JUST BLAME MAHAMA

Is President Mahama imbibing too much confidences in the Ghanaian youths?

By Ekow Mensah

I was in the house of my in-laws and Kojo Afful was being his usual stubborn self.  He also did as he pleased and refused counsel from his parents and elders.

To my shock, Auntie Mansa just blurted out “it is not Kojo’s fault. It is President Mahama who has made it impossible for us to control our children.

I could not believe what I was hearing. What could be the connection between the Presidency of John Mahama and Kojo’s stubbornness which predates the Mahama presidency?

I asked my aunt to explain and she did.

“It is John Mahama who is making young people Ministers and creating the impression that young people can also be leaders and achievers. Young people have become so proud under Mahama that we cannot control them anymore.”

I was stunned knowing that in the Nkrumah Government there were many Ministers who were in their twenties and early thirties. In the Busia Government, Mr J.A. Kufuor who was then in his late twenties served as a Minister and under the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) most of the Ministers were in their twenties and thirties.

The point is that President Mahama is not the only or the first President to have appointed young people to Ministerial positions.

However, the truth is that President Mahama is being blamed for everything negative which happens in Ghana. He gets blamed for divorce; for the death of the elderly; for the DKM scam; for too much rain or sunshine; for the sins of all NDC Members and for all the problems in the opposition parties.

Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, Presidential Candidate of the PPP

Last Monday, the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP) poured more blame on President John Dramani Mahama.

This time he is being accused of orchestrating an invitation to Dr Kwesi Nduom, Presidential Candidate of the PPP by the Economic and Organised Crime Organisation (EOCO) to explain the source of some party funds.

According to PPP spokespersons this invitation to their leader must most definitely be blamed on President Mahama.

They don’t provide a shred of evidence and there is no cogent logical analysis.

John Dramani Mahama must be blamed for the sins of EOCO simple and short.

Poor John Mahama, he may soon be blamed for the defeat of Asante in the Yaa Asantewaa War.

Editorial

WE DISAGREE

The Insight firmly disagrees with the decision of the Economic And Organised Crime Organisation (EOCO) to investigate the sources of funding of the Progressive Peoples  Party (PPP) and the All Peoples Congress (ACP).

This is because no special case has been made against the two political parties.

PPP is not the only party which paid the filling fees of its presidential and parliamentary candidates in full and the ACP cannot be the only political party which has spent in excess of US $6 million on its campaign.

If these are sufficient basis for the investigation of sources of funds of political parties, then the EOCO has a lot of work to do.

 It must investigate all the political parties and their leaders.

 We strongly suggest that the EOCO should abandon this path to nowhere.

IS GHANA’S FOREIGN POLICY CHANGING?

President John Mahama, what is going on?

By Kwesi Pratt, Jnr

You cannot believe it, but it is true.

Ghana under the presidency of John Dramani Mahama has refused to vote for human rights in occupied Palestine.

This represents a low point in Ghana’s foreign policy which had as one of its pillars support for national liberation worldwide.

Even under President John Agyekum Kufuor whose government was seen as right -wing, Ghana supported the right of Palestinian refugees to return home.

 President Kufuor’s government also supported the two-state solution and vehemently condemned the building of settlements on occupied Palestinian lands.

Ghana abstained in a vote on the observance of human rights in occupied Palestine at the UN Human Rights Council last week.

Ghana’s current stand comes after the visit to Israel by Honourable Hannah Tetteh, Ghana’s foreign Minister at the invitation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

During the visit, Ghana and  Israel are alleged to have signed a co-operation agreement in the area of security.

The two countries pledged to co-operate in the fight against Islamic terrorism.

Comrade President John Mahama, what is going on?

Those developments are particularly strange because President John Mahama was active in the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) before becoming President.

The Government of President John Evans Atta Mills also keenly supported the struggles of the Palestinian people for a State and denounced Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine.

This is the first time in more than 40 years that Ghana is showing signs of wavering over the Palestinian question.

 Even the European Union has decided to boycott Israeli goods made in these settlements.

The British Parliament in a non-binding resolution has supported the creation of the State of Palestine.

 Student activists in Canada and Australia are currently waging a campaign to boycott Israeli goods made in the illegal settlements.

 The Socialist Forum of Ghana (SFG) strongly supports Palestinian statehood and is opposed to violations of human rights in occupied Palestine.

 There is a very strong and credible information that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is about to visit Ghana at the invitation of the Ghanaian government as part of an African Tour.

Pro-Palestine activist are promising  to meet him at the airport with a massive demonstration.

Some analyst says that the strategy of the Mahama administration is to starve off possible Israeli support for the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) in this year’s election.

Editorial

WHERE IN THE WORLD?

Now the noise over the South African -3 appears to have died down and we feel compelled to make our views known.

As a matter of fact, no nation in the world would tolerate a situation in which foreign nationals arrive in the country and organise the training of opposition cadres in hand-to-hand combat, weapons handling, crowd control and VIP protection.

 Every security set-up in the world would be alarmed at such a development and would take appropriate measures to investigate and neutralise the threat.

Our question is very simple if no country can tolerate such a situation, then why should Ghana accept it?

