Lateness During National Events: A Cultural Norm or a Bad Habit?

Ghana, our homeland, is a nation blessed with abundant resources and a vibrant, talented youth eager for development. Yet, one issue that plagues our progress is our collective disregard for punctuality, especially when it comes to attending national events or other important programs.

In many parts of the world, punctuality is synonymous with organization and productivity. However, in Ghana, lateness has become so ingrained in our culture that it is often excused with reasons like “traffic jam,” “rainfall,” or “lack of vehicular transport.” During a personal study I conducted across various institutions, I observed a recurring pattern: key speakers or participants at national events often arrive late. Organizers, instead of holding them accountable, typically offer excuses on their behalf, and everyone accepts it as the norm.

Politicians, who are notorious for their tardiness, frequently arrive late to events despite having police motorcades to bypass traffic. An event scheduled to start at 9:00 a.m. and end at 2:00 p.m. might not commence until 10:30 a.m., dragging on until 4:00 p.m. These politicians often find a way to apologize to the audience—who also usually arrive late—and this has become an accepted way of life in our society.

We must acknowledge that the design of our transportation system, particularly in Accra, does not facilitate easy movement. In other parts of Africa, such as South Africa, public transportation systems like trains help reduce travel time. For instance, I remember commuting from Johannesburg to Pretoria in under 45 minutes, paying less than what it would cost to use a taxi or bus. So, why can’t Ghana have a similar system? The answer lies not in the impossibility of the task but in our lack of willpower. We cannot afford to be both rich and poor—rich in resources yet poor in infrastructure. If we aspire to be a productive nation, we cannot continue to overlook our transportation system.

Can this culture of lateness be eradicated from our system? If so, where do we start? I believe the answer lies in leadership. As employers, we might occasionally expect our staff to be late due to the state of our roads and transportation system. For example, when a bridge on the Tema Motorway collapsed, it took hours for vehicles to pass through, making lateness unavoidable for those commuting from Tema to Accra.

However, we must collectively understand that respecting the time given is crucial. Lateness, like corruption, has held us back as a nation, hindering our development and progress. It has encroached upon the speed at which growth occurs, yet we continue to apologize and perpetuate this habit, passing it on to future generations as “Ghana time” or “Africa time.”

It’s time we recognize that this cultural norm of lateness is a bad habit that needs to be addressed if we are to achieve the development we desire.

By Diallo Madjid