Ghana’s political landscape must be very mindful of the kind of politicians being nurtured, especially in our various tertiary institutions. The recent situation involving the National Service Scheme and the National Service Personnel Association (NASPA) has drawn further attention to this issue, and we, as a country, ought to tread cautiously.

How did we get here? Executives, knowing full well the meagre allowances of National Service personnel, coupled with the delays that often force personnel to cry out before receiving what is due to them, still deduct money in the name of capacity building. It is disheartening.

This problem stems from one major issue that we need to address as a country: the lack of proper accountability among leaders, whether in our tertiary institutions or in mainstream politics. Interestingly, our tertiary institutions are where many of our future politicians are being groomed. If the principle of accountability is not instilled in them at that stage, we will bear the consequences when they assume the reins of power in the future.

Consider the exorbitant fees charged to aspirants seeking student leadership positions. Where and how are they expected to obtain such amounts? Yet, somehow, they manage to pay them. When they eventually assume office, they either evade accountability or introduce unreasonable charges to raise funds for projects or to purchase items for the student body.

A classic example is the recent issue at the University of Cape Coast, where the Student Representative Council allegedly spent about GH₵600,000 on a water dispenser, raising serious questions about financial accountability. The UCC situation is only one of many similar incidents that have plagued tertiary institutions across the country.

The root cause of this problem is the absence of proper accountability. Such leaders later enter mainstream politics with the same attitude, potentially causing financial losses to the state. Make no mistake: many of these student leaders harbour ambitions of entering mainstream politics in the future. As a country, we need to nip this behaviour in the bud before it causes further harm.

From the student leadership stage, we must instil the discipline of accountability. We need to emphasise that leaders have a responsibility to properly account for their stewardship. Such huge sums of money cannot simply go down the drain without being properly accounted for.

By Stellla Annan