Will Ghanaians Ever Be Angry? Critical News, 4th December 2016

Sydney Casely-Hayford, thenewghanaian@gmail.com and Iddi Muhayu-Deen

This NDC government stole our money, as much as GHc51.2 million for one Alfred Woyome, whom they describe as their party financier, for absolutely no work done. This didn’t make Ghanaians angry

When they were caught pants down, they told us that the guy (Woyome) actually defrauded them. How can one man singularly defraud the entire government machinery including the Presidency, Bank of Ghana, Public Procurement Authority and the Ministry of Finance? This didn’t make Ghanaians angry

They also SACKED the only man in their government, the Attorney General at the time (Martin Hamidu) who vowed to help us retrieve our stolen money. This didn’t make us angry

Public outrage compelled them to go to court to try and retrieve our money. They deliberately presented a poor case so that they would lose the case. The judge at sometime became so angry that the govt wasn’t serious in prosecuting the case and he proceeded to fine them. As expected, they eventually lost the case at their own behest. This didn’t make Ghanaians angry

Alienating Your North. Critical News, 27th November 2016

Sydney Casely-Hayford, thenewghanaian@gmail.com and Iddi Muhayu-Deen

The northern region comes with its own challenges and joblessness. In-fighting and “skin” wars are not in the realm of modern politics and at the risk of breeding an “African Trump” it is important that we do not “drain the Paga” crocodile waters”.

As a true son of the north, I write this letter in grief and with heavy heart having followed your style of campaign in the north, which is dominated by religious and tribal bigotry. Interestingly, when you campaign in the southern part of the country, you talk about infrastructure (real or phantom). However, when you come up-north, your campaign message CHANGES from one of issues to TRIBALISM and SECTIONALISM. We, northerners feel highly insulted and outraged by such repugnant conduct. What do you take us for? Some zombies? We don’t deserve an issue-based campaign? Come on! Mr. President… Give us some credit.

We know your record in the north is NOTHING to talk about. Perhaps this explains why when you come to the north, you don’t talk about issues but rather TRIBALISM in order to take undue advantage of unsuspecting northern electorate.

For instance, on education infrastructure, you claim you are constructing 123 Day SHS across the country. Assuming without admitting that this wild claim is true, tell us how many of these schools can be found in the north of the country. As we speak, you have completed only ONE school in the entire 3 northern regions. Meanwhile, these are the regions that are lagging behind in development across all levels. And yet, you claim you have commissioned more than 16 of these schools in the country. With this clear DISCONNECT, how can you convince any sane northerner that you are committed to northern development? Such contradiction!

On His Way Out. Critical News, 20th November 2016

Sydney Casely-Hayford, thenewghanaian@gmail.com and Iddi Muhayu-Deen

President John Mahama describes as an ABSURD NONSENSE claims by his political opponents that the Electoral Commission is scheming to rig the upcoming elections for him. He threw these blistering jabs last Thursday whilst addressing a rally at Funsi in the Wa Constituency of the Upper West Region.

President John Mahama describes as BALONEY [SILLY TALK] proposals by some 80% of Ghanaians that government should not use our oil as COLLATERAL for loans. He made this comment after the committee that was tasked to collate the views of Ghanaians nationwide regarding how to use the proceeds of our oil find, presented their Report to the government.

President John Mahama describes as USELESS controversy that was generated among the Ghanaian public in respect of where Late President Mills was going to be buried at the time of his passing. Meanwhile, this same controversy was started by him and his communicators, following their contradictory positions regarding the final resting place of the Late Prof.

Toaso Violently . Critical News, 13th December 2016

Sydney Casely-Hayford, thenewghanaian@gmail.com

I admit I have lived my whole life with very little violence. When I listen and see the devastation in Aleppo, Syria, Afghanistan, Mosul, Burundi, Somalia and Northern Nigeria, I thank my stars that I am far removed from these countries and I don’t look forward to any of the Boko Harams, Al Shababs and Al Qaedas coming anywhere near close to my shoreline.

Increasingly I wonder whether religion has not become a platform for violence and whether politicians using religion as a means of promoting a certain brand of occupation are not the bane of our society and we should take a little more time and examine the way we worship and practice democracy in Ghana.

The answer is certainly not a dictatorship as we have lessons from JJ Rawlings and his team of violent men, as well as the CPP/NLM fights of yore, which became a flat plain for leveling off all arguments for which is a better unit of people.

A Thorny Democracy . Critical News, 6th December 2016

Sydney Casely-Hayford, thenewghanaian@gmail.com

I haven’t had a chance to eavesdrop on conversations between strangers for a long time. It’s a favorite pastime, to sit on the adjacent table and actively listen to the arguments and illogic of lovers. Especially lovers, because you don’t have the history of the relationship; and you are always two steps behind understanding the purpose of the actions from both sides.

So this Saturday afternoon; matter!

I have wound up from Citifm’s “The Big Issue”, where host Umaru Sanda had stopped me from making my crowning statement on the position taken by EC Chair Charlotte Osei.

I was heading for a classic that John Mahama has kitted his Ford Expedition “gift” car, not with Akonfem in it, but with a machine gun, discovery given to us by CHRAJ in explanation for thwarting the impeachment of President Mahama, when the NPP had tried, albeit lamely, to saddle the President with a corruption charge.

