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Opinions of Wednesday, 29 July 2009

Columnist: Ashiagbor, Kwaku Kele

The Ghanaian Condition (Part 2)

The Chinery Hesse Report Saga Continues.

The much awaited Ismael Yamson Committee report on the recommendations of the Chinnery Hesse Committee has now seen the light of day.

This Chinnery Hesse Committee was instituted by former President Kuffour and the recommendations of this committee is mind-blowing to say the least. The former President,the former Speaker of Parliament and Members of Parliament were to be paid so huge emoluments and other benefits that at the end of the day there may not be much left to pay the ordinary workers,teachers,nurses,policemen ,soldiers and other hard working Ghanaian workers whose sweat and toil are to be used in satisfying the caprices of our elites. Considering our present economic situation and the daily grind of majority of Ghanaians,one will reluctantly accept the recommendations of Ismael Yamson Committee. Hardly has the ink dried on this recommendation than up popped the ubiquitous Mr.Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu---the Minority Leader in our House of Parliament. His beef is that the review and recommendation by the Ismael Yamson Committee is I quote “ An Exercise in Futility” end of quote.He further referred to Article 71 of our Constitution to back his case. I sometimes wonder whether the likes of Mr.Kyei-Mensah Bonsu and other apologists of the previous regime live on the same planet Ghana or they live somewhere else. Surely they cannot be so blind to the sufferings of the average Ghanaian family otherwise they won’t be defending the patently obvious injustice in the recommendations of the Chinnery Hesse Report. Mr Osei Bonsu, if you are truly a Ghanaian Patriot and have the interests and welfare of your fellow Ghanaians at heart,why don’t you recommend the extension of the same benefits and emoluments to every Ghanaian worker when they retire. We are all witnesses to the pathetic acrobatics of this same Mr. Kyei-Mensah- Bonsu in defending the despicable act of the former Speaker of PariamentMr. Sakyi Hughes when he literally stole every item in his Government allotted bungalow including soap dish es------how low can you get in your greediness. It is only in Ghana that the Elites will steal State Property and not be prosecuted in court of law,but let a poor office worker take a pin and he will be hauled before court-----some justice indeed. One of the major planks of the Yamson Committee report was that there were at least two separate versions of the final report of the Chinnery Hesse none of them duly signed by anybody. As if things were not bad enough,up popped former President Kufour with his interview on one of the local T.V Stations and B.B.C complaining of unfair treatment and that the present regime is behaving as if there was a coup in Ghana.

President Kufour please do us a favour and just shut up,you have abused our intelligence for far too long. Just go away and enjoy your state looted money in peace. Any one who doubts that ex-President Kufour is CORRUPT TO THE BONE should ask Mr Harruna Esseku ,the former Chairman of the N.P.P. Mr Harruna Esseku stated on tape that they used to collect BRIBES from Contractors and that he would place those monies in the boot of a car and then drive to the Castle where he personally handed those monies to Mr. Kufour .As of today Mr ,Kufour could neither confirm or deny it. It is the same very Mr. Kufour who has cleverly used his per diems as a means of milking the poor Ghanaians by traveling outside the country every other week.This is nothing more than a clever means of stealing STATE MONEY UNDER A CLEVER DEVISE OF TRAVELLING. My humble submission to President Mills is this: Please ask your Minister responsible for Parliamentary affairs to submit the recommendations of the Yamson Report to Parliament for debate and approval. We know from experience that some of the MP,s are charlatants and not worth to be called Honourable so let them bear their teeth out. The Honourable ones will do the decent thing.This is the time to be bold and show your mettle. Ghanaians have have voted for a CHANGE and not the STATUS QUO.We had enough of the Kufour THIEFING BRIGADE. If you don’t,you will have a fight on your hand as all the workers will soon start agitating for equal treatment,no Ghanaian is better than another. I know the rogues and Kufour apologists will be quoting the lop-sided 1992 Constitution forgetting that the Constitution was written by the Elites for the Elites and ignoring the Supreme welfare and interests’s of the majority of Ghanaians.The whole damned Constitution needs to be revisited. With people like Atta Kyea and Osie MENSAH Bonsu as Parliamentarians with their twisted logic when it comes to matters of debate on the floor of Parliament one begins to wonder whether we really cannot do better in selecting the caliber of people to Parliament.

President Mills,please be bold and show leadership quality. Go on air and T.V and address the nation on this issue and explain to us why you believe the country cannot accept the Chinnery Hesse Report and why you believe the alternative is the best option.

If you do so the public will support you 100%. Take on the gauntlet and let’s see which MP.s will vote against it when it comes to the floor of Parliament,you simply cannot afford to let these rogues hold you and the nation for a ransom. We are simply watching and waiting.

GOD BLESS YOU,GOD BLESS MOTHER GHANA.

Kwaku. Kele.Ashiagbor