When a group of eighty NPP parliamentarians got together for the first time to make a demand upon their government, the demand had nothing to do with any comprehensive research they had done into the country’s economic situation, nor the rapid depreciation of the cedi, nor the dire living conditions of the people, nor even the measure of inflation affecting
Read full article.the nation, nor about the matter of the galamsey crisis threatening the water bodies in the country.
Their unprecedented gathering was not on any new approach for the resuscitation of the economy in the face of the global crisis…….They were making a rather simplistic and narrow-minded demand for the resignation of the Finance Minister, Ofori Atta, and one other.
They were not asking themselves the pertinent question as to how the resignation of these two people will inhere on the economic fortunes of the nation; or explaining to anybody exactly the faulty policy these people took to plunge the nation into an economic melee; neither did they accuse them of any corrupt deed that had affected the overall spending in government.
To wit, these people who were calling for the termination or resignation of the Finance Minister did not deem it necessary to explain to the people exactly what he had done to warrant his termination, or how the termination of his tenure as a Minister was going to advance the economic fortunes of this country. Their only excuse was that their constituents were demanding it. They did not provide any polls they have held to arrive at this phantom peroration.
As to Ofori Atta himself, they forget that he is some sort of economic wizard, having brought this country’s economic stature to par with other great nations not more than two years ago. At that time, Ghana’s economic growth was hovering around 8%, with world approbation of the wizardry of the Minister.
Inflation at that time was single digit, and Ghana was on track to become one of the strongest economies in Africa. So any objective person should ask, why the present downturn?
Why is it that all of a sudden, the cedi has been sliding downward, while the prices of goods and services are skyrocketing? Anybody with any deliberative and reflective, analytical, or rational thinking capability will look for the real cause of the present economic woes. That person will not be looking for scapegoats or magic wands or plaster or the application of Olla Balm. Because what this country needs is a real and permanent solution, not some sort of cosmetic bandage.
We all know for a fact that there is war and warfare between Russia and Ukraine. Overwhelming sanctions were put on Russia by the US and its allies which disrupted the oil production worldwide. Russia’s invasion also led to a disruption in grain exports from Ukraine. The combined result is that anything depending on oil will skyrocket. And anything that eats will suffer. And if we think about it, everything depends on oil: The transport system, electricity, farming, the school system, you name it. We also supplement our food production with all sorts of grains from that part of the world.
So the problem is real. And it is not the fault of Ofori Atta or any other person that the nation, like all other nations, is experiencing severe economic downturn. Nigeria, Canada, USA, Germany, Italy, France, Haiti, Sri Lanka, South Africa, China……All these countries are experiencing some sort of economic challenges. Only those high-volume oil-producing countries are spared. And right now, OPEC has cashed in on the global distress by cutting oil production to take the greatest advantage of their profit margins.
Domestically, people are naturally hoarding the dollars as a more intelligent means of savings. They don’t want their savings to depreciate daily. The banks are also conniving with the black market to sell the currency at an exorbitant rate. The churches and religious organizations who have amassed astronomical wealth without producing anything, are all buying dollars to hedge their ill-gotten wealth.
So as the IMF pointed out, the cedi depreciation is domestically induced: We are acting deliberately to pump up the value of the dollar by creating an artificial shortage. Therefore, intelligent people who want to solve the problem will carefully analyze it and correctly recognize the causes and act decisively to resolve the crisis, not engage in whimsical and capricious political posturing and thespian cacophony.
The solution to the economic problems of this country is to end the war between Ukraine and Russia. And the way to do it is to be peacemakers, not by taking any side with any country. Those Russians that attacked Ukraine must have their concerns addressed, and so should the Ukrainians whose country is being destroyed. Our role as a small country is to join with others to facilitate peace, and to cut deals that will save our country from the war’s economic effects. We should not take part in any super-power games which will not cater to our interests. As we speak, our posturing has been hitherto thoughtless, imagining that somehow, our problem will end by eliminating two officials.
When Germany disrupted its oil projects with Russia and shut down a pipeline that should have supplied the country with its oil needs, they were shooting themselves in the foot, and secretly reversed the cause to trade with Russia albeit through third-party deals. So have many of these European nations which cut trade ties with Russia at the instigation of the USA. If you look at the matter carefully, the sanctions they put on Russia boomeranged on them and have caused the present global economic crises. They have now wisely retracted their positions and are cutting secret deals to keep their oil supplies open.
So the problem has nothing to do with Ofori Atta or any of his cronies. If you take them away from their posts, nothing will happen. Rather the government will begin to collapse like Liz Truss’ government which thought making a scapegoat of the Counselor of the Exchequer was going to save her government.
Leadership is about the internal unity and harmony of the entities that comprise it. It is time for those MPs to stand behind their government to explain the present situation to their constituents, not to divide the house. Their present posture constitutes a cannibalization of themselves and an open display of cracks that the opposition NDC will exploit.
And as for those NDC people, their main objective is to bring the government down. They have no interest in the progress of this country under this government. So the greatest mistake this government will make is to kowtow to these coup-mongers who have camouflaged their true intent with ridiculous demands on the President to fire or reshuffle its officials.
If they succeed in removing one or two ministers, their demands will increase until they see the end of this NPP administration. They also don’t have any antidote or alternative policy to save the country from its economic woes. They have no proposals or plans or ideas they fielded as a solution to the national problem.
So by the posture of these NPP parliamentarians, they are conniving with these NDC goons and enabling a takedown of the government. And very soon, they will look back on their own handiwork and wring their hands in total regret.
My position has always been that our people don’t think analytically or rationally. By nature, we operate on faith and instinct and superstition and ignorance. The country doesn’t have any real philosophical or analytical or rational capacity, and its brain trust is sacrificed in the fire of the Judeo-Christian Islamic (JCI) tradition of simplistic belief and naïve faith. Our school system and religious systems are all created to support and fuel a retrogressive mindset. That is why our parliamentarians, eighty of them in all, can engage in this infantile circus of self-induced political suicide.
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