For the past three days, I have spent an inordinate amount of time surfing the internet, deliberately revisiting the stories and commentaries attributed to Dr. Steve Manteaw over the years. The exercise was both eye-opening and profoundly disheartening. There is a sharp, poignant, and undeniable distinction between the Manteaw of yesteryear and the Manteaw of recent months.
My conscience would heavily indict me if I failed to honestly point out this uncomfortable truth: Dr. Steve Manteaw has become a pale shadow of his former self. In the past, he stood as an emblem of objectivity, truth, and intellectual honesty. He was a man whose opinions were fiercely independent, never controlled by foreign ideals, partisan undertones, or external influences. He spoke for Ghana, and Ghanaians listened because his patriotism was pure.
Today, however, the story is tragically different. Dr. Manteaw has visibly turned partisan, tilting heavily toward the governing John Dramani Mahama administration. This sudden shift has left many well-meaning Ghanaians nursing the uncomfortable notion that factors other than objective patriotism are now driving his commentary. It is difficult not to welcome the growing consensus that Dr. Manteaw has entered into an unholy marriage with the current administration.
Nothing exposes this partisan alignment more clearly than his recent commentary regarding the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) project. A few days ago, Dr. Manteaw made a public post directing Ghanaians to go and ask the former Sanitation Minister, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, where the monies meant for the GARID project went. In doing so, he deliberately impugned wrongdoing, practically accusing the former minister and the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration of embezzlement or theft regarding funds meant to mitigate Accra’s perennial flooding.
But as the saying goes, truth is stubborn. The World Bank has since stated with absolute emphasis that the funds for the GARID project were never touched or stolen. Instead, the global financial institution clarified that the current government chose to implement fiscal measures to tighten inflation, which ultimately stalled expenditure on several critical, capital-intensive programs.
With the World Bank’s report explicitly exonerating Cecilia Dapaah and the previous government, the question must be redirected to Dr. Manteaw: Where should we look now? Whom should we actually ask about the stalled project and the subsequent floods?
By all means, Dr. Manteaw can choose to continue holding the midfield position firmly for this Mahama administration, but he must do it with a bit more finesse. His current “Sergio Ramos” style of aggressive, reckless tackling on behalf of the government is becoming increasingly intriguing to watch, if not entirely transparent.
The “Midfield General” has inadvertently publicized his true but hidden agenda against the NPP. The coveted tag of neutrality he once wore died some four years ago. It is time for him to accept the reality of his new status: he has elevated himself to the rank of a senior footsoldier for the National Democratic Congress (NDC). Going forward, one can only hope that honesty, rather than partisan convenience, will once again lead him.
