<<Print>>

In my piece for last week, I stated that for every mistake an individual or a nation commits, a price is paid either in the short, medium or the long term. The price we pay for the mistake we commit depends on the magnitude of that mistake or the time when that mistake was committed and for how long that mistake has been allowed to persist. It is also important to state that the prices we pay for mistakes committed vary. There are some mistakes which no price can help correct and return the situation to its original state or what it was supposed to be. The price therefore is that one has to live with it until eternity, no matter what the state of it is. Some people, out of ignorance, irresponsibility or sheer negligence, have deformed themselves or others and these have to live with the deformity for the rest of their lives. There are still other mistakes that can be corrected at very high costs to the affected individuals or to the nation as a whole. The tragedy of the people of this country is that we neither know anything about the phrase �a stitch in time saves nine�, nor appreciate why the nine must be saved. Sometimes when the truth about ourselves is told, we feel insulted, even if that might be the truth. I have said it before and the celebrated Amoabeng of UT fame is also quoted as having said this recently. Ghanaians do not use their brains. Yes, we do not individually think for the long term, and that has also affected institutional behaviour. Yes, again the President of the United States of America once told us that we need strong institutions and not strong men, and maybe strong women as well. The truth however is that when we have weak men and women in thought, how on earth can we build strong institutions? That is not possible. Let me begin with the perennial floods which confront this country, bringing in its wake devastations of property and loss of lives. Our attitudes have always been the same. The �Down Memory Lane� by my senior colleague and former boss Mr. Albert Sam of The Graphic Communications Group tells the story of our �vulturic� attitude towards life and the short term solutions to problems. It happened under Nkrumah when the population was relatively lower and the number of illegal structures on water courses was equally fewer. Not a lasting solution was found to them. Subsequent governments came after Nkrumah, the problems persisted. I am told that it was the Busia regime which took a very bold decision to create underground sewage systems in Accra, which was not only abandoned but falsely proclaimed to be a means by Busia to draw sea water from Accra to Kumasi. Political propaganda began long ago. Under the 19-year rule of Jeremiah John Rawlings, he used to wear wellington boots to flooded parts of the Nkrumah Circle to show populist support for those who had been affected by the floods, and as usual, plastic buckets, blankets, �bentua� and chamber pots were distributed alongside a few cups of insect-infested rice and some expired cooking oil in sympathy with the people. Government�s real responsibility of ensuring that drains were either widened or constructed to ensure free flow of water was pushed to the back burner. Owners of illegal structures of both temporary and permanent nature dried their wet property, counted their losses and shouted for government support, which they knew would not come beyond the plastic buckets et al, and life continued as usual until the next rains. Nobody learnt any lessons and no solutions came from any quarters either. Indeed, by the next rainy season, the stock of illegal structures would have tripled under the nose of the city or town authorities. The rich and the powerful in society would have been given permits to build huge structures on water courses without regard for the �human rights� of the water to freely move about according to the universally declared right of way of streams, rivers and the rest. Indeed, these are the kind of human rights I would want David Cameron to insist our governments abide by, or be denied financial assistance. Oh, yes I would love to hear our development partners insisting on modern drainage systems as a condition for support. They can go ahead and demand that unless all illegal structures in our cities are demolished to allow the free flow of water, they will not offer any financial support to us and I would be very grateful because it will make all of us sit up, and not the bestial condition of supporting gays and lesbians. Bull something something. Yes, as I was saying, the quantum of rubbish dumped in the existing narrow drains in water ways would also have quadrupled in the full glare of city authorities, so when the rains come again the next time, the devastation becomes more devastating than the previous year. We will surely be moving forward in the wrong direction as far as decent minded Ghanaians are concerned, even though others may, for propaganda reasons, consider it as forward movement in the right direction. In any case, there will be forward movements but as to whether it is in the right or �left� direction, the outcome will be determined by how many people live or die after each rain fall. Now one other thing which confirms our inability to fully utilize our brains to achieve maximum benefits for ourselves is the fact that we do not appreciate what nature has freely offered us and make maximum use of it. Aside the perennial rainfall which has become a nightmare to this nation�s capital, there is also a perennial water shortage in Accra. In fact, no single day passes without a section of Accra experiencing one form of water shortage or the other. People carry empty water cans on their heads or in their cars in search of water every day in some parts of Accra. We are not intelligent enough to harvest rains when we build our houses, be they for residential purposes or for commercial purposes. Every house built needs water for one thing or the other, but we allow the rain water to freely flow into choked drains, spread its wings into illegal structures and homes, create havoc to human lives as well as property which have taken decades to acquire. Ironically, the provision of water to our homes and the construction of drainage for the free flow of water as well as the management of our water resources, rest in the domain of the Ministry of Water Resources and Housing. The ministry has failed in the construction of drainages good enough to accommodate varied forms of water, be they rain water or waste water. I admit that the responsibility of ensuring clean drains rests with the city authorities, but well covered drains reduce significantly the tendency for people to dump refuse into them. The ministry, through an agency such as the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), can either through education or by law, insist that estate developers of whatever nature, be it private or corporate, include rain harvesting and storage as part of the building. This system will ensure that the property owner at least has some free water to at least use to flush the W.Cs, wash clothing and even cook. In my home, I have nothing to do with Ghana Water Company and their bills. I have a reserve underground tank that can store rain water that can last my family for a minimum of three months. This is complimented by a well, but because majority of us do not use our minds, we allow natural soft water to flow into choked drains, spread and have a demolishing spree, leaving deaths in its wake. And the next moment, we take the water cans in search of water. Madness. Think, be wise, so says a commercial on HIV/Aids. In an article in this column on 9th July 2010, I had cause to comment on the havoc the rains did to us all over the country. I also looked at the posture of the President of the Republic. Anybody who critically observed the demeanour of our President in 2009, 2010, and his recent visits to some flooded areas in Accra, would observe that he did not offer any hope of addressing this perennial trauma. That the government is now about to source a total of US$500 million to deal with the problem, from where and when do we expect to raise monies to deal with the problem? For the past two consecutive years when floods devastated the capital, the Atta Mills government did not even make budgetary provisions, no matter how small they might be, to tackle some of them year by year? There is danger ahead of us. The other dangerous path we are threading on in this country is our inability to punish public and civil servants for their actions and inactions which lead to loss of life, property and bring untold hardships on the nation at large. There are officers who are paid to ensure that structures which have no permits do not spring up, let alone become permanent anywhere. There are planners and engineers whose jobs are to ensure that people are not allowed to build on water courses. Do those who build in water courses have permits, and who issued them with building permits. If they do, those officers who signed the permits should be brought to the courts. If the developers do not have permits, those officials should also be charged with neglect of duty. In Italy, as I said last week, some meteorologists are in court for not predicting well, leading to the death of some 300 people in an earthquake. We should be serious and avoid the dangers ahead of us.