Lying is one of the cardinal sins disapproved by God Almighty. However, wineful, ginful and sinful man would use the least opportunity to lie, even when under oath, to achieve selfish gains.
In our local politics, there is a tradition that can convince the people with lies and members of that tradition are bold to say that, one must lie and lie and keep lying until it is accepted as the truth.
One group from this tradition is the National Democratic Congress, NDC, which has adopted the True Lies Syndrome, in order to win the hearts and minds of Ghanaians. Lately members of this party, including its leadership and parliamentarians, would come out with untruths and hammer them into the minds of Ghanaians to make them feel insecure under the ruling New Patriotic Party.
For examples, Ghanaians have been told and they have accepted that the E-Levy of 1.50% would make them poorer and poorer if they ever transfer monies through MoMo. So, in the event that one has to send say GH¢200.00 to the old folks in the village, like Asutsuare, the NDC is saying that paying, GH¢1.50 as E-Levy plus GH¢1.50 as MoMo charges on MTN, a total of GH¢ 3.00, is more expensive than the cost of travelling to Asutsuare, which would cost GH¢30.00 from Accra station. Return fare will also be GH¢30.00. So, for transportation alone, assuming you live in Teshie, Accra, will include to GH¢10.60, to the Accra station and back to Teshie and that works up to GH¢70.60 in total – GH¢70.60 to just send GH¢200.00, which would have cost only GH¢3.00.
Let us not add other unavoidable expenditures like buying of provisions for your parents, giving out some money for the children back home and partly solving the financial needs of old flames.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is telling Ghanaians that they will be financially better off, paying at least GH¢70.60 when sending GH¢200.00, than going the government way and spending only GH¢3.00. What true lies!
Why is the NDC directing people to take travel to their villages just to remit their old folks? Here we are talking about the fuel and the NDC cartel in the importation of refined oil. This will be a topic for another day.
NDC’s member for North Tongu, Hon Okudzeto-Ablakwa in an interview on the National Cathedral saga had this to say: “There is quite an uneasy calm among the Board of Trustees. And I can confirm that one imminent priest has walked away from the Board; the revered Dr. Mensa Otabil is no longer with them…. The whole year, he has not attended any of their meetings. It is not clear what his intention was, but he has given indication that all is not well.” This blew up the minds of Ghanaians and many were those believing that we have been short-changed by the president.
It was later revealed that Pastor Mensa Otabil was not a member of the Board and he had never been. What Okudzeto-Ablakwa said was a True Lie. Instead of been humble and apologising to Ghanaians for lying to us, the MP rather demanded that the Board of the National Cathedral should rather apologise to Dr. Mensa Otabil for using his name and image on its promotional materials for all these years. But the issue was not that the pastor’s name and image had been used. What the MP was emphatic about was that the pastor was a member of the Board who resigned due to shady deals concerning the National Cathedral. True Lie!
Hon Okudzeto-Ablakwa again confused Ghanaians by saying that the National Cathedral was a private entity and therefore a presidential staffer, Dr. Paul Opoku Mensah, could not be employed as the Overseer of the National Cathedral.
The MP, I believe, either exposed and celebrated his gross ignorance about registration of companies or he was being a typical mischievous NDC member. Because a company registered and listed as private or public has nothing to do with whether it is state own or privately own.
The NDC, forming government for sixteen years, twenty-seven if one is to add the PNDC does not know the difference between a private company and a public company. I hereby give them one of the major differences and it is that, a public company is a company that is listed in the well-known stock exchange and can be traded freely on it. Whereas a private limited company is not listed on a stock exchange and it is held privately by the members of the company. Shares of a private company are sold only to its members.
For example, the STX Korea, which came to Ghana to build 200,000 houses, was not listed as a company to go into real estate. It had to register a company STX Ghana which was listed as a company into real estate. This company was formed by the Government of Ghana (GoG) and the Koreans, and was listed as a private company, the reason, very obvious. This MP Okudzeto-Ablakwa did not know? It is all about True Lies.
Why is the NDC going about lying and confusing Ghanaians? The reason is simple: the NDC is desperate to come back to power. In 2007/2008, this party went wild and told lies about the NPP government under President J.A. Kufuor. Lies which when the members were confronted with at the Appointments Committee of Parliament, apologised and explained that it was mere political talk.
The NDC did not hide the reasons it fought with lies and untruths to deceive Ghanaians to bring it back to power. From consuming over $300,000.00 on tea and maybe biscuits, alone, for its members of the Transition Team to Woyome’s stealing of GH¢ 51 million from state coffers under the cover-up by ministers of state, to conniving with Korea STX to use Ghana’s sovereign guarantee to make money, so they share, among others and the list is endless.
Inasmuch as I will suggest to government to find ways to ease the pains and sufferings of Ghanaians, I will advise Ghanaians to be wary of NDC’s True Lies and make the efforts to find out the truth by first investigating whatever the NDC puts across.
Hon Daniel Dugan
