It takes drops of water to make a mighty ocean. These drops of water normally take quite a number of times to accumulate into a splendid ocean. A single drop of water is not enough until more and more drops are added for a substantial ocean to emerge and be sustained. Wealthy people are affluent because they have added a considerable number of resources to the one they had in a time past. Likewise, a great nation's growth and development depend on the rehabilitation and maintenance of its structures all the time. Both the old and new structures in a country go a long way to promote its advancement. Maintenance and rehabilitation of these structures therefore kindle the growth and development of a nation.

Rehabilitation and Maintenance

Ghana is a developing nation that is steadily rising to become a developed one, in the distant future. Mother Ghana has indeed moved from where she was, after her independence, into a very promising nation. Undoubtedly, Ghana which is the gateway to West Africa continues to be the shining example and star in the African continent. However, one of the major problems confronting the development of this country is the poor attitude of its stakeholders towards rehabilitation and maintenance of its structures and facilities. There is no gainsaying the fact that the spirit of rehabilitation and maintenance among Ghanaians is very appalling. This bad attitude is apparent not only among those exercising governmental or political powers, but also the ordinary man on the street. It is very off-putting, upon entering into some premises in this country, to see that repairs and maintenance are absent in the minds of those in charge of such structures.

Our Structures and Premises

Majority of our police and military barracks have taken the form of hutches. Numerous school buildings are like cattle ranches and some of our constructed roads breed nerve-racking potholes. A number of our Law court buildings are no less different from slums for squatters. The premises of most of our governmental buildings and structures, including ministries, departments, corporations, bungalows, flats, hospitals and state houses are horrifying. Reasonable number of our market centres is analogous to refuse dumps. The various public toilet facilities in this country are very sickening. Ironically, human beings are occupying or plying all these premises and structures. To make matters worse, somebody or a body has been entrusted with these assets. We are always waiting for the government, which includes us, to carry out such repair works. No wonder our private property and assets are in similar conditions.

A number of newspaper articles also lament over the state of despair of numerous of our structures or facilities such as roads, schools, plants and equipments in the country.The recent hullabaloo about the repair works on the Flagstaff house and the Adomi Bridge are classical cases in point. Today, the Adomi Bridge has been closed down temporarily to pave way for the repairs on a major crack that has developed in the bridge. It is a very sad commentary that this is the second time, since independence, that this important bridge is witnessing repair works. Did we put in place any maintenance policy after its construction? According to United States Society of Dams, “to ensure the continued and dependable delivery of benefits from a (structure or facility); the owner must have a comprehensive plan for operation, maintenance, and rehabilitation. As a (structure or facility) becomes older, safe performance becomes a concern. This requires more attention in the form of inspections, evaluations, modifications, and upgrades of the older (structure or facility) so they meet current technology, statutes, and regulations.”

Our Growth and Development

The growth and development of this nation is not progressing faster, as expected, because of our poor culture of maintenance. Ghanaians seem to be interested, since independence, in only erecting new structures and facilities (sometimes, to score cheap political points) to the total neglect of rehabilitating and maintaining the existing facilities. What is worse is that even after bringing the new projects into being, little or no effort is made to enhance their projected useful lifespan. The government and the citizenry are blameworthy. The government usually rehabilitates its official buildings and premises only when such structures or premises stand the danger of risking the life of human beings or when an august ceremony is about to be held. The citizenry, especially those occupying government buildings or premises, makes a very little attempt (if any) to keep such facilities in a proper state. Sometimes, mere painting of these structures becomes a headache. We most often wait for a disaster to strike or a sensitive ceremony to materialize before we act rightfully. Regrettably, much more resources (needless to say) are injected into such projects which would not have been so if rehabilitation and maintenance were observed periodically. Not only does the premature replacement increases operational cost but also waste our limited resources. Shamefully, these projects are sometimes financed with assistance from external sources in the form of loans, grants and or partnership agreements.

We do not cultivate the habit or culture of maintenance to curtail some of the unnecessary expenditure of government on rehabilitation of government facilities. Government therefore spends huge sums of money on the renovation of these structures instead of using the money for new projects. Besides, shoddy works become the order of the day since we do not exhaust the needed time to bring these structures back to life. In addition, these exercises usually halt some economic activities needlessly. Hospitals, rail lines, schools and the ilk are often rehabilitated at considerable cost to individual communities or the central government. Preventable deterioration of infrastructural assets and their subsequent repairs drain our scarce national resources. We keep facing these unpleasantnesses because of the absence of built-in maintenance programme and follow-up process after the completion of projects. More worrying is the poor and uncivilized attitude towards government property. There is also a tendency, on the part of the government, for using funds for new capital projects to the blatant neglect of the existing structures and facilities.

The Way Forward

The citizenry should be encouraged to enhance the maintenance of their private property. The Ministry of Information and National Orientation and all the stakeholders in this country should embark on a massive public education, with the aim of inculcating the maintenance culture and preservation in the public to prolong the useful lifespan of all our structures and facilities. There is also the need to adopt a workable maintenance strategy as a development priority and policy objective at our individual, local and national levels. It therefore goes without saying that sufficient public funds should be allocated to promote the preventive maintenance (systematic pre-scheduled activities), not corrective maintenance, of all national assets at all levels. The preventive maintenance is advantageous over the latter because it ensures the early detection of defects and implementation of actions to avoid or minimize breakdowns, thereby cutting down some unnecessary expenditure. Ebenezer Banful in his article, ‘A stitch in time saves nine: Cultivating a maintenance culture in Ghana,’ published in the March 16, 2004 edition of The Ghanaweb aptly stated the following. "It is important for Ghanaians to cultivate a maintenance culture. We need to change our attitude to government property. Government and corporate property must be treated as if it were one's private property for it belongs to all the people and is held in trust by the government for all Ghanaians. Ministers and Parliamentarians and those in positions of authority should set the example. They should use government property lawfully, appropriately and efficiently."

Conclusion

We must certainly change our attitude towards rehabilitation and maintenance. They should be considered as an important exercise, not an event so as to safeguard our dear nation from some pointless spending. It is not enough for us to always construct new structures, but it is equally very imperative to plan for their long-term maintenance. Building or construction and maintenance are bedfellows and the prudent sees this to accumulate wealth.

Richard Obeng Mensah, borncapy@yahoo.com, Faculty of Law, KNUST. He is also with the Centre for Human Rights and Advanced Legal Research (CHRALER), Kumasi.