What next after the familiarisation tours?

It is standard practice for newly-appointed ministers to pay what is described as familiarisation visits to installations, facilities and institutions under their ministerial responsibility. There is everything good about these visits since no minister will go straight and sit behind his/her executive table without having a fair idea about the issues at stake and expect to execute his/her mandate with any appreciable level of success. Some of the visits can be frivolous of course, because the problems therein are obvious and therefore no need for any visit before appreciating what is expected of a minister. However, all said and done, the visits are necessary and it will leave no room for excuses in the event of failures. The latest crop of ministers have not missed this ritual and like previous ministers, gone round the country to have first-hand experience of what are in wait for them. What is of great importance to some of us is that these tours should not end as purely ritual purposes but should be transformed into serious problem-solving exercises. One minister, whose visits caught my attention, is Mr Akwasi Oppong-Fosu, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development. Mr Oppong-Fosu’s visits took him to the national offices of the Births and Deaths Registry. This is an institution that has been housed in some wooden structures for ages. You may call it a forgotten institution and one will not be wrong because by all indications, there is no evidence that our governments care about what goes on in the Births and Deaths Registry. Under normal circumstances, one would expect that if even it is a matter of inadequate resources, the interest of the Births and Deaths Registry would take precedence over many other public institutions, but in Ghana here, no. We are taking care of more important things. The Births and Deaths Registry is a storehouse of national record-keeping whose activities impact on other state agencies. We know that the acquisition of passports, insurance claims and even registration with the National Identification Authority and with the Electoral Commission as a voter have to rely on the records of the Births and Deaths Registry. We are in a country where even though national identity has been clearly defined in the Constitution, we still find it difficult to determine who a Ghanaian is anytime we are conducting a national exercise such as voters registration because we lack vital documents such as birth certificate to back our declarations or applications. Those who have been following American politics will remember that the nationality of President Barack Obama became an issue until a birth certificate issued in a hospital in Hawaii was produced to settle the matter. This is how far the neglect of a national institution such as the Births and Deaths Registry can cause damage to individuals and the whole country. Official attitude towards the institution has made it a case of abandonment. This has made it very easy for other nationals, especially those from neighbouring countries, to come here and in a matter of days, they are in possession of birth certificates as Ghanaians and with that enjoy all the privileges and rights as a national. Apart from the physical structures which are pathetically appalling, the registry lacks modern equipment to capture and maintain a credible database that could even be helpful to the security agencies and other state institutions when the need arises. As a result of the state neglect, the Births and Deaths Registry has become an empire of a sort which the workers, at least some, are exploiting to make extra income on the side. Mr Oppong-Fosu has seen the plight of the Births and Deaths Registry at close range. If in the past, he only heard of it, now he knows that the Births and Deaths Registry needs serious attention to put it at the proper place it belongs, as a very important institution. I believe he will make a resolution that by the time he leaves office, the Births and Deaths Registry will move into modern and well-equipped offices located on the plot at Kinbu-the land, we were told, belongs to the registry. Another department under his care which has been neglected is the Department of Parks and Gardens. Under this department comes the Aburi Botanical Gardens which is a monumental reflection of our lack of appreciation of our national institutions, monuments and historical places of national interest. The Aburi Botanical Gardens, which is a colonial legacy, has every potential to change the economy of Aburi and its environs and by extention, reflect on Accra, if managed well. This is a goldmine left to rot while poverty is stirring us in the face and without any sense of national shame, we are always on the move begging others for support. Accra was once a beautiful city buried under dense canopies of trees lining its streets. These trees provided protection against the scorching tropical sun and served as habitat for birds. Today, Accra is bare, deprived of foliage, thanks to the culture of tree-cutting for whatever reason, only God knows. Mr Oppong-Fosu should make it his target, the revamping of the Department of Parks and Gardens and to restore it to its past glory. Even bigger cities such as New York, Washington DC, Istanbul and many others have pockets of dense forests breaking the monotony of concrete and steel. Accra can do the same if we make conscious effort to plant trees and create more recreational parks which are non-existent in the national capital and other major towns in the country. I do not think I can offer any advice to the Minister of Roads and Highways, who even before his appointment, knows that a journey between Accra and Kumasi, the nation’s two major cities, can be a nightmare. I can only advise that every minister should make it a personal resolve to make history and not just be part of history as a former minister. If each of them could pledge to leave at least one major physical structure as a legacy and not just a pile of speeches, this country will be taking giant strides to glory. We have done enough development with our mouths in the form of plans, pledges, promises and expression of commitments. We have lost count of the number of projects that never went beyond the sod-cutting stage. A lot of them, and they are in the majority, are forgotten as soon as the fanfare of the sod-cutting ceremony ends. The familiarisation visits must begin to yield dividends through the positive changes we shall see in the state of our country after the problems have been seen and appreciated at first hand. Otherwise, they remain unnecessary and vain rituals that bring no benefit to anyone. fokofi@yahoo.co.uk kofiakordor.blogspot.com

