PRESSING MATTERS…
The National Commission on Civic Education launched a survey report last week. The report examined the ‘Public Opinion on the State of Corruption, Public Accountability and Environmental Governance in Ghana. 87% of respondents surveyed for the report indicated corruption as high or very high in Ghana. I am not particularly surprised about this reaction of the respondents. Indeed, it will take a maximum of five-day stay in Ghana to come to terms with the endemic corruption embedded in the day-to-day activities of the average Ghanaian. From the police service to judiciary service, the Ghanaian in trying to access public services encounter all kinds of unethical behaviour from public officials.
Democracy is supposed to serve as the bulwark against corruption. The right to free speech, freedom of the press, right to information, which are all guaranteed under a democratic state are mechanisms with which to fight corruption. However, the Ghanaian state as it is usually with most aspects of our governance space is peculiar. I call it Ghanaian exceptionalism. Even in corruption, we are a people divided on facts and truth. To effectively combat corruption, enforcement and strengthening of existing anti-corruption laws should be a priority for the state.
It is intriguing that we have still not passed the conduct of public officer’s bill in Ghana. Political appointees and public officials in Ghana have no qualms receiving ‘gifts’ from individuals and companies that even fall under their regulatory ambit. We have no effective laws on unexplained wealth thereby making Ghana one of the likely destinations for money laundering.
The other day I chanced upon a report on road accidents in Ghana in the last decade. The report makes for a very depressing read. I am forced to ask what exactly are the folks at the NRSC doing? How many people must die before we do something about the spate of road accidents in the country? Are we going to be saddled with undisciplined drivers driving with questionable licensing forever? How does the DVLA justify the number of unworthy cars on our roads? What is it with the presence of law-enforcement officers on our roads who appear very indifferent about enforcing the law?
I have used the Accra-Cape Coast highway twice in the last couple of months. I must commend the police service for the presence of many police check points along the route, but I must add that I don’t appreciate the sometimes-overt manner some of the officers literally beg for money from me. I call it begging instead of bribe because such officers don’t even check anything on the car in order to use that a pretext to ask for money. One officer asked for money because he said he had left his wife at home to be there to protect me. I assured him that I was grateful for his service to the country and me, but I was not responsible for his welfare, so I wasn’t going to give him a dime. The officer got angry and pulled me over. He detained me for 38 minutes at the checkpoint before releasing me when he realised, I wasn’t going to part with any amount.
And oh, please let get some street lightening on our roads, for Christ sake!
I have largely restrained myself from watching any episode of the ministerial vetting or the presidential election petition going on currently. I have restricted myself to reading commentary on both from my social media friends. It is interesting how entrenched the positions seems to be. The comments I read on Thursday were so shocking that I decided to end my self-imposed restriction. Watching the vetting of the nominee for the Fisheries and Aquaculture ministry was excruciatingly painful. The problem with the nominee goes beyond her difficulty in expressing herself in the English language. The bigger problem had to do with how unprepared she appeared. She sounded completely ignorant and shallow. I am not sure she could have exhibited any depth and grasp even if she had spoken in a language in which she is proficient.
In a country where politics has largely become a vehicle for the distribution of state largesse, I am not particularly enthused or expectant when political appointments are announced after elections. I am not one of those who believe ministers of state must necessarily have technical knowledge of their briefs. However, a minimum knowledge of the brief is essential for any minister to perform creditably. I admire the political tenacity of the nominee, but I really struggle to see how she will function effectively at that ministry. Modern political administration has become more complex and nuanced. Hitherto, all one needed to effectively manage a political department was a little more than the average ability to play on the intelligence of people. All that has changed now. The set of skills required in running a government department are more sophisticated now and requires a whole range of skill set beyond political skills.
I read with incredulity the story of UPSA on its new dress code. The Daily Graphic report stated, “The University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) has directed that students who wear indecent dresses on campus must not be allowed to attend lectures.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Abednego F. O. Amartey, who issued the directive, mentioned the dresses which would not be tolerated on campus to include short skirts, torn jeans and other such apparel that exposed vital parts of the body.”
The first question that came to my mind was what constituted ‘indecent dresses”? I understand ‘short skirts’ is one of them. But what about shorts for men that do not go beyond the knee? I certainly saw young men wearing shorts like that to lectures when I was in university some nine years ago. Then again, what has the dress a person wear got to do with academic work, which essentially should be the focus of the university community? I am at a loss trying to reconcile the impact of one’s dressing on the development of the mind. Collectively, as a people, we have to decide for ourselves the things that matters most to us. I am assured in my mind that dressing won’t be one of the most decadent social vices facing our society. It seems we are prepared to judge the mental ability of our young minds by what they wear. Fashion like art itself is very fluid and what will make a university administration think it has the capacity to determine what the ‘right fashion’ must be? Perhaps this is just another example of Ghanaian exceptionalism.