Daily Graphic Editorials

Employment generation has become a challenge across the globe, with both developed and developing countries caught in the web.

Under Economic Objectives in the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, it is stated that the state shall, among others, take all necessary st

balanced development

eps to undertake even and of all regions and every part of each region of Ghana, and, in particular, improve the conditions of life in the rural areas and generally redress any imbalance in development between the rural and the urban areas.

Having been in the education system in the UK for more than 24 years (22 of which was a teacher in various roles), I was used to working with certain expectations of professional behaviours; which no one ever even questioned.

Although landfills are naturally ugly sights because of the waste they contain, their role in ensuring sustainable waste management practices cannot be  overemphasised.

Ghana suffered its worst cholera nightmare in 2014, recording 28,975 cases, with 243 deaths in 130 out of the 216 districts in all 10 regions.

The advertisement of sex parties and other related sexual activities in hotels, nightclubs, movie houses, pubs and other tourism establishments in the country is gradually gaining ground.

Societies consciously or otherwise seek to improve on the way they do things by learning from past experiences, both negative and positive.

 
The Daily Graphic has learnt with pain that the country risks losing some of its vital historical documents at the Public Records and Archives Administration Department (PRAAD) and in the few research libraries nationwide.

There is a thin line between sanity and insanity.

In recent times, the banking industry has attracted the attention of the public due to some developments that led to the folding up of seven banks, with their liabilities and selected assets consolidated into two stronger banks to protect depositors from losing out.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Friday, October 5, 2018, inaugurated the 225-kilovolt Bolgatanga to Ouagadougou Power Interconnection Project.

Yesterday was marked globally as World Teachers’ Day and locally as National Teachers’ Day to place the spotlight on the invaluable service that teachers render to society.

In February this year when the Daily Graphic went on an inspection of traffic lights in Accra, as many as 17 were found not to be working.

The courts exist to apply and interpret the laws of the land, as well as resolve disputes that arise under them.

Freely accessible and basic compulsory education is not just an ordinary right which can be confered on a child at will, but rather a legal  right which is adequately provided for  by the laws of the country with specific reference to Article 25 (a) of the 1992  Constitution, and also the  Education Act (2008) and Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) programme.

“Power sweet,” it is often said in reference to all the trappings associated with power.

Within a period of one year, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) revoked the licences of seven local banks that were found to have breached various regulations, including obtaining their licences fictitiously, maintaining negative capital adequacy ratios and misapplying emergency liquidity support granted them by the central bank.

It brings a lot of pride to every Ghanaian to see infrastructural projects being completed.

 The completion of Terminal 3 of the Kotoka International Airport is a good symbol of what I term “governance continuity” and would like to commend both the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the current administration for seeing to the completion of this all-important infrastructure which is expected to handle up to five million passengers a year, with an expansion potential of up to 6.5 million passengers.

Many a time, we have seen important projects being abandoned to rot if there is a change in government, but for what has happened and the success story of the completion of the Terminal 3, it is an indication that Ghana will experience significant infrastructural development if all governments that come to power see the need to continue already-existing projects.

Political colouration

I believe the time has come for us as a nation to disassociate political party colours from government infrastructural projects and see it as a project for Mother Ghana.

This was the drive of our first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah. Sometimes because of the fear of giving credit to whom credit is due, politicians play delay tactics in
completing already-existing projects started by previous administrations to the detriment of the ordinary Ghanaian.

If we are to run the nation’s infrastructural projects with this negative attitude and mindset, it will take us many years as a nation to arrive at our desired destination.
Politicians must understand and appreciate the fact that it is the taxpayers’ money they use for these projects and, therefore, it must be used to the ultimate advantage of the ordinary man on the street.

Governmental waste Of what benefit is it for one government to spend taxpayers’ money to import over 110 vehicles for the use of state institutions in 1999 when they are still found unused till date in spite of successive governments that have come after President Rawlings’ tenure?

This is a clear case of governmental wastage and misuse of public funds, and no society or nation can develop with such a waste in its system of governance.

I strongly believe that the success story of the completion of Terminal 3 of the KIA will teach us a great lesson as a nation and serve as a wake-up call towards the completion of other existing projects.

To this end, I appeal to Parliament and all other relevant stakeholders to consider the development of a 20-year strategic infrastructural development plan that every government will be guided by. This will help eliminate the issue of abandoned projects and unnecessary waste in the system.

Commissioning invitation

I recommend that during the inauguration ceremony, the NDC government, under the leadership of Former President, John Mahama, will be invited to the ceremony with the name of the former President embossed on the plaque as the one who assisted the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to inaugurate the edifice.

In my view, if the current government can blame the previous administration for the mess they created in the economy, as a leadership development consultant, I suggest that for good and efficient governance continuity, it is important to give credit to whom credit is due and to recognise the works of the previous administration for getting the project started in 2016 before leaving office.

This will also send a strong signal that with governance continuity, a nation can be transformed.

Terminal 3 should become an inspiring edifice for every politician, policymaker and the entire Ghanaian population that when a government is committed to continuing projects of a previous government which are of national interest, it brings honour to the nation.

The writer is the President of the Full Gospel Church International and a Leadership Development and Transition Management Consultant, as well as the author of “Vision the Fuel that drives Leaders”.

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There is no denying the fact that a number of fatalities are recorded on our roads due to factors such as the blatant disregard for traffic and road safety rules by our drivers, which has gained notoriety and led to many unfortunate accidents.

World Tourism Day, a day set aside by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation to raise awareness of tourism’s actual and potential contribution to sustainable development, was marked around the world yesterday on the theme: “Tourism and the digital transformation”.

Statistics on the adverse effects of unsafe food on the population are startling.