That Ghana is in some sort of political crisis, caused by the arrest of the Hon. Kennedy Adjapong, the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) member of Parliament for Assin North, is not in doubt.
It is a situation that calls for maturity and sober minds - and leadership by the most influential politicians in all the political parties in our country.
They must impress upon their party supporters, the need to keep our nation peaceful and stable - to ensure that vital job-creating investment keeps flowing into Ghana.
That is why in my humble view, the chairperson of the main opposition party, the NPP's, Jake Obestebi-Lamptey, ought to be commended.
His measured response, when questioned about the events surrounding the arrest of Kennedy Adjapong, on Net2 TV, this morning, was very dignified and sober. He showed statesmanship that is unfortunately rare, in Ghanaian politics, today.
Clearly, it is time for President Mills to show some decisive leadership. He must quickly invite the leadership of all the political parties for a peace summit, at the Peduase Lodge. It will help diffuse tension in the nation. There must be none of the usual procrastination over this.
The party leaders must discuss ways in which all the political parties can work together to ensure that Ghana's international reputation as a peaceful and stable democratic nation isn't ruined by the voter-registration centre violence, being perpetrated by the extremists in the two major political parties in our country: the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the NPP.
This ought to be a priority for the NDC regime of President Mills - for he has vowed to Ghanaians, and promised the international community, that he will ensure that peace prevails "before, during and after the [December 2012] elections." He must keep his word - and be seen to be keeping his promise in that regard.
In spite of Kennedy Adjapong's monstrous and abominable statements, it must be stated, that Akans are amongst the most welcoming and tolerant of peoples, anywhere on the surface of the planet Earth.
Unfortunately, like all the ethnic groups in our ethnically-diverse homeland Ghana, the Akans also have a small group of tribal-supremacist individuals in their midst.
Clearly, however, the warped and antediluvian views of such narrow-minded jingoists, do not represent the views of the majority of ordinary Akans.
Above all, it is important that Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo and the entire leadership of the NPP openly reject Kennedy Adjapong's unacceptable tribalism and barbarism - which culminated in the alleged hate-speech apparently calling for Ewes and other non-Akans in the Ashanti Region, to be butchered when they enter Akan-owned shops in the Ashanti Region.
If it is true that he actually uttered them, his dreadful and irresponsible words cannot be justified, under any circumstances - and no responsible politician must attempt to do so. His foolish and divisive words must be disowned by his party. Period.
And if they intend to charge him, it is not treason that he should be charged with. The police ought to charge Kennedy Adjapong for broadcasting hate-speech on the airwaves, likely to cause fear and panic, amongst a section of the Ghanaian populace. It fits his crime against Mother Ghana - and charge him they must.
He has no excuse for his irresponsible and ghastly words. He claims to love Ghana. Well, he certainly has a curious way of showing his love of country. It needs to be pointed out to politicians of his ilk, that no patriotic individual who truly loves his or her country, will want to see it go up in flames - regardless of the provocation emanating from their political opponents.
For his part, President Mills must also show the country that he means it when he says he will ensure that there is peace in Ghana - by dismissing Nii Lante Vanderpuije from his official position as a presidential aide: to serve as an example to other NDC parliamentary candidates, who might be tempted to follow his foolish example, of declaring a part of Ghana a no-go area, for their political opponents.
That tiresome Nii Lante Vanderpuije's breathtaking arrogance, and predilection for extreme action, has no place in any government of Ghana that believes in the rule of law. He most certainly does not deserve to serve Ghana's president in any official capacity.
Finally, let those Akan tribal-supremacist individuals - and the tribal-supremacist individuals amongst other ethnic groups in Ghana - with dark minds understand clearly, that genetically we are all one people. That is a scientific fact of life they must all accept.
This is the 21st century, not the sodden Dark Ages. No tribe is superior or inferior to another, in Nkrumah's Ghana - and the sooner foolish and arrogant individuals like Kennedy Adjapong understand that, the better life in Ghana will be for them.
The Kennedy Adapongs in our midst, must understand that our supposed differences, only exist in the minds of narrow-minded individuals - for cultural and historic reasons that are no longer valid, and of any consequence, in 21st century Ghana. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Tuesday, 17 April 2012
Monday, 16 April 2012
GHANAIAN POLITICIANS: WATCH YOUR WORDS!
Ghanaian politicians need to be careful in their choice of words. As some prominent members of our political class have found to their cost, recently, carelessness in their choice of words, can result in endless political difficulties for them.
It is such a pity that they have very little professional help available in Ghana, to help them navigate the positive-communications world's language maze successfully.
Take the presidential candidate of the main opposition party, the New Patriotic Party's (NPP), Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo-Addo, for instance. As we all know, he is a gentleman who has mastery of the English language.
Yet, for some extraordinary reason, at a point in time, not too long ago, he resorted to a phrase in pidgin English, to rally his followers - and instead of saying "cowards die many times before their death" in exhorting his followers to be courageous, unfortunately plumped for the pidgin English phrase: "All die be die!"
Alas, he has not been allowed to forget that error of judgement, in his choice of words, in a hurry, by his political opponents.
Then there is President Mills' momentary loss of concentration, which led to his curious response that he was "not a policeman" - to those who wanted him to have the individuals responsible for the violence at voter-registration centres arrested.
The president should have simply responded to those making that unfair demand of him, by making the point, that they were more or less expecting him to behave like a military strongman - and usurp the role of the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Paul Tawiah Quaye, by going around the country arresting those responsible for the violence at voter-registration centres.
He should have then gone on to remind them that they were forgetting that there is a pressing need for our institutions of state to be allowed to work - in order to deepen the roots of Ghanaian democracy: and that at such moments in our democratic journey, as a people, we should all be encouraging the police to enforce the electoral laws - and act swiftly to arrest those responsible for voter-registration centre violence, nationwide.
(Naturally, dear reader, I shall deny the latest of the many foolish, irresponsible, inflammatory and dangerous utterances of the Hon. Kennedy Adjapong, the NPP MP for Assin North, the oxygen of publicity, by not repeating them here - safe to remind him, and other arrogant and verbally-aggressive politicians of his ilk, that any politician or political party that thinks that ordinary Ghanaians will allow their country to burn, just so that a new group of clever and self-serving politicians, in our musical-chairs-democracy, can also come to power, and "chop Ghana small" - to use an infamous pidgin English phrase, first employed by a Lebanese crook doing business in Ghana decades ago - is living in cloud-cuckoo-land. But I digress.)
If our leaders are to avoid the linguistic equivalent of slipping on banana skins, they need to make a conscious effort to choose their words carefully.
Above all, as the campaign season begins, they need to find world-class professionals to speak for them - and to train them to respond appropriately whenever they need to respond directly to questions themselves, and to comment on issues personally.
Let them watch their words carefully, at all material times - lest their utterances get them into endless trouble, when what they say returns to haunt them. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
It is such a pity that they have very little professional help available in Ghana, to help them navigate the positive-communications world's language maze successfully.
Take the presidential candidate of the main opposition party, the New Patriotic Party's (NPP), Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo-Addo, for instance. As we all know, he is a gentleman who has mastery of the English language.
Yet, for some extraordinary reason, at a point in time, not too long ago, he resorted to a phrase in pidgin English, to rally his followers - and instead of saying "cowards die many times before their death" in exhorting his followers to be courageous, unfortunately plumped for the pidgin English phrase: "All die be die!"
Alas, he has not been allowed to forget that error of judgement, in his choice of words, in a hurry, by his political opponents.
Then there is President Mills' momentary loss of concentration, which led to his curious response that he was "not a policeman" - to those who wanted him to have the individuals responsible for the violence at voter-registration centres arrested.
The president should have simply responded to those making that unfair demand of him, by making the point, that they were more or less expecting him to behave like a military strongman - and usurp the role of the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Paul Tawiah Quaye, by going around the country arresting those responsible for the violence at voter-registration centres.
He should have then gone on to remind them that they were forgetting that there is a pressing need for our institutions of state to be allowed to work - in order to deepen the roots of Ghanaian democracy: and that at such moments in our democratic journey, as a people, we should all be encouraging the police to enforce the electoral laws - and act swiftly to arrest those responsible for voter-registration centre violence, nationwide.
(Naturally, dear reader, I shall deny the latest of the many foolish, irresponsible, inflammatory and dangerous utterances of the Hon. Kennedy Adjapong, the NPP MP for Assin North, the oxygen of publicity, by not repeating them here - safe to remind him, and other arrogant and verbally-aggressive politicians of his ilk, that any politician or political party that thinks that ordinary Ghanaians will allow their country to burn, just so that a new group of clever and self-serving politicians, in our musical-chairs-democracy, can also come to power, and "chop Ghana small" - to use an infamous pidgin English phrase, first employed by a Lebanese crook doing business in Ghana decades ago - is living in cloud-cuckoo-land. But I digress.)
If our leaders are to avoid the linguistic equivalent of slipping on banana skins, they need to make a conscious effort to choose their words carefully.
Above all, as the campaign season begins, they need to find world-class professionals to speak for them - and to train them to respond appropriately whenever they need to respond directly to questions themselves, and to comment on issues personally.
Let them watch their words carefully, at all material times - lest their utterances get them into endless trouble, when what they say returns to haunt them. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Saturday, 14 April 2012
THE IGP MUST IGNORE CALLS FOR THE TRANSFER OF ACP AGWUBUTOGE AWUNI
No one should be above the law in a democracy. No matter how important an individual might be in society, the police ought to arrest him or her, when they break the law, and it comes to their notice.
That is why it so happens that whenever some senior British Establishment figure is embroiled in a scandal, for example, they are either arrested for a brief period, in the course of police enquiries - and are then either freed or eventually prosecuted.
The MPs' expenses scandal, and the prosecution of the Coalition government's former Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Chris Huhne - the first British Cabinet minister forced from office by a criminal prosecution, in history - readily come to mind.
Incidentally, Huhne's case dates back to a driving offence committed as far back as 2003 - when he allegedly dodged a speeding offence, by letting his then wife, Vicky Pryce, take speeding penalty points on his behalf.
Huhne is charged with perverting the course of justice. The handling of such cases by the police, demonstrate, in a very practical manner, the fact that no one is above the law in Great Britain.
It would appear that we might be on the threshold of soon becoming just such a democratic society, in which all are equal before the law, too.
We have to thank Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr. Agwubutoge Awuni, for his no-nonsense approach to policing, in ordering the brief arrest of a former regional minister and member of Parliament for Korle-Klottey, the Hon. Nii Armah Ashittey - who was alleged to be interfering with the voter-registration process in his Korle-Klottey constituency.
It is time it was made absolutely clear to "big people" in Ghana, that this is a nation of laws - in which all are equal before the law: and none above it.
It is an outrage that a number of politicians who ought to know better, including Mr. Ade Coker, the chairperson of the Greater Accra Region's branch of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), are demanding the transfer from the region, of this hard-working senior police officer.
His crime? Doing his duty by ordering the brief arrest of a leading politician from the region, the member of Parliament for the Korle-Klottey constituency, the Hon. Nii Armah Ashittey.
Both the ruling NDC and the main opposition party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), have been irresponsible in making statements questioning the independence of the Ghana Police Service, in the ongoing nationwide voter-registration exercise.
They are being unfair to the police - and playing a very dangerous game on top of that: in trying to erode public confidence in the police, so that their myrmidon-goons can continue to terrorise the law-abiding with impunity.
The foolish and unjustifiable demand by the NPP's General Secretary, Mr Kojo Owusu-Afriyie, for the IGP's resignation is an example - as are Ursula Owusu's open declarations in the print and electronic media, that she has no faith in the police, and will therefore make her own arrangements for protection.
And this, dear reader, is a very competent lawyer, a well-educated and highly-intelligent woman - who will doubtless become a cabinet minister, were her party's presidential candidate to win the December 2012 presidential election. Hmm, Ghana - eyeasem oo!
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Paul Tawiah Quaye, must ignore those politicians, including the National Democratic Congress' chairperson of the party's branch in the Greater Accra Region, who are demanding the transfer of ACP Agwubutoge Awuni.
Ghana needs more, not fewer, police officers able to stand up to the high and mighty in society, like him.
If the irresponsible behaviour of those extremist politicians in the NDC and the NPP, behind the violence in voter-registration centres across the nation, is a harbinger of what is to come in the December 2012 elections, then the IGP and the men and women under his command, may very well stand between us and a descent into chaos and violence.
For that reason, and to maintain morale in the service, the IGP must demonstrate that he will always show loyalty to the professionals he leads - by ignoring all those calling for the transfer from the Greater Accra Region of ACP Agwubutoge Awuni. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
That is why it so happens that whenever some senior British Establishment figure is embroiled in a scandal, for example, they are either arrested for a brief period, in the course of police enquiries - and are then either freed or eventually prosecuted.
The MPs' expenses scandal, and the prosecution of the Coalition government's former Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Chris Huhne - the first British Cabinet minister forced from office by a criminal prosecution, in history - readily come to mind.
Incidentally, Huhne's case dates back to a driving offence committed as far back as 2003 - when he allegedly dodged a speeding offence, by letting his then wife, Vicky Pryce, take speeding penalty points on his behalf.
Huhne is charged with perverting the course of justice. The handling of such cases by the police, demonstrate, in a very practical manner, the fact that no one is above the law in Great Britain.
It would appear that we might be on the threshold of soon becoming just such a democratic society, in which all are equal before the law, too.
We have to thank Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr. Agwubutoge Awuni, for his no-nonsense approach to policing, in ordering the brief arrest of a former regional minister and member of Parliament for Korle-Klottey, the Hon. Nii Armah Ashittey - who was alleged to be interfering with the voter-registration process in his Korle-Klottey constituency.
It is time it was made absolutely clear to "big people" in Ghana, that this is a nation of laws - in which all are equal before the law: and none above it.
It is an outrage that a number of politicians who ought to know better, including Mr. Ade Coker, the chairperson of the Greater Accra Region's branch of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), are demanding the transfer from the region, of this hard-working senior police officer.
His crime? Doing his duty by ordering the brief arrest of a leading politician from the region, the member of Parliament for the Korle-Klottey constituency, the Hon. Nii Armah Ashittey.
Both the ruling NDC and the main opposition party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), have been irresponsible in making statements questioning the independence of the Ghana Police Service, in the ongoing nationwide voter-registration exercise.
They are being unfair to the police - and playing a very dangerous game on top of that: in trying to erode public confidence in the police, so that their myrmidon-goons can continue to terrorise the law-abiding with impunity.
The foolish and unjustifiable demand by the NPP's General Secretary, Mr Kojo Owusu-Afriyie, for the IGP's resignation is an example - as are Ursula Owusu's open declarations in the print and electronic media, that she has no faith in the police, and will therefore make her own arrangements for protection.
And this, dear reader, is a very competent lawyer, a well-educated and highly-intelligent woman - who will doubtless become a cabinet minister, were her party's presidential candidate to win the December 2012 presidential election. Hmm, Ghana - eyeasem oo!
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Paul Tawiah Quaye, must ignore those politicians, including the National Democratic Congress' chairperson of the party's branch in the Greater Accra Region, who are demanding the transfer of ACP Agwubutoge Awuni.
Ghana needs more, not fewer, police officers able to stand up to the high and mighty in society, like him.
If the irresponsible behaviour of those extremist politicians in the NDC and the NPP, behind the violence in voter-registration centres across the nation, is a harbinger of what is to come in the December 2012 elections, then the IGP and the men and women under his command, may very well stand between us and a descent into chaos and violence.
For that reason, and to maintain morale in the service, the IGP must demonstrate that he will always show loyalty to the professionals he leads - by ignoring all those calling for the transfer from the Greater Accra Region of ACP Agwubutoge Awuni. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Thursday, 12 April 2012
NO PLACE FOR VIOLENCE IN OUR NATION'S POLITICS - FOR WE ARE A CIVILISED PEOPLE
One of the most precious assets Ghana has, is its international reputation as a peaceful, stable and democratic African nation. It is something our nation's political class must endeavour to safeguard, at all material times, and at all costs.
It is therefore regrettable that there have been reports of acts of violence, yet again, in the Greater Accra Region's  Ododododio constituency.
Both the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the main opposition party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), need to exercise maximum restraint - and get their members on the ground in the Ododododio constituency, to act a tad more responsibly.
In the light of the violence being experienced around the country at voter-registration centres, perhaps the question we must pose is: did our politicians not learn any lessons at all, from the Ivory Coast's tragic descent into chaos and violence - as a result of the power-drunkenness and lust for power, of some of the most powerful members of its political class?
In the end, did the Ivory Coast's ruling elites' selfish disregard for the well-being of their nation and its long-suffering people, not turn the lives of ordinary Ivorians who survived the brutal and deadly battles between pro-Gbagbo and pro-Quattara forces, completely upside down?
Surely, all the members of our nation's political class, are also aware that Ghana's well-earned international reputation as a haven of peace and stability in Africa, is one of the considerations that foreign and local investors take into account, when deciding to invest in our national economy?
Furthermore, are they also not aware that the vast majority of ordinary Ghanaians want their country to remain peaceful - as they do not want to end up as refugees in neighbouring countries, or as internally displaced persons, away from the security of familiar surroundings, and suffering elsewhere, in their homeland Ghana?
And is any violence by the members of political parties and their supporters, which will jeopardise that all-important and positive international reputation, in any way, in a nation with such high youth unemployment, not an unpardonable crime against ordinary Ghanaians, I ask?
And could such violence not be construed as adopting a negative political strategy, tantamount to deliberately driving away potential investment - that could create jobs for some of the many unemployed Ghanaians who are desperate to find work - because it suits the selfish ends some politicians seek: power at all costs, in the December 2012 general election?
Perchance are the cynics amongst us right indeed, when they say that the brinkmanship in places such as the Ododododio constituency, is really about angling for pole position - to be in the gang that will be brutally and repeatedly gang-raping Mother Ghana for the next four years, after the December polls?
