The Melcom tragedy and Ghana's democracy facade

Yesterday, Wednesday November 7, 2012, the world woke up to another victory for Barack Obama to remain President of the United States for another four years. Ghanaians were caught up in the euphoria too.

The US Embassy in Accra organised an Election Breakfast that started at 5:00am local time to mark the elections.

The previous night, the Institute of Economic Affairs, (IEA) organised a debate for the Vice-Presidential candidates competing in Ghana's December elections. I didn't watch it. I knew it would be boring from the first few pictures I saw on local TV stations, so I switched off and watched something more useful elsewhere.

But as the country vacillated between the euphoria of an Obama victory in far away America and cynicism and sycophancy over the hard to swallow vice-presidential debate at home, tragedy struck in the morning hours of the day. News began filtering in about the collapse of Melcom. Initially, some people thought the chain of department store business itself had folded up. But as pictures began to be posted on social media networks and radio and TV stations began to carry the news, reality hit in. The building itself, a six-story building had collapsed with an estimated 52 people already inside - both employees and shoppers.

The President, John Dramani  Mahama, on a campaign tour in the north of the country expressed sympathy for the victims on Twitter - he eventually cut short his campaign tour to visit the accident site. Opposition figures, determined not to be beaten by the President, also trooped to the accident scene.

This grim reality was bound to happen. Because it is no secret that we take so much for granted in this country. We are susceptible to bending rules at the slightest hint to satisfy our whims, for financial gain or merely for political reasons. If you can afford to pay, you can get anything done in this country, forget the laws and regulations!

I remember that in the early days of John Kufuor as president, he changed a 1974 Law to allow the importation of right-hand drive vehicles into this country. The law as it turned out, was repealed just to satisfy one person and to make the Kufuor government look like it was fulfilling its campaign promise to improve public transport.

At that time, one man had imported right-hand drive double-decker buses into the country, but couldn't use them because of the law prohibiting the use of such vehicles. When the law was repealed the buses already in poor condition flooded our streets offering some 'relief' in our beleaguered and chaotic public transport system. As it turned out, the buses couldn't stand the wear and tear of the public transport system and were all parked after a short while and we returned to square one - where we were with public transport before the buses. A clear example of how short sighted, self aggrandizing decisions are taken to score political points.

Despite the repeal of the law, right-hand vehicles have not become popular with Ghanaians.

Martin Amidu, the former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice has been fighting the system to get the government to prosecute some individuals and companies and retrieve huge amounts of public money that have been paid in questionable judgement debts under suspicious circumstances. The state always claims there is no money to provide services for citizens, but finds the money to pay questionable judgement debts and very high salaries for the Executive and Legislature.

Have we taken our democracy too far? Ghana is reputed all over the world for organising peaceful elections and for having orderly transitions of power. But it appears the democratic credentials are not translating into strong systems that work for the good of all. Our society is becoming ever chaotic and self-destructive. Our democracy is a facade, I am beginning to believe.

In the name of free speech, citizens, including people in positions of trust defame and libel others. State institutions in trying to present themselves as 'humane' fail to enforce bye laws and regulations. So many people want benefits they do not earn. Most people demanding to exercise rights without responsibility is becoming a norm!

Particularly, land and building issues have been a thorn in the flesh of Ghanaians for a long time now. Buildings rise up everyday in the country without permits. It is easier to do whatever pleases one, if the person is an active member of a ruling party or is well connected - the only thing one cannot do in Ghana is to turn a man into a woman. 'Prominent' members of political parties can get whatever they want including breaking clearly set rules and regulations. News abound of ruling party members attacking and physically assaulting members or suspected members of opposition parties. These suspects go free because, they believe they were acting in the interest of the party and it appears the party would not touch its own.

Our parliamentarians have become literally ineffective whenever it matters most, except in matters that directly benefit them. They are quick to pass into law bills that would favour the party in power, while bills such as the Right to Information bill is still lingering in a form that actually endangers right to information decades after the constitution which calls for its enactment into law has been in existence.

Indeed, it appears the practice of democracy in Ghana means lawlessness. The state has been rendered helpless and dysfunctional because governments in power are afraid to enforce laws. They fear to lose elections. For those in power therefore, wielding power for their own sake is more important than running the country for the good of all.

The collapse of the Melcom building and the unnecessary deaths and injuries would only shock our collective consciences momentarily - after the dead are buried and the injured are healed, unfortunately, some might end up with some forms of permanent physical disabilities, we will return to business as usual. No one would be punished, probably, the family of the dead (may their souls rest in peace) and injured might not get compensation, and we shall return to business as usual.

