Prime News Ghana

An open letter to Pastor Mensa Otabil

By Kofi Thompson
Pastor Mensa Otabil
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I shall go straight to the point: It might have to fall upon you and other globally-competitive Ghanaians, such as Bishop Doug Heward-Mills, to save our homeland Ghana from the clutches of the ruthless and divisive political parties, which constitute the NDC/NPP duopoly.

At what is a critical juncture in Ghana's history, ordinary people in our country, also need to receive their fair share of the national cake - something that amongst all the candidates vying for the presidency in this December's elections only Nduom's astuteness can guarantee.

Clearly, there is a national consensus that given the natural resources it is blessed with, Ghana ought to become a nation with a well-managed national economy - if it is to continue to remain stable and peaceful.

A well-managed national economy will enable our benighted country to be transformed into a stable and well-governed society - one that is prosperous: and in which every strata of society enjoys a good quality of life and decent living standards.

Only a government of national unity made up of some of the best brains in Ghana - yours and that of Doug Heward-Mills included - and led by a President Nduom is capable of bringing about such a transformation.

For that reason, you must all help bring Nduom to power - by endorsing his candidacy and leveraging the enormous influence that preachers such as your good self and Bishop Doug Heward-Mills wield across the nation: to appeal for support for Nduom.

How can we hand over the governance of our nation to those criss-crossing Ghana promising one factory in each district - when disruptive 3D printing technology will make virtually all those 275 or so state-owned entities obsolete in a few years? Heaven help us.

The question there is: How well do we manage even the existing state-owned entities - which are almost all over-geared financial basket-cases?

Why not assist the hundreds of micro-entrepreneurial start-ups, in all the 275 or so Districts, which only need funding to obtain certification from the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), and the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), to start operating?

Will the dynamic and ambitious micro-entrepreneurs who founded them not grow them organically through hardwork, perseverance and creative marketing?

And will that not mean that they will be much better at providing employment, for some of the scores of young people desperate for jobs, as they expand their businesses - than any Kweku Ananse state-owned factories run by square-pegs-in-round-holes party hacks and jam-packed with party foot soldiers, ever will?

Those micro-entrepreneurs will definitely do a far better job at creating jobs galore nationwide, than those Kweku-Ananse state-owned factories - apparently planned for each of Ghana's 275 Districts - can ever dream of doing.

Will providing the aforementioned micro-entrepreneurs with soft loans - or better still "helicopter-money" from the African Development Bank - to enable them obtain certification from sundry regulatory bodies, not be a far more beneficial and realistic policy, for any serious regime dedicated to empowering those willing to work hard, to improve their own individual circumstances, to pursue? Hmm, Ghana - eyeasem o!

And how can we hand over power again, to President Mahama and his cohorts, when they have not had the nous and gumption to negotiate win-win oil industry and power-sector agreements, for our country, in all the 8 long years that their hard-of-hearing regime has been in power for?

And to think that some of those geniuses have the gall to insult nation-builders like you, Pastor. Hmm, Ghana - asem kesie ebeba debi ankasa!

Pastor, the simple act of your endorsing Nduom's candidature will make Ghanaians wake up - and sit up to ponder the difference an Nduom presidency could actually make to their own individual living standards.

There is no question that individuals who establish universities, which over time go on to become reputable tertiary institutions, are well-regarded individuals, wherever in the world they live. And rightly so, too.

They are valued for the important societal roles that they play in preparing the younger generations to take over the running of their countries' from older generations.

That is why highly-regarded individuals in Ghanaian society, such as yourself, Bishop Doug Heward-Mills, Reverend Sam Korankye Ankrah, Bishop Adjin Asare, Archbishop Duncan Williams, and Bishop Agyemang - who have established tertiary institutions - are veritable nation-builders whom many discerning Ghanaians admire and treasure.

And it is natural that individuals of your calibre should feel frustrated from time to time that Ghana is marking time - especially as God has blessed our nation with all that is needed to transform it into an African equivalent of the egalitarian societies of Scandinavia.

No one should insult you when you openly express your frustration with the condition of our country today - and it is unpardonable that some of those responsible for the problems of our country have the audacity to disparage you when you criticise them.

We must stop allowing the clueless and super-ruthless professional-incompetents who control the NDC and NPP from the shadows from wasting our time yet again, Pastor Otabil.

