Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com
By William Yaw Owusu
Monday, April 27, 2015
News about a good
number of journalists receiving huge sums of money after a meeting with the
Chief of Staff at the Flagstaff House, the seat of government, continues to
generate heated debate.
The latest group to
condemn the action is OccupyGhana (OG),
a fast-growing pressure group campaigning against widespread corruption whilst
promoting good governance in the country.
According to them, the payment of ‘Soli’ to about 200 journalists by the
Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah is clearly an act of corruption and comes at a
time when the government is not able to support basic needs of the people with
funding.
Soli
Paying of monies to
journalists known in the media fraternity as ‘Soli’ - coined from the word
‘Solidarity” with journalists - has been going on for years and it generates
heated debate whenever such incidence occur.
“OccupyGhana is concerned about the brewing
story that after a social event for journalists organised by the new Chief of
Staff, Mr. Julius Debrah, envelopes containing amounts of money (reportedly
GH¢1,000) were distributed to the journalists. Considering the number of
journalists present, it has been estimated that nearly GH¢100,000 was
distributed after that event.”
The group said the
Chief of Staff was dolling out cash to journalists at a time when “SHS' in the
Northern part of Ghana are unable to re-open for the third term because of lack
of funds,” adding “it comes at a time when Ghanaians are having to struggle
with DUMSOR, which is due, at least in part to the government's inability to
pay its debts to the Electricity Company of Ghana and the Volta River
Authority, estimated to amount to some GH¢1.7 billion.”
Gov’t Indebtedness
The group said the
media was inundated with news about MMDAs owing the Ghana Water Company Limited
some GH¢106 million in unpaid water bills and said “university students have
been notified that from the next academic year, they would be expected to pay
utility bills, probably for the first time in this country's history.”
“Although GH¢100,000
may look and sound like chicken feed to some, the country's economic situation
is so dire and desperate, that this is the time that every brown pesewa of
public funds ought to be channelled into fixing our problems.”
Insult to Ghanaians
“Surely, this is not
the time to splurge, overindulge and grease the gravy train. It is an insult to
the Ghanaian who is forced to sleep in the heat or who has to suspend work on
account of the harsh effects of the DUMSOR, to read that ranking high on the
Government's priorities in these times, is the distribution of free monies to
journalists for no work done. This 'Father Christmas' mentality ought to stop
forthwith!”
Soli Is Despicable
According to
OccupyGhana, “there is no doubt in our minds that Soli is a wrong, despicable
and repugnant act of corruption, especially when it is the taxpayer's monies
that is being used to fund and support it.”
Abuse Of Power
They said “even if it
is claimed that the Government was not the source of those funds (which would
be a barefaced lie), the fact of the person occupying the high office of Chief
of Staff of the Republic of Ghana, doling out cash to journalists for no work
done, is at the very least an abuse of power.”
They challenged
President Mahama to publicly condemn the Soli sharing and “rebuke the Chief of
Staff in no uncertain or qualified terms,” adding “we challenge the President
to make a public announcement that henceforth there will be no distribution of
monies or any other forms of inducement to any persons at any state functions.”
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