The unwelcome sight of oil on the beaches of part of the coastline along the Western Region of Ghana, shows the real cost to the nation, of drilling for oil in the waters off our shores: if the players in our oil and gas industry are allowed to get away with being environmentally irresponsible, and cutting corners in order to save on their operating-costs. It is crucial that they are made to understand clearly that they will pay for the full cost of the clean-up of all such spillages, and the restoration of the natural environment to its original state, as well as pay full compensation to all those whose businesses are impacted negatively by such disasters – by putting in place the necessary legislation to guarantee just such an outcome. America’s example in dealing with BP must be our guide. We must not allow the crime against humanity that the pollution of the Niger Delta (caused by the oil companies operating in Nigeria!) represents, to be repeated here under any circumstances. Perhaps the question we must pose those currently in charge of our nation is: When will they put in place the necessary legislation that will enable our country ask for the same kinds of reliefs that President Obama’s administration demanded from BP when the disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spillage occurred? The secrecy surrounding the actual amount of the fine imposed on Kosmos Oil for the spillages it has caused thus far is totally unnecessary and certainly does not inspire confidence – and is an outrage and an affront to ordinary Ghanaians.
In dealing with Kosmos Oil in this particular matter, those now in charge of Ghana must not repeat the same mistake President Kufuor made, when he reduced a fine imposed by the regulators, the National Communications Authority (NCA), on Western Communications Limited (WESTEL). Do our leaders think that Kosmos Oil would ever agree to take less of the profits it is entitled to, under the ridiculous agreement that allows it to operate off our shores – if we asked them to do so: to ensure that more money would be made available to Ghana for the very important task of transforming Ghanaian society into an African equivalent of the egalitarian societies of Scandinavia? Whiles the authorities insist that Kosmos Oil plays by the rules, in the matter of the purported sale of its stake in the Jubilee oilfield to ExxonMobil, they must also concentrate on putting in place a legal regime that will enable Ghana demand that sums of up to even as much as some US$20 billions is put into an escrow account, if ever a disaster on the scale of the Gulf of Mexico oil spillage, were to occur here too. If the Kosmos Oils of this world play hardball when it suits them in disputes with our country, we must also ensure that our nation is never put in a position in which whiles oil companies operating here gladly take their profits, Ghana on the other hand, is left to bear the cost of oil spillages and other forms of pollution of the natural environment associated with the oil and gas industry. If we do not do so, future generations of Ghanaian will end up using any wealth created today from oil and natural gas revenues, to clean up the harm done to the natural environment by companies like Kosmos Oil. It is the sacred duty of our generation to make sure that that is never allowed to happen. 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238
Saturday, 31 July 2010
KOSMOS OIL: WHO WILL PAY TO CLEAN UP OIL SPILLAGES OFF GHANA’S COASTLINE & ON THE NATION’S BEACHES?
Tuesday, 27 July 2010
THE GHANAIAN MEDIA MUST BE FAIR TO PRESIDENT MILLS!
There are many independent-minded and patriotic Ghanaians, who insist that to argue that a regime led by President Mills and Vice President Mahama, somehow poses a threat to press freedom in Ghana, is to be intellectually dishonest. It is extraordinary that a regime led by those two gentlemen, who have shown so clearly that unlike a majority of the members of our criticism-averse political class, they are tolerant individuals, can be accused of hounding journalists and posing a threat to the media. That pure nonsense on bamboo stilts is yet another example of the way so many educated Ghanaians seem to take Ghanaian democracy for granted. The actions of the few anti-democrats in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) who manipulate the police to hound journalists, should not be used to judge the Mills regime. Period.
Perhaps the question patriotic Ghanaians ought to pose is: Why are those influential journalists, who decided, when the new Patriotic Party (NPP) assumed power in January 2001, that they would not allow the kind of negativity that led to the demise of the Limman regime, to be repeated under the NPP regime of President Kufuor, now strangely silent, as we witness the barrage of unfair and unjustified criticisms constantly being leveled against the Mills regime in sections of the media? Are we to assume, dear reader, that those influential journalists feel sufficiently confident that democracy has indeed come to stay for good in Ghana – and that what befell President Limman cannot possibly ever happen to President Mills? Is that why they have closed their eyes to the biased and unethical journalism now in vogue in Mother Ghana – specifically designed to play a major role in ensuring that the Mills regime fails?
Do they not see the disenchantment of ordinary people with a democracy in which only the political elite and their cronies enjoy the so-called "democracy-dividend"? Well, they had better sit up – for, contrary to what most of Ghana’s educated elite think, far from this being a stable nation, the huge disparities in wealth and the presence of a large underclass of young people, who have no hope of a better tomorrow ever materializing for them in their lifetime, coupled with the cynicism generated amongst ordinary people, who are totally fed up with a political class that is forever feuding (and which never delivers on the many promises its members make to get into power!), actually presents the next crop of junior military officers in the June 4th 1979 mould, who are imbued with political consciousness and are nationalistic, with the perfect opportunity to strike and sweep away the corrupt and inefficient 4th Republic: should there be chaos in the aftermath of any disputed elections in December 2012.
It will be a grave error of judgment on the part of the aforementioned influential journalists, to think that ordinary people will risk their lives to fight determined soldiers bent on a “house-cleaning” exercise: as a prelude to ushering in a new 5th Republic – that is designed to ensure that the national interest underpins Ghanaian democracy (i.e. the interest of ordinary Ghanaians: as opposed to what will ensure the material well-being of our corrupt elite!). Those corrupt pro-NPP journalists who sold their consciences for a handsome profit to the powerful cabal in the presidency, which dominated the previous regime during the Kufuor era, when the culture of dog-eat-dog selfishness corrupted our society as greed rose to its apogee, had better revise their notes quickly – for, if the Mills regime fails, Ghanaian democracy as we know it, will definitely not survive.
The pro-NPP media is living in cloud-cuckoo-land, if it thinks that those who want our oil and natural gas revenues to be utilized solely for the transformation of our society into an African equivalent of the egalitarian societies of Scandinavia, will sit unconcerned, and allow the corruption and unfathomable greed of the Kufuor era to return again. They had better abandon their self-serving “enkoyie" propaganda agenda and be more professional: ethical; fair; balanced; and nationalistic, in their work henceforth, if Ghana is to avoid a bloody revolution to force real change in society. They must be fairer to President Mills – who is the most honest and caring leader we have had, since the overthrow of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. In seeking to undermine him for purely selfish reasons, they are not only digging his regime’s grave – but their own (and the NPP's!) graves too. 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
Perhaps the question patriotic Ghanaians ought to pose is: Why are those influential journalists, who decided, when the new Patriotic Party (NPP) assumed power in January 2001, that they would not allow the kind of negativity that led to the demise of the Limman regime, to be repeated under the NPP regime of President Kufuor, now strangely silent, as we witness the barrage of unfair and unjustified criticisms constantly being leveled against the Mills regime in sections of the media? Are we to assume, dear reader, that those influential journalists feel sufficiently confident that democracy has indeed come to stay for good in Ghana – and that what befell President Limman cannot possibly ever happen to President Mills? Is that why they have closed their eyes to the biased and unethical journalism now in vogue in Mother Ghana – specifically designed to play a major role in ensuring that the Mills regime fails?
Do they not see the disenchantment of ordinary people with a democracy in which only the political elite and their cronies enjoy the so-called "democracy-dividend"? Well, they had better sit up – for, contrary to what most of Ghana’s educated elite think, far from this being a stable nation, the huge disparities in wealth and the presence of a large underclass of young people, who have no hope of a better tomorrow ever materializing for them in their lifetime, coupled with the cynicism generated amongst ordinary people, who are totally fed up with a political class that is forever feuding (and which never delivers on the many promises its members make to get into power!), actually presents the next crop of junior military officers in the June 4th 1979 mould, who are imbued with political consciousness and are nationalistic, with the perfect opportunity to strike and sweep away the corrupt and inefficient 4th Republic: should there be chaos in the aftermath of any disputed elections in December 2012.
It will be a grave error of judgment on the part of the aforementioned influential journalists, to think that ordinary people will risk their lives to fight determined soldiers bent on a “house-cleaning” exercise: as a prelude to ushering in a new 5th Republic – that is designed to ensure that the national interest underpins Ghanaian democracy (i.e. the interest of ordinary Ghanaians: as opposed to what will ensure the material well-being of our corrupt elite!). Those corrupt pro-NPP journalists who sold their consciences for a handsome profit to the powerful cabal in the presidency, which dominated the previous regime during the Kufuor era, when the culture of dog-eat-dog selfishness corrupted our society as greed rose to its apogee, had better revise their notes quickly – for, if the Mills regime fails, Ghanaian democracy as we know it, will definitely not survive.
The pro-NPP media is living in cloud-cuckoo-land, if it thinks that those who want our oil and natural gas revenues to be utilized solely for the transformation of our society into an African equivalent of the egalitarian societies of Scandinavia, will sit unconcerned, and allow the corruption and unfathomable greed of the Kufuor era to return again. They had better abandon their self-serving “enkoyie" propaganda agenda and be more professional: ethical; fair; balanced; and nationalistic, in their work henceforth, if Ghana is to avoid a bloody revolution to force real change in society. They must be fairer to President Mills – who is the most honest and caring leader we have had, since the overthrow of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. In seeking to undermine him for purely selfish reasons, they are not only digging his regime’s grave – but their own (and the NPP's!) graves too. 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
Monday, 19 July 2010
President Mills Must Stop Solar Mining Limited Now
It is instructive that when as many as over one hundred and thirty young Ghanaians lost their lives recently, at Dunkwa-on-Offin, in yet another gold mining disaster, the owner of the gold mining pit was promptly arrested by the police.
Yet, as is often the case in Ghana, the officials from the regulatory bodies, who failed in their duty to ensure that only gold mining companies that meet all the required international standards can operate in our country, were left free – no doubt to go on issuing permits to all manner of super-wealthy criminals who are driven by unfathomable greed: and many of whom are busy destroying our natural heritage, and endangering the lives of the thousands of young people who are forced by circumstances to slave in gold mining pits across Ghana, in order to earn a living.
It is not surprising that today even emissaries of no less a personality than the Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amotia Ofori Panin, the traditional ruler of Akim Abuakwa, are now being beaten up by the hirelings of those ruthless individuals, who are prepared to defy even the authority of the Ghanaian nation-state in their quest for gold – simply because they dared to try to halt the criminal activities of those sponsoring “galamsey” gold mining operations in that beautiful part of our nation: which has such potential as an eco-tourism destination for nature-lovers.
Apparently, those now in charge of Ghana’s national security are said to have adopted a pro-active strategy, designed to ensure the safety of the Republic: through a policy that is said to have “human security” at its core.
Well, one certainly hopes that they do recognize the potential threat posed to our country, by the wealthy criminals who are using 32-tonne excavators to gang-rape both Mother Nature and Mother Ghana, in illegal gold mining operations across our country – and who are now demonstrating clearly that they can so easily evolve into the kind of monstrous war-lords who sent Liberia and Sierra Leone into the abyss: because they wanted unimpeded access to the natural resources of both those sister-nations of ours.
That is precisely why President Mills’ regime must ensure that those whose duty it is to prevent the illegal activities of companies like Solar Mining Limited, actually do the work they are paid so handsomely for, by hard-pressed taxpayers of Ghana.
That company, which is mining gold illegally at Akyem Abuakwa Juaso, and causing environmental degradation on an apocalyptic scale, is destroying an area in the Eastern Region of Ghana that has been designated a Globally Significant Biodiversity Area (GSBA),
Recently, The Daily Graphic carried a news report that stated that the “youth” in the area were appealing to the president to help Solar Mining Limited to obtain the necessary permits to enable the company carry on operating.
Their so-called “appeal” to the president is an example of the perfidy of the clever individuals behind Solar Mining Limited’s activities in Akyem Abuakwa Juaso.
Naturally, that rent-a-mob ensures that no one in the community dare speak out against the company’s illegal activities – which in a very real sense do amount to what actually is a crime against humanity.
It is obvious that the sudden attempt to revive Kibi Goldfields, a company that has been insolvent for over a decade (and is still saddled with a mountain of debt to its creditors!), is simply a clever ruse designed to enable Solar Mining obtain what amounts to “legal cover” through the backdoor – so that it can carry on with its destructive activities with impunity.
Significantly, Kibi Goldfields’ Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) document does not show any correspondence with the Forestry Commission – when part of the important Atewa Range upland evergreen forest reserve actually lies quite close to the concession granted the company.
Sheer lunacy, is it not, dear reader, to destroy forests that are the source of sustainable wealth worth trillions of dollars in yet-to-be-discovered medicinal plants: for a mineral that offers no value to society once it is mined and exported?
The question that concerned environmental activists across the globe would like to ask officialdom in Ghana is: What genius at the Minerals Commission sat in Accra and delineated the borders of the company’s concession to encompass an area close to such an important forest reserve (which contains the headwaters of the three river systems on which over 80 percent of urban Ghana depends on for its drinking-water supply); and, at a time of global climate change, why should that be tolerated?
Furthermore, why does the Forestry Commission not insist that no part of the Atewa Range rain forest, should ever be included in the concession of any mining company, under any circumstances?
Is it any wonder, dear reader, that whilst most nations around the globe are said to have so effectively combated illegal logging that there has been a worldwide drop of some 22 percent in such negative activities, in our homeland Ghana, on the other hand, the trend is in the opposite direction – despite the fact that on paper our country has some of the best forestry policies in the world?
Why should taxpayers’ in the wealthy nations of the world, who are having to make enormous sacrifices in order to enable their governments’ fund climate-change mitigation projects in Africa (to lessen the negative impact of global warming in the continent), permit their governments’ to give Ghana any of such funds, if the state agencies tasked to protect the natural environment in our country, continue to be so lax in their work?
What is the point, dear reader, of setting up special climate-change units at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Forestry Commission (FC), if companies like Kibi Goldfields and Solar Mining can hoodwink officialdom with sleight-of-hand-tactics designed to enable Solar Mining literally reverse into the bankrupt Kibi Goldfields – and more or less obtain permits from the regulatory authorities that way: and continue with its perfidy with impunity?
If President Mills does not want the delegates who attended the Copenhagen U.N. Climate Change Conference last December to conclude that he was merely paying lip-service to fighting global climate change in Ghana, when he delivered his conference speech, he must step in and personally make sure that EPA and FC officials go to Akyem Juaso immediately to ascertain the true facts on the ground – and ask the Minerals Commission to quickly re-delineate the borders of Kibi Goldfields’ Akim Abuakwa concession: as a prelude to the process of taking the concession away from that bankrupt entity, as soon as it is practicable to do so.
The very fact that the purported owner of Kibi Goldfields, Mr. Budu Saka, has apparently been appointed as an ambassador to a foreign nation under this regime, makes it imperative for the government to ensure that the right thing is done in this shabby affair – lest environmental activists in the country to which he has been posted, begin picketing the Ghana Embassy there, to demand his immediate withdrawal.
