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

The price of democrazy: Why we must endure ‘dumsornomics’

It was the eve of the December 2012 general elections. Somewhere on the outskirts of town, a political party was busily distributing match-stick boxes and, rather strangely, people were scrambling over it. Match sticks. Has it come to that? I later got to know these pretty little boxes had been stuffed with cash of various denominations.

That our democracy has heavily been influenced by money is no longer a topic fit for study by students of political science. We have become accustomed to it. People, in general, see every election period as a cocoa-harvesting season -- at least to drown the misery of the preceding three years.

So the sharing of the match-stick boxes went down quite well and everybody was content -- at least there was no scuffle, which usually characterises such events. Everybody had a piece of the national “cake”. Nobody questioned the source of the money. How dare you?

The atmosphere at political rallies was charged. People screaming their heads off, immersed in ecstasy. Wow. What a fanfare it was? So we went to the polls and the John Mahama-led NDC emerged winner. The big deal? There was none.  Just a group of disgruntled losers licking their wounds.

Fast-forward to 2014. Now here is the big deal. Harsh economic conditions are biting real hard. Petroleum prices seem to be conforming to the Convention People’s Party motto, “Forward ever, backwards ever”. Value Added Tax (VAT) has been increased from 15 to 17.5 percent. Our national debt stock is hovering around US$25 billion, just to list a few of our pressing problems. To be charitable, I think the situation is a “chaotic mess”. Quote me on that.

The government has released many “patches” to block the loopholes in our fiscal and monetary regimes. In January alone, the cedi lost 8 percent against the dollar, putting it in the ranks of some of the worst-performing currencies in the world. The cedi depreciation really hit hard at businesses before the Central Bank announced its hurriedly-assembled measures to stem the decline.

Nothing really gouged our eyes like this present power crisis. It is a privilege to have electricity for a continuous 72 hours. Our leaders are best at explaining the problems. It is awful their explanations are always farcical -- a case in point being John Mahama’s infamous “Act of God” causing damage to the West Africa Gas Pipeline.

Forget about all the ostriches in government; let’s just admit we are in desperate times. They can decide not to “see evil nor hear evil” but trust me when they pass by the Odaw Drain around Kwame Nkrumah Circle, they will smell evil.

Our current power generation has zero reserves (backup) when we should be having about 300MW of that. That’s a very dangerous situation considering energy supply has been erratic in the past 20 or so years. Who doesn’t know this? Eh?

It is rather a shame that a presidential staffer will come out and tell the whole country the President could not have known about the imminent power crisis. Like seriously? With the “tot-tot” gas supply from Nigeria, Mr. Mahama didn’t know it was just a matter of time before the pipe dries out? I don’t want to believe he was inferring our President was sleeping on the job.

The President, we are told, receives security briefings every morning and no one found it worthy to tell him about the gas situation? And he is still keeping those staffers? The same guys that allowed the Independence Day showers to soak him wet? Interesting.

And for those calling for people to revolt and do a “Ukraine”, I think they may have to exercise a little patience. Let’s get real as a people. Much as the present administration may have disappointed in several aspects, that does not warrant us calling for a People’s Spring. Democracy is basically for better for worse till elections do us part. In between that there are no patches or temporary solutions.

For those of you who “genuinely” want to see an end to this government because of their incompetencies and shortcomings, December 2016 is just two years away. And oh, another way we could make the politicians sit upright is to show them the exit when they perform abysmally.

We must stop voting on tribal or ethnic lines. Let’s also stop exchanging our franchise for peanuts every election year. This is time for the middle-class to get involved in politics. They can’t continue to sit on the fence and allow the lower-class with short-term goals to determine our political destiny. They should put themselves up for election and let’s have enough competent people in power.

Nice weekend.

I’m out.

First published on 31 March 2014.

We need responsible leaders

Development is not by accident; it is by choice. No country ever stumbled onto the path of development without years of conscious planning and hard work. As a country, we have everything we need to proceed to the next level of development.

