Last week, in an interview granted the Daily Graphic, Mr Alban Bagbin, the Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, sent out a strong warning to contractors, engineers and consultants who might play a role in the poor execution of projects paid for by the taxpayer.
According to the interview, the minister, who until his new appointment was the Majority Leader, threatened to blacklist all such bodies and individuals if it became obvious that they had, in their individual or collective capacities, flushed national resources down the drain by presiding over and paying for shoddy work.
What he did not add was that they could also face prosecution for wilfully causing financial loss to the state.
This is a warning which, under normal circumstances, should have sent many Ghanaians jubilating and dancing on the streets. This is because most of them are aware of the havoc corruption and incompetence had wreaked on this country. They know that many of our roads cannot withstand one rainy season because of poor engineering and construction work. They are aware that many public projects were never completed many years after millions of the taxpayer’s cedis had been expended on them, or so it was claimed because of corruption from the top to the bottom.
It is common knowledge that construction is one of the most lucrative businesses in the country, oiled by corruption in high places. It is an area you may put in very little but make a lot, provided those who are to protect the national interest become part of the conspiracy.
It is, therefore, not strange that some politicians consider it as a punishment if they are made ministers in ministries where they think there are not many contracts to be awarded. They may exclaim in despair, “How do we redeem our investment in the party and even make profits?”
Such is the destructive and corruptible nature of the monster called construction that even the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and other multinational lending institutions have identified it, along with procurement, as a major source of draining developing countries of financial resources and a major contributory factor to poor and inadequate infrastructure in Third World countries, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa.
Apart from the heavy financial losses, corruption and inefficiency in the construction industry leave the country with poor roads that are washed away with the least drizzle, buildings that cannot withstand mild rainstorms, projects that are never completed or completed but cannot be made operational because of serious defects in the technical details.
Many projects that are being awarded today were awarded many years ago and paid for without the country reaping any returns on its investments. Meanwhile, the contractors and their collaborators in the ministries and consultancies have made their ill gains and go smiling all the way to their banks.
Mr Bagbin has set himself a huge task and he would need to plant his feet firmly in the ground if he is to make any impact. The naked truth is that the seeds of all the problems associated with construction that have bedevilled this country were planted and nurtured by those in the ministries who are supposed to make sure that the right things are done.
From the bureaucrats, the technocrats to their political heads, there is clear evidence that in one way or another they create the fertile grounds for the execution of shoddy work or sometimes total abandonment of projects.
If you talk to a good number of contractors, they confess that they themselves have become victims of these criminally minded corrupt public officers. Contractors with clear consciences who want to do good jobs very often end up bankrupt and compelled to do bad jobs or flee altogether, leaving the project half complete.
Otherwise, how do you expect a contractor to do a good job when he has to pay heavy bribes before winning contracts? How do you expect a contractor to execute according to specification when he has to pay bribes before the consultant approves his certificates? How do we expect the best from this contractor when, along the payment chain, from the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies, the regional co-ordinating council, the sector ministry, the Accountant-General’s Department, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and sometimes the seat of government itself, he has to be dropping envelopes all the way?
As a business person, nobody should expect a contractor to contract bank loans and spread it all over the place and go home empty-handed. The natural thing left for him to do is use poor materials, cheap expertise and reduced quantities of vital components to stay even.
Unfortunately, those who have been paid to ensure that the right things are done and that the country gets value for money have already soiled their hands and are, therefore, impotent to raise a finger. That is how the country has suffered over the years, saddled with many uncompleted and poorly executed projects.
Mr Bagbin’s warning had been heard several times in the past, raising the hopes of Ghanaians to dizzying heights. But the tradition has always been the same. The contractors are left alone, as is the case very often, to face the wrath of the people who, sometimes out of ignorance, may not even know that the contractor they have accused of abandoning a project or doing a bad job may not have been paid. The civil servants, consultants and their political collaborators, garbed in a sort of diplomatic immunity, are left to go scot-free to enjoy their booty, at the expense of national development.
It is only fair that Mr Bagbin is given the benefit of the doubt. Who knows, under a ‘better Ghana’ agenda, things will be different and it will not be long before the first names on the blacklist are published and the first batch of greedy and incompetent officers sent to the courts for supervising the construction of a bad road which led not only to financial loss to the state but also caused serious accidents claiming precious lives.
Until we see those signs, we can only hope that this is not just another political talk.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
MO IBRAHIM'S WISE WORDS (MARCH 23, 2010)
Last week, Ghana played host to Dr Mo Ibrahim, the Sudanese-born British business magnate who has become a strong advocate for democracy and good governance on the continent.
To push forward his agenda, he has established the Mo Ibrahim Foundation to promote good governance on the continent and honour African leaders who, in its estimation, have served the cause of the foundation and impacted positively on the people.
While in the country, Dr Ibrahim delivered a lecture on, “Clearing the mess in Africa”, during which he hammered on the usual admonition to African leaders to eschew corrupt tendencies and use the scarce resources to develop the continent.
He stressed that without good governance, Africa’s natural resources would continue to be plundered by greedy politicians to deprive the citizenry of physical and financial security, which would be recipe for disaster and scare away foreign investors.
