Letters from Prampram

Vigilante media?

2011-11-08T06:12:00.000-08:00

British Prime Minister David Cameron last week rekindled an old flame. Not exactly in the romantic sense. But it was something that angered majority of Ghanaians who considered it a threat. Mr. Cameron had told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Britain will cut aid to countries that push for anti gay laws. He did not mention Ghana by name but everyone knew he was talking to us (Ghana), Malawi and Uganda. Both Uganda and Malawi abhor the practice. Whilst Uganda has an existing law that makes it mandatory for gays to be jailed for a decade, Malawi is holding up two openly gay couple who got married and subsequently had to go into hiding, until they were flushed out.

Britain reacted swiftly by calling its Ambassador back to London for a full brief. They cancel a €19 million support to them, a fund desperately needed to shore up an economy that continues to hang on weak financial legs. More than 50 percent of that country’s economy is supported by Britain and the rest coming from tobacco production and other natural resources which are struggling, thanks to on-going global meltdown. However, the case of Ghana is different. The constitution is silent on same sex marriage. Perhaps we got ourselves into this position following persistent and open condemnation of gay persons by religious bodies, individuals and holier than thou persons who used all the invectives on those involved.

The Christian Council of Ghana especially demanded a public statement from politicians about gay rights. At a press conference more than two months ago, General Secretary of the council Reverend Fred Degbe (incidentally a lawyer) said any political party seen to be endorsing gay rights will not get their votes. Other members of the council also followed their comments with full page advertisements in the state owned newspaper, calling on their members to shun the company of ‘SINNERS AND PERSONS DESTINED FOR THE LAKE OF FIRE.” A member of the Council of State and a minister of the gospel said accepting gays means Ghana will be inviting ‘God Damnation onto the nation.’

I wonder why God has not brought damnation onto countries like America, Britain, Germany and many other countries where gay people have the right to exercise their sexual freedoms. Ironically, these are the same countries our leaders continue to travel to to beg for money. Are we not aware we are using gay monies to fuel our economy? Others also made very serious comments in support.

As if that was not enough, the Western Regional Minister Paul Evans Aidoo directed the security agency to hound any person suspected to be gay. It was a reckless threat that meant any idiot could go ahead and attack somebody he or she suspects of being gay. It was unfortunate. Subsequent to his threat, David Cameron also made his country’s position known. “YOU PERSECUTE THEM YOU DON’T GET MY MONEY.” As of 2010, Britain gave Ghana an amount of £80million to shore up the economy.

It is meager but for a country like Ghana, it means a lot to us.; we can construct more public toilets and the rest will go into the private pockets of politicians. That has been the culture all these years. So far, the arguments or whatever so far expressed by religious bodies and individuals have been done out of emotions and pure religious bigotry. Since Mr. Cameron’s threat to cut aid to seemingly anti-gay countries, I have taken the pain to scan through different radio channels and the outpouring of condemnations and threats directed at gays have been hot and harsh.

Every single person who got the opportunity to speak on the radio proceed to issue threats to gay persons. One caller actually referred to them as ‘ANIMALS who should be doused with fire.” The presenter and his hosts laughed over the issue and added their own version to it. I was horrified. The media that ought to be at the front exercising some level of responsibility virtually became a good platform to propagate vigilante messages against gays. An aunty of mine who is a lawyer and human rights advocate had suffered enormous abuse for speaking out against such barbaric posture and hypocrisy coming from the clergy.

Like me and many others, we have been horrified by the level of hypocrisy the religious bodies continue to exhibit. They preach compassion and yet cannot exercise one towards people whose sexual preference is different from theirs. What most of them are pretending to see is that right inside their churches, the gays and lesbians are there, they make financial contributions for the pastors to drive in those expensive cars and take those foreign trips.

Their contributions ensure the pastors live comfortable lives, eat well whilst most of the flocks struggle in the sun for their daily meals. I’m not the one to pass judgment on the sexuality of people but if indeed gays and lesbians are destined to go to hell, then whoever has not sinned before must let the first stone slip off his fingers.
Bye!

Wiki-Weeks in Ghana

2011-09-08T03:57:00.000-07:00

It’s been two weeks already…..and the whole of Ghana is talking…talking about leaks from diplomatic circles that appear to be making life uncomfortable to some politicians and high profile journalists… to some it’s just gossips…gossips that should be thrashed…but for others it’s an important leakage that should be allowed to flow---and depending on where you stand, it works. Especially politicians are the hardest hit, with some of them said to be angry-angry not only at themselves but the founder of the leaks, Julian Assange. The Australian who is described as a ‘nomad’ in media circles has not been a good friend in the eyes of those whose conversations have been recorded by cables from the US embassy. The US are really looking for him…and I want to believe the likes of Hanna Tetteh, Mahama Ayariga, Fiifi Kwetey, Kwesi Pratt, Ben Ephson and a lot more other personalities mentioned in the cable wouldn’t mind tearing him apart should they get hold of him. He has embarrassed them. They had a bottle of wine with some pretty US embassy officials and that alone was good enough for them to leak as much information in their bellies as possible. Most of those caught in the leak are said to be choked by the volume of things they said…some say they could not remember just because the alcohol was too sweet and too much… the ones so far released are just ‘peanuts.’ A quarter of it could break the back of the country…and there will be no survival.

Press confabs!

2011-08-11T11:07:00.000-07:00

I hate press conferences. I really really hate them. as a journalist, I have never delighted myself in them. They are fertile grounds for chitchatting and yawning about silly things. Especially if you live in a country like mine (mind you I’m Ghanaian and I love my country), then you’ll understand what I mean. It’s a waste of time to attend any press conference in this country. the amount of time one is kept sitting down and patiently or impatiently waiting for a so-called ‘HONOURABLE MINISTER’ is nauseating, to say the least. I have been to a few but never enjoyed them.

There are too many talks with much I do about nothing ending. You often here politicians and their cohorts blab about anything that comes to mind, thinking they are doing their job. I have made a switch back to radio after more than three years of working as a newspaper journalist. I have been to two press conferences and in all of them, I have turned up very early, thinking the programme will start on time.

The tradition in the past had always been about delays. However, I was looking for a completely new culture of attitude especially from ministers who are so much obsessed with honorability titles. My first press conference was at the education ministry and after keeping the journalists waiting for more than an hour, the minister appears and the first thing he said was an excuse as to why he is late to the program. Even before that, his public relations officer had come in with a rather stupid explanation. He was laughing between his saggy teeth, and that got me upset. But I maintained my cool. After all I was not going to go back to my editor, telling him I did not cover the assignment because the minister was either late or his spokesperson offered a rather mundane explanation. So I sat there and covered the program. I even did an interview with the minister at the back of the main program.

Then on Tuesday morning after the editorial meeting, I was assigned another press conference. The ministry of works, housing and water resources is to give an overview of the ministry since 2009 till date. It was half past time, I was told. So I dashed off to a nearby chopbar(call it restaurant) and grabbed a plate of rice and fish. I hurriedly consumed the food thinking I was going to be late if I eat at a snail pace.
I didn’t even wait for the last food to sink when I dashed off like a rabbit, flagged down a cab and jumped into it-I was gone to the ministry. The programme had not started. I had arrived earlier than the scheduled time but my fears were confirmed following another hour long delay. The said 10:30am never happened.

After sitting down for an hour, I started getting upset, went out to pick a phone call from a colleague in the office who wanted to know what was happening. He was shocked when I told him the program had not started. I had barely come off the phone when the minister, Alban Bagbin, walked in followed by other officials from his ministry.
He took his seat to be introduced by John Tia, the information minister. After offering some few remarks he introduced the minister. The first thing I was expecting him to say was to apologise. But he will not. He greeted the journalists and when the response he got appeared to be weak, he asked if ‘you had not eaten.” That was very rude from him. the message I got was that he saw the many journalists as poor and hungry fellows who are not so much interested in the information he was about offering but the financial handouts to be given at the end of the program. He knew some of us-soli collectors, no doubt.

He started off his presentation and after the long talk just shuffling through slides; he ended the statement, took his seat and invited questions. Annoyingly, he decided not to answer one of the questions put to him by a colleague journalist about a housing deal-STX-deeply stashed in controversy. His explanation was that anyone interested in the deal must come over to his office for the answers. What arrogance!

This was a man who was busy criticizing the president just because he had not been given any position in government. But soon as he got it, he went to sleep, insisting it’s a bad habit to be eating and talking at the same time.
I guess you catch the drift?

BE BOLD for what, Nana Konadu?

2011-05-27T05:56:00.001-07:00

When former first lady Nana Konadu finally outdoored her campaign to contest the sitting President, John Mills, for the ruling National Democratic Congress presidential ticket, the phrase ‘BE BOLD’ was printed on t-shirts that had her effigy. Her billboards also carry the same phrase. Hardly does anyone speak about her without mentioning the phrase, Be Bold, before the rest follows.

Her key reason for entering the campaign, as she and her faithfuls have been telling us, is that the president, John Mills, has underperformed and needs to be changed before the party heads into the ditch. She therefore promised to restore hope into the party faithfuls or footsoldiers, and the larger Ghanaian.

Again, the decisions to run also include the following; John Mills’ inability to deliver the party from the clutches of shame, the rampant corruption within government, the inability of close friends of the Rawlings’ to grab ministerial jobs, he has not jailed enough people from the other camp-NPP.

She told her own party people and Ghanaians that she represents the best hope to ensure unemployed persons get the needed jobs so they can be in a good position to settle down as married persons.

Nana has started off her campaign in earnest but all that has come from her camp are full of rubbish, unfortunately to say. Her campaign has not been able to say anything sensible to assure the ordinary Ghanaian especially those dwelling in the slums that she will change their fortune. The messages so far coming from her camp are nothing but full of insults.

Sadly to say the insults have been directly at the sitting president, who has even been leveled as not only impotent but blind and a ceremonial president. Kondau’s campaign manager and Member of Parliament for Lower Manya Krobo, Michael Teye Nyaunu, met their own supporters but failed to tell them anything tangible.

Rather, Mr. Nyaunu, who has consistently denigrated the president even before the 2008 elections, said among other things that President Mills is BLIND. He claimed the president or the man he referred to as the ceremonial president (because the main guys running the presidency are Ahwoi brothers) can’t sign letters brought before him and that work had to be done for him.

According to Mr. Nyaunu, who appears pissed because he did not get any ministerial position, reduced President Mills to the level of a sightless person who can’t distinguish between day and night. He said the president can’t even tell the colour of his own clothes, let alone recognise the colours of the country’s flag.

Most people were shocked by his comments. I was personally shocked when I listened to him on the radio. Despite the fact that his voice was captured on the tape, journalists still gave him the benefit of the doubt and called him to clarify the statements. He stood on his ground and insisted John Mills is blind.

True to the phrase from his benefactor, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, Mr. Nyaunu, in his boldness, repeated the same insults on the president. It was extremely distasteful to hear him speak in such idiotic terms. He sounded bold with his insults and listening to him, it was not difficult to tell this man has no decency to his own life nor his own children.

The so-called Be Bold campaign, in Nyaunu estimation, is about vilification. It has nothing to do with brining economic relief to the average Ghanaian. It is purely about insults and nothing else.

I honestly think that Ghanaians would prefer a seemingly sightless president to a pretentious presidential candidate who justified the shaving of the hair of a youngman man dating her daughter with BROKEN BOTTLES.

Yutong Bus contest

2011-05-26T06:06:00.000-07:00

I am struggling to remember the last time I wrote something on this page. The last bit of the first quarter of the year did not go as well as I had envisaged. I lost my mother, something that still hurts me. Though I have been trying to encourage myself to stay strong, It has not been easy. But I’m trying.

Despite the pain, I have had to spend time watching the country’s political landscape especially with respect to the power struggle within the ruling National Democratic Congress. President Mills has not had it easy from the Rawlings’ and their praise singers. He has come under fierce criticisms. His style of government has come under bashing from Mr. Rawlings and his friends. One of the bashings was that he is supervising a rather corrupt and uninspiring government; something Mr. Rawlings claims is in avariance with the ‘principles of June 4.’ So what did Rawlings do?

He got his wife to pick forms so she can challenge the president at the party’s congress slated for July. Not only that, President Mills was also equated to a Yutong Bus driver who ought to be changed because he has spent the last two years driving on the wrong side of the road, according to a certain Teye Nyauno, a protégé of the Rawlings.

He has said all the bad things about the government, to the extent that party foot soldiers who labored for the party during the periods of elections have been relegated to the background.

He was the one who likened the president to a Yutong Bus driver who should be changed because he is taking passengers through the wrong route.

In response to his criticisms, Vice President John Mahama also alluded to the fact that past driver of the Yutong Bus, an apparent reference to Jerry Rawlings, was given coffee to keep him awake, eventhough most people were not happy with his driving style.

He further said they had to prep up the driver at many occasions until he finally took the passengers to the trip, before handing over the wheels to a completely new driver.

Kofi Adams, spokesperson of the Rawlings, said Ghanaians don’t have the time to be serving the driver with coffee throughout the journey, if he is indeed tired. He said the only solution is for the driver to be change to ensure passengers are not sent into the ditch.

But others are asking if the driver’s mate, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, is qualified to drive a Yutong bus with over 22 million passengers onboard.
Ghanaians will know the answer by the first week of July.

