“God bless
our homeland Ghana, and make our nation Great and Strong”. God has indeed blessed Ghana in good
measure. The rest is really up to us; and if we fail to reach our “great and
Strong” status in spite of all that's available to us, then perhaps we've
lived in a sea of disillusioned illusions. Over the years Ghanaians have
continued in hope, promises after promises, government after government; in
expectation that “things will get better”. It's not much to ask. For years,
some politicians have carried on in “their own ways”, exploiting many for votes
and being accountable to none. Like wolves they rule the sheep to make meat for
their bellies and wool for their skins. Ghanaians have looked on quietly. That
quietness has been misconstrued as blindness – Truth is, we see the corruption
and the waste. We see greed feeding on servitude, betrayals of our common
prosperity and insults to our intelligence. We see it all.
I am of “this” generation; a
generation that believes the future is in our own hands to shape; a generation
unhappy with the visionless state of our country's changing leaderships and the
seemingly eternal damnation to be a country always holding up a begging bowl;
It is us who seek answers, answers to salvage any hope, we have remaining in
the abilities of our leaders. I may not ask all the questions, but I am asking
a few. Let the leaders answer:
Ministry of Communication and Technology
Technology is the world's future.
Technologies well developed are equally as valuable as our natural resources.
Fact - Ghana has not really progressed much by depending on its natural
resources alone. The problem isn't the abounding resources, but the lack of
value being added to them. Technology is what adds value to what we already
have and creates new values out of our intangible ideas. Technology will launch
us twenty years backward if we don't embrace it aggressively or twenty years
ahead if we do. So, dear Minister – What's your ministry aggressively doing to
lead the nation into a conscious technological revolution? What are you
implementing to make technology the driving force behind our industries, our
education, our farming, our transportation etc? Why aren't we aggressively
backing and collaborating with the local budding technology industry? Is it
because you don't believe in their abilities or that it is the next big thing
or is technology just not your kind of thing?
Ministry of Education & Sports
The future of this nation lies
heavily with your Ministry, but truth is, that future is gradually eroding.
Consider Ghana's tertiary educational system; it is incredulously
heart-breaking that our future leaders are being taken through a kind of
education where intellectual merit is a reward for reciting back what lecturers
teach and not for thinking outside the box. They do NOT excel anymore by using
historical knowledge to innovate new solutions but rather by simply repeating
old knowledge in the face of new and evolving challenges. The world is evolving
rapidly and the nations that continue to do well are those that are building
empires of “the human mind”. They are the countries whose educational
philosophies are focused on ensuring that the thinking and knowledge of their
younger generation is positioned far into the future, ahead of anyone else. So
I ask you this question – How is Ghana's educational system positioning our
generations into the future? How about basic level of education? The current
rate of failure at the BECE's certification stage is about 40%. Is this normal
Minister? Is it normal that 40% of the future generation are failing before
they even start? Is it normal that in this modern era, children still study
under trees; teachers do not benefit from any modern applied research into how
best to deliver learning; is it normal that 25% plus of national budget goes
into education and yet we can condone these failures? Is it really normal,
Minister?
Ministry of Information
In the current world it is those with
strategic information that win. Countries as a result are vigorously engaging
in an information war which in a few years' time will replace what has been in
the past – the cold war. We can't engage in such a war, but out of curiosity –
what is your Ministry doing to protect our “information sovereignty and
territory”? Terrorism is no more about bombs; it's about threats to sensitive
information. Can you say your ministry has robust systems in place to protect
nationally sensitive information being held by say, the Ministry of Finance,
Defence, Bank of Ghana or the Ghana stock exchange? Lest I forget, when the rest
of the world hears about Ghana, what information are we hoping to reach them
with? What branding do we want them to see or hear? What information are we
consciously, as a nation branding our country with? By the way on the
Government of Ghana official internet website, on the “About Ghana” page, and
“Ghana at a Glance” section; you have listed on there the statement: “GHANA IS
AN ISLAND OF ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRY IN THE OCEAN OF FRANCOPHONE NATIONS” – Firstly,
Ghana is NOT an island and second, there is no such grammar as “in the ocean of
Francophone nations”. You have also listed “GDP Annual Growth Rate =4.7 USD”. Minister, the rates are measured in percentages not USD and secondly
the rate is currently NOT
4.7%. Can't we
even proofread and update a whole national government portal? You see, Dear
Minister, Information reflects our image and IMAGE is everything – Is our Information
system making or unmaking us?
Ministry of Energy
Dear Minister, I, and the rest Ghana
I'm sure, would like to know whether or not you have ever had an “energy source
mapping” conducted? If you did, then tell me; of all the sources of electrical
energy in Ghana available to tap into, why are we so very reliant on Biomass
(60%+), Hydro and Thermal sources? The Dams and thermal plants have fixed
energy production capacities whereas the population of Ghana continues to
increase; Approximately 40% of this country still do not have access to
electricity; Ghana meanwhile is gradually moving into slow industrialisation
and I just wanted to ask you how you intend to reach the un-serviced 40% of the
country and still have enough electricity to service our growing industry?
