Are we a nation of liars?

I have been tossing this question in my mind for some days now. Are we really nation of liars? Then how come we are described as a very religious nation and the apple of God’s eye for that matter? The various religious groups don’t subscribe to lies, and that I know for sure.

Some say a politician will do anything to win political power but being truthful is not one of those things. A few weeks ago, Prof. Stephen Adei, a former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) came under public criticism for stating the obvious.

We don’t need Prof. Adei to tell us that lies have become a signature tune in this country. The chorus is sung by all Ghanaians. If you think I am lying, then feel free to count me as part of the liars. For 57 years we have gloated in lies. Whereas our leadership has not been truthful, the electorate also has not being truthful either to itself by keeping those same people in power when it’s obvious they are not just cutout for the task.

For how long have we had this power crisis? I can’t tell. Why is it happening? I don’t know. Those in charge of our energy sector have been economical with the truth for many reasons. The recent crisis, we were told, was necessitated by low gas supply from Nigeria. We were not told why there was low supply.

Nigeria we know is seeking an end to the NEPA (Never Expect Power Always) syndrome so will make use of every opportunity (gas) at their disposal, especially when they are not getting value for money. I am not ascribing this reason as being the cause of the low gas supply but it is clear that militant activities which disturbed gas flow in the past, have not been suppressed.

But in all of this, the ECG will come out to tell us the reason for the instability in power supply is our inability to pay realistic tariffs. Really?! Perhaps we should give them all our incomes so that they can realise the ‘realistic’ incomes we earn. Very annoying, and as for the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) is concerned, we are tired of their “realistic tariff” excuse.

Even the ECG’s own “dumsor dumsor” timetable is a portrait of lies. Lights go out at will, not forgetting the special “lights off promotion” which occurs randomly and are usually attributed to faults. Of course, faults do occur but when we are accustomed to being lied to, the truth itself will smell like a roasted lie. You can’t begrudge anybody!

As for those PURC folks, they better return when the ECG starts giving us realistic power before we can talk about paying realistic tariffs. Investments in the power sector are indeed very expensive. I believe that if those in authority seek credible investors and the public sees an improvement in power supply, then we can talk about realistic tariffs.

We all want an end to the “dumsor” and we know that it will be costly. Forget the chicken and egg scenario, better service come first before better pay.

Since January, the price of fuel at the pump has gone up at least 25 percent. In our part of the world, fuel performs the function of the spine in our economy. Don’t forget we just entered the second quarter and the rate at which we are heading, we may be looking at 100 percent by close of 2014.

So what is accounting for this gallop in fuel price? Deregulation or what? Oh! just forget about that, it’s another lie we are being told. The main reason is the depreciation of the cedi which they say is falling like a stone thrown from heaven.

The price of crude oil on the world market has been stable since January, averaging US$105 per barrel. Our currency in the first quarter depreciated 17.6 percent against the dollar. This means that for the same barrel of crude oil, we will need more cedis to make the purchase; and with our broke government, the cost is naturally passed on to consumers. Simplicita!

Despite all these obvious truths, we have pseudo-economists churning out lies attributing the intermittent hikes to supposedly volatile activities on the world market. Such a shame! It is more shameful for those who receive such news without verifying.

That brings me to that the Atuabo Gas Project. The project has been the butt of many untruths. Deadlines have been missed, key components have fallen off in high seas, and the story of Atuabo gas does not dominate the news anymore. Now it is obvious the lack of funds is stifling the project’s completion,but supervisors won’t have any of that. What do they stand to lose? Sincerely, the lies are one too many.

I need no soothsayer to tell me somebody is profiting from these lies. This is a key critical facility in our burgeoning oil and gas industry. Can’t we get it right once and for all? I won’t be surprised if the first gas is not pumped this year. Not at all! If it does come, fair enough.

Whenever you hear a politician pass a comment like “plans are far advanced…”; “government is committed…”; “government is in the process of…” among others, all you have to do is to pep yourself up that those comments will be followed by statements with questionable validity. How can our taps flow when all our plans are in the pipeline?

The electorate must ‘shine their eyes’ when it is time for choosing leaders.  Your comments and contributions are welcome. Let’s do this for Ghana.

I’m out.

First published on 12 April, 2014