Ghanaian Voters: Think Before You Cast Your Vote!

"Read the small print" was advice one often heard  growing up. Made in reference to the insurance industry, it was used to illustrate the importance of being cautious in life.

The small print in an insurance policy  often contains the get-out  clauses  enabling  the insurance company not to honour an obligation -  rendering the policy more or less worthless: at precisely the moment when    needed most by the policy-holder.

Ghanaians, a peace-loving people with incredibly short memories, would be wise to decipher  their nation's  political parties' campaign-narratives' equivalent of the insurance industry's small print, in the  speeches they hear at rallies as well as on radio and television.

One of the most visible of the smaller parties, Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom's Progressive Peoples Party (PPP), for example,  deserves some praise for giving time-lines for the fulfilment  of the promises it makes - often giving the first  term of its tenure as a time-frame. It is always clear and unambiguous in that regard.

The presidential candidate and chairperson  of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) also chose to be responsible politicians, when they stated  on separate occasions that the transformation of the  Ghanaian economy  will  take a minimum of ten years.

Naturally, there are the cynics amongst us, who will urge  the discerning and independent-minded voter  to sit up and be on the alert - as  that NPP statement amounts to the issuing  of  what is  the political equivalent of an insurance company's get-out clause.

They believe it will be referred to whenever  the NPP fails to deliver any of its many promises at the end of its tenure -  should it return to power again after the December presidential election.

Be that as it may, I do think that both Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo and Jake Obestebi-Lamptey,  deserve to be congratulated, for being so candid about the time-frame needed to transform our country's economy - to the extent that living standards for the generality of the Ghanaian people would have improved dramatically, compared to what they are today.

The question then arises, dear reader, why,  if it will take a minimum of ten years to transform Ghana's national economy,   for it to positively impact the quality of life of all Ghanaians,  significantly, should Ghanaians vote against a party in power  that already has a head-start in that minimum ten-year journey to prosperity?

And therein lies the seeds for President John Mahama's possible triumph in the December presidential polls - if he,  as well as  his hard-of-hearing regime members and  their tone-deaf party,  do what is right for the Ghana of today: instead of  what will directly  benefit the cynics lurking around him,  who President Mills' ill-health and meek nature  allowed to destroy poor humble Mills'   legacy,  with their prevarication and  unfathomable greed.

Against the backdrop of judgement-debt payment-order scandals for example, there is no way President Mahama can win the presidential election, if he and those in his regime (and their spouses) fail to publicly publish their assets. That will put clear blue water between their party and its biggest rival, the NPP.

If that is also accompanied with a return to the cabinet by Martin Amidu as Attorney General, Ghanaians will understand clearly that indeed the regime of President Mahama will eventually retrieve all  judgement-debt payment orders fraudulently obtained.

That gesture must then be followed by  the Economic and Organised  Crime Office (EOCO) asking Interpol to put out international arrest  warrants for Waterville's Tarricone's apprehension in Italy and   CP's Ploetner's arrest in Germany.

When apprehended,  they must both be returned   to Ghana, to face prosecution for allegedly defrauding the Ghanaian nation-state.

There are many independent-minded Ghanaians, who will also say that  a  political party that has laid the foundation for an entrepreneurial culture to spread amongst the underclass of unemployable younger generation Ghanaians  (many with little or no formal education), deserves to be returned to power to continue that noble task.

They will point to the fact that quietly and without much fanfare,  through the grassroots-level  Local Enterprise and  Skills Development Programme (LESDEP) initiative, President Mahama's National Democratic Congress (NDC) regime is in the process of creating a more egalitarian society in Ghana -  as opposed to the elite-dominated  dog-eat-dog society  created by President Kufuor's NPP regime, which  empowered  a powerful and well-connected few, with greedy ambitions,  to exploit our national economy for themselves and their surrogates:  during the sunny days of the golden age of business for Kufuor & Co.

Clearly,  as a democratic  society,  it is urgent that something is done about the large underclass of unemployable Ghanaians churned out annually by Ghana's atrocious educational system.

If nothing is done about it,   what constitutes a societal time-bomb -  the huge disparities in wealth between the fortunate middle classes and the marginalised underclass - will eventually  explode: with dire consequences for every strata of Ghanaian society.

That is why in casting our votes, we must not be oblivious of  the fact that the nature of the society the policies of  political parties have created in the past in Ghana, resulted mostly from the uncritical "My-party-my-tribe-right-or-wrong"  attitude most Ghanaians have adopted in their relationship with political parties.

Corruption is undoubtedly Ghana's number one problem. It is robbing the younger generation of  its future - as billions of taxpayers' cash is siphoned into private pockets. Its eradication must be high on the list of issues influencing how Ghanaians  vote in the December polls.

Ordinary people in Ghana must understand that they will continue to suffer if high-level corruption persists. How a political party deals with that issue ought to be an important consideration in how Ghanaians decide to vote.

And above all, ordinary Ghanaians must understand clearly that following a political party blindly,  and voting for it without thinking of the consequences of it gaining power, can result in a life akin to hell on earth for the average voter, during the entirety of its tenure.

It is for that reason that on polling day, December 7th,  2012,   Ghanaian voters  must think  before casting their  vote!  A word to the wise...

When Will The Ghanaian Nation-state Start Dealing Seriously With The Armed-robbery Menace?

One is so grateful that when he was robbed at gunpoint a few days ago, the Hon. Kan Dapaah was not harmed by the cheeky and cowardly individuals,  who carried out that despicable crime.


As it happens, dear reader, the Hon. Kan Dapaah is one of the few politicians in Ghana - from across the spectrum - that I actually   respect. And I am really glad that Providence spared him from being harmed  during that  robbery.


The trauma that the Hon. Kan Dapaah no doubt experienced,  during the armed robbery   in his Dansoman residence, is  sadly  one that many families in Ghana have already experienced.


And it highlights a growing problem, that as a people we must force our ruling elites to deal with. The authorities need to put measures in place to deal effectively with that societal menace.


If nothing drastic is done about it, with armed robberies now taking place even on our nation's highways,  it will soon  get out of hand - and begin to affect our nation's international reputation as  a haven  of peace and stability in sub-Saharan Africa.


And what serious investor would want to invest in a nation that cannot ensure the  personal security of its citizens, and that of other nationals who reside  in it, I ask, dear reader?


Surely, the authorities   must not wait for  a string of violent and daring armed robberies, which  target the families of "big people" (both Ghanaian  and foreign)  to take place,  before draconian measures are  taken to halt this collective nightmare?


One can understand the humanitarian concerns of those who are against the death sentence. However, if Ghana has now ended up becoming the mecca of the West African sub-region's criminals, then,   surely,   the  time has  now come  for Parliament to pass a law that makes armed robbery a crime punishable by a mandatory death sentence (and the carrying out of same,  strictly time-bound,  to be an effective deterrent)?


Those who carry out armed robberies do so largely because they know that the worst that can happen to them,  when apprehended,  is a stint in  prison - from whence  their  criminal associates on the outside  can eventually buy their freedom.


Perhaps the question we must pose to those who rule us,  is: When exactly will the Ghanaian nation-state start  dealing  seriously with the armed-robbery menace society now faces?


Tel: 027 745 3109.


Email: peakofi.thompson@gmail.com.

Kwame Nkrumah Is In The Pantheon of 20th Century Greats - Because He Was On The Right Side Of History

The late President Mills will always be remembered for making 21st September -   the birthday of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah -  Founder's Day in Ghana.


No politician in the Ghana of today,   worth his or her salt,   ought either to encourage  or  countenance   the  intellectually dishonest attempt,  to make it appear that Nkrumah's conservative opponents,   during  the struggle to free our nation from its  occupation by British colonialists,   were somehow his equal.


Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah towered above all of them and deserves his place in the Pantheon of 20th century greats.


Unlike his conservative opponents -  such as Dr. J. B. Danquah who sought narrow elite class interest -  Nkrumah always sought what was in the overall interest of his nation and all its people - and above all fought  hard to build a modern and  egalitarian African society:  in which there was equality of opportunity for all.


It is unfortunate  that so many of those engaged in the shabby attempt to denigrate Nkrumah,  and turn Danquah the quisling  into a hero, lack the intellectual depth to understand that the verdict of history   cannot be secured  by endless spin;  cynical  propaganda;  revisionist sophistry and  pure fantasy.


No amount of dissimulation by today's progeny of yesteryear's colonial-era tribal-supremacist and elitist politicians, can belittle Nkrumah's achievements.


And neither will they succeed in  turning  Danquah - who incidentally despised ordinary people: and was tribalistic on top of all that  - into a nationalist hero and icon of  20th century Africa.


Nationalist heroes do not collaborate with foreign powers that seek to subjugate Africa and its peoples.

And for good measure,  dear reader, let those who say Nkrumah was a dictator  also tell us what exactly  President Kufuor,  for example,   would have done,   had there been as many assassination attempts on him as there were on Nkrumah,  during his tenure.


