Monday 30 December 2019

Is Ghana Finally On The Cusp Of Converting Its Agricultural Sector Into Certified And Traceable Organic Production?

I am not a fan of Ghana's mainstream media. Never have been. It is mostly not-fit-for-purpose. Ghanaian media professionals are often lazy, corrupt, narrow-minded and clueless.

Who in Ghana has ever heard any media professional denouncing the concentration of media in the hands of a powerful few in Ghana, for example? Yet, that is a huge contributory factor to the needless polarisation of Ghanaian society, today.

Furthermore, if they were fit-for-purpose, why, dear reader, have they still not yet cottoned on to the import of the latest statement by Hon. Professor Frimpong-Boateng - that the government will facilitate the patenting of two major agricultural-sector inventions by Apostle Kojo Safo Kantanka, I ask?

Yet, it is by far the most important development, in GhanaIan agriculture, ever, in our entire history - as a proud African people, since our country's landmass was unfortunately occupied by sundry sly-European-colonialists, not too long after 1471, with the last, the British, occupying it from 1867 to 1957.

Those two aforementioned inventions (natural folair fertilisers and organic weedicide), by Apostle Kojo Safo Kantanka, when produced commercially, will empower farmers across Ghana to swiftly convert to organic farming. Fantastic. The health of millions of Ghanaians will improve dramatically when that transformation happens.

And, thank goodness, it will enable us return to producing and eating only organic food - which was our way of life before we encountered the double-edged sword that is Western civilisation, in 1471: with the arrival of the first Portuguese explorers on our shores.

Above all, it will finally enable our country to ensure the longterm survival of the vital cocoa industry - because it will enable us convert all cocoa farms to certified and traceable organic cocoa production: and put us in pole position as the world's largest producers of certified and traceable organic cocoa beans. Wow.

We must thank Apostle Kojo Safo Kantanka for that - and be eternally grateful to President Akufo-Addo's administration for making possible that long held dream, which some of us have doggedly fought for, over the past two decades, in countless print and online articles, which complacent officialdom have always ignored. Pity.

Fellow Ghanaians, thanks to Apostle Kojo Safo Kantanka, if the right measures are put in place by officialdom, we could actually finally be on the cusp of becoming the first nation in the world, to convert its entire agricultural sector, into one anchored on the bedrock of certified and traceable organic farming. Wow. Roll on 2020. Cool.

Sunday 29 December 2019

An Open Letter To Kojo Derban - A World-Class Ghanaian Genuis-Architect

Kojo, I wasn't able to comment on your amazing album collection posted on your Facebook wall, yesterday, because I was multitasking, and it eventually escaped me.

(Try not to grow old, if you can manage that, Kojo. Sometimes I go round the house looking for stuff I forgot to put in their usual positions - only to realise they had been there all the time: except that the usual resting place had completely escaped me. Such is life. But I digress.)

Wow. What a collection. Ever thought of photographing the album covers individually - and seeking the help of those in auction houses, such Christie's and Sotheby's, with the relevant expertise, to value them? Cool.

And what a lovely home you've created for yourself, and your young family. Really beautiful. Good taste. Nothing chi-chi in sight - quite a relief from the delusions-of-grandeur of our nation's nouveau riche that get plastered on social media: and offend the sensibilities of sensitive souls.

Incidentally, come to think of it, nothing stops us from having that pending conversation via WhatsApp, does it? Send me a hello chat message at: +233576564600. Let's do it. And may 2020 be the year when you do yet more projects that will let you indulge in your seventies-passion without restraint. Life is short, Massa.

Finally, since you personify that demographic, it applies to you too, oooo, Kojo: There are those who posit that the enterprise Ghana has prospered mainly because of the hardwork and sense of initiative of its middle-classes. They make their fortunes and enjoy the many quiet pleasures it affords them - and leave the dirty business of the running of their nation (it is called politics, I believe), to a bunch of mostly incompetent round-pegs-in-round-holes, often without moral-compasses, who mainly go into politics to enrich themselves, at Mother Ghana's expense.

The question is: When will this brilliant, innovative and vital-for-nation-building fence-sitting-demographic clearly understand that they will continue to be irked by the incompetents making a hash of transforming our system, if they themselves don't get off the fence, and start taking on the daunting task of transforming Ghana into an African equivalent of the egalitarian societies of Scandinavia, themselves? Hmmm, Oman Ghana eyeasem ooooo - asem kesie ebeba debi ankasa.

