It appears that many members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) do not believe their luck – the impression one gets, is that they are firmly convinced that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is in complete disarray. “Enkoyie” is their catchphrase. They seem to think that they are still campaigning for an election (one that is at least a little over three years away, and in political terms, a lifetime, for the Mills regime to succeed in bettering the lot of a majority of Ghanaians!). The independent minded Ghanaians (the so-called floating-voters), whose crucial votes made it possible for President Mills to beat his NPP opponent in the run-off of the December 2008 presidential elections, often pose a simple question to those confounded “My-party-my-tribe-right-or-wrong” myrmidon-types (whose blind support of the political parties eventually destroys them when they finally win power and come to office), who benefited mightily from the patronage of the NPP regime.
The question, dear reader, is: Have they considered the possibility that if the Mills administration fails, and does not succeed in delivering the “Better Ghana” they promised the good people of Ghana during the campaign for the December 2008, the events of June 4th 1979 could be repeated? Have they ever considered the fact that so disenchanted have ordinary Ghanaians become with Ghanaian democracy (because in their view, Ghana’s politicians and political parties have hijacked the “democracy dividend” for themselves, the members of their family clans, and their cronies – by successfully exploiting our national economy for the sole purpose of sending their personal net worth into the stratosphere), that a majority of them may not lift a finger to stop anyone seeking to bring the 4th Republic to an end? Does it not strike them that our political landscape today does bear a striking resemblance to that of the period preceding the events of June 4th 1979 – because the crooks of yesteryear are still hanging on to their ill-gotten wealth and taunting decent-minded Ghanaians: by using it to manipulate that section of the media they bought whiles in power to whip up public sentiment against the Mills regime, as well as using their biased appointees still at post in the public sector to stall and frustrate the current regime?
Let them ponder the implications of the results of the impunity with which the most powerful individual in the nest of vipers that was at the heart of the Kufuor presidency, acted, when against even the advice of the Attorney General (that it would result in the Ghanaian nation-state being successfully sued for breach of contract, and a resultant loss, financially, to Ghana), he still went ahead and forced the ministry of agriculture to award a solar-powered irrigation contract it had already signed with a Spanish firm, to another Spanish firm of his own choosing. Sooner or later the current government will eventually pay an out of court settlement to the company originally awarded the contract – at which point charges of willfully causing financial loss to Ghana will be brought against the officials whose high-handedness and total disregard for the rule of law resulted in that unnecessary loss to cash-strapped Ghana. The outrage in all this is that that selfsame individual had the gall to insult ordinary Ghanaians, by constantly repeating the arrogant and disrespectful phrase: “That is the Ghanaian for you!” during his appearance at the Ghana@50 probe.
No doubt the more uncharitable and cynical amongst those who suffered as a result of the actions of that nest of vipers, which the presidency under President Kufuor represented, will simply utter the phrase “Poetic Justice!” when those who caused that unfortunate loss to Mother Ghana have their day in court and get their just deserts, when their trial ends. Ghana suffered terribly as a result of the many such examples of highhandedness and arbitrariness, by yesteryear’s masters of the universe, who forgot that pithy Ghanaian phrase “No condition is permanent” and thought they were invincible, as they exploited our nation ruthlessly. As we all know, there are many such cases of the abuse of power, which resulted from their ability to successfully manipulate the legal system, and get away with it. Well, perhaps like the US authorities, who were able to nail the master-criminal Al Capone, because he forgot to keep his taxes in order, Mother Ghana too will be able to nail yesteryear’s crooks through the occasional lucky break, such as that infamous ministry of agriculture case.
Let the authorities listen again to the “Election Forensics” tape-recordings of the voices of Attta Akyea and Maxwell Kofi Jumah, which were broadcast by Radio Gold FM, during the December 2008 elections. In the case of Atta Akyea, in addition to the amazing revelation that there apparently were “right judges” in our nation who could be relied on to deliver the appropriate judgments when necessary, they will also clearly hear a lady saying in the background that there was a van with a dead body in it ” ...ewo asieho.” Let him explain precisely what that dead body was doing there – so that he gets the opportunity to finally clear up any remaining doubt still persisting today about that particular oddity. In the case of that Maxwell Kofi Jumah buffoon, they will also clearly hear him telling hired thugs that he would issue them with police and army uniforms, as well as arm some of them – and make sure that regional police commanders would rescue them if they got into trouble: whiles on their ballot-box snatching and election-rigging activities. Is that not criminal – and if it is, just what are the authorities doing about it?
How do we know that our security forces are still not jam-packed with such NPP paid-thugs, even today, as we speak, I ask, dear reader? Are our hard-of-hearing leaders going to ignore these past transgressions by such power-hungry hypocrites – who have the gall to be forever belittling the Mills administration? Let our current leaders not forget that in the end Al Capone was sent to prison (to pay for his many murders and other crimes) because the authorities took advantage of his refusal to pay his taxes. Let them be creative too – and in so doing, avoid allowing Ghanaians to become disenchanted with Ghanaian democracy: because those who tried to steal the December 2008 presidential election are allowed to get away with their perfidy, and continue to taunt Ghanaians on top of that outrage! The authorities must act to ensure that all those NPP members who took part in the gang-rape of mother Ghana are punished for their crimes against out nation. If they fail to do so, they will be failing those who voted them into office, precisely because they wanted regime-change, so as to bring that unsavoury chapter of our history to a close. Our political class must understand that Ghanaian democracy will not survive if yesteryear’s crooks are allowed to continue getting away with their many sins against ordinary Ghanaians. A word to the wise…
Tel (powered by Tigo – the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!) + 233 (0) 27 745 3109 & the not-so-hot and clueless Vodafone wireleless smartphone: + 233 (0) 21 976238.
Nearly two years after I first petitioned the Attorney General to halt my prosecution, I was discharged from the Nsawam Circuit Court just this morning – after the prosecution finally dropped its case against me. That Kafkaesque case, The Republic Vs Kofi Thompson, should never have been brought to trial in the first place – as it was in effect a complete waste of the court’s time. Amazingly, I was charged with causing criminal damage to my own farmland – my crime being that I had acted with resolve to rid myself of a recalcitrant trespasser: who repeatedly refused to abate his trespass and leave our land. Yet, the land in question has been in my family since 1933 – and it was the trespasser who caused criminal damage to our organic farm: by spraying papaya that he had illegally planted on a portion of the land, with synthetic pesticides, and making a complete nonsense of our business-model.
Still, I am looking at the whole thing in a positive light – I learnt a great deal about the nature of Ghanaian society, during that trial. It really is scandalous that the profligate President Kufour, chose to spend over US$150 millions building a presidential palace complex, during his tenure – when that sum could probably have provided modern recording equipment for all the law courts in our country. Why, in the 21st century ICT age, should we ask our judges to record court proceedings in longhand, I ask, dear reader? Would it not have benefited our nation a great deal more, if President Kufuor had spent the zillions he wasted on the so-called Golden Jubilee House (Flagstaff House to most Ghanaian nationalists and Nkrumaists!) buying our law courts recording equipment, instead?
Incidentally, I have often wondered, if any of those shortsighted individuals, who seek to justify that folly of President Kufuor’s at the Flagstaff House, have ever considered the fact that rather than spending zillions building a chi-chi presidential palace (probably riddled with listening-bugs – placed there by the secret services of those who loaned his regime the money to build it!), offered a choice in the matter, a more visionary and prudent leader, would have simply opted to acquire a blueprint for a new capital for Ghana, and invited Ghanaian city-planners to design a modern and green capital city (to be built in the centre of Ghana, by a future successor-regime: at a point in time when our country can easily afford it!): and chosen, instead, to spend the Indian loan buying our law courts recording equipment – and left that as one of his legacies. Would that not have helped entrench the rule of law yet further, in our country?
But I digress. Needless to say, the police summons for the case I was being prosecuted for, was issued in October 2007 – during the perfidious New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) tenure in office. The plaintiff was a retired Ghana Armed Forces warrant officer. Apparently, he had also once been a National Democratic Congress (NDC) big-wig in Nsawam. Sadly, he was bitten by a snake at home – and thus died midstream during the trial. It so happened that his lawyer was a former NPP member of parliament for the Akuapim South constituency. That well-educated buffoon was a quintessential NPP-type: insufferable, arrogant, and a world-class philistine – a Mr. Wiafe. The question, dear reader, is: What was that staunch NPP politician doing representing an NDC man, who once upon a time, must have worked pretty hard, to stop him from being elected to parliament – during the particular election campaign that sent him to parliament as the NPP Member of Parliament for the Akuapim South constituency? It was one of the many odd things about that travesty of justice, which that most egregious of malicious prosecutions, represented.
Incredibly, the police investigator (who did not even interview me!) rushed the case to court, with such undue haste – in a time-frame that must rate as the quickest in the annals of the Ghana Police Service: from the date of the reporting of the case by the complainant, and the issuing of the police summons for me, the ‘suspect,’ to appear before Nsawam Circuit Court, presided over, initially, by Mrs. Justice Ankumah. She was transferred to Accra during the case – and replaced by Her Honour, Justice Ms. Myers. I am so relieved that that dreadful matter is now behind me – and that those in the previous regime who thought they could use it to silence me, failed so miserably in their aim. It is outrageous that whiles many corrupt officials regularly go unpunished for their crimes against our country and its people, so many underprivileged Ghanaians pay daily in the law courts, for the crimes they commit – crimes that often pale into insignificant when compared to the zillions of Ghana cedis that the crooks amongst our political class, for example, purloin from our national treasury, with such impunity. If we are serious about entrenching democracy in our homeland Ghana, we must ensure that the judiciary is given all the resources it needs (including paying our judges well!) to enable it fulfill its role in our constitutional democracy. Those who now rule our nation must act quickly to make the recording of court proceedings in longhand by Ghana’s judges a thing of the past. A word to the wise…
Tel (powered by Tigo – the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109 & the not-so-hot and clueless Vodafone wireless smartphone: + 233 (0)21 976238.
The Ghanaian subsidiary of the US food giant, Cargil, Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate, took out a full-page advert in the Thursday, September 10, 2009 edition of the Daily Graphic newspaper, to help publicize the new chocolate milk drink it is producing in Ghana. The bottle has the advertising slogan “The good taste of Ghana” blazoned on it. The clever marketing team at Cargil, is obviously leveraging Ghana’s good image in the international community as a haven of peace and stability, in choosing that slogan.
One wishes that those in charge of the cocoa processing plant that Nkrumah built at Tema, would also be so positive in their outlook! Speaking as someone who farms cocoa organically at Akim Abuakwa Juaso, I was alarmed, when I heard one of the gentleman in charge of the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC), incredibly telling the world, during an interview with one of Accra’s many FM radio stations (incidentally, I forget precisely which one it was – but I have a feeling it might have been in one of Joy FM’s business news bulletins), that the company had imported (or was going to import!) about 5,000 metric tonnes of cocoa from a neighbouring country: because Ghana’s cocoa beans command a “premium price.” Apparently, that shortsighted move will save the CPC money – and it is said that the company will still produce chocolate of “acceptable quality.” He topped that inanity by adding that chocolate manufacturers elsewhere blend various grades of cocoa to produce chocolate.
It obviously escapes the geniuses who run the CPC that those manufacturers in Europe and elsewhere, are not in the lucky and happy position, of being able to manufacture their products in Ghana – which produces the world’s best quality cocoa beans. Incredible. Why, do those who are going to ruin the hard-won reputation of the CPC’s famous dark chocolate, not realize that the “premium quality” cocoa beans from Ghana enable their products to occupy a niche in the global market for dark chocolate? Perhaps it will interest them to know that a dear friend from Pennsylvania in the US, who loves chocolates and speaks highly of the CPC’s range of dark chocolates, will be horrified to hear that the chocolate she thinks is one of the best in the world, is now about to take the slippery slope to ruination – because of the shortsightedness of those who run the factory that produces it.
On behalf of Ghana’s many long-suffering cocoa farmers, I humbly appeal to the Ghana Cocoa Marketing Board and the minister for trade and industry, to order the CPC to stop importing any more cocoa beans from outside Ghana, henceforth. Surely, in the internet age, it is not asking too much, for even the most unimaginative of Ghanaian corporate leadership, to strike a partnership with the Ghana Post – so that the CPC can sell its marvelous dark chocolate worldwide online, using their EMS global parcel delivery service? Has it ever occurred to the denizens of the corridors of corporate power at the CPC that they can sell their dark chocolate and other products as niche products, which ought to be bought at a premium: precisely because they are made from the best cocoa beans in the world? Let them rescind that shortsighted decision immediately. The leadership of the COCOBOD and the ministerial team in charge of the ministry of trade and industry must step in to halt this pure nonsense on bamboo stilts – and do so now! A word to the wise… Tel (powered by Tigo – the one mobile phone network in Ghan that actually works): + 233 27 745 3109 & the not-so-hot and clueless Vodafone wireless smartphone number: + 233 21 976238.
I had always been under the misguided impression, that somehow, I had succeeded in developing my mind to a level, which was sufficient to give me a high pain threshold. However, when I was laid low by a bout of illness recently, it quickly became clear to me that one can never really become inured to pain, as long as one is a conscious being – and that at some point, one will doubtless feel some pain, whiles alive. Faced with evidence of my own mortality, during my illness, I spent some time reflecting on my life thus far – and vowed to spend the rest of my life, concentrating on doing all I can, to ensure that a planned forest canopy footbridge (similar to the one in the Kakum National Park), is eventually built in the Akim Abuakwa Juaso section, of the Atiwa Range upland evergreen rain forest.
The idea is to use the forest canopy footbridge, as the centerpiece, of a community-based eco-tourism project, which will enable the village of Akim Abuakwa Juaso , to become a leading community-based eco-tourism destination – and at a time of global climate change, help us conserve the P. E. Thompson Nature Resource Reserve (PETNRR) for posterity. When the project comes into fruition, it will be a fine example of a win-win private-public-partnership (PPP) between a local fringe-forest community, and the owners of a large and pristine privately-owned rain forest, which is part of an area of outstanding natural beauty, which has been designated a Globally Significant Biodiversity Area (GSBA).
I came to the conclusion, in one of the periods of introspection I had during my illness, that that kind of “green” project was precisely what I want to be remembered for, when I finally die. In a nation full of hard-of-hearing politicians, who are avid adherents of the “Cult-of-the-mediocre,” why waste one’s energies thinking up creative ideas, as one’s contribution to nation-building, when they will only fall on the deaf ears of our ruling elite, dear reader? I have simply had enough of Ghana’s Byzantine political world. I am sick and tired of a political class that seems impervious to reason – and appears bent on pursing its own hidden agenda: the handing over, for self-serving reasons, of the bulk of the wealth of our nation to foreigners and their greedy local lackeys.
Whiles the great Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah believed that it was possible for us to build a caring-and-sharing society, in which all Ghanaians could lead decent lives, in a modern African nation that gave them access to good quality and affordable housing (provided naturally by the Ghanaian nation-state), as well as provided them ample opportunities for meaningful employment; free education, and health care, his puny successors continuously toy with the lives of ordinary Ghanaians – as they compete amongst themselves for the opportunity to serve in regimes, whose sole purpose, appear to be the wholesale transfer of the wealth of our nation, to perfidious foreigners.
I have simply had enough – and will henceforth concentrate on my environmental activism. The last straw for me, was listening to the lamentations of an erstwhile acting chief internal auditor of the defunct omnibus services authority (OSA), now retired, who revealed, during an interview with Adakabre Frimpong-Manso, broadcast recently by Hot FM, that some cynical big-shot, determined to profit from his position in society, once posed this question, to a fellow politician (which I will paraphrase) "Enti yerbetor Leyaland bus yiaa erhu eyedini sei, na debani yator fofro, ebiom?” (Its English translation fom the Twi language: “When will we ever have the opportunity to profit from buying a new fleet of buses for the omnibus services authority, if the government of Ghana were to decide to purchase those well-built and durable Leyland buses: which take forever to wear out, before having to be replaced?” ). The question I ask, dear reader, is: Just where will that kind of dishonest, selfish, and self-seeking leadership take our country?Hmmm, Ghana, eyeasem oo – asem ebeba debi ankasa!
Tel (powered by Tigo – the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109 & the not-so-hot and clueless Vodafone wireless smartphone: + 233 (0)21 976238.
In response to Livingstone Pay Charlie of The Insight’s article entitled “Deception At TOR” that appeared in the Saturday , 10th October 2009, general news web-page of www.ghanaweb.com, may I humbly point it out to him that the rot at TOR is a veritable case-study-example of how not to run an emerging economy with aspirations ? It is an egregious example of Kufuor's crony-capitalism: the result of an economic policy that was our local version of the ruthless "Robber Baron" capitalism of late 19th and early 20th century American capitalism!
Massa, Kufuor & Co. came to power with one big-idea agenda in mind, which they skillfully hid from all of us: the ruthless use of political power to enable them exploit our national economy for themselves; their family clans; and their cronies. What happened at TOR is a classic example of the socialization of private risk, which was so rampant during Kufour & Co's golden age of business – in which the Ghanaian nation-state and state-owned entities were made to bear the risk, in transaction after transaction: so that well-connected oligarchs of that era, could regularly make vast profits, at the expense of Ghana's hapless taxpayers.
It was in the nature of the beast, that under such a kleptocratic system, the offspring of our rulers, using insider-knowledge, could set up countless special purpose vehicles (some offshore), to use to obtain contracts from state entities. In one such infamous case, the Energy Commission, gave a contract (for the supply of electricity meters to the Electricity Company of Ghana, ECG), to one of the princes of the crafty and greedy Kufuor's golden age of business: a son of the serving president of Ghana, no less. That well-connected gentleman made a cool US$2 million profit – in what clearly amounted to a case of profiteering! Massa, TOR was simply seen as a means of creating regime-crony tycoons, from whom kickbacks could be obtained on a regular basis – by letting them obtain endless credit at no risk to themselves: because TOR bore was made to bear the risk (sanctioned by the arrogant "I-am-the-monkey-in-the-chair” rogue, appointed as managing director, for the purpose), harming and endangering the very existence of the state-owned Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB): which it was leveraged to, to gargantuan levels, in the process.
Naturally, all that massive debt was counted as part of Ghana's GDP, by the greedy rogues into whose incompetent hands, out country had fallen – which is why we had the Kweku-Ananse smoke-and-mirrors booming economy, which did not deliver a good quality of life (and decent living standards!), for the vast majority of Ghanaian, but enabled the few powerful crooks in the Kufuor regime and their regime-crony capitalists, to send their individual net-worth into the stratosphere. That is why we had the amazing situation in which whiles ordinary people were being impoverished by the looting of our national treasury, some of their leaders had the effrontery to insult Ghanaians (on top of their many woes): by labeling a hardworking people, who did not have the opportunities the truly-lazy people in power had, "lazy". Even the Hypocrite-in-Chief himself, had the temerity to sing that monstrous and discordant tune-of-contempt for ordinary people: on top of his booming voice, too. Hmm, Ghana- eyeasem!
So, today, dear reader, we have arrived at the sad situation, in which, like a clever and desperate con-man, fully aware that his many awful secrets are about to be exposed, Crook-Number-One is lobbying furiously, to get as many grand-sounding but useless international appointments, as it is possible for him to dupe innocents abroad into giving him – so as to continue impressing the many gullible Ghanaians he relies on to protect him, now (those brain-dead “My-party-my-tribe-right-or-wrong” myrmidon-types, whose endless praise-singing, funds were procured from “National Security”, and paid to, regularly: to keep in fine fettle for their endless serial-calling in the electronic media!), and who incredibly think he came to save our homeland Ghana, just because they got a few crumbs thrown their way: whiles Mother Ghana was being brutally gang-raped by the perfidious Kufuor and his many partners-in-crime. Sadly, many discerning and independent-minded Ghanaians now insist that he is the most dishonest leader, ever elected to lead our nation, thus far, in its entire post-independence history. Pity – especially as he had a historic opportunity to set high standards of morality in our public life, when he first came to power. Hmmm Ghana, eyeasem oo - esem ebaba debi ankasa!
Tel (powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109 & the not-so-hot and clueless Vodafone wireless smartphone: + 233 (0) 21 976238.
The frustrations we have had to endure, in my family's attempt to have a forest canopy footbridge (similar to the one at the Kakum National Park) built in our largely-pristine private forestland, in the Akim Abuakwa Juaso section of the Atiwa Range upland evergreen rain forest, has been a real eye-opener, for me. It has shown me just how important it is to have a national climate change commission set up, as soon as it is practicable to do so, to coordinate the work of the various organs of state that are involved in ournational effort to fight the negative effects of global climate change. There is no doubt that a majority of the public officials whose organizations deal with climate change issues, are veryknowledgeable about the subject – and are aware of the danger climate change poses to the long-term well-being and survival of our country and all the people who live in Ghana.
If such a national climate change commission existed, I doubt very much that the massive illegal logging that goes on in what is left of our nation’s forest cover, would be allowed to continue, at a time of global climate change. Sadly, as we speak, officials of the Forestry Service of the Forestry Commission, appear to be completely unaware of the rampant illegal logging going on in the Akim Abuakwa Juaso section of the AtiwaRange upland evergreen rain forest. If that outrage is not checked immediately, the result will be that that important rain forest, will soon be denuded of trees – in what has been designated a Globally Significant Biodiversity Area (GSBA). Yet, the AtiwaRange evergreen upland rain forest contains the headwaters of the three major river systems on which pretty much of urban Ghana depends on for its drinking water supply – and heaven knows how many trillions of dollars worth of yet-to-be-discovered medicinal plants. There are times when one gets the distinct impression that for most of the officials of the Forestry Service of the Forestry Commission, working in that organization is just a nine-to-five job, from which they simply earn their living. There appears to be scant passion in the institutional culture of that vital state organization, for environmental activism – and even less so amongst most of its well-educated staff, for the very important work they are paid to do for our nation and its people.
It is for that reason that most of the members of my family who are passionate environmental activists have restricted our dealings with them, as we strive to use community-based eco-tourism, as a tool for the conservation of our Akim Abuakwa property: so as to secure the long-term future of our privately-owned freehold forestland, for the next generation of our family (and that of the inhabitants of Akim Abuakwa Juaso – with whom our destines are forever intertwined! ), and have opted to deal mainly instead with reputable NGO’s, such as the World Wildlife Fund for Nature – Ghana (WWF - Ghana), Ghana and the Rain Forest Alliance – Ghana. Both organizations have not hesitated in giving us advice and expert guidance, whenever we have approached them for assistance: although they have not budgeted for such advice, and we have not offered those who work for them any cash-inducements. Indeed, there was even an occasion when Dr. Kwame Adam of the WWF – Ghana, agreed to come and inspect our forestland, on his way back to Accra from a working trip to Kumasi: on a Saturday! Rain Forest Alliance – Ghana, has actually recommended a young forester to us to work with on a formal basis: so that we can have in-house expertise available to us round the clock.
In an era of global climate change, speaking as someone at the sharp end, whose family owns a significant part of the landmass of rural Ghana, in an area that lies in the Atiwa Range upland evergreen rain forest, I humbly suggest to the government of President Mills, that it must, as a matter of urgency, set up a national commission on climate change, to coordinate our national effort at fighting its negative impact on our homeland Ghana, and on Ghanaian ciitizens and other nationals resident here. Such a body will make it possible for our nation’s crop of brilliant research scientists, who are employed by all the critical state research institutions, whose work has a bearing on the subject, to offer our leaders unbiased scientific advice, which will guide the government of Ghana, in taking the necessary climate-change mitigation measures that will ensure the well-being of our country and its people: as the planet Earth continues to warm up, as a result of the high and dangerous emission-levels of greenhouse gases, that continues to be released into the atmosphere by humankind. A word to the wise…
Tel (powered by Tigo – the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Years ago, I remember laughing heartily, when I learnt of The Jam’s Paul Weller’s contemptuous reply, when he heard that his group’s song “Eton Rifles” was one of British Tory Leader David Cameron’s favourite tunes: "Is he thick? He probably thinks 'Eton Rifles' is a song about him and his mates." That was years ago. Today, it does appear that David Cameron might eventually become Britain’s next prime minister – if the opinion polls in the UK media are to be believed. Amongst the many things he has said the Tories will do when they form the next government, is that they will cut British aid to Russia and China – and give more to poor developing nations.
Although I might risk being called presumptuous (not that I care particularly: having become inured to insults for my bluntness – in a nation full of fence-sitting moral cowards!) I certainly do hope that the well-heeled Mr. Cameron, will demand, when his party comes to power, that UK companies investing in Africa are underpinned by the same corporate good governance principles expected of them in the UK. Above all, he must never do what Prime Minister Gordon Brown did – when he dragged our president to London to plead on behalf of the perfidious Vodafone. That company corrupted some of our leaders when it took over the state-owned Ghana Telecom – acting in much the same crooked fashion it did when it took over the state-owned Kenya Telecom: and corrupted some of Kenya’s greedy elite in the process.
Perhaps the Tories should ask the UK’s secret services (MI6) to take a close look at the antics of Vodafone’s expatriate staff in Ghana when they win power in the next UK general elections – and when he next speaks at any Institute of Director’s (IOD) meeting as British premier, make them an example of how expatriate staff of UK companies’ investing in Africa ought not to behave, when abroad. He must plead with corporate Britain that UK companies operating in developing nations such as Ghana, be mindful of how their expatriate staff are compensated, above all. He will be horrified to learn that whiles he and other British politicians are expressing their disgust at the obscene compensation levels corporate Britain (particularly the financial services sector!) insists on paying its top brass, Vodafone’s expatriate staff in Ghana are living like Arabian oil sheiks: at our expense.
He must also not be so naive and say that UK taxpayers are under pressure and that British aid will only go to poor developing nations. Does he not know that most of the leaders of poor developing nations are clever rogues who invariably set up special purpose offshore vehicles so as to enable them siphon donated aid money deposited in the treasuries of the nations they lead: in one crooked transaction after another? Ordinary Africans across the continent plead with him (and other British politicians!) to make sure that British aid goes to only nations in the continent whose leaders publicly publish their assets and that of their spouses (before and after their tenure!). Most of Africa’s leaders are simply not to be trusted – and if he can help it, he must please make sure that all UK and EU aid for climate change mitigation projects in the forestry sector of the Ghanaian economy go directly to NGO’s such as Rain Forest Alliance - Ghana and the World Wildlife for Nature - Ghana (WWF- Ghana), and not to the Forestry Service of the Forestry Commission of Ghana? He can ask the German development organization GTZ to give him their dossier on that sector of our economy.