He called for efficient and transparent leadership to transform the economic prospects of Africa and wondered why Africa should continue begging for food aid when about 70 per cent of its people were engaged in agriculture.
He spoke about an educational system that had failed to address the needs of the people and a judiciary that was not bold enough to confront corruption in high places.
Dr Ibrahim may not be saying anything new, but coming from an African who is very much conversant with the problems and the socio-political intrigues on the continent, his observations and advice cannot be taken lightly.
The strongest point he made, in my opinion, in his lecture at the British Council Hall was his appeal to African leaders to stop blaming the colonial masters for their deficiencies.
There is no doubt that colonialism has dealt a severe blow to the conscience and psyche of Africa and its people. It has destabilised and distorted its natural boundaries and fragmented its people for the convenience of the colonial masters.
Colonialism introduced on the continent foreign doctrines and cultures which have gone a long way to distort our history and dislocate our values as a people. Some of the psychological and physical scars left behind by colonialism are so embedded that they will never fade away, let alone restore the continent to its pre-colonial days.
For instance, the artificial boundaries created when European imperialists met in Berlin in 1884 to share Africa like war booty will remain till the end of time and the story of countries such as Zimbabwe and South Africa where the white settlers became the dominant occupants of indigenous lands will only remain matters of historical discussion.
It has been easier to live with the physical scars, which include the artificial boundaries left for Africa by colonialism. What have been difficult and not easy for some to admit are the psychological scars, which include inferiority complex.
Physically, we know that as a people we have a common history and, therefore, through regional and sub-regional bodies such as the African Union (AU) and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), its predecessor, the Southern African Development Co-operation (SADC) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), we are making determining efforts at regional and sub-regional integration and co-operation.
Occasionally, we are haunted by border disputes, all part of the colonial legacy, but as stated earlier, these are problems easily identified and, therefore, easier to handle.
Unfortunately, the psychological scar, with its baby, inferiority complex, has become very difficult to manage, mainly because we do not even want to believe that it exists. Incidentally, it is this complex which has taken away our sense of initiative, human pride, self-esteem, self-reliance, self-determination, self-preservation and the ability of self-utilisation.
Why should we continue to seek refuge in colonialism for our deficiencies when we proclaimed ourselves independent many years ago? Why should we continue to live in abject poverty when we are surrounded on all sides by limitless resources? Why do we find ourselves incomplete without support from foreign sources?
Why should this continent remain the most primitive, starved, diseased, deprived and the poorest when, in terms of natural resources, it is the most endowed? Why is it that our leaders never finish any speech without appealing for foreign donors for some of the most basic things such as toilet facilities for small communities?
The answer, as Dr Ibrahim stated, does not lie in colonialism, which is now history. We need to come out of mental slavery which, admittedly, is a legacy of colonialism. We need to remind ourselves that Africa is not the only victim of colonialism. If others have overcome their colonial past, why should Africa continue to cling to it and continue to make it an excuse for its failures?
Africa needs a leadership that will take us through that psychological barrier; a leadership that will inspire confidence, influence change, eschew the begging syndrome; a leadership with vision, the will and the determination to achieve.
Dr Ibrahim is right that Africa may have many challenges, such as corrupt political leadership and lack of democratic and good governance on the continent, unfair trade and other restrictive policies, but colonialism, surely, should not be one if we put our act together.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
To push forward his agenda, he has established the Mo Ibrahim Foundation to promote good governance on the continent and honour African leaders who, in its estimation, have served the cause of the foundation and impacted positively on the people.
While in the country, Dr Ibrahim delivered a lecture on, “Clearing the mess in Africa”, during which he hammered on the usual admonition to African leaders to eschew corrupt tendencies and use the scarce resources to develop the continent.
He stressed that without good governance, Africa’s natural resources would continue to be plundered by greedy politicians to deprive the citizenry of physical and financial security, which would be recipe for disaster and scare away foreign investors.
He called for efficient and transparent leadership to transform the economic prospects of Africa and wondered why Africa should continue begging for food aid when about 70 per cent of its people were engaged in agriculture.
He spoke about an educational system that had failed to address the needs of the people and a judiciary that was not bold enough to confront corruption in high places.
Dr Ibrahim may not be saying anything new, but coming from an African who is very much conversant with the problems and the socio-political intrigues on the continent, his observations and advice cannot be taken lightly.
The strongest point he made, in my opinion, in his lecture at the British Council Hall was his appeal to African leaders to stop blaming the colonial masters for their deficiencies.
There is no doubt that colonialism has dealt a severe blow to the conscience and psyche of Africa and its people. It has destabilised and distorted its natural boundaries and fragmented its people for the convenience of the colonial masters.
Colonialism introduced on the continent foreign doctrines and cultures which have gone a long way to distort our history and dislocate our values as a people. Some of the psychological and physical scars left behind by colonialism are so embedded that they will never fade away, let alone restore the continent to its pre-colonial days.
For instance, the artificial boundaries created when European imperialists met in Berlin in 1884 to share Africa like war booty will remain till the end of time and the story of countries such as Zimbabwe and South Africa where the white settlers became the dominant occupants of indigenous lands will only remain matters of historical discussion.
It has been easier to live with the physical scars, which include the artificial boundaries left for Africa by colonialism. What have been difficult and not easy for some to admit are the psychological scars, which include inferiority complex.