Sent from Samsung tablet.

Thursday 26 December 2019

An Open Letter To Tablet - Google's Parent Company

Dear Tablet,

Happy holidays! It strikes one, at the cusp of a new decade, that should the need ever arise for you to find a permanent solution, to the ever-present threat posed by sundry regulators, and busybody-politicians around the globe, seeking to break up your very useful business, in future, your company could have recourse to a sure-fire counter-strategy that is also very creative in nature.

As it happens, Google is already collaborating with Ghana on AI-related research, if my memory serves me right. The question is: With those two aforementioned threat-scenarios, above, in mind, would it not benefit your company enormously to found an independent and sovereign island city-state, of your own?

How, you might wonder? Simple. Really. The question is: Why does Tablet not purchase the biggest island in the Volta Lake, in Ghana, in a territorial-acquisition-deal with the government of Ghana - similar to that which the UK struck with China after the Opium wars of 1842 and 1860, and the subsequent leasing of the New Territories for 99 years, from 1898?

Tablet would then turn it into an independent, state-of-the-art high-tech, island city-state, for 99 years, paying Ghana U.S.$15 billion upfront, and annual ground rent of say U.S. $2.5 billion, renewable every 10 years.

As an independent sovereign island city-state, no one would demand that you pay initiative-hampering-taxes, and, best of all, no one would dare to try and break up your very dynamic and innovation-driven company, which benefits humankind hugely, in so many ways, despite the unfair criticism it attracts from certain quarters that overlook the very real freedom-limiting threats posed to humankind by organised cybercrime-syndicates and murderous terrorist groups.

Some of us would rather forgo unfettered privacy, if in exchange it makes us become safe from brutish jihadist terrorists groups in West Africa, such as Boko Haram, Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, Ansaroul Islam, and the Macina Liberation Front - all of which have plans to spread southwards from Mali and Burkina Faso.

The benefits of striking a territorial-acquisition-deal with Tablet, for Ghana, is that your company would, as a CSR good-neighbourliness initiative, constantly collaborate closely with the Ghanaian authorities, in an all-out drive to enable Ghana digitise it's entire system, swiftly, with built-in upgrades, and give young people here, free Internet access, for example.

Technology, not the shortsighted and stupid destruction of our priceless natural heritage, would underpin our transformation into a prosperous and all-inclusive society - making our homeland Ghana a green and pleasant land in which the citizenry enjoy a good quality of life (ranking amongst the best in the world), and are blessed to have one of humankind's highest living standards, globally.

Above all, as terrorism spreads southwards from Mali and Burkina Faso, leveraging Tablet's expertise and access to high resolution satellite imagery, day and night, would enable Ghana to deal effectively with that latent threat to its stability 24/7, all-year-round, and thus enable its citizens to continue enjoying the relatively peaceful environment they are privileged to live in. May that crucial win-win territorial-acquisition-deal be struck in 2020. Cool.

Thanks.

Kind regards,

Kofi.

Monday 23 December 2019

Southern Baptist Convention: Resolution On Moral Character Of Public Officials

WHEREAS, Scripture declares, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34); and

WHEREAS, The Baptist Faith and Message says, “Every Christian should seek to bring industry, government, and society as a whole under the sway of the principles of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love”; and

WHEREAS, Current attitudes and practices in some segments of American life in such important areas as sex, marriage, money, and power reveal that American society is in moral decline; and

WHEREAS, God judges or blesses nations based on their morality (Genesis 6:5–13; Jonah 1:1–2; Micah 6:8); and

WHEREAS, God’s Word provides guidance for living a moral life that pleases God and brings His blessing (Proverbs 3:1–8); and

WHEREAS, Leaders in every walk of life in America, such as church, government, and business, have destroyed their careers and brought shame to themselves, their families, and friends because of poor moral choices; and

WHEREAS, Regardless of their political, social, or economic status, our leaders should set a positive example for every American citizen by living and serving according to the highest moral and ethical standards; and

WHEREAS, The church has the responsibility in every season to proclaim to the culture the moral standards of God as revealed in His Word, not as legalists, but as advocates of Christ’s transformative grace (Matthew 5:13–16; Mark 6:18; 2 Timothy 4:1–5); now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, June 13–14, 2017, express our appreciation to those leaders in all walks of life who have chosen to live according to God’s moral standards; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we express our gratitude and support for those public officials who have displayed consistent moral character and uncompromising commitment to biblical principles of right and wrong, resulting in blessing upon the people they serve; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we commend those leaders who choose not to meet privately with members of the opposite sex who are not their spouses in order to ensure that they leave no room for temptation to lead them astray and to avoid any suspicion of wrongdoing (Proverbs 4:23–27); and be it further

