Former Ghanaian strongman Jerry Rawlings has warned against consolidating a culture of corruption and lack of discipline which bedevil African multi party democracy.
Rawlings: Weed out corruption, indiscipline for true development in Ghana
by Isaac Yeboah GRAPHIC ONLINE
Former President Jerry John Rawlings, has, once again cautioned against corruption and indiscipline in the Ghanaian society, saying they constitute “a plague that we should take very seriously if we are to achieve true development in our country.
“If we do not uproot the main stems of corruption in this country, soon we will also contribute to the consolidation of the evil of corruption. We would have squandered another God-given opportunity to free this country and restore its soul and our humanity”, he said to enthusiastic cheers by hundreds of celebrants of the 37th anniversary of the 31st December Revolution at Ashaiman, near Tema.
The occasion was marked under the theme: Deepening the core principles of good leadership for political governance.
Rawlings wondered why multi-party democracy appears not to work for Africans and instead bring out the worst in us, saying the principles underpinning its success in the Western world are very much a part of black African culture.
“If the practice of multi-party democracy can work for Western powers, is there any reason why it shouldn’t work for us? Could it be because of the influence and power that vices like untruthfulness, injustice and the general political immorality wields over the virtue of principles?” Rawlings quipped, and said “If the same practice of multi-party democracy can bring the best or close to the best out of them, why does it bring the worst out of us? And once again is it because we have elevated wrongdoing to an acceptable level where there is no outcry of condemnation and as a consequence we wholeheartedly embrace the corruption we are steadily breeding?”
Rawlings who was addressing a durbar of chiefs, cadres, National Democratic Congress leaders and followers and presidential aspirants, said the simple answer to those questions is “our refusal to liberate truth and justice. To accord truth and justice the place of respect in our lives. If injustice, lying, stealing and robbery can comfortably be used in our everyday lives by both the rulers and the ruled then we seem unaware of the serious consequences.