Physically, we know that as a people we have a common history and, therefore, through regional and sub-regional bodies such as the African Union (AU) and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), its predecessor, the Southern African Development Co-operation (SADC) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), we are making determining efforts at regional and sub-regional integration and co-operation.
Occasionally, we are haunted by border disputes, all part of the colonial legacy, but as stated earlier, these are problems easily identified and, therefore, easier to handle.
Unfortunately, the psychological scar, with its baby, inferiority complex, has become very difficult to manage, mainly because we do not even want to believe that it exists. Incidentally, it is this complex which has taken away our sense of initiative, human pride, self-esteem, self-reliance, self-determination, self-preservation and the ability of self-utilisation.
Why should we continue to seek refuge in colonialism for our deficiencies when we proclaimed ourselves independent many years ago? Why should we continue to live in abject poverty when we are surrounded on all sides by limitless resources? Why do we find ourselves incomplete without support from foreign sources?
Why should this continent remain the most primitive, starved, diseased, deprived and the poorest when, in terms of natural resources, it is the most endowed? Why is it that our leaders never finish any speech without appealing for foreign donors for some of the most basic things such as toilet facilities for small communities?
The answer, as Dr Ibrahim stated, does not lie in colonialism, which is now history. We need to come out of mental slavery which, admittedly, is a legacy of colonialism. We need to remind ourselves that Africa is not the only victim of colonialism. If others have overcome their colonial past, why should Africa continue to cling to it and continue to make it an excuse for its failures?
Africa needs a leadership that will take us through that psychological barrier; a leadership that will inspire confidence, influence change, eschew the begging syndrome; a leadership with vision, the will and the determination to achieve.
Dr Ibrahim is right that Africa may have many challenges, such as corrupt political leadership and lack of democratic and good governance on the continent, unfair trade and other restrictive policies, but colonialism, surely, should not be one if we put our act together.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
GIVING AN OLD DONKEY A NEW NAME (MARCH 16, 2010)
AT first it sounded like one of those cruel jokes friends crack while relaxing over a few bottles of beer. But with history as a guide, I knew we were about to have another renaming ceremony of one of our struggling national institutions. I am referring to the news that the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) is to be renamed the Ghana National Fire and Rescue Service (GNFRS).
I am not surprised because this is a country in which the remedy for every failed institution is a change of name and not structural transformation. We have seen and experienced this several times in the past and, therefore, some of us are not surprised that the tradition still goes on.
One of the biggest beneficiaries (or do I say victims) of this renaming ceremony is the educational system. In the 1980s, the primary, middle and secondary schools changed names to junior secondary school and senior secondary school. The middle school lost its place in an educational reform that was introduced primarily to reduce the number of years in school and enrich the curriculum to give practical meaning to education.
Whether this objective had been achieved or not should not be a matter of any serious debate because ever since these changes were introduced, the educational terrain had become more rugged and uncertain. The years spent schooling have become longer because if even you are out of school, you still have to wait for a year or so before advancing to the next stage. The practical aspect had been lost long ago because there are no workshops to train those with weak academic backgrounds in the so-called vocational and employable skills.
The drop-out rate has been aggravated as against the previous system when there was a gradual exiting from the system from Primary Six when some pupils entered secondary school to Standard Seven or Middle School Form Four when the last batch sat for the Middle School Leaving Certificate Examination and then proceeded to the various secondary schools, training colleges and technical and vocational institutes. The pressure on the educational facilities was, therefore, somehow manageable.
Nothing changed in the change of names, since the same old physical structures and human resources were forced to carry the new structures on their weak shoulders. If there were any changes, it was that the pressure on resources was enhanced and the burden on parents multiplied.
In 2007, following a general outcry about the deplorable educational system, the government thought it had come up with a solution. That was to undergo another renaming ceremony. The JSS and SSS became junior high school (JHS) and senior high school (SHS). An additional issue was the extension of the previous SSS (now SHS) from three years to four years as part of efforts to get the students to do better.
The fundamental problems of poor and inadequate infrastructure, including classrooms, libraries, laboratories, books and other learning materials which make learning not only conducive but interesting, became secondary.
Today, that change of name, as it had become obvious, has not brought about any qualitative improvement in the educational system and our children, the guinea-pigs that they have become, will have to endure another reversal from the four-year to the previous three-year SHS.
All the school heads are screaming mad that they cannot contain the additional burden of admitting fresh students next academic year to join the current third-year SHS students who are already struggling to cope with limited resources. The promises have started pouring in from the politicians but as to whether these will translate into more classrooms and dormitory accommodation for the students and more residential facilities for the teachers is another matter.
The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has gone through very traumatic experiences in the past few months. The personnel have watched in gaping awe as our giant edifice housing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs got consumed in an inferno.
Former President John Jerry Rawlings’s residence, which could have become a historical monument in future, was reduced to ashes as GNFS personnel battled vainly to stop the blaze.
The Tema Oil Refinery, the only one we could build in our 53 years as an independent, sovereign country, is now limping because of a recent fire outbreak.
Those who want to admit the truth will tell you that the fire personnel are not lazy or ill-trained. However, they always arrive at the scene of fire either too late or too incapable of managing the fire because of poor and obsolete equipment.