Beyond thanksgiving, pilgrimage and others

And Samuel said, hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. ((1 Samuel 15:22).(KJV) Ghanaians are generally acknowledged as religious people. It is easy to come to that conclusion judging from the number of churches that have taken almost every space in the country. Apart from Christianity and Islam, the two dominant religions, other religions including Buddhism, Hare Krishna and Baha’i have followers in the country. There are still others who have held onto traditional African religion which was virtually suppressed into extinction by the colonial masters. Christianity itself has many appendages. In the main are the Catholics, the Methodists, the Anglicans and the Presbyterians. They are followed by the penteco-charismatics, some of which operate more or less like family businesses with husband and wife as heads. Even though Ghana is a secular state, every state function is flavoured with Christian, Muslim and traditional prayers. That is how religious we are. Historically, the foreign missionaries did not encounter any serious resistance when they arrived here with their brand of religion. Unlike other parts of the world such as Asia, where people held onto their traditional faiths, Africans were easily convinced and made to believe that all along they did not know anything about God even though they bore names that were significant and gave credit to the existence of God and which acknowledged His blessings. Foreign religions are part of our colonial heritage which we cannot do away with. There is nothing wrong with that so long as our lives are governed by the Word of God as they appear in the Holy Bible. Unfortunately, it appears religion has become more of a fashion than a way of living. The lifestyles of most of our religious leaders do not inspire the followers to do the right thing. Churches are now everywhere with all sorts of funny names – an indication that religion is losing its divinity and assuming more of a commercial character. Religion has taken a bigger dimension with the introduction of national thanksgiving and prayer to coincide with major events. These themselves are not bad. It is not out of place to devote a day as a nation to reach out to God and place our problems before His feet. Our political leaders and others in high places particularly need the presence of God in their undertakings and these national thanksgiving services are essential in so far as they rejuvenate our spirit and make us turn from our evil ways. The question is, will the thanksgiving services and fastings serve any purpose if our leaders return to the office the following Monday and continue with their old ways? The best prayer to God is service to humanity. Service in modesty, humility and honesty. Can we confidently say that about our leaders? Our country is suffering because over the years, our leadership have been lacking in most of these virtues. As a World Bank report has indicated, over a third of revenue generated by most African countries are lost through corruption. Our country cannot be a different case. Moneys diverted into private pockets means shortage of essential drugs and poor facilities in our hospitals; it translates into the importation of fake or expired drugs for our hospitals; it means bad roads and inadequate classrooms; it means uncompleted projects that are all over the country; it means more agitations from workers demanding what they consider to be legitimately theirs. Corruption is a disease that can eat away the soul of a country. We have survived so far as a nation mainly on charity not because we lack the resources but because we have failed to husband our resources and channel them into national development. We may be taking God for granted if we continue to indulge in these periodic thanksgiving services without matching them with good deeds. The Bible is quite clear about this. “Not everyone that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Mathew 7:21). Prayers alone will not carry us far if we do not make conscious effort to live according to the wishes of God. The thanksgiving services will remain mere symbolic gestures if they are not matched with deeds. fokofi@yahoo.co.uk kofiakordor.blogspot.com

