As Ghanaian workers celebrate May Day, President Nana Akufo-Addo has charged public sector workers to rise above the lackadaisical status quo if Ghana is to realise its potential for growth. In his address at the May Day parade at the Black Star Square, President Akufo-Addo bemoaned the poor attitude of public workers to work, which are anchored in stereotypes which are viewed as the norm in the civil service.
In the discourse around fueling progress, the President noted that “we avoid mentioning workplace attitudes that retard our progress.” “We arrive at work late and then spend the first hour in prayer, we become clock watchers and leave in the middle of critical work because it is the official closing time. Everything comes to a stop when it rains and we seem to expect the rest of the world also to stop.” “We have no respect for the hours set aside for work. We pray, we eat, we visit during working hours. We spend hours chatting on the telephone… we take a week off for every funeral and then we wonder why we are not competitive,” President Akufo-Addo stated. He further noted the shoddy work carried out on government projects in recent times as contributing the retarded development of the country. “How come very old classroom blocks withstand storms and heavy rainfall whilst the roofs of nearby newly built ones are ripped off regularly. How come that we built roads that are expected to last through five years but do not make it through one rainy season before the fail and potholes appear.” “The workers on the road, the contractors and all the consultants all conspire to deliver the shoddy work that prevents us from getting from where we ought to be.”
By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana
