Now Back to the Issues

At long last, the long awaited national delegates’ congress of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is over and the delegates having decided on who is possibly their best opposition leader come January 2009, can now cede the national spotlight to the more important issues that really matter to all Ghanaians worldwide.

For the past few weeks, important national issues such as the 100 percent tolerance for corruption by the Kuffour Administration, rising cost of living, rising national debt, the frightening drug menace, the decline of the middle-income class, rising unemployment, and declining salaries, just to mention a few, have all been relegated to the background while 17 equally incapable leaders of the NPP tried to out-do each other with either who could litter the ground with cash or pay the most to lead in opinion polls.

It is now time to ask the most important question leading to the congress, which puzzled all well meaning Ghanaians, yet went unanswered: “Where from all that ‘confetti’ Cash?”

With seven years of the Kuffour Administration, the average Ghanaian has seen a decline of his income level and purchasing power, over 500 percent increases in fuel prices and utilities, huge increases in prices of food and ordinary goods, as well as an introduction of a rare and entirely new ‘killer’ product, Cocaine. Yet members of the Kuffour government and NPP aspirants found it wise to arrogantly conduct “moneycratic” campaigns involving exchanges of huge sums of money, highly expensive plane rides and vote buying in foreign currency caught on national TV, while more and more Ghanaians languish in abject poverty.

Since silence means concern, I will go ahead and make a few speculations. The first is, could any of these “moneycratic” campaigners have been more successful doing what Eric Amoateng could not do? Because only God knows what disHonourable Eric Amoateng would have done if he had brought that $6 million home.

The second is, does is really pay that much to be Ghana’s Ambassador to the USA and Minister for Presidential Special Initiative for seven years? I thought that was public service? Or could someone have caused financial loss to the state while amassing wealth in this kind of “property owning democracy” that we have found ourselves in today?

The third point is, it is obvious these campaigners see these confetti cash displays as investments to be re-cooped at a later date, else they would not go such a length to win. So may we know how much interest they intend to charge the Ghanaian people so have impoverished, if they get to stay in government?

It is obvious from this campaign how much may have been looted from the national cake and it is the responsibility of every Ghanaian to help in the fight to reclaim this country as well as restore her dignity worldwide.

Malik B. Salifu Germantown, MD USA.

Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of GhanaHomePage.