ONLY IN GHANA
Only in Ghana! Imagine a whole parliamentarian,
screaming foul on national media. And I asked myself, what is his beef?
Apparently, his supposed HIPC fund had gone missing
from the account. How was that possible, and why was the money sitting there in
the first place. Apparently, as was his response, he was only saving the money
for the next four or eight years, until it had substantiated enough for it to
be used. A cock and bull story!
It was more interesting, when a couple of days later,
other parliamentarians joined in the pandemonium, all threatening to boycott
parliament. Indeed, it is quite remarkable, how these parliamentarians find a
common ground on monetary issues.
Why the noise when we all know that the money would
have been idle in the bank anyway? If it can idle for four years or even eight,
as I heard that morning, I bet government can equally wait till four or eight
years before disbursing it. What then would be the rationale for the funding
anyway?
Only in Ghana!!! How can money, meant for development,
be kept idle in a bank, simply because, a parliamentarian has decided that it
is too small to be used so he could wait for at least, four, or eight years,
should he be re-elected, before he uses it. According to him, that was the
norm. He was not the only one.
What right does a parliamentarian have, to make such a
decision? What happens, should he lose an election? What about his
constituents? It means, for the entire period the money idles in the bank,
nothing for his constituency! How was it possible for the account to be
accessed by a non-signatory? Who takes the interest on the money? I need to be
educated.
One thing was quite clear as I sat listening to this
parliamentarian that morning. He had not thought about the repercussions of his
statement.
Why should government monies sit idle, when there are
dire issues to be addressed and resolved each day? People are hungry! People
are sick and dying! School fees need to be paid! Accessibility to water supply
is a hurdle! These are basic necessities that do not need thousands or
millions. At least one single problem could be solved. And yet, our
parliamentarians rather prefer to compound issues for a period of four or even
eight years! Perhaps, it is convenient to wait until the political campaign
seasons, before the money can be put to good use, as always.
Considering the utterance of this parliamentarian, his
constituency would see no development, during the period that his funds are
hibernating. What would he then be doing in his constituency, as a
parliamentarian? He would only be showing up in parliament, to add to the
numbers.
Such are the stories of several of our
parliamentarians. They show up in parliament, but have no contributions to
make. Each year, monies are handed out, but in the end, no tangible account is rendered.
In my final year in the university, for the school of
engineering, our student president, did particularly nothing, for the whole
year he remained in power. I remember participating in a solar power design
competition, and even for us to receive our certificates of participation,
proved futile! In the end however, a budget was exhausted. Millions had been
spent! Like this young man, they usually, and almost always, find their way
into government. Catch them young….
Ghanaians ought to be serious. Monies are sneaking out
of government coffers each year, in the full glare of us all. We keep talking
about judgment debts, corruption, embezzlements.
How do we put a stop to this canker? It is no longer news.
Yes, this parliamentarian had the audacity to openly
scream foul and his colleagues joined in. That is the insult we receive each
day. People steal from the nation, and then, parade them; from the mansions,
vehicles, to several others.
Clearly, I am addressing a parliamentarian, but he is
not the sole culprit. Like him, several others exist in our workplaces, and
communities. We know them all. What have we done to put a stop to this
nonsense? Within our various localities and offices, such are the realities.
Clearly, our auditors are still far behind because our
money keeps disappearing each day. We keep on setting up committees to probe
these cases, but in the end, what do we do with the findings?
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