Cote D'Ivoire, now a banana state

2011-04-06T10:27:00.000-07:00

I had a lively conversation with a taxi driver on Thursday (6th April, 2011)afternoon. I was on my way to sample public voices about the crisis in that West African country for the BBC's Newshour programme. Incidentally the driver had visited Cote D'Ivoire thrice and so it was easier for us to trade ideas. He was sad how the country is being battered by two persons who are supposed to know better. He talked nostalgically about the beautiful scenes of Cote D'Ivoire's capital, Abidjan, their women and how difficult it could be for them to recover. Starting a war is cheap or easy but putting the flames out is more difficult. He said his first visit to that country made him discard the notion he's often carried with him about the Ghanaian capital,Accra being the cleanest in West Africa. He said he was impressed with the high rise buildings, the green vegetation and the night life. And as we made our way through the thick traffic, he wondered how come those two foolish characters; Gbagbo and Ouattara can't simply accept to allow peace to prevail.J He was emphatic the needless sufferings they have plunged their people in is all because of the control of wealth; they both want to have control over the country's resources so they can plunder whilst leaving the people in squalor. Laurent Gbagbo claims to be holding the office in trust of the citizens so why is he taking them through these sufferings? Same as with Alassane Ouattara. His personal ambition is ending the life of those he desperately wants to control. So what sense does that make? When news reports emerged that Gbagbo has given up the fight and was ready to leave the country, i said to myself that is fine but he should be hanged. It may sound harsh but that is what i believe in. He should be hanged though that may not compensate for the needless lives that have been lost but will serve as a deterrent to other irritant who might wants to follow his footsteps. And for Ouattara he should brace himself for a long haul of conflicts because remnants from Laurent Gbagbo's camp are not going to hand in their weapons that easy. He will find out that his stupidity has brought caused him to inherit a mess. I wish him nothing but tough times ahead. My only prayer is with the ordinary people of the country-both displaced-who have been thrown into the madness for no apparent reason. And as for the African Union and the regional body, Ecowas, the least said about them the better.

Jerry Rawlings speaks on Dagbon crisis

2011-03-31T07:40:00.000-07:00

Former President Jerry John Rawlings has reacted to the verdict by an Accra High Court last Tuesday which had sparked anger among some youths of the Andani group in Tamale. He urged parties involved in the conflict to bury their hatchet and allow reasoning to work, as a means of finding a lasting solution to the murder of their King, Ya Na Andani.

Below is the full text of his statement.

This judgement should not come as a surprise to anyone. Right from the onset I had been suggesting and insisting on fresh investigations because the old Wuaku report refused to admit serious and damning evidence – Evidence that pointed all the way into the complicity of certain personalities in the last government.

To have used the evidence in the Wuaku report was not only an insult to the intelligence of Ghanaians but a perversion of the truth and justice.

The case of the killing of Mobilla and the police officer at the Volta Regional minister’s residence are no different. Rather than attempt to sacrifice pawns and suppress evidence, we should have questioned which officer gave the order for the brutalisation of Mobilla and which politician transmitted those orders to the officer. These should have been sought through fresh and credible investigations before going to court.

If the approach to these murder issues and the refusal to also investigate serious crimes against the people of this nation; if this ineptitude and omissions are designed to destroy the NDC, let me assure them on behalf of the people of this country that they will rather destroy themselves, not the NDC, the party that was born out of the quest for integrity, truth and justice by our people.

I want to make an appeal to the security services and forces to exercise restraint and to uphold a professional approach.

I am also appealing to the Abudus and Andanis to recognise that my numerous calls for an impartial and credible investigation was aimed at ensuring a lasting resolution and prosecution of a criminal act. I have taken no sides except the call for justice and I appeal to you to do the same and not allow political perversions to keep you divided while justice and truth remain suppressed.

Thank you.

Pointless Accusations

2011-03-24T04:02:00.000-07:00

Cote D’ivoire is in flames, thanks to the stupidity of two educated ‘fools’ Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara. Both are desperately projecting themselves as presidents of the West African country noted for its rich cocoa production.

Their obsession to become presidents has thrown the country into chaos. And their stupid actions have led to the milling into Ghana of hundreds of their nationals escaping the bloodbath that hangs in the country.

Ghana, a member of the regional body ECOWAS, stands accused for not doing enough to make sure the two fools resolve their differences.

President Mills especially has come under severe bashing following comments he made to the effect that Ghana should mind its own business which has become known as ‘Dzi Wo Fie Asem’ or DWFA. His comments did not go down well with most people who thought it was a slap in the face of diplomacy. Their reason? The president was among ECOWAS leaders who had agreed at a summit in Abuja-Nigeria, in December 2010, to use force to remove defeated presidential candidate Laurent Gbagbo, who refused to stand down after losing the elections.

He is even accused of encouraging Mr. Gbagbo to maintain his stubborn stance.

And as the violence escalates, a so-called pressure group calling itself Progressive Nationalist Forum is putting the can of violence on the head of the president.

The group told Accra’s based Joyfm in an interview on Wednesday 24th March, 2011 that the president’s comment had undermined efforts to get Gbagbo out of power. Spokesperson of the group Richard Nyama said Gbagbo’s actions are motivated by the fact that he believes Ghana is on his side, thanks to the president’s comments.

Personally, I find the group’s accusation very pedestrian and highly unintelligent. How does one blame a country’s president for the stupidity of two men who claims to love their country but are ready to plunge it into chaos? It is true president Mills had joined the efforts of ECOWAS to take a decision to invade that country but on a second thought, he feels any attempt to send troops to that country will aggravate the situation.

There are Ghanaians in that country and whoever thinks sending troops to Cote D’Ivoire to take on Gbagbo will resolve the crisis must be deeply in a state of coma, whilst working on a desert full of rose flower. It is share madness for anyone to suggest invading that country and even taking out Gbagbo could end the rubbish that is going on there. It will not resolve anything.

If the so-called PNF groups think it is really interested in offering tangible solutions to resolve the crisis, it should do so and stop this childish and unnecessary criticism of the “poor Fanti man.”

Ghana heading to the dogs

2011-03-23T11:01:00.000-07:00

When a journalist for the British newsmagazine ‘Economist’ described Africa as a ‘Hopeless Continent,’ most people branded him as racist and a fool who has no deeper appreciation of the continent. Some African scholars even wanted to beat him up, if they had gotten hold of him.

Richard Dowden, the author of the article, did not write the article in vacuum. As of the time he wrote the article, Liberia was busy on fire. Then Cote D’Ivoire President Félix Houphouët-Boigny was busy arming the regime of then Sergeant Doe. Charles Taylor who was led a faction of the rebellion was getting help from Gaddafi of Libya.

Somalia was on the brink of descending into chaos. Other African countries not directly involved in the war were busy being mismanaged by their leaders; Cameroon, Nigeria, Guinea, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Egypt. The truth is that the mismanagement was from North, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa. No African leader even dreamt of working hard to improve the lives of their citizens.

Richard Dowden had travelled extensively across the continent and had seen the hardwork of ordinary people on the continent most of whom had to work the sweat off their skin before they could even have a decent meal for supper or even dinner.

More than a decade after that article and the vilification that followed, Ghana, one of the countries that fell in that article, has not seen any positive change. Apart from turning the page into a democratic era, the country has been on the path of mismanagement, with politicians soiling their hands with money whilst majority of Ghanaians live in penury.

The quickest way to make money in this country is to become a politician whose party is in power. The money will flow with ease. Nobody cares how much one steals because everyone is busy dipping the hands into the coffers. Even the president himself is busy grabbing so he has little or no time at all to caution his people, let alone grab and hand them over to the security agencies. His party will lose should he ever attempt any of such moves.

The trend started with Jerry Rawlings (I’m speaking from his era because that is what I fell into) and after him came John Kufour and now to John Mills tenure. Among the three of them, there is no different. Perhaps John Mills comes across as a man who is not so much interested in dipping his hands into the state coffers. Unfortunately, the same money is not doing enough to check his boys and hangers on who are busy stealing from Ghanaians.

His own former boss Jerry Rawlings has consistently admitted to the increasing levels of corruption in the current NDC administration. Even party foot soldiers have been on rampage for not being given some of the booty party boys are busy looting.

President has not done anything to check that. Rather, he has been busy spinning mantra after mantra anytime he gets the turn. At the beginning of this year he told the suffering people of Ghana the year will be full of ‘ACTION. We are almost into the fourth month of the year and nothing has happened. No major works are being undertaken by his office to bring any relieve to the people of Ghana.

Ghana is at 54 but not behaving as an adult. We are struggling to even crawl. Serious challenges including water, power supply, high unemployment and crime rates have become part of us. Such issues are not important to our politicians. All we hear are politics of insult. And they are flying off from different angles of the political divide.

Sometimes when as a young chap, I sit down and ask myself if there is any hope for this country.
God help us!!!!

Forensic audit needed but what about the others, Mr. President?

2011-03-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

President John Mills has ordered auditors to go into the coffers of the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly between the period of 2009 to 2011, to ensure every single skeleton is brought out of the public domain and anyone found dealt with according to the law.

The directive to audit the accounts followed comments made by the sacked chief executive Kobina Pra-Annan who threatened to expose the party’s ‘secrets,’ which he said could be damaging to their fortunes in next year’s elections. Obviously peeved by the decision of the president to relieve him off his post, the man went to town and rained serious punches at the president. He even questioned the president’s impartiality and standards as a Christian.

He also wondered if the president had not bowed to pressures from self centred party executives within the constituency who wants him out, because he was not prepared to give them contracts though they don’t qualify. Mr. Pra-Annan’s rantings infuriated party executives and as if a show of where power lies, a forensic audit has been ordered into his administration. Deputy Local Government Minister Elvis Afriyie Ankrah said the decision to audit the man came from the president. He wouldn’t say much except to say the audit will look into the appropriate use of funds allocated to the assembly during the period Mr. Pra-Annan was in charge in charge of the assembly.

Mr. Pra-Annan has however beaten a quick retreat and apologise to the president for his reckless comments, saying he did not know what prompted him to descend heavily on the president. He even went further to beg that his administration should not be audited and that he still loves the ruling National Democratic Congress.

Personally, I find the whole episode bizarre from both sides. This is the first time that a DCE or MCE had been sacked under this current administration that auditors have been asked to move in and check if everything went right. I find it a bit intriguing that if this is not an attempt to show the man ‘WHERE POWER LIES’ so he shuts the hell up, then I don’t know. So far as I can remember, this present administration has shown a lot more DCE’s and MCE’s the door but no forensic audit was conducted into their stewardships.

I remember the incident in Tamale where the chief executive who was even threatened with deaths by stupid party foot soldiers was sacked by the president for no apparent reason. He left on the quiet and nothing was heard. The president’s decision came as a shock to a lot of people especially when he had intimated that he had no intention of taking off the man. But he did.

On whatever grounds that motivated the president to relieve the chap in Tamale from his post still remains a mystery. The refusal of the president to offer explanation as to why the chap was dismissed now opens up speculations that either the man was sacked to satisfy party foot soldiers or corruption. Any of the two could be right.

I have a strong feeling if Mr. Pra-Annan had left without a fight he would have gone to bed with the heft booty he had taken since his appointment. But for him to open his mouth and talk, the mafia inside the Castle surely know what it takes to pipe him down, threaten him with audit.

I have heard him plead that he should not be investigated. That is pretty silly on his part. If he thinks he is clean, then why is he running away from subjecting himself to any financial audit? For a man who was very much determined to expose a sitting president for his clandestine mode of operation to be seen wanting to escape attempts to audit him smacks of hypocrisy. If he has nothing to hide, he should allow the process to take place.

Too many times people ordinary citizens who get into office to serve end up stealing from the people but that attitude must stop. The president must go ahead with the forensic audit and should it come out that the man has skeletons stashed somewhere in his wardrobe, then the security must take action.

However if it is being done to humiliate him because he made unsavoury remarks for which he had apologised for, then I think it is unfortunate.

Kobby Acheampong unworthy of ministerial job

2011-03-18T05:25:00.001-07:00

President John Mills is a decent man. That is a fact. Even his critics struggle to smear him with anything untoward. But some of his ministers are dragging his name in the gutters-and one of them is Deputy Minister of Interior Kobby Acheampong. He does not merit the position he occupies but for the sake of party politics, he is enjoying from the taxpayers purse.

His conduct has been nothing but without respect. Rather than concentrate on his job of improving security in the country, he spends the least opportunity he gets to insult his political opponents, purely over ideology. The latest person he has insulted is New Patriotic Party presidential candidate Nana Akufo Addo, describing him as ‘fruit cake’ or a crazy person.

Somewhere last year he created a storm when he described members of the opposition from cocoa growing areas as ‘primitive. His foul mouth created serious uproar and when he was called to apologise he refused, insisting his comments were not in bad taste. Sadly, the government did not take any action against such a character whose expenses are taken care of by the ordinary masses.

Mr. Acheampong who was speaking to party supporters at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi said: “I wonder why the NPP selected Nana Addo as their flagbearer because the man is a fruitcake. We cannot do anything good with him,” he was quoted to have said, adding, “He keeps on going and going and I tell you give him two weeks, he will come up with something else.

It is rather unfortunate that Kobby Acheampong, a deputy minister of state, should be speaking as if he is sitting on a chamber pot in an open market. He may not like Nana Addo but does that mean he should rain insults at him? It is sad the direction Ghanaian politics has gone. It is no more issues based but insults and acrimony.

On my way to work this morning, as I see all the time, lots of people were carrying yellow gallons (formerly Kufour gallons but now Mills gallons) in search of water.

Water supply in the capital has not been flowing for months and every morning school children, parents, husbands etc have to carry gallons in search of water. People walk miles from their homes in search of a single gallon just to cater for their home chores. Some are lucky others are not.

The supply of water was one of the major themes for the campaign and the NDC promised to resolve the issue. So far nothing has been done in that respect, though we are often told ‘measures are still in the pipeline’ to make sure people enjoy water.

Rather than tell the party people about what is being done to resolve the issue, Kobby Acheampong finds it worthy to insult a man who can easily become a president of this country.

He may think Nana cannot be president but the electorates have become very discerning. How many people even in NDC thought Mills will be president? A lot of those party faithfuls who are today singing the president’s praises never believed he could even become president. But he won against every odd, including Nana Addo’s own arrogance. The victory was enough evidence that the ordinary voter has become very much sophisticated. Kobby Acheampong is full of arrogance, thanks to the position he occupies and instead of being humbled, he is talking ‘byheart.’

He went on to accuse the man of dressing improperly to a recently held thanksgiving service.

“Didn’t you see that Nana Addo appeared at the national thanksgiving ceremony at the Independence Square in Accra, the nation’s capital in an untidy manner?

Kobby’s foolishness and foul mouth was again directed at the NPP’s General Secretary Sir John whom he had earlier described as ‘villager.’ He said “As for Sir John, I will no longer refer to him as a typical villager from the cocoa-growing area but will rather call him a messy villager who is not ready to learn the rudiments of civility.”

