Let us strive for excellence
I know that the topic regarding the social blunder caused by the 59TH Independence brochure seem to have been over flogged, but just like chameleon faeces, it cannot go away even if it is ‘washed’.
Advertisement
This is because the level of ignominy that the little pamphlet has sent the country is unprecedented and still leaves a sour taste in the mouth. We pray that such faux pas never happens again and forever.
Strive for positive impact
A copious lot has been written and said concerning the country’s slide into mediocrity and the seeming acceptance of the phenomenon as normal.
The respected preacher and motivational speaker, Rev. Dr Mensah Anamuah Otabil, was recently taken to the cleaners when he entreated his countrymen to demand more from their governments.
But, rather than consider his words in good faith, a section of us decided to denigrate him.
Today, he has been vindicated. The Presidency is where the soul of the country resides and everything with it must as of right and indispensability be seen to be perfect.
There has been one too many mistakes in communication emanating from the Flagstaff House that has left Ghanaians feeling uncomfortable.
There were missing pages in the President’s prepared text at an ECOWAS meeting of Heads of States and then his misinformation of the state of roads at Hohoe in his State of the Nation address to Parliament early this year, just to mention a few.
Other Trending Stories
Unpardonable error
Coming from the seat of the Presidency, one would have thought that lessons would have been learnt from the past and not be repeated.
The bother really is that in all these, it is the President who is left holding the wrong end of the stick and made to look bad in the eyes of the public, when in fact he knows nothing about the preparation of the various communication pieces. The latest mistake is unpardonable when an anniversary committee was set up and no member saw this embarrassment coming.
We were told at the primary school and through all levels of education to always read over scripts before they handing them over. Where possible, especially in office communication, it is recommended that someone reads through for detection of errors, omissions and spelling mistakes for example. As it were, all these were not done. What is even more baffling, was the standard of English that was presented, it fell way below par.
Call for accountability
To help bring closure on the matter quickly, it would be prudent if Ghanaians were brought into the picture as to how a job that was meant for the Information Services Department (ISD) got swerved and landed into private hands, who the printers of the brochure were and how much was spent on that poor work. Even though the dismissed Acting Director of the ISD, Mr Francis Kwarteng Arthur accepted blame, it should not end there.
Printer’s devil
We need to get to the bottom of the matter, single out the participants in this comic and make them pay for their mistakes and even retrieve monies paid to them. I do not agree with the President when he attributes the mistakes in the independence brochure to the ‘Printers devil’.
If they were, they would have occurred in a few places and far in between. But to have historical and geographical facts truncated the way they were speak volumes of the competencies of the architects of brochure.
Let us call a spade a spade and determine that henceforth we shall strive for excellence in all our national endeavours.
It is our acceptance of things under par and not holding perpetrators accountable for misdeeds that has led to the country trailing behind countries her age and even others far younger.
As we approach our sixtieth milestone, we pray and hope that we will see improvement in our destiny.