From my Rooftop: Misdirected aggression
Whoever chose last week to make public that members of the last parliament went home with hefty sums as ex gratia made a wrong decision.
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It was a week which saw many professional groups making demands for the payment of their salary arrears and better market premiums in relation to their migration onto the single spine pay policy (SSPP).
Naturally that piece of information did not go down well with some members of the public and who directed their frustrations at the MPs who had no hand in their predicament. The justification, though very slim, was that if the government could raise GH¢47 million to pay the MPs why was it unable to pay the salary arrears of teachers and other professionals for over one year?
Most of the worker groups have legitimate cases but in our desperation, we should be careful not to throw punches in the wrong direction.
In fairness to the aggrieved professionals, some of whom have already embarked on strike actions while others have threatened to do so, one would expect that their cases were treated with the same urgency as was attached to that of the MPs and other category of public servants that fall under Article 71 office holders.
For the MPs and others who fall under Article 71, we cannot blame them because they are receiving what they are entitled to as spelt out in the 1992 Constitution.
If now we have come to the realisation that the arrangement under which every four years, some category of public servants have to go home with huge ex gratia and return to the House to wait for the end of another four years to collect again is bad, we just have to revisit those provisions in the Constitution to streamline things for the betterment of the national interest.
We have ourselves to blame for some of the things we are experiencing today especially with regard to the emoluments of the Article 71 office holders.
First, we should remember that when the Constituent Assembly was drafting the 1992 Constitution, some key professional groups, notably members of the Ghana Bar Association, boycotted its proceedings.
Second, having experienced a long and unpleasant spell under military dictatorship, we were too eager to exit from that political arrangement to the extent that we did not pay attention to details.
So a lot of loopholes were created which are being exploited by a few people to make money many think they do not deserve.
For instance, under Article 71, the President shall determine the salaries, allowances and other facilities and privileges of certain categories of public office holders including MPs, the Speaker and Deputy Speakers of Parliament on the recommendation of a committee of not more five persons appointed by the President, acting in accordance with the advice of the Council of State.
Article 71 (2) says: “The salaries and allowances payable, and the facilities available, to the President, the Vice-President, the Chairman and the other members of the Council of State; Ministers of State and Deputy Ministers, being expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund, shall be determined by Parliament on the recommendations of the committee referred to in clause (1) of this article.
Simply put, the President determines the salaries and other allowances for MPs and others in their category, while MPs also determine that of the President and others in his category.
It is simply a matter of “do me well and I will do you even better”. On a continent where public money is easy for the grabs, such a loose mandate will surely be abused and that is exactly what is happening.
Instead of making the MPs and others the scapegoats, we should revisit the Constitution on this matter and streamline things for the better.
We must also find out whether this nation is deriving the best or the maximum from its resources. There are too many loopholes for some individuals to siphon money from state coffers without any fear of exposure or sanctions.
The revelations at the sittings of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament have proved that most of the external assistance we have been receiving are not necessary if only we could use locally-generated revenue judiciously for national development.
We are gradually being devoured by democracy, an institution we have nurtured with passion, which instead of ensuring our national success has rather opened the floodgates for vampires, marauders and rapists to plunder our national resources for selfish gain.
Every corrupt person can conveniently seek refuge under the banner of a political party, whether in government or in opposition. So the incentive to loot is there.
The professional groups are on the warpath because they have come to the realisation that the claims by our governments that there is no money to meet certain legitimate obligations are false because they could feel it, even if they could not see it, that huge sums of state money are going the wrong way. So they do not have the patience to wait any longer.
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We must take a critical look at our politics and find out whether the democracy we were yearning for and which we are touting as a national success is bringing us the returns we want.
We must switch off that part of our politics which gives those with state power, the freedom to do anything they like with our collective resources without any fear of paying the appropriate penalties.
We must be able to protect what belongs to us all. We must exert our collective energy against those who rape and plunder our national resources.
Until we do that, we shall be hitting the wrong targets — call it misdirected aggression — while the real nation wreckers, the vampires and their collaborators continue to have a field day, celebrating our ignorance while strategising to loot the more.
Article by Kofi Akordor
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