It is unfortunate that a man who is asking for civility from his fellow politician will behave in a completely different manner.

It is important for the president to develop the thick balls and call Kobby Acheampong to order. He has become an embarrassment not only to government but Ghanaians.

The electorates want to hear positive plans about how jobs can be created, water supplied to every home, security improve and the construction of roads properly done and on time. this insult will not help anyone. President Mills should have the balls to call this guy to order or fire him else the impression out there that he is just a ceremonial head, according to the news out there, will continue to linger in the mind of many.

Not too long ago, party footsoldiers were all over the place grabbing virtually everything simply because the party failed to employ them. Most of them have created mayhem across the countryside, threatening to even kill deputy ministers. And we all know threatening somebody with death is criminal and yet Kobby Acheampong as the deputy minister of interior has not seen that.

If he thinks the insults will help his party stay in power, then I wish him the best of luck.

Glorify God Mr, President but…….

2011-03-14T05:53:00.000-07:00

Firstly, I must say that I’m opposed to those who often accusing President John Mills of turning the castle into prayer camp. Nobody has been able to submit any evidence to that effect. In any case, those making the allegations especially from the opposition New Patriotic Party were the same persons who hailed a statement made by opportunistic Methodist Bishop Rev. Asante Antwi who alleged that the castle during the era of Jerry Rawlings was turned into the worship of idols.

He had no proof but for want of his stomach he had to concoct something in order to please the then sitting president, so he’ll get something small for his stomach. It is only reasonable that persons who criticize the president should be happy the castle has been turned into a prayer camp, where President Mills, rather than get to work, is ‘praying without season,’ living his boys to plunder the state kitty.

The president has responded to the critics, saying he has no regrets about his penchant for worshiping God. Speaking at a religious thanks giving service on Sunday 13th, March 2011 at the independence square, he said: “As a nation, we should know that it is God who is the president of this nation and indeed I owe nobody an apology for giving Him His due.”

It is true God is the president of Ghana, at least if we are to interpret the message on the face value. It is God who installs a king and in one could say the president’s appointment was certainly by God. That notwithstanding however, the president must accept that inasmuch as God has given him the opportunity to become president, the same God expects him to use the opportunity to improve the lot of Ghanaians so his name will be constantly glorified.

God expects him to be a wise man, a unifier, loving, compassionate and above reproach. God also expects him to make sure those who flout the rules of governance especially his boys who are busy plundering are brought to book and punished.

In all fairness, I can say that the president’s is very humane, something his strong critics even admit-and there have been several respectable persons in this country who continue to attest to that. Unfortunately, the president has not been able to put his foot down to check the many corruption allegations in his government. Though we are told perception of corruption in this current government has gone down, nobody in his right mind can say officials within the government-including party hangers on-are not busy plundering the state kitty.

We know those struggling to make ends who today are driving in flashy cars, thanks to their position in government. It is important for such persons to be asked questions; how much are they paid in a month as government officials or even party workers, what other businesses are they involved in etc. But in a country like ours, any attempt to probe such gluttonous behaviour will be branded ‘witch-hunt,’ so for such persons it’s business as usual.

Their opulent lifestyle contrasts that of the many Ghanaians who are struggling to make earn a living. The attitude of their own party foot soldiers who continue to invade state owned entities because of ‘unemployment’ is enough evidence about the sufferings people are going through in this country.

When the president promised a ‘Better Ghana’ in the run-up to the 2008 elections, many people were confident he’ll be ready to offer a leadership quality unparalleled since the days of Nkrumah. I guess how many people still believe the ‘BETTER GHANA’ has been anywhere better. Those who are more than confident the ‘Better Ghana’ agenda has been more than impressive are those close to power who continue to enjoy the goodies.

Their positions contrasts that of the various masses like teachers, civil servants etc.It is a fact the divide between the rich and poor continues to grow.

Again, the president must understand that the provision of basic social amenities such as water and power are still a challenge. At the age of 54 in this country we are still rationing power. Just when I was on this article than the electricity in my office went off. That is the Better Ghana the president wants us to believe in. I’m not sure God really wants that for his children.

Ordinary water provision has even become a headache as on daily basis people continue to carry gallons in search of water. I’m not sure God wants that for his children.
He delights that his children will have the best things in life and though that does not come cheap, he shows them the way. President Mills’s government has however failed to provide the needed ‘enabling’ environment to do that.

For example, how does a business owner in Ghana with counterparts abroad explain to them that he is unable to meet a certain target because there is no power to work with? Such a businessman will lose his business and the workers under him will also lose their jobs.

God does not want such a thing to happen and it’s important for the president to admit that. His performance has not been the best, and it’s only appropriate he concedes and work very hard to improve that. The slogans around economic performance are becoming irritating.

The president is behaving like the chap in the bible who was given a talent by the master and instead of using it, went to hide and blamed the master for being wicked, as documented in the book of Matthew 25:14-30.President’s Mills attitude could be likened to that gentleman. He has skillful talents but I must admit he has not been able to multiply it, as things stand now.

He himself admitted so much water had passed under the bridge when he said, at the beginning of this year, that Ghanaians are going to see an ‘ACTION YEAR.” We are heading close to the fourth month and I’m wondering how many Ghanaians have seen anything close to that promise.

God deserves to be given reference and President Mills has every right to do that. At the same time he must also bear in mind that God has given him special talents as leader of the country to improve Ghana and failure to do so will only amount to opening God up for mockery.

I hope he’s listening.

Where in heaven are the REWARDS FOR TEACHERS?

2011-03-11T02:45:00.000-08:00

In Ghana, being a teacher is a curse-not just an ordinary curse but a strong one that hangs loosely on you for the rest of your life and even your generation who decides to become teachers, unless something drastic happens. And such an unfortunate thing has come about because of the incompetence of our political leaders-the ruling elites over the years.

Simply put, they lack common sense and direction, so the teaching profession to them is as useless as their worn out shoes. It is unfortunate but that is the truth. Barely a week ago, Ghanaian teachers started raising agitations of wanting to vacate the classrooms after it emerged that monies meant for them had been drastically slashed. The government says it was putting the teachers on a Single Spine Salary scheme with the hope that teachers will see remarkable improvements in their salaries and allowances. But when the figures were released, it was rather the opposite.

And rather than address the issues soon as the teachers started with their agitations, government officials were busy trying to play smart. Even a meeting between the finance ministry and the education ministry together with the teachers did not yield much, as the government officials were rather unconcern about the issues raised by the teachers. Highly unhappy with the attitude of government, the teachers issued a warning they will boycott the then independent celebration. Betty Mould Iddrisu, minister for education, rather than say something sensible, told the teachers off. She claimed the celebration was for the children and the teachers’ presence will change nothing.

he was wrong; the teachers taught her a bitter lesson when they disrupted a debate organised for students at the second cycle schools as part of the celebration. Then the government officials appeared to be wising up. And even before they could go any further, the National Association of Graduate Teachers, NAGRAT, issued a statement asking its members across the country to vacate post. It was pathetic to see deputy minister of education Mahama Ayariga desperately attempt an explanation. His comments did not do anything right to assuage the anger of the teachers.

Not even the words of President John Mills during the 54 celebration parade that government will rectify the ‘anomalies.’

But his words did not strike anything meaningful to the striking teachers, who saw his seemingly ‘I CARE FOR YOU’ speech as déjà vu or better still business as usual.

It is unfortunate but the refusal of NAGRAT officials to even heed to the president’s appeal shows how the man has chipped the trust most Ghanaians have for him. This was the same president who said during his tenure teachers will be smiling to the castle to thank him for giving them more. Events on the ground however are the direct opposite; teachers are rather upset with him and even questioning his sincerity. It is unfortunate but the president’s sincerity is now a charade to many people in this country.

Those who are smiling to the castle are his boys grabbing the brown envelopes and lying to the rest of us they are sacrificing to build a ‘BETTER GHANA.’ The government has spent more than two years in office and basic things like teachers’ salaries should not be an issue to the extent that they will have to boycott classes.

I’m not one of those who endorses the actions of the teachers but I think the incompetence of either the ministry of education, the accountant and controller’s general’s department and the so-called FAIR WAGES commission, are responsible for such a mess which the government is not handling well.

And as the government struggles to find antidote to the incident, you have silly officials from the ruling new patriotic party trying to make political gains out if it, as if their reign did not see anything of such magnitude. The administration under John Kufour, who still walks about beating his chest for living a so-called healthy economy, also messed up big time.

The incompetence of the president’s himself was very glaring. Now in opposition, members of the party are not offering anything constructive as to how to resolve the impasse. Their leader, Nana Akufo-Addo, is too desperate to become president to the extent that anytime he opens his mouth; a lot of foolish comments come from there. There is no alternative regarding the direction of the economy. He is desperate to come and loot for himself and cronies. Ghana remains absolutely zero on his list.

When a country that is 54 years has an opposition that is as desperate to come back to power in the same way the ruling government is desperate to stay in power, what you get is the mess we are all grappling with.

At the beginning of the year the President promised an ‘ACTION YEAR’ but events on the ground show it is the usual rhetorics from a politician who talks too much and does very little.
I’m still wondering where one can point to me the exact spot in heaven where teachers can go and collect their rewards.

God help us.

Oxfam rubbishes Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme

2011-03-10T04:34:00.000-08:00

Not that we don’t know, the truth is that the national health insurance scheme, running for five years, has been poorly managed. Politicians from both the then ruling New Patriotic Party and the now ruling National Democratic Congress have separately turned the scheme into a milking ground, where thousands of dollars are stashed into personal pockets by officials. The latest report by Oxfam that the scheme is poorly managed is just a confirmation to what has been happening on the grounds.

When you live in a country where silly politicians, rather than commit themselves to providing solid and efficient healthcare to citizens, are busy exploring avenues where they can steal and also stash their incompetent party supporters, then the scheme will not work. I know friends who subscribed to the scheme when it was first introduced but are yet to benefit from it, as the tenets of the scheme stipulates.

They have had to pay for their drugs though they carry registered cards from the insurance scheme. One of them had a slight headache and when he reported to the hospital with his card, he was told to pay for the drugs. He was shocked. Again, those managing the scheme at the time also turned the scheme into money making venture, looting every single fund that came through it. No wonder the ruling NDC is also doing same.

Irritant party foot soldiers have been on rampage, locking up offices of the scheme in some parts of Ghana because they claimed the NPP officials who were employed used the scheme for their personal benefits, so it is their turn. It is rather sad that a fine scheme has been turned into a vulture fund, where politicians stash their cronies so they can loot.

Haven’t we had enough of the ‘WE WILL’ speeches?

2011-02-18T00:47:00.000-08:00

President John Mills on Thursday afternoon delivered his state of the nation addressing, asking Ghanaians to see the country in a mighty nation worthy of spotting opportunities from afar. He said it was time for Ghanaians to think big, positive and be confident. Again, he said as a country we can’t hold ourselves up as a small nation and continue to let opportunities slip by our hands.

Listening to the president’s speech, I felt he was, as usual, wordy but empty on substance. His ability to deliver has never been in question, though his opponents are often on the lookout for slips. Thankfully the president did not give them that, and most of them were very much let down. What were they thinking in the first place-that he is not articulate?

As an independent minded person and a Ghanaian citizen who is very much concerned about the direction of this country, I think the president’s speech did not carry significant development that had been executed through. Rather, it was laced with ‘WE WILL’ or ‘WE’RE ABOUT TO type of speech, which has become very much part of the country’s political leadership- which has no clear vision good enough to uplift Ghanaians from the doldrums of abject poverty.

Next month Ghana will be 54 years as a so-called independent country and there is nothing to show for it, apart from soaring unemployment and increasing shortage of water supply. As for energy the least said about it the better. I wanted to hear the president talked about on-going measures put in place to reduce unemployment, give meaning to the drop in inflation and reduce the scale of opulence in government.

Our ruling elites have developed a penchant for raking empty. Some see the coffers as their haven of loot, grabbing anything they see with their eyes or even stumble on. Nothing seems to be working in this country, as we approach 54 years of a so-called self rule.

The direction of the country is very much hinged on baseless political party manifestos. Be it NDC or NPP who gets into power, the policy or direction at which they want to take Ghana (even if there is any) is purely based on their own manifestos full of ideas they care less to implement. No wonder we are still struggling as an independent country. we have become beggars to such an extent that even countries in the Far East who crawled out of colonialism with us are firmly walking on their legs, leaving us to sit at the same place-without even crawling any further. We have become a wasted nation.

“Madam Speaker, I have had occasion to state that too much has passed us by as a nation and we need to move as fast as we can; of course at calculated speed.

“Past failures seem to have created a mentality that has restricted national ambition. It is time for this country to think big and think positive. “

The president’s call for us to be confident and positive thinkers is in the right direction but sometimes the question I ask myself is whether he and his team believe in the things they say. it is nice to be confident and think positively but how does that manifest in mine getting constant supply of water, power supply? Been confident and thinking positively surely are brilliant but will do bring an end to the soaring unemployment?

Today in my office for example, the power went off in the morning and came back after 4pm. It is almost like a daily ritual. We expect the president to be telling us work done so far to eliminate that mess. No country determined to develop thrive on an unreliable power supply, that will be suicidal. We expect the president(s) to focus on the job instead of often telling us things we already know.

Ghanaians are self-confident but that confidence can easily erode in an environment that is very much embedded with massive inefficiency, with state corporations like the water and energy supply sectors performing below point one. Managers of the country’s power supply come across as primitive persons who don’t know we are in the 21st century and things ought to change.

We want the president to resolve such problem not to be telling us inflation figures that end up reflecting in the pockets of his own people and not the larger populace. What is the essence of single digit inflation to a civil servant who is collecting less than $300 a month after serving his country for decades?
Such a civil servant a speech laced with ‘WE WILL’ is bound to further depress him.

State of the Nation Address

2011-02-17T02:30:00.000-08:00

President John Mills delivers his state of the nation address, the third time since assuming office in 2009, and expectations are that he’ll be genuine with his approach-telling Ghanaians things are not as rosy as he wants us all to believe.

