Invisible Jobs And Towing Cars

Everybody knows the promise made by Candidate Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo to the youth of this country in the run up to Election 2016. He said jobs will flow.

I have a suspicion, however, that beyond the rally promises which we all heard, certain whispers may have been made to the Delta and Invisible forces, off record, that went unreported.

Otherwise, fellow Ghanaians, what is it that can make anyone think that a President who is not God or a government which is not based in heaven, can create even a dozen jobs within six months of coming to power – of course, minus the ministerial, ambassadorial and chief executive officer positions?

On Tuesday, an army of angry party supporters in Tema besieged the venue of a town hall meeting to demand jobs. They say six months after fighting to bring the NPP to power, they have still not been given any of the jobs they were promised.

A day after the incident, the NPP Youth Organiser,  Mr Sammy Awuku, in an interview with Joy FM, appealed to the youth to be patient with government as it settles down to get the NPP agenda working and solve their unemployment problems.

Good message, but it has come six months late. This appeal should have been made in January. Not only that: it should have come from the mouth of the President himself, not on TV, but in a room with these young men, eyeball to eyeball. 

When the Tema incident happened, I suspected something else could have triggered it, though I could not put a finger on it. Then I read the sixth paragraph of the story on myjoyonline. The reporter quoted the angry youth as complaining that “several efforts to reach key party supporters to put their grievances to them have proven futile.”

That, I told myself, is it! That must be the real reason for the violent expression of the youthful anger. Language, both spoken and body language, can soothe pains or burn passions. That is why I am repeating that if Akufo Addo will last long in the hearts of Ghanaians, it will be determined by how much training he gives his appointees on the use of language – both spoken and body language.

One of the best told stories as the 2017 election results rolled in, was why certain incumbent heavyweights were mightily falling in their constituencies. The constituents reported that they (MPs) especially those who had the double fortune of also holding ministerial appointments, suddenly became inaccessible. On the rare occasions that they visited the towns and villages in the constituency, they turned themselves into “wipers”. In the comfort of the back seats of their air- conditioned SUVs, with all glasses rolled up – of course –they responded to the enthusiastic wave of the people by waving back a finger – like a car’s wiper.

Let us remember the Delta Forces at the Kumasi court. Let us remember the Invisible Forces at Tema. Nana Addo still has space in their hearts, so he should use it to advantage. They will listen to him if he goes to them to explain how jobs are created.

These boys fought in the trenches, breaking some precious bones, tearing a few tendons and battling scorpions and serpents and tarantulas. They know that they are not so highly educated to be Ambassadors and CEOs or Board chair. What they know is that those they broke their backs to get voted for have started ‘chilling’.

We should be careful –o. No-one has declared a state of war, but we are hearing war songs. 

Language is communication, but communication is not just talking. Communication is giving everybody affected by an issue to be heard on it.

That is why those who have governed this country in the last few years must be humble enough to admit that they have failed. With hundreds of “Party Communicators” and “Government Spokespersons” who keep talking on radio and television all the time, it is strange (or is it?) that somebody could not advise that a law cannot be a law unless the people affected know about it or have been heard on it.

I am told that most of these communicators have received no training in communication. Knowing Ghanaian “MDs, CEOs and other big men”, I suspect that within the various MDAs, companies and Flagstaff House, communicators, even where they are trained, are seen and not heard; they are ordered, not consulted. They have no idea what a communication audit is.

It is a monumental shame to pass a law on vehicle towing and withdraw it “to do further consultation”. It’s a shame. Chariots do not draw horses: the reverse is the wisdom.

As a stakeholder, I deserve the right to be told what I am entitled to if my broken down vehicle is not towed within a certain time frame.

Are we not in Ghana? Very soon someone is going to tell us why the towing vehicle cannot be dispatched because the driver has lost the wife’s grandmother or that the towing company cannot be reached because the telephone is switched off.