Since Hernando de Soto's seminal book "the Mystery of Capital", property rights have come to the fore in development theory. However, what most people seemed concerned with is the documentation problems associated with land. Property rights should, and is, concerned with much more than that. One can only document what exists and then build on that to a desired state. If a society, especially the political leaders, close their eyes to the current state, there is no way they can emplace a realistic property rights regime.
This state of affairs is critical to development because the basis of any economic arrangement is the ability to enter into and perform a legally binding contract. If one does not have a right to what he proposes to exchange, then the transaction runs a risk of nullity.
Ghana has a serious property rights problem, everyone knows this. What our political leadership fail to grasp is the extremely base nature that our problem has regressed to with no bottom in sight. Simply, in Ghana, one is not guaranteed his right to even his most essential property - his life. And when the political leadership, when their own right to life is threatened, think only of their own security and fail to adopt a systems approach. We live in a society that compels investments in measures to guarantee our lives, to a ludicrous extent that is difficult to justify and, yet, we hope to attract 'foreign investment'.
A boundary wall around a home is a silly diversion of resources that could otherwise be profitably invested. A 7-foot high boundary wall around a standard 80ft x 100ftx lot will cost about US$10,000 at current prices, with the various toppings of ugly, electrified barbed wire, etc,. This may not matter to the rich but down the wealth ladder, it makes a huge difference to economic security. And this is just the cost of putting up a wall. It does not factor in costs for maintenance and the extra hindrance it poses to disaster recovery efforts, say in the case of a fire. But then again, one may argue that there is no Fire Service to speak of!
We attempt a second layer of security by barring our doors and windows to make it difficult for robbers to enter. We also make it almost impossible to quickly exit our homes if we need to. Burglar proof, whatever the right spelling is, mars the beauty of our homes and adds to construction costs. We are also advised to have a secure room designed and built into our homes so that when all else fails, we may retire there with our families and give the robbers free rein.
There is an increasing presence of guns in the home despite our security analysts' warnings on proliferation of fire arms. I sometimes get the impression that I'm the only one without a handgun among my friends. Should residents be compelled to self-insure this way?
Of all the various property rights issues, the right to life is paramount not just because we are primarily productive when alive and expensive to self-insure. It is also concerned with that intangible but paramount issue of our lives - dignity. Wole Soyinka expertly discussed the essence of dignity at the BBC's Reith Lectures in 2004. In his fourth lecture titled "The Quest for Dignity", he says:
"Dignity in the management of Community lies at the heart of our preoccupation. The global climate of fear owes much to the devaluation or denial of dignity in the intersection of Communities, most notably between the stronger and weaker ones, an avoidance of the recognition of this very entitlement, this craving, this inbred addiction if you prefer..."
We live in a climate of fear right now. I see it in my wife's eyes every time I tell her I have to drive to some work site outside Accra. I hear it in her voice as she goes around each night and checks if every member of the household is locked in and various accesses secured. I see it in her beahviour as she drives home, frantically checking if she's being followed. There is something particular obnoxious and sad when you know your right to life is merely at some thug's discretion; when people die in dirty, ill-equiped hospitals from easily curable diseases; when dodging a pothole in a road leads to 20 people lain by the side of the road.
An Italian builder that I worked with was shot dead in Tema last Thursday. To Massimilliano Colleta, I say Rest in Peace. To our security agencies and those in charge, the Ibos say "a man who is trampled to death by an elephant is a man who is blind and deaf". Do you see or hear the elephant in the room?