RESOLVED, That we call on all leaders in every walk of life to conduct themselves, to the best of their ability, according to the moral standards set forth by God’s revealed truth; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we commit to pray for our nation’s leaders to be able to resist every temptation that would create a hindrance to the fulfillment of their calling in society; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we pledge to hold ourselves to the same high moral standards that we require of our leaders; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we commit to pray that God will help us and all our fellow citizens to embrace the biblical moral values that will honor our creation in God’s image and bring God’s blessing on our nation; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we will endeavor to serve as examples to others of the blessings of living in accordance with God’s moral guidance; and be it further

RESOLVED, That in order “to bring industry, government, and society as a whole under the sway of the principles of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love,” we commit to “be ready to work with all men of good will in any good cause, always being careful to act in the spirit of love without compromising [our] loyalty to Christ and His truth” (The Baptist Faith and Message); and be it finally

RESOLVED, That we reaffirm, “Means and methods used for the improvement of society and the establishment of righteousness among men can be truly and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of the individual by the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ” (The Baptist Faith and Message).

View all 2017 Resolutions.

Sunday 22 December 2019

Christianity Today/Mark Galli: Trump Should Be Removed from Office

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Editorial

Trump Should Be Removed from Office

It’s time to say what we said 20 years ago when a president’s character was revealed for what it was.

Mark Galli December 19, 2019

Image: Drew Angerer / Staff / Getty Images

In our founding documents, Billy Graham explains that Christianity Today will help evangelical Christians interpret the news in a manner that reflects their faith. The impeachment of Donald Trump is a significant event in the story of our republic. It requires comment.

The typical CT approach is to stay above the fray and allow Christians with different political convictions to make their arguments in the public square, to encourage all to pursue justice according to their convictions and treat their political opposition as charitably as possible.

We want CT to be a place that welcomes Christians from across the political spectrum, and reminds everyone that politics is not the end and purpose of our being. We take pride in the fact, for instance, that politics does not dominate our homepage.

That said, we do feel it necessary from time to time to make our own opinions on political matters clear—always, as Graham encouraged us, doing so with both conviction and love. We love and pray for our president, as we love and pray for leaders (as well as ordinary citizens) on both sides of the political aisle.

Let’s grant this to the president: The Democrats have had it out for him from day one, and therefore nearly everything they do is under a cloud of partisan suspicion. This has led many to suspect not only motives but facts in these recent impeachment hearings. And, no, Mr. Trump did not have a serious opportunity to offer his side of the story in the House hearings on impeachment.

But the facts in this instance are unambiguous: The president of the United States attempted to use his political power to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit one of the president’s political opponents. That is not only a violation of the Constitution; more importantly, it is profoundly immoral.

The reason many are not shocked about this is that this president has dumbed down the idea of morality in his administration. He has hired and fired a number of people who are now convicted criminals. He himself has admitted to immoral actions in business and his relationship with women, about which he remains proud. His Twitter feed alone—with its habitual string of mischaracterizations, lies, and slanders—is a near perfect example of a human being who is morally lost and confused.

Trump’s evangelical supporters have pointed to his Supreme Court nominees, his defense of religious liberty, and his stewardship of the economy, among other things, as achievements that justify their support of the president. We believe the impeachment hearings have made it absolutely clear, in a way the Mueller investigation did not, that President Trump has abused his authority for personal gain and betrayed his constitutional oath. The impeachment hearings have illuminated the president’s moral deficiencies for all to see.

This damages the institution of the presidency, damages the reputation of our country, and damages both the spirit and the future of our people. None of the president’s positives can balance the moral and political danger we face under a leader of such grossly immoral character.

This concern for the character of our national leader is not new in CT. In 1998, we wrote this:

The President's failure to tell the truth—even when cornered—rips at the fabric of the nation. This is not a private affair. For above all, social intercourse is built on a presumption of trust: trust that the milk your grocer sells you is wholesome and pure; trust that the money you put in your bank can be taken out of the bank; trust that your babysitter, firefighters, clergy, and ambulance drivers will all do their best. And while politicians are notorious for breaking campaign promises, while in office they have a fundamental obligation to uphold our trust in them and to live by the law.

