Ghanaians only respect rules when we are being forced by ‘colonial masters’ – Yonny Kulendi

His Lordship Yonny Kulendi of the Supreme Court of Ghana has bemoaned the challenge of circumventing rules in the country.

In a recent speech, the Supreme Court judge highlighted that the only time Ghanaians follow rules is when they are forced to do so by "colonial masters," arguing that the country's progress is being hindered by its citizens.

He cited the ingenuity of Ghanaians to be ahead of every conceivable rule, meaning that rules are constantly being circumvented in the country.

“I call it the Ghanaian problem, and we all like simple straightforward solutions…our problem does not admit a simple straightforward solution. It’s a complex problem.

“The reason it is complex is that the problem is the Ghanaian, the problem is us, the problem is each of us in this room and the problem is each of the 35 million Ghanaians. It is… our values, our ethics, our character, our belief system, and our attitudes, and call it all a culture that we have developed over time.

“God has been just too gracious to us. We are one of the most blessed countries on the face of the planet, but the people God put in charge, we say all nice things, we go to church, we go to Mosque but we are the problem.

“Now the way that God created us, with human ingenuity is always ahead of every rule, the conceivable rule you can make. So, rules are chasing how clever people are…so, we make the rules, and then we turn around to engineer ways to circumvent our own rules,” he said.

The Supreme Court Judge while speaking at a programme on April 19, 2023, held by the Institute of Economic Affairs, at the University of Ghana, under the theme ‘Institutionalizing Fiscal Discipline and Macroeconomic Stability for Sustained Growth in Ghana: The Constitutional Pathway’. He added that the only time Ghanaians adhere to rules is when they are imposed by an overarching system, such as a colonial master or the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He noted that the francophone economies are doing well because they are not allowed the freedom to run their own affairs.

“So, the only time that we are able to keep the rules is when we have some prefects, overarching system of somebody, call it a colonial master… and that is why the francophones economy are doing well because they are not allowed the freedom to run their own…or we go to the IMF who lent us change but will come here and impose conditions on us, and we suddenly become discipline for a while but the moment we reinstate the Ghanaian, then the demon in us shows up. And so, we make the rules but we circumvent them…we have already planned our doom even before we take off,” he added.

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