If Elections Were Held This Week…

In the most candid opinion of The New Publisher, the incumbent New Patriotic Party (NPP) led Government is most unlikely to win if presidential polls were held in Ghana this week.

It is a truth that would sound unpleasant to the ears of the NPP, its friends and protégées, especially the ones living in self-denial; a somewhat scary situation of self-denial for which the party needs exorcism.

No amount of public relation gimmicks and explanations would make meaning to a hungry man with an equally hungry family to feed. All he needs is for the mess to be fixed and fixed with a sense of urgency; a sense of urgency that seems to be lacking and for which the party would suffer at the next polls unless it does something about it.

An increase in the cost of transportation directly results in increase of the price of almost everything in this country. At a time Ghanaians are gnashing their teeth in agony over the unaffordable high and ever rising cost of goods and services, February starts with an announced increase of between 5% and 8% for petrol and an increase of between 8% and 10% for diesel.

To add salt to injury, same February starts with an announced increase of 30% in electricity tariff and 8.3 % for water tariff.

This is happening at a time inflation has crossed 50 % and the local currency is yet to gain its balance against international trading currencies.

A combination of these plus an increase in other taxes including VAT has taken a hard toll on the ordinary Ghanaian who continues to look up to Government for a solution that has become elusive.

The argument from pro-NPP folks have been that the electorate would not vote against the party because the alternative National Democratic Congress (NDC) would be worse off.

We beg to differ. An angry and disillusioned electorate would vote out a Government even when it is not clear what the alternative would offer.

There is anger and that anger has to be poured on someone. There is disappointment and someone needs to take the axe.

It is not too late for the NPP to wake from its long slumber and turn things around for the better. But why would the party in Government be interested in fixing the mess when it is not being told the raw bitter truth that things aren’t going well?

What has become even more harmful to the party and Government when there is no critical media to hold it by the balls because the watchdogs have become lapdogs pampering the powers that be instead of barking out to them the bitter truth.

Meanwhile on the flip side, the largest opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) seems to be battle ready ahead of the NPP.

Whereas the NDC has a clearly fixed date and time table for its parliamentary and presidential primaries, the NPP is still going round and round engaged in a dance of Macabre.

Whereas the NDC has a most likely candidate only waiting to be affirmed, the NPP is still having wannabe candidates at each other’s throat with one potential candidate accusing another of tribalism and fanning some religious bigotry.

Whereas the NDC has settled on a clear team to lead its Minority in Parliament, the NPP is still feet-dragging in the name of consulting the ‘Wise Old Lady’.

If elections were held this week, an angry, hungry and disillusioned electorate would find an organized opposition party as a more attractive political commodity capable of bringing the much sought-after change.