THE GHANAIAN BLAME-GAME

These days when I ponder over events in this nation, I am at a loss. For a while now, I have not been able to bring myself to putting my thoughts on paper because I am filled with disappointment.

I am disappointed at a country, which seems to be spinning, with no purpose.  I am disappointed at a country, in which leadership is clueless as to how to manage its affairs. I am disappointed at a country, which is in crises, and yet, citizens seem only interested in mere talks and politics. I am most of all disappointed at a country, which seems to have all the God-given resources any nation can ever wish for, in terms of natural and human resources, and yet prefers to wallow in poverty!

On our airwaves, it is one discussion, after the other. The battle of words! The battle of grammar! The battle of insults! The battle of political parties! I guess our various radio stations seem not to have anything else to offer. They rather prefer to fuel anger and insults!

Can this nation, for once, put aside political differences, in finding lasting solutions, to our predicaments?

Each year in this country, comes the usual floods, and the associated loss of lives and property. Again it has happened; several people have perished and again, the debates have begun. The usual blame game is on-going. As always, everyone is screaming: It is the government! Really? 

What about us? What about you and I? Will we ever take responsibility for our role, no matter how ‘little’ it may seem? Tell me: how do you expect others to take responsibility, when you are unwilling to accept yours? How do you blame a few people for a disaster of such magnitude? How do we blame others for our poor sanitation practices? Our poor personal, and environmental hygiene? We know ourselves and what we do! Remember the day you threw that ice-cream plastic on the street? Remember when you disposed that plastic into that gutter? Remember when you carried your domestic waste and dumped it carelessly in your neighbourhood that night? Remember when you defecated into that plastic bag and threw it into the gutter in your neighbourhood?

Of course, there are the usual talks of the incompetence of our sanitation agencies and other governmental institutions but guess what? They are all being manned by GHANAIANS! Yes, by you and I! As always, people are being paid for doing nothing! Our waste collection companies keep failing us, just as we continue littering. All around us is the stench from our choked gutters and drains, containing all sorts of human waste! Is it then surprising that each year we experience these floods? Mother Nature will send it back to us! Shedding the blame on a few minority, would never solve this problem! I have seen several cases of people throwing rubbish right in front of rubbish containers! It is our attitude! Blame no one but yourself! People have lost their lives! This is a wake-up call to us all!

What about our power crisis?

Over the past decades, how many power projects has this nation embarked on? Talk about the Akosombo dam, Bui dam, the numerous thermal plants in Tema and Takoradi, those constructed by private entities, to mention but a few. What are the states of these facilities? Why is it that in this country, a new project leads to the destruction or abandonment of the existing? Whenever a new road is constructed, the existing ones get destroyed. The same exists with our drains; as soon as it is constructed, we immediately fill it with garbage!

Is it then necessary to construct new facilities, if we cannot even manage the existing ones? And yet, we prefer to politicize every issue!

On our airwaves, we keep hearing all sorts of talks and accusations of gross mismanagement of national assets or resources. Rather interestingly however, we fail to focus on the true culprits.  Which people are in charge of our national resources or assets? THE GHANAIAN! Yes, the Ghanaian.

What are our priorities? This is a country in which local chief executives, would rather invest in extravagant lifestyles and expensive vehicles, rather than pump money into maintenance of facilities and other relevant operational costs in their institutions! We are crippling this nation!  What is the state of our national assets? Our hospitals and clinics? Our schools? Our national enterprises? Institutions?  Infrastructure? Plant and Equipment? Vehicles? National projects? The list is endless! As a country, what has been our maintenance culture? It is a Ghanaian attitude! And yet, we prefer to mask the truth with politics. No one dares speak the truth.

Until Ghanaians learn to be responsible and held accountable, no government can make our lives better. The collapse or failure of various national enterprises and policies, is as a result of our own doing.  We keep talking about enforcing our laws but the real question is: Who is competent enough or capable of enforcing these laws? The numerous task forces that have been commissioned in this nation have all turned into institutions of bribery and corruption. Talk about the city council guys who go parading themselves in uniforms, only to exploit people! Talk about our gallant law officers usually at our checkpoints and along our various roads. It is all about bribery for any offenders.  So then, how do we enforce our so-called rules and regulations?

From all indications, the Ghanaian cannot manage his own affairs!