Tel: (powered by Tigo – the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!) + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Yet, as is often the case in Ghana, the officials from the regulatory bodies, who failed in their duty to ensure that only gold mining companies that meet all the required international standards can operate in our country, were left free – no doubt to go on issuing permits to all manner of super-wealthy criminals who are driven by unfathomable greed: and many of whom are busy destroying our natural heritage, and endangering the lives of the thousands of young people who are forced by circumstances to slave in gold mining pits across Ghana, in order to earn a living.
It is not surprising that today even emissaries of no less a personality than the Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amotia Ofori Panin, the traditional ruler of Akim Abuakwa, are now being beaten up by the hirelings of those ruthless individuals, who are prepared to defy even the authority of the Ghanaian nation-state in their quest for gold – simply because they dared to try to halt the criminal activities of those sponsoring “galamsey” gold mining operations in that beautiful part of our nation: which has such potential as an eco-tourism destination for nature-lovers.
Apparently, those now in charge of Ghana’s national security are said to have adopted a pro-active strategy, designed to ensure the safety of the Republic: through a policy that is said to have “human security” at its core.
Well, one certainly hopes that they do recognize the potential threat posed to our country, by the wealthy criminals who are using 32-tonne excavators to gang-rape both Mother Nature and Mother Ghana, in illegal gold mining operations across our country – and who are now demonstrating clearly that they can so easily evolve into the kind of monstrous war-lords who sent Liberia and Sierra Leone into the abyss: because they wanted unimpeded access to the natural resources of both those sister-nations of ours.
That is precisely why President Mills’ regime must ensure that those whose duty it is to prevent the illegal activities of companies like Solar Mining Limited, actually do the work they are paid so handsomely for, by hard-pressed taxpayers of Ghana.
That company, which is mining gold illegally at Akyem Abuakwa Juaso, and causing environmental degradation on an apocalyptic scale, is destroying an area in the Eastern Region of Ghana that has been designated a Globally Significant Biodiversity Area (GSBA),
Recently, The Daily Graphic carried a news report that stated that the “youth” in the area were appealing to the president to help Solar Mining Limited to obtain the necessary permits to enable the company carry on operating.
Their so-called “appeal” to the president is an example of the perfidy of the clever individuals behind Solar Mining Limited’s activities in Akyem Abuakwa Juaso.
Naturally, that rent-a-mob ensures that no one in the community dare speak out against the company’s illegal activities – which in a very real sense do amount to what actually is a crime against humanity.
It is obvious that the sudden attempt to revive Kibi Goldfields, a company that has been insolvent for over a decade (and is still saddled with a mountain of debt to its creditors!), is simply a clever ruse designed to enable Solar Mining obtain what amounts to “legal cover” through the backdoor – so that it can carry on with its destructive activities with impunity.
Significantly, Kibi Goldfields’ Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) document does not show any correspondence with the Forestry Commission – when part of the important Atewa Range upland evergreen forest reserve actually lies quite close to the concession granted the company.
Sheer lunacy, is it not, dear reader, to destroy forests that are the source of sustainable wealth worth trillions of dollars in yet-to-be-discovered medicinal plants: for a mineral that offers no value to society once it is mined and exported?
The question that concerned environmental activists across the globe would like to ask officialdom in Ghana is: What genius at the Minerals Commission sat in Accra and delineated the borders of the company’s concession to encompass an area close to such an important forest reserve (which contains the headwaters of the three river systems on which over 80 percent of urban Ghana depends on for its drinking-water supply); and, at a time of global climate change, why should that be tolerated?
Furthermore, why does the Forestry Commission not insist that no part of the Atewa Range rain forest, should ever be included in the concession of any mining company, under any circumstances?
Is it any wonder, dear reader, that whilst most nations around the globe are said to have so effectively combated illegal logging that there has been a worldwide drop of some 22 percent in such negative activities, in our homeland Ghana, on the other hand, the trend is in the opposite direction – despite the fact that on paper our country has some of the best forestry policies in the world?
Why should taxpayers’ in the wealthy nations of the world, who are having to make enormous sacrifices in order to enable their governments’ fund climate-change mitigation projects in Africa (to lessen the negative impact of global warming in the continent), permit their governments’ to give Ghana any of such funds, if the state agencies tasked to protect the natural environment in our country, continue to be so lax in their work?
What is the point, dear reader, of setting up special climate-change units at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Forestry Commission (FC), if companies like Kibi Goldfields and Solar Mining can hoodwink officialdom with sleight-of-hand-tactics designed to enable Solar Mining literally reverse into the bankrupt Kibi Goldfields – and more or less obtain permits from the regulatory authorities that way: and continue with its perfidy with impunity?
If President Mills does not want the delegates who attended the Copenhagen U.N. Climate Change Conference last December to conclude that he was merely paying lip-service to fighting global climate change in Ghana, when he delivered his conference speech, he must step in and personally make sure that EPA and FC officials go to Akyem Juaso immediately to ascertain the true facts on the ground – and ask the Minerals Commission to quickly re-delineate the borders of Kibi Goldfields’ Akim Abuakwa concession: as a prelude to the process of taking the concession away from that bankrupt entity, as soon as it is practicable to do so.
The very fact that the purported owner of Kibi Goldfields, Mr. Budu Saka, has apparently been appointed as an ambassador to a foreign nation under this regime, makes it imperative for the government to ensure that the right thing is done in this shabby affair – lest environmental activists in the country to which he has been posted, begin picketing the Ghana Embassy there, to demand his immediate withdrawal.
Tel: (powered by Tigo – the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!) + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Free Verse Poems By Kofi Thompson
1) "A Woman's Freedom"
All women
Married or unmarried
Can be free agents
If they so wish
At any stage
In a relationship
With a male partner.
2) "The Unhappiest Sound in the World"
Is there
Anything more distressing
Than the unhappiness
Felt in the distant sound
Of a wailing child?
3) "Eternal Regret!"
O how I wish
I had the wisdom
To accept then
What I could not accept
Which led to your departure
But which I now accept
Long after the event!
4) "Humankind’s Folly!"
It is extraordinary
That humankind
Thinks that it is the planet Earth
That is imperiled
By global warming
When it is humanity itself
That faces possible extinction
The earth
Will eventually recover
From the most egregious
Of environmental degradation
And continue on its cosmic journey
Long after all the world’s
Living creatures have disappeared!
All women
Married or unmarried
Can be free agents
If they so wish
At any stage
In a relationship
With a male partner.
2) "The Unhappiest Sound in the World"
Is there
Anything more distressing
Than the unhappiness
Felt in the distant sound
Of a wailing child?
3) "Eternal Regret!"
O how I wish
I had the wisdom
To accept then
What I could not accept
Which led to your departure
But which I now accept
Long after the event!
4) "Humankind’s Folly!"
It is extraordinary
That humankind
Thinks that it is the planet Earth
That is imperiled
By global warming
When it is humanity itself
That faces possible extinction
The earth
Will eventually recover
From the most egregious
Of environmental degradation
And continue on its cosmic journey
Long after all the world’s
Living creatures have disappeared!
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Re: “Ghana's Built Environment Stakeholders Speak on STX Deal”
In response to this www.ghanaweb.com business news web-page story of Thursday, 24 June 2010 (apparently sourced from a Mr. Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko?), with the above title; why do our political leaders simply not pass a new law, which will ring-fence the revenues from the Department of National Lotteries (DNL) – and devote it to the construction of affordable housing nationwide, henceforth?
If a clause is included in such a law, for example, which states that buyers of lottery tickets will automatically be entered into a special lottery for the selection of individuals to be allocated the affordable houses (and that that is the only way for Ghanaians to acquire such houses!); surely, that will avoid the usual practice of politically well-connected individuals scheming to buy up almost all the units in such housing projects: for themselves; the members of their family clans; and their cronies – and bring fairness into the allocation of such houses?
Well, one certainly hopes that Mr. Alban Bagbin, who heads the ministry for water resources, works and housing, will discuss this idea of funding the 200,000 houses from local sources, with the so-called “Joint Committee of the Ghana Institute of Architects, Ghana Institute of Planners, Ghana Institution of Engineers and Ghana Institution of Surveyors” mentioned in the said www.ghanaweb.com business news web-page story of Thursday, 24 June 2010. 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
If a clause is included in such a law, for example, which states that buyers of lottery tickets will automatically be entered into a special lottery for the selection of individuals to be allocated the affordable houses (and that that is the only way for Ghanaians to acquire such houses!); surely, that will avoid the usual practice of politically well-connected individuals scheming to buy up almost all the units in such housing projects: for themselves; the members of their family clans; and their cronies – and bring fairness into the allocation of such houses?
Well, one certainly hopes that Mr. Alban Bagbin, who heads the ministry for water resources, works and housing, will discuss this idea of funding the 200,000 houses from local sources, with the so-called “Joint Committee of the Ghana Institute of Architects, Ghana Institute of Planners, Ghana Institution of Engineers and Ghana Institution of Surveyors” mentioned in the said www.ghanaweb.com business news web-page story of Thursday, 24 June 2010. 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
AN OPEN LETTER TO GHANA’S FIRST LADY MRS. NAADU MILLS
Your Excellency, I shall go straight to the point. There are many independent-minded Ghanaians, whose sense of patriotism made them vote for your husband, our current president, during the run-off of the December 2008 presidential election. Ordinarily, a majority of those discerning Ghanaians, would never consider voting for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) – but they did so because they understood clearly during the December 2008 election, that our nation had reached a defining moment: when Ghana had to elect an honest leader; to ensure that revenue from our oil and natural gas deposits did not eventually end up in the hands of a powerful few with greedy ambitions. If we are to transform our country into an African equivalent of the egalitarian societies of Scandinavia, it is crucial that we do not allow our elite to have the opportunity to follow the example of Nigeria’s kleptocratic elite: and loot the national treasury.
Manye, the recent altercation on Radio Gold FM between Mr. Herbert “I-have-nothing-to-lose” Mensah, and Mr. Ato “The-candidate-was-delusional” Awhoi, shows clearly that you must take an active interest in your husbands presidency – as it is important that he has an independent ally: who has no secret agenda, and whom he can seek counsel from, from time to time. Please let him do what Nigeria’s late leader President Yaradua did when he first came to power: declare his personal net worth publicly. After some of us had constantly badgered Dr. Amoako Tufuor to persuade him to do so, President Kufuor promised, during his swearing in at the Independence Square in January 2001, that he would publicly declare the assets of both himself and his wife. Sadly, he did not do so – and we all know how corrupt his regime eventually became. I am pretty sure that those around your husband will tell the president not to do so, as they themselves do not want to do so. However, in view of recent developments within your National Democratic Congress (NDC) party, it is vital that your husband publicly declares both your assets, now – especially as it still not too late politically for him to do so.
Taking that courageous step will make his position in the NDC and in the country at large unassailable politically. There is nothing in the constitution that bars him from doing so – and if ever there was the political equivalent of a comprehensive insurance policy, guaranteed to keep at bay, those who want to see the back of him (and are now biding their time, and await their hour!), it is the simple act of publicly declaring yours, and his, personal net worth. Manye, just ponder for a moment, and ask yourself, whom amongst the arrogant hypocrites who are harrying him (and are now so bold that they do not even bother to hide their animosity towards him!), would have the moral courage to declare their own personal net worth to Ghanaians. I am sure that both Mr. Ato “The-candidate-is-delusional” Awhoi and Mr. Herbert “I-have-nothing-to–lose” Mensah mean well, and have your husband’s best interest at heart, in their own way – but I doubt very much if they are more loyal to your husband than you yourself are. Above all, I doubt very much if they would think it politic for your dear husband to do the one thing that will provide him with protection that even a thousand Lt. Col. Dovlo Larteys; Brigadier General Nunoo Mensahs; and the entire Military High Command, cannot possibly give him: publicly declaring both your assets! Your Excellency, please persuade President Mills to publicly declare both your assets, as soon as it is practicable to do so. If he does so, he will never experience the terrible fate that befell President Hilla Limman (of blessed memory!). 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
Manye, the recent altercation on Radio Gold FM between Mr. Herbert “I-have-nothing-to-lose” Mensah, and Mr. Ato “The-candidate-was-delusional” Awhoi, shows clearly that you must take an active interest in your husbands presidency – as it is important that he has an independent ally: who has no secret agenda, and whom he can seek counsel from, from time to time. Please let him do what Nigeria’s late leader President Yaradua did when he first came to power: declare his personal net worth publicly. After some of us had constantly badgered Dr. Amoako Tufuor to persuade him to do so, President Kufuor promised, during his swearing in at the Independence Square in January 2001, that he would publicly declare the assets of both himself and his wife. Sadly, he did not do so – and we all know how corrupt his regime eventually became. I am pretty sure that those around your husband will tell the president not to do so, as they themselves do not want to do so. However, in view of recent developments within your National Democratic Congress (NDC) party, it is vital that your husband publicly declares both your assets, now – especially as it still not too late politically for him to do so.
Taking that courageous step will make his position in the NDC and in the country at large unassailable politically. There is nothing in the constitution that bars him from doing so – and if ever there was the political equivalent of a comprehensive insurance policy, guaranteed to keep at bay, those who want to see the back of him (and are now biding their time, and await their hour!), it is the simple act of publicly declaring yours, and his, personal net worth. Manye, just ponder for a moment, and ask yourself, whom amongst the arrogant hypocrites who are harrying him (and are now so bold that they do not even bother to hide their animosity towards him!), would have the moral courage to declare their own personal net worth to Ghanaians. I am sure that both Mr. Ato “The-candidate-is-delusional” Awhoi and Mr. Herbert “I-have-nothing-to–lose” Mensah mean well, and have your husband’s best interest at heart, in their own way – but I doubt very much if they are more loyal to your husband than you yourself are. Above all, I doubt very much if they would think it politic for your dear husband to do the one thing that will provide him with protection that even a thousand Lt. Col. Dovlo Larteys; Brigadier General Nunoo Mensahs; and the entire Military High Command, cannot possibly give him: publicly declaring both your assets! Your Excellency, please persuade President Mills to publicly declare both your assets, as soon as it is practicable to do so. If he does so, he will never experience the terrible fate that befell President Hilla Limman (of blessed memory!). 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
Friday, 18 June 2010
GHANA MUST ADOPT AMERICA’S NEW TOUGH APPROACH TO ERRANT OIL COMPANIES!
One hopes that the quislings in our midst, who are lackeys of foreign powers in Ghana, and are wont to defend foreign commercial interests, vigorously, in the local media, and lobby our political class on their behalf as well (because they get crumbs from the table of those ruthless carpetbaggers!), listened to the merciless grilling of BP’s CEO, Tony Hayward, by members of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the U.S. Congress, which convened on Thursday, June 17th 2010, for a hearing on "The Role Of BP In The Deep-water Horizon Explosion And Oil Spill," – part of that nation’s multi-faceted investigation into the disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spillage. It is important that those currently in charge of our nation pay close attention to the way the U.S. government is reacting to BP – and adopt the same hard-nosed attitude in ensuring that all oil companies operating off our shores use the same safety standards that will be set by U.S. regulators, after the six-month moratorium on the drilling of oil in the waters off the U.S coastline whiles investigations into the causes of the disaster now being carried out, finally end.
