Ghana's mainstream media must commit to promoting climate-resilient green growth policies

It is becoming more and more obvious that our hard-of-hearing ruling-elites, just don't think of the longterm consequences, of the destruction of the natural environment for short-term gain, by a powerful and greedy few. Hmmm, ey3nsem piiiiii,  ooooo, Ghanafuo.

Little wonder, then, that today,  our elites are mostly  beholden to the big-thieves-in-high-places, and Ghana's current cohort of super-ruthless regime-crony-tycoons, who now dominate our country - and all of  whom are determined to send their personal net worth to stratospheric heights: at society's expense, come hell or high water.

Never has it therefore been more critical, in our post-independence history, for the more responsible sections of Ghana's mainstream media, to support  communities nationwide, which instinctively  understand clearly that our nation's remaining natural capital,  is actually priceless  and must be protected by ordinary people  themselves.

As we witness the ecocide resulting in poisoned rivers, groundwater and soils nationwide, by the extractive industries, across vast swathes of the Ghanaian countryside, it is now becoming clear to communities across the nation that at a time when climate change is impacting Ghana negatively, natural capital, is, in reality, much, much more valuable, than all Ghana's mineral resources combined.

The stand being taken by the Chiefs, Elders and youth of the Awutu traditional area, against plans to mine lithium there, is a case in point.

That is why (if they understand their watchdog-role in our democratic society, properly, that is),  the more responsible sections of Ghana's mainstream media, ought to start giving their unflinching  support  to  Ghana's best green entrepreneurs, such as the CEO of the Legon Botanical Gardens, Eugene Kofi Boakye-Yiadom, and the founder of the agrisector social impact business, B-BOVID, Issa Ouedraogo, as well as local environmental activists, who campaign against environmental degradation, and the conservation-focused organisations they collaborate with, such as A Rocha Ghana and Eco-Conscious Citizens Group, on a regular basis.

As the anniversary of the day on which Ghana became a Republic (1st July,  1960),  approaches, the more responsible sections of the Ghanaian media, ought to commit to being at the forefront, henceforth, in the campaign to promote state  policies designed to engender  climate-resilient green growth - as the common-good and equitable-end, which  we must seek as a wise and aspirational African people: in creating wealth that remains locally, and generates fulfilling-jobs, galore, across the entire  landmass, of the sovereign territory, of the Republic of Ghana. Full stop. Case closed.

Hon. Yaw Osafo Marfo: Obiara eny3 obi ewor Ghana ooooo

Like all his fellow  citizens,   Honourable Yaw Osafo Marfo, is also entitled to his views, in our democracy - which is a free and liberal society bedrocked on tolerance amongst a mostly peace-loving people, for whom living in harmony with neighbours, actually matters.  

 

Unlike the vast majority of Ghanaians,  however,  Hon. Yaw Osafo Marfo  is a powerful individual, whose voice carries a great deal of weight, in the regime currently in power, in what is a multi-ethnic African society, in which virtually all extended family clans are made of individuals from different ethnicities,  who are united by ties of marriage, and consanguinity, in a country founded on the Nkrumahist-principle that no tribe is superior or inferior to another in modern Africa.

The question we ought to ponder over is: Should politicians holding antediluvian views on the issue of ethnicity, be allowed to remain in government, when their repugnant tribal-supremacist views, come to light, anaaa?

Speaking personally,  I have Akyem blood coursing through my veins. The females in my family, are eligible to be nominated to be Queen Mothers of Akyem Osiem, and I am proud of my Akyem roots.

However,  the idea that somehow Akyems are special, and that the descendants of Okyenhene Nana Ofori-Atta 1, and Dr. J. B. Danquah, are superior beings, is ridiculous - and it is crucial that those in that demographic, who are arrogant for that laughable and absurd reason, put their abhorrent superiority-complexes, in deep-freeze-storage, pronto, ooooo. Yoooooooo...

For their information, the past is a different country that's not worth visiting, koraaaa.  Ancient glories count for nought in today's digitised world. The Yaw Osafo Marfos in our midst must belt up - and keep their ridiculous tribal views to themselves. Full stop. Obiara eny3 obi ewor Ghana, ooooo. Yoooooooo...

