We are told that the global economy "stands on the brink of a “chronic” debt-driven recession" - to quote the UK newspaper the Daily Telegraph's James Kirkup and Robert Winnett.
Their filed report posted on today's online version of The Daily Telegraph, about the thought-provoking views on the challenges facing the British economy, expressed recently by British Prime David Cameron, in a speech to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), together with the views of a number of his cabinet colleagues, as well as politicians from China and elsewhere, makes interesting reading, indeed.
The candour of David Cameron and his cabinet colleagues, about the challenges facing Britain's economy, is in stark contrast to the Soviet-era attitudes exhibited by so many Ghanaian politicians - when it comes to matters to do with the performance of the Ghanaian economy: and the country's future economic prospects.
To listen to Ghana's mostly-cynical politicians (from across the spectrum) one would think that the outlook for both the Ghanaian and the global economies was anything other than rosy.
Their stock-in-trade, as they participate in current affairs programmes on our nation's airwaves - hopping from one radio station to another, and from one television station to the other - is to deliberately raise expectations amongst ordinary Ghanaians, by painting a picture of the rosy tomorrow that Ghanaians can expect, should their party win the December 2012 presidential and parliamentary elections.
It makes one actually wonder whether they ever factor in the impact of financial crises occurring in the world beyond Ghana's borders - such as the current eurozone debt crisis. Yet, Ghana is not an island of itself, free from the influence of other nations.
What happens to the global economy has an impact on our nation's economy too, does it not, dear reader?
That is why one feels so sad, when listening to clever politicians like the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) Samuel Awuku and the National Democratic Congress' (NDC) Hanna Bissiw on radio and television current affairs programmes.
These are well-educated and highly intelligent individuals - each of whom knows exactly what the global economic outlook is: gloomy.
They both also know that it will take at least a decade of sustained GDP growth of at least between 6 and 8 percent per annum, for the life of the average Ghanaian to be transformed.
Yet, they pretend, when debating others openly, that paradise will materialise - in the case of the cynical Samuel Awukus of this world - should the NPP be returned to power again; or has apparently already materialised - according to the Hanna Bissiws of this world: despite facts-on-the-ground evidence to the contrary.
They must learn from the example of politicians from elsewhere - and be a tad more truthful about Ghana's difficulties: economic, social, etc.
The Samuel Awukus of the NPP, for example, know perfectly well that virtually all the difficulties ordinary Ghanaians are experiencing today, have their roots in the profligacy of the NPP regime of Kufuor & Co. - yet they pretend otherwise.
The Hanna Bissiws of the NDC also know perfectly well that Ghanaians would breathe a lot easier, were President Mills and all his appointees (as well as their spouses), to publicly publish their assets - and promised to do so again at the end of their tenure: to set an example in good governance in an oil-producing African nation, for the rest of the continent.
Perhaps they can begin that journey to being more truthful about Ghana's prospects, by reading David Cameron's candid views about Britain's prospects, which I have culled from today's edition of the online version of the Daily Telegraph, and posted below. Please read on:
"David Cameron: our plan to cut debt is failing
David Cameron and his senior ministers have admitted for the first time that there is a danger they will not be able to tackle borrowing on time.
By James Kirkup, and Robert Winnett
10:00PM GMT 21 Nov 2011

The warning comes as the global economy stands on the brink of a “chronic” debt-driven recession.
The Prime Minister on Monday conceded that tackling Britain’s debts was “proving harder than anyone envisaged”, raising the prospect that the Coalition would be unable to close the deficit by 2014-15.
That would rule out any significant tax cuts before the next election. It also raises questions about the Coalition’s fundamental purpose.
Departing from the deficit-reduction timetable could raise fears that Britain will face rising borrowing costs as bond markets take fright.
Debt is “a drag on growth”, Mr Cameron told business leaders. “We are well behind where we need to be,” he said.
Kenneth Clarke, the Justice Secretary, has warned that the global economy is “in a devil of a mess”, which is “bound to have an effect” on the Coalition’s plans to clear most of the deficit before the next election.
The candid remarks pave the way for George Osborne, the Chancellor, to admit next week that his target will be missed and the structural deficit will not be erased until at least 2015-16.
In his autumn statement next week, Mr Osborne will cut his forecasts for economic growth this year and next, blaming the eurozone crisis and the darkening global outlook.
In the latest escalation of the global economic crisis, shares tumbled on Monday as market fears spread from the eurozone to America’s $15 trillion (£9.6 trillion) government debt.
The FTSE 100 index fell nearly 3 per cent. Other exchanges recorded even bigger falls as investors became worried that Western economies would be dragged back into recession by the weight of their debts.
Almost every Western government is struggling with its debts.
In Washington, a cross-party committee supposed to devise plans to curb the government’s debt was close to collapsing.
Adding to the markets’ fears, Wang Qishan, the Chinese vice-premier, said global economic conditions remained “grim”. He warned of a prolonged downturn. “The one thing that we can be certain of, among all the uncertainties, is that the global economic recession caused by the international financial crisis will be chronic,” Mr Wang said.
Slower growth means the Government receives less money in tax and has to spend more on items such as social security.
That makes it harder to close the deficit, the gap between what the Government raises and what it spends.
Official figures due on Tuesday are expected to show the Government is roughly on track to hit its target of borrowing £122 billion in the current financial year. But with growth now expected to be much weaker than forecast, borrowing targets for future years are in doubt.
Mr Cameron told the Confederation of British Industry that the Coalition was struggling with public finances.
“Getting debt under control is proving harder than anyone envisaged,” he said. “High levels of public and private debt are proving to be a drag on growth, which in turn makes it more difficult to deal with those debts.”
Mr Cameron insisted that he would not deviate from the plan to cut spending, insisting that slowing growth “undermines further the case for adding to the national burden of debt with even more borrowing”.
To reassure financial markets about the Coalition’s determination to balance the budget, Mr Osborne could next week signal plans for new cuts after the current spending round ends in 2015.
The Chancellor may also argue that he has not broken his own fiscal rules.
Mr Osborne last year set himself a “fiscal mandate” to eliminate the structural deficit — the part that does not vary with economic growth — by 2014-15. He gave himself considerable flexibility within that goal.
First, he said the deficit only needed to be cleared by 2015-16, but he had voluntarily chosen a target a year earlier.
Second, he said the goal was based on a five-year “rolling” target, meaning that he only has to show that the deficit will be cleared five years from now.
Despite that flexibility, Mr Osborne has less room for manoeuvre on the second part of his “mandate”. He has promised total government debts will be falling as a share of GDP by 2015-16.
Missing that goal would be a serious political blow to the Coalition.
The assessment of progress on the deficit target is made by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility.
Ministers are now resigned to the office telling Parliament that the structural deficit will not be closed in 2014-15 and possibly not in 2015-16 either.
Some City analysts predict that the Chancellor will not eliminate the structural budget deficit until 2017-18.
Independent economists expect the office to cut its growth forecast for this year from 1.7 per cent to about 1 per cent. Next year’s forecast is likely to fall from 2.5 per cent to about 1.2 per cent.
Mr Clarke, a former Chancellor, became the first minister to admit that Mr Osborne could miss the 2014-15 target.
“You can’t ignore the fact that we are trying to get ourselves out of trouble in the middle of a global economy that is still in a devil of a mess,” he said. “That is bound to have an effect on what actually happens.”
Asked if Mr Osborne would miss his target, Mr Clarke said it was possible.
“I don’t know if he’s going to have to do that, but if he did it would be because of events quite outside our control,” he said.
His gloomy tone was echoed by Mohamed el-Erian, head of PIMCO, the world’s biggest bond investment fund.
“The sense of uncertainty prevailing in the West is palpable, and rightly so,” he said. “People are worried about their futures. Unfortunately, things will become more unsettling in the months ahead."
End of culled news report from The Daily Telegraph.
Well there it is, dear reader. To begin with, what strikes one above all, after reading that Telegraph news report, is how well the Mills administration in Ghana, which also inherited a huge deficit from its profligate predecessors, has done, thus far.
Secondly, as a wag said to me recently: "Kofi, nation-building is a difficult and slow process - and much like the George Bush Highway from Achimota to the interchange at Mallam junction, both now under construction, we will experience a great deal of inconvenience whiles the construction takes place.
However, once completed, Ghanaian road users who will be lucky to use it, will all experience the free-flow of traffic they hope the new highway and interchange will make possible.
The transformation of our country will be along similar lines, he believes - difficult for those ordinary people now having to make endless sacrifices whiles it goes on slowly: but beneficial to all once completed.
However, we must all be clear about one point - it will take at least a decade for it to happen: so there should not be any great expectations on anyone's part, in the interim.
Above all, it is time Ghanaian politicians dropped their Soviet-style attitudes - and started being more open and frank about the difficulties that face our nation. To continue in that head-in-the-sand fashion, at this juncture of our nation's history, is a great disservice to the ordinary people of Nkrumah's 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.
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
Saturday, 19 November 2011
THE GOVERNMENT OF GHANA HAS NO BUSINESS USING TAXPAYERS' MONEY TO FUND SCHOLARSHIPS FOR JOURNALISTS!
Ghanaian politicians never seem to learn the lessons of history. During its tenure, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) regime of Kufuor & Co., found ingenious ways of using taxpayers' funds - including siphoning funds out of the Tema Oil Refinery - to buy the loyalty of journalists and media houses.
And no matter what noble reasons they give to cloak it, the present National Democratic Congress (NDC) government's so- called media development fund, which has just been announced, is in much the same vein - a clever way to use state resources to influence journalists and media houses: but this time with perfect legal cover.
In a nation with so many problems and so many citizens struggling just to survive, is it not immoral to set such a huge sum aside - merely to enable those in power to manipulate the media through respectable proxies, appointed to the board of yet another bureaucratic set up created for the purpose: in the hope of winning that non-productive and never-ending propaganda war between political parties?
For starters, since the constitution bars governments from interfering even in the affairs of the state-owned media, what right do politicians have to use taxpayers' funds for the education of journalists, including those working in private media establishments - each one in business to make money for its shareholders, I ask?
With the havoc various types of subsidy have wreaked on government finances and ultimately on Ghana's economy over the years, you would think politicians would shy away from that daft policy.
Why use hapless taxpayers' money to feed the sense of entitlement felt by so many in a profession full of indolent blackmailers and third-rate professionals - working in an industry jam-packed with poorly-managed commercial basket-cases?
The question we must ask our present rulers is: Is it the case that rather than learning lessons from those disastrous policies of the past, the present government proposes to take the deficit-creating, loss-making concept of subsidy in free-markets to a new level - this time paying for the further education of the employees of private for-profit entities?
The education of practising Ghanaian journalists ought not to be the concern of any government of Ghana - in as far as the provision of funding of same is concerned. That is not the job of any elected government of Ghana.
It is said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. This is a most unwise step - and those who thought it up will come to regret it as sure as day follows night: when they are eventually voted out of power, and are in the political wilderness once again.
With respect, it is not the job of any government of Ghana to spend taxpayers' money, to improve standards in the Ghanaian media world. Ghanaians have got exactly the kind of media they deserve. Period.
Let the wise heads in this regime insist that this ignominious idea, deliberately dressed up to look like a noble proposal, is quickly abandoned - and the money involved given instead to the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) and the School of Communication Studies, at the University of Ghana, Legon.
If, as is usual with today's crop of short-sighted and hard-of-hearing politicians, they fail to listen to free good advice in this matter, the NDC will come to rue the day they allowed this idiocy. Buying the conscience of journalists, and seeking to influence media houses, is a mug's game, in the digital age. Period.
In making this unwise move, the NDC regime is effectively providing a building-block for nepotism and abuse of office, by future governments. No government of Ghana has the right to use taxpayers' money to fund a scholarship scheme for Ghanaian journalists. The NDC regime of President Mills must desist from it. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
And no matter what noble reasons they give to cloak it, the present National Democratic Congress (NDC) government's so- called media development fund, which has just been announced, is in much the same vein - a clever way to use state resources to influence journalists and media houses: but this time with perfect legal cover.
In a nation with so many problems and so many citizens struggling just to survive, is it not immoral to set such a huge sum aside - merely to enable those in power to manipulate the media through respectable proxies, appointed to the board of yet another bureaucratic set up created for the purpose: in the hope of winning that non-productive and never-ending propaganda war between political parties?
For starters, since the constitution bars governments from interfering even in the affairs of the state-owned media, what right do politicians have to use taxpayers' funds for the education of journalists, including those working in private media establishments - each one in business to make money for its shareholders, I ask?
With the havoc various types of subsidy have wreaked on government finances and ultimately on Ghana's economy over the years, you would think politicians would shy away from that daft policy.
Why use hapless taxpayers' money to feed the sense of entitlement felt by so many in a profession full of indolent blackmailers and third-rate professionals - working in an industry jam-packed with poorly-managed commercial basket-cases?
The question we must ask our present rulers is: Is it the case that rather than learning lessons from those disastrous policies of the past, the present government proposes to take the deficit-creating, loss-making concept of subsidy in free-markets to a new level - this time paying for the further education of the employees of private for-profit entities?
The education of practising Ghanaian journalists ought not to be the concern of any government of Ghana - in as far as the provision of funding of same is concerned. That is not the job of any elected government of Ghana.
It is said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. This is a most unwise step - and those who thought it up will come to regret it as sure as day follows night: when they are eventually voted out of power, and are in the political wilderness once again.
With respect, it is not the job of any government of Ghana to spend taxpayers' money, to improve standards in the Ghanaian media world. Ghanaians have got exactly the kind of media they deserve. Period.
Let the wise heads in this regime insist that this ignominious idea, deliberately dressed up to look like a noble proposal, is quickly abandoned - and the money involved given instead to the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) and the School of Communication Studies, at the University of Ghana, Legon.
If, as is usual with today's crop of short-sighted and hard-of-hearing politicians, they fail to listen to free good advice in this matter, the NDC will come to rue the day they allowed this idiocy. Buying the conscience of journalists, and seeking to influence media houses, is a mug's game, in the digital age. Period.
In making this unwise move, the NDC regime is effectively providing a building-block for nepotism and abuse of office, by future governments. No government of Ghana has the right to use taxpayers' money to fund a scholarship scheme for Ghanaian journalists. The NDC regime of President Mills must desist from it. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Friday, 18 November 2011
The Enquirer's Day Of Shame: Should It Render An Unqualified Apology To Ghana's Attorney General, The Hon. Martin Amidu?
An interesting news item that appeared in the 18th November 2011 edition of the general news web-page of www.ghanaweb.com, caught my eye.
It was a press statement issued on the 17th of November 2011, by the Attorney General, the Hon. Martin Amidu, as a rejoinder to a number of stories carried by the Enquirer newspaper, entitled: Re: “Tussle Over Judgment Debt A-G Attacks Business Tycoon …”
The Hon. Martin Amidu's rejoinder, paints an unflattering picture of the arrogance and tyranny, which many in the ignoramus-filled and mostly intolerant Ghanaian media world, are so guilty of. Indeed, in effect, his rejoinder shines a spotlight, on the dark side of Ghanaian journalism.
For the discerning individual, reading between the lines, the sense of outrage felt by a principled gentleman of the old school, the Hon. Martin Amidu, whose training as a lawyer, makes caution over many issues, second nature, was palpable.
Although couched in restrained language, the Attorney General was clearly scandalised by the lack of appreciation shown by the Enquirer's reporter, Samuel Abane Anaba, who it was so obvious, was oblivious of the limitation ethical considerations place on the reporting of matters that are sub judice, by the media.
It is understandable that seasoned lawyers, such as the Hon. Martin Amidu, who never forget the bounds of what is acceptable ethically in their profession, invariably feel that it is an affront to common decency and a travesty of natural justice, that today so many individuals, including even lawyers and journalists, whose training ought to make them super-cautious whenever matters before the law courts come to their notice - to avoid being in contempt of court - rather resort to trial-by-media tactics: co-opted by litigants as part of their strategy to win cases pending before the courts, or actually being tried.
The Attorney General's justifiable outrage, ought to make us question what motivates many in the Ghanaian media world, in such instances. What public interest consideration exactly, was driving that story in the Enquirer, one wonders?
Did the paper think that the Attorney General had a personal interest in frustrating a plaintiff in a matter before a court of competent jurisdiction in the Republic of Ghana?
Where exactly were the Enquirer's gate-keepers, whose professional duty it was to ensure that what so clearly ought never to have been carried by any responsible newspaper, alive to its civic responsibilities, was dropped - and was not allowed to appear in the paper's pages in the form they did: so that it could keep its reputation intact, that way?
Above all, as is usually the case in Ghana in such matters, was anyone paid substantial sums to put this outrageous example of irresponsible reportage of matters before the law courts, in the pages of what is supposed to be a leading newspaper in Ghana?
This is a story that those very intelligent people in charge of the Enquirer, ought to bow their heads in shame over. It also raises troubling questions about the personal integrity, or lack of it, of the paper's reporter, Samuel Abane Anaba.
Did he, or did he not, receive substantial sums as inducement to publish this disgraceful example of irresponsible journalism practice - to do with trial matters that are sub judice? This has certainly not been the Enquirer's finest hour.