The workers are ill-motivated, poorly equipped and virtually abandoned at the bottom of the ladder when it comes to the sharing of the national cake. After all, who cares for a fire that may come only once in a while? But as we have seen in the last few weeks, even one major fire disaster can bring a nation down on its knees.
Again, what is the national response to the neglect of this important national institution? A change of name! According to an officer of the service who broke the news, the change of name is “to create public awareness of the core functions of the GNFS so that Ghanaians will know which agency to call for help anytime there is a road accident and there are casualties”.
That is an interesting stuff. Before then, bureaucratic machinery in the form of a six-member committee has been put in place to work out the acquisition of modern equipment, including ladders, that could enhance fire fighting on high-rise buildings.
So will our Foreign Affairs building be standing majestically today because the fire service has added rescue to its name? Will former President Rawlings’s residence be intact because instead of the GNFS, a GNFRS has been on the scene? Will the gas be flowing today at TOR because GNFRS went to the rescue?
Can you imagine a GNFRS without modern fire tenders, ambulances and other rescue accoutrements? Can you picture the performance of a GNFRS with ill-motivated and poorly paid fire fighters? That is why a change of name from the GNFS to GNFRS is not our national concern and should not be made to engage our attention. Give the GNFS the equipment and facilities it requires for its operations and the personnel will fight the fire and rescue those in distress, whether through accidents, floods, earthquakes or fire.
A donkey is a donkey, whether you call it a beast of burden or not.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
I am not surprised because this is a country in which the remedy for every failed institution is a change of name and not structural transformation. We have seen and experienced this several times in the past and, therefore, some of us are not surprised that the tradition still goes on.
One of the biggest beneficiaries (or do I say victims) of this renaming ceremony is the educational system. In the 1980s, the primary, middle and secondary schools changed names to junior secondary school and senior secondary school. The middle school lost its place in an educational reform that was introduced primarily to reduce the number of years in school and enrich the curriculum to give practical meaning to education.
Whether this objective had been achieved or not should not be a matter of any serious debate because ever since these changes were introduced, the educational terrain had become more rugged and uncertain. The years spent schooling have become longer because if even you are out of school, you still have to wait for a year or so before advancing to the next stage. The practical aspect had been lost long ago because there are no workshops to train those with weak academic backgrounds in the so-called vocational and employable skills.
The drop-out rate has been aggravated as against the previous system when there was a gradual exiting from the system from Primary Six when some pupils entered secondary school to Standard Seven or Middle School Form Four when the last batch sat for the Middle School Leaving Certificate Examination and then proceeded to the various secondary schools, training colleges and technical and vocational institutes. The pressure on the educational facilities was, therefore, somehow manageable.
Nothing changed in the change of names, since the same old physical structures and human resources were forced to carry the new structures on their weak shoulders. If there were any changes, it was that the pressure on resources was enhanced and the burden on parents multiplied.
In 2007, following a general outcry about the deplorable educational system, the government thought it had come up with a solution. That was to undergo another renaming ceremony. The JSS and SSS became junior high school (JHS) and senior high school (SHS). An additional issue was the extension of the previous SSS (now SHS) from three years to four years as part of efforts to get the students to do better.
The fundamental problems of poor and inadequate infrastructure, including classrooms, libraries, laboratories, books and other learning materials which make learning not only conducive but interesting, became secondary.
Today, that change of name, as it had become obvious, has not brought about any qualitative improvement in the educational system and our children, the guinea-pigs that they have become, will have to endure another reversal from the four-year to the previous three-year SHS.
All the school heads are screaming mad that they cannot contain the additional burden of admitting fresh students next academic year to join the current third-year SHS students who are already struggling to cope with limited resources. The promises have started pouring in from the politicians but as to whether these will translate into more classrooms and dormitory accommodation for the students and more residential facilities for the teachers is another matter.
The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has gone through very traumatic experiences in the past few months. The personnel have watched in gaping awe as our giant edifice housing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs got consumed in an inferno.
Former President John Jerry Rawlings’s residence, which could have become a historical monument in future, was reduced to ashes as GNFS personnel battled vainly to stop the blaze.
The Tema Oil Refinery, the only one we could build in our 53 years as an independent, sovereign country, is now limping because of a recent fire outbreak.
Those who want to admit the truth will tell you that the fire personnel are not lazy or ill-trained. However, they always arrive at the scene of fire either too late or too incapable of managing the fire because of poor and obsolete equipment.
The workers are ill-motivated, poorly equipped and virtually abandoned at the bottom of the ladder when it comes to the sharing of the national cake. After all, who cares for a fire that may come only once in a while? But as we have seen in the last few weeks, even one major fire disaster can bring a nation down on its knees.
Again, what is the national response to the neglect of this important national institution? A change of name! According to an officer of the service who broke the news, the change of name is “to create public awareness of the core functions of the GNFS so that Ghanaians will know which agency to call for help anytime there is a road accident and there are casualties”.
That is an interesting stuff. Before then, bureaucratic machinery in the form of a six-member committee has been put in place to work out the acquisition of modern equipment, including ladders, that could enhance fire fighting on high-rise buildings.
