Of needs and wants
“Yeye nea ehia ansa na yeaye nea efata” is the sum of the appreciation of our elders that we may not be able to secure all that we want, and therefore, there may be the need to plan on the basis of priority.
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That is what economic theorists present as needs and wants. Thus, there are certain things that may be desirable but not necessary.
That must be the basis for discussions of the policy of the government to provide sanitary pads for deprived girls to enable them to pursue education with commitment and enthusiasm. No one may argue that the policy by itself is bad.
That is not what those who have spoken against the policy have said. What has been resonated is the age-old matter of fact that when the sheep released to pasture have not returned, you do not allow those in the pen to also go out. At least, if you cannot give any present to your in-laws you do not steal from them. Thus, those who have taken upon themselves the obligation to champion the cause of the free supply of the sanitary pads should not misrepresent those against the policy, as if they do not appreciate the essence of hygiene.
Recently I interacted with the head teacher of a school in Accra. I was informed that the capitation grant to the school was supposed to be GH¢200. However, the Metro Directorate is to take GH¢20. The remainder of GH¢180 attracts bank charges.
Apart from the fact that the money has not come, what meaningful thing will come out of this facility? Majority of parents whose children attend this school are unable to contribute anything towards the running of the school. In the same school, when the free school uniforms that the government purports to supply reached them, only two pupils were served.
In the circumstance, the head teacher does not understand why the government wants to introduce another free project. At the beginning of the academic year and for long spells within the terms, the school had to do without chalk, school registers and teachers notebooks, not to talk of furniture and textbooks. Therefore, the new policy is another meaningless exercise intended to create a problem for teachers.
And if indeed the spanner thrown in by Kantinka Collins Dauda, Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, that the sanitary pads were imposed by the World Bank is anything worth the disclosure, then one is inclined to ask whether there is any basis to defend a policy forced on the government.
It must, thus, be clear that opposition to the project is not only from opposition elements who do not see the essence of the intended policy or anything good about the productive and progressive developments the government has brought about. The crux of the matter is that the policy is not sustainable.
We agree that at every point in our national development there will be a government which will define national priorities, whether written in a party manifesto or otherwise. However, if it is established that resources cannot support such programmes, it is prudent to stop.
However, that fact cannot stop any Ghanaian from expressing their views including criticism of such a policy, with or without explanation. We are not bound to offer suggestions. The notion that any criticism must be constructive underlines a lack of appreciation and understanding of democratic principles.
Similarly those who ask our people to proffer their opinions and not to politicise everything beg the question. For in all sincerity, the idea to provide vulnerable girls with free supply of sanitary pads is primarily a political decision, irrespective of the fact that it has social and economic benefits.
For as long as we are unable to pay the capitation grant, the school feeding programme, schools do not have chalk, register, teachers notebook, toilet facilities, water and soap for pupils to wash their hands, and for as long as the government is unable to release grants under the Northern Scholarship Scheme, it will not be functionally meaningful to introduce another free project. That will mean chewing more than we can swallow. It will amount to taking free compulsory universal basic education to unimaginable levels.
Those who speak against the project do not love Ghana less nor lack sympathy for deprived girls but are against building castles on sands since the project cannot be sustained beyond the loans. All that it comes to is that “yeye dee ehia ansa na ye aye dee efata”. We have to distinguish between our needs and wants.