To understand why I say so, I plead with him to send MI6 officers to the Ghanaian village of Akim Abaukwa Juaso in Ghana’s Eastern Region – straight to the P. E. Thompson family’s 14 square mile property in the Atiwa Range upland evergreen rain forest (both inside the official government reserve and the off-reserve forest). There, they will see the horrific sight of illegal chainsaw lumber being carted away in frightening quantities on the heads of scores of porters, and at a rate that will soon decimate what has been designated a Globally Significant Biodiversity Area (GSBA) at a time of global climate change, if nothing is done by the authorities to halt that outrage. Sadly, the forest there has been left by the Forestry Service of the Forestry Commission of Ghana, to the mercy of criminal syndicates controlled by wealthy, powerful, and well-connected individuals: who do not give a toss about the laws of the Ghanaian nation-state, and do not care one jot about the harm their activities cause the natural environment or their fellow human beings.
Finally, to see an egregious example of how British taxpayers’ money went down the financial equivalent of a black hole in Ghana, let him ask the Ghanaian authorities, to get the Department of Parks and Gardens, to show the MI6 officers he sends here, the results of the zillions of pounds sterling that was poured into a medicinal plants project (which the Royal Botanic Gardens and Ghana’s Department of Parks and Gardens collaborated to implement in the 1990’s). It is a classic example of how not to use hard-pressed British taxpayers’ money overseas, in poor developing nations, worldwide. Will he also get the UK, the EU, the US, and the other major wealthy developed nations, to make sure that no tax haven accepts money from African leaders and their families, under any circumstances? That is one of the most effect ways of halting corruption in the continent - and making sure that British aid money does not end up in the offshore bank accounts of the crooks amongst those who rule Africa! A word to the wise…
Tel: (powered by Tigo – the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109 & the not-so-hot and clueless Vodafone wireless smartphone: + 233 (0) 21 976238.
Recently, we witnessed one of the most abominable acts of brutality, yet seen in West Africa, by one of the many blood-thirsty rulers in the region’s long list of such monsters – who emerge suddenly from time to time. During a demonstration by ordinary Guineans, totally fed up with the crazy antics of a bully in uniform, who has usurped power in their country (and is superintending the systematic brutalization of large numbers of Guinea’s citizens), over one hundred and fifty innocent citizens of our sister country were mowed down: victims of trigger-happy troops, drunk with power, who feel they are above the laws of Guinea. Those murdered citizens of Guinea, were doing nothing more than standing up to a man, who seems to forget, that no human being is perfect: and that of necessity, in the 21st century information age, there ought to be limitations placed on the powers of all rulers, worldwide.
The leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), particularly Ghana’s leaders, ought to make it absolutely clear to Guinea’s military regime that its actions are unacceptable and cannot go unpunished. Ghana must demand that a full-scale inquiry be conducted by fearless and independent-minded judges selected from Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal, into events surrounding those murders – and insist that all those found culpable down the Guinean military’s chain of command, must be indicted for crimes against humanity: and put before a new UN/ECOWAS Special Court for West Africa, which needs to be set up for just such emergencies, as soon as it is practicable to do so.
We must end the impunity of such crazy leaders in our sub-region. As a civilized people, Ghanaians particularly must never tolerate the brutalization of our fellow ECOWAS citizens, under any circumstances. Above all, our leaders must put aside diplomatic niceties whenever ordinary West Africans are being suppressed, maimed, and murdered in droves by any of the rulers in the region, whose ultimate responsibility is to protect and promote the well-being of all those they lead: not murder them for expressing their opposition to tyranny in the 21st century ICT age. Ghana must take the lead – and not leave it to another crafty military dictator successfully masquerading as an elected civilian democratic leader, to mediate in the Guinean crisis. We demand to hear the voices of our leaders, raised to decibel-levels sufficiently loud, for their disgust and disapproval to be heard right across Africa: in expression of their opposition to such barbarities. Ghana ought to lead ECOWAS in the condemnation of such atrocities. A word to the wise…
Tel (powered by Tigo – the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0)21 745 3109 & the not-so-hot and clueless Vodafone wireless smartphone: + 233 (0) 21 976238.
I read the article written by Mr. Atta Akyea with the title above, in one of last week's editions of the fiercely pro-New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ghanaian newspaper, The Daily Guide, with considerable interest and mirth. Perhaps there are those who will say that Mr. Atta Akyea was being pedantic. In any case, in celebrating the centenary of the birth of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, we were not applauding the fact that he had been born on a particular day. The good people of Ghana celebrated the life and work of the Osagyfo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah – who always admitted publicly (in his writing) that he did not know the exact day he was born. Well, as we are in the realm of pedantry, may I ask, if it has ever occurred to the erudite Mr. Atta Akyea that in a very real sense, we none of us know exactly how old we are – if we assume that humans ought to calculate their age from the very moment they are conceived? Yes, the date of our birth is a useful date (particularly in our dealings with officialdom), but it merely marks the day we exited our mother’s womb, and entered the planet Earth as biologically-independent individuals – over nine long months from the precise moment and date of our conception: an event our parents (whose coming together made possible) were not even aware of!
Coming closer home to himself, since Mr. Atta Akyea is so against falsehood, perhaps he can tell me exactly what he intends to do about a longstanding falsehood that is an unwitting result of his inexplicable silence at the time, when that particularly egregious example of falsehood was published in The Independent newspaper, as a rejoinder to an article of mine, many years ago. I raise the matter today, because as we speak, there is a whispering campaign going on: to the effect that I am a "damager" of people’s reputations – and I gather from a source that one of his loquacious cousins initiated that slanderous campaign against me. When I wrote in my column, “Musings of an old man”(which I used to publish in The Independent), that Akufo-Addo, Prempeh & Co. had lost a case they should never have lost, resulting in me losing part of my inheritance, they sent a rejoinder saying in effect that I was an ungrateful man, who did not pay for their services to me, and was ruining their hard-won reputation. Yet, nothing could have been further from the truth: as I did in fact pay them for representing me in that case.
As there is apparently a type of amnesia that afflicts ambitious young lawyers who believe that they stand the chance of being appointed to ministerial positions in a government led by Nana Akufo-Addo (one gathers it has a rather longish name: “Doing-a-Nana-Kofi-Coomson-on-an individual-posing-a-threat-to-the-presidential-ambitions-of-Nana-Addo ”), in such matters, I think I must make it absolutely clear to Mr. Atta Akyea that I have a receipt acknowledging payment of one million cedis by me, from Akufo-Addo, Prempeh & Co. and a principled living witness who will never lie on anyone's behalf (in the shape of my dear 84 year old mother – who is an old Achimotan: still as sharp and alert mentally, as Atta Akyea himself is!) who actually handed the money over to him at a meeting in the Avenida Hotel. We went back to their legal chambers to collect the receipt from him after that meeting, if he recalls.
I am no Nana Kofi Coomson (foolishly relying on the goodwill and good nature of ruthless, mercenary, and super-ambitious young blades - liable to suffer amnesia in such situations, to corroborate something so important - with an eye on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity main-chance to be ministers in a government led by a President Akufo-Addo) I'll let him know. It so happened that after the said article had come to the notice of Nana Addo, he apparently summoned Kwame Akufo, who was in his salad days at the legal bar then. According to Kwame Akufo himself (recounted to me, during a shouting-match, when I confronted him years later: to demand the return of documents to do with the case!), Nana Addo asked him to go and see Dr. Prempeh, after he had briefed him.
I am not privy to what exactly he said to Nana Addo and Dr. Prempeh that resulted in that falsehood being sent to The Independent as a rejoinder to my article. Suffice it to say, that I was pretty livid when I saw it – and it was only the invocation of my late grandfather, P. E. Thompson Esq.’s, name, by my mother, who pleaded that I let the matter rest there and not write back to refute that outrage, that I did not challenge it. The question is, since he full well knows that I did pay Akufo Addo, Prempeh & Co. for the case – and that he accepted that figure to do the case for me, only after he got Yonney to confront me, upon his return from London, and hear it straight from me: that I felt that he had taken advantage of me when he registered four companies for me and charged me a total of one thousand pounds sterling – will he still maintain his silence?
Yonney had made the fatal mistake of asking me to collect the certificates of incorporation and commencement of business, from the Registrar General’s Department myself, before leaving for London: as they were not going to be ready for collection by the time of his departure. That was where I was told I had been grossly overcharged by him, and could have got the four companies registered for a fraction of the sum he had charged me. Naturally, feeling hard done by, I was certainly not in the mood to pay any more money to Akufo Addo, Prempeh & Co., simply because he (Atta Akyea) had inexplicably dumped the case in the lap of his inexperienced junior, without any explanation to us, his clients. I will be charitable and say that perhaps he never knew that such a rejoinder containing the falsehood that I had not paid his cousin’s legal chambers for representing me in the matter against my cousin in the court of Mrs. Justice Dodzie, had been issued and published in The Independent, by their legal firm.
The proverbial zillion-dollar question is: Now that he does know about it, precisely what does he intend to do about it, in order to set the record straight?Incidentally, if he actually wants to know the real falsehood in our nation's political history, let him read the report of the Watson Commission, set up by Governor Sir Gerald Creasy (led by Aiken Watson KC), after the disturbances that followed the shooting to death by the police, of some of the leaders of the ex-servicemen, who marched to the Christiansburg Castle in an attempt to present a petition to Governor Creasy – in which he will discover that far from being heroes, five of the so-called big six, who adorn some of the paper notes of our currency, were indeed just cowards, who sought to blame Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, for all that had occurred: in order to save their own skins. Hmmm, Ghana – eyeasem oo: asem ebaba debi ankasa!
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Hmmm Ghana - eyease oo: asem ebaba debi ankasa! On top of the rather depressing news emanating from the UK of late, about how low some of our ruling elite were prepared to stoop, during the 1990's, as they sacrificed the national interest in fulfillment of their private personal wealth-creation agenda (at the Ghanaian nation-state's expense), by accepting even absurdly small sums in hard-currency, from the British engineering company, Mabey & Johnson, because of their grasping and greedy natures, the last thing one wanted to read about, was the lamentations of a politician stating the obvious, whiles pretending not to know its root causes.
That, dear reader, was the overwhelming feeling of a few friends who had gathered to talk about the need for the Ghanaian Left to take advantage of the renewed interest in Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, amongst young people throughout Ghana, and spread his message of hope, countrywide, again. We all felt it was important for the Left to make young people understand why they ought to identify with the party of a man who wanted all who had the ability to study up to tertiary level, to do so: and fulfill their full potential as human beings, even if they came from the poorest families, in the smallest hamlets, in Ghana.
How many of such people know that Nkrumah's Socialism was based on our communal traditions, and that as usual, he was far ahead of his time: in wanting Ghana to have the same mixed-economy model of development, which today, China is using to power ahead of many major nations? It is a model of economic development that ensures that whiles the public sector works to ensure the delivery of a caring and sharing society (affordable housing; free education and healthcare; agro-industries nationwide, etc. etc.) the country also takes advantage of the creativity and innovation of honest and patriotic private entrepreneurs, who operate within a national plan, designed specifically to make virtually all Chinese citizens live dignified lives, eventually. It was during the meeting of this group of concerned Nkrumaists, worried about Ghana's future, in the hands of a largely-clueless and unimaginative political class, that one of our number, mentioned an online Ghana News Agency (GNA) news report, which he had spotted on www.ghanaweb.com. I looked it up later on after our meeting, and found it on the general news web-page of the Saturday, 3 October 2009 edition, of the ubiquitous online Ghanaian internet portal.
It made very interesting reading, and was entitled: "Common Fund deductions suffocating district assemblies". Well, after reading it, I called up the chap who had spotted it, and asked him what he thought the obviously highly-intelligent honourable minister was thinking as he complained about that very intolerable situation that does not auger well for our nation one bit. The problem the minister describes in that GNA news report, dear reader, has arisen precisely because that is what what will occur in any developing nation in which such Kweku-Ananse economic policies are pursued: just to benefit a powerful few with greedy ambitions (to paraphrase the far-seeing Nkrumah). If a supposedly intelligent people like Ghanaians, continue to tolerate what effectively is a gigantic fraud, designed to enable a corrupt regime siphon state funds (for its party's war chest, one gathers: according to a former New Patriotic Party chairperson, Mr. Haruna Esseku) , why should clever politicians, who can bring it to a halt simply by the stroke of a pen, not complain to ordinary people with their sugar-coated and well trained tongues, firmly in their well-fed cheeks, I ask, dear reader?
The fact of the matter, is that the Zoomlion palaver, is not simply one that should be dealt with on the basis that it must be allowed to continue (when we all know that in reality it is an invidious system), because we need to end the vicious cycle, and retrograde tactic, of political parties (newly returned to power) quickly destroying private businesses, owned by their political opponents: which were set up during the era of a rival party regime, that has just lost power after elections.
The bald truth, is that which ever way one looks at it, Zoomlion, is a creature of a deliberate policy: dreamed up by apparently-respectable men and women, whose egregious actions in this particular instance, in actual fact, made them super white-collar criminals. The object of that policy, was meant to create for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), its National Democratic Congress (NDC) equivalent, and counterpart, in the lucrative and opaque local government waste-disposal sector of our economy: J. Stanley Owusu & Co. Limited (JSO), which was the undisputed king of the waste disposal business, during the era of the first NDC administration, led by President Rawlings.
The NPP turned its equivalent of JSO into a nationwide creature, to create jobs for its foot-soldiers, and if Haruna Esseku was telling us the truth, to ensure the continued flow of funds to the party nationwide. Naturally, as no receipts are ever issued in such murky undertakings between politicians and clever businesspeople (despite what Dr. Kwabena Adjei, the NDC's chairperson apparently thinks!), no one can ever prove that such payments have ever been made - but alas, there is also the little local difficulty of Haruna Esseku's infamous words to deal with (as a complicating factor!), is there not, dear reader?
We all know, dear reader, do we not, just how close the ties between JSO and certain NDC bigwigs were - and only heaven knows why that was so. Suffice it to say, however, that it was certainly not because they loved to meet to have power-breakfast meetings, imbibing Huasa-koko and kako (because it was their favourite traditional African breakfast), as they discussed plans to ensure Ghana's economic well-being. The same can be said of Zoomlion's nationwide reach. Any truck-pusher of average intelligence, who buys and sells scrap metal, and has a waste-disposal sideline serving one residential street in urban Ghana, starting out with one Chinese-made rubbish-cart tricycle, can parley his business into a zillion-dollar entity, if he can take the guarantee of regular up-front district assemble common-fund allocation nationwide, to any bank with the ambition to become Ghana's number one bank: and that is the real rub, dear reader.
The key to understanding why a company like Zoomlion can grow so big in an environment like ours, after there is regime-change in Ghana, does not lie in working out the range and breadth of its politically-savvy and extremely well-connected ownership. It lies with the stated aim, as described by Mr. Haruna Esseku (when he caught a severe bout of verbal diarrhea, during an interview with the brilliant Raymond Archer, years ago), of creating NPP equivalents of prominent NDC crony-capitalists and their thriving business entities: so that they could fund the New Patriotic Party, and enable it stay in power for as long as the cash came rolling into the coffers of that party.
The crime against humanity perpetrated against our country, by the adoption of such an iniquitous system, is that by earmarking and paying up-front, to private entities (such as Zoomlion), a portion of the development funds meant for district assemblies, those vital local administrations, are denied the wherewithal to enable them uplift rural Ghana from the endemic poverty that plagues so much of it (and traps and condemns millions of our compatriots to an existence that is incredibly harsh, brutish, and often mercifully short for some, because of HIV/AIDS). Yet, if we adopted the developmental model of sustainable livelihood organisations such as the South African organisation, Sustainable Villages Africa (SVA), we can transform rural economies in a relatively short space of time, and with the little available to them from the national cake: if we had a more creative political class (across the spectrum). The business model of the Zoomlions of our age, are in effect a classic example of the socialization of private risk that saw its apogee in the greed-filled years of crony-capitalism (our equivalent of 19th century America's ruthless Robber-Baron era!) that enabled Kufuor& Co. to exploit our national economy for their personal benefit: in the name of "private sector-led growth"
If we continue with such an iniquitous system without reviewing it, and studying its impact on the real economy of rural Ghana, simply because we do not want to repeat the sins of yesteryear, when we all know that (well, according to no less a well-informed personage, than Mr. Haruna Esseku) it is simply a clever ruse to dump district administrations in the red financially, by transferring development funds and resources meant to transform the Ghanaian countryside, and make that part of our country more productive, to wealthy and influential oligarchs and powerful politicians and their parties, why should we expect our nation to ever become prosperous? If we allow that injustice to continue, the plain truth is that our districts will never be transformed to enable rural people have better quality lives, as long as such a monstrosity continues. What is going on is abominable in the extreme - for, whiles the real economy in rural Ghana is strangulated, because of the result of such pure-nonsense-on-bamboo-stilts economic policies, which sanction the transfer of already-insufficient resources from the district assembly common fund, meant to pay for development projects to uplift living standards in our rural areas, to private entities owned by politically well-connected high net worth individuals, the gap between the rural and urban areas continues to widen: literally a social time-bomb ticking away inexorably towards a future disaster of apocalyptic proportions, that will create political instability in our country.
We must never forget, if we insist that this iniquity be allowed to continue, that rural Ghana, which is where, after all, the bulk of the food crops; cash crops; and commodity exports; which earn Ghana the hard currency, which enables our largely-parasitic, and politically well-connected educated urban elite, to live lives comparable to prosperous middle class Westerners (although they often lack the creativity and innovation that keeps Western societies powering way ahead of societies like ours), that poverty will continue to stunt the growth of rural Ghana's economy, till kingdom come. If that is the case, then surely, dear reader, we run the risk of a social explosion at some point, when the masses finally understand, that the so-called "democracy dividend" is only for those who are able to grab huge ex-gratia payments, after relatively short periods in office, and their greedy paymasters and collaborators in the private sector. The burgeoning underclass will explode in anger if the glaring disparities in wealth in our homeland Ghana, that result from such clever schemes, which sanction up-front payments from the district assemblies common-fund, persists.
District Assembly common-fund cash must never be paid up-front, and used to subsidize the operations of private entities - so that they avoid risk in the provision of goods and services to district assemblies (in what is effectively the socialization of private risk). That is the harm advance payments from the district assembly common fund, paid to pre-finance the operations of the Zoomlions, owned by wealthy and powerful individuals, whiles their competitors are owed zillions by those self-same district assemblies that we are deliberately starving of funds, represents. It is the same way that the Tema Oil Refinery took money from state-owned banks to enable it give credit to oil marketing companies, many of which were set up to create a wealthy class of crony-capitalists, who would bankroll political parties and politicians: a criminal scheme that nearly bankrupted a vital national institution, in the process. Surely, that is no way to run a nation that aspires to become an African equivalent of the egalitarian societies of Scandinavia, is it, dear reader? We must halt the pre-financing of service providers to district administrations, if we want rural Ghana to become prosperous. A word to the wise...
Tel (powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): +233 (0) 27 745 3109 & the not-so-hot and clueless Vodafone wireless smartphone: + 233 (0) 21 976238.
The tragedy for Nana Fremaa Busia, is that not only is she a beauty with incredibly sharp brains – she also carries a very famous political name. It makes her a magnet for the outwardly-respectable and philandering-types who litter the upper echelons of our national life. They are invariably men who happen to be powerful individuals in very influential positions. In the civilized parts of the world, such men, whose favourite hobby is the sexual harassment of female subordinates, are an endangered species – as their activities are frowned on by society at large. Indeed, they often end up in jail for the unwelcome attention they pay women. It is instructive that one of the Ghanaian economy’s most lucrative sectors, the women’s lobby industry (peopled mainly by the power-hungry and well-educated middle-class ladies, for whom women’s advocacy is a useful stepping-stone that adds to their already-impressive CV’s), did not lift a finger on her behalf, when the “powerful baboons” of yesteryear, who were sexually harassing her, were running riot during the decadent Kufuor-era.
Their deafening silence was largely due to the fact that those self-same “powerful baboons” were the very ones they were relying on to get them onto the boards of public institutions – the juicy perk-filled golden sinecures so beloved of our educated urban elite. A typical example is the loquacious New Patriotic Party unofficial spokesperson, Ms. Ursula Owusu, who suddenly found her voice the moment we had regime-change, and was vociferous in speaking out on behalf of a fellow woman she felt was being victimized, when Mrs. Robinson, the Acting Inspector General of Police, was passed over for the present incumbent, when a substantive one was appointed and confirmed by the Mills administration. One hopes that now that she is a champion of females who are being unfairly treated by officialdom, she will also speak out on Nana Fremaa Busia’s behalf – and insist that the Mills administration, many of whose members made the unfair treatment of Mr. Hodari Okine, a cause-celebre, does the decent thing: and resolves this unfortunate matter quickly and fairly (something which the philanderers and hypocrites who used to rule us before the present regime assumed power in January 2009, failed so woefully to do!).
The Mills administration must ensure that the Ghanaian nation-state pays Nana Fremaa Busia all that she is entitled to get, for all the years she was never paid by her employers – and resettle her if they are unwilling to work with her. The idea that a regime led by a decent and principled gentleman will continue to hound her and allow the cruelties of those disreputable men who brought her to Ghana, appointed her to a position in our secret services, and then turned against her (and did everything to stop her from doing her work), to stand, is intolerable. Is it not the case that the powerful rogues turned against her, when they realized that she was an honest and principled woman, who was not prepared to close her eyes to their corrupt and criminal ways – and resorted to a regular regime of bullying and intimidation that would have broken many a strong-willed man, let alone delicate, sensitive, and gentle souls like the Nana Fremaa Busias of our world? To cap their wicked and abominable actions, those callous men then labeled her a lunatic – taking a super-cunning cue, and a leaf, from the book-of-wickedness that the erstwhile Soviet Union’s cruelest dictators, such as Joseph Stalin, used to thump through: for ideas on how to torture irritating citizens without actual physical contact with their torturers.
President Mills himself must take up the case of Nana Fremaa Busia, as he is not the philandering-type. That is the only way of ensuring that she does not become a victim of yet another bunch of your typical male Ghanaian philandering-type-in-powerful-positions, desirous of taking advantage of her, and using intimidation and blackmail to achieve their goal. I have absolutely no doubt that that will happen if the president himself does not take an active interest in her case: and acts to ensure that what Ghana owes her in unpaid salaries and allowances (in addition to any ex-gratia payments due her!), are paid to her as soon as it is practicable to do so. After all, what primary schoolchild in Ghana does not know that “National Security” is awash with unaccounted-for-money that regime after regime in our country has spent on all kinds of things that never benefited our nation, in any shape or form, one jot? Why then should some money from that financial equivalent of a black-hole not be used to restore the honour of our nation, for once: instead of it ending up paying for a life of Riley for the security apparatchiks who answer to on one and think are a law unto themselves – in our democracy, dear reader?
It is precisely because President Mills is one of the most honest and decent leaders Ghana has ever had, thus far, that he must take immediate steps to ensure that Nana Fremaa Busia does not become his regime’s Hodari Okine. Above all, he must not forget how brave she was in standing up to the disreputable men in high places, of yesteryear. She must not be victimized yet again by the self-same nation-state she was so loyal to – especially as at a time (in a country full of moral cowards!) when no one dared speak out against the dog-eat-dog selfishness culture that underpinned the Kufuor regime, she was brave enough to stand up to those into whose dishonest hands our country had fallen: challenging them publicly and exposing their perfidy to Ghanaians.
Why should a young woman, principled enough to refuse the blandishments of powerful men, during Kufuor & Co’s golden age of business (which incidentally, mainly benefited only the Hypocrite-in-Chief himself; the members of his family clan; and the sundry high-flying regime-cronies, who made easy money from influence-peddling and the rampant insider-dealing of that period, dear reader!), who even turned down the gift of Juapong Textiles factory, and a share in zillions of dollars, not be given what is due her for her honest attempt to protect Ghanaian democracy: particularly when during that period most Ghanaians heard and saw no evil: as Mother Ghana was brutally gang-raped by those who followed in the footsteps of the lustful political leaders that preceded them in office (and who gave the Julia Cottons zillions of taxpayers’ money, and collected bribes from the Scancems, and the Mabey & Johnsons, as well)? One certainly hopes that President Mills will open his eyes widely (as we say in local parlance!) – and not let Nana Fremaa Busia become the Hodari Okine of his administration. A word to the wise…
Tel: (powered by Tigo – the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109 & the not-so-hot and clueless Vodaphone wireless smartphone: + 233 (0) 21 976238.
It appears that our nation abounds with negative types. A prime example being the “Civvy-Street-Carpers” – who were carping recently at the current regime: for planning to purchase some US$680 millions worth of military hardware for the Ghana Armed Forces. What those complaining-types forget, when they question why “a nation that is not at war” and “which has no intention of going to war” (to paraphrase one such group of super-clever Ghanaiansin the Ghanaian media) is planning to spend so much equipping its military, is that many peaceful nations around the globe, such as Switzerland, Sweden, and Austria, arm themselves to the teeth, for a simple reason: They understand perfectly, the importance of being in a position to deter and repulse attacks, from belligerent regimes: which might suddenly appear at their doorstep, and decide to wage war on them, someday – in order to divert the attention of their citizens from problems at home.
Perhaps such Ghanaians do not realize that we live in a largely-hostile sub-region – full of malevolent regimes that whiles professing friendship with our country, secretly wish us ill: simply because we are a successful democracy whose citizens enjoy personal liberties unheard of, in much of West Africa. As far as some of us are concerned, the US $680 millions is rather too small – and we ought to be spending close to some US$2 billions: and adding unmanned drones with cameras and missiles on board, to enable us have 24/7 capability to deal effectively with intruders on our continental shelf (with evil-intent), keen to sabotage our oil and natural gas industries. We must never allow any group, or warlords with greedy ambitions, to harm our nascent oil and gas industries, ever – and to make sure that that never happens, the current regime ought to provide our navy with at least one submarine, enough fast patrol boats, and an appropriate number of oil tankers. It must also pass a law that will make it mandatory for all oil from Ghana to be exported in the holds of oil tankers, belonging to the Ghana Navy.
