Mr Henry Kweku Hayfron, Mfantseman Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) has noted that a nation which is not disciplined cannot expect to develop and Ghana is no exception.
He said years of indiscipline in Ghana, has had serious consequences on national development.
Mr Hayfron was speaking at a parade of school children to mark the 54th independence anniversary of the country on the theme: “Discipline and hard work – essential pre-requisites for A Better Ghana.”
He said a number of lives had been lost on the roads and many more incapacitated due to indiscipline on the part of some motorists.
Another area of serious indiscipline was the indiscriminate dumping and littering of refuse in the drains and pollution of the beaches, which caused flooding and posed environmental and
health hazards to the people.
Mr Hayfron said indiscipline by some fishermen had led to depletion of marine resources while indiscriminate felling of trees had contributed to the erratic weather pattern.
The MCE said people must be concerned with the indiscipline at work places where some workers reported to work late and leave before the closing hours, malinger and spend duty hours to engage in unproductive ventures.
Mr Hayfron said financial indiscipline was also a key developmental challenge the nation had to tackle in order to make maximum use of the limited resources available.
He said: “Discipline and hard work,” were words Ghanaians used every day but hardly pause to reflect deeply on the meaning, or allow the phrase to influence our way of life and governance.
The MCE said hard work without tolerance and honesty would be of no value for the “Better Ghana Agenda”.
He said if Ghana was to make a headway in its
development, the citizens must make these qualities part of their everyday lives and urged parents and guardians to inculcate these virtues in their children.
The MCE urged Ghanaians to think of the hard work and the discipline those who led the country into independence invested.
He said it has now fallen on the present generation to ensure that due recognition was given to the efforts of the past heroes and also think of how to leave a worthwhile inheritance to the future generation.
Prizes were awarded to schools, which excelled in the march past.