Freedom of Speech Endangered

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Mandatory French Studies: A Good Move but …

Efforts by the Government to make French studies compulsory for junior high school pupils is a pragmatic move. People who speak multiple languages have several advantages in a global environment, since they interact better with people from other cultures. Even in old age, the brain of the multi-tongued remains more alert than that of those who speak one language only. The fact that Ghana shares all four borders with French neighbours makes the move politically, socio-economically expedient, but the move should constitute part of the Nation’s Educational and Language Policies.

Indeed, the initiators must know that the smooth acquisition of a Third Language (L₃₎ will hinge a bit on a solid foundation of First Language (L₁) and Second Language (L₂). But the fact is that our educational system has completely botched the L₁ and L₂ policy over the past decades, which failure has impacted negatively on the entire learning system, culminating in mass mediocrity and underachievement. If we had handled the language policy successfully, French would not be an issue now. In fact, a smooth system existed during the O’ Level days, when students painlessly commenced learning French in secondary form one. At the time, some well-endowed basic schools introduced pupils to French.

It is rather bizarre that Ghana has handled language learning so abysmally, for even in the colonial days, the educational system advocated formative learning in the mother tongue (L₁). That remains a sound principle. Contemporary studies have proved that pupils who learn to read in the home language or mother tongue have better achievement scores in English. Based on that sound principle, a Ghanaian child is supposed to be taught in the L₁ from class one to three, while studying English as a subject. A switch is made in class four where English becomes the medium of expression and the L₁ becomes a subject. Of course, the parents play the primary role of ensconcing the infant in the mother tongue, even before birth.

Somehow, Ghanaians have managed to muddle that fundamental process of language acquisition such that many parents now introduce their infants to English rather than the mother tongue. Ironically, most of these parents do not even have a firm grasp of the language, so they only manage to speak bad English with their children. What is worse, some teachers in the primary classrooms are not proficient in any of the six local languages. In effect, such children are deprived of the rich first tongue which could endow them with a firm worldview, yet they can only gabble in English. Therefore, they neither have L₁ or L₂. A generation that hovers so precariously between L₁ and L₂ would be lost in the stream of L₃. So if we really want to succeed with French, we must smoothen the acquisition processes for L₁ and L_2. Yet, a more pressing reason remains.

Our utmost target as a nation should be achieving the primary objective of basic education: Laying the foundation for effective communication, critical thinking and innovative learning. The World Economic Forum report, New Vision for Education: Fostering Social and Emotional Learning through Technology, states that there is increase in expansion of schools and access to school, yet there is very little learning. Ghana is a glaring example. If one considers the number of subjects being studied by pupils and the enormous amount of time spent on teaching them, Ghana should be brimming with geniuses. Yet, increasingly, tertiary institutions are getting students who can barely read or write intelligible English and who barely comprehend text, let alone critically analyse issues. Even some degree holders struggle painfully with the English Language.

So the national target should be ensuring that quality teaching and learning actually occur in primary education, preparing learners for 21^st Century learning. To achieve that objective, basic schools must help pupils to acquire six Foundational Literacies, the Report emphasised: “Literacy, Numeracy, Scientific literacy, ICT literacy, Financial literacy, Cultural and civic literacy”. The good news is that, these are already targets of the primary curriculum; the bad news is that the targets continue to elude us, and adding French is not going to rectify the situation.

Ghanaian pupils are already bogged down with so many subjects; they virtually live in the classroom, judging by the time they spend attending classes and extra-classes, with increasing poor results. There is urgent need for a move that will propel us toward achieving the Foundational Literacies. The fact is that Ghana could strategize to achieve the six Literacies through five subjects: Language (mother tongue and English), Mathematics, Science, ICT, Civic and cultural studies. Of course, the Inspectorate Division must be made to perform its monitoring function to ensure that teaching and learning actually occur. Pupils ought to be given ample time to study, reflect and play creatively. Even pivotal is placing only professional teachers in the formative classrooms. Teacher commitment is crucial in nurturing children’s potential. The parent’s role must not be glossed.

If fundamental steps were taken to overhaul primary education in Ghana, as the White Paper for the 2007 Educational Reform recommended, pupils would be prepared intellectually, culturally and socially for L₃, and this could commence either in the junior or senior high school. In other words, adding French to the plethora of subjects currently on the basic school syllabus will be a bad move. If that initiative got implemented now, the only beneficiaries would be French authors and publishers who would sell French books, and French teachers who would organise extra French classes to extort money from overburdened parents.

