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It is a great honour to be appointed as a minister of state. During the swearing-in of ministers of state, I always ask if all these honourable men and women do understand the call to duty. The office of a minister of state is not positional but service to humanity.

In other words, holding a position in government or having authority does not necessarily make one a leader. Position only provides opportunities, privileges and other social prestige. However, a call to leadership as a minister of state should be functional. In effect, the office as a servant leader should inspire, motivate and ignite group members’ passion towards achieving a common goal.  

Let me take this opportunity to respectfully remind all the ministers of state that your appointment as ministers means you are servants first to help deepen Ghana's rich democracy. Your job demands one thing - selflessness towards accelerated development. The confidence reposed in you shouldn't be overturned by any selfish agenda, and vain talks. We need action. Nothing but action-oriented leaders. We cannot sit on the fence without doing what is required of us.

As a nationalist, I’m of the opinion that a united front to back the efforts of holistic leadership dynamics in achieving the bigger picture of a progressive nation should be the desire of any minister of state. Any ulterior motive deepens the cracks of mistrust and humiliation. As a minister, which sector do you occupy?

At 65, in terms of gaining independence from colonial rule, Ghana should fly higher in terms of economic development. Our cities should be clean devoid of filth. We need better roads with street lights in all corners of the country. Our energy sector should be pre-emptive in making us enjoy constant flow of electricity. We need proper accountability of our oil and gas proceeds for our infrastructural developments.

We need proper flow of information from the seat of government to the citizenry. Workers at the office of the president should have one goal - to remain focused and studious with their administrative work. In some jurisdictions, it is work before pleasure and not otherwise. Leaders fail when their subordinates fail to support their vision. So, an opportunity to serve your country with your skills, ideas, and knowledge shouldn't make you languid, and proud. Our educational system should be better in making teaching and learning more attractive. There should be better incentives to make instructors more comfortable with their way of life.

Our agricultural sector, one of the strongest pillars of our economy should intensify the application of modern technology in making that sector more good-looking. Special inducements should be given to our hardworking farmers to be committed to their work. There should be adequate storage facilities in order to store our farm produce. The sector minister should be thinking of how most of the farming communities must be made more accessible to better roads.  We need more crop research scientists in researching into modern-day way of grafting most of our food produce. The rearing of animals should not only be consumed locally but improved methods of rearing could be considered for mass exportation for foreign exchange.

Our transport system must take another turn altogether. We should think beyond dual carriages for certain sections of our highways. In the Year of Roads, attention must also be given to roads linking to most of our farming and marketing centres.  A growing economy like ours must earnestly fight to upgrade our road and rail grids. Ghana has come of age and must have more than four-fold carriages on most of our major roads. Construction of roads should be assigned to the right contractors who think about the destiny of this nation and not their parochial interests. If roads meant to be asphalted are turned into an inferior link that barely last for a few months, we are not being honest to ourselves and the nation at large.

Activities of road contractors should be properly supervised by the sector minister to produce the best and quality road network for our country. Sometimes, I do not understand why roads serving important purposes such as tourism and agriculture among others should be abandoned for years until there is a major vehicular accident or natural disaster? Take the Atonsu-Lake Bosomtwe road for instance. This is one of the major roads in Kumasi, serving thousands of people. This road if properly developed can serve a part of the Ashanti tourism hub, for the government thereby yielding maximum revenue for developmental projects.

It will interest you to know that past governments paid less attention to this road construction until recently. Even with that, work has been quite slow. The interesting part of our politics is, once you tell the truth, people read it in a polarized manner, without weighing the issues from a nationalistic point of view. There are countless numbers of roads linking major farming centres or communities that must be given higher attention. If we are satisfied with potholes in the middle of our roads and fully concentrate our attention on the development of roads in our country’s capital, Greater Accra and a few communities at the expense of almost all communities in the country, more lives would be lost to fatal accidents. In the Year of Roads, we want to see a massive transformation in our transport sector.

