Opinion

I weep for the Veep

Published on May 9, 2020

Can anyone help me find my bearings?

I’m currently in a dazed state trying fruitlessly to unravel the rationale behind the Vice president’s ‘digital encounter’ that sought to respond to President John Mahama, the flagbearer and leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). President Mahama last Thursday delivered a paper on his perspective on matters arising from the Covid 19 pandemic. He ripped through the shambolic manner in which the government has always been late in taking decisions that could save this nation from the rapid spread of the scourge. His personal contributions in the form of provisions of PPE’s and other essential items at moments when government had no clue as to where to procure a single PPE from.

President John Mahama intervened using his past experience as former president to reach out to his allies across the globe to respond promptly in securing some appreciable quantity to distribute among our frontline health workers who were almost always bemoaning the absence of PPE’s to protect themselves.

This was at a time when the likes of U.S.A and other European countries had blocked the supply of PPE’s from major production factories worldwide. Our government had no clue as to what to do to secure Protective gear for health workers.

Jack Ma, (A?ibaba Owner) the Chinese businessman and philanthropist together with the Chinese government made donations of some PPE consignment to Ghana, but for the best part of almost one month, NO PPE had been supplied to any health center.

All that while when John Mahama was busy distributing these items, our Veep was in hibernation. This was also at a time when government was begging the Wor?d Bank and the IMF to hasten to come to our aid to enable us feed our compatriots who needed to be supported with some food items during the Lockdown.

John Mahama again used his money to secure several thousands of food items to feed 20,000 households. Government in its ‘wisdom’ chose to distribute cooked food with the hope that the distribution of food will be channeled through their party structure in order to move the food to areas considered to be their stronghold. Better still they decided to package dry food items and distribute them using their Members of parliament who doubled as parliamentary candidates to reach out to the delegates who will be voting in their primaries then slated for 18th April 2020. They had to be postponed their primaries due to the rise of Covid 19 numbers that was souring higher. In all these activity this Veep had been conspicuously relegated to the background.

The main players led by the Finance Minister, with Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, (Gabby Okyere Darko’s Pawn) and others were in the driving seat calling the shots as to how the 1bn dollars from the IMF and the 36m dollars from the world bank will be disbursed. Our “Useless” Veep could not find any opportunity during all these period to render himself useful to Ghanaians in that, his real jocular talent was not in need during such a time when all serious brains were being harnessed to bring solution to the table to make the country safe against Covid 19 and also provide food to support vulnerable Ghanaians.

Then it turned out that Ghanaians and other world leaders began to heep praises on President John Mahama (JM) for his visionary and foresight displayed, by deliberately committing a huge chunk of hard resources to build new hospital facilities from Tertiary level facilities to Chps compounds all over the country.

His recent weekly media interaction on social media proffering useful ideas and bringing political pressure to bear on the president to decrease electricity bills, make water free, and also support health workers will the Ayalolo buses during the Lockdown period among other useful ideas, which president and his government readily implemented.

Ghanaians had discovered the gem that JM was made of, they began to compare his tenure as president with limited resources but achieved a great feat in various sectors of the economy including the health sector which today is saving lives and compared it to this wasteful government that claims they will use one hundred million dollars to pay hotel bills to keep patients who test positive to Covid 19 in isolation. That same amount can build 3 district hospitals (Dodowa Type) or 20 polyclinics, yet because it will be easy to ’embezzle’ part of that money in the name if paying hotel bills, they opted for that expenditure.

Earlier when the World Health Organization was asking high risk countries (including Ghana) to secure a minimum of $35m as buffer to procure feeding for our compatriots, our government could only shamefully secure Ghc 2m. We were so broke we could not raise $35m to feed our own countrymen, it took a quick intervention by World bank (Wb) and the IMF to rescue the country from hunger. This is a country that only a five months ago was boasting of having raked in $1.9bn from hosting ‘The Year Of Return’ which formed part of the ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ initiative. I really can’t stop laughing because, we have a government that sees Ghanaians as so gullible and are dazzled with sweet sounding slogans. Only a few months ago in January this year, it was “the year of roads”, today Covid 19 has completely annihilated that agenda and same rhetoric has been caged in their throats.