The President and the Minister of Education ought to move cautiously with this compulsory French initiative. It is a laudable move for learners’ versatility and bilateral relations, but if it is not planned and executed meticulously, it would merely further replete scarce resources, disempower rather than empower learners. On the contrary, the move could be made so seamlessly if we strictly enforced the existing language policy, and actually prioritised language learning. If we took certain necessary steps before implementing this policy, we would be targeting quality learning and teaching. We would be targeting internalisation of the languages. We would actually strengthen formative learning, and motivate parents and teachers to develop proper appreciation for language and learning.

Goldenberg, a US researcher has asserted that school children whose language learning is not structured accurately end up as poor communicators, who tend to be underachievers, whom any nation can ill-afford. Recently, Ghanaians have witnessed how gravely poor communicators can cost the Nation. That embarrassment should help all to appreciate the importance of language in life, and it all begins from the formative years. A research desk must be created within the Language Section of the Curriculum Research & Development Division to track the performance of pupils, determine the reasons for poor performance and determine effective ways to rectify such. Most importantly, the Section must be excellently resourced in personnel. In short, language issues in education must be firmly guided by quality teaching, research and effective monitoring, not by political goodwill.

Where education is concerned, it is time we stopped placing the cart before the horse, because every time educational changes are based on political enthusiasm, generations lose rather than gain, the ultimate loser being the nation. There is opportunity to bring committed language experts together for holistic planning and execution. Professor Kwasi Yankah is already seconded to the Ministry of Education. The immediate past Minister of Education is passionate about teaching children in the mother tongue. Others in language classrooms share her passion. It is about time committed language teachers took a firm stand for quality language teaching/learning. We ought to revisit the language policy and hone it into a dynamic guide that would sustainably cater for language acquisition — and learning in general.

Yes, it is time the Nation acknowledged the pivotal role of language in learning. Every teacher in basic and secondary education be must be proficient in, at least, one local Language, so s/he can teach learners. Instead of making French studies compulsory for pupils, let us first revisit and enforce the Language Policy in order to streamline language learning. Only then can we strengthen the entire educational system for excellent human resource development.

Kudos to NIB Kumasi Main Branch

Please allow me to express my appreciation to the staff of the Kumasi Main Branch, National Investment bank, for an excellent service.

On February 24, 2017, I travelled to Kumasi, got into an emergency situation and had to seek the services of the Bank. The service I needed had to be approved from the main Branch in Accra; the Bank closes at 4:30 pm. I walked into the Manager’s office at 4:05pm and explained my situation. He was as empathetic as he was professional.

Whilst I filled the necessary application form, the Manager called the Officer in charge of the service, who had stepped out of his office, and then spoke to the section which would approve the application in the main office in Accra. The application was processed promptly. By 4:25pm, the Manager informed me that the application had been approved by Accra. In the end, I got the service I wanted at 4: 45pm.

The Branch lived up to its motto and made my business their business on that Friday, and I am so grateful. At a time in Ghana when public service is usually offered apathetically, it was so refreshing to observe such enthusiasm and professionalism among the staff.

Kudos to a very proactive Branch!

Ghana@60: A Time for Reflection

I was happy that I caught the unveiling ceremony of the Ghana@60 logo on Ghana Television. The President asked questions that offered food for thought. In apparent reference to my insinuation that we have no reason for celebrating, he asserted that we do have reasons for a celebration. His other question greatly interests me: “Do we have reasons for reflection? My answer is, Oh yes! We have numerous issues and reasons for reflection.

I have been telling friends that the President currently enjoys so much goodwill among the populace that if he went round collecting arms to set up the industries he has promised Ghanaians, he would receive funds in overabundance. Even the beggars would give to him. The President is apparently aware of that. Therefore capitalizing on that goodwill, he has implored corporate bodies to fund the celebration, the estimated cost of which is about GH¢ 20 million. There is nothing like astuteness in a leader.