A quick note to Nana Afua Frema Busia - on why despite its many challenges Ghana is still a fantastic place

Ohemaa Paaapabi Nana Afua Frema Busia, I can see why for the most part, because of our nation's many challenges, it's well nigh impossible for the average person to see what is so fantastic, about our homeland  Ghana.

The question we ought to ponder over is: Is there civil war raging across Ghana, as we speak?  Certainly not. And that's  the wonder of our nation, oooo, wai, Ohemaa Paaapabi Nana Afua Frema Busia. Cool.

Fact is, this is an aspirational African  society, kept afloat by  a pragmatic, hardworking  and honest middle-class demographic (made up of good people like you, Ohemaa Paaapabi), full of dignity, which eschews do-nothing-cynicism,  and rather focuses on getting things done, regardless, instead, as successful private sector players, making the most of what unquestionably is a very, very frustrating environment.

Ohemaa Paaapabi Nana Afua Frema Busia,  it is that wise and pragmatic  middle-class demographic's  live-and-let-live philosophy of life,  which has managed to keep Ghana relatively stable and peaceful, thus far - despite its many challenges: particularly the nation-wrecking grand-larceny enabling our country's powerful big-thieves-in-high-places, to send their net worth to stratospheric heights: when their political parties take turns to rule Ghana.

Ohemaa, the fantastic bit about Mother Ghana, can be observed in the said wise and honest middle-class demographic's (that is  keeping Ghana on an even keel),  celebration of life's traditional rites of passage, their love of serious-chilling, their enduring friendships and their charitable-giving meant  to empower those who aren't as privileged as they are lucky to be,  to bootstrap their way out of the brutish-hellish-trap of extreme poverty.

Finally, speaking personally, all the above  (plus the blessing that virtually all extended family clans, across the territorial landmass of the Republic of Ghana, happen to be metaphorical-melting-pots, consisting of different ethnicities, united by marriage, and ties of consanguinity, coexisting peacefully), result, in my humble view, in making the splendid African  destination called Ghana, such a fantastic place.  Simple. Cool.

Ensuring food security in Ghana

Food security has become a global issue, as a result of the war in Ukraine, a leading producer of wheat. That is why as a wise and aspirational African people, we must now highlight the efforts of the most successful and innovative  farmers, in our homeland Ghana - and none comes close to what  B-BOVID Farms Limited's founder, Issa Ouedraogo, has achieved in less than twenty years.

Issa, an orphan who went abroad to study in Germany, then worked overseas and saved enough (US $800,000) to enable him return home to  invest in his dream:  establishing an agrisector  social impact  business, with a value-chain of empowered oil palm smallholder  farmer-stakeholders, as a way of giving back to society, for his good fortune in escaping from the poverty-trap.

As it happens, today, the world has finally embraced the idea of business impacting both society and the natural environment, positively, by bedrocking  the ethos that guides its operations on good governance principles that result in a C-Suit  management-culture focused on diversity and environmental stewardship in all the communities they serve worldwide.

That is why the Issa Ouedraogos in our midst, ought to be embraced - for, their innovative  agrisector social impact business model, empowers its value-chain's smallholder farmer-stakeholders to bootstrap their way out of the brutish-hellish-trap of extreme poverty, successfully, generates jobs galore across rural Ghana, and also helps to green our country, because tree-planting is an integral part of their operations.

Replicated nationwide,  agrisector social impact businesses will enable Ghana to ensure food security, and increase its natural capital as agroforestry projects. Our ruling-elites really ought to focus on incentivising our national economy's private sector's most innovative agripreneurs, with tax breaks and seek their views on how to create wealth that remains locally, and generate meaningful jobs for rural Ghana's younger generations, while ensuring food security for Mother Ghana, above all.

A quick note to the U.S. SEC's Climate and ESG Enforcement Task Force

The U.S SEC has jurisdiction over the Banque Edmond de Rothschild Group. If that is so, then surely,  the clear-cut evidence showing that Moringa, Banque Edmond de Rothschild Group's African fund manager's unethical company culture in Ghana (the gathered-incontrovertible-evidence, which includes  egregious law-breaking, communicating serial-falsehoods to Ghanaian officialdom  and fraudulent alteration of official documents deployed to enable it hijack B-BOVID from its brilliant founder, Issa Ouedraogo), is proof positive that,  actually, Moringa does not qualify to be lawfully classified as agroforestry social impact  investors, in B-BOVID's country of domicile, Ghana, and must therfore be investigated by the SEC'S Climate and ESG Enforcement Task Force, as a  matter of some urgency?