In about a fortnight, Ghana will celebrate its 57^th independence anniversary. Assuming Ghana were a human, it would have three years left to go on retirement. But I don’t think Ghana is happy with her level of success over the years, especially compared to some of her classmates in the Far East like Malaysia and co.

The founding fathers of this country, including those who fought in the World Wars, had a vision of a prosperous nation – not what we have now. While we appreciate the fact that at least our fortunes are better than some countries in the sub-region, we must be careful we don’t settle for mediocrity. Why must we settle for good when we can attain the best?

Unlike countries which are prone to natural disasters like tsunamis, earthquakes, droughts among others, Ghana is not disposed to such calamities. All of our problems, since independence, have been man-made – some created by selfish people to profit from the failure of the system.

That corruption has been our bane is a cliché now. So long as people, especially our political leaders, continue to put their interests above that of the country, we should forget about making meaningful progress towards development. We will continue to take a step forward, and three backwards. This is no aerodynamics, just common sense.

Some months ago, a friend arriving from the USA asked me why we still have bad roads even in Accra. My answer to him was simple: it is because the people responsible for putting the roads in good shape are chauffeured around town in four-wheel vehicles with proper shock absorbers and don’t feel the pain of the bumpiness of the road.

Anyone who doubts this should take a trip to our Ministries. I won’t state a specific Ministry; just visit any of them. The number of vehicles parked (no pun intended) is a marvel. The four-wheel drives are just about a perk for any director of a Ministry, not to mention the other luxurious vehicles available to Ministers.

Come to think of it, why should someone use a cross-country vehicle within a city? And to think that all these costs, the maintenance and fuel, are borne by the ordinary taxpayer makes me cringe. The road to development is no rocket science.

We claim times are hard and the citizens must tighten their belts even further; yet our leaders continue to engage in profligacy. In terms of efforts at development, they have not been radical enough. Those responsible for solving some of our key problems are themselves asleep.

I am not saying no Ministry should be allowed to use a 4x4 – just that these vehicles must be limited to cross-country travels alone. If we are able to maintain an excellent road network, who says a Chief Director of a Ministry can’t drive a saloon car in Accra without stress?

President John Mahama may have taken a pay-cut; that is commendable. But imagine the monies we will save if we are able to cut down on the ostentatious living of these public servants. He could start by ordering these directors to use economical vehicles while government focuses on rehabilitating the roads.

And for those that may still want to use the luxurious cars, they must be made to bear the maintenance and fuel cost – considering these cars have already been purchased. The use of such vehicles may then be limited to cross-country travels.

We will be getting somewhere with measures such as this. Of course, not everybody may like this initiative, especially those who will be directly affected by it. But for how long are we going to carry on with this wasteful living when the entire country is immersed in poverty?

In any case, why can’t our leaders patronise public transport? After all, leaders in some other countries do that daily. It is these same leaders we always go and beg for aid and donor support to continue our extravagant lifestyle.

It is a shame that after 57 years of independence the biggest hospital in the country was built in the colonial era. Of course, it doesn’t matter so long as our leaders can afford to go to expensive private specialists and the cost be borne by taxpayers. They just don’t care.

We can’t have an effective system if those responsible for the system and are not part of it. How about a quick survey of all Members of Parliament or government officials who have enrolled on the National Health Insurance Scheme and are utilising it?

What about the number of high public officials or MPs who have their wards in public basic schools? Is it that they don’t think the quality there is high enough for their kids? If we want the public schools to become the best, let’s enact a law that will force all of these officials to put their kids in these public schools.

If they truly believe that they have done their best for the sector, they should be prepared to also taste and be part of it. How can they serve us food they have cooked yet have not tasted themselves?

We need to get serious in this country. So long as we do ordinary things, we will get ordinary results. Let’s make this country work.  Mr. President, your move.