A political ritual started by former President John Kufour, Mills has kept the tradition, offering Ghanaians an insight, or supposed insight, of current state of affairs at the country. At his first address to the nation, he touched on governance, private sector development and agriculture, among others.
President Mills said he’ll move “beyond rhetoric and execute a programme to rehabilitate existing irrigation schemes to ensure their efficient utilization.” He made the statement with respect to how the government plans to boost agriculture production in the country.

“The Government will address simultaneously the issues of food availability, access to food, response to crises situations and malnutrition. The Government will invest adequately to maintain the production level of those crops for which we have surplus production and put in measures to increase significantly the production level of those crops for which we have deficit production.”

The said ‘rhetoric certainly applies to every facet of the plans he put forward to Ghanaians. It includes how to tackle soaring unemployment, create jobs (certainly not the one point six million ghost jobs), corruption, education and health. Then there is also security.

The president is in his third year and the views out there are that ‘people no dey see top.” Forget the insincere rumblings from the opposition NPP (they are just waiting in the wings to continue from where their looting ended) and their everyday cries of ‘enkoyie.’ The average Ghanaian is struggling to hold on to a job. Even those lucky to be employed the salary at the end of the month is absolutely nothing to talk about.

The state of the nation at this time is that at almost 54 years of age the ordinary Ghanaian continues to lose hope in the country of his birth, because he cannot find any decent opportunity to better himself. At the state of the nation today our education system is in crisis, with students at the tertiary levels struggling to fit into lecture rooms.

We are still struggling with the exact figure for our population size: 24million, 25million? That is still shrouded in mystery.

The state of the nation is that people have no access to water, even in the capital-Accra. Power outages have become very normal. It is a blessing to have uninterrupted power supply for a whole week, at 54 years. We have enough sunshine but not thinking through how to tap into it.

The state of the nation is that our economic paradigm is still unclear, though we are told Rome was never built in a day. So, must we wait for 300 years to develop?
The state of the nation is that inflation figures for the NDC are different from that of the NPP. Despite their silly argument
The state of the nation is that there is no policy plan that all the political parties are following to put the country on a sound footing. The state of the nation is that corruption is rifled.

The state of the nation is that if you are in opposition you think right but in government? Your thinking leads right into your stomach.
That is the state of the nation.

Rogue police behind looting, says Egyptian national

2011-01-29T13:33:00.000-08:00

Plain clothe Policemen are suspected to be behind on-going looting in major cities in Egypt, according to Germany based Egyptian journalist, Hebatallah Ismail. She said report coming through to her from relatives speak of massive scale of looting, with people vandalizing shops, government buildings and banks. “We are now busy with the robberies,” she said.

The country has come under the global spotlight following days of protests by Egyptians opposed to the regime of current dictator Hosni Mubarak. The protestors are calling for reforms, jobs and the departure of the dictator from office following three decades in office. Speaking for the first time after the outbreak of violence, Hosni Mubarak dismissed the entire cabinet but refused to stand down, a situation which further angered demonstrators to stay up the streets despite existing curfew. Mubarak’s silent on his departure obviously means people continue to stay up in the street, says Hebatallah, adding:” Mubarak is stubborn.”

Residents are reported to have taken upon themselves the duty to protect themselves because of the absence of security. Al Jazeera reports that young men armed with machetes and other dangerous weapons have mounted roadblocks in order to prevent suspicious characters from having their way. In Suez for example, scores of young people are busy gathering around to protect their properties. The CNN however says residents are blaming Mubarak for the latest wave of looting.

“Some residents told CNN they worry that the chaos is President Hosni Mubarak's strategy -- that all the crime could turn people against the protesters, and build favor for the government security forces to restore order.”

West Africa seems likely to be hit by Jasmine’s smell

2011-01-28T19:13:00.002-08:00

As protestors in Egypt continue to push out dictator Hosni Mubarak out of office after three decades in office, anti dictator activists in West Africa are keeping their fingers under lock to see if the dose of the Jasmine will surely spread across their region. Days of protests have left the rest of the world to watch in awe, as people still are in shock if the events are real or fiction. But as night fell and the skies continue to be darkened, protestors also became more emboldened and expressed their determination to continue the demonstrating till Hosni Mubarak is flashed out.

And as Egypt becomes the second country in North Africa to face unrest immediately after Tunisia-the architect of what has become known as the Jasmine Revolution- people are now singling out dictatorial regimes in the continent. The list certainly runs tall: Zimbabwe, Gabon, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Morocco, Swaziland, Central African Republic, Uganda, Sudan, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Togo etc. The list surely is tall but the jasmine must be spread on regional basis. Whilst North Africa obviously becomes the birth of such a revolution, people are now looking further across sub of the Sahara to West Africa for a spread of the jasmine. Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Togo surely come to mind.

Though Togo appears to be heading to a somewhat reform, it is all cosmetic. Both Burkina Faso and Cameroon need the jasmine flavor more than anyone other regimes in the sub-region. Cote D’Ivoire’s case is pretty much different, though I’m confident it sure will not that as well. But the two French speaking countries have had dictatorial regimes that are impervious to change and free speech, clamping down heavily on dissent. Corruption, human rights abuses and massive unemployment are very deeply nailed into the hearts of the millions of citizens in these countries who live on less than a dollar a day.

The increasing levels of poverty very much contrast the affluent and gluttonous lifestyles of the leadership of the autocratic regimes. Cameroon dictatorial leader Paul Biya has refused to listen to wisdom to reform, as he continues to use his position to plunder the resources in his country. A day’s makeover of his wife is ten times the live savings of a Cameroonian who has served in the civil service for many than three decades of his life. The same could be said about Burkina Faso, where Blaise Compoare has spent decades in office plundering the resources of his country at the expense of the already oppressed. The two dictators are obviously perfect target for the revolution.

Meanwhile in Egypt, a protester tweeted to the BBC the following soon after Mubarak finished a midnight broadcast: "We want a resignation speech from Mubarak, nothing else will satisfy us." His broadcast was the first after he pig headedly turned a blind eye and ear to the voices on the streets. It was his first speech since protestors took to the streets in almost a week, leading to the destruction of properties and scores of casualties. Events in Egypt are still shocking especially when one considers the brutish nature of Mubarak’s regime that had been sustained by an equally brutish security force. The protest comes on the heels of a similar one in Tunisia which led to the collapse of the twenty three year old regime of dictator, Ben Ali. Protestors in that country stood to the grounds despite the brutish nature of the regime.

They took the fight to them and at the end of the day, the same security regime turned around in support of the people. The peoples defiant is what is providing an incentive to ordinary Egyptians who now feel embolden to take the fight to a regime that had not only deprived them of jobs but sealed their lips to free expression.

There are countless numbers of activists locked behind bars without trial, as Mubarak, who has the backing of the US, appears to be grooming his son,Gamal, to take over. Obviously overwhelmed by the momentum from the protestors the government shut down communication links, hoping to prevent people from spreading the message of the protest around, via social network. That did not deter protestors to stay up in the streets despite the imposition of curfew.

The embattled dictator is hanging on the support of the US government to hold on to power. It is however clear that support is because of Egypt’s recognition of Israel as an existing state, a position which is in avariance with other Arab countries in the Middle East. However, the US government is appears unwilling to have his back this time around: “Surely, there will be difficult days to come, but the United States will continue to stand up for the rights of the Egyptian people and work with their government in pursuit of a future that is more just, more free and more hopeful," Mr. Obama said.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has also backed calls for reform: "I think what we need is reform in Egypt. We support reform and progress in the greater strengthening of their democracy and civil rights and the rule of law.

"Clearly there are grievances that people have and they need to be met and matched. "I don't think it's in anyone's interest that people are being killed on the streets of Egypt as we speak, and so I hope the violence will cease.

"But clearly, when you have people who have grievances and problems that want them responded to, it's in all our interests that these countries have stronger rule of law, stronger rights, stronger democracy."

Asokwa MP kofi Jumah is a sick joke

2011-01-27T09:32:00.000-08:00

First was his sexist comment that a fellow party member had been bedded before getting a position as a mayor. His desperate rationalization of the comment didn’t do much to repair the damage caused to the reputation of the woman and himself. The leaking mouth politician known for his loud but short on substance submissions to issues, Asokwa MP Kofi Jumah has often provided bloggers and critics ammunitions to expose his contradictions. On Wednesday (26th January, 2011) he joined a demonstration organised by the pro opposition group Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) on the streets of Accra to raise concerns about rising economic difficulties in the country. Jumah was one of other MPs reported to have joined the demonstration at point.

He however stole the show following his symbolic portrayal of the economic conditions facing Ghanaians. He claimed the demonstrators were looking for a Tawiah-a person who comes after twins- to convey their message of hardship so he passes it on to Atta-incidentally the name of the President John Mills.

“I hear there is somebody called Tawiah and I am looking for that Tawiah because I hear that he can reach Atta, even if Atta is asleep, he can wake Atta up so that he can tell Atta my story. “ Every Atta I hear has a Tawiah. So I am looking for Tawiah and when I walked down the street of Accra I saw so many people also looking for Tawiah,” he told Joy Fm’s Fiifi Koomson.

Jumah said Ghanaians are suffering-including him-and therefore wanted Tawiah to convey the message to Atta that his promises are not being felt.: “First of all he promised me that my life is going to be better but what I see is the reverse the direct opposite of what he promised. “I went to buy rice they told me the price of rice has gone up. So I say well if I can't buy rice at least let me drink water, the price of water has gone up. I got so angry and frustrated and said let me drink beer, the price of beer has gone up. Then when I went home the electricity price has gone up.”

Kofi’s claim that he can’t buy beer let alone sachet water gives him away as a hypocrite and a pathological liar. Why? This was the same man few weeks ago had lampooned his own party, the NPP, for what he said was the pittance party officials had leveled as the filing fees for prospective applicants wanting to contest seats as MPs. The party had proposed an amount of GH¢16,000 being payment for anyone wanting to contest a seat on the party’s ticket. He however accused the party officials of not being serious enough with the said about especially if they want to win power in 2012.

The question one needs to ask in the first place is; how much does the sachet of water or beer cost? Obviously not more than GH¢ 4.00 if we are to put the two together and yet, Jumah is unable to afford that but can cough up GH¢16,000 as filing fee to contest a seat as an MP.

Isn’t it disappointing that a man who claims to be struggling to pay for sachet water and beer is asking is telling his party to up an amount for anyone interested in becoming an MP. He is simply a sick joke who needs to see a psychiatrist before doing further damaged to his political career very much motivated by property grabbing and loose talk.

Political hookers

2011-01-26T14:11:00.000-08:00

Formation of so-called pressure groups is very much fashionable in Ghanaian politics. It does not matter which side of the fence you stand, so far as one is able to punch the weak areas of its opponents, its fine. And dirty tricks are allowed. It is unsurprising that political hookers from both the ruling National Democratic Congress and the opposition New Patriotic Party are desperately setting up groups to go after each other.

There are more than five of such groups on both sides. The loudest of them all however is the pro-NPP group, Alliance For Accountable Governance (AFAG). Members of the group have desperately tried but without successful to distance the organisation from the NPP but not everyone is interested. The group has organised two demonstrations against the sitting government, the recent one taking place on Wednesday in the capital, Accra. The group’s anger was over the recent fuel increase announced by the government some weeks ago. , as well as difficult economic conditions in the country. The "Ahokyere" demonstration as the organisers put it was also to protest against the rising cost of living in the country.

In a swift response to AFAG’s demonstration, a pro government group in Kumasi took to the streets in praise and dancing. The said Movement for a Better Ghana “which demonstrated under the theme "Anigye" or happiness, called on the government to prosecute members of the former government suspected to have stolen state resources for their personal benefits. Their defense for the increasing economic difficulties (obviously not affecting them because of what they get from Osu) was as a result of a certain TOR which has become a convenient spot for both parties to point to, anytime people raise questions about the economic difficulties or the billions stolen from public funds.

Whilst it’s clear that living conditions in the country are no better than we are being told, it is important for us to question the rationale behind the formation of groups pretending to be raising the concerns of the marginalized. The answer is not difficult to find: Their intent is to prop up desperate politicians back to power or help them stay in it. It is surprising that members of AFAG just two years ago were up in arms with anyone who appeared to have criticized the then ruling government. Things, they told us, were extremely important and that John Kufour was doing well. His reign, again told us, brought economic prosperity to Ghanaians; inflation down, Ghana’s image has been bolstered etc.

Whilst things were rosy for them, John Mills and his boys, then in opposition, were on the streets singing on empty stomachs. Some of them made us aware they are struggling to find even a decent meal a day to feed on.

Two years down the line however, they are telling us things are much ‘Better’ than they were; inflation is down, Ghana’s image abroad is solid and more roads and schools will soon be built. Their points were no different from the then ruling government but they, together with the rest of us, rubbished them. So we joined and sent the elephant way out into the bush.

The umbrella is said to be up in the sky but the sun is still beating us, harshly.

Double Tongue President?

2011-01-19T16:49:00.000-08:00

The crisis in neighboring Cote D’Ivoire is no doubt generating much debate in Ghana inasmuch as it doing elsewhere, thanks to the many reports emerging regarding the position of Ghana in respect of the use of military intervention to remove electoral fraud Laurent Gbagbo. Ecowas at its December 24th meeting in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, had proposed the possibility of using a military intervention to kick out Gbagbo from office. It was a unanimous vote, according to the report and Ghana, represented by President John Mill supported the idea.

By agreeing to the communiqué, Ghana was expected to commit troops should it become necessary that the action is taken. However, the president told journalists at press conference he was not ready to invade that country with troops. He came under barrage of criticisms with some accusing him of playing soft with Gbagbo. Prior to his comments, a newspaper in neighboring Burkina Faso had published a report accusing President Mills of tacitly pushing for Gbagbo to stay. Though his office denied the report, critics said his disapproval of any use of a military intervention to remove his ‘friend’ gave credence to the paper’s story.

As if that was not enough, President Mills is again reported to have said he supports an intervention to remove Gbagbo but will not contribute troops to that effect. Kenya Prime Minister Raila Odinga who disclosed the news to journalists after a day’s visit in Accra said the Ghanaian leader is ready to offer his support to ECOWAS but will not be ready to commit troops.