Has the time not come for all Ghana's politicians to eschew the use of violence as a political weapon, to enable them win power in this country - if the ends they seek in politics are truly honourable and altruistic?
Violence is a dead-end for any developing nation that has aspirations - and those offering themselves for leadership positions in our homeland Ghana, who don't understand that basic fact of 21st century Ghanaian politics, don't deserve the support of discerning voters who are independent-minded, and love Mother Ghana passionately.
Incidentally, is it not instructive, dear reader, that our country's politicians, who are usually amongst the best-educated individuals in Ghanaian society, and many of whom say that a desire to serve their country and its people is their motivation for going into politics, have, in 21st century Ghana, still not seen it fit to disassociate themselves and their parties from the known violent-types, whom it would appear they still feel a need to include in their campaign entourages: as they criss-cross our nation campaigning for votes that will get them elected to power to govern our country?
The question is, why should all decent and fair-minded Ghanaians not condemn the trading of accusations and counter-accusations by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of violent attacks on each other's party members and supporters at registration centres, particularly in parts of the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions (and elsewhere in Ghana)?
The leadership of both parties must bow their heads in shame for letting Mother Ghana down so terribly. And to think that this is only just a registration exercise, too - important though that is.
What will they do to our nation, on polling day then - when it suddenly becomes obvious to them that they are on the losing side, one wonders?
It really ought to be made plain to all Ghanaians that those acts of violence at registration centres, do not bode well for our country.
That is why the Ghana Police Service must ensure that all those actually responsible for the violence occurring at registration centres, are apprehended, charged and prosecuted in the law courts.
Finally, dear reader, it really is important that all the members of Ghana's political class, understand clearly, that in 21st century Ghana, it is imperative that in the run-up to all general elections, political parties and their supporters always act responsibly, at what are indeed critical moments, in our democratic journey as a people.
There must be no place for violence in our nation's politics - for we are a civilised people. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
It is therefore regrettable that there have been reports of acts of violence, yet again, in the Greater Accra Region's  Ododododio constituency.
Both the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the main opposition party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), need to exercise maximum restraint - and get their members on the ground in the Ododododio constituency, to act a tad more responsibly.
In the light of the violence being experienced around the country at voter-registration centres, perhaps the question we must pose is: did our politicians not learn any lessons at all, from the Ivory Coast's tragic descent into chaos and violence - as a result of the power-drunkenness and lust for power, of some of the most powerful members of its political class?
In the end, did the Ivory Coast's ruling elites' selfish disregard for the well-being of their nation and its long-suffering people, not turn the lives of ordinary Ivorians who survived the brutal and deadly battles between pro-Gbagbo and pro-Quattara forces, completely upside down?
Surely, all the members of our nation's political class, are also aware that Ghana's well-earned international reputation as a haven of peace and stability in Africa, is one of the considerations that foreign and local investors take into account, when deciding to invest in our national economy?
Furthermore, are they also not aware that the vast majority of ordinary Ghanaians want their country to remain peaceful - as they do not want to end up as refugees in neighbouring countries, or as internally displaced persons, away from the security of familiar surroundings, and suffering elsewhere, in their homeland Ghana?
And is any violence by the members of political parties and their supporters, which will jeopardise that all-important and positive international reputation, in any way, in a nation with such high youth unemployment, not an unpardonable crime against ordinary Ghanaians, I ask?
And could such violence not be construed as adopting a negative political strategy, tantamount to deliberately driving away potential investment - that could create jobs for some of the many unemployed Ghanaians who are desperate to find work - because it suits the selfish ends some politicians seek: power at all costs, in the December 2012 general election?
Perchance are the cynics amongst us right indeed, when they say that the brinkmanship in places such as the Ododododio constituency, is really about angling for pole position - to be in the gang that will be brutally and repeatedly gang-raping Mother Ghana for the next four years, after the December polls?
Has the time not come for all Ghana's politicians to eschew the use of violence as a political weapon, to enable them win power in this country - if the ends they seek in politics are truly honourable and altruistic?
Violence is a dead-end for any developing nation that has aspirations - and those offering themselves for leadership positions in our homeland Ghana, who don't understand that basic fact of 21st century Ghanaian politics, don't deserve the support of discerning voters who are independent-minded, and love Mother Ghana passionately.
Incidentally, is it not instructive, dear reader, that our country's politicians, who are usually amongst the best-educated individuals in Ghanaian society, and many of whom say that a desire to serve their country and its people is their motivation for going into politics, have, in 21st century Ghana, still not seen it fit to disassociate themselves and their parties from the known violent-types, whom it would appear they still feel a need to include in their campaign entourages: as they criss-cross our nation campaigning for votes that will get them elected to power to govern our country?
The question is, why should all decent and fair-minded Ghanaians not condemn the trading of accusations and counter-accusations by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of violent attacks on each other's party members and supporters at registration centres, particularly in parts of the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions (and elsewhere in Ghana)?
The leadership of both parties must bow their heads in shame for letting Mother Ghana down so terribly. And to think that this is only just a registration exercise, too - important though that is.
What will they do to our nation, on polling day then - when it suddenly becomes obvious to them that they are on the losing side, one wonders?
It really ought to be made plain to all Ghanaians that those acts of violence at registration centres, do not bode well for our country.
That is why the Ghana Police Service must ensure that all those actually responsible for the violence occurring at registration centres, are apprehended, charged and prosecuted in the law courts.
Finally, dear reader, it really is important that all the members of Ghana's political class, understand clearly, that in 21st century Ghana, it is imperative that in the run-up to all general elections, political parties and their supporters always act responsibly, at what are indeed critical moments, in our democratic journey as a people.
There must be no place for violence in our nation's politics - for we are a civilised people. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
GHANA'S RENTED-MEDIA CROWD: DON'T MESS WITH KOFI THOMPSON - THERE ARE NO SKELETONS IN HIS CUPBOARD
When I was told some time ago about an alleged conspiracy to film and illegally record conversations in the house I live in, by a cross-spectrum party-rented media crowd, I couldn't help laughing.
Did they think that I too was involved in the disgraceful and unprofessional habit of media professionals compromising themselves by selling their consciences to politicians - when they are supposed to be society's watchdogs over those selfsame politicians they are beholden to financially?
And for their information, my private life is led in such fashion that it ensures that were a spotlight to be shone unexpectedly on it, neither I nor my children and grandchildren would be ashamed of it.
What saddened me most, dear reader, was that there were snakes-in-the grass types who were happy to allow their properties to apparently serve as bases for what is clearly an illegality - as it cannot be justified under any circumstances.
Well, I wouldn't let even our sodden secret services get away with such an abuse of my basic human right to privacy, let alone unprofessional journalists, who are under the misapprehension that somehow their profession is a lucrative business opportunity, and an influence-peddling lobbyist's dream-platform.
I am waiting to hear more details from the mole who volunteered the information about this outrage to me. And when I get to independently confirm what I've been told by this particular source, I shall let the buffoons who allegedly thought of this foolish caper understand clearly that this is one illegality too far for them.
Where did they get to with their previous efforts to trip me up with the daft stories they planted online - and endless online honey-pot entrapment emails, Facebook friend requests and LinkedIn invitations to connect? Nowhere. And this too won't get them anywhere either, I promise them.
And the last time I checked the 1992 constitution and looked at our statute books, not making friends (with tribal-supremacist individuals and philistines one has nothing in common with); keeping to oneself; and being a semi-recluse who prefers friends from the animal kingdom to feckless humans, weren't crimes either.
They will pay dearly for their arrogance. And they can be sure that they will eventually come to bitterly regret the day they thought of this stupid and juvenile plan to invade my privacy for no good reason whatsoever (such as preventing treason or a pressing - no pun intended - public interest reason vital for ensuring the well-being of Ghanaian society).
I mess with no one's private space, and much less do I tolerate others messing with mine. I might be a nobody and poor as a church mouse, but they must watch their step where I am concerned. Unlike so many of them, I have old-fashioned values and principles, and actually have no skeletons hiding anywhere in my cupboard. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Did they think that I too was involved in the disgraceful and unprofessional habit of media professionals compromising themselves by selling their consciences to politicians - when they are supposed to be society's watchdogs over those selfsame politicians they are beholden to financially?
And for their information, my private life is led in such fashion that it ensures that were a spotlight to be shone unexpectedly on it, neither I nor my children and grandchildren would be ashamed of it.
What saddened me most, dear reader, was that there were snakes-in-the grass types who were happy to allow their properties to apparently serve as bases for what is clearly an illegality - as it cannot be justified under any circumstances.
Well, I wouldn't let even our sodden secret services get away with such an abuse of my basic human right to privacy, let alone unprofessional journalists, who are under the misapprehension that somehow their profession is a lucrative business opportunity, and an influence-peddling lobbyist's dream-platform.
I am waiting to hear more details from the mole who volunteered the information about this outrage to me. And when I get to independently confirm what I've been told by this particular source, I shall let the buffoons who allegedly thought of this foolish caper understand clearly that this is one illegality too far for them.
Where did they get to with their previous efforts to trip me up with the daft stories they planted online - and endless online honey-pot entrapment emails, Facebook friend requests and LinkedIn invitations to connect? Nowhere. And this too won't get them anywhere either, I promise them.
And the last time I checked the 1992 constitution and looked at our statute books, not making friends (with tribal-supremacist individuals and philistines one has nothing in common with); keeping to oneself; and being a semi-recluse who prefers friends from the animal kingdom to feckless humans, weren't crimes either.
They will pay dearly for their arrogance. And they can be sure that they will eventually come to bitterly regret the day they thought of this stupid and juvenile plan to invade my privacy for no good reason whatsoever (such as preventing treason or a pressing - no pun intended - public interest reason vital for ensuring the well-being of Ghanaian society).
I mess with no one's private space, and much less do I tolerate others messing with mine. I might be a nobody and poor as a church mouse, but they must watch their step where I am concerned. Unlike so many of them, I have old-fashioned values and principles, and actually have no skeletons hiding anywhere in my cupboard. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Kudos To Mr. Kweku A. Anno - A Brilliant And Innovative Green Ghanaian Entrepreneur
Today, dear reader, I am posting a culled piece from www.citifmonline.com. In my humble view, it is definitely one of the most interesting and inspiring business stories, that I have ever come across, in the Ghanaian media - in all of the nearly twenty years or so that I have been associated with it.
This is the clincher for me: "The system is inspired by nature – just like on a forest floor, waste is broken down rapidly and effectively within days. The only by-product generated from the system is nutrient-rich, filtered water, which can be reused for landscaping or other purposes.
The Biofil system not only works thirty times faster than the current, most effective system – the septic system – it is also up to thirty times smaller! More importantly, this simple structure does not require the ground to be dug up, and can easily be integrated into the building design, hidden away in the back yard, or customised for tight spaces.
Anno and his team have installed more than 2,000 new Biofil Digesters in homes, office blocks and other commercial facilities in Ghana, Belize, India, South Africa and Liberia.
They have also installed a significant number of solutions to manage existing septic systems which have problems such as overflowing. These “trickling filters” are designed to treat the water and sludge generated in the septic tank and completely eliminates the need for contents to be pumped out by waste trucks."
The story is about a Ghanaian entrepreneur, a Mr. Kweku A. Anno, who must be one of the most dynamic and innovative green businesspeople, anywhere on the surface of the planet Earth - and the proud owner of Biological Filters and Composters Limited.
CitiFM deserves our congratulations for this positive story. The government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Trade and Industry, must do all it can to actively promote the business of innovative Ghanaian businesspeople, such as Mr. Kweku A. Anno.
Our leaders must take advantage of the tremendous fund of goodwill, which still exists throughout the continent, for Nkrumah's Ghana, to help innovative Ghanaian entrepreneurs like Mr. Kweku A. Anno to expand their businesses across Africa, in joint-ventures with local businesspeople.
It is dynamic and game-changing individuals like him, that our leaders ought to take abroad with them, on their many junketting trips overseas - not the many lazy, semi-literates in the Ghanaian media world: whom they pack unto jet planes at hapless taxpayers' expense, but who produce precious little to enlighten their audiences, upon their return home.
Apparently the producer of the "biofil digester" (according to Citi FM), from the sound of it, Mr. Kweku Anno's efficient waste treatment system could indeed help the whole of sub-Saharan Africa, to solve a pressing public health problem: managing the disposal of emptied household liquid waste in septic tanks safely, as well as dealing with the unsanitary conditions blighting the lives of the poorest of the poor, in the poverty-stricken parts of both rural and urban Africa.
This brilliant entrepreneur is godsend for Ghana - and all the District Assemblies ought to partner his company in public private partnerships (PPP) to enable them deal effectively with their liquid waste management problems in a more scientific manner.
Here is the culled www.citifmonline piece about the brilliant Mr. Kweku A. Anno, whose company produces the "biofil digester." Please read on:
"Ghanaians need to build to effectively eliminate waste
A local entrepreneur has challenged Ghanaian architects and real estate developers to be more creative and innovative when it comes to putting up their designs for buildings.
Kweku A. Anno, inventor of the Biofil Digester, a unique waste treatment system, said that current trends in the building industry call for new thinking when it comes to design of buildings and communities.
Issues such as limited land, soil conditions and poor drainage systems, among others, affect design of housing developments in the country. Anno however insists that sanitation and waste management are even more essential considerations, given in our current situation.
“Our population is increasing, especially in the urban areas, and even those who practice proper sanitation are not spared the effects of the generally poor waste management in the country,” Anno added. “The frequent cholera epidemics, the prevalence of intestinal diseases, foul smells and a general eyesore across the country are all evidence of this.”
Real estate developers are leaning toward smaller-sized housing units than before, and the limited amount of land is also driving more upward development in the form of apartment blocks and flats. Such developments may require a central sewage system to provide necessary sanitation for residents, and Kweku Anno believes his company has the best solution.
Anno’s invention; the Biofil Digester, appears a simple concrete box, large enough for an average-sized person to fit in. The device however uses a unique filtration technology that has been researched and standardised by his company, Biological Filters and Composters Ltd (Biofilcom), over the past 15 years.
The system is inspired by nature – just like on a forest floor, waste is broken down rapidly and effectively within days. The only by-product generated from the system is nutrient-rich, filtered water, which can be reused for landscaping or other purposes.
The Biofil system not only works thirty times faster than the current, most effective system – the septic system – it is also up to thirty times smaller! More importantly, this simple structure does not require the ground to be dug up, and can easily be integrated into the building design, hidden away in the back yard, or customised for tight spaces.
Anno and his team have installed more than 2,000 new Biofil Digesters in homes, office blocks and other commercial facilities in Ghana, Belize, India, South Africa and Liberia.
They have also installed a significant number of solutions to manage existing septic systems which have problems such as overflowing. These “trickling filters” are designed to treat the water and sludge generated in the septic tank and completely eliminates the need for contents to be pumped out by waste trucks.
Anno states that their product goes beyond toilet waste management; “we have been treating organic waste from the kitchen and household by dumping these materials directly into a customised Biofil Digester” he explained.
So far, this application of the technology has resulted in up to 50% reduction in the amount of rubbish generated in these households. Furthermore, waste is easy to sort and recycle, because all the decomposing material has been eliminated from the waste stream.
“The solutions to our sanitation problems lie right here with us – it is up to us to make use of the technology, and within the next five years, Ghana would be able to achieve 100% coverage of sanitation,” Anno said.
End of culled www.citifmonline.com piece about Mr. Kweku A. Anno.
Well, there we are, dear reader. And what a marvellous and positive Ghanaian media story, for a change. Mr. Kweku A. Anno deserves a Grand Medal - and I hope that his business makes him millions of dollars, as the years roll by. He is certainly deserving of it.
Above all, I do hope that our equally innovative and hard-working Fanteakwa District Assembly's Chief Executive, the Hon. Abass Fuseini Shaabe, will arrange for Mr. Anno to pay our Fanteakwa District Assembly a visit soon - to explore the possibility of a PPP. A word to the wise...
However, since this is about Mr. Kweku A. Anno, let me end this particular blog-posting, by saying kudos to him, for his is marvellous, brilliant, innovative and green Ghanaian enterprise.
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone company in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.

Post Script
Since this is a nation in which altruism has become virtually extinct and many individuals in society, on the make and on the take, let me quickly make the point that I have neither met nor spoken to Mr. Kweku A. Anno before.
And I haven't been given a back-hander by him or anyone acting on his behalf either, to do a PR job for him. I simply happen to admire what he has achieved - and wish him and his innovative green business well, going forward into the future.
Finally, dear reader, it is time we all understood that it is innovative and dynamic entrepreneurs like Mr. Kweku A. Anno, not our mostly-unimaginative and self-serving political class, who will help transform Ghana's economy.
The current government definitely ought to consider giving innovative green businesses such as his, a long tax holiday: at the very least, of 20 some years duration.
He really is adding value, in quality-of-life terms, to Ghanaian society - and helping to improve the living standards of the generality of the Ghanaian populace. Really splendid chap!
PPS Comments.
To Claire Marie:
Apparently Blogger no longer supports my smartphone's web browser, so I have been unable to moderate comments, for some time.
This particular comment on the blog-posting entitled "Kudos To Mr. Kweku A. Anno - A Brilliant And Innovative Green Ghanaian Entrepreneur" was from Claire Marie:
"This is probably one of the most popular kitchen sink about and is accessible in all prices ranges.
Even so, you don’t expect to buy the best quality sink for a cheap price. Usually a cheap stainless steel sink is created of thin metal which flexes and vibrates".
My response: Claire Marie, not many of the residential areas in urban Ghana are connected to a central sewage system.
So most homes in Ghana have a concrete septic tank that when full, has to be emptied of its contents by liquid waste tanker-trucks that suck them into their tanks for disposal elsewhere.
That is what the story's main point is: that Mr Kweku Anno's 'innovation' breaks down the septic tank's contents biologically - obviating the need for regular emptying oif its contents by liquid-waste tanker trucks.
