Nepotism can simply be described as a favouritism shown by people in power to their close relatives and friends by giving them jobs to do or huge contracts to execute in government when others who are equally qualified for that position or contract are sidelined because they don’t know anyone in power or don’t have strong political links.
This practice has eroded many people of their chances and jobs in both the government and the private sector. Sometimes the person who is favoured may not even have the needed qualification or experience but by virtue of knowing a big man or woman the person is offered the job or contract.
This is indeed crippling Ghana and creating untold hardship in the country because all your efforts in school is beaten in favour of protocol to favour someone connected within. It’s so discouraging and a zeal killer among the youth of any nation.
Every party that has taken the seat of government of Ghana is guilty of this social crime and bad practice. Kuffour practiced it by making his junior brother defence minister, Mahama practiced it with Ibrahim Mahama securing huge contracts and government benefits when his brother was in power. It is even alleged that the Mahamas managed to take over the defunct Merchant Bank in Ghana by certain dubios means which case has not really been proven well enough so I take it to be a rumour unless there is a court proceeding into the case and lines of judgement clearly defined.
In my honest opinion I don’t think there is anything wrong in favouring a relative or a friend or two in government if you have power especially when they are also qualified and have the requisite experience like any other Ghanaian.
I even think it is even the right thing to do especially for certain positions that you need people you can really trust and rely on. Kuffour making his brother a defence minister was a very smart move because people were contemplating at that time that J J would have staged a coupe detat after NDC’s defeat which never happened anyway. But in case it was to happen, he had his brother in the realms of affairs at the defense ministry to foil any attempt.
Infact when you come to power and you don’t help a relative or two, when you are out of power they won’t deal lightly with you at all. It seems in Ghana those from the Western Region and Central Region who have had a chance in government were not really seen practicing nepotism. May be because of their timidity or lack of care for their own. I speak of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and Prof. Evans Atta Mills but even with that their own people till date curse them in their graves for not helping to employ more of them in government or developing their regions or at least their own hometowns. They claim it is selfless leadership but I don’t think it’s the best. Even Jesus had some of his brothers as part of his disciples.
You can even see Donald Trump is trying to fuse his children into the American political system gradually. Gadafi of Lybia, Yadema of Togo, Cabila of Congo, Kenyatta of Kenya, Saddam Hussein of Iraq, President Bush of USA etc all tried to fuse their kids into the political landscapes of their various countries but it was no so much on a wholesale basis as we are seeing in the current government today. I mean this is all good, but like they say too much of everything is bad especially when you put your family members in certain places that so much benefit from government will accrue to them when the masses are suffering and impovrished.
This is the exact case scenario of the NPP government today. This government is practicing nepotism on a wholesale basis and rubbing it in the face of Ghanaians that we cannot do anything to them whatsoever, right from the presidency to ministers of states and people even giving contracts to their wives in government.
I chanced upon a document that enlist the various roles that this government has given out to relatives through nepotism and it is a jaw dropping revelation. This are what has come to public light but I am sure there are more positions that has not come to public domain. Now I realise why all the youth in Ghana want to do politics because if you don’t know anyone in government sometimes it is hard to breakthrough in this country and this ought not to be so.
Here are the list of people made up of close relatives and acquaintances that this government has employed :
1. President’s daughter Gyan Nkrumah Akufo Addo, Creative Arts Board
2. Dr. Bawumia’s Brother in-law, Abu Ramadan Deputy NADMOM Director
3. Bawumia’s brother in-law Abu Ramadan Ambassador to United Arab Emirates
4. Speaker of Parliament, Prof Mike Oquaye’s Son Mike Oquaye Jnr.India High Commissioner
5. Chairman Freddie Blay, his Wife Gina Blay Ambassador to Germany
6. Senior Minister Osafo Marfo, Two of his sons, Kofi Busumpim Osafo Marfo Deputy Director of SSNIT, Kofi Gyamfi Osafo Marfo Deputy Director of NCA
7. Finance Minister President Akufo Addo Biological mother Jnr Brother, Ken Ofori Atta
8. Minister of roads and highways, President Akufo Addo mother Jnr sister son Kwasi Amoako Atta
9. Akufo Addo Jnr. Sister Gloria Akufo is the – Attorney General
10. Akufo Addo mother Jnr. Sister son Atta Akyia is the Minister of housing
11. President Akufo Addo family member and an Akyim is the Chief Justice, Sofaya Akufo
12. Fair wages and salaries commission is headed by Akufo Addo half brother by name Edward Akufo Addo
13. Advisor to the president, Duke Ofori Atta Jnr. brother to the finance minister
14. Executive secretary to the president, Asanti Bediatuo, A direct half-brother to Akufo Addo
15. GNP board is headed by Nana Adwoa Agyeman, Akufo Addo’s uncle Gabby Okyrie’s Darko wife
16. Akufo Addo biological sister Rodalin Barfuo Gyama is heading Goil board
17.Tema development corporation is headed by Akufo Addo biological sister Alice Akufo Addo
18. SICE is headed by Akufo Addo only surviving wife jnr. Sister Eno Ofori Atta
19. Fisheries minister appointed her own biological brother to head the premix fuel because the president has appointed his brothers and sisters
20. Virginia Hysy is the mother of Akufo-Addo’s first biological child born out of wedlock (Baby Momee). She has been appointed as the ambassador to Czech republic.
