HERITAGE FUND: THE POLITICS OF
IT AND THE ABSURDITY
Iddi Muhayu-Deen writes...
People of Ghana, let's do this interesting exercise
together and get to appreciate what our NDC friends are really made of. Now,
let's go:
The NDC, as a political party, strongly supported
their general secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia when he suggested that the
nation's “Heritage Fund” be used to
help stabilize our currency during the period of acute exchange rate
volatilities sometime in 2015. The party saw absolutely nothing wrong
with this rather incongruous suggestion and in fact, they proceeded to hail
their Chief Scribe [general mosquito] in the face of fierce repudiation and
bashing by the Ghanaian people.
Many a Ghanaian were very much concerned because at
that time, these people did not come across as having an inkling of knowledge
regarding what was wrong with the cedi. We were concerned because they knew not what was causing the cedi to
depreciate with the speed of light against its major "trading
partners". Whereas some of them were blaming high rise buildings for the predicaments of our currency, others
were blaming so called NPP business men.
And as if to complete the absurdity, some of them
also told Ghanaians to blame juju men
and dwarfs, whom they had accused of charming the dollars at the various
banks and playing juju tricks at the interbank and forex market against the
cedi. Funny, right? But that was how these guys approached an otherwise serious
business of governance in our country when they were in power. We were fed with
one funny story or another, almost on daily basis.
And to think that, having exhibited such "cluelessness"
under the circumstances, this was the very time they wanted to tamper with the Heritage Fund on something they had
absolutely no clue about; this was the time they wanted to chop the Heritage
Fund (a fund meant for the use of future generation), should surely make you
sick.
Again, the NDC claims to be the political party that
loves the future generation, yet, when they had the opportunity to govern this
country, they mismanaged the economy and took a lot of reckless decisions that
provided a bleak future for the next
generation. One of such, was their voracious appetite for loans at very
outrageous interest rates, payment of which, would be done by the next
generation and for that matter the future leaders of our country.
They essentially mortgaged or sold our future for
loans which they chopped when they were in office. We are talking about
record-level indebtedness they left behind for our children and children's
children to come and pay. With this in mind, how can they convince us that they
really love the future generation.
The most annoying part of this narrative is that,
these same people are now vehemently kicking against a worthy proposal made to the NPP government to consider investing
part of the Heritage Fund into supporting the education of our children, our children's
children and the unborn so that they can have a dignified future; so that they can
work and be able to pay back the humongous loans that the NDC had contracted;
so that they can better manage our economy; so that they can effectively
administer our currency in order to forestall future volatility.
The suggestion is not that, NPP should use the Heritage Fund to stabilize our
currency and chase the US dollar, as the NDC wanted to do. The suggestion is
that, NPP should consider investing part of the Heritage Fund into supporting
the education of our children, which is consistent
with the reasoning behind the establishment of the Fund anyway. Aren't you
getting crazy with these revelations? I am tempted to agree with my auntie, who
tells me that when legendary
incompetence comes into contact with hypocrisy,
it produces an amalgam called, WITCHCRAFT. How else can you explain this?
You see a snake coming to bite you (the education
sector about to crash), you are fortunate to have a stick which you can use to
kill the snake (the Heritage Fund), yet you tell me that, you are waiting for
your son who is far away from your present location (the future generation) to
come and use the stick in your possession to kill the snake for you. Obviously
this can only happen in your afterlife because the snake will definitely kill
you. With this kindergarten logic, my brother, you qualify to be the craziest
person on earth.
As we speak, our education sector is in serious
crisis. The son of the charcoal seller in Kete-Krachi is being compelled to drop out of school because his mother
is unable to pay for his fees due to the rising cost of Basic and Senior High School
education in the country. There are several of such children out there. Last
year for instance, whilst doing my national service at the Bolgatanga SHS (my alma
matter), I witnessed on countless occasions, instances where the headmaster of
the school was compelled to sack students who had defaulted in the payment of
their fees. That is how bad the situation has become.
You can imagine how many Kofi Annans or Akufo-Addos
or Mahamudu Bawumias or Haruna Iddrisus or Shamima Muslims or Afenyo Markins are
having to terminate their education
at this premature level because their parents are unable to pay for their fees.
Hmmm. Yet we have money sitting idle (Heritage Fund, with zero interest rate)
which could be used to arrest the situation and support the education of these
young ones so that they would have a dignified life and contribute meaningfully
to national development, and you say we shouldn’t touch that money because it is
reserved for a certain future generation, something must definitely be wrong
with you.
Mr. President, respectfully, you cannot always
appease your political opponents. Their standard should not be your standard.
You have an overwhelming mandate of the Ghanaian people to administer this
country in all departments including the area of education. Please go ahead and
use part of the Heritage Fund to support the education of our younger siblings,
children as well as children’s children and let posterity judge you. The thoughts of a citizen NOT a spectator.
Assalamu alaikum
Iddi Muhayu-Deen
#ForGodAndCountry
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