The security services have done their job and they should continue to ensure that nobody takes the security of the people of Ghana for granted

REMEMBERING: Jake Obetsebi –Lamptey

The Late Mr Jake Obetsebi Lamptey

“The Insight” is perhaps one of the many institutions which ought to pay special tribute to Mr. Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, business executive and former national Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

This is because Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey had a very special relationship with the newspaper.

Apart from the fact that he relaunched the newspaper in 1998, five years after “The Insight” was born he offered professional advice on several occasions.

Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey was the person who suggested the relaunching of the newspaper with changes in its logo and other details.

Relaunching the newspaper at the Old International Press Centre in Accra, Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey praised  “The Insight “ and its editorial staff for their steadfastness in the struggle to democratize  Ghana.

 He described them as “gallant”.

Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey was undoubtedly an astute advertising executive who took his skills to the political stage and helped to get Mr. J.A. Kufuor elected as President of Ghana twice.

He had served as Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for at least two terms.

He is credited with making the NPP the dominant political party in the Greater Accra Region during his term even though he didn’t speak a word of Ga.

He served as Chief of Staff and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Minister of Tourism and Modernization of the Capital City and Minister of Information.

Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey lost his bid to become the Presidential Candidate of the NPP.

 He also lost a bid to retain his position as National Chairman of the party to Mr. Paul Afoko.

Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey worked very closely with Professor Albert Adu Boahen, former President J.A Kufour and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo, the current presidential candidate of the NPP.

The Insight extends its heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

May his good deeds continue to inspire current and future generations and may his short comings be seen as just manifestations of human weakness.

NDC AND NPP: WHICH ONE OF THEM IS TELLING THE TRUTH?

President John Dramani Mahama, Leader of the NDC

By Dr. Michael J.K. Bokor

No one can fight the truth and hope to succeed. Like the cork submerged in water, the truth will rise to the surface to stun the one submerging it.

We know that the NPP and NDC have never seen eye-to-eye on issues regarding the handling of national affairs, not to talk about what happens at the lower levels. Wherever the NPP goes, the NDC avoids or seeks to encroach on with a counter-balancing presence; wherever the NDC goes, the NPP runs away from or condemns if it cannot outdo.

In our contemporary Ghanaian situation both the NPP and the NDC come across as two sides of one coin, each representing whatever it is and hoping to sway Ghanaians to see and accept it as the be-it-all-and-end-it-all for the Ghanaian case of under-development and exercises in democracy.

Since the inception of the 4th Republic, much blood has been lost in this useless fight for prominence. Nothing done by the NDC pleases the NPP and vice versa. It is all a matter of fault-finding; no praise anywhere.

It all began in  the hustings at the end of the Rawlings era when Kufuor led the NPP pack to condemn Rawlings as doing nothing to improve living conditions despite his "asphalt projects", beginning from Kumasi (at the insistence of his wife, Nana Konadu). Thus, for Election 2000, the NPP's slogan was framed around the idea that if the people cannot get food to eat, they will have no value for asphalt roads. That was why the slogan ("Whie wo asetenam mo na tu aba pa") emerged. But even then, Kufuor had to depend on the support of the mushroom parties to sail through.

In power, Kufuor did his best, given the circumstances within which he operated. Ever since he left the scene, nothing has worked well for the NPP. Why so? It is not his making but that of those who think that they are bigger than the NPP. And they have given President Mahama the edge. Can they devalue that edge? No!!

Nana Akufo Addo, NPP Flagbearer

Under President Mahama, the NPP has gone the full distance to condemn everything coming from the official stables. Be it the management of the economy, just anything, the NPP hasn't seen anything good coming from President Mahama. And that cloudy mindset has guided everything thereby.

It is, therefore, strange to see something to the contrary. The NPP's Minority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, is saying that enough evidence exists to show that the Mahama-led administration has chalked successes in nation-building that should be acknowledged and praised as such.

Is this the crucial moment of epiphany that the NPP people need to help them refine their politics so they can connect better with Ghanaians and polish their political machinery for Election 2016?

Certainly, it is absurd to paint the government black with a wide brush and refuse to acknowledge its positive accomplishments despite the challenges facing it. Only the truth can set one free. Any talk of corruption is misplaced because corruption in Ghana is endemic, not restricted to government circles alone.

The truth may hurt, but it can also heal and salve conscience(s). Thanks, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, for this acknowledgement to set the parameters for politicking by the NPP under Akufo-Addo. Wherein, then, lies the unpopular tag of "incompetence" for President Mahama, especially when these projects are solving pertinent existential problems of the people?

Rome was not built in one day; and only politically mischievous characters will expect President Mahama to solve Ghana's "accumulated problems" in one day. Of course, the good news is that the wool is quickly falling off from the eyes of the malicious critics for them to see things clearly.

Only then will they know that their own dwindling political fortunes aren't the making of political opponents, but themselves---for failing to accept reality. And more of that reality awaits them. Accepting it should help them re-engineer themselves for a better cause.

The train is fast leaving them behind. Unfortunately for them, the light that they see at the end of the tunnel is that of a speeding train reaching them and aimed to destroy them. Will they be smart enough to avoid being crushed? Over to them!!

