Civic Responsibilities and the Rebirth of Government
Anis Haffar
"Our doubts are traitors,Let it be said straight away that the politicians, the military and the bureaucrats who spend our money and borrow in our name under the banner of government are mortgaging Africa as a whole, and have sacrificed the children's future to the hilt. They have abused the powers they exercised by selling out for the present fruition of their pomp and pleasure.
And make us lose the good
we oft might win
By fearing to attempt."
The fear of paralysis that all will close down when government stops is irrational. People will always find alternate ways of doing things. The human species was designed by God to be highly adaptable. At least, we can have faith by the premise that mankind is of infinite resource and could find all truth from within. We may also begin by looking into our own hearts for the rules of life and by following the direction of our finest instincts.
Of course, if we accept the present rut as normal, we have the option to stop thinking and dreaming.
COUNTERFEIT
There is an economic crash in Africa. Not only have the poor suffered but the small entrepreneur has joined the ranks of the poor too. Even the honestly wealthy people have become poor because the paper money (the Ghana cedi, etc) and even cash in the bank have become worthless. With more and more indiscriminate government spending the currency becomes weaker and weaker, worth less and less.For your information, many government expenses are paid in counterfeit money: that is, they 'legally' print huge supplies of currency to pay all those government bureaucrats for their futile indulgences without the real income and productivity to back it up; a crime for which any other citizen would be imprisoned.
The supply of money in the Ghana treasury, for example, has increased incessantly. In 1976 alone, amid Acheampong's series of decrees, the cedis in circulation increased by 80%, almost double. Are you surprised that people carried bulk sums of money in the boots of cars, boxes, and waste paper bags to buy a loaf of bread, a tin of fish and baby milk? Don't wonder why some waited a good part of the day at the bank while the poor cashier went through the frustrating motions of counting hundreds and thousands of notes so you could satisfy the most meagre need.
We have relied on big government to provide an answer. But the finances of the government are in worse shape than the citizens. At present there is an enormous cost of government waste and decay. They are robbing the public left and right, with or without our permission, but definitely with our consent. The case of Nigeria is a classic example where some "have seen cor- ruption boil and bubble till it o'errun the stew". The national treasury is more than bare. The Washington Post weekly (Jan. 30th, 1984) stated that Nigeria owes more than $15 billion of debt, regardless of the oil boom that came to pass.
FREEDOM
The bureaucrats or government officials will use up what little money there is to ensure their own salaries rather than cut costs. They will not voluntarily disband their ranks. We are the problem. We refuse to face the thought of restructuring our lives and attitudes. We may all have the right words about freedom, but if freedom is not nourished in our consciousness, burning with desire, enough intensity to make things happen, then the bureaucracy will continue to grow. This is how the foul force creates 'the state' in oppressive countries. Bureaucracy is easily another form of suppression.Once we begin to experience 'the military' or 'the state' or 'the revolution' intruding more and more upon our freedom with the curfews, imprisonment, tribunals, the coercive and oppressive ways, look out it makes sense to pay attention to freedom. And we will begin to see the need for a fundamental transformation of society and of ourselves as individuals.
When the jugular vein of big government is severed, the real business of governing will become clear: by merely protecting the citizens' rights, and leaving all individuals, small communities and small businesses alone.
INITIATIVE
Up to now, there has been passive acceptance that only governments could accomplish tasks such as building roads, houses and schools, and feeding the people. Such beliefs are so deceptive that they kill initiative, innovation and creativity.As class one boys at Obuasi (Ghana) at the ages of 6 and 7, we were quite instrumental in building the first class room that housed us. At the next year, the second room was also ready, built of bamboo and earth for class two. And we had surrounded our precious institution with gardens of flowers. We also cracked palm shells and marketed the nuts to create revenues for the school. We were on our way to a self sustained life. Elsewhere in Kumasi, Berekum, Goaso, Pitipii, Hwidiem and others, school children and their teachers carried out similar feats. Then I grew up and witnessed government allowances to university students at Legon and University of Science and Technology to indulge in alcohol consumption and the other vices on the campuses.
Promises and broken promises by government to do all manner of great things have actually stopped people dead in their tracks. The result is poverty and dependency. Since our independence we dreamed great dreams that governments could do a great deal - until we finally began to believe that they could do everything. And now we know that they can do nothing. We are back to square one. We are on our own again.
which it can be effective rather than getting it to try to do everything and always running into a brick wall. Our economies have been so badly messed up. Yet, we have some of the world's most important resources at our disposal.
BRIBERY
Work does not frighten the average person. But work which is futile, work which is done merely so government officials may have luxuries and waste money on pet projects and Abuja (the Nigerian white elephant), will give the feeling that the worker is suckered. Also, technology, skills and work methods are readily available on this planet at this moment waiting for us to start using them. Some blueprints can be bought, borrowed or copied and improved upon to suit our local needs. But only if the 'officials' will allow it.Consider this riddle at the Accra international airport: Once, in the pro- cess of clearing goods at the port, I discovered the bureaucracy had baited a hook for me to bite. The officials instructed me to go and find 'permis- sion' and 'approval' and 'authorization' at the government ministries and then the Bank of Ghana before returning to the port.
Amid the mumbo-jumbo and paperwork, a most simple task turned into a nightmarish puzzle which lasted a few days. When it ended, I had sweated profusely while I added to the city traffic jam and bureaucratic bribery. Why couldn't goods be cleared on the spot as normal nations do? I asked myself. Such dubious systems are doomed to fail.
Government parasites are sucking at the roots of the tree of life so that it never gets a chance to put up more than a tender shoot. They are insisting on more bribes, committees, reports, more laws, decrees by force.
