Demand yours. Don’t block theirs

Something is fundamentally wrong with a politics that teaches people to resent development elsewhere instead of demanding development for themselves.

The debate over the proposed new Accra-Kumasi expressway is a perfect example.

The existing Accra-Kumasi road is in an extraordinarily bad state in several places. Demand that it be fixed. Shout about it. Hold government accountable. Ask why such an important national road has been allowed to deteriorate.

But how does that become an argument that another road should not be built?

The proposed expressway will not fly through the air from Accra and suddenly land in Kumasi. It will pass through Ghanaian communities. Communities where Ghanaians live, farm, trade, build businesses and raise families. New roads create access, investment, jobs, logistics opportunities and entirely new economic corridors.

Are those Ghanaians less entitled to development because somebody elsewhere has a bad road?

Of course we must discuss economics and common sense. Is the project affordable? Is the traffic sufficient? Is the financing sensible? Could the same money produce greater returns elsewhere?

Ask every difficult question.

But be careful when “economics” conveniently means somebody else's community must wait indefinitely.

Whose community should sacrifice its development to satisfy another community's economic logic?

We are all Ghanaians.

This mentality is precisely how scarcity becomes political warfare. A hospital in Region A becomes an insult to Region B. A university in one town becomes evidence of neglect somewhere else. A highway here becomes a reason to protest because another road there needs rehabilitation.

That is not development thinking. It is the politics of resentment.

Challenge waste. Challenge corruption. Challenge inflated contracts and foolish projects. But if a project is economically defensible, do not oppose it merely because your community needs something too.

Demand yours.

Demand it loudly.

But don't deny others theirs.

The mature political response to development elsewhere should increasingly be:

“Excellent. Now where is ours?”

Ghana will not develop by redistributing disappointment.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.