This create, loot and share in this government is disgusting and very bad. You don’t want your family members to suffer so you have given them important positions in the country and you have created general hardship for Ghanaians in this country.
You caused alot of public CEOs to be sacked and many people have lost their jobs as a result of the bad policies of this government. If this government survives the first term then it means God has abandoned Ghana. I know most Ghanaians have regretted by now for voting this government into power and will correct their mistakes in 2020.
Many have complained about the size of your government machinery even presidential staffers of 119 people and is expected to increase in 2019 from look of things in the 2019 budget and you make it worse by this worse kind of nepotism in government in the history of Ghana.
The sweet tongued information Minister, Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has come to say it is a rumour but rather government size will reduce by 69 people rather in 2019. We all live to see that manifestation.
My humble suggestion is remove all your family members and put neutral Ghanaians there to prove your selflessness as a president. We don’t even understand why a Senior Minister position for Mr. Yaw Osafo Marfo and then he goes to bring his two sons to come and be deputy directors in two state institutions?
They I guess are being coached to take over as Directors of SSNIT and NCA eventually. Mr. President are you afraid of Mr. Yaw Osafo Marfo or what, that you have to forcefully create a position for him and his sons in this country? He comes to say his sons were employed based on merit. What a shame! Posterity will judge our evil governments.
Creating massive unemployment in Ghana but employment for your own family members and close associates. This is very unfair to us Ghanaians and you must do something about this because Ghanaians are watching and they won’t forgive you in 2020. I know you know Ghanaians, we can allow ourselves to be fooled but once we decide nothing can change our minds.
In all these areas where your people have been employed, we want to see Auditor General’s work intensified there so that there can be true transparency in government. We want to see the public accounts committee working rigourously like it did in the NDC era. I can sense Auditor General’s exploits has reduced drastically in recent times and I wonder what the cause is?
I almost wept yesterday when GN bank had over Ghs200 million withdrawn from the bank in just 2 weeks because business men don’t consider the banks safe anymore. The Chairman of GN seemed overly disturbed and lamenting so much. According to him deposits were not only high under NDC government but was increasing progressively every time but with this government they are loosing their deposits to huge and simultaneous withdrawals at the same time from most customers. They are not only loosing their deposits but the opportunity cost of increased future deposit they could have had if there was a good government in place. Dr. Paa Kwesi is one of the most astute and honest business mogul I have come accross in this country and even he is suffering like this then you can imagine the rest.
Mr. President this is what you are putting the ordinary businessmen like Dr. Paa Kwesi Ndoum through in this country with your bad and insensitive policies whiles you employ your own family members all over the place as you create better living conditions for them and impovrish Ghanaians in general.
Dr. Paa Kwesi Ndoum’s own is in the public light because he himself is a public figure but how about all those businessmen and women who are suffering and they are not public figures? We speak to them on the street and they complain bitterly of this government and how business is too bad for them under Akuffo Addo’s government.
I am yet to meet a Ghanaian now who is not complaining that things are hard in this country. Everybody is complaining unless those who get some of the “chop chop” in government. We appeal to you to step down not to wait till 2020 because you are dragging the country backwards and creating hardship in this economy.
The Bible puts it in a simple way, it says when the wicked rules the people suffer but when the righteous rules, the people rejoice. The economic situation of the people generally will determine whether the person in power is wicked or not. This government has proven to be very wicked to Ghanaians and I will personally campaign with no reward with whatever medium to make sure it steps down from power in 2020.
I have always said in my articles that I don’t belong to any party yet because when they all get into power they don’t know us so we don’t trust any of them but we will bash the wrong doings of any government at all not just NPP because we care about Ghana more than any political party. We will make information available for right thinking Ghanaians to decipher and decide who to give economic power to. We want to save our economic resources from the hands of brutish and insensitive governments.
A very simple economic test I throw to all readers is that why do we all rise up on our beds early in the morning to go and work? It’s all because of money. And which institution in Ghana helps in the circulation of money in the country? It is the commercial banks. Therefore if a government comes to power that the financial sector of the economy is suffering or there is general panic withdrawal or people don’t have trust in the banking sector anymore then that government is a very bad government.
The Financial Sector of any economy is the life blood of the economy but if it is collapsing under any government then that government is a very bad government. This is the acid test of a good or a bad government. If the financial sector is not stable it will reflect in the general living conditions of all Ghanaians and that is what you are seeing today in Ghana. Everybody is complaining of hardship in this country, I mean everybody. Why?