In the Ghanaian context, it is definitely an innovation - a vast improvement on the old system of managing septic tanks.
I would accept that in a strictly scientific sense, its not a new "methodology" that he's come up with. But business wise, its an innovation here - as its a very useful service no commercial entity has ever offered here before. Any of that make any sense to you, Claire Marie? Hope so.
This is the clincher for me: "The system is inspired by nature – just like on a forest floor, waste is broken down rapidly and effectively within days. The only by-product generated from the system is nutrient-rich, filtered water, which can be reused for landscaping or other purposes.
The Biofil system not only works thirty times faster than the current, most effective system – the septic system – it is also up to thirty times smaller! More importantly, this simple structure does not require the ground to be dug up, and can easily be integrated into the building design, hidden away in the back yard, or customised for tight spaces.
Anno and his team have installed more than 2,000 new Biofil Digesters in homes, office blocks and other commercial facilities in Ghana, Belize, India, South Africa and Liberia.
They have also installed a significant number of solutions to manage existing septic systems which have problems such as overflowing. These “trickling filters” are designed to treat the water and sludge generated in the septic tank and completely eliminates the need for contents to be pumped out by waste trucks."
The story is about a Ghanaian entrepreneur, a Mr. Kweku A. Anno, who must be one of the most dynamic and innovative green businesspeople, anywhere on the surface of the planet Earth - and the proud owner of Biological Filters and Composters Limited.
CitiFM deserves our congratulations for this positive story. The government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Trade and Industry, must do all it can to actively promote the business of innovative Ghanaian businesspeople, such as Mr. Kweku A. Anno.
Our leaders must take advantage of the tremendous fund of goodwill, which still exists throughout the continent, for Nkrumah's Ghana, to help innovative Ghanaian entrepreneurs like Mr. Kweku A. Anno to expand their businesses across Africa, in joint-ventures with local businesspeople.
It is dynamic and game-changing individuals like him, that our leaders ought to take abroad with them, on their many junketting trips overseas - not the many lazy, semi-literates in the Ghanaian media world: whom they pack unto jet planes at hapless taxpayers' expense, but who produce precious little to enlighten their audiences, upon their return home.
Apparently the producer of the "biofil digester" (according to Citi FM), from the sound of it, Mr. Kweku Anno's efficient waste treatment system could indeed help the whole of sub-Saharan Africa, to solve a pressing public health problem: managing the disposal of emptied household liquid waste in septic tanks safely, as well as dealing with the unsanitary conditions blighting the lives of the poorest of the poor, in the poverty-stricken parts of both rural and urban Africa.
This brilliant entrepreneur is godsend for Ghana - and all the District Assemblies ought to partner his company in public private partnerships (PPP) to enable them deal effectively with their liquid waste management problems in a more scientific manner.
Here is the culled www.citifmonline piece about the brilliant Mr. Kweku A. Anno, whose company produces the "biofil digester." Please read on:
"Ghanaians need to build to effectively eliminate waste
A local entrepreneur has challenged Ghanaian architects and real estate developers to be more creative and innovative when it comes to putting up their designs for buildings.
Kweku A. Anno, inventor of the Biofil Digester, a unique waste treatment system, said that current trends in the building industry call for new thinking when it comes to design of buildings and communities.
Issues such as limited land, soil conditions and poor drainage systems, among others, affect design of housing developments in the country. Anno however insists that sanitation and waste management are even more essential considerations, given in our current situation.
“Our population is increasing, especially in the urban areas, and even those who practice proper sanitation are not spared the effects of the generally poor waste management in the country,” Anno added. “The frequent cholera epidemics, the prevalence of intestinal diseases, foul smells and a general eyesore across the country are all evidence of this.”
Real estate developers are leaning toward smaller-sized housing units than before, and the limited amount of land is also driving more upward development in the form of apartment blocks and flats. Such developments may require a central sewage system to provide necessary sanitation for residents, and Kweku Anno believes his company has the best solution.
Anno’s invention; the Biofil Digester, appears a simple concrete box, large enough for an average-sized person to fit in. The device however uses a unique filtration technology that has been researched and standardised by his company, Biological Filters and Composters Ltd (Biofilcom), over the past 15 years.
The system is inspired by nature – just like on a forest floor, waste is broken down rapidly and effectively within days. The only by-product generated from the system is nutrient-rich, filtered water, which can be reused for landscaping or other purposes.
The Biofil system not only works thirty times faster than the current, most effective system – the septic system – it is also up to thirty times smaller! More importantly, this simple structure does not require the ground to be dug up, and can easily be integrated into the building design, hidden away in the back yard, or customised for tight spaces.
Anno and his team have installed more than 2,000 new Biofil Digesters in homes, office blocks and other commercial facilities in Ghana, Belize, India, South Africa and Liberia.
They have also installed a significant number of solutions to manage existing septic systems which have problems such as overflowing. These “trickling filters” are designed to treat the water and sludge generated in the septic tank and completely eliminates the need for contents to be pumped out by waste trucks.
Anno states that their product goes beyond toilet waste management; “we have been treating organic waste from the kitchen and household by dumping these materials directly into a customised Biofil Digester” he explained.
So far, this application of the technology has resulted in up to 50% reduction in the amount of rubbish generated in these households. Furthermore, waste is easy to sort and recycle, because all the decomposing material has been eliminated from the waste stream.
“The solutions to our sanitation problems lie right here with us – it is up to us to make use of the technology, and within the next five years, Ghana would be able to achieve 100% coverage of sanitation,” Anno said.
End of culled www.citifmonline.com piece about Mr. Kweku A. Anno.
Well, there we are, dear reader. And what a marvellous and positive Ghanaian media story, for a change. Mr. Kweku A. Anno deserves a Grand Medal - and I hope that his business makes him millions of dollars, as the years roll by. He is certainly deserving of it.
Above all, I do hope that our equally innovative and hard-working Fanteakwa District Assembly's Chief Executive, the Hon. Abass Fuseini Shaabe, will arrange for Mr. Anno to pay our Fanteakwa District Assembly a visit soon - to explore the possibility of a PPP. A word to the wise...
However, since this is about Mr. Kweku A. Anno, let me end this particular blog-posting, by saying kudos to him, for his is marvellous, brilliant, innovative and green Ghanaian enterprise.
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone company in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.

Post Script
Since this is a nation in which altruism has become virtually extinct and many individuals in society, on the make and on the take, let me quickly make the point that I have neither met nor spoken to Mr. Kweku A. Anno before.
And I haven't been given a back-hander by him or anyone acting on his behalf either, to do a PR job for him. I simply happen to admire what he has achieved - and wish him and his innovative green business well, going forward into the future.
Finally, dear reader, it is time we all understood that it is innovative and dynamic entrepreneurs like Mr. Kweku A. Anno, not our mostly-unimaginative and self-serving political class, who will help transform Ghana's economy.
The current government definitely ought to consider giving innovative green businesses such as his, a long tax holiday: at the very least, of 20 some years duration.
He really is adding value, in quality-of-life terms, to Ghanaian society - and helping to improve the living standards of the generality of the Ghanaian populace. Really splendid chap!
PPS Comments.
To Claire Marie:
Apparently Blogger no longer supports my smartphone's web browser, so I have been unable to moderate comments, for some time.
This particular comment on the blog-posting entitled "Kudos To Mr. Kweku A. Anno - A Brilliant And Innovative Green Ghanaian Entrepreneur" was from Claire Marie:
"This is probably one of the most popular kitchen sink about and is accessible in all prices ranges.
Even so, you don’t expect to buy the best quality sink for a cheap price. Usually a cheap stainless steel sink is created of thin metal which flexes and vibrates".
My response: Claire Marie, not many of the residential areas in urban Ghana are connected to a central sewage system.
So most homes in Ghana have a concrete septic tank that when full, has to be emptied of its contents by liquid waste tanker-trucks that suck them into their tanks for disposal elsewhere.
That is what the story's main point is: that Mr Kweku Anno's 'innovation' breaks down the septic tank's contents biologically - obviating the need for regular emptying oif its contents by liquid-waste tanker trucks.
In the Ghanaian context, it is definitely an innovation - a vast improvement on the old system of managing septic tanks.
I would accept that in a strictly scientific sense, its not a new "methodology" that he's come up with. But business wise, its an innovation here - as its a very useful service no commercial entity has ever offered here before. Any of that make any sense to you, Claire Marie? Hope so.
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
How Safe Is The Water Produced By The Ghana Water Company Limited's Weija Treatment Plant?
I despair when I look at the green-tinged water in a white pail, which I fill up every night purposely, to check the quality of the water that flows through the taps in the house I live in, near Jayee University College, at McCarthy Hill.
That green-tinged water, always reminds me of the refusal by the then managing director of the Ghana Water Company Limited - a New Patriotic Party (NPP) appointee, who was in place when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) regime of President Mills, came into office in January 2009 - to accept poor quality chemical inputs from an "Alhaji" businessman.
That selfish and greedy businessman used the NDC rented-press to mount a campaign of vilification against the poor aforementioned GWCL's managing director who was adamant that even if it meant losing his job, he would not compromise the quality of the drinking-water supply of the residents of Accra - by accepting those poor quality chemicals that the "Alhaji" businessman wanted to palm off the GWCL.
I guess he must have been gotten rid of, not too long after that - judging by what I see in my white pail when I do my daily morning visual inspection. Perhaps the "Alhaji" businessman is now supplying his sub-standard Chinese-made chemicals to the GWCL?
It really is scandalous that water that ought to be crystal clear is tinged green - in 21st century Accra: and at a point not even a kilometre away from its Weija treatment plant as the crow flies. Incredible.
Can the GWCL tell us why that is so - and if they are sure that it meets the minimum World Health Organisation (WHO) standards specified for safe potable water. Is this not a city prone to cholera outbreaks, I ask, dear reader?
For public health reasons, surely, we must at least have good drinking water flowing through our taps in Ghana's capital - and elsewhere in our country? Yes, most may not drink it - but what are we supposed to wash our fruits and vegetables with, one wonders?
Perhaps the question we ought to ask is: Can the GWCL tell Accra's residents just how safe the water produced by its Weija water treatment plant, really is - and why it has a green hue?
In an age of consumer activism in Ghana, with Kofi Kapito's Consumers Association at the forefront, if the GWCL is not careful, one of these days, someone will take them to court: if they continue in this fashion.
They really must do better. Put simply, they must tell us just how safe the water from their Weija treatment plant actually is.
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
That green-tinged water, always reminds me of the refusal by the then managing director of the Ghana Water Company Limited - a New Patriotic Party (NPP) appointee, who was in place when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) regime of President Mills, came into office in January 2009 - to accept poor quality chemical inputs from an "Alhaji" businessman.
That selfish and greedy businessman used the NDC rented-press to mount a campaign of vilification against the poor aforementioned GWCL's managing director who was adamant that even if it meant losing his job, he would not compromise the quality of the drinking-water supply of the residents of Accra - by accepting those poor quality chemicals that the "Alhaji" businessman wanted to palm off the GWCL.
I guess he must have been gotten rid of, not too long after that - judging by what I see in my white pail when I do my daily morning visual inspection. Perhaps the "Alhaji" businessman is now supplying his sub-standard Chinese-made chemicals to the GWCL?
It really is scandalous that water that ought to be crystal clear is tinged green - in 21st century Accra: and at a point not even a kilometre away from its Weija treatment plant as the crow flies. Incredible.
Can the GWCL tell us why that is so - and if they are sure that it meets the minimum World Health Organisation (WHO) standards specified for safe potable water. Is this not a city prone to cholera outbreaks, I ask, dear reader?
For public health reasons, surely, we must at least have good drinking water flowing through our taps in Ghana's capital - and elsewhere in our country? Yes, most may not drink it - but what are we supposed to wash our fruits and vegetables with, one wonders?
Perhaps the question we ought to ask is: Can the GWCL tell Accra's residents just how safe the water produced by its Weija water treatment plant, really is - and why it has a green hue?
In an age of consumer activism in Ghana, with Kofi Kapito's Consumers Association at the forefront, if the GWCL is not careful, one of these days, someone will take them to court: if they continue in this fashion.
They really must do better. Put simply, they must tell us just how safe the water from their Weija treatment plant actually is.
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Monday, 9 April 2012
To The Owners of www.modernghana.com
I am emailing you to demand that you remove all my articles from your plagiarising www.modernghana.com website immediately - and also remove my name from your list of columnists.
I am outraged that despite emailing you hours ago to point out the fact that my article entitled "HAND OVER INTERCITY STC TO GHANA'S MILITARY - THEY WILL KEEP NATION MOVING IN ANY FUTURE TRANSPORT SECTOR STRIKE" has been wrongly attributed to a Dr. Thaddeus Ulzen, when it is my original work, nothing has been done about it.
Your inaction is tantamount to theft of my intellectual property - something that I will not tolerate under any circumstances.
Please note that I shall not contact you again. If my justifiable demands are not met by your www.modernghana.com website, I shall refer the matter to my lawyers without further recourse to you. Be warned.
Kofi Thompson.
I am outraged that despite emailing you hours ago to point out the fact that my article entitled "HAND OVER INTERCITY STC TO GHANA'S MILITARY - THEY WILL KEEP NATION MOVING IN ANY FUTURE TRANSPORT SECTOR STRIKE" has been wrongly attributed to a Dr. Thaddeus Ulzen, when it is my original work, nothing has been done about it.
Your inaction is tantamount to theft of my intellectual property - something that I will not tolerate under any circumstances.
Please note that I shall not contact you again. If my justifiable demands are not met by your www.modernghana.com website, I shall refer the matter to my lawyers without further recourse to you. Be warned.
Kofi Thompson.
Sunday, 8 April 2012
HAND OVER INTERCITY STC TO GHANA'S MILITARY - THEY WILL KEEP NATION MOVING IN ANY FUTURE TRANSPORT SECTOR STRIKE
One of the saddest things about our country, is that very often good free advice that will benefit the nation, is simply ignored by those at the helm of affairs - either because it doesn't benefit them directly, or fails to increase the net worth of their regime's crony-capitalist pals.
Take the case of Intercity STC for example, the partially divested state-owned bus company, which was once the transport sector's leading passenger bus company. Alas, it is now a pale shadow of itself - and reeling from being over-leveraged.
It has been crippled by a daft bus-purchase decision, taken during the Kufuor-era, which benefited some of that regime's crony-capitalist rip-off merchants mightily, but did not redound to the company's benefit.
Incredibly, and typical of the unfathomable greed and high-level corruption of the Kufuor-era, the untested FAW buses were totally unsuited for our roads, and lacked the durability to serve the purpose for which they were purchased - provide years of reliable service carrying fare-paying passengers in comfort across Ghana and beyond.
The bank loan taken from the National Investment Bank (NIB) to purchase those unsuitable Chinese-made FAW buses that lasted only two years, has ended up crippling Intercity STC, unfortunately.
The question is, could the NIB not be persuaded to take a combination of long-term government paper, and a conversion of part of the loan into an equity stake in a GAF-owned Intercity STC, dear reader?
And could all those who have won orders for judgement-debt payments from the law courts, against Intercity STC, not also be persuaded to accept long-term government paper as settlement of those debts? The practicality of that arrangement being that they could have their money today, selling them to those who will discount those instruments for cash.
(Needless to say, the crooks who killed off Ghana Airways in order to asset-strip it during the NPP's tenure, would have eventually done the same with Intercity STC, if the Kufuor & Co. tribal-supremacist cabal that dominates the NPP had been returned to power in the December 2008 elections. But I digress.)
You would think that those in charge of our country's affairs, now grappling with turbulence from frequent public-sector employee strikes, would seize the golden opportunity offered by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust's (SSNIT) decision to divest itself of its 80 percent stake in Intercity STC - and move quickly to acquire it for the commercial wing of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).
It is a strategic transport sector asset, that will serve as rainy-day-insurance, which will enable the government to have the capability to keep the nation moving - in case there ever is a full-blown transport sector strike, engineered by its political opponents, in order to bring it to its knees.
I am flabbergasted to hear that the usual negative cries of "we don't have money" have already started coming from the corridors of power - when government appointees have been urged to quickly take over Intercity STC and hand it over to the commercial wing of the GAF.
God give us patience. Why do so many of our political leaders seldom think creatively, when faced with such nation-building challenges? Will SSNIT not happily accept long-term government paper, with a decent coupon, in exchange for its 80 percent stake in Intercity STC, I ask?
I repeat my question: Has it never struck the geniuses who now rule us, that to buy Intercity STC and hand it over to the military to run, will provide it with a strategic asset, which, should the need ever arise, will enable the government of the day to keep the nation moving, regardless, were Ghana's private passenger bus companies to embark on a nationwide strike, for whatever spurious reason its mostly pro-New Patriotic Party (NPP) owners were to conjure up - ostensibly in protest against high fuel prices, should the world price of oil soar to the US$160 per barrel, which the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Managing Director, Christine Largarde, has said it might spike to, for example?
Let the National Democratic Congress (NDC) regime of President Mills move quickly to purchase Intercity STC, and hand it over to the Ghana Armed Forces.
In their very capable hands, Intercity STC will keep the nation moving, when the transport sector grinds to a halt and passenger bus companies stop operating, because of a nationwide strike. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Take the case of Intercity STC for example, the partially divested state-owned bus company, which was once the transport sector's leading passenger bus company. Alas, it is now a pale shadow of itself - and reeling from being over-leveraged.
It has been crippled by a daft bus-purchase decision, taken during the Kufuor-era, which benefited some of that regime's crony-capitalist rip-off merchants mightily, but did not redound to the company's benefit.
Incredibly, and typical of the unfathomable greed and high-level corruption of the Kufuor-era, the untested FAW buses were totally unsuited for our roads, and lacked the durability to serve the purpose for which they were purchased - provide years of reliable service carrying fare-paying passengers in comfort across Ghana and beyond.
