By Rev. Fr. Dr. Stephen Ntim
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Poverty has always been a bane on the worth of most individuals and groups of people. It is like a virus. It weakens and incapacitates people’s ego. It has the propensity to dent the self-image and confidence of people.
In fact, there are some Africans who unconsciously feel that there must be something “essentially” wrong with their ego, compared to other races. This is especially so in the case of sub-Sahara Africa which is almost considered synonymous with poverty, diseases, ignorance, etc. among the community of nations.
Yet the paradox is that Africa is one of the most naturally endowed continents with very rich culture in the world. It has gold, diamond, manganese, oil and what have you? It is indeed a contradiction then to refer to Africa as the “poor’ continent-and unbelievably that is the reality! Precisely because of its natural wealth, Africa has paid a great price in the course of human history: slavery, colonialism, neo-colonialism (in the form of economic exploitation etc).
The greatest challenge facing the African, then, is to fight and eradicate the glaring poverty, which, to a large extent, is the result of unjust socio-economic structures on the global market and international trade.
It is this global concern for the uneven playground between the developed and the developing countries, in terms of economic emancipation, which prompted men and women of goodwill around the globe, religious and non-religious alike to make a passionate appeal to the developed world for debt cancellation at the beginning of this Millennium at Copenhagen.
Offshoots of the global appeal
One of the offshoots of this global appeal is the United States new stepped-up programme to fight global poverty in poor countries. The focus of this programme is to assist the poorest nations by investing in people and thus leading to economic freedom.
As a result of good governance and strong democratic structures, Ghana was among the nine poor countries that benefited from this programme with US$547 million.
The President of the Republic, Mr. John Agyekum Kufuor not too long ago gave timely caution to all those working on the project not to exploit the funds for their personal gain.
This caution could not have come at a better time when the first phase of the funds is going to be implemented and we thank His Excellency for the timely advice. We have to call a spade a spade.
One of the fundamental delinquencies in this part of our world that has contributed enormously to aggravating our perennial indigence is fraudulence, dishonesty, lack of accountability and transparency on the part of some public officials. Monies meant to help to alleviate the very poor and the downtrodden, eventually end up in the pockets of people who are already well off.
This Millennium Challenge Account is just one of such programmes that over the years men and women of good will in other parts of the world have undertaken to help to reduce poverty if not eradicate it completely.
The end result has not always been the best. It is the wish of this writer that this time round, people who have been entrusted with this programme, will justify the trust that has been reposed in them by the State. The poor Ghanaian beneficiary in the 23 districts that have been selected to benefit need not and must not be disappointed.
The reality of poverty
Poverty is a reality in this country. About sixty percent of Ghanaians who live in the rural communities live from hand to mouth. Some can hardly afford the best of education for their children. Some have no access to good drinking water. Such children through no fault of theirs grow up with little or no hope of getting out of the poverty cycle, compared with their counterparts in the urban areas.
This is the story of most rural Ghanaians. Again, the paradox is that the bulk of our economic productivity, namely, food crop farming, cash crop farming (cocoa, coffee etc) are all concentrated in the rural areas.
The government with limited budget, which is already heavily dependent on external sources, cannot tackle the problem without such external help. It will indeed be a stab in the back then as trusted administrators to misuse the funds for personal gains. The African also has the best in him just as any one else.
This time round, let us bring out the best in us and not the beast in us. We have a responsibility to the American taxpayer who has been so sensitive to our indigence. Let us demonstrate beyond all doubt that we are serious to fight poverty, which is the bane on our dignity as Ghanaians and Africans.
Poverty is already dehumanising. However, it is much more dehumanising to direct funds meant to eradicate unfortunate situations for personal interests. Such negative attitude compromises personal integrity as well as the collective integrity of the State.
As Ghanaians, mediocrity in all its shades, must not and need not, be part of our corporate and personal lives. National interests must always override personal gains. Poverty must be alleviated if not eradicated at all costs.
The Millennium Challenge Account and how it is disbursed for the benefit of the beneficiaries, is yet another litmus test of our commitment to transparency, accountability, and above all the fight against the canker of poverty.
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