Letters
A democratic state now
I AM writing to condemn the article "PNDC won't give in to looters" by Frank K. Codjoe, Hamburg, Germany, published in the Talking Drums of January 3rd, 1984.Ghana is now 27 years old after fighting relentlessly for independence from the colonial power - Britain so we don't have to expect a "paradise economic situation" as exists now in West Germany and the United States of America. Most countries have struggled for over 200 years after achieving independence before they could achieve better economic conditions.
No western country will give aid to a country which claims to be non- aligned, but sticks to the policies and ideologies of communism. Ghana is now the right example of such a country under the PNDC.
The government is importing arms to guard against her so-called enemies, while the poor worker, farmer and ordinary man continue to go hungry and sick.
The taking-over of factories by workers is counter-productive. What administrative and specialized qualifications do the so-called workers have that they think they can run these firms? In the end it means making a mess of the whole economy. The figures quoted by the new Ghana Textile Productions management that it has made so much profit is just eye- wash, for I can say emphatically that these monies exist nowhere in coffers of the state.
Then again, is acquisition of a passport a right or a privilege? Every human being has the right of movement, which means one can travel to wherever one likes. Why then should a Ghanaian pay as much as between C10,000 and C12,000 as a deposit before he or she can get a passport? How many Ghanaians can afford this? If a person is expected to pay over £60,000 for one round trip Accra London-Accra, how can the ordinary man afford this? What does the writer say about the 'Secret Death Squad'? We say that we need civilian rule now because the PNDC is not a constitutionally elected government.
Oheneba Oduro-Opuni,
Hamburg 60, West Germany
PNDC must go
In the space of just a few years, Ghana has gone from a peaceful democracy to something very close to a military dictatorship.As compared to previous regimes, Rawlings government is the worst and most disgraceful government Ghana has ever had.
Ghana is now being ruled by soldiers, but Rawlings should by now have realized that businesses need something more apart from rhetorics to keep them running.
The country's economic plight is accentuated by a massive brain drain; we have already lost the doctors, lawyers, teachers and other professionals. Thousands of professionals on whose training the government spent millions of cedis have fled the country for political reasons.
Rawlings should also note that his regime is a minority one and ludicrously inefficient. Rawlings and his PNDC must get out of the scene at once.
Samuel Yaw Asare,
Knabeweg 40, Hamburg
Stand up and fight
The overwhelming rhetorics of Rawlings administration within the two years of his reign have clearly shown that the man has nothing to offer Ghana.The military junta came to power on the evening of December 31st, 1981 full of promises. The complexity of managing a nation was thrown to the wind forgetting that Rome was not built in a day.
Rawlings declared that he was prepared to face the bullets if he failed the nations in his second coming. As things stand now with the resignation of his members, terrorism, starvation, cor ruption and the escalation of black marketing - these are clear indications of his failure.
The masses have applied diplomacy through the activities of the Professional Bodies in the country to make him hand-over and it has failed. Now it is up to Ghanaians to stand up and fight.
Otchere Yaw Collins,
Dusseldorf, West Germany
Military rule: not the cause or cure - a rejoinder
Mr Kafui King of Brunei's letter on the above subject made a very interesting reading and should not be allowed to go without a rejoinder.The unnecessary outburst of the writer bordered on nothing more than hate and ignorance. I would like to take this opportunity to inform Mr King, and those who think like him, that no Deputy Minister under Limann collected salaries anywhere near C4,000 per month.
The break-down of salaries and allowances for Deputy Ministers was as follows:
Take home salary - 800 cedis.
Duty allowance - 200 cedis.
Entertainment allowance - 250 cedis.
The total monthly salary and allowances came to 1,250 cedis.
It would be interesting to know where the writer got his figures from. It is surprising to note how furious the writer is over the fact that a Deputy Minister visited his school in a Range Rover or two Range Rovers at the same time as Mr Kafui King would like us to believe. As educated and mature people we must control our emotions when discussing national issues so that whatever conclusions we come to would be objective.
To get angry because a Deputy Minister has driven to a school in a Range Rover and therefore rejoice when the administration in which he served is overthrown is as absurd and childish as to state that "the Nkrumah, Busia and Limann governments created a class of illiterate, wealthy and corrupt hierarchy whose plunder of our resources and economy is legendary".
Let Mr Kafui remember that Ghana has been independent for 27 years. The civilians have ruled for 13 years while the military the remaining 14 years. It would be advisable for Mr King and people of his type to examine the balance sheet properly before going into tantrums..
Osei Kwadwo,
London
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