We must also ensure that a law is also passed that will make it mandatory for helicopters of the Ghana Air Force to be the only aircraft allowed to ferry men and equipment for all oil rigs operating off our coastline, that are sited on our continental shelf (and at international industry rates for such services). Above all, a law must also be passed that makes it mandatory for all foreign companies in the Ghanaian oil industry supply-services sub-sector, to have Ghanaian partners: before they can operate legally in our country – and make sure that our country benefits as much as is possible from the oil and natural gas industries, that way, too. We must stop merely admonishing Ghanaian businesspeople to prepare for the coming oil boom – and act positively by passing the necessary legislation to empower them to take the “commanding heights” of the industry (to use General Kutu Acheampong’s, famous phrase of economic empowerment!).
Well, dear reader, after hearing so many inanities this week, about how to grow our tourism industry, I guess that even an ignoramus and a buffoon like me, is allowed to humbly make a few suggestions, to the current regime – as my “widow’s mite” contribution to growing Ghana’s tourism industry: To begin with, may I suggest that we must ensure that in addition to “Zoil Ghana Limited” cleaning up our beaches, all the roads leading to tourism sites in Ghana, are turned into first class roads: as soon as it is practicable to do so? A dear friend from Scranton-Pennsylvania, USA, who will not be returning to Ghana anytime soon, because of the atrocious infrastructure (lack of potable water nationwide, and the erratic electric power supply across the country, that she encountered whiles here last February and March!), was indeed appalled by the poor state of the roads in our country.
Hopefully, when our political class finally cottons on to the fact that the more roads Ghana builds, the quicker will those roads fill up with smoke-belching and gas-guzzling vehicles (mostly imported scraped vehicles from the various developed world “cash-for-clunkers” programmes, designed to get their citizens to buy more fuel-efficient vehicles), they will begin to see the logic of borrowing billions from China (and issuing them with our sovereign bonds as insurance of payment), and setting up joint-ventures between the Ghana Railways Company and the best-resourced state-owned Chinese railway construction companies: to enable Ghana build (and operate rail passenger and freight services on ) railways to all the regional and district capitals throughout Ghana.
As we shall soon be celebrating World Tourism Day here, I do hope that the ministry for tourism will consider inviting Mr. Brain Mullis, of the renowned US responsible travel entity, Sustainable Travel International (STI),to help them “green” Ghana’s tourism industry (as well as corporate Ghana, generally!). Ditto inviting Mr. Peter Richards, of the Community-based Eco-tourism Institute of Changmai University in Thailand, to help universities in Ghana to set up similar institutes to provide our tourism industry with professionals who really understand what the responsible travel industry, actually is. For what its worth, I also do think that if we got our military (and other military forces in West Africa) to design a route for an annual West African safari rally, in which there will be separate competitions (running at the same time!) for both civilian and military teams (made up of competing vehicles from military forces around the world!), which will start and finish in Ghana, we can get Ghana tourism on the world map, that way (as well as promote West Africa as a multi-nation destination, too!) .
Finally, yet another simple but effective idea, would be for the president of Ghana to invite the two gentlemen (the policeman and the professor – who joined US President Barack Obama, in the White House gardens for a “beer summit”) at the centre of the infamous Harvard University “wrongful arrest” case: in which an African-American Harvard professor was arrested for breaking into his home, when he misplaced the keys to his own house, to Ghana – as our contribution to improving race-relations in the US? Will the global electronic media camera-teams that will follow their trip to Ghana to visit the slave-dungeons in Cape Coast and Elmina castles, as well as travel along the ancient slave-route from the north (taking in a safari at Mole National Park to see the magnificent heard of elephants there, whiles up north!), not put Ghana on the world map for zilch, dear reader? One certainly hopes that those put in charge of the tourism ministry will listen to such commonsense advice – and above all invite Mr. John Mason (the brilliant Canadian-Ghanaian head of the Nature Conservation Research Centre - NCRC) and Mrs. Gifty Kwansa, of the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB), to become their special advisers on responsible tourism in Ghana: as they are amongst the most knowledgeable on the subject, in Ghana? A word to the wise…
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I am quite sure that Mr. Mo Ibrahim, the Sudanese billionaire businessman, was being altruistic, when he set up the prize that in effect is a generous pension fund, designed to encourage African leaders to strive to run open and accountable regimes, whiles in power. However, there are also cynics who will say that there is no better strategy for an African billionaire businessperson with diverse business interests, looking for easy access to the corridors of power across the continent (to ensure the success of projects in which he or she has an interest in), to adopt, than instituting a prize of the nature of Mo Ibrahim’s prize for ex-African leaders. It is interesting that Ghana’s former leader, ex-President Kufuor is on the shortlist of ex-African leaders being considered for the prize this year.
Those in Ghana who believe that the former Ghanaian leader is deserving of the prize, cite what they say is his main legacy: keeping Ghana stable for the eight years he led the country, and his regime’s commitment to the rule of law, as the main reasons why he deserves to be given the prize. For those who think that ex-President Kufuor is undeserving of the prize, the idea that a man who led a regime, which actively used the whole machinery of state, of a modern African nation of diverse-ethnicity, to actively promote the overweening ambitions of his tribal Chief, to enable that tribal-supremacist effectively carve out a de facto state within a state, in Nkrumah’s Ghana, rules him out of contention for such a prize. They give the example of Uganda’s sudden descent into chaos (because President Museveni let out the genie of tribalism to enable him consolidate his hold on power, when he first took over Uganda, by reinstating the pre-colonial kingdoms of Uganda), as the end-game for President Kufuor’s unholy alliance with his tribal-supremacist traditional rulers, had his party succeeded in retaining power in the December 2009 presidential and parliamentary elections.
It is the reason why such Ghanaians demand that the law be changed to make the winner of a majority of the ten regions of Ghana, the winner of the presidential election – so that no Ghanaian leader will take Ghana down the dangerous path President Kufuor took our country whiles in power. They believe that when that becomes the law, no leader will have an incentive to play Kokofu-footbal (ethnic-politricks) to enable him or her build a large enough power-base, sufficient to ensure his or her re-election to the presidency. They also say that he had the historic opportunity to change the face of Ghanaian politics forever, by keeping his vow to have zero tolerance for corruption – and add that his broken promise to publicly publish his own assets, as well as that of his wife, as the mark of an insincere man who lied to gain and hold on to power. For such Ghanaians, the idea that a man, who they say made it possible for members of his family clan, his cronies, and favourite female friends, to enjoy a golden age of business: by exploiting our national economy to enable them send their individual net worth into the stratosphere, should be given a prize designed to encourage good governance in Africa is an outrage. They give the example of one of his sons winning a contract to supply electricity meters to the Energy Commission of Ghana, which enabled him to make over US$2millions in profits, as typical of the crony-capitalism that they say was our equivalent of the “Robber Baron” era of 19th century American capitalism, during the Kufuor era. Speaking personally, one simply hopes that the eminent persons who will choose the eventual winner of the Mo Ibrahim prize for African leaders, will choose someone who truly served his people whiles in power – and set a standard of leadership worth emulating throughout Africa. A word to the wise…
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Opanin, I do not know exactly why you have opened a Convention Peoples Party (CPP) office of your own at Adabraka - near City FM. However, whatever it is that is your real motivation for this new project of yours, I do think it presents our great party with a unique opportunity. It is time we took a leaf from the page of political organisations such as Hamas and Hezbollah - which help the poor by giving them practical help.
As we all know, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah believed in a mixed-economy with a place in it for private entities - but only those private business entities that were underpinned by an ethos of corporate good governance principles, and which were socially and environmentally responsible: as well as good corporate citizens that paid their full share of taxes.
Opanin, why do we not help dispel the widely-believed falsehood that Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkruamh was a communist: who did not approve of private enterprise - by setting up an Nkrumah Centre for Market-based Policy Initiative Alternatives (NCMPIA) in your new CPP office? Such a think-tank will enable the CPP to formulate creative proposals that will result in the creation of an army of young micro-entrepreneurs nationwide - by giving them the tools and resources to help them change their personal circumstances.
During the campaign for the December 2008 elections, for example, I gave the website address of a DIY solar charity in the UK, which helps poor people in the developing world to make solar products, such as: solar mobile phone battery chargers; convert lanterns into solar lanterns, make solar LED light panels, etc. etc., to the crowd who represented the CPP in that election - and lost miserably: because the people of Ghana did not believe they had what it took to change their lives (for, in their view, they were more or less a mere carbon-copy of the New Patriotic Party [NPP], and the National Democratic Congress [NDC]) . Sadly, they did not do anything with it - and a golden opportunity to get our party to help scores of disadvantaged youth to become micro-solar entrepreneurs was lost.
Opanin, can our great party not work with organisations such as "Mini-Farms" - which teaches farmers no-till farming with drip irrigation: a real boon at a time of global climate change, when we are experiencing prolonged drought periods, nationwide? Ditto Sustainable Villages Africa (SVA), and Mohammed Yunis' Graemen organisation - to make a real difference in the lives of grassroots people, countrywide: and turn them into loyal party-faithful, who will gladly and willingly spread the Nkrumaist message of the creation of a caring and sharing society in our country, throughout our homeland Ghana? I would be happy to let you have a detailed list of many such organisations - as well as volunteer my time freely, and help in the setting up of the NCMPIA. Unlike most people who you deal with, I do not want any of your money - as I am content with my lot. I am beholden to no one - being a man, who though cash poor, is asset-rich (something I say humbly, not boastfully - and only to make a point, do please note). Well, as we say in local parlance: "Over to you, Joe Lartey!"
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So the Mills administration too, wants to spend our nation's scarce resources, “branding Ghana"? Typical. What other wheeze will our leaders come up with to waste taxpayers’ money, I ask, dear reader? Surely, it is not rocket science – as even a buffoon and an ignoramus like me has cottoned on to the fact that the first building block to achieving a favourable national image worldwide, is to get rid of corruption in officialdom, to begin with, by trying corrupt officials and shooting them: just as they do in China to rogues on the state’s payroll?
We can follow that up with fixing the real economy – by bringing down Ghana’s interest rate to less than 2 per cent. Then we can go on to abolish personal income tax for all Ghanaian residents, and lower our corporate tax rate to make it the lowest in the whole of the planet Earth.
Let us then dramatically increase the size of the police to about 100,000 men and women – and train them to become as effective and efficient as the best in the developed world. We can then provide each one of them with personal communication equipment – which enables them to talk to each other whiles on the move (on foot and in vehicle patrols), as well as with their stations.
After that let us provide them with four drones with cameras on board to cover the whole of Ghana 24/7, 365 days a year – so they can keep track of criminals easily from the air. Then instead of the financial equivalent of pouring money down a black-hole, by spending zillions of hapless taxpayers’ money, paying sundry consultants to “brand Ghana” we can rather get free advertising worldwide – on countless information-providing websites about doing business around the globe: as the safest nation in Africa to live in, and the nation with the lowest corporate tax rate, in the whole wide world: and boost our national image, perpetually, that way!
What is it about politicians that makes them want to spin their way out of problems – instead of finding practical and sensible real-world solutions to our country’s many problems? Hmmm, Ghana – eyeasem oo! Asem ebaba debi ankasa!
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Mr. Sam Jonah is right to praise Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata – but with respect, it is not enough merely for Ghanaians to praise Tsatsu: and leave it at that. Perhaps our many brilliant economists could also tell us, whether our country's economy would collapse, if the government was visionary enough to put him in charge of a task force, to facilitate the setting up of a new state-owned oil giant – formed by merging the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), the state-owned oil marketing company Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL), and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), with a view to enabling Ghana refine all the oil it produces? Naturally, it would also make sense to set up gas liquefaction plants too – to enable us export a broad range of petroleum products (including liquefied gas) throughout Africa: starting with West Africa.
If the new oil giant were to be structured so that the management and workers owned 20 per cent of the company, whiles the government and Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) took up 60 per cent of the shares (and converted the TOR debt to GCB into stock in the new company, that way!), and 20 per cent was floated on the Ghana Stock Exchange, for ordinary citizens wishing to invest in the new company to do so, would it not ensure maximum productivity and good management, dear reader? By going into joint-venture partnerships with the best-resourced Chinese state-owned oil and natural gas companies, which are world class and class-leading in their individual sectors in China, could we not empower the new oil giant to build additional oil refineries, sufficient to enable Ghana refine every drop of oil it produces (ditto natural gas) – so that we can actually derive maximum benefit from that gift of nature: and use the money we make to help transform our country into an African equivalent of the egalitarian societies of Scandinavia? Surely, Ghane could pay for all the new refinery plants by giving China our soveriegn bonds - redeemable against future oil and natural gas revenues? Bravo Mr. Jonah!
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I couldn't help smiling, as I read an article entitled: “Ghana’s financial sector heads for crisis”, which appeared in the business section of the general news web-page of www.ghanaweb.com of Tuesday, 15 September 2009. Unfortunately, the Byzantine world of Ghana's financial services sector is said to be full of "insider-dealing" rogues - and apparently even little school children in Ghana are said to be aware of the incestuous relationships that exist between some regulators and many industry players.
As a wag once said: "There is no self-respecting ex-central bank governor in this country who does not either own a bank, or has a significant stake, in one. It is an intolerable situation, really!" Sadly, most of our financial services sector is a murky world in which ethics and corporate good governance principles are total strangers to many who work in it. In comparison to those ever-so-respectable hypocritical rogues in our financial services sector, the greedy and double-dealing moguls in Wall Street and elsewhere in the financial capitals of the Western world are veritable saints.
The Titans in the industry benefited mightily (in the zillions in fat fees that they earned as "transaction advisers") from the massive debt piled up by the Kufuor regime - as the perfidious Kufuor & Co. turned our democracy into a kleptocracy: and proceeded to milk our country dry, in order to send the personal net worth of the favoured tribal-supremacist princes and princesses of Kufuor's golden age of business (naturally, strictly for the family and friends of our then Hypocrite-in-Chief!), into the stratosphere.
Although it’s hard to believe, there are even persistent rumours that depositors’ money in some mutual funds was tapped to fund the electioneering campaign in the December 2008 election! Hmm, Ghana, eyeasem oo - esem ebaba debi ankasa! May God bless and protect our homeland Ghana, always. Long live freedom! Long live Ghana!
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I do not know who the best five economists are in Ghana, but I have often wondered just what would happen to our nation's economy if certain policies were adopted by any radical regime in our country. What calamity would befall Ghana, for example, if such a regime were to lower taxes to the level that made Ghana the nation with the lowest rate of taxation for businesses, anywhere on the planet Earth? Surely that would make our country a very attractive place to invest in to access the African market for all kinds of goods and services, would it not? Would many of those who currently evade taxes not have a conscience and start paying their taxes and contributing to our country's development positively, too, one wonders?
Would our economy grind to a halt, for example, if the interest rate in Ghana was lowered to say 1.5 per cent? Would one be wrong in assuming that it would lead to faster growth of the national economy - as small and medium-sized businesses borrowed to expand their businesses: once the present usury rates become a thing of the past? Would the jobs they created as those small and medium-sized enterprises expanded not be real jobs, dear reader? Perhaps some of our clever economists could also tell an ignoramus like me precisely what catastrophe would befall our nation if personal income tax were to be abolished - and if that would not attract many of the businesses that locate their African headquarters in places like South Africa to relocate to Nkrumah's Ghana instead.
Would the abolition of personal income tax also not immediately put money into the pockets of zillions of Ghanaians, I wonder, dear reader - and make it possible for President Mills to tell Ghanaians that he did fulfill his campaign promise to put money into the pockets of Ghanaians, in December 2012? If our many brilliant economists would also step out of the shadow of conventional economic thinking for once, and think the unthinkable, just as the leaders of the capitalist nations of the West did (by pumping trillions of dollars taxpayers' money into private entities in partial nationalizations that saved their economies from melting down), would they perhaps not make our nation's real economy actually prosper: and impact the quality of life of the ordinary citizens of Ghana, for once - and end the "Kweku-Ananse-economics" that sees politicians churning out impressive figures about our economic perfomance, whiles the quality of life and living standards of ordinary Ghanaian plummets in inverse proportion to increases in our GDP growth rate figures? The question is: Will they ever have the courage think creatively outside the box, ever, dear reader ? Hmmm, Ghana - eyeasem oo: asem ebaba debi ankasa!
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So our president says he will not spare any corrupt officials? Well, to be really credible, President Mills must publicly publish the assets of himself, and that of his wife - and then order all the ministers, and district chief executives, and their spouses, to do same. That will put clear blue-water between him and the gentleman who preceded him as Ghana's president.
After that he must ensure that Parliament quickly passes a new law to make that standard practice in our nation's political life, henceforth. Then we will all know that he is really committed to fighting corruption in Ghana. Perhaps the question we should ask is: If the president is serious about not sparing corrupt officials, when precisely then does he intend to ask Ghana's Attorney General to prosecute Alhaji Muntaka, the former minister for youth and sports - who did not know the dividing line between expenses to do with the performance of his official duties and that of his personal household expenses: and also had the gall to use taxpayers' money to fund a trip to Germany by his girlfriend?
As we found out to our collective cost from our bitter experience with ex-President Kufour (who despite his many empty and hypocritical words about fighting corruption, actually superintended the transformation of our democracy into a kleptocracy - simply to enable him, the members of his family clan, his favourite traditional rulers, and his cronies to send their personal net worth into the stratosphere: by exploiting our national economy to the hilt), it is with deeds, not mere platitudes, that one wins the fight against corruption in Ghana.
That is why it so essential that President Mills makes the prosecution of Alhaji Muntaka, the former minister for youth and sports, a priority - and his prosecution must start as soon as it is practical to do so. That way, we will all be reassured that the Mills regime will not turn out to a MK11 version of the super-corrupt Kufuor era. A word to the wise...
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Below, dear reader, is an article a dear friend from Scranton, Pennsylvania, emailed to me. After reading it, I could not help wondering if Ghana would not have been better off spending some of the over US$175 millions, which the previous regime used to build that chi-chi presidential palace complex with a leaky roof, partnering this inventor to perfect his new water purification system, instead - especially as we will doubtless opt to build a spanking new green capital city, bang in the centre of Ghana, someday, when we have sufficient funds: and can afford to build one? Read on - and judge for yourself!
Culled from CNN.com:
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (CNN) -- If you listen to inventor Dean Kamen, the biggest health problem facing the world today is not AIDS, obesity or malnutrition. It's a shortage of water.
Dean Kamen hopes to tackle the world's fresh water shortage with the Slingshot, a water purifying device.
Water is the most abundant resource on the planet, yet less than one percent of the Earth's freshwater supply is readily available to drink, according to the World Health Organization. Lack of accessible or clean drinking water, exacerbated by drought, is crippling communities in many developing countries.
"In your lifetime, my lifetime, we will see water be a really scarce, valuable commodity," Kamen says.
Those are scary words from the man whose creations include the Segway personal motorized scooter and the Luke (as in Skywalker) prosthetic arm. But the forward-thinking inventor and his team at DEKA Research in Manchester, New Hampshire, aren't sitting around waiting for the world's wells to dry up.
They've been working on an invention they say can tap into 97 percent of the world's undrinkable water.
It's called the Slingshot, and it's a portable, low energy machine that is designed to purify water in remote villages where there's not a Wal-Mart in sight. The device takes its name from a well-known story.
"We believe the world needs a slingshot to take care of its Goliath of a problem in water," Kamen says. "So we decided to build a small machine and give it to the little Davids."
Perhaps you've heard about the Slingshot, which Kamen has been working on for more than 10 years. Over that time it has turned dirty river water, ocean water and even raw sewage into pure drinking water. Kamen says it can turn anything that looks wet, or has water in it, into the "stuff of life."
The magic behind the Slingshot is a "vapor compression distiller" that stands between what looks like two empty fish tanks connected by a couple of hoses. One tank contains the contaminated liquid, the other is for the newly clean water. Watch Kamen demonstrate the Slingshot »
The Slingshot boils, distills and vaporizes the polluted source, in turn delivering nothing but clean water to the other side. And it does it all on less electricity than it takes to run a hair dryer.
In summer 2006, Kamen delivered two Slingshots to the small community of Lerida in Honduras. They were used for a month and Kamen says everything ran as planned.
"The machine worked very well down there, taking virtually any water that the people from that village brought to us," he says. "All the water that we got from the machine was absolutely pure water."
But there's a problem. Kamen says each Slingshot costs his company several hundred thousand dollars to build. He's looking to partner with companies and organizations to distribute Slingshots around the world, but says a little more engineering work needs to be done in order to lower the production costs.
Kamen says the company would like to get the price down to about $2,000 per machine.
"The biggest challenge right now between this being a dream and a reality is getting committed people that really care about the state of the world's health to get involved," Kamen says.
The world's population is quickly approaching 7 billion, making access to clean water that much more important. According to the World Health Organization and UNICEF, more than 3.5 million people die every year from water-related diseases and almost 900 million don't have access to a safe water supply.
Kamen says people in developing regions of the world need the Slingshot as soon as possible. He also thinks the problem with polluted water will spread beyond small villages.
He says one Slingshot machine can supply about 250 gallons of water a day, which is enough for 100 people. That's a lot of Davids.
"It is literally like turning lead into gold," he says. "But I believe it's more important, because you can't drink lead or gold."
Massa, I found your article of 11th September, 2009 entitled: “Are Nigerian Ministers insecure and envious of Ghana?” that appeared in the general news web-page of www.ghanaweb.com a most interesting read. Sadly, Nigeria is not the only African nation amongst whose ruling elite one can find politicians who happen to envy Ghana. It is a widespread problem that exists in many nations all over Africa – and it exists wherever good governance is mostly absent and the ruling elite happen to be largely corrupt, brutal, and super-repressive.
Personally, I count my blessings every day that I am a Ghanaian – as I am pretty certain that an irreverent writer with trenchant views like mine would have been bumped off ages ago, if I lived elsewhere in Africa. The corrupt and repressive ones amongst the leadership of nations such as: Sudan, Burkina Faso, the Ivory Coast, Togo, Niger, The Gambia, etc. etc. do indeed envy our country – and some of them are veritable sources of the many and varied powerful weaponry we see being deployed by criminals in the north of Ghana (who are largely responsible for the violence that erupts there from time to time).
Our secret services had better wake up to this latent threat to the stability of our nation – instead of constantly focusing on perceived political opponents of governments of day: as they are wont to do. One often wonders if they are even aware of the fact that the Ivorian soldiers in the northern part of the Ivory Coast, have used parts of the north of Ghana, for their rest-and-recreation for years – ever since they rebelled from the central government of that sister nation on our western border.
One certainly looks forward to the day when the Ghana Armed Forces will have at least four drones with cameras on board to monitor the borders of the landmass and territorial waters of our homeland Ghana, round the clock (and also take photographs of people rioting in all corners of our country – for the subsequent identification and prosecution of such lawless elements). A word to the wise…
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Pity, Graham - I was counting on him taking the project forward. There is something in the make-up of the average Ghanaian that makes him or her prefer to deal with lighter-hued people – and the DIY solar project idea would have been a roaring success as a result of that: as people would have bent over backwards to help him. Sadly, at the moment, the womenfolk of Akim Abuakwa Juaso are much keener on working for a surface gold mining entity – than empowering themselves with knowledge about operating a green micro-enterprise in the renewable energy sector. That is why they have not taken up the DIY solar idea, yet. However, one lives in hope.
As it happens, my family happens to be the biggest landowners there (please note that I say that only in a matter-of-fact fashion, not boastfully) – and to counter the baleful influence, and unwelcome intrusion of the surface gold miners, into our lives, we are gearing up to use eco-tourism to preserve our part of that marvelous gift of nature to humankind. We have set up the P. E. Thompson Nature Resource Reserve (PETNRR) as a tool for conservation – by opening up our large and pristine private rain forest to the public: as a community-based eco-tourism destination for lovers of nature, birdwatchers, extreme-hikers, tree-spotters, bird-watchers, researchers, etc. etc.
The DIY solar idea will begin to make sense to the villagers when the eco-tourism starts bringing in wealth to the area – and they realize that preserving that beautiful part of our country, rather than pandering to the whims of wealthy and selfish surface gold miners, as well as engaging in the rampant illegal logging that goes on daily there, will give them a better standard of living, and a better quality of life, too. Unfortunately, as a result of the endemic poverty of the area’s cocoa farmers, the surface gold mining company, Sola Mining, has succeeded in buying a vast swathe of farmland from the inhabitants of the village, and is busy raping Mother Nature there - even though, incredibly, it does not even have a mining permit from the EPA.
Our off-reserve land is part of the Atiwa Range upland evergreen rain forest (and part of it also lies within the government's forest reserve) – an internationally recognized biodiversity hotspot. The surface miners have even bought the farmland of our immediate neighbours, the traditional authorities of Akim Abuakwa Jauso – although they are currently operating in the foothills of the Atiwa Range. Amazingly, they have actually been stopped twice from continuing to operate by the EPA – but have carried on regardless. Irritatingly, that confounded company seems to be contemptuous of the laws of the Ghanaian nation-state – a common characteristic of our largely greedy, ruthless, and thoroughly corrupt elite.
The irony in all this, Graham, is that the Paramount Chief of Akim Abuakwa, Osagyefo Amoatia 11, is known widely here (and elsewhere around the planet Earth) for championing the cause of conservation and spreading environmental awareness. It has even gained him the friendship of your Prince of Wales, HRH Prince Charles, no less. Yet, the owner of Sola Mining, a Mr. S.O. Lamptey (or is it S. O. Lartey, I wonder?), actually mentioned his name once, whiles haranguing me over the phone, for being so presumptuous as to want to halt mining in Ghana’s Eastern Region – giving one the distinct impression, that somehow, they were fast friends: and that that royal personage was obviously aware of their perfidy. If that were true, it would make him a hypocrite of the very worst sort. Hopefully, if he (or any of his many cousins) reads this, that egregious example of the disregard for the natural environment displayed daily by so many of the players in the mining sector of our nation’s economy, will be swiftly halted once and for all – if for nothing, at least just to save face, for the Okyenhene and Ofori Panin Fie.
