Is Government’s Call For Citizens To Sacrifice Legitimate?

Government Loses Its Claim To Legitimacy When It Fails To Fulfil Its Obligations---Martin L. Gross

Lately, there have been calls for Ghanaians to sacrifice as the country is going through difficult economic times. Indeed, this call to sacrifice did not start today. In 2001, when J. A. Kufuor took office, Ghana was HIPC (Highly Indebted Poor Country) so there was the need to sacrifice. During the tenure of President Mills, Ghanaians had to 'tighten their belt'. Today under President Mahama, Ghanaian are been asked to sacrifice again.

On the 24th July edition of 'that's my opinion' on Joy FM, Nana AnsahKwao also took the discussion of sacrifice to another level. The enlightened traditional ruler wanted to know who must take the lead in this regard - Government or the citizens. I recall his inspirational narration of how the people of South Korea sacrificed to build their country. But Nana, does Government even have the legitimacy to ask the citizenry to sacrifice?

South Korea's story of how they moved from economic doldrums to prosperity fits the idea put forward by Malcom Gladwell in his latest book, 'David and Goliath'. This bestselling author and Journalist discusses how individuals and groups who are perceived as underdogs can pull off a big surprise and become achievers. How fulfilling will it be to see Ghanaians sacrificing to fix the numerous challenges that confront us? But Gladwell is quick to point out that the underdog who wants to win must CHANGE the rules and do things differently.

In 'David and Goliath', Gladwell considers one theory that is relevant to this debate. He calls it the law of legitimacy. According to Gladwell, 'legitimacy is based on three things'. First, citizens must feel 'they have a voice - that if they speak up, they will be heard'. Furthermore, rules must be predictable. Also, 'authority has to be fair'.

In Ghana, our Government (please not NDC or NPP) has over the years given a deaf ear to issues raised by citizens. The best Ghanaians usually get is a committee or commission whose recommendationsare usually not implemented. Given what has transpired in the past, I wonder if the Senchirecommendations will be implemented fully. Government gets the opportunity every day to listen to the plea of the people. Instead of paying attention, an army of insensitive 'communicators' have been tasked to roam radio stations and rubbish every story while labelling every Ghanaian who speaks up as a member of the opposition.

What happened to Anas' investigation on Tema Port, ECG, Cocoa smuggling, etc.? What about Manasseh's investigation on Korle Bu and GYEEDA? What about the issues raised by the opposition? Are these people not Ghanaians? Should Government wait for a demonstration, strike or protest before acting? Government officials even have the effrontery to ridicule citizens when they protest yet they claim we have a listening government.

Citizens will sacrifice if they perceive the 'system' as reasonably predictable with a clear relationship between effort and reward. Unfortunately, this is not the case in our beloved Ghana. I continue to wonder why my academically weak friends who left the shores of Ghana to Europe and North America are now top professionals in different fields while the excellent ones who stayed at home continue to struggle. Josh Kaufmann in his book 'The Personal MBA - Master the Art of Business', postulates that predictability is influenced by uniformity, consistency and reliability.

Instead of working towards uniformity by closing the development gaps across the country so that opportunities are created for all, Government deliberately failed with SADA. When it comes to consistency, the least said the better. Both Presidents Kufuor and Mills changed their language after winning elections. When people are seeking power in Ghana, they give a lot of promises only to realise after winning that the nation is broke. What is a shame! Were they not following events in the country when they wanted power? NDC and NPP keep changing the number of years for secondary education showing how confused we are as a country.

Time will fail me if I have to discuss the number of projects that have been discontinued due to change of power. Where are the Presidential Special Initiatives that were started under the NPP? Government has not been reliable over the years. Government cannot obey its own rules and regulations. Government refuses to make statutory payments yet money is airlifted to pay the Black Stars who have failed to win any trophy in 32 years.

Is it fair if you continue to hold your job even if you flop as some ministers have done in the past and continue to do?Is it fair if a deputy minister tells Ghanaians that only NDC supporters will be flown to Brazil with our money? Is it fair if the president decides to appoint clueless people with no solid experience and entrust them with our fragile developing country when competent Ghanaians abound even in the ruling party? Lest I forget, is it fair on those who are paying their taxes, if Government sit down and lament on non-payment of taxes by some of our compatriots when indeed it is the duty of Government to collect taxes? Who, after all, enjoys paying taxes?

Government, in my humble opinion, has lost its legitimacy to demand more sacrifices from Ghanaians. Like a bad parent, Government has treated and continues to treat the owners of companies involved in the GYEEDA, SUBAH and SADA scandals differently from how majority of us are treated. If 'to whom much is given, much is required', then I expect Government to impress upon these 'pampered children' to sacrifice by paying back every pesewa they owe. This act may be the start on the long road for Government to regain its legitimacy.

ABRAHAM KUUKU SAM can be contacted at [email protected].