African Democracies are Indeed Tragic – Corruption – XXX

"So much for the judiciary that the executive and the legislature cannot be left out of any issue bordering on corruption. In 2009, a sitting Member Of Parliament, P.C. Appiah-Ofori (NPP Breman-Asikuma) accused his colleagues of receiving US$5000 in bribes before approving the sales of the national telecommunication provider – Ghana Telecom – to the UK-based Vodafone. The then Minority NDC in Parliament, urged on by a large section of Ghanaians, strongly opposed the sale, on grounds among others, that the sale was shrouded in secrecy, fraught with irregularities, ignored time-honored procedures, contravened the laws of Ghana, did not guarantee value for money, therefore, was not in the strategic interest of Ghana.

The whole transaction, from its commencement, was highly contentious, attracting protests and counter protests from pro-sales and anti-sales groups. For anti-sales demonstrators, it was one of the only surviving national assets with telephone lines spread across the country, offering employment to thousands of Ghanaians. The contention provided the platform for the so-called capitalists and the socialist to once again lock horns to contest their ideological differences. The most striking line of argument from the anti-sales group was not actually the ideological inclination; rather it was the fact that telecommunication around the globe today has become a powerful source of income for both private and public sector companies with investments in telecommunication.

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But what economic sense does it make when the assets of the company, the pro-sales protestors argued, are outmoded, unable to face up to the stiff market competition from private operators who have entered the Ghanaian telecommunications market. Obviously, the company needed new technologies and proper management both of which required investments government was unable to provide. Interestingly, one of the pro-sales groups was made up of employees of the company. As the case normally is, opposition or minority groups can have their say but not their way. Therefore, in the final analysis, the company was offloaded to the UK-based Vodafone. A year down the line, the company began a restructuring exercise and interestingly, the axe fell on some of the individuals who were advocates for divestiture of the company. Perhaps they were under the false impression that their positions were hedged or girded by their open support for the divestiture of the company, since it was going to be sold anyway.

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Interestingly, the Committee concluded that it did not have the POWERS and the RESOURCES to investigate the claims of fraud and corruption and, therefore, refrained from making findings on these specific allegations.

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To encapsulate the rest of the transaction into two aspects that question the credibility of the new government and its commitment in fighting corruption as we have seen in the Mwai Kibaki case, firstly, the Committee found out that the 70% stake offloaded to Vodafone could have been sold for more than US $900million, which Vodafone paid to the Ghana government, especially when Telekom South Africa offered US$947 million for a lower stake of 66.67%. The foregoing, coupled with executive interference in the sale, with the former President, John Kufuor, being the principal negotiator who agreed on the transaction price, technical considerations and the underlying legal assumptions of the Vodafone offer, were irregular and raises questions of institutional capacity of anti-corruption institutions such as the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) in a democracy such as Ghana’s to spot and deal with these glaring breaches by the president for personal aggrandizement and probably gain.

Secondly and most interestingly, the government’s waiver of any legal proceedings that may be brought against the new owners of the company relating to the period prior to the closing, thus including the proceedings involving the sales, may only pass as hedging a crime. There are many other aspects of the transaction that equally raise worrying questions about the integrity of those in charge of the national purse and direction of state policy.

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With corruption binding the elite in many African countries including Ghana, it is unimaginable to think that they would be held accountable for their deeds. After all, if even the President is a recipient of kickbacks, and a major player in some of these underhand dealings, who would have the guts to proffer charges against his underlings, and before which courts or judges? But from the Watergate scandals and the resignation of Richard Nixon to the modern-day trial and conviction of the former Israeli president, Moshe Katsav, and the recent charges against Silvio Berlusconi, retribution is definitely an inbuilt mechanism within democracies by which they remove the cancerous parts which may threaten its very existence – no matter your social or political standing, every citizen is just as answerable for their actions.

Up to a point, in other countries, corruption has been tolerated as a “cost of doing business.” In Africa, it has had no positive features at all. The stern Tanzania founder, Julius Nyerere, near the end of his life, was said to be fond of telling in a well-worn tale of the difference between Asian and African corruption: The story began with an African minister who visited a colleague in Asia and was impressed by the man’s lavish home. “How did you afford all this on a minister’s salary?” he asked. Pointing through his living room window, his host said: “Do you see the large bridge in the distance?” “Yes,” replied the African. “Well part of its budget came my way,” the Asian explained. The next year, reciprocating the visit, the Asian minister asked the same question. “Do you see that road down in the valley?” asked the African. “No,” he replied. “I see nothing.” “Exactly,” explained the African. “I financed this house instead.”

This is your Africa; it is mine; and it is ours! We have a responsibility to make it better."

Dia 16-12-2011, pode ser consultada por inteiro em http://opinion.myjoyonline.com/pages/feature/201112/78285.php

Excertos de uma opinião que recomenda vivamente que seja lida por inteiro!

A corrupção é um fenómeno que assola não só os países africanos mas também o nosso. É revoltante pensar que por ganância de alguns todos saem a perder e nações inteiras são estagnadas.


Postado por Filipa Lelé