Political Populism and Sloganeering, the New Rhetoric.

Each passing day in Ghana, politicians are heard making verbal policy statements, promises, ideas and ideals that are bold, visionary pronouncement and could transform this Nation. But the truth is, all these are populist and political slogans politician churns out to the electorates to consume as policies. The political class are quick to whip-up sentiments of the masses by promising pro-poor policies which are not genuinely engineered to benefit the poor or to be more apt, it's design to keep the poor in their squalor conditions. Right from the inception of the fourth republic, Ghana has been ruled by leaders that that likes to prey on the sentiments of the ordinary people in other to win political power. Chief among this political populists is Jerry John Rawlings( junior Jesus) and others like Nana Akkufo Addo.

source
Have you wondered why Ghana is still under-developed despite policies like one district one factory(1D1F), One village one Dam, Planting For Foods and Job etc.? The answer is simple; the policies are populists and are not engineered to make the impacts it seeks to make no matter how feasible the policy may be.
One of the political populist policies is the FREE SHS educational policy implemented by the center-right NPP government. As a socialist, I must admit that FREE SHS policy could have been one of the legacy of the NPP government in years to come due to the inclusivity of the policy. There's no doubt that the policy by its description and definition is one the best however, poorly implemented because of how populist the policy is in wining political power and whipping-up sentiments of the subaltern on whose weakness, politicians prey to win votes. I'm not talking about the challenges the policy is facing which is normal in every policy cycle and execution, but the policy guidelines of the FREE SHS indicates that no politician would allow their wards to be enrolled in this educational system especially the low-tier schools.

source
One of such populist policies is Ghana Beyond Aid championed by Nana Addo through big speeches, and slogans. In fact, Ghana Beyond Aid is not new to Ghanaians because it has been advocated by previous governments and regimes. As a proud Pan-Africanist, I must admit that the policy sounds good and if implemented would serve as a catalyst for Africa Beyond Aid. But lets be true with ourselves here, how can Ghana go beyond aid when our begging bowl leaks? how do we become self-reliant if we continue to borrow at high rates of interests? How do we go beyond aid without manufacturing and production of goods and services here? How do we go beyond aid when we cannot even feed ourselves? How do we go beyond aid when our mineral sector has become an enclave point for Western conglomerates? How do we go beyond aid when the policy document of the policy itself was design using pictures from elsewhere?
The truth is that, Ghana be truly go beyond aid but such policy should not be mere rhetoric or slogan, but should be backed by actions like Nkrumah started some years ago.

The new rhetoric politicians would be making are policies that would help them win votes from the masses however, such populist such policy may seemed, voters would fall prey to it by voting among this two political parties who do not have the people at heart. The NDC would be ready to come up with more popular policies and whip-up sentiments that would be re-echoed by the media. Likewise the NPP who are masters in political populism.

I believe Ghana can truly go beyond aid but this must be based on conscious efforts by the political class devoid of any pseudo and make-believes that would sway the ordinary voter. Again, policies must be geared towards societal improvement and as such must be designed to help the poor every one not the rich alone. The current political landscape allows for political populism because it best thrives on political illiteracy. Its time Ghanaians set aside this two political establishments aside and vote for parties that are willing to serve and be accountable to the people.