in it to wing it

THE POWER IS WITH THE PEOPLE

For The Daily Statesman December 14 2016

In the 2016 Ghana presidential elections, it hardly came as a surprise that Nana Akufo-Addo, related to three of six of Ghana’s founding fathers, was announced as the new president-elect.He had a leg up on the opposing party, the NDC, that consisted of approximately one million votes. That’s nothing to sneer at. The New Patriotic Party has been brought to life again under the strong leadership and commitment of Nana Akufo-Addo. At the beginning of his 2016 Manifesto, Nana quotes Dr. J. B. Danquah, one of Ghana’s founding fathers:

“(The party’s) policy is to liberate the energies of the people for the growth of a property owning democracy in this land, with right to life, freedom and justice, as the principles to which the government and laws of the land should be dedicated in order specifically to enrich life, property and liberty of each and every citizen.”

These are wonderful words; these are big words. And the people of Ghana want nothing more than to see Nana follow through on this legacy.

He goes on to say that he dedicates his government to ordinary Ghanaians who have been betrayed by a government that does not care. “I will be a president for all Ghanaians. Whatever your region, your tribe, your gender, your status, or your religion. I will serve you all.”

The NPP vows to make the country great for it’s people, but it cannot do it alone. The populace cannot be passive. The people of Ghana, as a whole, must be aware of how their government is running their homeland and also, hold their government accountable for the promises it has made to it’s country.

Ghanaians voted for change. Current crises that hold Ghana back from it’s potential are many, but a major factor responsible for the country’s current state can be traced to corruption, specifically within government.

The population has had its fair share of power problems and are desperate for changes to be put in progress. During the reign of the NDC over the past eight years, there has been massive inflation in project costs, along with ghost names on government payrolls. The NDC’s association with the controversial business man, Alfred Woyome, in a GHC51million scandal, did nothing to improve their popularity.

Mahama faced a daunting task at the beginning of his time in office—an overwhelming rate of unemployment. But the economy did not heal during his presidency. In fact, it has been teetering under the pressure of overspending and high debt levels over the past two years.

Even with such detrimental popularity points, the NDC failed to pull up their venal socks and gain repute back from previous supporters. Their campaign was weak and unfocused. No attention or thought was put into a core theme and they showed little effort to make personable interactions with communities, instead opting for more generic billboards and public advertisements. They neglected their grassroots, and thus, their grassroots neglected them.

The party that deserved to win, won.

Will the NPP prove it’s commitment to Ghana and the people?

Corruption has had it’s time. Nana Akufo-Addo claims he is ready to stand up to this crisis. Are the people ready to stand with him? Corruption should be brought down. Those who engage in and encourage such injustice should be persecuted fairly to their actions. It’s time to stop tolerating negativity.

Ghanaians cannot put all the power in their government’s hands, but must work together to create a nation they can all feel proud of. In order to do this, they must be aware of what is happening within their government and their country. The government can provide them this, neigh, owes them this knowledge, which can be achieved by passing the Right to Information Bill. The last government did not provide the population this virtue, so now it is up to the NPP to deliver. This is how the newly elected government, the NPP, lead by Nana Akufo-Addo, can work with the people of Ghana to begin rebuilding their nation to greatness.