And this:

Unsavory dealings and immoral acts by the President and those close to him have rendered this administration morally unable to lead.

Unfortunately, the words that we applied to Mr. Clinton 20 years ago apply almost perfectly to our current president. Whether Mr. Trump should be removed from office by the Senate or by popular vote next election—that is a matter of prudential judgment. That he should be removed, we believe, is not a matter of partisan loyalties but loyalty to the Creator of the Ten Commandments.

To the many evangelicals who continue to support Mr. Trump in spite of his blackened moral record, we might say this: Remember who you are and whom you serve. Consider how your justification of Mr. Trump influences your witness to your Lord and Savior. Consider what an unbelieving world will say if you continue to brush off Mr. Trump’s immoral words and behavior in the cause of political expediency. If we don’t reverse course now, will anyone take anything we say about justice and righteousness with any seriousness for decades to come? Can we say with a straight face that abortion is a great evil that cannot be tolerated and, with the same straight face, say that the bent and broken character of our nation’s leader doesn’t really matter in the end?

We have reserved judgment on Mr. Trump for years now. Some have criticized us for our reserve. But when it comes to condemning the behavior of another, patient charity must come first. So we have done our best to give evangelical Trump supporters their due, to try to understand their point of view, to see the prudential nature of so many political decisions they have made regarding Mr. Trump. To use an old cliché, it’s time to call a spade a spade, to say that no matter how many hands we win in this political poker game, we are playing with a stacked deck of gross immorality and ethical incompetence. And just when we think it’s time to push all our chips to the center of the table, that’s when the whole game will come crashing down. It will crash down on the reputation of evangelical religion and on the world’s understanding of the gospel. And it will come crashing down on a nation of men and women whose welfare is also our concern.

Mark Galli is editor in chief of Christianity Today.

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The French Press/The Dispatch/David French: Christianity Today Exposed the Reality of Evangelical Division

Christianity Today Exposed the Reality of Evangelical Division

Here’s why a single editorial ignited an online firestorm.

14 min

This week, Christianity Today, a deeply respected Christian magazine (the analogy is imprecise, but think of it like an Evangelical version of National Review, but focused on theology and church life) ignited a days-long firestorm when it published an editorial declaring, “Trump Should Be Removed From Office.” The piece directly referred to the magazine’s stand against Bill Clinton in 1998, and then ended with these direct and unsparing words:

We have reserved judgment on Mr. Trump for years now. Some have criticized us for our reserve. But when it comes to condemning the behavior of another, patient charity must come first. So we have done our best to give evangelical Trump supporters their due, to try to understand their point of view, to see the prudential nature of so many political decisions they have made regarding Mr. Trump. To use an old cliché, it’s time to call a spade a spade, to say that no matter how many hands we win in this political poker game, we are playing with a stacked deck of gross immorality and ethical incompetence. And just when we think it’s time to push all our chips to the center of the table, that’s when the whole game will come crashing down. It will crash down on the reputation of evangelical religion and on the world’s understanding of the gospel. And it will come crashing down on a nation of men and women whose welfare is also our concern.

The president has responded, falsely calling it a “far left magazine” (it’s theologically orthodox and relatively centrist). Pro-Trump Christian leaders have responded. Christianity Today’s web servers were strained by the traffic. Think pieces are flooding Christian media, and all-out Twitter brawl is under way.
But why? Hasn’t all this been litigated before? Didn’t the failure of the “Against Trump” issue of National Review show that magazines should stop telling people how to think? Hasn’t the Evangelical rank-and-file moved on from hand-wringing about Trump, and aren’t they all aboard the Trump train? And, if so, why did virtually all of Trump’s big Evangelical defenders train their fire on Christianity Today? That’s the conventional wisdom, at least.
In fact, however, the alleged Evangelical monolith is more conflicted than outside observers understand, and Donald Trump’s unique presidency is placing more strain on theologically serious Evangelicals than most Americans perceive.
I added theology as a qualifier because not all self-described “Evangelicals” share the same beliefs or the same faith habits. Exit poll questions about religious identity are far too imprecise to provide true insight into a complex community. Many people who describe themselves as “Evangelical” simply because it’s the best option in a limited exit-poll menu don’t go to church often and don’t subscribe to all the key tenets of Evangelical belief. When they hear “Evangelical” they often interpret it as “politically conservative Christian.” To understand the malleability of the definition, look at this chart, from an NPR story collecting data on different definitions of Evangelicalism:

Christianity Today is not a magazine for the 35 percent. It’s a magazine for the 6 percent, and its editorial is article aimed like an arrow at that audience. Many of the 35 percent not only don’t share the same theological beliefs as that smaller cohort, they’re completely indifferent to Evangelical documents like the Southern Baptist Convention’s 1998 Resolution on Moral Character of Public Officials. If you ask them if they believe (to quote the resolution) that “tolerance of serious wrong by leaders sears the conscience of the culture, spawns unrestrained immorality and lawlessness in the society, and surely results in God’s judgment.” They’ll have a one-word answer: “Nope.”
But the 6 percent is different—and Trump’s more savvy Evangelical defenders know it. Christianity Today’s audience represents their colleagues and peers. The 6 percent represents the Americans who tend to affirm all nine conventional theological criteria of Evangelical orthodoxy:

They say they have made “a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today,” that their faith is very important in their life today; believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior; strongly believe they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians; firmly believe that Satan exists; strongly believe that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works; strong agree that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; strong assert that the Bible is accurate in all the principles it teaches; and describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today.

These Americans—who possess a very high view of God’s sovereignty and are disproportionately engaged in the ministry of the church—look at the language from the Southern Baptist resolution, take a deep breath, and worry. In fact, they worry about a lot of things. They worry about abortion, about religious liberty, about racial reconciliation, and the church’s public witness. Also, the 6 percent isn’t all “white Evangelical.” It’s multi-ethnic, and when the views of non-white Evangelicals are taken into account, the gap between Trump and Clinton narrows significantly.
Moreover, the Trump administration is putting this 6 percent in a continual, relentless, and escalating bind. It would be one thing if Christians held their nose in 2016, voted for a man with a checkered past, and then he not only delivered on judges but also behaved like a decent human being in office. Trump has delivered on judges, to be sure, but he has behaved abominably (it’s not just “mean tweets”; I don’t take seriously anyone who boils his misconduct down to mere “rudeness” or “bad tweets”) even as he also demands extraordinary and effusive public loyalty from his allies.
In normal circumstances, Christians could clearly and consistently call out Trump’s misdeeds while they applaud his good decisions. But those who consistently seek his ear often feel like they cannot do that. They must circle the wagons around Trump. So at best, they’ll remain silent when he does plainly terrible things. At worst, they’ll become like those who the Prophet Isaiah condemned: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.”
The pressure is substantial. To make Trump’s election “worth it,” it’s necessary to secure policy victories. To keep securing policy victories, one may stay close to Trump. Staying close to Trump all too often forces Christians to defend the indefensible.
While Christians can in good conscience vote for Republicans or Democrats (or for a third party), it’s simply wrong to condemn actions in the other party that you rationalize from your own president (or worse, to condemn actions from others even as you excuse or ignore more egregious conduct from your own side). It’s wrong to conveniently adjust your theology to meet the political needs of the moment. Yet that’s what many members of the 6 percent have done. They’ve compromised to a point that would be unrecognizable and offensive to the person they were even as recently as 2015, and many of those individuals are deeply uncomfortable with their decision.
Trump’s most zealous Christian defenders feel no such conflict. But they know something that most readers of the New York Times don’t. They know that the heart of the church is torn, and that many of the faithful—especially those middle-aged and younger—who show up to worship services every week, who perform the lion’s share of the ministry and work of the church, and who are most likely to interact with non-Christians at work and in school, see the cost of the Trump alliance, and despair.
In that context, each public Christian voice who declares he or she is not afraid to face a future without Trump—and that there is a spiritual aspect to political choices that can’t be measured in statute books or judicial nominations—encourages other Christians who share the same concerns. Ever-so-slightly, it shifts the terms of the debate. It decreases the perceived isolation of the Trump-skeptical Evangelical, and it reinforces the idea that one can oppose Trump while not compromising one inch on underlying theological and cultural commitments to life, religious liberty, and the family.
As I read the Christianity Today essay, I was reminded once again of the words of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: “You can resolve to live your life with integrity. Let your credo be this: Let the lie come into the world, let it even triumph. But not through me.” Donald Trump is bringing an avalanche of lies into this world. It’s time for Christians once again to consider whether they want those lies to come through them—through their votes and their voices.
A preview of coming attractions ...
Before Christianity Today blew up the internet, I was intending to take this newsletter in a very different direction—how Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling’s online plight illustrated why Christians are right to be concerned about the future of public discourse. It’s still an important story, and I’ll explore it later this week. Stay tuned.
One last thing ...
I got a fantastic reader response to the song I attached at the end of my last newsletter. So, here’s my church’s worship band again. They’re called “We the Kingdom” if you want to find them on iTunes/Spotify/etc. It’s a very different song from last week. Enjoy!
Photograph of Donald Trump by Alex Wong/Getty Images.

