Public office should not serve your family’s interests; Ghana deserves the highest standards.

Former Deputy Editor at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Ben Dotsei Malor, has emphasized that Ghana deserves excellence at all levels of national development. He attributes the nation’s current challenges to poor leadership in public service.

Speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show on Monday, July 1, he said, ‘Only the best will do for Ghana. Let’s be candid and raw in a non-partisan way, let’s admit the fact.’

Malor highlighted the need for exemplary leadership to guide Ghana toward improvement. ‘We need persons of faith and hope to tell us that even though things look bleak and there is disappointment, despair, and discouragement, we can still do better,’ he said.

According to Malor, who once served as Head of Communications at the presidency under the late John Evans Atta Mills, many potential leaders are deterred by corruption and personal gain in public office. ‘Sometimes, those who are willing are not able. Those who are able, we make them unwilling because we muddy the place. They are not ready to go bribing or engage in devious activities, so some of our best people are not in leadership to sacrifice.’

He advised, ‘Go into private practice and make all the money you want, but when you hold a public office, please be like Nkrumah. Nkrumah never left any money or land. He built Ghana—Akosombo, schools, and more. He gave his all. If you take public office, tell your family and friends that you are not there to find jobs for them or steal money. You are there to work for a better future for all.”