THE MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE IN GHANA

 

THE MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE IN GHANA

There is an evil I have seen under the sun, as an error proceeding from the ruler…I have seen servants on horses, while princes walk on the ground like servants-Ecclesiastes 10: 5,7 

Sovereignty as a concept denotes supreme power or authority.[1] A sovereign is a person who exercises power without limitation.[2] God, for instance, is the supreme sovereign because of His authority and control over all things in heaven and on earth. He has nonetheless given the dominion mandate of this earth to humankind.[3] The people of this earth are indeed very powerful and ought to recognize the power they wield. This paper seeks to expose ordinary Ghanaians to the great power God has given to them over the nation Ghana.

The sovereignty of Ghana resides in the people of Ghana.[4] Consequently, the 1992 Constitution requires that powers of government be exercised judiciously and in a manner that promotes the welfare of Ghanaians.[5] This means that the only powers that have been given to the government under the Constitution are the ones that further public interest and welfare.  Although the President, Vice-President, the Speaker of Parliament and the Chief Justice take precedence over all other persons in Ghana,[6] it is argued that the foregoing ranking of leadership according to the 1992 Constitution of Ghana does not mean that any of the stated offices or leaders are more important or powerful than the ordinary Ghanaian citizen. The stated leaders are agents of the people who voted them into power. They have been given the political mandate to represent the interests of Ghanaians, not their personal interests nor that of their political affiliations.

Over the years, there has been a growing perception that Ghanaians are only powerful during an election-year because they have the authority to elect, retain or unseat governments. The sovereignty of Ghanaians, however, does not solely begin and end with voting. Voting is much more than a means through which citizens elect their representatives in a democratic society. It is also analogous to a principal-agent relationship. A principal-agent relationship is a fiduciary relationship by which an entity legally appoints another to act on its behalf.[7] This relationship is based on the understanding that the agent will follow the principal’s instructions and not take personal advantage of the position he has been given to the detriment of the principal’s interests. Besides, an agent’s actions are binding on the principal. Consequently, when the Ghanaian electorate vote a particular political party into office, they become equally responsible for the actions and inactions of the government and elected officials since these leaders now act as their agents. This explains why we should not vote for the sake of voting; we must vote based on a reasoned decision and trust. Why should you vote for a person you do not trust? Remember whoever you vote for is a reflection of how you think, and you are what you think.[8] It is only the unwise who employs a dishonest manager over his business and expects that business to flourish.

A servant is not greater than his master. It is ironic that some Ghanaian leaders who are agents of Ghanaians seem to be more powerful than those who elected them into office. This unfortunate phenomenon is partly due to the wealth or privileges some so-called political leaders tend to ‘amass’ or enjoy during their tenure. In 2016, the approved monthly salaries for a Member of Parliament, the Speaker of Parliament and President of the Republic were GH¢19,430, GH¢24,287 and GH¢30,359 respectively.[9] Interestingly, the least paid public sector worker on the Single Spine earned a monthly salary of GH¢207.90 that same year.[10] This translates into only one percent of what that worker’s agent, a Member of Parliament, received. The recommendations of the Ewurama Addy Committee on the topical issue of ex-gratia were rejected in 2016. This implies that qualified Article 71 office holders such as the President, Vice-President, Speaker of Parliament and Members of Parliament take home four-month salary for each of the years that they have been in office as ex-gratia[11] despite other privileges these leaders enjoy. Although the welfare of our leaders should be given the needed attention and priority, it is unjust to do so without paying reasonable attention to the welfare of the very people who appointed such leaders. The recent deployment of about 800 police personnel to protect Members of Parliament at home, when the constituents  they are representing do not enjoy such a privilege, has generated a lot of public interest[12] and outcry because most ordinary Ghanaians feel their welfare are neglected.

Notwithstanding the numerous benefits our national leaders enjoy, the fact remains that the most powerful people in Ghana are Ghanaians; not their elected representatives necessarily. Ghanaians should gain cognizance of their sovereignty as a people and not allow themselves to be easily swayed by numerous campaign promises because the hard truth is that we are responsible for the decisions and actions of the people we elect into office. We must also demand accountability from our leaders while serving in public offices, not only during elections. Our elected representatives must never forget that they are elected into office to serve the interest of the Ghanaian populace, not their personal or political interests.