The bank loan taken from the National Investment Bank (NIB) to purchase those unsuitable Chinese-made FAW buses that lasted only two years, has ended up crippling Intercity STC, unfortunately.
The question is, could the NIB not be persuaded to take a combination of long-term government paper, and a conversion of part of the loan into an equity stake in a GAF-owned Intercity STC, dear reader?
And could all those who have won orders for judgement-debt payments from the law courts, against Intercity STC, not also be persuaded to accept long-term government paper as settlement of those debts? The practicality of that arrangement being that they could have their money today, selling them to those who will discount those instruments for cash.
(Needless to say, the crooks who killed off Ghana Airways in order to asset-strip it during the NPP's tenure, would have eventually done the same with Intercity STC, if the Kufuor & Co. tribal-supremacist cabal that dominates the NPP had been returned to power in the December 2008 elections. But I digress.)
You would think that those in charge of our country's affairs, now grappling with turbulence from frequent public-sector employee strikes, would seize the golden opportunity offered by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust's (SSNIT) decision to divest itself of its 80 percent stake in Intercity STC - and move quickly to acquire it for the commercial wing of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).
It is a strategic transport sector asset, that will serve as rainy-day-insurance, which will enable the government to have the capability to keep the nation moving - in case there ever is a full-blown transport sector strike, engineered by its political opponents, in order to bring it to its knees.
I am flabbergasted to hear that the usual negative cries of "we don't have money" have already started coming from the corridors of power - when government appointees have been urged to quickly take over Intercity STC and hand it over to the commercial wing of the GAF.
God give us patience. Why do so many of our political leaders seldom think creatively, when faced with such nation-building challenges? Will SSNIT not happily accept long-term government paper, with a decent coupon, in exchange for its 80 percent stake in Intercity STC, I ask?
I repeat my question: Has it never struck the geniuses who now rule us, that to buy Intercity STC and hand it over to the military to run, will provide it with a strategic asset, which, should the need ever arise, will enable the government of the day to keep the nation moving, regardless, were Ghana's private passenger bus companies to embark on a nationwide strike, for whatever spurious reason its mostly pro-New Patriotic Party (NPP) owners were to conjure up - ostensibly in protest against high fuel prices, should the world price of oil soar to the US$160 per barrel, which the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Managing Director, Christine Largarde, has said it might spike to, for example?
Let the National Democratic Congress (NDC) regime of President Mills move quickly to purchase Intercity STC, and hand it over to the Ghana Armed Forces.
In their very capable hands, Intercity STC will keep the nation moving, when the transport sector grinds to a halt and passenger bus companies stop operating, because of a nationwide strike. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Saturday, 7 April 2012
FOR THE SECURITY OF WEST AFRICA & THE WORLD MALI'S AL QAEDA-AFFILIATED TUAREG REBELLS MUST BE DEFEATED
The leaders of the nation's that constitute the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), deserve to be congratulated for forcing the coup-makers in Mali, to agree to hand over power to an interim civilian leader, within the short space of two weeks.
Under the circumstances, the ECOWAS brokered deal in which the speaker of Mali's Parliament, Diouncounda Traore, is to be sworn in as interim president, and organise elections in 40 days, establishes the precedent that ECOWAS will not permit military coups in the region to stand.
ECOWAS must now move quickly to get its military to work with France and the US, to organise special forces from the regional bloc's member states' military, to help Mali deal with the Tuaregs who have declared independence in the north of the country, and announced a new breakaway state, Azawad.
The EU and the US must provide all the funding needed for an ECOWAS joint-force, made up of special forces, to defeat the northern Tuareg rebellion.
That combined force will need total dominance of the airspace in northern Mali, and the active cooperation of Algeria, whose secret services are known to have direct links with the Malian Tuareg leadership.
As a first step, whiles the joint-force is mobilised and readied for the long and tough battle ahead, drones will have to be deployed to harry the Tuareg rebels and destroy their forces' ability to fight and mount raids on Malian forces.
The weapon of economic sanctions, will play a key role in defeating the Malian Tuareg rebellion. For example, no fuel must be allowed up north. That will quickly cause the civilian population in the north of Mali to become disaffected with the Tuareg rebels.
Anything else that will help sustain the rebellion must also be included in the list of items not allowed into the north. That will tighten the noose around the rebels further.
That Malian Tuareg rebellion must be defeated, whatever it takes to do so - if the miasma of Islamic fanaticism linked to Al Qaeda, is not to spread its poison across the entire region, and pose a threat to the rest of the world too.
For the security of West Africa and the rest of the world, Mali's Al Qaeda-affiliated Tuareg rebels must be defeated, at all costs. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Under the circumstances, the ECOWAS brokered deal in which the speaker of Mali's Parliament, Diouncounda Traore, is to be sworn in as interim president, and organise elections in 40 days, establishes the precedent that ECOWAS will not permit military coups in the region to stand.
ECOWAS must now move quickly to get its military to work with France and the US, to organise special forces from the regional bloc's member states' military, to help Mali deal with the Tuaregs who have declared independence in the north of the country, and announced a new breakaway state, Azawad.
The EU and the US must provide all the funding needed for an ECOWAS joint-force, made up of special forces, to defeat the northern Tuareg rebellion.
That combined force will need total dominance of the airspace in northern Mali, and the active cooperation of Algeria, whose secret services are known to have direct links with the Malian Tuareg leadership.
As a first step, whiles the joint-force is mobilised and readied for the long and tough battle ahead, drones will have to be deployed to harry the Tuareg rebels and destroy their forces' ability to fight and mount raids on Malian forces.
The weapon of economic sanctions, will play a key role in defeating the Malian Tuareg rebellion. For example, no fuel must be allowed up north. That will quickly cause the civilian population in the north of Mali to become disaffected with the Tuareg rebels.
Anything else that will help sustain the rebellion must also be included in the list of items not allowed into the north. That will tighten the noose around the rebels further.
That Malian Tuareg rebellion must be defeated, whatever it takes to do so - if the miasma of Islamic fanaticism linked to Al Qaeda, is not to spread its poison across the entire region, and pose a threat to the rest of the world too.
For the security of West Africa and the rest of the world, Mali's Al Qaeda-affiliated Tuareg rebels must be defeated, at all costs. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
ARE THERE INVISIBLE HANDS BEHIND THE POWER OUTAGES & MANY PUBLIC-SECTOR STRIKES OVER PAY?
I was stunned when I listened to an old cynic's take, on the frequent power outages and the many public-sector strikes, over pay, going on in the country, at the moment.
According to him, not too long after the current government came to power in January 2009, elements of the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) regime, put together a secret plan to cause disaffection amongst ordinary Ghanaians, against the new National Democratic Congress (NDC) regime of President Mills.
The private media houses and journalists that had been supported financially by the NPP regime (apparently on a one-removed basis, to hide the fact), were to play a key role in the implementation of that plan.
In his view, the current public-sector strikes over pay and the frequent power outages, are not a coincidence - and that there is more to what's going on, than actually meets the eye.
He is convinced that they result from pro-NPP individuals in the upper echelons of public sector institutions, professional associations and organised bodies - and aware of the existence of that 2009 plan to cause disaffection against the NDC regime - seizing the opportunity to embarrass the government, in the run-up to the December 2012 elections.
Well, it all does sound rather far-fetched, in my humble view - but in the byzantine world of Ghanaian politics, anything is possible.
Whatever be the case, it is important that the government pays particular attention to the power sector: as power outages affect households and businesses directly, and give ordinary people the impression that things aren't being managed efficiently, by their rulers.
At all costs, the NDC government of President Mills, must ensure that those who would like to take advantage of operational difficulties in that sector, to play their own role in the realisation of that 2009 NPP plan, do not succeed in doing so.
Above all, for strategic national security reasons, we must end our reliance on gas from Nigeria - which has proven not to be a very reliable supplier - for power generation, as soon as practicable.
And whiles the project to harness Ghana's own gas deposits proceeds apace, surely, there must be financial penalties that the Nigerian suppliers of gas to Ghana, ought to be paying the Volta River Authority (VRA), if gas doesn't flow to its Ghanaian customer?
If it is indeed a fact that gas expected to flow through the West African gas pipeline from Nigeria has failed to do so, surely, it must amount to a breach of contract - for which penalties must exist?
If that is a contractual obligation, and the position is that they have to honour legal undertakings, why not invoke those particular relevant clauses - and utilise any penalty payments made by the Nigerian gas suppliers, for the ongoing modernisation of Ghana's power sector?
Whatever be the case, steps ought to be taken to ensure that the difficulties over public-sector pay, and that faced by the power sector, are not taken advantage of, by any unpatriotic individuals, keen to sabotage the government of the day's nation-building efforts - because they are disloyal citizens, who only care about Mother Ghana, when their own political party is in power.
Prudence dictates that those now in power, take steps to make the manipulation of such elements by invisible hands, of no consequence to our nation and its hard-pressed people. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
According to him, not too long after the current government came to power in January 2009, elements of the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) regime, put together a secret plan to cause disaffection amongst ordinary Ghanaians, against the new National Democratic Congress (NDC) regime of President Mills.
The private media houses and journalists that had been supported financially by the NPP regime (apparently on a one-removed basis, to hide the fact), were to play a key role in the implementation of that plan.
In his view, the current public-sector strikes over pay and the frequent power outages, are not a coincidence - and that there is more to what's going on, than actually meets the eye.
He is convinced that they result from pro-NPP individuals in the upper echelons of public sector institutions, professional associations and organised bodies - and aware of the existence of that 2009 plan to cause disaffection against the NDC regime - seizing the opportunity to embarrass the government, in the run-up to the December 2012 elections.
Well, it all does sound rather far-fetched, in my humble view - but in the byzantine world of Ghanaian politics, anything is possible.
Whatever be the case, it is important that the government pays particular attention to the power sector: as power outages affect households and businesses directly, and give ordinary people the impression that things aren't being managed efficiently, by their rulers.
At all costs, the NDC government of President Mills, must ensure that those who would like to take advantage of operational difficulties in that sector, to play their own role in the realisation of that 2009 NPP plan, do not succeed in doing so.
Above all, for strategic national security reasons, we must end our reliance on gas from Nigeria - which has proven not to be a very reliable supplier - for power generation, as soon as practicable.
And whiles the project to harness Ghana's own gas deposits proceeds apace, surely, there must be financial penalties that the Nigerian suppliers of gas to Ghana, ought to be paying the Volta River Authority (VRA), if gas doesn't flow to its Ghanaian customer?
If it is indeed a fact that gas expected to flow through the West African gas pipeline from Nigeria has failed to do so, surely, it must amount to a breach of contract - for which penalties must exist?
If that is a contractual obligation, and the position is that they have to honour legal undertakings, why not invoke those particular relevant clauses - and utilise any penalty payments made by the Nigerian gas suppliers, for the ongoing modernisation of Ghana's power sector?
Whatever be the case, steps ought to be taken to ensure that the difficulties over public-sector pay, and that faced by the power sector, are not taken advantage of, by any unpatriotic individuals, keen to sabotage the government of the day's nation-building efforts - because they are disloyal citizens, who only care about Mother Ghana, when their own political party is in power.
Prudence dictates that those now in power, take steps to make the manipulation of such elements by invisible hands, of no consequence to our nation and its hard-pressed people. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Thursday, 5 April 2012
WHY A MARTIN AMIDU-NANA KONADU AGYEMANG RAWLINGS PRESIDENTIAL TICKET IS GOOD FOR THE NDC & GOOD FOR GHANA
I had a phone call yesterday, from a gentleman whose ire had been raised by yesterday's Ghanapolitics blog posting - in which I asked the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to insist that both President Mills and Vice President Mahama step down from office now: and replace them with Martin Amidu as president, and Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, as the new vice president.
The aforementioned gentleman, demanded to know why I was asking for President Mills and Vice President Mahama to resign - and be replaced by Martin Amidu and Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings.
Well, to begin with, since this is a nation in which altruism is almost extinct (and most people therefore invariably think that one has ulterior motives, in such matters - although one is acting for purely altruistic reasons), let me state that I have neither ever met nor spoken to either Martin Amidu or Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings before, in my entire life. And I have no desire to do so, either, actually.
And, no, being a journalist who refuses to sell his conscience at any price, I have also not been paid by anyone, to do a hatchet job on President Mills and Vice President Mahama, for anyone's benefit.
I simply want what's best for our country - which in a very real sense, will be at the crossroads, on the day of the presidential and parliamentary elections, in December 2012. At all costs, Nkrumah's Ghana must not be allowed to fall into the grasping hands of ruthless asset-strippers, elite-rip-off merchants and blood-thirsty tribal-supremacist politicians.
Above all, let me state that I am not secretly acting for the NPP either, when I call for President Mills and Vice President Mahama to step aside now - whiles there is still time for their NDC party to make a fresh start, when that happens.
On the contrary, my parallel thinking, in this instance, if acted upon by the NDC, will deny the NPP the certain victory that is now theirs to lose, if President Mills and Vice President Mahama were to be on the NDC ticket for that December presidential poll.
As those who know me will attest to, I have never hidden my loathing for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) - which I do with a passion that few of its most implacable opponents can muster.
That loathing, stems from the fact that unlike many, I actually do know what its true purpose is: to enable today's descendants of the pre-colonial ruling elites of a particular ethnic group in our country, to dominate Nkrumah's multi-ethnic Ghana, till the very end of time.
To a true Ghanaian patriot, that is an enterprise that is an abomination, pure and simple - in a nation of diverse-ethnicity, in which no one tribe is superior or inferior, to another. And this is 21st century Africa, after all - not the sodding Dark Ages.
And so, dear reader, I am not destroying President Mills and Vice President Mahama for anyone's benefit - surprising though that might be to some.
As it happens, I am a patriot and Progressive, who just wants our homeland Ghana to remain in the hands of the NDC - which, despite its many faults is a lessor-of-two-evils choice, and is at least more protective of the national interest, than the NPP, as presently constituted, can ever be.
Well, dear reader, in asking President Mills and Vice President Mahama to step aside, I am actually asking both of them to make what amounts to a supreme personal sacrifice for Mother Ghana's benefit (and by extension that of the NDC).
Alas, despite what their supporters might think or say, they are unelectable. Plain and simple. The plain truth, is that the dismissal of Martin Amidu, was a watershed event, which ushered in a new era in Ghanaian politics.
Virtually every ordinary Ghanaian who learnt about his dismissal, doubted the cynical explanation advanced by the government's communications team - to try and explain that foolish and short-sighted decision away.
Not surprisingly, it failed to do so - ordinary Ghanaians not being fools. It doomed Mills presidency permanently, and derailed his re-election chances too, alas.
To most Ghanaians, it is obvious that Martin Amidu was sacked for making public, the gargantuan crimes against Ghanaians and their nation, which he said were being committed by regime-insiders.
His dismissal made many ordinary people put the Woyome judgement-debt payment scandal, in a personal context. In their view, the nation-building contributions totalling tens of millions of Ghana cedis, made by scores of ordinary people paying their taxes regularly, and meant for common-good national development projects, had been unfairly handed over to one well-connected individual, in a conspiracy that amounted to high-level corruption to enrich a powerful and greedy few.
In the light of all the above, a Martin Amidu-Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings ticket makes a great deal of sense to an NDC party, facing eminent defeat at the polls in December, does it not, dear reader?
In one stroke, it enables the NDC to literally get a fresh start - and put all the Mills-Mahama negative baggage behind it.
The party can then campaign using a new narrative: A President Martin Amidu uniting Ghana through a government of national unity, comprising brilliant and honest individuals from all the political parties in the country.
And together with those patriotic politicians, that government of national unity, rooting out high level corruption in Ghana, once and for all - to enable the saved resources that hitherto would have ended up enriching a well-connected powerful few with greedy ambitions (to paraphrase President Nkrumah), to be used for common-good projects benefiting all Ghanaians, instead.
Thus, the question has to be: has the sense of judgement of the "greedy bastards" around President Mills and Vice President Mahama, been so distorted, by the Awoof-sikaa-waa-waa (easy money from dubious sources), which their ability to provide Osu Castle corridors-of-power access, to the wealthy crooks engaged in elite rip-off of our nation, earns them regularly, that they are enable to read the clear and very obvious signs that their candidate will be soundly defeated, in a landslide victory for the NPP's presidential candidate, were he to stand as the NDC's presidential candidate in that December poll?
And as evidence of his pulling power, have the NDC supporters of a Mills-Mahama ticket, not yet noticed, that so popular and highly regarded is Martin Amidu, that today, even New Patriotic Party (NPP) die-hards, openly acknowledge Mr. Amidu's sense of patriotism - and freely admit that they don't doubt his commitment to the fight against high-level corruption in Ghana: for which they admire him a great deal?
And do virtually all the discerning and independent-minded individuals in this country, who love Ghana so passionately that they are prepared to even die for her - and whose crucial swing-votes now elect Ghanaian presidents - not argue that Martin Amidu is a rare kind of Ghanaian politician, and a man of undoubted patriotism and integrity: who they believe can help end high-level corruption in Ghana?
With respect, between a Mills-Mahama NDC ticket, and a Martin Amidu-Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings NDC ticket, in a nation that has lost all faith in President Mills, because many feel that temperamentally he is not suited to lead Ghana (contrasted with Martin Amidu, who nationwide is regarded as a politician who is serious about fighting corruption, irrespective of who is involved), which particular NDC presidential ticket is most likely to attract sufficient swing-votes, to defeat the NPP ticket of Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo and Bawumia, I ask?
Will a Martin Amidu-Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings NDC ticket, whose campaign theme ought to be "uniting Ghana in a coalition government of national unity - and working across party lines to prevent elite-rip-off, countrywide!" not be sufficiently attractive to Ghanaian voters, to guarantee a return to power of the NDC party, after the December 2012 elections?
