It is almost inevitable that the forth coming national awards programme will be engulfed in a political controversy but that will not be the case if the government had not released the menu for the gala evening.

Somehow some NDC kingpins would find a reason to pronounce themselves annoyed with the choice of wine or chicken instead of beef and beer. But even so, this particular programme was too tempting to a restless opposition in search of causes to lampoon and oppose.

The Tsatsu Tsikata case provided a beautiful coat hanger for some to drape their angst around while others found causes in the list of awardees, timing or even the idea of receiving an award from President Kufuor. After all, as the popular refrain goes, this is an election year, and the implication thereof is that everything ought to be politicised with no regard to rhyme or reason.

The expected rejections came fast and thick; actually I could not imagine former President J. J. Rawlings going to receive an award from President Kufuor in the absence of some foreign dignitary he cannot afford to offend. Once the Rawlings rejection came, it did not take long for rumours of others walking in his wake to start flying. Rejecting awards is a long standing tradition of political protest.

However, other people have voiced non-political criticisms about the awards, especially about the fact that the earlier imbroglio arising from Professor John Atta Mills being on the first list, has devalued the gravitas and essence of the awards. Some take issue with the calibre of some of the people on the list and the fact that it appears to be based on no discernible criteria apart from the obvious one, which is to catch the President's eye by being loud, famous or popular.

Another worry voiced by pundits is the number of people on the honour list. This is a debatable point. There are many different types of national awards systems; some only recognise a small number of top-notch performers in broad categories such as science, industry, culture, etc. while some go for the broad sweep approach and recognise services to every mundane endeavour including rubbish collection and goat-keeping, among others. I think the Kufuor government has gone for the latter approach and those on the list, political protesters, perhaps believe they have earned their awards.

I am worried about the fact that the President has created a new category of awards to be at the very top of the honours echelon by a single stroke of the pen. As the announcements of the award's creation said, the President acted within powers granted him by the Constitution, but the fact that the President is allowed to do something does not mean he is right to do so.

Let me ask a very simple question: what will happen to the national honours system if every president chooses to create another level of awards to top the ladder? This is a legitimate question and one that must worry us because the right to create awards will not end with President Kufuor and all presidents coming after him may be tempted to find an EXPEDIENT reason to create new awards as has been the obvious case with the current situation.

If that happens, the awards system, already gravely devalued in the eyes of some people, will be completely destroyed. Even before Ghana became independent, there was an honours system operated from Britain as part of the colonial and commonwealth system. People deemed to have provided meritorious service to the Empire, communities or people were duly recognised and some were elevated into knighthoods.

At independence a new system was instituted based on Ghana's own values and symbols. This system has served this country very well in the years and there has been no suggestion that it was deficient in any way. The Americans say that “you don't need to fix it if it ain't broke."

It is obvious that the President created this new tier of award not because there was any need for it but as a fix for a political problem that was created by the Castle. The problem started with the first announcement in late May of the forthcoming national award with the revelation of an award to Prof. Mills.

This sparked a furore in the ranks of the ruling NPP. A few days later a new announcement, signed by the Chief of Staff and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Mr Kwadwo Mpiani countermanded the earlier announcement which had been signed by Presidential Press Secretary and Spokesman, Mr Andrew Awuni.

In the ensuing back and forth, especially on radio, it was suggested that the awards ceremony would be postponed to January when the general elections would be out of the way. There was a collective sigh of relief at what would have been a sensible balm to a self-inflicted wound by the government. But the government rubbed more salt in its own sore by denying that practical solution, which sparked a new round of rumours.

The initial list hinted at 158 or so people, which was a manageable figure compared to the nearly 250 on the current list. The addition of nearly 100 people to the list suggests that Mr Kufuor's advisors probably had a torrid time juggling numbers in order to satisfy the different interests.

The changing and chopping of the list has not been helpful and could have strained the relations between many of the people on the list and the government even if smiles would be maintained in public. Some of the personalities on the original top level on the list have now been downgraded to the second tier when others have slipped down the ladder still.

Another contentious point is President Kufuor giving himself an award. I am on the side of those who think that the President's gesture is ridiculous. He could have softened the impact of this controversial new award if he was not a recipient but now that he has awarded it to himself it looks diminished and tainted by the smell of self-interest.

In all of this the main lesson we have to learn is that if we want the honours system to reflect our values and unify the country based on notions of public service and excellence then it must be insulated from the effects of political pressure. The best way to do this is to create a permanent awards structure that will work with various professional groups and interested parties to select worthy candidates for the awards.

If we don't do this the awards will continue to be devalued as the perception of politics takes root. Many of the people on this year's list deserve their awards but sadly there are others whose names on the list can only provoke wonderment and silent laughter. They, like most people in this country, have done their conscientious best, but they have not done much to distinguish them from other people in their profession or sphere of life. However, I am sure they all feel they have earned it. Why not?


Author: Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng
Email: gapenteng@hotmail.com

Source: Diary/The Mirror