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State institutions such as the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), law enforcement agencies, Council of State, the health service sector, among many others, are weak and cannot perform their core mandates. The fault may not come from them but certainly it is a direct result of neglect.
State institutions such as the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), law enforcement agencies, Council of State, the health service sector, among many others, are weak and cannot perform their core mandates. The fault may not come from them but certainly it is a direct result of neglect.

Deficiencies in our state institutions worrying

"Africa does not need strong men; it needs strong institutions, “ former United States of America President Barack Obama told Ghana's Parliament when he paid a state visit to the country in July 2009.

This advice by the former American President was to ensure that systems worked in Africa rather than strong men. In so doing, the nation Ghana will be able to build a society where equal opportunities abound for all its citizens.

However, a few years down the line, observing the nation’s democratic journey with its weak inherent institutional structures gives cause for much concern. Twenty-four years into the Fourth Republic, it is ironic to observe that while the nation is strongly democratic, it has evidently weak institutional capacity. As a nation, even though we have been seeking to strengthen and grow our democracy over the years,  we have not been seeking to do same to strengthen our institutions.

State institutions such as the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), law enforcement agencies, Council of State, the health service sector, among many others, are weak and cannot perform their core mandates. The fault may not come from them but certainly it is a direct result of neglect.

Try seeking admission to any of the traditional senior high schools (SHS) or tertiary educational institutions, try looking for an ambulance in the health delivery sector in Ghana or go to the ministries for business documentation or the ports to transact business and you will be shocked the ordeal you will be made to go through. Try seeking justice and you will soon realise it is no child’s play.  At the local level, district assemblies are not as yet responsive as they ought to be and many nationals complain about the lack of social services and amenities. The police stations are no different. Drivers, particularly that of commercial vehicles, and Okada (motor) riders flout traffic rules and regulations with careless abandon with the police looking on helplessly. Clearly, there are many deficiencies in the performance of most of our state institutions.

Weak institutions

Instead of working affeectively to meet the needs of Ghanaians, many of our state institutions are rather acting as appendages of government in political authority. There is also a lot of socio-political interference in the day-to-day administration of our state institutions.

Sixty years after attaining independence, Ghana is still struggling to grow its weak state institutions whose lack of strength have largely undermined the country’s ability to achieve sustainable structural transformational growth.

Yes, Ghana has achieved sustained democratic growth and is globally applauded for its environment of political pluralism, free and fair elections, and active civil society.

Yet, despite these achievements, Ghana remains unable to achieve the growth levels it desires for itself. It lacks the strong institutions needed to fight corruption and access justice and equal rights. It appears the educated Ghanaian goes into politics or government  to gain power, fame and money, but not to serve the people.

In Ghana, since independence from British colonial rule on March 6, 1957, a government hardly punishes its own corrupt ministers. In my view, these weak socio-politico-institutional characteristics have largely shaped the economic policies and the resultant development trajectory the country presently finds itself in;  and if the systems and institutional framework are inefficient, each one of us lives in perpetual danger.

Ghana’s ability undermined

Clearly, Ghana’s effort to achieve substantive structural transformation has been undermined largely by the lack of working systems.

Ghana was at par with Malaysia and South Korea in terms of development when it attained independence. The odds even then favoured Ghana; it had a relatively highly educated elite while  the Korean peninsula was ravaged by war. Today, according to the World Bank, Ghana’s income per capita in 2015 was nearly $1,500 while South Korea’s was $30,000, which affirms the fact that we have not done as well economically as we should have.

Time to grow institutions

So what really is impeding our national progress? In my humble opinion, we need to get back to the basics and get the country’s systems working.

We need to grow our institutions to make them effective and more functional. It is time to grow our institutions to enable them to play their expected roles in society to assist in the consolidation of the country’s democratic governance to make it a way of life and not a mere political arrangement where governmental power swung from one political power to another.

Addressing the recently constituted members of the Council of State, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo advised them not to be bootlickers but work effectively to help him meet the needs of the people.

The President expressed similar sentiments when he addressed media personnel at his Nima residence, tasking the security service and other institutions of state to be professional and work in the collective interest of the nation and national good.

Clearly, if state institutions and systems do not work in any country, many governments will fail no matter the good policies and how hard they try to bring good governance to the doorstep of the people.

This is the more reason why Ghana cannot down play the advice from the former US President Barack Obama advocating for strong institutions and working systems instead of strong men. A word to the wise is enough.

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