I observed keenly the foreigners who represented corporate bodies among the guests. I saw some Orientals, but I did not see any Chinese. If some were present, I missed them. I do not know how to react to the fact that some Chinese companies might be helping us to celebrate independence when they are currently among the worst culprits of slavery in this country. One should travel along, parts of the Ashanti and Western Regions and witness the devastation they have wreaked on our land. Thanks to them, we are losing forests and farm lands, and the worst of all, our water bodies at an alarming rate. Yes, some Chinese have enslaved the land and deprived us of livelihood. Of course, we have the most delinquent of Ghanaians conniving with unscrupulous foreigners to destroy our land, our root, the nexus of our stability and identity, for gold and other natural resources. If such vandal Chinese groups become benefactors during our independence celebration, how much will they contribute in order to compensate for the irreparable harm they are causing us?

That horrible reality has planted me on an uneasy path of deep reflection, which is what the President wants us to do. My reflection has yielded some daring, innovate ideas. Majority of Ghanaians wouldn’t dare to consider my suggestions, but I know that the President has guts and is also wary of this Ghana-Chinese menace, hence, my recommendations:

1.   Through an Executive Decree, halt all Chinese galamsey operations IMMEDIATELY.
2.     No Chinese galamsey operators should contribute towards the March 6 celebration.
3.     Rather, all such Groups should be taxed US $ 3 billion to repair the lands they have ravaged (if that doesn’t suffice, they should be taxed more).
4.    Henceforth, make such wanton degradation of land for gold a treasonable offence. (What would happen to a Ghanaian who dared to attempt such activity in China?
5.  Offenders should be given the highest penalty, according to the Constitution, with no chances of pardon by any government of the day.

I don’t have any qualms at all about my suggestions, especially, the amount, because the equipment alone being used for these nefarious activities offer strong proof that it is a booming trade. Besides, it is penalty for wanton destruction of resources. Oh, if these wicked ones could be stopped by 12.am on March 6, 2017, what a celebration there would be?

 I have been wondering whether the communication service providers would be among the benefactors and how much they offer, considering that they are also robbing Ghanaians in broad daylight. These companies move into Ghana and offer despicable services they would never dare in their own countries. Instead of communication services, subscribers get jammed lines and lies. Currently, communication service providers are better at diverting services. They offer everything from insurance to mobile money; then they sell phones. This is the only country I know where corporate bodies shirk their primary corporate responsibilities with glee and get praised for honouring their social responsibilities.

I have not the slightest doubt that some communication service providers will offer sponsorship, but in reality, that would be fraudulent. They rob us of communication services and sponsor our independence celebration? In October 2016, I paid my subscription fee through Tigo and was sent a Tigo transmission ID. DSTV never received the amount, so I had to pay double. Now, Tigo does not have a record of the transmission. That is how ordinary Ghanaians are being ripped off by these service providers.  Yet, the issue goes way beyond value for money. Those corporations are equally guilty of environmental neglect, aided by the National Communications Authority.

Which of the communication service providers currently operates an e- recycling programme to protect the environment? They bring in all kinds of mobile and other communication gadgets yet have no system for the safe management of the resultant e-waste. In an ideal situation, the Ghana Standards Board and the National Communication Authority will licence a communication service provider only upon evidence that the would-be provider has an operable e-waste management programme.

In fact, the two agencies ought to have ensured by now that all communication service providers operate obligatory e-recycling programmes. The National Media Commission has not helped either. Not too long ago, BBC featured an e-recycling facility in Ireland, exploring its positive impact. It juxtaposed that with the bogus system at the Agbobloshie Market in Accra, where young men rip old computers and other e-gadgets with bare hands, apparently oblivious of their exposure to radioactive materials. During the ministerial vetting process, I thought it was cynical of the immediate outgone Minister of Communication, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, to ask Professor Frimpong-Boateng about e-recycling. Why did his Ministry not implement e-recycling during his tenure, knowing that scrap dealers were exploiting the youth. His statement that plans are underway for e-recycling was really a non-starter. Ghana has specialised in planning, not implementing.

So this is my suggestion to the President: All communication service providers in the country must submit their e-recycling programmes and effect implementation IMMEDIATELY. All can contact the Ireland facility for collaboration; they do not have to re-invent the wheel. It really upsets me that consumers are advised to recycle e-products, yet we cannot, because we have no safe e-recycling programme in the country. If on March 6, as part of his address, the President informed the Nation about operational e-waste facilities across the country, as designated by the communication service providers, what a milestone in waste management that would be!

