I am utterly disappointed by the supposed ex-gratia package approved for the ex-president and the ministers who served in his administration. Considering that all of this was done in an almost clandestine manner, it looks to me like formalized thievery, a blatant insensitivity to the plight of the common man and an outright opportunity to serve in government. Former President Kufuor I think epitomizes arrogant, uninspiring leadership who after very lowly and unimpressive achievements, organized the most senseless national awards ceremony and had enough pride to make himself one of the awardees. The fact that this was approved by the nation's parliament is very revelatory of the smallness of our thinking and frightening myopia at the national level. Our parliament could best be described as a bunch of hired stooges who would always kowtow to proposals that would add to their personal gain or disingenuously reject an otherwise good proposal with the flimsiest excuses and counter propositions. The law profession has been said to be a profession that places premium on winning arguments rather that solving problems. Perhaps this explains why our parliament, a chunk of whose members are lawyers, is constantly engaged in endless rigmaroles that have very little impact on the lives of the people they represent. It's very sad to see shameless politicians vigorously justify these amazing packages for a nation as poor as Ghana. I think we need to set up a National Hall of Shame where we have a listing of all these individuals who are an apology to service and an embarrassment to all well meaning Ghanaians who put them in their various positions. We very vaguely understand True Leadership; we have our own version of democracy which could very euphemistically be described as quintessential hypocrisy and a true sense of service which is nearly non-existent in our part of the world. Our leadership standards, systems and procedures are so low they would hardly churn out well meaning leaders who have a strong resolve and a genuine sense of national service. I think leaders should be accessed but by what they are able to accomplish with their personal lives before engaging in public service. Little wonder that most politicians dread leaving power as their lack of innovation, personal leadership and visionlessness will make them starve a long time. To think that the chairperson for this hole-and-corner committee was Ms Chinnery-Hesse makes me worry a lot about the quality of advice the president has received over the years. Given her position as Chief Advisor to the president and capacity to significantly influence major policy decisions in the previous government, it would be hardly surprising to learn that she may have presided over heavily financially wasteful adventures and possibly involved in the deliberate orchestration of other equally financially hemorrhagic projects. Needless to say, she and her cohorts could always count on a rubber stamp parliament to blindly endorse these wasteful projects. It is unfortunate that in our politics, the best men hardly win and it's often the vagabonds in power. I shudder to think that this is just the beginning of many more frightening dig-ups of the previous government. God Save Us. Best Regards, Credit: Muniru Husseini [E-mail: mmuniru@yahoo.com]