Let them also ponder why  since September 11th  2001,   the established democracies of the West,  such as the U.S.A., the U.K. and Australia,  have all passed laws to deal with acts of terrorism and terrorist suspects, which  are even more draconian than Nkrumah's Preventive Detention Act (PDA) ever was.


No amount of PR mendacity  today,  will make heroes of those clever  and tribalistic self-seekers,  who opposed Nkrumah during the struggle for Ghana's  independence.


The plain truth, dear reader,  is that many of them only  sought to replace the British colonialists - then subjugating  our people -   with what effectively would have been a system, which  was in effect a   plutocracy in which they,  a privileged elite, would    hold permanent sway.


They most certainly were not Nkrumah's equals. In the dark recesses of their minds,  imperialism and neocolonialism  had  conditioned  them to believe the big lie that Africans were somehow inferior to white people.


It is instructive that they chose to  work hand in glove with the British colonialists who had occupied our country - and that they felt it somehow   made them a class apart:  superior beings born to lord it over the ordinary people of the Gold Coast,   whom they held in utter contempt.


Nkrumah   on the other hand was steadfast in standing  with the ordinary people of the Gold Coast against the British occupiers of their country.


And it was not for nothing that Nkrumah's  conservative opponents worked incredibly  hard to accommodate   the colonial regime -  whiles Nkrumah fought  them with mass boycotts and nationwide strikes, for example.


The pay-off for the collaboration of Nkrumah's conservative opponents  with the British colonialists,   was  a deal that would have enabled them replace the departing British  colonialists as our rulers upon Ghana  gaining its independence.


The quid pro quo for the  UK, was that in return for the Gold Coast's conservative politicians  being handed the Gold Coast to rule till the very end of time after it became independent,  they would    continue keeping  our nation in Britain's   sphere of influence permanently.


And best of all, British commercial  entities  would continue to have  unfettered access to our natural resources, and monopolise  our local markets for their nation's  manufactured goods.


In spite of the unrelenting propaganda to foist Danquah on Ghanaians as a national hero,  Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah  will continue being an icon for the black race till the very end of time.


It is his reward for being on the right side of history - all the time  voicing,  in articulate fashion,  the aspirations of  ordinary people during the struggle to  free the Gold Coast,  and the rest of  black Africa,  from colonial  rule.


Osagyefo Dr. Kwame  Nkrumah's equal has not yet been born - and he will forever remain  a hero to the entire black race.


Put simply, dear reader, Kwame Nkrumah is in the Pantheon of 20th century greats - because he was on the right side of history.


Tel: 027 745 3109.


Email: peakofi.thompson@gmail.com

Ghanaian Politicians: Protect What Is Left Of Ghana's Natural Heritage

It is instructive that Ghana's political parties and its educated urban elites seldom talk about the two most pressing problems that our nation must grapple with and resolve if it is to have a long-term future.


One is yet to hear, dear reader,   any of the members of the so-called communications teams of political parties, outlining party policy designed to combat the impact on Ghana's agricultural sector of global climate change - and to halt  the destruction of what is left of our nation's  natural heritage.


Yet, across our nation,  we are witnessing an unprecedented drop in crop yields resulting from global climate change, as well as  the poisoning of  soils and the  water-table, on an almost  apocalyptic scale.


And it is  being done  with impunity by selfish and lawless elements engaged in illegal activities,  such as  surface gold mining without official permits.


If not halted, those  destructive activities  will make it virtually impossible  to put    vast swathes of once-fertile land in the  Ghanaian countryside    to any productive use for decades to come -  in what is still a nation with a largely agrarian rural economy.


Then there is also the unspeakable crime being committed against future generations, by those engaged in illegal logging -  both illegal chainsaw operators and legally registered timber firms abusing their permits by over-harvesting.


The tragedy, is that  those forests could be the basis for low-carbon growth that powers a new flourishing green economy for the forest belt. And green growth does indeed hold, dear reader.


Our forests could actually earn Ghana billions of new Ghana cedis in low-carbon development deals with Scandinavian nations such as Norway. Could we not create wealth for much of rural Ghana that way, I ask?


Perhaps the new generation of politicians with a knowledge of economics, such as Dr. Bawumiah,   can educate themselves  on the subject,  and make their  parties aware of the incalculable value of the   vital ecosystem services provided by the remainder of our nation's forests.


Hopefully,  that will end in a  solemn promise by their  parties  to Ghanaians,  that if their parties' candidates   for the December presidential election were to emerge victorious in the December presidential election, they  will take swift action to  protect the remainder of those all-important  forests.


(Incidentally, a wag I know says that Dr. Bawumiah, whose party says he's the last word in economics,  "appears to have  neither  the nous nor gumption,     in a nation of   high interest rates that are    crippling  Ghana businesses,   to recommend replacing expensive bank loans with local and foreign private equity financing,  for Ghana's private sector to fund  vital projects and expansion plans."


"Not too surprising" says the  wag further  -  "as he is credited with our daft foray into the piranha-infested capital markets of Europe, which  raised  US$750 millions in a sovereign bond issue with impossible coupon rates that was then subsequently  misapplied by the selfsame party whose presidential candidate he is now partnering." But I digress - so back to topic,  dear reader.)


To ensure a good quality of life for our people today and tomorrow, what is left of our nation's natural heritage, particularly the unique Atewa Range upland evergreen rain forest - an area designated a Globally Significant Biodiversity Area (GSBA)  and choking with yet-to-be-discovered medicinal plants worth billions of dollars and potentially without compare in Ghana as a world-class eco-tourism destination -  needs to be protected from the greedy and wealthy criminal syndicates,  as well as the  rich and well-connected crooks   plundering them with the connivance of part of officialdom. A word to the wise...


Tel: 027 745 3109.


Email: peakofi.thompson@gmail.com

To Protect The Public Purse Ghanaian Politicians Standing In Presidential & Parliamentary Elections & Their Spouses Must Publicly Publish Their Assets

The unfortunate example of President Mills - an honest and decent gentleman held hostage in the Osu Castle by ruthless and amoral self-seekers -   is proof positive that as long as we have an opaque and byzantine  system,  no matter how honest the President of the Republic of Ghana is  personally, high-level corruption will persist and  continue to rob our nation of its future.


And if that opaque system remains in place, high-level  corruption will continue to impoverish the most vulnerable of our people too,     as sure as day follows night -  regardless of who happens to be in power at any given point in time in our history.


Who would have thought, dear reader,  that with a man of integrity such as President Mills at the helm,  and an honest and principled gentleman in the person of Dr. Kwabena Duffuor,  as his minister of finance and economic planning, we would still end up with an administration embroiled in judgement-debt payment-order scandals galore -  such as  Woyomegate and  that of Construction Pioneers?


And as it is commonly  acknowledged,  the processes leading to those payments  were mostly facilitated by some of the Mills regime's "greedy bastards" - to quote former President Rawlings,  the NDC's founder's pithy  description of the regime-crooks surrounding the late President Mills.


Although no mortal being is perfect,  for the sake of argument, let us  assume that all the December 2012 presidential candidates are as honest as it is humanly possible to be.


Let us also  assume, dear reader,  that we can depend on the one  amongst them who emerges victorious in  the December presidential election,    not  to end  up doing  secret deals  with corrupt foreign oil company executives to the detriment of our nation, when he  becomes  Ghana's president.


Will that   mean in practice, dear reader,  that  what  once occurred during the tenure of a previous Ghanaian president, will not recur  during the tenure of the next president - and  we can all therefore rest assured that no   private Ghanaian citizens, unable to  pay even a pesewa upfront,  will ever be in a  position   to end up owning   part of Ghana's patrimony - stakes in oil blocks in our  offshore oilfields -    that will indeed dwarf the totality of  the value of judgment-debt payment orders paid thus far:   as sweat equity?


Alas, the fact of the matter, sadly, is that whiles we can rely on each of  the presidential candidates  to continue being honest individually,   whichever of them wins the presidential election,   we cannot however be so   sure that sundry lobbyists and self-seeking business tycoons   will not quickly end up corrupting  those officials around that next president of Ghana - as they seek direct access to him through them.


Whichever political party's candidate  wins the presidential elections in December, with     temptation dangled in front of their noses daily, those surrounding that  next president of Ghana may very well  eventually come to see their positions as  wealth-creation avenues  par excellence -  enabling  them  transform themselves  into high net worth individuals by stealth.


Perhaps it is then, dear reader,  that the   business of laundering   the contents of the big   brown envelopes  regularly received by such officials from lobbyists and sundry tycoons -   through   the agency of the clever  men and women who specialise in fronting for  presidential aides and appointees,  using  special purpose offshore entities - will become  a fine art for them: completely destroying  any sense of  idealism that might have inspired  them to enter politics, in the first place.


It is the same phenomenon that was  responsible for  Woyomegate -   that egregious  example of high-level corruption  at the very heart of  the National Democratic Congress administration of the late President Mills.