His latest revelation is causing a storm on social network facebook, with some calling him a DOUBLE TONGUE PRESIDENT. Is he or is he not supporting? And is the point in offering support but not committing troops? And is the oldman really on top of his security or somebody somewhere is pulling the strings? These are some of the few questions hanging on the minds of most people.

Stay with the Clothes, Mimi

2011-01-18T13:48:00.000-08:00

After successfully failing to craft a music career, former big brother housemate Wilhemina Abu Andani otherwise known as ‘Mimi is venturing into clothing. Whoever told her she can sing deceived her. Firstly, she has no quality voice to sing, no creativity in that field as well and her stage craft mostly embellished with showing of the tits and protruding belly were no fun to watch. ‘Music In Me,’ the title of the album rather turned out to be the ‘Suck In Me.’

The album sucks to hell and despite conscious and strong efforts to promote it, it fell under. I had the chance to listen to a couple of them and was not impressed. Even the so called ‘Leave Me Alone’ was so bad with the mixing and the message that it left one alone. Though it received airplay from most radio stations it was more of auto-tune and the rap was sour, to put it mildly.

Everything about the music was just hype. There was no showmanship or any quality to it. Even her so-called tour to Nigeria to promote her album described by so-called arts critics was ‘amazing’ was nothing good to write home about. She could be good at some areas but singing was more of a burden on her voice. The news is that she is coming up with a set of clothing line which she hopes will help erase the memory of an awful period in music.

The show is expected to come off next month under the name Divalish Collections. She is reported to have said that motivation for the lunch is for her to give back to society. That is rather impressive and inasmuch as I think her music career was long dead before she got her voice on the first note; it is pretty impressive that she acknowledges that society has been behind her through the times and time to give back.

“It is actually a charity fashion with Devalish fashion by Mimi. I'm doing a charity fashion show and at the same time outdooring the clothing line. What I get from it is going to charity. As much as I'm outdooring my clothing line, I'm using that opportunity to give back,” she was quoted to have said.

she said: “In the evening, we have a fashion show [dubbed] Runway and the Music [with] performances by me (Mimi), Efya, Chemphe, Okyeame Kwame, Bertha and Uti.”
It is my hope that her fashion show goes well and should that happen, I’ll humbly appeal to her or any of her close associates to talk her out of music. She can produce or write the song for people to sing in her name but to get behind the microphone? All she will get back is the hype and screams with none of those cheering her up even spending a dime to purchase a song not to talk about album.

And what is Kwaku T and Ras Wayo up to? Ras Wayo had disappeared from the radar after his almost ‘throw up’ like performance on that show. He also wanted to come out with an album but thanks that did not happen.

Tunisia’s Ray of Light could Shine on Cote D’Ivoire

2011-01-14T15:03:00.000-08:00

An unemployed graduate set himself on fire after police arrested him for hawking. He died from his wounds and days after. Ordinary citizens took to the streets (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12185055)asking for the resignation of President Ben Ali. He dissolved the entire cabinet hoping that could help pipe down anger among the people, mostly unemployed youths. But having failed to appease the people, he unleashed the security forces on protestors with the aim of bringing the situation under control. Unafraid and ready to take their protests down to the wire, the people began rioting and in the process, Ben Ali, who had ruled for more than two decades, to publicly announce he’ll resign from office at the end of 2014. He was wrong: The people took the fight to him and after mounting and persistent pressure from protestors unafraid to die, thanks of years of starvation and human right abuses, Ben Ali unceremoniously fled the country. His invincibility finally left him, leaving him in the middle of nowhere.

He soon realized he was not as popular as he has often believed he was. He won an election with a margin of 99%, something out of logical reason. However, his departure from the country and the persistent show of solidarity from the people had obviously silent the guns that had often been on his side. The one iron fisted bull fled the country like an ailing toad ready to be extracted from boiling water with its legs stretched in disbelief.

Though not many people expected that such a show of power could get the ‘bull’ out of his seat, Arab affairs analysts and political pundits studying the region now are of the firm mind that no leader in the Arab region is safe.: People are prepared to test the might of those weapons in the hands of misguided soldiers who have become play things for dictators. “The BBC's Arab affairs analyst Magdi Abdelhadi says Mr Ben Ali's demise may rattle the entire post-colonial order in North Africa and the wider Arab world,” the BBC wrote.

Leaders in countries such as Morocco and Egypt and to some extent Libya have will now start going to bed with one of their eyes fully looking into the ceiling, hoping no dirt drops on them. In Egypt for example where the happening in Tunisia might rattle the feathers of Hosni Mubarak (commonly referred to as PIG SWINE), opponents of dictator Hosni Mubarak have never been afraid of voicing their discontent except that those discontents have been expressed in writings. This time around and more likely, thanks to the events in Tunisia, the citizens will venture the streets hoping to stand up against any brute force from the security forces. That surely cannot be ruled out.

It is clear that what opposition political parties could not achieve through the ballot, the ordinary people have and they have done so in clear terms, even at the peril of their lives. Several leaders soon responded to the events in Tunisia soon as the government of Ben Ali was toppled. US President Barack Obama condemned the use of force against ordinary civilians by the security forces. “I condemn and deplore the use of violence against citizens peacefully voicing their opinion in Tunisia, and I applaud the courage and dignity of the Tunisian people.The United States stands with the entire international community in bearing witness to this brave and determined struggle for the universal rights that we must all uphold, and we will long remember the images of the Tunisian people seeking to make their voices heard.

He “urge all parties to maintain calm and avoid violence, and call on the Tunisian government to respect human rights, and to hold free and fair elections in the near future that reflect the true will and aspirations of the Tunisian people.Countries that respect the universal rights of their people are stronger and more successful than those that do not.I have no doubt that Tunisia's future will be brighter if it is guided by the voices of the Tunisian people.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy whose country is reported to have offered sanctuary to Ben Ali, which is not surprising to many considering the amount of money Ali has stashed into that country for the comfort of his family and cronies, asked all the parties involved to push for dialogue, adding: “Only dialogue can bring a democratic and lasting solution to the current crisis.”

Pressing the button further, the events in Tunisia could also serve as a catalyst to the people of Cote D’Ivoire who appear to be disenchanted with electoral fraud, Laurent Gbagbo who has made it his business not to leave power. He has obviously failed to see to reasoning and I’ll not be surprise should the people rise up against him. That certainly cannot be ruled out.

Cote D’Ivoire: From grandiose lifestyle to Gbagbo’s madness

2011-01-11T19:21:00.000-08:00

Back in the late 1990s, one of the popular countries I often heard about, apart from Nigeria, was Cote D’Ivoire. The French speaking West African country was considered a heaven on earth by most Ghanaian women. Especially ladies from Odumase-Krobo in the Eastern Region of Ghana, it was a luxury to be considered a resident in that country.

And talking about Krobo women, they are the most attractive and sexy looking women whose appetite for Ivorian men was something worth conducting a research into. Every Tom, Dick and Harry from Cote D’Ivoire who steps into Odumase-Krobo is likely to walk-away with a lady-even if he is as broke as anything. After all for these Krobo girls, Cote D’Ivoire offers a lifestyle comparable to that of France, and it was more easy for citizens, foreign residents or even visitors to have a night out stance without being branded immoral. Kissing was very much in the open.

Houphouët-Boigny, the country’s president, has consciously created a little Paris inside both Abidjan, the capital, and Yamoussoukro, the second biggest city, so almost everyone can go out there and enjoy a bit of a French life; openly kissing, sexing up each even at public parks and a big basilica to go with it. a grandiose lifestyle was created by the president whose appetite for opulence, even in a fading age, was well known. His cravings for young and sexy girls to cuddle him at the presidential mansion was very much part of the creation of the little Paris. Whilst people were openly devouring each other’s flesh in naked sleeping arrangements, the deadly Hiv/Aids virus was slowly creeping into people. It was a little known sickness so nobody really gave a thought to. But little by little it began taking lives and by the time Boigny had his last breath on earth, the disease had spread like bushfire and people are beginning to come to terms with that.

As if that was not enough, the era of politics changed. Self centred opportunists from different sides of the divide who had been waiting in the wings and wishing him dead, soon began scrambling for power. A fierce and bitter power scrambling which finally led to a military takeover and after many blockade and international anger, the military handed over power to itself. Unfortunately, the military leader, Robert Guei, was shot dead in cold blood when opponents invaded the palace where he had taken refuge. Laurent Gbagbo, a University professor in history, became president.

But his tenure as a president was very much wrecked by ethnic discrimination against the people in the northern.-they were denied voting rights following the disqualification of their candidate, Alassane Ouattara. Soldiers in the army from the north soon took up arms and battled their way till the end. In the final conclusion, a power sharing government was proposed and a former student activist Guillaume Soro became premier minister. But everyone knew the so-called political marriage was going to collapse someday: Gbagbo is devilishly ready to hang on to power even if that will shut the entire nation down.

And the answer to this is right before our eyes. After losing the general election which was twice postponed, the man has refused to hand over power to eventual winner, Alassane Ouattara. He has gotten the constitutional court to declare him president, contrary to the will of the people. Eventual winner Ouattara is also holding himself up in a hotel where he runs his administration. Gbagbo has his back to the way because the international community is completely against him. He is just an electoral thief who is refusing to hand over power. West African regional leaders prior to the new year proposed a military intervention which Ghana’s President John Mills endorsed but he recently made a 360 degree turnaround. His action surprised almost everyone.

Military intervention will not be the first in such a case. When then Sierra Leone President Tijan Kabbah was overthrown in a military coup Ecowas, then under the chairmanship of blood thirst Nigerian leader Sani Abacha intervened and sent the military into that country. The outcome was a happy one.

Surely, the same action could also be applied to the Cote D’Ivoire situation and should Gbagbo refuse, the necessary action must be used against him. Even if he has to lose his life for peace to prevail, that should be done. After all it’s just a small price to pay!

Going Gay?

2010-12-23T10:42:00.001-08:00

Just some few weeks ago gays and lesbians in the United States received a major Christmas hamper from the country’s politicians when the Senate voted 65 to 31, to repeal the military’s Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. By the repeal gay and lesbians in the US military can be open about their sexuality, and receive the same treatment as non-gays and lesbians. Some of the senators who voted against the bill insist it has the effect of undermining military cohesion. Senator John McCain who had previously supported the policy slammed it`, insisting it’ll weaken the military’s efforts in future combats.

His protestation, like those who voted against it, was finally stitched up in the garbage when President Barack Obama assented to it on Wednesday, few days before Christmas. "This is a very good day," Mr Obama said.

"This morning I'm proud to sign a law that will bring an end to 'don't ask, don't tell,” adding: "No longer will tens of thousands of Americans be asked to live a lie in order to serve the country that they love."

The policy was one of Obama’s objectives before heading to the white house. He also said it will allow many Americans serving in the military to do so with open mind without fear of being “forced to leave.”

"No longer will our country be denied the service of thousands of patriotic Americans who were forced to leave the military, regardless of their skills, no matter their bravery or their zeal, no matter their years of exemplary performance because they happen to be gay."

But there those Americans who continue to stress family values. Discussions on the practice often breed controversy-even in so-called developed societies where people’s sexuality is left to them. And for those in Africa and Ghana to be specific, the practice does not even exist. It stinks. It is never on any menu for breakfast or even dinner. .

Whoever brings that up might likely be skinned alive, literally. Often, religion has always become a convenient reference point for those who come out strongly on the practice. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is such a perfect reference. I’m not going to go into that. The last time I posted something on my wall about gay practice, a friend accused me of being xenophobic. Africa is no home to the practice, though one may see South Africa as an exception.

The former apartheid country has liberal laws towards the practice which most countries on the continent especially Zimbabwe does not approve. Robert Mugabe described them as worst than ‘pigs and dogs.” He stepped on the tail of gay activists who even called for sanctions to be applied to his country. Ghana has no law against the practice but the society is very unwelcoming of those involved in it, something human rights activists say violate their rights. What right? That is the question people have often asked: Do gays have rights?

But I think recent comments by the Acting Commissioner of the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Ms Hanna Bossman, that the rights of practitioners should be respected will amount to ruffling feathers especially among religious communities. The last time the issue came up a senior member of the clergy said any attempt to endorse the practice could amount to a huge curse on Ghana. I thought that was complete rubbish! Those who are raining curses on the country are those corrupt politicians that clergyman sits in council with, eat with and even depend on them for diplomatic passports so they can avoid being arrested for drug trafficking. Their’ behaviour is what’s keeping those corrupt politicians in place.

Inasmuch as I’m not privy to any information about gays and lesbians holding themselves up as preachers in most Ghanaian churches, there are more practitioners sitting in pews every Sunday. . Ms. Back to Hanna Bossman’s assertion. She said gays and lesbians should not be condemned based on people’s morality and instead urged Ghanaians to “respect the humanity in other people. Whatever your morality is, I would expect that people will respect your rights.”

She went further to say: “We are talking about fundamental human rights of people okay -freedom of choice. In as much as it is not criminal or it is not trampling on the rights of others, I think that we should respect it. You can be opposed to it but that does not give you the right to go and harm somebody or to go and do things that you are not supposed to do against that person.”

Not her but there have been other human right groups in Ghana who are often advocating for such persons to be given the recognition so they can be in the open and not go underground, since that could be bad for the society and the safety of children.

Again, I have heard senior clergymen called for the respects of gay and lesbians to be respected, even when we disagree with their sexuality. I was reading an article in the December 2010 edition of the US magazine Essence and in an article written by the civil right campaigner Rev Al Sharpton in attempting to address allegations against Atlanta based Bishop Eddie Long by some former church members that he sodomised them, Rev. Al Sharpton wondered the manner by which the accusation by the youngmen had been flatly dismissed and wondered if the same could have taken place if women had made the allegations. He said rather than pretend the practice is not going on in the church; the clergy should wake up and end the pretence.

He was convinced that is the only way out in addressing the growing culture of the practice in the church.

