(Also known as: “Hello? Anyone Home?”)
By: John S. Morlu II, CPA
You land in Accra. The heat hits you like a frying pan. The Wi-Fi plays hide and seek. And then you begin your journey into Ghana’s greatest philosophical riddle: Where is the government?
Not just physically (because most offices close by 2 PM), but spiritually. Emotionally. Logistically. Existentially.
You drive past traffic lights — not because they’re working — but because they’re not even turned on. The traffic warden stands in the middle of the road like he’s directing a Marvel movie, waving his hand with such confidence you wonder if he went to Hogwarts.
Ministries of Ghost Protocol
You enter a ministry building with three forms, two passport photos, and a heart full of hope. Then you realize: you’re in the wrong block.
No problem — you walk 10 steps to the next office.
“This form is for Room 202,” they say. You go to Room 202. “Ah, you need endorsement from Room 406.” You go to Room 406. “Ei, but you didn’t go to Room 202 first?”
This is not government — this is a multi-player maze game with no save points.
One man said he came to renew his driver’s license. Five hours later, he left with a headache and a voter registration card. Even he doesn’t know how.
Public Projects: Now You See It, Now You Don’t
You see a signboard: “Government of Ghana: Road Construction Project. Completion Date: December 2022.”
The signboard is there. The road is not. The only thing completed is the budget.
Sometimes the contractors just… disappear. Like Avengers snapped away by Thanos. Locals call it “abracadabra development.”
One boy asked, “Uncle, is this how the government plays hide and seek?”
Fun Fact: Ghana Has a Ministry for Almost Everything
- Ministry of Fisheries (but fish still expensive)
- Ministry of Roads (but no roads)
- Ministry of Information (but no information)
- Ministry of Sanitation (but don’t try walking through Accra when it rains)
And yet somehow, no Ministry of Common Sense.
Office Hours: By Faith, Not Logic
Most public offices open at 9:14 AM, take breakfast at 10:00, go for a meeting at 11:00, and close for the day at 1:00 PM.
If you show up on a Friday after 11:30 AM? Forget it. They’re either gone or “around, but not around.”
One civil servant said, “We’re working behind the scenes.” We still don’t know where that scene is located.
But Here’s the Magic
Despite all this, things somehow work. People somehow survive. The streets are full. Markets are buzzing. Weddings are happening every Saturday. Jollof is being served with confidence. And every taxi driver still has hope that one day, things will change.
You ask a Ghanaian, “How do you survive this?”
They smile and say: “We are used to it.”
That’s not resignation — That’s elite-level endurance training.
And that… is Ghana.
Author: John S. Morlu II, CPA is the CEO and Chief Strategist of JS Morlu, leads a licensed public accounting and management consultancy firm. He has more than 20 years of professional experience in auditing and advisory work, including service as Auditor General of Liberia and FAR and DCAA compliance work at Unisys Federal Systems. The firm’s technology products include AI-powered reconciliation software (ReckSoft.com) and advanced cloud accounting solutions (FinovatePro.com), built for finance and operations teams.