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Happy Holidays - And May 2020 Be A Peaceful Election Year For Ghanaians

Happy holidays, dear reader. May 2020 be a peaceful election year for Ghanaians. This year, most members of Ghana's political class, freely admitted that the intense rivalry between the two identical sides of the same toxic-coin, which the NPP/NDC duopoly that dominates our nation's politics, represents, is deeply divisive for Ghanaian society.

Some politicians have also insisted openly that that egregious-divisiveness is slowly destroying Ghanaian democracy, because of its winner-grabs-everything-in-sight-once-in-power, nature; and therefore ought not to be allowed at the grassroots-level in the running of the decentralised Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs). Implement General Kutu Acheampong's Unigov idea, now, anyone?

The question is: How do our politicians propose to manage the pent up frustrations of communities across the nation that are fed up to the back teeth, with the current clearly unsatisfactory local government system - in which residents of countless villages, towns and deprived areas of cities nationwide, are having to grapple with a myriad of local challenges?

To be relevant for such communities, we clearly need a local government model that will be inherently responsive enough to deal efficiently with community challenges that are the subject of vociferous complaints nationwide - if widespread anger that eventually results in a massive social explosion across the nation is to be avoided. We must avoid what is happening in places such as Iraq that have similar societal dynamics at play, from occurring in our homeland Ghana, too.

The question we must ponder over is: Will elected chief executives and assembly members of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, see the resolution of local challenges, as top-priority issues for their administrations, and move rapidly to efficiently deal with problems such as: pothole-riddled-roads; dangerous footbridges; mountains-of-piled-up-rubbish; lack of access to quality healthcare facilities within easy reach; delapidated school buildings that are deathtraps structurally, and totally unsuitable for teaching and learning to take place in; demands for decent markets with hygienic sanitary facilities; etc., etc.?

If peace is to prevail across Ghana, we must confront the issue of resolving local challenges that negatively impact the quality of life, and living standards, of grassroots communities. Towards that end, it makes a great deal of sense to elect the chief executives and assembly members of Metropolopitan, Municipal and District Assemblies. For sure. Happy holidays, dear reader, and may 2020 be a peaceful election year in Ghana.

Sent from Samsung tablet.

Thursday 19 December 2019

An Open Letter To Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu

Dear Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu,

I shall go straight to the point. The matter of the surcharging of Ghana's Senior Minister, Hon. Yaw Osafo-Marfo, by the Auditor General, Mr. Yao Domelovo, over the U.S.$1 million paid to Kroll and Associates, has been taken to court by the Senior Minister. Pipe down about it. Haaba.

The question is: What ends were you seeking, in publicly disrespecting a highly-placed public servant, who is fearlessly fighting the high-level corruption, which is slowly destroying the moral fabric of Ghanaian society - and threatening the stability of our beloved country: by undermining confidence amongst ordinary people in our democratic system of government?

Sir, perhaps you are oblivious of it, but there is growing suspicion amongst many discerning and fair-minded Ghanaians that the entire machinery of state is being mobilised, just to save face for the Senior Minister in this matter - hence the relentless vilification of the Auditor General: in an attempt to force his resignation.

This is a democracy, not an oligarchy, and it is vital that very, very important and influential leaders such as yourself, show Ghanaians, by what you say, and do, publicly, that no one in this country is above the law. Never forget that every individual appointed into office, by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is someone in whom the President of the Republic of Ghana has reposed his confidence.

It behoves all such individuals to understand clearly that they have a moral obligation not to do anything that will cause embarrassment to the appointing authority. Full stop. If they don't keep their noses clean they must not expect to be allowed to remain in office regardless - by a mostly-fed-up population now sick and tired of egregious-abuse-of-office and impunity in their nation.