So will our Foreign Affairs building be standing majestically today because the fire service has added rescue to its name? Will former President Rawlings’s residence be intact because instead of the GNFS, a GNFRS has been on the scene? Will the gas be flowing today at TOR because GNFRS went to the rescue?
Can you imagine a GNFRS without modern fire tenders, ambulances and other rescue accoutrements? Can you picture the performance of a GNFRS with ill-motivated and poorly paid fire fighters? That is why a change of name from the GNFS to GNFRS is not our national concern and should not be made to engage our attention. Give the GNFS the equipment and facilities it requires for its operations and the personnel will fight the fire and rescue those in distress, whether through accidents, floods, earthquakes or fire.
A donkey is a donkey, whether you call it a beast of burden or not.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
ARE WE DRIFTING OFF COURSE? (MARCH 9, 2010)
It is usual for Ghanaians to spend a good part of their time dwelling on the mundane and frivolous. And for about two weeks, national discussions revolved around one person for acquiring five tractors from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture which he claimed were for the use of his constituents who are poor farmers.
The question was whether there was fairness in the distribution system, or whether or not the beneficiary of the five tractors, being very close to centre of political power, had indulged in what could be described as abuse of office.
The Appointment Committee of Parliament grilled Mr Mahama Ayariga, a former Presidential Spokesperson, for over four hours on this subject when he appeared before it to go through the process of being approved as a nominee for the office of deputy minister at the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Not even a declaration from the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to support Ayariga’s claim of innocence could turn the tide in his favour when the Appointment Committee served notice that it was going to conduct its own investigations into the matter.
The Appointment Committee’s position was challenged by some legal and constitutional experts who claimed Parliament would be overstepping its constitutional bounds by obstructing the path of CHRAJ which has a constitutional mandate to do what it had done in Ayariga’s case.
The CHRAJ, who knows, could have rested its case but was compelled under the circumstances to defend its position. That was how it became public knowledge that our representatives in Parliament, ministers and other top government officials have been beneficiaries of the MoFA tractors.
Our Parliament has every right — in fact the sacred responsibility — to question every action of public office holders and for one person to have five tractors when others do not have even one is a legitimate question that must be answered. Unfortunately, the hands of our MPs are soiled by the revelation of CHRAJ and to cast the stone at Ayariga could only mean political chicanery.
The matter could have been treated and quickly disposed of, but instead some people thought another great opportunity had come to do politics with our lives. The question is, have those MPs and ministers who acquired the tractors over the years put them at the disposal of the poor farmers whose interest they are supposed to champion or they became another of those packages to enrich our politicians and make their lives more comfortable than the rest of us? But for Ayariga’s case we would never have known that there exists a policy to distribute subsidised tractors to people who offered themselves as our representatives and leaders.
Before Ayariga’s case could be put to rest, there emerged a strange story that a group of journalists or people who parade as media consultants had been engaged by the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) regime to do information management on its behalf, for which copious amounts of the taxpayer’s money was used to pay consultancy fees.
The airwaves, as would be expected, were choked with accusations, denials and counter-accusations as to who had or did not have their fair share of the media bonanza. The matter is still hanging and even though we have been told there are efforts to suppress vital information, the coming days may not be good for media practice in this country.
It is becoming a national pastime to devote our time and energy on issues that should not be our priority considering our circumstances. Let there be any careless or irresponsible statement from a politician or his agent, the whole television and radio discussions would centre on this statement which under normal circumstances should be ignored with all the contempt it deserves. A minister of state who should be thinking of the problems of his ministry would be hopping from one radio station to another engaging in useless talk in the name of clearing the air. The radio and television stations have virtually become their offices where they discuss reports published by newspapers which do not circulate even 100 copies a day, while our problems continue to pile up.
We have set ourselves some lofty targets that need hard work, deep thinking and conscientious contributions of all. For its size, Ghana has enough water for domestic, agricultural and industrial use, yet a lot of the time we are thirsty and our industries and commercial enterprises cannot meet their water requirements.
Our crops die under the intense tropical heat because of poor rainfall when a good irrigation system could have solved the problem and enabled us to crop all year round. Unfortunately, these are things which do not engage the interest of most of our politicians and their professional serial caller agents. Last year, for example, we spent a lot of time debating the ex gratia award for a few persons who had already fed fat on our resources by way of emoluments, allowances, kickbacks and shareholding in dubious companies.
How on earth could people who are not strangers to the plight of this country recommend that a former president, with all the good things that go with that office, both known and unknown, be compensated with two houses, six brand new vehicles of different sizes and designs among other mouth-watering things, just because he offered himself, under no compulsion, to lead this country?
I wonder if those who arrived at that conclusion spared a thought for our children, who, instead of staying in the classroom, run up and down the streets of Accra and other big towns in the scorching sun, struggling with vehicles for space to sell water and cheap goods from Asian countries.
Did they reflect on the fate of our children, who, after going through all the odds to pass the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), could not gain admission to tertiary institutions because there are no vacancies? Their concern was rather that a few people, including former presidents who have lived in comfort at the expense of the majority of the people, should go into retirement even more comfortable than they were when in office. And our MPs found this quite reasonable. This is a subject that had to be debated for the greater part of last year and it seems the debate is not over yet.