That, dear reader, is why I believe that a Martin Amidu-Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings presidential ticket, is good for Ghana and good for the NDC. I do hope that all the well-meaning and honest NDC bigwigs, will listen to free good advice for once - and act swiftly to save their party from certain defeat. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
The aforementioned gentleman, demanded to know why I was asking for President Mills and Vice President Mahama to resign - and be replaced by Martin Amidu and Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings.
Well, to begin with, since this is a nation in which altruism is almost extinct (and most people therefore invariably think that one has ulterior motives, in such matters - although one is acting for purely altruistic reasons), let me state that I have neither ever met nor spoken to either Martin Amidu or Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings before, in my entire life. And I have no desire to do so, either, actually.
And, no, being a journalist who refuses to sell his conscience at any price, I have also not been paid by anyone, to do a hatchet job on President Mills and Vice President Mahama, for anyone's benefit.
I simply want what's best for our country - which in a very real sense, will be at the crossroads, on the day of the presidential and parliamentary elections, in December 2012. At all costs, Nkrumah's Ghana must not be allowed to fall into the grasping hands of ruthless asset-strippers, elite-rip-off merchants and blood-thirsty tribal-supremacist politicians.
Above all, let me state that I am not secretly acting for the NPP either, when I call for President Mills and Vice President Mahama to step aside now - whiles there is still time for their NDC party to make a fresh start, when that happens.
On the contrary, my parallel thinking, in this instance, if acted upon by the NDC, will deny the NPP the certain victory that is now theirs to lose, if President Mills and Vice President Mahama were to be on the NDC ticket for that December presidential poll.
As those who know me will attest to, I have never hidden my loathing for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) - which I do with a passion that few of its most implacable opponents can muster.
That loathing, stems from the fact that unlike many, I actually do know what its true purpose is: to enable today's descendants of the pre-colonial ruling elites of a particular ethnic group in our country, to dominate Nkrumah's multi-ethnic Ghana, till the very end of time.
To a true Ghanaian patriot, that is an enterprise that is an abomination, pure and simple - in a nation of diverse-ethnicity, in which no one tribe is superior or inferior, to another. And this is 21st century Africa, after all - not the sodding Dark Ages.
And so, dear reader, I am not destroying President Mills and Vice President Mahama for anyone's benefit - surprising though that might be to some.
As it happens, I am a patriot and Progressive, who just wants our homeland Ghana to remain in the hands of the NDC - which, despite its many faults is a lessor-of-two-evils choice, and is at least more protective of the national interest, than the NPP, as presently constituted, can ever be.
Well, dear reader, in asking President Mills and Vice President Mahama to step aside, I am actually asking both of them to make what amounts to a supreme personal sacrifice for Mother Ghana's benefit (and by extension that of the NDC).
Alas, despite what their supporters might think or say, they are unelectable. Plain and simple. The plain truth, is that the dismissal of Martin Amidu, was a watershed event, which ushered in a new era in Ghanaian politics.
Virtually every ordinary Ghanaian who learnt about his dismissal, doubted the cynical explanation advanced by the government's communications team - to try and explain that foolish and short-sighted decision away.
Not surprisingly, it failed to do so - ordinary Ghanaians not being fools. It doomed Mills presidency permanently, and derailed his re-election chances too, alas.
To most Ghanaians, it is obvious that Martin Amidu was sacked for making public, the gargantuan crimes against Ghanaians and their nation, which he said were being committed by regime-insiders.
His dismissal made many ordinary people put the Woyome judgement-debt payment scandal, in a personal context. In their view, the nation-building contributions totalling tens of millions of Ghana cedis, made by scores of ordinary people paying their taxes regularly, and meant for common-good national development projects, had been unfairly handed over to one well-connected individual, in a conspiracy that amounted to high-level corruption to enrich a powerful and greedy few.
In the light of all the above, a Martin Amidu-Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings ticket makes a great deal of sense to an NDC party, facing eminent defeat at the polls in December, does it not, dear reader?
In one stroke, it enables the NDC to literally get a fresh start - and put all the Mills-Mahama negative baggage behind it.
The party can then campaign using a new narrative: A President Martin Amidu uniting Ghana through a government of national unity, comprising brilliant and honest individuals from all the political parties in the country.
And together with those patriotic politicians, that government of national unity, rooting out high level corruption in Ghana, once and for all - to enable the saved resources that hitherto would have ended up enriching a well-connected powerful few with greedy ambitions (to paraphrase President Nkrumah), to be used for common-good projects benefiting all Ghanaians, instead.
Thus, the question has to be: has the sense of judgement of the "greedy bastards" around President Mills and Vice President Mahama, been so distorted, by the Awoof-sikaa-waa-waa (easy money from dubious sources), which their ability to provide Osu Castle corridors-of-power access, to the wealthy crooks engaged in elite rip-off of our nation, earns them regularly, that they are enable to read the clear and very obvious signs that their candidate will be soundly defeated, in a landslide victory for the NPP's presidential candidate, were he to stand as the NDC's presidential candidate in that December poll?
And as evidence of his pulling power, have the NDC supporters of a Mills-Mahama ticket, not yet noticed, that so popular and highly regarded is Martin Amidu, that today, even New Patriotic Party (NPP) die-hards, openly acknowledge Mr. Amidu's sense of patriotism - and freely admit that they don't doubt his commitment to the fight against high-level corruption in Ghana: for which they admire him a great deal?
And do virtually all the discerning and independent-minded individuals in this country, who love Ghana so passionately that they are prepared to even die for her - and whose crucial swing-votes now elect Ghanaian presidents - not argue that Martin Amidu is a rare kind of Ghanaian politician, and a man of undoubted patriotism and integrity: who they believe can help end high-level corruption in Ghana?
With respect, between a Mills-Mahama NDC ticket, and a Martin Amidu-Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings NDC ticket, in a nation that has lost all faith in President Mills, because many feel that temperamentally he is not suited to lead Ghana (contrasted with Martin Amidu, who nationwide is regarded as a politician who is serious about fighting corruption, irrespective of who is involved), which particular NDC presidential ticket is most likely to attract sufficient swing-votes, to defeat the NPP ticket of Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo and Bawumia, I ask?
Will a Martin Amidu-Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings NDC ticket, whose campaign theme ought to be "uniting Ghana in a coalition government of national unity - and working across party lines to prevent elite-rip-off, countrywide!" not be sufficiently attractive to Ghanaian voters, to guarantee a return to power of the NDC party, after the December 2012 elections?
That, dear reader, is why I believe that a Martin Amidu-Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings presidential ticket, is good for Ghana and good for the NDC. I do hope that all the well-meaning and honest NDC bigwigs, will listen to free good advice for once - and act swiftly to save their party from certain defeat. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Wednesday, 4 April 2012
NDC: Force President Mills & Vice President Mahama To Step Down Now - Before It Is Too Late!
What is it about political power, that makes even the canniest of individuals, so complacent?
For example, there's no question that both former Egyptian President Mubarak and the former Libyan leader, Colonel Gaddafi, could have survived if they and the political organisations they led, had realised and accepted, that there had been a sea change in the politics of their two nations - and bent with the wind-of-change, so to speak.
There has been a sea change, in Ghanaian politics, too: Ghanaians are now fed up with high-level corruption - and the impunity of the well-connected.
And it is obvious to all those whose eyes and ears have not been blinded and made deaf by the corrupting influence of Awoof-sika-waa-waa (ever-flowing easy-money from dubious sources - to those who don't speak Twi).
If they want their party to retain power, then it is time those now in charge of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), moved quickly to force the resignation of both President Mills and Vice President Mahama from office.
It will pave the way for those in the party, who will ensure that the party triumphs in the December 2012 presidential elections, to take control of their party's election strategy.
As things stand Mills and Mahama are simply unelectable. Let there be no doubt about that. To guarantee a return to power after December 2012, the NDC must be creative and replace President Mills and Vice President Mahama - with Martin Amidu as president, and Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, as vice president.
That will ensure that instead of the December presidential elections being seen by voters as a referendum on Mills' leadership, and voting to kick him out of office, in order to finally bring an end to their troubles, it will rather be seen by them as an election to select the individual most capable of protecting our nation from elite rip-off - of the egregious kind seen during the golden age of business for Kufuor & Co., the tribal-supremacist cabal that dominated the New Patriotic Party (NPP), throughout the eight years of the party's two-term tenure: and whose members comprehensively asset-stripped and repeatedly gang-raped Mother Ghana.
For those in the NDC who have deliberately buried their heads in the sand, the sea change in Ghanaian politics, is that the dismissal of Martin Amidu - after he told the nation that there were individuals committing gargantuan crimes against Ghanaians - suddenly exposed President Mills as a weak and ineffectual leader, dictated to and held captive, by powerful rogues, using him as perfect legal cover, to enable them get away with their gargantuan crimes against Ghanaians.
The fact of the matter, is that today, the vast majority of ordinary Ghanaians see him as a weak and ineffectual leader, unable to curb burgeoning corruption in his administration.
And worst of all, they now regard him as a man totally unsuited, by temperament, to lead their country. To be fair to him, in reality, President Mills is a good and decent man. But we cannot pretend that that widely-held negative perception about him is not a fact-on-the-ground political reality.
Whichever way one looks at it, it is a fact that the honest and incorruptible President Mills, has led a regime, which has ended up with an extra-large albatross round its collective neck - that the outrage of the Woyome judgement-debt payment scandal represents.
That is why ultimate control of the NDC must now be taken away from those in the party whose complacency, greed and corrupt ways have ended up soiling the party's image amongst ordinary Ghanaians, with Woyomegate.
Paradoxically, together with President Hilla Limman, President Mills actually counts amongst the two most honest individuals to lead Ghana, since. Nkrumah's overthrow in 1966. But that won't help him now - and is of no use to Mother Ghana, if, as is said by some, he is manipulated by faceless individuals, for their own selfish ends.
That is why he must give his party a fighting chance of returning to power again - by resigning from office now. Failing that, the NDC ought to simply force President Mills and Vice President Mahama to step down - before it becomes too late! A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
For example, there's no question that both former Egyptian President Mubarak and the former Libyan leader, Colonel Gaddafi, could have survived if they and the political organisations they led, had realised and accepted, that there had been a sea change in the politics of their two nations - and bent with the wind-of-change, so to speak.
There has been a sea change, in Ghanaian politics, too: Ghanaians are now fed up with high-level corruption - and the impunity of the well-connected.
And it is obvious to all those whose eyes and ears have not been blinded and made deaf by the corrupting influence of Awoof-sika-waa-waa (ever-flowing easy-money from dubious sources - to those who don't speak Twi).
If they want their party to retain power, then it is time those now in charge of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), moved quickly to force the resignation of both President Mills and Vice President Mahama from office.
It will pave the way for those in the party, who will ensure that the party triumphs in the December 2012 presidential elections, to take control of their party's election strategy.
As things stand Mills and Mahama are simply unelectable. Let there be no doubt about that. To guarantee a return to power after December 2012, the NDC must be creative and replace President Mills and Vice President Mahama - with Martin Amidu as president, and Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, as vice president.
That will ensure that instead of the December presidential elections being seen by voters as a referendum on Mills' leadership, and voting to kick him out of office, in order to finally bring an end to their troubles, it will rather be seen by them as an election to select the individual most capable of protecting our nation from elite rip-off - of the egregious kind seen during the golden age of business for Kufuor & Co., the tribal-supremacist cabal that dominated the New Patriotic Party (NPP), throughout the eight years of the party's two-term tenure: and whose members comprehensively asset-stripped and repeatedly gang-raped Mother Ghana.
For those in the NDC who have deliberately buried their heads in the sand, the sea change in Ghanaian politics, is that the dismissal of Martin Amidu - after he told the nation that there were individuals committing gargantuan crimes against Ghanaians - suddenly exposed President Mills as a weak and ineffectual leader, dictated to and held captive, by powerful rogues, using him as perfect legal cover, to enable them get away with their gargantuan crimes against Ghanaians.
The fact of the matter, is that today, the vast majority of ordinary Ghanaians see him as a weak and ineffectual leader, unable to curb burgeoning corruption in his administration.
And worst of all, they now regard him as a man totally unsuited, by temperament, to lead their country. To be fair to him, in reality, President Mills is a good and decent man. But we cannot pretend that that widely-held negative perception about him is not a fact-on-the-ground political reality.
Whichever way one looks at it, it is a fact that the honest and incorruptible President Mills, has led a regime, which has ended up with an extra-large albatross round its collective neck - that the outrage of the Woyome judgement-debt payment scandal represents.
That is why ultimate control of the NDC must now be taken away from those in the party whose complacency, greed and corrupt ways have ended up soiling the party's image amongst ordinary Ghanaians, with Woyomegate.
Paradoxically, together with President Hilla Limman, President Mills actually counts amongst the two most honest individuals to lead Ghana, since. Nkrumah's overthrow in 1966. But that won't help him now - and is of no use to Mother Ghana, if, as is said by some, he is manipulated by faceless individuals, for their own selfish ends.
That is why he must give his party a fighting chance of returning to power again - by resigning from office now. Failing that, the NDC ought to simply force President Mills and Vice President Mahama to step down - before it becomes too late! A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Tuesday, 3 April 2012
An Email To Alhaji Bature Iddrisu - Re: Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe's Rude Semi-Literate Ranting
Opanin,
The article copied below was brought to my attention a few minutes ago. It is apparently posted on www.ghanaweb.com.
I have often wondered, when I have come across his ghastly writing online, how anyone penning fare, which one would normally only associate with semi-literates-with-giant-egos, can be an - to quote the poor man himself - "Associate Professor of English, Journalism and Creative Writing at Nassau Community College of the State University of New York, Garden City."
No wonder so many Americans of the kind that attend - again to quote the poor man - "Nassau Community College of the State University of New York, Garden City",
can barely write English.
Take my advice, Opanin. If you have any friends in New York, let them bring this semi-literate "Associate Professor of English, Journalism and Creative Writing at Nassau Community College of the State University of New York, Garden City" to the attention of New York's young right-wing Republican activists promptly.
I promise you that they will be so scandalised that a third-rate individual, who, as evidenced by the dreadful, insulting and badly-written piece below, in reply to something you had apparently written about his blood-relative, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, clearly is unable to write English of a standard, which well-educated native speakers of the language, would think had been probably written by someone with the same sort of background as theirs, is actually being paid an associate professor's salary, by New York's taxpayers, to teach "English, Journalism and Creative Writing at Nassau Community College of the State University of New York, Garden City." Incredible.
They would ensure that he is stopped immediately from inflicting his bad English on the mostly disadvantaged students attending "Nassau Community College of the State University of New York, Garden City."
In any case, if you have not yet seen his insulting piece, here it is in all its sodding 'glory.' No wonder today America is falling behind so many nations, academically.
Hmm, eyeasem oo - and this semi-literate has the gall to insult Nkrumah?
To tell you the truth, I wouldn't allow this semi-literate buffoon into my news room, had I one, let alone allow him to teach journalism to any interns working in it. Here is his semi-literate ranting:
"How Can Akufo-Addo Even “Shockingly” Endorse Prof. Doo-Little, the Insult- Supervisor, Mr. Bature?
In its giddy desperation to hang onto power by hook and/or crook, the Mills-led National Democratic Congress government appears to have hired unconscionable mercenaries like Alhaji Iddrisu “How-Much-Did-Woyome-Give-You” Bature, the notorious pathological liar and editor-publisher of the Al-Hajj newspaper, to mislead their readers by the use of sophistry (See “Akufo-Addo's Shocking Affirmation… Mills Needs 2 Terms” Peacefmonline.com 4/2/12).
Consequently, Alhaji Bature and his ilk have resorted to the lurid business of excavating the New Patriotic Party presidential candidate's development agenda, as intermittently detailed in speeches and media reports, and tweaking it to expediently suit the morbidly vacuous reelection campaign of President John Evans Atta-Mills. In the latest of such patently oafish and downright disingenuous twists, Alhaji Bature has Nana Akufo-Addo claiming that “Four years is not enough to change Ghana's economy.” Well, Alhaji Bature ought to be told that Election 2012 is a righteous referendum on the administrative performance and managerial competence of the Mills-Mahama government, and not the selfish desire of Messrs. Mills and Mahama to remain in power.
Then also, Alhaji Bature has Nana Akufo-Addo asserting that: “We [i.e. an Akufo-Addo-led New Patriotic Party] will transform Ghana in ten years.” First of all, nowhere is Nana Akufo-Addo noted on record as claiming, either categorically or implicitly, that the constitutionally stipulated four-year term of the presidency is not enough to remarkably transform the country's economy. Rather, what the NPP flag-bearer has emphatically stated is that given the electoral mandate, the New Patriotic Party ought to be able to significantly transform Ghana's economy to at least the level of the beginnings of an industrial revolutionary economic culture within a decade. Now, the foregoing statement is a far cry from Nana Akufo-Addo claiming that no governing party in Ghana can transform the country within the four-year presidential term clearly and unambiguously spelt out in Ghana's 1992 Fourth-Republican Constitution. What is more, an objective comparison between the first four years of President John Agyekum-Kufuor's tenure would clearly indicate Mr. Kufuor to have been far and way ahead of the game and far ahead of his immediate successor, a man with absolutely no parliamentary and prior electoral experience in democratic governance, other than his adjunct service as the nauseatingly servile lieutenant of former President Jerry John Rawlings! Which, of course, is largely why it took the now-President Atta-Mills three tries before narrowly clinching the presidency.
Well, they may not know this, but what reprobate media scam-artists and pathological liars like Alhaji Iddrisu Bature achieve by such reckless and unconscionable sophistry is insult the intelligence of Ghanaian citizens, at large, before the proverbial international community. The fact of the matter is that prior to the promulgation of Ghana's Fourth-Republican Constitution, a legitimately constituted assembly of legal mavens, scholars, distinguished and responsible Ghanaian citizens was established to comprehensively determine the practical parameters of a democratic political protocol or culture for the country. And it was, of course, that group of remarkable individuals, representing the various constituencies and legitimate civic bodies and organs, nationwide, that formulated our current Constitution. We must also promptly point out the glaring fact that Ghana's most recent Constituent Assembly was definitely not the first of its kind in the 55-plus-year-old history of the erstwhile Gold Coast.
