You probably missed the other side of the crunch Cabinet retreat that took decision on Ghana’s ailing economy recently. Some have labelled it The Sermon from the Mountain, obviously referring to the setting of the meeting—Peduase, which lies top of the Akwapim mountain range. The Peduase Lodge is one of the best presidential retreat edifices which building, caused Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah all the embarrassments.
That’s when many opposition elements at the time thought Nkrumah was taking over Ghana, its lands and other natural resources. And to the most un-initiated minds at the time, the Peduase building was one act of Nkrumah’s all-grabbing spree. That notwithstanding, Nkrumah will stick to the plan of having such a Mountain Resort which comfort, was not only at the disposal of Ghanaian leaders, but many other world leaders who were at the fore-front of their country’s liberation struggle.
A truce was reached in the Nigerian Biafra war at the Peduase Lodge. The greed and the selfishness of the war leaders unfortunately, caused the war to continue after the military junta that overthrew Nkrumah had committed effort to nip-the-war in the bud at Peduase. That landmark peace accord had become known as the Aburi Accord. So right after Nkrumah’s overthrow, Ghana saw the benefits in the Peduase vision. All of our Heads of State after Nkrumah’s exit had all benefitted from the serenity of Peduase Lodge.
The latest Ghanaian leader to enjoy Peduase, is Nana Akufo Addo. Despite its beautiful architecture, the President and his team shunned the Jubilee House and instead opted for Peduase for the historic “Sermon on the Mountain” Cabinet Retreat. That confirmed the popular believe that Ghana is a country in crises; and therefore the need to talk tough, without pretenses and to confront the issues head-on. Possibly too, to tell people (the Cabinet members) in their faces, how actions of some of them had virtually brought the country on its knees.
So even before the meeting, many had anticipated a fierce no-holes-barred exchanges from the two protagonists running the country’s economy. It went beyond personal relationships to a fight to sustain both professional and personal integrities of the two gentlemen. The state of Ghana’s deteriorating economy had been placed on the doorstep of the Economic Management team headed by Dr. Mahmoud Bawumia, the Vice President.
There are others who opined that the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has been the source of Ghana’s economic woes, stating his draconian closure of some of the largest Ghanaian financial institutions as the main cause of the economic down-turn in the country. As party in government all these disagreements have been cemented and dusted in the believe that if they came out in the public glare, government’s ratings in the public eye will plummet beyond repairs.
The meeting was thus set within the parameters of two opposing factions: The Ofori Atta side with the likes of Gabby Otchere-Darko, Nana Asante Bediatuo, Roads and Highways Minister, Amoako Atta, among others. The family link in the equation cannot be lost on anyone though. Leading the Bawumia axis, this author was reliably informed, was tough-talking, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong and the Majority Leader, Osei Mensah Bonsu.
There were other majority-sided MPs who cited with the Vice President. The President declared the meeting a crisis one that needed objective and unbiased approach and would therefore entreat the gathering to vent out with their frustrations in a no-holes-barred manner. In other words, that was not the time to conceal their concerns in any form of cosmetic and sentimental clothing. That paved the way for the two sides to trade verbal jabs without recognizing that the President of the Republic was in attendance.
Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Information Minister, in one of his briefings on the Peduase crises meeting alluded to the fact that indeed, at certain times of the meeting tempers flared while people stated their positions with no equivocation. The thrust of the discussion was E-Levy and regular mobilization of funds within the public sector. The Ofori Atta angle was not happy that the Vice President had been mute about attempts to get Ghanaians to accept E-Levy, which for now, remains the most viable money generation avenue in country.
So says the Finance Minister. Members of the group thought a Bawumia input would have largely assuaged the fears of many Ghanaians and also diluted any of what they termed as the “opposition propaganda” against E-Levy. This drew sharp rebuttal from Bawumia himself. Credible sources at the meeting hinted this author that Dr. Bawumia picked up issues with the Finance Minister on how on numerous occasions, he (Finance Minister) had rebuffed the contributions of other members of the Economic Management Team, when it came to the collective decisions on the economy.
The Vice President reminded Mr. Ofori Atta why he thought it was pre-mature to implement E-Levy at a time that many Ghanaians are complaining about high cost of living. Insiders also informed this writer that the Vice President asked Mr. Ofori Atta to tell the meeting what his decision was when government decided to shut out all toll booth in the country. Apparently, the Vice President was one of the high-profile officials who vehemently opposed to the idea of closing down the country’s toll booth.
His argument was that why would a country in dire need of liquidity, close down an avenue that has the potential of “fetching us millions of Ghana Cedis?” In the estimation of the Vice President, if there were problems with the management of the booths, the best under the circumstance, was to sanitize the system, possibly with the installation of digital machines to limit wastes and corruption at the various toll booth points. In all of the heated debates, the President was seated quietly with his demeanour cutting a frustrating figure perhaps, pondering over how some of his closest allies had disappointed him with briefings that do not reflect the reality on the ground.