It is really hard to believe that some of the members of the U.S. Congress who questioned Tony Hayward, including the one who told the BP CEO that Americans are not “small people,” are from the same institution, whose membership includes politicians who want our country to kow tow to Kosmos Oil and ExxonMobil: who have the effrontery to seek to dictate terms over how a finite resource, which Ghanaians are relying on to provide sufficient revenues to help transform their country, into Africa’s equivalent of the egalitarian societies of Scandinavia, are exploited. It really is intolerable that such arrogant politicians in the U.S think they can pressurize our leaders into agreeing to Kosmos and ExxonMobil dictating terms to our government. Why, are even little primary school children in Ghana, not aware, dear reader, of the base reasons for their perfidy? What hypocrites. To top that outrage, as we speak, ordinary Ghanaians do not even know the precise nature of the recent spate of spillages caused by Kosmos Oil – and what exactly they result from. Was the company engaged in the ’top- killing’ of a number of oil wells to cap them permanently – to spite our country, and stop any purchaser of its Jubilee oilfield stake (other than its preferred buyer, ExxonMobil!), from benefiting from its work, thus far?
Or did they result from corner-cutting emanating from financial pressures on Kosmos Oil: as cash for their Ghanaian operation dries up, because the original speculators who put money into the private equity fund that invested in the company, now want to exit from the market: and take their huge profits? If Kosmos Oil’s cavalier attitude thus far, is anything to go by, our political elite must get Ghana’s parliament to copy, word for word, all the penalties those U.S. regulatory bodies recommend be imposed on BP and other oil companies that spill oil off America’s shores: for future deployment here, should the need ever arise. It will be suicidal for Ghana to rely, for example, on Zoil’s Mickey Mouse post-spillage environmental clean-up solutions: the oil industry clean-up equivalent of a very bad joke, to deal with bringing the natural environment back to the stage it was in, before an oil spillage occurred here. How many miles of booms; hundreds of boats with trained crews; and what quantity of cutting-edge chemical dispersant do they have stored at strategic locations along our shores, I ask, dear reader? Clearly, our usual way of bending over backwards to please foreign companies exploiting our natural resources for vast profits whiles we get peanuts by comparison, will not suffice in the case of the oil industry. It is crucial that Ghana ensures that if such a disaster were to occur here, we will have tough enough laws in place, which will oblige oil companies to pay for the entire cost of the restoration of the natural environment to the pristine state it was in, before a spillage occurred – even if it amounted to US$20 billions. Above all, we must force the oil companies to adopt the same safety standards that guide their U.S. operations, here too. One hopes that those who now rule Ghana will resolve to ensure that that becomes the norm in Ghana’s oil and natural gas industry – so that oil does not become a terrible curse for Mother Ghana, but a real blessing. 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
It is really hard to believe that some of the members of the U.S. Congress who questioned Tony Hayward, including the one who told the BP CEO that Americans are not “small people,” are from the same institution, whose membership includes politicians who want our country to kow tow to Kosmos Oil and ExxonMobil: who have the effrontery to seek to dictate terms over how a finite resource, which Ghanaians are relying on to provide sufficient revenues to help transform their country, into Africa’s equivalent of the egalitarian societies of Scandinavia, are exploited. It really is intolerable that such arrogant politicians in the U.S think they can pressurize our leaders into agreeing to Kosmos and ExxonMobil dictating terms to our government. Why, are even little primary school children in Ghana, not aware, dear reader, of the base reasons for their perfidy? What hypocrites. To top that outrage, as we speak, ordinary Ghanaians do not even know the precise nature of the recent spate of spillages caused by Kosmos Oil – and what exactly they result from. Was the company engaged in the ’top- killing’ of a number of oil wells to cap them permanently – to spite our country, and stop any purchaser of its Jubilee oilfield stake (other than its preferred buyer, ExxonMobil!), from benefiting from its work, thus far?
Or did they result from corner-cutting emanating from financial pressures on Kosmos Oil: as cash for their Ghanaian operation dries up, because the original speculators who put money into the private equity fund that invested in the company, now want to exit from the market: and take their huge profits? If Kosmos Oil’s cavalier attitude thus far, is anything to go by, our political elite must get Ghana’s parliament to copy, word for word, all the penalties those U.S. regulatory bodies recommend be imposed on BP and other oil companies that spill oil off America’s shores: for future deployment here, should the need ever arise. It will be suicidal for Ghana to rely, for example, on Zoil’s Mickey Mouse post-spillage environmental clean-up solutions: the oil industry clean-up equivalent of a very bad joke, to deal with bringing the natural environment back to the stage it was in, before an oil spillage occurred here. How many miles of booms; hundreds of boats with trained crews; and what quantity of cutting-edge chemical dispersant do they have stored at strategic locations along our shores, I ask, dear reader? Clearly, our usual way of bending over backwards to please foreign companies exploiting our natural resources for vast profits whiles we get peanuts by comparison, will not suffice in the case of the oil industry. It is crucial that Ghana ensures that if such a disaster were to occur here, we will have tough enough laws in place, which will oblige oil companies to pay for the entire cost of the restoration of the natural environment to the pristine state it was in, before a spillage occurred – even if it amounted to US$20 billions. Above all, we must force the oil companies to adopt the same safety standards that guide their U.S. operations, here too. One hopes that those who now rule Ghana will resolve to ensure that that becomes the norm in Ghana’s oil and natural gas industry – so that oil does not become a terrible curse for Mother Ghana, but a real blessing. 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
SURELY, ALL HUMAN LIFE IS OF EQUAL VALUE?
Some Ghanaians can be pretty funny. Yesterday evening, I had an irate phone call from a gentleman, who called after reading an article I had posted on my online web-blog: and in which I had stated that I owed my landlady a huge amount. That ‘well-mannered’ gentleman poured insults on me for daring to constantly criticize the profligate Kufuor & Co. when I could not even pay my rent: let alone build a house. After a string of expletives too profane to reprint here, I told that ‘cultured’ gentleman exactly where to get off: I neither needed his pity nor deserved his contempt, I would have him know.
It is so typical of these “My-party-my-tribe-right-or-wrong” myrmidon-types, whose blind support of Ghana’s political parties, is slowly destroying them, to be contemptuous of those they think are poor people. Well, I coolly informed him that like most honest Ghanaians, I am also often strapped for cash. However, since “Onyame entise Alata ni enti,” God, in his munificence, had blessed even a foolish old man like me (who is further burdened by also being senile!), with a few assets: worth at least a pesewa or two. Although I could have done what some do to survive, I did not sell my conscience to grab zillions, under the Rawlings regime. Neither did I do so under the Kufuor regime - nor will I do so under the Mills regime: so I will continue to be strapped for cash, from time to time, like many of the honest Ghanaians who struggle to get by, daily.
No matter how tough life becomes, I will continue to hold on to my core values: and will always live a life underpinned by ethical considerations, and guided by compassion for all my fellow living creatures, on the planet Earth. For his information, and for the information of others like him, in the end, I did actually secure an interest-free loan against the title deeds of one of those selfsame properties that I mentioned earlier, God, in his munificence, had blessed an old fool like Kofi Thompson with. As it happens, dear reader, a very good and reliable friend came to my rescue in the nick of time: and stumped up the required amount – and I have thus now done right by my dear landlady: who really has the patience of a saint, I must say.
One wishes that such tiresome geniuses would understand that in our democracy (as opposed to the old traditional system which prevailed in the pre-colonial era, and which, incredibly, these tribal-supremacists still believe in!), all human life, is of equal value. That is why even cash-strapped folk like poor old Kofi Thompson also have the right to criticize those who rule our nation, at any given point in time: surprising though that might be to him and those of his ilk! Let such misguided and blinkered souls understand clearly, that no matter how powerful an individual might be in our society, no human being on the surface of the planet Earth, can stop me from taking part in our nation’s discourse, because I am a poor old fool – the stratospheric nature of their personal net worth notwithstanding! 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
It is so typical of these “My-party-my-tribe-right-or-wrong” myrmidon-types, whose blind support of Ghana’s political parties, is slowly destroying them, to be contemptuous of those they think are poor people. Well, I coolly informed him that like most honest Ghanaians, I am also often strapped for cash. However, since “Onyame entise Alata ni enti,” God, in his munificence, had blessed even a foolish old man like me (who is further burdened by also being senile!), with a few assets: worth at least a pesewa or two. Although I could have done what some do to survive, I did not sell my conscience to grab zillions, under the Rawlings regime. Neither did I do so under the Kufuor regime - nor will I do so under the Mills regime: so I will continue to be strapped for cash, from time to time, like many of the honest Ghanaians who struggle to get by, daily.
No matter how tough life becomes, I will continue to hold on to my core values: and will always live a life underpinned by ethical considerations, and guided by compassion for all my fellow living creatures, on the planet Earth. For his information, and for the information of others like him, in the end, I did actually secure an interest-free loan against the title deeds of one of those selfsame properties that I mentioned earlier, God, in his munificence, had blessed an old fool like Kofi Thompson with. As it happens, dear reader, a very good and reliable friend came to my rescue in the nick of time: and stumped up the required amount – and I have thus now done right by my dear landlady: who really has the patience of a saint, I must say.
One wishes that such tiresome geniuses would understand that in our democracy (as opposed to the old traditional system which prevailed in the pre-colonial era, and which, incredibly, these tribal-supremacists still believe in!), all human life, is of equal value. That is why even cash-strapped folk like poor old Kofi Thompson also have the right to criticize those who rule our nation, at any given point in time: surprising though that might be to him and those of his ilk! Let such misguided and blinkered souls understand clearly, that no matter how powerful an individual might be in our society, no human being on the surface of the planet Earth, can stop me from taking part in our nation’s discourse, because I am a poor old fool – the stratospheric nature of their personal net worth notwithstanding! 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
SHOULD THE STATE MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS NOT DIRECTLY BE CONTROLLED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DAY, TODAY?
This morning, I run into my old friend, Mr. Kabral Blay-Amihere, at an internet cafe in Weija. Kabral served as Ghana's envoy to Sierra Leone, and after that, was subsequently posted to the Ivory Coast, during the tenure of President Kufour's New Patriotic Party (NPP) regime. Such is his charm that it is pretty hard to be unpleasant to him : but in the usual combative way I always interact with that witty and sharp-minded soul, I told him that I did not see why in the digital age, and with a media landscape that has over one hundred and twenty FM radio stations, and a number of privately-owned TV stations, as well as scores of privately-owned newspapers, the state-owned media should not be directly controlled by the government of the day. Surely, we ought to look upon those organizations as tools for national development, which help provide information that is factual and unbiased: and helps ordinary people keep abreast with the nation-building efforts of the government of the day? I pointed it out to him, that when the idea for the National Media Commission (NMC) was first mooted, the long shadow of the days of the culture of silence hung heavy over the Ghanaian media landscape. Consequently, there was a strong desire on the part of all the stakeholders to rid journalism of the control-by-fear ethos of the past: resulting from the heavy-handedness of a brutal military dictatorship that had morphed into a democratically-elected civilian regime. It was that past that made the NMC seem like such a sensible idea then.
Today, however, when democracy has finally taken root in our homeland Ghana, and Ghanaians seldom hesitate to proceed to the law courts to assert their rights when the need arises, should we rather not look to the judiciary to protect the right to freedom of expression: through its interpretation of the constitution – instead of letting the NMC remain the guardian of the independence of the fourth arm of government? Is the Ghana of today, not a nation in which civil society does not hesitate to challenge the regime in power, whenever it fails to follow due process and oversteps the bounds of legality? Is that not why the anti-democrats in our midst, such as Flt- Lt. Rawlings & Co. often complain bitterly about how slow the system is – because they once wielded absolute power: unfettered by the checks and balances that underpin the democratic system of government we now operate? As it is often said, democracy is a messy and imperfect system of government: but it is far better than any other system of government known to man – because of the limitations it places on the powers of those who make up the Government. It really is an unsatisfactory state of affairs that today, in the digital age, as things stand, the pendulum has swung so far in the opposite direction: and the state is now hamstrung by its lack of a far-reaching voice that enables state agencies to counter the self-serving falsehoods that permeate media- houses: both print and electronic.
Perhaps the question we ought to ask, is: What has the NMC done all this while, for example, to stop political parties (across the spectrum!) from hijacking the parliament-of-the-airwaves, by paying sundry mercenary types – the so-called serial-callers – to do propaganda on FM radio stations on their behalf, on a daily basis: and in the process freezing out ordinary citizens from participating in current affairs discussion programmes on the over one hundred and twenty FM radio stations across our homeland Ghana? Kabral Blay-Amihere, as we all know, was in the trenches with other media heroes such as: the late Tommy Thompson of blessed memory; Kweku Baako ; and Kwesi Pratt , amongst many other patriotic citizens. I do not doubt that he sees his role in the NMC as a continuation of the fight that was fought in the past to protect the basic human rights of all Ghanaians. However, at a time when digital television can provide the State with an interactive digital platform to enable its agencies deal directly with each Ghanaian citizen, (and provide all Ghanaians with direct access to government ministries; departments ; agencies; as well as interact directly with all the district assemblies – all of which can be provided with their own interactive television channels – from the comfort of their own homes; educational institutions; businesses ; etc. etc.!), why leave the state media organizations under the control of the NMC, I ask?
In choosing the Director-General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), for example, the NMC, by definition, faces the almost impossible task of having to pick an apolitical figure (in the mould of Lord Reith of BBC fame!), who always ought to have the national interest at heart: as opposed to what will be advantageous for the political party that has his or her loyalty (if the NMC is truly and fairly discharging its true constitutional mandate, i.e.)? Who, in this country, does not remember the shameful way the website of the GBC was used by faceless individuals (with a secret agenda of their own!) to try to publicize false results of the run-off of the December 2008 presidential election? Why should a politically-biased individual, such as the gentleman who currently heads the GBC, for example, be allowed to strike one-sided commercial deals that are lucrative for private-sector entities, and which enables them piggy-back off the digital platform of GBC – an entity more or less entirely funded by the taxpayer – without the say so of the government of the day, which provides it with funds? Why repeat the daft Metro TV / GBC deal that enabled a few private individuals to use a frequency of the GBC to establish a television station, and enrich themselves at the GBC’s (and by extension, taxpayers’!) expense? How can it be that even law enforcement agencies investigating corrupt practices in that institution, cannot question the head of GBC without recourse to the NMC, I ask, dear reader? What then is the point of a board of directors for GBC if they have to get the NMC to discipline the head of the organisation they provide strategic direction for and ensure operates according to corporate good governance principles? How absurd! Let us take advantage of any review of the 1992 constitution to end this untenable situation once and for all. 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
Today, however, when democracy has finally taken root in our homeland Ghana, and Ghanaians seldom hesitate to proceed to the law courts to assert their rights when the need arises, should we rather not look to the judiciary to protect the right to freedom of expression: through its interpretation of the constitution – instead of letting the NMC remain the guardian of the independence of the fourth arm of government? Is the Ghana of today, not a nation in which civil society does not hesitate to challenge the regime in power, whenever it fails to follow due process and oversteps the bounds of legality? Is that not why the anti-democrats in our midst, such as Flt- Lt. Rawlings & Co. often complain bitterly about how slow the system is – because they once wielded absolute power: unfettered by the checks and balances that underpin the democratic system of government we now operate? As it is often said, democracy is a messy and imperfect system of government: but it is far better than any other system of government known to man – because of the limitations it places on the powers of those who make up the Government. It really is an unsatisfactory state of affairs that today, in the digital age, as things stand, the pendulum has swung so far in the opposite direction: and the state is now hamstrung by its lack of a far-reaching voice that enables state agencies to counter the self-serving falsehoods that permeate media- houses: both print and electronic.