That is Ghana for you, Graham – an apparently well-run African nation-state with a world-wide reputation for good governance. Sadly, however, beneath the patina of the peaceful and stable nation peopled by a civilized African people, possessed of a vibrant emerging economy, lies the harsh reality of a country of lawlessness and indiscipline – jam-packed with moral cowards, hypocrites, and sycophants. Quite frankly, Graham, the Okyenhenes of our country, make me sick. They are the progeny of our pre-colonial feudal ruling elites – and inherited privilege, as you and I know, is the greatest enemy of any meritocracy. They are largely responsible for much of the superstitious-ridden mambo-jambo, which underpins the retrograde mindset of so many of our people – that makes them lack self-belief, and holds our country back, so.
Yet, our nation’s founder, Osagyefo Dr, Kwame Nkrumah, had that vital ingredient of success, in such abundance. Perhaps it might interest you to know that such was the fear of his influence on Africans, that the Western powers conspired to have him overthrown (by local quislings acting in consonance with our military) on the 24th of February, 1966. This little gem from the then British High Commissioner to Ghana, a Mr. Snelling, writing a dispatch to the Foreign and Commonwealth office and the British secret service on September 15, 1961, encapsulates perfectly, the concerns of the imperialist exploiters of our continent at the time: “”His, (Nkrumah’s) knack of giving expression to the feelings of so many Africans, who are all the time rapidly becoming more politically conscious, is exasperating….We are better off without him.” One hopes that young Ghanaians will be inspired by his writing to become Africans imbued with Nkrumah’s abundant self-belief and supreme confidence in the abilities of members of the black race worldwide.
Incidentally, yet another example of just how worried the imperialist powers were about Nkrumah’s influence on the mind’s of Africans, can be gleaned from a declassified CIA memo (from a Johnson Library National Security File, Vol. 21, 3/3/66-3/20/66) to President L. B J. Johnson, written by Robert R. Kromer, Acting National Security Adviser at the time, who stated, inter alia: “The coup in Ghana is another example of a fortuitous windfall. Nkrumah was doing more to undermine or interests than any other black African. In reaction to his strongly pro-communist leanings, the new military regime is almost pathetically pro-Western.” Do note their derision for those stooges for neocolonialism who overthrew Nkrumah – in sharp contrast to their fear of Nkrumah’s intellect and influence in Africa. Lastly, let me point out that contrary to the West’s propaganda, Nkrumah was never actually a communist. Sadly for our country, most of Ghana’s post-Nkrumah leaders have been mostly of the ilk of those traitors to the black race (who run our country for the benefit of foreign exploiters after his overthrow) – who colluded with the enemies of Africa to remove that great pan-African leader from power in 1966. He will remain in the Pantheon of the greatest leaders of the world till the very end of time – long after his detractors have sunk into oblivion and been forgotten. His equal has not yet been born; I am afraid. Hmmm, life…
Google: “ghanapolitics”.
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My recent interaction with some members of the Odokor Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID), has left me wondering if the Ghana Police Service as an institution, ever learnt any lessons from the many shocking revelations about the unlawful conduct of some members of the security agencies, that came to light, during the sittings of the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC), years ago – and if it did, whether those lessons have been incorporated in the training of your officers, nationwide.
Whatever be the case, Sir, you must move quickly to ensure that the members of the Odorkor Police CID are given a crash course in modern-day policing in a multi-party democracy, as soon as it is practicable to do so – if some of them are also not to appear before a similar body, years hence: going forward into the future. I was shocked by the breathtaking arrogance of a number of the officers, that I personally interacted with. One got the distinct impression that they had little regard for the poor – who as you know, constitute the bulk of those in society, who end up having to interact with those little Nazis: who appear to routinely manipulate the criminal justice system with such impunity, and seem to think are a law unto themselves. Their rudeness is simply beyond belief.
Listening to some members of the public (who were waiting to see the Odorkor Police CID and were sitting under a tree directly opposite the charge-office), I heard the story of a suspect in a rape case detained there, who I gather had been locked up in the cells of the Gbawe Police and the Odokor Police, for more than the statutory 72 hours clearly spelt out in our constitution. Apparently, he is a lad of 18 who defiled a girl of 14 – and the victim’s parent is said to be demanding GHC1000 to drop the case: and he is presumably being kept in there until his poor family cough up the GHC 1000. The question is: How come that that can be countenanced in what is supposed to be a constitutional democracy? Even I, who is neither senile nor a complete ignoramus about the law, was threatened by a lady detective – who had the gall to tell me that she did not want to "have a bad day" and would charge me for insulting all of them, if I persisted in insisting that my driver was seen to. It appears that, somehow, they feel they are above civilians – who should be like whimpering dogs: crouching with their tails between their tails, when in their presence.
Naturally, outraged by such disrespect and power-drunkenness, I was not having any of their arrogant impudence, in assuming that this was some kind of police state – in which civilians had to cower before police officers. Sir, at the very least, you must demand that all your officers treat the public with the utmost respect at all material times – and be tolerant of people, who after all, more often than not are under severe stress, when they appear before them in police stations countrywide. The idea that even I, who knows his rights, could be locked up by some power-drunk detective: who could perhaps suddenly decide to frame me up for some spurious reason, on one false charge or the other, simply because she was incensed at being “challenged” (to use local parlance) by me, has prompted me to write to you – so that such monstrous abuse of power is halted in police stations nationwide: and the many innocent Ghanaians who are not from privileged backgrounds that go to police stations in Ghana, are spared from experiencing the unspeakable horrors I experienced at the Odokor Police Station.
I do hope you will send out a strong message to all your officers – demanding that they show the public some respect, and be courteous to all Ghanaians: rich and poor alike, whenever, and wherever they encounter them. Above all, Sir, you should arrange to have officers in disguise appearing as suspects in as many police stations as possible throughout Ghana, to see how widespread is the abuse of power and manipulation of the the criminal justice system, by the some of the Ghana Police Service's CID officers. Naturally, I shall not give any names and will not cooperate with your men, if they invite me to assist them to enable the service discipline any of the officers of the Odokor Police CID – as frankly, I have no confidence in most of them. The entire system appears to have been corrupted – and it must be a nationwide disease, I guess. Sir, make the cleaning up of the CID one of your top priorities – if you want to leave a good legacy. A word to the wise...
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An illegal surface gold mining operation being carried out without a valid Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) permit, in the Akim Abuakwa Juaso section of the foothills of the Atiwa Range upland evergreen rain forest, encapsulates perfectly, the complete impunity with which powerful and politically well-connected individuals in Ghana, are destroying Ghana’s natural heritage, in defiance of hapless officialdom. Global climate change is impoverishing billions across the developing world – and those at the sharp end in rural Ghana are already seeing its negative effects on their lives. It is thus hard to fathom why those behind the illegal surface gold mining operation being carried out in Akim Abuakwa Juaso, Sola Mining, which was halted by officials of the mining department of the EPA (who travelled all the way to the area from Accra, solely for that purpose not too long ago), never actually ever ceased their illegal activities, although their activities have been brought to the notice of all the relevant authorities (including even government ministers). Incidentally, dear reader, no doubt the gold that is mined illegally in the area will contribute to Ghana's GDP - and clueless politicians will harp on endlessly about our country's impressive GDP growth rate figures (without ever examining what actually constitutes that growth): when the reality on the ground is that the illegal surface gold mining is only worsening the quality of life of the inhabitants of the area. Since the illegal gold miners have also bought a vast swathe of farmland from the area's cocoa farmers, the real cost to society of the perfidy of the illegal surface gold miners, is that those farmers will be impoverished yet further - when the paltry sums they sold their cocoa farms for, and which they obviously think are such huge fortunes, finally run out.
Kibi Goldfields, which is said to be insolvent at the moment (and was also once rumoured – although one cannot obviously verify that because of banks’ commitment to client confidentiality – to be involved in a scandal at the Gulf House branch of the ADB, if my failing memory serves me right, i.e.: in which vast sums were said to have been transferred to Malaysia years ago, under questionable circumstances, for more or less obsolete equipment), does have a concession in the area. When I met with some of the wealthy and influential people behind Sola Mining's illegal operation, they mentioned Kibi Goldfields as their associates – giving one the impression that they were working together with Kibi Goldfields, somehow: thus lending their illegal operation an air of respectability, as it were. The question is: If such an operation can be carried out with impunity in such an important and internationally-recognised biodiversity hotspot (surveyed incidentally by Conservation International some years ago, in a “rapid assessment” of the area’s unique fauna and flora), precisely what will those officials from Ghana, who will attend the December 2009 Copenhagen global climate change conference, tell their colleagues from the developed world who provide them with funds (in the hope that their work will protect grassroots people in rural Ghana from the worst effects of global climate change), when they question them about the current state of the Atiwa Range uplands evergreen rain forest?
In view of the apathy of much of officialdom (where issues to do with the natural environment are concerned), perhaps it might very well make sense for governments in the developed world that plan to provide money for African nations to fight global climate change, to give those funds to non-governmental organizations engaged in conservation work in nations such as Ghana. The EPA did not hesitate to act when they were informed about the destruction going on in Akim Abuakwa Juaso – however, such is the inertia of the bureaucracy of the Forestry Service of the Forestry Commission of Ghana, that they have not been able to do anything to halt the rampant illegal logging and illegal surface gold mining in the area. Since the road to the open pits of the surface gold miners passes right in front of the Akim Abuakwa Juaso Chief’s palace, one can safely assume that the traditional authorities of Akim Abuakwa at Ofori Panin Fie too, are aware of what is going on. It would be interesting to be a fly on the walls of Clarence House, if during a visit there by the present Okyenhene and some of his elders, they were to be asked by Britain’s Prince Charles, exactly why what amounts to a crime against humanity is going on in the area, when the Okyenhene has a reputation for championing the cause of environmental protection in Kwaebibirm? The catastrophe in a rain forest which contains the headwaters of the three major river systems on which much of urban Ghana depends for its drinking water supply, must not be allowed to continue, at a time of global climate change. One hopes that the politicians who head the ministries that are supposed to lead Ghana’s fight against global climate change, will consult committed and dedicated NGO’s involved in conservation work in our nation, such as: Rain Forest Alliance – Ghana; Conservation International - Ghana; the World Wildlife Fund for Nature - Ghana; from time to time: and not rely only on the public sector organizations (that so clearly are not sufficiently motivated to do much in that regard) tasked to help our country combat the worst effects of global climate change. A word to the wise...
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Massa, I shall go straight to the point – you must consider standing for the position of presidential candidate for the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) when the time comes to elect one in 2012. It is obvious that the ordinary people of our country do not want the bourgeois-types who have regarded the party of Nkrumah, much as they see takeover targets in the business world they excel in, to lead the party that is supposed to be the vanguard of the Ghanaian masses – which is why the CPP has failed so abysmally in all the elections in the 4th Republic. You must put aside your sense of modesty – and come to the rescue of our country, at a time when it needs a true Nkrumaist to be at the helm of affairs in Ghana: to ensure that our oil and natural gas deposits do not also end up enriching the shareholders of foreign companies, just as our gold deposits have, over the years. The power of the Ghanaian nation-state must be used to improve the living standards of all Ghanaian – not just a privileged and politically well-connected few and their foreign collaborators, as has been the case in the immediate past.
It is unfortunate that you seem so reluctant to consider this suggestion. The question is: If you love Mother Ghana, how can you possibly refuse standing for the presidency, when she is being so brutally gang-raped by our political elite? Do you not see that it is important, if every one in our society is to benefit from the growth of our national economy, that the crony-capitalism that is cloaked with the innocuous-sounding phrase “private-sector led development” is exposed for what it truly is: a license for our ruling elites to rip our nation off, legally? Did you not hear of the outrageous case of insider-dealing that enabled the son of a sitting president, using a special purpose vehicle to obtain a contract to supply a state-owned entity with electricity meters, to make the staggering profit of over US$ 2 millions? In the internet age, could the officials of the Energy Commission (and other state organizations needing products from overseas, incidentally) not simply have gone online, to find the best value-for-money source for the supply of electricity meters, directly from the manufacturers of such products – and saved the over two million dollars that went into the pockets of a pair of politically well-connected individuals: that could have been used to refurbish some of the many schools and hospitals that cry out for help, in the endless news reports of that nature, from across the country, which we see regularly on our television screens?
Today, when even the leading capitalist nations are stepping out of the shadow of conventional economic thinking, in order to secure their national economies, and are using taxpayers’ money to rescue private entities by partially-nationalizing them (so as to save jobs and ensure the long-term survival of those entities), surely, our nation would be better off being led by someone such as yourself – who understands clearly why a poor developing nation with aspirations, cannot, for example, afford not to provide free education, up to tertiary level, for all those who have the aptitude to study to that level, but whose families cannot afford to pay for their education? Would our country not be better of being led by someone who understands that any democracy, in which there are glaring disparities of wealth, and in which there is a growing underclass (consisting of an ever-burgeoning army of disaffected youth), who have no hope of ever escaping from the poverty trap they are caught in, cannot possibly endure for long? Massa, you are the perfect candidate for the presidency of Ghana, for the CPP – and I humbly appeal to you to seriously consider devoting your energies to the task of becoming Ghana’s next Nkrumaist leader, when President Mills comes to the end of his tenure. Clearly, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has no intention of ever stepping out of the shadow of conventional economic thinking – which is why at a time when China is happy, and able to, fund our development plans (up to even some US$20 billions), in exchange for our sovereign bonds, they are rushing to embrace the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
Massa, who in Ghana does not know that you abhor corruption – which is why you have consistently said that elected politicians, and their spouses, should publicly publish their assets: both before and after their tenure? Are you not also one of the few figures in this country who has enough self-belief not to be mesmerized by the much-compromised hero of June 4th 1979 – who gets away with so much because he is a half-caste in a nation full of moral cowards with a slave-mentality: who think that somehow he is a superior being on account of his lighter hue, and put up with his pure nonsense on bamboo stilts? Massa, you must put aside your sense of modesty and start seriously considering working towards the goal of becoming the next Nkrumaist leader of our country. Ghana must transformed into Africa's equivalent of the egalitarian societies of Scandinavia - and only a leader who thinks like you do, can make that happen – which is why Posterity will never forgive you if you continue to refuse to consider the idea. A word to the wise...
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I refer to the story posted on the general news web-page of www.ghanaweb.com, on Thursday, 20 August 2009, entitled: “Ohene Ntow Too Loots Bungalow”, which appeared in The Enquirer newspaper of the same date. Perhaps in addition to being old and senile, I am also blind as a bat - but where exactly in the story was Nana Ntow interviewed: and if he wasn't, why was he not interviewed: if The Enquirer sought to give its readers a balanced story, instead of a one-sided one, i.e.?
Perhaps the question a more responsible journalist might have asked himself, in trying to write a more balanced story, would have been: “Could it be, perhaps, that squatters moved in after his departure from the property - and turned it into a pig's luxury mansion, I wonder?” and then proceeded to try and contact the hapless victim of his most unprofessional conduct. Clearly, we shall never know whether that was the case or not - as the lazy reporter who wrote the story did not act professionally in this instance: and has damaged the poor man’s reputation, beyond repair: if the conclusions he drew, in the absence of conducting an interview with Nana Ohene-Ntow to ascertain the truth, did no actually match the true facts on the ground (in a manner of speaking – and no pun intended, incidentally).
Perhaps the reporter will take the advice of an old buffoon (who has no formal education, incidentally), and opt for a different profession, as he has clearly not mastered even the basic tool of his profession - language: in this instance the English language, which this unprofessional hack has crucified so. As for the ever-erudite Nana Ohene-Ntow, it does appear that he and the crowd he belongs to, simply came to improve their own personal net worth (as we are now discovering, to our collective cost): not to improve the quality of life of ordinary people - which is why the powerful crooks who dominated his confounded party, succeeded so brilliantly, in turning our democracy into a kleptocracy: and ended up introducing a dog-eat-dog selfishness culture into the nation of diverse-ethnicity, with a caring-and-sharing culture, which the great Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah founded.
Having rooked our country silly - the cabal of amoral and Akan tribal-supremacist rogues in the presidency during our erstwhile Hypocrite-in-Chief, President Kufuor’s tenure (who unfortunately dominated the New Patriotic Party throughout their eight years in power), then proceeded to divide our country with their ruthless and infernal Kokofu-football politricks. Alas, their many golden chickens are now coming home to roost, one by one - and no matter how violently those blinkered "My-party-my-tribe-right-or-wrong" myrmidon-types (who were too blind to see what was wrong in our nation then, and way too thick to think for themselves today: and whose blind support ended up destroying Nana Ntow's party so) protest, nothing can stop the crooks amongst them from eventually ending up in jail – for their many crimes against ordinary Ghanaians: and willfully causing so much financial loss to the Ghanaian nation-state. Hmmm, Ghana - eyeasemm oo: asem ebaba debi ankasa!
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Whiles we must all condemn any attempt to abuse the human rights of those members of the previous regime, who are being investigated by the security agencies, one must also upbraid the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for its selective amnesia – and the hypocrisy of some of its leading figures. Surely, it is untenable that politicians who once ruled our country, can resort to manipulating brutish myrmidon-types: and get them to invade the grounds of our law courts and the premises of the Bureau for National Investigations (BNI) – simply to stoke up tension in the country, for purely parochial ends? Perhaps one ought to point it out to the honest ones amongst the NPP, that as a result of the actions of the powerful rogues amongst them, who abused their positions and engaged in acts of corruption on a scale seldom seen in our nation’s history, their party will always be remembered by posterity for being so incredibly successful in turning the nation Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah built (whose citizens’ pre-colonial traditional societies were underpinned by a caring-and-sharing ethos), into a nation full of callous self-seekers and moral cowards – tearing at each other in order to get up the greasy pole of success, Ghanaian-style. That is what has created today's dreadful dog-eat-dog selfishness culture in our country.
As they busy themselves with endless press conferences to defend the indefensible, perhaps they must be reminded that their party’s crony-capitalism economic model, was in fact a carbon-copy of early 19th century American robber-baron capitalism – which they cloaked with respectability by giving it the slick marketing catch-phrase: “A golden age of business.” Do they not realize that it caused a great deal of misery nationwide – misery that has worsened now that the effects of their borrowing-binge are manifesting itself in the real world? Needless to say, it was mainly the politically well-connected oligarchs of the Kufuor-era, who prospered most, as a result of their mutually beneficial set of relationships with the powerful crooks who dominated the NPP regime, during its tenure. What then is the point, one wonders, in their insisting on tarnishing their party’s image – by blindly supporting those of their colleagues who are now facing the music: and whose corrupt ways turned Ghanaians against their party?
Surely, the honest NPP members must think of the long-term well-being of their party, rather than give succour to those whose perfidy lost them the trust of the good people of Ghana – thus giving independent-minded and decent people the impression that they are a cynical lot? There is something particularly unsavoury about a political party burying its head in the sand – and pretending that roguish colleagues are being persecuted: when in actual fact, all that is happening, is that they are being called to account? If they are not aware of it yet, they must understand that it is obvious to most ordinary Ghanaians that the loud-mouthed Mr. Asamoah-Boateng and his abrasive wife were leaving our shores, with the intention of seeking political asylum in the UK – because they knew that the chickens would soon be coming home to roost. Why then is the NPP calling press conferences to defend people of their ilk – and creating tension for such outrageous reasons? Does that not amount to hypocrisy on the part of people who really ought to know better – precisely because they have held power before, dear reader?
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I made a grave error of judgment when I elected to publish a book in Ghana – rather than do so abroad. Somehow, those in the Ghanaian political world who wish me ill, got wind of it – and quickly swung into action to cripple my efforts in that direction: using their extensive networks, built up through their munificence whiles in power. The upshot of their recent actions is that my personal computer has been sabotaged – because I had to send it to be repaired for me. Consequently, I have lost all the digital content stored on my computer. Perhaps, those well-heeled morons thought that that would stop me publishing my book. However, nothing on this earth can stop me publishing any of the books I am currently writing – and neither can the subtle pressure they are exerting on me by remote control through other parties on several fronts (trying to make my life a misery), stop me from continuing to comment on Ghana’s politics and expressing my opinions about our shortsighted and mostly-dishonest political elite: many of whom are fervent adherents of the “Cult-of-the-mediocre.”
At the height of the acrimonious campaign for the run-off of the December 2008 presidential elections, some of our previous rulers (who were active participants in the brutal gang-rape of Mother Ghana during their era in power) used their hirelings in the defunct Ghana Telecom (GT) to disrupt, and eventually deny me, my broadband internet access from McCarthy Hill. Although they have used their long reach yet again to touch my life negatively, they reckon without my tenacity of purpose: and the nerves of steel my maker blessed me with. The loss of my personal computer and non-availability of broadband internet access of my own is only temporary. For their information, I shall find a way around those particular mountains of adversity eventually – just as I have overcome countless other obstacles throughout my life, thus far. In any case, if the worst comes to the worst, and I even have to leave the shores of Ghana to enable me continue writing books and posting articles about Ghanaian politics and politicians online, on my internet web-blogs, I shall do so. Writing is my life – and no one can stop me from doing my life’s work. I am a Leo and a really stubborn smallish big-cat. Were I to lose the human equivalent of a cat’s nine lives, and lose a total of nine lifetimes’ work stored digitally (on the requisite number of computers to hold them), I shall create new work to replace them: for, I am an original thinker: not a follower of fads and a panderer to crowds of “My-party-my-tribe-right-or-wrong” myrmidon-types, in my writing.
Let those ace-liars who tricked their way to power in December 2000, and used it as legal cover to exploit our national economy for their personal benefit, as well as that of their family clans, and their cronies, not think for a moment that Kofi Thompson can be prevented from expressing his opinion about their appalling stewardship. Did they not think that they could milk our country dry till kingdom come – and get away with it successfully? Do they think that some of us have forgotten their criminal activities at the time they were trying to steal the December 2008 presidential election – in hope that their party could remain in power that way, through their chicanery: and enable them to continue hiding their many corrupt multi-zillion cedi deals? Do we not all now know that their combined net worth and that of the members of their family clans, as well as their cronies, constitute a significant chunk of Ghana’s GDP – even as they insist on those obscene ex-gratia payments being paid to them despite our country’s precarious economic situation?
When they were in power, and though they were invincible, they were so contemptuous of those of us who told them not to forget that wise old Ghanaian saying, “No condition is permanent.” They tried hard to shut us up through many subtle ways because we were criticizing them for being so greedy and corrupt. They will face the music for their corrupt ways in due course, for sure. One hopes that they have taken note of the fact that those crooks in the regime of President Rawlings who took bribes from the British firm, Mabey & Johnson all those years ago, have only recently been exposed – when they least expected it: and thought they had gotten away with their criminal activities, whiles in power. Years hence, the crooks in the previous regime too, will wake up one day to find their dirty little secret with Vodafone being exposed, when they least expect it – just as the crooked Kenyan politicians whom Vodafone bribed when it was taking over Kenya Telecom, were also exposed when they thought they had gotten away with their crime against Kenyans and the Kenyan nation-state.
Let them remember that long before typewriters and personal computers were invented, throughout the centuries, writers have created, shaped, and shared their thoughts with the rest of the world, by putting pen to paper. As they can see, I have bounced right back using pen and paper, not my personal computer, to write this little "love-ditty" to them. I can do without a personal computer for now, until I eventually get myself another one to replace the one that was destroyed through their agency – and when that ever develops a glitch, I shall be super-careful just whom I send it to, to be repaired for me: now that I know just how far they are prepared to go, to stop me writing about their reprehensible activities. Let all of them, from the Hypocrite-in-Chief himself (who turned the seat of government at the Osu Castle into the white-collar criminal command-centre of Ghana – where kickbacks from sundry contractors awarded government contracts were received by those who were supposed to lead the fight against corruption, but who rather chose to ruthlessly fleece our country that way, instead), to the lowest of those mini-rogues he appointed into office to enable him and his favourites impoverish ordinary Ghanaians yet further by “chopping our country small, well-well” (as the Nigerians say in their local parlance), know that I despise all of them – and that they can never stop Kofi Thompson from writing to criticize their shameful legacy, ever.
They would be wise to concentrate their energies instead, on preparing their minds for the long jail sentences that await them for willfully causing financial loss to the Ghanaian nation-state. After all, am I not one of those simple souls that philistines like them are so contemptuous of – because we do not believe that the end justifies the means: and believe instead that a good name is better than tainted wealth, and will thus not sell our consciences and become praise-singers for crooked politicians? Nothing can ever stop Kofi Thompson from expressing his opinions about our largely-incompetent and dishonest political class – and it is time the crooks amongst them got that bald fact into the considerable amount of cotton wool between their ears. A word to the wise…
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There is a phrase in local parlance that shocked me to the core, when its meaning was first explained to me: “No mercy for the cripple.” That cruel and mean phrase, with its dismissive and callous attitude towards the physically and mentally-challenged in society, reveals a ruthlessness in the character of those for whom its take-no-prisoners and the-end-justifies-the-means ethos, serves as a personal guide in life. It is no wonder that this has become a country in which people can look one straight in the eye and yet still lie through their teeth to one – a character trait that cost me dear when I first returned from a long sojourn abroad. Life in Nkrumah’s Ghana of the early sixties, was very different from today’s nation in which homes are protected by high “fence-walls” topped with electrified barbed wire, in a country in which daily life is akin to a game of Russian roulette – not knowing if a particular night might be the one during which one would have one’s personal experience of an encounter with a drug-crazed and gun-wielding youth: on a deadly mission to find money to provide him with the means to feed a drug habit. Most people did not lock the front door of their homes then – and when someone gave one their word, they meant it: and kept it.
Those were the halcyon days of my youth – when Ghanaians cared about their family name and integrity was what gained one the respect of one’s family and the rest of society: not wealth acquired through corruption and other dubious means. It is because I come from that generation of Ghanaians that I have been particularly appalled and horrified by the latest scandal to hit the sports ministry – in which an official used a disabled sports meeting in far away Australia, as a cover for visa racketeering. According to the umbrella association for people with disability, disability sports events overseas have apparently been used by corrupt sports council officials and their accomplices in crime for decades. It is a blessing that this latest scandal has occurred at a time when we have a serving president, who quite apart from his own personal health challenges, also happens to be a sincere and compassionate human being (unlike most of the members of our cynical political class). Apart from asking that he be personally kept informed about the progress of the investigation and prosecution of all those involved in this particular scandal, the president must widen the scope of the probe into the affairs of the sports ministry to include this avenue for the enrichment of the criminal syndicates that are behind human trafficking and visa racketeering in Ghana. One hopes that the president’s personal interest in the matter, will eventually lead to measures being taken to prevent such a scandal from ever occuring again. This being Ghana, if the president does not ask to be personally kept informed of the progress of the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the Australian disabled sports meeting visa fraud, the powerful criminal syndicates that profit from such illegal activities will ensure that it gets absolutely nowhere – so as protect an obviously lucrative source of income for the syndicates’ members. A word to the wise…
Telephone: (powered by Tigo – the mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!) + 233 (0) 27 745 3109 & the not-so-hot Vodafone wireless smart-phone landline number: + 233 (0) 21 976238.
