Goodnuff Writes: Ghana Beyond Aid: Are Our Leaders Translating Vision Into Reality?

The theme of our 61st independence year celebration is really a clause of the time. Ghana is a blessed country with voluminous resources. 61 years old, means about 22,265 days after independence. After all these years if a theme as "Ghana beyond aid" is what is mounted for an independence day celebration then we need to awake!

If Ghana was a public servant, it should have been on her retirement. she should have been forced to retire as Martin Amidu vehemently refused to allow a woman by name Madam Estelle Appiah to continue work under the ministry of Attorney General due to her exceeded age as public servant in such ministry as Dr. sawyer stated in her recent article Bird of the night.

61 years old country blessed with adequate resources is still birthing poor managerial leaders; selfish and sycophants as been their innermost qualities, create loot and share been their outmost qualities. Why won't we still solicit aid from other countries, who have made judicious use of the little resources they have?

No one on this planet is perfect, we are all fallible but it seems our leaders consistently fail to bring the visions of the country into reality. Our unproven leaders have come with high risk premium and the citizens are weeping.

On the 61st Independence Anniversary celebration, I was very glad when the president hit the nail on the head. He stated that "Ghana Beyond Aid is not a pie in the sky notion, other countries, including some of our peers at independence have done exactly that. It is doable and we must believe that what others, with less resources, have done, we can do".

Mr president deserves a warm of applause for stating emphatically that " it is doable and we must believe that what others, with less resources have done, we can do" surely we can achieve the best if we stop spewing propaganda with valueless speeches into the ears of the citizens, adopting the concept of "service above self" and quashing over abundance of ego, pride and arrogance.

The reality of Ghana beyond aid should be firstly seen in the spirit of our leaders. Justice, probity and accountability as enshrined in the preamble of our constitution should be the hallmark and we should walk the talk of it.

The current austerity is generating obscene satanic acts.

In January 2018, 89 robbery cases have been recorded, 31 been residential robbery, 43 been street robberies, 10 car robbery and 5 robbery at work. This is devastating hence there should be a more vigilant security to check all these else we will wake up one day and hear the Office of the president has been robbed. For that I don't think it will be politalise.

The invisible and Delta forces who are putting fear into the public servants and party executives should be disband now to see how serious the government is willingly to curb such security crises.

Workers are crying for increase salaries since they are penniless because of inflated goods on the market. Unemployed graduates seeking for jobs and satisfied politicians pushing the blame game on IMF policy but families and cronies were employed in same atmosphere.

There's a well understood correlation that as the economy of a country improves, so as the health of its citizens improves. Therefore our leaders have an ethical obligation to ensure equitable access to health care for all. This obligation rests on the special importance of health care: its role in relieving suffering, preventing premature death, restoring functioning, increasing opportunity, providing information about an individual's condition, and giving evidence of mutual empathy and compassion.

What annoys most is, many health care centers that are well built and furnished with facilities are left as white elephants. These centres can probably employ many workers to ease the unemployed graduates situation, reducing patients congestion at other health centers.

Many of such infrastructures because of political colonization, (as it was constructed by the previous government) can be deprived to serve its main purpose now until the aforesaid government that commissioned them come to power. Are we translating our vision into reality? Indeed we are not serious when it comes to development. Ofankor hospital which was constructed by the previous government is a typical example.

It's time we made good use of our own raw materials produced in our country. The one district one factory policy is a good policy to stop the transportation of unprocessed raw materials. Instead of transporting, the districts factories will convert such raw materials. Finished goods will add more value and give high returns to run our economy.

As one American writer called Warren Bennis said, "leadership is the capacity to translate visions into reality" leadership is not about speeches, it's all about seeing the realities of the promised policies,hence leaders of our nation it's time you nature our vision into reality to truly define Ghana as a country beyond aid.

WRITTEN BY GOODNUFF APPIAH LARBI