To Ghana's Parliament: Why Not Restructure Agyapa Royalties?

Honourable Members of Parliament, let us assume, for argument's sake, that the promoters of Agyapa Royalties are all saints, who want the best for the nation.

However, to protect our nation, we must also assume that in future,  some of their successors might all turn out to be thoroughly dishonest self-seekers, constantly seeking to rip our nation off.

To avoid that fate, let us not make the same mistake we made with letting go of the golden share that the state had in Ashanti Goldfields during its takeover by AngloGold.

At all costs, those managing the annual  US$200 million gold royalties must always  be accountable to Ghanaians. Full stop.

The question is: Can that not be achieved, by restructuring the company in a manner that enables all their investments to be regularly scrutinised, by Parliament?  And, when need be, should  the nation not also always have the right to sue them for fraud and lack of fiduciary care, when that is the case?

A golden share in the company too, by the state,  won't be such a bad idea either.  Honest investors, who are socially responsible, and ethical fund managers, such as  BlackRock, would welcome it. Definitely. Restructuring Agyapa Royalties is a must.

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Child Trafficking: A Huge And Lucrative Business Across West Africa?

Not too long ago, the Ghanaian media reported the arrest of a Cameroonian  lady, suspected to be a child trafficker. The children in that particular instance, were picked up at a party for kids, apparently organised regularly, at the venue, by a local charitable organisation. The question is: Why did the lady claim falsely that the Ghanaian kids were refugees? 

Early reports of her arrest, pointed out her initial inconsistencies about the identities of the nine children, who were saved only because a diligent police officer stopped the vehicle transporting them, to find out why it was being driven at that time of night without its headlights on.

Clearly,  it was standard procedure to disorientate the children and prevent them from observing the route they took to the house they were being sent to, because they couldn't see in the total darkness enveloping them, as they approached their destination. That would make escaping difficult for the trafficked kids. 

This case, which even had foreign diplomats running interference right from the very beginning, when the suspected Cameroonian child trafficker was apprehended, must be investigated properly, to expose the network used by her to cover up the real purpose of  her cruel and vile enterprise operated from Kokrobite Hills. 

In a superstition-riddled sub-region of Africa, in which some believe that  murdering children for ritual purposes, will make them rich and powerful individuals, child traffickers supply their victims. Anecdotal evidence suggests that it has made child trafficking a huge and lucrative business across West Africa. 

How Can Hon. Mathew Opoku-Prempeh Leave A Legacy As Ghana's Best Ever Energy Minister?

How can Hon. Mathew Opoku-Prempeh leave a legacy as Ghana's best ever energy minister?  As we face possible melt-down of our national economy, the question we ought to be pondering over as a people is: Does cutting-edge emission-free clean power technology, exist, today, which could provide reliable electricity, at rates cheaper than that from hydro-dams, and nuclear power plants?

Yes, is the short answer. And the inventor is a Ghanaian - merchant marine chief engineer, Raphael Afordoanyi. If our ruling-élites were as open to new ideas as the current leadership of the United Arab Emirates  (UAE), are, by now, that transformative game-changing technology, would have been quickly patented globally,  by the state, for the inventor, as a public private partnership (PPP), to commercialise it globally.

And a new source of unimaginable wealth would suddenly be available to the UAE, as provider of cheap off-grid emission-free clean power technology, to power the whole world, and open a new path to prosperity for all of humankind - as nations worldwide switch to the new technology to power their economies. 

If Hon. Mathew Opoku-Prempeh enables  Ghana to take advantage of Raphael Afordoanyi's game-changing off-grid  emmission-free clean power system, it will  enable Ghanaian society to be transformed into a prosperous one, in which both individuals and businesses are freed from paying taxes, permanently.

And, instead of the current economic crisis,  the cash-strapped and highly-indebted state of Ghana, would rather be in the happy situation of having more than enough money, from a new sovereign wealth fund, into which royalty-cash from its stake in the new technology would be deposited. 

Would such a fund not enable the government of Ghana to provide interest-free long-term loans to all businesses that need them, fund new green cities to replace slums nationwide, build new world-class pandemic-resilient healthcare facilities, for every district in Ghana, and fund free education from kindergarten to tertiary level, as well as provide monthly universal allowances, for all needy Ghanaian families, build new railway lines and  dual carriage concrete motorways, linking all the regional capitals to Accra, for example? 

Sadly, the cultural-impediment that prevents so many Ghanaians from even considering such possibilities,  is preventing the adoption of this new technology. Yet, it could do for today's Ghana, what cocoa did to underpin Ghana's initial period of prosperity as a newly independent African nation-state. 

Those amoral and ruinous independent power purchase agreements currently sucking the very lifeblood out of our country, are so patently unfair, that by definition, they could only have been procured by bribing corrupt state officials. 

No independent power producer with an ethical management ethos, and a social conscience, operating globally with a business model underpinned by corporate good governance principles, would have even considered,  let alone entered into such an agreement, with a heavily-indebted African nation,  in which millions struggle daily to survive. Let us end our reliance on their unreliable and expensive power, produced by a fossil-fuel powered industry, now more or less doomed and near to becoming obsolete. 

With the greatest respect, Hon. Mathew Opoku-Prempeh ought to consult Raphael Afordoanyi about securing his new off-grid emission-free clean-power technology, to power Ghana's prosperity.  It can start with powering VALCO to full-capacity-production-levels. It will enable him leave a lasting legacy as Ghana's best ever energy minister. 

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Public Officials Serve The Sovereign People of Ghana - To Whom They Should Be Accountable At All Material Times

"The process of law that is due citizens is more than just a ritual or a procedure;  it also requires judges to ask whether the law serves public or merely private ends."

       -   Timothy Sandefur  (Adjunct Scholar at the Cato Institute.) 

One read Nana Frema Busia's latest article entitled: "Ghana's Lack of Election Petition Wisdom at Age 64", with considerable interest. Although one acknowledges that one is only an ignorant old fool, one can indeed see the point she makes about the need for an independent audit, to authentic the absurd serial-errors made by the Electoral Commission  (EC), in its declaration of  the presidential election result. Makes sense. 

A review of its own judgement on the matter,  by the Supreme Court, is  definitely needed. Be that as it may, in general, we need to understand, clearly, as a wise African people, that eternal vigilance, is truly the price for holding on to our freedoms, in this country.

Not many realise it, but regardless of which political party is in power, at any given point in time, under the 4th Republic, it is so easy for a tyranny to be established, by powerful and determined kleptocrats around sitting Presidents,  with the unwitting blessing of cynical and unpatriotic judges - yet the media don't seem to see that.  Pity.

With respect, if they genuinely believe in ensuring that ours remains a democracy, and a free African society, the media needs to make it plain, that  no self-respecting judge should tolerate the dangerous situation, whereby public officials can't be compelled to appear in the witness box, when dragged to court, to account for their stewardship. Public officials serve the sovereign people of Ghana - to whom they are, and should be,  accountable, at all material times. Simple. Case closed. Cool.

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