It is also the selfsame reason why  we were once confronted with that  extraordinary example of  white collar crime never once seen before in the annals of Ghana's history -    the purported sale of  the Volta Aluminum Company Limited  (VALCO) to a non-existent company, International Aluminum Partners, which  occurred during the tenure of  the New Patriotic Party regime that was  in power between  January 2001 and  January 2009.


They it was,  dear reader, who were tasked by the powers that be at the time, to inveigle VALE and Norske Hydro into agreeing to a joint-venture  partnership deal -  specifically  designed to enable the powerful and greedy rogues in that regime to get away with asset-stripping  VALCO with perfect legal covering.


The audacity of their fraud only came to light,   when both companies strenuously denied ever agreeing to purchase  VALCO,  and vehemently denied forming a joint-venture partnership known as International Aluminium Partners (IAP) for the purpose.


Incidentally, that outrageous and gargantuan fraud, the sale and purchase agreement for VALCO,   was actually railroaded through Parliament  on the say-so of the well-connected crooks at the time,  who did business deals for the top people of that era,  and  basked in glorious  sunshine during the  halcyon  days of  the golden age of business for Kufuor & Co.


Alas, today,  in a nation whose people are famous for their short memories, and  in which many ordinary people constantly delude themselves into thinking that their living standards will improve dramatically overnight,  were they to  turf out a serving regime and vote a new party into office,  the party  those greedy and canny  hypocrites of the past belong to,  the New Patriotic Party, is actually on the cusp of returning to power again. Amazing.


One wonders what the vociferous and self-righteous Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, now the Minority Leader in Parliament -  and at the time the Majority Leader in Parliament -   has to say in his defence today for masterminding the passage in Parliament of that fraudulent document. Hmm, Ghana - eyeasem o.


Clearly, what that will result in,  is that they will never  be prosecuted for that gigantic fraud against Mother Ghana that that sale and purchase agreement for the divestiture of VALCO represents. Pity.


The truth of the matter, dear reader, is that the fight against high-level corruption in Ghana will never make any  headway, if we continue to elect candidates for the presidency and parliament - without first  making it a legal requirement  that they   publicly publish the assets of both themselves and their spouses,  well before polling day,  and immediately after exiting from office.


We must also ensure  that all those they subsequently appoint to positions in the public sector,  when they win power, do same too before assuming office - and immediately after exiting office.


(Then there is of course  the  murky world of financing the activities  of political parties and the politicians who make up the inner core of their membership, to deal with. But that is  a whole article in itself, dear reader  - and  a  digression in this instance. So back to topic.)


For the sake of Mother Ghana, and to protect the public purse,  politicians standing in presidential and   parliamentary elections in Ghana - and their spouses -  must be legally required to publicly publish their assets. A word to the wise...


Tel: 027 745 3109.


Email: peakofi.thompson@gmail.com

Those Who Rule Ghana Must Not Continue To Take Its Citizens For Granted

A few days ago,   I visited an LP gas selling point just before the bridge across the Densu River, as one heads towards Panbros. I simply  couldn't resist  the urge  to  observe and interact  with some of those waiting to be served there.


With their  LP gas cylinders in a queue of cylinders all waiting to be filled up, what struck me most, was the patience of their owners - and their stoical acceptance of the situation.


Lucky to find a supply point that still had LP gas available for sale,  they    waited patiently for their  cylinders to be filled up - just like the drivers queuing in their  taxis and mini pick-ups:  all awaiting  their turn to be served.


With  a people full of such forbearance to rule,  it is no wonder that despite their inability to make our nation prosperous for all its citizens,   over the decades since President Nkrumah's overthrow,   successive batches of Ghana's  ruling elites have been tolerated by  ordinary Ghanaians,  for so long.


In many an African nation-state, such as Nigeria, for example, the frequent power outages we are now experiencing, in tandem with the nationwide  shortage of LP gas -  though both emergency situations are not the actual fault of the regime  now in power in Ghana,  one admits -  might probably trigger riots.


That is why those who lead our nation - at any given point in time - must ensure that the public are always kept appraised of the facts, when emergency situations conspire to make life unbearable for the  ordinary people of Ghana.


Take the current power crisis for example, dear reader. How many Ghanaians are aware that damage caused by a dropped ship anchor,  halted the flow of gas from Nigeria  through the  West African gas pipeline -  on which most of Ghana's thermal power plants depend on to produce electricity?


Our leaders must always ensure that such situations are explained clearly and promptly to the citizenry. Yes, Ghanaians are indeed a patient lot -  but those who rule them must not continue to take them for granted. There is only so much people in any given society  can tolerate.


Was that not  the selfsame  mistake the Zine El Abidine Ben Alis, Hosni Mubaraks and Muammar  Gaddafis of a bygone age in North Africa made, I ask, dear reader?  A word to the wise...


Tel: 027 745 3109.


Email: peakofi.thompson@gmail.com

Why Not End The Creation of More Parliamentary Constituencies Altogether?

Under  present laws, the fact that it is incumbent on the Electoral Commission (EC) to create  needed  new constituencies,  once new Districts come into being,  is not disputed by any of our nation's political parties.


Yet,  somehow,  the decision by the EC to create 45 new constituencies following the creation of new Districts,  has  wrought  really strong emotions across Ghana. That EC decision,  results from  the legal requirement that constituency borders should not lie outside those of Districts whose jurisdiction they fall under.


The question is: Should we not do some lateral thinking,  in trying to diffuse the tension resulting from the EC's decision to create those new constituencies - and fashion a more sensible arrangement to ensure that every Ghanaian citizen resident in a District  has a representative in our nation's Parliament?


Why continue piling  on more costs on already overburdened taxpayers -  by adding yet more members of Parliament to the existing 230?


As it is, ordinary Ghanaians  get virtually no  value from the vast sums expended on our ruling elites - who deliver precious little  in return for  their endless perks and huge retirement packages.


Perhaps as a nation,  we ought to  seize the opportunity this storm-in-a-tea-cup of a  mini-crisis  presents us, to come to a national consensus  that a cap should be put on the number of Parliamentarians the  Republic of  Ghana has.


Why  not simply withdraw electoral boundaries inside constituencies as and when needed -  if warranted by either the creation of a new district, or occasioned by  population density changes,  in each constituency,  after the results of a national population census are released and published?


An excessive number of Parliamentarians will only end up costing hapless taxpayers yet more money - an intolerable and unfair burden to pile on hard-working individuals in an overtaxed society.


Rather than the endless confrontation  and questioning the motives of the EC, members of  our political class and the media must rather  focus on  bringing about a change in the law that will bring an end to the creation of more parliamentary constituencies altogether.


Perhaps if we focused on that, we will then come to realise just how pointless not setting a cap on the number of Parliamentarians Ghana has, actually is.


Put simply, dear reader, the time has come  for us  to  consider ending  the creation of more parliamentary constituencies in Ghana, altogether. A word to the wise...


Tel: 027 745 3109.


Email: peakofi.thompson@gmail.com

President Mahama: Sack Yaw Boateng Djan Now!

For independent-minded and patriotic Ghanaians, it is always  sad when cynical individuals amongst our political class,  resort to tactics that  are effectively criminal in nature -  in ruthless pursuit of their party's power-winning strategic objectives.


It will be recalled that a secretly recorded conversation - contained in  a  tape-recording broadcast by Radio Gold FM's "Election Forensics"  programme -  revealed that  as his party fought to retain power during the December 2008 polls, Maxwell Kofi Juma promised some thugs  (who had been apparently recruited to snatch ballot boxes and generally cause mayhem in a number of polling stations around the country)  that he would arrange for them to be freed, if they were arrested whiles impersonating police and military personal,  whose uniforms they wore,   whiles on their abominable and criminal mission on his party's behalf.


Today, in what is a case of déjà vu,  a similar recording has now emerged,  in which the National Democratic Congress' (NDC) national organiser, Yaw Boateng Gyan,  is apparently up to more or less the same tricks employed by Maxwell Kofi Jumah & Co.,  during the height of the battle to remove the New Patriotic Party (NPP) regime of President Kufuor from power,  in December 2008.


Incidentally, at one stage, during the outing of the shameful secret of Maxwell Kofi Jumah & Co.,  it took the clever and politically-savvy Jake Obestebi-Lamptey,  to alert Maxwell Kofi Jumah,  that what he thought was a secret phone  conversation with a member of a group of  "macho men"  recruited by elements in their party, nicknamed Blackie, was indeed being broadcast live on Accra's Radio Gold FM.


When leading politicians resort to such negative activities, which are clearly criminal in nature, they  debase Ghanaian democracy, and make ordinary people  become cynical about politicians.


President Mahama must take immediate steps to have Yaw Boateng Djan  suspended from the NDC, and also ask the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service,   to investigate his perfidious activities,  and  if need be,  charge both Yaw Boateng Djan and Maxwell Kofi Jumah, for their unacceptable and irresponsible conduct.


We must not allow cynical behaviour by such unprincipled individuals amongst our political class to tarnish our nation's image - and dent  the worldwide reputation Ghanaian democracy now has as Africa's  beacon of hope.


