Today, it is generally agreed that our beloved country, Ghana, is in crisis. There are serious economic hardships. There are areas in the country which cannot get clean drinking water to drink as a result of the pollution of our water bodies through galamsey (illegal mining) activities.
The question to ask is, “How did we get to this situation, and what should we do to come out of the crisis?”
In this article, I will discuss the major reasons which have led to our present situation and suggest measures we should take to come out of the crisis.
Major reasons
The first reason is failure to heed the caution our Lord Jesus Christ gave long ago in the gospels according to Matthew, Mark and Luke. I am using the Good News Bible.
Matthew 12:25 states, ‘Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he said to them, “any country that divides itself into groups which fight each other will not last very long. And any town or family that divides itself into groups which fight each other will fall apart.”
Mark 3:24, 25 state, “If a country divides itself into groups which fight each other that country will fall apart. If a family divides itself into groups which fight each other, that family will fall apart.”
Luke 11:17 states, ‘But Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he said to them, “Any country that divides itself into groups which fight each other will not last very long; a family divided against itself falls apart.”
What have we seen?
Since we attained independence from British colonial rule in 1957, we, as a people, have divided ourselves into groups and been fighting against each other under all administrations,
civilian (both one-party and multi-party) and military, without exception, which have been in office.
There is no National Development Plan to serve as guidance for the governments, which have come into office.
As a consequence, we find that development projects started by previous administrations are stopped by successor governments, which has led to the wastage of huge resources.
There is no continuity in measures taken by previous administrations to deal with the destruction of our water bodies. Today, many areas cannot find good drinking water.
Failure to obey the command in 1 Corinthians 14:40, 1 Corinthians 14:40 states, “Everything must be done in a proper and orderly way.”
Some Members of Parliament (MP) are appointed as Ministers of State and this practice leads to inefficiency, as the MP has to share the 24 hours available to him in a day between two jobs as a MP and as a Minister of State. It also leads to delays in the work of Parliament.
This practice also violates the principle of the Separation of Powers between the Judiciary, the Executive and the Legislature.
Again, the various administrations that had governed the country had been operating very large sizes of government. This results in the wastage of large resources.
Proverbs 4:26 states, “Plan carefully what you do, and whatever you do will turn out right.”
There is no National Development Plan for the country. Each administration prepares its own National Development Plan.
Consequence Development projects started in one administration, which are financed with foreign loans approved by Parliament, are halted by successor administrations. This practice results in the wastage of huge resources spent on the projects.
Failure to domesticate
What do we see? We spend considerable amounts of foreign exchange on the importation of various items, including drugs, goods and foodstuffs such as tomatoes and onions from neighbouring countries.
I was privileged to attend a course of training in Japan in 1984. I learned from one of the lecturers who spoke to us about the different aspects of the Japanese culture that for a period of 300 years in their history, they closed the borders of the four islands which make up Japan, which has only one-sixth of the total land area being arable, and surrounded by water, adopted the domestication philosophy. Today, Japan is ranked among the highly developed nations in the world.
What should we do to come out of the crisis?
I would like to suggest the following measures to take us out of the crisis.
i. The country should adopt “No-Political Party, All Inclusive Politics” that would harness the best talents and skills of all Ghanaians to ensure their well-being and improvement in their conditions of living.
ii. A Constitutional Drafting Commission should be set up to prepare a new constitution for Ghana. Its membership should be made up of representatives of various spheres of life, including religious bodies and National House of Chiefs. The Constitution should include an Article, which forbids the appointment of a MP as a Minister of State. It should also include on Article that forbids the stoppage of development projects started by previous administrations.
iii. There should be a realistic and appropriate size of government.
iv. A National Development Plan should be prepared and updated periodically.
v. A Domestication Policy that would reduce importation should be adopted.
Conclusion
The challenges facing the country have come about as a result of the divisive nature of all the administrations, including One-Party and Multi-Party Governments and Military Regimes, which have been in office since we attained independence from the British colonial rule in 1957.
We should unite as one people with a common destiny and use our varied talents and skills to ensure improvement in the well-being and living conditions of Ghanaians.
As I come to the end of the article, I would like to quote the following three verses in Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14 say, “After all this, there is only one thing to say: Fear God, and obey his commands, because this is all that man was created for. God is going to judge everything we do, whether good or bad, even things done in secret.”
Proverbs 5:21 says, “The Lord sees everything you do. Wherever you go, he is watching.”
At the end of the journey of life, when the coffin has been lowered into the grave, each person will stand alone before the Almighty God for judgement.