WE ARE THE GOVERNMENT

The backlash notwithstanding, I still believe that poor performance on the part of government should not breed indifference in the way we live our lives and conduct our personal affairs. My position was further strengthened on a recent trip to Nima, the muslims capital. Entering through the Kotobabi-Gutter axis, I was impressed with positive developments that have sprung up since my days as a JHS pupil at Kanda.

However, my excitement soon gave way to disappointment as I approached the Alaska precincts. All the way from Nima Forex Bureu to Over Head, the median on the carriageway was adorned with bags of solid waste in place of the customary rows of ornamental plants or neatly kept lawn. It was an incredibly disgusting sight – so incredible that I had to stop and take some pictures.

Many questions began to flash through my mind. At first I wondered if Nima and for that matter Ghana has any agency that is responsible for waste management. Upon realization that it does, I wondered what kind of mindset would prompt supposedly enlightened Ghanaians to dump household waste right in the middle of the road. Although I happened to have sighted this in Accra arround Rawlings Park, similar situations exist across the country; and this has contributed in no small way to the outbreak of diseases and incidence of so-called natural disasters.

While we must hold our political office holders responsible for fulfilling our legitimate expectations, I believe that as responsible citizens of this great nation, we should also hold ourselves responsible to basic standards of propriety regardless of the effectiveness or otherwise of government agencies and public systems. Like I have often said, we must realize that the most important things are not the things that the government will do for us. To create the New Ghana, each Ghanaian must take personal responsibility, realizing that we are the government. We will get it right someday.

God  bless Ghana.