We are more democratic than the Greeks and so we won't enforce our laws and regulations. The political class wants to please everyone else so they will be voted back into power, where they can continue to pay themselves hefty salaries and enjoy privileges ordinary mortals do not deserve.

We can't survive for a long time as a country, if we continue to ignore the role of discipline and law enforcement in building a progressive society - we shall atrophy.

When Ghana becomes a theatre for political jingoism

by Emmanuel K. Dogbevi


Ghana, once and always a beautiful country, has now been turned into a theatre of some sort for the display of the theatrical skills of a few in a play I choose to call “political jingoism”.

Never mind what I mean. You don’t have to look far to make meaning of this title. Simply pick any Ghanaian newspaper you can lay hands on and read just the front page. You will find the meaning of the title of the play.

It is the misdirected struggle for power we call politics. The abuse of power, corruption, cronyism, patronage, and lack of respect for due procedure, statism and the lethargic performance we are told to call statecraft.

The story is both an irony and tragedy intertwined between sheer sarcasm and surprisingly some hazy sense of altruism, rather beautifully scripted to excite the restless minds of the millions of hapless Ghanaians and to lull them into taking some sort of placebo.

I shudder to say, that not only is the stage filled with self-conceited and self-appointed so called political elites, they have also arrogated to themselves the right to determine how the rest of Ghanaians think, live or even die.

The scenes are haphazardly arranged and the lines are muttered in most often inaudible tones, letting out not so much discernible phrases.

Hasn’t our kind of politics become the bane of Ghana? I would say it has, quiet clearly the meaning of politics has been so obscured that it is not what it ought to be anymore. It is now like an auctioned piece of valuable, only the highest bidder can afford. The ordinary man, no matter how wise or gifted he is in leadership would not dare to show interest in it. Because it has been made expensive too.

Meanwhile, the waters have been so muddied and the path so murky that nothing decent would be permitted to appear on the stage.

Believe it or not, the harbingers of truth, the media, and the press have been cajoled into endorsing and applauding this perfidy.

The media, watchdog of the society, ‘Fourth Estate of the Realm’, has become lethargic, often appearing moronic and absolutely clueless, not knowing what its role in the lounge of this theatre is. Eventually becoming a lapdog! Lapping up every and anything the paymasters spew out!

Truly, no matter how hard the media has tried to justify her connivance in the gargantuan fraud of an opera that is been inflicted on Ghanaians, she could not exonerate herself. Because, Ghanaians are not so credulous, they are knowledgeable enough, and so they know. They know that the media has shirked her responsibility for a pottage of meat. For temporary pleasure and personal gain, the media has become part of the theatre - acting roles, applauding and sometimes reviewing the play with cooked up surveys and public relations gimmicks that are obviously tailored to massage the ego of the dramatists.

Ghanaians are not so irreverent of life, they have for so long held the sanctity of human life with high regard, but the show has so inundated their collective conscience so as to maim its ability to show open disdain for ignominy. And possibly this could be accounting for the public show of the open thirst for human blood that is exhibited in unrestrained callousness and brutality before our very eyes.

Daylight robberies and murders are being witnessed with its concomitant heartlessness. In the face of these plagues, the theatre still goes on undisturbed. The actors are acting with such fervour and excitement as though possessed by the one time famous Tigari shrine. It is difficult to tell what is goading them on.

What could be their inspiration? I mean the actors in this theatre of political jingoism. Probably, their motivation is the greed for popularity and filthy lucre and or the sheer delight of being seen on any part of the stage regardless of what role they are playing either major or minor. Or it is to satisfy their insatiable hunger for power? May be, no one knows.

I could guess that if Karl Marx was alive today in Ghana, he would do one of these two. He would either abandon his ideas and dreams for a socialist world in despair or he would simply gather the masses to resist the pretenders on the stage and upstage the cast to bring the reveling actors’ hypocrisy to an end.

Marx’s historical materialism was rejected in his time, but became very popular during the 70s, especially in Latin America and in parts of Africa. But sadly, it was practiced and followed by half-baked zealots wearing the garb of politicians and revolutionists.

And then there was western democracy which certainly stood at variance with Marxism, but both ideologies were clear as to what they wanted their worlds to look like both ideally and realistically.

