First Published on December 12, 2016
Last week, December 7, 2016, the people of Ghana balloted to elect a new leader. As a young fellow, this will be the first election since I began to make sense of policies and governance issues. So I observed keenly.
They say my country is the beacon of hope for African democracy. This might be true only because the standard set for Africa is low. The December 7th election was an eye-opener.
Trivial politics is the kind that thrives in my country, for instance, promising to build a factory in each of the 216 districts without stating what and how. Promising to give each of the 275 constituencies a million dollars, the form this fund will take? They didn’t say. Those were some of the promises made by the opposition leader, now the president-elect.
The incumbent, who will soon be ex-president, characterized his regime with corruption and mismanagement. He invested so much in infrastructure, which was misplaced in some cases, and did too little to improve the nation’s economy. It led to a hike in prices and left many mouths hungry, so when someone comes promising food, they need not ask how it would be prepared to accept.
The majority of the people who elect leaders in my country have little education, sometimes none. Also, the colonial system which established the educational system doesn’t make it any better. They needed some guidance. This is where our elites and the media failed.
Amid the trivia, there was a third force that talked about real issues and practical ways that the public and private sectors can partner to bring growth in areas of agriculture and manufacturing. Practical ways to cut government expenditure by reducing ministerial positions and striking out some miscellaneous in governance. Was it just a political talk? We don’t know, but at least he brought real issues to the table.
The media and our elites slept on these issues, failed to compare and contrast them with what the big two were preaching, and allowed them to use gimmicks, religion, and tribalism to appeal to the emotion of the people, thus winning their votes. They slept on the fact that the two leaders refused to grant interviews to the media and did not attend presidential debates to put their policies and promises to test like the others.
The media’s role in governance is crucial, but unfortunately, the media in my country is for the powerful than the people. They’ll rather be a mouthpiece for political leaders than watchdogs. The under-skilled nature of our journalists is also an issue and is reflected clearly in the coverage of our elections.
Most of the correspondents from the various news media were terrible, and our institutions training them needed to quadruple their work. In a society where our educational system is not helping much, the few enlightened must use the media to inform the masses. That is the only way we can have a functioning society that can elect leaders based on issues and hold them accountable.
To the third force and those who wish to try out a real change in our politics, the work must begin now. You don’t have to wait for a campaign season to start informing the people on issues. Start now. You must help the people hold the government accountable and explain the consequences of their actions and policies in a manner they can understand.
The media, please, please, and please, you have a lot of power, and you must use it to enlighten our people. Instead of wasting airtime on unethical, biased, and arrogant party-spoke persons, do some research on your own, involve outspoken resource people, grow some balls and be creative with your reportage to make a better understanding.
Our elections also got the hands of too many foreign stakeholders involved. After 59 years of independence and our status as a ‘’beacon of hope,’’ an election is something we should be able to conduct without seeking validation and funds from external sources.
As much as I have no hope in the president-elect, it is my wish he puts me to shame and works better than his predecessor to bring real change in the lives of my people.
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