“If we are going to make the changes we all want, then we have to start with a change in attitude to work. Government is ready to do its part and I am counting on you Secretary General to lead the campaign for a change in attitude to work and increase in productivity.”
These were the words of the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, when he delivered a speech on Monday, 1st May, 2017, to commemorate the May Day celebrations, held at the Independence Square, in Accra,
Reacting to the concerns expressed by the Secretary General of the Trades’ Union Congress, Dr. Yaw Baah, about how badly off present day workers are in comparison with Ghanaian workers in the past, President Akufo-Addo noted that the attitudes of workers must change if the nation is to progress.
“I have said it at another forum, but I think it bears repeating: we arrive at work late and then spend the first hour in prayer; we are 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,” the President said.
He continued, “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 when customers are waiting to be served, thereby increasing our labour costs. We take a week off for every funeral. And then we wonder why we are not competitive.”
President Akufo-Addo was particularly worried about the pernicious attitude to property that we find at work.
“There is the petty stealing of paper, envelopes, tea, milk and other equipment. There is the reckless use of office vehicles. Employees show no inclination to protecting the things that are in the offices and factories and extreme reluctance to stand up for what we know to be right in our workplaces in general,” he added.
Touching on the service provided in the country’s hospitality industry, the President indicated that the service “does not match that of our competitors and many of us have sadly come around to accept poor service as the norm.”
The President advocated for a return to the days of old where, “Ghanaian artisans, for example, used to have an enviable reputation around the region.
Our carpenters, masons, mechanics, plumbers, tailors were much sought after. They took pride in their work and improved upon their own set standards every time they took on a new job.”
President Akufo-Addo wondered how very old classroom blocks could withstand storms and heavy rainfall, whilst the roofs of nearby, newly built ones are ripped off regularly.
“How come that we build roads that are expected to last for at least five years and they do not make it through one rainy season before they fail and pot holes appear? The workers on the roads, the contractors and the consultants all conspire to deliver the shoddy work that prevents us from getting to where we ought to be,” he lamented.
Source: Peacefmonline.com
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For the attitudinal change to be effective it must start from the presidency.
Talk is cheap; Nana Addo can say all that he wants but to me Ghanaians do not need any warning or advice on the matter of attitude towards work because to me and from hence ; you fail to perform ; proscratinate or still funds ; you dismissed on the spot or suspended ; it happening today MR Amewu has just suspended a batch of these mineral commision officers ; Ghanaians should not be told ; they should just be FIRED !!!!!!!; once Nana Addo sacks a few of these hardened NDC lutters people will sit straight and start performing ; people are very lazy because they know that even if they still from the state nobody will do anything about it ;NO more cheap talk again !!!!!!!because talk CHEAP besides Ghanaians are hardened non performers abnd lazy people with the desire to live BIG ; drive big cars without working hard for the confort of live ; even the chinese have seen our weakness and have started driving taxis and know nobody will do anything about it because our ministers and officers who are suppose to check these thing are uless.
Once the source of information for many is al-Hajj, we are doomed
In fact, the president has spoken very well. we need to give seriousness to our work. My president I support your ideas and will always stand for that idea. We need to support our president to take the country to the promise land. Thank you very much HE for your good ideas for the Country. God Bless Ghana.
You are very right,
For me ; Nana Addo is wasting his time talking about this toxic problem in our society ; the only solution is ACTION not cheap TALK by Nana Addo ; I remember Kwame Nkrumah saying the same thing when we got our Independence some years ago ; the man went further to say that 'the Black man is capable of handling his own affairs but how WRONG he was with time !!!!!; for some time this humble advice for Ghanaians seem to work but then things changed ; the question how do you change the attitude of people ; when corruption and stilling is like a cancer in society today ; there is so much GREED in society today ; everybody wants to rich over night by stilling state assets ;Before and since JJ Rawlings took over with the reins of government our attitude to work as a nation have been ZERO !!!!!; JJ Rawlings made matters worse by killing people thinking he has eraducated corruption and stilling ; but we can all see the generational curse this ewe deceiful man brought to our dear country ; JJ Rawlings changed the attitude of people towards work ; he encouraged his cromies to lutt the country whilst he fulled Ghanaians with his mantra called ; Transparency ; Probity and Accountability whilst at the same time he lutted the state for his family ; the same generational curse has followed Ghanaians till today ; Jon Mahama made things worse with the NDC encouraging people to go into contract business of which his family business was a key player ; today it will be difficult for Ghanaians to change their attitudes to work unless the economy is broughyt back to normal ; why should any Ghanaian change his/her attitude to work when he can become a business man overnight and use his contacts to become a road contractor get government contracts and do a SHOOODY JOB or import goods refuse to pay custom duties and claim to be the brother of Nana Addo the President !!!!!!!and get way with it ; to me this attitude problem is a generational CURSE and will be difficult to erase from the Ghanaian unless Nana Addo cracks the whip by sacking people if they do not deliver ; it is as simple as that ; if you cannot deliver YOU GET THE SACK -PERIOD !!!!!!!