Our nation is faced with a lot of challenges. We are not at war with any country, neither are we under any ECOWAS, AU or UN sanctions, yet our progress as a nation is very slow. Tema is one of our two port cities, but look at the roads in Tema or the beach road leading to Tema. A drive from the military facilities at Teshie through Nungua to Tema does not tell a story of a country that is developing. There is no indication that Tema is one of the best and largest artificial harbours on the continent.
The roads in Accra, the national capital, are nothing to write home about and they are waiting for the first rains to expose the gaping holes covered by patches of clay. We have spoken about our educational system which is in a state of confusion.
The real challenges are many, but it seems our fate as a nation is determined by a few irresponsible commentators and serial callers who are goaded on by irresponsible and ill-focused media managers. Our lives are being manipulated by a few people who think of nothing except their selfish and parochial interests.
We may not be aiming at the moon now, but we still need a well-defined national development agenda and not just drifting like a log on the mighty ocean. Where do we want to be in the next five, 10, 25, 50 and 100 years are issues that must engage all of us, especially those who have chosen to be our leaders.
Last Saturday, our children, just like their fathers and grandfathers, sang and marched in the sun to mark the 53rd anniversary of our independence. How different are their lives and which world would their children come to meet when they also troop to the Independence Square to continue with the tradition?
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
The question was whether there was fairness in the distribution system, or whether or not the beneficiary of the five tractors, being very close to centre of political power, had indulged in what could be described as abuse of office.
The Appointment Committee of Parliament grilled Mr Mahama Ayariga, a former Presidential Spokesperson, for over four hours on this subject when he appeared before it to go through the process of being approved as a nominee for the office of deputy minister at the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Not even a declaration from the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to support Ayariga’s claim of innocence could turn the tide in his favour when the Appointment Committee served notice that it was going to conduct its own investigations into the matter.
The Appointment Committee’s position was challenged by some legal and constitutional experts who claimed Parliament would be overstepping its constitutional bounds by obstructing the path of CHRAJ which has a constitutional mandate to do what it had done in Ayariga’s case.
The CHRAJ, who knows, could have rested its case but was compelled under the circumstances to defend its position. That was how it became public knowledge that our representatives in Parliament, ministers and other top government officials have been beneficiaries of the MoFA tractors.
Our Parliament has every right — in fact the sacred responsibility — to question every action of public office holders and for one person to have five tractors when others do not have even one is a legitimate question that must be answered. Unfortunately, the hands of our MPs are soiled by the revelation of CHRAJ and to cast the stone at Ayariga could only mean political chicanery.
The matter could have been treated and quickly disposed of, but instead some people thought another great opportunity had come to do politics with our lives. The question is, have those MPs and ministers who acquired the tractors over the years put them at the disposal of the poor farmers whose interest they are supposed to champion or they became another of those packages to enrich our politicians and make their lives more comfortable than the rest of us? But for Ayariga’s case we would never have known that there exists a policy to distribute subsidised tractors to people who offered themselves as our representatives and leaders.
Before Ayariga’s case could be put to rest, there emerged a strange story that a group of journalists or people who parade as media consultants had been engaged by the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) regime to do information management on its behalf, for which copious amounts of the taxpayer’s money was used to pay consultancy fees.
The airwaves, as would be expected, were choked with accusations, denials and counter-accusations as to who had or did not have their fair share of the media bonanza. The matter is still hanging and even though we have been told there are efforts to suppress vital information, the coming days may not be good for media practice in this country.
It is becoming a national pastime to devote our time and energy on issues that should not be our priority considering our circumstances. Let there be any careless or irresponsible statement from a politician or his agent, the whole television and radio discussions would centre on this statement which under normal circumstances should be ignored with all the contempt it deserves. A minister of state who should be thinking of the problems of his ministry would be hopping from one radio station to another engaging in useless talk in the name of clearing the air. The radio and television stations have virtually become their offices where they discuss reports published by newspapers which do not circulate even 100 copies a day, while our problems continue to pile up.
We have set ourselves some lofty targets that need hard work, deep thinking and conscientious contributions of all. For its size, Ghana has enough water for domestic, agricultural and industrial use, yet a lot of the time we are thirsty and our industries and commercial enterprises cannot meet their water requirements.
Our crops die under the intense tropical heat because of poor rainfall when a good irrigation system could have solved the problem and enabled us to crop all year round. Unfortunately, these are things which do not engage the interest of most of our politicians and their professional serial caller agents. Last year, for example, we spent a lot of time debating the ex gratia award for a few persons who had already fed fat on our resources by way of emoluments, allowances, kickbacks and shareholding in dubious companies.
How on earth could people who are not strangers to the plight of this country recommend that a former president, with all the good things that go with that office, both known and unknown, be compensated with two houses, six brand new vehicles of different sizes and designs among other mouth-watering things, just because he offered himself, under no compulsion, to lead this country?
I wonder if those who arrived at that conclusion spared a thought for our children, who, instead of staying in the classroom, run up and down the streets of Accra and other big towns in the scorching sun, struggling with vehicles for space to sell water and cheap goods from Asian countries.
