By Prof. Nana Essilfie-Conduah
Everyone is calling them the “Paradise Papers”. But the contents are nowhere near that happy, hallowed and heralded for us since childhood to inculcate goodness and stoutly defend it by us as devout Godly persons who will not lie individually, collectively and severally.
Paradise conjures pretty boldness with a certain hope that we will get there if we do not violate the rules of honesty for lust. However, the reverence has become so debauched that it now almost stinks and it is just the long-distant smell of the stench world-wide which holds decency stunned for Christians and indeed pagans alike today. I mean these “Papers” qualified with “Paradise”.
Reality of the Scruffy Paradise
In the first place, I admit that it is the waywardness of the media’s ability in headline writing to project a wicked sense of humour. But the flip side exonerates, because matters arising justify the crisp titling. What is it in a nutshell: “a huge new leak of financial accounts has revealed how powerful and ultra-wealthy including the Queen’s private estate, secretly invest vast amounts in offshore tax havens.”[BBC News 5 Nov 2017].
The list includes multi-national companies, celebrities, political leaders, cronies and high-net wealthy individuals. Two things came to my mind to start to write about them: the Mafiosi though their operations included terrorist ruthlessness; and marked difference puts the “leak” some shades paler of the acts found against the end-game in the “paradise.” I feel more comfortable to call it the “reality of the scruffy paradise.”
The good old days
Besides we are told the law finds nothing primarily illegal about the raw act. My second thought naturally seeks refuge of consolation but with perhaps also the journalist sense. It is a mother’s favourite to calm her fidgety or fretful child. I guess my generation and the rump of the death-decimated just before mine who are alive can easily remember humming it with such amazing nostalgic pleasure from “the good old days”. It was sang for us, babies: Dance little baby, dance up high, never mind baby…
Of course we have grown up and as much as we have forgotten all the lyrics, I remember the meaning or part of it from the wisdom of the poetry which was an advisory which really commands being morally straight; patience and life is not rush to grab everything in one fell swoop or “thou shall not steal”. The US Commerce Secretary misled the Committee which stamped his appointment. He lied.
Avoiding tax
The Queen’s is generally an effort to avoid tax, just as all others found against in the past and remains probably a cast-in-stone attitude for a standard conduct, had intended. The striking difference is that Buckingham Palace had been extraordinarily secretive until caught in surprise blaze of publicity including the British Press, speaking volumes for their objectivity and professionalism.
On the main issue, it is more than probable that the old Lady knows personally the worth of the portfolio and whether she acquiesces, unlike her nobleman Lord Ashcroft also listed because he was reportedly urged against.
However, to put a small damper on that avoiding an apparent charge of singling out the Queen unduly, I am inclined musically again to infer from the late Ghanaian blind Minstrel Onipa Nua’s “Moho asem na woaba yi” (free castigating and denigrating talk about me) apt to fit as reference to establish meaning and point. Beyond that though and also significant, is a British history dating the early year of Sir Edward Heath as Prime Minister [Conservative October 1970 at the Party’s annual conference] Ted, as he was popularly called burst his banks in a speech disowning the leading party fellows who had stashed moneys in the Cayman Islands.
The “off-shores” – some headquartered in Africa like Angola backed by or connected to the leadership hidden behind shell structures have increased and so has the sinister-nests in Trusts and Foundations all constructed for the small circles of influence and wealthy in collusion with overarching state power and security to stand to benefit.
Ted denounced it as horrendous and described the malfeasance as “the ugly and unacceptable face of Conservatism.” One would have thought that the practice stopped. In between there had been stories of discoveries in guilt of the same cash escapades. We have had in this country too fair share of those but here it is always hushed with some menaces and political intimidation with regard to Presidents, Chiefs societal high-ups and status seekers.
The common knowledge
The common knowledge is that the last category would be left stranded where there is neither a political “God-Father” in situ, nor big business muscle and or even both, not rare here though. However sporadic the finds-out, spread of this fine lucrative occupation for rascals to fleece developed, developing and impoverished countries, there is general acceptance of the norm that reads the act as “no legal wrong-doing.” That confirms there is nothing new for news story and implicitly it shall be business as usual like mothers will continue to lift their babies and sing-song them into calmness “dance up high, never mind baby…”
But if the essence of the elaborate structures in Trusts, Foundations et al is merely not to pay the tax, then the attitude to the veil of secrecy on honestly earned wealth groping not to lose a penny or cent or cedi as against the filched, calls now for a far greater in-depth think through than has occurred since Sir Edward Heath’s and that can only be achievable through a global approach, using a Trump combative tactic at one level; and straightening an undergird-international process which is well entrenched to disallow a Trump spoilt child tantrum-tweet at the other level.
Its possibility for the foreseeable is dangerously and disappointingly close to zero due from the might and influence of money and the arrogance of power it wields pervasively presently even in the Church where people [celebrities and high-net-worth alongside the lowest are paying huge consultation fees in foreign currency or ‘forexed.’ Reportedly, it is said the “lowest” who would go for consultation are encouraged to mortgage properties. There had once been claimed in this country that this alter-means used to be the practice of some legal firms of old before taking up a litigant’s brief for or on trial at the courts. Those had no concrete evidence yet there were persons who would use anonymity authoritatively as proof, unlike the so-called Pastors’ pocket money as often well heard today for all kinds of rituals from finish the rival, fasting and fertility through escaping arrest for drug trafficking to safe access to visa and exorcism of the relative who is the witch not excluding mothers.