I’m out.

abbeykwei@gmail.com

First published on 21 February, 2014

Building at will, demolishing at will

The other time I got home, my mum called me wanting to know if I had heard the news of the demolition carried out by the Tema Development Corporation at Adjei Kojo. Her countenance suggested she was shocked by the incident which wiped out people’s life-time investments in a flash.

Before she could follow up with another question, I retorted, “But these people, do they learn at all?” My mother felt I was being heartless and insensitive to the plight of the victims, whose homes lay rubble.

Upon second thought, I felt government could have come to a compromise on this particular matter because it was also complicit in the whole issue. Certainly, the 150 houses demolished did not just sprout like mushrooms overnight. It was a gradual process and someone,who is paid with taxpayers’ money, sat down and watched unconcerned. Was it because he knew he would be having the last laugh?

The last time it was the demolition at Adentan which made the news. The sad incident led to the death of a young man, who was shot dead by the police for allegedly attacking a policeman. While I don’t embrace impunity, I think sometimes law enforcers, per their actions and inactions, contribute to the lawlessness in our society.

Somewhere near the Accra Shopping Mall, a “mini mall” is springing up: food vendors have swarmed the surroundings. The number of these vendors is increasing by the day. As usual no one is taking action. It will be relatively easier for authorities if the situation is curbed now, but no.

Apart from the gross incompetence of officialdom, there is also the lack of political will to arrest some of these developments. In this country, we do all the decongestion of our streets and markets always after elections. In election years, the enforcement is relaxed and these squatters return and we are back to square one.

Old Fadama, popularly called Sodom and Gomorrah, has become a blot on Accra’s image. There again it’s our inability to act in a timely manner that has left us where we are. By far it has become one of the biggest slums not only in Ghana but in the sub-region.

And typical of slums, it is home to some of the deadliest criminals in Accra. It is also prone to fire outbreaks as most of the dwellings there have no regard for proper electrical wiring. The absence of proper access roads means that fire outbreaks causemuch damage before help arrives-- even if it does come at all.

It will take a government with unbridled audacity to even moot the idea of relocating the Old Fadamatownship. To most politicians that idea alone is tantamount to mortgaging their party’s future. No wonder it’s a “no-no” for now despite the fact that their presence is creating a nuisance and has already led to the abandonment of the multi-million dollar Korle Lagoon Ecological Restoration Project.

Granted the residents of the recently demolished AdjeiKojo community were squatters, as the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources,InusahFuseini, would have us believe, does that justify the treatment meted out to them?

While some may support the demolition exercise,I certainly cannot overlook the trauma that the victims went through. Imagine having come from work to meet your house and everything within it razed down by bulldozers. It would still be tough news to digest even if you had received an eviction notice.

Immediately after the demolition exercise, the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) moved in to offer temporary shelter to the affected persons. Like seriously?If the TDC was hell-bent on reclaiming property that rightfully belonged to them,shouldn’t they have consulted NADMO in their planning process? 

For me it’s a disgrace to ruin people’shomes and leave them to sleep under tents in the same place where they once had decent shelter.

Now we’re being told the relief items are not even enough for them. I mean how on earth? Utility prices have shot up, so have transport and many other necessities; yet we continue to put people through such needless traumas…shouldn’t we be sensitive at least?

Even if they had to evict these so-called squatters, shouldn’t they have allowed them to collect their valuables before pulling down the houses?

It’s not only the squatters that must suffer: those who allegedly sold the lands to them must also be punished. If we want to discourage impunity, we must carry it out to the letter. Those who sold the lands must also be brought to face the law. They can’t be walking the streets as freemen having duped people of their fortunes.

Those whose duty it was to ensure that the demolished properties were not built in the first place, but watched unconcerned and allowed the situation to degenerate must also be held accountable. What are they being paid for?

We must sit up as a country. If we want to be serious as a country then let’s exhibit it in all spheres. We can’t only be seen as enforcing the law when it suits some crop of people.