Sir, it is in light of that, that the monstrosity of the absence of that crucial good-governance-ethical-consideration (which has led to the mobilising of our entire system, in order to hound the Auditor General, out of office, by forcing his resignation, for daring to surcharge Hon. Yaw Osafo-Marfo), in this shabby matter, ought to be seen.

Massa, you may not be aware of it, but our nation sits atop a gun-powder keg that could explode at any time. You guys must stop thinking you are invincible. You are not. Did Libya's former leader, Colonel Maummar Gaddafi, not run a super-ruthless police-state? When his people finally got fed up with his regime, was his oppressive security apparatus, able to save him? Who born dog? Haaba.

Decent and apolitical folk in Ghana, will not allow the current Auditor General, the brave and patriotic Mr. Yao Domelovo, to be hounded out office, by powerful people forcing his resignation, by stealth, from the shadows, without there being serious consequences for all those behind it. Hmmm, Oman Ghana eyeasem ooooo - asem kesie ebeba debi ankasa. Yooooo...

Thanks.

Yours in the service of Mother Ghana,

Kofi.

Sent from Samsung tablet.

Tuesday 17 December 2019

To The Genius Who Emails Me As Dr. Vera Kin - verazama@hotmail.com

Dr. Vera Kin,

Please go to the Ghana High Commission in London's Belgravia and ask them for advice - or better still contact the Interpol desk at the headquarters of London's Metropolitan Police: who will put you in touch with their Ghanaian colleagues, who are better placed to help you.

With respect, please don't email me again. You are wasting your time and irritating me no end. I am just a simple fellow - and would rather you did not contact me again. Haaba. Stop your mind-games. Some of the powerful people in Ghanaian society that media professionals criticise in their writing, are super-ruthless individuals, who maim and physically eliminate those who cross them, with impunity, through hired contract killers.

In that light, I would appreciate it if you stopped harrassing me - and took your sodden mind-game-playing elsewhere. Who born dog? I am a serious person - not some playboy-philanderer who chases anything in skirt-pairs and can be trapped by stupid politicians that way. Sod off, Madam. I am not in a position to offer you help in any shape or form - so take your honeytrap-wahala to the many fools in our media world, who are on the make and on the take instead. Leave me alone! Haaba.

Sent from Samsung tablet.

Closing Down Ghanaian Politicians' Last Chance Salon Permanently

Ghanaian Politicians don't realise it, but their favourite watering hole, 'The Last Chance Salon', is about to be shut down permanently, by ordinary Ghanaians. We have no intention of allowing our vampire-élites to turn Ghana into their privately-owned welfare state.

Not being content with engineering the creation of tribally-based new regions, in order to get suitably homogeneous Regional Houses of Chiefs that some of them have always craved, Chiefs in Ghana now apparently want the Council of State to be abolished, and replaced with an upper chamber of Parliament, a Senate, which they will be members of, and which will have the power to initiate new legislation. Wow. Amazing.

The more responsible sections of the Ghanaian media should do the figures, and tell us how much the Council of State actually costs taxpayers annually, currently, and how much the proposed Senate will cost hapless taxpayers, should we be so foolish, as to adopt that abomination. What bloody cheek.

Our vampire-élites have now become so bold (with their insufferable arrogance). Today, some of them even have the gall to tell us, the good people of Ghana, that the divisiveness of party politics at the "national level" should not be allowed at the grassroots level, in the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs). Yooooo. We shall see.

They will soon be taught a big lesson, by the thoroughly-fed-up-masses of the Ghanaian people - for denying local communities the opportunity to influence the choice of which individuals are elected to run Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), as chief executives - a systemic change that will bring to an end the criminal neglect of the needs of local people, by sundry local government political appointees, and high-level decentralised public-sector officials.

It is precisely because chief executives of MMDAs are not elected that one hears the constant negative-refrain emanating from local communities nationwide, outraged by having to put up with: delapidated school buildings (in countless villages and small towns); mostly unmotorable pothole-riddled-roads; lack of well-resourced healthcare facilities within easy reach; ending the non-collection of household waste regularly that results in mountains-of-rubbish piling up in local communities across Ghana, to name but a few of the many ills plaguing the current system of unresponsive-to-local-needs unelected chief executives of MMDAs, who are appointed by sitting presidents, to do the bidding of ruling party executives, not serve local people.

Under the current system, appointed chief executives' first priority, is to pander to the whims and caprices of ruling party executives, at all levels - not working hard to improve living conditions for local communities. If they were elected, the opposite would be the case - and local communities across Ghana would be transformed rapidly, in short order.