Western democracy preached freedom to live and to have as much as you want if you are strong enough to, while Marxism believed in equality for everyone including equal access to resources, where the supremacy of the state reigns.

For western democracy again, the guidelines included an open and fair playing field for all or so it is said, and it comes with a baggage, known simply as capitalism. The unfettered officially and morally authorized greed for profit by all means possible. It comes so often with truncated and vague labour laws that always make the employer the king and the employee the loyal servant, locking the two in a marriage of convenience to the disadvantage of the worker.

It also comes with a judicial system that always lends itself to manipulation by the rich and famous, and mostly treated with suspicion by the ordinary person.

Just take a look at the so called socialists among the cast, they are simply mischievous. They claim allegiance to Marxist ideology but cling so tightly to the fringe cloths of unfettered capitalism and its insatiability for vulgarity, ostentatious living and intellectual skulduggery.

Ghanaians are a very noble and dignified people. But they have been dealt a raw deal. They did not bargain for this kind of tragicomedy, in fact, they have been shortchanged.

I remember one politician in this country referring to his opponents as ‘riff-raffs.’ It was in the heat of some political speech of some sort on a political platform of a kind. He was said to have made the statement in the heat of party political campaign. Of course they all do that and always too. They mount party platforms and say things they couldn’t say even to five-year-olds.

This nice fellow who most probably got drunk with political fresh wine and labeled his opponents was later reported to have apologized and even hoped for a role in the cast. But he never got it.

Others have even called their own colleagues thieves, when they haven’t caught them stealing anything. And when they are reminded that the lines in the script are not clean enough, they plead temporary insanity sometimes from the blinding effects of high anticipation of being in power and ruling the whole country or some part of it like a constituency.

But you see, on this stage where mediocrity is sanctioned and applauded, these actors can say anything and get away with it. Sometimes, it appears Ghanaians like it that way. It appears as though, they really do not care, and ably supported by the media, these actors continue with careless abandon to go on with the show in clear disregard for any rules of etiquette on stage, decorum or even show some restraint for the sake of posterity.

Well, the play goes on, the theatre of political jingoism which premiered long ago and is in top gear is revealing to discerning minds the ludicrous and yet not too hilarious part of some of the actors.

As the show goes on, it is not likely Ghanaians would like to continue watching it, because, it is getting rather boring. It is yielding very little returns for most Ghanaians. They can hardly derive any mirth from the show being put up by an amateurish cast acting in frenzy.

What could have become a beautiful show has been twisted into a scary re-enactment of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, where treachery, blood thirstiness, greed, betrayal and disguised corruption have become the norm.

But hopefully, these theatricals would have to come to an end one day. The curtains would surely come down.

And then the day would come, when Ghanaians would be entertained with the most beautiful and appropriate play that they so much deserve, and with it, the quality of life that the Ghanaian must rightly enjoy.

Ground Floor: Ghana’s myth-breaking Election 2008

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi


Welcome to Ground Floor a new column on ghanabusinesnews.com. This column will discuss every topic under the sun, from the sacred to the most mundane. On the floor, the engagement would be in a no-holds-barred fashion and no subject will be treated with fear or favour.

We are taking off with a look at the recently held Election 2008 in Ghana. The election was the most historic in the country for many reasons, and it was no wonder that it broke some myths.

Ghanaians are very religious. And to quote one of Africa’s famous theologians, the Prof John Mbiti, they are “notoriously religious.” As religious people they believe in myths together with the rest of Africa and even the entire world. Because, in the sense that the elections broke some myths, the entire world was with Ghanaians.

Myth number one: The media is so powerful and can be used to do everything.

Myth number two: The National Democratic Congress (NDC) would never come back to power.

Myth number three: It is not possible for an incumbent party in Africa that has won the first round of an election to lose in a second round.

Myth number one: The media can be used to achieve anything including winning an election.

And that myth is based on a simple myth in Ghana that apart from the fact that the media is powerful, the average Ghanaian, indeed, including even the educated believe everything that comes out of the media, and as a result the Ghanaian politician built an unmatched faith in the power of the media as an influential tool. That notion was unfortunately derived from the knowledge of the Ghanaians’ gullibility – and the average Ghanaian has been gullible for a very, very long time.

Indeed, that the average Ghanaian is docile and to a large extent malleable particularly by powerful people, the Ghanaian is more likely to believe everything “a big man or woman” says in the media. And so, hapless politicians who see themselves as “big men and women” went into overdrive and decided to use or more so as I heard one politician tell someone who works on a radio station, “manipulate” the media to mislead the Ghanaian public.

