How President Akufo-Addo could secure a second term today
Politicians are such a strange breed sometimes ignoring the obvious
when all around them can see it makes perfect sense to adopt and run
with it: for successful policy outcomes.
The question is: Why do even the most honest and the sincerest members
of our nation’s political class never see the wisdom in publicly
publishing their assets and those of their spouses – in a nation in
which high-level corruption is widespread and endemic?
As it happens, beginning with the tenure of President Kufuor, this
blog has humbly suggested to every party leader who has eventually
been sworn into office as President of the Republic of Ghana, after
winning the presidential election, that to set an example to members
of his administration and society at large in the fight against
high-level corruption, he should publicly publish his assets and
those of his spouse.
Alas, it is advice that has always fallen on deaf ears, much to their
detriment politically as incumbents, eventually.
Incidentally, it ought to be pointed out in fairness to him that
President Kufuor did promise to do so in one of his earliest public
speeches to the nation after being sworn in for his first term in
office – although in the event he failed to do so.
One has never ceased being amazed that it never dawned on any of those
who led Ghana after the end of President J. J. Rawlings’ tenure that
by so doing, they would more or less be able to permanently occupy the
moral high ground, in the politics of our nation. Pity.
Doubtless, they most probably all bowed to pressure from influential
party bigwigs and powerful individuals in their inner circles to
refrain from doing so, even if they were minded to do so personally.
But it has nonetheless always exercised my mind as to why those highly
intelligent individuals never saw the manifold advantages such a move
would bring them politically.
The question is: Why did they not see that such a move would insulate
them from the inevitable planting of fake news of alleged high-level
corruption involving them by propagandists working for their political
opponents in the Ghanaian media?
This blog has no doubt whatsoever that former President Mahama would
still be Ghana’s leader today had he publicly published his assets and
those of his wife Lordina (before both occasions that he stood for
election as a candidate in the presidential elections of 2012 and
2016) – and hadc subsequently gone on to ask his brothers Edward and
Ibrahim and their spouses to do same too.
Personally, I also have no doubt whatsoever that President Akufo-Addo
will never involve himself in any acts of corruption. Many fair-minded
Ghanaians who are patriots who love Mother Ghana dearly, probably
share the same view too.
However, since President Akufo-Addo himself knows that he has not
come to usher in rule by saints – in the choices he has made in his
ministerial appointments thus far – this blog humbly suggests to him
to ignore the advice of all those in inner circle who might counsel
against him publicly publishing his assets and those of wife Rebecca,
and do so as soon as practicable whikes he is in the initial stages of
his presidency.
He will find that it will cement the bond that has developed between
him personally and millions of ordinary people in our country who have
placed their faith in him to transform Ghana.
And if he follows that up with a meeting with members of his extended
family clan and takes a leaf from President Rawlings’ book to warn
them that if they fall foul of any of our nation’s laws – including
getting involved in high-level corruption – they must not expect the
President of the Republic of Ghana to come to their rescue – because
he won’t.
In other words he wants them to understand clearly that they are all
morally obliged never to mess up in any way whiles he serves as
Ghana’s leader.
Taking those two vital steps outlined above will enable him to
permanantly occupy the moral high ground in our nation’s politics, and
insulate him from any widespread perception of corruption in high
places of the kind that was so prevelant during the period of the
golden age of business for Kufuor & Co – which eventually led to
their party’s painful defeat in the December 2008 presidential
election.
Food for thought for a very, very shrewd politician, perhaps? One
hopes so – for all our sake as a people.
Finally, above all, if President Ak!ufo-Addo goes ahead and ignores
the advice of his party’s leadership – as well as that of those of
the most powerful individuals in his inner circle – and opts to go
ahead and publicly publish his assets and those of his dear wife, it
will definitely guarantee him a second term as Ghana’s president: for
his position will become unassailable politically.
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