Return Tema To Its Nkrumah-Era Glory

Whilst being driven around Tema yesterday, I could not help but notice some of the factory buildings from the Nkrumah-era.  The  scale of Nkrumah's work for our nation is truly impressive  - and astounding: even by 21st century standards.

 No wonder the imperialists and neo-colonialists would stop at nothing in their quest to remove Nkrumah from power - and finally succeeded in doing so in February 1966.

They believed that such a visionary and  transformative African leader would end up making Africans politically aware - and eventually make it impossible for outsiders  to  exploit the continent's natural resources.

 The modern port city of Tema was a well-planned industrial city built from scratch. The filthy, kiosk-filled partial-slum that is the Tema of today, contrasts sharply with the clean, well-maintained built-environment, of the  Nkrumah-era industrial city.

It illustrates perfectly, the difference between President Nkrumah,  and  his successors in office. Nkrumah was a polymath who wrote books, and whose dream for Ghana, was encapsulated in the five and seven-year development plans of his government.

The many sly, selfish and callous pygmies-with-provincial-minds,  who stepped into the cosmopolitan Nkrumah's giant-sized shoes after his overthrow in 1966, often failed to build on his legacy.

That failure shows in the steady deterioration of many public buildings, and the nation's infrastructure, soon after they have been built -  invariably because of poor project execution and lack of  maintenance. Pity.

Sadly, self-interest, as opposed to serving the people of Ghana, and protecting the national interest at all material times, appears to be the motivating factor that has driven many of Nkrumah's successors.

That is why since the discovery of large deposits of oil off our shores, our leaders have  deliberately opted for  the worst types of oil agreements.

 Ghana sits atop of oil and gas deposits worth some U.S.$160 billions, but over a 30-year period,  will only earn some U.S.$20 billions - whiles foreign oil companies investing less than U.S.$15 billions will walk away with a U.S.$140 billions jackpot.

And this is a lower middle-income nation desperate to self-finance its transformation into a prosperous society for all its people. Amazing.

 The selfishhness of most of our post-Nkrumah leaders also shows itself  in the shoddy infrastructure projects undertaken by so many of his successors - who in exchange for kickbacks have allowed project specifications to be varied to the nation's disadvantage.

The plethora of roads across the country that cost the earth, and which deteriorate after heavy rains,  is yet more evidence of their greed and failure as leaders.

It is unforvigable and intolerable that not too long ago, it was reported that raw sewerage  had apparently been leaking from Tema's underground sewerage pipeline network.

President Nkrumah must be turning in his grave. All those who over the years have allowed standards to slip to such levels in Tema, must bow their heads in shame.

Those in charge of today's Tema must wake up - and ensure that the port city is cleaned up. They must ensure that Tema's  built-environment is kept clean at all material times. Tema must be restored to its Nkrumah-era glory. A word to the wise...