PRINCIPLES OF GOOD GOVERNANCE & LEADERSHIP

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 # Representation : As a requirement of any democratic governance structure and civilized society, all the people can not be in leadership, a leader(s) have to be chosen or voted for to represent the interest of the people in their community. The representatives must be a voice for all especially the poor and the most vulnerable such as those who can neither read nor write. The one selected or elected is privileged to be chosen by all as a voice of his / her community. This concept of governance gave birth to the local government representatives( assemblymen) and the national representation where we elect members of parliament into the legislative Assembly ( one of the most important arms) of  central government to place checks and balance on the work of the executive who has being given so much power under the Constitution, but not without the approval of parliament. We have not given a second thought to the type and kind of people we elect to this most revered offices : the knowledge of elected members, competencies, skills, track records, their involvement in community projects and so on. The way we definitely leadership into these offices is very interesting : you only have to belong to a political party with party card, finance and support the party, be likeable and have financial resources to control the states of affairs, and that is all the qualification one needs to be endorsed by a party. The party does all it can especially if it is in power, uses all its incumbent power to coerce the people to vote without much reflection and thinking. The people sell their sovereignty and their community to most of the elected members who know nothing to little about community development and leadership. No wonder, such class of " so called honourbles" never speak in parliament, they do not contribute to any business of the chamber and when they do, it lack substance and fails the acide test for leadership. Many of those voted for are not leasers. Education and wisdom is key to leaderhsip, not to undermine anyone's wisdom, but it takes knowledge to understand and appreciate policy issues and contribute. How can we vote for people who can not even speak English and express themselves into parliament. That is not to say people who can not speak English are not having wisdom,but it must be stated for records sake that all contracts and governance transactions are never done in the local language, unless we begin to conduct business of the legislature in the local dialect. Could it be the reason why some members of parliament has never spoken for over 12 years before but still win. What are they in parliament for if they can not speak and express the felt and perceived needs of the people they represent? This same challenge is not only in parliament but also every sector of the economy of Ghana. There are head of departments, in charges, management members, committee members, supervisors, and the nomenclature continuous. The sad thing is that many of the afore mentioned leaders do not understand the needs of the people they represent, many of them only attend the meeting to sign up for their per diem without any meaningful contributions. The shameless ones, only raise their second to only second a motion without a recourse to reflection and consideration. The leadership challenge in Ghana is not only the politicians, many public officers are just occupying seat and wasting almost everyone's time. How can Union leasers be representing people whose needs and challenges they have never asked and consulted on? Representation is consulting and involving your people before you speak. Look at the $200 M chamber deal, but for the timely intervention of dynamic and active Youths who spoke vehemently against it, it would have being worse. The Ghanaians are now waning up to demand accountability and probity from their leaders. The next 10 years is going to be interesting ! All the lies and the mischief of the political class is now being exposed by the beam of civilization and the use of technology. Many organizations are now moving from the use of physical offices to virtual offices. Our members of parliament are also supposed to be technology friendly, we expect more innovation and smart wats of conducting business of parliament, we need development, consultation, participation, citizens involvement. More debatea are coming for members of the legislature to engage them of issues of Development and concern in their communities, if you can not debate in your community, then you can not do it in parliament either. 

# Consult your communities and constituents before you speak on issues

# Do needs Assessment

# Priority

#Engage all stakeholders

Jefferson Agbotro Kwasi

MSC OD