NDC Deserves Better

I am a hard core NDC member, and you are right if you guessed; this is not my real name. and if you figure my name out, good job. I have sat quietly and watched as my beloved party gets dragged into the mud. I happen to know quite a bit and I will drop some tidbits here to let the powers that be in the party know that I know what I am talking about. After that, I will tell both sides what they are doing wrong, and what they need to do to right their wrongs.

First the Rawlingses. I happen to know in my private conversations with Jerry that his urge to exert control knows no boundaries. A genuine passion to see Ghana prosper is very noticeable when you associate with him, but his problem is that he neither knows how to leverage that passion into actionable initiatives that would bring about the prosperity. This pseudo confusion forms the basis for his criticism of anyone who occupies the leadership of our country. Bottom line is that as long as he does not have a say in what goes on, he would continue to criticize. And that would not even stop if his wife becomes president. The one time she does anything other than what he advises would be the time she herself becomes subject to bitter criticism.

And Mrs. Rawlings has displayed instances, albeit rare, of disobedience. The original idea of running for president did not come from Rawlings; it was Konadu’s own ambition, and she not only failed to heed her husband’s advice to run, she was in fact the one who talked him into supporting her with the catch that “we” can rule this nation again. Of course that was all it took to convince Jerry – the chance to “rule Ghana again.” And here is another revelation: of the two, Konadu is actually meaner than her husband – her original 31st December colleagues would tell you that.

These two power players of our party have ambitions that must be curtailed. They need to understand that after 19 years at the helm of affairs of our country, they must give way to the other 24million Ghanaians who are just as “smart” and just as “passionate.” If we members of the NDC have not as yet demonstrated either qualities, or at least that is what the Rawlingses believe, then we must do a better job of recruiting. We cannot hoist our entire existence on the failures of the NPP – we must chalk up some significant successes of our own before Ghanaians would take us seriously.

Now to Mills. The first thing President Mills must understand is that aside from Rawlings’ unacceptably public condemnation of his performance, Ghana is indeed directionless due to his inability to control his own government. You may say I am being traitorous, but let’s face it, Ghana must come first before party. We all jubilated when one of the other guys wrote a book titled “Chasing the Elephant Into The Bush.” But in that book, they at least showed that they can criticize themselves. But in our party, when one criticizes the president, he is said to belong to the Rawlings camp.

We have had two opportunities at governing. The Ghana that Rawlings took over in 1981 was far worse off that the Ghana that Mills assumed in 2009. This means we should be moving ahead faster as a nation. The price of Gold was $400 an ounce eleven years ago; today it is $1,507. Barely three years ago we did not have oil; today we produce 70,000 barrels a day for a commodity that is selling at $104 a barrel. In addition to our meager 18.75% stake, we collect 35% tax on the stakes of the other partners. That is a lot of money coming in that did not come in when Rawlings was president. So may be the guy has the right to feel frustrated that we are not doing enough to burry the NPP.

Within our party, some of us know the reason why we are not doing well enough. No one is accountable in our government. And although I would not go as far as calling anyone “Greedy Bastards,” there are opportunists who come close. These people were nowhere to be found when the time came for us to operate in the trenches and canvas for votes. Yet today, they run our government and our party while ignoring the very people who made it possible for them to be in government. You don’t enjoy the fruits of others’ labor and leave them to their fates. That is why our foot soldiers are doing what they are doing. And Mills cannot stop or control them because of his own conscience. He knows he has neglected the foot soldiers.

So what do we do? Each side must come clean and admit to their mistakes. Do so openly or privately – it does not matter. But do it. Continuing on the current path with neither side willing to come clean is a recipe for disaster at the polls next year. The Rawlingses must cease immediately and desist from publicly criticizing the president. And if possible, Konadu must abandon her presidential quest. In return, Mills must immediately begin to not only make overtures towards the party faithful, but he must begin to institute real and meaningful inclusion of them into the government. He may not necessary need to cow tow to the Rawlingses; if he begins to take care of the party faithful, it may pave the way for the Rawlingses to begin to view his presidency from a different set of eye glasses.