About six years ago, I asked an employee of Guinness Ghana Limited whether the Company recycled cans. He answered no. I gathered that the Company imports canned Guinness yet does not recycle cans. I am yet to be informed if Coca Cola recycles cans and plastic in the country. Elsewhere, these companies have major recycling programmes of bottles and cans. Why do they not do same in Ghana? Because this is the place where rules are trampled upon, and human interests are sacrificed for money. Government should task these companies into starting recycling programmes for cans. Every entity which manufactures or imports canned and plastic products into the country should start an obligatory respective recycling programmes IMMEDIATELY. That would be a huge boost for sanitation in the country. If the President should announce on March 6, a commencement of can and plastic recycling programmes by all the companies that deal in such products, what a celebration there would be!

This country sacrifices human interests, quality and dignified existence for expensive vehicles. A minister can dip his hand deeply into a major road construction fund in order to purchase a luxurious vehicle for his office. We purchase Land Cruisers in fleet. That has been the bane of Ghana. Funds meant for national development projects are used to purchase vehicles, and the people suffer. Currently, there is a wrangle between the ruling party and the opposition about 200 missing official vehicles. The opposition insists it’s a ruse by the ruling party to purchase more vehicles. It’s about time we invested in human beings, especially, our children. The President would really make our day if he announced on March 6 that the State will not purchase vehicles in the next four years.

Well, this is how far my reflection has brought me; some worrying images I have presented, but that is Ghana’s reality. Hopefully, the situations change and we become care-takers of nation and environment, not destroyers.  Oh yes, we do have reasons for reflection, which should yield remorse for neglect or wrong actions, then motivate conscientious ones to take firm steps for reparation. If such noble implementation characterised Ghana@60 celebration, it would indeed be a dignified celebration!

SICLife, be Business-Minded

 On Tuesday, January 10, 2017, I filled a form for a partial withdrawal from my investment. I was told to pick a cheque in a week. On Tuesday, January 17, 2017, I went to the office at about 2pm. It took two female officers about ten minutes to locate the half-processed voucher. The officer who was supposed to complete it had gone on break, so I was told to wait. He returned to the office a little after 3pm. At about 3:15pm, he called me to verify information. After I had answered his questions, I told him that my cheque should have been ready by that afternoon, and that after a week’s wait, I should not have had to leave my work for over an hour, waiting for them to process my application.

One can understand the one-week waiting period since the Branch probably has numerous clients. However, whatever processes are entailed in the services ought to be completed by the seventh day. SICLife has set the timeline; they must have weighed all factors before settling on the time. The fact is that in the highly competitive insurance sector, the 7-day processing time is too long. So to worsen the delay by making clients queue on the seventh day for documents or services, the agency is further squandering its business goodwill.

SICLife deals with workers; making such clients wait unduly for service is counterproductive. When I went to pick the form a week earlier, I spent over an hour in the office. Instead of filling forms for clients, the officers could limit that service to illiterate ones. The literate can fill their own forms, ask for guidelines when and where necessary. One cannot downplay in any way the work of SICLife. Yet, offering essential services must not be a licence for avoidable delays. The Branch must respect its own timelines. 

A National Critical Thinking Programme: For Real Change

I have been told by friends that the change through the election outcome has positive implications for all facets of Ghanaian endeavours. Whether they stated that in jest or in seriousness, I have not yet fathomed. I am not very old, but I know that change, conditioned upon critical perspective and positive actions only, yields real difference. Therefore, a mere change in government does not mean there will be real changes for improvement in the state, unless change is actually targeted.

However, the contemporary Ghanaian society has been subjected to so much disregard for hard work, order and discipline that one wonders how it can manage the intellectual adjustment critical for the hoped for change. That goes beyond exchanging one political party for another, or making certain drastic moves in national structures. It is about mobilizing a citizenry conscientious enough to place humanity first. If leadership and followers would be motivated by community interests rather than selfish gains, if the residents would work for long-term benefits rather than for immediate stomach needs, if we collectively grasped that the deliberate errors against the nation and environment we commit today would confront us in our old age and continue for centuries after we have left this world, we would actually pursue diligence, honesty, justice, frugality, patience, environmental protection, sustainable development, to name eight agencies that can dictate positive change.

I am often labelled an idealist, but even I never delude myself into believing that there is perfection in this world. I only insist that we all refrain from compromising the principles that constitute the moral fibre of our society. And that we can do. If we did that, the magnitude of our errors would not be so overwhelming as to submerge our entire society in the quagmire of primitive behaviour, as it pertains in the current lawless environment. To inch our way out of the quagmire, we need a national critical thinking programme.

