The Korle Klottey MP, Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, has challenged Ghana’s inability to enforce basic laws and discipline, pointing to examples from countries like Singapore and Rwanda.
Speaking on the JoyNews podcast Talk No Dey Cook Rice, she lamented what she sees as a growing culture of irresponsibility among both citizens and leaders.
“You’re not allowed to chew gum in Singapore. Whether you’re a visitor or whether you’re from Singapore, whether you’re a VIP, no exceptions made.
“You’re not allowed to chew gum. It’s as simple as that. You cannot take plastic into Rwanda. Simple as that. There are certain tough decisions you have to take in order to have governance be good,” she said.
Dr. Agyeman-Rawlings warned that Ghana’s democratic space is being reduced to a cycle of elections, with little attention to the values that build a strong society.
“We don’t seem to appreciate the fact that there are responsibilities that come with the rights that we have as citizens.
“It also appears as though we’re constantly taking less responsibility as citizens for what we should be doing. Someone else is going to clean it, someone else is going to fix it, someone else is going to service it.”
According to her, the disconnect between leaders and citizens has eroded trust.
“We’ve steadily moved away from this sense of being a part of the thing to being outsiders of governance.
“When you don’t have leadership that is willing to bring the people along and expect more of people, you create a feeling of, well, what difference does it make anyway?”
She also criticised political populism, which she argued undermines integrity in leadership.
“It seems as though we’re constantly chasing elections, and the populism thing is just becoming so central to what is always being done that we are not paying enough attention to what is the right thing to do, not just for today, but for tomorrow, for generations yet unborn.”
Citing Rwanda as an example, she stressed that admiration without discipline is hollow.
“People look in envy at Rwanda. You can’t litter the way you do over here. There is zero tolerance for selling in the wrong space, but we are not ready to take on board the level of discipline and commitment that it takes to do that.”
For her, good governance goes beyond transparent elections.
“Good governance is not just about going for elections and having a certain level of trust. You’re making sure that the dignity of the citizen is respected. You’re making sure that working conditions are good enough.
“You’re looking at the roads and making sure that the number of people who are dying in road traffic accidents is no more than the number of people who are dying of disease in hospital, because then you have a problem.”
Dr. Agyeman-Rawlings questioned why ordinary citizens face harsher consequences than leaders who misuse state resources.
She cited the recent jailing of a trader for damaging an overpass.
“Is it too harsh? I’m not going to comment on that, but are we going to be able to do that to a public servant, a politician, who does the equivalent of damaging that where a road should have been built, and it wasn’t done, it’s full of potholes?
“They got the money. We can’t account for how the money translated into a road being built, but they are walking free because maybe they supported someone’s campaign.”
She ended with frustration at the low standards tolerated in governance.
“When we’re bringing the bar so low because we feel that it’s okay to do that and get away with it because of politics, I don’t understand that. We have to, at some point, draw the line and do what is right for the people of Ghana.”
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Source: myjoyonline.com