Perhaps the question we ought to ask, is: What has the NMC done all this while, for example, to stop political parties (across the spectrum!) from hijacking the parliament-of-the-airwaves, by paying sundry mercenary types – the so-called serial-callers – to do propaganda on FM radio stations on their behalf, on a daily basis: and in the process freezing out ordinary citizens from participating in current affairs discussion programmes on the over one hundred and twenty FM radio stations across our homeland Ghana? Kabral Blay-Amihere, as we all know, was in the trenches with other media heroes such as: the late Tommy Thompson of blessed memory; Kweku Baako ; and Kwesi Pratt , amongst many other patriotic citizens. I do not doubt that he sees his role in the NMC as a continuation of the fight that was fought in the past to protect the basic human rights of all Ghanaians. However, at a time when digital television can provide the State with an interactive digital platform to enable its agencies deal directly with each Ghanaian citizen, (and provide all Ghanaians with direct access to government ministries; departments ; agencies; as well as interact directly with all the district assemblies – all of which can be provided with their own interactive television channels – from the comfort of their own homes; educational institutions; businesses ; etc. etc.!), why leave the state media organizations under the control of the NMC, I ask?
In choosing the Director-General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), for example, the NMC, by definition, faces the almost impossible task of having to pick an apolitical figure (in the mould of Lord Reith of BBC fame!), who always ought to have the national interest at heart: as opposed to what will be advantageous for the political party that has his or her loyalty (if the NMC is truly and fairly discharging its true constitutional mandate, i.e.)? Who, in this country, does not remember the shameful way the website of the GBC was used by faceless individuals (with a secret agenda of their own!) to try to publicize false results of the run-off of the December 2008 presidential election? Why should a politically-biased individual, such as the gentleman who currently heads the GBC, for example, be allowed to strike one-sided commercial deals that are lucrative for private-sector entities, and which enables them piggy-back off the digital platform of GBC – an entity more or less entirely funded by the taxpayer – without the say so of the government of the day, which provides it with funds? Why repeat the daft Metro TV / GBC deal that enabled a few private individuals to use a frequency of the GBC to establish a television station, and enrich themselves at the GBC’s (and by extension, taxpayers’!) expense? How can it be that even law enforcement agencies investigating corrupt practices in that institution, cannot question the head of GBC without recourse to the NMC, I ask, dear reader? What then is the point of a board of directors for GBC if they have to get the NMC to discipline the head of the organisation they provide strategic direction for and ensure operates according to corporate good governance principles? How absurd! Let us take advantage of any review of the 1992 constitution to end this untenable situation once and for all. 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
Thursday, 17 June 2010
Re: “Daimler Admits Bribing Ghana Military”
What an interesting Thursday, 17 June 2010 www.ghanaweb.com general news web-page story, by Steve Manteaw – who writes from Washington D.C., the American capital. The question is: Why does the Public Agenda simply not contact Global Witness and the people behind "WikiLeaks" – who can use their British contacts to help unravel the ownership of Global Strategic Ventures Limited?
It is probably the Ghanaian subsidiary of an offshore special purpose vehicle set up by the crooks amongst those who used to rule us, either during the tenure of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) regime of Flt. Lt. Rawlings, or that of President Kufuor's New Patriotic Party (NPP), to receive their share of the kickbacks from Daimler-Benz! With respect, is it not extremely naive on the part of the Public Agenda, to think that the hirelings of those crooks will not hide details of the company lodged at the Registrar-General's Department: so as to protect them? Do they, after all, not work at the Registrar-General's Department, as a result of the munificence of yesteryear's powerful rogues? Hmmm, Ghana - enti yewieye paa enie? Asem ebaba debi anksa!
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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
It is probably the Ghanaian subsidiary of an offshore special purpose vehicle set up by the crooks amongst those who used to rule us, either during the tenure of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) regime of Flt. Lt. Rawlings, or that of President Kufuor's New Patriotic Party (NPP), to receive their share of the kickbacks from Daimler-Benz! With respect, is it not extremely naive on the part of the Public Agenda, to think that the hirelings of those crooks will not hide details of the company lodged at the Registrar-General's Department: so as to protect them? Do they, after all, not work at the Registrar-General's Department, as a result of the munificence of yesteryear's powerful rogues? Hmmm, Ghana - enti yewieye paa enie? Asem ebaba debi anksa!
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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
OFORI PANIN FIE: PLEASE ACT NOW TO STOP SOLAR MINING LIMITED!
Recently, there were news reports from Nigeria that hundreds of people had died from lead poisoning – resulting from contamination caused by the mining of gold in parts of the north of that country. I am pretty sure that if anyone had tried to discourage them from mining gold in that part of Nigeria, both the victims and their families would not have taken kindly to it in the slightest – which is the exact reaction of the poor villagers employed by Solar Mining at Akim Abuakwa Juaso: who were interviewed only last week by Mr. Paa Kwesi Nduom’s Today newspaper. The neglect of our natural heritage by officialdom is really shameful. A case in point: My jaw dropped, when a few days ago, an official of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) coolly informed me that it was not my place to complain to him about Solar Mining Limited’s illegal operations at Akim Abuakwa Juaso: and should leave it to the owner of the concession to do so.
The question I would like that genius to answer, dear reader, is: Why should I, whose family has farmed in the area since 1921 (from the colonial era!), and knows the ecology of the area far better than he possibly ever can, and understands perfectly the potential harm posed to the area’s underground water-table by the activities of Solar Mining Limited, not have the right to complain to the state agency specifically set up to protect the natural environment: and thus ensure a good quality of life for all Ghanaian citizens? Why should I do as he says I should – and rather leave it to Kibi Goldfields, the very entity that Solar Mining Limited is in league with, to carry out its unlawful operations, to do so: simply because in his considered opinion, it is for the owner of the concession (Kibi Goldfields, i.e. – which I know perfectly well is insolvent!), not me, to complain about Solar Mining's illegal activities? With respect, that is pure nonsense on bamboo stilts. Have the two parties not craftily got Solar Mining Limited to more or less reverse into the insolvent Kibi Goldfields – a procedural sleight of hand designed to outwit the regulatory authorities?
No doubt, when the next international climate-change confab takes place in Mexico, officials of his ilk will scramble to attend it – and media folk who know perfectly well that there are many super-wealthy criminals engaged in illegal gold mining across our country, will also scramble to join those selfsame officials to travel to Mexico at hapless taxpayers’ expense. Yet, many of them do not give a damn about the continued degradation of our natural heritage – and the devastating effect it will have on future generations of Ghanaians: who at the very least, also deserve to enjoy the same standard of living enjoyed by Ghanaians today, if not better. I have often wondered, dear reader, if it never occurs to the "royal" folk at Ofori Panin Fie, that if they do not act to protect Akim Abuakwa Juaso’s natural environment, one day, out of desperation, someone will make a video-recording of Solar Mining’s illegal operations at Akim Abuakwa Juaso; and go on to film the scores of massive tree stumps left as a result of the rampant illegal logging by chainsaw operators working for the wealthy criminal-syndicates operating in the area (both inside the official government forest reserve and the P. E. Thompson Estate’s 14 sq. mile freehold private property); and send it to Clarence House: to get the English royals who live there, to ask the hard-of-hearing "royals" in Ofori Panin Fie to act quickly to end the perfidy of the wealthy criminals engaged in illegal gold mining and illegal logging in that area. Will they please wake up from their deep slumber – and act before they are finally branded as ace-hypocrites by environmental activists across the globe: who are working hard, day and night, to raise funds for climate-change mitigation projects in the continent hardest hit by this man-made threat to humankind’s very survival on planet Earth? 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
The question I would like that genius to answer, dear reader, is: Why should I, whose family has farmed in the area since 1921 (from the colonial era!), and knows the ecology of the area far better than he possibly ever can, and understands perfectly the potential harm posed to the area’s underground water-table by the activities of Solar Mining Limited, not have the right to complain to the state agency specifically set up to protect the natural environment: and thus ensure a good quality of life for all Ghanaian citizens? Why should I do as he says I should – and rather leave it to Kibi Goldfields, the very entity that Solar Mining Limited is in league with, to carry out its unlawful operations, to do so: simply because in his considered opinion, it is for the owner of the concession (Kibi Goldfields, i.e. – which I know perfectly well is insolvent!), not me, to complain about Solar Mining's illegal activities? With respect, that is pure nonsense on bamboo stilts. Have the two parties not craftily got Solar Mining Limited to more or less reverse into the insolvent Kibi Goldfields – a procedural sleight of hand designed to outwit the regulatory authorities?
No doubt, when the next international climate-change confab takes place in Mexico, officials of his ilk will scramble to attend it – and media folk who know perfectly well that there are many super-wealthy criminals engaged in illegal gold mining across our country, will also scramble to join those selfsame officials to travel to Mexico at hapless taxpayers’ expense. Yet, many of them do not give a damn about the continued degradation of our natural heritage – and the devastating effect it will have on future generations of Ghanaians: who at the very least, also deserve to enjoy the same standard of living enjoyed by Ghanaians today, if not better. I have often wondered, dear reader, if it never occurs to the "royal" folk at Ofori Panin Fie, that if they do not act to protect Akim Abuakwa Juaso’s natural environment, one day, out of desperation, someone will make a video-recording of Solar Mining’s illegal operations at Akim Abuakwa Juaso; and go on to film the scores of massive tree stumps left as a result of the rampant illegal logging by chainsaw operators working for the wealthy criminal-syndicates operating in the area (both inside the official government forest reserve and the P. E. Thompson Estate’s 14 sq. mile freehold private property); and send it to Clarence House: to get the English royals who live there, to ask the hard-of-hearing "royals" in Ofori Panin Fie to act quickly to end the perfidy of the wealthy criminals engaged in illegal gold mining and illegal logging in that area. Will they please wake up from their deep slumber – and act before they are finally branded as ace-hypocrites by environmental activists across the globe: who are working hard, day and night, to raise funds for climate-change mitigation projects in the continent hardest hit by this man-made threat to humankind’s very survival on planet Earth? 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Stop The Scurrilous Politicking!
When Nana Akufo Addo was being unfairly accused of taking drugs during the campaign for the December 2008 presidential election, I wrote an article condemning those making those outrageous allegations.
I was incensed that for reasons of political expediency, unprincipled individuals were assassinating the character of a brave and decent human being, who had devoted his life to public service, and who rather than opting to live a life of luxury because of his wealth, had rather chosen to risk his life for his country: by twice going into the trenches, to join the fight to restore democracy to a Ghana tyrannized by despotic military rulers.
I did so as a matter of principle: For, I do not like Nana Akufo Addo’s Akan-dominated party, and its Akan tribal-supremacist antecedents. As an Nkrumaist, I detest a political party - some of whose Akan leadership have always secretly wanted Ghana to be a federal state, made up of the pre-colonial tribal entities – so that their tribal Chiefs will be able to regain their status as sovereigns: which they lost when their predecessors were colonized by the British occupiers of what eventually became known as the Gold Coast.
Dr. J.B. Danquah, as we all know, once arrogantly dismissed Nkrumah’s Convention People's Party (CPP) as a regime made up of “Ntafuo” and “varendah boys.” That disparaging remark by Danquah sums up perfectly the disdain the Danquah-Busia tradition has always had for non-Akans.
I was therefore scandalized when I heard the pure poison emanating from the airwaves of Choice FM on the evening of Saturday 12th June, 2010 – which was broadcasting a current affairs discussion programme, in which the recent unfortunate exchanges between Mr. Atto Awhoi and Mr. Herbert Mensah (about events during the campaign for the December 2008 presidential election) was being discussed by a number of obvious New Patriotic Party (NPP) supporters.
I immediately fired off a text message in protest to the producer of the programme, which I shall reproduce here: “Common decency demands that party supporters across the spectrum put aside politicking, remember their own humanity, and condemn those monstrous insinuations about the president’s state of mind. We must not say such things about even our worst enemies.”
We all watch and listen to the president on television, do we not, dear reader – so how can any sane mind think that a man with such a lucid mind is somehow mentally unwell? It says a lot about the nature of our nation's politics that even well-educated individuals and supposedly cultured individuals could say the kind of outrageous things that were said by those four individuals who were guests on the said Choice FM programme ("Ghana Speaks") that evening.
It is a real pity that people like that who ought to know better, were so lacking in compassion that Saturday evening.
How could such obviously intelligent individuals fail to see the political advantage they would have secured for their party, if they had stated that they were not going to follow the bad example of those who put themselves beyond the pale, when they said those horrid things about Nana Akufo-Addo during the campaign for the December 2008 presidential elections – and would not dignify the rubbish said about the president’s state of mind by seeking to make capital out of it: but would rather choose to condemn those who say such dreadful things about their fellow human beings just because it is politically expedient to do so.
I have also often wondered why intelligent people like that pretend that they are not aware of the effect in the real world, of dealing with a budget deficit: in order to secure the long-term future of a nation.
When they switch into their “enkoyie-mode” propaganda and go on endlessly about life in today’s Ghana under President Mills, are they not aware of the hardship facing citizens in even relatively prosperous nations such as Greece; Portugal; Spain; Ireland; the UK; France; Germany; and the US?
Are the governments of all those nations not more or less taking the same steps our government is taking to reduce that ghastly budget deficit left behind by their NPP regime – resulting in real hardship too for their citizens? Are some public servants in many of those nations not having their pay-packets reduced – with some doctors in Latvia, for example, having their pay reduced by as much as 70 percent?
Politicians in Ghana must end the scurrilous and self-serving politicking the engage in, on the airwaves of Ghana’s many FM radio stations – if they want to win the trust of ordinary people who truly love Mother Ghana, particularly the independent-minded swing-voters: whose crucial votes will decide who becomes president in December 2012.
Tel: (powered by Tigo – the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!) + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
I was incensed that for reasons of political expediency, unprincipled individuals were assassinating the character of a brave and decent human being, who had devoted his life to public service, and who rather than opting to live a life of luxury because of his wealth, had rather chosen to risk his life for his country: by twice going into the trenches, to join the fight to restore democracy to a Ghana tyrannized by despotic military rulers.
I did so as a matter of principle: For, I do not like Nana Akufo Addo’s Akan-dominated party, and its Akan tribal-supremacist antecedents. As an Nkrumaist, I detest a political party - some of whose Akan leadership have always secretly wanted Ghana to be a federal state, made up of the pre-colonial tribal entities – so that their tribal Chiefs will be able to regain their status as sovereigns: which they lost when their predecessors were colonized by the British occupiers of what eventually became known as the Gold Coast.