There are some who will say that to save face, and make amends for this series of unprofessional and outrageous stories concerning a matter before the law courts, at the very least, the paper ought to dismiss Samuel Abane Anaba - and render an unqualified apology to the Attorney General.
Samuel Abane Anaba has been highly irresponsible and unethical - in effect seeking to question the integrity of the Hon. Martin Amidu: by creating the impression that somehow Ghana's Attorney General had a hidden interest in a matter before the law courts, in which the Republic of Ghana is also a party. That cannot be right. We rest our case.
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
It was a press statement issued on the 17th of November 2011, by the Attorney General, the Hon. Martin Amidu, as a rejoinder to a number of stories carried by the Enquirer newspaper, entitled: Re: “Tussle Over Judgment Debt A-G Attacks Business Tycoon …”
The Hon. Martin Amidu's rejoinder, paints an unflattering picture of the arrogance and tyranny, which many in the ignoramus-filled and mostly intolerant Ghanaian media world, are so guilty of. Indeed, in effect, his rejoinder shines a spotlight, on the dark side of Ghanaian journalism.
For the discerning individual, reading between the lines, the sense of outrage felt by a principled gentleman of the old school, the Hon. Martin Amidu, whose training as a lawyer, makes caution over many issues, second nature, was palpable.
Although couched in restrained language, the Attorney General was clearly scandalised by the lack of appreciation shown by the Enquirer's reporter, Samuel Abane Anaba, who it was so obvious, was oblivious of the limitation ethical considerations place on the reporting of matters that are sub judice, by the media.
It is understandable that seasoned lawyers, such as the Hon. Martin Amidu, who never forget the bounds of what is acceptable ethically in their profession, invariably feel that it is an affront to common decency and a travesty of natural justice, that today so many individuals, including even lawyers and journalists, whose training ought to make them super-cautious whenever matters before the law courts come to their notice - to avoid being in contempt of court - rather resort to trial-by-media tactics: co-opted by litigants as part of their strategy to win cases pending before the courts, or actually being tried.
The Attorney General's justifiable outrage, ought to make us question what motivates many in the Ghanaian media world, in such instances. What public interest consideration exactly, was driving that story in the Enquirer, one wonders?
Did the paper think that the Attorney General had a personal interest in frustrating a plaintiff in a matter before a court of competent jurisdiction in the Republic of Ghana?
Where exactly were the Enquirer's gate-keepers, whose professional duty it was to ensure that what so clearly ought never to have been carried by any responsible newspaper, alive to its civic responsibilities, was dropped - and was not allowed to appear in the paper's pages in the form they did: so that it could keep its reputation intact, that way?
Above all, as is usually the case in Ghana in such matters, was anyone paid substantial sums to put this outrageous example of irresponsible reportage of matters before the law courts, in the pages of what is supposed to be a leading newspaper in Ghana?
This is a story that those very intelligent people in charge of the Enquirer, ought to bow their heads in shame over. It also raises troubling questions about the personal integrity, or lack of it, of the paper's reporter, Samuel Abane Anaba.
Did he, or did he not, receive substantial sums as inducement to publish this disgraceful example of irresponsible journalism practice - to do with trial matters that are sub judice? This has certainly not been the Enquirer's finest hour.
There are some who will say that to save face, and make amends for this series of unprofessional and outrageous stories concerning a matter before the law courts, at the very least, the paper ought to dismiss Samuel Abane Anaba - and render an unqualified apology to the Attorney General.
Samuel Abane Anaba has been highly irresponsible and unethical - in effect seeking to question the integrity of the Hon. Martin Amidu: by creating the impression that somehow Ghana's Attorney General had a hidden interest in a matter before the law courts, in which the Republic of Ghana is also a party. That cannot be right. We rest our case.
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
SHOULD THERE BE LAWS PREVENTING UNSCHEDULED VISITS BY THE PUBLIC TO THE OFFICES OF PARLIAMENTARIANS & GOVERNMENT MINISTERS?
Considering the large number of visitors who daily stream into the offices of members of Parliament and government ministers, to try and see them, it is a wonder that our nation's leaders are able to get any work done at all.
If we want the business of our country to be done well, and with some dispatch, surely, the general public ought to be restrained from trooping into the offices of parliamentarians and government ministers in such large numbers?
What serious nation would allow a situation to persist, in which there is never ending disruption to the day to day work of its leaders, I ask? Is it any wonder governments achieve relatively little in modern times - compared to the legacy Nkrumah left behind?
The need to do some background research for a planned article (about how aspects of Ghanaian culture impact our national life negatively!), took me to the government ministries in Accra, yesterday.
For the second time this year, I was amazed to find visitors already waiting to see a minister who often starts work as early as 6 am and sometimes leaves the office as late as midnight - just so that the work he's forced to put on hold by the sheer volume of visitors who come during regular working hours, eventually gets done.
As he was busy getting through some of his work, the numbers in the minister's reception waiting to see him kept growing - even at that early time in the morning. How absurd. In the meantime that poor gentleman's health is slowly being ruined. Must service to country end up destroying the health of those who lead our nation, I ask?
Surely, that is no way to run a nation that aspires to become an African equivalent of the egalitarian and progressive societies of Scandinavia?
Why do the political parties in our country, not organise themselves in such a manner that when they are in power, those of their supporters who seek help of some sort from parliamentarians and government ministers, can go to the ruling party's welfare office - specifically set up to liaise with the machinery of state, and well enough resourced to assist supporters needing to access services provided by the state, or leverage government programmes and special initiatives?
If a majority of Ghanaians saw politics as an opportunity to serve Mother Ghana and fellow citizens less well off than themselves, would it not make our nation a better place for all its citizens?
If that were the prevailing view of politics, one doubts very much, dear reader, if so many people would feel compelled to ambush a member of Parliament or a government minister - in order to use him or her to secure their portion of the sharing out of the political equivalent of the spoils of war.
Far too many Ghanaians, particularly those professional spongers-and-layabouts, whose short-code-to-riches is the malevolent phrase "we are being neglected by the government", the so-called party foot-soldiers, see politics as an avenue to riches.
It is not - and we must not allow it to be seen as one in an oil-producing African nation in which corruption is endemic: and the political will to fight it, practically non-existent, across the spectrum.
That mentality leads to the nation-wrecking what's-in-it-for-me mindset, which breeds the corruption slowly destroying the moral fabric of our homeland Ghana. Politics should never be a money-making venture. Period.
We must all put the common good at the forefront of our thinking - and volunteer our time and resources to participate in the politics of our country, to help make our homeland Ghana a just society: in which we are all equal before the law and have the same opportunities to use our God-given talents to advance in life.
Perhaps a first step towards making that happen, would be to restrict access to our leaders - so that they can concentrate on the important work they are elected or appointed to do for our country and all its people: and work diligently on all our behalf, towards that end.
If we still insist on disrupting the work of members of Parliament and that of government ministers - "because that is part of our culture", to quote some unpatriotic and misguided soul - then at least let us set aside just one day for that non-productive purpose.
On that particular day, members of Parliament and government ministers, will be available to members of the public: and meet with those who have secured prior appointments for that purpose, on a first-come-first-served basis.
If we want our country to be transformed into a prosperous society in which all Ghanaians enjoy a good quality of life, we may have to pass laws that restrict access to members of Parliament and government ministers whiles performing their official duties.
Making unscheduled visits to the office of a member of Parliament or government minister without prior appointment, ought to be an unlawful act, for which one could be prosecuted and jailed. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
If we want the business of our country to be done well, and with some dispatch, surely, the general public ought to be restrained from trooping into the offices of parliamentarians and government ministers in such large numbers?
What serious nation would allow a situation to persist, in which there is never ending disruption to the day to day work of its leaders, I ask? Is it any wonder governments achieve relatively little in modern times - compared to the legacy Nkrumah left behind?
The need to do some background research for a planned article (about how aspects of Ghanaian culture impact our national life negatively!), took me to the government ministries in Accra, yesterday.
For the second time this year, I was amazed to find visitors already waiting to see a minister who often starts work as early as 6 am and sometimes leaves the office as late as midnight - just so that the work he's forced to put on hold by the sheer volume of visitors who come during regular working hours, eventually gets done.
As he was busy getting through some of his work, the numbers in the minister's reception waiting to see him kept growing - even at that early time in the morning. How absurd. In the meantime that poor gentleman's health is slowly being ruined. Must service to country end up destroying the health of those who lead our nation, I ask?
Surely, that is no way to run a nation that aspires to become an African equivalent of the egalitarian and progressive societies of Scandinavia?
Why do the political parties in our country, not organise themselves in such a manner that when they are in power, those of their supporters who seek help of some sort from parliamentarians and government ministers, can go to the ruling party's welfare office - specifically set up to liaise with the machinery of state, and well enough resourced to assist supporters needing to access services provided by the state, or leverage government programmes and special initiatives?
If a majority of Ghanaians saw politics as an opportunity to serve Mother Ghana and fellow citizens less well off than themselves, would it not make our nation a better place for all its citizens?
If that were the prevailing view of politics, one doubts very much, dear reader, if so many people would feel compelled to ambush a member of Parliament or a government minister - in order to use him or her to secure their portion of the sharing out of the political equivalent of the spoils of war.
Far too many Ghanaians, particularly those professional spongers-and-layabouts, whose short-code-to-riches is the malevolent phrase "we are being neglected by the government", the so-called party foot-soldiers, see politics as an avenue to riches.
It is not - and we must not allow it to be seen as one in an oil-producing African nation in which corruption is endemic: and the political will to fight it, practically non-existent, across the spectrum.
That mentality leads to the nation-wrecking what's-in-it-for-me mindset, which breeds the corruption slowly destroying the moral fabric of our homeland Ghana. Politics should never be a money-making venture. Period.
We must all put the common good at the forefront of our thinking - and volunteer our time and resources to participate in the politics of our country, to help make our homeland Ghana a just society: in which we are all equal before the law and have the same opportunities to use our God-given talents to advance in life.
Perhaps a first step towards making that happen, would be to restrict access to our leaders - so that they can concentrate on the important work they are elected or appointed to do for our country and all its people: and work diligently on all our behalf, towards that end.
If we still insist on disrupting the work of members of Parliament and that of government ministers - "because that is part of our culture", to quote some unpatriotic and misguided soul - then at least let us set aside just one day for that non-productive purpose.
On that particular day, members of Parliament and government ministers, will be available to members of the public: and meet with those who have secured prior appointments for that purpose, on a first-come-first-served basis.
If we want our country to be transformed into a prosperous society in which all Ghanaians enjoy a good quality of life, we may have to pass laws that restrict access to members of Parliament and government ministers whiles performing their official duties.
Making unscheduled visits to the office of a member of Parliament or government minister without prior appointment, ought to be an unlawful act, for which one could be prosecuted and jailed. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
A BEYOND-THE-PALE CRIME OVER WHICH GHANA'S NATIONAL MEDIA COMMISSiON'S CHAIRPERSON OUGHT TO RESIGN?
When I was called by the National Media Commission (NMC) recently, and informed that a complaint had been made against a photograph appearing in The National Review, I was aghast - because I was still trying to raise money to publish the paper I'd registered with them in November 2010: and had not yet come out with it.
Knowing the slippery nature of most middle class Ghanaians, my initial reaction was to ignore the NMC's summons - because I instinctively felt the whole thing would be a waste of my precious time. And so it has proved to be. And I am pretty livid about the whole affair.
But I will not allow the hypocrites who think they are a race apart, and are untouchable - because once upon a time, they were part of the charmed inner circle of the perfidious Kufuor & Co., to get away with what they may think is the hijacking of some small fry's newspaper's title by persons unknown. The NMC may come to regret its role in this shabby matter.
Indeed, I'd go as far as saying that this could be the present NMC's Waterloo. I am serving notice to all of the "big people" in the NMC, that I intend to get to the bottom of this outrage - with or without the NMC's assistance.
They must not think for one moment, that I will allow unprincipled individuals in the Ghanaian media world, who sell their conscience regularly to the highest bidders, to play games with me - and get away with it scot free. It won't happen. Period.
The question to the confounded NMC is: What exactly have they done about this threat to press freedom - and what effectively is the undermining-by-stealth, of the very foundations of Ghanaian democracy?
Are they making sure that the Director General of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, with the assistance of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), is actually investigating what is a new variant of the very serious crime of counterfeiting, which has the potential to cause utter chaos during the campaign for the December 2012 presidential and parliamentary elections - and in the immediate aftermath of those elections, if not halted immediately: by apprehending and prosecuting the amoral rogues-without-a-conscience, behind it?
Those morons behind that dreadful example of yellow journalism, who thought they could destroy me by resorting to this trick-of-miserable-cowards, will end up in jail - as sure as day follows night. And I will also sue them for every penny they've got.
This rubbish has made me lose respect for the present NMC - who appear to be oblivious of its implications for press freedom in our country. Do they not recognise the very real threat to democracy that this outrage; this pure nonsense on bamboo stilts represents, at all? In my view, some of them have lost the moral right to remain in their positions.
The world will know why they failed to act, when the stupid individuals who dreamt up this foolish caper, are finally exposed. Above all, Kabral Blay-Amihere must understand that there is a limit to how duplicitous one can be - he must remember that he is no longer Kufour & Co.'s diplomat abroad: so there is no excuse for that.
He must step down from the position of NMC chairperson - for he has lost the moral authority to lead it, as far as I am concerned. Why did he pretend he was interested in solving this puzzle - when by avoiding all communication with me subsequently, he is proving so clearly that he actually isn't?
He must tread cautiously with me - I am not nearly as foolish as I appear to be. In any case, I am not a fool for nothing, I'll have him know. He must be careful - for he hasn't heard the last of this yet. He and his sodden New Patriotic Party (NPP) media-hirelings will regret this outrage deeply. They've duly been served notice by me - and must be on the qui vive. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Knowing the slippery nature of most middle class Ghanaians, my initial reaction was to ignore the NMC's summons - because I instinctively felt the whole thing would be a waste of my precious time. And so it has proved to be. And I am pretty livid about the whole affair.
But I will not allow the hypocrites who think they are a race apart, and are untouchable - because once upon a time, they were part of the charmed inner circle of the perfidious Kufuor & Co., to get away with what they may think is the hijacking of some small fry's newspaper's title by persons unknown. The NMC may come to regret its role in this shabby matter.
Indeed, I'd go as far as saying that this could be the present NMC's Waterloo. I am serving notice to all of the "big people" in the NMC, that I intend to get to the bottom of this outrage - with or without the NMC's assistance.
They must not think for one moment, that I will allow unprincipled individuals in the Ghanaian media world, who sell their conscience regularly to the highest bidders, to play games with me - and get away with it scot free. It won't happen. Period.
The question to the confounded NMC is: What exactly have they done about this threat to press freedom - and what effectively is the undermining-by-stealth, of the very foundations of Ghanaian democracy?
Are they making sure that the Director General of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, with the assistance of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), is actually investigating what is a new variant of the very serious crime of counterfeiting, which has the potential to cause utter chaos during the campaign for the December 2012 presidential and parliamentary elections - and in the immediate aftermath of those elections, if not halted immediately: by apprehending and prosecuting the amoral rogues-without-a-conscience, behind it?
Those morons behind that dreadful example of yellow journalism, who thought they could destroy me by resorting to this trick-of-miserable-cowards, will end up in jail - as sure as day follows night. And I will also sue them for every penny they've got.
This rubbish has made me lose respect for the present NMC - who appear to be oblivious of its implications for press freedom in our country. Do they not recognise the very real threat to democracy that this outrage; this pure nonsense on bamboo stilts represents, at all? In my view, some of them have lost the moral right to remain in their positions.
The world will know why they failed to act, when the stupid individuals who dreamt up this foolish caper, are finally exposed. Above all, Kabral Blay-Amihere must understand that there is a limit to how duplicitous one can be - he must remember that he is no longer Kufour & Co.'s diplomat abroad: so there is no excuse for that.
He must step down from the position of NMC chairperson - for he has lost the moral authority to lead it, as far as I am concerned. Why did he pretend he was interested in solving this puzzle - when by avoiding all communication with me subsequently, he is proving so clearly that he actually isn't?
He must tread cautiously with me - I am not nearly as foolish as I appear to be. In any case, I am not a fool for nothing, I'll have him know. He must be careful - for he hasn't heard the last of this yet. He and his sodden New Patriotic Party (NPP) media-hirelings will regret this outrage deeply. They've duly been served notice by me - and must be on the qui vive. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
USING STATE-INTERVENTION EXAMPLES FROM ELSEWHERE TO EMPOWER GHANAIAN SMALL BUSINESS!
For those Ghanaian politicians and journalists, who harp on endlessly about private-sector led growth, and talk glibly about the "all-important service sector" creating jobs, but do precious little to make such things happen, I am posting a very interesting article culled from today's edition of the UK newspaper, The Telegraph.
It is an example of how even avowedly capitalist nations are using the power and influence of the nation-state to help small businesses.
The Ghanaian nation-state can actually empower private business in ways that our mostly-unimaginative politicians and journalists seldom think possible.
They must stop merely paying lip-service to the concept of private-sector led growth - and use the power of the Ghanaian nation-state in creative ways to spur it on. Please read on:
"Economic growth: a lesson from Germany and America
The Government must establish an industry bank charged with making investment decisions on commercial grounds, writes David Green.
