Chief, politics is a game of many competing interest groups all seeking for a piece of the national cake. The role of government is therefore, to mitigate and to ensure equal playing field and, also to ensure all the protagonists have their share, in return the government gets its vote every four years. Competing interest varied from cooperate businesses, national organisations, local organisations, developmental organisations, education, health, financial institutions, women organisations, trading associations the list is endless. Because of the sheer number of protagonists and the national cake not big enough to go round it is extremely difficult for government to successfully mitigate and satisfied all groups. These and other factors make the game of politics more competitive. Only the big players with strong political clout inside government wins, while local communities, workers, and women on whose back the economy rests end up the losers.
Chief, voting is the core component of every successful democratic system, and it is the most important purchasing power in modern democracy, therefore it must be spent wisely. Historically, our relationship with the politicians is one sided, thus, politicians of all persuasion will flood to Zongo communities preaching the gospel of milk and honey splashing money around just to get our vote and in the process divides our communities into different camps. After they gain power we get discarded in the dustbin of history only to be resurrected another four years later. This cycle must be stopped.
Chief, as Ghanaians we are aware of our political rights and responsibilities we have to utilise all the mechanics within the constitution to address our concerns and help shape our political engagement. Communities from all walks of life are engaging in politics in greater numbers than before. The Zongo communities must learn to engage in politics in their numbers. Secondly, when we engage in politics we must put the interest of our country Ghana and our communities first and foremost before any other interest.
At present, our participation in politics is based on individual aggrandizement thus, members of the Zongo communities join political parties for what they can get not what the party can do for their communities. Some members of the Zongo communities are willing to trade their vote for a mere bag of rice or a bag of flour, while the education and the health care provision of their family and their communities are in jeopardy. We have to wake up to the realisation that the world of politics has changed our country has changed, so we must changed too.
On the issue of education, it has been stated that a great number of people from deprived communities are entering tertiary institutions, particularly from the Zongo communities. The most interesting thing is that the education of girl child has been recognised. Parents, educationalists, and other stakeholders in the field of education are acting positively to ensure that women and girls in our nation are educated. This reminds me of the adage of one of our great Ghanaian educationalist, who said, “To educate a man is to educate one person, but to educate a woman is to educate the whole nation”. This ideal should be the yard stick by which to assess our achievement as a nation.
Chief, on the issue of employment the picture is very gloom. One of the notable characteristic of our Zongo communities in Ghana is unemployment. Few of our Zongo youths are employed in the mainstream economic sectors. We are underrepresented in the police force, in the army, in the immigration, custom and exercise duty, in the prison office, in the fire brigade, and paramedics. Our educated youths often look down on these important professions, some prefer to stay idle than take a job in one of these professions. Chief, there is no better career in life than having the privilege of serving once country in a uniform.
Chief, it appears to me that this problem is deeply rooted, in the sense that some parents will rather prefer their children to travel to Europe to do menial jobs for quick returns, rather than encouraging them to join the police force, the army , or the paramedics, as they don’t consider these careers as respectable professions. Chief, we have to work very hard to change this perception and encourage our youth to take up employment with these respectable institutions whenever the opportunity arise. This will make them better and responsible citizens.
Sanitation is the most paramount among all the issues raised earlier. Chief, we need as a matter of urgency to call for a Zongo public forum to discuss this pressing concern. Local authorities, councillors, assemblymen, local MPs, local chiefs members of the public and all other stakeholders need to come together to address ways and means of tackling this environmental problem. Chief, poor sanitation is the bane of our communities across the country and it our responsibilities to collectively tackle it.
Most criticism against our communities stems from our poor environment and poor sanitation, such as dumping refuse everywhere without regard for public health hazard. How can we strive for good physical and mental health and live in an unhealthy and unhygienic environment? Research evidence around the world suggests that there is direct correlation between poor environment and poor health. Poor environment leads to poor health. It is essential that we attend to this pressing matter. Chief, I will retire now part three of this letter will follow shortly. God Bless.
Ahmed Tijjani Usman Dogo Liverpool UK