Laurent Gbagbo; the face of electoral fraud

2010-12-17T18:51:00.000-08:00

It is clear defeated and disgraced ex-president of Cote D'Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo, is not only an electoral fraud but has amassed for himself and family personal fortunes scatttered across unnamed countries. The man most Ivorians see as a nationalist is nothing but a common thief who is no different from the likes of the late Mobutu Sese Seko, Eyadema, Blasie Compoare and the many hooligans across Africa, holding themselves up as leaders. So far, Mr. Gbagbo, a former history professor, has refused to stand down after losing to rival Alassane Ouattar in the second round of an election more than two weeks ago. The European Union has insisted it will impose sanctions on the country if the criminal does not vacate the office he is desperately trying to hold on to by using the military. French President Sarkozy was clear in his mind when he said Mr. Gbagbo, an electoral fraudster, should stand down by the end of the week: "If, by the end of the week, they have not left the office they hold... in violation of the will of the Ivorian people, they will feature by name on the [EU] sanctions list."

Keynan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, himself a victim of electoral fraud, has urged the African Union to remove the criminal by force. He says the AU must have the 'teeth' to bite the criminal out of office before he plunges his country into any further abyss. I'm not one who endorses the use of force but in this instance, i support any possible action, including assassination, to get Gbagbo out of office. For a whole nation to suffer, i would rather he is eliminated. The case of then military leader Robert Guei is still fresh in the minds of many people and it's only resonable that those close to Gbagbo advice him to refer to how Guei was eliminated like a headless chicken.

WikiLeaks: Ghana Gov't respond to Assange.

2010-12-16T15:09:00.000-08:00

MINISTRY OF INFORMATION
PRESS STATEMENT

For Immediate Release

Ghana Government Responds to Cable Leaks

The Government of Ghana has become aware of reports in the press of purported leaked diplomatic cables on Ghana.

The Government of Ghana will like to reiterate for the avoidance of doubt that the President Mills led administration remains committed and unwavering in the fight against narcotics regardless of the threats that the leaks pose to this fight.

It will be recalled that President Mills demonstrated leadership by example as a clear signal of his commitment and emboldened security personnel by voluntarily subjecting himself for body search. This singular act sent a loud message that nobody would be shielded or allowed to engage in the illicit act no matter their connections or status.

President Mills has no cause to suspect his appointees and believes they are with him in this noble task to make Ghana a no-transit point for narcotics. He also knows what to do to those who fall short of the laws of Ghana and the standards he has set and will not have spared any such person neither will he seek anybody’s assistance before dealing with such persons.

Despite the challenges inherited, the Government of President Mills will relentlessly continue with this fight and will ensure that the Narcotic Control Board (NACOB) receives continuous support evidenced by the historic increase in budgetary allocation to NACOB and that the process to elevate the NACOB into a stronger independent Commission which is at a very advanced stage continues. We have maintained similar commitment in assisting and strengthening all the Security Agencies.

Our efforts in fighting the drug menace and the positive results achieved so far have been acknowledged by well-meaning Ghanaians and the world at large and for this we are highly encouraged.

Hon. John Tia AKOLOGU
MINISTER FOR INFORMATION
ACCRA
[December 15, 2010]

T-shirt war; when fools lead their flocks astray

2010-12-10T12:18:00.000-08:00

One of the many beautiful adages that I heard told was that “the foolishness of a sheep can be traced to its owner.” I fell in love with it that same day and had consciously tried to memorize it for my personal use; be it in my writings or merely using it to tease friends.

Events in Ghana the past couple of days over a t-shirt poking fun at the sitting president appear and creating a storm between the NDC and NPP has given enough weight to the adage.

The latter had outdoored new t-shirts with the inscription ‘ecomini,’ a gaffe President John Mills committed during an address to the country. Anthony Kabo, the youth organiser of the NPP, says the printing of the gaffe is to bring some creativity in the political arena, as well as raise funds to support the party.

He said it was not meant to denigrate the sitting president and his colleagues from the other whom he accused of over stretching the issue. He has warned that any attempt by colleagues from the other side to walk that same dirty road “we will give them the measure they are looking for.”

Though some leaders within the NDC are asking their followers not to walk that same path, the news coming out is that some are prepared to make nonsense of that appeal. A report from Kumasi says a new t-shirt about the NPP leader Nana Akufo-Addo with the inscription 1960 Weed Funky Days, will soon come out. The news report quoted a gentleman by name Kwesi Ofori Agyemang as being behind the said t-shirt to come out.

“We have been encouraged by the NPP General Secretary to create humour in the Ghanaian [body] politic and use it to create fun and I think we also have creativity within us in the NDC and we can also respond appropriately and create some amount of humour so that we can all enjoy.”

Thinking through what I call t-shirt war, it is pretty much depressing that after 53 years of nationhood we still have political junkies who are not interested in putting forward quality ideas to improve the lives of most young persons in the country, but rather rally them around for a stupid cause such as this one.

I find it more unfortunate that somebody such as Anthony Kabo, seemingly a reasonable youth organiser, should get himself entangled in such a mess. As someone who is desperately campaigning for his party to come to power, voters expect him to tell them what his party will do differently that the current government is not doing, not this useless and rather cheap way of selling party ideas.

The average Ghanaian voter who has no regular supply of water, electricity, no job and even unable to meet the basic things of life, will expect people like Kabo and Ofori Agyemang to tell them how their regimes will address these challenges. It's unfortunate but the behaviour of such hoodlums shows the direction Ghana is heading.

Cote D’Ivoire: Rhetoric not enough, ECOWAS

2010-12-07T15:47:00.000-08:00

It appears the Economic Community of West Africa (Ecowas) is thinking right. Leaders of the organisation at a meeting in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, are singing from the same hymn sheet with the right thinking members of the society: Laurent Gbagbo must leave! That is a right statement timely delivered. Report says a 14 point communiqué delivered after the meeting was clear about why that idiot called Gbagbo who wants to plunge his country further into the river must not be allowed to hang in.

He is a bad tooth in the sub-region and should not be allowed to do anything silly. While I applaud the leaders of Ecowas, I also want them to go beyond the talk and take action. We expect them to move in and smoke Laurent Gbagbo out before he creates further mess. He should not be allowed any breathing space to stay till the end of time. It is clear he is looking for power sharing and that ought not to happen.

This power sharing mess that happened in Kenya must never be repeated anywhere on the continent, let alone Cote D’Iovire. The sovereign will of the people be respected and the only way Ecowas will make itself relevant to the rest of us will be for them to get this electoral criminal out.

Drogba’s charitable works and Gbagbo's madness

2010-12-06T18:07:00.000-08:00

It is unfortunate that at a time when Ivorian football star Didier Drogba was busy raising funds in London to help establish hospital back in Abidjan, the country’s capital, his own fella Laurent Gbagbo, a humiliated president, is refusing to leave office. He was beaten by his political rival Alassane Ouattara in a run-off election but, like other idiotic African leaders, Gbagbo is refusing to listen to the voice of reason. His actions obviously have the tendency of plunging the country further into the coals.

The country is at the moment divided between the South and North. The latter is controlled by the rebel forces where Mr. Ouattara draws much of his support. There are attempts to get him to sit up and reason like a human being and not an animal. His actions are embarrassing to the works of footballer Didier Drogba who rallied round other countrymen based in England, musicians and colleague football players to raise money to build a hospital back home in a country that an idiot is desperately trying to set on fire.

Didier Drogba launched a charity three years ago to help support vital health and education projects in Africa. Money has already gone to the Red Cross and orphanages in his native Ivory Coast, according to a report in the sun.

"I'm not doing it for publicity - I'm doing it because I'm affected. I'm going to be loud now because I want people to support the charity."

Contrary to his good works, that of his countryman and disgraced ex-president Gbagbo is absolutely disgraceful. The situation in the country continues to slide further into the abyss and, the BBC is now reporting that the United Nations is moving its staff out of the West African country.

“Some 460 staff would continue to carry out their duties from the Gambia, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky was quoted by the BBC.

World leaders obviously appalled by what is happening are now speaking out. Bostwana President Khama Ian Khama urged African heads of state to strongly condemn what was happening. He urged lunatic Gbagbo to step down and safe himself any embarrassment.
Gbagbo’s actions have compelled both the World Bank and the African Developmetn Bank who early this week said they will freeze further assistance to a country whose citizens have suffered poverty and neglect from a corrupt regime.

His foolishness is read a bloat of Drogba’s efforts to bring relief to such persons who have been ignored. It is clear that if he refused to leave, then the fate that befell former military office Robert Guei will fall right on his sickly head.

Quitte le Pouvoir , a message to Laurent Gbagbo

2010-12-04T18:06:00.000-08:00

When Ivorian reggae artiste Tiken Jah Fakoly wrote the song, Quitte le Pouvoir – Leave Power, there was no doubt who the butt of the song was; Laurent Gbagbo. And if events currently in Cote D’Ivoire is anything to go by, then his prophesy was apt. The song which has become an anthem to the majority of citizens in that West African country has become relevant at this time especially when Laurent Gbagbo is determined not to leave power, eventhough he was resoundly beaten in an election which has been rigged for him, thanks to the useless and corrupt Constitutional Court headed by an ally.

Opposition leader Alassane Ouattara had earlier been declared victor but supporters of the lunatic Laurent Gbagbo jumped on the results and tore them into shreds. Moments after that madness, soldiers blocked the entry points into the country, disallowed foreign journalists from reporting about any incidents, and got Gbagbo to be sworn as president.

Immediately after that tacky ceremony, proper winner of the elections Mr. Ouattara was also sworn in as the elected president in the presence of UN and AU officials in a private hotel.

When Ivorian Lunatic Gbagbo had no shame and foolishly went ahead to claim the elections had rather been stolen for the eventual winner.

"You think that you can cheat, stuff ballot boxes and intimidate voters and that the other side won't see what is going on," Mr Gbagbo was quoted by the BBC.
In a direct reference to foreign observers, he said: "We didn't ask anyone to come and run our country. Our sovereignty is something I am going to defend."

It is rather sad that after all the mess he created that led to serious division in the country, Lunatic Gbagbo is walking the country right back into the dark moments. It is sad tale but the truth is that he has to “Quitte le Pouvoir.

WikiLeaks: Being journalist or not is not the issue.

2010-12-03T18:29:00.000-08:00

Editor in Chief of WikiLeaks, Julian Assanage, says the question about whether or not he is a journalist is not the subject that is important, rather the authenticity of the information he has so far puts across on his website, which has created diplomatic storm across the world, leading to several countries including the United States and Australia, where he comes from, going after him for criminally obtaining sensitive information that has embarrassed the United States.

Responding to series of questions from readers put together by the British Guardian newspaper, Mr. Assanage said the issue not about him being a journalist or not, but someone who gives directions to colleagues he works with to get the right information for publication.

“I coauthored my first nonfiction book by the time I was 25. I have been involved in nonfiction documentaries, newspapers, TV and internet since that time. However, it is not necessary to debate whether I am a journalist, or how our people mysteriously are alleged to cease to be journalists when they start writing for our organisaiton. Although I still write, research and investigate my role is primarily that of a publisher and editor-in-chief who organises and directs other journalists.”

The US State Department has consistently questioned his role whether or not he is an internet hacker who is masquerading as a journalist, as thrown in by a questioner. .
On the popularity the site has gain within a short period, Mr. Julian Assanage said he has always been confident about the site playing a crucial role in the dissemination of information across the world.

“I always believed that WikiLeaks as a concept would perform a global role and to some degree it was clear that is was doing that as far back as 2007 when it changed the result of the Kenyan general election. I thought it would take two years instead of four to be recognised by others as having this important role, so we are still a little behind schedule and have much more work to do. The threats against our lives are a matter of public record, however, we are taking the appropriate precautions to the degree that we are able when dealing with a super power”.

When a questioner who described himself as a former British diplomat asked him why he should not be held responsible “when next an international crisis goes unresolved because diplomats cannot function?

Mr. Assanage’s response was:”If you trim the vast editorial letter to the singular question actually asked, I would be happy to give it my attention”.

Photo Credit: Carmen Valino for the Guardian

Do we need a legislation to make women obey men?

2010-12-03T07:52:00.000-08:00

I had just finished reading an article on the BBC website about a study conducted by the South African Medical Research Council, which says that majority of men wants women to obey men. Their study was based on a new law that the Malian government intends passing which, when passed, means women in that country will have the right to disobey the orders of their men-especially crude and abusive orders.

I honestly don’t see the sense in that research in the first place, especially when one considers that women and men have always lived with each other, though they have not agreed on everything. I’m not a male chauvinist or one who believes women should be made a handbag of men, no.

I want to see men treat women with respect, dignity and not subject them to foolish beatings, cheating and abuse. I want to see men handle women with the greatest respect ever after all, God created women to work hand in hand with men. So that alone explains it. I have read and seen photos of how women have been beaten to death or harmed by their men, for rather petty reasons. For example in the Arab world and those fanatic moslems and traditionalists, women who refuse to carry out any crude order must be beaten to death or stoned.

That is why I have a problem with those so-called Islamic clerics around the world who believe that men are more than above women and should therefore force them-women- to take their orders even when those orders infringe on their rights.

I’m for respect across board but I don’t even think that whether or not women obeying men should be a subject for discussion. It should be both ways and women must, at all times, learn to respect and obey their men. Equality does not mean that women look down on their men, that will not help anyone. We are all partners in this life.
Together we stand as one.

Cote D’Ivoire: Stop Gbagbo before he burns the nation

2010-12-02T18:54:00.000-08:00

So there is no lesson learnt by the people of Cote D’Ivoire? It is pathetic to see that after the country was rescued from heading into the abyss following a rather ridiculous nationalism crisis, the very characters who were responsible for that so-called Ivorien Identity are back again.

This time it has to do with their refusal to acknowledge that the man they desperately fought as not being Ivorien enough, Alassane Ouattara, has won an election run-off with 54 percent. Supporters of incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo say the elections were rigged and will therefore not accept the outcome.

The BBC say: “Supporters of President Ggagbo had tried to block the result, saying there had been fraud in the north, the region where Mr Ouattara is most popular.”
The latest news say that the military had shut the country’s borders after the constitutional court rejected a declaration that indicate that Alassane Ouattara had won the elections.

Foreign broadcasting networks including CNN, France 24, and Radio France International have been asked not to broadcast anything out of the country, making it difficult for the outside world to get any news coming from the country.

