Weather of Arabia - In one of the messages issued from Africa, Elizabeth Ohene, a former minister and journalist from Ghana, provided an explanation on why looking at the clock in Ghana is considered useless. Elizabeth explained that she benefited from seeing Japanese Olympic Minister Yoshitaka Sakurada forced to publicly apologize for being three minutes late attending a parliamentary meeting. Through this scene, I wondered how many ministers in Ghana would be grateful to God that they are not Japanese?
Confirming Elizabeth Ohene's understanding, it is considered normal and acceptable for officials to arrive late in Ghana, in fact, it is not uncommon for them to be late.
In her experience as a former minister, Elizabeth said: “When I was Minister of State, it was common for me to arrive on time without finding anyone else who had already arrived.”
She continued, saying, "I and a number of ministers believed that the president's arrival on time might serve as a catalyst for changing this culture."
She added: "Given this, the president's team at that time put in place an ambitious program to arrive at appointments at public events. The scene the first time was full of excitement, as the president arrived at 9:30 in the morning, and there were senior officials and diplomats rushing to their seats while they were arriving late." The president was monitoring the situation."
Elizabeth continued: “The President’s team persistently tried to continue this program to show everyone that the President adheres to his appointments. Hence, this commitment of the President is reflected on everyone, but unfortunately, successes were not written for this experiment.”
“I used to feel very embarrassed for foreign diplomats in our country, as they had to wait for long periods of time for any event ceremony to begin, but later I found out that they themselves arrived late,” Elizabeth added.
Elizabeth explained this point by saying: "Maybe after spending some time in Ghana, the foreign diplomat begins to adjust and understand, as he accepts that nothing goes on schedule here."
She admitted that the presidential team abandoned the time commitment experiment after three attempts. This decision came under pressure from the protocol and security personnel, who insisted that the president should not go to a place that had not yet been prepared.
At his swearing-in ceremony, Ghana's current President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, lamented the prevailing culture of starting things too late. The President pledged to present himself as a model and commit to being on time. He made great efforts in this context and arrived on time many times. However, it appears that the president's behavior was not enough to convince people to change their attitudes toward the concept of time.
Elizabeth points out that meetings in Ghana scheduled for 11 a.m. are usually delayed between 45 minutes and a full hour.
The former minister points out that congested traffic in her country may be partly responsible for some of the delays, as it is difficult to determine the time it takes to reach a destination due to a person's inability to predict how congested the road will be. These circumstances are considered an acceptable excuse for delay.
Elizabeth adds, "The way from my home to my office might take 20 minutes, or maybe 40 minutes, or even an hour, and sometimes it might take an hour and 50 minutes."
But that does not justify some people arriving at four o'clock for a lunch appointment at 12:30, she adds.
She adds, saying that the host who invited you to lunch at 12:30 may start preparing the food at three, and perhaps you may be invited to dinner at seven and serve you food at nine in the evening.
Elizabeth points out that if a tailor promised to make her new dress in three weeks, she would consider herself lucky if she got it in three months.
The problem is not only limited to starting things on time, but also extending to ensuring that they are finished on time.
Elizabeth points to an example in a church, where he might attend a 9 a.m. mass, but the end time is not officially set. It could end at 11:30 a.m., afternoon, 1 p.m., or even 3 p.m., depending on Elizabeth's experience.
“It's best not to look at your watch on these occasions,” Elizabeth adds. “We simply don't keep time in Ghana.”
In conclusion, Ghanaians make fun of the lack of adherence to time, saying that Greenwich Mean Time could stand for “Ghana Maybe Time,” meaning “maybe Ghana Time.”
Source: websites
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