By David Green
12:40PM GMT 14 Nov 2011
This week the Bank of England is to downgrade its growth estimate for next year, and last week we learned that the trade deficit got wider in September, dashing hopes for a rapid export-led recovery. The Coalition wants economic growth as much as anyone, but why isn’t it happening?
The Government has been hoping that controlling public sector spending, combined with some supply-side measures like deregulation and cutting company taxation, will lead to a private sector revival. But it has been making the unspoken assumption that there is spare capacity in the private sector, or at least capacity that can be rapidly deployed.
Unfortunately, the hollowing out of manufacturing in the last 30 years means that such capacity is no longer there. This reality was acknowledged by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee in April 2011, when it said it was "possible that UK firms in some industries lacked the plant or capacity to expand production rapidly in response to the past depreciation of sterling and it would take time for them to install it".
The Government’s expectations about the potential for private sector growth seem to have been forged in an earlier era when Britain had more manufacturing industry. It comprised 20 per cent of national output as recently as 1997, but by 2009 it was down to 11 per cent, which makes hopes for a rapid resurgence of growth led by the private sector over-optimistic.
The Coalition is planning a major statement about economic growth on November 29, including a new scheme to increase loans for small and medium-sized businesses. But official briefings suggest that, like its Plan For Growth last March, the latest thinking will fall a long way short of what’s needed. We need a national strategy to rebuild our productive infrastructure and create jobs. To achieve a revival of manufacturing the Government needs urgently to establish an industry bank charged with making investment decisions on commercial grounds.
Economists worried about the state "picking winners" should relax. Setting up an industry bank would be following the example of our main rivals in the free world: America and Germany. The ideal to aim for is a blend of America’s Small Business Administration and Germany’s state development bank, KfW. If it’s OK for capitalist America to subsidise business investment, it should be OK for us.
The underlying problem is that UK banks are not lending at a pace consistent with rapid recovery. Moreover, while they are under pressure to re-capitalise and simultaneously face the threat of major losses within the eurozone, they are not going to start investing in British industry at the necessary rate. The quickest solution would be to establish an industry bank and to finance it by allocating £10 billion from the £75 billion recently added to the money supply by the Bank of England.
Germany has found its highly decentralised development bank, KfW, crucial to ending its recession. When private bank lending fell during the recession, KfW lent record sums: €30bn in 2010 alone, creating 66,000 jobs.
America’s Small Business Administration (SBA) also increased funding during the recession. America defines any company with fewer than 500 employees as "small", which covers over 29 million small businesses in the US (99 per cent of companies), employing over half of the American workforce. Since the Second World War the SBA has supplied 20 million small businesses with financial help by supporting them when commercial banks would not. It does not makes loans direct, but guarantees private loans against default, a subsidy that vastly increases the availability of private finance. At present, the SBA has roughly 219,000 loans worth around $45 billion, making it the largest investor in US businesses.
The creation of real wealth depends on better productivity, which means using our brains to work out better ways of producing more for every hour worked. That’s where manufacturing fits in. Contrary to the arguments of some critics, we need to re-industrialise not because of a romantic attachment to "making things" but because manufacturing provides better opportunities for productivity gains than services. A hairdresser can only do so many haircuts per day, whereas in recent years mechanisation has multiplied many times over the number of cars that can be made for every worker employed. The nations that expanded their GDP rapidly in the post-war years, all based their strategy on manufacturing, including Germany, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and today China. They knew what they were doing. Services play a vital part in any economy, but they do not provide the same scope for rapid increases in productivity."
End of culled piece from the Telegraph.
David Green, who wrote the piece, is the co-author of A Strategy For Growth, published this week in the UK by Civitas. One hopes that the high commissioner of Ghana to the UK, will bulk- buy copies - and give them out to all the members of the Mills administration: as their Christmas presents.
How many of our politicians can see the opportunity to help empower small entrepreneurs in the transport sector to prosper - and at the same time turn that financial-basket-case, Kufuor & Co.'s Metro Mass Transit bus company, into a profitable entity, for example?
If the many young professional drivers in our country, who slave for others daily plying our nation's road network, were given the opportunity to own buses purchased by the Metro Transit bus company on a work -and-pay basis, would that not make the company a tidy profit on each bus it purchases, and also enable it turn its workshops into profitable business operations, regularly servicing those work-and-pay buses for their young owner-drivers for a fee?
One hopes our politicians will take up such simple and creative ideas - and provide hope for some of Ghana's younger generation by using the power of the Ghanaian nation-state in creative ways to empower them economically.
Above all, will such creative thinking not help cut down youth unemployment and enable them contribute positively to the nation-building task - which President Mills' "Better Ghana agenda" represents, too, I ask? No one need reinvent the wheel in this exercise - as there are many examples from elsewhere that can be adapted to our own particular circumstances. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
It is an example of how even avowedly capitalist nations are using the power and influence of the nation-state to help small businesses.
The Ghanaian nation-state can actually empower private business in ways that our mostly-unimaginative politicians and journalists seldom think possible.
They must stop merely paying lip-service to the concept of private-sector led growth - and use the power of the Ghanaian nation-state in creative ways to spur it on. Please read on:
"Economic growth: a lesson from Germany and America
The Government must establish an industry bank charged with making investment decisions on commercial grounds, writes David Green.
By David Green
12:40PM GMT 14 Nov 2011
This week the Bank of England is to downgrade its growth estimate for next year, and last week we learned that the trade deficit got wider in September, dashing hopes for a rapid export-led recovery. The Coalition wants economic growth as much as anyone, but why isn’t it happening?
The Government has been hoping that controlling public sector spending, combined with some supply-side measures like deregulation and cutting company taxation, will lead to a private sector revival. But it has been making the unspoken assumption that there is spare capacity in the private sector, or at least capacity that can be rapidly deployed.
Unfortunately, the hollowing out of manufacturing in the last 30 years means that such capacity is no longer there. This reality was acknowledged by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee in April 2011, when it said it was "possible that UK firms in some industries lacked the plant or capacity to expand production rapidly in response to the past depreciation of sterling and it would take time for them to install it".
The Government’s expectations about the potential for private sector growth seem to have been forged in an earlier era when Britain had more manufacturing industry. It comprised 20 per cent of national output as recently as 1997, but by 2009 it was down to 11 per cent, which makes hopes for a rapid resurgence of growth led by the private sector over-optimistic.
The Coalition is planning a major statement about economic growth on November 29, including a new scheme to increase loans for small and medium-sized businesses. But official briefings suggest that, like its Plan For Growth last March, the latest thinking will fall a long way short of what’s needed. We need a national strategy to rebuild our productive infrastructure and create jobs. To achieve a revival of manufacturing the Government needs urgently to establish an industry bank charged with making investment decisions on commercial grounds.
Economists worried about the state "picking winners" should relax. Setting up an industry bank would be following the example of our main rivals in the free world: America and Germany. The ideal to aim for is a blend of America’s Small Business Administration and Germany’s state development bank, KfW. If it’s OK for capitalist America to subsidise business investment, it should be OK for us.
The underlying problem is that UK banks are not lending at a pace consistent with rapid recovery. Moreover, while they are under pressure to re-capitalise and simultaneously face the threat of major losses within the eurozone, they are not going to start investing in British industry at the necessary rate. The quickest solution would be to establish an industry bank and to finance it by allocating £10 billion from the £75 billion recently added to the money supply by the Bank of England.
Germany has found its highly decentralised development bank, KfW, crucial to ending its recession. When private bank lending fell during the recession, KfW lent record sums: €30bn in 2010 alone, creating 66,000 jobs.
America’s Small Business Administration (SBA) also increased funding during the recession. America defines any company with fewer than 500 employees as "small", which covers over 29 million small businesses in the US (99 per cent of companies), employing over half of the American workforce. Since the Second World War the SBA has supplied 20 million small businesses with financial help by supporting them when commercial banks would not. It does not makes loans direct, but guarantees private loans against default, a subsidy that vastly increases the availability of private finance. At present, the SBA has roughly 219,000 loans worth around $45 billion, making it the largest investor in US businesses.
The creation of real wealth depends on better productivity, which means using our brains to work out better ways of producing more for every hour worked. That’s where manufacturing fits in. Contrary to the arguments of some critics, we need to re-industrialise not because of a romantic attachment to "making things" but because manufacturing provides better opportunities for productivity gains than services. A hairdresser can only do so many haircuts per day, whereas in recent years mechanisation has multiplied many times over the number of cars that can be made for every worker employed. The nations that expanded their GDP rapidly in the post-war years, all based their strategy on manufacturing, including Germany, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and today China. They knew what they were doing. Services play a vital part in any economy, but they do not provide the same scope for rapid increases in productivity."
End of culled piece from the Telegraph.
David Green, who wrote the piece, is the co-author of A Strategy For Growth, published this week in the UK by Civitas. One hopes that the high commissioner of Ghana to the UK, will bulk- buy copies - and give them out to all the members of the Mills administration: as their Christmas presents.
How many of our politicians can see the opportunity to help empower small entrepreneurs in the transport sector to prosper - and at the same time turn that financial-basket-case, Kufuor & Co.'s Metro Mass Transit bus company, into a profitable entity, for example?
If the many young professional drivers in our country, who slave for others daily plying our nation's road network, were given the opportunity to own buses purchased by the Metro Transit bus company on a work -and-pay basis, would that not make the company a tidy profit on each bus it purchases, and also enable it turn its workshops into profitable business operations, regularly servicing those work-and-pay buses for their young owner-drivers for a fee?
One hopes our politicians will take up such simple and creative ideas - and provide hope for some of Ghana's younger generation by using the power of the Ghanaian nation-state in creative ways to empower them economically.
Above all, will such creative thinking not help cut down youth unemployment and enable them contribute positively to the nation-building task - which President Mills' "Better Ghana agenda" represents, too, I ask? No one need reinvent the wheel in this exercise - as there are many examples from elsewhere that can be adapted to our own particular circumstances. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Monday, 14 November 2011
WHAT WILL OUR RULING ELITES DO TO PROTECT GHANAIANS FROM POSSIBLE EUROZONE CONTAGION?
In the midst of the eurozone debt crisis and a possible global financial crisis resulting from it, one wonders what problems lie on the horizon, which might confront nations like Ghana, and what steps our ruling elites will take to counter them - and protect our nation and its people from contagion (originating from the economic difficulties of the crisis-ridden wealthy nations of the West) with the potential to spread globally.
In that regard, it would help enormously, if those who manage our nation's economy would be creative enough, to make ordinary Ghanaians see the budget not just as a raising-taxes-and-spending document, but rather the outlining, by government, of the measures needed for the resolution of the problems that confront our nation - and above all, spell out to ordinary people, precisely what those problems (potential and actual) confronting our country are.
Surely, as a people, we must move beyond the pointless post-budget point-scoring and irresponsible knee-jerk reactions of financially-illiterate politicians and biased journalists - to a discussion of what actually ails our national economy, and how to move it on a path of sustained growth: which also creates jobs in a harsh global economic climate?
As an example of the sort of helpful and responsible discussions we ought to have about the management of our national economy, which would benefit our nation and the ordinary people of Ghana, I am posting two separate articles by the Telegraph's Robert Winnett and Tim Ross, respectively, which appeared in the 14 Nov 2011 online edition of the UK newspaper, The Telegraph. Please read on:
"George Osborne spells out France’s problems
By Robert Winnett
6:00AM GMT 14 Nov 2011
France is facing questions over its economy, George Osborne warned yesterday, amid fears that the financial crisis in the eurozone is poised to spread.
Mr Osborne disclosed that his European counterparts were 'terrified' by their debt situation but insisted that Britain was in a relatively strong position as plans to cut Government spending were already well advanced.

The Chancellor compared France to Italy, Greece and Portugal, which have already been hit by the financial turmoil, and warned that it was having to make tough decisions about public spending.
Mr Osborne disclosed that his European counterparts were “terrified” by their debt situation but insisted that Britain was in a relatively strong position as plans to cut Government spending were already well advanced.
Last week, French debt prices rose sharply and Gordon Brown, the former prime minister, warned that the country risked being “picked off” in the coming weeks.
Mr Osborne said the eurozone must push ahead with common tax and spend policies and told Germany that it must be prepared to redistribute money to poorer members of the single currency.
The warning was issued as the political turmoil in Italy looked set to drag on despite the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi as prime minister on Saturday. Several influential Italian politicians said they would not support a new national unity government being formed by Mario Monti, a former EU Commissioner.
Last night, as he received the formal mandate from President Giorgio Napolitano, Mr Monti said Italy must “heal its finances”.
Investors are braced for further swings in stock markets this week as the uncertainty across the eurozone continues.
Yesterday, in a BBC interview, Mr Osborne made several references to France in the same context as Italy. Asked about spending cuts in Britain, he said: “At a time like this when you see what countries like Italy and France are having to do … I’m not any more just talking about countries like Greece, I’m talking about big, big economies like Italy and France, they are having to take big decisions on public expenditure. I think it makes everyone here in Britain realise that we, too, have to make those decisions.”
He said that the immediate problems were dealing with the lack of confidence in Italy and dealing with the questions that have been raised over “even countries like France”.
He said to the interviewer: “You are not interviewing a European finance minister who is currently terrified that he can’t sell the country’s debts. There are many finance ministers across Europe who would be in that position today.”
Last week, Nicolas Sarkozy unveiled a savings package of €18.6 billion over two years — the latest in a series of efforts to safeguard France’s triple-A grade credit rating.
Mr Osborne, who will travel to Brussels later this week for talks with other European finance ministers, joined David Cameron in urging Germany to do more.
The Prime Minister will have private talks with Angela Merkel, the Chancellor, in Berlin on Friday.
Mr Osborne said: “If you think of currency unions, here in the United Kingdom or in the United States, we do transfer money around the country in order to try and get greater equality in the economy. I’m afraid that needs to happen in the euro, because we are not there yet and the instability is having a huge effect.”
British ministers are thought to favour a plan in which the European Central Bank (ECB) would bail out beleaguered European economies by effectively printing more money. However, a greater role for the ECB is being blocked by the German government amid fears that it will fuel uncontrollable inflation.
Yesterday, Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, said: “It’s very clear that in addition to the disciplines that the southern Europeans are going to have to adopt, the Germans are going to have to play their role in supporting the euro zone.
“That’s either directly or through the central bank — making absolutely sure that the big countries that are subject to speculative attack are properly supported with adequate liquidity.”
Tony Blair, the former prime minister, said it would be “catastrophic” if the euro collapsed. “The decisions are immensely difficult but they have got to be taken,” Mr Blair said. “Right now for the single currency it is absolutely essential, if it is to be preserved, that the whole weight of Europe and its institutions come behind it.
“If the single currency broke up it would be catastrophic”."
End of Robert Winnett's Telegraph article.
The second of the two culled Telegraph articles, by Tim Ross, follows below:
"CBI: Britain's economic recovery 'blown off course'
By Tim Ross, Political Correspondent
6:15AM GMT 14 Nov 2011
Britain’s economic recovery is at risk of being “blown off course” by the Eurozone crisis and gloomy forecasts for growth at home, business leaders have warned.
The CBI called on ministers to overhaul new European Union laws giving “gold plated” employment rights to temporary workers, arguing that the rules were hampering the recovery by making firms reluctant to hire agency staff.
The warnings came amid signs of growing tension inside the Coalition over how to tackle the flagging economy, as the Bank of England prepares to cut its forecasts for growth.
The CBI report suggested that businesses are reducing the number of temporary staff they employ and are imposing pay freezes on existing employees, in light of the new EU Agency Workers Directive.
A survey of over 460 firms found that only one in six planned to increased recruitment of temporary workers, while one in five expected to cut back.
The CBI’s deputy director general, Neil Bentley, said the directive was having a negative impact on recruitment, which should set “alarm bells” ringing in Whitehall.
“We want a review next year to make sure it does not cause any more damage,” he said. It is in everyone's interest to help as many people as possible to get into the labour market.
“Employers are making hiring plans on shifting sands and there is a risk the tentative private sector jobs recovery could be blown off course by fast-moving economic events at home and abroad.”
The warnings come ahead of fresh unemployment figures, to be published this week. Ministers are braced for the number of under-25s year-olds out of work to exceed one million for the first time since records began 20 years ago.
The Bank of England is expected to cut its forecasts for economic growth on Tuesday. Analysts suggest that the Bank’s prediction will be for a rise in GDP of just 1% this year, down from an earlier forecast of 1.5%.
However, senior Liberal Democrats and Conservatives appear to be split on how to respond to the slowdown in the British recovery.
On Sunday, Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, claimed he was “right” to have warned before last year’s election that cutting public spending too fast would undermine growth.
In a further sign of friction, the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, postponed a speech on the economy, which he was due to give today, partly because key policies were not yet agreed between the two governing parties.
The Chancellor, George Osborne, is due to publish his plan for stimulating growth in his annual autumn budget statement at the end of the month.
But proposals must first be signed off by the “Quad” of key decision makers in the Cabinet: Mr Osborne, the Prime Minister, Mr Clegg and the Lib Dem Treasury chief secretary, Danny Alexander.
