He said knowing the President to be very time conscious, it was incumbent on ministers of state to take a cue from him.

“If the President gets to a function before his Minister of State and this continues for two or more times, then I think that minister ought to be sanctioned,” he said.

“Leaders must be punctual at functions and not be the last to show up,” he stressed.

Endorsement

Dr Amoabeng was speaking at the second public education forum on the ‘Endorsement of Punctuality,’ by Punctuality Ghana, in Accra. The ceremony was organised by Wise Water Foundation, a non-governmental organisation committed to ensuring sustainable development in the country. It was attended by students, the media and people from all walks of life.

He endorsed the campaign to promote punctuality and time management and urged the participants to go out and spread the message and benefits of good time management.

He noted that the inability to properly manage time at all levels of the governance structure was a contributory factor to the problems that the country had faced over the years.

Time and corruption

Dr Amoabeng called on the government to work hard at instilling punctuality by addressing traffic congestion arising mainly from malfunctioning traffic lights, as well as seal potholes on the roads and tow break-down vehicles from the roads to facilitate quick travel times.

On corruption, he noted that the desire to be fast and avoid delays while accessing services from establishments was a major cause of the high level of corruption in the country.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Wise Water Foundation, Mr Emmanuel Amarquaye, explained that the establishment of Punctuality Ghana was informed by the call of President Akufo-Addo on citizens of the country to value time in his maiden State of the Nation Address.