Time To Build Together

IGP, Mohammed Alhassan

The country is shooting itself in the leg every day. The extreme politicisation of issues has made some people feel like strangers in their motherland.

There are many others who feel insecure because of the lack of livelihoods while some feel a sense of hopelessness as a result of the increasing crime rate and unemployment.

This is the same country that at independence held more promise for its citizens and offered hope to the rest of the continent that the black man is capable of managing his or her own affairs.

Frankly speaking, the picture is not all about gloom and doom as there are achievements that require celebration and can be leveraged for the anticipated development of the country.

There are many Ghanaians at home and in the diaspora who are rubbing shoulders with the best brains of the world. These Ghanaians occupy top positions in global organisations and blue chip companies leading the innovations for improved standard of living throughout the country.

Sometimes we wonder whether the provisions in the scriptures that no prophet is welcomed in his own backyard have affected the way Ghanaians are treated in their own country.

Be that as it may, all Ghanaians in leadership positions are challenged to provide the inspiration for change in our society. After all, leadership is also about followership and thus we expect the leaders to motivate the people to buy into their agenda for change in society.

We have no regret to restate that the problems of our time are self-inflicted as the authorities have failed to tame the growing impunity in the conduct of public affairs.

The Daily Graphic challenges our compatriots who hold contrary views to come out boldly and state their viewpoints so that the people can interrogate the options with the view to finding solutions to our woes.

For now, we are convinced that what is making us grope in the dark for solutions to the development issues can be traced to indiscipline among the populace.

The statute books boast the best legislation in the Commonwealth yet we are found wanting in applying the laws to compel the people to conform to societal norms.

There is carnage on our roads and although we know that about 90 per cent of the accidents are caused by human error, we are unable to bring the drivers to book.

At best we get the police to mount roadblocks to discipline a few of them but that exercise becomes cosmetic because it does not elicit behavioural change among drivers.

Our cities, towns and villages are littered with waste, particularly plastic, but here again the district assemblies, clothed with enough powers to crack the whip, look on in helpless amusement.

Developers who have constructed structures at unauthorised places including in watercourses do not care about their neighbours. As the rains knock on our doors, the local authorities are threatening to pull down structures in watercourses, but we wait to see whether this too will not be mere rhetorics.

The country's facilities such as schools, hospitals and markets are bursting at the seams but until we get donor support, we are unable to commit resources to renew the facilities to meet the demands of the growing population.

In this context, the Daily Graphic thinks that the lecture organised by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) to mark this year's Constitution Week on the theme, 'Advancing Together,' was a step in the right direction.

Equally opportune was the admonition by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu, to Ghanaians to be guided by the warning signal at the level crossings - Stop, Look and Listen - and reflect on the shortcomings of the country's democratic dispensation in order to make amends.

He was also reported to have advised our governments not to abandon projects embarked upon by previous administrations.

The records do not reflect that we are committed to change in continuity as every regime tries to create its own identity and by so doing does not feel comfortable continuing with projects of the previous regime.

In present-day Ghana, one of such projects is the affordable housing projects embarked upon by the Kufuor administration. The neglect has rendered the houses a den for squatters and hardened criminals.

The Daily Graphic appeals to the government to take a bold step by looking for the resources to complete the affordable houses to ease the crunching housing deficits.

We recall a similar debate on the completion of four road projects, otherwise referred to as the 'gang of four', started by the previous administration, but their completion and continuation of work have eased the movement of goods and people and thus strengthened the campaign against the abandonment of projects embarked upon by previous regimes.