Times were when European people scrambled for our African person, our gold and other natural resources as spoils of war or at a Berlin conference.
In post-election victory motherland, foot-soldiers scramble (in violence) for control over toilet toll while their big people struggle for big posts that attract big bungalows and V8s.
Our in-charge peace institution of state make you wonder its worth to the taxpayer victim, whose tax money is used to pay for that institution’s existence and sustenance. Presidential election time, peace mongers will kill our ears with peace before, during and after the elections.
They peace monger usually in V8 rides and hobnobbing in idle talk before an election and of ‘go to court’ command over results declaration.
The peace mongered by the peace mongers is: ‘sit down, get cheated and then go to court for redress.’
That bad approach to before and worse advocacy during, ends with worst after.
Usually, at the point of after, the peace mongers become the ostrich, head buried deep in the sand. They see no violence, hear no violence and talk no violence that occurs at Agbogbloshie Market, toll booths, public toll paying toilets, NHIA offices, metro mass busing, school feeding catering, any public offices where foot soldiers can eke out crumbs of the bounty that await presidential, ministerial/MMDCEs and NYEP, converted into fund draining GYEEDA or YEA facilities/positions.
No compatriot in this motherland is unaware of the petty riots that break out after the announcement of election results that transfer power from one administration of a certain political persuasion to one with a different persuasion.
It allegedly began after the osono win in 2000. Then, it had been over 19 years of not-so-provisional congress expropriation of state resources as property of the congress person.
So osono youth charged for ‘protective custody’ of everything state-owned.
When the power table turned in 2008 with that dubious congress win, their cadre foot-soldiers went on rampage. They unleashed a massive seizure of such crumb opportunities as toilets and tollbooths.
Surprisingly, the commandeering included state assets their congress had had no hand in creating. After MMT buses, school-feeding contracts, and NHIA/NYEP positions, they chased.
The currently yelling congress chair himself seized the NADMO office without any appointment letter, claiming he was removed improperly in 2001.
The incompetence that took him out of that office deepened as he went distributing public disaster relief resources as goodies to bribe his congresspeople for a chairmanship position.
One, (especially motherland taxpayer and watcher over tax money spending), would have expected that for their money’s worth there would be elaborate plans and systems put in place to ensure peace after the 2016 election. Unfortunately, it is always the case that after an election, mainly the little people foot soldiers of the vanquished would suffer violence while their big women and men, who had greedily chopped their political organisation into defeat, would don red bands holding press conferences.
You may criticise our adopted governance system and the election it prescribes. You may campaign against what you see as a winner takes all arrangement. The fact remains that all victories have their gainful rewards while defeats are associated with painful losses.
In all governance systems, that is the case. What others have done which the motherland lacks is elaborate rules, regulations and conventions that clearly set out the way in which the victor and the vanquished get managed.
For example, all positions could end with a president’s term. I am referring to positions such as those outside public service regulations, or political offices. That would include toll and contractual positions such as school feeders and NYEP/GYEEDA/YEA.
We would need to scrupulously monitor who comes in when. It sounds like institutionalising ‘jobs for the girls and boys.’ But that is what it is. Its peace dividend would be choppers going away quietly with whatever loot, to allow the next group to take over. Actually, proper handing over arrangements could be developed.
To me, all the stop, stop going on now is simply saying allow the congresspeople to cheat so there can be peace.
I don’t remember the last time peace prevailed without justice.
From December 31, 1981 to date, congresspeople have had 19+8+8 years chopping of state resources.
By this, congresspeople are the ones who should have their greed checked. They should have been stopped in 2008/9 when they went after the ‘opportunities’ in NYEP, NHIA, MMT school feeding contracts, HIPC toilet (and some road) tolling points which were the creations of the osono machine.
Osono mma have had only eight years. Importantly, at least they created something. Anyway, if you have been out of both loops, you have had nothing.
My formula is, join one of them or build an election winning group. Sans that you miss out on even the crumbs.
By Kwasi Ansu-Kyeremeh