The Anas Video and Corruption at Tema Port in Ghana

Anas, an investigative journalist in Ghana has produced a video which shows massive corruption at Tema Harbor. Among others the video allegedly claim that the corrupt practices has couased the government over $200 million dollars in revenue. In addition, Port officials are engaging in illicit sex with business women in exchange for reduced taxes. In fact this is nothing new, everybody is Ghana knows about the corruption at the Port in Tema. What Anas has done is to provide the incontrovertible evidence that is needed to force politicians and the powers that be to begin to address the issue of institutional corruption at the Tema Harbor and other institutions in the country. 

It is refreshing that the issue of institutional corruption has once again taken the center stage in the public domain. It is only when we discuss these issues and realize how they affect all of us that politicians will compelled into action. However, I am baffled by how some people are trying to justify the rot at the Tema Port. Mr Cudjoe of IMANI, a civil society organization was quoted in the news as saying that “atrocious taxes” are to blame for the rot at the Port. I am particularly troubled by this utterance because it seems to be at variance with the position of Director Cudjoe and IMANI.  I do not see how we can achieve financial self sufficiency and reduce our reliance on foreign aid if we do not take measures to raise revenue locally. 

The efficiency or otherwise of government tax policy is a different issue all together and we can debate the efficacy of these government policies. However, it is very irresponsible to use a legitimate government policy as an excuse to justify corruption and illegality at any institution.  Like most people, I also believe that we need a fundamental review of our import taxes as well as an overhaul of the draconian administrative practices at the Port. But we have to separate this debate from crimes at the Port. Let us condemn the criminal and saboteurs at the port for their illegal actions. 

In any case, the Judiciary and Police Service have consistently ranked high on the list of corrupt institutions in Ghana and yet these two institutions have no ‘atrocious taxes’. The last time I checked, most people are not particularly pleased with paying taxes of any kind no matter how low the tax rate. Should we then argue that taxes causes corruption.

2011 Goodwill Message

This message was part of my Goodwill Message delivered on Obimanso Radio in Atlanta, Georgia on January 1, 2011.

Greetings my fellow Ghanaians, it is a pleasure as well as an honor to have the opportunity to offer this goodwill message on Obimanso Radio. First, As we witness the beginning of a new year, we must all thank God for the peace we have in Ghana and also for keeping us and our families alive and healthy. We pray for all our friends and loved ones who are unwell.  Most importantly, we pray for our unfortunate friends who are in conflict zones. Let us remember our brothers and sisters in Cote d’Ivoire who at this time are going through a transition that will determine their very national survival. Borrowing from the ideas of Dr. Nkrumah, our peace and economic prosperity in Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked to the peace and prosperity of our neighbors and the continent.

2011 promises to be an exciting year for our beloved Nation on many fronts. Our oil production will be in full swing and it will put us in line to receive a full year’s revenue from the oil production. We hope that the public officials who are in charge of managing our oil production and its revenue will see their jobs as a privilege and an act of service for the benefit of the people. Ultimately these public officials will have to know that we the people have put all our trust in them that they will put our interest first in every decision they take.  

2011 will also be exciting for our political development as we prepare to for the general election in 2012. This is yet another opportunity to tell the whole world that we are a mature nation and we can manage our own political system. On the road to the general election, it is certain we will encounter problems and disagreement. Let us express our disagreements and challenges in a civilized way putting the interest of the nation first.  We should always count it us a blessing that we have a system that allows us to freely sell divergent ideas and criticize others on their ideas. Through it all, we should remember that we are one people, we all have dreams and aspirations and we are all fighting for a common destiny. We should therefore be circumspect in the way we deal with our political opponents. 

Obimanso Radio and all the other media houses should recognize the important duty they have to help protect our political institutions and our body politic and you all should discharge this duty to the best of your abilities. Obimanso and other Media houses must not forget that although they have the rights to disseminate information, such rights also come with great responsibilities.

Finally, although we still have a long way to go as a nation, let us take time to count our blessings and pat ourselves on the back for the progress we have made as a nation so far. As we begin the year we should remember that as citizens we have a responsibility individually and collectively for the wellbeing of our country. There is nobody called government, let us therefore contribute to the economic, social, political and cultural development of our beloved nation. It may be just simple acts of kindness like being polite on radio, paying our taxes voluntarily, buying two exercise books for your local deprived school or volunteering at an orphanage for a couple of hours.