Be that as it may, henceforth, ordinary people will no longer allow our vampire-élites to continue dividing Ghanaians and their nation, at the "national level" - with their NPP/NDC duopoly's never-ending propaganda battles, and outrageous-equalisation-politricks. No. No. No. We shall bring General Kutu Acheampong's Unigov idea into being soon. (No libilaba -divisiveness possible under that system, koraaaa, oooo, Massa. But I digress)

Resurrect General Acheampong's Unigov idea? How, you might wonder, dear reader? Simple, really. Ordinary Ghanaians will eventually sieze power themselves, by taking a leaf from the mass-revolt-regime-change-books, of their Arab brothers and sisters, with massive street demonstrations that will paralyse Jubilee House, and then go on to impose General Kutu Acheampong's Unigov idea, on the country. Case closed.

The military will then take over and lead an emergency government of national unity, which will do an intensive anti-corruption house-cleaning-exercise. The new government of national unity, will demand that all the previous government appointees (from the President down to the last District Chief Executive), publish the assets they declared to the Auditor General, in sealed envelopes, before assuming office. Sarjewah. Who born dog, Massa?

Simultaneously, in tandem with the house-cleaning exercise, the good people of Ghana will draw up a tailor-made, and fit-for-purpose constitution, for a new 5th Republic, which will be designed to eliminate all public-sector corruption. Ghanaian politicians have been getting drunk-with-power in the 'Last Chance Salon' since 1992. Ordinary Ghanaians are about to close down that confounded elite-watering-hole permanently. Cool.

Monday 16 December 2019

The Driven/Bridie Schmidt: Australia start-up designs solar car port fit for Tesla Cybertruck

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The Tesla Cybertruck has become quite topic of contention since its unveil by CEO and co-founder Elon Musk in late November, with one question being how to fit it into a standard size garage (you can’t). Or even whether it needs one at all.
Innovative Australian clean energy building startup Iron Matrix however, has offered up its own solution: a solar-panelled carport that teams up with its recently patented solar construction solution to provide off grid living.
The brainchild of ex-Chevron business analyst and now Iron Matrix CEO and founder David Morgan, the Cybertruck solar carport is a rugged, no-nonsense design that uses a bolted steel construction method to create an energy-generating protective shade from the elements, as envisioned in a video posted by Iron Matrix (below).
Made of standard lengths of steel that can, according to Morgan, all fit into the back of the Cybertruck, the carport is one of a multitude of applications that company is targetting to demonstrate the viability of Iron Matrix structures.
“We developed this Iron Matrix system with a pure intention of creating structures clad in solar panels and in also doing so, lowering the cost of solar panels by displacing solar building materials with the panels,” says Morgan.

The patent for the solar construction method – which consists of a specialised joint connection that allows Iron Matrix buildings to be constructed without footings, cranes or scaffolding – can be built anywhere says Morgan.
“What that means is we can build can houses and EV charging carports anywhere,” says Morgan.
“All of a sudden that Cybertruck sounds like a fantastic idea, because you can then drive it anywhere and fuel it anywhere at a location and drive it back again. You can’t with a diesel – you have to have enough fuel with you,” he says.
The inspiration behind the Cybertruck carport – and the Iron Matrix system as a whole – is underpinned by the dropping cost of batteries, Morgan says.
“The cost of lithium batteries are now getting to appoint where you can deliver a kilowatt hour for half the price of the grid,” he says.
This is not just a vision: it is a real system that Morgan says can be ordered now, and thanks to the recent US patent approval the size of Iron Matrix’s potential market has now increased by an order of magnitude.
Now that the US patent has been approved, Iron Matrix has started creating part for the Iron Matrix system, using automated machines.
“We just started producing the steel in October, only once that patent was approved did we pull trigger on making publicly available.”
But would a carport made purely from solar panels generate enough power to recharge the Cybertruck?

Morgan estimates that the output of the solar carport envisioned in the video would be about 30kWh/day (and notes that it can easily be unbolted and reconfigured, thanks to the Iron Matrix system).
“It will get a car about 150km a day, the truck about 100km a day,” he says.
Leave the Cybertruck charging for a few days while you enjoy living off grid – hello weekend.

Bridie Schmidt

Bridie Schmidt is lead reporter for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She specialises in writing about new technology, and has a keen interest in the role that zero emissions transport has to play in sustainability.