“UK Denies ‘10% Bloat’ Comment” – A Rejoinder

We the Concerned Ghanaians in the UK, and Concerned Ghanaians in the UK Against Electoral Fraud, have come across the rubric of a disclaimer statement, purported to have been made by the British High Commissioner in Ghana, Mr Jon Benjamin. The media headlines, made on peacefmonline.com, reads, Voters Roll: UK Denies ‘10% Bloat’ Comment, accompanied with the image of Mr Benjamin.
We greet this media proem with a most unfortunate disappointment in the sort of journalism that Ghana has come to be inherited in these days, when Ghanaians are saddled with the heaviest yoke, and in the utmost hardest of times.

We have been pricked to the realisation that, the import of the letter written by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, here in the UK has indeed startled them, and keeps on juddering the subconscience of carriers of evil machinations. In their spate of divide and rule tactics, they are determined to engage us the petitioners, the British government, and His Excellency the British High Commissioner in Ghana, in an imbroglio, by creating confusion and annoyance between us.

We have grown much the wiser than they are, against these wiles of Ghana government – corrupted media personnel, and challenge them, especially the Peace fm affiliates of Neat fm, Okay fm, and also the Lens tabloid, Kobi Fiagbe’s Daily Post, and Kwesi Pratt, just mentioning a few, for them to state what they see about the letter from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, that makes them think and believe that it is a fake document.

These are known to be zoilic and ultracrepidarian journalists who, notwithstanding their dearth of knowledge, fancy in fantasising the noble profession of journalism, and traduce national issues of utmost importance to some sort of child play, just to gratify their insulse whims and caprices.

In commenting on the letter from the UK government, and involving the High Commissioner in Ghana, who of course, was not copied with the letter, it is very unfortunate that these media houses have attempted to rubbish its authenticity and content. Mr Benjamin’s statement of response has been severely altered and misconstrued to mean a disclaimer, which of course it is not. It is a typical example of a rubric that deviates entirely from it’s contextual information therein, just to create sensation and confusion.

We challenge these media houses to come out and tell Ghanaians, what in their understanding and comprehension of the lexis and structure of the letter, is meant by the clause:

“We are fully aware of the concerns regarding the electoral register, we note that the average population percentage in Ghana of those elegible to vote is approximately 52%, which is10% higher than the continental average.”

In regard to people’s argument on international involvement in Ghana’s domestic affairs, we stand by the fact that the advanced international communities have interest, not only in Ghana, but in other countries around the world as well. This fact is by reason of their various investments, and for the sake of international relations.
Electoral matters, particularly, attract international attention, because they usually degenerate into internecine conflict, and most especially in Africa, and that it comes at a high cost to the budget of these communities.
The fact that Ghana is internationally know to be the filthiest country, the fact that Ghana is the 2nd most corrupt country in the world etc, does not mean that the international communities have no locus standi to state it as a matter of fact, but dealing with its reparation is a matter of domestic responsibility.

This is a letter written in very simple English semantic expression, not in Greek, and not in Latin, yet a Neat fm morning show presenter tells me in an interview with him simultaneously on Monday and Tuesday morning, that he doesn’t understand its context and import of it, but he fully understands what the Lens newspaper, and Fiagbe’s Daily Post had written in rubishing it.

We the organisers of the demonstration, those of us who composed both the content of the petition, and the letter to the Prime minister, that has generated this response, confidently attest, and stand by the contents and authority of these letters. We are steadfast with the position of the British government, as stated in the letter, and we know and believe that his Excellency the British High Commissioner in Ghana also stands by what has been stated by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Their Monroe policy of non-interference is guaranteed, but facts of international concern remain to be stated by them as of right.
We are not allowing what has been misquoted, misconstrued, and misinterpreted by our startled and shaken detractors to make us doubt the integrity and loyalty of the British High Commissioner in Ghana

We also challenge our media detractors that we stand ready for them to quickly report us to the UK security agencies, for them to arrest us, and to prosecute us for criminal counterfeiting of the official government letterhead of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, and scribing deceitful and fraudulent material on them.

For the sake of clarity and further averment of the facts of the matter, coupled with the authenticity of the letter, as well as the authority from which it was written, we publish herewith, scanned copies of the separate replies from No 10 Downing Street, dated 11th November 2015, and the response authored by Vicki Morley, of the Ghana desk of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, dated 23rd December 2015.

Adreba Kwaku Abrefa Damoa,
(For and on behalf of Concerned Ghanaians in the UK, Against Electoral Fraud)