Late President John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills has been lauded by Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo for his punctuality and urged Ghanaians to emulate the punctuality attributes of the professor.

The CJ while endorsing a punctuality campaign when the leadership of the Punctuality Ghana Foundation called on her, expressed admiration for how President Mills managed his time.

“The late President Mills, when he was Vice President and when he was steering an event, I remember of an event, not even an important one, but he had agreed to be there. One of the public officials even had an accident on the way because they were rushing to make sure they were there on time.

She added that, “Because they knew he (Prof Mills) would be there on time and he would start the programme on time even if it was one person there.”

Priorities punctuality

The CJ has however called on all persons in leadership positions to make that a priority to uphold the integrity for national development.

“We need everybody in leadership position, even a manager, a supervisor and every director, should insist on these things. You can’t say that I live at Mankessim. Okay, learn to know the rhythm of Mankessim traffic and if you have to wake up at midnight and set out, please that is what you are obliged to do or find another job closer to Mankessim.

“But if you want to work in the middle of Accra, know that from Mankessim all the way to Accra you will be in thick traffic any time of the day. And this is the kind of commitment which leadership should set for him/herself and expect from the staff that it is working because particularly for us in Judicial Service, it is very important [to note that] every working day is important for somebody.

According to the CJ, time consciousness is something that persons in leadership and management positions must at all times give attention to and not countenance or tolerate anything short of it at all.

Punctuality, the CJ said, is a characteristic that speaks to the inculcation of the virtue of self-discipline in an individual, and that “It is one virtue that any individual carries with him or her throughout life, and hence the need to imbibe it at a very early age when they are in school.”

She added that “It is my personal belief and conviction that in this discussion, if we are to overcome this national malady in an enduring manner and turn a new page into the future, we must address this issue holistically from its roots by inculcating in our children of school age an attitude of punctuality. Indeed, there is available research to suggest that attendance and punctuality are the single most important factors in achieving success at school.”

Children and punctuality

“We must teach our children to appreciate that being punctual to school puts them in a positive frame of mind and allows them to make the most of the learning opportunities. Punctuality also helps students to develop a sense of responsibility for themselves and towards others.

“Our kids must be taught to understand that they cannot achieve much in life, starting from school, where they need to pass their examinations to continue along the path of higher education, if they do not make punctuality a part and parcel of their individual lives.

The task ahead is not an easy one but it is the best possible option because children at that young age are malleable and hence easy to mold into responsible adults for the future,” she urged.