Opinions of Wednesday, 10 July 2002
Columnist: Boaten Yaw
Why can?t we build a first class dual carriage road from Accra through Kumasi to Borlegatanga and also one from Accra to Sekondi-Takoradi? What are we waiting for? Why can?t we have good drainage systems in our cities to prevent flooding in Accra and other areas of our country? Why can?t we pay good salaries to our Doctors, Nurses, Professors and Teachers to prevent them from going abroad for greener pastures? Why can?t we have good education and meaningful technical training for our students so that when they finish school, they can have meaningful employment? Why can?t we build irrigation schemes for our farmers to produce more crops? Why can?t we develop the private sector to the extent that government can reduce drastically it employees for them to be absorbed into the private sector? Why can?t we provide employment to the many unemployed? Why can?t we check corruption to the barest minimum? Why can?t we develop our energy systems to feed our industries and households? Why can?t we provide safe drinking water for our people? Why are our police and the security agencies finding it difficult to check armed robbers? Why can?t we redesign our cities with overhead bridges and decent roads. Why can?t our government lower taxes? Why can?t we build more hospitals and clinics to cater for the sick? Why can?t we produce or manufacture enough drugs for our hospitals?
Now this is my take, every region has to have a development plan. I think there are if not they should. This development plan must include for example Agric-business, Tourism, other small local Industries, construction of feeder roads, and other infrastructure. Regional ministers must have the freedom of going outside their region to market investment opportunities both within Ghana and outside Ghana (abroad). The infrastructure developments are very very important. If we can give loans to individual Parliamentarians ($20,000 each) to buy cars, then I think there is money in the system. We shouldn?t be afraid of borrowing money at all. We should get the loans to build our infrastructure, if the right infrastructures are put in place, the investments and jobs will come and the country can make the necessary profit later to pay back the loans. What we should think about right now is to concentrate on infrastructure building. We are in the world of business with a lot of scientific developments, we should not allow poverty to ruin our country. We should be able to do something out of nothing. We should not loose hope. This is what President Compaore of Burkina Faso said when he visited the Akosobom dam ?I admire the technical mastery of my Ghanaian brothers?. But our leaders have to be faithful, and have a vision and also positive thinking. The Public Agenda (Editorial) commenting on findings of the Institute of Statistical and Economic Research stated this and I quote ?The solution to our myriad of problems lies in agriculture. We urge the Government to focus its Golden Age of Business program on Agro-based industries? The Public Agenda (Editorial) further made some disheartening comment. ?At a time that most of the population are unable to afford meals, education and health expenditure, it is disincentive to the people for them to observe ministers of state and senior civil servant driving around in very expensive saloon cars and four-wheel drives and generally living ostentatiously?. The question I want to ask is: Is President Kufuor conducting polls among the citizens to hear their real voices?
We should stop corruption and other malpractice and do something better for our country. We should stop ?I am from the Volta Region? ?or he is an Asante? or ?she comes from the North? and come together with ideas to make the country move forward. We should all give our support for the ruling government but when it comes to elections, it is where we should show the difference.
May the Almighty God bless Ghana, may he bless democracy in Ghana and may he bless the government of Ghana.