Portrait Of A ‘Doer’ – Why Bawumia Scolding A ‘Lazy’ Agenda 111 Contractor In Paga Matters

The greatest humans who ever lived tend to be perfectionists, incredibly driven people who never settle for anything less than the very best.

Ordinary people make no histories. To live on through eternity, one has to be extraordinary, for therein lies the path to greatness.

For a country used to the ordinary, even the mediocre, demanding perfection tends to be looked upon unfavourably, and might even gain you a negative reputation.

Yet, that is exactly what we need, for Ghana is stuck in a rut caused by decades upon decades of mediocrity normalised amongst the citizenry and leadership in equal measure.

In one telling moment during a recent tour of the Upper East Region, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia demonstrated why he remains different amongst all the crop of politicians the country has to offer.

Unsatisfactory Progress

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia took a recalcitrant contractor to task in Paga in the Kassena- Nankana West District over the slow pace of work of a newly planned hospital in the area being constructed as part of the government’s Agenda 111 project.

During a trip to inspect work done on the site, the Vice President was dissatisfied with the pace of work and made it known in his remarks, mincing no words.

“I am very concerned that this project is not moving at the pace it should be moving, and we have to say that, as it is. I wish I could say that I was happy with the progress,” The Vice President emphatically said.

“The progress is not satisfactory, and I have said that to the Consultant who has briefed me, and he said the same, that it is not satisfactory. We need to be making more progress than this, so we are going to encourage the Contractor to really get on, and get this thing back on schedule because we are behind schedule,” he added.

The Vice President’s fury comes as the project crawls along at a snail’s pace since the sod was cut on the construction in February 2022.

Bawumia appeared as a last resort for people in the area, who had complained over the slow pace of work to no avail. The Vice President took care to set things right and get the project back on track.

Demanding Perfection

Ghana’s Vice President is a known impeccable public speaker. A great storyteller from the podium, Bawumia can easily be mistaken for just a smooth talker.

But what he has demonstrated through decades of his private and public career is that he is relentlessly proficient at getting things done as well.

On multiple occasions, Bawumia has envisioned a project which has been seamlessly implemented to the benefit of the nation, whether it is the GHIPPS project at the Bank of Ghana or more recently, taking Ghana digital.

In each case, the scale of the project seemed insurmountable but Bawumia remains relentlessly on any task he undertakes until it is completed.

Associates of the Veep describe a man who is driven to the extreme and once he wants something done, leaves no stone unturned in getting it done.

Ever a gracious man, the Vice President is notwithstanding not averse to levying praise when the right thing is done, as he did at a similar Agenda 111 Project in the Northern Region which was actually on track.

“I am very happy with the pace of work so far; I never knew the contractors had gone this far.” he said after inspecting work on Agenda 111 constructions in the Northern Region.

Politicians like Bawumia deserve to be hailed and celebrated. Only by committing to perfection at all times, can we achieve excellence most of the time.

Bawumia demonstrated his intolerance for mediocrity to the contractor in Paga and it is a worthwhile moment. 

It might seem simple enough, but if we all commit to such a mindset, Ghana will not be in the state it is currently in!

This article first appeared on theGhanaianVoice.Com