Page 98 - Afrika Must Unite

OUR GHANAIAN CONSTITUTION 83
metaphor, it is in some ways the work of Sisyphus, except that
instead of a stone our task is to roll a whole people uphill. There
are some jobs in the world that can be best done by a com­
mittee, others need a m anaging director.
I will not hide the fact that I am im patient when it comes to
building Ghana. We have to get on with the job resolutely. Each
minister must regard himself as a managing director and get his
particular job done in the allotted time, and properly done. He
must know that inexplicable failure can result in his giving
place to another to prove his capacities. Real difficulties lead­
ing to legitimate delay always receive understanding considera­
tion. But the driving urge to succeed must permeate every branch
of government, stemming from the ministerial fountain-head,
who must combine a high sense of responsibility with a high
sense of urgency. Each minister must show himself an example
to the people by his devotion to his work, by simple living, by
leading in service. Ghana faces immense difficulties in her tasks
of reconstruction. It is by no means a simple business to raise
educational levels, to train skilled workers and to im part a sense
of responsibility speedily, especially in circumstances of restricted
availability of local qualified personnel and m aterial resources.
Nevertheless, there is m uch that can be done quickly if everyone
puts every ounce of ability and strength into the building of the
nation. It is a prime task of leadership in G hana to make the
people aware of the compelling need to put forth their most
intense effort on behalf of the progress of the country and of
themselves.
W ithin a society poising itself for the leap from pre-industrial
retardation to modern development, there are traditional forces
that can impede progress. Some of these must be firmly cut at
their roots, others can be retained and adapted to the changing
need. The place of chiefs is so interwoven with Ghanaian society
that their forcible eradication would tear gaps in the social
fabric which might prove as painful as the retention of other
more unadaptable traditions. The constitution takes careful
account of these factors, and the Declaration of Fundam ental
Principles states that £the office of Chiefs in Ghana, as existing
by customary law and usage, should be guaranteed’. I am fully
aware of the body of opinion that regards chieftaincy as an