The question is: If Moringa (which owed Issa Ouedraogo a duty-of-care, from day one, when they first contacted him by email), falsely claimed to be agroforestry social impact investors, initially, should that deliberate-mislabelling, by definition, not  attract the attention of investigators from the SEC's Climate and ESG Enforcement Task Force?

Moringa stands condemned by the catalogue of their abominable buccaneering-activities in Ghana (including deceiving Issa Ouedraogo  that they were social impact investors - a ruthless-ruse that enabled them to get away with devaluing Issa's original investment - and avoiding a proper evaluation of B-BOVID's value/worth).

Furthermore, if Ghana is an African investment destination in which they have not provided even one tree seedling, to any of B-BOVID's value-chain's smallholder farmer-stakeholders,  to diversify their income streams, is that  failing not at variance with the African Development Bank's (AfDB) core-reason for its provision of funds to Moringa,  and giving it stewardship of earmarked  agroforestry funds for Africa, I ask?

In light of all the above, surely, while an investigation by the U.S. SEC'S Climate and ESG Enforcement Task Force, is pending, should the Ghana Arbitration Centre  (GAC) case between Moringa and Issa Ouedraogo,  not now be suspended?

Finally, amongst issues that might be resolved from such an SEC investigation, would be whether or not the bulk of the money Moringa has put into B-BOVID, thus far, came from the  Agroforestry Technical Assistance Facility - and whether or not such philanthropic funds can be morally parleyed into an acquisition of majority shares in B-BOVID, lawfully. Case closed.

Why nothing can justify a military coup in Ghana

Nothing, not even the egregious grand-larcerny now being revealed in the wills of some of our dearly departed big-thieves-in-high-places, can justify a military coup in Ghana. Do we not have the right to vote out ruling political parties that disappoint us, every four years, I ask? 

 

Has the government of President Akufo-Addo not got two more years to redeem itself? Haaba. Those discerning and patriotic Ghanaians,  who are now sick and tired of the intolerable-greed that drives some of those who dominate our nation, must be more creative in the fight against corruption. Full stop.

Why do they, for example, not collaborate with online platforms, with a global reach, such as The Intercept, to expose the high-level corruption holding back the transformation of our homeland Ghana - since our ruling-elites fear nothing more than international opprobrium?

Furthermore, why do they not promise to incentivise whistleblowing, by guaranteeing indemnity from prosecution, for all whistleblowers, and, add a 25 percent reward, for whistleblowing, which leads to the recovery of stolen public funds - and campaign to win power, to deploy those selfsame ideas to end high-level corruption in this beautiful and peaceful African nation, lucky to have an aspirational citizenry, committed to peaceful coexistence between neighbours?

 
If those who are now lining up to participate in the ongoing brutal gang-rape of Mother Ghana don't change their evil ways, one boldly predicts that we will eventually begin to see Robin-Hood-terrorism in Ghana, in which the worst big-thieves-in-high-places are regularly assassinated, in reprisals, oooo, Ghanafuo. Yoooooo. 

 

Amongst its many victims, will be judges percieved to be aiding and abetting the project to create a tyranny-of-the-majority, senior public servants amassing inexplicable-wealth, and many, many government ministers, and their private-sector regime-crony-business-cohorts. 

 

Finally, in light of all the above, for the sake of Mother Ghana,  let us all boldly speak out against the bad-faith-maneuvering, now being used to create a tyranny-of-the-majority, which frequently passes egregious rail-roaded-legislation, to legalise self-serving-illegalities, such as the Agyapa  gold royalties SPAC. Military coups only create new jackbooted-tyrants accountable to no one - who will end up being even more corrupt than today's big-thieves-in-high-places, as sure as day follows night, and, worst of all, won't hesitate to kill dissenters, to silence them permanently. Yoooooooo. Ghanafuo: A word to the wise...