Republic Day Greeting To Ghanaians

Greetings to my fellow Ghanaians on Republic day, 2006! Although this is the fourth republic of our young nation, all the earlier republics, extinguished prematurely, still live in this one.

Last week, for a brief moment reminiscent of the immediate aftermath of our independence nearly half a century ago, the national soccer team, the Black Stars, made it possible for us to relive our dream. There we were, once again—the PRIDE OF AFRICA. We walked around, chest erect, flags on our cars, looking others in the eye and happily asserting our nationality. Alas, the moment was too brief and the ultimate was not to be. In the end, the greatest exponent of soccer on our continent could not overcome the greatest exponent of the game on the globe, Brazil.

The Stars success was due to the selection of the best players, without regard to country of residence, discipline, hard work and unity of purpose. It gave us a glimpse of what we could be-- all of us, regardless of faith or ethnic origin, united in common purpose of building a great nation.

Unfortunately, compared to what happened, our half a century of existence has been marked more by failures than successes. Despite the appearance in the world cup, the avoidance of civil war and the peaceful transfer of power from one elected government to another, we have under-achieved as an independent nation. ? Our educational system does not give us the knowledge and skills that we need to compete in the 21st century. ? Our healthcare system, despite the introduction of the National Health Insurance scheme is still a cash-and-carry system racked by frequent strikes and the inability of patients to pay their bills ? Our economy, held down by an antiquated land-ownership system and complex regulations, does not provide enough jobs. Thus our youth see migration often as the only way to better their lives. ? Corruption, despite being cited as a reason for every coup in our history and condemned by every government, is alive and well. ? Pervasive lawlessness permits criminals to terrorize the lives of ordinary citizens and the carnage of the citizens through motor vehicle accidents on our roads.

The constitution of the 4th republic has good words on what should be our nation’s priorities. In Chapter 6, the “DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY” article 36(1) states “ The state shall take all necessary action to ensure that the national economy is managed in such a manner as to maximize the rate of economic development and to secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every person in Ghana and to provide adequate means of livelihood and suitable employment and public assistance to the needy.” Those are fine words but as one of my friends is fond of saying “talk is cheap.”

A routine comparison of our reality with the goals of the “DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES” leaves no doubt that the lofty goals of our constitution still lie beyond the grasp of most of our citizens. We have not maximized the rate of economic development. We cannot provide good jobs to those willing to work or support to the old, the infirm and the needy.

Today, despite the return of constitutional democracy, the bonds of community that should normally exist remain frayed. Our people have little trust and confidence in our governing classes. This state has resulted from the repeated betrayals of coup-makers and the widespread perception that politics is more about private greed than public good. Over the next half-century, we must do better, inspired by the valiant Black Stars. • First, we need effective leadership. Our leaders must be honest, lead by example and set the right priorities for our nation. Repairing the frayed bonds between the leaders and the people will require constructive action, not empty words. • Second, we must fashion a historic partnership between universities/polytechnics, private industry and government to develop an educational system that delivers to our citizens the skills and knowledge that our economy needs not just in their youth but throughout their lives. The blossoming of our human-capital coupled with the use of appropriate technology will make Ghana a premier destination for out-sourcing from the developed world and make us a middle-income nation. • Third, we must free our economy to create well-paying jobs by land reform, the introduction of credit and agricultural inputs and the building of infrastructure. • Fourth, we must reform our government by sending resources, power and accountability from Accra to the districts as well as to parliament and insisting that our politicians and civil servants serve rather than lord it over us. Decentralization, coupled with accountability fueled by an empowered populace will significantly reduce corruption and improve governance. • Fifth, we must fashion a healthcare system base on the fundamentals of prevention, the provision of clean water and sewerage, the integration of traditional into western medicine, the reversal of the brain drain and the reduction of motor vehicle accidents. • Sixth, we must deploy the necessary resources to reduce armed robbery so that our citizens can feel safe.

Of course, neither our problems nor their solutions lie entirely with our leaders. As a people, the leaders we elect reflect our values and our aspirations. We must accept that we contribute to our nation’s malaise. Together with our leaders, we must build strong and vibrant institutions that protect the rights of all, curb the excesses of over-ambitious leaders while shoring up the defects of weak ones. Also, we must develop in fuller measure a spirit of philanthropy that should be a natural extension of our communitarian culture. It should concern all of us when so few of us contribute to our secondary schools, universities and other worthy causes. Indeed, the spectacle of very wealthy Ghanaians driving their state-of-the-art cars through man-holes that they are rich enough to fix to their high-price mansions is almost commonplace. We must do for ourselves things which our governments are unable to do for us due to limited resources. Citizenship is not a spectator sport and while we can cheer our teams to victory from the side-lines, our nation requires all of us—to be in the arena. In the same vein, both our people and our government must abandon the unrealistic expectation that some foreign nation will come and build Ghana for us. We can never build a great nation by begging for crumbs from other nation’s tables. As our fathers’ say “An outsider will not weep louder than the bereaved” The hard work of building Ghana is the task, primarily of Ghanaians.

Finally, as we did through the Black Stars, we must return to the true leadership of Africa. Our destiny requires it and Africa needs it. We must lead Africa as she fights for free and fair trade with the rest of the world. We must lead her as she fights for better conditions from the IMF and put Africans at the commanding heights of their development even while we seek and accept foreign help. We must lead Africa as she searches for answers to the emerging problems of urbanization and environmental management. Our continent, with the fastest rate of urbanization in the world is about to face a crisis caused by millions of slum dwellers in our cities without good dwelling places, good jobs or clean water.

If we do these things responsibly and in unity in the next fifty years, we will build; a nation worthy of Danquah’s sacrifice - a nation consistent with Nkrumah’s soaring vision - a nation in line with Busia’s tolerance - a nation that honors Limann’s scrupulous respect for the rule of law - a nation striving to live up to Kufuor’s goal of zero-tolerance for corruption.

We must control our future. As California governor and former American presidential candidate Pete Wilson stated in his gubernatorial inaugural in 1991 “We will not suffer the future. We will shape it. We will not simply grow. We will manage our growth. We will not passively experience change. We will make change. But to shape our future, we need a new vision of government.”

Let us through our example and leadership help Africa to make this young century--- the first African century.