It is rather unfortunate that the very leader of Cote D’Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo, who wants the world to believe he is democrat cannot accept that he’s lost an election in a competitive manner. It is said when one comes to think that the country is adding to the mess the West African sub-region is going through. It baffles my mind how Laurent Gbagbo and his cohorts ever believe that they are most reasonable persons to run the country.

My hope and prayer is that the international community takes a rather tough and ruthless stance against him, should his actions ever lead to the country sliding into chaos. Time to take actions against such idiots is now!

Deal with your mess, not WikiLeaks, Interpol &Capitol Hill

2010-12-01T11:46:00.000-08:00

Julian Assanage is obviously not a welcome figure in diplomatic circles around the world. Especially if you are a top notch figure in Washington, London, Paris, Harare, Beijing and many diplomatic corridors around the world, then the mention of his name will infuriate you. Since the release of secret diplomatic documents early this week which badly exposed the United States government and her allies, Mr. Assanage, founder of the now famous WikiLeaks website, is being sought for by Interpol in connection with a rather tramped up charges of sexual assaults in Sweden.

Early this week, as mentioned, the website released 250,000 documents which, among others, opened up the hypocrisy of the US governments and their double dealings with crude political leaders in the world such as Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, while public condemning him. The site also exposed how England’s Prince Andrew slammed journalists and how an investigation into a deal back in England could affect a transaction that he had a personal interest in. But news report that Interpol had issued an arrest warrant on the Australian computer wizard has been described as a witch hunt especially at the back of the release of the documents which most people believe there are more to come.

The latest twist by Interpol is no different from a similar arrest and subsequent acquittal charges of sexual assault leveled against him following the release of sensitive documents about the US involvement in Iraq. The latest move by Interpol is reported to have created a deep sense of worry for Mr. Assanage’s mother, who told ABC in an interview that: “He's my son and I love him, and obviously I don't want him hunted down and jailed." "I'm reacting as any mother would - I'm distressed,” according to, Christine Assange.

My first reaction was that both the US and Britain are just up to intimidate the chap who has been on the forefront to expose the rot countries such as the United States and Britain have run their diplomatic issues for many years. How come Interpol is investigating him for alleged sex crimes now, was the sex crime committed only this week or many years ago? That is the question most tweets I have been following are asking.

It is clear that the young chap is being haunted for letting the world know what goes on behind those fine diplomatic handshakes and speeches. It is even surprising for a country such as the United States that believe in free speech to be manipulating Interpol to go after WikiLeaks founder. It will be better for them to deal with the diplomatic mess and save their a** than this shameful attempt to cow the man into submission

How about a letter from Barack Obama?

2010-12-01T09:03:00.000-08:00

If you receive a letter from the current tenant in the American White House, it could fetch you quite a lot of money.A 28-year old mother from Michigan did, and she has just sold it for a handsome $7,000 US.

Jennifer Cline received Obama’s two-sentence note – it wasn’t even a real letter – in January this year, after she wrote to him, detailing her family’s situation.

The former pharmacy technician wrote to the President, stating that she has been unemployed since losing her job in 2007 and has skin cancer.
Her letter was passed on to Obama, who reportedly reads ten letters a day from ordinary Americans.

Moved by the content of Jennifer’s letter, Obama replied in his own handwriting on a White House stationary.

“Thanks for the very kind and inspiring letter,” replied Obama. I know times are tough, but knowing there are folks out there like you and your husband gives me confidence that things will keep getting better!”
That’s all he wrote, followed by his signature.

Jennifer and her husband kept the letter for a while. And then New York-based Autograph Dealer Gary Zimet came along and offered a cool $7,000 for it.
Jennifer and her husband sold the letter from Barack Obama because winter is coming, along with its bloated bills.

“This will get us through the winter,” says Jennifer Cline’s husband, Jason.
For the New York autograph dealer Gary Zimet, it is not the end of the story. He plans to re-sell the note for $18,000.

No tears for Yvonne Nelson

2010-11-29T12:12:00.000-08:00

I must first and foremost say that this article I’m about writing is very subjective because I have not heard from the young woman, Yvonne Nelson and I don’t intend to hear her response before I say anything, so read on.

I have been away from Ghana but thanks to technology I’m following the news back in Ghana. I have been following the happenings in the political, soccer and entertainment front. I’m not interested in talking about politics or football, I will talk about entertainment and by this, I’m going to talk about actress Yvonne Nelson.

I listened to the evening news on Joyfm on Monday (29th November, 2010) and the news that Yvonne Nelson has been banned for a year by film producers struck me. Initially I wanted to shut the link so I could finish reading an article in the ‘economist magazine, but the Yvonne Nelson story was pretty much exciting.

The story says she has been suspended for a year because of indiscipline. I must first say that I don’t know her in person, except in some of the few movies I have seen her acted in(I don’t watch most of her type of movies) however, information about her that I have heard have never been positive. I know friends who eat showbiz news and have often been critical of her behaviour; she is arrogant with very much uncomplimentary showings in public.

I remember an article one of my colleagues wrote and during the caption of her photograph, we wrote that her beauty is not appropriately placed with her character.

The thing is, there are most people in this country who continue to indulge in this fantasy that Yvonne Nelson is the most prettiest thing that ever happened to womanhood in Ghana, that she is the most sexiest and that men are lucky to even become friends with her and because of this delusive ‘wig’ sitting on her head, she goes around fooling and talking down to those who have made her who she is at this time. This is not the first time I story about her has come up, like I said, because I have heard many people say she is arrogant and disrespectful.

And I want to insist that this self Importance has nothing to do with her acting qualities but this misconception that she is pretty. I wonder what kind of pretty people talk about when they mention her. What is the use of beauty without character?
In my young life I have seen some of the prettiest ladies across colours and they are as meek as anything. I have seen some of the prettiest and sexiest women in their 40s, 50s and even below who are more responsible and respectful towards people. It is important for people to sit that young woman down and let her know that her so-called beauty (which people don’t see) is nothing more than just a vapour.

The country’s movie scene had seen some of the most striking females more than three decades before she was born. I wonder how she can compare with somebody like Abi Adetse or or Dzifa Gomashie? These are women with melting looks-the mention of their names is good enough to make a man lose his brains. Yvonne Nelson doesn’t compare in anyway, that is the truth. If she thinks her arrogance is what will take her to either Hollywood or whichever place she is aiming at going, then I’m sorry to say that has well been buried long before her name comes up. I don’t know who she listens to but those of her peers who are pleading for her to be forgiven, they should tell her to respect people. If she thinks her so-called beauty alone is good enough to give her an acting role, then I’m sorry to say she will remain at the base for many centuries to come.

I’m not a big fan of Jackie Appiah but I wonder how she, Yvonne Nelson, can compare with her. Her eyes are enough to thwart any so-called beauty Yvonne Nelson may have.
Even Central University where she recently graduated from, doesn’t she see the quality of good looking ladies with character? They are those we call beautiful women not those who prance around the space with their arrogant behaviour.

A President’s legacy to the people

2010-11-28T19:09:00.000-08:00

Jimmy Carter, one of the most revered world leaders became the 39th American president in 1977. A Democrat from the state of Georgia, Atlanta, he served only one term but went on to leave behind a legacy Americans, and especially those from Georgia, will be very proud of for a long, long time to come.

Like many other US Presidents, Jimmy Carter’s time at the White House is well documented at the appropriately named Carter Centre in Atlanta, Georgia. The centre houses many interesting personal items including photographs, books, and old passports. The centre also has a library stocked with books available to researchers, journalists, students and anyone interested in accessing the wide variety of materials available. For those interested in mental health, there is also much documented information about his wife, Rosalynn Carter’s work in bringing the issues of mental health to public prominence.

I had the privilege of driving to the centre on Sunday afternoon after lunch at Five Points, a culturally conscious suburb in a city that boasts interesting tattoo shops, a variety of restaurants and bookshops and a karaoke bar where I sang, badly, some Ghanaian highlife tunes.

The Carter centre sits on a large parcel of land a few miles away from the famous Emory University. In front of it is a water fountain and hoisted flags from a selection of countries, signifying a reflecting of the international stance of the Centre.

A documentary about Jimmy Carter’s life was coming to an end when I entered the main conference hall. I caught the tail end of the documentary and then started my tour. Everything at the centre is simple and self-explanatory, so visitors don’t need guides and can enjoy the tour at their own pace.

I started at the beginning, with pictures of his birth on the farm in Plains, where his family famously cultivated peanuts. Grouped with these pictures were his birth certificate, his first school chair, photographs of his family and many other personal items. Everything was grouped in a way that made it easy for anyone to comprehend the details.

Another section has the items he used at the White House; chairs, table, cups for his early morning breakfast, pens, telephone facility and news briefs. All of these were arranged very nicely and gave an insight into the private moments of the world leader. To add to the authenticity, a radio in the background broadcasted some of his memorable speeches during his presidency. I closed my eyes and could visualize him in the room with me, talking.

Homage is made to all the country’s presidents, past and present. There are photographs and details about the centres dedicated to those presidents. The centre dedicated to Bill Clinton is in Little Rock, Arkansas, there is a centre dedicated to the both President Bushes – senior and Junior – in Taxes, and no doubt, very soon there will be a centre dedicated to Barack Obama.
The Carter Centre hosts published works of both Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn. Some of the books included the memoir: KEEPING FAITH: Memoirs of a President, a 5,000 pager, which captures important meetings during his time as president.

“He used that wealth of information in writing this book, which recounts his experiences as president of the United States. Coming to office with high hopes and large ambitions, Carter found himself thwarted as he attempted to make his mark as president.”

The book captures arguably his darkest period as president following the 1979 invasion of the US embassy in Tehran, which resulted in the hostage taking of diplomats who suffered 444 days in captivity. It was one of the lowest points of his presidency. Walking down the streets of Georgia, I spoke with many people about Jimmy Carter in relation to the Tehran hostage situation. All were quick to say it was that very event that cost him the presidency. During my tour of the Carter Centre, Jimmy Carter, in one of the many video footages which for part of the material available to visitors, acknowledges what the people on the street had said.

Though the centre receives funding from other sources, Jimmy Carter relies on proceedings from the book for his personal upkeep. He receives no pension from the American government, only the meager handshake he was given when he left office after serving one term. This situation is no different from any other President who has served the American people. This contrasts sharply with the political environment of my country, Ghana.

In Ghana, the two living ex-Ghanaian presidents (Rawlings and Kufour), both retired from office-after eight years-with ridiculously gluttonous packages. Granted, Rawlings served eleven years as a military leader before contesting and winning democratic. That notwithstanding, neither he nor Kufour have ever considered or suggested that centres be built in their names so their periods in office could be documented and shared with the public.

Leaving a legacy has never been important to them. Leaving documentation and paraphernalia that would be important to researcher, journalists, scholars, students and the public about the work of a president is not important to them. What they are concerned with is how many cars, houses, and fat bonuses they can further squeeze out the Ghanaians who they spectacularly pushed deeper into the poverty cycle during their tenures as presidents.

On a daily basis, we read news items about the two ex-presidents bitterly complaining about not been properly taken care of by the state. Aides of former President Rawlings never missed the opportunity to lambast the current administration about leaving Mr. Rawlings homeless, after his house was burnt down. Not wanting to be left out, the Kufuor’s camp continually complain that he hasn’t been paid his monthly emoluments. They claim the man is going hungry. The claims of these two would be laughable if they were not so pathetic, especially, coming from people who held the highest office of the land.

David Oscar must end the crap on Viasat1

2010-11-18T00:53:00.000-08:00

Whoever advised David Oscar to quit his daytime job so he could take up comedy as a career had done him a great disservice. It would have been better if he had advised him to throw himself into the ocean. It would have been better for him to have been shot in the groin than walk about so he could get the energy to host that t crap of a show called, Laugh A Minute on Viasat 1. He is simply pathetic on the show.

It has been more than a month since the show started airing and I can confidently say the feedback became has been extremely disastrous: Take that crap off air to save him from further embarrassment; I hear a voice say to the owners of the station. The show is the ugliest thing I have ever come across in my life, at least since I started watching comedy show as a kid and now an adult. There is nothing funny about either David Oscar himself or the content he provides on each day.

I was one of those to have seen the first episode of the show. I happened to have bumped into the show at an eatery at Osu. The show had barely travelled the halfway mark when I told friends I was sipping drinks with that it was not fit as junk.

Watching the show is like sticking a sharp knife to your own throat; it stinks, to even be charitable to him. The unfortunate thing is that almost every episode gets worse by the day. On the 17th of November, 2010 I was out with my friends at a drink joint when they started the show. Almost everyone especially the ladies chuckled.

‘This guy is miserable on set, one lady retorted. Another who said David Oscar, the presenter, is a friend could not even hide her embarrassment. She said she had advised him to quit the show to save him from further disgrace from the public. On that particular show, he brought a placard on stage with the inscription ‘Tsofi or Turkey tail is good for boys and girls.’ Whoever advised him to include that with the intent of getting the audience to crack their ribs got it all wrong.

He received endless insults and more chuckles from almost anyone who entered the premises. His actions on stage could best be described as putting a tortoise in the same track with a horse for a race. The answer is best kept than answered.

Yes we Gyan’

2010-11-16T11:31:00.000-08:00

My criticisms of Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan is well known to everyone. I’m one of the least supporters of him. He is the luckiest striker this country has ever had especially when one compares him to that of Tony Yeboah or Prince Polley, all former national stars. They were heavy weights upfront especially Tony Yeboah.

His feet knew the goal post more than any striker in my life time. Asamoah Gyan does not come anywhere close to him and I stand by that. I literally roasted him after Ghana exited the World Cup at the quarter final stage, thanks to his rush to miss kick a penalty which could have taken the country to a historic semi final berth. I spent days cursing him on my facebook page. Like most Ghanaians, I thought he let us down by that judgment. I tore him apart with such viciousness that a friends began pleading for me to cease fire.

He has a love and hate relationship with football fans and for a striker who is wasteful upfront, he has equally stood up to the plate when all looked bleak. His exploits at Angola 2010 back in January was one of such. There are many instances to put to as both his bright and dark moments with football fans. However, what matters the most at the moment is his recent performance for his English club, Sunderland.