And so, if I may pertinently ask: What is the problem now? There clearly appear to be two issues at stake here, neither of which is too far-fetched to raise any remarkable concerns. The first, of course, regards the evidently abject self-centeredness of many a Ghanaian politician and his/her media hireling and/or thug, such as Mr. Iddrisu Bature and the “Trokosi Boys.” For instance, to-date, not many of these same apologists screaming for President Mills to be afforded a second presidential term have come out to vociferously condemn the military coup-plotters who criminally and violently ousted the legitimately-elected governments of Drs. K. A. Busia and Hilla Limann. Instead, we have had these leaders, neither of whom concluded a single term in office, roundly and summarily condemned for administrative mismanagement and gross incompetence. Now, what does such myopic intellectual temperament tell the outside world about the proverbial “Ghanaian Personality”? And just exactly when are we going to cultivate that noble spirit of humility and realism in order to both vindicate and rehabilitate Drs. Busia and Limann, now that we appear to have learned and become more knowledgeable about the byzantine complexities of democratic governance?
I have deliberately excluded Mr. Kwame “MacBeth” Nkrumah and his neo-fascist Convention People's Party (CPP), obviously, because the latter demonstrated a shameless and abject disregard for human rights and judicial equity. Also between 1956, Ghana's eve of sovereign reassertion, and 1966, when he was auspiciously and righteously ousted, President Nkrumah never called for and/or organized a single general election, not even to simply rubber-stamp his mandate. Instead, what Ghanaians were inordinately subjected to were a series of predetermined referendums/referenda geared towards the entrenchment of the Show Boy's personality cult of apotheosis (“Nkrumah Never Dies!”) and the farcical conversion of a hitherto multiparty and democratic Ghana into a one-party autocracy.
Also, the problem that media mercenaries like Alhaji Bature have convincing their fellow Ghanaians of the need to afford President Mills a second term, is the glaring fact that unlike Nana Akufo-Addo, his main ideological opponent, President Mills has yet to unveil any credible development agenda for the country, beyond the characteristically superficial NDC culture of vacuous sloganeering and cynically dismissive attitude towards the more clearly defined agenda of their main political opponents, such as the hoopla created around Nana Akufo-Addo's promise to make pre-tertiary/pre-university education tuition-free for all Ghanaian citizens, were he to be elected president in December 2012.
Needless to say, on almost every significant front of national development – namely, Health and Sanitation, Agriculture, Law Enforcement, Education and Housing – the Mills-Mahama government has demonstrated itself to be Absent Without Leave (AWOL). The STX Housing and Woyome Judgment-Debt scandals also clearly show the Mills-Mahama government to be up-to-the-neck submerged in an irreparable crisis of gross administrative incompetence, naked robbery and the unremitting exploitation of the Ghanaian people.
Indeed, when it is not neck-deep about the ungodly business of derailing the Kufuor-minted National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the Mills-Mahama regime has been engaged in tapping the phone-lines of its own party operatives and other Ghanaian citizens who have not been charged with any crimes, bordering on a breach of national security, without any judicial authorization or warrant, an egregious violation of human rights by a government that pontifically claims to be both “Democratic” and protective of the rights of the citizens it is supposed to be dutifully serving.
And Alhaji Bature really thinks that such a roguish government deserves another four-year term, in order for the Mills-Mahama posse to continue giving more grief to responsible, diligent and law-abiding Ghanaians? Hell, no!
*Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D. , is Associate Professor of English, Journalism and Creative Writing at Nassau Community College of the State University of New York, Garden City. He is Director of The Sintim-Aboagye Center for Politics and Culture and author of “Danquah v. Nkrumah: In the Words of Mahoney.” E-mail: okoampaahoofe@optimum.net."
End of culled www.ghanaweb.com piece by Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., PhD."
What utter gibberish. Opanin, this person actually teaches English in America - and is an associate professor teaching creative writing? Wonders. Forgive the poor man - he is to be pitied.
"And he is all over the place, too" to quote a wag I know. With this semi-literate fare? Incredible. Poor Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo must wince every time he reads something written by this verbose buffoon. What an embarrassment. Massa, just ignore him. Treat it with the contempt it deserves.
Yours in the service of Ghana,
Kofi.
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
The article copied below was brought to my attention a few minutes ago. It is apparently posted on www.ghanaweb.com.
I have often wondered, when I have come across his ghastly writing online, how anyone penning fare, which one would normally only associate with semi-literates-with-giant-egos, can be an - to quote the poor man himself - "Associate Professor of English, Journalism and Creative Writing at Nassau Community College of the State University of New York, Garden City."
No wonder so many Americans of the kind that attend - again to quote the poor man - "Nassau Community College of the State University of New York, Garden City",
can barely write English.
Take my advice, Opanin. If you have any friends in New York, let them bring this semi-literate "Associate Professor of English, Journalism and Creative Writing at Nassau Community College of the State University of New York, Garden City" to the attention of New York's young right-wing Republican activists promptly.
I promise you that they will be so scandalised that a third-rate individual, who, as evidenced by the dreadful, insulting and badly-written piece below, in reply to something you had apparently written about his blood-relative, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, clearly is unable to write English of a standard, which well-educated native speakers of the language, would think had been probably written by someone with the same sort of background as theirs, is actually being paid an associate professor's salary, by New York's taxpayers, to teach "English, Journalism and Creative Writing at Nassau Community College of the State University of New York, Garden City." Incredible.
They would ensure that he is stopped immediately from inflicting his bad English on the mostly disadvantaged students attending "Nassau Community College of the State University of New York, Garden City."
In any case, if you have not yet seen his insulting piece, here it is in all its sodding 'glory.' No wonder today America is falling behind so many nations, academically.
Hmm, eyeasem oo - and this semi-literate has the gall to insult Nkrumah?
To tell you the truth, I wouldn't allow this semi-literate buffoon into my news room, had I one, let alone allow him to teach journalism to any interns working in it. Here is his semi-literate ranting:
"How Can Akufo-Addo Even “Shockingly” Endorse Prof. Doo-Little, the Insult- Supervisor, Mr. Bature?
In its giddy desperation to hang onto power by hook and/or crook, the Mills-led National Democratic Congress government appears to have hired unconscionable mercenaries like Alhaji Iddrisu “How-Much-Did-Woyome-Give-You” Bature, the notorious pathological liar and editor-publisher of the Al-Hajj newspaper, to mislead their readers by the use of sophistry (See “Akufo-Addo's Shocking Affirmation… Mills Needs 2 Terms” Peacefmonline.com 4/2/12).
Consequently, Alhaji Bature and his ilk have resorted to the lurid business of excavating the New Patriotic Party presidential candidate's development agenda, as intermittently detailed in speeches and media reports, and tweaking it to expediently suit the morbidly vacuous reelection campaign of President John Evans Atta-Mills. In the latest of such patently oafish and downright disingenuous twists, Alhaji Bature has Nana Akufo-Addo claiming that “Four years is not enough to change Ghana's economy.” Well, Alhaji Bature ought to be told that Election 2012 is a righteous referendum on the administrative performance and managerial competence of the Mills-Mahama government, and not the selfish desire of Messrs. Mills and Mahama to remain in power.
Then also, Alhaji Bature has Nana Akufo-Addo asserting that: “We [i.e. an Akufo-Addo-led New Patriotic Party] will transform Ghana in ten years.” First of all, nowhere is Nana Akufo-Addo noted on record as claiming, either categorically or implicitly, that the constitutionally stipulated four-year term of the presidency is not enough to remarkably transform the country's economy. Rather, what the NPP flag-bearer has emphatically stated is that given the electoral mandate, the New Patriotic Party ought to be able to significantly transform Ghana's economy to at least the level of the beginnings of an industrial revolutionary economic culture within a decade. Now, the foregoing statement is a far cry from Nana Akufo-Addo claiming that no governing party in Ghana can transform the country within the four-year presidential term clearly and unambiguously spelt out in Ghana's 1992 Fourth-Republican Constitution. What is more, an objective comparison between the first four years of President John Agyekum-Kufuor's tenure would clearly indicate Mr. Kufuor to have been far and way ahead of the game and far ahead of his immediate successor, a man with absolutely no parliamentary and prior electoral experience in democratic governance, other than his adjunct service as the nauseatingly servile lieutenant of former President Jerry John Rawlings! Which, of course, is largely why it took the now-President Atta-Mills three tries before narrowly clinching the presidency.
Well, they may not know this, but what reprobate media scam-artists and pathological liars like Alhaji Iddrisu Bature achieve by such reckless and unconscionable sophistry is insult the intelligence of Ghanaian citizens, at large, before the proverbial international community. The fact of the matter is that prior to the promulgation of Ghana's Fourth-Republican Constitution, a legitimately constituted assembly of legal mavens, scholars, distinguished and responsible Ghanaian citizens was established to comprehensively determine the practical parameters of a democratic political protocol or culture for the country. And it was, of course, that group of remarkable individuals, representing the various constituencies and legitimate civic bodies and organs, nationwide, that formulated our current Constitution. We must also promptly point out the glaring fact that Ghana's most recent Constituent Assembly was definitely not the first of its kind in the 55-plus-year-old history of the erstwhile Gold Coast.
And so, if I may pertinently ask: What is the problem now? There clearly appear to be two issues at stake here, neither of which is too far-fetched to raise any remarkable concerns. The first, of course, regards the evidently abject self-centeredness of many a Ghanaian politician and his/her media hireling and/or thug, such as Mr. Iddrisu Bature and the “Trokosi Boys.” For instance, to-date, not many of these same apologists screaming for President Mills to be afforded a second presidential term have come out to vociferously condemn the military coup-plotters who criminally and violently ousted the legitimately-elected governments of Drs. K. A. Busia and Hilla Limann. Instead, we have had these leaders, neither of whom concluded a single term in office, roundly and summarily condemned for administrative mismanagement and gross incompetence. Now, what does such myopic intellectual temperament tell the outside world about the proverbial “Ghanaian Personality”? And just exactly when are we going to cultivate that noble spirit of humility and realism in order to both vindicate and rehabilitate Drs. Busia and Limann, now that we appear to have learned and become more knowledgeable about the byzantine complexities of democratic governance?
I have deliberately excluded Mr. Kwame “MacBeth” Nkrumah and his neo-fascist Convention People's Party (CPP), obviously, because the latter demonstrated a shameless and abject disregard for human rights and judicial equity. Also between 1956, Ghana's eve of sovereign reassertion, and 1966, when he was auspiciously and righteously ousted, President Nkrumah never called for and/or organized a single general election, not even to simply rubber-stamp his mandate. Instead, what Ghanaians were inordinately subjected to were a series of predetermined referendums/referenda geared towards the entrenchment of the Show Boy's personality cult of apotheosis (“Nkrumah Never Dies!”) and the farcical conversion of a hitherto multiparty and democratic Ghana into a one-party autocracy.
Also, the problem that media mercenaries like Alhaji Bature have convincing their fellow Ghanaians of the need to afford President Mills a second term, is the glaring fact that unlike Nana Akufo-Addo, his main ideological opponent, President Mills has yet to unveil any credible development agenda for the country, beyond the characteristically superficial NDC culture of vacuous sloganeering and cynically dismissive attitude towards the more clearly defined agenda of their main political opponents, such as the hoopla created around Nana Akufo-Addo's promise to make pre-tertiary/pre-university education tuition-free for all Ghanaian citizens, were he to be elected president in December 2012.
Needless to say, on almost every significant front of national development – namely, Health and Sanitation, Agriculture, Law Enforcement, Education and Housing – the Mills-Mahama government has demonstrated itself to be Absent Without Leave (AWOL). The STX Housing and Woyome Judgment-Debt scandals also clearly show the Mills-Mahama government to be up-to-the-neck submerged in an irreparable crisis of gross administrative incompetence, naked robbery and the unremitting exploitation of the Ghanaian people.
Indeed, when it is not neck-deep about the ungodly business of derailing the Kufuor-minted National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the Mills-Mahama regime has been engaged in tapping the phone-lines of its own party operatives and other Ghanaian citizens who have not been charged with any crimes, bordering on a breach of national security, without any judicial authorization or warrant, an egregious violation of human rights by a government that pontifically claims to be both “Democratic” and protective of the rights of the citizens it is supposed to be dutifully serving.
And Alhaji Bature really thinks that such a roguish government deserves another four-year term, in order for the Mills-Mahama posse to continue giving more grief to responsible, diligent and law-abiding Ghanaians? Hell, no!
*Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D. , is Associate Professor of English, Journalism and Creative Writing at Nassau Community College of the State University of New York, Garden City. He is Director of The Sintim-Aboagye Center for Politics and Culture and author of “Danquah v. Nkrumah: In the Words of Mahoney.” E-mail: okoampaahoofe@optimum.net."
End of culled www.ghanaweb.com piece by Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., PhD."
What utter gibberish. Opanin, this person actually teaches English in America - and is an associate professor teaching creative writing? Wonders. Forgive the poor man - he is to be pitied.
"And he is all over the place, too" to quote a wag I know. With this semi-literate fare? Incredible. Poor Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo must wince every time he reads something written by this verbose buffoon. What an embarrassment. Massa, just ignore him. Treat it with the contempt it deserves.
Yours in the service of Ghana,
Kofi.
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
GHANA OUGHT TO TACKLE FOREST CRIME MORE INTELLIGENTLY & VIGOROUSLY NATIONWIDE
Today, dear reader, I am posting a call by the World Bank for more determined efforts, globally, to prosecute illegal loggers.
It couldn't have come at a better time for environmental activists in Ghana.
Indeed, there is an urgent need for all the political parties in Ghana, vying for power in the December 2012 elections, to tell Ghanaians, precisely how they intend to safeguard the remainder of our nation's forests.
They must show Ghanaians, in detail, precisely how they will go about preserving what is left of our nation's natural heritage - and above all, exactly how they intend to deal with the wealthy and well-connected criminal syndicates behind illegal logging in Ghana: and halt their criminal activities once and for all.
They must study the recommendations made by the World Bank - and incorporate it in their manifestos.
Incidentally, the World Bank statement is culled from today's edition of the e-newsletter of the Danish forest certification organisation, NEPCon
(Nature, Ecology and People Consult).
One hopes that it will catch the eye of Ghana's minister of lands and natural resources, and his ministerial colleague, the eastern regional minister - as well as officials of both ministries - and the top brass of the Forestry Commission of Ghana. Ditto the chief executives of all the District Assemblies in Ghana's forest belt. Please read on:
"World Bank: time to get tough on forest crime
3 April 2012
In recent years, a number of initiatives have been launched to address the problem of illegal logging, such as the EU FLEGT program addressing forest governance in tropical countries and initiatives in the US, EU and Australia to make possession or trade in illegal timber products in those markets unlawful.
Bringing forest criminals to justice
However, a recent World Bank report Justice for Forests points out that one of the most obvious means of regulating illegal logging is being largely ignored: law enforcement ensuring that those benefitting from illegal harvesting are convicted for their crimes.
Effective investigation, prosecution, imprisonment, and confiscation of illegal proceeds constitute the sort of actions needed in order to put forest criminals straight, according to the World Bank.
The report admits that current legal justice systems are generally ‘woefully ineffective’ and that there are only few examples of significant convictions involving illegal logging; however, legal frameworks such as the CITES convention and anti-money laundering regimes are in place and may be harnessesed to halt forest crime.
Serious offense
The report describes illegal harvesting as a complex of criminal offenses. Although full and accurate data about illegal logging do not exist (for obvious reasons), the report uses available estimates and figures to provide a glum picture of the scale of illegal harvesting:
“Every two seconds, across the world, an area of forest the size of a football field is clear-cut by illegal loggers. In some countries, up to 90 percent of all the logging taking place is illegal.
Estimates suggest that this criminal activity generates approximately US$10–15 billion annually worldwide —funds that are unregulated, untaxed, and often remain in the hands of organized criminal gangs”.
Follow the money
There are potentially many types of legal violation involved in illegal timber harvesting and trade, committed by different people along the timber’s route towards the final product on the marketplace.
For example, “the smuggling and transportation of logs are generally handled by parties distinct from those involved in the actual logging, and the whole process may be overseen by the heads of organized syndicates”.
The report points out that money laundering and assett confiscation regimes can be applied and help to identify, freeze, and confiscate proceeds from illegal logging, thus depriving the criminals of their expected benefits of the crime.
Applying anti-money launcering laws may result in “additional jail time or fines above those imposed for the underlying forest crime”.
By focusing on money laundering, crimes may also be uncovered more efficiently as financial institutions will be involved in detecting suspicious transactions.
Engaging legal and financial experts
The World Bank also recommends using a range of different methods, including electronic surveillance, undercover operations and witness protection, to uncover and prosecute forest crime.
The World Bank points out that there is a great need for awareness raising about illegal logging amongst the legal and financial sectors. These experts need to understand the scale of the issue and the importance of forest law enforcement.
As the report points out, “There is no substitute for honest, experienced, motivated, and creative investigators and prosecutors who have specialized knowledge of forest crime, and have available the time and resources required”.
End of culled World Bank statement from NepCon's e-newsletter.
It is a real tragedy for Ghana that our nation's forests are being decimated with such impunity, by greedy and powerful individuals, with political connections.
At any rate, one can only hope that those in charge of the Forestry Commission of Ghana, will begin to see the billions available for them to leverage, in the new carbon economy - via community carbon sequestration projects utilising forest reserves and other protected conservation areas, for example - rather than the relatively paltry sums timber companies currently pay them to gang-rape forests in Ghana (literally), as the future for forest management in Ghana.
Finally, for their information, I do know for a fact that Carbon Trading & Trust, who are due in Ghana in August 2012, and Greenheart Conservation, also due here this year, after their trip to Gabon (and before August 2012) for a scoping visit, will be happy to work with them, in that direction.