Above all, for the sake of Mother Ghana - and as an example of principled   leadership to the  younger generation of Ghanaians -  President Mahama must sack Yaw Boateng Djan from his official position in the presidency now! A word to the wise...


Tel: 027 745 3109.


Email: peakofi.thompson@gmail.com

How To Fund Free Education From Kindergarten To Tertiary Level?

For those of us who for decades have insisted that a poor developing nation with aspirations,  cannot afford not to give free education  from kindergarten to tertiary level to its citizens, it comes as a source of immense satisfaction   that finally Ghanaian politicians are falling over themselves,  to offer free secondary education to the younger generation of Ghanaians.


For families with young offspring, the  education of their wards is a matter of the utmost importance - which is why many parents make enormous sacrifices:  in order  to  give their children a good education.


Indeed, virtually every  ordinary  citizen in Ghana understands clearly, that education is the one sure  route to social mobility -  particularly for poor families that  aspire to join our country's comfortable middle classes.


Sadly, in an nation lumbered with a political class that seldom thinks creatively, it is not surprising that the one source of funding that could free up precious  resources -  currently wasted on a daft policy that is enriching only criminal syndicates, such as those  smuggling  fuel across our borders -  has escaped the politicians who are now resorting to Kweku-Anase-economics,  to prove that they can actually  fund free secondary education: if elected to power in the December presidential  and parliamentary polls.


The question is: Why do all our nation's political parties not simply reach a consensus-decision  that in order to fund free education in our homeland Ghana,  from kindergarten to tertiary level (for those with aptitude to study), they will agree to the removal  of every market-distorting subsidy, which is not benefiting targeted beneficiaries,  but is rather  enriching  wealthy criminal syndicates - and fund education through the resulting savings?


The sister nations that border our country,  pay far more for petroleum products than we do in Ghana, for example - but their national economies have still not yet collapsed. As far as we can tell.


So  what makes those who insist, for example,  on subsidising petroleum products  in Ghana,   think that somehow our national economy would collapse,   were we to  pay  realistic  prices  for  petroleum products?


Will it not rather lead to the efficient use of petroleum products by those who purchase  them - and lead to a switch to fuel-efficient vehicles eventually, I ask, dear reader?


Why does  a nation full of such intelligent Africans,  insist on indirectly subsidising the consumption of fuel by  some of those who live in the nations that border Ghana  -   by  continuing to allow our country to serve  as a source of cheap fuel for their national economies:  through the nation-wrecking activities of petrol  smugglers?


Surely, free-trade capitalist dynamos  like the Hong Kongs of this  world,  have not prospered by resorting to the economic equivalent of burying their heads in sand -  which continuing to maintain   poorly-targeted subsidies,  represent?


As a nation, we are reportedly   forking out as much as some Ghc60 millions every month, to subsidise the consumption of petroleum products. Is that not scandalous and  crazy, dear reader - and an expensive  folly that can only lead to the ruination of the enterprise Ghana?


If politicians want to know how to fund free education from kindergarten to tertiary level, let them confront the madness that  the maintenance of   ineffective  subsidies -   in a democratic nation that wants to have  an efficient  market economy in order to become a prosperous  society -   represents.  A word to the wise...


Tel: 027 745 3109.


Email: peakofi.thompson@gmail.com

President Mahama Must Make Morality Important In Public Life In Ghana - For The Sake Of Ghana's Younger Generation

To drive home the point that  in his humble view President Mahama ought to put morality at the heart of all his administration's actions, for the sake of Ghana's younger generation (and in order  to retain power in the December polls, naturally), by way of illustration,  an old   wag I know made a number of observations about the negative results  of some of the actions of  Ghanaian politicians,  over the years since we gained independence from Great Britain,  in 1957.


He made the observation  that Ghana  has some of the worst oil agreements in the world, simply because the clever politicians  who entered into them on the nation's behalf, struck the best possible deals they could for themselves as private individuals: in order to increase their net worth to stratospheric heights through what he described as special purpose offshore  entities nominally owned by their   "legal fronts-men".


Today our nation receives a fraction of what it should,  from the exploitation of our oil deposits.


And according to him, the same could  also be said of the disposal of  many state-owned  assets,  over the years since the overthrow of President Nkrumah in 1966.


The divestiture of state assets law-defying sale of a 70 percent shareholding in what was cleverly described by those who oversaw it,   as an "enlarged Ghana Telecom" to Vodafone, being a classic example of the short-changing of our nation in such deals.


That same wag also pointed out the example of the saga of Jake Obestebi-Lamptey's purchase of the official ministerial residence allocated to him when he was a cabinet minister in President Kufuor's New Patriotic Party regime.


He said Mr Obestebi-Lamptey  deliberately refused to vacate the said official ministerial residence,  and continued to live in it, despite resigning to fight  an election for the  selection of  a presidential candidate for his party. Alas, subsequent events were to prove that he had a wealth-creation agenda all of his own,  up his voluminous sleeve.


In the old wag's view,  in no other nation in the world, would a politician who had acted in the self-seeking manner  Mr. Jake Obestebi-Lamptey  did, be leading a  campaign for  his party to return to power again in any election.


He did not also  see how a properly constituted court of law in any civilised nation in which truth was sacrosanct,  and morality important in public life, could ignore the larger interests  of society in general,  and find in favour of  a politician taken to court for the abuse of power by his ruling party's regime, which   had enabled  him purchase an official  ministerial residence -   a property incidentally never advertised to enable the state get maximum value from its sale and for other Ghanaian citizens to avail themselves of the opportunity to bid to  purchase same too.


It was disappointing, the old wag said, that despite all the above, the said law court firmly closed its eyes to what was a shabby tale of unfathomable  greed,  blatant abuse of office by his party colleagues -  and the manipulation-of-power-for-self at the people's expense: which  his action and those of his colleagues in government  actually represented.


The old wag said he did not for a moment  imagine judges in the UK - where morality in public life still counts  for something, for example - ignoring the glaring need for those with the  power to do so (the judiciary,  that is),   failing to  act to  safeguard and preserve their  nation's  stock  of official ministerial residences, by not denying political office holders and leading politicians  the opportunity to use their party's being in power  to acquire such government properties for themselves - using  a bad law deliberately passed for  selfish reasons by a powerful and greedy few:  as personal-body-armour to protect themselves from the people's wrath.


In the light of all the above, he was sure that no judge in the UK would have found in favour of Jake Obestebi-Lamptey in a  judgement,  under any  circumstances if that matter  appeared before any of them.


Not when it was clear to all but the deliberately blind that Mr. Obestebi-Lamptey   obviously decided to seize  the  opportunity that his  party being in power presented him, to  purchase (grab would probably be the most appropriate word,  said the old wag) his official ministerial residence - going forward -  whiles still in office as a cabinet minister: for which reason he had consequently insisted that the renovation of that selfsame property, carried out at great expense to the taxpayer, be redone again to suit his exact and demanding  tastes.


And to add insult  to injury, said the old wag, had retorted, when condemned for being amoral and avaricious,    for so doing - when his party had finally been  voted out of power and he had gone on to win the  legal  case filed against him by two of his political opponents who subsequently themselves became deputy ministers in the  successor-regime to Mr. Obestebi-Lamptey's defeated ruling party -  that morality did not come into it. Incredible.


(No wonder we are where we are today, dear reader  - a nation full of fence-sitting hypocrites and super-religious moral cowards,  afraid to speak out against society's ills. But I digress.)


Yet, in the old wag's view, morality had everything to do with the matter, particularly when the only reason that  he was able to continue staying in the said property,  after resigning from office as a cabinet minister - the position which entitled him to stay in the said property - to campaign to be selected as his party's candidate for the 2008 presidential election, was just   because he was  so powerful and influential in the ruling party that empowered him to continue living in what he once described as a Ghanaian equivalent of a  UK grace-and-favour crown property (homes in the crown's property portfolio usually given out mostly to retired royal retainers and  senior public servants).


There are those who say that it says a great deal about the ethos of greed  that underpinned  most of  the actions of the top tier of his party's leadership,   when it was in power from January 2001 to January 2009 ,   that despite the widespread public disapproval of politicians selling state properties cheaply to themselves,  Jake Obestebi-Lamptey is still clearly  indispensable to his party, and such an important voice in the scheme of things in its bid to  return to power again.


Since all regimes (including the one led by President Mills that came to power in January 2009) that have ruled our nation  since we gained our independence have included  members who were guilty of such abuse of power for self-enrichment,  President Mahama would be wise, in the old wag's view, to make morality in public life -  in as far as it concerns the protection of the public purse and national assets - the heart of all his administration's actions.


He can make a fresh start for  Ghanaian politics and the good people of Ghana, by setting a precedent to  help establish the convention of political office holders in Ghana   publicly publishing their assets immediately before and after their tenure, by publicly publishing    the assets of both himself and those of his wife,  and asking  all those who wish to continue to serve in his administration (and their spouses),  to do same too.