Some of these politicians, went ahead to set up newspapers, radio and even TV stations with the sole aim of staying in power. And then they began to churn out lies in all ways possible using an acquiescing media much of which they had in their palms anyway. They maligned in some instances the very people they were trying to convince. The intelligence of the average Ghanaian was incessantly abused through unfettered lies, some of which were very outrageous.

Having the unfortunate and unpleasant duty of listening to these demagogues every day, all I often hear is reasoning turned upside down and good old logic yanked off the table and thrown down the Korle Lagoon

They went on and on into the election year. Steeped so deep in their own arrogance and misguided belief that falsehood sells in Ghana, one of the lies they have told so many times that I have lost count of was that the National Health Insurance Scheme was being accessed for free, but that couldn’t be true because Ghanaians pay premium. They lied about their opponents and even about one another when it suited them. And while they were at it, the greedy ones among them waddled in corruption and downright thievery.

Living with the self assured notion that the media would do everything for them the New Patriotic Party (NPP) spent all the time they had talking and talking on one radio station or the other. They seized every chance to show their faces on TV screens, even if it was for the purpose of telling another lie or painting their opponents black.

Their campaign plan hung on the media and come Election Day, they were so sure that it was a done deal. But not so - Ghanaians have become wiser. They proved them wrong and broke the myth that everything one says in the media is gospel truth – they were kicked out of power long before they knew and they are still struggling to come to terms with that reality. And to assuage their pains and shame, they have started attacking and blaming one another for losing the elections.

Myth Number two: The NDC would never some to power.

As a matter of fact, The NDC itself knew it was all over for it. The party has had such a hard time in opposition that it never believed in its own ability to come back to power, but the election must be contested any way, and so it did.

With its limited resources and battered image, the party struggled through the campaign, and to show its desperation it had to plagiarise the campaign slogan of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and went about blatantly claiming it was its own slogan.

Not too sure of winning power, the party bid its time wearily and then as not to be expected it won power. And because the party was not too sure of winning power, it is yet to realize it is the party in power. It appears to be dazed by the reality of being elected back into power after winning with a very slim majority.

Overwhelmed by the reality, the party is already making mistakes in its very infant days in power. Some operatives of the party, refusing to acknowledge the fact that they won power because Ghanaians are law abiding and peaceful, have resorted to arbitrariness and the morbid display of naked power and lawlessness.

I understand some of the party’s operatives have started harassing some Civil Servants over their legitimate jobs. We shall be watching from the Ground Floor.

Myth number three: No incumbent party in Africa would ever hand over power to the opposition after taking the lead in a first round of voting.

Even the international community doubted Ghana’s ability to go through the second round of nail-biting elections. The second round was as tension packed as could be imagined. And then enter – Tain, the decider.

Not many expected a peaceful transition. Investors were reported to have held back their investment. Some businessmen left the country in anticipation of trouble.

I had the privilege of being invited to the New Year party of the World Bank Country Director, Ishac Diwan, at his residence. And during a conversation with a British citizen who works with the Bank, she told me in clear terms that “You Ghanaians did so well. My people would not have accepted this result, winning an election with just 40,000 votes.” She was emphatic that even in Great Britain if the results of Ghana’s elections were had there would be trouble.

I was astounded, but that was the fact. The whole world was expecting Ghana to go the way of Zimbabwe, Kenya and the rest of Africa where elections have become the reason to burn down countries.

Scanning through the media and press in Africa, I read very interesting comments about the elections in Ghana. The Ugandans are making fun of Ghana, saying it is a joke for an incumbent party in Africa to claim the opposition had rigged an election that it organized and supervised, when the NPP suggested that the NDC had rigged the elections.

The Nigerians are at it each other’s throats – some are using Ghana as an example of the best thing to have happened to democracy in Africa and calling on their greedy politicians to learn from Ghana. But there are others, who do not think that Ghana is a good example at all, claiming the elections was not devoid of irregularities.

Whatever anyone thinks, the myth has been broken, Ghana is still in one piece after a cliffhanger run-off elections.

For me the long suffering people of Ghana are the winners. They proved their sophistication and taught the politicians a life’s lesson. They have spoken, they have broken all the myths in the last elections – they decide who should rule them, they cannot put up with power drunk leeches who claim they are offering leadership.

And the NDC would not be treated differently, if they continue in their oblivion; there would always be another election year!