A Senior Lecturer at the Department of Sociology of the University of Ghana, Professor Kodjo A. Senah says the canker of lateness in the Ghanaian society can be curbed if effective systems are put in place.
According to him, “if we have efficient public transport system, good roads, and other effective alternative systems of transportation, the problem of lateness can be solved”.
Prof Senah made this known at the maiden Mini Timekeeping Dialogue series held at the Columbian Ambassador’s Residence in Accra to discuss and find possible ways of improving Timekeeping in Ghana.
The Timekeeping initiative is being implemented in partnership with Transformational Leadership Concepts (TLC) Ghana, an NGO; Gelis Communications Ltd, a communications consultancy; and Journalists for Business Advocacy (JBA), a media and business advocacy group.
He therefore urged authorities in the country to start putting measures in place to address the systemic challenges which cause lateness in the country.
Prof Senah who spoke on the topic ‘ Timekeeping in Ghana: A Socio-cultural Analysis’ maintained: “Systems have a way of swallowing. We can curb lateness if we also start programs on time and if the organisers are late we walkout or demand our money”.
“We need to be radical in our thinking to enable us change our poor timekeeping habit”, he stated.
Prof Senah who is also a renowned Medical Anthropologist however debunked the long-held notion that lateness is in the Ghanaian DNA.
Tracing the genesis of lateness, he wondered why as a nation we do not have national discourse on time management which is the art of arranging, organizing, scheduling, and budgeting one’s time for the purpose of generating more effective work and productivity.
The habit of poor time management or timekeeping has cut deep into the fabric of the Ghanaian society and even among its top officials like, the Executive, judiciary, legislature and the private sector.
Prof Senah said the person, environment and the concept of time were the major issues when it comes to the timekeeping, empasising: “Traditionally, we reckon time en block”.
“Timekeeping was not part of our tradition. But with our contact with the Europeans made us to reckon time”, he argued.
The Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), Mr Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng who is a founding partner of the initiative noted: “The amount of resources that are wasted due to lateness runs into billions of cedis in money terms. People who are late to work are obviously not working because they are not at work.
“But they are also preventing other people from working, because almost every work depends on other kinds of input or belongs to a chain that becomes incomplete or less effective if part of it goes missing. This is a loss the country suffers every day,” he said.
Mr Gyan-Apenteng added that; “lateness is a hidden drain on our political, economic, cultural and social fabrics and it is prudent for us to take definite actions to improve the situation and turn this debilitating national malaise around”.
The Secretary-General of the Pan African Writers’ Association (PAWA), Prof Atukwei Okai and Columbian Ambassador to Ghana, H.E Mrs Claudia Torbay pledged their unflinching supports to ensure that lateness is uprooted in the Ghanaian society.
The Executive Director of TLC Ghana, Mr. Emmanuel J. A. Fiagbenu used the occasion to announce the other phases of the timekeeping campaign. “We started the socio-cultural dialogue. The next phases will be to look into lateness between the male and the female genders, the economic impact of lateness, among others”, he stated.
Mr Fiagbenu explained that the initiative was launched to improve the chronic lateness and the lack of respect for time in the country.
“As we all know, almost every event that happens in this country starts late. People do not respect time in business, in the public sector, social activities and in their personal initiatives. We all have to work together to improve the timekeeping situation in Ghana”, he added.
The Timekeeping Initiative is targeted at policy makers, media, legislators, politicians, teachers, professional people, traders, men, women, children, and the youth.
The monthly seminar is to enable speakers to do diagnosis of the problem and address the issue from different perspective whilst working towards a national dialogue during which all shades of opinions will be represented and every voice heard. The national dialogue will then propose collective recommendations and actions towards a national campaign.
The underlying motive for the Time conference is self-evident; no country can achieve its objectives when almost every event, including routinely scheduled activities, start late.
National leaders throughout this nation’s life have spoken against the country’s apparent lack of time consciousness but to no avail. Although this is a critical issue, it had never received any attention at the national level until it was launched in March 2016 by TLC and its partners.
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