The illusion of law without enforcement

There is nothing inherently wrong with the law. The true challenge lies in its enforcement. Lasting change only occurs when those responsible are held accountable, punished for negligence, and rewarded for integrity. Laws form the skeletal framework of any civilised society.

They define boundaries, protect rights, and provide the structure upon which nations build stability, prosperity, and peace. Without them, societies descend into chaos. And yet, in many developing economies, particularly in parts of Africa, the problem is not the absence of laws, but the fragility, inconsistency, and at times deliberate selectivity of their enforcement. A law without enforcement is like a lion without teeth. It may look majestic, but it cannot bite.

A lion without teeth

Statutes, acts, and regulations fill our books, promising order and justice. But a law that exists only on paper is nothing more than a symbolic ornament. Africa does not lack legal frameworks; what it lacks is the consistent application that compels obedience. In other words, we have laws for almost everything, but not the law that forces all other laws to be obeyed. Consider Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency Act, which empowers authorities to prosecute illegal miners. Yet rivers remain brown, farmland lies destroyed, and communities are poisoned.

More troubling, many illegal miners now operate with open audacity, attacking police officers and even military personnel sent to enforce the law because they know enforcement is inconsistent and impunity is the norm. Laws exist. Penalties exist. But enforcement remains sporadic and selective. And like a slow leak in a national bucket, non-enforcement eventually drains every reserve.

When the gatekeeper sells the key

Enforcers of the law, police officers, regulators, and inspectors are meant to be society’s gatekeepers. Yet, in far too many cases, some of these gatekeepers have become the gate itself, deciding who passes and at what price. Traffic laws are clear: helmets for motorcyclists, seatbelts for drivers, no overloading. Yet motorcycles carrying three passengers without helmets weave through congested streets as if exempt from the rules.

In the same way, Trotro (Taxi) drivers stop anywhere they please, obstructing traffic, creating chaos, and endangering lives because they know there will be no consequences. In 2022 alone, Ghana lost over 2,000 lives to road accidents, many of them entirely preventable. When justice bends to money or shrinks in fear of confrontation, it ceases to be justice at all. It becomes an injustice wearing a legal robe.

Justice for sale and the fence that eats the crops

Selective enforcement is the silent assassin of justice. The influential businessman who dodges taxes because of political protection goes unpunished, while the street hawker breaking the same law faces swift fines and public humiliation. Across Africa, the narrative repeats itself.

In Kenya, high-profile corruption cases stretch on for years, unresolved. In Nigeria, anti-graft agencies successfully prosecute small-scale offenders but stall when the culprits are entrenched political elites. When the fence itself begins to eat the crops, the farm has already been betrayed.

In Ghana, the 2019 Auditor-General’s report revealed procurement breaches and misappropriations worth hundreds of millions of cedis. Yet many implicated officials remain in office today, shielded by political patronage rather than removed for incompetence.

Performance, not position

In successful nations, enforcement is tied to measurable performance, not to political favour. Singapore exemplifies this. Public officers are held to strict metrics, rewarded for integrity, and disciplined for negligence.

This approach has created one of the most transparent systems in the world, and Singapore consistently ranks among the least corrupt countries globally. By contrast, in societies where underperformance earns reappointment, institutional rot only deepens. When accountability is treated as optional, progress becomes impossible.

The real price of looking away

The cost of non-enforcement is not abstract; it is painfully measurable:

• Ghana loses an estimated 1.6percent of GDP annually to road crashes.
• African cities collectively lose billions each year due to poor waste management.
• Weak enforcement of anti-corruption measures drains US$148 billion annually from the continent.

The result is hospitals without medicine, schools without teachers, and roads that collapse after a single rainy season. When those responsible for enforcement face no consequences, entire nations pay the price. A country that spares the corrupt will one day kneel before the corrupt.

The carrot and the stick

Reform cannot be built on punishment alone; it must combine accountability with recognition. Officers who refuse bribes should not be sidelined but promoted. Whistleblowers must be protected, not persecuted. Rwanda provides an example of this balance, where misconduct is punished decisively but ethical service is also rewarded. The stick may correct wrongdoing, but it is the carrot that sustains the will to do right.