Dr. J.B. Danquah, as we all know, once arrogantly dismissed Nkrumah’s Convention People's Party (CPP) as a regime made up of “Ntafuo” and “varendah boys.” That disparaging remark by Danquah sums up perfectly the disdain the Danquah-Busia tradition has always had for non-Akans.
I was therefore scandalized when I heard the pure poison emanating from the airwaves of Choice FM on the evening of Saturday 12th June, 2010 – which was broadcasting a current affairs discussion programme, in which the recent unfortunate exchanges between Mr. Atto Awhoi and Mr. Herbert Mensah (about events during the campaign for the December 2008 presidential election) was being discussed by a number of obvious New Patriotic Party (NPP) supporters.
I immediately fired off a text message in protest to the producer of the programme, which I shall reproduce here: “Common decency demands that party supporters across the spectrum put aside politicking, remember their own humanity, and condemn those monstrous insinuations about the president’s state of mind. We must not say such things about even our worst enemies.”
We all watch and listen to the president on television, do we not, dear reader – so how can any sane mind think that a man with such a lucid mind is somehow mentally unwell? It says a lot about the nature of our nation's politics that even well-educated individuals and supposedly cultured individuals could say the kind of outrageous things that were said by those four individuals who were guests on the said Choice FM programme ("Ghana Speaks") that evening.
It is a real pity that people like that who ought to know better, were so lacking in compassion that Saturday evening.
How could such obviously intelligent individuals fail to see the political advantage they would have secured for their party, if they had stated that they were not going to follow the bad example of those who put themselves beyond the pale, when they said those horrid things about Nana Akufo-Addo during the campaign for the December 2008 presidential elections – and would not dignify the rubbish said about the president’s state of mind by seeking to make capital out of it: but would rather choose to condemn those who say such dreadful things about their fellow human beings just because it is politically expedient to do so.
I have also often wondered why intelligent people like that pretend that they are not aware of the effect in the real world, of dealing with a budget deficit: in order to secure the long-term future of a nation.
When they switch into their “enkoyie-mode” propaganda and go on endlessly about life in today’s Ghana under President Mills, are they not aware of the hardship facing citizens in even relatively prosperous nations such as Greece; Portugal; Spain; Ireland; the UK; France; Germany; and the US?
Are the governments of all those nations not more or less taking the same steps our government is taking to reduce that ghastly budget deficit left behind by their NPP regime – resulting in real hardship too for their citizens? Are some public servants in many of those nations not having their pay-packets reduced – with some doctors in Latvia, for example, having their pay reduced by as much as 70 percent?
Politicians in Ghana must end the scurrilous and self-serving politicking the engage in, on the airwaves of Ghana’s many FM radio stations – if they want to win the trust of ordinary people who truly love Mother Ghana, particularly the independent-minded swing-voters: whose crucial votes will decide who becomes president in December 2012.
Tel: (powered by Tigo – the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!) + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Saturday, 12 June 2010
THE NDC MUST UNITE BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!
Ghanaian politicians are such a strange breed. Why, dear reader, is a political party that spent eight painful years in the political wilderness after losing power in December 2000, now busy tearing itself apart – having finally succeeded in returning to power once again, against great odds? With the benefit of hindsight, it was a stroke of genius on the part of President Rawlings to pick Professor Mills as his chosen successor, when he did. For, in deciding against picking some of the more prominent members of his regime at the time of the “Swedru Declaration,” he prepared the ground for the eventual victory of his party, in the December 2008 presidential election. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) won the December 2008 presidential election because a majority of the so-called “floating-voters,” those independent-minded and patriotic Ghanaians who think only of the national interest (as opposed to what will benefit political parties and those who wield power: as well as their family and friends!), had become thoroughly fed-up with the unacceptable level of corruption in the country, during the latter stages of the tenure of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Those independent-minded patriots ordinarily would never have considered voting for a political party said to have been founded by Flt. Lt. J.J. Rawlings – a man a majority of them loathe and despise: for continuing to insist that democracy is unsuitable for Africa. Yet, a majority did so when faced with the possibility of Ghana remaining in the iron grip of the profligate Kufuor & Co. – a powerful and greedy clique that still wields enormous power in the NPP. For this type of nationalistic Ghanaian, the bickering within the NDC is hard to fathom. In their view, the NDC was returned to power solely because of Professor Mills’ personal integrity. They believed that under a President Mills, the national interest, and not the greedy ambitions of a politically well-connected few, would be what determined every government policy. Why, then , dear reader, do the various factions in the NDC not unite, to enable the Mills regime continue maintaining the support of this vital group of Ghanaians: whose crucial swing- votes won them power in December 2008? Do they not understand that precious few swing-voters will vote for the NDC again if it were to put up a candidate other than President Mills, for the December 2012 presidential election, if he was still alive and not incapacitated in any way?
If those who now lead the NDC are wise, they will patch up their differences as quickly as they possibly can – for no discerning voter likes to have a political party that is torn apart by factionalism running the enterprise Ghana. Clearly, Nana Konadu Agyemang Konadu is a very competent individual and perfect material for a ministerial position – and ought to be given one. The same thing can also be said of Dr. Spio Garbrah – who also deserves a ministerial post: especially when one considers the fact that the geniuses who are supposed to tell Ghanaians the positive “narrative” of the Mills administrations’ considerable achievements, in the face of great odds, are sadly unconvincing: when attempting to tell Ghanaians that very positive narrative. It would make perfect sense to have a world-class individual such as Spio Garbrah put in charge of a new ministry that combines the work currently done by the Ministry of Information and that of the Ministry of Communications.
The brilliant young Haruna Iddrisu ought to be dispatched up north to help bring peace to that part of our country and replace Mark Wayongo – who ought to be got rid of for his archaic and unacceptable fund-raising methods: at a time when imaginative and creative political parties can easily leverage the text-applications of the mobile phone networks to raise zillions from their supporters worldwide, without any future legal complications. Letting Spio Garbrah and Nana Kunadu into the government may be painful and unpalatable to the powerful individuals who now have President Mills’ ear – but for the sake of their own party and that of Mother Ghana, they must let bygones be bygones: and unite to keep the quislings and lackeys of foreign commercial interests in the NPP out of power, in December 2012: and beyond. If they fail to do so, both the so-called “Rawlings faction” and those in the NDC who are said to be behind President Mills in this most unedifying of political party squabbles, can look forward to at least another decade in the political wilderness, after December 2012. 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
Those independent-minded patriots ordinarily would never have considered voting for a political party said to have been founded by Flt. Lt. J.J. Rawlings – a man a majority of them loathe and despise: for continuing to insist that democracy is unsuitable for Africa. Yet, a majority did so when faced with the possibility of Ghana remaining in the iron grip of the profligate Kufuor & Co. – a powerful and greedy clique that still wields enormous power in the NPP. For this type of nationalistic Ghanaian, the bickering within the NDC is hard to fathom. In their view, the NDC was returned to power solely because of Professor Mills’ personal integrity. They believed that under a President Mills, the national interest, and not the greedy ambitions of a politically well-connected few, would be what determined every government policy. Why, then , dear reader, do the various factions in the NDC not unite, to enable the Mills regime continue maintaining the support of this vital group of Ghanaians: whose crucial swing- votes won them power in December 2008? Do they not understand that precious few swing-voters will vote for the NDC again if it were to put up a candidate other than President Mills, for the December 2012 presidential election, if he was still alive and not incapacitated in any way?
If those who now lead the NDC are wise, they will patch up their differences as quickly as they possibly can – for no discerning voter likes to have a political party that is torn apart by factionalism running the enterprise Ghana. Clearly, Nana Konadu Agyemang Konadu is a very competent individual and perfect material for a ministerial position – and ought to be given one. The same thing can also be said of Dr. Spio Garbrah – who also deserves a ministerial post: especially when one considers the fact that the geniuses who are supposed to tell Ghanaians the positive “narrative” of the Mills administrations’ considerable achievements, in the face of great odds, are sadly unconvincing: when attempting to tell Ghanaians that very positive narrative. It would make perfect sense to have a world-class individual such as Spio Garbrah put in charge of a new ministry that combines the work currently done by the Ministry of Information and that of the Ministry of Communications.
The brilliant young Haruna Iddrisu ought to be dispatched up north to help bring peace to that part of our country and replace Mark Wayongo – who ought to be got rid of for his archaic and unacceptable fund-raising methods: at a time when imaginative and creative political parties can easily leverage the text-applications of the mobile phone networks to raise zillions from their supporters worldwide, without any future legal complications. Letting Spio Garbrah and Nana Kunadu into the government may be painful and unpalatable to the powerful individuals who now have President Mills’ ear – but for the sake of their own party and that of Mother Ghana, they must let bygones be bygones: and unite to keep the quislings and lackeys of foreign commercial interests in the NPP out of power, in December 2012: and beyond. If they fail to do so, both the so-called “Rawlings faction” and those in the NDC who are said to be behind President Mills in this most unedifying of political party squabbles, can look forward to at least another decade in the political wilderness, after December 2012. 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
Email To Alba Amoo-Gottfried
Many thanks, Ohemaa. I do listen to the BBC African Service’s “Story, story" from time to time, as a matter of fact. I must say you really are brilliant – endowed with so many talents!
Well, no need to sound so apologetic – you did say you were pretty busy: and as we all know, woman (and man, too!) must live, so...
You are very kind: Thanks for your encouraging words about my writing. I am afraid I have lost faith in the future of our nation: I am currently fighting a losing battle against a respectable gentleman who in reality is more or less a super-wealthy criminal – who does not have a mining permit from the EPA, yet is mining gold at Akim Abaukwa Juaso, in defiance of the authorities.
The village is part of an area designated a Globally Significant Biodiversity Area (GSBA) – yet, officialdom sits in air-conditioned comfort in Accra – oblivious of the threat that that clever criminal's activities pose to the well-being of Ghanaians and their country, at a time of global climate change. Hmmm, life...
Sadly for me, I have had to suspend the idea of publishing my blog, for the moment. My landlady (God bless her!), who has the patience of a saint, has had enough – and is now threatening to throw me out of my house: if I don’t pay her the huge sum due her from me. I will revive the book project when I do the decent thing and settle matters with that marvelous landlady of mine – who I am ashamed to say, I have treated so shabbily, in not paying her what is due her. Hmmm, life…
Anyway Ohemaa, thanks once again for keeping in touch: as you promised you would. So rare to find a Ghanaian actually keeping his or her word. Hmmm, Ghana - eyeasem oo!
Best Wishes,
Kofi.
Well, no need to sound so apologetic – you did say you were pretty busy: and as we all know, woman (and man, too!) must live, so...
You are very kind: Thanks for your encouraging words about my writing. I am afraid I have lost faith in the future of our nation: I am currently fighting a losing battle against a respectable gentleman who in reality is more or less a super-wealthy criminal – who does not have a mining permit from the EPA, yet is mining gold at Akim Abaukwa Juaso, in defiance of the authorities.
The village is part of an area designated a Globally Significant Biodiversity Area (GSBA) – yet, officialdom sits in air-conditioned comfort in Accra – oblivious of the threat that that clever criminal's activities pose to the well-being of Ghanaians and their country, at a time of global climate change. Hmmm, life...
Sadly for me, I have had to suspend the idea of publishing my blog, for the moment. My landlady (God bless her!), who has the patience of a saint, has had enough – and is now threatening to throw me out of my house: if I don’t pay her the huge sum due her from me. I will revive the book project when I do the decent thing and settle matters with that marvelous landlady of mine – who I am ashamed to say, I have treated so shabbily, in not paying her what is due her. Hmmm, life…
Anyway Ohemaa, thanks once again for keeping in touch: as you promised you would. So rare to find a Ghanaian actually keeping his or her word. Hmmm, Ghana - eyeasem oo!
Best Wishes,
Kofi.
Tuesday, 8 June 2010
Re: "Why Vodafone CEO Quit"
What an interesting Monday, June 9 2010 http://www.ghanaweb.com/ news web-page story by Livingstone Pay Charlie. Perhaps the question discerning Ghanaians ought to ask about this outrageous story is: What precisely are the geniuses who now rule Ghana doing about such wanton profligacy at Vodafone? Why do the powers that be not insist that the company purchases vehicles for its over-pampered expatriate staff – as well as buys houses at Cantonments or La Wireless for them: so that the company saves the huge sums currently being expended on renting vehicles and paying for serviced-apartments and hotel rooms: just to enrich a few politically well-connected individuals associated with our corrupt previous rulers?
What, dear reader, do our present rulers also have to say about that egregious example of financial-engineering-skullduggery, which the lease-back arrangement structured for the disposal of the masts of Vodafone represents? Is this financial equivalent of a sleight of hand not another crooked deal by foreign carpetbaggers, made possible by insider-dealing at Vodafone – and which puts money into corrupt private pockets at Ghana’s expense, yet again? If those in government who told the world they were going to “re-engage” Vodafone do not want to be accused of being spineless leaders, then they had better ensure that regular audits are carried out at short intervals (by the Auditor-General) – to protect Ghana’s hapless taxpayers from another bunch of rapacious foreigners: brought into this country by foolish and short-sighted politicians to rip our country off in another “chop-Ghana-small” privatization deal. Hmmm, Ghana – eyeasem oo: Enti yewieye paa enie? Asem 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
What, dear reader, do our present rulers also have to say about that egregious example of financial-engineering-skullduggery, which the lease-back arrangement structured for the disposal of the masts of Vodafone represents? Is this financial equivalent of a sleight of hand not another crooked deal by foreign carpetbaggers, made possible by insider-dealing at Vodafone – and which puts money into corrupt private pockets at Ghana’s expense, yet again? If those in government who told the world they were going to “re-engage” Vodafone do not want to be accused of being spineless leaders, then they had better ensure that regular audits are carried out at short intervals (by the Auditor-General) – to protect Ghana’s hapless taxpayers from another bunch of rapacious foreigners: brought into this country by foolish and short-sighted politicians to rip our country off in another “chop-Ghana-small” privatization deal. Hmmm, Ghana – eyeasem oo: Enti yewieye paa enie? Asem 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
OPEN LETTER TO FRENCH TAXPAYERS!
Fellow citizens of the planet Earth, I salute you. I wish to bring to your attention, a matter that ought to be of great concern to all the taxpayers of France – especially as your government, like almost all the governments in the European Union (EU), is now making deep cuts in public spending, which is ushering in an era of austerity for all the citizens of the EU: and impoverishing all of you in the process. A few years ago, your government made available a grant of some thirty million euros to the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) regime, which used to rule Ghana – before it was voted out of office in December 2008: by a people fed up with the exploitation of their nation’s economy for the personal benefit of a greedy and corrupt ruling elite.
The money was meant for the digital registration and issuance of identity cards to Ghanaian citizens and foreign residents in Ghana. Naturally, a French ICT company was to benefit handsomely from the grant – by providing Ghana’s National Identification Authority (NIA) with an ICT-solution to facilitate its work. The money was to be paid into an escrow account – so as to ring-fence it from other donor funds meant for various projects in Ghana. To the astonishment of the whole country, we were told a few months ago, that the previous government never paid the said money into any escrow account – and as we speak, the work of the NIA has ground to a halt: because it has run out money.
