Kwaku Azar writes: End the politics of phone calls, build strong institutions

It is that our system of governance encourages people to believe that personal access to politicians is necessary for navigating public life.

Even the ordinary delivery of services, including access to public toilets, can seem easier when one has a political godfather, a family connection, a party contact, or someone willing to make a telephone call.

The objective should be a non-connection state: a state in which rules outperform relationships, merit defeats patronage, and institutions deliver what citizens presently seek through personal access.