Benjamin Kofi Quashie, the South African Council of Elders Chair for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has lamented the corruption of the previous government and called for unbridled accountability from new public officials, demanding it takes precedence over everything they do.
Understanding the need to weed out institutionalized corruption from the framework of President Mahama’s government, all officials must establish transparency at the commencement of every duty, he explained.
“I think that as a people, president Mahama has set the tone and it is good that those who speak for the government also note, that the tone is that, there are challenges with what they’ve inherited, yes… I inherited A, B, C, and D but it is not time to lament.
“It is time to look for solutions. It’s time to proffer what will give reprieve to the citizenry because they’ve given you that overwhelming endorsement”
Benjamin Kofi Quashie, NDC South African Council of Elders Chair
Part of Quashie’s solution rests largely on honest credibility of government officials, dealings and an efficient deliverability of results devoid of excuses.
Consequently, public officials should model their conduct after President Mahama, who has already characterized his new administration with utmost transparency.
This extends to the declaration of assets and candid communication about the mess, or otherwise, of the various offices that have been manned by new officials.
Quashie believes this would build public trust and properly rally the people’s support for the new administration.
He cautioned government officials who have been “put there to work for the people” to “not take the people for granted”.
Since they serve at their behest, he said, any pursuit that does not benefit the people should be avoided.
To ensure public officers do not falter in solving real problems and pleasing the people with their work, he encouraged proper correspondence every step of the way.
Cultivating the “habit of holding public officials accountable” to what they say and do is the best guarantee they’ll work and make true their promises.
As such, all institutions responsible should be on their feet, including the people who must demand the best conduct from their leaders.
Public officials must effectively reveal what they are about to do before they do it and periodically carry the general public along.
“I think that these kinds of transactions should be a thing of the past,” he said, about the obscurity of corruption that so easily prevails in public offices without consequences.
Quashie advocated a new standard for public officers “where accountability comes before any other thing” they do.
The Agenda 111 Case
Further, Quashie expressed shock at the amount of money involved in the Agenda 111 scandal.
“If you speak about the Agenda 111 hospital project, where the president indicated that $400,000,000 was disbursed for the project, and at a rate which is about $18,000,000 per hospital, in terms of summary… The president says that we will require almost $22,000,000,000 to complete the Agenda 111 program”
Benjamin Kofi Quashie, NDC South African Council of Elders Chair
The shock acquiesced into disappointment at the dawn of how many hospitals could have been completed by the $400,000,000 disbursed for the project. This came after he described the Agenda 111 as a“brilliant initiative” and “great cause” for investing the nation’s money.
“If the previous government had invested that $400,000,000, we would have 22 of the hospitals fully completed and functional. This is money that has gone. Where did the money go? What happened?”
Benjamin Kofi Quashie, NDC South African Council of Elders Chair
Condemning the recklessness, he suggested a review of Ghana’s financial transactions act as a possible countermeasure against systemic corruption by state officials.
Quashie urged everyone working alongside President Mahama to take a page from his book and refuse the temptation to lament the woes and difficulties plaguing the sectors they are to reset and reform.
Afterall, the “overwhelming endorsement” of the people was not received to facilitate incessant complaints from the new government.
“I’m happy that President Mahama indicated in his state of the nation address that the Ghanaian people gave him an overwhelming endorsement and that endorsement is not an endorsement of him coming to complain or lament.
“That endorsement is because they believed in the policies that he presented to the people”
Benjamin Kofi Quashie, NDC South African Council of Elders Chair
He cautioned against nepotism and called on all public officials to diligently work for the “collective good of all and not a select few”.
This inclusive approach towards their mandate, according to Quashie, would ensure that Ghanaians find the much needed satisfaction with the new government.
“Mahama has set the tone; it is time to look for solutions and not lament”, he charged.
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