‘Ghana-Man-Time’ killing economy

Chairman of the National Media Commission Kwasi Gyan Apenteng has said Ghanaian’s attitude to time management is an age-long problem that must be seen as an area of huge policy implications.

“Lateness is a hidden drain on our political, economic, cultural and social fabrics. The impact on lateness is felt everywhere. We need to think deeply about it together as a nation.

“In Ghana we tend to laugh off lateness; some call it African punctuality while others say that we operate according to our own GMT – Ghana-Man-Time, which has earned us a negative reputation. But this should not be a laughing matter; we must find the solution to this debilitating national malaise,” he said.

Mr. Gyan-Apenteng expressed this sentiment while addressing a media launch of the National Dialogue on Timekeeping in Accra.

He said: “Even lateness to social events carries cost; people who go early and have to wait for the stragglers could be doing productive work elsewhere, or even resting”.

Mr. Gyan-Apenteng explained that cost of lateness to the country could be disproportionate to the economy because of several other fragilities within the economic infrastructure. 

“We should not be surprised if the cost to our country is even higher than the UK figure of £9billion with its much bigger economy.

“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.

Dr. Nii Moi Thompson, Director-General of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), cautioned public officers and individuals who arrive late to public functions to desist from that habit.

He adding that effective and efficient time management is important for the country’s development, and urged public servants to adhere strictly to deadlines and ensure progress. 

Dr. Thompson said lateness to events has reached an intolerable level and requires some action to curtail it -- adding that the habit of lateness is a reflection of indiscipline on our part, in terms of the structure and cultural aspect. 

“No matter how much we try, we always show up late because we do not give a damn about time,” he said.

According to Dr. Thompson, lateness to events has been the order of the day in Ghana, with some chiefs, traditional rulers, religious leaders, government officials and politicians being the most prominent culprits.

“Our fondness for lateness reflects our underdevelopment, so if we intend to develop as a nation and improve the standard of living for our people, we must take such things into consideration and make sure this forms part of our long-term planning development,” Dr. Thompson stated.

He stressed the need to set good examples for coming generations to follow those footsteps and value time wherever they find themselves, and called for institutional reforms “to help manage our time well so we don’t fall back as a nation in terms of development”.

Emmanuel Fiabgenu of Gelis Communications, a multi-disciplinary communications company with passion for providing solutions said: “Our interest is to use communication as a tool to influence behavioural and attitudinal change in Ghanaian society”.

He said the issues of timekeeping and time-management are very critical, but however it is not a popular subject matter. 

“As a country we have spent time and resources to improve our systems, structures, facilities and many other critical areas of our lives. Time is an important resource that has to be managed efficiently. We must begin to regard GMT as Greenwich Mean Time and Not “Ghana-Man-Time,” he said.