And if he were to top that by appointing  Martin Amidu to the position of Attorney General again, to deal ruthlessly with those in their regime whose greed led to the judgment-debt payment order scandals, he would be  putting  clear blue water between his party and the party that Jake Obestebi-Lamptey's undoubted genius might in all probability help bring back to power again,  if he fails to do so. Since time is not on his side, he must act swiftly.


Above all, he must bring an end to  the destructive, divisive  and pervasive  influence  of the  "greedy bastards" (to quote his party's founder former President Rawlings)  who wielded such power when the terminally ill  President Mills was alive -  and being held hostage by those selfsame individuals -  in the Osu Castle.


It is true that no mortal being is without blemish. But in a nation in which poverty is endemic, politicians ought to  be as  honest as it is humanly possible to be, in matters to do with the protection of the public purse and their stewardship of the resources of our nation.


For the sake of Ghana's younger generation, perhaps President Mahama could set us on a course towards real change, and   make a fresh start for our nation, by  putting  morality at the heart of his administration. A word to the wise...


Tel: 027 745 3109.


Email: peakofi.thompson@gmail.com

Long May We Remain A United & Free People - Living In A Peaceful & Stable African Democracy

Within the  midst of the Ghanaian polity, are  a few unfortunate souls who are  so damaged psychologically,   that they lack the humanity to see beyond stereotypes. They are our nation's tiny minority of tribal-supremacist individuals.


Such is the severity of their unfortunate condition,  that they are  unable  to acknowledge,  and have compassion,  for some of those they   travel on the journey called life with -  whom  they somehow perceive to be different beings:  people  they  would rather were  set apart from society's mainstream.


Not being able to understand the universal nature  of the human condition,  they are sadly unable to acknowledge the individuality and uniqueness,  of the very real human beings they feel compelled to despise  on account of their ethnic origins.


And all  that because an accident of history  placed those  fellow citizens they so despise,   at birth,   in a part of our homeland Ghana,  different from where the aforementioned psychologically damaged personalities  hail from. Pity.


Let all those in that tiny minority of tribalistic individuals,  who still don't get it, and are trapped mentally in the past   glories of parts of our pre-colonial history,  understand this basic truth about our country, once and for all: thanks to the foresight and egalitarian outlook  of those who founded  our modern  nation-state, it   became a melting-pot of many  ancient African cultures -   and the crucible out of which the distinct character of our peace-loving  society  was forged.


It is as a result of  that initial  good fortune  that the vast majority of ordinary Ghanaians, no matter which part of our nation they hail from,  willingly acknowledge and accept the individuality of their neighbours,  and the  right of those neighbours not to be discriminated against,    on the basis of the antecedents of their Ghanaian citizenship.


Ordinary Ghanaians from  the ethnic groups in all the ten regions of our country,  demonstrate that acceptance,   by co-existing peacefully on a day to day basis, all over our homeland Ghana,  with their fellow citizens.


The message from those who  love Mother Ghana passionately,   to those pitiable and cowardly souls -   who would never dare speak rudely to others if they met  them face to face in the real world -  who go online incognito,  to websites such as  www.ghanaweb.com,  to heap insults on  those they unjustly despise on account of their ethnic origins, is simple.


They must  understand  that the status of our nation as a unitary Republic of diverse-ethnicity is non-negotiable,   as far as patriotic and nationalistic Ghanaians are concerned.


That is why patriotic and nationalistic Ghanaians   never  hesitate to  condemn  powerful and influential tribal-supremacist  individuals in the midst of Ghanaian  society - in whichever strata of society and wherever in our homeland Ghana they are to be found.


It is important to note, however, that no true Ghanaian patriot and nationalist  will ever extend that condemnation to  whole tribes - for that is something that  only the sick-in-mind  and the ignorant do.


(Incidentally,  let those who go online to places like www.ghanaweb.com,  and for political propaganda reasons,  insult and  deliberately accuse Ghanaian nationalists and patriots falsely,  of rather being tribal-supremacists themselves, understand one thing clearly.


Surprising though it might be to them, luckily for Mother Ghana, not many  of  the ordinary citizens  of our nation have  the mentality of serfs written into  their DNA.


That is why the vast majority of ordinary Ghanaians reject the absurd and antediluvian notion that somehow the powerful and influential in what is a constitutional democracy cannot be openly criticised.


It is not sacrilegious,  in the Republic of Ghana,  to openly  criticise  powerful and influential individuals in society - more so  when they happen to harbour  nation-wrecking tribal-supremacist views.


And  when those online cowards   accuse some of us of being 'envious' because we condemn their senseless tribalism, does it ever occur to them that perhaps  we lack nothing in our individual lives,  and perchance are blessed with abundance? What perfidy.


And what nerve and insolence to say the self-assured who elect to  speak out boldly against the powerful, somehow   suffer from an inferiority complex. What impudence.


Let them spend five minutes in the  company of some of us, and see just what  sort  of stuff  we are made of. But I digress - so back to topic, dear reader.)


Luckily for our nation, tribal-supremacist individuals - who exist in every ethnic group in Ghana, it must be noted -  are but a tiny minority in all Ghana's  ethnic groupings:  which is why   Ghana will always remain united.


Regardless of what the powerful and influential tribal-supremacist individuals in our midst - and their online lackeys and hirelings -  think or say, it   is  a matter of fact  that in their everyday lives, the vast majority of  ordinary Ghanaians see the  cultural and ethnic diversity of Ghanaian society  as a source of strength for our nation.


That is why Ghana will always be  one and indivisible.  And long may  we  remain a free and united people -  living in a peaceful and  stable African democracy.


Tel: 027 745 3109.


Email: peakofi.thompson@gmail.com

Do Endless Possibilities Not Exist For Ghana's Private Sector To Boom - Through Lateral thinking?

It is safe to say that the importance of the private sector,  in the creation of desperately needed jobs for Ghana's teeming unemployed, is not lost on any of the political parties in the Ghana of today.


Clearly, for the Ghanaian private sector to grow in a sustainable manner, it must have access to relatively inexpensive  long-term capital. Surely,  the time has come for some lateral thinking on the part of our ruling elites to make that a reality?


Why not take advantage of the doldrums much of the financial services sectors  in Europe and north America  are  in  presently - and create a conducive environment here for their services?


Made aware of the many opportunities existing here for European and American private equity firms willing to venture here,  even the presence here of a handful of pioneering entrepreneurs from within their ranks,  could make a huge difference to the fortunes of Ghanaian entrepreneurs.


Such awareness ought to be  created somehow. And I am aware that a few  media professionals (my humble self being one), keen to help create an entrepreneurial culture amongst young Ghanaians,   are doing what they can in that  direction.

Through the use of tax incentives, the Ghana government  could  encourage overseas private equity firms to fund projects by  Ghanaian entrepreneurs.


If their  revenues were made tax-free for say twenty-five years,  working with overseas  private equity firms, for example,  Ghanaian entrepreneurs could undertake infrastructure projects such as building thermal power plants to utilise  Ghana's natural gas deposits,  and   the Accra-Paga railway line,   on  a build operate and transfer basis.


And if the Ghana government could lobby all the member-nations of the African Union (AU)  to agree to the declaration of    the continent as one open-sky for African airlines,  that could be of some help to Ghana's private sector.


If that were  done, would it not be  feasible and possible for a Ghanaian entrepreneur,  to  set  up a pan-African airline using the low-cost carrier business model, to provide safe flights within Africa and from Africa to Europe and north America, for example?


And given the necessary tax incentives,  would it not be possible for a Ghanaian entrepreneur to build a bridge across the. Volta River by leveraging private equity financing  from Europe or America?


With respect (and said very humbly, dear reader), some of us are able and willing to introduce them to overseas entrepreneurs who are experienced African  private-sector hands,   with impressive  track records   and access to private equity firms in the US and Europe.

Endless possibilities do actually exist for Ghana's private sector to boom - through the application of  lateral thinking by our nation's political  and business elites. Having been thus  prompted, one hopes  they will  put their thinking caps  on,  for Mother Ghana's sake. A word to the wise...


Tel: 027 745 3109.


Email: peakofi.thompson@gmail.com

Kofi Thompson Is Not An Anti-Asante Tribal-supremacist - And It Is Too Ridiculous For Words To Say So!

 Why do some highly-intelligent Ghanaians read articles on www.ghanaweb.com,  and then write unjustifiable comments that have no bearing whatsoever,  on  what they have just  read?


A simple patriotic article,  entitled ''Tribal-supremacist Politicians:  Ghana Will Remain United & Always Will!",   condemning tribal-supremacist politicians (from across the spectrum, incidentally),  seeking to divide ordinary Ghanaians - of Dagomba; Ga Dangbe, Asante; Guan; Ewe; Fanti; Akyem; etc, etc;  descent,   was  suddenly transformed,  in the minds of  apparently well-educated individuals,  into  an anti-New Patriotic Party (NPP)  and anti-Asante diatribe. How extraordinary - and how very absurd.


It is an egregious example, dear reader,  of the  cognitive equivalent,   of the globe's elite master-contortionists' limb-twisting  wizardry  -   and  just so typical of the "My-party-my-tribe-right-or-

wrong" myrmidon-types,   whose blinkered support for political parties and politicians, is slowly destroying Ghanaian democracy.


