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The attack on the Kumasi High Court by members of Delta Force, in particular, has saddened many Ghanaians and greatly embarrassed the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The attack on the Kumasi High Court by members of Delta Force, in particular, has saddened many Ghanaians and greatly embarrassed the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Easter blues, Delta Force and galamsey menace

Easter, the season to explore the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the greatest life changer in history, is in the air. Here in Ghana, as in many parts of the world, numerous activities have been lined up to mark the Holy Week.

However, while we want to celebrate Christ's period in peace, the rising force of impunity in our body politic has become a matter of great national concern which cannot be swept under the carpet.

The surge in political violence and thuggery in the country, if not checked, could destabilise Ghana. Lately, the issue of illegal mining, popularly referred to as ‘galamsey’, and the rampage by some members of the Delta Force, a vigilante group affiliated with the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Kumasi, have dominated national discussions.

The attack on the Kumasi High Court by members of Delta Force, in particular, has saddened many Ghanaians and greatly embarrassed the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

No wonder many people have condemned the attack and called on the law enforcement agencies to act decisively and take immediate steps to prevent its reoccurrence in the country.

It will be recalled that another group, the Invincible Forces, was in full action immediately the NPP won the 2016 election, seizing public toilets, lorry stations, offices and cars purported to be for the state.

Similar incidents were also witnessed in 2009 when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) won that election and the youth wing of the party went on the rampage engaging in same acts.

Rein in vigilante groups

Equally disturbing are also reports of various regional vigilante groups operating across the length and breadth of the country. Groups such as Invincible Forces in Greater Accra, Delta Force in Ashanti Region, Terminator 1 Forces in Brong Ahafo, Titanic Forces in Western Region, Tai Chi Forces in Central Region, Shaolin Forces in the Volta Region, Kandahar Forces in the Northern Region, Cyborg Forces in Upper West, Bolga Bulldogs in Upper East and Kosovo Forces in the Eastern Region are said to be operating with cheeky ease in those regions. Other groups such as Holland Boys, Azorka Forces, etc are all said to be in full operation throughout the country.

It is time the law enforcement agencies admitted intelligence failure and resolved to rein in these countless pseudo para military groups associated with some political parties before they cause havoc on society.

This vigilante group concept has to be uprooted quickly in the body politic of the country. Their disbandment is long overdue because if their activities go unchecked, these same groups will one day become bigger than the security forces and the political parties that they seek to associate themselves with. Ghana as a beacon of democracy has no choice but to quickly resolve this problem before it degenerates knowing very well that any vigilante group has a potential to grow.

Social deviants

The law enforcement agencies must also be up and doing and be on the constant lookout for any individual or actors of political parties who are bent on perpetrating violence or thuggery in the country.

Good governance has no room for such social deviants. Therefore any one who intends to use a gun, machete or any such crude means in the governance process must be considered a criminal and punished accordingly.

Anyone perpetrating violence shows that he/she does not respect the rights and dignity of other people and must not be spared when caught by the law.

Stop galamsey

Another worrying trend which is of much concern is galamsey. Despite the token attempts by the inter-ministerial taskforce against illegal miners, the practice is on the ascendancy and is thriving in many parts of the country.

Both Ghanaian and foreign illegal miners have succeeded in destroying the environment and water bodies; causing irreparable damage to acres of productive land, destroying vegetation and individual farms, thus putting the lives of community members at great risk.  The involvement of politicians, chiefs and security agencies in this nefarious operation can also not be discounted.

The nation stands the risk of importing water if no concrete effort is made to arrest this trend and we lose the fight against galamsey.

Now that the uproar against this menace is so high and a media coalition has taken the bull by the horn to throw light on the issue, hopefully, a permanent solution would be found.

Ghana at 60 years on does not need this and the stoical stance adopted by illegal miners must be crushed once and for all.

Social indiscipline

Presently, our society seems to be held up in debilitating social indiscipline, including the menace of galamsey, which if not curbed will erode the little gains made in our democratic journey.

The high levels of indiscipline in the society require an intervention to address the situation. There is the need to roll out a nationwide strategy to tackle social indiscipline in the country to help create a vibrant and stronger democratic culture. In so doing, we need to grow law-abiding and self-disciplined citizens to bring about the needed change to make the country a better place to live in.

The President has given us stronger justification for requiring 110 ministers, the highest ever by any government in the country’s history.

With the full complement of ministers sworn into office, the countdown has begun for President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his team of ministers to deliver to the expectation of the citizenry the promises that hopefully will turn the fortunes of the nation round.

This is important because the vote seeking ploys are over and it is now time to create the needed jobs as promised during the 2016 electioneering, build more infrastructure, schools and improve education.

Enduring legacy

For President Akufo-Addo to succeed and leave an enduring legacy, it will largely depend on what sacrifices his ministers will also make to impact positively on the nation. Individually and collectively, the nation expects to see their real tangible contributions to the betterment of this country.

We need a certain level of sincerity, honesty and integrity from them in their political discourse and engagements and  what they are going to do to impact positively on the living standards of the citizenry.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic and Ghana Television recently on what sort of legacy he intended to leave behind, President Akufo-Addo indicated first of all that it was under his watch that the Ghanaian economy picked up and that again, we started getting higher growth rates of our economy and made it possible for the living standards of our people to improve, for employment to become more and more available for the young people of our country;

“It will give me the greatest satisfaction to know that the challenges that I inherited and were on the ground when I came in, and that by virtue of the collaborative work between me and this very, very good team that I have put together, we grew the economy again and that Ghana became not just a model of democratic accountability on our continent but also became a beacon of economic progress and that for me, would be the icing around the cake. We are praying to God for that,” he underscored.

Responsible opposition

 

However beyond this, we also need a responsible opposition. Multi-party democracy will thrive with political parties offering constructive criticisms. Hypocrisy is killing this nation where truth can be false depending on what political lens one is wearing. We need more interaction among different political interests in the governance process. This will guarantee and encourage politics of accommodation and make tolerance crucial for holistic national development.

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