I would be happy to facilitate their coming together in a meeting, when both aforementioned teams visit Ghana - and for free too. With respect, one hopes they will be bold and creative enough, to take the initiative, and make contact with both organisations.
For the sake of present and future generations, Ghana really ought to tackle forest crime more intelligently and vigorously, nationwide. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
It couldn't have come at a better time for environmental activists in Ghana.
Indeed, there is an urgent need for all the political parties in Ghana, vying for power in the December 2012 elections, to tell Ghanaians, precisely how they intend to safeguard the remainder of our nation's forests.
They must show Ghanaians, in detail, precisely how they will go about preserving what is left of our nation's natural heritage - and above all, exactly how they intend to deal with the wealthy and well-connected criminal syndicates behind illegal logging in Ghana: and halt their criminal activities once and for all.
They must study the recommendations made by the World Bank - and incorporate it in their manifestos.
Incidentally, the World Bank statement is culled from today's edition of the e-newsletter of the Danish forest certification organisation, NEPCon
(Nature, Ecology and People Consult).
One hopes that it will catch the eye of Ghana's minister of lands and natural resources, and his ministerial colleague, the eastern regional minister - as well as officials of both ministries - and the top brass of the Forestry Commission of Ghana. Ditto the chief executives of all the District Assemblies in Ghana's forest belt. Please read on:
"World Bank: time to get tough on forest crime
3 April 2012
In recent years, a number of initiatives have been launched to address the problem of illegal logging, such as the EU FLEGT program addressing forest governance in tropical countries and initiatives in the US, EU and Australia to make possession or trade in illegal timber products in those markets unlawful.
Bringing forest criminals to justice
However, a recent World Bank report Justice for Forests points out that one of the most obvious means of regulating illegal logging is being largely ignored: law enforcement ensuring that those benefitting from illegal harvesting are convicted for their crimes.
Effective investigation, prosecution, imprisonment, and confiscation of illegal proceeds constitute the sort of actions needed in order to put forest criminals straight, according to the World Bank.
The report admits that current legal justice systems are generally ‘woefully ineffective’ and that there are only few examples of significant convictions involving illegal logging; however, legal frameworks such as the CITES convention and anti-money laundering regimes are in place and may be harnessesed to halt forest crime.
Serious offense
The report describes illegal harvesting as a complex of criminal offenses. Although full and accurate data about illegal logging do not exist (for obvious reasons), the report uses available estimates and figures to provide a glum picture of the scale of illegal harvesting:
“Every two seconds, across the world, an area of forest the size of a football field is clear-cut by illegal loggers. In some countries, up to 90 percent of all the logging taking place is illegal.
Estimates suggest that this criminal activity generates approximately US$10–15 billion annually worldwide —funds that are unregulated, untaxed, and often remain in the hands of organized criminal gangs”.
Follow the money
There are potentially many types of legal violation involved in illegal timber harvesting and trade, committed by different people along the timber’s route towards the final product on the marketplace.
For example, “the smuggling and transportation of logs are generally handled by parties distinct from those involved in the actual logging, and the whole process may be overseen by the heads of organized syndicates”.
The report points out that money laundering and assett confiscation regimes can be applied and help to identify, freeze, and confiscate proceeds from illegal logging, thus depriving the criminals of their expected benefits of the crime.
Applying anti-money launcering laws may result in “additional jail time or fines above those imposed for the underlying forest crime”.
By focusing on money laundering, crimes may also be uncovered more efficiently as financial institutions will be involved in detecting suspicious transactions.
Engaging legal and financial experts
The World Bank also recommends using a range of different methods, including electronic surveillance, undercover operations and witness protection, to uncover and prosecute forest crime.
The World Bank points out that there is a great need for awareness raising about illegal logging amongst the legal and financial sectors. These experts need to understand the scale of the issue and the importance of forest law enforcement.
As the report points out, “There is no substitute for honest, experienced, motivated, and creative investigators and prosecutors who have specialized knowledge of forest crime, and have available the time and resources required”.
End of culled World Bank statement from NepCon's e-newsletter.
It is a real tragedy for Ghana that our nation's forests are being decimated with such impunity, by greedy and powerful individuals, with political connections.
At any rate, one can only hope that those in charge of the Forestry Commission of Ghana, will begin to see the billions available for them to leverage, in the new carbon economy - via community carbon sequestration projects utilising forest reserves and other protected conservation areas, for example - rather than the relatively paltry sums timber companies currently pay them to gang-rape forests in Ghana (literally), as the future for forest management in Ghana.
Finally, for their information, I do know for a fact that Carbon Trading & Trust, who are due in Ghana in August 2012, and Greenheart Conservation, also due here this year, after their trip to Gabon (and before August 2012) for a scoping visit, will be happy to work with them, in that direction.
I would be happy to facilitate their coming together in a meeting, when both aforementioned teams visit Ghana - and for free too. With respect, one hopes they will be bold and creative enough, to take the initiative, and make contact with both organisations.
For the sake of present and future generations, Ghana really ought to tackle forest crime more intelligently and vigorously, nationwide. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Monday, 2 April 2012
THE NDC MUST DEAL WITH PRESIDENT MILLS' UNELECTABILITY NOW!
By the time Ghana went to the polls in December 2008, a majority of the independent-minded and patriotic individuals (as opposed to the "My-party-my-tribe-right-or-wrong" myrmidon-types whose blinkered support for political parties, and intolerance, is slowly destroying Ghanaian democracy), whose crucial swing-votes now elect Ghanaian presidents, had become completely fed up with the unfathomable greed; endless abuse of office; outrageous nepotism; high-level corruption; and the divisive tribal-supremacist arrogance of Kufuor & Co., that they were determined to vote the New Patriotic Party (NPP) out of power in that election for the presidency.
They welcomed the historic opportunity for Ghana to end high-level corruption, which the election of President Mills, a gentleman many of them regarded as honest and incorruptible, represented, for them.
The dismissal of Martin Amidu, from his position as Attorney General, after he revealed to the nation that gargantuan crimes were being committed against Ghanaians by regime-insiders, shocked many in this important group of discerning Ghanaian voters, to the core.
Alas, it has eroded their confidence in the administration of the honest President Mills - whose inability to curb corruption amongst some of those in his administration (famously referred to by ex-President Rawlings, as "greedy bastards"), has made these patriotic individuals become thoroughly disenchanted with his leadership.
To many of these patriotic individuals, an honest leader unable to deal firmly with corrupt members of his administration, by dismissing and prosecuting them, is of little use to Ghana - a nation whose major stumbling block to economic development that benefits a majority of its people (as opposed to economic growth that enriches a well-connected and powerful few, with greedy ambitions - to paraphrase President Nkrumah), is high-level corruption.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) ought to wake up to the reality of their party's present predicament. They must understand that the elections will not be about the achievements of their regime - which are many and deserving of praise.
If he stands for re-election, it will be a referendum on President Mills' leadership. It is time they all understood clearly that President Mills' dismissal of Martin Amidu, and his perceived inability to deal with the "greedy bastards" in his administration, by sacking them, are insurmountable obstacles to Mills' re-election.
The plain truth, is that even if he succeeds in turning Ghana into paradise by December 2012, Ghanaians will not re-elect President Mills in that presidential poll - because they feel that he is a weak leader, who is unable to root out high-level corruption in his regime.
(Incidentally, their salvation lies in a ticket consisting of Martin Amidu for president, with Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, as his running-mate. That is the creative and thinking-outside-the-box solution, to securing the victory for a second 4-year tenure, which their party's many achievements in office thus far, make them deserve. But I digress.)
The NDC must stop burying its collective head in the sand and confront the painful truth that President Mills is unelectable now - and deal with it before it becomes too late for their party to do anything about it. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
They welcomed the historic opportunity for Ghana to end high-level corruption, which the election of President Mills, a gentleman many of them regarded as honest and incorruptible, represented, for them.
The dismissal of Martin Amidu, from his position as Attorney General, after he revealed to the nation that gargantuan crimes were being committed against Ghanaians by regime-insiders, shocked many in this important group of discerning Ghanaian voters, to the core.
Alas, it has eroded their confidence in the administration of the honest President Mills - whose inability to curb corruption amongst some of those in his administration (famously referred to by ex-President Rawlings, as "greedy bastards"), has made these patriotic individuals become thoroughly disenchanted with his leadership.
To many of these patriotic individuals, an honest leader unable to deal firmly with corrupt members of his administration, by dismissing and prosecuting them, is of little use to Ghana - a nation whose major stumbling block to economic development that benefits a majority of its people (as opposed to economic growth that enriches a well-connected and powerful few, with greedy ambitions - to paraphrase President Nkrumah), is high-level corruption.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) ought to wake up to the reality of their party's present predicament. They must understand that the elections will not be about the achievements of their regime - which are many and deserving of praise.
If he stands for re-election, it will be a referendum on President Mills' leadership. It is time they all understood clearly that President Mills' dismissal of Martin Amidu, and his perceived inability to deal with the "greedy bastards" in his administration, by sacking them, are insurmountable obstacles to Mills' re-election.
The plain truth, is that even if he succeeds in turning Ghana into paradise by December 2012, Ghanaians will not re-elect President Mills in that presidential poll - because they feel that he is a weak leader, who is unable to root out high-level corruption in his regime.
(Incidentally, their salvation lies in a ticket consisting of Martin Amidu for president, with Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, as his running-mate. That is the creative and thinking-outside-the-box solution, to securing the victory for a second 4-year tenure, which their party's many achievements in office thus far, make them deserve. But I digress.)
The NDC must stop burying its collective head in the sand and confront the painful truth that President Mills is unelectable now - and deal with it before it becomes too late for their party to do anything about it. A word to the wise...
Tel (Powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana, which actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
Sunday, 1 April 2012
SHOULD GHANA'S GNPC REPLICATE AFRICA OIL'S KENYAN REVENUE-SHARING DEAL WITH TULLOW OIL FOR OIL PRODUCTION?
Today being All Fools Day, lest people get the wrong idea, one needs to stress that one is deadly earnest in this - and posting this with a straight face. Hand on heart. This blog is sharing part of a newsletter about the incredible potential of East Africa's oil find, by Crisis and Opportunity's Christian DeHaemer.
It gives the background to the revenue-sharing deal between Tullow Oil and the Canadian company, Africa Oil - which owns about 32,000 square miles of East African oilfields.
I hope that it will be taken note of by the leadership of all Ghana's political parties - as well as the board members and management of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and the Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC).
The time has now come for the GNPC and the GNGC to be more aggressive in securing the best possible value, for what remains uncommitted, of the remainder of our nation's oil and natural gas deposits.
The main reason I am sharing part of Christian DeHaemer's investment newsletter, is to make the point, dear reader, that sadly, if the deal had occurred in Ghana, between the GNPC and Tullow Oil, it would be Tullow, instead, not the GNPC, which would have ended up with royalties of 67 percent of the production revenues.
Surely, as a people, we must end that negative "Uncle Tom" mentality, which results in our leaders ending up always giving away our birthright, so to speak, to foreigners for peanuts? Please read on:
"Exclusive: The story oil industry insiders spent millions keeping this secret from you
I Bought this Stock Based on a Single Word
This little-known management group's last 7 projects averaged 10,600% gains...
and they've just pulled off their latest — and biggest — deal yet.

Sometimes, a single word is worth more than a thousand pages of financial reports and analyst opinions.
Let me illustrate for you...
In 2002, a little-heard-of management firm took over three tiny oil and mineral exploration companies located in points around the globe where you wouldn't send your mother-in-law:
One was an oil explorer with properties in the Middle East – market cap in 2002: $4 million – shares trading at 45 cents.
Another was a petroleum company operating in Russia – market cap in 2002: $13.5 million – shares trading at 55 cents.
The third was a gold mining company operating in Western Africa – market cap in 2002: $45 million – trading at $1.35 per share.
Four years later, they sold the first company for $16 per share – market cap: $750 million – gains: 18,750%.
Two years after that, they unloaded the second one at $31.50/share – market cap: $1.9 billion – gains: 14,074%.
Two years after that, they sold the third for $30.50/share – market cap: $8.98 billion – gains: 19,955%.
In total, this management firm took on 7 of these development projects in the last 9 years – average returns on those 7 projects: 10,600%.
That's not a typo or a misplaced decimal point.
These 7 companies grew, on average, by a factor of over 100 from their initial 2002 market cap. And that's just an average.
One of these 7 lucky companies started off as a $2.1 million microcap; another was at just $4.6 million when this management group took the reins...
Today they're worth $2.4 billion and $5.4 billion respectively.
That means that every dollar you invested in 2002 would have yielded you a return of $1,142 and $1,173.
Of course, not all 7 stocks did quite as well...
The worst performer of the group rose a mere 1,608%.
Overall, this legendary management company turned $204.4 million dollars into a staggering $21.67 billion.
So when I heard that this management company had made another acquisition earlier this year — by far their biggest project yet — I knew we were in for something unprecedented.
I literally needed to know nothing else about this investment other than the fact that this legendary management firm had taken over operations.
You see, this time we weren't dealing with a microcap mineral or oil explorer...
What we're looking at what could easily become the world's next Chevron, BP — even Exxon.
The plan was massive any way you looked at it:
Over 124,000 square miles of never-before-developed property were on the table...
A piece of oil-rich land about the size of New Mexico was going to be split up among just a couple oil companies — and with it, an estimated 71.1 billion barrels of crude whose raw resource value today stands at $69 trillion.
Here's where it gets really interesting, though: Billion-dollar names like Apache and Tullow and Anadarko have also signed contracts for blocks of land within this 124,000 territory.
The oil company this management group took over, however — with a market cap of just $330 million — was the smallest of the bunch.
And here's the kicker...
Despite this company's small size, their chunk of this 124,000-square-mile development zone is anything but.
In fact, when all is said and done, this growing oil company will hold one of the biggest shares of what is probably the very last major land-based crude deposit left untapped... anywhere on the planet.
You're about to learn everything you need to know about this incredible management group which has made a name starting some of the fastest growing and most successful oil exploration firms in history.
More importantly, I'll tell you about their latest project — and the details of a move they're about to make to leverage their huge position into profits of up to 2,040% annually for the next thirty years...
A profit flow which will start as early as November of this year.
But before I get to all that, I want to give you an inside look into the secret plot this quarter-trillion-dollar cartel cooked up to divide what is almost certainly the last great land-based oil deposit on earth.
Geology Has No Borders
"East Africa is experiencing one of the highest levels of investment in the world right now — but we're only seeing the beginning."
— New York Times
Earlier this year, I bought my way into a covert meeting of some of the most powerful oil execs in the world.
It cost me about $10,000 out of pocket to get there and to make it past security, but I flew commercial.
God only knows how many millions the rest of the attendees, many of whom arrived on their private Gulf Streams and Learjets, spent on this week-long meeting.
It happened at the only four-star hotel in Nairobi, Kenya... behind closed doors and away from the prying eyes of the press.
And for good reason: This meeting was never supposed to be public information.
However, unbeknownst to the CEOs, COOs, and big-dollar corporate geological consultants who were in attendance, there was one financial journalist present when the doors of the conference room were shut and latched...
Yours truly.
They had intended for that number to be zero, because in the next couple years, the land development deal they were there to finalize will shift the balance of power of the global energy market.
But they didn't want anyone to know that just yet.
You see, Africa's got a reputation for being a backward, unindustrialized backwater — on a continental scale.
What many don't know, however, is that Western Africa supplies 12% of the world's global annual crude oil demand.
With four OPEC nations inside its borders (Algeria, Angola, Nigeria and Libya), Africa is second only to the Middle East in terms of membership in this nearly omnipotent cartel.
But while North and West Africa crank out almost 6 million barrels of crude per day, East Africa is hardly on the map at all.
All this is about to change forever...
Because not only have major production operations sprung up in the Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the last five years, effectively moving the oil frontier east...
But major natural gas deposits were confirmed off the coasts of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania just last year.
And as anybody who's studied fossil fuel geology knows, where there is natural gas, there are also crude oil deposits close by.
The most compelling evidence that East Africa is holding some of the world's richest fossil fuel resources goes back loooong before the natural gas strike and the recent expansions in West African production.
You see, scientists have known for years that much of East Africa shares the same basic geology as the region on the opposite side of the Gulf of Aden...
Land which is today occupied by Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and the biggest oil empire of them all, Saudi Arabia.
If you look at the diagram below, paying special attention to the fossil fuel deposits highlighted in red, you'll see the basic concept behind what happened here millions of years ago:
Up until 18 million years ago, East Africa and the Arab Middle East were joined.
When the rift formed, the continents drifted apart, taking the oil with them...
Discoveries in North and Western Africa began to confirm these suspicions 30 years ago, but it wasn't until last year that Tullow Oil's natural gas strike off the coast of Tanzania finally made it clear to the execs what geologists had known for decades...
East African geology isn't just similar to the geology which gave the Saudi Royal families the legendary Marib-Shabwa and Sayun-Masila Basins.
It's the same geology.
Now, to the bigwigs at this Nairobi conference, all this news was a mixed blessing.
Representing companies that have made some of the biggest discoveries the industry's ever seen over the last thirty years, it's their job to find new oil...
And with East Africa, they're about to chalk up another victory — a major one.
However, it will also most likely be the last cheap oil any of them ever find. Because as the world's mainstay oil deposits gradually dry up, the industry has no choice but to start seeking out harder-to-reach pockets of crude.
Evidence of this comes from the vast number of off-shore oil drilling platforms that have popped up in recent years...
In fact, while the rest of U.S. production has fallen by 50% since the 1980s, offshore oil production has risen to account for 1/3 of the total national output — double what it was relative to 20 years ago.
This is especially alarming when you consider the cost of operating these offshore platforms has gone up 530% since 2001.
On top of that, at an average cost of $100 million, each of these rigs is about 1,000 times the cost of a typical conventional well... and that's before you even factor in the $1 million/day operating overhead.
