Flogging A Dead Horse - The Impunity of Valerie Sawyer

We have become a rather brave people. Well, brave or foolish, depending on which angle one decides to look at things from. And as I have said several times before, corruption is no disgrace in Ghana anymore. The more corrupt you are, the more influential you become in a society, where fiscal moral uprightness has been thrown to the dogs.


And so, the credible answer to allegations of corruption these days is not a denial of it, nor a resort to legal action to clear one’s name, but a counter reference to some other person’s corruption. In the end, we are all chopping and who cares.


And once “the horse is dead”, then it is hoped that sooner or later, people get bored of repeated allegations of corruption against a past government as the realities of their daily strife for survival kicks in and they naturally start to demand more of the current government. Millions of dollars would have gone down the drain, lodged comfortably in accounts round the world for the enjoyment of some few greedy individuals.


And so, where are the brave men of the NDC? Why are they not responding to President Rawlings? It is because of that same old reason that you know and I know. That their hands are steeped in the mud of the unprecedented stealing of public resources that took place in a government Valerie Sawyer was proud to be a part of.

That is why I would gladly listen to the booming or buzzing or whatever silly description this barely known deputy something in Mahama’s office chooses to describe President Rawlings speeches, rather than to people who bought and distributed V8 like confetti, took cars from Burkinabe contractors, engaged in unprecedented inflation of the cost of government projects and paid 51 million Ghana cedis to one man for no work.


I am happy not only for that dead horse to be flogged, but also for it to be butchered till we have retrieved every dollar stuck in its belly and if in four years in power, that is the only thing President Akuffo Addo does, he would have won my vote, for all its worth, in 2020.


Papa Appiah

The Presidential Meet The Press - I Worry About Vice President Bawumiah

President Akuffo Addo’s maiden meeting with the press could generally be viewed as a successful one. Perhaps, that is the reason why days after the event, we are still talking and writing about it. The wily old president was in good form. His eloquence, charm and wit were on full show. But the question asked by KABA, the host of Ekosii Sen on Asempa radio about whether he had been tamed by the presidency, seemed to suggest to me, that I am not alone in thinking that this charming part of the president had not been evident before he was elected. Then, he had come across as an angry old man desperate to be president.

As much as one admires a seventy-two-year-old president trying hard to appear fit and strong, there have been cracks on the wall about his general health and well-being. The coughing fit during the inauguration, the “cold” during the May Day celebration and what looked like a sore throat or some upper respiratory tract infection during his recent engagement with the press give cause for concern. While these symptoms may be brushed aside in a fifty-year-old, they cannot be ignored in a man of his age. It takes one serious bout of pneumonia to cause havoc. And perhaps, the president himself is aware of this. And that is why he seemed to suggest, that he might not be on the ballot paper for the next election in 2020.


A president is expected to be regularly and thoroughly briefed by his ministers and handlers so at every material moment, he is fully on top of all issues. In the end, we voted for the president and not for his ministers and so do we demand accountability directly from the president. I am of the view therefore, that putting his ministers on the spot by simply passing on controversial or difficult questions over to them to answer, was a bit of a low point in this encounter. It created the picture, perhaps erroneously but who knows, of a tired old president unable to cope with the complexities of his job. And then one begins to wonder why he missed the presidential debates prior to the election.

And so, Vice president Bawumiah protested! When asked by the president to deal with the question relating to the uncompleted vice-presidential bungalow, he blurted out something to the effect, that it was not fair to be asked to deal with that question, before he had had time to think. I have heard people argue, that it was said on the lighter side and that it reflects the cordial relationship that exists between the president and his vice. I beg to differ. In Ghanaian culture, when the president, in full view of the press and the rest of the country watching live on TV asks you to do something, you just give it your best shot. There should be absolutely no argument about that!


But there is a reason why Bawumiah blurted out what I see as his hidden frustrations in the manner he did. Here is a vice president whose authority is being usurped by the day. He looks on while others assume responsibility for important national issues only for him to be put on the spot before the press. And his answer to the question gave his feelings away. He admitted he had no clue what was going on with the building and rather hopelessly suggested it might be a good idea to come to some form of compromise with the contractor so the country does not lose money.