The NDC had chosen to lay down its constructively critical stance for the purposes of fighting Covid 19 as a United country in crises. The government was already reeling under the spell of slipping into an economic crisis but for the timely bailout from Wb and IMF and so we decided to lend support to the government in the fight against Covid 19. Until we realised that the government was using this whole pandemic as a looting agenda to create ill- gotten wealth for its party aparachiks at the expense of the well being of a vast majority of Ghanaians. Though a huge chunk of the IMF funds was committed to feeding, only two weeks of partisan feeding was done and we all know the figures don’t add up.

Our inept Veep who is only good at elementary economics meant for passing exams and obtaining certificates and titles but cannot be measured with real life achievements. Using eloquence in the English language to produce a filthy economy that couldn’t survive three weeks Lockdown.

The NDC realised later that the government was clandestinely using the weekly broadcast by the president and the easing of water and electricity bills to canvas for four more years for President Nana Addo. Of course we were not going to sit and watch the president use Covid 19 to his political advantage while we looked on unconcerned. Our flagbearer JM then fired his first salvo at the wretched manner in which the management of Covid 19 process had been carried out by this government.

He drilled holes and drew rings around various bad decisions and wrong calculations of the President especially in his haste in ending the Lockdown process when the Corona infection numbers were rather going up exponentially. JM made it emphatically clear that, that decision was borne out of ‘economic’ reasoning than that erroneous impression being peddled as “data and science”.

When the ‘real men’ were being sought at the forefront of the battle, this ‘clown’ of a Veep was in self ‘quarantine’ just like his boss who has been advised to stay indoors because of his age. He risks experiencing fatality should he be infected with Covid 19. I believe Ghanaians’ prayers have really kept him safe even though he himself was playing ‘dominos’ with the virus when he went perambulating in Switzerland and Norway at the time when the pandemic was Eating-up Europe. Again his lack of foresight invited the pandemic into the country, this is fact.

Our Veep, having been declared hopeless at the nerve center of the Implementation of the government’s Covid 19 agenda, and with the modern communication technology introduced by JM in these Covid times, the man thinks he can revive his cremated carrier by latching on the apron strings of JM to enjoy some trending on social media. I’m really happy to read the flood of foul feedback that he received since that broadcast.

This man is not an honest man in the first place. He assumes he’s dealing with illiterate and so propounds theories that do not make logical sense in any sound argument.

“How can any person who doesn’t suffer schizophrenia compare Covid 19 to Dumsor”, it beats any logical reasoning to dissect these two issues on one platform. Of course I have always said that politics can polish a novice into an accomplished person, much the same way politics can reduce an accomplished person into a novice. I believe our veep is in the latter category where his crestfallen persona is reeking of value crisis.

If the social media responses he received yesterday was anything to go by, then he should know that even in his own party, he’s not receiving those “fan fool” respect that his party apparachiks used to give him.

Mr Veep, if u think u can hike behind JM to relaunch your rotten carrier, then pls go back to your mat in Walewale and rethink that agenda, this time we will not accord u that unfettered space that u have personally desecrated with your puppetry personality, u cannot operate until someone moves u? This time it is JM who is moving your head, arms, legs and waist.

Massa pls grow up and stop fleecing on JM to recalibrate your distorted political carrier that has no grounds in the real NPP fraternity, can’t u see? This time we will have no mercy for u, and remember u are also more or less a candidate now just like JM, we will stop at nothing to strip u bear with all we know if u dared some of us.

Till today u cannot keep your head stable while u r seated, u nod your head even when nothing is being said. Your groomers and psychologists should try and attend to that habit, it’s really unattractive, work on it. Finally, I hope you will find something new to do with yourself. U seem to have failed with all the things u touched.

Economy = kaput

Ghana Post Address System = useless

Paperless Port process = shambolic

Covid Tracker = borla

Dollar Rate = disgraceful

Your Economic Management Team = Now stolen excavator owners What have u done right Mr Veep? What is the one achievement u can boast of which is your own contribution to the gonernment course? Zilch!! U brag too much my man. What is your personal contribution to Covid 19, even to your own Walewale kinsmen when they needed u most?

I know some of the issues you are faced with as a misfit in the NPP fraternity, and I cannot but to join others to weep for u Mr Veep.

It’s that time to learn politics the hard way so prepare! Mr Veep.

Source: Columnist: Kojo Adu-Asare/ghanaweb

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