“Democracy is a competition of ideas

“Democracy is a competition of ideas “ Kojo Tamakloe

So says Koji Jumah but Where does the NPP stand ?

Gross Domestic Product or GDP is . the total market value of all final goods and services produced in a country in a given year, equal to total consumer, investment and government spending, plus the value of exports, minus the value of imports

This Christmas some of you will got off a bed , looked into a mirror , stepped on a carpet, took a shower, doused yourselves with perfume and clothed yourselves in the most beautiful apparel and then off to church in a new car playing the latest music on the latest gadgets. All of these were IMPORTED . In our GDP equation these represents a NEGATIVE . They bring down our GDP . Most want to eat the kinds of foods prevalent in the West as that makes them “ civilized” . Our farmers be they cocoa, vegetable, cow herds toil to produce so we can export and we laugh at them and disparage them . But in the equation that is a positive.

Ghana and Africa’s problem has been low productivity , which is the quality, state, or fact of being able to generate, create, enhance, or bring forth goods and services. We are simply not producing enough or too slowly. This why we need to heed Ace Ankomah’s cry , “ learn, unlearn , re learn”. We have resources but we lack innovation and our mindset is such we look outwards for all our solutions. Where is the confidence in ourselves as espoused by Nkrumah, Kutu Acheampong and Rawlings? “Self Reliance “ , Africans are capable of managing their own affairs, work and happiness.

But what work and why hard work when we should work “smart”, the ability to accomplish a lot in a minimal amount of time. We still want to take a whole day to cut down a tree , instead of one hour. Nkrumah said to catch up we need to “ do in a year what it took Europe 10 years to accomplish” But what do we do , move back as we are using primitive tools and methods and not adding value to our products. Do we understand the balance of our ecosystem? Replacing a tree you have cut A writer called Paul, wrote many years ago about” how ALL things must work together for your good”. This revelation writing finds its way into the Bible, and the key point is not that all things are good. He says that the good, bad and in-between things, ALL THINGS, must work together to produce good”. So, all things must work together to produce good. This is SYNCHRONY In music when the chords are synchronized you have the best music . In life that is harmony , otherwise we have discord There in lies our problem . Division . How do we grow the economy? We get stuck in arguments of socialism or the misconception called communism and free enterprise, else capitalism , known also as “ Trickle down” . In business terms they boil down to ownership. Who owns the entity ?State enterprises are owned by all of us .Private entities are owned by individuals or small groups . However in Africa most individuals do not have the start up capital. There in lies our dilemma Must we wait for some one to see the opportunity to invest before we create that employment or should we use the state resources to start it? This puerile argument is what is keeping us down . The worst part being opponents do not go to the history and so the logic but go to the religion of it . This must be bad because it comes from the East or this is what is being done in the West so it must be good .So where is our logic.? What is it that can work for us? What did we have in the feudal era and what was there in the era of the Czars? Did the majority of the people benefit and were they better off than they are today.?What was the vehicle of change? . Are citizens in those societies better off than they were under the feudal systems and under the Czars? So why should we fight to go back to those systems that ended in bloodshed ? Should we not follow the example of the BRIC countries? Emulate the systems that have worked ?

It is in the light of these that in the coming year the party that loves to blame should begin to ask itself, if they have been assets to the country called Ghana? Its time for them to unlearn and learn history and economics. When you leave over 400 + industries to rot because of a doctrinaire approach and then blame someone for trying to sell them and get them working , there must be something wrong with you. You do not have to study everything from the classroom. Our parents and especially grand parents did not go through the formal institutions we call school , but they were citadels of wisdom . Why is it so difficult for us to open our eyes and ears to learn from the environment? They did not have the tools we have today. No libraries, no magazines, no TV , no radio, no internet and travel was rare . Now we live in a global community and we still want to behave like nothing has happened. “ Let us not just go through school but let school go through us”

Let me be direct , the NPP as a party for me is useless. Let them come up with how we solve our problems. On corruption , who were labeled “ Ali babaa and the 40 thieves”? We have the cases of Sekyi Hughes, Jake, GNPC and the sale of the drill ship and the vast array of cocaine that was being transited and so turned the country into a lawless society. Armed robbery and land grabs , mysterious deaths of the deputy Governor of BOG . Have they accounted to Ghanaians , what happened to Ghana Airways property ?How diplomatic passports ended in the hands of drug dealers, how foreign affairs was importing rice and how the AG department could not sign properly binding contracts ? The list goes on . So why do they shout corruption? Tribalism . Are they not guilty too. If Volta votes 85% NDC and Ashanti votes 95% NPP , are they not both guilty of the same sin? The least they can do is show respect to other tribes , but then they refer to them in derogatory terms . No tribe can write its history or culture without some ignorant people calling them names . Can we forget what happened to the late Aliu mahama who served faithfully and diligently as VICE for 8 years only to be discarded? Guys in organizations why do we have a vice and what is succession planning? Should both parties not work to improve the image they have? Sexism How many females are there in the top hierarchy of the NPP?. Do they have respect for females whom they constantly refer to in derogatory terms . How tolerant can we say this party is ?

