Is Government Official one a ghost?

 This is an election year and so the usual fear of chaos arising out of the aftermath of the elections has engaged the attention of stakeholders.

We hear of appeals for peace to prevail before, during and after the elections. Elections are held to elect leaders to steer the affairs of governance in the country to improve the welfare of the masses.

If this is the objective and leaders understand this, then those competing for lead­ership roles as well as the electorate should conduct themselves in a manner that should be peaceful.

It should never be chaotic since it is a competition of ideas and therefore the supe­rior ideas and message should hold sway. However, if the ob­jective is different from what elections is all about, but a certain selfish agenda, then it becomes “I must win at all cost” issue which then has the potential of creating chaos.

There is a popular saying that politics is a dirty business but I disagree. It is only when the players involved throw the ethics of the profession to dogs, then it becomes dirty.

This brings to mind the play­ers of the current contest for the election of the President of Ghana in the 2024 presi­dential elections scheduled for December. We have the former President John Drama­ni Mahama as the flagbearer of the main opposition party, the NDC.

We also have the current Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia leading the govern­ment in power, the NPP as their flagbearer, there is Mr Alan Kwadwo Kyeremateng of the Movement for Change, Nana Kwame Bediako, an independent Candidate, Percival Kofi Akoaloo, of the Liberal Party of Ghana, Hassan Ayariga of the Action People’s Congress among others.

All these people are cam­paigning with the promise that they have what it takes to transform the fortunes of the country and better the destinies of the people in the country.

Underlying all the promis­es of these individuals is the question of their integrity. It is therefore imperative to settle the debate once and for all as to the identity of Government Official one.

The need to know who is referred to as Government Of­ficial one in the Airbus Scandal is of paramount importance because the person identified only as Government Official one, has been described by a court of competent juris­diction as a bribe taker and therefore a corrupt person.

He was further described by the facts made available in court as an elected official and that he deliberately or­chestrated a plan to defraud Ghana.

It was speculated that giv­en the facts of the case which involved a certain Samuel Adams Mahama and this same name appeared in a book titled ‘My First Coup D’état’, written by the former Presi­dent, John Dramani Mahama, then the former President is the person being referred to as Government Official one.

If that is the case, then giv­en the requirement of integ­rity as part of the criteria for qualification as a presidential candidate, then the former President must be disqualified as a presidential candidate.

Our country has suffered from bad leadership which has enabled corruption to thrive to the detriment of nation­al development and it must come to an end. The former Special Prosecutor (SP), Mr Martin Amidu, published a report in which he declared that, Government Official one is no other person than former President John Dramani Ma­hama.

The former President has not sued him for defamation, which to the average rational person, lends credence to the claims of the former SP. The current SP has also hinted that he will make known his findings on the identity of Government Official one and so we urge him to do it quick­ly to prevent the possibility of electing a fraudster and therefore a thief as President.

By Laud Kissi-Mensah