- Part 11- Passport Scandal

Our nation's standing has again taken another bashing with this passport scandal. This is outrageous. Although I am not surprised, it?s very regrettable that it has happened and clearly it has once again damaged our reputation as a nation. There is no denying that this will once again reinforce the belief of some that Ghana is indeed a FAILED state. However I believe what will show us in a good light, if we try, is the openness and speed at which we respond to this .The passport office for gods sake just like any other public institution is supposed to be under the management and supervision of a senior management team, named persons, who are not only competent but accountable and how could they allow these to happen. We must take prompt and swift action by first suspending all of the public servants, especially the senior management team who have been implicated pending the completion of investigations.

We all have been observing for a while now that what has occurred, just like all public organisations in Ghana today confirms our point that the top management of most public organisations, even more than their subordinates are all embroiled in these crooked , shady and corrupt practices for self enrichment at the expense of the PUBLIC GOOD, so they clearly have no time to manage and supervise the first place. We are now talking about Public sector reform strategy which has been going on for years and been swallowing huge chunks of our monies, but the lack of good, honest and selfless people to manage the system has become the bane of our lives. I think it is now time for the Government and Paa Kwesi Nduom, especially to realise that , no matter how good the strategy and the infrastructure, at the end of the it?s all about the people and good people can make up for an inadequate strategy and infrastructure. So the emphasis must now shift.

Does any one now doubt the fact that there is currently no consistent approach or commitment to fight the battle of corrupt practices in public life apart from a ?vague and vacuous jargon? of ? Zero Tolerance against Corruption? that has been banded about since 2000. Frankly I am tired of these empty slogans but can we afford to sit down unconcerned given the implications of this scandal, to let this clear and present danger continue to damage our lives and threaten the future of our children and lay to waste the little achievements in nation building bequeathed to us by our fore fathers?

We are just hoping and praying that this time they will not be lacking in the relevant experience and competencies to device the proper strategies to deal with this menace. They must stop throwing insults at each other across the political divide and manage the country properly. It now has become the case in Ghana that politicians in order to always mask their incompetence, when ever their inaction leads to disasters, tragedies and scandals like this passport office saga, all of which can be traced without exception to corrupt practices, and a combination of lack of managerial ability and unethical behaviour, have turned to urging us to resort to the unrealistic suggestions as solutions rather than taking the BLAME for what has happened. Should it not now be clear that more of the same medicine they have been prescribing, like for example having a ( national day of fasting and prayer, seeking divine intervention, deliverance and asking God for forgiveness ) as the only solutions they can come up with is not the solution ?.

Is it now not ripe for the new young generation of Ghanaians whose futures are being seriously damaged by this scandal and others, to start asking the relevant questions like, ? What are we going to do about these serious issues of dereliction of duty by our leaders? ? Or are we going to allow them once again to do what they have always done.

Thinking of answers and possible solutions now makes me wonder whether anyone out there is listening to us. Some of us who are a bit enlightened have been always repeating the mantra that nothing happens by chance. Preaching ?just stop doing what you are doing? does not change behaviour and never will. The fact still remains that for anything meaningful to happen, it must be planned, organised, resourced and properly managed to achieve desired outcomes. Are our leaders going to go down this tried and tested route and manage the country or are they going to still continue deluding themselves invoking the name of God all the time they are faced with the consequences of their mismanagement and incompetence and maladministration or given some of their responses to other negative events that has afflicted the country as a result of incompetence, still hooked to the idea that God rewards incompetence, dishonesty ,unethical behaviour, selfishness and downright criminal behaviour ?

For those politicians who constantly do this, I am sorry to say, as far as some of us are concerned God is not charged with the responsibility of implementing policies and procedures to improve the quality of life and image of Ghanaians. The Country?s POLITICIANS ARE. As far as some of us are also concerned not doing the right thing and always bringing God into politics and governance as an option is an unrealistic panacea and objectionable. It prolongs our nation?s agony and compounds our pain. So we must all be bold to tell our leaders to put up or shut up. They must put a stop to this nonsense and do the right thing for the sake Ghana.

I share the view that it is now time for the new generation of Ghanaians who may become leaders in the near future to think of fresh initiatives in their anti fraud and anti corruption response strategy to save our dear and beloved country. We must not give up the fight because this behaviour is overwhelming the country and doing untold damage. We have no other country but Ghana. We must continue to seek solutions and take not only PRACTICAL PROACTIVE ACTION but put competent and honest people in charge consistently to deal with this menace. Strategies and initiatives must be explored in the long and short term. In the short term I believe we must do something really drastic to arrest the situation before we start thinking about longer term strategies. Some have argued that starving public organisations and their management of funds, including taking away the perks of top non performing managers of these organisations, if they fail to manage, supervise, and monitor their entities properly may do the trick. However knowing Ghana, the service provided may probably collapse completely if we go down this route.

How about this suggestion as a first step in the short term. Establishing a system of vetting and appointing, competent, ethical candidates, dedicated honest and selfless Anti Corruption Champions (ACC), preferably people with legal or accounting backgrounds who are above reproach, in all the teams of Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government for early detection of these corrupt practices, whilst holding up the beacon of honesty and truth in public service. Champion is a Latin word for ?fighter from campus level ground?. According to many definitions, it is a person who enthusiastically supports, defends or fights for a person, belief, right or principle? These champions, provided we get the right ones, could play an important role in the implementation of fresh strategies to achieve real ? Zero Tolerance? in our fight against corruption in public life. These champions will help drive the developments of anti corruption initiatives in their various units and monitor their organisations compliance with the anti corruption strategy in place. Since the managers in place now are so incompetent to properly even deal with any complaints because they are busily amassing ill gotten wealth themselves, ACC?s must be the first point of contact for any one who is a victim of sharp practices and wishes to make a complaint publicly or anonymously. ACC?s should be able to assist their organisations in fraud and corruption awareness campaigns and communicate to staff and the general public on all issues relating to this subject . They should be able to widely disseminate information about the procedures in place for dealing with unethical behaviour and corrupt practices in their organisations. Provide contact information and encouraging the public and staff to report these matters in order that prompt action is taken against persons who transgress.

There must be quarterly reports requirements to let?s say the Auditor General?s Department, with non compliance meaning disciplinary action. This way when a scandal arises like we now have from the Passport Office, we can go back and look at the last report submitted by the ACC and take instant and appropriate action against any top official who is found not to have performed or shirked responsibility in their managerial and supervisory roles.

The transformation of our public organisations like the passport office depends on better local leadership and organisation at all levels. If we cannot find decent people, sons and daughters of Ghana, selfless with brains to understand the long term consequences of this phenomenon of corrupt practices, to initiate the right policies and manage them in this fight, then frankly we are building ourselves for failure , not success and may the last person who leaves Ghana turn off the lights.