Thirst for ideas
I read with fascination a news item in which the Presidential Candidate of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo, said he had learnt to keep the details of his policies from the public for fear of it being plagiarised by the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).
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This is a view that can be sympathised with in a lot of ways. Ideas are hard to generate; especially genuine, sensible and meaningful ideas. The details of these ideas are in so many ways difficult to work out.
They may require constant interaction and engagement with experts and persons with the know-how. They may involve back-breaking research.
And in the field of politics and social policy, you may be dealing with lots of case studies, exploring policies that have worked and what specifically made them work.
It may require looking at failed policies and drawing critical conclusions as to why they failed. And probably the most difficult of the entire task is to contextualise your research and findings into the Ghanaian setting.
The primary question on the mind of many, therefore, would be whether it would work or not work as there are different forces and feelings at play.
And the evidence is there. Take the various presidential special initiatives and how they fell apart with time. Take the Metro Mass Transit initiative, which nearly fell off its wheels. Take all the state interventions and initiatives that have not stood the test of time. It tells you that generating enduring ideas do not come cheap.
One would, therefore, understand Nana Akufo-Addo when he says he is weary of disclosing the details of his plans. But then I asked myself: Is he simply going to mount the platform and simply say “trust me, I am Nana Akufo-Addo, I have the ability to deliver… just give me your vote and you will see.” Certainly he is not going to get the kind of votes he aspires for to become president.
Certainly at some point, he would have to give details of his policies and how he is able to achieve them. It is not enough for him to assert that he is going to introduce a factory in every single district in the country. He must demonstrate how.
It may be a little premature in the day but I do not understand why a presidential candidate should set upon himself a mission impossible. It is important to be ambitious. It is important to be hungry to make a big difference. But moderation sometimes is important in managing the expectation of the citizenry.
Just as I thought the 200 senior high school campaign was just hot air, so also do I think that a factory in each district is close to impossible.
Nana Addo must understand that, in the event where he becomes president, he is not starting out on a clear sheet. There are debts and legacy obligations. There are issues to deal with. Campaign priorities may not be equal to the priorities of a governing party. We have seen and continue to see so much of such U-turns in recent times.
Be that as it may, ideas and the structures behind the ideas are what some segment of the voting population would rely on as a basis for making a political choice. So long as it affects the public, it must be done and dealt with in public.
But Nana Addo is not the only politician who seems to be shying away from the public. As a matter of fact, the President of the Republic is even guiltier of this than the opposition leader.
For one thing, he does not want to be part of any public debate where his ideas and views would be challenged.
He prefers the monologue where he embarks on his accounting to the people tour in which he simply tells the people whatever he wants to tell them and walks away. It is all well and fine.
But someone who wants to be voted to a public position cannot, for a minute, escape the public scrutiny and censure that comes along with it.
It is, therefore, most unfair when the President decided not to partake in the debate of the Institute of Economic Affairs. If he can account to the various people in the various parts of the country, then it should be possible for him to give an account of his performance before his competitors. There is nothing to be shy or coy of in this particular regard.
The plain truth about elections is that at some point, it is just about ideas and ideas alone; and which one is believable.
Considering the way candidates are making promises recklessly, it makes so much sense why they wouldn’t want to subject themselves in a critical forum or disclose so much about what they intend to do.