Any modern-day political grouping in Africa, which shares the philosophy of the colonial-era quislings (those well-educated, narrow-minded, and tribalistic Africans, from that dark period in our history – who actively cooperated with the colonial powers, and were on the payroll of Western intelligence agencies: because it served their parochial interests), has no future in the new and dynamic Africa, which is bound to emerge in the coming decades – when the next generation of 21st century educated Africans take over the running of the nation-states in the continent: and usher in the long-awaited African Renaissance. Today’s Ghanaian equivalent of such a reactionary political grouping is the New Patriotic Party (NPP). Its very clever propagandists have largely succeeded in masking the true nature, of the one individual amongst that retrograde political tradition’s early leaders, Dr. J. B. Danquah –whose Akan tribal-supremacist triumphalism, most typifies the political culture of much of the current leadership of that political tradition. However, such negative thinking is clearly out of tune with present-day realities on the ground in Nkrumah’s Ghana – a modern and politically stable African nation-state, with an ethnically-diverse but united population that shares a common destiny, and in which there are virtually no extended family clans that do not contain family members, who hail from at least four different tribal groupings: and are related either through marriage or by blood-ties.
Unfortunately, if the NPP insists on continuing to remain the same kind of hidebound Akan-dominated political party, which it has been for the last eight years, that selfsame baggage from the past (like all the negative things that often end up landing politicians on the wrong side of history), will eventually doom the latest incarnation of the right-of centre Ghanaian political grouping, which draws its inspiration from that archetypal colonial African quisling (Dr. J.B. Danquah). Although most political commentators are reluctant to discuss it openly, the Akan tribal-supremacist ethos that essentially underpins the NPP, makes it a non-viable political party in the long-term – in a nation that has a majority of its citizenry made up of a new post-independence generation (most of them born after the overthrow of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in 1966), many of whom are lifelong urban dwellers: who even seldom know the villages their parents hail from. For such Ghanaians, tribe means absolutely nothing, in their choice of companions – and does not feature in their world-view, either.Since the NPP lost the presidential election last year, there has been a determined (but failed) effort by a faction of the NPP, to get their party to retain Nana Akufo-Addo as the party’s candidate for the December 2012 presidential election. Yet, when it suited them, those selfsame individuals (who had their Eureka-moment after the event, and have now conveniently discovered the benefit of retaining a well-known figure as their presidential candidate), did not hesitate in insisting that their party’s so-called democratic culture (another of the inventions of its imaginative propagandists), demanded that they elect a candidate for the December 2008 presidential election, rather than proclaim one by consensus.
Readers will recall that that was more or less their standard refrain, at that point in time, when there was talk in certain circles of retaining the then serving vice president, Alhaji Alihu Mahama – and letting him succeed President Kufuor as a consensus presidential candidate to unify the party. In the event, as many as seventeen hopefuls lined up to follow in their hypocritical, greedy, and philandering leader’s footsteps – hoping to imitate him, were they to be successful and win the election to become Ghana’s next president: and turn their family clans too, into Ghana’s equivalent, of America’s early twentieth century Rockefeller family. As we all know, our ex-Hypocrite-in-Chief’s family did eventually metamorphose into just such a family clan – with one influence-peddling lucrative deal after the other, sending their combined net worth into the stratosphere, by the end of that clever gentleman’s tenure as president. For an unbiased outside observer, it is a wonder that the northerners who continue to play second fiddle in the NPP, do not demand a bigger role in their party – as the NPP would never be able to claim to be a national party without their continued support. Sadly, it has been thus, from the days of the struggle for independence – when the elitist Dr. Danquah once incredibly dismissed the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) as a party of “veranda boys” with some “Ntafuo” in it. The question is, why do they not demand that a competent northerner with nationwide appeal leads their party the next time round – more so when the internecine fight for dominance in their party by the two factions of the traditional Akan tribal-supremacists who have dominated their party since its inception, threatens to tear their party apart?
Why do they not team up with the de-tribalized and honest Akans (who after all are more representative of ordinary Akans – who, as it happens, are amongst the most welcoming of people, on the surface of the planet Earth), as well as the other honest and principled non-Akans in their midst, and battle together on a united front to gain the ascendancy for one of their own, in the fight to choose the party’s presidential candidate for the December 2012 elections? (Incidentally, dear reader, a fascinating source that is also an easy read, which sheds light on the true nature of Dr. J. B. Danquah, is the brilliant Dr. Kwame Botwe-Asamoah’s contribution to the book, “Fight Back” (pages 46-66), published by the Socialist Forum of Ghana. It is available at the Freedom Centre: next door from the offices of The Insight newspaper at Kotoko Avenue, in Accra’s Kokomlemle.) Surely, at the very least, an NPP presidential candidate of northern extraction for the December 2012 election could be regarded as a suitable consensus candidate, whose choice might help unify that party quickly? Do they not realise that that is the surest way of giving their discredited party a new lease of life – and could be the first tentative step for them to take, in ridding their party of the miasma, which the baleful influence (now mercifully waning, but still palpable nonetheless) of the greedy and corrupt Akan tribal-supremacists in their midst, represents? The time has now come for the honest and detribalized NPP members to end the dominance of the once all-powerful cabal of Akan tribal-supremacists in the Kufuor presidency – who controlled their party throughout its years in power.
It was the unfathomable greed of that cabal of ace-liars, philanderers supreme, and irritating philistines, which was responsible for most of the many egregious examples of unethical practices and cases of corruption, which bedeviled their party during its period in power – many, alas, now coming to light at long last: much to the astonishment and horror of most independent-minded patriots in Ghana. If their party is to have a fighting chance of ever returning to power again, any time soon, they must sideline those whose terrible stewardship alienated most Ghanaians from their party, and lost them the power they won the easy way in December 2000 – largely because most of the good people of Ghana had become so thoroughly fed-up with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) regime. As we all know, the truth of the matter is that by December 2000, most Ghanaians were sick and tired of the high-handed ways of some of the NDC big wigs – especially as there was also the perception, amongst ordinary people throughout the country, that corruption in high places was rampant. Amazingly, it was even rumoured at the time, that the hero of June 4th I979, was apparently being bankrolled by the British company, Biwater – which was said to be funding the education and living expenses of his children overseas. The plain truth, which few, in a nation full of fence-sitting moral cowards, are prepared to state publicly (because they fear the fallout from such open candour), is that in the interest of Ghanaian democracy, and the cohesiveness of our nation, it is imperative that the NPP rids itself of the greedy and dishonest Akan tribal-supremacists, whose dishonourable ways lost it the goodwill of ordinary Ghanaians, in the December 2008 elections. It is most unfortunate that those respectable-looking rogues appear to be still holding that party to ransom – even as we speak. A word to the wise…
Post Script: As the harsh realities of the unfortunate effects of the sell-out of Ghana Telecom (GT) by the Kufuor regime, begins to become obvious to many of the erstwhile GT’semployees, I would like to share with readers, my own personal experience of the downside of the sale of GT. Far from benefiting individuals such as myself, as our self-seeking rulers of old promised us, the takeover of GT, has been nothing short of disastrous for me. It has ruined my online business model: built on the premise that I would have reliable broadband internet access24/7 –to take advantage of the volume of work nowavailable online,for good writers: to write for online local US newspapers, which are discontinuing their print editions in droves, and are outsourcing work to good writers overseas, who cost them a fraction of what they were paying the American journalists, whom they have had to lay off in order to survive.
Rather than benefiting as a customer from the sale of a 70 per cent stake in GTto Vodafone, as the regime of many self-seekerswho used to rule our countrypromised us, when that hard-of-hearing and very arrogant telecoms giant, Vodafone, finally took over GT, I have been effectively deprived of my broadband internet access – because it chose to suddenly discontinue GT’s Alvarion wireless broadband service arbitrarily, without a substitute to replace it, for every one of itsMcCarthy Hill “Broadband4U” customers: whom it then fobbed off with a super-lousy dial-up product known as: “Vodafone Connect.” Countless complaints posted online by me have all been ignored by Vodafone – even as it floods the airwaves with its sugar-coated adverts (keeping much of the cash-strapped Ghanaian media firmly on-side that way, one presumes).
The sale of GT to Vodafone has thus set me back considerably – and, thus far, been rather disadvantageous to me, not beneficial.However, being a tenacious fellow, I have no intention of letting the arrogant and hard-of-hearing Vodafone get away with such outrage. Hopefully, at some point in the not too distant future, onehopesthat one might be able to put together a suitable video, to post online at YouTube – as my own personal weapon-of-mass-destruction:to do to Vodafone, what that disgruntled airline customer did with suchpanache on YouTube, to United Airlines: for ignoring his numerous complaints. That will be a most appropriateresponse to a multinational company that thinks it can come to our country, corrupt some ofour leaders, treat Ghanaians with disdain:and get away with it successfully – when it wouldn’t dare treat any of its customers in the developed in such a shabby manner. Hmm, Ghana – eyeasem oo:asem ebaba debi ankasa!
Telephone: (powered by Tigo – the mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!) + 233 (0) 27 745 3109 & the not-so-hot Vodafone wireless smart-phone landline number: + 233 (0) 21 976238.
The shocking mass murders committed recently by Islamic fanatics known as Boko Haram (the so-called “Nigerian Taliban”), who seem to forget, in their sworn aim of removing every trace of Western influence from Nigerian society, that Islam itself, is also a foreign influence in African society, apparently caught officialdom in Nigeria (both at the state and federal levels), completely by surprise. For the average pan-Africanist, who cares about the fate of major nations in the continent, such as Nigeria, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Kenya, the constant threat posed to their stability by a variety of divisive forces, is a source of great worry. The tragic and horrific events in which misguided Islamic fanatics unleashed a reign of terror in coordinated attacks on police stations and other public buildings in a number of northern states, during which hundreds of innocent people were murdered for the most incredible and lunatic of reasons, could never have occurred, if the ruling Nigerian elite had ensured that the massive revenues, which they have misappropriated over the years, were applied to improving the quality of life of all Nigeria’s citizens: thus making it less likely that such an evil organisation would be able to find so many vulnerable young people to influence with such catastrophic consequences. One can only hope that they will now wake up to the danger posed to the long-term future of their great country, by their continued insistence on siphoning billions of dollars from their national treasury – money that ought to be used instead to develop Nigeria into a more equitable society for the benefit of its teeming and impoverished millions.
In the light of the abominations in northern Nigeria, one could not help but be apprehensive, as one listened to the smugness in the tone of Mr. Mahama Ayariga, the presidential spokesperson, as he blithely mentioned, in passing, during a telephone contribution he made (whiles commenting on a number of points the host of the programme sought his clarification on) to a discussion about strengthening the constitutional bodies mandated to fight corruption in Ghana, such as the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), on Joy FM’s“Super Morning Show” programme, which was broadcast on July 28, 2009. According to Mr. Ayariga, the Mills administration would not breach the constitutional provisions, which guarantee privacy for ministers who have declared their assets to Ghana’s Auditor General, as required by the constitution. It made one wonder if Ghana’s obdurate political elite, will ever learn any lessons from tragedies that occur elsewhere in Africa, such as has the horrific events that have just occurred in northern Nigeria. Do privileged people in Ghanaian society, such as Mr. Mahama Ayariga, not understand that beneath the patina of a civilized and peaceful nation lies a seething cauldron of disaffection: a potent and toxic mix of anger and hopelessness that could blow up at any time – if this regime, at the very least, does not show by concrete action that it is serious about fighting corruption? Why have they not prosecuted Alhaji Muntaka yet, for example? Do the Mahama Ayarigas not understand that instead of the endless platitudes about transparency and accountability, most discerning Ghanaians simply want all those in government, from the president down to the last district chief executive in the land, and their spouses, to publicly declare their assets?
In their view, that is the best way of confirming, by deeds, not mere words, that the Mills administration is serious about fighting high-level corruption in Ghana – so that the good people of this country will be able to keep an eye on any crooks lurking in this regime: who might now be biding their time to rip our country off, by stealth, as they too await their Alhaji-Muntaka-type opportunity: and eagerly look forward to the day when Ghana’s oil and natural gas revenues start coming on stream. The demand that the assets of high government officials and their spouses, ought to be publicly published, is a non-negotiable political fact on the ground, in the Ghana of today – and if the government of President Mills does not make that happen soon, they will find some of us becoming their most implacable of foes: who will wage a determined campaign and fight relentlessly to ensure that they are not returned to office again in 2012 (as we did their corrupt and amoral predecessors in office). As the many egregious examples of abuse of office, aimed at the amassing of wealth illegally, by some of the most powerful members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) regime of ex-President Kufuor, begin to come to light, Mr. Mahama Ayariga and the other members of the regime of which he is such a prominent member, must understand clearly, that there has been a sea-change in Ghanaian politics – and that Ghanaians will simply not tolerate a repeat of the corruption that went on in the past regime under any circumstances. It was that fundamental change in Ghanaian politics that ensured the victory of President Mills in the run-off of the December 2008 presidential elections.
He won that election, largely because the real kingmakers of Ghanaian politics, the independent-minded patriots and Ghanaian nationalists, who put the interests of Nkrumah’s Ghana above that of party affiliation and tribal sentiment, in all matters that concern the well-being of our country and the welfare of its people, believed that he was the candidate most capable of changing Ghana for the better, despite the mostly-corrupt nature of our political class and the opaque system they superintend and exploit for their own ends: because of his honest and fair nature. In a very real sense, the opinions of the fanatical party supporters, whose unflinching support the Mahama Ayarigas, and their political opponents, can always rely on (and often manipulate for their own parochial ends), do not really matter any more, in the politics of today’s Ghana – as they are equally distributed amongst all the political parties in our country. Those zillions of “My-party-my-tribe-right-or-wrong” myrmidon-types, are simply too blinkered to see what is wrong with our nation, and too thick to think for themselves (when being bamboozled by “book-long-politicos”). A quintessential example, are the ethically-challenged and intellectually-challenged pro-New Patriotic Party political-zombies, who call themselves the Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) – who seem to have lost sight of the fact that the economic situation of our nation today, is a direct result of the dishonesty and monumental incompetence of their ruling party, especially towards the end of its tenure. The leaking roofs of the new presidential palace, after a figure of some US$170 millions had been expended on it, sums up the Kufuor regime perfectly: It was simply a regime dominated by a powerful cabal of hypocritical and greedy world-class incompetents – who simply came to exploit our national economy for their own benefit.
Perhaps it might interest those geniuses in AFAG to know that even oil-rich Angola is having the same problems we are currently experiencing here too. The question is: what alternative solutions do they have to offer that might bring about the paradise they seek for Ghanaians? At least the Committee for Joint Action (CJA), which they doubtless model themselves on, invariably offers solutions, whenever it criticizes the government of the day’s policies. But I digress. If the Mahama Ayarigas want to continue being successful at election time in this country, going forward, into the future, they must take the views of Ghana’s independent-minded and discerning voters (the so-called “floating voters”), far more seriously, than they currently do. The end of their four-year tenure of office, might very well turn out to be the end of the road for their party, as Ghana’s governing political party, if they fail to amend the constitution: so as to make all the relevant public officials who are now required to declare their assets to the Auditor General, henceforth do so publicly: and declare those assets, as well as that of their spouses, openly, for all the good people of Ghana to know the true extent and value of their declared personal net worth, both before and after, serving their various terms of office. Let them understand clearly, and without any ambiguities, that that really is a small price to pay to enable their regime restore the credibility of our political class amongst ordinary Ghanaians – a vital prerequisite for the continued survival of Ghanaian democracy: in a nation whose over-pampered political class has, after nearly fifty-two years of independence, still not been able to deliver an equitable and fair society to the good people of Ghana.
Yet, Ghanaians, simply yearn for an equitable society in which ordinary people (who are constantly being called upon to make never-ending sacrifices for a better tomorrow for their country: even as politicians insist on obscene ex-gratia payments and overly-generous retirement packages for themselves – and all that, in a nation in which scores of mothers still die during childbirth, because of inadequate health-care facilities nationwide, and in which most homes do not even have potable water regularly, if at all), are able to live happy and fulfilled lives, too: just like their leaders do at hapless taxpayers' expense. Surely, that is not asking for too much, is it, dear reader? It is important that the Mahama Ayarigas in our country, understand that the growing disparities of wealth in Ghana, does indeed pose a real threat to the stability of our nation. The burgeoning underclass that is increasing in numbers at such a frightening rate (and in inverse proportion to the spectacular rise in the value of the personal fortunes of the politically well-connected lucky few – who have prospered mightily from the dramatic increase in Ghana’s GDP since our large external debt was written off in 2001 ), is a ticking social time-bomb, which is persisting because a large army of disaffected rural youth continue to flock to the urban areas in search of their dream of the good life: access to which they are totally cut off from, in reality. The bald and painful truth, is that in terms of their educational backgrounds and qualifications, achieving that goal through honest means, will always be well nigh impossible, for the vast majority of them – despite their expectations to the contrary, when they initially set off from their villages to urban Ghana: because they are so inadequately prepared for upward social mobility in the modern 21st century ICT age. It is a pity that our not-so-bright political class (well, what else can one call a class of politicians, in which a cabinet minister, rather than be outraged that Vodafone, which would not dare make a similar offer to his British counterpart, because it would be regarded as unethical, had had the nerve to offer to pay for his hotel accommodation at Newbury, when a delegation from Ghana visited the company's UK HQ, instead comes on national television to congratulate himself for refusing an improper and unethical offer, clearly meant to corrupt him, dear reader?) has not yet grasped the fact that a poor developing nation with aspirations, cannot possibly afford not to provide free education up to tertiary level, for all those with the aptitude to do so from underprivileged backgrounds, whose families cannot afford to educate them to that level.
As things now stand, clearly, if nothing is done about it, at some historic point, many of the members of the new underclass will doubtless end up as cannon fodder for the political ambitions of others – to be manipulated by the ruthless demagogues in our midst: who are forever waiting patiently in the wings, ready to strike to end our experiment in democratic governance, when the opportunity to do so presents itself to them. The availability of oil and natural gas revenues, is bound to make that possibility a reality in the end, if our political elite chooses to follow in the footsteps of Nigeria’s political elite – and siphons those revues, which we are all counting on to help transform our country into Africa’s equivalent of the egalitarian societies of Scandinavia, to enable them send their personal net worth into the stratosphere (as Ghanaian politicians are wont to do – despite their protestations to the contrary: because they invariably end up exploiting our national economy for their personal enrichment, as well as that of the members of their family clans, and their cronies).If President Mills is serious about fighting corruption in Ghana, he must make sure that the constitution is changed, to make the public declaration of the assets of government members, and that of their spouses, a reality, as soon as it is practicable for that to be done by Parliament. Ghana’s political elite must learn the lessons inherent in the tragic events in northern Nigeria – and quickly change their ways, and make transparency their watchword in governance: and ensure above all, that all aspects of our public life, are underpinned by an ethical ethos. That is a sure-fire way for President Mills to ensure a long-lasting legacy for his regime. A word to the wise…
A friend who listened to some of the comments by investigators in recent news reports about the culmination of a ten-year investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) into corruption in the American state of New Jersey, said that whiles listening to those comments, for one brief moment, he saw in his mind’s eye, the final unmasking, of what he described as one of the most amoral and corrupt of regimes, ever elected into power in our country. To quote him: “In a flash, I saw the final exposure of the countless sins of that government-of-many-rogues – which is precisely what the 8-year tenure (underpinned by unfathomable greed) of our ex-Hypocrite-in-Chief, that sly gentleman, former President J.A. Kufuor, represented.” In my friend’s view, much like the crooked goings-on in New Jersey’s apparently corruption-riddled political circles, behind the carefully crafted image of democratic respectability, which was sold so successfully to the world by Kufuor and Co.’s propagandist praise-singing cronies in the Ghanaian media (and paid agents from elsewhere), was a regime that grabbed every opportunity to exploit our national economy for the personal benefit of its members: which is why they ended up selling scores of government-owned properties to themselves and those in their inner circles, with such abandon.
To my friend, the Kufuor regime was in fact nothing more than “a nest of vipers that paid its praise-singing cronies in the Ghanaian media (and mercenary agents elsewhere), to hide the reality behind the façade of good governance: a regime afflicted by moral decadence, and jam-packed with grown-up liars extraordinaire; delectable-bimbo-loving philanderers supreme; and ruthless tribal-supremacists of the most rabid kind”: who abused their power to such an extent that they ended up destroying the cohesion of our country, in furtherance of the daft, treasonable, and overweening ambitions of their “tunnel-visioned” tribal Chief – “who apparently thinks his mission on this earth is to restore the sovereign power of his pre-colonial feudal predecessors, by any means necessary.” Strong words some might say – but brave of him to say so, nonetheless, in a nation full of fence-sitting moral cowards, and in which none dare mention the unpleasant truth when it concerns the powerful in society, for fear of its repercussions. Personally, I miss the wisdom and humility of the gentleman whom many, who know about such things, consider to be greatest of the modern-day Asantehenes: Otumfuo Opoku-Ware 11 (may his soul rest in peace) – who understood that, paradoxically, a modern-day Asantehene, by definition must be humble, always keep a low profile, and shun publicity, in a nation of diverse ethnicity: because of the weight of history behind the Golden Stool. But I digress. It is significant (because it says a great deal about the negativity of their vindictive and vicious natures) that ex-President Kufuor & Co. chose to begin a propaganda offensive shortly before the visit to Ghana by US President Barrack Obama.
Clearly, he and the fraudsters in his regime (well, what else can one call those who, incredibly, railroaded the VALCO sale and purchase agreement through Parliament, and sanctioned same, to a non-existent international consortium – said to be made up of two international metal conglomerates, Norske Hydro and VALE: which both denied ever agreeing to purchase VALCO, dear reader?) think that their hour has now come. It is obvious that despite widespread public disapproval, they are determined to get their pound of flesh: and obtain those overly-generous retirement packages, at the expense of the hard-pressed Ghanaian taxpayers (whom ex-President Kufuor amazingly once labeled “lazy” – forgetting that they were at the bottom of the heap in society, only because they did not have the same kind of opportunities, which his Kokofu-football brand of crony-capitalism opened up for the members of his family clan, and his cronies, during his confounded “era-of-the-blessed-golden-thieves that he thinks was the Ghanaian Renaissance” to quote my friend). His critics say that that is the sole reason why our former president pulled strings so furiously in his network of contacts built up during his tenure, in order to be made a “UN Hunger Ambassador.” They also go on to say that it is characteristic of one of the most insincere of men on the surface of the planet Earth, that he is ruthlessly exploiting a convention used by the UN system to raise awareness of various issues globally, by making prominent people (most often international celebrities from the world of sports and entertainment) “UN Ambassadors” – and that in the hands of an insincere man, today, it has become a useful building-block in the not-so-subtle behind the scenes campaign he has embarked on, to ensure above all, that somehow he realizes his dream of obtaining the million-dollar “seed-money” to set up a foundation: which was the centerpiece of the overly-generous retirement package he got the Chinnery-Hesse committee to recommend he be given.
His critics accuse him of hiding behind his lackey, his so-called spokesperson, Frank Adjekum, to direct the fight to enable him to win the battle of empowerment – and obtain his full ex-gratia retirement package, come hell or high water. It is all so sad and needless – especially as President Mills is such a God-fearing and fair individual who will not countenance any of them being persecuted in any way. Can they not see that he is an honest gentleman (probably the most honest of the post-Nkrumah rulers we have had, thus far) whom they must cooperate with, so as to isolate the hawks in his National Democratic Congress (NDC) party – who wish for the trials of all those in the Kufuor regime who took part in the gang-rape of Mother Ghana to be speeded up: so that he might be predisposed to pardoning those of them who will end up in jail for willfully causing financial loss to Ghana, midway through their jail terms? In response to his latest criticisms of the present regime, former President Kufuor’s harshest critics say that they are not in the least bit surprised, that a selfish and nepotistic leader, who did not care one jot about the unlucky and the hard-up in society whiles in power, now talks endlessly about feeding school children on BBC programmes: because it suits his purpose. Those same critics also say that they hope that now that the scales have been finally removed from the eyes of the “born-again” Christians in the present regime (as a result of ex-President Kufuor’s vituperative “Focus on Africa” interview-of-many-lies broadcast on July 22, 2009 by the African Service of the BBC World Service), the government of President Mills will finally see him for what he really is: an ace hypocrite and a very dangerous man – who should not be given the benefit of the doubt under any circumstances by the current regime: because he is undeserving of it. Incidentally, I must admit that that selfsame thought did strike one: as one heard his self-serving nonsense-on-bamboo-stilts during the BBC African Service “Focus on Africa” interview.
I was speechless as I listened to his fantasizing about his many “achievements” and how others were now vilifying him (and acting as if there had been a military coup), simply to focus attention on their regime, and away from him, with Ghanaians. Does he not know that as a result of the many kickbacks that he and his cronies received from the road construction sector (amongst other sectors), most of the drains and roads that he boasts about were so shoddily constructed, that they have almost all been washed away by the recent floods? How true to form, that the dissemblers in Kufuor & Co. as usual think that they are being terribly clever – and appear to believe that they have chosen their moment well: hence their new-found boldness in giving that dissimulating BBC African Service “Focus on Africa” interview. It is also interesting that that selfsame BBC interview followed closely on the heels of a similar self-serving Voice of America (VOA) African Service interview, with the host of its “Straight Talk Africa” (the VOA’s current affairs programme on Africa) programme, Shaka Ssali. What, dear reader, does one say about someone, whose critics say that whiles serving as a sitting president, turned the shady business of receiving kickbacks at the seat of government, into an art form (and whose own dreadful example of unfathomable greed, unmatched abuse of power, and unbridled nepotism, set the tone for his corrupt and amoral regime) – and gave free-reign to the very worst natures of his coterie of shameless sycophants: as they embarked on their gang-rape of Mother Ghana, to enrich themselves at the expense of ordinary Ghanaians and their country? How can he then have the gall, to turn around, upon leaving office, to describe himself as an exemplary leader who served his country well, in a BBC African Service radio interview?