Kyei Mensah Bonsu

As Jesus put it, only the truth saves. And translated into our Ghanaian political situation, that truth is that President Mahama is leading his administration to do its best, given the circumstances in which it has found itself. It cannot do otherwise, short of over-speeding and perishing in flight.

Those condemning it at will for political expediency don't know what is at stake and should hasten slowly, biding their time with good politicking to win the hearts of the electorate and try their luck. It is not as easy as they may imagine, though.

Politics is not a do-or-die affair, but a matter of judicious use of opportunities to remain in reckoning. It takes the politically astute to survive. Those on the periphery, making ugly noise in condemnation should wonder why it is not they who are in power, but those they wish dead that are preferred by the electorate.

It is a game to be played by its own rules, not by personal wishes, regrets,  expectations, or wishful thinking by those defeated at the polls.

And once those in power using the resources of the country to give the citizens what they can use, they will be favoured. That's the thrust of Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu's message, which I hope his own NPP people have heard and will be conditioned to adjust to. And for their own good, they had better do so.

Continuously condemning President Mahama as the cause of woes in Ghana won't fetch any political capital for the NPP. It is politically weird. What the NPP can do better is the message that the electorate are yearning to hear from Akufo-Addo, even if they still continue to doubt his integrity. At least, they know what prevented him from winning Elections 2008 and 2012. What more?

The challenge that Osei Mensah Kyei Bonsu poses here is that Akufo-Addo should come out with measures that he will implement to outdo the incumbent Mahama-led administration. Not until he does so, nothing from him will "touch base" with the voters; and he can go to blazes in consequence.

Finally, we may stick our necks out to say that Akufo-Addo should be asking himself what value he has added to the NPP ever since been chosen as its flag bearer. Nothing but division and useless militancy. If we turn to happenings involving the NPP under Akufo-Addo, we will quickly conclude that he is more of a liability than an asset. The police have already moved to deal with some elements of the "Invisible Forces" that he has established in the NPP to fight his case against internal voices. Woe betide him.

Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu is sounding a clarion call to his own NPP fraternity to shape up or be shipped out of Ghanaian politics for long. Who will listen to him?

I shall return…

·         E-mail: mjbokor@yahoo.com

·         Join me on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/mjkbokor to continue the conversation.

Editorial

Falsehood Galore!

Everybody is at the mercy of fraudsters who are apparently spending huge resources to poison the political atmosphere in the hope that their political parties can take advantage.

Everyday new concoctions are posted on social media to the embarrassment of decent citizens.

Sometimes the victims are leading members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) but on other occasions decent and ordinary members of society have also had that reputations completely destroyed.

The Insight is getting increasing worried about this development and joins the public chorus for finding out who these fraudsters are and dealing with them according to law.

Nobody should be allowed to hide in cyberspace to do irreparable damage to our society and its institutions for whatever reason.

The falsehoods distort reality and make it impossible to arrive at rational conclusions about the national situation.

Action is needed now. 

MOVES TO RESOLVE CRISIS IN NPP

Ex. President John Agyekum Kufuor

By Ekow Mensah

There are serious moves in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to unite the warring factions and to rally behind the Presidential Candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa  Akufo-Addo.

A party source told “The Insight” that there have been several rounds of meetings involving top level leaders to resolve the enpasse.

According to our sources some of the meetings have been attended by Nana Akufo- Addo himself and have involved Mr Paul Afoko, the suspended National Chairman and General Secretary, Kwabena Agyapong.

The faction loyal to Mr Paul Afoko is insisting on his reinstatement as National Chairman as a condition for peace in the party.

Others who have featured in these meetings are former President John Agyekum Kufour, Mr Ayikoi Otoo, a former Attorney General, Dr Addo Kuffour, former Defence Minister  and kwabena  Agyapong, General Secretary.

The meeting with high profile priests at the residence of former  President Kufour is seen as part of the initiative.

Nana Akufo Addo

Honorable Joe Osei Wusu, an NPP Member of Parliament virtually confirmed these meetings when he said that “many things are happening behind the scenes to restore peace and stability in our party” on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana. 

Matters in the  party appear to be getting out of hand with calls for the dismissal of many other leaders including acting National Chairman Freddie Blay , Minority leader in parliament  Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu and his deputy, Dominique Nitiwul.

It is believed that efforts aimed at ending the feud in the party could very well be advanced.

Editorial

CAPTAGON

The arrest of a Saudi Prince for smuggling drugs suspected to be heading into the hands of the so-called Free Syrian Army must be a source of great concern to all parents in the region and beyond.

The drug, Captagon is a known mind control drug which the opposition to president Assad has been supplying to young militants to enable them stand on their feet in grueling battles.

It will not take a prophet to see that young people in the Middle East, the Persian Gulf and beyond would be hooked to this very dangerous drug in the future.

It is indeed a huge shame that Saudi Arabia and its allies in the region so hate the legitimate government of Syria that they are prepared to destroy the future of the youth.

 The Insight urges Saudi Arabia and it’s allies to end the smuggling and distribution of Captagon to young people in the region.