The Chancellor is drawing up plans for a £50 billion pound infrastructure development programme, including road and house building schemes, to create jobs and stimulate private sector investment.
While Lib Dems are believed to support the infrastructure projects, other key areas of economic policy are yet to be agreed.
Senior party figures have rejected moves to reform employment law to allow firms to “fire at will” staff who are underperforming.
Lib Dem ministers also object to suggestions that the Treasury should abandon a promise to increase benefits in line with inflation, which is higher than had been expected.
Party sources said the proposal was being fought on the grounds that the poorest families need more disposable income to spend on the high street to help the economy to grow.
Mr Cable told the BBC Politics Show that there was “no doubt” that benefits should be increased in line with inflation, although he conceded that there were “issues” and “detail” still to be decided ahead of the Chancellor’s autumn budget statement."
End of the second of two articles culled from today's online version of the Telegraph.
Well, one hopes, dear reader, that when the budget is read this week, Ghanaians will hear constructive criticisms and useful suggestions, from our nation's smug chattering classes - instead of the usual pure nonsense on bamboo stilts that often fill the columns of so many Ghanaian newspapers: and we are forced to endure, listening to programmes reviewing the budget, on radio and television.
As can be seen from the two culled Telegraph pieces, the world could be heading towards another global financial crisis - and it is possible that that might even affect the Ghanaian economy negatively.
Surely, in a changed and dangerous world (financially), it is time we got some sense from our educated urban elites, in the days following the reading of budgets in Nkrumah's Ghana - instead of the usual post-budget circus-of-dunces' that some of us have hitherto been forced to put up with in silence?
The truth of the matter, to use a Ghanaian pidgin English phrase, is that: "Massa, nowhere cool!" Consequently, what our leaders must tell us, if Ghana will be impacted negatively by the financial woes of the debt-ridden wealthy nations of the West, is exactly what they plan to do to protect Ghanaians and their nation's economy. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo, the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 27 (0) 27 745 31
In that regard, it would help enormously, if those who manage our nation's economy would be creative enough, to make ordinary Ghanaians see the budget not just as a raising-taxes-and-spending document, but rather the outlining, by government, of the measures needed for the resolution of the problems that confront our nation - and above all, spell out to ordinary people, precisely what those problems (potential and actual) confronting our country are.
Surely, as a people, we must move beyond the pointless post-budget point-scoring and irresponsible knee-jerk reactions of financially-illiterate politicians and biased journalists - to a discussion of what actually ails our national economy, and how to move it on a path of sustained growth: which also creates jobs in a harsh global economic climate?
As an example of the sort of helpful and responsible discussions we ought to have about the management of our national economy, which would benefit our nation and the ordinary people of Ghana, I am posting two separate articles by the Telegraph's Robert Winnett and Tim Ross, respectively, which appeared in the 14 Nov 2011 online edition of the UK newspaper, The Telegraph. Please read on:
"George Osborne spells out France’s problems
By Robert Winnett
6:00AM GMT 14 Nov 2011
France is facing questions over its economy, George Osborne warned yesterday, amid fears that the financial crisis in the eurozone is poised to spread.
Mr Osborne disclosed that his European counterparts were 'terrified' by their debt situation but insisted that Britain was in a relatively strong position as plans to cut Government spending were already well advanced.

The Chancellor compared France to Italy, Greece and Portugal, which have already been hit by the financial turmoil, and warned that it was having to make tough decisions about public spending.
Mr Osborne disclosed that his European counterparts were “terrified” by their debt situation but insisted that Britain was in a relatively strong position as plans to cut Government spending were already well advanced.
Last week, French debt prices rose sharply and Gordon Brown, the former prime minister, warned that the country risked being “picked off” in the coming weeks.
Mr Osborne said the eurozone must push ahead with common tax and spend policies and told Germany that it must be prepared to redistribute money to poorer members of the single currency.
The warning was issued as the political turmoil in Italy looked set to drag on despite the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi as prime minister on Saturday. Several influential Italian politicians said they would not support a new national unity government being formed by Mario Monti, a former EU Commissioner.
Last night, as he received the formal mandate from President Giorgio Napolitano, Mr Monti said Italy must “heal its finances”.
Investors are braced for further swings in stock markets this week as the uncertainty across the eurozone continues.
Yesterday, in a BBC interview, Mr Osborne made several references to France in the same context as Italy. Asked about spending cuts in Britain, he said: “At a time like this when you see what countries like Italy and France are having to do … I’m not any more just talking about countries like Greece, I’m talking about big, big economies like Italy and France, they are having to take big decisions on public expenditure. I think it makes everyone here in Britain realise that we, too, have to make those decisions.”
He said that the immediate problems were dealing with the lack of confidence in Italy and dealing with the questions that have been raised over “even countries like France”.
He said to the interviewer: “You are not interviewing a European finance minister who is currently terrified that he can’t sell the country’s debts. There are many finance ministers across Europe who would be in that position today.”
Last week, Nicolas Sarkozy unveiled a savings package of €18.6 billion over two years — the latest in a series of efforts to safeguard France’s triple-A grade credit rating.
Mr Osborne, who will travel to Brussels later this week for talks with other European finance ministers, joined David Cameron in urging Germany to do more.
The Prime Minister will have private talks with Angela Merkel, the Chancellor, in Berlin on Friday.
Mr Osborne said: “If you think of currency unions, here in the United Kingdom or in the United States, we do transfer money around the country in order to try and get greater equality in the economy. I’m afraid that needs to happen in the euro, because we are not there yet and the instability is having a huge effect.”
British ministers are thought to favour a plan in which the European Central Bank (ECB) would bail out beleaguered European economies by effectively printing more money. However, a greater role for the ECB is being blocked by the German government amid fears that it will fuel uncontrollable inflation.
Yesterday, Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, said: “It’s very clear that in addition to the disciplines that the southern Europeans are going to have to adopt, the Germans are going to have to play their role in supporting the euro zone.
“That’s either directly or through the central bank — making absolutely sure that the big countries that are subject to speculative attack are properly supported with adequate liquidity.”
Tony Blair, the former prime minister, said it would be “catastrophic” if the euro collapsed. “The decisions are immensely difficult but they have got to be taken,” Mr Blair said. “Right now for the single currency it is absolutely essential, if it is to be preserved, that the whole weight of Europe and its institutions come behind it.
“If the single currency broke up it would be catastrophic”."
End of Robert Winnett's Telegraph article.
The second of the two culled Telegraph articles, by Tim Ross, follows below:
"CBI: Britain's economic recovery 'blown off course'
By Tim Ross, Political Correspondent
6:15AM GMT 14 Nov 2011
Britain’s economic recovery is at risk of being “blown off course” by the Eurozone crisis and gloomy forecasts for growth at home, business leaders have warned.
The CBI called on ministers to overhaul new European Union laws giving “gold plated” employment rights to temporary workers, arguing that the rules were hampering the recovery by making firms reluctant to hire agency staff.
The warnings came amid signs of growing tension inside the Coalition over how to tackle the flagging economy, as the Bank of England prepares to cut its forecasts for growth.
The CBI report suggested that businesses are reducing the number of temporary staff they employ and are imposing pay freezes on existing employees, in light of the new EU Agency Workers Directive.
A survey of over 460 firms found that only one in six planned to increased recruitment of temporary workers, while one in five expected to cut back.
The CBI’s deputy director general, Neil Bentley, said the directive was having a negative impact on recruitment, which should set “alarm bells” ringing in Whitehall.
“We want a review next year to make sure it does not cause any more damage,” he said. It is in everyone's interest to help as many people as possible to get into the labour market.
“Employers are making hiring plans on shifting sands and there is a risk the tentative private sector jobs recovery could be blown off course by fast-moving economic events at home and abroad.”
The warnings come ahead of fresh unemployment figures, to be published this week. Ministers are braced for the number of under-25s year-olds out of work to exceed one million for the first time since records began 20 years ago.
The Bank of England is expected to cut its forecasts for economic growth on Tuesday. Analysts suggest that the Bank’s prediction will be for a rise in GDP of just 1% this year, down from an earlier forecast of 1.5%.
However, senior Liberal Democrats and Conservatives appear to be split on how to respond to the slowdown in the British recovery.
On Sunday, Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, claimed he was “right” to have warned before last year’s election that cutting public spending too fast would undermine growth.
In a further sign of friction, the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, postponed a speech on the economy, which he was due to give today, partly because key policies were not yet agreed between the two governing parties.
The Chancellor, George Osborne, is due to publish his plan for stimulating growth in his annual autumn budget statement at the end of the month.
But proposals must first be signed off by the “Quad” of key decision makers in the Cabinet: Mr Osborne, the Prime Minister, Mr Clegg and the Lib Dem Treasury chief secretary, Danny Alexander.
The Chancellor is drawing up plans for a £50 billion pound infrastructure development programme, including road and house building schemes, to create jobs and stimulate private sector investment.
While Lib Dems are believed to support the infrastructure projects, other key areas of economic policy are yet to be agreed.
Senior party figures have rejected moves to reform employment law to allow firms to “fire at will” staff who are underperforming.
Lib Dem ministers also object to suggestions that the Treasury should abandon a promise to increase benefits in line with inflation, which is higher than had been expected.
Party sources said the proposal was being fought on the grounds that the poorest families need more disposable income to spend on the high street to help the economy to grow.
Mr Cable told the BBC Politics Show that there was “no doubt” that benefits should be increased in line with inflation, although he conceded that there were “issues” and “detail” still to be decided ahead of the Chancellor’s autumn budget statement."
End of the second of two articles culled from today's online version of the Telegraph.
Well, one hopes, dear reader, that when the budget is read this week, Ghanaians will hear constructive criticisms and useful suggestions, from our nation's smug chattering classes - instead of the usual pure nonsense on bamboo stilts that often fill the columns of so many Ghanaian newspapers: and we are forced to endure, listening to programmes reviewing the budget, on radio and television.
As can be seen from the two culled Telegraph pieces, the world could be heading towards another global financial crisis - and it is possible that that might even affect the Ghanaian economy negatively.
Surely, in a changed and dangerous world (financially), it is time we got some sense from our educated urban elites, in the days following the reading of budgets in Nkrumah's Ghana - instead of the usual post-budget circus-of-dunces' that some of us have hitherto been forced to put up with in silence?
The truth of the matter, to use a Ghanaian pidgin English phrase, is that: "Massa, nowhere cool!" Consequently, what our leaders must tell us, if Ghana will be impacted negatively by the financial woes of the debt-ridden wealthy nations of the West, is exactly what they plan to do to protect Ghanaians and their nation's economy. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo, the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 27 (0) 27 745 31
Friday, 11 November 2011
Let Us Wish Both President Mills And Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Well - For The December 2012 Election Campaign!
The real battle for the presidency in the December 2012 election, will be between the incumbent President Mills, and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the largest of the opposition parties in Ghana.
I recall that not too long after Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was defeated by Mr. J. A. Kufuor, in the NPP's primary election to select its presidential candidate for the December 2000 elections, I had a short conversation with him.
I told him then, as I commiserated with him on his missed opportunity, that it was tragic that his party had chosen Kufuor over him - because I sincerely believed that he would have made a far better president than Kufuor ever was: as he would have seized the historic opportunity Providence gave their party, to change the face of Ghanaian politics for the better, forever.
Had his party had the good sense to choose him, instead of the cynical Kufuor, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo would have set a shinning example in good governance, for the rest of Africa to follow.
And we would have seen a dynamic and non-tribalistic NPP leader, running a largely corruption-free administration - very much like those virtually corruption-free regimes in Botswana and Ethiopia.
If Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had become president in January 2001, instead of Mr. Kufuor, Ghaianains would never have witnessed the unprecedented levels of nepotism, greed, tribalism and abuse of office, which fuelled elite-corruption so much, during the eight long and profitable years, of the sunny days of the golden age of business - for the perfidious Kufuor; his favourites amongst the members of his large family clan; and his regime's crony-capitalist, tax-evading super-tycoon friends: who bankroll the NPP.
As we all know today, they ruthlessly exploited our national economy - for private gain: at the expense of ordinary Ghanaians and their homeland Ghana. Those abominable and disgraceful actions of the small but powerful tribal-supremacist cabal, which dominated the NPP at the time, would never have reached the destructive levels they did, during the Kufuor era - reaching its apogee at the tail-end of Kufuor's presidency - had it been Nana Akufo-Addo who had been president at the time.
It is such a pity that the more cynical and selfish individual of the two NPP politicians ended up becoming Ghana's president.
For a large chunk of his adult life, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has served the nation he so obviously loves - to the extent of risking life and limb on many occasions, fighting with other patriots and nationalists, to help remove military regimes - in order to restore constitutional rule to Ghana: so as to enable its people enjoy constitutionally-guaranteed rights enjoyed by citizens in democratic nations throughout the world.
That is one of the reasons why I feel that it is unfair of those who do not know him, yet for base political reasons denigrate this friendly, generous-hearted and outgoing personality. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo could have so easily chosen a life of ease and leisure, because of his wealthy background - but because of his idealism, chose instead, that nest of vipers, which is the world of Ghanaian politics: so that he could make a difference to his country and its people.
One took an instant liking to him, when upon being told one was "Marian's brother" in 1996, the first time we came across each other, he said to one of the clever young lawyers in his chambers: "He's not the brother I know."
It was a razor-sharp mind telling the young lawyer working in his chambers handling my brief at the time, Yonney Kulende, in a roundabout way, to be careful - as I might as well be an imposter, for all they knew. He knew my older brother Charles - but had never met me before.
Only a clever and witty individual could have phrased a warning, clothed in such seemingly innocuous garb, in a riposte, quick as a flash. Its such a pity that a fine gentleman like that with such a quick brain, is leading what a wag I am acquainted with, often refers to, as: "...that almost brain-dead party now badly infected and made contagious by Kufuor & Co's greed, nepotism and tribalism."
It is also a pity that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was chosen eight years too late by his party - which, if it had had the good sense to select him as its presidential candidate in 2000, would probably never have lost the December 2008 presidential election.
Speaking personally, despite having a soft spot for Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and having a great deal of respect for him, I will be praying hard that President Mills is re-elected in December 2012 - as I agree with those who say that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's party has forfeited the right to rule the nation whose future they are apparently now even prepared to resort to violence over.
No politician or political party that does not understand clearly, that what is a unique working model of modern Africa tomorrow, today, and a harbinger of the coming African renaissance, cannot, under any circumstances, afford to have its image soiled and reputation tainted by such uncivilised and barbaric phenomena, as countrywide election violence, deserves to rule our homeland Ghana.
Violence is no longer a fit-for-purpose tactic, in elections in Africa's beacon-of-hope, Nkrumah's Ghana. The peace-loving people of Ghana, do not deserve to have their country descend into chaos and violence, merely because of disputed elections - and to have their lives turned upside down because of the lust for power of some members of its political class.
All Ghana's politicians and its political parties, must resolve to rein in the men and women of violence in their midst - and promise the ordinary people of Ghana that under no circumstances will they permit anything that will destroy our nation's hard-won and priceless international reputation, as a civilised, modern and stable African nation-state - which always has non-violent, free and fair elections every four years.
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo must make a solemn promise to Ghanaians that under his leadership, the NPP will devote all its energies to working with all the other political parties, to help find a way to prevent violence from breaking out, at any polling station in Ghana, during the December 2012 presidential and parliamentary elections.
On his part, President Mills must also promise to work together with the Electoral Commission (EC) to ensure that a verifiable biometric electoral register is in place. Lack of resources must not become an insurmountable hurdle we cannot overcome.
A little creative thinking ought to lead us to the doors of our Indian friends. Surely, the world's largest democracy, with which we've had friendly relations dating back to March 1957, can lend us all the equipment we need, for a verifiable biometric electoral register?
Despite the fractious nature of most of the membership of the political parties they both lead, one wishes both President Mills and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, two fundamentally decent and essentially good human beings, well, in the campaign for the December 2012 presidential election. Above all, may Ghana emerge the real winner, in that very very important election! Let the followers of the political parties they lead eschew all violence on that important day of reckoning for 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.
I recall that not too long after Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was defeated by Mr. J. A. Kufuor, in the NPP's primary election to select its presidential candidate for the December 2000 elections, I had a short conversation with him.
I told him then, as I commiserated with him on his missed opportunity, that it was tragic that his party had chosen Kufuor over him - because I sincerely believed that he would have made a far better president than Kufuor ever was: as he would have seized the historic opportunity Providence gave their party, to change the face of Ghanaian politics for the better, forever.
Had his party had the good sense to choose him, instead of the cynical Kufuor, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo would have set a shinning example in good governance, for the rest of Africa to follow.
And we would have seen a dynamic and non-tribalistic NPP leader, running a largely corruption-free administration - very much like those virtually corruption-free regimes in Botswana and Ethiopia.
If Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had become president in January 2001, instead of Mr. Kufuor, Ghaianains would never have witnessed the unprecedented levels of nepotism, greed, tribalism and abuse of office, which fuelled elite-corruption so much, during the eight long and profitable years, of the sunny days of the golden age of business - for the perfidious Kufuor; his favourites amongst the members of his large family clan; and his regime's crony-capitalist, tax-evading super-tycoon friends: who bankroll the NPP.
