I can see the Hon Member for Madina Constituency who was not in the
Chamber when his Question was called for an Answer. Hon Member, let us hear you.
Mr Francis-Xavier Kojo Sosu
(NDC - Madina): Mr Speaker, I had actually given an unreserved instructions and request of my Hon Colleague, the Hon Member for the
Adentan Constituency, to do that on my behalf because we were busy on the precincts of Parliament doing
some other parliamentary duties.
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Mr Speaker, thank you very
much for the opportunity to
contribute to this very important
Statement ably delivered by my Hon
Colleague. The honest truth is that the
time has come for us, as a people, to
take personal obligation as
individuals and communities. While
it is important that we call on
leadership to bring about develop-
ment, every citizen in Ghana must
begin to take responsibility when it
comes to maintenance.
Mr Speaker, when we look at
any standard definition of
“maintenance culture”, we would realise that it involves values, the way
we think, our behaviours and
perceptions, and these perceptions
underline how we take care of things
that matter to us. I dare say that
beyond calling on every Ghanaian to
become very responsible when it
comes to maintenance of public or
private property, we must begin to
introduce policies that are directed at
our basic schools as well as senior
high schools so that the change in
mentalities and values will begin
from these levels.
Mr Speaker, article 39(1) of the 1992 Constitution that provides for cultural objectives makes it very
clear, and with your permission, if I may read, it says that:
“Subject to clause (2) of this article, the State shall take steps to encourage the integration of appropriate customary values into the fabric of national life through formal and informal education and the conscious introduction of cultural dimen- sions to relevant aspects of national planning.”
Mr Speaker, we know that
culture, essentially, is the way of life of a people; so, if we talk about maintenance culture, we are saying that it should be part of the daily routine, ways and lives of people when it comes to practising maintenance. For example, if one's light is on and he or she is going out, for the purposes of preserving electricity, one would want to turn off the light; one does not turn on the fan and air conditioner at the same time, and one has to make sure that he or she reduces the number of times the electrical stove is used instead of using the liquefied petroleum gas stove or other means of cooking.
Mr Speaker, I believe that the
time has come as a people because if we want to change, it can only
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happen beginning from how we think, and if we want our children to have new ways of thinking, particularly when it comes to maintenance, then it is important that Government would even take further steps to introduce maintenance culture as part of the curriculum of our basic and secondary schools so that one day, this maintenance culture would become a thing that we can all stand for.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the
opportunity to contribute to this very
important Statement.
Mr Samuel Atta Akyea (NPP
— Abuakwa South): Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to make
some few comments regarding this
all-important Statement about
maintenance which is one of the areas
I was confronted with when I was the
Hon Minister for Works and
Housing.
Mr Speaker, the mindset of any
people matters. The mindset is how
the mind is set, like the clock. When
the mind is set in a negative way,
behaviour becomes negative, but
when it is set in a positive way,
behaviour becomes very positive. Mr
Speaker, if we pay regard to the
number of houses the Government
rolled out for the public and civil
servants in the realm, they are in one
of the best areas in town:
Cantonments, Labone, and the rest.
When we go to inspect some of
the houses and decide to find out who
lives in a particular flat, it is supposed
to be a very prominent person who
helps an Hon Minister to think like
directors, chief directors, prominent
men in these houses. However, the
houses are so terribly run down
because the mindset is that “if it is not mine, let me just abuse it”. So, anything which belongs to the
Government is a subject of abuse. Mr
Speaker, it is very expensive, as my
honourable Sister has rightly said, to
try and maintain some of these
properties because they have been
terribly run down.
Mr Speaker, another issue which
is important regarding some of these
run down structures, which call for
maintenance, is the fact that can we
say, as a people, that we would not
give free accommodation to those
who are at the top echelon of power
in the civil service. What we should
do is that the private sector be invited
to raise good structures and when this
has been done, flats — because people want to be very comfortable,
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one could easily find a small house on
an acre of land in a prime area of
Accra. Why do we not have a lot of
flats? People came to work and not
for private residential comfort - so that we can have more flats for people
who are serving this nation.
What would happen is that these
flats are owned by private people
who are given enough money as part
of their conditions of service, then
these residents pay the rent to the
private owner. The private owner
owes it to himself to ensure that these
structures are well kept. This is how I
think a solution can be arrived at. If
not, then, perennially, what would
happen is that every year, there would
be huge budget allocation just to
maintain some of these properties.
Mr Speaker, it is not only in the
Ministry of Works and Housing that
we have some of these challenges. If
we went to our hospitals, where the
health of individuals truly matters— in fact, if we went to any hospital in a
culture where the mindset is good, the
hospital is the best place to be. The
hygiene standards are high because if
where people are to find health is run
down, they would go and compound
their health challenges. If one goes to
some of the hospitals that we have,
one would be surprised at their run
down states. In fact, some of the
mortuaries are even run down: the
way dead bodies are packed would
blow your mind.
Mr Speaker, I do not want to
continue and belabour the point that
until we come to terms with the fact
that immediately people want to cost
the Government money, because of a
poor mindset, they would suffer for it,
eventually, because the Government
would not have so much money to
meet all the needs of the citizenry so,
the negative attitude of abusing what
belongs to the Government should
change. The time that we would see
that, for the common good, whatever
is State in character and title should
be well taken care of, is the time we
would begin to save good money.
Then, the savings would go to
address some of the poverty areas of
this nation.
Mr Speaker, I am glad that the
Hon Member for Mfantseman
Constituency came up with this
Statement. I expect many more of the
female Hon Members at the backbench
to give us more Statements like this,
so we at the front bench would
contribute.
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I am very grateful to you for your
intervention. Thank you, Mr Speaker.