 

Richard Obeng Mensah, author of If You Think of Your Opposition You Lose Your Position .The writer is an award-winning author of 7 books and over 250 articles.  He is also a certified life and leadership coach, a lawyer, a legal academic and a blogger.  Blog: www.richard-obeng-mensah.blogspot.com  Email: richardobengmensah@gmail.com © 12 November 2020.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[1] Cornell Law School ‘Sovereignty’ https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/sovereignty> accessed 8 November 2020

[2] Ibid

[3] Genesis 1:26-28;  Psalm 24:1; 115:16

[4] 1992 Constitution (Ghana) Art 1(1)

[5] Ibid

[6] Ibid Art 57(2).

[7] James Chen ‘Principal-Agent Relationship’ (2020) < https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/principal-agent-relationship.asp> accessed 8 November 2020

[8] Proverbs 23:7

[9] Kojo Akoto Boateng ‘Full details of huge pay, ex-gratia for MPs, others’ (2017) https://www.google.com/amp/citifmonline.com/2017/01/full-details-of-huge-pay-ex-gratia-for-mps-others/amp/ accessed 8 November 2020

[10] Ibid

[11] Ibid

[12] Nana Konadu Agyeman ‘800 Police personnel to protect MPs at home-Interior Minister’ (2020) https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/800-police-personnel-to-protect-mps-at-home-interior-minister.html accessed 8 November 3030

ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT AND CORRUPTION IN GHANA

 

ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT AND CORRUPTION IN GHANA

 

Without strong watchdog institutions, impunity becomes the very foundation upon which systems of corruption are built. And if impunity is not demolished, all efforts to bring an end to corruption are in vain — Rigoberta Menchú, Nobel Prize laureate.

 

Economic management and corruption are key determinants of the development of countries around the world.  The developed countries are highly advanced because of the effective management of their economies and corruption-related issues. Developing countries on the other hand, continue to grapple with economic management and corruption.

Economic management is the management of the resources, finances, income and expenditure of a community, business enterprise and so forth.[1] In the case of Ghana, the issue of economic management has been a very crucial one in the country’s political space and one of the major determinants of the outcome of the 2016 elections. The New Patriotic Party (NPP) which was the major opposition party at the time criticised the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the mismanagement of the country’s economy which in their view had brought untold hardship to many people in Ghana. The NDC was also constantly criticised for excessive borrowing.

In recent times, the Standard and Poor Global Rating has put Ghana’s credit rating to B which implies the country’s economic outlook is stable.[2] This appears to be good news for the Ghana’s economy. However, during the reading of the 2020 midyear budget review, the Finance Minister revealed to Parliament that Ghana’s public debt stock had hit about GH¢255,727.1 million (US$ 45,486.1 million) by the end of June 2020.[3] The figure jumped to GH¢263.1 billion in July 2020, representing about 68.3 percent of the country’s GDP.[4] In October 2020, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast a worrying 76.7% of debt-to-GDP ratio for Ghana in 2020. This put Ghana in the high risk of debt distress category.[5] The foregoing implies that the ruling NPP government has also not fared too well with the management of the economy since the country is now in more debt than it was four years ago. The government has however defended its actions, citing the banking crisis and Covid-19 as some of the reasons that necessitated its action to borrow more. It is worth noting, however, that Ghana’s total public debt stock was GH¢204.6 billion as at January 2020.[6] Both the World Bank and IMF had prior to Covid-19 expressed worry about the country’s rising debt levels, which poses challenges to its fiscal economy.[7]

The World Bank defines corruption as the abuse of public office for private gain. [8] Public office is abused for private gains when an official accepts, solicits, or extorts a bribe.  It is also abused when private agents actively offer bribes to circumvent public policies and process for competitive advantage and profit. Corruption is endemic in developing countries and this has stifled development in many parts of the world. One of the major setbacks of development in Africa is largely attributed to the lack of political will of governments and leaders to curb this canker. Ghana’s economy has suffered a great deal because of certain acts of corruption by ruling governments. In August 2019, Ghana Integrity Initiative revealed that the country loses close to US$3 billion to corruption annually.[9] The issue of corruption is constantly included in the manifestos of political parties during election campaigns. However, little is done to combat corruption when these parties are eventually elected into office.

