From: Stephen A. Quaye, Toronto-Canada.

About three months or so ago, there was a news item posted on myjoyonline website where it was reported that the President John Evans Atta Mills issued an order or directive with a deadline to all government workers to lock out the television sets in their offices.
Some it was a bad news. Others it was good news depending on the reason for such order to be made by the president of the land at that time. But if you ask me of my opinion on the matter I will say it was timely looking at the effects it has been causing in the employment sector.
Anyway whether it was good news or bad news I am yet to find out whether the order was complied or not and if it was complied has it brought about improvement to satisfy the president and if not has it been causing more damage in the system as to why he gave the order that all TV sets in public offices should be locked out.
Often than not people just receive messages from leaders with a pinch of salt without analyzing the issues to get to the merit and the demerits of the matter but start to fire tantrums and vituperations at those who issued.
Irrespective of their political backgrounds, let us accept that most of our statesmen have on numerous occasions issued statements that carried some sort of wisdom but because we just want to go away with what we want never find time to digest their pronouncements and absorb the wisdom in their messages.
Haven issued that stern warning to public workers to lock out the TV sets in their offices gave the impression that the president was aware of the problems the device was and still creating in the system and the need to resolve it.
It was heard from certain people saying that order if followed would kill the market for the electronic device TVs in the country as they tried to blame the president. But these people failed to observe the negative impacts the usage in public offices the device was and still making as a developed country.
The same people go on air and blame the president for leading a government that his ministers are not working as most of them are said to be glued to their television sets every morning till evening watching movies and news to know what is happening so that they can rebuff what is done and said against their government leaving callers to their offices in limbo.
In other public offices when one sees how officers who are suppose to be attending to clients leave their work aside and instead watch African movies and other stuff on television during working hours you will get angry when you see the same people fronting for salary increment another day as you will ask what work do you do that merit increment?
Do not get me wrong. Watching the news is good for every living being since it informs you of what is going on at a particular time, where and why. But does that mean one should leave his work and get fixed to the TV sets all day during working hours? Your answer is as good as my.
That is why I loved the late reggae legend Joseph Hills of the culture combolo music bad. In one of his songs he made it clear when he said,” locks out the TV and opens the wireless”. Why did he say that?
As he explained in the song, he said,” now a day the children are getting indoctrinated by watching the television where western immoralities are shown therefore the best solution is to lock out the TV and open the wireless” which the explanation is accepted.
Have you come to the realization how indecent language and dressings demonstrated in our own African movies and shown on the television are being copied by the youth these days? Have you taken note of how pornographic some of the movies carry and shown on the televisions which are watched by both the youth and those in public offices.
If you have made the observation then you will understand why some office holders sexually misconduct themselves these days. In one of my articles, I made it clear that work place sexual harassment is killing the employment industry in Ghana but some commentators who did not agree with me lambasted me.
Here you go with the latest news of Yamoah Ponko, allegedly harassing ladies working under him at the NHIS in Kumasi. This has come out but trust me there are numerous of such harassments going on in other offices be it public or private that sufferers do not know where to go for solution.
It surprises one living in the diaspora where no TV sets are found in public offices but rather radio sets. Here you see everybody busy going about his duties as expected of him because “time is money and the minute you spent watching TV at work means a lost to the company and the state”.
Here it is plain and simple that there was some wisdom in the order or directive issued by the president to all office holders to lock out the TV and open the wireless instead.
You will agree with me that issues such as work place sexual harassments and others are what the BNI should invite complainants to own up for them to investigate and weed out the perpetrators out from the system but not serve as debt collecting agency where suspects after being invited to their offices suffer shock and meet their untimely deaths.
Mr. President, your order or directive is welcomed. Please go ahead and make sure it is followed by every office holder because majority of your subjects who are industrious women are suffering from work place sexual harassments.
End.