Most recent ‘Fellow Ghanaians’

In the corporate world, sense of humour is one of the qualities that employers value most. Employees who possess sense of humour handle stress very well.

Instead of losing control and insulting or shooting others, they laugh away extreme provocations as they grapple with challenges and seek solutions.

President Akufo-Addo scored big for sharing Ghanaian humour which has labelled his national addresses, precipitated by COVID-19, as “Fellow Ghanaians”.

He scored again for his candidness in referring to the avaricious nature of a cross-section of Ghanaian traders whose insensitive pricing continuously deepens the high cost of living. Such traders price their items for double or triple profit.

Effective, sensitive Ghanaian communicators grasped that the President was also hurling some of the accusations back at the culprits. It takes more than one person to create financial difficulties in a nation. Everyone contributes in some ways.

Mr Akufo-Addo also scored an excellent point when he subtly castigated the numerous cross-sections of Ghanaians who have adopted opulent lifestyles.

He diplomatically used the expression sika mmpε dede, literally, money does not like noise, when he actually meant sika mmpε rough, as one highlife musician put it. The President meant money does not cherish indiscipline.

 

Poor choices

It is extremely sad to listen to the literal interpretation from many Ghanaians that the President meant that loud talks deprive people of money. How simplistic!
Many are financially drained because they fritter funds. Extravagant funerals, weddings, birthday celebration and naming ceremonies, unnecessary purchases, to name these, are rich recipes for depleting funds, even amid ample reserves.

Therefore, meagre funds expended for unnecessary showy display can only mean financial strangulation.

The extravagance that continuously characterizes everyday Ghanaian existence is nauseous, to put it mildly. Whether those practising such lifestyles can afford or not is a topic for another day. The common-sense logic is that funds should be conserved, not squandered.

Funds should be utilised to benefit the living, not lavished on the dead who can neither appreciate nor benefit from it. The billboards, clothing, elaborate brochures, mementos, and overeating/drinking all constitute dissipating choices.

Even in the best of times, people can be frugal to save money or be wasteful to be financially constrained.

These are the absolute worst times to be extravagant, but many Ghanaians choose to be oblivious of the times and consequences of profligate lifestyles and spend money they do not have. The blame talks do not exonerate anybody.

The gem from the President’s expression is that the genuinely haves, who earn wealth through hard work, do not boast. Those who really have need not prove that they have.

Their confidence emanates from humane deeds not boastfulness. That value is scarce in contemporary Ghana. Even worse is the fact that many could not decipher the actual meaning of the President’s advice.

The President’s economic statement also continues to attract commentary, some insightful, others porous. The 30 per cent cut on salaries of top political appointees and other officers is welcoming but slicing down parliamentarian ex-gratia or advocating a revision of the constitutional clause might have also assuaged people’s temper. There are other areas of improvement.

Much can be done to manage internal debt through effective decentralisation and frugal utilisation of internally generated funds. The daily tickets alone amount to hefty sums. With accountability and disciplined expenditure, assemblies could remunerate themselves to support national coffers.

Procurement processes in the country are a huge drain on institutional and national coffers. Ironically, the sanitising process for quality bulk purchasing is rather manipulated for shoddy purchases and siphoning of funds.

Proper checks and balances in procurement can save the nation much needed funds.

 

Mechanisation support

This is the time to make the agricultural sector stand tall through effective mechanisation of the processes. Agricultural engineering programmes can be utilised to refine, especially, harvesting and safe storage of products for local consumption and export.

Same mechanisation can also aid land tilling and increase what is planted.

Through the agricultural engineering programmes of Ho, Sunyani, Tamale and Wa Technical Universities, the rice sector can be thoroughly refined for quality brown and white rice production that can adequately cater for local consumption and export needs for foreign exchange.

Other programmes could do same for various plant and animal services.

Mechanisation automatically ropes in higher education and research for current, technological agricultural services. Programmes exist; what remains is currency of knowledge and human resources equipped for 21st-century food production.

It is also a quest for dividends for the huge investment made over the years. It clearly is time for action in the knowledge economy, not talk.

Humane deeds not boastfulness. That value is scarce in contemporary Ghana. Even worse is the fact that many could not decipher the actual meaning of the President’s advice.

The President’s economic statement also continues to attract commentary, some insightful, others porous. The 30 per cent cut on salaries of top political appointees and other officers is welcoming but slicing down parliamentarian ex gratia or advocating a revision of the constitutional clause might have also assuaged people’s temper. There are other areas of improvement.

Much can be done to manage internal debt through effective decentralisation and frugal utilisation of internally generated funds. The daily tickets alone amount to hefty sums.

With accountability and disciplined expenditure, assemblies could remunerate themselves to support national coffers.

Procurement processes in the country are a huge drain on institutional and national coffers. Ironically, the sanitising process for quality bulk purchasing is rather manipulated for shoddy purchases and siphoning of funds.

Proper checks and balances in procurement can save the nation much needed funds.

This is the time to make the agricultural sector stand tall through effective mechanisation of the processes. Agricultural engineering programmes can be utilised to refine, especially, harvesting and safe storage of products for local consumption and export.

Same mechanisation can also aid land tilling and increase what is planted. Through the agricultural engineering programmes of Ho, Sunyani, Tamale and Wa Technical universities, the rice sector can be thoroughly refined for quality brown and white rice production that can adequately cater for local consumption and export needs for foreign exchange.

Other programmes could do same for various plant and animal services.

Mechanisation automatically ropes in higher education and research for current, technological agricultural services. Programmes exist; what remains is currency of knowledge and human resources equipped for 21st-century food production.

It is also a quest for dividends for the huge investment made over the years. It clearly is time for action in the knowledge economy, not talk.

The writer is a Snr Lecturer, Language and Communication Skills, Takoradi Technical University, Takoradi.