A roof over our heads

I believe there are strong reasons why the government at one time took a decision to reallocate government bungalows in certain parts of Accra and other cities and towns for redevelopment. From where I stand, I can hazard a guess of one or two reasons. Those bungalows were constructed during the colonial era and white masters wanted to distance themselves as far as possible from the black servants. So these properties were sited on large acreages of land with what was described as ‘boys quarters’ quite a distance from the main bungalow. The state could afford such luxury because the beneficiaries were few and land was not under pressure. Today, those who qualify to be housed by the state, technically speaking, are legion but resources limited. Looking critically at things today, it does not make sense to house a single family at state expense on a parcel of land that could conveniently house more than 10 families. It also became clear that the maintenance of these colonial mansions have become a heavy burden on the national budget. Apart from the politician occupants who manage to get things done their own way, most of these bungalows have been virtually abandoned without any facelift. The Accra Redevelopment Project might have been conceived on sound reasoning but opened itself to abuse when it came to implementation. In the first place, if the issue was about making economic use of available land, the same plot which had a single bungalow could have been redeveloped to accommdate more families. If the issue is about the state downloading the burden of housing some category of workers, the position must be made clear so that public servants will be clear in their minds that their accommodation is not the business of the state. If the idea is to give the central part of Accra, the capital city where most of these bungalows are situated, there must be guidelines on how those houses in prime areas are to be re-allocated. The guidelines should spell out those companies or individuals who qualify to acquire these houses. The least to qualify are senior public servants, political office holders and their agents who have direct control of the allocation process. In the absence of publicly debated modalities, it is not surprising that the exercise has run into difficulties sometimes with embarrassing consequences. Take the case of the High Court judge who woke up one morning to see intruders demanding he vacates the official bungalow allocated to him a few weeks earlier because the property had been sold to them as far back as 2007. Strangely, this was not known to the authorities at the Judicial Service who went ahead to do the allocation. Even if there should be a change of policy so far as accommodating senior civil servants are concerned, one group of people who should be spared are judges. By the peculiar nature of their work, judges deserve maximu protection from the state. To subject judges to accommodation problems means making an already difficult and stressful work extraordinarily difficult. There are many individuals and corporate institutions that would be more than willing to accommodate a judge but that would be at a great cost to the dispensation of justice. It is not for nothing that even the social life of judges are restricted to ensure that they do not become too familiar with certain people so as to influence their decisions. Rather than evicting judges and other judicial staff from their bungalows, it would be more prudent to pull down those colonial buildings on vast expanses of land and build more apartments to accommodate more judges who are being employed in the expanding judicial system. Judges, like medical doctors, by necessity must be as close to their duty points as possible. This is not a luxury but a reality that must not be subjected to any debate. It is not too late to go back and make amends where it is clearly established that there has been an official mistake. Our judges must have roofs over their heads. They must live in secure environment insulated from criminal gangs that could exploit their vulnerability for criminal gains. fokofi@yahoo.co.uk kofiakordor.blogspot.com