Where the absurd becomes routine

Too often, the absurd becomes the norm. VIP convoys routinely break traffic laws with impunity, while ordinary drivers are penalised for minor infractions. Entire buildings are illegally erected in waterways, while small traders are fined for blocking pavements. Under such conditions, the law begins to resemble a nightclub where entry is determined not by rules, but by who you know at the door.

The citizen’s role

Citizens, however, are not powerless in this equation. South Africa’s Zondo Commission on state capture was triggered by public pressure. In Ghana, sustained civil activism finally led to the passage of the Right to Information Act after decades of delay. Enforcement always begins where tolerance for indiscipline ends. Community-driven monitoring can help.

Mobile apps, open hotlines, and citizen watchdog groups can close enforcement gaps. Once citizens realise their voices can spark accountability, the culture of impunity begins to break. The law gains its true strength when citizens stand behind it, not merely beneath it.

Fixing the weakest link

To strengthen enforcement, several steps are essential:

• Introduce clear key performance indicators for enforcement officers.
• Publish enforcement records for public scrutiny.
• Insulate enforcement agencies from political interference.
• Promote and publicly reward integrity.
• Empower citizens to report enforcement failures without fear of reprisal.

These reforms would realign law with justice and remind society that leadership is not about position but about performance.

We don’t lack laws – We lack courage

Africa’s greatest deficit is not legislation but courage. The problem is not the lack of statutes but the absence of will to live by them. Agencies must be insulated from political manipulation, which requires fixed-term appointments, transparent recruitment processes, and rigorous performance-based reviews. Without these reforms, selective application will persist, and public trust will continue to erode.

An approved tool for governance reform

It is in this context that my book, Practical Perspectives on Boardroom Governance—the first in the world to be formally approved by an independent national body for use “from the classroom to the boardroom” takes on particular significance. It provides practical, globally benchmarked strategies to strengthen governance, leadership, and accountability. It is designed to remind policymakers, directors, and executives alike that enforcement is not only a legal obligation but also a moral and strategic imperative.

Clarion call – Turning the crisis into a generational reset

The inconvenient truth is this: the destiny of our nations depends not on how many laws we pass, but on whether we have the courage to enforce them consistently. Laws are the body of civilisation; enforcement is its breath. Without it, the body becomes a lifeless shell, clothed only in ceremonial robes.

This is more than a governance problem. It is a generational opportunity. The current crisis of selective justice is an invitation to rebuild trust, re-engineer accountability, and reset the moral compass of governance for decades to come. If we fix enforcement, we fix hospitals, schools, roads, water systems, and the environment, and ultimately, our collective future.

A nation’s backbone is not its laws, but its courage to enforce them fairly, with justice as the only currency. History shows that moments of dysfunction can also be moments of transformation. The challenges we face today are not a permanent sentence; they are an urgent invitation to reset. The choice before us is stark: continue on the current path and watch institutions hollow out, or seize this moment to enforce the rules we already have, and in doing so, create a society where justice is not a privilege for the few, but the birthright of all.

>>>the writer is a globally celebrated thought leader, Chartered Director, industrial engineer, supply chain management expert, and social entrepreneur known for his transformative contributions to industrialisation, procurement, and strategic sourcing in developing nations.

As Africa’s first Professor Extraordinaire for Supply Chain Governance and Industrialization, he has advised governments, businesses, and policymakers, driving sustainability and growth. During his tenure as Chairman of the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) and Labadi Beach Hotel, he led these institutions to global recognition for innovation and operational excellence. He is also the past chairman of the Public Procurement Authority.

A prolific author of over 90 publications, he is the creator of NyansaKasa (Words of Wisdom), a thought-provoking platform with over one million daily readers. Through his visionary leadership, Professor Boateng continues to inspire ethical governance, innovation, and youth empowerment, driving Africa toward a sustainable and inclusive future.