GHANA: NEED FOR A COMPLETE CHANGE IN CULTURE AND EXPECTATIONS

There are real obstacles created by local attitudes to organisation and management. Most organisations have departments with a "big boss". Employees tend to expect to be deferential to that person and not to challenge them. This dampens initiative and stifles the "cut and thrust" required in many parts of a creative ICT environment. Skilling up more junior staff is often
seen as a threat to those with existing skills as it is not a fluid job market.
As one local company owner put it: "In a certain sense the culture has to change. There is too much of wanting someone to do it for you. You don't have initiators. The long years of dictatorial rule has stamped on any form of entrepreurship from independence days. Everything was left to government. It was going to do everything."
Staff are often not allowed to use the net, even when they are directly responsible for web-related issues. With an "always on" connection there are fears about it distracting people from their work. However it is clear that staff need exposure to outside ideas if they are to develop their own (an in turn, the company's), especially in the design area where the skills are not of a high order.
Seen from the outside, Ghana is about 4-5 years behind North America in technology terms. As one person told us:"Everything runs on Windows 98 but they want to learn Java simply because they've read about. They don't know what they're going to do with it." 90-95% of all software is pirated and there is much joking about it being hard to find the "paid for" 5%. Linux is being used (invisibly to the client) by at least one company doing applications development.
There has been a steady trickle of returning "diaspora" Ghanaians. A significant number of them are to be found in the ICT sector. They have returned with a strong desire to "make a difference" and build successful business. They have skills, a broader experience and a "can-do" attitude. One told the tale of being in Kumasi one weekend when all ATMs of her bank were down. She gathered up the customers around the ATM and went down to the local radio station where she went on air to demand that the Bank's local manager address the problem. An engineer arrived and fixed them within an
hour.
Diaspora Ghanaians find the slow-pace of decision-making of bodies like the NCA frustrating. "Welcome to reality" as one person put it. But will they bend to this reality or help shape a new technology sector in Ghana that breeds a higher set of national expectations?