And as if that was not enough he was called upon, as chairman of the Economic Management Team, to answer the question about government borrowing. Not only did he fumble badly, at one point he seemed to be asking for help when he mentioned that the finance minister was there and he had been putting everybody in check. What that meant was, that Bawumiah’s hands were tied as everything was controlled by Ken Ofori-Atta. Please look at the images of Ken’s face while Bawumiah rambled on. He clearly seemed to be wondering what the guy was faffing about.


And so, I worry about Bawumiah. The one-time superstar of the NPP seems to be harbouring a lot of pent up feelings about the way he is being treated at the seat of government. And as often happens with pent up feelings, there is bound to be an explosion at some point, and my brother, what an inferno that would cause.


Papa Appiah

The "Whining" Ahomka-Lindsay - A "New Money" Little Plonker

I almost missed this one. But I still need to have my say. I know the NPP have made a valiant and admirable attempt at apologising, but I am not satisfied. And I am not satisfied because the man himself, in trying to “apologise,” rather sought to explain, that his visibly contorted face of fury, and the frantic brandishing of his “ever ringing” phone in the faces of his guests were all in the spirit of a nationalistic zeal to offer a gentle word of advice to “diasporans” on how to do business in Ghana.

I would not want to be anywhere near this man when he is actually angry, if his general composure and attitude while talking these distinguished Ghanaians intending to spend money to help our economy, was merely brotherly advice. And these were guests, remember, who had bought their own tickets and travelled thousands of miles, at the invitation of the president, to explore business opportunities. One wonders if the minister’s attitude would have been any different had the guests been Chinese or Americans. We simply do not value our own.


You see, anybody could be gentle, polite and courteous, especially so when you happen to be part of a government that has swept into power with an impressive majority and is enjoying such goodwill as has never been experienced in the country before. Anybody can be polite when journalists are asking about their wives and kids and inviting them to funerals and birthdays on air. But the tide always changes. And soon, there will be those aggressive probing questions, the ever-ringing phones and the persistent “diasporan” whining. That is when, the men are separated from the boys, and the wheat from the chaff.

Arrogance is probably a word that is often overused in Ghana. Omane Boamah, the Communication Minister of the previous NDC government is a fine gentleman and an intelligent medical officer. He is, however, hardly the best politician one ever saw and he did not easily endear himself to people. But anytime he had been accused of arrogance, it was because he was fighting with all the vigour he could muster to defend the president who had appointed him and who he had come to like and respect. Sometimes he crossed the line and viciously attacked opponents of his master. Naïve? Maybe. Misguided? Could be. Unfair? Probably. But never arrogant. It was never ever about Omane Boamah. He fought hard for his president and his party.


If you want to understand what true arrogance means, play Ahomka-Lindsay’s speech to his diaspora visitors over and over again. Therein lies the sound, the look and the smell of arrogance in its purest unadulterated form - See me Lakayana with my spear! I am Ahomka-Lindsay and how dare you speak to me like that.


Back in school several years ago, there were two kinds of rich kids. There were the recently rich politician’s children, who, bemused by their new money and status, craved attention and respect. They came to school with a chop box, sometimes two, filled to the brim with provisions, and they had the money to spend. They were arrogant and boisterous and often got themselves into trouble. Then there were those we called, the true Dada Bs. These were boys who had never known poverty in their lives but had been brought up with discipline and were often the most humble and well-behaved boys even as they flew round the world for their holidays. Every word of Ahomka-Lindsay betrayed him as “new money” arrogant buffoon and one that needs to be booted out of government.


Papa Appiah

National Maths and Science Quiz - Too Much Noise About Nothing!

Television does wonderful things to us. When the NMSQ competition started several years ago, few would have thought that it would grow this big and be an important annual event Ghanaians of all ages and educational standards and inclination cannot get enough of. And many of us do not even care about or understand the Maths or the Science. We are simply captivated by the drama.

