Benevolence must not lead to shoddy work

Last Friday the Chief Executive of Engineers and Planners (E&P), Mr Ibrahim Mahama, told the media that his company was offering free technical support to the government in the dredging of the Odaw River.

He said while the government was providing equipment and fuel for the dredging of the heavily silted Odaw River that runs through much of Accra, E&P was providing the personnel and technical expertise to conduct the exercise in a professional manner.

We doff our hat for Mr Mahama for showing such benevolence to the people of Ghana at such an austere period when prices are sky-rocketing the whole world over.

Such magnanimity as shown by Mr Mahama is worthy of emulation by everyone who calls himself or herself a Ghanaian. We need to put our shoulders to the wheel to push the economy forward.

Ghana is blessed with many talents who could help put the country back on its feet once again. We, however, need selfless people who are ready to use their capabilities for ventures that will inure to the benefit of the country.

Elsewhere in the world, there are many Ghanaians who are doing marvellously well in their chosen fields and shoring up the economies of countries that have been labelled as the ‘developed world’.

Is it a case of a prophet being without honour in his own country? Or is it that Ghanaians are no longer willing to sacrifice for their own country?

We believe that the selectivity that has been associated with the awarding of national contracts flows from the fact that in the bid of some Ghanaian companies to make maximum gains from such contracts or jobs, they cut corners and end up doing shoddy jobs. Some also claim to be offering their services for free while, in actual fact, they set out to do wishy-washy jobs.

For such companies, the overriding factor in those jobs is not quality but how much they will gain from them.

Experience has, however, shown that jobs that are shoddily executed do not last but rather expose the incompetence of the executor.
While we laud Mr Mahama for volunteering to offer his expertise to clear up the channel that takes up much of Accra’s run-off water, we urge him not to compromise on quality just because he is offering his services gratis to Ghana.

His work should speak for him long after the job has been done. Already, many people have raised many red flags and accused him of abusing the resources of the state, as they believe those resources have been given to him to use because the President is his brother.But his relationship with the President should never deny him his share of the national cake

The Daily Graphic believes that the best and only way to silence his critics is to ensure the judicious use of all the equipment at his disposal, as well as a flawless execution of the job he has volunteered to do.

Long after the job has been executed, Ghanaians should be able to commend E&P for a job well done and salute Mr Mahama for his selfless service to the country.