I,   Kofi Thompson, an anti-Asante tribalist? Amazing.  I, who is on record for listing Otumfuo Opoku Ware 11,  at the very top of a  list of my all-time favourite senior statesmen amongst Ghana's traditional rulers, anti-Asante? Wonders.


I,   who was born, bred and educated in Kumasi;  and whose favourite cousins are Asantes (blood-relations incidentally, not cousins by marriage -  let it be known); and who is also on record for    stating that ordinary Asantes (like ordinary Ghanaians of other ethnic descent, incidentally) are amongst the most welcoming of peoples anywhere on the surface of the planet Earth,  an anti-Asante tribalist? What utter rubbish.


I am not anti any ethnic group  in Ghana. I do not live in the Dark Ages mentally - unlike those who dislike their fellow human beings,  merely because an accident of birth made them members of a particular ethnic grouping.


Surely,  supposedly educated people should not jump to such off-point conclusions, simply because they feel a need  to condemn those who  make factual statements  that might be unpalatable to their jaundiced minds?


Yes, I might loathe the NPP's "real owners" for their perfidy, but I am neither anti-NPP nor anti-Asante. Nothing could be further from the truth.


I am a simple Ghanaian nationalist and patriot who believes passionately in Ghanaian democracy -  and who also happens to be a broad-minded individual  with a cosmopolitan outlook.


The fact of the matter,  is that I grew up in surroundings - as a precocious teenager  - in which I often overhead dinner-table conversations and telephone conversations,  involving some of the  major historical figures of the immediate post-Nkrumah era.


So,  unlike many of the geniuses alleging    on www.ghanaweb.com,    that I am anti-Asante, actually, I do know for a fact  that in times  past,  some Ghanaian politicians dreamt  of perpetually dominating  Ghanaian society.


It is also a fact  that that   dream, which  was  shared by some of those historical  figures of our immediate post-Nkrumah era, is  the selfsame dream that is firmly ensconced in the sub-conscious,  of some important and influential people in Ghanaian society today.


Incidentally, and for the record, let me state emphatically that  it is not a dream shared by the vast majority of ordinary people in the Ghana of today  - whatever their ethnic background -  who readily reject its arrogant and preposterous  assumptions.


It is little wonder too, that  the ordinary people of the Gold Coast also  rejected it -  thrice in the general  elections of 1951, 1954 and 1956.


With respect, I totally reject the pure-nonsense-on-bamboo-stilts notion that somehow I am an anti-Asante   tribal-supremacist, which is  being bandied about online,  in  parts of the comments section of the features web-page of  www.ghanaweb.com -   by  hypocritical individuals who, if truth be told,  secretly want the enterprise Ghana to unravel.


To all those cowards -  who seek shelter in the anonymity of   monikers,  and hide behind their computer screens to say things online at www.ghanaweb.com, which  they would never dare say to one's face -  let me simply say:  "Munti asie se, embaso ene, anaase okyina." Period.


Kofi Thompson is not, has never been, and will never be   an anti-Asante (or anti any other tribe in Ghana,  for that matter) tribal-supremacist - and it is too ridiculous for words for any educated mind to say so.


Having now had my say, dear reader, I shall rest my case  - and will end with this parting shot aimed squarely at those cowardly online sods:  Get your quadruple-plated armoured-tanks-of-prejudice off my lawn,  asap.  A word to the wise...


Tel: 027 745 3109.


Email: peakofi.thompson@gmail.com

Tribal-supremacist Politicians: Ghana Will Remain United & Always Will!

Despite the lengths that Ghana’s tribal-supremacist politicians go  to destroy the unity of our people, our ethnically-diverse homeland Ghana  still remains a united unitary Republic – and always will.


When politicians resort to coded language – in order to avoid censure and public opprobrium –  to  tell Ghanaians that unity cannot be forced, what exactly do they mean by that pure nonsense on bamboo stilts?


Who is forcing whom  to unite against their will,  in a  Ghana that still remains a united country,  and whose ethnically-diverse  citizens share a common identity and destiny as Ghanaians –  and all of whom  care deeply about their nation’s well-being and want to see it progress?


Let us be absolutely clear about one thing: tribalism is a dangerous anachronism in a nation in which the vast majority of ordinary people live together side by side in harmony,  and all want to see their country’s resources exploited for the  benefit of all sections of society – not just a  selfish and powerful few with greedy ambitions (to paraphrase President Nkrumah of blessed memory).


Those who seek to exploit the sentimental attachment most Ghanaians have for their ethnic group’s cultural heritage, for short-term political gain,  will always fail in that abhorrent aim.


Their quest to further the secret agenda of some of today’s misguided  and delusional  descendants of  our pre-colonial tribal  ruling elites – who seek to dominate our nation by stealth, and hijack its system in order  to enrich themselves at the expense of the rest of Ghanaian society – will never succeed.


Ordinary people in Ghana  are not fools. They are aware that by every measure, no  tribe is superior or inferior to another in their  country, in today’s cosmopolitan and globalised world.


By definition, are  tribal-supremacist individuals not  narrow-minded people,  cursed with   antediluvian mindsets mired firmly in the Dark Ages?


Just as they did in all the pre-independence elections of 1951, 1954 and 1956,  when they  overwhelmingly rejected  the arrogant and tribal-supremacist politicians of the colonial era, the vast majority of ordinary Ghanaians are  decent-minded, discerning and intelligent enough,   to reject those who think that somehow they have a divine right to rule  the ordinary people of Ghana –   and thus constantly seek clever ways to loosen the deep bonds that unite us as a people, for that dark purpose.


Yet,  this is a constitutional democracy in which the enslavement of others  and ritual murder to “darken” stools are regarded as   crimes against humanity – and is a nation in  which the discerning are  fully aware that inherited privilege is the greatest enemy of meritocracy.


Let them do their worst. It is not surprising that that abominable   and provocative statement that unity cannot be forced,  came from the lips of  a sly and ruthless man,    who when he  led our nation,  saw his tenure as a golden opportunity to foist his tribal Chieftain on our multi-ethnic society  (which aspires to be a meritocracy),  as its de facto  monarch.


And no wonder he once complained, in the most petulant of fashions,   that the Upper West Region’s capital of Wa, was “too faraway” – and this, dear reader, from a politician  who throughout his eight years in office as President,  did not hesitate  to travel to the ends of the world, whenever  the opportunity to do so,  presented itself to him.


(So perhaps it is not that difficult to fathom why his harshest critics describe him as the most dishonest and hypocritical individual,  ever elected to lead Ghana, since we gained our independence in 1957. But I digress.)


Despite their endless machinations and  evil genius for deceiving others, tribal-supremacist politicians must understand clearly that Ghanaians  will remain united,  regardless – and indeed  always will!


Tel: 027 745 3109


Email: peakofi.thompson@gmail.com

Enough Is Enough - Let The Insensitive, Mischievous, Callous & Shameful Coroner's-report-Politricks-of- Death Cease Henceforth.

When Providence sent us the human equivalent of an angel to rule over us, we were contemptuous of him and ridiculed him endlessly - because he did  not have an  imperious and arrogant nature and was not in the mould of the classic bombastic African strongman.


Now that we have lost him, we have awakened to our loss and are grieving for our late President.


For the common good, and in remembrance of him, let all those,  who under the guise of showing concern for our late President,  and seeking justice for him, constantly   question  the cause of his death and the circumstances under which that  death occurred, cease doing so forthwith.


They must be more sensitive -  and consider the agony, pain and suffering being experienced by  his wife, son  and close relatives.


In a sense, those making what is  a pathologist's equivalent of conjuring a   mountain out of a mole hill,  are guilty of   the same selfish  and callous disregard for President Mills (in his death), which   those who made the president carry on regardless, despite the fact that he was patently unwell - because his continued stay in office was materially beneficial to them -  were also guilty of during his tenure as Ghana's president.


The fact of the matter is that  President Mill died a natural death. There was no conspiracy to murder him by persons unknown - so what exactly do those using this distasteful red-herring seek to gain by   the use of  this insensitive nonsense-on-bamboo-stilts, one wonders?


Enough is enough - let that insensitive,   mischievous,  callous and shameful coroner's-report- politricks-of-death surrounding the  death of President Mills,  cease  henceforth.


Tel: 027 745 3109.


Email: peakofi.thompson@gmail.com

PR Sinecures: Political luxuries An Embattled NDC Can No Longer Afford?

Now that  Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur has been sworn in, and assumed office, there is no question that the  administration of President Mahama will come under intense and sustained attack,  once President Mills is finally laid to rest.

 If the new President wants to neutralise his main political opponents, the New Patriotic Party (NPP),   he would be wise to set a new  tone for his  administration.



The first step in that direction, will be to publicly publish the assets of both himself and his wife. He must then ask the new vice president and his spouse to do same too.



That must be followed with   a reshuffle in which only those who agree  to publicly publish the assets of both themselves and their spouses, can  serve in  the President’s new-look administration.