As we all know today, they ruthlessly exploited our national economy - for private gain: at the expense of ordinary Ghanaians and their homeland Ghana. Those abominable and disgraceful actions of the small but powerful tribal-supremacist cabal, which dominated the NPP at the time, would never have reached the destructive levels they did, during the Kufuor era - reaching its apogee at the tail-end of Kufuor's presidency - had it been Nana Akufo-Addo who had been president at the time.
It is such a pity that the more cynical and selfish individual of the two NPP politicians ended up becoming Ghana's president.
For a large chunk of his adult life, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has served the nation he so obviously loves - to the extent of risking life and limb on many occasions, fighting with other patriots and nationalists, to help remove military regimes - in order to restore constitutional rule to Ghana: so as to enable its people enjoy constitutionally-guaranteed rights enjoyed by citizens in democratic nations throughout the world.
That is one of the reasons why I feel that it is unfair of those who do not know him, yet for base political reasons denigrate this friendly, generous-hearted and outgoing personality. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo could have so easily chosen a life of ease and leisure, because of his wealthy background - but because of his idealism, chose instead, that nest of vipers, which is the world of Ghanaian politics: so that he could make a difference to his country and its people.
One took an instant liking to him, when upon being told one was "Marian's brother" in 1996, the first time we came across each other, he said to one of the clever young lawyers in his chambers: "He's not the brother I know."
It was a razor-sharp mind telling the young lawyer working in his chambers handling my brief at the time, Yonney Kulende, in a roundabout way, to be careful - as I might as well be an imposter, for all they knew. He knew my older brother Charles - but had never met me before.
Only a clever and witty individual could have phrased a warning, clothed in such seemingly innocuous garb, in a riposte, quick as a flash. Its such a pity that a fine gentleman like that with such a quick brain, is leading what a wag I am acquainted with, often refers to, as: "...that almost brain-dead party now badly infected and made contagious by Kufuor & Co's greed, nepotism and tribalism."
It is also a pity that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was chosen eight years too late by his party - which, if it had had the good sense to select him as its presidential candidate in 2000, would probably never have lost the December 2008 presidential election.
Speaking personally, despite having a soft spot for Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and having a great deal of respect for him, I will be praying hard that President Mills is re-elected in December 2012 - as I agree with those who say that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's party has forfeited the right to rule the nation whose future they are apparently now even prepared to resort to violence over.
No politician or political party that does not understand clearly, that what is a unique working model of modern Africa tomorrow, today, and a harbinger of the coming African renaissance, cannot, under any circumstances, afford to have its image soiled and reputation tainted by such uncivilised and barbaric phenomena, as countrywide election violence, deserves to rule our homeland Ghana.
Violence is no longer a fit-for-purpose tactic, in elections in Africa's beacon-of-hope, Nkrumah's Ghana. The peace-loving people of Ghana, do not deserve to have their country descend into chaos and violence, merely because of disputed elections - and to have their lives turned upside down because of the lust for power of some members of its political class.
All Ghana's politicians and its political parties, must resolve to rein in the men and women of violence in their midst - and promise the ordinary people of Ghana that under no circumstances will they permit anything that will destroy our nation's hard-won and priceless international reputation, as a civilised, modern and stable African nation-state - which always has non-violent, free and fair elections every four years.
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo must make a solemn promise to Ghanaians that under his leadership, the NPP will devote all its energies to working with all the other political parties, to help find a way to prevent violence from breaking out, at any polling station in Ghana, during the December 2012 presidential and parliamentary elections.
On his part, President Mills must also promise to work together with the Electoral Commission (EC) to ensure that a verifiable biometric electoral register is in place. Lack of resources must not become an insurmountable hurdle we cannot overcome.
A little creative thinking ought to lead us to the doors of our Indian friends. Surely, the world's largest democracy, with which we've had friendly relations dating back to March 1957, can lend us all the equipment we need, for a verifiable biometric electoral register?
Despite the fractious nature of most of the membership of the political parties they both lead, one wishes both President Mills and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, two fundamentally decent and essentially good human beings, well, in the campaign for the December 2012 presidential election. Above all, may Ghana emerge the real winner, in that very very important election! Let the followers of the political parties they lead eschew all violence on that important day of reckoning for 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.
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
Any Lessons For Ghana In IMF Managing Director's Address to the 2011 International Finance Forum - Beijing, November 9, 2011?
To hear many Ghanaian politicians and journalists talk, one would think that the global economic outlook was a rosy one - and that if only the particular political party they were sympathetic towards, was in power, Ghana would be a paradise.
Yet, it would take at least a decade of consistent economic growth, for our country to be transformed sufficiently, enough, for the living standards of most ordinary Ghanaians to be improved to a degree, which will make it possible for them to have a good quality of life.
A speech prepared for delivery by Christine Lagarde, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Beijing, on November 9, 2011, ought to be food for thought for those Ghanaian politicians and journalists, who have made the raising of unrealistic expectations amongst ordinary people, their stock-in-trade.
It is time they were a tad more honest with the ordinary people of Ghana - so that it is understood clearly by all that it will take at least a decade for Ghana to be transformed: and virtually all its citizens guaranteed a good quality of life.
Please read on:
"Good morning. It is a great joy and privilege to be here. I would like especially to thank the chairman of the International Finance Forum, Dr. Cheng Siwei, and His Excellency Han Seung-so, former Korean prime minister, for kindly inviting me here today. It is always a pleasure to return to this magnificent country.
I have visited China many times, but this is my first trip as Managing Director of the IMF, a visit from an old friend of China. I am very pleased that China and the Fund have such an excellent relationship. China is one of our most important shareholders.
So I look forward to listening to and exchanging views with our Chinese friends — and to discussing how our partnership can grow even stronger in the future.
The rise of Asia in the global economy is really the defining economic success story of modern times. And so today, it is no surprise that Asia is propelling the global recovery.
In all of this, China is very much a leader. Just look at its remarkable achievements over the past three decades—creating 370 million jobs, lifting half a billion people out of poverty, and growing by an average 10 percent a year.
No wonder that when I visit this region, I am filled with hope and optimism about the future.
But I do not visit you today in the best of circumstances. There are dark clouds gathering in the global economy, and Asia will need to watch them carefully.
I am encouraged by the steps that have been taken recently — by the Euro Area leaders a few weeks ago and by the G20 leaders a few days ago. But the risks remain serious.
So let me talk about four things:
First, the state of the global economy.
Second, the policies needed to restore global growth.
Third, how China can do even more to safeguard its own economic future.
And fourth, the importance of shifts taking place in global economic governance, especially as it relates to the role of emerging markets and China
1. Global and regional economic challenges
First, as I have said before, the global economy has entered a dangerous and uncertain phase. Adverse feedback loops between the real economy and the financial sector have become prominent. And unemployment in the advanced economies remains unacceptably high.
If we do not act, and act together, we could enter a downward spiral of uncertainty, financial instability, and a collapse in global demand. Ultimately, we could face a lost decade of low growth and high unemployment.
While so many other areas are still struggling to recover from the global financial crisis, Asia is rebounding. It is a real bright spot — no question about it.
Asia is not immune, however, from developments in the rest of the world. The trade channel is critical, as the region still relies a lot on external demand to propel growth. Emerging Asia is also vulnerable to developments in the financial sector.
In our increasingly interconnected world, no country and no region can go it alone. We are bound together by our economic success — or failure.
2. Policy path
Which brings me to my second issue — the policy path ahead for the world. Since the advanced economies are at the center of the global turmoil, they have a special responsibility to undertake the policies needed to restore confidence and lift growth.
In that respect, as I said, I am encouraged that on October 26, Euro Area leaders agreed on a framework that would restore debt sustainability in Greece; recapitalize European banks; strengthen the firewall against financial contagion; and lay the foundations for robust economic governance in the euro area.
At the Cannes Summit just ended, the G20 countries endorsed this framework and emphasized the need for expeditious implementation. That is now the key.
More broadly, we also need to keep our eyes on the big prize — a strong, sustainable and balanced recovery. What does this mean for the advanced economies in terms of the policy path forward?
It means striking the appropriate balance in fiscal and monetary policies to promote stability and growth. It means pushing ahead with structural policies to boost competitiveness and employment; and strengthening financial regulation to make the financial sector safer and to put it back in the service of the real economy.
Of course, the mix of policies differs from country to country. There is no single path. Each must find the right balance which, when combined with what others are doing, leads to the kind of recovery we want — one that benefits as many people as possible.
And here, let me emphasize another key element of a truly sustainable recovery—the social dimension. We need growth, but we need growth that produces jobs. Without jobs, the great risk that is that a generation of young people becomes unmoored from the productive economy and the bonds of society.
We need growth, but we need growth that is inclusive. As is borne out by recent IMF research, more equal income distribution is good for macroeconomic stability and sustainable growth.
If this is the policy direction for the advanced economies, what is the path for Asia?
Right now, Asia is facing a difficult balancing act. Countries need to prepare for any storm that might reach their shores. But some face continued overheating pressures and risks to financial stability from prolonged easy financial conditions. Therefore, policy must respond nimbly to changing circumstances.
When inflation pressures are high and monetary policy is accommodative, monetary tightening makes sense. But when inflation is under control and exposure to external dangers is high, countries can hold off on monetary tightening. Indeed some countries in the region have already halted monetary tightening or even eased. However, since fiscal deficits and debts are higher than before the crisis, for the vast majority of countries, continued deficit reduction is the right course of action.
But if the global economic environment deteriorates further, it makes sense to quickly change course and deploy a range of measures to cushion economic activity. For example, policymakers can ease off the fiscal brakes, draw on reserves or regional reserve pooling arrangements, and reactivate central bank swap lines. We, at the IMF, are prepared to help in complementing regional financial arrangements in Asia.
The social dimension that I spoke of is also directly relevant in Asia. It is at the forefront of thinking of the leaders in Asia, including in China. Certainly, tremendous progress has been made in poverty reduction. Major efforts have also been made and are continuing to be made in building better social safety nets and investing more in infrastructure, health and education in the region.
This strategy has the twin benefit of creating more inclusive growth for the benefit of the people of Asia and providing stronger domestic engines of growth — which in turn helps the global economy.
3. The role of China
Which brings me to my third point: the role of China. Let me state up-front that I believe that, fundamentally, China is on the right path — a path laid out comprehensively in the 12th five-year plan.
It is on the right path in terms of reducing domestic vulnerabilities — by moderating the pace of credit growth, increasing provisioning and capital, and expanding scope of macroprudential policies. There is still scope for using monetary policy to restrain credit growth.
Fiscal policy is appropriately moving back to balance. But if the growth outlook deteriorates significantly, it could become the first line of defense, given ample fiscal space and capacity to deploy resources quickly.
China is also on the right path in terms of reorienting the economy towards domestic demand. As Laozi said, “a journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step”. Indeed, China has already made good progress on the road to rebalancing.
The current account surplus has fallen from an all-time high of 10 percent of GDP in 2007 to just over 5 percent last year. While some of this comes from weak global demand, some of it also comes from higher imports — which helps the global economy.
Now is the time to move further from exports and investment toward consumption — including by further boosting household incomes and expanding social safety nets. Reform of the financial system continues to be important and, as we have said before, China also needs a stronger currency in real effective terms.
4. Global economic governance
Global economic governance is my fourth and final point. I have already referred to the spectacular rise of Asia in general, and China in particular, in the global economy.
China is a vital driver of global growth and, along with other key emerging markets, it also helps to lift growth in low-income countries through trade, investment, and financing.
China plays a leading role at the G20 — and I was delighted to have the opportunity to meet with President Hu Jintao at the Cannes Summit. China also plays a leading role at the IMF.
For the Fund to be more effective, we recognize that we need to be truly representative of our membership — all 187 countries. In that respect, we have been working hard to reform our governance structure so that emerging market and developing countries have a greater voice in the institution.
One result of these governance reforms is that China is now in our top three shareholders. So China is a very important member of the IMF — which is only fitting, given its very important role in the global economy.
Conclusion
I want to leave with you one final thought — we are all in one boat. One global economy. Our fortunes rise together, and they fall together.
“All men are brothers”, said the Analects.
We have a collective responsibility — to bring about a more stable and more prosperous world, a world in which every person in every country can reach their full potential.
For much of history, China was among the most technologically advanced, the most populous, and the most prosperous of nations. China has once again taken the global central stage and plays a crucial role — today and into the future.
Thank you."
End of the speech by Ms. Christine Largarde, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
Yet, it would take at least a decade of consistent economic growth, for our country to be transformed sufficiently, enough, for the living standards of most ordinary Ghanaians to be improved to a degree, which will make it possible for them to have a good quality of life.
A speech prepared for delivery by Christine Lagarde, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Beijing, on November 9, 2011, ought to be food for thought for those Ghanaian politicians and journalists, who have made the raising of unrealistic expectations amongst ordinary people, their stock-in-trade.
It is time they were a tad more honest with the ordinary people of Ghana - so that it is understood clearly by all that it will take at least a decade for Ghana to be transformed: and virtually all its citizens guaranteed a good quality of life.
Please read on:
"Good morning. It is a great joy and privilege to be here. I would like especially to thank the chairman of the International Finance Forum, Dr. Cheng Siwei, and His Excellency Han Seung-so, former Korean prime minister, for kindly inviting me here today. It is always a pleasure to return to this magnificent country.
I have visited China many times, but this is my first trip as Managing Director of the IMF, a visit from an old friend of China. I am very pleased that China and the Fund have such an excellent relationship. China is one of our most important shareholders.
So I look forward to listening to and exchanging views with our Chinese friends — and to discussing how our partnership can grow even stronger in the future.
The rise of Asia in the global economy is really the defining economic success story of modern times. And so today, it is no surprise that Asia is propelling the global recovery.
In all of this, China is very much a leader. Just look at its remarkable achievements over the past three decades—creating 370 million jobs, lifting half a billion people out of poverty, and growing by an average 10 percent a year.
No wonder that when I visit this region, I am filled with hope and optimism about the future.
But I do not visit you today in the best of circumstances. There are dark clouds gathering in the global economy, and Asia will need to watch them carefully.
I am encouraged by the steps that have been taken recently — by the Euro Area leaders a few weeks ago and by the G20 leaders a few days ago. But the risks remain serious.
So let me talk about four things:
First, the state of the global economy.
Second, the policies needed to restore global growth.
Third, how China can do even more to safeguard its own economic future.
And fourth, the importance of shifts taking place in global economic governance, especially as it relates to the role of emerging markets and China
1. Global and regional economic challenges
First, as I have said before, the global economy has entered a dangerous and uncertain phase. Adverse feedback loops between the real economy and the financial sector have become prominent. And unemployment in the advanced economies remains unacceptably high.
If we do not act, and act together, we could enter a downward spiral of uncertainty, financial instability, and a collapse in global demand. Ultimately, we could face a lost decade of low growth and high unemployment.
While so many other areas are still struggling to recover from the global financial crisis, Asia is rebounding. It is a real bright spot — no question about it.
Asia is not immune, however, from developments in the rest of the world. The trade channel is critical, as the region still relies a lot on external demand to propel growth. Emerging Asia is also vulnerable to developments in the financial sector.
In our increasingly interconnected world, no country and no region can go it alone. We are bound together by our economic success — or failure.
2. Policy path
Which brings me to my second issue — the policy path ahead for the world. Since the advanced economies are at the center of the global turmoil, they have a special responsibility to undertake the policies needed to restore confidence and lift growth.
In that respect, as I said, I am encouraged that on October 26, Euro Area leaders agreed on a framework that would restore debt sustainability in Greece; recapitalize European banks; strengthen the firewall against financial contagion; and lay the foundations for robust economic governance in the euro area.
At the Cannes Summit just ended, the G20 countries endorsed this framework and emphasized the need for expeditious implementation. That is now the key.
More broadly, we also need to keep our eyes on the big prize — a strong, sustainable and balanced recovery. What does this mean for the advanced economies in terms of the policy path forward?
It means striking the appropriate balance in fiscal and monetary policies to promote stability and growth. It means pushing ahead with structural policies to boost competitiveness and employment; and strengthening financial regulation to make the financial sector safer and to put it back in the service of the real economy.
Of course, the mix of policies differs from country to country. There is no single path. Each must find the right balance which, when combined with what others are doing, leads to the kind of recovery we want — one that benefits as many people as possible.
And here, let me emphasize another key element of a truly sustainable recovery—the social dimension. We need growth, but we need growth that produces jobs. Without jobs, the great risk that is that a generation of young people becomes unmoored from the productive economy and the bonds of society.
We need growth, but we need growth that is inclusive. As is borne out by recent IMF research, more equal income distribution is good for macroeconomic stability and sustainable growth.
If this is the policy direction for the advanced economies, what is the path for Asia?
Right now, Asia is facing a difficult balancing act. Countries need to prepare for any storm that might reach their shores. But some face continued overheating pressures and risks to financial stability from prolonged easy financial conditions. Therefore, policy must respond nimbly to changing circumstances.
When inflation pressures are high and monetary policy is accommodative, monetary tightening makes sense. But when inflation is under control and exposure to external dangers is high, countries can hold off on monetary tightening. Indeed some countries in the region have already halted monetary tightening or even eased. However, since fiscal deficits and debts are higher than before the crisis, for the vast majority of countries, continued deficit reduction is the right course of action.
