in it to wing it

NANA ADDO SHINES A LIGHT ON GHANA

For The Daily Statesman January 9 2017

On January 7, 2016, during his inaugural speech, the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, addressed issues that tainted governments before him.


“We must restore integrity in public life. State coffers are not spoils for the party that wins an election, but resources for the country’s social and economic development.”

Corruption within state policy demolishes the integrity of a nations leadership. In the past, unaccounted for monies and unexplained debts became a detrimental issue that has left Nana Addo and his government with loose ends to tie up. How does one go about cleaning up such an expensive mess?

“I shall protect the public purse by insisting on value-for-money in all public transactions. Public service is just that – service and not an avenue for making money. Money is to be made in the private sector, not the public. Measures will be put in place to ensure this.”

With these words, Nana Akufo-Addo is literally putting his money where his mouth is. But he is backed up – outlined in his 2016 Manifesto are the measures that he speaks of to ensure that public service funds will be accounted for and spent with probity.

The Manifesto states that ‘Akufo-Addo will empower the local private sector and pass legislation to require that at least 70% of all Government of Ghana, taxpayer-financed contracts and procurements be executed by local corporate entities.’

It continues to state that by managing the economy well, confidence will also be restored in it. There will be a shift from taxation to production, and the likely billions of dollars that would be lost under an NDC government will instead be used to build roads, social homes, and more, at value-for-money.

Nana Akufo-Addo is aware of the problems created when succeeding governments refuse or are unable to complete projects left over by predecessor governments. It can lead to loss of public finances and create obstacles for economic development. Unfortunately, Ghana is littered with the scattered remains of skeletal, incomplete projects. This is where a wealth of Ghana cedis are locked up, floating around in public service fund purgatory. Fortunately, Akufo-Addo is able and willing to take on these affairs left unfinished from predecessor governments and put those stagnant cedis back into the system, where they can be used for the greater good of the nation.

The President has a plan of action for this mission as well. By establishing a National Asset Protection Project, a conduct of physical and financial audits will locate, identify and value each of the assets. They will be assessed by social, economic and financial values. Then, a special purpose Asset Securitization Vehicle will be established to hold the assets and leverage them to raise funds for their completion. In this way, the state retains control over valuable assets whilst being able to release capital for development purposes.

In addition to this, Nana Akufo-Addo is facing the matter of corruption head on. His anti-corruption policy is based on three pillars: institutional reform, legislative reform, and attitudinal change/public education.

Under this policy, an Officer of the Special Prosecutor, who will be independent of the Executive, will investigate and prosecute certain categories of cases and allegations of corruption and other criminal wrongdoing, implicating political officeholders and politicians.

Akufo-Addo is implementing a government that holds its people accountable for their actions and their nations progress. Corruption kills. It is time for government to take responsibility for its own mistakes now, and for corruptive actions to get the treatment they deserve. Obviously, the president has faith in his people to be able to handle the ramifications of their actions, good or bad.

The president believes it is time, also, to enlighten the citizens with knowledge by promising to pass The Right to Information Bill. This will allow Ghanaians to be aware of what is going on in their government and within their homeland. The new government is lifting Ghana out of the dark. Nana Addo is in power, and there is light at the end of the tunnel.