The AG’s Rich Promise

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Created on Thursday, 20 June 2013 00:00

The AG’s Rich Promise

19 June 2013

The Attorney General and Minister of Justice’s promise to go after the Waterville money sounds rich, hypocritical and bereft of verity.

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It comes on the heels of the judgment which ordered that the ill-gotten money be returned to government chest. It is one judgment which has raised the level of the rule of law to another notch even as we pray that this good governance characteristic is nourished so it can proceed beyond the present rung.

The smelly payments for undone contracts have enabled Ghanaians to understand, at firsthand, how their funds are being fleeced by unscrupulous citizens holding respectable positions. These persons ironically turn round to tell us that the bone of state has been rendered bare devoid totally of flesh.

Helpless and hard at understanding fully the complexities of the white-collar thievery, the average Ghanaian can only whine and grumble as the perpetrators attempt to get away with their rich conduct.

It also enlightens us about how attorneys in the employ of the state pussy-foot on matters regarding the recovery of monies belonging to the public at a time when the national purse is struggling to replenish its contents long lost to kleptomaniacs and still losing.

The judgment has opened the can of worms about how the public purse remains at the beck and call of bad politicians, public servants and private sector players to the detriment of the state. Regrettably, a number of learned gentlemen breached the ethics of their noble profession and leaped into fray to partake in the bad partying.

With varied segments to it, the case presents scholars of financial management at the state level with valuable insight into the hearts of bad public servants and politicians and how they will stop at nothing to achieve their myopic objectives.

The Attorney General’s volte face is born from a desire to be spared the disgrace occasioned by the failure of her ministry to stand aloof as the lost money neared a bad debt status.

Hypocrisy is not in short supply these days in government, as evidenced by the classic turnaround by the Attorney General and Justice Minister, whose ministry preferred stupor to action when the public purse suffered the wanton haemorrhaging, which has left the state panting for recovery.

Her promise to collect the money for the state is a failed attempt at playing to the gallery at a time when Ghanaians are unable to hold back their surprise over how her ministry turned its back on them when the doors of the courts were wide open for adjudication.

It took the efforts of a lone crusader, Mr. Martin Amidu, to press the alarm bell and to go the extra mile of dragging the names behind the thievery to the courts, for adjudication. Martin Amidu and not the Attorney General and Justice Minister or the ministry she heads, which is deserving of an honour?

Source: Daily Guide/Ghana