But if the global economic environment deteriorates further, it makes sense to quickly change course and deploy a range of measures to cushion economic activity. For example, policymakers can ease off the fiscal brakes, draw on reserves or regional reserve pooling arrangements, and reactivate central bank swap lines. We, at the IMF, are prepared to help in complementing regional financial arrangements in Asia.
The social dimension that I spoke of is also directly relevant in Asia. It is at the forefront of thinking of the leaders in Asia, including in China. Certainly, tremendous progress has been made in poverty reduction. Major efforts have also been made and are continuing to be made in building better social safety nets and investing more in infrastructure, health and education in the region.
This strategy has the twin benefit of creating more inclusive growth for the benefit of the people of Asia and providing stronger domestic engines of growth — which in turn helps the global economy.
3. The role of China
Which brings me to my third point: the role of China. Let me state up-front that I believe that, fundamentally, China is on the right path — a path laid out comprehensively in the 12th five-year plan.
It is on the right path in terms of reducing domestic vulnerabilities — by moderating the pace of credit growth, increasing provisioning and capital, and expanding scope of macroprudential policies. There is still scope for using monetary policy to restrain credit growth.
Fiscal policy is appropriately moving back to balance. But if the growth outlook deteriorates significantly, it could become the first line of defense, given ample fiscal space and capacity to deploy resources quickly.
China is also on the right path in terms of reorienting the economy towards domestic demand. As Laozi said, “a journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step”. Indeed, China has already made good progress on the road to rebalancing.
The current account surplus has fallen from an all-time high of 10 percent of GDP in 2007 to just over 5 percent last year. While some of this comes from weak global demand, some of it also comes from higher imports — which helps the global economy.
Now is the time to move further from exports and investment toward consumption — including by further boosting household incomes and expanding social safety nets. Reform of the financial system continues to be important and, as we have said before, China also needs a stronger currency in real effective terms.
4. Global economic governance
Global economic governance is my fourth and final point. I have already referred to the spectacular rise of Asia in general, and China in particular, in the global economy.
China is a vital driver of global growth and, along with other key emerging markets, it also helps to lift growth in low-income countries through trade, investment, and financing.
China plays a leading role at the G20 — and I was delighted to have the opportunity to meet with President Hu Jintao at the Cannes Summit. China also plays a leading role at the IMF.
For the Fund to be more effective, we recognize that we need to be truly representative of our membership — all 187 countries. In that respect, we have been working hard to reform our governance structure so that emerging market and developing countries have a greater voice in the institution.
One result of these governance reforms is that China is now in our top three shareholders. So China is a very important member of the IMF — which is only fitting, given its very important role in the global economy.
Conclusion
I want to leave with you one final thought — we are all in one boat. One global economy. Our fortunes rise together, and they fall together.
“All men are brothers”, said the Analects.
We have a collective responsibility — to bring about a more stable and more prosperous world, a world in which every person in every country can reach their full potential.
For much of history, China was among the most technologically advanced, the most populous, and the most prosperous of nations. China has once again taken the global central stage and plays a crucial role — today and into the future.
Thank you."
End of the speech by Ms. Christine Largarde, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
Sunday, 6 November 2011
An Example Of Due Process In Action - & Why Ghana Is Much Better Off Under President Mills!
A story that appeared in the 5th November, 2011 edition of the general news web-page of www.ghanaweb.com, entitled: "EDIF confirms interdiction of Ag. Chief Executive" sums up, in a nutshell, why Ghana is much better off under President Mills - than under any New Patriotic Party (NPP) regime.
Alas, that party is one that is almost always dominated by a few powerful and elitist tribal-supremacist individuals, who share the nonsensical belief that some ethnic groups in our ethnically-diverse nation are more equal than others in Ghanaian society.
And, most irritating above all, those tribal-supremacists hold the absurd notion that somehow they are above the laws of our homeland Ghana - dangerous and treasonable arrogance that is also written into their political DNA: and etched deeply in their individual psyches.
Many a discerning Ghanaian will concur that had this scandal come to light during the NPP regime of Kufuor & Co, for example, it would have been quickly swept under the carpet - and all those guilty of wrong-doing would have gotten away with this crime against ordinary Ghanaians and their nation.
To buttress my point, I am reproducing a press release from the Export Development and Investment Fund (EDIF), meant to correct unbalanced one-sided disclosures in sections of the Ghanaian media, for readers to draw their own conclusions. Apart from breaking up some paragraphs to make for easier reading, no editing has been done.
Please read on:
"EDIF MANGO PROJECT
The attention of the Board of Directors (BoD) of EDIF has been drawn to a number of articles in the Ghanaian press relating to the interdiction of the Ag CEO, Director of Finance and Director Audit of the Fund and other related issues. Due to the selective and potentially misleading nature of some of these publications, the EDIF BoD has decided to set the record straight with this press statement.
BACKGROUND:
EDIF was established by Act 582 on the 4th of October 2000 to provide financial resources for the development and promotion of the export trade of Ghana. Operation of the fund however started in July 2001.
Its mission is to enhance the economic growth of Ghana by providing funds on concessionary terms for the development and promotion of the country’s non-traditional export sector.
EDIF has so far provided in excess of GH¢177.71 million to support 237 projects across the country.
In 2009, EDIF embarked on a major program called the National Mango Plantations Development program. Under this program, EDIF intends to earmark a substantial amount of its budget to support massive mango production in the Transitional zone and the three Northern regions of Ghana.
Farmers in these areas are to be assisted to intercrop Mango plantations with annual crops in order to enhance food availability, bridge the hunger gap and improve household income in the short to medium term.
This program was included in the 2009 National Budget, and is in support of the Government’s effort at reducing poverty and increasing the income for the poor in Ghana. The EDIF Mango Project as it has come to be called, has been in operation for the 2009, 2010 and 2011 planting seasons.
Some irregularities were however detected in the disbursement of funds under the EDIF mango project, raising the likelihood that the objectives of the program may be subverted, and that funds meant to alleviate the poverty of Northern farmers might be misappropriated by some parties.
IRREGULARITIES IN DISBURSEMENTS
* The review of quarterly financial reports, established as part of a system designed to improve financial controls of the Fund, revealed that some disbursements in the first quarter of the year had been effected without the requisite Board approvals.
* The review further revealed that on March 4, 2011, The Ag. Chief Executive usurped the authority of the Board and wrote informing thirty-eight (38) farms that the Board of EDIF had approved a recoverable facility to support their production of mangoes for export.
* The Ag. Chief Executive was issued with a written query, asking him to give reasons why disciplinary action should not be taken against him.
* In his response to the query, the Ag. Chief Executive alleged that he sent out the letters after the March 17 2011 Board meeting. Documentation available to the Board however demonstrated clearly that the letters were issued two weeks before the March 17, 2011 meeting.
* It has also been found out that in addition to sending out award letters without authority, the Ag. Chief Executive also caused various sums of money to be paid to some farms/companies before the matter came before the Board.
He again lied to the Board that the monies had not been disbursed before the March 17 meeting, until he was shown evidence on the Fund’s bank statements that the cheques cleared the bank before the 17th March Board meeting.
* In an attempt to implicate the former Board Chair, the Ag. Chief Executive told the Board that it was the former Board Chairman, Peter Illiasu who gave him the verbal approval to issue the award letters.
But in a letter to the Board, Mr. Illiasu denied giving any such verbal approval, insisting that such approval can only be given by the Board and not him, as an individual, and that an approval of this sort would have been in writing.
* After reviewing the responses of the Ag. Chief Executive Agyabeng Antwi- Agyei, the Board at its meeting on the 30th of May 2011 decided to request the Ag. Chief Executive to proceed on leave to enable the fund investigate further into outstanding matters of disbursements made in respect of the EDIF Mango Project.
* As part of the defence of his actions, the Ag. Chief Executive also stated that he signed the cheques because the Director of Finance, Mr. Joseph Attah-Quansah, had prepared them for his signature.
* The Director of Finance was therefore also issued with a written query to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against him for preparing the cheques for signature whilst being fully aware that no Board approval had been given for the disbursements. In the light of the seriousness of the breaches in controls, the Director of Finance was also simultaneously asked to proceed on leave.
* In his defence, the Director of Finance explained that the Ag. Chief Executive verbally instructed him to prepare the cheques for signature.
* The revelation that the financial controls within EDIF had suffered a severe breach required the Director of Audit to also be issued with a written query. He was subsequently also asked to proceed on immediate leave.
SPECIAL COMMITTEE AND INTERDICTIONS
* The EDIF Board Chairman in consultation with the Sector Minister, Honourable Hanna Tetteh, commissioned a Special Committee to review all the revelations of financial breaches at EDIF. The terms of reference of the special committee which had representation from the Ministry and the Board were:
i. Investigate issues of process and substance as far as disbursement of funds on the Mango Project is concerned
ii. Make observations and findings on Professional conduct of staff involved
iii. To seek to ensure administrative justice by informing the officers of the issues that have been raised against them and to give them the opportunity to be heard in order to offer whatever explanations they may have had for their actions.
* The EDIF Special Committee reached the following conclusions in respect of the three Officers after its deliberations:
The Ag. Chief Executive- Mr. Agyabeng Antwi-Agyei
1. That Mr. Antwi-Agyei did not adhere to laid down procedures of seeking Board approvals for disbursement in this matter
2. The Committee found his explanations for his actions unacceptable
3. He subsequently admitted that he had made a genuine mistake
4. He did not exercise due care in the execution of the 2011 Mango Project disbursements
The Director, Finance - Mr. Joseph Attah-Quansah
1. Mr. Attah-Quansah showed a lack of appreciation of laid down procedures
2. He did not exercise due care in the execution of the 2011 Mango Project disbursements
The Director, Audit – Mr. Kwabena Hemeng- Ntiamoah
1. Mr. Hemeng-Ntiamoah did not exhibit professionalism and competence as required by section 18 of the Internal Audit Agency Act, 2003 with regard to the 2011 Mango Project disbursements
2. He failed to report weaknesses in the disbursement processes to management and the Director General of the Internal Audit Agency as required by sections 16: 3 and 16.4 of the Internal Audit Agency Act, 2003.
3. Additionally, he failed to exercise due care in pre-auditing the disbursements for the 2011 Mango Project
* The Committee was unable to investigate issues of substance relating to disbursement of funds on the Mango Project due to constraints in time and resources, and therefore recommended a full Audit of the Mango Project be commissioned to ascertain matters inter alia:
- Selection process for farmers
- Ownership and title of farms
- Accuracy of acreages
- Whether beneficiaries of facilities actually received amounts approved
- Procurement process on supply of inputs
- Viability and sustainability of the mango project
On the basis of the findings of the special committee, the Board decided that all three officers had clearly shown gross misconduct and were liable to severe administrative sanction.
The BoD decided to inform the Sector Minister and the Office of the President that in the light of the findings it would be unable to recommend the confirmation of the Ag Chief Executive in his position.
The BoD also decided that whilst sufficient grounds existed for the outright dismissal of all three officers, on grounds of gross misconduct, that the officers should be placed on interdiction pending an investigation into their actions to determine if they were liable for criminal prosecution for their actions.
FARM AUDITS
* Revelations of irregularities in disbursement of funds to the farms raised concerns about potential fraud in the Mango Project. This necessitated a special investigation to ascertain that the farms being supported actually existed and that the acreages indicated were actually being cultivated.
* It should be noted that these farm investigations were not investigations into the substance of the breaches in controls and procedures surrounding the mango project, but were carried out first to assist the Board ascertain the acreages funded and provide the required farming inputs and support, and secondly to assist the investigative auditors to carry out their audit in due course.
* The BoD therefore engaged three organisations operating in the areas covered by the EDIF mango project to identify the farms and establish the accuracy of acreages being supported under the Project.
The organisations were appointed after authorisation had been sought and obtained from the Public Procurement Agency (PPA) to sole source because of the urgency of the situation. These farm audits were carried out in June and July 2011.
* The farm audits revealed discrepancies in the acreages under cultivation, the inability in some cases of the investigators to locate farms, and the general state of farms and problems with the quality and timing of inputs supplied to farmers under the EDIF Mango Project.
• The Farm audits also revealed that contrary to representations by the Ag. Chief Executive and the Director of Operations, two of the farms- Alliance Farms and Abotare-Ye Farms, were not located in the Brong Ahafo region, but rather the Ashanti region.
The mango project had been targeted at the Brong-Ahafo, Northern, Upper East, and Upper West regions. The application from Alliance Farms (on its own letterhead) shows that the applicants indicated its location as the Ashanti region, but by the time it got transcribed onto EDIF documents by the office, this had been changed to Brong-Ahafo.
RESIGNATION OF NANA YEBOA KODIE ASARE II - Board Member representing the Private Enterprises Foundation (PEF)
* An application for variation of the terms of the grant was submitted to EDIF by Alliance farms. During deliberations on the application, it transpired that Nana Yeboa Kodie Asare II had an interest in this farm, which he had not as yet declared.
* This farm was one of the farms, which was falsely indicated to the board to be located in the Brong- Ahafo region, whilst actually being located in the Ashanti region.
Alliance Farms, according to documents from the Registrar General’s Department, was not a registered company as at March 4, 2011 when the Ag. Chief Executive issued them a letter awarding them GH¢201,660.00 for their 100 Acre Mango farm.
According to the Registrar General, Alliance Farms Limited was incorporated on March 15, 2011, and a certificate to commence business issued on March 16, 2011.
* Nana Yeboa Kodie Asare II, presided (as Acting Chairman), over the March 17 Board meeting that approved payments to the farms, including Alliance Farms. He however failed to declare his interest in the farm, in contravention of Article 11 of the EDIF Act (Act 582).
* He told the Board that he had been appointed a director of Alliance Farms and was not a shareholder, but documents from the Registrar General show that at the time of registration he was actually the majority (90%) shareholder of Alliance Farms holding 45,000 shares in his private name Benjamin Kwadwo Addae. [The only other shareholder was Nana Kwabena Ofori, with 5,000 shares]
* Nana Yeboa Kodie are II’s resigned from the Board, a few hours before the Board was to hold an extraordinary meeting to deal with the matter.
INVESTIGATIVE/FORENSIC AUDIT
* The Honourable Minister of Trade and Industry in consultation with the Board, engaged the Auditor General to conduct an investigative audit, as recommended by the Special Committee into the Mango Project from 2009- 2011.
* This audit is currently ongoing and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The objectives of the investigative audit are to:
• Determine whether any irregularities were committed in the performance of the project
• Identify the parties involved in such irregularities
• Determine as far as possible the amount (if any) of public funds misappropriated and misapplied
• Advise on any corrective action to be taken against any individuals."
End of the press release from EDIF.
Well, there it is, in black and white - and from the horse's own mouth, as it were, dear reader. There is no question that this scandal would have been swept under the carpet, had the elitist some-are-more-equal-than-others kings of nepotism, the NPP, been in power.
This is an example of due process and respect for the rule of law, being championed by President Mills, at work, in his administration. Under the NPP, a cursory look at those involved, by any independent-minded and apolitical Ghanaian, would have led to one conclusion only: that this scandal would have been kept under wraps - and the big-names involved would have got away with their perfidy.
This is a prime example of the quiet revolution, unleashed by President Mills, since he came to power in January 2009 - in which those who break the law (no matter how influential in society they might be), and are reported to the authorities - with solid evidence to back the allegations against them - are eventually sanctioned.
An oil-producing Ghana needs a man of integrity like President Mills, who believes that all human life is of equal value - and therefore rich and poor alike must be treated the same, when it comes to the unpleasant business of facing the music for white-collar crime and the like, in the better Ghana he is trying to bring about, for all the people of this country.
Let all those fair-minded and patriotic Ghanaians (the so-called "floating-voters" whose crucial swing-votes now decide who leads Ghana), who have forgotten the past so quickly, and have allowed themselves to be beguiled by the NPP's clever "Enkoyiee" propaganda narrative, recall the endless nepotism, massive tax-evasion and plain thievery by the powerful and well-connected few, who prospered so mightily (and ruthlessly exploited our national economy for private gain - at public expense), when the NPP of Kufuor & Co was in power.
Would this dreadful and shocking example of elite-greed, not have been quickly swept under the carpet, had it come to light, during the sunny days of the golden age of business for the perfidious Kufuor & Co?
An oil-producing Ghana will definitely be much much
better off, under President Mills' NDC, than any NPP administration - because, in the main, most of that greedy and selfish lot, believe that some people in society must never be sanctioned: even when they are involved in infractions of the law, because they are more equal than the rest of us.
Who needs a regime like that in 21st century Africa, I ask? Ghana has been a better place since President Mills came to power - and it has been the concerns of ordinary people, not that of the well-connected and greedy fat-cats that have underpinned all he has done since coming to power. A second term for him is a must - for the sake of ordinary Ghanaians and that of Mother Ghana.
Alas, that party is one that is almost always dominated by a few powerful and elitist tribal-supremacist individuals, who share the nonsensical belief that some ethnic groups in our ethnically-diverse nation are more equal than others in Ghanaian society.
And, most irritating above all, those tribal-supremacists hold the absurd notion that somehow they are above the laws of our homeland Ghana - dangerous and treasonable arrogance that is also written into their political DNA: and etched deeply in their individual psyches.