Nevertheless, it is a hard lesson for all those seeking to acquire properties. Let’s be careful we don’t fall victim to such misfortunes.

I’m out.

Published 31 January 2014

The missing jet, death of an umpire and matters arising!

By Richard Annerquaye Abbey

Whew! It has really been an eventful week. Come to think of it, how on earth can an aeroplane weighing 500,000 pounds or so just vanish “in thin air?” Strange, right? Who would have thought the massive search party involving 13 countries would have a tough time locating the whereabouts of the Beijing-bound jet?

I quite remember as kids we heard so many creepy tales about the Bermuda Triangle, where it is believed that several paranormal activities have caused the sudden disappearance of vessels and aeroplanes alike.

Well, I say tales because these paranormal activities were never confirmed and the whole issue of the Bermuda Triangle has since being made nonsense by the fact that the region happens to be one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

But in times like these when hopes are fast fading and virtually nothing concrete is coming from officials of the missing airline, conspiracy theories like that of the Bermuda Triangle will flourish. To add to these weird tales are reports that the cellphones of some passengers on MH370 are still ringing but with no response.

My thoughts and prayers are with the family of the passengers aboard the flight. There can never be a more traumatic experience than this. Surely, many of them would rather wish the inevitable had happened to save them from this tormenting misery.

Prior to this unfortunate event, it was Putin’s stubbornness over Russia’s invasion of Crimea that dominated international news; but thanks to flight MH370 it appears Moscow has been given a breather as world focus shifted to the rescue mission.

Well, there’s not much we can do than to pray for the people of Crimea and the families of the MH370 victims. 

Let me shift to news on our local scene. Did I hear that a certain referee Andoh died from injuries sustained having presided over a football game in the lower tiers of the league? 

Do we learn at all? The May 9^th et al have not really thought us any lesson after all.

I heard an official of Gold Stars, whose supporters are alleged to have assaulted the young referee, saying Referee Andoh could not possibly have died from the assault as he recovered only to die a week or so later.

He sounded as if subjecting match officials to assault by spectators is not a crime. Sad to say, assault of match officials in the lower divisions of football are quite common and many a time people get away with it. I doubt whether this would have been news if the young chap had not died.

I have maintained a zillion times that Kwesi Nyantakyi-led Ghana Football Association’s bias towards the Black Stars is hurting the domestic game. I don’t know what’s in there for them, but they seem to have put the domestic game on the backburner -- under complete neglect.

He’s one person I admire a lot; however, his treatment of the domestic game is one that makes my heart cringe.  I am still waiting to see how the GFA will handle this whole incident. The family must not allow the FA any breathing space; they must seek justice.

The Sports Ministry has promised to investigate the sad incident. I only pray that the investigation does not become tea-party committee.  I urge the family to sue the FA if they don’t get anything meaningful out of the investigation.

This madness must stop. The referees association must also make their voice heard; they have been too quiet for my liking. I think they should be at the forefront in pushing for the unravelling of the incident. 

We need to enforce the rules that forbid football games to be played when there are not enough security personnel to protect players and match officials. We are not doing our football brand any good if we continue recording such premedieval occurrences.

The local league has a lot of potential. We have a long way to go if we are to retain talent, not to talk of attracting some of the best talents in the sub-region.  Our footballers are moving to DR Congo, South Sudan and so on. These are countries that aren’t any better than us.

May the soul of the young referee rest in peace.

Have a lovely weekend.

I’m out.

What does it take to fix an economy?

 

Seth Terkper

Why on earth will a pupil teacher pose the above question to his class? Eh? Sure it was a difficult one which they were always bound to get wrong. As it turned out, none of the over-exuberant students attempted an answer immediately. Dead silence.

Wait a minute. A hand just went up somewhere in the corner of the room. Rising warily from his seat, all the young chap could mutter was “super glue” – a popular adhesive. Suddenly, there was burst of laughter and applause.

