Things Fall Apart :NPP wasted Capital

Things fall apart: NPP chewed up its Political Capital ....and it’s no longer at ease.

NPP is mutually assured of its Political holocaust ----- ------- It’s an eye-popping and jaw-dropping experience to watch how fast the NPP’s political CAPITAL ;which was acquired right after the election is completely being used up and how gradually it’s destroying itself from inside out.

Here is why: The failure of the NPP government to clean its house and get rid of the bad apples reminds me of a story on the news, few years ago. I’m sure you news junkies will remember the infamous saga of the runaway Bride in the Unites States. You know the woman who faked her own disappearance a couple of days before her wedding. According to news report, she got cold feet .I remember seeing her father, breaking down in tears ,as he pleaded for his daughter’s life on the national news. Not only did she do nothing as the Police spent $60,000.00 of the tax payers’ money searching everywhere for her—she allowed her fiancé to go through hell because he had become the ‘number –one suspect’. Everyone pointed a finger at him.

Are you still with me? Wait! there’s more. I’m not making this up. Well, she finally called from Las Vegas and manufactured a story that she was abducted (by aliens) and escaped from her kidnappers. The story kept pilling up that I got confused as to what really happened. With all that she was sobbing crocodile tears, as she bodily lied to her devastated poor fiancé. Do you remember the story now?

Well, let me ask you a question: If you were the fiancé and given what this woman put you through would you stay with her and go through with that wedding? I don’t know about you and what you would do, but I know that the fiancé stated on the news that he planned to stay with her and marry her. Hummmmmm! Well, upon hearing that I said to myself:”Damn! Double- damn”. “That guy deserves the Ass- of- the- year award.” And, what kind of brain does he possess?” I ponder this question every time I think of the story.

So what does all that has to do with this present NPP administration? A whole lot. Do you have time? Just bear with me. The President is doing exactly what the poor fiancé did. Staying with these Politicians and appointed officials, regardless of what they are putting the party through is beyond me .It appears that some of these officials make their own rules. They come and go as they please. And, they’re gradually killing the party softly. They are dead- bangs, irredeemable losers, who are just liabilities to the Party. So If I were the President I’d have my curious nose stuck right into their businesses. Too much is at stake to allow few greedy individuals to derail the progress and longevity of the party.

Now, let me go back to the fiancé in the runaway Bride story. I’m not here to judge anyone‘s action, or inaction. But, does the fiancé really think that things are going to be any better? Does he really think someone who is willing to terrify her family members and let them go through hell—not to mention sleepless nights—because of her unbelievably selfishness act is good enough for him? What really boils down to is: what you decide and accept as “good enough for you is always going to happen to you” .Let is honest. What kind of government are you going to have if it accepts and allows its appointed and elected ministers and officials to have their way and engaged in shaky dealings?

Truth must be told. Whether you accept it or not, this present government has the potential to be one of the best governments we have ever had since independence—if only it can get rid of its Bad Apples, as soon as their reputation is tainted with scandals .They’re like used tires, there is no use for them, as soon as they get themselves in back –door dealings. Case in point: The Ghana Police Service. Its reputation is so tainted that it needs a major over-haul to bring it back to the Public fold. By the way, who is policing the Police Service?

In America, every Law enforcement department has Internal Police unit (Internal Affairs) which is called,’ IA’ in police lingo. This is a separate body, under the office of the Attorney General of the state. This unit has the power to monitor the entire operation of the police department. Therefore, it can arrest and persecute any officer—from the top to bottom. With that in placed things can’t go wrong for too long without the knowledge of the IA.

With Ghana police Service’s huge image problems and now with drug scandals, the people are waiting to see if the government is going to over haul the entire service Or is it going to treat it with a kid’s glove? Don’t get me wrong. I’m not here to indict the entire force. The majority of the officers are trying to do their job, against every odd and they can do better if the bad ones are weeded out. Once we’re on the subject, the government needs to take a good care of the Police service so as to prevent them from being prone to bribes and scandals. Have you checked any of police barracks lately? What about their working equipment like hand cuffs, leg irons, wall clock, motor bike etc? Don’t they deserve a common two-way radio for communication? When was the last time a Ghanaian government invested in housing or crime fighting equipment for the entire Police force? Amazingly, the Police station in my town doesn’t even owe a dog—a very important tool in the Police’s arsenal .Folks, there is a direct correlation between too many Police officers being involved in bribes and scandals and their pay status and conditions of service. But, who wants to bother with police’s problems?

The NPP came to power with a political Capital (mandate) so the way it spends it will ultimately determine where it would occupy in the history books. I can’t give out the formula for a successful government ,but I can give you the formula for a doom government—that’s trying to please everyone. So if NPP wants to fail it should try to please everyone. Get this:”If you try to be everything to everybody you aren’t anything to anyone” Is the NPP writing its own obituary? I hope not.

My fear is that when a party sacrifices its integrity in favor of a membership’s interest and fear to clean its own house, not only it mortgages its future for immediate gratification ,but It also mortgages the trust of which the hapless and hopeless electorates invested .Oh, what a short memory ! This brings us to what the Public wants from this government. The public wants a thorough investigation into the scandal and the culprits’ trial and sentence. It also wants the government to focus on our needs because we have come a long way and therefore we can’t give- up or give- in. We need to “keep hope alive!”