A concerned Ghanaian has hypothesized that there is no “better Ghana agenda” and that the expression is a slogan culled by the ruling government. I have disagreed with him so far because of the disastrous implications of that hypothesis. If there is no agenda, then like a train without control, the country has been hurtling down a canyon for the past two years, heading for a mighty crash, and it probably has. There is ample proof of that in the messy education, failing health system and the general lawlessness of the country, to mention three. Any human entity that promises a better society but destroys education can, at best, be described as self-destructive. If that entity happens to be in charge of a country, that nation can only go backwards. One such nation is Ghana. A country develops only on the back of a healthy and educated population, two areas in which Ghana is determinedly moving backwards instead of forward. And because we have chosen to destroy education, Ghanaians are behaving as ignoramuses, delighting in wrongdoing that destroys nation rather than engage in positive acts which build nation.
And to legitimize our blindness to reality and general unruliness, leadership has coined another phrase, “action year”, to further the nonexistent “agenda”, which phrase has been taken over by politicians and even football commentators, but which apparent national gullibility has finally roused me from my slumber. If there is no agenda, what possible action could leadership be referring to except perhaps the usual gimmick of creating distraction through such empty witticism, get the masses to debate endlessly thereby glossing over the fact that not much is being done! Alas, I have no choice but to accept that there is no “better Ghana agenda” because leadership has woefully failed to provide any. We have been living a lie. Ironically, what leadership lacks in initiative, it makes up for in rhetoric. Government avoids productive work by dabbling in useless political debates, numerous press conferences and blame-game, pathetically backed by sycophantic Ghanaians who live only for today and gleefully sacrifice quality life for bread and ostentation.
Ours is a culture that thrives on modesty; good deeds not be trumpeted. One proverb that expresses that worldview is “ahwene pa nkasa”, which literally translates, quality beads make no noise. The English version of that proverb might be “empty barrels make the most noise”. The President of Ghana, being a teacher and an elder, doubtlessly appreciates that aspect of our culture which exhorts modesty and eschews boastfulness. So even if the President had very bold actions lined for the year, cultural sensitivity and humility would prevent him from boasting to the nation; he would act and allow Ghanaians to judge. Again, why should a president who has apparently been working tirelessly since he took over the reins of state direction find it necessary to announce that he is going to act, implying he has been doing nothing so far? So what has constituted action for the past two years?
One area which proves that there is no “better Ghana agenda” is education. Yes, there have been some actions yet those acts provide strong evidence of leadership cluelessness. It was a campaign manifesto to revert secondary school duration to three years. Being an educationist, the President, better than anyone, knows the serious implications of changing an educational system. If there had been an agenda, that promise would have been made simultaneously with an action plan regarding syllabus change, provision for teacher education, teaching/learning materials and physical infrastructure to accommodate the surge of numbers bound to have come with that policy change. Fortunately, this regime did not even have to start from scratch. The previous one had started with such infrastructure so it was a matter of doubling the pace. That did not happen. Of course, when President Mills made that promise, he did not think he would win the election. The then Government never thought it would lose the election either so it never took the statement seriously. Insightful Ghanaians foresaw the catastrophic consequences of that statement but deluded ourselves that it would not happen. So when the unexpected happened, President Mills found himself faced with a party manifesto without any action plan. Realistically, not all party manifestoes are meant to be implemented. A ruling party can renege a promise if its implementation would not augur well for national development. This was clearly one such manifesto. A planned agenda could have informed current leadership of that option. But there was none. So the only thing that happened was the change from four years to three.
Consequently, even basic infrastructure to accommodate students is lacking. Currently, existing facilities such as assembly halls, school garages, staff common rooms have been converted to classrooms and dormitories. A very dangerous trend has also emerged. School authorities have improvised by boarding fresh secondary school students in domestic houses, outside school premises. It is difficult enough controlling students in the boarding house; what is to become of them now that they have become external boarders? And some parents believe they have sent their wards to boarding schools. The safety issue aside, some of these rented premises have no good facilities; in short, some students are living in squalor. Yet, the building programmes in most of these schools have come to a halt for lack of funds. There was no indication from the 2011 budget that there is a national priority regarding school infrastructure.
If there was a “better Ghana agenda”, it obviously made no room for quality education, just quantity. One innovation in the 2008 education reform was that school syllabus was put on the Internet to enhance access. The 2010 change failed to maintain that service. The situation is not better in the first and tertiary cycles. The quality of education continues to fall due to overcrowded classrooms and inadequate teaching/learning materials, topped by poor human resource development, another legacy of President Mills and Mr. Tettey-Enyoh, the immediate former Education Minister. True, the party inherited some of the current problems, but if it had had an agenda, it would have sought to better rather than worsen such situations. How could anyone better society with ignorant masses. Yet rather than add quality by providing some of the basic resources for exiting institutions, the President has cut the sod for the commencement of another university, for physical education and applied sciences. Again quantity not quality! I wrote in August 2010 that the pair above had taken the nation back twenty years. I was wrong. Make that forty and multiply it by three and you would realize the extent of our regression in the past two years.
Another failed area is the National Health Insurance Scheme. Like education, the scheme has quantity but no quality. Funds are hardly released for that service compelling health providers to sometimes halt essential services such as food or ask patients to buy drugs. Others who can afford also pay in order to receive adequate health services, in spite of being beneficiaries of the Scheme. Instead of tackling the issue of funds, leadership is toying with the idea of a one-time premium, another party manifesto made without any back-up plan. But health needs its own platform. Would leadership learn from the education fiasco? If the 2011 budget gave no indication of innovative solutions to dire needs of education and health, what possible action could leadership have in store, and by what plan? Of the lawlessness of the nation, one needs not look beyond the avoidable carnage on Ghanaian roads. Yet lawlessness also needs its own platform. Leadership could have provided evidence of action had the increases in fuel prices been announced simultaneously with a new minimum wage. Nobody should be fooled by the STX housing deal because even if the homes are provided, destructive occupants would devalue them in no time. Yes, get the masses informed and they act responsibly; then you put them in a good position to value national property. In other words, start with good education and all other issues fall in line. Sadly, that basic knowledge has eluded government, headed by an educationist!
If there was a “better Ghana agenda”, it would be tackling crucial national needs through policy continuation and introduction of relevant long-term ones. The only action in 2011 would continue to be the noise pollution from politicians and sycophants. There would be no action that would amount to a national strategy to address real developmental needs. Leadership will only skirt around symptoms rather than tackle root causes of national challenges! Action year?
