Mahama must Resource Anti-Corruption institutions

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the founder, and first president of Ghana articulates the intellectual framework for his political action in his book Consciencism. Nkrumah advances that “ practice without thought is blind; thought without practice is empty” I find the statement insightful, it identifies the problem confronting many nations with abundant natural resources, and yet many of its people live in poverty and ignorance with very little opportunity to better lives because of mismanagement and bad leadership. It also captures the current dilemma of the Mahama presidency.

Mindful of the enormous implications of leaders failing to grasp the complexities involved in the transformation of the socio-economic lives of the people, Nkrumah makes the point that our attitude to building a prosperous society must be purposeful, and guided by a vision that is well grounded in thought. That is why he was so determined to give every Ghanaian an opportunity to education. It’s rather disappointing that after all the efforts, and investment in education, Ghana still struggles with organising its political and economic affairs thoughtfully.

Until the recent developments in the NDC, politicians have kept the nation divided and polarised along party lines, because it’s a strategy that work to their advantage , the more divided the people, the better they are able to collude and conspire, corrupt the political system and abuse their offices for personal gain. There is no unity of purpose even at the highest office of the land, everyone is seeking his own interest; hence the internal conflicts amongst the Chief of Staff and presidential staffers, is this why the President is struggling with the management of affairs of the nation, therefore unable to fight corruption?

President Mahama seems to be the cause of all the problems of Ghanaians rather than being part of the solution to the problems. I personally would like to see the President demonstrate real commitment to fighting corruption.

The President must start thinking strategically and perhaps talk less. As a result of failing to estimate the far-reaching implications of his decisions and actions, he has inadvertently created a crisis of confidence and credibility for himself, which is making his work more difficult. Case in point, on assumption of office, Ghanaians expected the President to appoint capable cabinet members and government; but the calibre of his appointees fell far short of the quality expected for the task, thereby creating the impression that he had nothing good to offer Ghanaian. So far, his team has failed to impress Ghanaians, which has seriously damaged the confidence of the people in his capabilities.

Also the decision to pay exgratia to Members of Parliament at a time that he claimed the meat was left with bare bones enraged the Trade and Industrial Unions, hence the numerous strikes witnessed in recent past . These are just two fundamental mistakes that may have deepened the legitimacy problems in the early stages of his presidency. President Mahama must urgently strengthen the depth of his advisory team. Nothing seems to be working well.

Sadly,the President has alienated himself from the intellectual wing of the party, which has also affected his performance negatively .I presume in an attempt to consolidate power, he made a decision to sideline some seasoned political figures perceived to be a threat to his ambition in 2016. Its cost him dearly, and he knows he has blown his chances for 2016 and appears to be giving up.

The President needs to consciously and intentionally pay attentions to public concerns, prioritise by placing the interest of the nation before his future ambitions, and the interest of his family and friends who are exploiting his position to build fortunes.

Also, for a candidate who campaigned as being accessible, decisive and action driven, it’s amazing that he is being accused by members of his own party that his presidency has been hijacked by personal friends and family members, hence their inability to counsel him on important national and party issues.

Ghanaians are frustrated and genuinely worried about the state of affairs and the direction that he is taking the country. President Mahama must act decisively if he is really serious about fighting corruption. The frustration is even more intense amongst the rank and file of NDC; a few courageous ones have expressed this publicly. They see power slipping from the hands of NDC.

Also, Prof. Agyeman Badu Akosah, the former Director of Ghana Health Services, a member of the National Development Planning Commission(NDPC), Dr. Tony Aidoo, Head of Policy Monitoring and Evaluations at the presidency have expressed a lack of executive commitment to strengthening key national institutions. I see no reason why funds for the operations of these institutions are being withheld by Ministry of Finance.

The proposed legislation instrument to fight corruption must be placed on hold, in my view, institutions such as the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) must be resourced and empowered to fight corruption. These institutions are critical to the fight against the canker.

I urge civil society to come together and petition the President Mahama to authorize the release of funds and resources for operations of CHRAJ, EOCO. If this is not done, civil disobedience mechanisms may have to be deployed to get the President to act. The future of the country is at stake.