Opinions of Monday, 1 October 2012
Columnist: Sarpong, Justice
Against Our Corrupt Politicians
Ghanaian workers have been abused by our leaders through villifications and poor remuneration of service it is now time for them to show their mettle by laying down their tools of work and embark on national demonstrations throughout our Regional and District Capitals against the daylight robbery being perpetrated on us by the recent Parliamentarians salary increase from GH3000 to GH7200. We are supposed to be independent from colonial rule but we are still mentally enslaved by our own Politicians who are using the flawed 4th Republican constitution to keep us in perpetual slavery whilst they enrich themselves with a document rigged to favour them called 1992 constitution. We are made to believe that, we should not challenege authority or even make suggestions when an older person or somebody in authoritative position speaks. We call that disrespectful when you challenge somebody older than you. The developed countries did not achieve that feat by clamping down on people and denying them their rights to speak freely.
Where in the world can Politicians increase their salaries by 130% and make it retroactive from 2009 and get away with it? Within a few seconds, the Executive branch created 26 million dollars debt to the nation by giving 230 MP's $110,000 each in a poor country like Ghana where we go begging for budget support? We give these people per diems and ex-gratia and believe me, in January 2013, these 230 MP's will receive another $50,000 each as ex-gratia for serving in Parliament for four years. Can you believe that? In January, each MP will receive 160,000 dollars and these people most of the time did not even attend Parliament for deliberations. For three continuous days in September, Parliament could not function because it did not meet the 79 Mp's presence for a quorum. One day there was only 42 members, another day only 28 members and the last three days only 12 members were at the Parliament house and the Majority leader, Mr Cletus Avoka called this dismal perfomance by our MP's as dedicated and intergrity service to our nation. How dare him to use such words to describe our pen thieves called MP's? Now the Politicians have the Student Union in their pockets NUGS which used to be in the forefront of all our political changes for the better are now pawns on the chessboard of these Politicaians that union is as useless as our education system.
Where is the TUC"
Where is AFAG on this?
Where is Kwesi Pratt's CJA?
Where is the Teacher's Union?
Where is the NUGS?
Where is the Ghana Bar Association?
Where is the Christian Council?
Where is the Doctors Union?
Where is the Nurses Union?
Where is the Miners Union?
We are still mired in our colonial mentality and timidity and our Politicians have checked our pauses and found out that, we are all in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) without the strength to ask or demand our rights as People they will continue to suck it to us and use our knifes to dissect snakes. Who made it a force that all Parliamentarians should live in a free provided houses with free water, electricity, favourable loans for cars, free petrol and other benefits to come and live in Accra? Is that how it is done in developed countries? NOO. In USA, the Senators and House of Representatives(HR) members live in their respective states and districts and only come to Wshington D.C when Congress is in session and they have to find their own accomodations without government giving them any allowances for housing and boarding but in Ghana, some of these villagers who have never set foot in Accra and cannot tell East Legon from Chorkor move to Accra the moment they are elected because our colonial method mandates it and government have to provide these amenities at the cost to the poor taxpayers. These people who work part time should live in their constituencies or we are free in Ghana and if they want to live in Accra or Kumasi, they should find their own accomodation at their own expense.
When some Health Workers demanded their increased salaries to be paid immediately or they will stop working, the Health Minister, Alba Bagbin tried to use psychological tactics and pitch the the populace against Workers who were demanding their just due by calling their earned money "BLOOD MONEY" Blood money my, sorry, let me cut the last word off. How dare Alba Bagbin tell Doctors they are receiving blood money when they asked for the money they have earned as Professionals which is not even a third of what they MP's are going to receive? Is Bagbin telling Ghanaians his service as a Member of Parliament is more important than a Doctor? What an impudence from these thieves called MP'S?
The only way to stop this nonsense is for the workers in Ghana to lay down their tools of work and refuse to go back to work until the government stop this daytime robbery or give workers a 130% wage increase retroactive from January 2009 like they are receiving.
Coruption is endemic in our Politicians which has seeped into the general population so prevalent in every sector of our society accepting a bribe to carry out one's job function is an accepted norm. Corruption takes many forms as basic and blatant as the Policeman manning a road block and taking few cedis from drivers or a President taking 50 people to a United Nations session so that these people can take a per diem some of them as much as $3,000 per day with the lowest being about $1,500 a day just for sight seeing of USA.
How long can Ghanaian workers sit down and continue to moan hmmmmm hmmmm and die of stress and anger because they will not act to tell these educated thieves who have metharmorphosed as Politicians but are just plain thieves? Ghanaian workers, it is time to rise up and demand your rights because our Politicians are enriching themselves at our expense.We have seen Politicians who have never worked a day in their lives until this administration came into power and these people who were either living in the the LIVING rooms of their parents or living in one bedrooms are now living in mansions and having bought or built Gas stations, schooling their sibblings abroad with their GH3000 salaries whilst the same people are telling us government cannot afford free education for the poor children of farmers, Civil servants, Fishermen Traders, Miners and other Joe Six Pack children. These same Politicians called sharp teeths and rotten planks are looting the coffers of our nation brought about by our Farmers, Miners and ordinary workers to buy mansions abroad where they have stashed their loot ready to run to the moment they see any sign of trouble.
All is not lost yet and our Politicians can do the right thing by reducing their salary increase from GH3000 to GH4000 and introduce an amendment in Parliament to stop adding constituencies when we don't need more of them. We should go back to the original 200 constituencies in 1992. This should be done before the 2016 elections. Ghana with even 50 million people can be ran with only 200 Members of Parliament and the Ministries should should be reduced to only Fifteen from the 30 something we have now. USA has less than Fifteen Ministries with more than 330million people and they are doing fine. We don't need all these empty suits running around Radion stations in Accra formenting trouble and calling themselves Politicians because there is nothing for them to do. Who said we need 20 Communication team menbers at the Castle when we have a Presidential Spokesman and Director of Communication with an Information Ministry that have more than four hundred people working there? Ghanaian Politicians, this is a warning you have to take seriously and stop stealing the our resources. The next revolution if you don't stop your wayward ways will be staged by the people and not the Military and when it happened, it will not be pretty.
Justice Sarpong
Houston, Texas
(CARDINAL of TRUTH)