Ghanaians are fed up with the constant siphoning off of state funds by corrupt politicians and public officials – and appeal to you to demand that your government suspends all aid to Ghana: until the members of the previous regime responsible for the ‘disappearance’ of the French grant meant for the NIA, give a full explanation of precisely what they did with the said thirty million euros. We would also be grateful if you could put pressure on your government to lobby the rest of the governments of the member-states of the EU, to suspend all bilateral aid to Ghana, as well as multilateral grants from the EU to our country: until a satisfactory response is given to France about the whereabouts of the said grant. Many thanks in advance and regards to you all!
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 smartfone: + 233 (0)30 2976238.
The money was meant for the digital registration and issuance of identity cards to Ghanaian citizens and foreign residents in Ghana. Naturally, a French ICT company was to benefit handsomely from the grant – by providing Ghana’s National Identification Authority (NIA) with an ICT-solution to facilitate its work. The money was to be paid into an escrow account – so as to ring-fence it from other donor funds meant for various projects in Ghana. To the astonishment of the whole country, we were told a few months ago, that the previous government never paid the said money into any escrow account – and as we speak, the work of the NIA has ground to a halt: because it has run out money.
Ghanaians are fed up with the constant siphoning off of state funds by corrupt politicians and public officials – and appeal to you to demand that your government suspends all aid to Ghana: until the members of the previous regime responsible for the ‘disappearance’ of the French grant meant for the NIA, give a full explanation of precisely what they did with the said thirty million euros. We would also be grateful if you could put pressure on your government to lobby the rest of the governments of the member-states of the EU, to suspend all bilateral aid to Ghana, as well as multilateral grants from the EU to our country: until a satisfactory response is given to France about the whereabouts of the said grant. Many thanks in advance and regards to you all!
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 smartfone: + 233 (0)30 2976238.
Monday, 31 May 2010
Re: "Nana Addo's Girl Grabs Ghana Airways Asset"
Most interesting story from today's edition of The Enquirer.
Hmm, Ghana – eyeasem o. It appears that a majority of the most vociferous of the supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), are individuals who benefitted materially, from the patronage of those who controlled that party when it held power.
The question is: Are they now engaged in NPP propaganda for purely self-serving reasons?
Perchance are they using love of country as a cloak to hide past perfidy in joining in the brutal gang-rape of Mother Ghana - during the greed-filled golden age of business for Kufour & Co?
Wonders will never end: Amazingly, it now emerges that even “Little-Miss-Perfect”, Ursula Owusu, also bought a Ghana Airways property, too.
Is that why she is currently working so hard disseminating NPP propaganda on the airwaves of FM radio stations - in order, no doubt, to get her party back in power again: and perhaps be in a position to increase her personal net worth yet further, again?
Yet another example of such self-seeking-deviousness, dressed up as patriotism, is Mr. Asamoah-Boateng, the former information minister.
He has conveniently forgotten his unbriddled nepotism whiles he was a minister in President Kufuor's NPP regime - that has today landed him in the law courts: over a renovation contract awarded to an entity in which his wife apparently had an interest whiles he was at the information ministry.
No doubt, if that most loquacious of NPP politicians, had succeeded in escaping to the UK, as he had wanted to, not too long after his party lost power, he would have sought political asylum there.
And today, he too would doubtless be shouting himself hoarse on the airwaves of FM radio stations from his base in faraway Britain, shamelessly criticizing President Mills’ regime unfairly - like all the other NPP self-seekers of old.
Such is life in today’s Ghana. Hmmm, Ghana – enti ye ewieye paa, enie? Asem ebaba debi ankasa!
Tel (powered by Tigo – the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Hmm, Ghana – eyeasem o. It appears that a majority of the most vociferous of the supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), are individuals who benefitted materially, from the patronage of those who controlled that party when it held power.
The question is: Are they now engaged in NPP propaganda for purely self-serving reasons?
Perchance are they using love of country as a cloak to hide past perfidy in joining in the brutal gang-rape of Mother Ghana - during the greed-filled golden age of business for Kufour & Co?
Wonders will never end: Amazingly, it now emerges that even “Little-Miss-Perfect”, Ursula Owusu, also bought a Ghana Airways property, too.
Is that why she is currently working so hard disseminating NPP propaganda on the airwaves of FM radio stations - in order, no doubt, to get her party back in power again: and perhaps be in a position to increase her personal net worth yet further, again?
Yet another example of such self-seeking-deviousness, dressed up as patriotism, is Mr. Asamoah-Boateng, the former information minister.
He has conveniently forgotten his unbriddled nepotism whiles he was a minister in President Kufuor's NPP regime - that has today landed him in the law courts: over a renovation contract awarded to an entity in which his wife apparently had an interest whiles he was at the information ministry.
No doubt, if that most loquacious of NPP politicians, had succeeded in escaping to the UK, as he had wanted to, not too long after his party lost power, he would have sought political asylum there.
And today, he too would doubtless be shouting himself hoarse on the airwaves of FM radio stations from his base in faraway Britain, shamelessly criticizing President Mills’ regime unfairly - like all the other NPP self-seekers of old.
Such is life in today’s Ghana. Hmmm, Ghana – enti ye ewieye paa, enie? Asem ebaba debi ankasa!
Tel (powered by Tigo – the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
OPEN LETTER TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE EPA
Sir, over the past two years, we have sought the help of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in halting the activities of Solar Mining Limited, which is operating illegally in Akim Abuakwa Juaso. Despite the personal intervention of the deputy minister at the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, and the fact that officers from your mining department have twice ordered the company to cease operating, that company continues to defy the authority of the Ghanaian nation-state.
Knowing how delicate the ecology of an area that has been designated a Globally Significant Biodiversity Area (GSBA), is, we do not see how any environmental impact assessment carried out in the area, can possibly result in the issuance of a mining permit to Solar Mining Limited, or any other gold mining entity. We therefore appeal to you to act to prosecute the company for destroying part of an area that is ecologically sensitive, and provides valuable ecosystem services necessary for the well-being of our nation and its people, at a time of global climate change.
We hope that through your good offices, we will finally see the end of what is the environmental equivalent of a dreadful nightmare - and that an area that contains the headwaters of the threee river systems (the Ayensu River; the Densu River; and the Birim River) on which most of urban Ghana depends on for its driking-water supply, is fully protected. We look forward to hearing from you soon – and thank you in advance for your help in resolving this urgent matter. Best wishes and regards.
Knowing how delicate the ecology of an area that has been designated a Globally Significant Biodiversity Area (GSBA), is, we do not see how any environmental impact assessment carried out in the area, can possibly result in the issuance of a mining permit to Solar Mining Limited, or any other gold mining entity. We therefore appeal to you to act to prosecute the company for destroying part of an area that is ecologically sensitive, and provides valuable ecosystem services necessary for the well-being of our nation and its people, at a time of global climate change.
We hope that through your good offices, we will finally see the end of what is the environmental equivalent of a dreadful nightmare - and that an area that contains the headwaters of the threee river systems (the Ayensu River; the Densu River; and the Birim River) on which most of urban Ghana depends on for its driking-water supply, is fully protected. We look forward to hearing from you soon – and thank you in advance for your help in resolving this urgent matter. Best wishes and regards.
Sunday, 9 May 2010
Cheating The Good People Of Ghana Has Consequences!
I was flabbergasted by the breathtaking arrogance displayed by Mr. Sammy Crabbe, during a radio discussion programme on Choice FM, broadcast on the evening of Saturday, 8th May, 2010, and hosted by a Mr. Carlos von Brazi.
Apparently he was reacting to something Dr. Tony Aidoo had said earlier that day on Radio Gold.
I did not listen to Dr. Tony Aidoo on Radio Gold – but it will be recalled that rather than invite reputable international carriers, such as Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Airlines, to partner Ghana in setting up a new national carrier, to replace Ghana Airways, the Kufour regime rather chose a group of Americans who neither owned a scheduled airline, nor possessed a single aircraft.
Many discerning minds predicted at the time that the venture would end in tears – as it simply did not make commercial sense.
I am pretty sure that no patriotic Ghanaian who opposed that daft deal, which brought Ghana International Airlines (GIA) into being, and who had the misfortune of listening to that Choice FM programme, would have failed to be outraged by the arrogance of Mr. Sammy Crabbe, on the aforementioned Saturday.
Incredibly, it seemed to escape him completely that the good people of Ghana would never have allowed the New Patriotic Party (NPP) regime to liquidate Ghana Airways, if they had had the slightest inkling, that by the end of the tenure of the Kufuor regime, taxpayers would be subsidizing the airline by as much as US$1.5 millions per month.
That is why many today find it intolerable that a genius like him, participating in a radio discussion programme, as “a minority shareholder” of GIA, can have the effrontery to taunt some of the people of Bunkpuruguyoyo; show utter contempt for the government of the day, and seek to give the false impression that has gained currency abroad that businesspeople in Ghana are being harassed by the present regime - all because he is standing trial as a result of his alleged underhand dealings in connection with the selfsame GIA.
Perhaps it is time someone told people of that ilk a few home truths. First of all, during the run-off of the December 2008 presidential election, we all heard a tape-recording played on Radio Gold FM, of a conversation in which Mr. Atta Akyea and Alhaji Malik Yakubu Alhassan, talked about the importance of having a "right judge" sit in a case that was of interest to their party, then.
I do not recall ever hearing him complaining that it was not right that that sort of thing went on, throughout the period his party held power. Just where is principle in all that, I ask, dear reader?
Secondly, it is a fact that leading capitalist nations such as the U.K. and the U.S.A., always prosecute even errant blue-chip companies such as Goldman Sachs, Daimler-Benz, and British Aerospace - in order to ensure the integrity of free markets and maintain confidence in the capitalist system.
In the same vein, far from making Ghana unattractive to reputable foreign investors, the prosecution of corrupt and dishonest businesspeople in our country, whose business activities are not underpinned by corporate good governance principles, and are at variance with the concept and ethos of transparency, will rather send a clear signal to the international community that the people and government of Ghana, are serious about eradicating corruption from our national life.
The Sammy Crabbes of this world must also know that it is no secret that some individuals in Ghana’s financial services sector (who prospered mightily during the golden age of business for Kufuor & Co.!), are the very sources whose input is sought by overseas analysts and results in most of those negative stories about Ghana that appear in the Western media (one of which the smug Mr. Crabbe took great pleasure in mentioning on Choice FM).
No one who “chopped Ghana small” during the tenure of the NPP, will succeed in getting away with the crime of exploiting our national economy for their personal benefit. That is called justice – not witch-hunting.
Cheating the people of Ghana has consequences – and all the members of our political class must understand that clearly. Period.
If Mr. Sammy Crabbe knows that he has a clear conscience, he should hold his peace – and let the law take its course: and be cleared of the charges against him in the law courts.
Finally, he accused his critics of being envious of his "success." The trouble about Ghana's the-end-justifies-the-means-brigade - whose blinkered world-view created the dog-eat-dog selfishness culture of the Kufuor era: with greed-for-money as its common currency - is that they forget that not every one is driven by unfathomable greed.
The question is: With so many well-bred individuals who hail from Chorkor, around town (and whose salt-of-the-earth goodness can inspire one, so), why would anyone envy a quintessential philistine like him?
Let him learn to be a tad more humble – if he wants the world's sympathy. Above all, he must understand clearly that cheating the good people of Ghana, definitely has consequences.
Tel (powered by Tigo – the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works! ): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Apparently he was reacting to something Dr. Tony Aidoo had said earlier that day on Radio Gold.
I did not listen to Dr. Tony Aidoo on Radio Gold – but it will be recalled that rather than invite reputable international carriers, such as Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Airlines, to partner Ghana in setting up a new national carrier, to replace Ghana Airways, the Kufour regime rather chose a group of Americans who neither owned a scheduled airline, nor possessed a single aircraft.
Many discerning minds predicted at the time that the venture would end in tears – as it simply did not make commercial sense.
I am pretty sure that no patriotic Ghanaian who opposed that daft deal, which brought Ghana International Airlines (GIA) into being, and who had the misfortune of listening to that Choice FM programme, would have failed to be outraged by the arrogance of Mr. Sammy Crabbe, on the aforementioned Saturday.
Incredibly, it seemed to escape him completely that the good people of Ghana would never have allowed the New Patriotic Party (NPP) regime to liquidate Ghana Airways, if they had had the slightest inkling, that by the end of the tenure of the Kufuor regime, taxpayers would be subsidizing the airline by as much as US$1.5 millions per month.
That is why many today find it intolerable that a genius like him, participating in a radio discussion programme, as “a minority shareholder” of GIA, can have the effrontery to taunt some of the people of Bunkpuruguyoyo; show utter contempt for the government of the day, and seek to give the false impression that has gained currency abroad that businesspeople in Ghana are being harassed by the present regime - all because he is standing trial as a result of his alleged underhand dealings in connection with the selfsame GIA.
Perhaps it is time someone told people of that ilk a few home truths. First of all, during the run-off of the December 2008 presidential election, we all heard a tape-recording played on Radio Gold FM, of a conversation in which Mr. Atta Akyea and Alhaji Malik Yakubu Alhassan, talked about the importance of having a "right judge" sit in a case that was of interest to their party, then.
I do not recall ever hearing him complaining that it was not right that that sort of thing went on, throughout the period his party held power. Just where is principle in all that, I ask, dear reader?
Secondly, it is a fact that leading capitalist nations such as the U.K. and the U.S.A., always prosecute even errant blue-chip companies such as Goldman Sachs, Daimler-Benz, and British Aerospace - in order to ensure the integrity of free markets and maintain confidence in the capitalist system.
In the same vein, far from making Ghana unattractive to reputable foreign investors, the prosecution of corrupt and dishonest businesspeople in our country, whose business activities are not underpinned by corporate good governance principles, and are at variance with the concept and ethos of transparency, will rather send a clear signal to the international community that the people and government of Ghana, are serious about eradicating corruption from our national life.
The Sammy Crabbes of this world must also know that it is no secret that some individuals in Ghana’s financial services sector (who prospered mightily during the golden age of business for Kufuor & Co.!), are the very sources whose input is sought by overseas analysts and results in most of those negative stories about Ghana that appear in the Western media (one of which the smug Mr. Crabbe took great pleasure in mentioning on Choice FM).
No one who “chopped Ghana small” during the tenure of the NPP, will succeed in getting away with the crime of exploiting our national economy for their personal benefit. That is called justice – not witch-hunting.
Cheating the people of Ghana has consequences – and all the members of our political class must understand that clearly. Period.
If Mr. Sammy Crabbe knows that he has a clear conscience, he should hold his peace – and let the law take its course: and be cleared of the charges against him in the law courts.
Finally, he accused his critics of being envious of his "success." The trouble about Ghana's the-end-justifies-the-means-brigade - whose blinkered world-view created the dog-eat-dog selfishness culture of the Kufuor era: with greed-for-money as its common currency - is that they forget that not every one is driven by unfathomable greed.
The question is: With so many well-bred individuals who hail from Chorkor, around town (and whose salt-of-the-earth goodness can inspire one, so), why would anyone envy a quintessential philistine like him?
