The fundamental antidote to politics of lies, dishonesty, and first-guessing in Ghana is the Blended Representation Principle (BRP) of Governance.

1.           Arguably today in Ghana, the politics of lies, dishonesty, and first-guessing is on the ascendancy. From the plagiarized inaugural speech in January 2017 to the doubts expressed about COVID-19 recovery cases and numbers, this trajectory of deception has triggered on social media recently the sloganeering crusade #KickNanaOut (Ghanaweb, May 17, 2020).  At best, the target of this crusading slogan is the immediate symptoms of a decayed system of governance which has over the ages proven capable of responding mainly to the needs of the privileged few in society.  A fundamental grassroots solutions search will include a layer of long-range lens in social media parlance as #AdoptBRP (www.anani-afelenetwork.org).  

2.           Adopting a Blended Representation Principle (BRP) of Governance in Ghana will mean an autonomous local government under an adeptly revamped for purpose traditional authorities, and national government under partisan-based elected officials. There will be a balance of head and body to constitute a foundation of institutional checks on preventing politics of impunity, winner knows it all posturing, and leader can get away with any utterances attitude.

3.           BRP has an inherent bastion with appalling consequences for, among many errors, leadership plagiarized speeches, family and friends-driven appointments, and naïve politicking with exchange rate matters while the production structures of the country remain intact ever since created.  Rulers and representatives will be subjected to continuous assessments, and citizens’ sense of having the power to effect desired changes will not have to be manifested in a four-year timeframe of exercising this right of empowerment. 

4.           Under the BRP, leaders will not have the audacity to take citizens for granted and make statements later to be verified as inaccurate and reduce the nation to ridicule and trolls in the international public space. In the span of two weeks, citizens have to embrace the reality that some important statements emanating from the seat of government are false. It may seem even pooh-poohing statements has become the new normal regarding reporting on the COVID cases.

5.           At the moment, there is serious first-guessing ongoing regarding the intentions of the seat of government, the Electoral Commission (EC), National Identification Authority (NIA), and some of the opposition parties. The act of first-guessing occurs when there is grounded convictions of intent. Ruling elites parade themselves as ostriches when politics is reduced to a zero-sum, winner takes all game. At the end of intransigence, ordinary folks are always caught up in the resultant melee.

6.           Ghana has enough resources – natural and technical to operate a governing system responsive to the needs of the majority, and with a bit of tweaking under the banner of the BRP, the country can avoid the infamy visited on its image with the prevailing politics of lies, deception and first-guessing. #AdoptBRP.     

May 17, 2020