Ever since our dear nation, Ghana, adopted the democratic culture of changing political leaders by the ballot box, the first year of a succeeding government has been characterised by turmoil. Teeth-gritting, muscle-flexing officials of government-in-power, walking with a swagger, have pursued former government officials like predators hunting for a prey in a lair.
It is not known when, and if ever, it will cease. One analyst is certain that life will return to normal only if a Convention People’s Party (CPP) government comes in-between. By implication, the analyst is saying that all the post-election hullabaloo is a direct result of the enmity (it goes beyond rivalry) between the two major parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) which, to a large extent, is true.
The question to ask is whether all the invitations to BNI, the setting up of committees and commissions of enquiry, among other measures, are necessary. We can say that the probes are important. Indeed, for many observers, they are critically needed. It may sound hard to believe, but there are people in this country who pray that the direct NDC-NPP succession should continue for another 12 years.
For them, the transitional probes are the only means of stopping the abuse of office, manifesting in impunity and corruption, nepotism and patronage. Their argument is that if this cycle of probes becomes a culture, every politician who gets into office will have at the back of the mind that he or she could suffer public humiliation.
For good or ill, the revelations that emerge from the successive probes and BNI interrogations are helping the ordinary man to unmask the real public enemies. Soon, only aspiring MPs who contest in the safe seats of the so-called “world banks” can be guaranteed a win. Even in these safe seats, the primaries become the leveler, we dare say.
The Times shares in these sentiments. However, we also bear in mind that the same process of ensuring probity and accountability could be guaranteed in an equally effective manner without the avoidable excesses which have characterized the transition periods between governments of the two parties.
It is against this backdrop that we call for efforts to ensure that the IEA proposal to institutionalize the transition process becomes law. It is very important that the transition process be taken out of the hands of political parties because as Ghanaians have witnessed, it could be abused.
For us, on the Ghanaian Times, the bottom line is that greedy, selfish, power-hungry politicians are made to know that the era of impunity and “chop-chop” is over. The important expectation is that the ordinary man in the street should not lose hope in the democratic process. Although we prefer democracy in danger to military dictatorship in tranquility, we also believe that it is possible for this nation to have both democracy and peace.
It is not known when, and if ever, it will cease. One analyst is certain that life will return to normal only if a Convention People’s Party (CPP) government comes in-between. By implication, the analyst is saying that all the post-election hullabaloo is a direct result of the enmity (it goes beyond rivalry) between the two major parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) which, to a large extent, is true.
The question to ask is whether all the invitations to BNI, the setting up of committees and commissions of enquiry, among other measures, are necessary. We can say that the probes are important. Indeed, for many observers, they are critically needed. It may sound hard to believe, but there are people in this country who pray that the direct NDC-NPP succession should continue for another 12 years.
For them, the transitional probes are the only means of stopping the abuse of office, manifesting in impunity and corruption, nepotism and patronage. Their argument is that if this cycle of probes becomes a culture, every politician who gets into office will have at the back of the mind that he or she could suffer public humiliation.
For good or ill, the revelations that emerge from the successive probes and BNI interrogations are helping the ordinary man to unmask the real public enemies. Soon, only aspiring MPs who contest in the safe seats of the so-called “world banks” can be guaranteed a win. Even in these safe seats, the primaries become the leveler, we dare say.
The Times shares in these sentiments. However, we also bear in mind that the same process of ensuring probity and accountability could be guaranteed in an equally effective manner without the avoidable excesses which have characterized the transition periods between governments of the two parties.
It is against this backdrop that we call for efforts to ensure that the IEA proposal to institutionalize the transition process becomes law. It is very important that the transition process be taken out of the hands of political parties because as Ghanaians have witnessed, it could be abused.
For us, on the Ghanaian Times, the bottom line is that greedy, selfish, power-hungry politicians are made to know that the era of impunity and “chop-chop” is over. The important expectation is that the ordinary man in the street should not lose hope in the democratic process. Although we prefer democracy in danger to military dictatorship in tranquility, we also believe that it is possible for this nation to have both democracy and peace.