Many a discerning Ghanaian will concur that had this scandal come to light during the NPP regime of Kufuor & Co, for example, it would have been quickly swept under the carpet - and all those guilty of wrong-doing would have gotten away with this crime against ordinary Ghanaians and their nation.
To buttress my point, I am reproducing a press release from the Export Development and Investment Fund (EDIF), meant to correct unbalanced one-sided disclosures in sections of the Ghanaian media, for readers to draw their own conclusions. Apart from breaking up some paragraphs to make for easier reading, no editing has been done.
Please read on:
"EDIF MANGO PROJECT
The attention of the Board of Directors (BoD) of EDIF has been drawn to a number of articles in the Ghanaian press relating to the interdiction of the Ag CEO, Director of Finance and Director Audit of the Fund and other related issues. Due to the selective and potentially misleading nature of some of these publications, the EDIF BoD has decided to set the record straight with this press statement.
BACKGROUND:
EDIF was established by Act 582 on the 4th of October 2000 to provide financial resources for the development and promotion of the export trade of Ghana. Operation of the fund however started in July 2001.
Its mission is to enhance the economic growth of Ghana by providing funds on concessionary terms for the development and promotion of the country’s non-traditional export sector.
EDIF has so far provided in excess of GH¢177.71 million to support 237 projects across the country.
In 2009, EDIF embarked on a major program called the National Mango Plantations Development program. Under this program, EDIF intends to earmark a substantial amount of its budget to support massive mango production in the Transitional zone and the three Northern regions of Ghana.
Farmers in these areas are to be assisted to intercrop Mango plantations with annual crops in order to enhance food availability, bridge the hunger gap and improve household income in the short to medium term.
This program was included in the 2009 National Budget, and is in support of the Government’s effort at reducing poverty and increasing the income for the poor in Ghana. The EDIF Mango Project as it has come to be called, has been in operation for the 2009, 2010 and 2011 planting seasons.
Some irregularities were however detected in the disbursement of funds under the EDIF mango project, raising the likelihood that the objectives of the program may be subverted, and that funds meant to alleviate the poverty of Northern farmers might be misappropriated by some parties.
IRREGULARITIES IN DISBURSEMENTS
* The review of quarterly financial reports, established as part of a system designed to improve financial controls of the Fund, revealed that some disbursements in the first quarter of the year had been effected without the requisite Board approvals.
* The review further revealed that on March 4, 2011, The Ag. Chief Executive usurped the authority of the Board and wrote informing thirty-eight (38) farms that the Board of EDIF had approved a recoverable facility to support their production of mangoes for export.
* The Ag. Chief Executive was issued with a written query, asking him to give reasons why disciplinary action should not be taken against him.
* In his response to the query, the Ag. Chief Executive alleged that he sent out the letters after the March 17 2011 Board meeting. Documentation available to the Board however demonstrated clearly that the letters were issued two weeks before the March 17, 2011 meeting.
* It has also been found out that in addition to sending out award letters without authority, the Ag. Chief Executive also caused various sums of money to be paid to some farms/companies before the matter came before the Board.
He again lied to the Board that the monies had not been disbursed before the March 17 meeting, until he was shown evidence on the Fund’s bank statements that the cheques cleared the bank before the 17th March Board meeting.
* In an attempt to implicate the former Board Chair, the Ag. Chief Executive told the Board that it was the former Board Chairman, Peter Illiasu who gave him the verbal approval to issue the award letters.
But in a letter to the Board, Mr. Illiasu denied giving any such verbal approval, insisting that such approval can only be given by the Board and not him, as an individual, and that an approval of this sort would have been in writing.
* After reviewing the responses of the Ag. Chief Executive Agyabeng Antwi- Agyei, the Board at its meeting on the 30th of May 2011 decided to request the Ag. Chief Executive to proceed on leave to enable the fund investigate further into outstanding matters of disbursements made in respect of the EDIF Mango Project.
* As part of the defence of his actions, the Ag. Chief Executive also stated that he signed the cheques because the Director of Finance, Mr. Joseph Attah-Quansah, had prepared them for his signature.
* The Director of Finance was therefore also issued with a written query to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against him for preparing the cheques for signature whilst being fully aware that no Board approval had been given for the disbursements. In the light of the seriousness of the breaches in controls, the Director of Finance was also simultaneously asked to proceed on leave.
* In his defence, the Director of Finance explained that the Ag. Chief Executive verbally instructed him to prepare the cheques for signature.
* The revelation that the financial controls within EDIF had suffered a severe breach required the Director of Audit to also be issued with a written query. He was subsequently also asked to proceed on immediate leave.
SPECIAL COMMITTEE AND INTERDICTIONS
* The EDIF Board Chairman in consultation with the Sector Minister, Honourable Hanna Tetteh, commissioned a Special Committee to review all the revelations of financial breaches at EDIF. The terms of reference of the special committee which had representation from the Ministry and the Board were:
i. Investigate issues of process and substance as far as disbursement of funds on the Mango Project is concerned
ii. Make observations and findings on Professional conduct of staff involved
iii. To seek to ensure administrative justice by informing the officers of the issues that have been raised against them and to give them the opportunity to be heard in order to offer whatever explanations they may have had for their actions.
* The EDIF Special Committee reached the following conclusions in respect of the three Officers after its deliberations:
The Ag. Chief Executive- Mr. Agyabeng Antwi-Agyei
1. That Mr. Antwi-Agyei did not adhere to laid down procedures of seeking Board approvals for disbursement in this matter
2. The Committee found his explanations for his actions unacceptable
3. He subsequently admitted that he had made a genuine mistake
4. He did not exercise due care in the execution of the 2011 Mango Project disbursements
The Director, Finance - Mr. Joseph Attah-Quansah
1. Mr. Attah-Quansah showed a lack of appreciation of laid down procedures
2. He did not exercise due care in the execution of the 2011 Mango Project disbursements
The Director, Audit – Mr. Kwabena Hemeng- Ntiamoah
1. Mr. Hemeng-Ntiamoah did not exhibit professionalism and competence as required by section 18 of the Internal Audit Agency Act, 2003 with regard to the 2011 Mango Project disbursements
2. He failed to report weaknesses in the disbursement processes to management and the Director General of the Internal Audit Agency as required by sections 16: 3 and 16.4 of the Internal Audit Agency Act, 2003.
3. Additionally, he failed to exercise due care in pre-auditing the disbursements for the 2011 Mango Project
* The Committee was unable to investigate issues of substance relating to disbursement of funds on the Mango Project due to constraints in time and resources, and therefore recommended a full Audit of the Mango Project be commissioned to ascertain matters inter alia:
- Selection process for farmers
- Ownership and title of farms
- Accuracy of acreages
- Whether beneficiaries of facilities actually received amounts approved
- Procurement process on supply of inputs
- Viability and sustainability of the mango project
On the basis of the findings of the special committee, the Board decided that all three officers had clearly shown gross misconduct and were liable to severe administrative sanction.
The BoD decided to inform the Sector Minister and the Office of the President that in the light of the findings it would be unable to recommend the confirmation of the Ag Chief Executive in his position.
The BoD also decided that whilst sufficient grounds existed for the outright dismissal of all three officers, on grounds of gross misconduct, that the officers should be placed on interdiction pending an investigation into their actions to determine if they were liable for criminal prosecution for their actions.
FARM AUDITS
* Revelations of irregularities in disbursement of funds to the farms raised concerns about potential fraud in the Mango Project. This necessitated a special investigation to ascertain that the farms being supported actually existed and that the acreages indicated were actually being cultivated.
* It should be noted that these farm investigations were not investigations into the substance of the breaches in controls and procedures surrounding the mango project, but were carried out first to assist the Board ascertain the acreages funded and provide the required farming inputs and support, and secondly to assist the investigative auditors to carry out their audit in due course.
* The BoD therefore engaged three organisations operating in the areas covered by the EDIF mango project to identify the farms and establish the accuracy of acreages being supported under the Project.
The organisations were appointed after authorisation had been sought and obtained from the Public Procurement Agency (PPA) to sole source because of the urgency of the situation. These farm audits were carried out in June and July 2011.
* The farm audits revealed discrepancies in the acreages under cultivation, the inability in some cases of the investigators to locate farms, and the general state of farms and problems with the quality and timing of inputs supplied to farmers under the EDIF Mango Project.
• The Farm audits also revealed that contrary to representations by the Ag. Chief Executive and the Director of Operations, two of the farms- Alliance Farms and Abotare-Ye Farms, were not located in the Brong Ahafo region, but rather the Ashanti region.
The mango project had been targeted at the Brong-Ahafo, Northern, Upper East, and Upper West regions. The application from Alliance Farms (on its own letterhead) shows that the applicants indicated its location as the Ashanti region, but by the time it got transcribed onto EDIF documents by the office, this had been changed to Brong-Ahafo.
RESIGNATION OF NANA YEBOA KODIE ASARE II - Board Member representing the Private Enterprises Foundation (PEF)
* An application for variation of the terms of the grant was submitted to EDIF by Alliance farms. During deliberations on the application, it transpired that Nana Yeboa Kodie Asare II had an interest in this farm, which he had not as yet declared.
* This farm was one of the farms, which was falsely indicated to the board to be located in the Brong- Ahafo region, whilst actually being located in the Ashanti region.
Alliance Farms, according to documents from the Registrar General’s Department, was not a registered company as at March 4, 2011 when the Ag. Chief Executive issued them a letter awarding them GH¢201,660.00 for their 100 Acre Mango farm.
According to the Registrar General, Alliance Farms Limited was incorporated on March 15, 2011, and a certificate to commence business issued on March 16, 2011.
* Nana Yeboa Kodie Asare II, presided (as Acting Chairman), over the March 17 Board meeting that approved payments to the farms, including Alliance Farms. He however failed to declare his interest in the farm, in contravention of Article 11 of the EDIF Act (Act 582).
* He told the Board that he had been appointed a director of Alliance Farms and was not a shareholder, but documents from the Registrar General show that at the time of registration he was actually the majority (90%) shareholder of Alliance Farms holding 45,000 shares in his private name Benjamin Kwadwo Addae. [The only other shareholder was Nana Kwabena Ofori, with 5,000 shares]
* Nana Yeboa Kodie are II’s resigned from the Board, a few hours before the Board was to hold an extraordinary meeting to deal with the matter.
INVESTIGATIVE/FORENSIC AUDIT
* The Honourable Minister of Trade and Industry in consultation with the Board, engaged the Auditor General to conduct an investigative audit, as recommended by the Special Committee into the Mango Project from 2009- 2011.
* This audit is currently ongoing and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The objectives of the investigative audit are to:
• Determine whether any irregularities were committed in the performance of the project
• Identify the parties involved in such irregularities
• Determine as far as possible the amount (if any) of public funds misappropriated and misapplied
• Advise on any corrective action to be taken against any individuals."
End of the press release from EDIF.
Well, there it is, in black and white - and from the horse's own mouth, as it were, dear reader. There is no question that this scandal would have been swept under the carpet, had the elitist some-are-more-equal-than-others kings of nepotism, the NPP, been in power.
This is an example of due process and respect for the rule of law, being championed by President Mills, at work, in his administration. Under the NPP, a cursory look at those involved, by any independent-minded and apolitical Ghanaian, would have led to one conclusion only: that this scandal would have been kept under wraps - and the big-names involved would have got away with their perfidy.
This is a prime example of the quiet revolution, unleashed by President Mills, since he came to power in January 2009 - in which those who break the law (no matter how influential in society they might be), and are reported to the authorities - with solid evidence to back the allegations against them - are eventually sanctioned.
An oil-producing Ghana needs a man of integrity like President Mills, who believes that all human life is of equal value - and therefore rich and poor alike must be treated the same, when it comes to the unpleasant business of facing the music for white-collar crime and the like, in the better Ghana he is trying to bring about, for all the people of this country.
Let all those fair-minded and patriotic Ghanaians (the so-called "floating-voters" whose crucial swing-votes now decide who leads Ghana), who have forgotten the past so quickly, and have allowed themselves to be beguiled by the NPP's clever "Enkoyiee" propaganda narrative, recall the endless nepotism, massive tax-evasion and plain thievery by the powerful and well-connected few, who prospered so mightily (and ruthlessly exploited our national economy for private gain - at public expense), when the NPP of Kufuor & Co was in power.
Would this dreadful and shocking example of elite-greed, not have been quickly swept under the carpet, had it come to light, during the sunny days of the golden age of business for the perfidious Kufuor & Co?
An oil-producing Ghana will definitely be much much
better off, under President Mills' NDC, than any NPP administration - because, in the main, most of that greedy and selfish lot, believe that some people in society must never be sanctioned: even when they are involved in infractions of the law, because they are more equal than the rest of us.
Who needs a regime like that in 21st century Africa, I ask? Ghana has been a better place since President Mills came to power - and it has been the concerns of ordinary people, not that of the well-connected and greedy fat-cats that have underpinned all he has done since coming to power. A second term for him is a must - for the sake of ordinary Ghanaians and that of Mother Ghana.
Friday, 4 November 2011
THANK GOODNESS FOR LITTLE MERCIES - NO MORE UBER-MATERIALISTIC & ZERO-COMPASSION SERMONS!
I couldn't help sympathising with an acquaintance of mine, who, after a particularly trying day at work, dealing with those he often refers to (rather contemptuously, sadly) as "rubbish people", said to me in exasperation: "Kofi, I am just totally fed up with the hypocrisy of so many Ghanaian Christians - who seldom fail to tell one just how religious and God-fearing they are - yet steal, lie through the teeth and are totally unprincipled individuals."
Indeed, sometimes when one looks at the practical evidence, in their day to day lives, one wonders whether those who ought to be Christ-like in their interactions with others, because they claim to be church-going born-again Christians, actually believe in God at all - or whether Christianity is just a modern-day psychological equivalent for them, of the Juju-man, fetish priest and fetish priestess of pre-colonial traditional Africa.
I have lived within a stone's throw ("shouting distance" would probably be a more apt description of the distance between us - considering the racket your average charismatic Christian church in Ghana makes) of no less than three charismatic churches for over a decade now.
One of them, which has a huge compound, also doubles as a school for pastors - to churn out yet more of the blighters. Over the years, one's heard many a highly-strung and fiery preacher-man who sounded more like vengeance personified - the much-feared Voodoo priest of the past, than Christ.
Needless to say, their sermons were invariably about God punishing the devils who were stopping one from progressing in life; receiving abundance, etc - all "in the name and blood of Jesus." Not once did one hear character being mentioned - or the importance of being honest and principled in a nation steeped in corrupt practices.
Suffice it to say that the racket made by today's tycoon-preacher-man cum Voodoo-priest is definitely not the sort of sound one would hear in heaven. That is one of the reasons why I am pleased as Punch that in the new house which I am moving into - a few days hence - I shall neither hear loud sermons that irritate one no end, nor overhear the insincerity of arrogant young so-called born-again Christians - who congregate behind my fence-wall, as a form of intimidation (doubtless, punishment for my being such an eccentric - in a society that expects all to conform).
Unfortunately for me, snatches of the mundane and often empty-headed conversations of those born-again hypocrites and eavesdropping peeping Toms, regularly waft over my fence-wall late at night - carried by the cool breeze from the Atlantic Ocean.
No longer hearing those empty heads will be a real blessing for one indeed, dear reader - that, and the fact that one will no longer have to put up with having to listen to tone-deaf singers (who incredibly dream of becoming gospel singing stars, despite their handicap) and fiery sermons devoid of compassion and full of uber-materialism. What bliss - and one can only thank goodness for such little mercies. Amen!
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Indeed, sometimes when one looks at the practical evidence, in their day to day lives, one wonders whether those who ought to be Christ-like in their interactions with others, because they claim to be church-going born-again Christians, actually believe in God at all - or whether Christianity is just a modern-day psychological equivalent for them, of the Juju-man, fetish priest and fetish priestess of pre-colonial traditional Africa.
I have lived within a stone's throw ("shouting distance" would probably be a more apt description of the distance between us - considering the racket your average charismatic Christian church in Ghana makes) of no less than three charismatic churches for over a decade now.
One of them, which has a huge compound, also doubles as a school for pastors - to churn out yet more of the blighters. Over the years, one's heard many a highly-strung and fiery preacher-man who sounded more like vengeance personified - the much-feared Voodoo priest of the past, than Christ.
Needless to say, their sermons were invariably about God punishing the devils who were stopping one from progressing in life; receiving abundance, etc - all "in the name and blood of Jesus." Not once did one hear character being mentioned - or the importance of being honest and principled in a nation steeped in corrupt practices.
Suffice it to say that the racket made by today's tycoon-preacher-man cum Voodoo-priest is definitely not the sort of sound one would hear in heaven. That is one of the reasons why I am pleased as Punch that in the new house which I am moving into - a few days hence - I shall neither hear loud sermons that irritate one no end, nor overhear the insincerity of arrogant young so-called born-again Christians - who congregate behind my fence-wall, as a form of intimidation (doubtless, punishment for my being such an eccentric - in a society that expects all to conform).