You'll import rather than invest in long term alternatives, won't you? What are
we doing with alternatives; wind, solar, etc.? Yes, there has been
consultations, plans, proposals etc – but what are we doing? Don't you feel any
betrayal that Ghanaians for the most part pay their electricity bills
faithfully and yet cannot still enjoy uninterrupted power supply? Does it cause
you any worry at all that industry and individuals in Ghana make financial
losses on a daily basis because of power outages? Do you by any chance worry,
that we fail to attract foreign businesses into Ghana because if they came,
most of their industrial operations will be sabotaged by the regular power
interruptions?
Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning
The Ghanaian people pay Income taxes,
VAT, Customs duties, Road Tolls etc. to the Government and yet they don't see
any improvements in sanitation, roads, hospitals, schools, etc. In fact it
appears most of our infrastructure are significantly still being funded from
loans and grants from external governments and bodies. The people pay taxes and
yet have to pay bribes to receive services their taxes were meant to pay for.
The people pay taxes and yet the government still gets external budgetary
support. So what is all the tax money being used for exactly Minister? Ghana's
annual budget has for many many years been supported by multi-donors. My
laymen's understanding is that if these donors' should pull out at any time, we
would not be able to fully run our country within a particular year. So I ask
you dear Minister, how long will we be in this vulnerable state as a country;
and I ask you again can't we start attempting to live within our means? And if
I may ask you finally Minister, what's the business sense behind taking loans
from external sources, contracting out works to external companies, paying
those external companies with the external funds borrowed and then being left
to pay again for the amounts borrowed over many years – just out of curiosity I
wanted to know – what are we retaining in the Ghanaian economy?
Ministry of Food and Agriculture
Dear Minister, our country's
production of cocoa is under competition from Indonesia (currently the third
largest producer). I have read the strategies the two countries are adopting to
topple Ivory Coast from the top spot. In summary, whereas we are giving free
seeds to farmers, the Indonesian's are combining free seeds and aggressive
increases to the number of hectares currently farmed. Cocoa was introduced in
Ghana before Ivory Coast. In the last eight years that Ivory Coast has been
politically unstable, we have not been able to surpass their production superiority
and I wondered if we'll do so now when they are in a recovery mode and eager to
claw back on lost time? Dear Minister, perhaps you can also explain this to me
– why is it that countries such as the USA, Italy and Switzerland who do not
produce Cocoa are the world's top producer of chocolates which we, as a country
turn back to import – why do we export cocoa at producer rates to countries
that add a little value to them and sell back to us at higher prices? Forgive
my ignorance but I need you to educate me on this. I'll spare you the concerns
I have on rice imports, Timber concessions, Palm Oil production, Cereals
production, storage and exports etc…. I'll spare you now, but “I Will Be Back”
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
My layman's understanding of a
Foreign Affairs Ministry is (i) it formulates and executes the country's
policies on external relations (ii) be the initial point of contact with other
countries, sell Ghana's image and win her opportunities (iii) serve the
sovereign interest of Ghanaians abroad. Now here's a story: On Ghana's 55th
Independence day, I incidentally attended a Ghanaian consulate's dinner event
whilst abroad. I felt very excited about the prospect it presented other
countries to consider the opportunities in Ghana and for Ghanaians to also
create beneficial partnerships. Present were diplomats and business men from
other countries. I rechecked my invitation card – it did say “networking”.
Excellent! Ten minutes in, the ambassador made his speech – he said nothing
about what core direction the country was headed; nothing about the sectors
foreign investors could explore; nothing about opportunities back home for
Ghanaians in the diaspora….. But he did say we were the first country south of
the Sahara to gain independence; he did say Kofi Annan the past UN secretary
general was a Ghanaian; and on, and on. I certainly was NOT the only one who
stood there looking puzzled whilst others cheered happily. Ten minutes later,
full blast of “Azonto” music takes over, rendering conversation impossible. In
a few more minutes, invited diplomats and business people began to file out of
the building. Surprised? No, I felt the same – “there's no business to be done
here”. Was this an opportunity wasted even though several could have been explored?
You judge. Minister, do our foreign offices have any business philosophies on
how diplomacy is conducted? Do they understand that as ambassadors, every
opportunity should be grabbed to sell Ghana's brand to the world and tap into
opportunities presented us by the world? How much business traffic do
consulates drive to Ghana annually compared to the taxpayer's money spent on
them?
