SELFLESS SERVICE TO OUR PEOPLE (FEB 17)

THE President, Prof John Evans Atta Mills, last week admonished newly appointed ministers to live modest lives, cautioning them against any inclination to be extravagant.
The President duly acknowledged that the ministers were coming into office at a time when a lot of people wanted jobs, water, electricity and other basic necessities and challenged them to run a transparent administration.
There is no doubt that the new government has to deal with an enormous weight of expectations from Ghanaians.
The challenging economic times pose a real test to the new administration and President Mills’s advice to the new ministers to run a transparent government enforces the belief that one of the tenets of good governance is transparency.
The fact that the new administration comes at a time when there is a global economic crisis makes the need to be transparent even more vital.
All over the country there are issues of affordable housing and the availability of potable water and other basic necessities and these must be addressed to help improve the standard of living of Ghanaians.
While it is generally acknowledged that those who go into public service are expected to selflessly serve the people, the reality on the ground appears quite different.
It may not be entirely misplaced to state that some people go into public service not to serve but to lord it over the people and amass wealth for themselves.
In the end, the people whose interests are expected to be protected by the public servants are left in a poorer state.
The challenge facing the new ministers is one that requires them to selflessly deal with the issues that confront Ghanaians, bearing in mind that they will be judged by the impact of their policies and the kind of leadership they adopt.
The business of governing a country is a serious one that can only be carried out effectively if those vested with the power exercise it in humility, bearing in mind that the power really belongs to the people.
As noted by the President, resources of the country are meant for everyone and no individual should be seen as having a special interest.
Indeed, no group of Ghanaians is more special than another, hence the nation’s resources must benefit all, irrespective of ethnic, religious or political persuasion.
The DAILY GRAPHIC also challenges the newly appointed ministers to bring practical meaning to the President’s advice and endeavour to live above reproach.
A government of the people, by the people and for the people is one that genuinely seeks the welfare of the people and works assiduously to empower them to overcome their difficulties.
The country is at an important threshold and one of the cardinal requirements that will lift us to the next level of development is a government of selfless public servants who believe in the equality of all men and women and who work in the true spirit of transparency, freedom and justice.