Knowing now that the President has a car that has machine gun power, me being me, am now wondering how many other cars in the pool or even exclusively does the Presidential fleet have, kitted out with various types of weapons and grenades. And why would he want to do that anyway?

The Productivity Conundrum. Critical News, 30th October 2016

Sydney Casely-Hayford, thenewghanaian@gmail.com

It’s a political season, so we’re hearing a lot of the usual crap about the economy. Should we raise taxes or lower them? Negotiate trade agreements or abandon them? These are important questions, but they are not the central economic issue that we face today. Productivity is.

Many people keep asking me to state clearly what I think of the future of the economy of Ghana in combination with our politics, and at the expense of losing some readers, I put together some thoughts on the whys and the which way if we are to tread a new path.

If you ever read Dr Frimpong-Ansah’s (at one time Governor of the Bank of Ghana) book on the political economy of Ghana you will realize that he solution to our problems have never been very far from our doorstep. If Ivory Coast can show such dramatic success in a few short years, we have no excuse except poor and bad leadership. Ghana has been cursed with directionless leaders for too long.

We saw some productivity growth in the early independence days, and between 2000 and 2008 but it sputtered since then. What’s more, the prediction is that the productivity picture will get even worse in the decades to come, making it even harder to raise living standards.

Dipolitics.Critical News, 16th October 2016

Sydney Casely-Hayford, thenewghanaian@gmail.com

The Krobo mark the passage of girls into womanhood by performing a series of rituals known as Dipo. Dipo rites have been practiced since the eleventh century, and their popularity has not waned despite modern intrusions into traditional Ghanaian culture. At the beginning of the Dipo ceremony, each initiate enters a ritual house, sheds her clothing, symbolic of childhood, and is dressed anew by her ritual mother.

And now the NDC government has really taken matters too far in their quest to remain relevant in Ghana politics. There is a video clip doing the rounds on social media with a young female naked in the tradition of a Dipo girl, dancing in front of a crowd in the month of October. Dipo is usually an April event and is not a solitary event showcasing a single female.

What makes this event so sour is the splash of NDC colours and paraphernalia as well as all the hangers around the young lady, displaying the party colours in the form of scarves, T shirts and any other attire they can find.

The question I asked myself? Where will this take the party and how many votes do they think will drift to the NDC party from this attempt to appeal to the voting public of Krobo culture and such an historical rite de passage?

My Buhari Moment. Critical News, 2nd October 2016

Sydney Casely-Hayford, thenewghanaian@gmail.com

President Muhammadu Buhari called on Nigerians to give thanks to God and pray for the founding fathers as Nigeria celebrated her 56th Independence day anniversary. In his address to the nation in the morning, Buhari said today is a day of celebration for Nigeria as she achieved the most important of all human desires, freedom and independence, 56 years ago.

I am so blown away with the forthrightness and admission of problems yet to be resolved, but most of all I think that solutions so clearly isolated and addressed openly, sets the stage on the level platform with Magufuli of Tanzania and reminds me of Museveni before he became what he is today.

Africa needs leaders such as Buhari. We need the open governance and credible managers who see the task and the bottlenecks and who can put their heads together after they have properly functioning governments to resolve the rest of the discordants and make a platform for the youth who desperately need this vision.

When I was a much younger “pressure” youth, my grandfather always assured me that one day our generation will reap the rewards of all the fight for independence they were fighting and rest assured we would resolve all this in our time.

Teenagers of Politics, Critical News, 25th September 2016

Sydney Casely-Hayford, thenewghanaian@gmail.com

Manifesto equivalence trying to outdo political equivalence. This is what our last week was all about.

After launching their 2016 manifesto and pointing out how much bigger it was than the NPP document of last year, the NDC party then set out to go head to head with NPP’s Bawumia to paint a picture of a liar and unfair analysis of the metrics which they themselves published.

It seems to have failed, the numbers stack up and Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur is not being allowed to go one on one with the NPP’s view, despite his bold offer to challenge all that the NPP side said the week before. As if they know it, the NDC campaign train seems to have decided that any attempt to challenge Dr. Bawumia on a technical level would not be in their best interest. Not because Bawumia is the only person in this country who has ever pointed out to this government that they clearly are not solving the economic problems, that we are poorer today than we were when they came into office eight year ago, not because Bawumia is any better an economist than Vice President Amissah Arthur, though he could be, if you sjkew the argument that the head of the NDC economic management team is better and more superior, but for political interference.

On My Honor

Sydney Casely-Hayford, thenewghanaian@gmail.com

Critical News, 18^th September 2016

Please do not read the NDC 2016 manifesto. It is a litany of promises never to be delivered. Rather, I urge you to go back and find the 2012 document they issued.

Got it? Now read it in detail and look around. Anything there seem familiar? Can you reconcile the crass dumping of words at that time to the physical environment you have today? I am looking for a paragraph, which explains where they said they would develop this country and ready it for take off in the future to come. Does it say anywhere that that they are building an infrastructure-based economy that would move us forward to a Ghana utopia? Because that is the new song on the campaign trail.

Next year we turn 60. If you believe in karma, note this coincidence. After ruling the country for many decades the NDC and its previous versions lost the elections in 2000 and handed over to the NPP just as Ghana celebrated its golden jubilee in 2007. Can’t tell you why, but is it just a coincidence that the NDC party maybe will not get an opportunity to reward themselves on another decade of mismanagement?