Did they reflect on the fate of our children, who, after going through all the odds to pass the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), could not gain admission to tertiary institutions because there are no vacancies? Their concern was rather that a few people, including former presidents who have lived in comfort at the expense of the majority of the people, should go into retirement even more comfortable than they were when in office. And our MPs found this quite reasonable. This is a subject that had to be debated for the greater part of last year and it seems the debate is not over yet.
Our nation is faced with a lot of challenges. We are not at war with any country, neither are we under any ECOWAS, AU or UN sanctions, yet our progress as a nation is very slow. Tema is one of our two port cities, but look at the roads in Tema or the beach road leading to Tema. A drive from the military facilities at Teshie through Nungua to Tema does not tell a story of a country that is developing. There is no indication that Tema is one of the best and largest artificial harbours on the continent.
The roads in Accra, the national capital, are nothing to write home about and they are waiting for the first rains to expose the gaping holes covered by patches of clay. We have spoken about our educational system which is in a state of confusion.
The real challenges are many, but it seems our fate as a nation is determined by a few irresponsible commentators and serial callers who are goaded on by irresponsible and ill-focused media managers. Our lives are being manipulated by a few people who think of nothing except their selfish and parochial interests.
We may not be aiming at the moon now, but we still need a well-defined national development agenda and not just drifting like a log on the mighty ocean. Where do we want to be in the next five, 10, 25, 50 and 100 years are issues that must engage all of us, especially those who have chosen to be our leaders.
Last Saturday, our children, just like their fathers and grandfathers, sang and marched in the sun to mark the 53rd anniversary of our independence. How different are their lives and which world would their children come to meet when they also troop to the Independence Square to continue with the tradition?
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Attracting professionals to deprived areas
By Kofi Akordor
that some professionals, especially doctors, are reluctant to accept posting to some parts of the country, particularly the north, is no longer news. If anything, it is a constant reminder of our failure to manage the affairs of this country to the best advantage of all.
There are several reasons why some people find it difficult to work in certain parts of the country but instead of addressing them, we think the solution lies in sermonising or painting these officers as irresponsible and ungrateful.
It is true that professionals are trained at state expense and, therefore, they are expected to reciprocate the gesture by serving where their services are needed. But that should not take away their right to have a simple but decent environment to operate in.
It is not by accident that doctors and teachers have been at the receiving end of public criticism for abandoning the rural people who shouldered most of the burden of their training. It shows that these are professionals whose services are critical to the needs of the rural areas if there should be any holistic national development agenda.
From all indications, it is apparent this is lacking.
If we take doctors and other health-related workers as an example, we know that conditions in many parts of the country are such that it will take more than nationalism, patriotism or appeals to the conscience of individuals to get people motivated enough to work in those places. That is why the state should have strategised so that every health professional experiences the harsh realities of rural life or the hostile environment of certain parts of the country as he or she progresses in his or her career.
If it becomes mandatory, as a national policy, for every young doctor to practise in areas outside Accra, Kumasi and the urban centres in the south for a period of time before earning promotion or getting the opportunity to specialise or do postgraduate programmes, the problem of staff shortage in deprived areas may be less pronounced.
Unfortunately, there seems to be no such policy existence, and it exists, there is little effort to implement it. That is why doctors can afford to refuse posting to the north and other deprived areas because they know others before them who did the same without sanctions.
Also, they might have learnt useful lessons from those before them who accepted such posting in the past and became victims of their patriotism, dedication and hard work. It is a typical “out of sight, out of mind” syndrome.
In short, there seems to be no serious ground rules governing postings and transfers in the health sector. That is why while some spend their entire professional lives in the big cities, others are asked to go to the regions. Naturally, some doctors see these postings and transfers as punitive, as they block, as often is the case, the chances of advancement and professional elevation.
That should not have been the case. Those who offer or accept to render services to our rural people should have been in the front line of consideration for recognition.
As Dr Elias K. Sory, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), himself acknowledged, the issue was now beyond the GHS alone and, therefore, called for a holistic national approach to tackle it.
He admitted in an interview on the matter that the various incentive packages designed in the past to attract health professionals to the deprived areas had outlived their impact.
Dr Sory went further to say that the problem went beyond monetary considerations, since young doctors also wanted to work in an environment where they could have access to good accommodation, good schools and other facilities for themselves and their families. The medical facilities these personnel are posted to should also be well-equipped to make working there attractive.
That is why he suggested the upgrading of all regional hospitals to teaching hospital level to make it possible for young doctors to work in a conducive environment close to the communities.
I stated earlier that sermonising, instead of addressing the real issues, would not solve the problem. You do not post a highly trained professional to a place where his/her services are seriously needed without thinking of his/her accommodation, where his/her children will attend school or access medical care.
Politicians who are given ministerial appointments, with all their attractions, do not fail to insist on government bungalows. Why should the doctor accept his fate into the wilderness without protest?
In other words, there must be goodwill on the part of all — doctors, the GHS acting on behalf of the government and the communities. The GHS must set the ground rules that must be applicable to all. Once there is no favouritism or anything that comes close to that, there will be no victimisation.
Our health facilities need serious rehabilitation and upgrading in terms of modern facilities and decent accommodation for health professionals. The future of the children of these health professionals should not be ignored. It should be possible to upgrade at least one junior high school in each district capital to a level comparable to some of those in Accra as an attraction for public servants, including health professionals, who are posted to the districts.