We do not have – nor desire – perfect people in this country, but we have brave personalities – analytical professionals, objective in outlook, appreciably disciplined personalities – who can spearhead such a programme to the most desirable levels. Handlers of that programme should be among those pillars of personalities who work assiduously to nurture human potential for the nation. They should not only be intelligent elders, but they should have that refreshing ability to wield a double-edged sword with which they constructively critique, compliment, correct and recommend all agencies for good works. I know Ghanaians who fit that bill to perfection.

Let me reiterate that a national critical thinking programme would not need to feature perfect individuals. Rather, it would need personalities who have led exemplary lives. Those who practice what they preach. They can admit that they are wrong and make amends. They empathise. They fear God, believe in and respect fellow human beings. Above all, they are impartial, human focused, community-oriented. In other words, we still have conscientious ones among us, even if they constitute a minority. Due to that minority, this nation has not completely sunk into an abyss of utter decadence. Let me explain a bit.

The week after elections, I listened to a radio programme on campaign promises and what possibly motivated Ghanaians to vote the way they did. When the point about tax cuts was raised, one of the panellists, a popular journalist, a political activist, or may be a sycophant, a member of a pressure group and a host of a talk show declared nonchalantly that the elected party promised tax cuts, so we are waiting to see how they would achieve that feat. Another panellist from the ruling party took a similar stand. In other words, they are not involved; it’s the others’ duty.

More often than not, the average Ghanaian attitude towards issues pertaining to the nation is not based on rational assessment or long-term societal benefits. Rather, it is determined by a person’s religious, cultural, socio-political affiliations, to mention these. Religion and politics have blinded the ordinary Ghanaian so much that horrible atrocities are swept under the carpet by misplaced kindness. Complicity is the order of the day.

I have been taught that societal structures are established per operational rules and regulations in order that society can function. Residents make the rules and regulations operational so that normalcy can reign. Following that logic, our national dilemma begins where such rules are flouted with impunity, mostly, by the very agencies that ought to ensure the implementation of the regulations. For example, students do not want to study, yet they want top marks. What is worse, unscrupulous teachers are willing to dash marks in order to pacify such misguided students.   

Our work force has become a jungle where primitive behaviour – sheer aggression, tardiness, waste and cheating are endorsed by key personalities, and emulated by the young. Those who have oversight responsibilities are terrified of rewarding good performance and penalising wrong doing. In fact, quite often those who do the right thing become pariah, but individuals and groups who indulge in great misdeeds are respected. Such conduct has permeated the whole society, so the nation has become a jungle.

Sycophancy has completely besieged our society, so non-performing officers are honourable personalities. Instead of serving the masses, leaders are rather worshipped. The latter cannot be wrong. Regardless of their actions or inactions, they will be fanatically supported by a cross-section of society. I am not implying that Ghanaians have monopolised sycophancy; I am stressing that we have deliberately encouraged such outrageous behaviour to the most nauseous levels. And it all boils down to sating immediate needs, while utterly sacrificing future benefits.

Through the current misdeeds of the average citizenry, we are collectively negating our very humanity. Intelligent human beings do things to benefit themselves, yet we are engaging in works that harm us and our environment. We waste or divert resources and heighten hunger, poverty and diseases in the country. We bypass regulations and destroy the environment. We flout rules and endanger lives, only to turn and blame others. Amidst such a perfidious environment, we are hoping for a change, from one person.

A national critical thinking programme can heighten awareness of the destructive path we have been treading. It would sensitize residents to the treachery we stand to reap. It would showcase good works and demonstrate how such can be replicated. Yes, let us sound the strongest alarm that we are the only collective agents that can turn things in the right direction. Indeed, we cannot change every Ghanaian, but we can motivate the misled to turn to good works. I am initiating this programme. Collaborators?

Technology in Polls & National Identification

I wrote that technology would not win the 2016 elections, but wisdom and intelligence would. That presupposed that the human intelligence behind technology makes the difference. The stories explaining how the side that won the election utilised Information Communication Technology (ICT) on December 7, 2016 are simply fascinating. I like to get my facts right before I spread information, so I have been gathering bits and pieces of information from all angles, not just from party-faithful. The communication network set up by the victorious party was so tight, so well inter-connected, sofast and accurate that by 11pm that evening, they knew they had won, were sure enough of their position to announce at 2am on December 8, 2016 that they had won the election. I missed that announcement, because I never lose sleep over vote counting. I look for the results the following morning, from the very media I don’t trust, ha! The media is a destroyer cum benefactor. So I a very detached follower of politics, but I am digressing.