The Mills administration must remember that when President Kufuor was asked, at the inception of his tenure, how he would treat his immediate predecessor, ex-President Rawlings, he gave a very clever answer that he never actually ever meant a word of – and said that he would treat him as he wanted to be treated when he left office. Yet, his regime then set about promptly demonizing former President Rawlings and rubbishing his regime, at every turn. Clearly, ex-President Kufuor will do everything he can to try and hide the terrible things his regime did whiles in office – which really is what this current bout of dissimulation is about. For the sake of the stability of our country, one hopes that the pacifists in the present regime (who preach what in effect amounts to the appeasement of crooks, in wanting to be accommodating, to the powerful rogues in the previous regime), will understand that our former president is a man, whom, in order to protect the image of his regime and stop the truth about its corrupt practices from leaking out, was even prepared to allow others to label Dr. K.A. Busia’s highly intelligent and sane daughter, Nana Fremaa Busia, who made serious allegations against him and some of the leading members of his regime, as a lunatic – just so as to destroy her credibility: in the hope that the world would ignore the embarrassing criticisms of a regime-insider, who knew at first-hand, a great deal about the corruption, nepotism, and abuse of power, which was going on in his regime. The current administration would be wise to heed the advice of those of Mr. Kufuor’s critics, who say that the current regime must end its naivete in wanting to please the whole world and be loved by all in it: and must now deal ruthlessly with the former president and all the members of his regime who took our nation for such a ride.
Perhaps they must not also forget, above all, that he is a politician, whom upon his election to office, promptly set about hijacking the entire machinery of state, to further the treasonable ambitions of his tribal Chief – and did not particularly care about the fact that he had been elected as president of the unitary Republic of Ghana (that also happens to be a nation of diverse-ethnicity), and had also sworn an oath to defend its constitution, but was prepared to actively help in its Balkanization too: in furtherance of the tribal-supremacist agenda that motivates him; his tribal Chiefs ; and the ruthless and greedy cabal who controlled the presidency, throughout his years in power as president of Nkrumah’s Ghana. They must also not forget that there are indeed many patriots and nationalists in this country, who see Mr. Kufuor as a traitor and a devious man, whose goal is the fulfillment of the Akan tribal-supremacist agenda of Dr. J. B. Danquah: and whom the new government must always be wary of. They also go on to say further that the government must expose him and his cronies to the world for what they think they really are: amoral philanderers and world-class liars of the worst sort – who turned the seat of government into a trading-floor for receiving kickbacks, yet have the effrontery to tell the world they were exemplary leaders. If his harshest critics are right in what they say about him, then the new administration must not treat ex-President Kufuor with kid gloves in the slightest after the web of lies he spun during his BBC African Service radio interview. They hope that the Mills administration will let him “smell pepper” (which are the exact words he used when he thought that his immediate predecessor, ex-President Rawlings, was attempting to destabilize his regime and overthrow it) if he continues along the path he has apparently now chosen to protect himself. A word to the wise…
Telephone (Powered by Tigo – the mobile telephone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0)27 745 3109 & +233 (0) 21 976238.
Listening to the breathtaking arrogance of Guinea’s military ruler, as he recently railed against civil society groups, and threatened media houses with closure for incurring his wrath, and to the antediluvian pigheaded pure-nonsense-on-bamboo-stilts from Niger’s minister of communications, as he airily dismissed calls by the opposition and other civil society groups, for President Mamadou Tanandjer to respect his country’s constitution and adhere to the term-limits placed on his tenure, one could not help but recall, and be grateful, for the past heroism of Ghanaian patriots like the late Tommy Thompson, Kwesi Pratt, Kweku Baako, and Kabral Blay-Amihere. Those four patriotic journalists fought bravely and suffered imprisonment, in the struggle against the military dictatorship that ruled Ghana, between 1981 and1991. Sadly, the more elderly Tommy Thompson eventually died from the effects of the harsh regime, which they were kept under, during their imprisonment. It was the resolve of such patriots (amongst other equally brave patriots such as Akoto Ampaw, Nana Akufo-Addo and others too numerous to mention here) during those dark days, which was largely responsible for finally ending tyranny in our country – and enabled the good people of Ghana to regain their freedom, in 1992, from the anti-democrats in our midst: who stole sovereign power from Ghanaians, by force of arms, at dawn on December 31, 1981.
The bravery and selflessness of those nationalists will doubtless be remembered by human rights activists, who fight for social justice in every generation of Ghanaians, till the very end of time. The question is: How can we, as a people, ensure that we never again allow the creation of the conditions, which enable the demagogues who are forever lurking in the shadows, and biding their time, to overthrow democratically-elected constitutional regimes in our country (and hold on to that power), to strike again in our homeland Ghana – and rob us of our freedoms by force of arms whiles claiming that they have come to end corruption: but invariably end up eventually enslaving us, and enriching themselves, by stealth, at the same time, in the process? Clearly, we cannot possibly countenance a return of those days of infamy, when that most tyrannical of military regimes, the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), succeeded in creating such fear amongst Ghanaians, that ordinary people sought safety sheltering in a see-no-evil, hear-no-evil, say-no-evil personal philosophy: to ensure their basic survival and preserve their sanity. That was what led to the phenomenon that became known as the “culture of silence” in which no one dared speak out against the tyrants into whose ruthless and murderous hands Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s Ghana had fallen. Today, although a majority of Ghanaians have come to understand clearly that democracy is not a perfect form of government, because it is ponderous, slow, and often contentious, they are also smart enough to realise that it is far better than any other system of government known to humankind: and are determined to stick to it, so that every four years, they can have the opportunity to decide for themselves, whether or not to remove their current leaders from office, depending on their verdict as to the effectiveness and quality of leadership, shown by those leaders, duringtheir tenure.
Luckily for the Ghanaian polity, even little primary school children have today come to the conclusion, that since men (and women) are not angels, it is in the interest of the ordinary people of Ghana, that their country has a system of government, which has checks and balances built in it, to prevent Ghanaians ending up with rulers who wield unfettered power: that enables them to eventually enslave the citizenry. It is often said that democracy does not thrive in conditions of extreme poverty. That is an apposite statement – that makes it clear, that it therefore follows, a priori, that if the quality of life and the living standards of ordinary people in our country, continue to deteriorate in inverse proportion to the stratospheric rise in the personal net worth of our ruling elite, the members of their family clans, and their cronies, Ghanaian democracy will definitely not survive for very long. Looking around the world today, one can safely conclude that the people of Scandinavia live in the most equitable and prosperous of societies on the surface of the planet Earth – and that if we are to protect Ghanaian democracy from its most powerful enemies (amongst whom are the narrow-minded tribal-supremacist progeny of the pre-colonial feudal era ruling elites in our midst – who exist in all the ten regions of our country: and see its Balkanization as being in their long-term interest: and therefore fan tribalism in our country by engaging in Kokofu-football politricks whenever in power), then we must transform our society into an African equivalent of the egalitarian societies of Scandinavia. To do so, we must make smarter choices in the way we deploy the power and resources of the Ghanaian nation-state. Our leaders must be as creative and as visionary as Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was – and use the power of the Ghanaian nation-state appropriately: so as to create a caring and sharing society, in which every citizen has the opportunity to realise his or her full potential, and lead happy and fulfilled lives, no matter their place in the various strata of society.
Whiles we all agree that our country needs to have a mixed economy, with a flourishing and vibrant private sector, we must nonetheless stop our unthinking and often knee-jerk resort, to handing over to foreigners and their local collaborators (those confounded quislings in our country) valuable state assets, which have been built at great cost: with the blood, sweat, and tears, of Ghanaian workers. Instead of selling state-owned commercial entities at the behest of self-seeking foreign ‘do-gooders’ and carpetbaggers, let us simply restructure them to make them more effective and profitable entities, and make them play strategic roles in our national economy, to enable us achieve certain social-good objectives: to improve the quality of life of all Ghanaians. Take the case of Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB), for example. Why do we simply not restructure it – by merging it with the National Investment Bank (NIB) and Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), and give a 20 per cent shareholding of the enlarged bank to a trust fund for its staff and management, with the government holding on to a 40 per cent stake, so that some of the profits will go to the government’s consolidated fund? After the restructuring takes place, there is no earthly reason why we cannot approach what many, who know about such things, regard as one of the world’s best-run and most profitable banks, which is also underpinned by the highest of ethical standards, currently existing in global banking – the Hong-Kong and Shanghai Bank Corporation (HSBC), led by that paragon of virtue, Steven Green, and invite it to become a joint-venture partner, for the newly-enlarged state-owned banking group. Surely, we can take advantage of the present economic crisis, and seize the opportunity to restructure the essential nature of our oil and natural gas industries too, can we not, dear reader (in a world in which everyone agrees and understands that the old economic rules no longer apply and in which we have seen even the government of the world’s leading capitalist nation, the United States of America, amongst other such nations, now owning major stakes in private American financial institutions and in automobile manufacturing firms such as General Motors: after bailing them out financially in what amount to partial-nationalizations)?
Let us revive useful defunct entities such as the Workers Brigade and the State Farms using the same principle – and invite Zambia’s biggest private farming enterprise to partner them in joint ventures to turn the Accra Plains into our breadbasket. In an uncertain world, in which our oil and natural gas deposits have become strategically important for the West, surely, the foreign oil companies must understand that no government in Ghana will survive, if it retains the unsatisfactory agreements the previous government signed with them? Ghana must maximize the returns from this finite gift of Providence – as the Ghanaian people will have to largely depend on the revenues from that sector of our economy to transform our society into Africa’s equivalent of the egalitarian societies of Scandinavia. The foreign oil companies have a choice – to join the people of Ghana, going forward into the future, in the transformation of our society: by being more reasonable and less greedy, about the size of their share of the profits, or depart from our shores henceforth if they feel that our country is no longer attractive to them: because we refuse to allow ourselves to be ripped off by foreigners, in which case they can depart on our terms, and get compensated with Ghana’s sovereign bonds, not cash (and receive the coupon contingent upon future receipts of revenue from the sector, as they wait to eventually redeem the principal). They will quickly come to realise, when the political climate for the present government changes (as it will in due course, no doubt), because it is unable to improve the overall condition of our country and its people satisfactorily within a four-year tenure, that the need for renegotiating the terms of our agreements with them, is a non-negotiable issue in reality – as in very real and practical terms, no democratically-elected Ghanaian government can survive today, without eventually doing so: so as to maximize revenue from a finite natural resource that we are relying on to fund the process of the radical transformation of our society.
Let them take a long-term view of things, and lower their expectations too – as the days of foreigners ripping off Mother Ghana successfully are gone forever. We will never again elect any stooges for neocolonialism and corrupt lackeys of Western commercial interests (such as the previous regime that was dominated by the most self-seeking and corrupt leaders ever elected into office in our nation’s chequered history), to power in this country again any time soon – so they had better pay heed to good advice and not “play hard-ball” (as some Americans are wont to say in such circumstances). Since China now leads the world in the fabrication of cutting-edge wind-power electricity generating plants, that also presents us with an opportunity to restructure and refocus the Volta River Authority (VRA). Let us merge the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) the VRA, and the body set up by President Kufuor to oversee the generation of power from the Bui Dam hydropower project – and invite the best-resourced of the Chinese state-owned operators and builders of giant wind-power generating plants, to set up a joint-venture to build wind-power energy-farms all along our coastline, for the newly-restructured energy giant to operate: and make our country a leader in renewable energy production in Africa. We must use such a new formula for all our state-owned entities: They must all have 20 per cent staff and management shareholding (held on their behalf by a trust fund set up for that purpose) to boost productivity, with the government retaining 40 per cent to ensure that they are always run with our national goals in mind, and 40 per cent going to a strategic investor that must always be world-class and class-leading in its particular sector. Using that formula, we can also restructure the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), by merging it with the state-owned petroleum products distributor, Ghana Oil Company Limited (GIOL), the bulk oil storage company (BOST) and the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), give its workers a 20 percent shareholding in the enlarged group, government keeps a 40 per cent stake, and then we can invite the best-resourced of the state-owned Chinese oil and natural gas companies to partner it in a joint-venture that makes us Africa’s leading oil refiners, and eventually take it right across West Africa as a regional integrated energy giant.
Again, that formula can also be used to revive the State Construction Corporation (SCC) and merge it with the State Housing Company Limited (SHCL), and seek the best-resourced Chinese state-owned road construction and house-building companies, which are world-class and class-leading in their sectors to become joint-venture partners – and build better-quality roads nationwide, build and operate a world-class canal from Akosombo to the border with Burkina Faso to transport goods cheaply and safely by barges, as well as five hundred thousand affordable houses and flats in each of the ten regions of Ghana, to rent out to ordinary Ghanaians at reasonable rental rates. We can also revive our sugar factories; extend the railway network to all the ten regional capitals; build domestic flight airports at every regional capital: and let the Ghana Air Force own and run them efficiently to make money for itself; set up a gold refinery; revive the jute bag factory; develop an integrated salt industry; revive the State Fishing Corporation; etc. etc. that way too. All that can be paid for with our sovereign bonds issued to China as “payment insurance” with long grace periods, as we breathe new life into, and give new meaning, to the special relationship between Ghana and China that Nkrumah established all those years ago. We must stop thinking that state-owned entities can never be profit-making undertakings. We must see them as strategic undertakings run efficiently and profitably to enable our country achieve certain social-good ends that assure a good quality of life for all the citizens of Ghana. It is important to point out, that China has a lot of world-class businesses that are class-leading, in their sectors – and that we must not base our understanding of the nature of Chinese industry merely on the strength of the evidence we see around us of the atrocious quality of the cheap counterfeit products, which some unscrupulous Ghanaian and Chinese businesspeople import from China to dump here, because our counterfeit surveillance systems are weak (as that irritating “Chuck” Kofi Wayo erroneously does constantly, in the Walter-Mitty fantasizing that his Vibe FM radio programme, in which he is forever spinning tales about his ’exploits’ in America and elsewhere around the globe, and insulting the intelligence of the good people of Ghana, represents). If we are to succeed in transforming our country into Africa’s equivalent of the egalitarian societies of Scandinavia, we must think like Nkrumah did – and believe that we are capable of achieving that goal through our own ingenuity and hard work.
That is the historic opportunity Providence has given to President Mills – and he will not achieve it if he allows those who still refuse to come out of the shadow of conventional economic thinking, when even the capitalist nations of the West are doing so to ensure the survival of their national economies, to block us from breaking out of the terrible trap of under-achievement that we are caught in: because we refuse to believe in ourselves and to think creatively. Above all, he must send the minister of defence and our military’s leaders to Egypt immediately to study how the Egyptian military is playing a crucial role in the Egyptian economy – so as to prepare the Ghana Navy and the Ghana Air Force to play crucial roles in our oil and natural gas industries, and enable them to earn some decent money to help fund some of their operations (and be less of a burden on taxpayers). We must make the Ghana Navy the sole transporters of all oil produced in Ghana. If we even have to get the South Korean government to loan us money to buy the appropriate numbers of oil tankers and train our navy personnel to man them effectively, let us give them our sovereign bonds as “payment insurance” for those tankers. The Ghana Navy must also be given the type of large hovercraft ferries that are used by UK and EU ferry companies, which ply the English Channel between English ports and continental European ports ferrying vehicles and passengers to and fro, safely, daily – so that they can also ferry goods and passengers safely onthe Volta Lake and along the entire West African coastline, and act as our Atlantic Ocean eyes and ears in the process, to forestall the kind of criminality that has brought the Nigerian oil industry almost to its knees.
We must also provide the Ghana Air Force with the best military transport helicopters in the world, and in sufficient numbers, to give them the capability to monopolize (by law) effectively the job of ferrying men and equipment to all the offshore oil production rigs operating in the waters in our continental shelf, at prevailing international industry commercial rates for such services. That will also enable us to effectively monitor activities on those rigs and get an accurate picture of production figures, on a daily basis. Finally, if the government also gets the Ghana Air Force to start a new national flag carrier (that will operate as a civilian carrier with all the appropriate insurance cover,licenses, international certification, etc. etc.), we can then invite that dynamic low-cost carrier, EasyJet, to partner it in a 50/50 joint-venture – to make it the most profitable airline in Africa: that will fly all the now-defunct Ghana Airways’ old routes and more: after the government has liquidated that airline equivalent of a Dodo, Ghana International Airlines (GIA). One hopes that President Mills will emulate the brilliant and dynamic Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and take such visionary ideas on board – to enable us transform Ghanaian society into a caring and sharing one: as far removed, as it is humanly possible to do so, from that dreadful culture of dog-eat-dog selfishness, which his selfish, greedy, and hypocritical predecessor introduced into our social fabric. He must seize the opportunity that Providence has given him, to be included in the Pantheon of great African leaders in the Nkrumah-mould, and change our country for the better – andleave a legacy that will make future generations of Ghanaians remember him till the very end of time. He must be bold and believe that he can lead us to achieve what many think is an impossibility – the transformation of our homeland Ghana into Africa’s equivalent of the egalitarian societies of Scandinavia: for, indeed, he truly can, and should. A word to the wise…
Telephone (powered by Tigo – the network that actually works!): + 233 (0)27 745 3109 & + 233 (0) 21 976238.
The corruption scandal involving the British construction firm, Mabey & Johnson, which recently admitted it had bribed politicians in Ghana during the 1990’s, in order to win contracts here, illustrates perfectly, the double standards of a majority of the Establishments in the nations of the West, when it comes to their dealings with Africa. How else can African leaders, such as some of the rulers of nations like: Equatorial Guinea; Nigeria; Gabon; Angola; Rwanda; Congo Brazzaville; DR Congo; Kenya; Eritrea; etc. etc. (many of whom are amongst the wealthiest individuals in the world, although their official salaries cannot possibly be the source of their incredible wealth), continue to keep their money and assets safely in the West – although the secret services and the governments of all the Western nations are aware of the origins of that wealth? Are the rulers of Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Congo Brazzaville owners of some of the most profitable businesses in the world, for example? Certainly not – they are simply dishonest politicians who steal money belonging to their people: and who can continue brutally gang-raping Mother Africa with such impunity, because of the hypocrisy of those Western nations, which provide safe havens for their stolen wealth.
If that were not the case, why then do the authorities in places like Switzerland, France, Lichtenstein, the UK’s Channel Islands and in North America, not act to freeze those funds that Africa’s corrupt leaders keep in financial institutions (as well as confiscate landed properties and other assets they hold) in the West – and take active steps to trace their origins: especially when they have money-laundering laws in place, and at a time when cutting off the sources of funding for international terrorist groups, has made access to bank accounts in the West that much easier, for their tax authorities and secret services? According to “bush-telegraph” sources, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown apparently invited Ghana’s new president to London, not too long ago, for the sole purpose of pleading on behalf of Vodafone – a company that once bribed Kenyan politicians in the privatization of the state-owned Kenya Telecom. Yet, Mr. Brown and the leader of the biggest of the parties that sit on the opposition benches in the British Parliament, the Tory leader, Mr. David Cameron (as well as other leading British politicians), never cease expressing their sense of outrage about the widespread unethical business practices in the financial services sectors of the economies of the West, which led to the financial crisis the whole world now faces. The question is: Why do they not rail against similar unethical corporate governance practices when they occur in Africa: as a direct result of the actions and inactions of Western multinationals operating in the continent – actions and inactions that fuel the widespread corruption that daily impoverishes millions of Africans (and even indirectly kills hundreds of thousands of them annually)?
Perhaps one of the most effective ways that Western nations can help ease the burden on ordinary Westerners, whose tax dollars get sent by their governments as aid money to nations in Africa (but which often ends up in the offshore bank accounts of corrupt African leaders), is to end direct aid to governments in Africa – and instead channel such funds to NGO’s working at the grassroots level in the continent, to improve the quality of life of poor Africans. If the nations of the West are sincere about helping to make poverty history in Africa, then they must help end corruption in Africa – because it is the major cause of poverty in the continent. They can start by passing legislation that makes it illegal for banks, financial institutions, as well as professional advisors in the West, to provide safe havens and professional advice that enables crooked African politicians to launder the vast fortunes, which they siphon from their national treasuries. Surely, the Western democracies ought to be creative enough, to understand that it really is possible to stop sending their tax dollars to Africa, as direct aid to the regimes of nations in the continent in which corruption is endemic? Surely, if they can find a legitimate way of seizing all the stolen wealth from corrupt African leaders sitting in offshore bank accounts in the West (as they do with alacrity, funds in Western banking systems belonging to front organisations, in the business of channeling money and resources covertly, to the Osama bin Ladens of this world), and set up a special fund into which such sums can be deposited and wisely invested (together with some of the huge sums in “dormant accounts” in Western banks – whose legitimate owners or heirs can no longer be traced after say twelve years), to support good causes in Africa? Could such a fund not be drawn on, for example, to create regional revolving poverty-alleviation funds – out of which micro-loans can be made available to outstanding micro-entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs operating in poor rural communities, right across Africa?
Can the interest from such a fund also not be used to support the work of reputable local NGO’s and international NGO’s working to make a difference for ordinary Africans at the grassroots level, who are forced by circumstances beyond their control to live an existence akin to hell on earth, as a direct result of the corruption and incompetence of their leaders – instead of ordinary Westerners being taxed to the hilt by their governments for that not-so-sensible purpose, which the pouring of money down what is the financial equivalent of a black-hole, that giving aid to certain governments on the continent, actually does represent? Do the international NGO’s helping millions of internally displaced Africans in places like Darfur and Eastern DR Congo, such as Medicines san Frontieres, Save the Children, and Oxfam, not deserve to be supported in their humanitarian work on the continent – by making it possible for them to leverage such funds, too? Corruption in Africa will end, when corrupt African politicians (such as those members of Rwanda’s clever and ruthless ruling elite, who are prospering mightily, from their access to DR Congo’s vast mineral wealth – made possible as a direct result of the instability their proxies have created in Eastern DR Congo: and actively fuel for that purpose), are not only unable to find hiding places in the West to stash their stolen wealth, but are also denied access, through the imposition of sanctions, to the overseas markets in which some of them even sell purloined mineral resources from African conflict zones, for their personal enrichment, and with such complete impunity, too.
Why do the governments of the West not get the UN to ask the EU and other trading blocs around the world to sign and ratify a UN convention, which will make it illegal for companies domiciled in their countries from dealing in minerals from conflict zones in Africa (such as the DR Congo), which do not pass through official export channels and customs border posts, for example? Clearly, one of the most effective means of helping Africa to eradicate poverty will be for the West to end its double standards – and use existing laws to prosecute Western multinationals that behave unethically in Africa and operate in a manner that break laws in their home countries: with the same vigour that they deal with fraudsters like the Conrad Blacks and Bernie Maddoxes, and errant companies like the now-defunct WorldComs and Enrons of the Western world. An example is the payment of bribes by such companies to corrupt African leaders in order to win contracts. Yet another example of the hypocrisy of members of Western Establishments in Africa, is their turning a blind eye to unethical practices by Western multinationals in Africa – such as the disgraceful evasion of its responsibilities to laid-off workers (whom it had exploited for years to make vast profits), at a plant it recently closed down in Ghana’s Ashanti Region, by Guinness Ghana Limited.
That respectable multinational then tried to protect its public image (and pull wool over the eyes of Ghanaians), by giving those workers (whom it had used and dumped so callously without paying any redundancy payments to), what its spokesperson, with tongue firmly in cheek, called an “appreciation package.” Incredibly, Guinness Ghana Limited, had all along apparently “outsourced” ultimate responsibility for the welfare of those poor laid-off Ghanaian workers: whose hard work ensured the vast profits that Guinness Ghana Limited made from that defunct Ahensen plant in Kumasi, Ghana’s second city, to a “private contractor” (code for colluding with a privileged member of Ghana’s greedy and politically well-connected educated elite – an over-pampered group in society famous for its selfishness and lack of fellow-feeling for the less privileged in Ghana). They were thus able to niftily sidestep having to pay those laid-off workers their full redundancy entitlements mandatory under Ghanaian labour laws – through that clever and shabby ruse. Are we to assume that its experienced and competent expatriate management are not aware that that is no way for a socially responsible multinational with a world-famous brand-name like Guinness to proceed in a poor developing nation it has invested in ostensibly to create jobs for local people (in addition to its profit-making objective) – and are they also unaware of the fact that foreign direct investors like their company are welcomed and given generous terms to invest in Ghana, by the government of Ghana, principally because it is hoped that they will create well-paid employment with decent and above-average working conditions for Ghanaians?
The questions is: In this instance, were they not acting in a manner clearly at variance with the spirit of the premise upon which they were welcomed to our shores, when they elected to effectively wash their hands off those whose hard work they relied on to make their stellar profits, by “outsourcing” their recruitment to a private company – specifically contracted for that unethical, cost-cutting, bottom-line-seeking, robber-baron-type capitalist philosophical end? Clearly, Guinness Ghana Limited went to great lengths to ensure that no nosey-parker anti-globalization activist group or NGO in the EU, North America, and elsewhere in the developed world that it operates in, got wind of this outrageous and ruthless exploitation of poor Africans workers, in order to increase its bottom line – by giving the workers they had made redundant the impression that they were being benevolent to them, in giving them the so-called “appreciation package” when what they were in fact doing, was literally robbing them in a most shabby manner: whiles at the same time enriching an influential member of Ghana’s greedy and politically well-connected elite at the expense of those workers. How can that be? Where is the Trades Union Congress (TUC) of Ghana that is supposed to protect the interests of Ghanaian workers in all this? Why have the deafening silence from them, in the face of this egregious example of the worst aspects of the crony-capitalism, which President Kufuor & Co. introduced to our country – so as to assure the coming to pass of their dream of a golden age of business for themselves whiles in office; and for their family clans; their cronies; and the sundry young bimbos whom they just could not keep their designer trousers up for, and on whom they showered expensive gifts such as, Hollywood-style homes, luxury four-wheel drive vehicles, and mega-zillion cedi bank accounts? Are we to conclude, dear reader, that the TUC has been emasculated – and have become powerless to act to protect Ghanaian workers, from being abused by foreign direct investors: because the stooges for neocolonialism in Ghana (President Kufour & Co.) passed laws, which ensure the virtual enslavement of Ghanaian workers by foreign companies operating here, such as Guinness Ghana Limited?