Ghana’s current position on the corruption perception index released by Transparency International in January 2020 is 41 out of 100, a sharp decline from 47 in 2015.[10] Ghana recorded its worst performance with an average score of 40 out of 100. The figure rose marginally to 41 in 2018 and maintained that figure in 2019.[11] This implies that Ghana is failing woefully in the combat of corruption. It is exigent that all citizens remain committed to fighting corruption in all its forms in their various dealings and places of work. Political parties must also have the political will to battle corruption when they are in power and not just talk about it only when they are in opposition. Ghana needs strong and robust institutions as well as people with integrity to fight corruption to enhance an effective management of the economy.

Economic management and corruption are issues which countries, especially developing countries such as Ghana, need to deal with decisively. It serves a country no purpose to have good managers of its economy who are also corrupt. Leaders must not amass wealth to enrich themselves and their families to the detriment of the ordinary Ghanaian and future generations. It is submitted that the lives of many Ghanaians would be greatly transformed if the US$3 billion, which is lost through corruption annually, is injected into the economy to promote national development. The reduction of corruption would also go a long way to reduce the habit of constant borrowing from the IMF, World Bank and other institutions. Tackling the issue of corruption head on is one of the best ways any government can manage Ghana’s economy. One of the effective ways to do this is to build strong national institutions and nip impunity in the bud. No more lip services towards the fight against corruption in Ghana. Let us walk the talk!

 

 

Richard Obeng Mensah, author of If You Think of Your Opposition You Lose Your Position .The writer is an award-winning author of 7 books and over 250 articles.  He is also a certified life and leadership coach, a lawyer, a legal academic and a blogger.  Blog: www.richard-obeng-mensah.blogspot.com   Email: richardobengmensah@gmail.com © 3 November 2020.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[1] ‘Economic management’ <https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/economic-management/> accessed October 30, 2020

[2] ‘S&P Global Rating lowers Ghana’s Long-term Rating to B- with a Stable Outlook (2020) Ministry of Finance

<https://mofep.gov.gh/press-release/2020-09-14/global-ratings-lowers-ghanas-long-term-rating-to-b-with-a-stable-outlook/> Accessed October 30, 2020

[3] ‘Ghana’s public debt stock now GHS 255 bn-Ofori-Atta’ (2020) GhanaW263bn in July 2020 >https://mobile.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/business/Ghana-s-public-debt-stock-now-GH-255bn-Ofori-Atta-1014967< Accessed 2 November 2020

[4] Charles Nixon Yeboah, ‘Ghana’s debt jumped 1.66% to hit GH¢263bn in July 2020’ <https://www.myjoyonline.com/business/ghanas-debt-jumped-1-66-hit-ghs263bn-in-july-2020> Accessed 3 November 2020.

[5] Charles Nixon Yeboah, ‘Ghana’s debt-to-GDP ratio to hit 76.7% in 2020-IMF’ <https://www.myjoyonline.com/business/ghanas-debt-to-gdp-ratio-to-hit-76-7-in-2020-imf/> Accessed 3 November 2020.

[6] Charles Nixon Yeboah (n 4).

[7] Ibid

[8]‘Corruption and Economic Development’ The World Bank Group

 <http://www1.worldbank.org/publicsector/anticorrupt/corruptn/cor02.htm> accessed October 30, 2020

[9]  Zdravko Ljubas, ‘Ghana loses US$3 Billion to corruption a year’ (2019)

 <https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/10498-ghana-loses-us-3-billion-to-corruption-a-year/> accessed October 30, 2020

[10] ‘Ghana Maintains score on Corruption Perception Index’ (2020) ARAP

< http://www.arapghana.eu/news/ghana-maintains-score-on-corruption-perception-index/> accessed October 30, 2020

[11] Ibid