Ministry of Health
Tell me - “we don't have adequate
facilities and staff” and I'll ask you “What have you achieved with what we
have? The brain drain of Ghanaian medical staff did not start yesterday. It
existed before I was born. One thing that has never exist however is “a
working” mechanism to reverse the trend. Let's be brutally honest: Dear
Minister, have you attempted any process to identify areas in the health
delivery chain where there is waste and needing cost elimination? If you have,
we can't see any change in inefficiency. Are there areas in the health
infrastructure that can be leaner in order to fund core components? Do we
really need all those administrative layers in the delivery hierarchy? Do all
those regional health directors need all those four wheel drives? Aren't there
ways of delivering more efficiently today than yesterday? Please tell us one
“efficiency re-engineering” processes you carried out to ensure that your
ministry gives Ghanaians value for every cedi. If in today's modern world I
still have to pay a fee to use the toilet at the country's biggest hospital,
and the future generations are born on bare floors; if fatal accidents do not
have “the luxury” of ambulance teams to least increase the chance of victims'
survival; If the state of our health system is not one you'll happily put your
family through, then your fellow Ghanaians do not deserve less. Dear Minister,
How does your conscience grant you sleep at night?
Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
Here you are – representatives of
“the people” – you who decide the issues concerning Ghana amid the shouts of
yeeaah! I have no doubt about your integrities but allow me to ask you these
questions: over the past decade of democratic rule, we have seen government
after government discontinue, terminate and side-line projects started by
previous governments simply because “it was not the incumbent party who started
it”. Over the years, this approach to growth has resulted in the slow pace of
development, unnecessary legal contractual costs etc. My question to you as
representatives of the people is this – How do you justify permitting these
happenings? Why should the agenda of political parties rise above the best
interest of the people without whom none such parties exists? And by the way,
let none of you say you have no hand in this – Do you not approve the
government's Budget and exercise control over public funds? Do you not make the
laws to which all must abide by? Do you not have responsibility to scrutinize
the performance of the executive? Are you not custodians of the development
agendas of Ghana? How then can you allow such disruptions to national development
by virtue of political affiliation? Why?
The agricultural North is
disconnected from the human capital south; the resource rich East disengaged
from the freighting west. Dear Minister, how can we synergize the four quadrants
of Ghana through connectivity? If it costs me more to transport food from the
North to the South, would you consider me economically immoral to import the
same commodity because the overall costs comes out cheaper? If I was a foreign
investor who intended using raw materials available in the East and yet the
cost of transporting my finished products to the south for exporting and
imported machinery from the south to the East is exceptionally high – would you
consider me unreasonable for taking my investments into a country where the
availability of transport infrastructure puts lesser burdens on my core cost
structure? How about the internal dynamics? How do we facilitate human capital
that is available in the south but not being used to freely migrate up North to
be utilized? I've heard usual argument – “these are capital intensive projects
and we don't have the resources right now to get them done” – Well, we've had
fifty five years to have gotten it done so what's the excuse? Will the
infrastructural developments continue in the absence of external grants? Dear
Minister, If the approximately 1 million working population of Accra each have
8 hours in a day to contribute to national economy; then please understand that
if 2 hours have to be lost in traffic going to work and 2 hours lost from
leaving work early to get home, then approximately 8 million hours of
productive man hours are lost to the overall economy in Accra alone. If those 4
hours would have yielded $2, then the economy loses $8 million everyday merely
from traffic congestion in Accra. Please give me a reason why this doesn't
qualify as financial loss to the state? You tell us what your Ministry is doing
about congestion, alternative transport, etc.?
Conclusion:
To all the Ministries, not mentioned here, I assure you, we'll have a date soon. I'll not fail you. To the President, present and future; there is a reason why the head sits at the very top of the body – it sees, it hears, it smells, it tastes, it thinks – then, it leads where the rest of the body follows. If it is blindly visionless, the body walks in darkness; if it fails to listen, the body dwells in error; if its thinking is deficient of innovation, boldness and posterity, so too will the body. The Holy Bible says in Exodus 18:20 “And you (the leader) shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do”. Where, specifically and exactly are we following you to Sir?
To all the Ministries, not mentioned here, I assure you, we'll have a date soon. I'll not fail you. To the President, present and future; there is a reason why the head sits at the very top of the body – it sees, it hears, it smells, it tastes, it thinks – then, it leads where the rest of the body follows. If it is blindly visionless, the body walks in darkness; if it fails to listen, the body dwells in error; if its thinking is deficient of innovation, boldness and posterity, so too will the body. The Holy Bible says in Exodus 18:20 “And you (the leader) shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do”. Where, specifically and exactly are we following you to Sir?
To those in power and seeking power –
We ask questions not merely for the sake of answers. We ask because we believe
a new era ought to dawn. An era in which we must of a necessity create our own
opportunities; one in which the progress of our nation is no more defined by
our ethnic, political and external allegiances or greed but by the common
desire to see our nation do well both for us and for posterity.
This is our country; it is no man's
private estate – we'll not wear these eternal robes of poverty nor accept for
our heads this crown of thorns weaved with political insults to our
intelligence. Let the leaders hear.