It is time we reviewed our national development strategy and disengage ourselves from sinking our national resources into Accra alone which has become more or less a bottomless pit swallowing everything thrown into it. We should begin to focus more on the district and regional capitals as a way of attracting and retaining professional manpower there.
There are many people who would not want to spend even a day in Accra if they could get access to certain basic facilities for themselves and their families in some corner somewhere.
As we have seen, the appeals and threats have not been able to solve the rural-urban drift. They have not staffed our medical facilities with the much-needed professionals. You may condemn or even insult those who refuse posting to the rural areas, but once those with political power are not showing the required goodwill or are not ready to forfeit a little bit of their comfort, we will be hard-pressed expecting sacrifice from others.
The best option is pragmatism and a deliberate effort to make every part of this country human-friendly.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
that some professionals, especially doctors, are reluctant to accept posting to some parts of the country, particularly the north, is no longer news. If anything, it is a constant reminder of our failure to manage the affairs of this country to the best advantage of all.
There are several reasons why some people find it difficult to work in certain parts of the country but instead of addressing them, we think the solution lies in sermonising or painting these officers as irresponsible and ungrateful.
It is true that professionals are trained at state expense and, therefore, they are expected to reciprocate the gesture by serving where their services are needed. But that should not take away their right to have a simple but decent environment to operate in.
It is not by accident that doctors and teachers have been at the receiving end of public criticism for abandoning the rural people who shouldered most of the burden of their training. It shows that these are professionals whose services are critical to the needs of the rural areas if there should be any holistic national development agenda.
From all indications, it is apparent this is lacking.
If we take doctors and other health-related workers as an example, we know that conditions in many parts of the country are such that it will take more than nationalism, patriotism or appeals to the conscience of individuals to get people motivated enough to work in those places. That is why the state should have strategised so that every health professional experiences the harsh realities of rural life or the hostile environment of certain parts of the country as he or she progresses in his or her career.
If it becomes mandatory, as a national policy, for every young doctor to practise in areas outside Accra, Kumasi and the urban centres in the south for a period of time before earning promotion or getting the opportunity to specialise or do postgraduate programmes, the problem of staff shortage in deprived areas may be less pronounced.
Unfortunately, there seems to be no such policy existence, and it exists, there is little effort to implement it. That is why doctors can afford to refuse posting to the north and other deprived areas because they know others before them who did the same without sanctions.
Also, they might have learnt useful lessons from those before them who accepted such posting in the past and became victims of their patriotism, dedication and hard work. It is a typical “out of sight, out of mind” syndrome.
In short, there seems to be no serious ground rules governing postings and transfers in the health sector. That is why while some spend their entire professional lives in the big cities, others are asked to go to the regions. Naturally, some doctors see these postings and transfers as punitive, as they block, as often is the case, the chances of advancement and professional elevation.
That should not have been the case. Those who offer or accept to render services to our rural people should have been in the front line of consideration for recognition.
As Dr Elias K. Sory, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), himself acknowledged, the issue was now beyond the GHS alone and, therefore, called for a holistic national approach to tackle it.
He admitted in an interview on the matter that the various incentive packages designed in the past to attract health professionals to the deprived areas had outlived their impact.
Dr Sory went further to say that the problem went beyond monetary considerations, since young doctors also wanted to work in an environment where they could have access to good accommodation, good schools and other facilities for themselves and their families. The medical facilities these personnel are posted to should also be well-equipped to make working there attractive.
That is why he suggested the upgrading of all regional hospitals to teaching hospital level to make it possible for young doctors to work in a conducive environment close to the communities.
I stated earlier that sermonising, instead of addressing the real issues, would not solve the problem. You do not post a highly trained professional to a place where his/her services are seriously needed without thinking of his/her accommodation, where his/her children will attend school or access medical care.
Politicians who are given ministerial appointments, with all their attractions, do not fail to insist on government bungalows. Why should the doctor accept his fate into the wilderness without protest?
In other words, there must be goodwill on the part of all — doctors, the GHS acting on behalf of the government and the communities. The GHS must set the ground rules that must be applicable to all. Once there is no favouritism or anything that comes close to that, there will be no victimisation.
Our health facilities need serious rehabilitation and upgrading in terms of modern facilities and decent accommodation for health professionals. The future of the children of these health professionals should not be ignored. It should be possible to upgrade at least one junior high school in each district capital to a level comparable to some of those in Accra as an attraction for public servants, including health professionals, who are posted to the districts.
It is time we reviewed our national development strategy and disengage ourselves from sinking our national resources into Accra alone which has become more or less a bottomless pit swallowing everything thrown into it. We should begin to focus more on the district and regional capitals as a way of attracting and retaining professional manpower there.
There are many people who would not want to spend even a day in Accra if they could get access to certain basic facilities for themselves and their families in some corner somewhere.
As we have seen, the appeals and threats have not been able to solve the rural-urban drift. They have not staffed our medical facilities with the much-needed professionals. You may condemn or even insult those who refuse posting to the rural areas, but once those with political power are not showing the required goodwill or are not ready to forfeit a little bit of their comfort, we will be hard-pressed expecting sacrifice from others.
The best option is pragmatism and a deliberate effort to make every part of this country human-friendly.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
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