Everything our leaders have done, seemingly in an attempt to develop Ghana and create wealth for its citizens since independence, has been a disaster. The list of disasters is endless: The budget is not balanced; public debt is rising at a higher pace, and corruption runs riot in the public space. The cedi is not stabilised. The government spends taxpayers’ money without restraint, and as a result, inflation has soared, while the education system continues to produce semi-literate individuals who only aspire to government jobs.
Our interests appear to be fundamentally misaligned. The doctor benefits from illness, the mechanic from incorrect diagnoses, the lawyer from extended disputes, the police accept bribes openly, religion has become a money-making enterprise, politicians across party lines are eager to suppress free speech, and above all, politics has become a thieves’ club where the nation’s wealth is stolen without consequences because the law is ineffective. One person’s gain comes at another’s expense, creating a zero-sum world of endless conflict.
Voters lack motivation to be informed, politicians prefer pandering over persuasion, and partisans are rewarded for loyalty, not integrity. We should all remember that the danger to Ghana is not the fault of our leaders alone. Even though we accuse our leaders, it is really not their fault. The fault lies in the hands of voters, who vote for inexperienced, corrupt men and give them leadership positions. Over time, it has been realised that the majority of the citizen voters prefer ‘useful village idiots as their leaders.
Calling our leaders corrupt should not blind anyone to the vast number of ‘idiots’ who vote the moral equivalent of armed robbers whose main objective is to loot the national treasury, not create wealth or to dispense real justice to citizens. Sadly, covetousness and impunity drive the quest for political power in Ghana.
In all these matters, the 1992 Constitution is a negative document, designed only to protect corrupt politicians from the citizens. Our leaders—whether political, academic, or commercial—are not in control of our country’s destiny. Although they claim to act in the interest of the people, their actions consistently erode individual rights and liberty under the guise of development.
They are nothing but puppets, “useful village idiots” of our so-called foreign partners—completely incapable of independent thought. Foreign creditors manipulate them. Only a few perceptive citizens and leaders recognize this manipulation; most of the leaders remain unaware.
Why do we still tolerate them?
Ghanaian patriots should understand that all the failures of all successive regimes, since 1957, are designed to make us fail. They are deliberate; exactly what those we call neo-colonialists want. They WANT our failure and continuous servitude. Ghanaians must understand that.
Meanwhile, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in their false conscious state still wages rhetorical battle against corruption and continues to push a welfare state with loans and printed money. The New Patriotic Party (NPP) liberals still fail to grasp the idea that the goal of a productive economy is to let the people, rather than the government, the IMF, the World Bank, figure out how best to improve their lives.
Every administration expands the control of the state, a stern caution to those of us who care about “preserving the boundaries that protect individual liberty from concentrated power.” The welfare state contradicts basic human nature, economic laws, history, God, and every other reality. This is the tragedy we face in Ghana today — the poor have been psyched to regard their exploiters as the virtuous architects of safety and prosperity.
The so-called neo-colonialists, the IMF, the World Bank, the Paris Club, and the Chinese are aware of this scenario. They do not care. They need the failure. As we mismanage our economy into chaos, they will always step forth with their prescriptions that always keep us down.
What we are witnessing today is deliberate, planned, and, so far, it is working almost to perfection. The neo-colonialists, both east and west, left and right, certainly do not intend for this country to develop independently. They know that their prescriptions will continue to keep our resources in their control, and never help our economy grow to create wealth for our citizens and make us independent.
Understanding the enemy and its goals is essential for victory, but the weak political class in the country appears entirely clueless. Unlocking the country’s economic potential requires removing obstacles that prevent citizens from reaching their full potential. Ghana needs a strong economic environment where contracts are upheld, individuals have clear ownership of their lands, houses, and businesses, and there is a direct link between effort and reward.
However, with the puny politicians and their corrupt bureaucrats in control, one is not hopeful.
By Kwadwo Afari
Editor’s note: Views expressed in this article do not represent that of The Chronicle
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