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The annual address to parliament imposed on the President is a good thing. But whenever I read the Presidents statement, I am reminded of one of the funny aspects of our culture. In my youth when the air was fouled in the presence of grown-ups, the young were expected to keep a straight face and pretend they had smelt nothing. When however a grown-up asked who was responsible, you immediately pointed an accusing finger at someone you did not like. Presidential addresses remind me of the useful exuberance in accusing enemies of causing the rot and smell. The recent address of President Mills was a particularly good one. But the accusing finger at past incumbents and party detracted from the solemnity of the message. He did not set the pattern. But we should try to break it. The attention of the nation should be focused on the bright new future which robust execution of policies and hard work would usher in. We seem to have taken our cue from the American practice. I did not see any mention of the state of the nation address in the constitution; but perhaps I did not look hard enough. In any case, the American address is a thoughtful survey which envisages appropriate legislation. It appears to me that the address of the President is based on Art 34{ll} which requires the President to report to Parliament at least once a year on what has been done to ensure the realisation of the Directive Principles of State Policy. The Principles are of wide coverage and embrace practically all party and presidential manifestos. Perhaps, we do not take them seriously because the principles are not enforceable. We do not seem to take anything; you cannot take to court seriously. And yet if we try to realise the Directive Principles, we would not have time for Constitutional changes. The abridged version of the Constitution summarises Articles 34 to 41 as falloffs: �The Directive Principles of State Policy are the objectives or goals or values that the people of Ghana have set for themselves. The objectives are not things that a citizen can go to Court to demand as a right. The Courts have no power to enforce them. Further, the directives are a set of objectives that imposes moral obligation on every citizen, including the President, Parliament, the political parties and all institutions of state. They serve as a yardstick by which the political, economic, cultural and social performance of the state is measured�. The National Commission on Civic Education should ensure that we know and understand this important aspect of the Constitution. We cannot legislate for values to be accepted and guide our actions. But we can make laws which impose sanctions on unacceptable deviation from the norms of society. And society will be better if we enforced the appropriate legislation and the accompanying penalties. Likewise moral obligations cannot be promoted by legislation. They must form part of the accepted pattern of behaviour. Democracy, human rights, independent, judiciary, education, and the like are all important determinants of a viable and progressive state. But they cannot function adequately in a society without values. Indeed, the state stinks if those imperatives are not underpinned by morality. To borrow from William Cowpor, today; Corruption lays a burden an the reeling state of Ghana; And democracy does nothing to relieve the weight. Something is certainly rotten in the sate of Ghana as it was in Shakespeare�s Denmark. But we should not despair. The imponderables of values are paradoxically promoted by attending to human needs. Work with fair remuneration, good health, education and other human needs if supplied help people to rise above the mundane. The Constitution clearly envisages a plan of work which may extend beyond the life of government. We in Ghana should not feel shy of development plans. We had a development plan before it became fashionable in socialist countries. There is nothing intrinsically socialist about planning. It is a must for a country which lags behind and wishes to move forward quickly. It is farcical to plan with relish in business and oppose planning for national development. Guggisberg built Achimota, Korle-Bu and Takoradi amongst others through his 10 year development plan. What Nkrumah did through planning should be common knowledge. We tried to establish work in the regions and communities so that everyone did not flock to Accra to sell what other countries produce in the streets. We should take the Directive Principles of States Policy in the Constitution seriously. It is a guide and call to action by all of us. Just because we cannot take the government to court for not giving us work after so many years of study does not mean that we have no responsibility to pressurise government to adopt the right policies which lead to work and happiness. Human rights are not of much use to the unemployed with children to feed. And so, let us refrain from trivial comments after the state of the nation address. Let us insist that the fine intentions of government are captured in a plan for comprehensive development. Let us insist that the address tells us what has been done and what is being done to fulfil the plan. Let us make the main elements of the plan a national endeavour so that succeeding governments continue with implementation as envisaged in the Constitution. Something is certainly wrong. Corruption and the other ills will not disappear so long as there is so much poverty in the midst of plenty. Policies do not produce results in themselves. They must be implemented. We the people should insist that the basic principles of state policy are implemented. That way we shall help the President to stop the rot and move the nation forward.