Today, I am going to discuss about two things among many, to tell whether Ghanaians are seldom, let alone, mostly proactive or reactive. I am often perturbed by the lackadaisical, nonchalance or wait and see attitude by most Ghanaians, especially those entrusted with positions of responsibility to better the conditions of living of Ghanaians.
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In a suburban agglomeration in Accra, an area earmarked for the construction of a road to make the buildings in the area accessible to vehicular movement has houses or buildings erected there. In case of any emergency needing ambulance or fire engines (fire service) assistance, none will be forthcoming because of there not being a yard or metre of motorable access. This is on top of some of the houses being built on a heap of refuse dump of about six to eight metres high. The houses have absolutely no solid foundation.
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When there happens to be a fire outbreak in any of the houses there, the risk of the conflagration spreading to other houses is enormous. This is because no fire engine (fire service truck) can reach the burning house no matter how far and how best they try. This is because there is ABSOLUTELY NO ACCESS ROAD. How can this happen in the 21st Century in Ghana’s capital city? Who were the town planners that permitted the construction of the houses and who were the local councillors that sold the land for the development of houses on heaps of refuse dump and in area earmarked for accessible road to serve the houses and the people?
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I have already published an article about it and will soon be raising my concern about it with the Housing and Environment Minister who is likely Hon. Atta Akyea. Are we waiting for a disaster to happen before we call in NADMO whereas we could avoid the disaster from happening by first not permitting such dangerous building constructions or taking measures to demolish the illegally erected houses in the road. Those who sold the plots to them knowing the risk involved, must be made to face the music.
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Why do we prefer to live worse than animals rather than humans with common sense? If we were to be proactive, risk assessment would have been done to conclude that it is not right to construct houses in the road to block vehicular access to so many houses. Have we forgotten that there could be fire outbreak in any house in the area as a result of electrical fault, cooking gas explosion, lightning strike, etc.? When it does happen, many houses, people or household properties will be destroyed in the inferno.
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This is short-sightedness emanating from our love of corruption hence some irresponsible persons out there looking the other way while such structures posing risks to human life and property are erected. Those who superintended the construction of such structures that tarnish the reputation of the black man as being more senseless than even a tamed chimpanzee or a Whiteman’s pet dog, must be punished.
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We shall be waiting for a disaster to strike before we act, the usual attitude of the Ghanaian hence we are collectively tagged as being reactive. We cannot think ahead to see that certain dangers can happen hence taking preventive measures to stop them from happening.
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Why should I spend my precious time on this whilst I shall be taking it up with all those men and women in charge of guaranteeing public health and safety in Ghana.
The second issue is about the rosewood logging in the northern regions of Ghana. We are all aware of how the savannah desert is encroaching upon our lands southward. The only way it can be stopped is by planting more trees to encourage rainfall and undergrowth. I do not have to delve into my geography knowledge to tell how forest encourages rainfall through transpiration, condensation and then rainfall.
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This is the more reason why the former President John Dramani Mahama wanted to plant more trees in the north but as stupid and a crook as he is, he gave the contract to equal-minded crooks who claimed to have planted the seedlings or trees in the dry season hence all of them withering in the scorching Sun. They simply embezzled the money, taking Ghanaians for fools. Even in the southern part of Ghana where the weather is less severe in terms of sunshine and its intensity, we don’t plant crops in the dry season but in the rainy season.
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Millions of Ghana Cedis or US$ were wasted on the tree planting in the north thereby rendering it nonsense the SADA project. "Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) is a Government of Ghana agency responsible for coordinating a comprehensive development agenda for the savanna ecological zones comprising the three northernmost regions and stretches of Brong Ahafo and Volta Regions that are contiguous to the Northern region of Ghana".
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After this calamitous exercise, the fewer trees in the north have been concessioned to Chinese woman Helen Huang. Where have the Ghanaians’ brains gone? Why can’t we be reasonable for once? These Chinese are depleting our mineral resources without mercy.
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Knowing that we need to plant trees in the north to give decent life to the people by way of stopping the desertification that is making their lives miserable and the people poor, why should we condone and connive with the Chinese, especially their two notorious women, to come and destroy our nation Ghana? We will let them destroy it before we go begging for loans to come to repair the damage hence being always saddled with debts. Are we that stupid, sorry to say? Instead of being proactive, we are always reactive. We always wait for something bad to happen before we start seeking for solutions.
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Let me as usual home in my point with the definition of PROACTIVE: ".The adjective proactive can describe a person who gets things done. If you are proactive, you make things happen, instead of waiting for them to happen to you. ... So if you are proactive, you are ready before something happens. The opposite is being reactive, or waiting for things to unfold before responding"
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Judge it for yourself, reader, the collective nature of Ghanaians.
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SUGGESTIONS:
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The cluster of houses in that suburb of Accra without a road, posing the risk of death to humans and destruction to property in the event of fire outbreak, must be dealt with before any disaster happens. I shall be writing to the appropriate Minister or department responsible for checking to ascertain the veracity of my assertion to do the necessary to avoid any catastrophe happening.
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The felling of the rosewood must be stopped. The people in the north must mobilise themselves to stop it for their own good and that of Ghana.
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I am tired with my eyes closing poco a poco so goodnight. See you later.
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With God we are victorious.