That  reshuffle must also see  a return to the cabinet of Martin Amidu,  as Attorney General.  Such a move, dear reader, will immediately set  President Mahama apart as a new and different breed of Ghanaian politician.



It will put clear blue water between his administration and all the post-independence  regimes Ghana has had since it  gained  independence in 1957.



Naturally, all  the above must   be  followed with the appointment of a new Osu Castle spokesperson  and communications chief.



Whatever he does, at  all costs, President Mahama must persuade Mrs. Esther Cobbah Tsikata to accept that position.


Her appointment will make a huge difference to the effectiveness  of  the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) campaign narrative,  for the upcoming December 2012 presidential and parliamentary elections.



Having done their best for Mills’ ancien regime, the Kokou Anyidahos and John Jinapors  can safely be sent to the regions they hail from,  as deputy ministers – and still be able to maintain the heavily subsidised lifestyles they have become accustomed to.


With the many  challenges facing  the NDC government, there is absolutely no point continuing to keep  the old order’s  spokespersons for the presidency  in their present positions – not   when  their new boss,  President Mahama,  is actually a zillion times more articulate than they are.



With respect, those geniuses whose ineptitude  resulted in the loss of goodwill amongst ordinary people –  and a negative image – for the administration of the most honest and selfless leader Ghana has ever had  since the overthrow of President Nkrumah’s Convention Peoples Party (CPP) regime,  in 1966,  must no longer be tolerated.



At this critical juncture, as it fights to survive an existential threat to it, and battles to prevail in the upcoming  December polls,  PR sinecures are  a political luxury an embattled  NDC regime can no longer afford. A word to the wise…

Members of President Mills' Funeral Planning Committee Deserve Ghanaian Nation's Gratitude

Our departed  leader, the late President Mills, who was mourned universally in  Ghana, was given a  funeral befitting his status as head of state and commander-in-chief of Ghana's armed forces.


Those responsible for the planning of his sending-off, deserve the gratitude of our nation and all Ghanaians.


They planned and executed perfectly,   the series of events that led up to the climax of the week's official mourning period for President Mills -  the interment of his  mortal remains at the Asomdwee Park.


Although in a sense we were in unchattered waters, each event,  executed with military precision,  went smoothly without a hitch.


Pictures of those events  beamed to the world by television cameras and available on the internet -  the  lying-in-state of the President at the banqueting hall of the State House; the funeral service for him at the Independence Square;  the late President's flag-draped coffin on a gun-carriage being driven  through some of the principal streets of Accra -  showed  the international community that Ghana is  a modern and well-ordered African nation-state: that  indeed deserves its global  reputation as a stable and peaceful democracy, which is a beacon of hope in  the continent.


Ghanaians are grateful to each one of those  individuals,  who when called upon by the nation to honour our late  leader, President Mills,  at such a tragic and unexpected moment in our history,  rose to the occasion and made our nation proud with the dignified send-off they gave him.


We must say ayeeko to President Mills' Funeral Planning Committee  -  and salute each and every one of its membership.  Ghana enyinaa, eni nabusuafuo eyinaa,    edamu ase papaapa!


Tel: 027 745 3109.


Email: peakofi.thompson@gmail.com

Will It Be The Turn Of A Northerner To Be Elected President Of Ghana In December 2012?

The north of Ghana lags so far behind the southern half of our nation that extraordinary measures have to be taken to bridge that developmental gap.


For a start, electing someone from the northern half of our country, who is well-qualified for the position of President of the Republic of Ghana, will make a huge difference to the  fortunes of the three northern regions.


A former president of Ghana, who never hesitated to travel to the ends of the world, whenever the opportunity to do so presented itself, once made a petulant response,  when asked why he would not travel   to the Upper West Region's capital, Wa, by replying that: "Wa is too far away".


Alas,  it illustrates perfectly,  the  mindset of most of Ghana's educated urban elites, who hail from the southern half of our country, and their mostly-disdainful attitude   towards the northern regions.


For the long-term stability of Ghana, the northern half of our nation must be made economically prosperous.


To ensure that, the government of Ghana ought to make all farming in the three northern regions tax-free undertakings  - just as cocoa farming in the south is.


And  all of  that part of Ghana must be declared a special economic zone - with all the incentives available to free-zone  enterprises.


President Mills' sudden death before the end of his tenure, has changed the dynamics of Ghanaian politics - and everything is up for grabs in a manner of speaking. Literally.

If President Mahama were to seize the historic opportunity Providence has given him, he could   show Ghanaians - by taking swift and bold measures to rid Ghana of high-level corruption (the leading cause of most of Ghana's difficulties),  whiles serving out the rest  of President Mills' tenure -  that he can become a great Ghanaian leader if elected in December.


If elected in December, his administration  could  help bridge the gap between the north and southern parts of Ghana, because unlike politicians from the south,  he has intimate knowledge of  the north and the underlying causes of its developmental deficit.


As a student of history, no one need tell President Mahama that it is him who history will judge - not the faceless and secretive cabal of power-brokers who held President Mills hostage  in the Osu Castle, in order to gang-rape Mother Ghana.


President Mahama  must assert his authority by ridding his administration of their baleful influence - by  reaching  out to all the factions in his party in any reshuffle of the ministers in the NDC government.


Publicly publishing his assets as well as that of his wife, will give him  moral authority over  those powerful and cynical individuals,  whose unfathomable greed  lost  President Mills the  trust of  ordinary Ghanaians,  whiles he was alive.


President Mahama  must become  a consensus leader who taps all available talent in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) - including Martin Amidu for the position of  Attorney General and Eazinator Rawlings as a deputy minister of health to oversee the provision of healthcare to the doorstep of grassroots-level  rural communities.


He has made a good start by deciding to address the people of Ghana tomorrow,  Tuesday,  14th August 2012.


If he were to take up all the aforementioned suggestions - in addition to asking for forgiveness for his former existence as a Cassanova and the errors of judgement  that the Amajaro and STX debacles represent  -  the vast majority of the ordinary people of Ghana  will come  to the conclusion that it is indeed the turn of a  capable northerner,   to be elected to the high office of President of the Republic of  Ghana in the  December 2012 elections

Should Noisy All-night Church Services That Disturb Whole Neighbourhoods Be Banned In Ghana?

Though the  very soul of middle-class discretion and respectability, I am pretty sure that even some of my normally staid,  hard-working and stiff-upper-lipped neighbours,   must have been  discomfited  by  the "I-stand-in-the-blood-of-

Jesus" all-night megaphone-din that kept our neighbourhood awake,  a few nights ago.


Unable to sleep myself, and trying unsuccessfully to ignore  the confounded arrogance of semi-literates being belted out at ear-drum-shattering decibel-levels through  loudspeakers, it also occurred to me that perhaps  my  high net-worth neighbours were probably also fretting in their air-conditioned Hollywood-style homes  (sensibly secured against  the unwelcome  by  high fence-walls, incidentally).


Do law-abiding citizens in a democracy have to be subjected to such noise-pollution, by those who feel that preaching God's word somehow puts them above the laws of our nation?


Did Jesus (Matthew 22:21) not say we should:  "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's"?


Surely,  it is time local authorities  in Ghana stopped tolerating those who claim to be born-again Christians, yet  in reality are  so un-Christ-like:  in their selfish disregard for the right of their fellow humans to a sound  night's sleep, after a hard day's work?


Why does it never occur to those described by a wag I know as "insensitive and selfish hypocrites - who set up their own churches just to make money",  that the residents of  the neighbourhoods they  hold their noisy all-night  church services in, have a right not to be  kept awake all night by noise-pollution, from irritating megaphone-preaching and singing-to-the-rafters?


Does God Almighty not even hear whispered prayers and singing that does not go beyond church walls, I ask, dear reader?


District Assemblies must halt  the  unreasonableness  of those who use  God's name as their  authority and justification for  disturbing  whole neighbourhoods with high-decibel loudspeaker preaching and singing throughout the night, by prosecuting them for noise-pollution.


Perhaps we ought to do what the Rwandan authorities did in similar circumstances - if they refuse to be considerate to  their neighbours, then churches must be forced to soundproof their premises:  or be banned  from  holding noisy all-night church services in residential areas  until that is done?


Finally, dear reader, genuine Christians are ethical in all aspects of their lives - and would never dream of inconveniencing others under any circumstances.


On that basis, and even at  risk of being accused of being an agent of the devil, the question I am simply asking  is: should noisy all-night   church services that disturb whole neighbourhoods not be banned in Ghana?


Tel: 027 745 3109.


Email: peakofi.thompson@gmail.com

When Are We Going To Rid Ghana Of The Online Fraudsters Who Have Turned It Into A Global Superpower In Online Fraud?

I read a horrific  story about internet romance fraud that made me so angry I felt I had  to write an article demanding that Ghana's Parliament passes a law prescribing a mandatory jail sentence for all those involved in internet fraud.


It is giving Ghana a very bad name it most certainly does not deserve. It is an intolerable situation - especially as there are countless opportunities online for those interested in genuine business.


