Driving Ms.Mona

So I finally found the inspiration for my next post (this very one) 3 days ago as I drove to work. Right in front of my work building was a garbage truck blocking the entrance to the parking lot. About to throw a how-could-you look to the driver of the truck, I turned to look up only to see a familiar face. The garbage truck driver turned out to be the very same driver that used to drive me and my siblings to school. As far back as primary school. More than 10 years ago. We instantly exchanged pleasantries and a bit of pep-talk. Curious as to why he was now driving a garbage truck, he replied saying his kids are all grown up and in high school now. Something’s gotta pay the bills.

Back at my desk at work, I keep replaying our pep-talk and lots of questions running in my mind. The most pressing of them being: After all these years of driving, why is he now driving a garbage truck? I know he gave me a reason but my worry is deeper than just paying bills.

My driver, Kwesi’s story is probably typical for most hand-to-mouth living Ghanaians and others all over the world. Do our economy not present opportunities for folks to break out of such vicious cycle of poverty? In particular citizens with more technical and ‘less formal’ education. I don’t exactly know the situation in other developing countries but in Ghana, formal education and a degree certification is almost a necessity for success, But should that be the case? What then happens to the hardworking Kwesis out there who for various circumstantial reasons end up learning an essential trade? Is that a passport to eternal hand-to-mouth living? No wonder Kwesi is doing all he can to make sure his kids get a formal education. Woe to them to follow in his footsteps.

In my opinion…

All too often in our quest as a country for growth and to be categorized a ‘developed’ country, we lose sight of that which matters most. The wellbeing of the very ones we govern. The road to alleviating poverty is a long and daunting one. We Know. But in the interim, we really need to create opportunities for individual success. Educated or ‘not-Educated’ / Driver or Student. There is the need for micro-level policies to help break intergenerational poverty, you know that poverty that just keeps passing on from one generation to the other. We need a situation where every skill, technical or intellectual, can be aptly tapped into to further our development.

Giving that in most developing countries, our man power or labor is made up of mostly ‘un-skilled’ labor (I’ve always disliked this word since my high school economics class), it is rather ironic that our policies, from education to employment, seem to lay emphasis on the ‘skilled’ minority. For instance, in Ghana, poor small-scale farmers produce about 80% of the food we consume and contribute 60% of agric GDP yet receive only about 15% of government agriculture investment.

All I’m saying is, whilst on our quest to becoming a ‘rich’ nation it is equally important to create that space to engage and develop our best assets i.e the citizens.  We are mostly all we have and we best make use of us (citizens).