I need to rant.
I just got to read a copy of the Service Agreement between MOH and Zipline, minus the schedules and all-important Schedule 2. I will nitpick some more later.
But I’m miffed. This is just an agreement to provide another means of transporting emergency, ‘dronable’ medical supplies to all health facilities around the country. It could even be to a hospital.
So why was the Agreement not put out to the public right from get-go?
I believe that the government deserves EVERY criticism, especially the unfair, that it has been receiving. Why? We still have a culture that assumes that the Ghanaian is so idiotic that we can’t process information. Somehow we ought to be protected from information because it’s dangerous to our health. So by default, they give us what they think our puny brains can process.
That disrespects us. Then we are left to speaking and arguing, uninformed. Ghana paid, at least in part, for us to go to school all the way to uni. What we have in our heads was paid for by Ghana. We owe it to Ghana to apply that in analyzing matters that come up. When you deny us of information, you deny us of the basic oxygen that we need to contribute meaningfully to such issues. And you aren’t smarter than us simply because you are in a position of authority.
Why didn’t you simply put out the Agreement to the public as soon as you laid it? Don’t even try that “confidentiality clause” excuse. PDF it. Disseminate through social media. SimpleS. We will read. We will talk.
Government, you may be wrong on this deal. If you are, we need to tell you so that whatever deal you are planning to do may be aborted early and quickly, with the least pain. But you may be right. If you are, the debate and analysis will only make you and the deal stronger.
You see, the near-comical reluctance to pass the RTI Bill is a reflection of this sick attitude; and the ultimate loser is the government.
PS. Respect my right to typos.
Source: Ace Ankomah
