It is befuddling to see politicians break campaign promises and get away with it…. there is barely a reaction from the general public until things have fallen off the rail; when things take a turn for the worse.
Promises, as has been well established, are part and parcel of real politicking and they are fundamental to the survival and wellbeing of political parties.
Political parties which fail to incorporate promises into their electoral platform risk biting the dust and therefore kissing their political dreams goodbye …… they simply disappear into oblivion.
There is no politician who can claim with a straight face that dangling outlandish promises in front of voters is not part of their grand political strategy and elaborate design to gain traction with voters and subsequently win power.
On the campaign trail, politicians brim with abundant confidence. Dripping with unbridled excitement, they assure and reassure voters that if they are entrusted with the solemn responsibility of running the affairs of the country, they will move heaven and earth to make voters’ lives considerably better than before.
But once voters buy into the fake promises —- which on close examination are grandiose and pie in the sky empty campaign rhetoric —- and elect them, these lying politicians suddenly discover that fulfilling campaign promises isn’t exactly a morning walk in the park.
What is more, the politicians belatedly realize much to their surprise and utter wonderment that, contrary to the bloviating and loose talk that characterized their electoral campaigns, governance is unflinchingly difficult, and is in fact, a very tenuous process that requires prudence, adept decision making, the enactment of good public policies and above all, working across the aisle with bitter political enemies.
Absent these important steps, things will begin to unravel —- fall apart real fast; governance becomes a difficult undertaking, the economy stagnates, unemployment goes through the roof and worse, public sentiment turns hostile towards government.
Ultimately, a deep and lingering distrust of government ensues, and the relationship between the two entities — public and government — breaks down.
And the most galling and infuriating aspect of the whole drama is that when the politicians backpedal on their promises, they serve voters a hot, steaming plate of excuses to justify their inefficiency.
At this critical stage, voters cannot wait to bring about a change in the nation’s political leadership. They gleefully look forward to the next election cycle to throw out the pretenders.
The scenario I have painted above, sadly captures in a nutshell, our current political environment; during its days in political purgatory, the ruling NPP promised profusely to make life better for Ghanaians if it was returned to power.
But two years into its rule, the party is blatantly failing Ghanaians with its gross ineptitude. The party once preached on the mountain top that it won’t borrow to finance infrastructural projects. That was its article of faith.
Yet realities have compelled it to go around the globe, cup in hand, to international lenders to secure loans that will have long term financial ramifications for Ghanaians and their descendants.
That Ghanaians are going through difficult times is not a figment of anybody’s wild imagination. It is a harsh reality that has been grudgingly acknowledged and accepted by no less a person than Mr. Gabby Otchere Darko, the consummate insider, political heavyweight and famous cousin of President Nana Akuffo Addo. His blunt admission that the Ghanaian economy is in a funk and sucks big time amounts to an indictment of his own party.
So it is just appropriate and gratifying that at the end of the day Ghanaians have woken up to the fact that they have been duped and taken to the cleaners by a bunch of mendacious and bold-faced scheming politicians masquerading as do-gooders.
Ghanaians have a binary choice in 2020. Either they stay with the status quo or elect someone who will prescribe sustainable remedies.
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