Let him learn to be a tad more humble – if he wants the world's sympathy. Above all, he must understand clearly that cheating the good people of Ghana, definitely has consequences.
Tel (powered by Tigo – the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works! ): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Saturday, 8 May 2010
THE NPP MUST CHANGE FOR THE BETTER!
A.E.B. Danquah, who later became the Okyenhene, Nana Ofori Atta 1, in 1912, was a sergeant in the British volunteer force that defeated the Asantes, when the British finally subjugated and colonized the Asante Confederacy in 1900.
Years later, however, when Nkrumah appeared on the scene during the struggle for independence, the Akyem Abuakwa State struck an alliance with its Asante rival – to ensure that the pre-colonial feudal elite, not Nkrumah, would eventually replace the departing colonial occupiers of the Gold Coast.
Consequently, they took the side of the British colonial administration, against Nkrumah, during the fight for independence.
When the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) finally fell apart, after Nkrumah left it, and helped set up the Convention People's Party (CPP), their followers eventually established the National Liberation Movement (NLM) – and used it as the new vehicle to continue the fight against Nkrumah and his followers.
It was a marriage of convenience between two traditional rivals, with the sole objective of physically eliminating Nkrumah and removing him from the political scene - to enable the pre-colonial ruling elite dominate Ghanaian society in a post-independence federation of sovereign tribal entities.
It appears that nothing has changed – as tribal-supremacist hardliners in both Manhyia and Ofori Panin Fie, maneuvere in a high-stakes political-poker game, to put their anointed candidate in pole position for the race to elect the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) candidate for the December 2012 presidential election.
It has revived a bitter ancient rivalry that is dividing the NPP – as both sides seek a return to the Kufuor-era days of feudal-privilege that will benefit their side!
Readers will recall that under President Kufuor, the old NLM agenda of the revival of the feudal power of the pre-colonial ruling elite, was finally achieved by stealth through the backdoor - and the entire machinery of state of Nkrumah’s Ghana was used to fan the considerable egos of traditional rulers afflicted by megalomania and driven by unfathomable greed.
The de-tribalized and cosmopolitan Asantes and Akyems in the NNP must put their foot down. Luckily, they outnumber their bigoted fellow-tribesmen in the NPP. Thank God!
They also understand perfectly that inherited privilege is the greatest enemy of meritocracy - and that Ghanaians must therefore not tolerate it under any circumstances: in a nation that aspires to become an African equivalent of the egalitarian societies of Scandinavia.
That is why they must wrest control of the NPP from the clutches of the small but powerful group of Akan tribal-supremacists that now dominates the NPP, and think that dominating Ghana permanently, is their birthright. Pure nonsense on bamboo stilts .
The NPP's de-tribalized Asantes and Akyems must work hard to find a suitable non-Akan compromise candidate, who will be proof to all Ghanaians that the NPP is not a vehicle for a few Akan tribal-supremacists (and their lackeys) to win power, and use it to exploit our national economy for themselves, their family clans, and their cronies - as happened during the years of corruption and nepotism that became the golden age of business for Kufuor & Co.
One hopes that they will have the courage to do so – and ignore the absurd inanities of Dr. Nyaho Tamakloe about the critics of Akan tribal-supremacists. Does that well-educated sod not understand that tribal-supremacists exist in all the palaces of traditional rulers across our country, I ask, dear reader?
The NPP must rid itself of the baleful influence of the Akan tribal-supremacists who now dominate it - if it wants to win power again in Ghana. 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 later, however, when Nkrumah appeared on the scene during the struggle for independence, the Akyem Abuakwa State struck an alliance with its Asante rival – to ensure that the pre-colonial feudal elite, not Nkrumah, would eventually replace the departing colonial occupiers of the Gold Coast.
Consequently, they took the side of the British colonial administration, against Nkrumah, during the fight for independence.
When the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) finally fell apart, after Nkrumah left it, and helped set up the Convention People's Party (CPP), their followers eventually established the National Liberation Movement (NLM) – and used it as the new vehicle to continue the fight against Nkrumah and his followers.
It was a marriage of convenience between two traditional rivals, with the sole objective of physically eliminating Nkrumah and removing him from the political scene - to enable the pre-colonial ruling elite dominate Ghanaian society in a post-independence federation of sovereign tribal entities.
It appears that nothing has changed – as tribal-supremacist hardliners in both Manhyia and Ofori Panin Fie, maneuvere in a high-stakes political-poker game, to put their anointed candidate in pole position for the race to elect the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) candidate for the December 2012 presidential election.
It has revived a bitter ancient rivalry that is dividing the NPP – as both sides seek a return to the Kufuor-era days of feudal-privilege that will benefit their side!
Readers will recall that under President Kufuor, the old NLM agenda of the revival of the feudal power of the pre-colonial ruling elite, was finally achieved by stealth through the backdoor - and the entire machinery of state of Nkrumah’s Ghana was used to fan the considerable egos of traditional rulers afflicted by megalomania and driven by unfathomable greed.
The de-tribalized and cosmopolitan Asantes and Akyems in the NNP must put their foot down. Luckily, they outnumber their bigoted fellow-tribesmen in the NPP. Thank God!
They also understand perfectly that inherited privilege is the greatest enemy of meritocracy - and that Ghanaians must therefore not tolerate it under any circumstances: in a nation that aspires to become an African equivalent of the egalitarian societies of Scandinavia.
That is why they must wrest control of the NPP from the clutches of the small but powerful group of Akan tribal-supremacists that now dominates the NPP, and think that dominating Ghana permanently, is their birthright. Pure nonsense on bamboo stilts .
The NPP's de-tribalized Asantes and Akyems must work hard to find a suitable non-Akan compromise candidate, who will be proof to all Ghanaians that the NPP is not a vehicle for a few Akan tribal-supremacists (and their lackeys) to win power, and use it to exploit our national economy for themselves, their family clans, and their cronies - as happened during the years of corruption and nepotism that became the golden age of business for Kufuor & Co.
One hopes that they will have the courage to do so – and ignore the absurd inanities of Dr. Nyaho Tamakloe about the critics of Akan tribal-supremacists. Does that well-educated sod not understand that tribal-supremacists exist in all the palaces of traditional rulers across our country, I ask, dear reader?
The NPP must rid itself of the baleful influence of the Akan tribal-supremacists who now dominate it - if it wants to win power again in Ghana. A word to the wise…
Tel (powered by Tigo – the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Thursday, 6 May 2010
THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA MUST BE FIRM IN DEALING WITH UNRULY STUDENTS!
I was astounded to hear a student from the University of Ghana issuing threats to Ghana’s president, during a news report on Peace FM, a few days ago. Not being ashamed that he speaks in that excruciating Ghanaian English that so many of the semi-literates our universities now churn out, speak, that young "3-D buffoon" also went on to issue threats to the authorities of the institution seeking to educate him – because they had decided to turn Commonwealth Hall, currently a male-only hall of residence, into a hall of residence for post-graduate students of both sexes. Do those arrogant young people (many of whom can hardly string a decent sentence in English together, sadly) not realize that they are free to leave the University of Ghana for a tertiary institution more to their liking – if they do not like the new arrangements being made by the university’s authorities for Commonwealth Hall?
It is appears that the sense of entitlement that so many of our educated elite have, has even permeated our tertiary institutions. Do students in tertiary institutions in Ghana not realize that they are privileged to be attending the universities they are currently enrolled in? Do they think that undergraduate students in Princeton University; Harvard University; or any of the colleges in Oxford University; would dare question any arrangements their universities’ authorities had made concerning halls of residence in those world-famous institutions? What impudence.
The authorities of the University of Ghana must be firm – and stick to their decision to turn Commonwealth Hall into a hall of residence for post-graduate students of both sexes. It is time they made all students on the campus of the University of Ghana sign an undertaking to obey all the regulations and decisions of the university.Who wants leaders who are not disciplined, well-mannered, and thoughtful individuals, I ask, dear reader? Above all, those in charge of our premiere university must not tolerate uncouth behaviour by any student on the campus – because they are being trained at great cost to the taxpayers of Ghana to become the future leaders of our country. 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
It is appears that the sense of entitlement that so many of our educated elite have, has even permeated our tertiary institutions. Do students in tertiary institutions in Ghana not realize that they are privileged to be attending the universities they are currently enrolled in? Do they think that undergraduate students in Princeton University; Harvard University; or any of the colleges in Oxford University; would dare question any arrangements their universities’ authorities had made concerning halls of residence in those world-famous institutions? What impudence.
The authorities of the University of Ghana must be firm – and stick to their decision to turn Commonwealth Hall into a hall of residence for post-graduate students of both sexes. It is time they made all students on the campus of the University of Ghana sign an undertaking to obey all the regulations and decisions of the university.Who wants leaders who are not disciplined, well-mannered, and thoughtful individuals, I ask, dear reader? Above all, those in charge of our premiere university must not tolerate uncouth behaviour by any student on the campus – because they are being trained at great cost to the taxpayers of Ghana to become the future leaders of our country. 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
Saturday, 1 May 2010
AN OPEN LETTER TO MR. ANDREW AWUNI
Massa, I gather you now intend to devote your life to fighting for private enterprise (and one presumes the concept of “free markets”) in Ghana. As a believer in individual liberty myself, I wish you well in your endeavours – but you have your work cut out for you: as most Ghanaian entrepreneurs, sadly, are even more corrupt than the members of our political class (and that is saying something, is it not?). Yet, the plain truth is that the private sector can only become the engine of growth in our economy, if Ghanaian entrepreneurs use cutting-edge ideas that make their businesses innovative and competitive entities, which are truly world-class – because they are underpinned by corporate good governance principles: and, at a time of global climate change, guided by a “green” ethos.
I do not know just how well-versed you are in the subject of economics, but one does not need to be a genius to know that far from having a “free-market” economy, over the years (particularly during the golden age of business for Kufuor & Co.!), Ghana has been a neo-liberal welfare-state in which the rich hijack the power of the Ghanaian nation-state after each regime-change: and use it as the key strategic building-block in their personal wealth-creation agenda. It has enabled sundry crooks send their personal net worth to stratospheric heights – every time their hirelings win power. As we all know, over ninety percent of those who made large fortunes under President Kufuor, for example, acquired their wealth by leveraging the patronage of a small and powerful cabal in the presidency. An infamous example was the incredible story of the offspring of one of our leaders, who was a declared bankrupt in the United States of America. He came back to Ghana to make a fresh start – and using what amounted to insider-information, secured a contract to supply electricity meters to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
That lucky golden-prince of the Kufuor-era made a cool US$2 millions profit from that egregious example of profiteering – facilitated by nepotism of the very worst kind. His facilitator-in-chief was clearly guilty of conflict of interest and abuse of power. The so-called “free-market” had nothing to do with his sudden wealth. Perhaps you were too busy during the period in Ghana’s history when your New Patriotic Party (NPP) held power, to know that our second city, for example, was turned into the tax-evading capital of our nation – as over the years greedy and dishonest businesspeople, succeeded in offloading container upon container (falsely manifested as goods in transit) there: with the active connivance of bad nuts within the Customs, Excise and Preventative Service (CEPS). The sad thing is that precious few of such well-heeled individuals even have the decency to pay their fair share of taxes to help in the development of our nation.Pity.
Another case in point, and example of the lack of ethics in the Ghanaian business world, is the unfortunate story of your Mr. Okudzato – who was apparently fulminating against those he believes were unfair to him (by ousting him from the board of the Bank of Ghana after your party lost power), when you launched your latest project. Perhaps the question we need to ask in his case is: How was it possible, that a gentleman who had been a member of the board of directors of the defunct Bonte Gold, which was an integral part of the shabby story of those monstrous Canadian carpetbaggers, became a board member of the Bank of Ghana – when in any civilized nation, such a record would probably have got him banned for life from being a company director, let alone serve as a member of the board of the nation’s central bank? Do you recall how those perfidious Canadians turned the village of Bonte into hell on earth for its hapless inhabitants – and also left a trail of debt when they departed our shores unceremoniously? Alas, Mr. Awuni, I am only an old fool who is gradually growing senile, and is further limited by a lack of formal education – but as a result of that tragedy, my head, luckily for me, is not filled with the “book-long-chew-and-pour” text-book theories that so constrict the thought-processes of so many of our educated elite. As a result, original thinking has helped guide me through the minefield, which life in our Byzantine society has become.
So take this piece of free advice from this senile old fool, Mr. Awuni: concentrate on fighting for the creation of a business environment in our country, in which dishonest practices are frowned upon throughout corporate Ghana – and above all, help our country fight those whose greedy ambitions threaten the well-being of our country and the welfare of its people: because they seek to appropriate the resources of our homeland Ghana, for themselves. In your quiet moments, ponder how it came about, for example, that Ghana Airways, which belonged to all of us, and had real potential (if only political interference had not been allowed to hamper it so!), was deliberately killed off, so that the airline industry equivalent of a Dodo, Ghana International Airlines (GIA) – whose real ownership, according to the conspiracy theorists in our midst, is hidden in a web of opaque offshore entities – came into being, just to enrich a powerful and politically well-connected few.
Do you realize that the madam-air-bottom-power lady who runs it has never ever run an airline in her charmed life before - and that she superintended over her last employers' business with such 'care' that the accountant made hundreds of thousands of US dollars literally disappear from the business? Why did GIA not even ask for something as basic as references - and make inquiries about her employment history in Ghana, for example? Such was the perfidy of some of your colleagues, when your party held power in Nkrumah's Ghana. Please also ask yourself how a few private individuals, fellow citizens, both, came to own part of one of the oilfields off our coastline. Thank God we were rescued from the clutches of your regime before further harm was done to our country by such unparalleled selfishness and unfathomable greed. Were we not definitely heading for a “Nigerian oil-experience” by stealth, under your regime, Mr. Awuni? Please fight with all your strength to prevent such a tragedy from ever befalling Mother Ghana – if you truly want to fight the good fight, that is. 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
I do not know just how well-versed you are in the subject of economics, but one does not need to be a genius to know that far from having a “free-market” economy, over the years (particularly during the golden age of business for Kufuor & Co.!), Ghana has been a neo-liberal welfare-state in which the rich hijack the power of the Ghanaian nation-state after each regime-change: and use it as the key strategic building-block in their personal wealth-creation agenda. It has enabled sundry crooks send their personal net worth to stratospheric heights – every time their hirelings win power. As we all know, over ninety percent of those who made large fortunes under President Kufuor, for example, acquired their wealth by leveraging the patronage of a small and powerful cabal in the presidency. An infamous example was the incredible story of the offspring of one of our leaders, who was a declared bankrupt in the United States of America. He came back to Ghana to make a fresh start – and using what amounted to insider-information, secured a contract to supply electricity meters to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
That lucky golden-prince of the Kufuor-era made a cool US$2 millions profit from that egregious example of profiteering – facilitated by nepotism of the very worst kind. His facilitator-in-chief was clearly guilty of conflict of interest and abuse of power. The so-called “free-market” had nothing to do with his sudden wealth. Perhaps you were too busy during the period in Ghana’s history when your New Patriotic Party (NPP) held power, to know that our second city, for example, was turned into the tax-evading capital of our nation – as over the years greedy and dishonest businesspeople, succeeded in offloading container upon container (falsely manifested as goods in transit) there: with the active connivance of bad nuts within the Customs, Excise and Preventative Service (CEPS). The sad thing is that precious few of such well-heeled individuals even have the decency to pay their fair share of taxes to help in the development of our nation.Pity.