The teacher looked on rather stunned. “How is that an answer?” he seemed to ask himself. Well, who would fault the courageous boy? Of course it doesn’t take superglue to fix a broken economy, but that’s the sort of answers you get when you ask the wrong people the right questions.

What it takes to fix an economy? Definitely not empty promises. No. Not judgement debts, not corruption which we seem to have had an overdose of. Let me be charitable here. The economy is too broad. Let’s look at various sectors and issues: sanitation, transport, energy, health, education and, lest I forget, corruption. I got you, right?

Honestly, which of these sectors are we proud of as Ghanaians? “Everything make ‘basaa’ and ‘nyamaa,’” one trader lamented while hawking her wares near Agbogbloshie in the Central Business District. You don’t expect me to translate “nyamaa” and “basaa”, do you?

It is not uncommon every morning to find people muscling out each other to join a rickety “trotro”. In most cases it’s a fierce battle. No consideration is given to the elderly, pregnant women or even children. Most people, clever enough, do not struggle to enter through the door, they use the window. No wahala!

After the fierce battle is the long-winding and tiring vehicular jam. It’s really stressful. You see, if you are not fortunate, you could be delayed by a scuffle between a passenger and a “trotro mate” over a few pesewas worth of change in the heat of the jam. 

Who condemned us to this life and what did we do wrong to suffer such condemnation? The modern means of transport, the subways, the Rapid Bus Transits, trams, etc: are they really above us, eh?

A fortnight ago we celebrated our 57^th independence and my oh my! It was a reality check for us. The rains or showers, whichever you prefer, exposed our 57 years of celebrating mediocrity. I agree we have made some achievements, but are they worth celebrating?

While Ghanaians consider electricity as a privilege, somewhere outside Ghana one politician is busy convincing investors to come put up businesses here. Ghana, they say, is the gateway to Africa and best place to do business in the sub-region. 

Who are they deceiving? Recently, Abraaj Group, owners of Fan Milk, said they will cut investment in the country due to our unstable electricity supply. I am sure many companies may have taken a similar stance, albeit quietly.

How long has this “dum-sor, dum-sor” being with us? We elect people, pay them and what they do is explain what the problem is or blame others for causing the problems. A year or two to elections, money exchanges hands with the electorate and the cycle is revisited.

Our current political leadership has failed us bitterly. I don’t care what any bootlicker thinks or what the heck the previous administration did wrong. In any case, it is for the other side’s wrongs that this government was elected to give better leadership.

There’s no clear leadership, yet government officials would not let us have any of that. Need I blame them? No, that’s where they have their bread buttered. I think as media men we have also played a part in creating this mess. We always indulge in generalisation of problems. A spade is not a big spoon. We should be bold and hold politicians accountable when they go wrong.

After 57 years, you can see people openly defecating in gutters and streams -- in fact any pool of water, whether stagnant or flowing. Sachet water bags are flying everywhere, buildings collapsing at will yet the government has the effrontery to blame previous regimes for these problems, oh yeah?

Running a country is not like managing a tabletop shop. That’s why people like me did not put ourselves up for election. We left it for people who are supposed to be competent and able to solve problems. It’s high time people put partisanship aside and be firm.

Every time my car bumps into a pothole just after driving past a toll booth, or my taps go dry for no reason, or my power is taken unannounced, I begin to curse this government. What do they get paid for? To sit on radio or go holidaying in Dubai and tell us to patronise locally manufactured goods? Tweeaa!

You see, one way we can make the system work is to make the leadership part of it. Ironic, right?  Why should they have access to generators when the whole country is plunged into darkness? Hell no! Wards and kids of government officials must be enrolled in government-run schools, not private ones.

Also, they should be made to sign up onto the National Health Insurance Scheme. Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. We don’t need charlatans who would profit from the malfunctioning of the system.

