The paradigm shifts Ghana needs to enable it thrive in its developmental agenda has been summarized in five points by Bernard Avle, Host of the Citi Breakfast Show.
At his maiden public lecture on the theme ‘Rethinking the National Conversation’ at the Swiss Spirit Hotel & Alisa Hotel on Tuesday evening, the 2017 Journalist of the Year provided the pointers to policy makers as a means of improving our ‘national psyche’.
[contextly_sidebar id=”kpprVgn1ELp3r4yZwJYp57D7QaxzbhH2″] This is obviously not the first time Bernard is contributing to national discourse in Ghana.
He has received consistent acclaim for his works, and emerged as a key influencer of public opinion.
The event, which was organized in conjunction of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), brought together citizens who are passionate about working to make Ghana a better place to live.
Here are Bernard Avle’s five shifts required to push Ghana forward:
- A shift from electoral politics to developmental politics
Bernard believes, the real developmental challenges of this country are too important to be made the subject of political football.
He said the predominant focus has been on electoral politics, hence the need for us to move to developmental politics.
While we hold on to the ballots, lets shift our focus from votes to visions, from winning the next election to securing the next generation, let’s move from a comparison of records to a refinement of ideas, lets transition from winning the argument to winning the fight against ignorance, poverty and disease, he stated.
- A shift from knowledge to insight
It is the view of Bernard that, we better appreciate the role of the citizen and duty bearers in this nation-building project.
According to him, the citizenry must begin to highlight the role and responsibilities of the various state actors in delivering development.
He added that if education is what remains after all that is learnt is forgotten; then we must be committed to continuous learning.
- A shift from top down to bottom up
Bernard gets disappointed each time journalists cover a news event and think the only quotable person is the politician on the platform. He therefore thinks, news must not only be top down, but must increasingly become bottom up.
The elected and unelected bureaucrats have had their say long enough. He urged journalists to go the market places, the lorry station and the farms and hear from those who are affected by the economic realities of our time.
Journalists must therefore be comprehensive and detailed in our stories, accurate and balanced in our reporting, cogent and convincing in our analysis, and rigorous and unrelenting in our questioning, but also bottom up in our focus, he advised.
- A shift from anecdotal evidence to accurate measurement
Bernard stated that measurement and precision must be at the heart of our national discourse. The country for instance should know about basic statistics such as -How many people are getting access to good health care? How long does it take the average citizen to get treatment at a hospital? and even how much time does one have to spend at the passport office to secure a passport?
Being in data-driven era, we must understand data and how numbers work, because the era of asserting without proof and describing without precision is over, he initimated.
Our national conversations must be driven by cold hard facts and numbers-not sentimental wishy-washy hot air.
- Balancing reality and hope
We need a new narrative on Ghana, yes we must highlight the problems but also show the success stories, give a voice to the voiceless and walk the tight balance between reminding our leaders of the big problems we face without failing to give hope to the many who listen and read us daily for inspiration, Bernard said.
This is an important balance we must find if we are to drag this nation to its desired destiny.
He mentioned that, as a people we too often confuse presence for performance and conflate showing up with stepping up. This has to change. If our national project were a funeral, all you would have needed to do was to show up, but alas, Ghana is much more than that.
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By: Nii Larte Lartey | citinewsroom.com | Ghana