Unfortunately the  fast wireless broadband internet offered by telcos in Ghana, has  attracted a motley group of  online crooks from all over West Africa, to our country.


Together with local online fraudsters - known as Sakaawa -  they've succeeded in turning  Ghana into a global superpower in online fraud.


And it is monstrous that they can get away with online fraud,  such as the culled story below that I chanced upon,  when researching the UK's Telegraph newspaper's online edition's tech-section, for news about the latest technology hardware and happenings.


It is time Ghana's  executive branch of government and Parliament took steps to deal with this menace and abomination once and for all. Why do they not solicit for technical assistance from police forces in the UK, the EU and USA, I ask?


The culled Telegraph story below speaks for itself. It was written as far back 2nd May 2010 by  Harriet Alexander. Please read on:


"British victim of 'romance fraud' tells of ordeal


As police arrest a man suspected to be behind the most serious case of 'romance fraud' to date, Harriet Alexander talks to the victim.


The British victim struck up a relationship over the internet with a man she believed to be an American soldier serving in Iraq.


Sarah Cook thought she had met someone special. The mother of two children had done what many lonely Britons do, and registered with an internet dating site.


Within weeks of entering a new online world of flirtation and romance, she met a US army sergeant serving in Iraq. They would chat online almost daily, swapping stories about his life on base with hers in a West Country town, and over the next 18 months their relationship deepened.


Mrs Cook, 52, was fascinated by his stories of dodging bombs, coping with explosions and living in the Iraqi desert. She would not say she was falling in love, but she was excited by this intriguing soldier with whom she felt she had a genuine connection — so much so that she was willing to help him financially.


But the charming American was not what he appeared. A few days ago, police in Ghana arrested Maurice Asola Fadola, 31, the man suspected of posing as the soldier and conning Mrs Cook out of £271,000.


Her case is thought to be the most serious example of a new kind of fraud, with international con men preying on emotionally vulnerable westerners. Police estimate that Britons are losing hundreds of millions of pounds through internet dating sites in “romance frauds”.


Mrs Cook (not her real name) does not appear a gullible or foolish woman. Yet, like other victims of the frauds, she was slowly and skilfully drawn in to a web of deceit woven by a resourceful and apparently talented liar.


Over months of online chatting she felt that she was really getting to know the American soldier, who went by the name of Steven Westmore.


He told her he was a year younger than her, and was ready to leave the army. He had a house in Texas, his son was studying medicine and his wife had died in a car crash — a common line used by such con men, police say. He sent her pictures depicting himself as a rugged, stetson-wearing American. She hoped they could meet once he left Iraq.


But when that time came, Steven told her things had gone wrong.


“We never spoke on the phone, as he told me they weren’t allowed mobile phones on army bases,” she said. “But one day, over instant messenger, Steven told me he had a problem. He was preparing to leave and had sent his luggage back to the States with a friend, a diplomat from Trinidad, who had to travel via Ghana.


“But the Ghanaian authorities had impounded Steven’s luggage, and so I had to call Steven’s friend in Ghana to sort it out. And it turned out the friend needed £2,300 to release the luggage.


“I relayed this information to Iraq. And Steven said, 'I can’t do anything from here in the desert. Can you help?’ ”


Mrs Cook took the first step down what proved to be a slippery slope to financial disaster. She sent the money to Ghana via MoneyGram on the promise that she would be repaid once Steven was back home.


But this was just the beginning. Next day she was told there were further problems and more money was needed: £20,000. Steven let Mrs Cook know that inside the suitcases was $8 million (£5.2 million) he had smuggled out of Iraq.


Most people, however kindly disposed, would surely have baulked at this point and, with hindsight, Mrs Cook can see that for herself. But although her husband knew she had been on a dating website, the couple operated a “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach within their marriage and Mrs Cook had told no one about her online relationship with Steven. There was nobody to make her see common sense.


“I just thought, 'Oh no, what have I got myself into here?’ ” Mrs Cook said last week, wiping away tears. “I wanted to get my money back, and you end up thinking, well, if there is $8 million there, it doesn’t matter having to spend money as I will get my money back once the suitcases are released.”


Now dealing solely by telephone with the contact in Ghana, who told her that Steven was without internet access in Iraq, Mrs Cook became embroiled in a lengthy process to get her money back. Like a gambler trying to recoup her losses, the amount she was willing to spend to try to solve the problems rose — £100,000 for “legal fees”, £40,000 for “customs costs” and many thousands more.


She extended her overdraft, sold shareholdings and drained her retirement savings. Piece by piece, she dismantled the product of years of abstemious living — all the while concealing the truth from her husband, whose financial affairs were separate.

Mrs Cook sometimes found it hard to believe the intrigue in which she was caught up: a world of five-digit money transfers to Africa, suitcases full of money and a constantly evolving cast of characters, helpers of Steven, all needing her help to overcome one problem after another.


She was then persuaded by the “diplomat” to travel to Ghana — without telling anybody — where she hoped to conclude the protracted attempts to get her money back.


“I was really worried — I’d never been to Africa before,” Mrs Cook recalled. “But the diplomat told me it would speed things up, and I’d get my money back.


“I paid £500 for a 'visa’ and then someone just came to collect me from the airport and took me straight through customs — I suppose people at the airport were in on it, too.”


She was driven to a lavish house on the outskirts of the capital, Accra. Guarded by rott­weilers, it was a gold-plated and marble villa, complete with a gym, a swimming pool and a wardrobe bursting with unworn designer clothes.


Police suspect the property belonged to Fadola, who posed as the diplomat during Mrs Cook’s visit. The house may well have been built and furnished with the funds she sent to Ghana.


“I was scared at first,” she said. “When I look back, it’s terrifying thinking about what could have happened when I went there. I could have been kidnapped. It doesn’t bear thinking about.”


She stayed for two nights and it was on her return that Fadola, describing himself as a business associate, came into the picture under his own name, with police alleging that he offered to travel to Britain to pay back Mrs Cook in person. So she supported his visa application.


“And that was another £10,000 for the paperwork,” she said, managing a faint smile. “I sent him a payslip; an electricity bill; a council tax bill; household documents — all those things you’re not supposed to send out.


“I just wanted to get my money back, and then maybe finally meet Steven — who I believed was still in Iraq.”


In fact, Fadola’s attempts to seek a British visa were his undoing. It disclosed his true identity to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), which was working with the Ghanaian police in connection with the case of a disabled woman who was persuaded to sell her house and send funds to Ghana.


One night in March, the police knocked on Mrs Cook’s door and asked her if she knew a Maurice Asola Fadola.


Sitting in the London offices of SOCA last week, Mrs Cook said she still struggled to come to terms with how the situation escalated.


“You look back and think, 'How could I be so stupid?’ I’d never heard about these romance frauds before,” she said. “I thought that there was this poor man stuck in Ghana because of something Steven had done. And it had been passed over to me to help him. I thought it was all my fault.”


Fadola is in prison in Ghana facing questioning over money laundering and passport fraud.


SOCA officers went to the country last month to help mount a “sting” operation and caught him when he went approached officials to access some money they had sent.


“He showed no emotion,” said one of the SOCA officers. “I just said 'Hello Steven’ as he was led away in handcuffs.”


The case is not an isolated one. “At first we thought it was just people sending £50 here or there,” said Colin Woodcock, the head of SOCA’s fraud department, “but some people are being robbed of hundreds of thousands.”


More and more cases of romance fraud are being discovered. In August last year, Philip Hunt, 58, threw himself under a train after losing £82,000 in a romance fraud. He had met a Nigerian girl on the internet, who convinced him to spend the money with promises of starting a life together.


“These people are out to get people when they are very vulnerable and at a low ebb. They’re in there like vultures,” Mr Hunt’s former partner told the inquest into his death.


It was only recently that Mrs Cook told her husband what had happened, admitting the full extent of her losses in a telephone call. She did not want to discuss his reaction. Police hope to recover some of the £271,000 that she lost.


“I don’t know if I’ll get the money back,” she said. “I had saved all my life, worked hard, gone without, planning for my retirement. But I don’t think that is going to happen now.


“I just feel so stupid.”


End of  Harriet Alexander's culled piece from the Telegraph.


Well, there we are, dear reader - and how shameful this shabby story is. But it is only the tip of the iceberg, one suspects.


As a matter of fact, about a couple of years ago, I was told the sad story of a Swiss German lady,  who is said to  live at   Aplaaku near Wieja -  and appears to be the 'prisoner' of the work-shy spongers  she has apparently adopted as her family in Ghana.


They are milking the poor pensioner, who is said to be frightened that some  harm might  come to her,  were she to rid  herself of the sodden leeches.  Pity.


Perhaps the question we must ask officialdom is: What are they doing to rid our country of the shameful activities of the many crooks  who go online to rip vulnerable people around the world  off?


They must take steps to rid our nation of  the army of online fraudsters who have turned Ghana into a global superpower in internet fraud.


Tel: 027 745 3109.


Email: peakofi.thompson@gmail.com