts to prove his criminal allegations against the Administration, he must not be using those accusations as a Political mantra to lure the Electorate to vote for him. He has indicated that he is capable of stopping that heinous crime to allow our Economy’s revival. How long does he want us to wait, then, and at what price to the Citizenry?
It is one thing for the Public to, simply, suspect theft under, or by State Officials because Funds allocated for Projects, and loans reported to have been contracted in the name of the country by the Government for various other projects, all have almost nothing to show for; and then, another thing for a whole legal expert, a practicing Attorney, ex-Attorney-General and -Foreign Minister to publicly allege such a crime against the Government.
It is most reasonable to expect that knowing the legal implications of libel, slander and all kinds of malicious fabrications against individuals and institutions, Akufo-Addo would not make such incriminating assertions against the Government without credible evidence upon which he could build a prima facie case for prosecution and judicious retrieval of the stolen assets he has alluded to. And with his professional and political background, only a few Ghanaians would be better placed to know and understand the crimes he alleges.
I therefore, would like to, first, encourage and challenge the NPP Flagbearer to take his allegations against the Government to Court immediately. Then, secondly, I would like to garner the necessary Public interest and uproar to bring to bear on the NPP Flagbearer the vital patriotic responsibility of following his rhetoric with concrete action by proceeding to the Courts, promptly, to start a case against the Government to authenticate his charges.
If Akufo-Addo does not do so, all the People must see his unwillingness as a solid evidence that he does not really mean anything by his numerous pitches to save the Nation from the economic doom he has been predicting under Mahama’s continued governance. And all Akufo-Addo’s public accusations against the Government could, then, be nothing but a frivolous, loud irritating propaganda to cheaply court votes to win the Presidency.
By these specific accusations against the Government, Akufo-Addo has dealt his card and must follow through to claim the victory or loss therefrom. Either way, it is then that the majority of suffering Ghanaians would have a genuine cause to be on his side.
If there is any particular person who could have access to the relevant data and facts to support any such accusation against the Government, it would be an ex-Attorney-General as Akufo-Addo is. So, he should not dodge this responsibility he has primed the Nation to expect of him, now.
Ghanaians have long been promised the Heavens by various potential leaders over the decades only to end up receiving nothing but losing to them even what was left in their safe at the time those Political leaders won the votes to govern. We are tired of being played as political pawns by potential elected leaders in their 'game of thrones' and discarded for used shells.
It is about time we all, especially, the electorate, moved to demand more credible signals of these Politicians’ ability to produce before we vote them to power. Rhetoric alone should not cut it. If these Politicians who claim to know it all fail to act in the earliest possible time to save us, what guarantees do we have that they would do what they promised us after getting our votes?
If Akufo-Addo would not act now, until we vote for him to become the President, to bring the Government to Court to help us retrieve all the Money he claims to know the Officials have either stolen, or allowed to be stolen, it would amount to forcing us to hedge our votes against his willingness to help salvage the Nation.
And to that, I would say we have suffered way too long and too much already to allow our votes to be hedged this way. Before we vote for him, we would rather have Akufo-Addo prove his ability, as he is promising, to save our Economy, by leading the Nation in the Courts to retrieve the State Assets he charges the Government either has stolen, or has watched stolen.
Long Live Ghana!!!