When Dzata, (The Lion), attacks Ivor Greenstreet.

 

Ivor Greenstreet recently shocked Ghanaians when he stomped the NDC congress grounds and punched the NDC’s ego right on its turf. In and of itself, that was news. Big news! Political parties have always supported and encouraged each other at congress without the embarrassment that came with this year’s NDC congress. Often, competing political parties offer brief felicitations to the party holding its congress and goad them on. This banal practice quickly became the climax of the NDC congress for its notoriety.
Not that Ivor’s statements were false or objectionable, but that the forum he chose was wrong. Not many cared much for semantics and nuances. To them, NDC needed to be told the truth about the state of affairs and it doesn’t matter where that information is presented to them. Your opinion on that is welcome. As if the forum brouhaha were not enough, it is the response from Mr. Sam Dzata George that is more disturbing. His response illustrates how society treats its less fortunate, here a disabled person, to be distinguished from an indigent. Far be the latter from Mr. Greenstreet who may otherwise be considered privileged but for the motor vehicle accident that left him paralyzed in his adult years.
The vicious surge with which Dzata (to wit, Lion) responded to Ivor’s mostly truthful statement is utterly shocking to Amandla. It demonstrates how out of touch these government functionaries are with the realities of the Ghanaian’s life today. Bearing his teeth, Sam Dzata George stated that in order for Ivor to see the “Better Ghana” manifestation Ivor would need “elevation.” What? Really? To berate a disabled person for his opinion on your performance should not illicit such a response. It is appalling, to say the least.
It has been many weeks since George’s response. Amandla wonders whether Dzata is still at post, whatever his official title was at the presidency. He cannot continue to hold himself out as representing the president or his party in any capacity. He has shown such lack of judgment and lack of basic compassion, and has demonstrated such cruelty to fellow persons not placed as he is that he should not be allowed to work for the public interest. His gyrating series of apologies, couched in all manner of chicanery, does not pass muster. He needs to polish up his CV and get out there looking for a real job. It is he, who needs elevation from government freebies to the real world in order to understand what it means to pay bills for water and electricity that is constantly being interrupted, rent a place, build a house, pay school fees, look after a family and become a real man and an adult for a change.
Amandla has always held that our society could benefit from harnessing all its resources. The less able in our society bring something of value that must not be ignored.
We must see them as such and help them by providing accommodation to the disabled in our society so they can function like the rest of us. It is hard enough for them to get by, and the society loses by continuing to discountenance them, but for government functionaries to rebuke and scorn them is totally unacceptable. Sam Dzata George must go! The government must make a scapegoat of him to show that it takes the plight of the disabled very seriously. It is the least any decent government can do.

Posted by on Jan 12 2015. Filed under Editorial. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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