The new government of Ghana, under the able, honest, and fair leadership of President Mills, must step in immediately – and insist that Guinness Ghana Limited pays the laid-off Ahensen workers the full entitlements due them: as if they had employed them directly – and not hide behind the innocuous sounding “we outsourced their recruitment to a private contractor” nonsense on bamboo stilts. The question is: Will Guinness dare sink to such depths in the EU or the USA in order to maximize its profits – and if not, then why should it act so callously here: especially when the return on its investment in African nations like Ghana, definitely yields far higher returns than it does in the Western capitalist world? Ordinary Africans are sick and tired of the hypocrisy of Western leaders and multinational companies in their dealings with the continent – and demand that Western multinationals operating in Africa are held to the same ethical standards expected of them in their home countries. Since their embassies in Africa do not hesitate to speak to the local authorities on behalf of those multinationals, let them also talk to companies like Guinness Ghana Limited, and ask them to treat their workers in Africa the same way they treat their workers in their home countries. Above all, let our own leaders wake up to their responsibilities to ordinary Africans – and ensure that they do not become the victims of globalization: but can rather gain from the cornucopia of benefits it has undoubtedly brought in its wake to humankind, as it has swept across the whole of the surface of the planet Earth, like a juggernaut. A word to the wise…
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I said a prayer to thank Providence for two different reasons, as I watched Cable News Network (CNN), in the early hours of July 15, 2009. The first reason, was that in his “AC- 360” programme, in which he interviewed US President Barrack Obama inside Cape Coast Castle, Andersen Cooper, did what some of the innocents abroad now running our country (and into whose hands Nkrumah’s Ghana has now fallen), will definitely make a complete hash of – if they go ahead with their madcap idea, of, as one little-big-wig in the ministry of tourism put it (if I remember the quotation correctly, i.e.): “…seriously marketing Ghana to wealthy African-Americans…” That cloud-cuckoo-land idea, by one of the more clued-on princes amongst the many pampered princes in Clueless Inc. (all of whom have been given cushy sinecures in the new administration), will end up sending hapless taxpayers’ money down the financial equivalent of a black-hole, as sure as day follows night: in an Alhaji Munkata-style junketing trip across America at our expense – with eager officials (of the type blessed with provincial Antoa-Nyame mindsets) traipsing round America “seriously marketing Ghana to wealthy African-Americans” at vast expense to Ghana’s hapless taxpayers.
(Incidentally, our new rulers have now earned themselves the designation “Clueless Inc.” a thousand times over – for not learning their bitter lesson from the past: and rushing right back into the smothering embrace of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), instead of making the Chinese our development partners – in the real sense of the word (used to describe partnerships of equals) – using the joint-venture business model: in which the best-resourced Chinese state-owned companies in the appropriate fields, partner their Ghanaian state-owned counterpart companies, such as the State Housing Company Limited and the Ghana Railways Company Limited, for example. Surely, by leveraging Ghana’s sovereign bonds, which we can issue to the Chinese government (as a form of a collateralized future receipts-type insurance), in exchange for their bankrolling the building of 500, 000 affordable houses in each region of Ghana, which ordinary Ghanaians can then rent at fair rates, and to create a nationwide railway network too (perhaps the Chinese can build, operate it for say twenty years through the joint-venture vehicle, and then transfer the completed network to the Ghana Railway Company Limited?).That way, we can develop our country on our terms: without being manipulated by others: so as to fit into the hidden agendas of sundry neocolonialists, can we not, dear reader?). Will that not see railway lines being extended to all Ghana’s regional capitals painlessly (from the point of view of taxpayers), for example? Why did the new Mills administration have to rush into such a political cul-de-sac by opting to work with those interfering neo-liberal free-market Shylocks instead of with the ever-helpful Chinese, one wonders? Hmmm, Ghana – eyeasem oo: asem ebaba debi ankasa. But I digress.) Let those in charge of tourism in our country, as well as all those who prattle on endlessly about what Ghana can gain from President Barrack Obama’s trip to Ghana (in terms of its global media coverage boosting our tourism industry, i.e.), understand one thing clearly: The foundation-work that has to be done in order to grow the tourism sector in a sustainable manner, must be done right here in Ghana not abroad – and it most definitely does not include wasting money advertising on CNN “like Nigeria and Angola have done” either, to quote one of the many geniuses and bright sparks who appear on the radio and TV current affairs programmes in our country, and who also double as social commentator-cum-sages, whom I heard in a TV Africa current affairs discussion programme (if I remember correctly) a few days ago.Not when we can get free coverage by them by doing some creative thinking.
Is it not the case, dear reader, that perhaps all that might be needed to be done to get Ghana on the radar screens of US eco-tour companies and in the West generally, would be to get President Mills to invite American celebrities who the US and global media follow assiduously, such as: the pop superstar Madona, and her small cross-cultural tribe of multi-racial children; yesteryear’s right-wing Queen-Bee, clueless Sarah Palin, and her family (well, if for nothing, just so that that empty-headed woman, whom Senator John McCain, yesteryear’s “that-man” conservative-superman, incredibly believes can lead America – when one would even have to worry if she ever became the president of our tiny country Ghana, let alone the world’s only remaining superpower – gets some experience of the Africa that she apparently thinks is one country); Oprah Winfrey; Will Smith; the basketball trioka of greats: Kobe Bryant, “Magic” Johnson, and Mr. Jordan; and the African-American poet, M. Angelou, to visit Ghana with their families as guests of the government and people of Ghana? They can all be honoured by Oguaman at a ceremony in a colourful durbar: so that the government can make up to those Chiefs and people of Ogua and Edina, who, sadly, were unable to meet President Barrack Obama – because his security detail apparently worried about his attending the durbar that Oguaman had arranged to honor him: and cancelled it at the last minute. They could do the entire slave-route from the north (taking in Mole National Park, and calling to pay their respects to the successor of the great and greatly-missed Otumfuo Opoku Ware11 (may his kindly soul rest in peace), at the Manyhia Palace, in Kumasi, on their way to the Cape Coast and Elmina castles on the coast. Above all, the new administration must put into place an effective and sustainable plan, which will enable them adequately resource all the district administrations in Ghana, so that they can clean our country, and rid our cities and towns of the filth we are slowly being engulfed by: and keep them clean permanently, going forward, into the future.
A clean Ghana is really key to growing our tourism industry – and if Ghana continues to remain as dirty a nation as it currently is, then we might as well forget about tourism ever becoming a truly significant foreign currency earner. That is why some of us are beginning to grow a little sick and tired of having to read and listen to all that fanciful and endless talk about “how we can package Ghana for investment after President Obama’s visit” that now dominates Ghana’s intellectually-barren media landscape. (Incidentally, can anyone beat President Kufuor’s astonishing statement to Jim Clancey, who conducted an interview with him in CNN’s “Inside Africa” programme – which directly followed Andersen Cooper’s “AC 360” that morning – that President Obama had come to “liberate us mentally”? Liberate who mentally, one wonders – the many corrupt Busia-Danquah super-lackeys of Western commercial interests amongst our political class, perhaps? Why doesn’t that infernal Godfather of the Busia-Danquah stooges for neocolonialism speak for himself: if he is going to say such negative things about the proud citizens of a nation in which there are many Nkrumaists and pan-Africanists: who have abundant self-belief: and don’t need to be mentally liberated by President Barrack Obama or anyone else? Heavens, how pathetic can one get, I ask, dear reader? But I digress.) For the benefit of that pampered prince of Clueless Inc. (ensconced in one of the ministerial offices renovated for vast zillion-cedi sums by the clever sister-in law of one of our previous ruling Clueless Inc.’s most prominent and vocal princes, Mr. Asamoah Boateng), who wants to embark on a trip to market Ghana to wealthy African-Americans, I shall narrate the experiences of a real live American citizen who actually came to visit Ghana, last February – and went back home not very impressed by our country: and who will not be returning to Ghana any time soon, and will most definitely not be recommending it to any of her circle of friends who all love to travel abroad regularly. She is currently on her second holiday this year – in Iceland, not Ghana.
Why so, you might wonder, dear reader? Well, that dear friend from Scranton, in Pennsylvania, was put off by: the unbelievable filth she saw everywhere she went; the shocking sight of grown-up men and women defecating on beautiful white-sanded beaches right across our coastline; being caught up in Accra’s endless traffic – and forced to breath in polluted air from poorly-maintained vehicles, which ought to be off our roads in the first place, if those who are paid to conduct roadworthy tests on vehicles, actually did their jobs well : and which belch lung-destroying smoke; the lack of infrastructure countrywide; and the endemic poverty that one sees everywhere one turns in Ghana. That is the reality of our country – and those who lead our country must make sure, if they want our country to attract responsible tourists who will recommend Ghana to others, when they finally return to their home countries, is to ensure that we always have: treated water from mains water pipelines available daily in properties nationwide; we have reliable electricity available round the clock nationwide; and above all, that defecating along our beaches is outlawed immediately – and that the law against it is vigorously enforced. If we have all that in place, then Ghana will definitely be ready to welcome millions of responsible tourists from around the globe (not only from America) – that is, if in addition to all the abovementioned prerequisites for growing our national economy’s tourism sector, our leaders also take a keen interest in the task of making our cities and towns clean. One hopes they will think of “packaging Ghana” along those lines – and that Ghanaians will stop going on and on so: about the so-called benefits to Ghana from President Obama’s one day trip, here. A word to the wise…
Google: “ghanapolitics”.
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US President Barrack Obama’s plain-speaking message to the leaders and people of Africa, which was contained in the heartfelt speech he gave in Ghana’s Parliament (on July 11, 2009), clearly resonated with most Africans who heard or read it – as evidenced by Prime Minister Odinga of Kenya’s positive reaction to the contents of the speech. Once-stable Kenya, as we all know, is the home country of President Obama’s late father – which was torn apart by controversial elections last year. Sadly, post-independence Kenya has ended up becoming a nation, whose society is dominated by a ruthless and notorious ruling elite – which, unfortunately, is one of the most corrupt, anywhere on the surface of the planet Earth. For those Nkrumaists and pan-Africanists, who over the years have been saying most of the things that President Obama said in his July 11, 2009 speech, our one hope, is that it will embolden the honest politicians within the various political parties, across the spectrum in Ghana (and elsewhere in Africa, too, one hopes) – and give them the courage and determination to finally prise their parties from the iron-grip of the greedy and powerful crooks, who dominate those parties.
The many sins of those shameless rogues against our country, include the ruthless exploitation of tribal sentiment for political gain to ensure their continued stay in office – and the consolidation of kickbacks (from major infrastructural projects and the privatization of state-owned entities), into a specialized high-yielding investment product: specifically designed to guarantee the ascent of their personal net worth (and that of their family clans and cronies), into the stratosphere permanently. Now that President Obama and his young family have come to pay our trailblazing nation their personal respects, and departed, the question we must ask the gentleman who now leads our country, President Mills, is: Will he now ensure that preparation for the prosecution of Alhaji Munkata for willfully causing financial loss to Ghana, is fast-tracked to take precedence over that of those in the previous regime who also abused their positions whiles in office, and willfully caused financial loss to our country – so that when he is tried by a court of competent jurisdiction for his misdeeds, and has eventually to be jailed, those of a similar bent who are now lurking in his regime (and who await their opportunity to amass sudden wealth, when it comes their way, too), will refrain from stealing public funds and worsening the already dire situation of our nation, and the desperate plight of its people, yet further? In the matter of prosecuting corrupt politicians, let the honest President Mills be guided by the words of President Obama: "No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves.”
One also hopes that those hypocritical politicians in Ghana’s current ruling party, who once held power for as long as some nineteen odd years, and still have the audacity to say today, that democracy is not suitable for Africa, and clearly don’t understand that the yearning for freedom beats no less strongly in the hearts of black Africans, than it does in that of people from other races, will also take note of these frank words of President Obama: “No business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20 percent off the top, or the head of the Port Authority is corrupt. No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. That is not democracy, that is tyranny, and now is the time for it to end…Africa doesn't need strongmen, it needs strong institutions." It is important that politicians of that ilk understand clearly that they do not fool true Nkrumaists and pan-Africanists one bit – for we know their psychological make-up only too well. In reality, they are mere racist power-junkies who think that being half-castes, means that they were born to rule our nation of full-blooded black Ghanaians: and thus seek unfettered power for themselves, because they see Ghanaians as a malleable and sycophantic people, who are moral cowards whose serf-mentality and lack of self-belief makes them toady to lighter-hued people. Being black Africans who are proud of our colour and race, and who posses abundant self-belief, true Nkrumaists, deplore the miasma that men like ex-President J. J. Rawlings’ malevolent hold on the gullible in our country, represents, and wish to see it end immediately.
My last quotation from President Obama’s speech goes to those in the previous regime, whose unfathomable greed created a culture of dog-eat-dog selfishness, and brought about such indiscipline in our society – those once-powerful Akan tribal-supremacists who dominated the New Patriotic Party (NPP) so completely, in all the eight years that that party was in power for, and who made Kokofu-football politricks their stock-in-trade in our politics. Let those hypocrites, who incredibly, actually sought to impose their tribal Chief on Nkrumah’s Ghana as its de facto monarch (yes, our unitary Republic that is a nation of diverse-ethnicity: and which that great pan-Africanist and thinker Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah succeeded, against great odds, in moulding into a united people with a common destiny), pay heed to these courageous words of President Obama: “Africa is not the crude caricature of a continent at war…But for far too many Africans, conflict is a part of life, as constant as the sun. There are wars over land and wars over resources. And it is still far too easy for those without conscience to manipulate whole communities into fighting among faiths and tribes… These conflicts are a millstone around Africa's neck.” Clearly, the time has now come for the principled and de-tribalised Akans who believe in the enterprise Ghana in the NPP, to join hands with the honest members of their party, to wrestle control of that party from those Akan tribal-supremacists who are without conscience (and seek the Balkanization of our country for the benefit of the progeny of the pre-colonial feudal ruling elites). It was their greed and selfishness that lost them the trust of the Ghanaian people – and led to the NPP’s defeat in the December 2008 presidential election. Such politicians must understand that Kokofu-football politricks has no place in Nkrumah’s Ghana of today.
For the sake of our country and its people, one certainly hopes that all the honest members of our political class, will stop their cowardly fence-sitting: and let the abovementioned words quoted from the historic speech to the people of Africa, by US President Barrack Obama, galvanize them into speaking out boldly against corruption and injustice in Ghana, henceforth – and, like Mr. P. C. Appiah-Ofori, expose those of their colleagues who shortchange our country and its people. Hopefully, those for whom this particular cap fits (who are now said to be sulking in our second city because President Obama was not inveigled into coming there: as would have been the case, hitherto: had they been in power, thank goodness) will apologise to President Mills for seeking to embarrass him during President Obama’s visit, by conveniently forgetting that they rejected three Chrysler cars, when they told the world they had still not been given any cars for their retirement years, yet (they, who once told us, when they were seeking power in December 2000, that they had already made their personal fortunes – and were only coming to serve Ghanaians). Does the hypocrisy of former President Kufuor know no bounds? What have the people of Ghana got to do with his grandchildren – when, after spending zillions renovating the Osu Castle, he says that he could not move in there on their account: as there was no room there for them? Why did they have to live with him in the Osu Castle – when they have responsible parents of their own who are not short of a pesewa or two? When he and the sycophants whose endless praise-singing turned him into a megalomaniac, say that the so-called Golden Jubilee House (shouldn’t that confounded building be known as Flagstaff House, by the way, dear reader?) was necessary: because it will be there for “a hundred years”, do they ever stop to think that a more visionary leader, would have spent the colossal sum we wasted on that monstrosity rather improving health-care facilities nationwide, instead – because such a leader, would have had the vision to rather commission plans for a future new capital city: to be built at a point in time, when our country can actually afford it – and bang in the centre of Ghana too? Surely, that will enable the filthy conurbation that now serves as our “capital eyesore” to be “decongested” naturally and painlessly, will it not? With respect, our former presidents must belt up if they have no meaningful contribution to make to public discourse. Let them ponder over President Obama’s blunt speech – and advice their unprincipled parties to pay heed to it. A word to the wise…
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One of the biggest problems facing smallholder farmers in Ghana is the terrible void in farming, created by the weakening of institutional support, occasioned by the unfortunate change in the structure and vision of the ministry of agriculture’s extension services, over the years – as a direct result of the strictures of the IMF and the World Bank. Another of the constraints that farmers in Ghana face is the dreadful effect on the agricultural sector, of the lack of original thinking exhibited daily by a political class that is void of imagination – and many of whose members seldom do any truly world-class creative thinking (of the kind that Nkrumah engaged in throughout his years in power) that results in long-lasting solutions to our nation’s major problems. Incidentally, that is why some of us are waiting patiently, for example, for the day when Ghana’s politicians will end their love-affair with building badly-designed and poor quality roads: when it finally dawns on them that they are wasting taxpayers’ money concentrating solely on building roads that never last because of the kickbacks they demand from road contractors – and at last wake up to the fact that it is only by developing a truly modern and nationwide railway network as part of an integrated mass-transportation system, that we will remove the major bottlenecks in our transportation system: and make markets that much more accessible to smallholder farmers in Ghana, and at a cost far more reasonable than that charged them by the accident-prone road transport sector (Ghana’s “killing-fields” ). But I digress.
The response of the president’s press secretary, Mr. Ayariga, when he tried to explain away newspaper stories that implied that he had used his influence to get the ministry of agriculture to allocate a tractor to him, not too long ago, is a telling case in point: about how most of officialdom still lives in the anything-goes pre-global warming era. According to him, he purchased the tractor in question, simply to provide tillage services to farmers in his part of the country, at reasonable rates, in order to assist them. Yet, at a time of global climate change, any politician who cares about the farming sector, and cares about food safety issues such as the worldwide demand for traceability and transparency in the food chain, ought to work to encourage no-till farming that will prevent the widespread destruction of soils in our country: which are a direct result of the unnecessary land tillage that widespread tractor-usage brings in its wake. This is precisely the time to promote environmentally-friendly organic farming, so that we can move away from the kind of old-style, pre-global warming era of intensive farming, with its dependence on synthetically compounded additives in animal feed products, pesticides, and fertilizers. The question is: Why do our leaders not rather think of smallholder farmers as stewards of our natural heritage – through whom Ghana’s climate-change amelioration initiatives can be channeled at the grassroots level: and who will become agents of sustainable rural development, as we encourage them to practice organic farming as the way forward for sustainable wealth creation in the agricultural sector of Ghana’s economy?
Surely, we ought to encourage government agencies, such as the extension services of the ministry of agriculture and the Rural Enterprises Project (REP) organisation, to use the methods and developmental models of sustainable development organisations, such as: the American NGO Fearless Planet; the American green-farming guru Ken Hargesheimer's (whom the Ivory Coast has already invited to teach smallholder farmers his farming methods, by the way) Mini-Farms no-till movement; and the South African sustainable livelihoods organisation, Sustainable Villages Africa (SVA), for those reasons? Why do we not use NGO’s to help smallholder farmers grow trees, adopt biochar for carbon sequestration, for example – and above all, enable them benefit from the nascent global market in carbon credits: so that they will come to understand that they have a financial stake in the preservation of our nation’s biodiversity? A perfect example of market-driven sustainable development that creates wealth for smallholder farmers in Ghana, is the American NGO Fearless Planet’s positive social entrepreneurial intervention in Kade, in Ghana’s Eastern Region – where it is partnering a group of Ghanaian women smallholder farmers to cultivate and market organically grown oil palm: in a project that has dramatically changed their lives and improved their living standards considerably. In addition to local sales, they are also exporting their oil palm to a fair trade American soap manufacturer.
There are many such possibilities for other farmer-based groups throughout the country. Many of the leading supermarkets in urban Ghana, such as the South African supermarket chain, Shoprite, for example, are all keen to source as much of their requirement for fruit and vegetables from Ghanaians farmers – but precious few of smallholder farmers in our country have the capacity to enable them secure such deals. They must be helped to access such markets. It is for that reason that organisations that work at the grassroots level, such as Fearless Planet; REP; National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI); and the Community Resource Management Support Centre, must all benefit from the funding for Africa’s agricultural sector promised by the G8 nations. Those critical organisations, in addition to the research institutions of the Council for Industrial and Scientic Research (CSIR) that handle agricultural research, are so important in the scheme of things in the new era we have now entered: as a result of the dramatic change in climatic conditions worldwide, due to global warming. If we really want Ghanaian smallholder farmers to benefit from the resources that the G8 nations say they will make available to that sector of the African economy, then let our leaders consult the them directly at the grassroots level for their input about what help they need from officialdom to jump-start the economies of their villages, in “village-square meetings” – rather than end up spending almost all the proposed G8 funds on those mostly-unproductive seminars and workshops, so beloved of the predatory experts and consultants: who have turned poverty-alleviation into such a lucrative growth industry in Africa: which enables them live off the fat of the land (in this instance, that of poor smallholder farmers in Ghana – if we allow them to lobby our leaders for that end, that is).
At the end of the day, we must have land reform that will take away land currently held in trust for their people by traditional rulers (many of whom simply sell such land and either pocket the proceeds, or share them with their most influential palace lackeys), for redistribution to landless tenant farmers – after paying fair compensation for the state acquiring such land for redistribution to smallholder farmers countrywide: as well as to any young people desirous of leaving the urban areas to farm. We must aim to ensure that every smallholder has the means to diversify their farming business by doing one or a few of the following in addition to growing food crops (among other things, i.e.), if they are so inclined: keep a few sheep or goats if that is possible for them; rear grasscutters or snails if that is feasible for them; do some fish-farming or snail-farming; do some beekeeping or grow mushrooms. Above all, let each farmer grow a few economic trees such as mangoes, avocado pears, or Moringa oleifera – or even do a little agro-forestry, growing some of our fast-disappearing tree species, as the depletion of our forests continue apace: if they have enough land to do so. All that must be made possible by providing small grants to all Ghana’s smallholder farmers – which is far better than the current idiocy of selecting a few poor households and creating a dependency-culture in rural Ghana, by giving them cash handouts: just so that cynical and corrupt politicians can say they are doing something about fighting poverty.
It is far better to teach a man or woman to fish, or provide them the wherewithal to buy seeds or breeding stock for livestock farming: and getting an additional income-stream that way, in my humble view. We must also set up a special fund with low interest rates at not more than 3 per cent and long grace periods, from which smallholder farmers can borrow to buy inputs – and the current government must be congratulated for subsidizing fertilizers: although they ought to move away from synthetic fertilizers to organic fertilizers. The cocoa husks and other waste from cocoa farms can all be turned into organic fertilizer on smallholder cocoa farmers’ farms – if the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCBOD) can invite the Swedish green activist Folke Günther to teach such farmers how to make use of his simple pyrolysis retort for making biochar. Even that could enable such cocoa farmers leverage the carbon offset markets, perhaps. Let the Mills administration directly consult as many individual smallholder farmers and farmer-based organisation at the grassroots level countrywide, as they possibly can – to ensure that they can fashion a new agricultural policy that will enable us achieve food security: through the predominant use of environmentally-friendly smallholder organic farming as a national goal: particularly at a time when the very survival of the whole of humankind is threatened by global climate change. A word to the wise….
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Anyone who has read declassified US State Department and National Security documents on Africa, will understand why many an Nkrumaist and pan-Africanist, finds it so disheartening listening to those individuals in our midst, who are bereft of self-belief and lack imagination – as they prattle on about the many benefits they think will come to Ghana from US President Barrack Obama’s one-day visit to Ghana. Why do they not rather spend their energies thinking about what Ghana can also do for America, in her hour of need, instead – at a time when the US is resorting to borrowing trillions of dollars from nations such as Japan and China: in order to stop its economy from imploding? The inability of many of the members of our political class, particularly, to think of a new approach in our relationship with the US, which is revealed by their unrealistic expectations about what they think Ghana will gain, from President Obama’s trip here, reveals the shocking lack of sophistication and naïveté of many of the post-Nkrumah era leadership in Africa. It has enabled the Western powers to toy with Africa for so long – and makes those nations think that they can continue their something-for-nothing policy of minimum expenditure in return for unfettered access to all the continent’s natural resources, till the very end of time.
The time has now come for that selfish and unhelpful attitude amongst the developed nations of the world to end – especially now that America has elected its first African-American president. We must replace the old cynicism and ruthless exploitation of Africa, with a new relationship of equal partnerships: each nation working for common goals, which are beneficial for both parties. The perfidy of the US establishment that is revealed in the declassified Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) documents from the period in office of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, pertaining to US-Ghana relations (especially during the Nkrumah era, for example), clearly show why, ultimately, African politicians must look inwards and rely on the ingenuity and hard work of their own people, for Africa’s salvation. We all understand, however, that today, because we live in an increasingly interdependent world, as a result of globalization, we must accept that nations like ours, must, of necessity, deal with foreign nations for shared common-interest reasons. However, it is imperative that in getting what we need from foreign nations, our relationship with them does not end up impoverishing our people and weakening the nations of the continent. That is why the question the average Nkrumaist and pan-Africanist in Ghana would probably ask, in order to elicit responses and ideas that will enable Ghana offer the US President, something positive for his country, in return for whatever help we might ask from his country, is: What can Ghana do for the visiting first African-American US president, which will benefit his people and amply justify anything of value, which we might ask President Obama to give to our nation, whiles he is here?