Unfortunately for me, snatches of the mundane and often empty-headed conversations of those born-again hypocrites and eavesdropping peeping Toms, regularly waft over my fence-wall late at night - carried by the cool breeze from the Atlantic Ocean.
No longer hearing those empty heads will be a real blessing for one indeed, dear reader - that, and the fact that one will no longer have to put up with having to listen to tone-deaf singers (who incredibly dream of becoming gospel singing stars, despite their handicap) and fiery sermons devoid of compassion and full of uber-materialism. What bliss - and one can only thank goodness for such little mercies. Amen!
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
A CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF THE DEPTHS TO WHICH GHANA'S MEDIA & POLITICAL WORLDS HAVE SUNK?
I was horrified when I read a story that is a classic example of the lack of imagination now afflicting much of the Ghanaian media landscape - and which also encapsulates perfectly, the dearth of statesmen and glaring lack of statesmanship, in the world of Ghanaian politics, today.
That dreadful and unprofessional lazy-hack's-story, was posted on the 2nd November, 2011, edition of the general news web-page of www.ghanaweb.com and entitled: "Mac Manu: ‘NPP Will Fight NDC With Guns’" - apparently sourced from the Catalyst, a pro-National Democratic Congress (NDC) newspaper.
Clearly supposed to be the paper's take on a radio interview Mr. Peter Mac Manu gave, which was apparently aired on Citi FM's Point Blank current affairs programme (hosted by that radio station's Shamima Muslim), one wondered why the paper didn't see it fit to contact Mr. Mac Manu and Mr. Jake Obestebi-Lamptey - whose latest gaffe it also mentioned - to question their motivation for making those outrageous, dangerous and irresponsible statements attributed to them.
Were that the case, would the paper's readers not have been given the opportunity to read the responses of those two NPP politicians - instead of being lumbered with the opinions of the opinionated soul who wrote that piece? Ditto the paper's irresponsible eagerness to exploit the two NPP politicians' equally irresponsible utterances - no doubt for maximum political advantage, in furtherance of the Catalyst's apparent mission: blinkered support for one political party (the NDC).
Whatever happened to balanced reporting, I ask, dear reader? I am reproducing that naff one-sided piece, which illustrates so perfectly, the beyond-the-pale depths to which much of Ghanaian journalism and the world of Ghanaian politics have sunk, below. Please read on - and judge for yourself, dear reader:
"Mac Manu: ‘NPP Will Fight NDC With Guns’
Former Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Mr. Peter Mac Manu has said that in line with the ‘all die be die’ philosophy of the opposition party’s drug-tainted flagbearer for the 2012 elections, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, members and sympathizers resort to fighting the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the elections with any weapon at their disposal including guns, sticks and stones. He was however quick to add that the guns they will fight with will be licensed ones only.
Mr. Mac Manu made his version on the NPP’s war declaration ahead of the 2012 elections on the ‘Point Blank’ programme with Shamima Muslim on Citi FM in Accra recently.
He told the hostess of the programme, Shamima Muslim the NPP would not be the aggressor but would only fight in defending themselves since “we no go sit down make dem cheat us every day.” He claimed that the NDC has always been the aggressor in electoral violence in the country.
The 58 year old former NPP chairman reigned from December 2005 to February 2010 when he exited by declining to seek reelection due to internal party pressures on him to quit on the basis of the fact that he failed to deliver victory for the party in 2008 elections.
He was adamant that the NPP members and sympathizers are ready to fight using any weapon they can lay their hands on including guns, sticks and stones among others.
The former NPP chairman’s war declaration came closely on the heels of a similar statement made by his successor, current chairman of the NPP, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey. According Jake, the NPP members will not only be engaging the rest of the people of Ghana in an ‘all die be die war in the 2012 elections but that the “majority” Akan ethnic group will be waging war against the rest of the country in ensuring that the NPP gets back to power at all costs.
Jake revealed that Akans in Ghana will emulate their Ivorian counterparts in waging a relentless war on the rest of Ghanaians to ensure that the NPP gets back from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) its lost political power. Mr. Mac Manu personally participated in the wonton violence that erupted at the 2007 congress of the NPP at the University of Ghana, Legon to elect the 2008 flagbearer, which Nana Akufo-Addo won by default. He engaged in fisticuffs with some others when violence broke in the congress hall, the Great Hall, following an accusation of an Kufuor-Alan boy, Paul Afoko, by Akufo-Addo’s Gabby Asare Orchere Darko that he was distributing money to the delegates in a bid to influence their choice of Alan as the party’s flagbearer.
Paul Afoko, a northerner, has since sunk into political oblivion, having being weighed down heavily by the humiliation meted out to him, which he described as unjustifiable and unwarranted because Gabby’s claims were palpably false. The critical question however is, can the Mac Manus of the NPP stand if an ‘all die be die’ situation breaks out in Ghana? Source: The Catalyst"
End of culled article from www.ghanaweb.com.
Well, there it is, dear reader. Incredible, is it not? One wonders what purpose exactly that story sought to achieve - in the day-in-day-out process of the education of the Catalyst's readers? Surely, both our media professionals and the politicians they report on, can do better than the picture painted in that one-below-the-belt-for-Mother-Ghana example above?
What is going on in both Ghana's media and political worlds is the death knell of the 4th Republic being sounded, no less - the ordinary people of Ghana will have that smug, mostly-arrogant and irresponsible lot, know.
They had better change before it becomes way too late to do so - and the iniquitous elite-rip-off that is the 4th Republic, replete with its cornucopia of endless perks and overly-generous retirement benefits for Ghana's greedy asset-stripping ruling elites, is brought to an abrupt end: in order to usher in a fairer and more just 5th Republic, the constitution of which will underpin the transformation of our country into an African equivalent of the egalitarian societies of Scandinavia. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
That dreadful and unprofessional lazy-hack's-story, was posted on the 2nd November, 2011, edition of the general news web-page of www.ghanaweb.com and entitled: "Mac Manu: ‘NPP Will Fight NDC With Guns’" - apparently sourced from the Catalyst, a pro-National Democratic Congress (NDC) newspaper.
Clearly supposed to be the paper's take on a radio interview Mr. Peter Mac Manu gave, which was apparently aired on Citi FM's Point Blank current affairs programme (hosted by that radio station's Shamima Muslim), one wondered why the paper didn't see it fit to contact Mr. Mac Manu and Mr. Jake Obestebi-Lamptey - whose latest gaffe it also mentioned - to question their motivation for making those outrageous, dangerous and irresponsible statements attributed to them.
Were that the case, would the paper's readers not have been given the opportunity to read the responses of those two NPP politicians - instead of being lumbered with the opinions of the opinionated soul who wrote that piece? Ditto the paper's irresponsible eagerness to exploit the two NPP politicians' equally irresponsible utterances - no doubt for maximum political advantage, in furtherance of the Catalyst's apparent mission: blinkered support for one political party (the NDC).
Whatever happened to balanced reporting, I ask, dear reader? I am reproducing that naff one-sided piece, which illustrates so perfectly, the beyond-the-pale depths to which much of Ghanaian journalism and the world of Ghanaian politics have sunk, below. Please read on - and judge for yourself, dear reader:
"Mac Manu: ‘NPP Will Fight NDC With Guns’
Former Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Mr. Peter Mac Manu has said that in line with the ‘all die be die’ philosophy of the opposition party’s drug-tainted flagbearer for the 2012 elections, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, members and sympathizers resort to fighting the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the elections with any weapon at their disposal including guns, sticks and stones. He was however quick to add that the guns they will fight with will be licensed ones only.
Mr. Mac Manu made his version on the NPP’s war declaration ahead of the 2012 elections on the ‘Point Blank’ programme with Shamima Muslim on Citi FM in Accra recently.
He told the hostess of the programme, Shamima Muslim the NPP would not be the aggressor but would only fight in defending themselves since “we no go sit down make dem cheat us every day.” He claimed that the NDC has always been the aggressor in electoral violence in the country.
The 58 year old former NPP chairman reigned from December 2005 to February 2010 when he exited by declining to seek reelection due to internal party pressures on him to quit on the basis of the fact that he failed to deliver victory for the party in 2008 elections.
He was adamant that the NPP members and sympathizers are ready to fight using any weapon they can lay their hands on including guns, sticks and stones among others.
The former NPP chairman’s war declaration came closely on the heels of a similar statement made by his successor, current chairman of the NPP, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey. According Jake, the NPP members will not only be engaging the rest of the people of Ghana in an ‘all die be die war in the 2012 elections but that the “majority” Akan ethnic group will be waging war against the rest of the country in ensuring that the NPP gets back to power at all costs.
Jake revealed that Akans in Ghana will emulate their Ivorian counterparts in waging a relentless war on the rest of Ghanaians to ensure that the NPP gets back from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) its lost political power. Mr. Mac Manu personally participated in the wonton violence that erupted at the 2007 congress of the NPP at the University of Ghana, Legon to elect the 2008 flagbearer, which Nana Akufo-Addo won by default. He engaged in fisticuffs with some others when violence broke in the congress hall, the Great Hall, following an accusation of an Kufuor-Alan boy, Paul Afoko, by Akufo-Addo’s Gabby Asare Orchere Darko that he was distributing money to the delegates in a bid to influence their choice of Alan as the party’s flagbearer.
Paul Afoko, a northerner, has since sunk into political oblivion, having being weighed down heavily by the humiliation meted out to him, which he described as unjustifiable and unwarranted because Gabby’s claims were palpably false. The critical question however is, can the Mac Manus of the NPP stand if an ‘all die be die’ situation breaks out in Ghana? Source: The Catalyst"
End of culled article from www.ghanaweb.com.
Well, there it is, dear reader. Incredible, is it not? One wonders what purpose exactly that story sought to achieve - in the day-in-day-out process of the education of the Catalyst's readers? Surely, both our media professionals and the politicians they report on, can do better than the picture painted in that one-below-the-belt-for-Mother-Ghana example above?
What is going on in both Ghana's media and political worlds is the death knell of the 4th Republic being sounded, no less - the ordinary people of Ghana will have that smug, mostly-arrogant and irresponsible lot, know.
They had better change before it becomes way too late to do so - and the iniquitous elite-rip-off that is the 4th Republic, replete with its cornucopia of endless perks and overly-generous retirement benefits for Ghana's greedy asset-stripping ruling elites, is brought to an abrupt end: in order to usher in a fairer and more just 5th Republic, the constitution of which will underpin the transformation of our country into an African equivalent of the egalitarian societies of Scandinavia. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
THE GHANAIAN AUTHORITIES MUST BE MORE CREATIVE IN TACKLING VIOLENT FULANI CRIME ACROSS GHANA
The laws of Ghana require that both citizen and non-citizen resident alike, be law-abiding, at all material times. In safeguarding their basic human rights and all the other rights guaranteed Ghanaians under the 1992 constitution too, the law makes no distinction between citizens and non-citizen residents.
However, when a large number of adult males amongst a particular group of non-citizen residents gain notoriety nationwide, for lawlessness, special measures are called for - in order to safeguard the safety of the law-abiding in society.
Lt-Col Larry Dovlo Lartey is recently reported to have issued a warning to the inhabitants of Agogo, that Ghana's national security apparatus will not countenance the lawlessness, which taking the law into their own hands, in confronting the area's Fulani population, would amount to.
Of course he is right to caution the residents of Agogo not to take the law into their own hands - as that has terrible legal consequences, too.
However, it behoves those in charge of the safety of the Republic of Ghana and its citizens, to put the interests of law-abiding citizens above that of the criminal elements amongst members of a community, which unfortunately seems to breed an above-average number of violent criminals - who it would appear aren't afraid to use firearms: to rob, rape and kill without the slightest hesitation.
With respect, it is intolerable that foreigners in our midst can harass and murder law-abiding citizens across the country, with such arrogance and impunity.
(To save the image and good name of law-abiding Fulanis, perhaps the Chiefs and elders of all Fulani communities across Ghana, ought to think seriously, about providing regular information to the security agencies, about the activities of the criminals in their midst - so that whole communities aren't tarred with the same brush.)
One's humble advice to Lt-Col Larry Dovlo Lartey and the organisation he heads, is to be a tad more creative in this delicate matter. There is no question that the criminal elements within the Fulani communities across the country, are becoming a law unto themselves.
We cannot continue to allow them to rape our women folk with impunity, engage in violent armed robberies round the clock across our nation, destroy farms in the north, south, east and west of our country - and talk about the need for considering the consequences for Ghanaians residing in other West African nations, in tackling the criminality of Fulanis here effectively and with the required degree of ruthlessness, necessary, to deter them.
The first order of business in that creative new approach to tackling violent Fulani crime across our country, should be the despatch of official delegations by the Mills administration, to all the nations in the West African sub-region, which have indigenous Fulani populations.
Members of the delegations must brief the authorities in those nations about what is happening here - and to discuss in detail with them, the special measures Ghana intends to institute, to deal effectively with Fulani criminals in our midst.
The idea is to seek their blessing and full support for taking those special measures designed to control violent Fulani crime in Ghana.
Clearly, the actions of the criminal elements within Fulani communities nationwide, are creating a siege-mentality amongst their host communities. That is totally unacceptable in our peaceful, welcoming, non-discriminatory, free and liberal society.
Consequently, in exchange for their continued presence in the areas they reside, across the country, all male Fulanis above the age of maturity, must be required to register with the nearest police station in the areas they live - to be photographed, finger-printed, have their DNA samples taken and stored: for the creation of a national database for fighting the escalating Fulani criminality.
For those who will protest loudly and demand that that should not be permitted, because it will be an abuse of the human rights of Fulani males, let me humbly point it out to them too, that it is not only the human rights of the killers and rapists amongst Fulani communities in Ghana that must concern us.
The human rights of the victims of violent Fulani criminals across Ghana, ought to concern all of us too - and above all, those whose job it is to check Fulani criminality in our country, ought to always bear that in mind too.
In the meantime, one's humble advice to the residents of Agogo, and other areas where Fulani crime is a stubborn problem, is that they must exercise restraint - whiles those in charge of national security devise creative strategies to bring this menace to a cessation 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.
However, when a large number of adult males amongst a particular group of non-citizen residents gain notoriety nationwide, for lawlessness, special measures are called for - in order to safeguard the safety of the law-abiding in society.
Lt-Col Larry Dovlo Lartey is recently reported to have issued a warning to the inhabitants of Agogo, that Ghana's national security apparatus will not countenance the lawlessness, which taking the law into their own hands, in confronting the area's Fulani population, would amount to.
Of course he is right to caution the residents of Agogo not to take the law into their own hands - as that has terrible legal consequences, too.
However, it behoves those in charge of the safety of the Republic of Ghana and its citizens, to put the interests of law-abiding citizens above that of the criminal elements amongst members of a community, which unfortunately seems to breed an above-average number of violent criminals - who it would appear aren't afraid to use firearms: to rob, rape and kill without the slightest hesitation.
With respect, it is intolerable that foreigners in our midst can harass and murder law-abiding citizens across the country, with such arrogance and impunity.
(To save the image and good name of law-abiding Fulanis, perhaps the Chiefs and elders of all Fulani communities across Ghana, ought to think seriously, about providing regular information to the security agencies, about the activities of the criminals in their midst - so that whole communities aren't tarred with the same brush.)
One's humble advice to Lt-Col Larry Dovlo Lartey and the organisation he heads, is to be a tad more creative in this delicate matter. There is no question that the criminal elements within the Fulani communities across the country, are becoming a law unto themselves.
We cannot continue to allow them to rape our women folk with impunity, engage in violent armed robberies round the clock across our nation, destroy farms in the north, south, east and west of our country - and talk about the need for considering the consequences for Ghanaians residing in other West African nations, in tackling the criminality of Fulanis here effectively and with the required degree of ruthlessness, necessary, to deter them.
The first order of business in that creative new approach to tackling violent Fulani crime across our country, should be the despatch of official delegations by the Mills administration, to all the nations in the West African sub-region, which have indigenous Fulani populations.
Members of the delegations must brief the authorities in those nations about what is happening here - and to discuss in detail with them, the special measures Ghana intends to institute, to deal effectively with Fulani criminals in our midst.
The idea is to seek their blessing and full support for taking those special measures designed to control violent Fulani crime in Ghana.
Clearly, the actions of the criminal elements within Fulani communities nationwide, are creating a siege-mentality amongst their host communities. That is totally unacceptable in our peaceful, welcoming, non-discriminatory, free and liberal society.
Consequently, in exchange for their continued presence in the areas they reside, across the country, all male Fulanis above the age of maturity, must be required to register with the nearest police station in the areas they live - to be photographed, finger-printed, have their DNA samples taken and stored: for the creation of a national database for fighting the escalating Fulani criminality.
For those who will protest loudly and demand that that should not be permitted, because it will be an abuse of the human rights of Fulani males, let me humbly point it out to them too, that it is not only the human rights of the killers and rapists amongst Fulani communities in Ghana that must concern us.
The human rights of the victims of violent Fulani criminals across Ghana, ought to concern all of us too - and above all, those whose job it is to check Fulani criminality in our country, ought to always bear that in mind too.
In the meantime, one's humble advice to the residents of Agogo, and other areas where Fulani crime is a stubborn problem, is that they must exercise restraint - whiles those in charge of national security devise creative strategies to bring this menace to a cessation 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.
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