Getting serious with Ghana and our laws
Ghana will be 58 years in just a couple of months and presently, the country perfectly fits the description of a mature life that has been looted and booted, used and abused, raped, disrespected and made poor in the midst of plenty.
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As for our laws, we have thrown them to the dogs. Individual interests are what matter.
As I thought about writing on the above topic, countless examples of lawlessness and impunity ran amok in my mind.
I did not stop short of examples such as the breaking of import regulations, disregard for motor traffic laws, defying public health and public order rules. The list went on and on.
When in Rome...
How do we move forward as a nation if at liberty, we treat our laws with impunity? And so, visitors come and they do same because when in Rome you do as the Romans do.
A neighbour and I were conferring the other day that for nearly three weeks, this has been the first week that we have enjoyed some quiet in the neighbourhood from the nuisance of ‘knock-outs’ and fireworks.
The sound of the ‘knock-outs’ was scary and sometimes went on into and beyond our sleeping times. As for the fireworks, you had to pray one did not land on your roof.
Were ‘knock-outs’ and fireworks not banned in this country some years ago? How then did they find their way into our markets to cause such nuisance?
How safe are we if despite the gate-keeping measures at our ports of entry, we still get banned items coming through.
Public safety
Fireworks and ‘knock-outs’ were banned for a reason and I believe public safety was foremost. So, if the commercial interest of a few can override public safety, then we are in for trouble. Allowing importers to defy the ban is a serious indictment on our respect for the good of our citizens.
Anyone who came across the consistent deafening noises of ‘knock-outs’ and dangerous fireworks during the Christmas and New Year periods will know the level of nuisance these items caused.
Sadly, there are many such illegalities being perpetrated, sometimes in the full glare of law enforcers. The defilement of our laws, sometimes life-threatening, is painfully becoming acceptable be it on our roads, in public offices or many other places.
Take for example, commercial motor riders, popularly known as “Okada” . Serving the commercial interests of a few, we have watched on for the practice to now get out of hand despite it being illegal. The riders are breaking all the traffic regulations as if they operate with a different set of regulations in this country.
“Okada” riders are riding in the opposite direction, sometimes on pavements. They ride through traffic lights, push through narrow spaces in-between vehicles and end up scratching bumpers and knocking down driving mirrors. The painful thing is that they ride past police officers and yet get away with their illegal activities.
But while on motor traffic issues, I observed that fully tinted vehicle glass windows are fast becoming a fashion even though I understand the law allows for only the rear windows to be tinted unless it is an ambulance where all windows are allowed to be tinted. Again, we have so many such vehicles on our roads, sometimes in the full view of the police but who cares?
Open defaecation is another practice which is clearly against the law, yet people are doing it with no remorse and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, a state institution, is discharging human excreta directly into the sea. The Public Health Act 851 (56) of 2012 makes open defaecation an offence punishable by a fine or imprisonment or both but the practice seems to have now got worse.
The Public Order Act does not allow for excessive noise making in public domains. Yet our residential areas are full of churches and mosques very close to people’s homes operating late at night and early dawn with all their attendant noises.
There are countless lawless acts which are almost becoming norms. We are turning ourselves into a nation with little or no regard for laws. However, when we travel outside, we conform to the laws in our host countries and marvel at the orderliness the people enjoy. We forget that it has taken committed and law-abiding citizens to get their countries to those admirable levels.
This is a new year and a new beginning. How nice it would be if each Ghanaian resolved to fight for the promotion of one act of legality in their communities, at the work places, on the roads, or wherever one notices an abuse of the law.
Ghana could become a law-abiding country, with the law enforcers being our helpers.