Misdirected aggression

Whoever chose last week to make public that members of the last parliament went home with hefty sums as ex gratia made a wrong decision. It was a week which saw many professional groups making demands for the payment of their salary arrears and better market premiums in relation to their migration onto the single spine pay policy (SSPP). Naturally that piece of information did not go down well with some members of the public and who directed their frustrations at the MPs who had no hand in their predicament. The justification, though very slim, was that if the government could raise GH¢47 million to pay the MPs why was it unable to pay the salary arrears of teachers and other professionals for over one year? Most of the worker groups have legitimate cases but in our desperation, we should be careful not to throw punches at the wrong direction. In fairness to the aggrieved professionals, some of whom have already embarked on strike actions while others have threatened to do so, one would expect that their cases were treated with the same urgency as was attached to that of the MPs and other category of public servants that fall under Article 71 office holders. For the MPs and others who fall under Article 71, we cannot blame them because they are receiving what they are entitled to as spelt out in the 1992 Constitution. If now we have come to the realisation that the arrangement under which every four years, some category of public servants have to go home with huge ex gratia and return to the House to wait for the end of another four years to collect again is bad, we just have to revisit those provisions in the Constitution to streamline things for the betterment of the national interest. We have ourselves to blame for some of the things we are experiencing today especially with regard to the emoluments of the Article 71 office holders. First, we should remember that when the Constituent Assembly was drafting the 1992 Constitution, some key professional groups, notably members of the Ghana Bar Association, boycotted its proceedings. Second, having experienced a long and unpleasant spell under military dictatorship, we were too eager to exit from that political arrangement to the extent that we did not pay attention to details. So a lot of loopholes were created which are being exploited by a few people to make money many think they do not deserve. For instance, under Article 71, the President shall determine the salaries, allowances and other facilities and privileges of certain categories of public office holders including MPs, the Speaker and Deputy Speakers of Parliament on the recommendation of a committee of not more five persons appointed by the President, acting in accordance with the advice of the Council of State. Article 71 (2) says: “The salaries and allowances payable, and the facilities available, to the President, the Vice-President, the Chairman and the other members of the Council of State; Ministers of State and Deputy Ministers, being expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund, shall be determined by Parliament on the recommendations of the committee referred to in clause (1) of this article. Simply put, the President determines the salaries and other allowances for MPs and others in their category, while MPs also determine that of the President and others in his category. It is simply a matter of “do me well and I will do you even better”. On a continent where public money is easy for the grabs, such a loose mandate will surely be abused and that is exactly what is happening. Instead of making the MPs and others the scapegoats, we should revisit the Constitution on this matter and streamline things for the better. We must also find out whether this nation is deriving the best or the maximum from its resources. There are too many loopholes for some individuals to siphon money from state coffers without any fear of exposure or sanctions. The revelations at the sittings of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament have proved that most of the external assistance we have been receiving are not necessary if only we could use locally-generated revenue judiciously for national development. We are gradually being devoured by democracy, an institution we have nurtured with passion, which instead of ensuring our national success has rather opened the floodgates for vampires, marauders and rapists to plunder our national resources for selfish gain. Every corrupt person can conveniently seek refuge under the banner of a political party, whether in government or in opposition. So the incentive to loot is there. The professional groups are on the warpath because they have come to the realisation that the claims by our governments that there is no money to meet certain legitimate obligations are false because they could feel it, even if they could not see it, that huge sums of state money are going the wrong way. So they do not have the patient to wait any longer. We must take a critical look at our politics and find out whether the democracy we were yearning for and which we are touting as a national success is bringing us the returns we want. We must switch off that part of our politics which gives those with state power, the freedom to do anything they like with our collective resources without any fear of paying the appropriate penalties. We must be able to protect what belongs to us all. We must exert our collective energy against those who rape and plunder our national resources. Until we do that, we shall be hitting the wrong targets — call it misdirected aggression — while the real nation wreckers, the vampires and their collaborators continue to have a field day, celebrating our ignorance while strategising to loot the more. fokofi@yahoo.co.uk kofiakordor.blogspot.com