Politics
“And one officer was very critical of the regime and Acheampong said, ‘let’s give him that responsibility,’” Major Adjei-Ampofo recounted.
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Major Patrick Adjei-Ampofo has recounted how a senior military officer who was one of the fiercest critics of General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong’s regime was eventually driven to consider resignation after being placed in charge of distributing scarce essential commodities.
At the time, Ghana was experiencing shortages of basic commodities including sugar, milk and sardines. The government had imposed controlled prices, meaning traders were required to sell the commodities at officially determined prices.
“If you hoard it, you are in trouble,” Major Adjei-Ampofo recalled, describing the strict controls surrounding the distribution of the goods.
According to him, Acheampong deliberately gave the responsibility to an officer who had been highly critical of the regime.
“And one officer was very critical of the regime and Acheampong said, ‘let’s give him that responsibility,’” Major Adjei-Ampofo recounted.
The officer was put in charge of distributing the commodities to market women, businesspeople and other members of the public.
At first, he performed the job strictly and according to the rules.
“He was doing his work strictly,” Major Adjei-Ampofo said.
But the officer soon discovered that enforcing the rules was only one part of the challenge.
People who wanted favours began attempting to influence him through gifts.
Major Adjei-Ampofo recalled speaking to the officer one day during what he described as his “night in” duty.
“He said, ‘Look, you go home and there will be a big TV. Those days, colour was just coming out. There will be a big colour TV,’” Major Adjei-Ampofo recalled.
The gifts did not stop with the television.
“The next day, there will be a fridge,” he said.
According to Major Adjei-Ampofo, the strategy behind the gifts was deliberate. The people giving them were effectively creating an obligation that could later be called in.
“They will do this. Then after a week or so, somebody will call and ask, ‘How do you find the TV? You started using it?’”
The answer,Major Adjei-Ampofo suggested, was effectively a commitment.
“You committed yourself,” he said.
The former officer eventually became so uncomfortable with the pressure and inducements that he no longer wanted the responsibility.
“He didn’t want to do the job anymore,”Major Adjei-Ampofo said. “So he wanted to resign.”
For Major Adjei-Ampofo, the episode illustrated how corruption could operate even against people who entered public positions determined to remain honest.
His conclusion was blunt: “The people themselves will corrupt you. If you let them know that you are incorruptible, they will try and corrupt you.”
“They will corrupt you,” he repeated.
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