And oh, despite all these, I think the call for a citizen uprising is clearly misplaced. If the current leadership is not good, we have to wait till 2016 to show them the exit. However, if in 2016 the electorate are compromised or they feel otherwise and go in for a government that turns out to be a scam, then we may have to wait till 2020. That’s democracy; forget about what’s happening in Ukraine: pure lawlessness.

While we wait to go to the polls, we can only demand from government what is rightfully ours: electricity, water, good roads, a better transport and health system. I am not asking for too much, am I?

If the economy is broke, fix it; of course, not with super glue!

I’m out!

Open letter to Mahama: The solution lies not with free SHS!

Good day Your Excellency,

Well, we have all heard that you have gone back on your word, having initially distanced yourself from the viability of the Free Senior High School policy of your main political opponent, Nana Akufo-Addo, in the run-up to the 2012 elections.

As it appears, your backtracking suggests there’s some good in the policy preached by the New Patriotic Party. Ideally, any country that seeks to build its foundation on education must be commended.

Together with health, I find education as one of the most critical aspects of our economy -- hence assiduousness must be the keyword in our dealings with those sectors.
I must say, however, that I am not particularly enthused about your announcement of free SHS for day students beginning 2015.

Mr. President, must we always reduce important sectors like education to this political ping-pong? While we even struggle to get the basics right, why are we are still committing ourselves to more complicated decisions which have the potential of nudging us further into the path of despondency?

Sad to say, after we fumbled through the introduction of the four-year SHS system, we are now being treated to another meal of a decision borne from a lack of foresight. Mr. President, what is wrong with our educational system? We need to answer this fundamental question first before moving on to proffer solutions.

I believe the problem of our educational system is not about the quantity of products churned out every year, but rather their quality. This is where I find myself miles apart from you over your recent pronouncement.

When people questioned the NPP’s Free SHS policy, it was not plain antagonism. The national debate over this policy was one of the most intellectual debates in our political discourse.

Industry has always complained that the quality of products churned by universities and polytechnics are short of standard. This is not a failure of the universities; rather it is a failure of the entire educational system.

The quality of our educational system has deteriorated and what I would rather have you and your government do is to fix these problems rather than a move that will only reinforce a mass production of low-quality SHS graduates.

In 2012, you argued that education must be progressively free, which sounded the more prudent suggestion around that time. Definitely, if you live in a country where teaching aids are always delayed and standard of teaching is unconvincing, you don’t compound your problems by granting wider access, especially when you have not dealt with the small numbers you have.

In 2007, when the duration of SHS was increased from three years (though technically it was two-and-half) to four years without proper infrastructural provision, all of us witnessed the chaos it brought. Every available space in schools was converted to classrooms regardless -- from canteens, chapels, dining halls and libraries.

Here we are again about to make a mistake that will eventually send us back to the drawing board. When it comes to education, we are all stakeholders and must not allow politicians to toy with it. Sometimes we must be vociferous in showing our displeasure at attempts by politicians to mess it up.

With all due respect, I think this move by your government smacks of populism. At a time when you say the meat is down to the bones, where are we expecting to raise those huge monies to fund these extravagant promises? Already, the rapid fall of the cedi is threatening to override all targets set by your government.

Mr. President, what we need now is assurance that the current difficulties are being managed properly and not promises.

I remember also that even when the National Health Insurance Scheme was on its knees, we were promised a one-off premium.

Thankfully, the one-off premium never came because it would have sent us back to the cash-and-carry days. Please, Mr. President and your NDC government, we have enough problems already facing our small country. Let’s tackle these problems first before we start inflicting more harm on ourselves.

Sir, you know what the famous American theologian James Freeman Clack said about politicians? He said: "The difference between a politician and a statesman is: a politician thinks of the next election and a statesman thinks of the next generation.”

Mr. President, don’t give us the impression you are thinking about the 2016 elections. I know you would like to be remembered as a statesman – and a fine one at that. If that’s the case just watch before you leap.

I’ll stop here because I know you don’t have much time.

Best regards.