Whilst constructing roads, we should factor solar street lights into the equation to make driving at night easier for commuters and pedestrians as well. The speed we adopt in constructing roads in Greater Accra should be applied to all communities. Ghana deserves better and we cannot be left behind in the era of better roads and upgraded railway systems. It is now or never.

What about Trade and Industry? This is one of the ministries I give the present government a huge thumb-up. However, there are more to be done in making our younger enterprising university graduates find a better hope for their future.  In a capitalistic system, everybody’s skills, creativity and ingenuity should be of higher concern to the government. Our financial system must be more flexible for young credible entrepreneurs to easily access loans for the expansion of their productions. The Bank of Ghana should evaluate the impact of higher interest rate on the economy and devise means of bringing interest rates on loans to the barest minimum. In certain jurisdictions, interest on loans is very negligible, making it possible for reliable entrepreneurs to access loan facilities from the banks. Countries like China have raised millionaires within a shorter time. This is made possible because the economic system is quite flexible to business men.   

Malaysia, our contemporary in terms of independence from colonial rule has a vibrant economy than ours. Rwanda, which only became a stronger economy a few years ago is a force to reckon with in terms of socio-economic development. The time has come for Ghana to be set on a higher plinth or base of socio-economic development. In a country where a sizeable number of citizens are millionaires, their investments in manufacturing of goods and services create more jobs for the local people whose commitment to tax payment helps increase the Gross Domestic Product of the country. When money is in the hands of a select few, it creates jealousy and wariness. On the contrary, where the system is more flexible for an average person to make it, the rate of crime, misconduct or corrupt practices dwindles.  

The health sector, on the other hand, should quickly be thinking about improved health care facilities for our nation. If all the sector ministers can contribute their little quota, the quantum leap of our development will be astronomical.

For total development of our country, we should begin to think of decentralizing the office of a minister of state from being a member of parliament so that effective and efficient work can be done in our respective jurisdictions. How efficient do most of our ministers become, if they double as both members of parliament and sector ministers at the same time. No matter how they delegate authority to their subordinates at the constituency levels, the question is, how often do they make time to visit their constituencies for developmental engagements?  As a nation, let’s weigh this suggestion, and give it a try.

A minister of state is therefore a servant to the people he/she leads. A minister should lead a modest lifestyle and not an extravagant one. An agenda to lord over people is a traditional way of leadership which hinders growth, creativity and innovation. A minister should have a listening ear and where appropriate, help implement the right policy for socio-economic development.

Funds assigned for specific projects should not be misappropriated or misapplied. We should think of the progress of the nation at 65 years. Greed, and materialism make people enjoy a short lifespan. Don't forget about this truth. Be mindful of the interest of the nation and not your ulterior motive.

Ministers of state, die a little for the progress of this nation. In other words, sacrifice a bit of your time, energy and the resources given to make your ministry progressive and attractive. During the vetting proceedings of ministers-elect, most of us witnessed your responses to most questions which gave some of us hope for a better Ghana whilst a few, respectfully need to wake up to intense learning. So, as a government appointee, your appointment is a privilege and not a right. Thus, you are called to serve the people of Ghana and not to be served.

It intones that as an honourable minister of state, much is expected of you. The thumbs of the electorates are sharper. The electorates are watching you in order to make another decision in 2024. So, don't disappoint them and the nation as a whole. Where you struggle with understanding and interpreting policies, humility teaches us to make due consultation with the right expertise. We cannot allow mediocrity and pride to override excellence. Be firm in your persuasions and make us proud as a nation. All sectors of our economy need a quick turnaround and we are counting on you (ministers) for that massive change.

On our part as citizens, we should equally be patriotic. We cannot relinquish our responsibilities and expect government to do so. Remember, we all form part of today's government. We have a duty to perform in making Ghana greater and stronger at 65 and beyond. Let's do our part and make the next generation happier.

 
Long live Ghana...long live our rich Democracy.

**The writer is an Academic, Visiting Lecturer, a Leadership Consultant and a Reverend Minister with the WordSprings City Church, Kumasi -Ghana**
Email: [email protected]