GHANA

At one year old the government of President Atta Mills has perfected the art of making promises but delivering very little. Veteran African journalist Cameron Duodu urges the Ghanaian leader to turn around his government while there is still time.

Well, he said so himself. As President Mills admitted in his first full year's State of the Nation Address on February 25 2010, Ghanaians are suffering. And they are complaining daily. Not for them the "suffering and smiling" reaction so eloquently depicted by Fela Anikulapo Kuti in one of his records.

Even those of us removed from the daily woes of the place, are not spared. As I write, I am preoccupied with two expenses from which I cannot escape -- how to help a young friend of mine to pay his University fees in Ghana, and how to assist my uncle -- who called me himself, unusually, by telephone from his village -- to bury his dead sister. Oh, I forgot -- another friend wants me to help pay an inescapable rent advance. Indeed, you hardly ever hear any good news from 'on-the-ground' in Ghana, if you are a 'Diasporan' like yours truly.

But how did President Mills answer his own question about the lack of liquidity in the country? I am afraid he gave an answer that waffled into the realms of macroeconomics and which will hardly placate those who are thinking of expenditures that must be faced immediately: "I understand just how our people feel," Mills said. And then he went on to claim: "But here too, real change is happening!"

Change? Where is it?

"We took over a run-down economy, characterised by unbridled spending and far too much sole-sourcing that did not offer value for money. But in the face of mountainous challenges, we can now offer Good News and Hope!"

Good news? Hope? Did he say 'hope'? Well, my young University friend - just 21 years old -- is convinced that there will never be any change in Ghana, so long as we have the type of politicians thrown up by the Kufuor and Mills administrations.

And really, one can't blame him: if you listen to the platitudes uttered by Mills, you will understand the frustration felt by the young people: "I am glad to say that we quickly halted the rapid depreciation of the Cedi... Today, we have a stable currency as well as other indicators pointing to healthy economic conditions for real take-off into sustained growth." Beautiful words -- as if taken straight out of a World Bank advice manual.

Indeed, I can hear those who listened to the speech groan: "A stable currency, Mr. President? Great. But where are the jobs brought by that? Where are the houses that will keep rents down? Where are the investments in farms and public transport that will bring the prices of food down?"

True, it can't all be done in one year. But at least Mills could indicate that his government was focussing on the essentials right now. Instead of which he rather descended into the 'always someone else's fault' mode, of which Ghanaian politicians are so enamoured. "Kufuor's administration left Ghana a rundown economy." But Kufuor is gone. What are you doing about it, President Mills?

Almost everything Mills said in his speech related to the future (he even went so far as to invoke what he hopes Ghana's national football team, the Black Stars, will achieve in the World Cup in June 2010: "I am confident they will reach for the stars at the World Cup tournament in South Africa in June 2010," he said.

But he said nothing about what the Black Stars are worrying about today -- namely, whether, as threatened by Ghana's mean-minded tax authorities, the $20,000 awarded to each of them for their performance in the Confederation of African Nations Cup tournament in Angola in January 2010 (they reached finals) will be taxed. A President really anxious to inspire the Black Stars by showing them a sense of appreciation, should have said, "Those awards are ex-gratia grants and must not be taxed."

President Mills: high marks for promises, low grades for delivery

Regarding the future, though, President Mills was not at all modest in his elaboration of plans, plans and yet more plans:

"We will invest in human resource development, in key infrastructure, in the development of the oil and gas sectors, and above all, in the modernisation of agriculture and related processing activities," he said. Ghana was "poised to become a major producer of oil and gas," and the energy ministry, in collaboration with the ministry of transport, would "fast-track investments in the necessary infrastructure, including a deep sea port with a dedicated oil services facility, and the rehabilitation of the western railway corridor," the President promised.

Now --- great interest has been aroused by the construction of this 'deep sea port; Where will it be? No indication of that. Which is strange, for given the importance that the production of petroleum will occupy in the nation's life, one would have thought that all the ancillary projects, such as the mooted deep sea port -- would have by now jumped off the drawing board -- at the very least, as regards the site where the port will be located.

