“In a real democracy, the opposition is not an enemy. The opposition is a partner who shows you where you have gone wrong.” — Julius Nyerere
The SOE space is a public-ownership sector, not a political-party machinery setup. Governments will evade horizontal accountability, or withhold critical information. when we expect them to share it freely. MPs who side with government often stay shut, fearing to condemn or speak against their own party.
When a two-thirds majority can end the probe
The recent call for a bipartisan investigation into the activities of the Bank of Ghana Gold programme was vetoed by a two-thirds majority. That is not a footnote. It is a demonstration of how hard scrutiny becomes when one party can close the file.
It was an unfortunate partisan takeover of a presser designed to explain matters of governance at GoldBod. The inordinate vituperation landed, and too few people called it out. That kind of attack is not only aimed at the opposition; it is aimed at the people who put public officers there.
Who raises the argument when the Majority stays quiet
Follow debates in Parliament of Ghana and a pattern shows up: government MPs often remain quiet on some critical policies, leaving the Minority to raise the arguments. for obvious reasons. In an era where the government party holds a two-thirds majority, supporting a sound opposition argument on accountability subjects is a matter of principle, not of politics.
The current GoldBod boss was himself critical of the then Gold-for-Oil programme, raising hard questions about losses at the time. That was treated as speaking for the people, and that effort was supported. It cannot be that the Minority is wrong simply because the seats have changed.
Public office is not private property
As P. L. O. Lumumba warned, when we join government agencies to attack the opposition, we endorse the treatment of public office as private property. turning public institutions into appendages of political parties. Ongoing attacks on the Minority Leader, Hon. Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, read as a calculated assault on the foundation of that accountability function, not merely as another round of partisan noise.
Feature by Ebenezer Annan. Originally posted on Facebook. Published on PM Signals as a Feature (commentary outside the Official Report). Live Signals start from the Official Report and turn a quote into a market gap and a way to build.