But progress cannot be stopped.
And each year, more and more of these platforms are built and positioned.
Leading the charge is the United States, whose own conventional land-based deposits peaked in the 70s. The rest of the oil-producing world isn't far behind.
As the easy-to-reach resources are used up, there is simply no alternative but to go farther out to sea, drill deeper, and take more risks.
The results of this you and I know personally: rising prices at the pump... rising prices of any goods requiring transportation... rising prices to heat and cool your house.
So a massive, shallow-lying, land-based crude deposit couldn't have come soon enough.
And not just for the oil exploration firms — but for all of us who rely on cheap oil.
There is, however, another reason we should consider ourselves all lucky. And it's got nothing to do with geology — and everything to do with the nation hosting our secretive little meeting...
Investors Are Already Here
Just to give you an idea of how serious the men at the conference are about setting up shop in Kenya, here's a fact for you:
Kenya is a nation of about 225,000 square miles. Of that, the cartel which took over the Hilton Nairobi will own close to 124,000 square miles. That's more than 55% of the country's total landmass.
Doing that in the United States would require the private leasing and development of all the land west of Omaha, Nebraska.
Now remember, this cartel consists of companies as large as 48-billion-dollar Apache...
Together, the members are worth well over $150 billion. So if anybody is up for the job, they are.
But here's the really intriguing part:
The Canadian-based oil explorer I've been hinting at this whole time — with a market cap less than 2% of Apache's — has singlehandedly secured over 32,600 square miles of this territory, a full 26% of the total land acquisition — making them the single biggest shareholder in this 124,000 square mile development zone.
If you look at the highly confidential block map below, you'll actually see the parcels:
You'll also notice the figure next to the surface area, the percentage share.
Now, I know what you're going to say: So they really don't have exclusive reign over this potentially priceless real estate?
Well, here's where it gets even more interesting.
You see, with a market cap of only $330 million, this exploration company isn't big enough to thoroughly exploit a landmass the size of the state of Indiana.
So to maximize efficiency and profitability, they've partnered with another company that is big enough.
Those share values I mentioned don't represent the percentage of the parcel my new pick owns, but rather the royalties they'll be collecting from the production. And as you can see, that figure isn't small.
With rights to as much as 67% of the earnings that come out of this land, this small but brilliantly-run company will literally be sitting back and collecting checks while their partner does all the work.
So who is this mysterious big-name partner?
Well, that may actually be the best news of all...
Because the company that will developing and managing this massive property on behalf of my new recommendation is none other than $19 billion exploration giant Tullow Oil.
In the world of fossil fuel exploration, sweetheart deals like this come around maybe once in a career...
A giant, world-acclaimed outfit doing all the work so that their tiny partner can rake in unheard-of profits.
To figure out exactly what kinds of returns you can expect, the math is pretty simple:
If the USGS is anywhere near correct, and this region contains 71 billion barrels...
Then my company's holdings would contain in the neighborhood of 19 billion of those barrels.
At an average royalty rate of 50% on that resource, at today's prices, my company will stand to profit close to $923 billion of this project — almost 3,000 times their current market cap!
But let's do away with any optimism and see what kind of numbers we're dealing with if things don't turn out quite so well:
Let's say the USGS is way off on their figures based on preliminary drill test results. They overestimated the total deposit by a factor of five. Let's also assume that it will take 30 years for Tullow to produce and refine the resource...
Even with 50% royalties, those unrealistically low figures still translate into annual gains equivalent to 20.4 times my company's current total value — or profits of 2,040% each and every year for the next three decades.
Sounds incredible, right?
Well, it's not.
You see, at the heart of this deal isn't just the land or the incredible partnership with Tullow...
It's the management dream team that I've been talking about from the start.
As I already mentioned to you, they've pulled off record-breaking successes before.
Here's a list of those 7 projects, along with the returns the generated:
Out of seven companies, The Lundin Group is averaging returns in excess of 10,600% over a nine-year period!
That amounts to annual gains of 1,180% — and it doesn't even account for the shorter hold periods of the three massively-profitable buyouts that this team worked out between 2006 and 2010...
The absolute worst performer of the bunch brought a 1,600% return, while the best made investors $1,173 for every dollar invested!
Just imagine... a mere $852 investment in 2002 would be worth $1 million today!
Again, this is not a typo.
The management group behind my latest oil exploration pick has made a world-renown name out of turning small startups into multi-billion-dollar monsters. They were literally the only guys in the business who could have put a property package of this size and value under such a small and efficient corporate umbrella.
So now you know why the $10,000 investment to get into the meeting where I learned this all — before the start of production — was a bargain.
Once production begins — and this news hits the covers of the Wall Street Journal and this company's CEO starts getting interviewed by Forbes and Fortune Magazine — the information won't be worth a dime.
It's the definition of an explosive opportunity."
End of culled portion of newsletter by Crisis and Opportunity's Christian DeHaemer.
Why, dear reader, can't those who run our country and the GNPC and GNGC, pull off such revenue-sharing deals too, I ask? One hopes that going forward into the future, we will come to hear of such deals in Ghana's favour, when our leaders negotiate oil agreements with the likes of Tullow Oil. 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 gives the background to the revenue-sharing deal between Tullow Oil and the Canadian company, Africa Oil - which owns about 32,000 square miles of East African oilfields.
I hope that it will be taken note of by the leadership of all Ghana's political parties - as well as the board members and management of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and the Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC).
The time has now come for the GNPC and the GNGC to be more aggressive in securing the best possible value, for what remains uncommitted, of the remainder of our nation's oil and natural gas deposits.
The main reason I am sharing part of Christian DeHaemer's investment newsletter, is to make the point, dear reader, that sadly, if the deal had occurred in Ghana, between the GNPC and Tullow Oil, it would be Tullow, instead, not the GNPC, which would have ended up with royalties of 67 percent of the production revenues.
Surely, as a people, we must end that negative "Uncle Tom" mentality, which results in our leaders ending up always giving away our birthright, so to speak, to foreigners for peanuts? Please read on:
"Exclusive: The story oil industry insiders spent millions keeping this secret from you
I Bought this Stock Based on a Single Word
This little-known management group's last 7 projects averaged 10,600% gains...
and they've just pulled off their latest — and biggest — deal yet.

Sometimes, a single word is worth more than a thousand pages of financial reports and analyst opinions.
Let me illustrate for you...
In 2002, a little-heard-of management firm took over three tiny oil and mineral exploration companies located in points around the globe where you wouldn't send your mother-in-law:
One was an oil explorer with properties in the Middle East – market cap in 2002: $4 million – shares trading at 45 cents.
Another was a petroleum company operating in Russia – market cap in 2002: $13.5 million – shares trading at 55 cents.
The third was a gold mining company operating in Western Africa – market cap in 2002: $45 million – trading at $1.35 per share.
Four years later, they sold the first company for $16 per share – market cap: $750 million – gains: 18,750%.
Two years after that, they unloaded the second one at $31.50/share – market cap: $1.9 billion – gains: 14,074%.
Two years after that, they sold the third for $30.50/share – market cap: $8.98 billion – gains: 19,955%.
In total, this management firm took on 7 of these development projects in the last 9 years – average returns on those 7 projects: 10,600%.
That's not a typo or a misplaced decimal point.
These 7 companies grew, on average, by a factor of over 100 from their initial 2002 market cap. And that's just an average.
One of these 7 lucky companies started off as a $2.1 million microcap; another was at just $4.6 million when this management group took the reins...
Today they're worth $2.4 billion and $5.4 billion respectively.
That means that every dollar you invested in 2002 would have yielded you a return of $1,142 and $1,173.
Of course, not all 7 stocks did quite as well...
The worst performer of the group rose a mere 1,608%.
Overall, this legendary management company turned $204.4 million dollars into a staggering $21.67 billion.
So when I heard that this management company had made another acquisition earlier this year — by far their biggest project yet — I knew we were in for something unprecedented.
I literally needed to know nothing else about this investment other than the fact that this legendary management firm had taken over operations.
You see, this time we weren't dealing with a microcap mineral or oil explorer...
What we're looking at what could easily become the world's next Chevron, BP — even Exxon.
The plan was massive any way you looked at it:
Over 124,000 square miles of never-before-developed property were on the table...
A piece of oil-rich land about the size of New Mexico was going to be split up among just a couple oil companies — and with it, an estimated 71.1 billion barrels of crude whose raw resource value today stands at $69 trillion.
Here's where it gets really interesting, though: Billion-dollar names like Apache and Tullow and Anadarko have also signed contracts for blocks of land within this 124,000 territory.
The oil company this management group took over, however — with a market cap of just $330 million — was the smallest of the bunch.
And here's the kicker...
Despite this company's small size, their chunk of this 124,000-square-mile development zone is anything but.
In fact, when all is said and done, this growing oil company will hold one of the biggest shares of what is probably the very last major land-based crude deposit left untapped... anywhere on the planet.
You're about to learn everything you need to know about this incredible management group which has made a name starting some of the fastest growing and most successful oil exploration firms in history.
More importantly, I'll tell you about their latest project — and the details of a move they're about to make to leverage their huge position into profits of up to 2,040% annually for the next thirty years...
A profit flow which will start as early as November of this year.
But before I get to all that, I want to give you an inside look into the secret plot this quarter-trillion-dollar cartel cooked up to divide what is almost certainly the last great land-based oil deposit on earth.
Geology Has No Borders
"East Africa is experiencing one of the highest levels of investment in the world right now — but we're only seeing the beginning."
— New York Times
Earlier this year, I bought my way into a covert meeting of some of the most powerful oil execs in the world.
It cost me about $10,000 out of pocket to get there and to make it past security, but I flew commercial.
God only knows how many millions the rest of the attendees, many of whom arrived on their private Gulf Streams and Learjets, spent on this week-long meeting.
It happened at the only four-star hotel in Nairobi, Kenya... behind closed doors and away from the prying eyes of the press.
And for good reason: This meeting was never supposed to be public information.
However, unbeknownst to the CEOs, COOs, and big-dollar corporate geological consultants who were in attendance, there was one financial journalist present when the doors of the conference room were shut and latched...
Yours truly.
They had intended for that number to be zero, because in the next couple years, the land development deal they were there to finalize will shift the balance of power of the global energy market.
But they didn't want anyone to know that just yet.
You see, Africa's got a reputation for being a backward, unindustrialized backwater — on a continental scale.
What many don't know, however, is that Western Africa supplies 12% of the world's global annual crude oil demand.
With four OPEC nations inside its borders (Algeria, Angola, Nigeria and Libya), Africa is second only to the Middle East in terms of membership in this nearly omnipotent cartel.
But while North and West Africa crank out almost 6 million barrels of crude per day, East Africa is hardly on the map at all.
All this is about to change forever...
Because not only have major production operations sprung up in the Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the last five years, effectively moving the oil frontier east...
But major natural gas deposits were confirmed off the coasts of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania just last year.
And as anybody who's studied fossil fuel geology knows, where there is natural gas, there are also crude oil deposits close by.
The most compelling evidence that East Africa is holding some of the world's richest fossil fuel resources goes back loooong before the natural gas strike and the recent expansions in West African production.
You see, scientists have known for years that much of East Africa shares the same basic geology as the region on the opposite side of the Gulf of Aden...
Land which is today occupied by Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and the biggest oil empire of them all, Saudi Arabia.
If you look at the diagram below, paying special attention to the fossil fuel deposits highlighted in red, you'll see the basic concept behind what happened here millions of years ago:
Up until 18 million years ago, East Africa and the Arab Middle East were joined.
When the rift formed, the continents drifted apart, taking the oil with them...
Discoveries in North and Western Africa began to confirm these suspicions 30 years ago, but it wasn't until last year that Tullow Oil's natural gas strike off the coast of Tanzania finally made it clear to the execs what geologists had known for decades...
East African geology isn't just similar to the geology which gave the Saudi Royal families the legendary Marib-Shabwa and Sayun-Masila Basins.
It's the same geology.
Now, to the bigwigs at this Nairobi conference, all this news was a mixed blessing.
Representing companies that have made some of the biggest discoveries the industry's ever seen over the last thirty years, it's their job to find new oil...
And with East Africa, they're about to chalk up another victory — a major one.
However, it will also most likely be the last cheap oil any of them ever find. Because as the world's mainstay oil deposits gradually dry up, the industry has no choice but to start seeking out harder-to-reach pockets of crude.
Evidence of this comes from the vast number of off-shore oil drilling platforms that have popped up in recent years...
In fact, while the rest of U.S. production has fallen by 50% since the 1980s, offshore oil production has risen to account for 1/3 of the total national output — double what it was relative to 20 years ago.
This is especially alarming when you consider the cost of operating these offshore platforms has gone up 530% since 2001.
On top of that, at an average cost of $100 million, each of these rigs is about 1,000 times the cost of a typical conventional well... and that's before you even factor in the $1 million/day operating overhead.
But progress cannot be stopped.
And each year, more and more of these platforms are built and positioned.
Leading the charge is the United States, whose own conventional land-based deposits peaked in the 70s. The rest of the oil-producing world isn't far behind.
As the easy-to-reach resources are used up, there is simply no alternative but to go farther out to sea, drill deeper, and take more risks.
The results of this you and I know personally: rising prices at the pump... rising prices of any goods requiring transportation... rising prices to heat and cool your house.
So a massive, shallow-lying, land-based crude deposit couldn't have come soon enough.
And not just for the oil exploration firms — but for all of us who rely on cheap oil.
There is, however, another reason we should consider ourselves all lucky. And it's got nothing to do with geology — and everything to do with the nation hosting our secretive little meeting...
Investors Are Already Here
Just to give you an idea of how serious the men at the conference are about setting up shop in Kenya, here's a fact for you:
Kenya is a nation of about 225,000 square miles. Of that, the cartel which took over the Hilton Nairobi will own close to 124,000 square miles. That's more than 55% of the country's total landmass.
Doing that in the United States would require the private leasing and development of all the land west of Omaha, Nebraska.
Now remember, this cartel consists of companies as large as 48-billion-dollar Apache...
Together, the members are worth well over $150 billion. So if anybody is up for the job, they are.
But here's the really intriguing part:
The Canadian-based oil explorer I've been hinting at this whole time — with a market cap less than 2% of Apache's — has singlehandedly secured over 32,600 square miles of this territory, a full 26% of the total land acquisition — making them the single biggest shareholder in this 124,000 square mile development zone.
If you look at the highly confidential block map below, you'll actually see the parcels:
You'll also notice the figure next to the surface area, the percentage share.
Now, I know what you're going to say: So they really don't have exclusive reign over this potentially priceless real estate?
Well, here's where it gets even more interesting.
You see, with a market cap of only $330 million, this exploration company isn't big enough to thoroughly exploit a landmass the size of the state of Indiana.
So to maximize efficiency and profitability, they've partnered with another company that is big enough.
Those share values I mentioned don't represent the percentage of the parcel my new pick owns, but rather the royalties they'll be collecting from the production. And as you can see, that figure isn't small.
With rights to as much as 67% of the earnings that come out of this land, this small but brilliantly-run company will literally be sitting back and collecting checks while their partner does all the work.
So who is this mysterious big-name partner?
Well, that may actually be the best news of all...
Because the company that will developing and managing this massive property on behalf of my new recommendation is none other than $19 billion exploration giant Tullow Oil.
In the world of fossil fuel exploration, sweetheart deals like this come around maybe once in a career...
A giant, world-acclaimed outfit doing all the work so that their tiny partner can rake in unheard-of profits.
To figure out exactly what kinds of returns you can expect, the math is pretty simple:
If the USGS is anywhere near correct, and this region contains 71 billion barrels...
Then my company's holdings would contain in the neighborhood of 19 billion of those barrels.
At an average royalty rate of 50% on that resource, at today's prices, my company will stand to profit close to $923 billion of this project — almost 3,000 times their current market cap!
But let's do away with any optimism and see what kind of numbers we're dealing with if things don't turn out quite so well:
Let's say the USGS is way off on their figures based on preliminary drill test results. They overestimated the total deposit by a factor of five. Let's also assume that it will take 30 years for Tullow to produce and refine the resource...
Even with 50% royalties, those unrealistically low figures still translate into annual gains equivalent to 20.4 times my company's current total value — or profits of 2,040% each and every year for the next three decades.
Sounds incredible, right?
Well, it's not.
You see, at the heart of this deal isn't just the land or the incredible partnership with Tullow...
It's the management dream team that I've been talking about from the start.
As I already mentioned to you, they've pulled off record-breaking successes before.
Here's a list of those 7 projects, along with the returns the generated:
Out of seven companies, The Lundin Group is averaging returns in excess of 10,600% over a nine-year period!
That amounts to annual gains of 1,180% — and it doesn't even account for the shorter hold periods of the three massively-profitable buyouts that this team worked out between 2006 and 2010...
The absolute worst performer of the bunch brought a 1,600% return, while the best made investors $1,173 for every dollar invested!
Just imagine... a mere $852 investment in 2002 would be worth $1 million today!
Again, this is not a typo.
The management group behind my latest oil exploration pick has made a world-renown name out of turning small startups into multi-billion-dollar monsters. They were literally the only guys in the business who could have put a property package of this size and value under such a small and efficient corporate umbrella.
So now you know why the $10,000 investment to get into the meeting where I learned this all — before the start of production — was a bargain.
Once production begins — and this news hits the covers of the Wall Street Journal and this company's CEO starts getting interviewed by Forbes and Fortune Magazine — the information won't be worth a dime.
It's the definition of an explosive opportunity."
End of culled portion of newsletter by Crisis and Opportunity's Christian DeHaemer.
Why, dear reader, can't those who run our country and the GNPC and GNGC, pull off such revenue-sharing deals too, I ask? One hopes that going forward into the future, we will come to hear of such deals in Ghana's favour, when our leaders negotiate oil agreements with the likes of Tullow Oil. 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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