Surprising though it might be to many Ghanaians, and to President Obama and the large entourage accompanying him, America can actually find the perfect solution to the crisis facing the US auto industry right here in Ghana. They can also find new turbine technology that obviates the need to build dams for hydroelectric power (at a time of global climate change, when most hydroelectric power plants are becoming increasingly unpredictable – because of the frequent seasonal low dam water-levels now being experienced worldwide), which, if developed by the Americans, could harness the flow of both Ghana and America’s many rivers for hydroelectric power generation. The man whose two inventions can literally save the US auto industry (by providing it with a device that makes the batteries of electric cars have unlimited range!), and help boost its renewable power-generating capacity, is Colonel Kofi Abaka Jackson – the retired air force officer, who once served as a minister in the military regime of General Acheampong in the 1970’s. The Mills administration must quickly get in touch with Colonel Jackson – for, he holds the key, to beginning a new relationship between our nation and America: one that will be a more equal and mutually beneficial partnership. Clearly, the old thinking that made nations like ours constantly look to the US to send its taxpayers’ money to us as aid (as if we were a nation of spongers and no longer the once-proud and hardworking people that Nkrumah and others fought so hard to free from British colonial occupation) is no longer tenable.
That is why we must get the US to abandon its “something-for-nothing” African foreign policy – and Ghana in turn ought to end its days as a global power in begging-bowl diplomacy. In exchange for Colonel Kofi Abaka Jackson enabling Americans (and the rest of the world) to continue their love-affair with SUV’s and other gas-guzzling automobiles, and helping America increase its renewable power-generating capacity, the US must be creative – and replace its outmoded African foreign policy, at least in as far as its relationship with Nkrumah’s Ghana, goes. If we are to offer Colonel Jackson’s remarkable ground-breaking and cutting-edge technological inventions to America, then the US must agree to make Ghana its African equivalent of Israel, and treat Ghana as an ally that it can outsource some of the military tasks of its US African Command’s role in meeting its African foreign policy objectives, to. For once, in Africa, the US must think creatively, and put aside its stingy something-for-nothing mindset – and make the bold strategic decision to provide substantial military assistance to Ghana’s military. What Ghana needs from the US (even though it has not yet dawned on its largely-unimaginative political class – which seldom thinks of their nation in strategic terms, sadly) is to be taken seriously enough to make it possible for the US to play a significant role in helping us restructure our military forces: The US must make a strategic decision to enable Ghana to dramatically increase the size of its military to some 200,000 men.
If they decide to make a long-term commitment to help train Ghana’s military and transform it into a world-class military force (at the moment we have some of the finest fighting men and women in the world – who unfortunately are hamstrung by a crippling lack of funds), and agree to bankroll the re-equipping of our military with the modern weapons systems that will give them the capability to effectively police our territorial waters by air and by sea: with the prevention of the type of criminality that is slowly destroying the Nigerian oil and natural gas industries in mind, it will benefit both our nations, will it not? The US must also be prepared to include provision for Ghana’s new military force in its overall military budget – to ensure that it has a powerful ally in us: to partner it and assure the battle-readiness of the African component of its military’s capability to have an effective global reach, with the help of suitable regional powers. It is only by helping us rapidly build one of the most effective armies in the world that has the capability to deploy anywhere in Africa, for effective peacemaking (in addition to peacekeeping), because it has the US-provided hardware to give it the power and capability to do so, that America can contribute meaningfully to a new Ghana-US relationship of equal partners. That will be a relatively small price to pay for ensuring that the US African Command has an Israeli-type ally in Africa – which gives it the same kind of foothold-rewards that its relationship with Israel’s military gives it: and helps it to achieve its Middle East foreign policy objectives.
One hopes that the Mills administration will contact Colonel Kofi Abaka Jackson as quickly as possible – and get briefed by him about his remarkable ground-breaking and cutting-edge inventions for electric cars and hydro-power turbines, which could make a huge difference to the US economy and also benefit the rest of humankind. If the US were to agree to make it possible for us to have a military force of some 200,000 that is well-trained and well-equipped, and which is also one of the most effective armed forces in the world, in return for, say the establishment of a US military base in Ghana, even that would be a small price worth paying by Nkrumah’s Ghana, in my view. If even an Nkrumaist and pan-Africanist like Kofi Thompson, whose type of activism is the antithesis of the treasonable activities of Africa’s many stooges for neocolonialism, has now arrived at this conclusion about Ghana’s relationship with the US, then President Barrack Obama must put aside his country’s something-for-nothing African foreign policy for once, in this instance – and think creatively and welcome this idea: for the mutual benefit of Ghana and the United States of America. The question is: are our current leaders prepared to think the unthinkable too – and aim for a new and more equal Ghana-US relationship: by offering these original-thinking-type ideas to US President Barrack Obama? One hopes they will – and above all that they will get in touch quickly with Colonel Kofi Abaka Jackson: who holds the key to any new improved Ghana-US relationship. A word to the wise…
Email: kofi.thompson@gmail.com
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I could not help smiling, when I watched a news item on Metro TV’s 6th July 6, 2009 early evening news programme, in which the former deputy minister of finance, Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei, was gesticulating animatedly in apparent frustration: and expressing his sense of outrage to the Speaker. He wondered aloud, just what was happening to Parliament, and said he was not in the least bit surprised that ordinary people no longer respected members of parliament – because an allegation made by a member of parliament from his own side of the house, Mr. P.C. Appiah-Ofori, had been repeated on the floor of the house without any evidence, by a member of the majority side in Parliament, Mr. Twumasi-Appiah: who refused to withdraw the offending statement that had so raised Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei’s ire. The upshot was that the minority side staged a walkout – and coolly informed Ghanaians (with straight faces) that as a result of Mr. Twumasi-Appiah’s refusal to either substantiate or withdraw the allegation that they had received bribes of US$5,000 each, to facilitate the Vodafone takeover of Ghana Telecom (GT), they would no longer be participating fully in debates in Parliament (in which decisions affecting the welfare of the ordinary people of Ghana are taken, and for which reason they were elected in the first place: and remunerated so handsomely for!). The question that came immediately to mind – as I listened with astonishment to the humbug of those over-pampered hypocrites who used to work even till dawn, to enable fraudulent bills benefiting the powerful crooks in their regime to be railroaded through Parliament – is best expressed by quoting that pithy phrase in pidgin English from Nigeria that poses the rhetorical question: “Na who cause am?” (whose fault is it?)
Had that genius Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei and his self-righteous colleagues on the minority benches in Parliament, developed a mild case of amnesia perhaps, one wonders – and suddenly forgotten that once upon a time they conspired with that greedy cabal in the presidency (when they were in power), to railroad through Parliament that fraudulent sale and purchase agreement for VALCO to a non-existent entity, grandly named International Aluminum Partners: that two multinational metals conglomerates, Norske Hydro and VALE (which were said to be buying VALCO), vehemently denied ever consenting to append their signatures to? Who in their right mind would not feel contemptuous of such amoral politicians – prepared to sanction criminality to that degree: merely because it benefited a powerful and influential few to whom they were beholden: and even though it was inimical to our nation’s interests? How do we know that that eleventh-hour con-job did not inform their tactics in the Vodafone rip-off deal too? Did those hypocritical apostles of the rule of law, not again do the unimaginable, by completely ignoring the constitutional edict that enjoins all Ghanaians to fight corruption: when they topped their perfidy (after allowing GT to be sold for a song), by passing yet another new law that indemnified all those who struck the Ghana Telecom/Vodafone deal from future prosecution? Why did they have to pass such an egregious example of a bad and self-serving law if they had nothing to hide? Did they not think that most discerning Ghanaians would come to the conclusion that they were aiding and abetting those engaging in corruption: and to the detriment of our nation? So now that the proverbial chickens are coming home to roost, the US$5,000 question is: “Na who cause am?”
Has the sanctimonious Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei now suddenly forgotten that Ghanaians saw some of his colleagues rush to pin down Mr. P.C. Appiah-Ofori in the chamber of Parliament, when he made an attempt to make a statement expressing his opposition to the sale of GT to Vodafone? The question is: Why were they prepared to physically assault their colleague in an effort to gag him and stop him from making public the reasons for his objection to that one-sided deal? Was he about to make the same allegation that they are now boycotting the important work of Parliament for – and which they did not want recorded in the Hansard, for posterity to note their perfidy for all time, perchance? Has Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei forgotten that once upon a time he was actually signing million-dollar cheques drawn in favour of that financial equivalent of a black-hole, known as “National Security” – even when his regime, incredibly (from the standpoint of ethical behaviour), was in its dying days? What those too-clever-by-half members of our political class (such as the “smooth” Dr. Anthony Akoto-Osei and his ilk) fail to understand, is that the people of Ghana cannot all be fooled all the time. That is why most ordinary people will tell him, were he and his colleagues to ask them, that between the very clever Mr. Kodjo Mpianim and Mr. P.C. Appiah-Ofori, they know exactly whose word to take – precisely because they know which of the two men has a long history of denying most of the things it is alleged he has been involved in. The bitter truth is that our political class is jam-packed with sophisticated white-collar criminals who are really worse than the notorious Atta Aryee. Do they not know that rooking Ghana silly through the use of opaque offshore special purpose vehicles is no different from what that notorious armed robber used to get up to, in his hey days: when he was carrying out his reign of terror?
My humble advice to Dr. Akoto Osei’s mostly-clueless successors, if they would listen, is that they must get hold of key EU politicians, such as those leading left-wing green members of the Dutch Parliament, who care about Africa, to ask the Dutch equivalent of our economic crimes unit of the Ghana Police, to find out the antecedents of Vodafone BV – so as to establish any recent changes in its shareholding and also examine all its bank accounts: to see if that will yield any clues to help get to the bottom of the rumours of impropriety surrounding the sale of GT to Vodafone. They must also find and talk to some of the left-wing UK MP’s with an interest in Africa, and ask them to contact the Metropolitan Police team which collaborated with the Kenyan Police to unravel a number of multi-million pound sterling deals involving some members of Kenya’s ruling elite. That might also be useful in helping them crack any similar secret deals in the privatization of GT. They must also look for some of the left-wing members of the EU Parliament (who also care about, and want to stop, corrupt practices in Africa, by powerful Western multinationals) to get the relevant EU commissioner to help them in the task of unraveling the EU angle – regarding the purchase of GT by Vodafone PLC using Vodafone BV as a legal front. That is the best way of finding out, if it was the case, for example, that having learnt from its Kenyan experience, Vodafone elected to cover its tracks, and circumvent possible future charges of corruption, through that special purpose vehicle. They must also contact leading EU transparency activist groups such as Global Witness for help in that regard too. As for Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei himself, I wonder if he is aware of the fact that there are those, who say that they have no doubt that he will probably end up before the Fast Track High Courts, in due course. His critics also say, that he epitomizes those smart-dealers who created the culture of dog-eat-dog selfishness, which we saw during their years in power: when greed amongst our ruling elite reached its apogee – and is described by them as someone who is: lethal; incredibly smooth; apparently respectable; super-ruthless; and, like all his philandering Akan tribal-supremacist pals, world-class at speaking with a forked-tongue. He must be careful that the chickens do not come to roost in his own backyard, too soon. Hmm, Ghana – eyeasem oo: asem ebaba debi ankasa!
Apart from diamonds, providence did not bless Botswana with much – but it gave her a crop of very wise and honest leaders: who have used the little that Mother Nature gave them to provide their people with one of the highest living standards in Africa. Even when disaster has struck, such as it did when HIV/AIDS swept through their population, they have ensured the welfare of their people, by putting into place one of the most comprehensive HIV/AIDS care-management regimes anywhere in the world – ensuring that all Batswana living with HIV/AIDS (which unfortunately, happens to be a substantial proportion of the total population) have retroviral drugs to enable them stay well and remain productive throughout their working years. It is instructive that that nation is the one country in Africa, in which corruption does not thrive. Unlike elsewhere in the continent, national standards have not fallen, since it gained its independence (from the UK). Significantly, Botswana also has a foreign policy that is based on morality, not political expediency – and in that sense is far ahead of the curve, globally. One can contrast their decency in that regard with the perfidy of the G8 nations, for example – who talk endlessly about integrity and ethics but practice neither: in both their domestic and foreign policies.
An example is the latest wheeze by the G8 leaders. They are now talking about the need for integrity and ethics to prevent another global financial crisis developing in future – yet, they, who are largely responsible for a greater part of the greenhouse gases that have caused the disastrous change in climatic conditions globally, and who spent trillions of their taxpayers’ money to bailout private banks (brought to their knees by greed and risk-taking driven by short-term thinking), will never keep their promises to provide the required money for the biggest victims of global climate change (the economically hard-pressed African nations least responsible for that worldwide catastrophe), to fund amelioration programmes designed to combat the most negative effects of global climate change in the continent. Nations in today’s world must behave in a moral fashion – and let their foreign policy be underpinned by ethical considerations. It came as no surprise, to those who wish to see less cynicism in international politics, that Botswana, whose leaders have ensured that their society is underpinned by an ethos based on integrity and ethics, quickly issued a statement that it was disassociating itself, from the AU’s nonsensical and immoral (my words, not theirs!) stand, on the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) indictment of Sudanese President Omar Bashir.
Clearly, the leaders of Botswana refuse to close their eyes to the abomination occurring in Darfur, and elsewhere in Sudan – and consequently have no desire to see the indicted mastermind behind the pogrom in Darfur escape justice. They also refused to close their eyes as millions of Zimbabweans suffered untold hardship as result of the actions of the tyrants in Zimbabwe (before the government of national unity was formed there) – whiles the AU maintained a deafening silence. It is heartening to know that the capricious Libyan leader, Colonel Gaddafi, was not be able to bully Botswana into suspending its ethical foreign policy on that issue – because they are a principled lot. The question is: Why did Ghana not stand side by side with Botswana on this particular issue? For Nkrumah’s Ghana to give succour to that racist and mass-murderer, Omar Bashir, is unconscionable – and President Mills of Ghana, who believes in, and personifies integrity and ethical behaviour (that the G8 have paid lip-service to for decades but do not practice, incidentally), must replace his foreign minister for not showing sufficient leadership and recommending that the government of Ghana too, does what Botswana has done, in rejecting the AU’s untenable and shameful position, on the issue of the ICC’s indictment of President Omar Bashir. Why did Ghana’s delegation to the AU summit in Libya have to cave in to the Libyan leader’s blatant arm-twisting: on an issue to do with the fundamental human rights of our fellow black Africans – and allow him to railroad that shameful summit resolution, on non-cooperation with the ICC in executing the arrest warrant for the Sudanese leader, through the conference floor?
Colonel Gaddafi, of course, as we all know, happens to be the leader of a nation in which black Africans are treated in the most appalling of fashions – which is exactly the way Sudan’s racists, the so-called ‘Arabs,’ also treat their own black African citizens. It is still not too late for Ghana to follow Botswana’s example – and issue a statement disassociating our country from the AU’s untenable stand on that issue. As a result of our commitment to promoting ethnic equality and multi-ethnic harmony in Africa, a number of Nkrumaists (including me) who are active in the pan-Africanist movement, became implacable opponents of the former regime – because of President Kufuor’s persistence in pursuing that outrageous Akan tribal-supremacist agenda of his, which was designed to foist his tribal Chief on the nation, as a de facto monarch. That pure nonsense on bamboo stilts, in the nation of diverse-ethnicity that Nkrumah succeeded in moulding into a united country, whose citizens shared a common destiny, was simply too much for us to stomach. It was a travesty that ended up dividing our country, as never before, since Ghana gained her independence in 1957.
If the current regime too (like its unprincipled predecessor regime before it) continues to be obdurate about not cooperating with the ICC in regard to its arrest warrant for that ‘Arab’ racist who is intent on ethnic-cleansing Darfur of its entire black African population, then the question a nobody, a fool, and an ignoramus like me would like Ghana’s foreign minister to answer is: are pan-Africanists and Nkrumaists in Ghana (who believe that sovereignty ultimately lies in the hands of the ordinary people of Africa, not their rulers, and that the human rights of ordinary Africans are inviolable), to conclude that those in power in Ghana today, think that the human rights of Africans can be violated by their leaders with impunity? Well, if that is the case, then we shall have to conclude that this is a regime that will not base its foreign policy on ethical considerations – which will mean therefore, that the Mills administration will have to count Kofi Thompson as one of its most implacable opponents, henceforth. I despise those who wield power and think that life can be conveniently compartmentalized – and that one can be an honest person and behave ethically in one aspect of one’s life and be unprincipled and thoroughly dishonest, in other areas of one’s life (one is ether honest or one is not – there can be nothing in-between from the two, in my humble view).
That is precisely the kind of cynicism and logic informing the immorality that fuels the unprincipled actions of the decadent Munkata-types who still lurk in the Mills regime (and are said to be responsible for the cover-up of that scandal by our secret services, by the way). Incidentally, we are waiting to see what the president will do about prosecuting Alhaji Munkata, the former minister for youth and sports, for the misuse of public funds to pay for expenses to do with an overseas trip undertaken by his girlfriend at taxpayers’ expense. Incredibly, that man is reported to have issued a warning recently about what he calls an “anti-North agenda” in our national life that he thinks is afoot in Ghana today. Having got away thus far with not being prosecuted by what is increasingly beginning to look like a spineless and cynical regime (in some respects!), that is hesitant to prosecute those “on-side” who take our country for a ride with impunity, he now also has the gall to try and stoke up ethnic tensions in Ghana – compounding his many sins: by talking glibly about an “anti-North” agenda. We shall see how the Mills administration will justify prosecuting the crooks in the previous regime – if it fails to prosecute that man Munkata. But I digress. On the issue of foreign policy, the president must not allow immorality to become the defining characteristic of his regime – if he wants to leave a good legacy behind. He and his foreign minister should never have allowed the capricious Colonel Gaddafi’s disgraceful arm-twisting to end up making them concur to the AU’s foolishness: and thereby tarnishing Ghana’s good name – just for the sake of a racist and a mass-murderer like that brutal dictator Omar Bashir.
The Mills regime must not forget that we are a nation in which common decency and values still mean something – and in such situations at future AU summits we must always ally ourselves to principled nations like Botswana, not Sudan and Libya: which are both run by ruthless dictators. If this regime continues along this path some of us will become the most implacable of its foes – and even though I am an uneducated fellow who can barely read and write, I do wield a mean pen: which I shall deploy in my opposition to what appears to be gradually turning out to be a rather cynical regime too (in certain respects!), one fears. The nagging zillion-cedi question is: In the end, will it also turn out to be much like its predecessor, perhaps? Nkrumah’s Ghana, must, by definition, gain a reputation for being a nation that always stands up for the oppressed in Africa. Surely, we did not spend our nation’s scarce resources to help bring freedom to the continent (by being instrumental in ridding Africa of its colonial occupiers), just to end up empowering oppressive rulers in Africa, and allowing them to maim and kill the selfsame citizens, whom they are obliged by international treaties and conventions to protect: without protesting loudly and expressing our sense of outrage? The Mills administration must understand clearly that Ghana must never support any African regime that brutalizes its own citizens under any circumstances – and support for President Bashir, a man leading a regime committing the most egregious of crimes against humanity, is simply untenable: more so, when he will eventually end up before the ICC in The Hague in any case, as sure as day follows night.
It is only a matter of time – and it may take two years or twenty (to paraphrase the ICC’s prosecutor Luis Campo-Morenho); but appear before it, he will. Will Ghana’s leaders be able to look the people of Darfur in the eye when that finally happens? We must be on the right side of history in this matter: which is to be firmly on the side of the people of Darfur. Above all, we must never allow Colonel Gaddafi to bully our country: just because our leaders think that our nation needs his oil and on favourable terms. The plain truth is that he himself is a dictator and a hypocrite – who talks endlessly about African unity, whiles presiding over a nation-state that has consistently treated desperate young black Africans (escaping the hell-holes their corrupt leaders have turned their nations into), who have ended up in Libyan territory illegally, capriciously. Ghana has a worthy and fitting ally in Botswana, in the fight to protect the human rights of all ordinary Africans. To make such a Machiavellian philosophy the guiding principle of our foreign policy is to declare our nation a most cynical one – and that cannot be right for a supposedly civilized and modern African nation-state regarded the world over as a beacon of peace and stability in Africa. In what is supposed to be the age of the African Renaissance, it is imperative that Nkrumah’s Ghana, like Botswana, has an ethical foreign policy – not one based on expediency and hypocrisy. A word to the wise….
I have often wondered what the history of Africa would have been, if our pre-colonial ruling elites had understood the implications of the essential nature of the first Europeans who set foot on African soil. Perhaps if the traditional rulers of our part of Africa, for example, had understood the nature of the underlying ruthlessness, which drove those who came to our shores seeking gold (in what eventually became known as the Gold Coast), those leaders would have proceeded differently – and would have exercised a great deal of caution in all their dealings with those first Europeans: and would never have allied themselves to them – simply for the short-term gain of consolidating their own power as coastal states in their relationships with rival tribal powers in the hinterland. It was the naiveté of our traditional rulers, whose greed made them only too happy to accept leftovers from the Whiteman’s dinner table (speaking figuratively), which made it possible for Europeans to gradually end up occupying our country, and eventually succeeding in imposing colonial rule on us – and finally gave them unfettered access to the abundant natural resources that providence blessed us with.
They, of course, never forgot why they came to our shores: to take away as much of our wealth to their own countries as was possible, without any hindrance from local people – whiles our leaders jostled each other for the privilege of dining with those who in effect had come to bleed our nation dry and condemned it to a slow and painful death: by emasculating it, and, like vampires, feeding on the very lifeblood of our country: its cornucopia of minerals and timber. That is why I had a sense of d’jevu that made me shudder recently, when I saw a front-page photograph in the Daily Graphic, of a beaming president happily shaking hands with an oil company executive, who had led a delegation of his colleagues to call on the president at the seat of government, the Osu Castle. I could not help thinking that nothing much had changed since those first Europeans came on a similar mission and were also happily welcomed by our leaders then, with beaming smiles. The attraction for leftovers still remains strong amongst our ruling elites: and is the main reason why despite many years of governing ourselves, the proverbial “pull-him-down-syndrome” still underpins our system.
Sadly, that unfortunate affliction, which affected a majority of our pre-colonial ruling elites, and was responsible for the downfall of Africa, does still rampages across the continent, causing havoc to the living standards of our people – as our leaders literally give our wealth away, out of ignorance. It is one’s constant prayer to God that our leaders will finally grasp the full extent of the potential power of a resurgent Africa – a reawakened giant in which the spirit of enterprise will spread right across a continent that is brimming with well-educated men and women with self-belief: who are driven by the can-do spirit. One also hopes that those who now lead Nkrumah’s Ghana will focus on using the power of the Ghanaian nation-state to seize the commanding heights of our economy for Ghanaian entrepreneurs – by providing market-based incentives to both state-owned entities and those in the private sector, for example. That will mean that rather than merely admonishing Ghanaian entrepreneurs to position themselves to take advantage of the many opportunities available in the oil industry (to paraphrase the current vice president), more importantly, the government will ensure that parliament passes a law that stipulates that only companies with a majority Ghanaian shareholding will be allowed to participate in the oil industry’s supply services sector: and that that new law is passed as quickly as it is practicable to do so.
We must not let the same old lack of self-belief that manifests itself in Ghanaians treating each other worse than they do foreigners (whom they invariably bend over backwards to help), rear its ghastly head when production starts in our oil and natural gas industries. I was horrified to learn that that same old “pull-him-down-syndrome” had been at play in the drawing up of the terms of the agreement Ghana signed with the company of that brilliant, hardworking, and patriotic Ghanaian oil tycoon, Quincy Sintim-Aboagye – whose private oil company is drilling for oil in the Saltpond oilfield. Yet, that innovative oilman has trained (and is still training) hundreds of Ghanaian oil-sector professionals in various disciplines. In addition to that, being a patriot, he also keeps his money here – and is creating jobs with decent pay for young Ghanaians. The question is: Has it ever struck the government of the day, to seek advice from that knowledgeable and apolitical gentleman, who loves his country and isn’t ashamed to say so wherever he goes – as to how best our nation can ensure that its interests are protected from sundry foreign carpetbaggers now flooding our oil sector (and who incidentally, are as ruthless as those first Europeans who came here looking for gold, and getting it for as cheaply as they possibly could: by taking advantage of the ignorance of our rulers then)?
Although he never says a bad word about anyone, it is instructive that the previous stooges for neocolonialism, into whose greedy hands Nkrumah’s Ghana fell for eight disastrous years, did all they could to cripple Quincy Sintim-Aboagye’s oil business – whiles they bent over backwards to enable greedy and ruthless foreigners to rip our country off (by drawing up those absurd agreements with them, which were so clearly inimical to our country’s interests), for short-term personal gain for themselves: and at the expense of the long-term interests of ordinary Ghanaians and their nation. My humble advice to the brilliant and patriotic Quincy, is to contact Liam Casey (known as Mr. China)of PCH International, who can put together a consortium that will enable him move into deeper-sea fields in the shortest possible time-frame (certainly quicker than he had originally envisaged), and with suitable funding support from the world-class Chinese partners that Casey can easily bring on board for him in a mutually-beneficial joint-venture. Quincy, more than anyone else in the industry, deserves to gain from the coming oil boom – because he will definitely spread the wealth he makes amongst Ghanaian businesses and Ghanaian workers. In talking to Liam Casey, he must also think about the possibility of leveraging the synergy involved in adding world-class Chinese companies that build giant windmills for renewable-power generation, as joint-venture partners: and add that to his core business. As a fellow patriot, I wish him well.
Finally, one humbly appeals to our present leaders to make sure that a law is passed as soon as possible to reserve the oil industry supply services sector for majority Ghanaian-owned businesses only – to ensure that Ghanaians actually benefit from that industry. They must also ask US President Barrack Obama to give Ghana’s navy six oil tankers from the mothballed fleet of the US Navy, when he visits Ghana – so that the lifting of oil for export from Ghana will be the Ghana Navy’s exclusive preserve. That is a sensible insurance policy against fraud in the export of oil from Ghana – and in that regard, they would be wise to send the high command of our military on a fact-finding mission to Egypt: to see how Egypt’s military has its tentacles in many areas of the Egyptian economy, for the mutual benefit of the Egyptian people and the Egyptian military. We must use our military for certain vital national economic undertakings, so as to prevent revenue leakage in a system that is specifically designed to be manipulated by self-seekers for their personal benefit: and at the expense of the Ghanaian nation-state and its people. The water sector and the operations of the STC bus company, are perfect examples of state-owned business entities that ought to be in the very capable and corruption-free hands, of the Ghana Armed Forces. A visit by the military’s top brass to Egypt will enable them produce the relevant recommendations to government as to how best they can help protect our nation’s vital economic interest by using the military to undertake certain tasks in the economic sphere: such as the oil and natural gas industries. A word to the wise…