Happy New year my brothers and sisters. May you all live to see 2012. Thank you

Holiday Hampers

It seems like influence peddling in Ghana is now being commercialized, especially during the holiday season, with the commercialization of Hampers.  No doubt Christmas is a time of giving. However in my humble opinion ‘giving’ should be strictly restricted to the private sector and within families. Although highly improper, giving gifts to public officials in Ghana has excited since the beginning of our system of public administration. We know very well that such acts have the potential of compromising our public officials and reform program after program have sought to fight the canker but nothing seems to be working. On the contrary the practice keeps on increasing. In fact the practice has been commercialized with the proliferation of companies that specializes in providing gift baskets (Hampers). I am reliably informed that one such company has worn a contract to provide 2000 Hampers for a Construction company that intends to offer the Hampers as gifts to various people including public officials. These Hampers are obviously meant to influence the public officials who will receive them. The content alone should make that obvious. The Hampers are filled with expensive items, most of which are imported. In fact some of the entrepreneurs who make Holiday Hampers travel all the way to China, Europe and the Americas to buy the goods that will make the Hamper.

No matter what you think public officials should not be receiving gift of any kind from the general public. Public officials must be impersonal in the discharge of their duties and they must at all times strive to ensure utmost fairness. It is the only way we can ensure a fair and smooth running public bureaucracy.  Public officials work with the Public Trust. We as a people have ceded a little of our rights (power) and entrusted that in the hands of public officials. We trust that they will use the power we have given them (to award contracts, be police men, judges, government officials) exclusively for the benefit of the people (society). Public agencies need this trust to ensure a smooth operation of our public sector. Any erosion of the public trust spells doom for the public agencies and society as a whole. The reason most people employ land guards, refuse to pay their taxes and pay bribe for every conceivable service is because they do not trust that the public officials in whose hands we have placed our trust will do the right thing when given the opportunity. Such erosion of public trust affect the strength of our institutions, breeds inefficiency and eventually weakens the very basis of our society. Any act that gives the perception of influence peddling in the public service should be discouraged. Consider this scenario, would you be happy if you saw your opponent in a law suit giving the judge a Hamper? Of course any assurances from the judge that the Hamper will not influence his judgment will be totally unacceptable to you. In the same vain you will likely find it unacceptable if a competitor offered the public official who is in charge of awarding contract a Hamper. It is for this reason that Hampers and all types of gifts should have no place in the public sector.

As far as I am concerned, it was a welcome sign that the president refused to take Hampers from anyone last Christmas. I hope he is going to do the same this year. The president understands that the people who give Hampers never give it for free. Either they want some favors from you right now or they will come back later to ask for a favor. Ask any honest public official and he will tell you that the Hampers and gifts stop flowing as soon as they are no longer in a position of influence. However, it is not enough that the president has refused to accept Hampers. If he understands the negative effect that Hampers have on our public institutions then as the father of the nation, the one who set the agenda, he should master the political courage to move for a legislation that will specifically ban Hampers and gifts from the public sector.

NHIS In Ghana - 2

It was very interesting to read that the Minister of Health has admitted that the onetime premium policy for the NHIS is not viable. In fact the report claimed that the NHIS scheme will go bankrupt by 2013 if some additional funds are not found to keep it alive.http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=198000 I feel vindicated all over again. I have been talking about the impossibility of the onetime premium payment since it was announced and I have written about it on this blog. I applaud the Health Minister for having the courage to admit the obvious. It may cost him his position eventually, but at least he would have satisfied his conscience that he did the right thing by speaking the truth and defending the constitution instead of toeing the party line.  It is important that we stand by the Minister instead of vilifying him to embolden others like him to speak up. There are many people in places of power who know very well that they are on the wrong side of the issues they so doggedly defend every day. Yet they continue to do so just for their personal convenience.

As our elders say, “he who makes the path does not know that it is crooked”. Sometimes it takes others to point out your mistakes and advice on what path leads to the ‘light’. That is what all the men who surround the president and his top policy guys are supposed to do. Unfortunately these men turn out to be the worst enemies of the president.  Their preoccupation is their stomach. The many silly policies which have littered Africa since the dawn of independence are testimonies to the irrelevance of these men who surround African leaders. They nod ‘yes sir’ even when they know very well that what they are supporting is very wrong.

One of my favorite authors Kenneth Ashworth pointed out that, “Sycophancy is like elephantiasis. The longer it goes untreated the more stolid and immobile it makes you”. The NHIS scheme is too important to play politics with it. The men who surround the president should please speak up if they want the good of the president and the party, for the party that preside over the death of the NHIS will pay dearly in many elections to come. History will also judge harshly the president under whose watch the beginning of the end of the NHIS started. For proponent of the onetime payment policy, it is alright to admit for once that they were wrong. I don’t even know why African Politicians find it so difficult to admit when they are wrong. Yes, the opposition may capitalize on such admission and maybe eventually win power. But what most politicians fail to realize is that truth is the most mind altering drug, not some cocaine or weed. Once people know the truth, it changes their minds and their thinking forever.

Please, let us boldly go out there and with solid reasons explain to the people that the onetime payment plan is not going to work. Once the people understand the stakes, they will have the clarity of thought to make the tough decisions.