Elitism The NPP constantly refers to others Kayayo, farm laborers, cow herds , people living in uncompleted homes . It is arrogance, scorn and disdain . If the have the money so be it . No one is envious or jealous. Use it to better the lot of people in your communities. Toilets, Clinics, manufacturing concerns . Do not wait for the “ better Ghana “ just create it for your self and your community Religion Ghana is not a Christian country but we attack moslems and us “ trokosi”. What of Antoa Nyame? Liberal democrats should respect my right to worship . So are they democrats and more sore liberal as they claim? Management . Can we call the State they left TOR, the Energy sector, and the massive importation of basics, like food , good management? Why could they not even follow and build on the Busia principle of Rural development by reviving the factories they closed down in the rural areas? How do you talk of Pawlugu Tomato factory that has been idle all these years. Why have they not added to TOR as population has increased. What kind of parlous state did they leave the textile factories? How much have they implemented ICT ? Valco is in comatose .What have they done with the sugar factories and plantations. The cotton fields to feed then clothing factories, the cattle producing ranches for meat and tanneries for leather and shoes , the sisal plantations for the jute factory and many more. What happened to Ghana Airways and State Housing Corporation . Do they call the tenure ship good management? Did Kufour not stay airborne perpetually looking for investors but coming home empty handed ?

Education . They always complain about education and that some one has debased it. So why did they not revamp it when in power . There was Education reform of 2007 . What was its effect? Changing SHS from 3 to 4 years is not a reform . Ghana NEEDS quality education . That way we have thinking people. When we have a qualified attorney like, Akufo ,saying some one committed marital fraud by marrying a woman who says “ these are your children “ and then it turns out to be false, who committed the fraud? Does he understand fraud? When we cannot do a comparative study of various educational systems before we make comments or developmental systems , or innovate , to create new products and services can we say our system is delivering what it is supposed to deliver? Here is another goof . Money is loaned to a business for a period of time. The loaner then changes the payment period to a shorter time. The borrower defaults and then the we say corruption. Who is corrupt? That is the Merchant bank and Ibrahim Mahama . The Bank is in breach . What kind of lawyers is the system producing ?

Political ideology Jumah says they are socially conservative. What about fiscal conservatism ? So even in their own ranks they are confused . So what instruments do they hope to use to develop our economy? What then differentiates them from the NDC ? Shall we under NPP be able to live harmoniously with our neighbors or shall we go back to aliens compliance order and when a Mandela type finally emerges after we stabbed him in the back turn round and sing his praises? Are we still in a muddle as to communism , socialism and dictatorship when we ourselves cannot tolerate divergent views in our ranks? We tear down any one who has a divergent view be he Dr Apraku, Brobbey, Tamakloe, Pianim and latterly the Pastors pleading for a semblance of sanity

Any player knows when the opposition plays poorly your game is likely to go down . The game of Ghana‘s main opposition party, the NPP is low and the NDC is responding to it. The CPP, a party of ideas needs to wake up and take its rightful place. Critical and insightful analysis as opposed to the gutter opposition we are getting from NPP . Challenges that involve the brain instead of just the emotion . For too long we have had to endure NOISE and the sound of CYMBALS , no substance

What does NPP want? Does the intransigence mean they want to make Ghana another Central African Republic or a South Sudan?. NPP today is praising Nelson Mandela and talking about Nkrumah snubbing him . Guys who were drinking tea with Vorster In Pretoria .? Was that the solution or the Cubans who died on behalf of Africans to liberate our brothers? Were they not the same preaching brotherly love but sent Nigerians back into the war zones to die under the aliens compliance order? They sent them there to die and they complain about JJ who brought them in to save their lives from Liberia and Sierra Leone. Then the Ghanaians, I million of them were saved but NPP will only vilify him. They have been on the wrong side of history all along .

The challenge is on the CPP to come up and release the NPP from its negative role. I call on all progressive and well meaning Ghanaians who want Ghana to move forward to stand up and be counted. Yes democracy should be a competition of ideas , not one of INSULTS . The time has come for the people to take the initiative away from the NPP . The choices are clear , back to feudalism or FORWARD to a prosperous and peaceful Africa . We have to live together and not be divided . Our efforts need to be in one direction . We cannot continue to go at the snails pace because we want feudalistic ideas to draw us back . Let us join hands in the new year and shout it out FORWARD EVER ,BACKWARD never . Yes we have challenges , but together we can overcome .” He who wakes up late must run the whole day to catch up”, Chinua Achebe

The writer Kojo Tamakloe is an Nkrumaist who believes African Unity is the solution to Africa’s under development