They will instigate their followers to plunge Ghana into chaos and violence if either of the NDC/NPP duopoly's constituent parties presidential candidate is defeated by the other. A victory by Nduom will sidestep that impending doom neatly, will it not?

Sir, perhaps it has never struck you before, but all of the church founders that this blog has mentioned above can make a real difference, at the critical crossroads moment that our nation will face on polling day, during this December's presidential and parliamentary elections.

Pastor, you must all ask Ghanaians to reject the two ruthless, corrupt and opaque political parties that constitute the NDC/NPP duopoly that dominate our nation's politics, and have done so since the 4th Republic came into being in 1992, at the polls, this December.

Is it not unpardonable, unspeakable and abominable that they have succeeded in polarising Ghanaian society to the extent that they have? How can a badly divided society possibly progress and prosper, I ask?

Pastor, endorse the unifying candidacy of Paa Kwesi Nduom - and ask the supporters of the NDC and NPP to plump instead for him to become President of the Republic of Ghana: and lead a government of national unity to which competent, honest and world-class Ghanaians (irrespective of their political leanings!) will be appointed.

Pastor, the plain truth, is that both the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), are beholden to the very vested interests profiting from our corrupt system. High-level corruption in Ghana will never cease if those divisive and greed-driven parties continue to rule our homeland Ghana.

That is because, as you are aware, they are both in the firm grip of ruthless hardliners, whose scorched-earth political philosophy dictates that they sabotage the nation-building effort, whenever they find themselves in the political wilderness.

Alas, it is ordinary people, who eventually suffer from the harsh consequences of the nation-wrecking-selfishness - which the sabotaging of the nation-building effort by those sly and amoral politicians amounts to.

What Ghana needs now, is an honest and disciplined one-nation political leader, such as Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom - who clearly understands the importance of making Ghana a nation with the world's lowest taxes on individuals and businesses.

Sir, would abolishing taxes on private universities not enable Central University, for example, to lower the fees it charges and offer more scholarships to brilliant but needy students, I ask?

There is no sense in continuing to tolerate the totally unacceptable situation in which ruling parties pile on tax after tax on Ghanaians - just to be siphoned off by the many white collar criminals in our national economy's public-sector.

Why overburden hardworking Ghanaians with tax after tax just to mollycoddle government ministers and other public-sector appointees? Do many of them not collude with the selfsame crooks sucking the very lifeblood out of Mother Ghana?

So why should Ghanaians entrust the NDC/NPP duopoly with power yet again - and give the powerful crooks that control them from the shadows the opportunity to rip-off our nation - and enable them to live the life of Riley at the expense of ordinary people: who have to struggle daily just to survive? It must not happen. Full stop.

Nduom is committed to transparency and accountability - which is why he will publicly publish his assets as well as that of his entire nuclear family before the December elections. Have you heard President Mahama and Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo and their acolytes making a similar declaration? They will never do so. Ever.

Nduom also intends to publicly publish all the sources of his party's campaign funds, before polling day. Thus far, have you heard the leading lights of the NDC and NPP, committing to do so too? Food for thought, Pastor.

And as you know, Nduom is a truly world-class individual, who actually knows how to create wealth and meaningful jobs - and will therefore focus on creating a conducive climate for entrepreneurs to thrive in Ghana and the Diaspora too.

A President Nduom will never allow Ghanaians and their nation to be taken advantage of in any agreement that his one-nation administration signs with local and foreign investors. All the agreements his government signs will be win-win ones.

Above all, his administration will probe all the regimes that have held power since the 4th Republic came into being - and send a signal to the world that impunity has finally come to an end in Ghana. All those who have stolen taxpayers' funds will be made to pay them back with interest. Fantastic.

Pastor, help kick-start the transformation of Ghana into an African equivalent, of the egalitarian societies of Scandinavia, by endorsing the candidacy of Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, to enable him become the next President of the Republic of Ghana, after 7th January, 2017.

Brilliant Ghanaians, with stellar track-records of solid achievements, such as your good self, and Bishop Doug Heward-Mills, will definitely play prominent roles in government, when Nduom becomes Ghana's President.

You both qualify and deserve to help run the enterprise Ghana - and will doubtless do so when Nduom becomes President on 7th January, 2017.

For the sake of the ordinary people of Ghana, you must all endorse Nduom for president now - so that Mother Ghana benefits from your undoubted talents.

Thank you very much indeed, Pastor Mensah Otabil - and peace and blessings to all of you.

Yours in the service of Mother Ghana,