Another case in point, and example of the lack of ethics in the Ghanaian business world, is the unfortunate story of your Mr. Okudzato – who was apparently fulminating against those he believes were unfair to him (by ousting him from the board of the Bank of Ghana after your party lost power), when you launched your latest project. Perhaps the question we need to ask in his case is: How was it possible, that a gentleman who had been a member of the board of directors of the defunct Bonte Gold, which was an integral part of the shabby story of those monstrous Canadian carpetbaggers, became a board member of the Bank of Ghana – when in any civilized nation, such a record would probably have got him banned for life from being a company director, let alone serve as a member of the board of the nation’s central bank? Do you recall how those perfidious Canadians turned the village of Bonte into hell on earth for its hapless inhabitants – and also left a trail of debt when they departed our shores unceremoniously? Alas, Mr. Awuni, I am only an old fool who is gradually growing senile, and is further limited by a lack of formal education – but as a result of that tragedy, my head, luckily for me, is not filled with the “book-long-chew-and-pour” text-book theories that so constrict the thought-processes of so many of our educated elite. As a result, original thinking has helped guide me through the minefield, which life in our Byzantine society has become.
So take this piece of free advice from this senile old fool, Mr. Awuni: concentrate on fighting for the creation of a business environment in our country, in which dishonest practices are frowned upon throughout corporate Ghana – and above all, help our country fight those whose greedy ambitions threaten the well-being of our country and the welfare of its people: because they seek to appropriate the resources of our homeland Ghana, for themselves. In your quiet moments, ponder how it came about, for example, that Ghana Airways, which belonged to all of us, and had real potential (if only political interference had not been allowed to hamper it so!), was deliberately killed off, so that the airline industry equivalent of a Dodo, Ghana International Airlines (GIA) – whose real ownership, according to the conspiracy theorists in our midst, is hidden in a web of opaque offshore entities – came into being, just to enrich a powerful and politically well-connected few.
Do you realize that the madam-air-bottom-power lady who runs it has never ever run an airline in her charmed life before - and that she superintended over her last employers' business with such 'care' that the accountant made hundreds of thousands of US dollars literally disappear from the business? Why did GIA not even ask for something as basic as references - and make inquiries about her employment history in Ghana, for example? Such was the perfidy of some of your colleagues, when your party held power in Nkrumah's Ghana. Please also ask yourself how a few private individuals, fellow citizens, both, came to own part of one of the oilfields off our coastline. Thank God we were rescued from the clutches of your regime before further harm was done to our country by such unparalleled selfishness and unfathomable greed. Were we not definitely heading for a “Nigerian oil-experience” by stealth, under your regime, Mr. Awuni? Please fight with all your strength to prevent such a tragedy from ever befalling Mother Ghana – if you truly want to fight the good fight, that is. 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 30 2976238.
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
BAN GHANA'S SO-CALLED “PRIVATE HYDRANTS”
If ever there was a contradiction in terms that illustrates perfectly the vile nature of the culture of dog-eat-dog selfishness, which underpinned much of the Kufuor era in Ghana, it must be that most outrageous of Ghanaian English phrases, “private hydrant owners.” A hydrant, by definition, is a water outlet provided by the State for use in emergencies by the fire service. Unfortunately, private individuals were able to gain access to the pipelines of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), with the active collaboration of negative types within Aqua Vitens Rand Limited (the so-called “operator” of the GWCL’s treatment plants, distribution networks, and other assets) – if the conspiracy theorists in our midst are to be believed, that is. Having gained access to the pipelines of the GWCL, those individuals then set themselves up as “private hydrant owners” – and supplied treated water to tanker operators: who in turn supplied water to urban households through whose taps treated water seldom flowed. Yet the provision of potable water is supposed to be a responsibility of the governments of civilized nations as a public health measure: for the common good of their citizenry.
Sadly, in the “free-market” environment of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), “private hydrant owners” and water-tanker operators, together with their collaborators in Aqua Vitens Rand Limited (AVRL), formed a ruthless business-troika that thrived by feeding on the misery of urban households deliberately denied treated water delivered through the GWCL’s pipelines. Using every trick in the handbook of early 19th century American-style “Robber Baron” capitalism, this ruthless troika worked hard to ensure that water shortages in most of urban Ghana persisted for most of the NPP’s tenure – because it was in their commercial interest. When the present regime acted to halt the activities of the so-called “private hydrant owners,” urban households had some relief and started having water flowing through their taps: for a brief period. As if on cue, “private hydrant owners” recently appealed to the sector ministry to allow them to resume their activities – at precisely the time when water shortages are recurring in urban Ghana. Rather than allowing those sharks to resume their harmful activities, the minster for water resources, works and housing, must quickly get a bill through Parliament – and have it passed as a law banning “private hydrants” in Ghana. Whiles he is at it, he must also send AVRL packing from Ghana – as their continued presence in Ghana is inimical to Ghanaians and detrimental to their health. A word to the wise…
Tel (powered by Tigo – the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109 7 the not-so-hot and clueless Vodafone wireless smartfone: + 233 (0) 21 976238.
Sadly, in the “free-market” environment of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), “private hydrant owners” and water-tanker operators, together with their collaborators in Aqua Vitens Rand Limited (AVRL), formed a ruthless business-troika that thrived by feeding on the misery of urban households deliberately denied treated water delivered through the GWCL’s pipelines. Using every trick in the handbook of early 19th century American-style “Robber Baron” capitalism, this ruthless troika worked hard to ensure that water shortages in most of urban Ghana persisted for most of the NPP’s tenure – because it was in their commercial interest. When the present regime acted to halt the activities of the so-called “private hydrant owners,” urban households had some relief and started having water flowing through their taps: for a brief period. As if on cue, “private hydrant owners” recently appealed to the sector ministry to allow them to resume their activities – at precisely the time when water shortages are recurring in urban Ghana. Rather than allowing those sharks to resume their harmful activities, the minster for water resources, works and housing, must quickly get a bill through Parliament – and have it passed as a law banning “private hydrants” in Ghana. Whiles he is at it, he must also send AVRL packing from Ghana – as their continued presence in Ghana is inimical to Ghanaians and detrimental to their health. A word to the wise…
Tel (powered by Tigo – the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109 7 the not-so-hot and clueless Vodafone wireless smartfone: + 233 (0) 21 976238.
DO SOME OF GHANA’S PARLIAMENTARIANS NEED TO BE MORE HONOURABLE?
In a nation in which a majority of the male population is made up of philanderers, it is little wonder that misogyny is alive and well in Ghana. How else, dear reader, can one explain the astonishing news Ghanaians woke up to, one morning, not too long ago – when they learnt that the lady partner of a member of Ghana’s Parliament, who had gone to the police to lodge a complaint against him for repeatedly raping her at gun-point, had somehow ended up being charged by the police for deceiving a police officer? This was apparently shortly after the gentleman she had accused of raping her, appeared at the police station where she had gone to lodge the complaint against him. It was later reported that some members of parliament had “intervened” in the matter. The long and short of it is that yet another of Ghana’s many “big” men has been able to escape being prosecuted for rape – yet our prisons are full of ordinary men who are serving long jail sentences for rape. It appears that important personages in our democracy are above the law in certain circumstances. Whatever happened to the rule of law, one wonders?
This lack of principle amongst some of the members of our political class is one of the reasons why truth has more or less disappeared from our public life. An example is the outrageous way the murder of a father and husband who also happened to be the traditional ruler of the Dagomba people of Northern Ghana, is callously being treated as political football, by politicians in Ghana. How can any decent human being insist, for example, that those responsible for the gruesome murder of a fellow human being, somehow ought to escape being prosecuted for his murder: because he was killed during a “war” between Dogambas who belong to the same family tree – and top that outrage by going ahead to call a press conference to condemn the arrest and arraignment before the law courts, of a number of individuals suspected of being his killers? Surely, the time has come for those members of Ghana’s Parliament, who are wont to seize every opportunity that comes their way to score political points, to stop being so cynical? Do they not realize that it is losing them the respect of decent and independent-minded Ghanaians – who want our political class to be honourable individuals: not cunning hypocrites who will stop at nothing in their quest for power? The time has come for those members of Ghana’s Parliament, whose actions are so dishonourable at times, to be more honourable in what they say and do – if they want to retain the respect of discerning 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 wireless smartfone: + 233 (0) 21 976238.
This lack of principle amongst some of the members of our political class is one of the reasons why truth has more or less disappeared from our public life. An example is the outrageous way the murder of a father and husband who also happened to be the traditional ruler of the Dagomba people of Northern Ghana, is callously being treated as political football, by politicians in Ghana. How can any decent human being insist, for example, that those responsible for the gruesome murder of a fellow human being, somehow ought to escape being prosecuted for his murder: because he was killed during a “war” between Dogambas who belong to the same family tree – and top that outrage by going ahead to call a press conference to condemn the arrest and arraignment before the law courts, of a number of individuals suspected of being his killers? Surely, the time has come for those members of Ghana’s Parliament, who are wont to seize every opportunity that comes their way to score political points, to stop being so cynical? Do they not realize that it is losing them the respect of decent and independent-minded Ghanaians – who want our political class to be honourable individuals: not cunning hypocrites who will stop at nothing in their quest for power? The time has come for those members of Ghana’s Parliament, whose actions are so dishonourable at times, to be more honourable in what they say and do – if they want to retain the respect of discerning 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 wireless smartfone: + 233 (0) 21 976238.
Saturday, 10 April 2010
OIL: INSTEAD OF HEDGING, NEGOTIATE WITH VENEZUELA FOR CHEAP OIL!
The geniuses asking the government to use hedging to insure Ghana against high future oil prices are asking for trouble for our country – and the government should ignore their dangerous advice. Perhaps it would have made sense to do so when the price of oil went as low as a little under US$ 40 per barrel. As it is doubtful if oil will ever go below US$ 30 per barrel, the downside of such a policy will not be so disastrous, at that price. Apart from China, India and Brazil, which of the leading economies is experiencing anything like the high growth rate figures we saw during the boom years before the global financial meltdown occurred? Zilch. As we all know, consumer spending in almost all the major Western economies and Japan is still pretty weak – so where will the demand for oil come from to push up oil prices to the highs we saw when it passed the US$ 100 mark, I ask, dear reader?
Why do we not negotiate with Venezuela instead – and get her to agree that Ghana will be supplied with oil from Venezuela at special prices: should oil prices reach levels that we cannot afford? Will that not be far better than hedging – which will only benefit the fat cats from our financial services sector? Are they not the same bloodsuckers who profited mightily from the Kufuor regime’s daft forays into the piranha-infested waters of the capital markets of the West (when they were piling up debt like there was no tomorrow!) – so why give them yet another opportunity to make huge profits at our expense? Did our politicians not learn anything from the troubles Ashanti Goldfields had – when it was brought to its knees by hedging? They are welcome to gamble with their own personal fortunes – but they must not endanger our nation’s financial well-being by using hedging as an insurance policy against high future oil prices. Talking to Venezuela with that aim in mind is a far better proposition than the lunacy of hedging. 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 21 976238.
Why do we not negotiate with Venezuela instead – and get her to agree that Ghana will be supplied with oil from Venezuela at special prices: should oil prices reach levels that we cannot afford? Will that not be far better than hedging – which will only benefit the fat cats from our financial services sector? Are they not the same bloodsuckers who profited mightily from the Kufuor regime’s daft forays into the piranha-infested waters of the capital markets of the West (when they were piling up debt like there was no tomorrow!) – so why give them yet another opportunity to make huge profits at our expense? Did our politicians not learn anything from the troubles Ashanti Goldfields had – when it was brought to its knees by hedging? They are welcome to gamble with their own personal fortunes – but they must not endanger our nation’s financial well-being by using hedging as an insurance policy against high future oil prices. Talking to Venezuela with that aim in mind is a far better proposition than the lunacy of hedging. 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 smartfone: + 233 (0) 21 976238.
An Open Letter To Ghana's National Security Coordinator
As a gentleman with a distinguished military background, I am sure you do not need an ignoramus and an old fool from
However, at the risk of sounding presumptuous (and perhaps raising your ire!), may I humbly point it out to you that the outcome of the December 2012 presidential election, will hinge, once again, on the way a relatively small number of independent-minded Ghanaians decide to vote?
The real kingmakers in that election, will be the seventy-thousand or so fair-minded Ghanaians whose crucial votes were cast in favour of the then candidate Mills – and won him the presidency in December 2008.
Alas, Sir, if those selfsame decent-minded and patriotic individuals were to gain the unfortunate impression, however, that the brutality, impunity, and abuse of power, associated with much of the Rawlings era, are resurfacing again in our national life, then even if the regime of which you are such an important member, succeeds in turning Ghana into Africa’s most prosperous nation by the end of its tenure, they will still vote it out of power in 2012.
Please, always bear in mind that discerning Ghanaians prefer living under the rule of law to being trampled on under the jackboots of lawless and tyrannical mobs.
Consequently, you and your team must take the necessary steps, to ensure that those orchestrating the acts of lawlessness being carried out across the country; end their perfidy – before they do permanent damage to your regime. Whatever happened to discipline, I ask, Sir?
Or, more to the point, perhaps the question we must ask is: Do the so-called “foot soldiers” of political parties not know the meaning of personal sacrifice in the national interest – particularly at times of extreme difficulty for Mother Ghana? Sir, if it is any consolation to you, there is one simple thing, which if done, can guarantee the re-election of President Mills’ regime – even it does not succeed in turning Ghana
If you can persuade President Mills and all his appointees (from the president himself down to the very last district chief executive!) to make public the assets they declared to the Auditor-General, it will put clear blue water between the present NDC regime and that of the regime of the profligate President Kufuor.
It will be a clear signal to Ghanaians that unlike all the past administrations of the 4th Republic thus far, members of President Mills’ administration did not come to power to line their pockets at Ghana
The added bonus is that were that to happen, it will permanently silence yesteryear’s silver-tongued white-collar criminals within the NPP (those past masters of the nation-wrecking art and science of creative-accounting – which made it possible for them to milk our country dry whiles they were in power!).
They are the same cynics who are funding and directing the “enkoyie” propaganda war being waged against the honest and principled President Mills. Their aim is to create disaffection in the minds of Ghanaians against the Mills administration – in the hope that it will result in the NPP returning to power 2012: thus enabling them to hold on to their ill-gotten wealth.
Do not let them succeed in their aim, Sir: persuade President Mills and the members of his regime to publicly publish their assets. It may not be a constitutional requirement – but there is nothing in the constitution that prevents them from doing so either.
The president will be on the right side of history if that were done – and posterity will commend him for establishing such a good governance convention: as his contribution to the fight against the insidious corruption that is slowly destroying our democracy.
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