The format of the competition means that a school needs just one exceptionally brilliant student to do well in the competition. Winning the competition therefore, is no reflection of how generally good a school is. A school is judged on how the average student does and not by the performance of gifted students who would excel whatever school they went to.


And there are a lot of other things that make a school great rather than just a couple of exceptional Maths and Science students. What is the school’s performance in Sports, Music, the Arts, Business and general upbringing? Is your school training you to simply be an inward-looking exam machine or training you to be an all-round individual who fits into every society. In other words, is your school a St Peters Akwatia, or a St Augustine’s College Cape Coast, if you get what I mean?


So a modicum of modesty, dignity and respect is expected from schools which win this competition. The raucous over-the-board celebrations intermingled with a missing bag here and there, and over-the-top zebra “fur” coats to boot, smack of a distinct lack of class.


While on this issue, would it not be nice if more competitions were organised to give similar opportunities to our Arts brothers? What about a National Debating Competition to give platforms for some of our very eloquent Arts students to display their talent?


If television has been able to promote such a specialist programme that seemed initially on a hiding to nothing into one loved by all Ghanaians, then one wonders what else television could do for other school activities. Is it not time we started showing our Inter Colleges Athletics and football live on TV? If well–promoted, we would succeed in making our school sports as popular as
college sports are in the United States and new talent would be more easily identified.


By the way, before I am accused of sour grapes, let me grudgingly say, congratulations to Prempeh College.


Come ooooooon Augusco!!


Papa Appiah

Ghana - A Country of Liars (sebi ooh)

Is it just me? Does anybody believe what they hear people say in Ghana anymore? I understand they have a new word for lying these days in Ghana. It’s called propaganda. Just say anything you feel like and hope some of the mud sticks.


I’ve realised the more vociferous a person is, the bigger the lies. A politician who argues passionately and repeatedly says he has got all the evidence is telling lies. Don’t be fooled. Ask him to produce the evidence immediately or stop speaking and come another time with the evidence to speak.


“I’ll expose them all unless….” is another famous expression that is again, a big lie. What would you expose? Why don’t you just go along, as a good citizen of your country and not merely a spectator to expose crime or give any such evidence to the police? Why would you make that exposure conditional on somebody else cooperating with you or not?


One of the biggest exponents of the latter is the Honourable Ken Agyapong. I heard him say live on TV that he felt threatened by some NPP bigwigs because of his criticisms of the party and that if they were not careful, he would expose their naked videos. Of course, being so clever, he deliberately failed to mention names or give any hint what those videos were about. But really, as a country, why should we tolerate such a culture where anything goes.


We threaten to sue just as a face-saving measure. How many people have actually carried through their threat to sue to its end? Next time you hear a politician threaten to sue without actually doing so, you must know immediately they are guilty.


“I used my own money…..” Sorry, you are NOT supposed to use your own money. Believe me, anyone who says I have used my own money to help a party or government venture, is either justifying theft or looking for an opportunity to steal. If you genuinely wanted to contribute out of charity, you would not even care to mention it publicly.


So Julius Debrah was receiving 3.9 million gh monthly from BOST. Really? So why is he a free man in Ghana? And who said so? Abronye DC! And who is he? A Brong Ahafo regional youth organiser of the NPP. So what business has he charging people with Economic crimes? And is that what journalism in Ghana has descended to? Quoting Abronye DC on matters pertaining to Economic crimes?

We allow such lies to fester on our radios because of our largely do-nothing radio hosts. Just listen to Ekosii sen on Asempa FM. They have a format where the host KABA, nice guy as he is, is merely a timekeeper. He allots fifteen minutes to each of his panellists to spew whatever rubbish that tickles their fancy.


And woe unto you if you tried to interrupt them. There would be the usual… “wait for your turn; I was here when you were talking; I can also treat you the same way when it’s your turn…” and the latest one .. na the one de make me laugh… “Take a paper and pen and make notes.” Hahahahahaha……..!!

Papa Appiah