We need honest people to steer the affairs of this nation. From my window, these beautiful ones, are not yet born. All I see are thousands of power-hungry, power-thirsty, and power-drunken individuals, who would do anything for power. I am yet to see a government, which can actually solve the problems confronting this nation. I am yet to encounter Ghanaians, who would do their best, to see this nation prosper. There are a few good nuts, but the rest are cancerous.

I am tired of listening to several theoretical solutions, axioms, or postulates whenever solutions are being sought to the country’s challenges. Ghana needs practicality.

Anna Esi Hanson (nnhanson2@yahoo.com; esociocomm.blogspot.com) 

IS GHANA SERIOUS?

“Dear Doc, this is something small for your hard work. It is not a bribe. Take it and relax. In Ghana, everybody ‘chops’ from his work side.”

That was a note attached to a check, issued by a medical superintendent, as a bribe, intended for the director of the NHIA clinical audit team, during an audit at the Essikado District Hospital in the Western region. Dr. Ametewee had defrauded the NHIA to a sum of GHS 415,000.00!

In barely a month, Ghana would be fifty eight solid years since independence. As a country, guess what? We keep waking to more disappointments. Currently, it is the reign of arson. It as though Ghana just discovered another use of fire!

It was quite disappointing when we all awoke to the so-called fire outbreak at the Tema central medical stores. Imagine all the medical supplies supposed to be harboured by this structure, and yet, somehow, it got razed. 

Again, let us talk about the fire outbreak at the Tamale Teaching Hospital laboratory store, not forgetting the fire outbreak at the ECG warehouse. How many millions of cedi was lost?

Can we forget the incidence of fraud at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital pharmacy?

Let us not forget the ghost names saga, within the National Service Scheme. 22,612 ghost names! Do you know that this country loses about GHS 94,970,400 each year to undeserved allowances due to these ghost names?

And this is being perpetrated by ordinary Ghanaians! It would be quite interesting to know the total amount of money this nation has lost, in just these above mentioned incidents. And what has been the punishment for such wicked people? 

Can you imagine the sums of state-owned cash that disappear in similar or diverse ways on a daily basis through our ports and harbours, borders, checkpoints, offices, both governmental and non-governmental, to mention a few? The real thieves live with us, and yet we all so readily arrest and tag others as thieves!

These thieves are our grandfathers and grandmothers, fathers and mothers, uncles and aunties, brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces, husbands and wives, in-laws, friends and acquaintances, colleagues, church members, church leaders, social or political leaders, or even neighbours. They are family! Anyone who takes what belongs to others without the knowledge or permission of the owner is a thief! 

Talk about the ordinary city guards positioned within our central business districts, for only God knows what. These so-called city guards parade around like vultures, looking out to prey. What are their roles? Must this country continue paying people for no work done? We clothe them in uniform, only for them to extort us! Are we serious?

As always, our gallant policemen and policewomen cannot be ruled out. Visit the various police check points, and you will never be disappointed. The numerous pockets on their uniforms are serving other purposes. At one of these checkpoints quite recently, it was an interesting sight as I watched one police officer, move to a shed, and immediately, started emptying the contents of his day’s labour. Your guess is as good as mine. Are we serious?

Whenever we think of corruption, everyone quickly looks up our political ladder. We only consider politicians to be corrupt. But guess what? Corruption in this nation is most rotten, towards the base! Those at the bottom of the hierarchy are more corrupt. We parade ourselves as middle or even low income earners, either as ordinary government or private workers, until we get caught and make news headlines. And yet, we would only too readily point accusing fingers at our leaders. Are we serious?

Would Ghana ever solve this problem of corruption? In the new Ghana, arson has become the cover-up for embezzlement! Ghanaians are now setting fire to government properties as a cover to their crimes; the gross embezzlements, stealing, misappropriations, to mention but a few. Is Ghana serious? 

This is the question we should be asking ourselves each day. Clearly, not all Ghanaians are corrupt, but again, majority is corrupt, and majority is being corrupted daily. The monies being lost are monies taken from the ordinary tax-payer. How then, and for how long, must we sit and watch as these monies keep getting wasted? What happens to those who get nabbed by the law? More stringent measures must be sought and enforced!

Quite recently, Pope Francis I, in his address to some catholic religious said, “We are all sinners, but not all are corrupt. Sinners are to be accepted, but not the corrupt.”

 

By inference, we sin because we are weak, but WE ARE CORRUPT BECAUSE WE ARE WICKED. CORRUPTION IS EVIL! The one who offers a bribe, and the one who receives this bribe, are both culpable! 

Anna Esi Hanson (nnhanson2@yahoo.com