Guess what. In spite of the opponents’ anger and labelling of the announcement as premature and irresponsible, the figures didn’t change much till the Commissioner announced the results endorsing the premature announcement. Yes, the results trickled in even past the required 72 hours for declaring outcome, but the decisive electoral results were secured within six hours of vote counting. I remember that in 2008 when this victorious side lost, and it played the same game, trying to restrain the then Commissioner from declaring the results, because they had not received the full complement of the votes, the latter countered that considering the bulk results that had been received, and the difference in the percentage of votes by each side, even if the complaining side won the rest of the yet to be received votes, they would never cover the gap, based upon which logic, he declared the ruling party victorious. Politicians have such selective memory!

In an age when electronic communication can be delivered across the globe in nanoseconds, with appreciable security and precision, why will a political group not utilise that channel for effective, and authentic communication. We live in fascinating times indeed. If Mr. Barow of the Gambia had anticipated Mr. Yaya Jammeh’s unsavoury old trick, he might have aligned himself with the technology-savvy team used by the elected party in Ghana.

For six hours between 5pm December 7 and 2am December 8, Ghana was located in the 21^st Century, through ICT. In 2009, an IBM group from the US was engaged by my Institution, to computerise our system. Whilst working with them to formulate a curriculum, they told me that we were 20 years behind the US in ICT. I would even take us farther back to the Eighteenth Century.  Let me substantiate that.

I have had five different biometric registrations since 2012, in this country, by agencies owned by one employer – Ghana Government. The Electoral Commission (EC) changed from manual to biometric. I was under the impression that it would release the results for the other government agencies, as done elsewhere. So imagine my surprise when the Controller and Accountant General Department showed up months later to biometrically register government employees. I asked one officer why they didn’t contact the EC for the data. I don’t remember the response.

However, just before the elections when the EC opened the voter’s register for the voter confirmation exercise, I asked a female officer why they did not release the information into a national database for utilisation by other government agencies. She told me that if any of the agencies requested, they would release the data. I countered that communities elsewhere cut cost through biometric registration, because the EC would feed other agencies with such data. But there is more.

The Driving & Licensing Authority (DVLA) also changed its system, so I did another registration in 2014 for a driver’s licence. When I had to renew my passport in 2015, I underwent a biometric registration by the Ghana Immigration Service. Sometime this year, The Social Security and National Insurance Trust announced that it had started registering contributors biometrically. We all had to undergo physical registration for the process. In all the instances, fingerprints and all the hocus-pocus of the biometric process were repeated. What a system.

My national health insurance has expired and the system has also gone biometric, so another registration awaits me. Meanwhile, the gallant policemen who are ever present on our roads are firmly stuck in the manual operation mode. Last year, when I was travelling to the Ashanti Region, I was stopped for over speeding. They asked for my license, which they were going to keep to ensure that I appeared in court. I asked them why they would send me to court for over speeding instead of giving me a ticket. They laughed. I also asked them why they needed to keep my licence, because I was on their database, they have a forensic laboratory, so tracing me should pose no problem for them. They smirked and shrugged that they knew not about any forensic lab. How strange! When the lab was opened, it was featured in primetime news on national TV. That is Ghana for you, as my students often tell me. Amidst such bizarre implementation of technology, a political party summoned a team that actually utilised technology.

I have a plea for the elected party. Let this same team complete the national identification programme started in 2008 and abandoned due to change of government. It doesn’t have invent the wheel. It simply has to pull data from all the fragmented government databases. Getting people in the public sector would be quite easy, since they are paid through the same agencies. Through the DVLA and the National Health Scheme and EC, about 70-80 % of the private sector could be captured. I am sure that the team could be innovative about capturing those who would be floating elements.

I am pleading that the IT team be used because if it were left to any local agency, it would allocate a contract to a business entity, so that the awarding agency can get a 5 or 10 % cut, as they have it in local parlance, and they wouldn’t even do a clean job. Please, New Government, move this country forward through a national identification system, which would also be a solid foundation for an authentic national intelligence system, for better social services. Using the IT team would be a frugal way to establish a costly national legacy.

Make National Identification a national priority, please!