From the FixTheCountry clatter to the raging debate on the ‘hows’ about fighting galamsey, to our current topic on the government’s rollout of roads construction programme, the simple picture we get is one of an expectant citizenry pushing government to its limits.
That is because the lives of citizens are impacted by these development pieces that span several sectors.
So, from hospital and market projects and affordable housing, through banking, industry, agriculture to tourism and social stability, among others, every citizen has his or her life impacted, if these sectors are ticking and space is made for yet other generations.
Tolerance
Because the strategies, initiatives, ‘way and means’ as well as funding levels vary from government to government, there will be some natural friction among political stakeholders as a government in power struggles or strives to carry out its mandates.
It is sad that before even a government settles down to roll out a programme, we find opponents, most of the time without having armed themselves with the details or knowing the way, jumping the gun and shooting a government on mere propaganda.
Great expectations
Ghanaians, since days of Kwame Nkrumah, have had great expectations for national development. That is why we have tended not to allow our governments patience to deliver on mandates that are clear or even in the process of unfolding.
Unfortunately, because of that collective nuance, we had to suffer a termination of Dr KA Busia’s Second Republic and Hilla Limann’s Third Republic, even when those governments had set agendas that were recording evidence of national recovery.
Of course, we must admit that being in government is a serious business for serious people and leaders, and that is why we have a very active civil society in Ghana, unlike most African states. And that keeps leadership on its toes and minimises complacency on the part of those in charge of governments.
For those who, therefore, saw sketches of the Pokuase Interchange and public reaction, it is not surprising that other communities, including those in Sissala in the Upper East, are clamouring for better roads and improved access to their farms.
Whether we like that design piece or not is not the issue. Indeed, what is important, in the estimation of most Ghanaians, is that a very key development piece is being rolled out, and should to be ‘replicated’ in other communities, districts or regions.
That is the essence of governance, and, perhaps, the very reason why the electorate may be impatient with leadership as a culture in our part of the world.
Doldrums
Ostensibly, while in opposition, the New Patriotic Party intended to prove a point to Ghanaians that leadership is an indispensable ingredient in national development. It was, apparently, compelled to assemble a massive potpourri of development pieces to convince Ghanaians that governance is not a joke for noisemakers.
That fact was reinforced when it turned out that the previous government had foisted on us an IMF programme that would tap all the latent energies out of leadership.
Thankfully, the Akufo-Addo administration surmounted those hurdles, including that which the COVID-19 pandemic would mercilessly throw at us.
Sustaining the tempo
Because of the great expectations Ghanaians have of their leaders, appointees dare not get complacent and fatigued in staying in the trenches and sweating it out for the required results.
Particularly, for those yet to receive the nod from the Legislature, the lesson here is that they owe it a duty to Ghana and the NPP to prove their mettle and help the government deliver on its mandate.
They don’t have to wait till it is too late to hire media friends and political fathers to ‘put in a word’ for them, if they ignore the tricky times we are in and fail to put in their all.
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