Efficient systems can curb lateness habit — Prof. Senah
A Senior Lecturer at the Department of Sociology of the University of Ghana, Professor Kodjo Senah, has stated that lateness in the society can be curbed if effective systems are put in place.
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Speaking on the topic, “Timekeeping in Ghana: A Socio-cultural Analysis,” Prof Senah said society could curb the menace of lateness if programme organisers ensured that functions started on time, “and if the organisers are late, patrons should walk out or demand their money back.”
"If we have an efficient public transport system, good roads and other effective alternative systems of transportation, the problem of lateness can be solved,"he said.
Prof Senah made this known at the maiden Mini Timekeeping Dialogue series held at the Columbian Ambassador's Residence in Accra to discuss and find possible ways of improving timekeeping in Ghana.
The Timekeeping initiative is being implemented in partnership with Transformational Leadership Concepts (TLC) Ghana, a non -governmental organisation (NGO); Gelis Communications Ltd, a communications consultancy; and Journalists for Business Advocacy (JBA), a media and business advocacy group.
He, therefore, urged authorities in the country to start putting measures in place to address the systemic challenges which cause lateness in the country.
"We need to be radical in our thinking to enable us to change our poor timekeeping habit", he stated.
Time management
Prof. Senah who is also a renowned medical anthropologist, however, debunked the long-held notion that lateness is in the Ghanaian DNA.
Tracing the genesis of lateness, he wondered why as a nation we did not have a national discourse on time management which is the art of arranging, organising, scheduling, and budgeting one’s time for the purpose of generating more effective work and productivity.
The habit of poor time management or timekeeping has cut deep into the fabric of the Ghanaian society and even among its top officials such as the executive, judiciary, legislature and the private sector.
Prof Senah said the person, environment and the concept of time were the major issues when it came to timekeeping, adding: "Traditionally, we reckon time en block".
Wasted resources
The Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), Nana Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng, who is a founding partner of the initiative, noted: “The amount of resources that are wasted due to lateness runs into billions of cedis in money terms. People who are late to work are obviously not working because they are not at work’’.
“But they are also preventing other people from working because almost every work depends on other kinds of input or belongs to a chain that becomes incomplete or less effective if part of it goes missing. This is a loss the country suffers every day,” he said.
Nana Gyan-Apenteng added that "lateness is a hidden drain on our political, economic, cultural and social fabrics and it is prudent for us to take definite actions to improve the situation and turn this debilitating national malaise around”.
The Secretary-General of the Pan African Writers' Association (PAWA), Prof. Atukwei Okai, and the Columbian Ambassador to Ghana, Mrs Claudia Torbay, pledged their unflinching support to ensure that lateness is uprooted from the Ghanaian society.
Timekeeping campaign
The Executive Director of TLC Ghana, Mr Emmanuel J. A. Fiagbenu, used the occasion to announce the other phases of the timekeeping campaign.
"We started the socio-cultural dialogue. The next phases will be to look into lateness between the male and the female genders, the economic impact of lateness, among others", he stated.
Mr Fiagbenu explained that the initiative was launched to check the chronic lateness and the lack of respect for time in the country.