Accra, Jan 17, -The Graphic
Communications Group Limited (GCGL) has endorsed the ‘Punctuality Campaign’,
which is aimed at promoting punctuality in all spheres of the society.
The campaign, being championed by
the Punctuality Ghana Foundation, is geared towards reinforcing President Nana
AddoDankwa Akufo-Addo’s call for punctuality, and the need to do away with the
canker of lateness to official and public functions.
Mr Ransford Tetteh, Acting
Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited, endorsed the
campaign in Accra on Wednesday when he met the team of Punctuality Ghana, led
by Mr Emmanuel Amarquaye, the Founder, and a Punctuality Crusader.
Already, some officials and
public figures including Mr Mustapha Hamid, the Minister of Information; Mr
Mike Aaron Ocquaye, Speaker of Parliament; Mr Ignatius Bafuor Awuah, Minister
of Labour and Employment; Apostle Dr Opoku Onyinah, Chairman of the Church of
Pentecost; and Mr Prince Kofi Amparbeng, President of UT Holdings; have all
endorsed the campaign.
The team of crusaders would in
February seek audience with President Akufo-Addo to get his endorsement before
rolling out series of activities under the campaign to awaken the consciousness
of Ghanaians on the need to be punctual at all times.
Mr Tetteh commended the crusaders
of their mission to mobilise the public in observing and keeping time.
He said Graphic “will throw its
weight behind the campaign to make it a success”, even though the course would
be a long and frustrating journey.
He, however, urged the Crusaders
to keep up with what they had set out to do and even begin another crusade of
naming and shaming, particularly “public office holders who are keeping us
behind every now and then by their attitudes, time and punctuality so that they
will sit up.
Mr Amarquaye, on his part, said
the crusade would need the support from parents, educational institutions and
everybody to make it successful.
He noted that the values of
honesty, being punctual and hardworking that keeps the Ghanaian society going
were all being lost.
“And so the beginning point to
getting us to be punctual and hard working and having love for our country, start from inculcating the right
values into the children”, he said.
He said the issue of law and
order, poor city planning, indiscriminate road blocks, high road traffic, all
have effect on punctuality and time management and that also hinders the
movement of people -causing unnecessary delays.
He said time plays a critical
role if Ghana wanted to eliminate corruption in the country, explaining that if
all the bureaucracies were cut down, people could get services faster and on
time and there would be no need to exchange any monies that goes into peoples’
pockets instead of the national coffers.”
“Getting services, licenses, land
titles and passports are all affected by time where officers delay in providing
such services, and use the lapse of time to engage in corrupt practices”, Mr
Amarquaye noted.
He called on all Ghanaians,
particularly, the state officials, city authorities, law enforcement agencies,
and traffic regulators to rise up to the occasion and work hard to help reduce
time and be punctual in their dealings.
Naa Meryeh Quanynor-Mettle,
Project Coordinator of Punctuality Ghana Foundation, said under the campaign, a
number of activities including the installation of clocks in public places,
going on walks and floats, holding of public fora, workshops and conferences,
and the display of punctuality signages in offices and public places would be
rolled out in promoting punctuality.
There would also be mounting of
mobile human signages at roundabouts and major streets, and unannounced visits
to workplaces, schools, churches and other public events.
“We also intend to take practical
steps to impress upon government to deal with the roadblocks that frustrate our
ability to be punctual” she added.
GNA
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