The president next outlined "flagship investments" which would not only "create significant employment themselves, but would also support the growth of other industries." He added: "What is more, the development of the Gas sector will allow the development of higher efficiency gas turbines - which in turn, will ensure a dependable electricity supply at internationally competitive tariffs."

The Ghanaian president expatiated further on his government's plans for the oil and gas industry, in the following terms: "My vision" (he explained), "is to use the oil and gas discovery to transform the Ghanaian economy from its over-dependence on primary raw materials to a diversified, prosperous 21st century industrial nation. During that transformation - between now and 2016 - we will have established a solid foundation for accelerated job creation. Ghanaians will have better incomes and a much higher standard of living; and we will be well on our way to 'middle-income' status."

President Mills also referred back to November 2009, when his Government announced that it would "facilitate the development of a reliable, cost-effective and world-class communications infrastructure." But he made no mention of the controversies dogging the telecommunications industry at the moment -- especially, the controversy aroused by the sale of Ghana Telcom to Vodafone by the Kufuor regime, or the proposal to impose new taxes on cell phone operations, especially, on international calls.

The president also said: "We will fast-track the development of a road transport network that will meet the economic, social and environmental needs of Ghana in the years ahead." I am sorry but that sentence could have been plucked out of any number of budgets and economic reviews made by previous governments. Yet every day, we hear about terrible accidents on the roads.

In fact, in July-August 2009, when I visited Ghana, I was so nauseated by the state in which I found part of the most important road in Ghana -- that between Accra and Kumasi -- that I was psychologically paralysed for several months afterwards. I simply could not comprehend how my fellow countrymen would sit down and watch the most important road in our country fall to pieces that way. That nonsensical situation on the road became for me, an eloquent metaphor for the malaise afflicting Ghana. I am yet to be able to shake it off fully.

President Mills acknowledged that "for most Ghanaians, simply getting enough good quality food is both the highest priority and the highest cost item."

It is a terrible thing to be endowed with a long memory. For what President Mills said about food production, took me back to the objectives of the "Workers Brigade" and the "United Farmers Council set up the Kwame Nkrumah regime (50 long years ago!), as well as the "Operation Feed Yourself" of the Acheampong regime (38 years ago) and other agricultural production initiatives too many to remember.

The best comment I've heard about the Mills State of the Nation address was made by Mrs. Catherine Afeku Ambelema, Member of Parliament for Evalue Gyira. She told the Ghana New Agency that the address was "full of recycled and failed promises." Brilliant!

What about the fears Ghanaians harbour that the new government of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) would revert to the totalitarian tendencies that dogs its past, since it evolved from the military Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) formed by ex-President Jerry Rawlings after his second advent to power on December 31 1981?

The answer is that human rights and freedom of speech have largely been preserved. But the NDC political machine is still so replete with officials weaned on militarism that every now and then, the president is embarrassed to hear of breaches of the freedom of the individual at the hands of some of his officials. The most recent example is the case of a 27-year-old activist of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) who went on an FM station and alleged that the fire that gutted the residence of ex-President Rawlings on February 14 2010 was caused by Rawlings himself!

The radio station was besieged by Rawlings supporters, who came with policemen to arrest the NPP man. He was taken to court almost immediately on a charge under a colonial law that has remained on Ghana's antiquated statute book. Surprise, surprise, the judicial officer, a Mr. Wilson, instead of upholding the constitution's provisions on freedom of speech, remanded the alleged offender in custody for two weeks! The offence itself was punishable by a fine and the action of Mr. Wilson in putting him on remand, scandalised the nation. This caused the Chief Justice, Mrs. Georgina Woode, to intervene and refer the matter to a higher court, which released the offender on bail.

This follows several incidents that occurred at the beginning of the Mills presidency, when some cars were arbitrarily seized on suspicion that they had been unlawfully retained by members of the outgoing administration. So many Ghanaians have been shaking their heads ruefully, in remembrance of "things past", done under the aegis of the PNDC. They then exclaim: "There is always blood in the head of the tsetse fly."

Therefore, it is clear that unless President Mills takes a firm grip of the security machinery of the country, such incidents will recur and embarrass him. He was, after all, a law professor before becoming president and therefore every action of his regime must be soundly based on the rule of law.