The man has become the star attraction for the BLACK CATS, since joining them after the World Cup. He arrived in England with huge expectation on his shoulders. The English Premier league is one of the hottest in the world. It has an unattractive following across the world, including Ghana.

The media are as vicious as the fine quality of the league. So most of us were worried about how they will receive Gyan especially when one considered that he scored less than 10 goals for his club, Stade Rennes in France prior to cross over to England.

But after some breath-taking league games and goal scoring moments everyone, including myself, are eating our humble pies. He has, without a shred of doubt, forced most of us to applaud him. He has scored in every league game he has since played for Sunderland and if the equalizer against Tottenham Hotspurs in London was something special, then the game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge was glorious.

He spearheaded the attack of the Black Cats and they clawed their way into the hearts of Chelsea by thumping them 3 goals. It was an unbeliever spectacle. Sunderland beating Chelsea at the bridge? It’s a rather sick joke prior to the game. But the gospel truth is that Chelsea were reduced to rubbles by the cats.

Gyan had said before the game that he was going to beat Chelsea but most people thought it was the usual joke. Chelsea had not lost any game at home since last year’s February and if any club is to beat them, it should not be Sunderland. They were wrong. Gyan and his colleagues headed out of London with all smiles on their team bus, thanks to goals from Onuoha, Gyan and Ghanaian born British Danny Welbeck.

Gyan has been nominated for this year’s BBC African Footballer of the Year award and I just voted for him. I’m really campaign for him to win and I pray he wins, to cap a great year for 2010

Did J.A. Kufour sample any bottom?

2010-11-12T04:47:00.001-08:00

Dishonorable Member of Parliament for Asokwa in the Ashanti Region, Maxwell Kofi Jumah, obviously has an oral cavity that leaks. He talks by-heart and for somebody who makes laws for sane people and expects them to abide by it, that is a worrying trend. His recent comments about the former mayor of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, Patricia Appiagyei show how cheap he can be. He says the woman used her buttocks to secure the job as KMA, which he once occupied. He comes across as a dirty and filthy speaker, whose contributions to issues have been horrendous. He told a radio station in Kumasi that if Ms Appiagyei thinks she can, once again, use her ‘bottom’ to unseat him so she takes over his seat, then she must be joking.

“'She thinks she succeeded me as a Metro Chief Executive, and because of that, she can unseat me as an MP. Let me tell her, she can use her bottom to secure the mayor position, but as an MP, it is about elections,'

The political loose cannon has since apologise but I’m a bit surprise about how his own MPs have deliberately turned a blind eye to his reckless comments. He should be hauled before their so-called ‘appointment committee’ for him to answer for his unguarded comments, and provide answers as to who and who benefitted from the ‘bottom’ services. They are quick to issue threats about inviting people to appear before that useless ‘appointments committee’ for the innocuous write up about them and, yet, are unable to bring their own member to book for his ‘by-heart’ comments.

I remember how upset they were when the Africa Watch magazine published an article which ranked most of them for their poor performance. The rather true story did not go down with most of them and out of stupidity; they decided to summon the publisher of the report. Thank God he did not come. Such self importance.

Per appointment into such a political office, the appointment of Ms. Appiagyei was done by former President John Kufour so Kofi Jumah’s statement therefore means the former president ‘banked’ the woman before offering her the position.
This is really interesting especially when the former president has come under barrages of attacks from the public for his strong interest in women.

There was even a joke about his alleged romance a female television presenter in this country and how after taking off her cloth the lady, out of anxiety took a gentle look at him. Mr. Kufour was reported to have told the lady in the Akan language; are u surprise is me the sitting president who is undressing you, huh? I have several times heard other jokes in that same direction. Therefore if Kofi Jumah’s comment gives credence to that rumour, then it means most of those pretty ladies in several positions had to ease their clothe for the ‘big man’ to sample their joyous places in sleeping arrangements before taking their appointment letters.

Only time will tell.

Ms. Mo’s sex diary.

2010-11-03T10:31:00.000-07:00

Who doesn’t like the smell of sex stories? We all do! Especially when elements making up the story are not only hot and spicy but send the entire nation running after straws, are still unclear, we still persist in getting the whole pie. And so for a woman in her late 20s to get the whole of Ghana talking about sex, robber and free speech must be unique.

She must have the brains of great writers such as Günter Grass, Stephen King or Toni Morrison or Maya Angelou, ---and to tell able to tell such a compelling story that even elements within both the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party will, without a surprise, throw mud at each other, Ms. Mo must obviously be an award winning writer.

The unfortunate thing however is that the content of her diary, though spiced with bouts of sex, remains unclear. Nobody knows exactly what the content of her diary truly is, not even those on the bus. Except for the driver and other passengers who had said that, indeed, the bus came under fire but the driver was smart enough to whisk them away, the content of her diary remains unclear. Even the lawyers defending her are not certain the actual details as contained in the diary.

I heard the driver myself on Metro TV’s “Good Evening Ghana” programme on Tuesday, 2 November 2010, repeating the exact things I had read elsewhere of him. He was alleged to have sexed five women continuously until he lost consciousness and had to be resuscitated by the robbers to continue his job. There was also the account that an old woman was sexed by an energetic youngman to the extent that she was thanking him for a ‘good job’ done.

Then there was also the account that a man traveling with his 14 year old daughter was subjected to complete humiliation when he was asked by the robbers to sex his own daughter. I must confess my spirit sank into despair when I heard that particular chilling account. But it is now emerging all these reports were completely made up by Amina for whatever reasons best known to her.

Not so much of Ms. Mo’s account but the sudden desperation on the side of politicians to make capital out of the mess she has invited onto herself makes me sick. What the heck are they trying to prove? So far I have heard unreasonable commentaries from officials of both the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party give their own account as to how the incident appears.

The NDC’s chap in Cape Coast called Allotey Jacobs, who talks as if he’s fanning a dead elephant in a deep forest, claimed the account put out by Amina was at the behest of elements in the opposition NPP to discredit the government.

It was a rather irresponsible comment which to the best of my knowledge should be ignored-but I was wrong. NPP’s party Chairman Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, one of former president’s Kufour’s boys who spent time in office grabbing properties with both hands and feet, launched a tirade on Jacobs, describing his comment as balderdash.

Subsequent to that, I have heard elements within the pro NPP Alliance for Accountable Governance group slammed the police communication director, Kwesi Ofori, as being inconsistent with his own accounts of events. I thought that was the height of stupidity and insincerity. The NPP left power barely two years ago and it was the same policeman who was running around defending the government.

When the parcels of cocaine mysteriously disappeared from the police headquarters during the reign of the NPP, it was this same policeman who was all over the place defending the service and government. Even when it was clear that the former IGP had been cited as being friends with one of the then baron, Issa Abbas, Kwesi Ofori went out on his own way to defend him and the government.

It is unfortunate but when you hear people in the caliber of the AFAG’s and their like minds talk, you wonder if there is any hope for this country.

I also heard another element say what is happening is stifling free speech. This is obviously a stupid statement to make. It is clear they’re chasing up this Amina story purely for political gains, they don’t mean well for the youngwoman.

Her mess is their gain.

MPs should pay for their own laptops

2010-10-26T03:32:00.000-07:00

Two weeks following their return to parliament, Ghana’s MPs were handed out laptops by the Communication Ministry. The laptops handed out to the 230 parliamentarians fitted with moderns, according to Communication Minister Haruna Iddrisu, is to help the MPs do research to help in their work.

Mr. Iddrisu again justified his ministry’s decision by saying, “Parliament is such an important institution and if we are serious - in the 21st Century – we should be talking about e-Parliament, e-cabinet.” A lot of people disagreed with the decision to handout the gadgets for the MPs for free. I am one of them. But there are others like my friend and colleague blogger Kajsa(www.kajsaha.com) who disagrees with me. She thinks the MPs deserve the gadgets because it will help in their works and also push the boundary of accountability a bit.

But before I come to her I’ll like to first respond to Mr. Iddrisu’s explanation that the laptops will help the MPs undertake research exercise. I want him to come and tell the public which of his colleagues or even himself have been conducting research into any of their works, and how that has impacted in their work.

This bare face attempt to hand in laptops to himself and colleagues under very cloudy circumstances is not true. And in any case what kind of research is he going to conduct? Any potential person wanting to become an MP does so because of the money-and it has nothing to do with any serious parliamentary work-no wonder they fight during campaign periods. And the evidence(s) is not too difficult to find-the sale of Ghana Telecom, the accusation of a jet etc.

Now back to Kajsa’s argument. MPs like any other politician or citizen deserve to get their fingers tune on to the things of cyberspace else risk becoming insignificant. It is the trend over the world and they must follow the same trend. I agree with that. My point is that it should not be the state funding or paying for the laptops.

If the MPs want laptops to help them in their work they should pay for them. They collect hefty sums of money at the end of their term (and this is apart from the sitting allowances at committee levels, those collected from organisations and individuals before they even submit their petitions to the committee levels) as ex-gratia, for huffing and puffing in the house on partisan lines, at the detriment of the nation. At the close of parliament in 2008, each MP collected more than US$30,000 as ex-gratia. And this also excludes their car loans and the many per diems most of them receive on travel trips.

An MP is currently using a vehicle worth more than US$ 20,000, free accommodation and all the trappings that come with his office. It will therefore be politically incorrect for one to say they cannot afford laptops. They should get their own if truly they need them to undertake research.

Secondly, I find this excuse about constituents demanding accountability from the MPs pretty strange. Prior to standing for elections, the MPs themselves tell their constituents of their readiness to be open and transparent in their dealings.

They surely knew at the time that they did not have laptops and so I’m wondering how a new laptop in their hands will help constituents demand accountability from their MPs. How many of their constituents know how to use emails?

It is a fact that more than 60 percent of our rural communities, where most of these MPs come from, are not ICT savvy, so how do they demand accountability from their MPs via the email? A constituent who has no running water or has bad school structure does not need an email address to inform the MP(and its said people are asking them to do roads and build schools just because they promised such things on their campaign platforms, though theirs are to make laws).

The MP should be visiting the constituency every weekend to interact with their people and not sit in Accra and lavish in ‘profligate enjoyments’ with their own. After all what matter to the ordinary folks are how to address the bad road networks, energy supply and safe drinking water. Those are the essentials people want and which, unfortunately, the MPs are not talking about at all.

They’ll rather sit in parliament and see their constituents walk up to them begging for handouts; school fees, funeral donations, weddings etc-And they go through all because they promise them.

Some even find it frustrating going back to their constituents because of the poor nature of the roads- but are quick to pitch camp there during elections. Accountability for me will when they hold government accountable for every single bill or money spent, irrespective of their political affiliations.

I’m confident these laptops will end up either in the rooms of their girlfriends, kids or even wives. Or at best become a toy on which they watch their lousy movies.

There are serious crises in our education which require that we spend money to resolve that and if our priority is about getting laptops to save the parochial interest of the MPs, then God help us.

I rest my case!

What will make Rawlings happy?

2010-10-22T05:41:00.000-07:00

Early this week when Mr. Rawlings released a statement accusing some members within his own party of spoiling his name, the question I heard a passenger I was traveling in a commercial vehicle (trotro) asked was: ‘What will make Rawlings happy? I did not pay much attention to the question until later in the day when I had furnished myself with the entire content of his statement that I began doing my own analysis.

Mr. Rawlings claimed, among other things, that the government under John Mills has failed to prosecute ‘corrupt’ officials of the New Patriotic Party. He said members of the party and Ghanaians are losing faith in the government as a result of that. He also revealed a rift between himself and President Mills, and admitted things have not been right with them at all. It is their own business to resolve.

I must say Jerry Rawlings was somebody I admired as a kid. He was the only face I knew on television back at the time. The first time I saw him in the flesh was in 1988 at a public rally. He was due to arrival at mid-day but even before the time, the whole lorry park where the meeting was to take place was packed. The crowd was huge and even though I managed to get to the place before 10am, I had to struggle to get a good place so I can see him.

I managed to secure a place on top of broken down truck and though I was crumbled by big guys in the crowd, I was still happy I might see him. Mr. Rawlings arrived hours later to a thunderous applause and shouts of his name. He was in military uniform. I must confess I still don’t recall exactly what he said at the time except that I clapped and yelled alongside those present.

But years on when I started picking up lessons in global politics on the streets, one of the books I read was ‘The Rawlings Factor’ by one Shellington. It chronicles some of the events of Mr. Rawlings during his time as a military leader; his successes and failures. It was a well written book with good language pattern.

I remember vividly how Rawlings exited power in 2000 when his party lost. Contrary to opinions he was not going to leave power especially when most African leaders have entrenched themselves in office, Mr. Rawlings left. He earned high praise in the process. But that was short lived. He started attacking the sitting government at the time. He accused them of everything; corruption, murder and lies.

His privileges were taken away from him-though I thought it was a rather stupid decision taken by John Kufour and his boys at the time. He continued his tirade on the government until they lost power in 2009. It was a devastating defeat that the entire NPP structure is still nursing.

So with the NDC in power most people thought Mr. Rawlings will be quiet and allow things to run, but he will. He turned his attention to the sitting government and its officials, accusing some of them of being ‘corrupt’ and ‘latter day saints’ who have just joined the party ranks to enjoy goodies.

He has kept the same line of insults and accusations he leveled against John Kufour on the NDC government. Together with his hatchment men, Mr. Rawlings has consistently launched a blistering attack on the president and his team. He even accused him of surrounding himself with ‘bastards.’ He used the most unfortunate language ‘who born dog’ to even describe them.

But what could be happening to Rawlings? That is one question most people like myself continue to ruminate over. The speculation is that he is desperately seeking control over the government for the gains of himself and family. His desperation to get officials of the past government prosecute has even been interpreted as politics of vengeance.

He thinks the current president should just arrest past officials of the government who misconducted themselves. I am for the prosecution of corrupt officials-obviously I can’t see how Wereko Brobbey and Kwadwo Mpiani can be allowed to go home and enjoy the loot from the Ghana@50 mess. But, like others, the wheel of justice grind slowly and the best all of us can do is to just hope and pray the right checks are done so these hoodlums are kept behind bars. But until that has taken place, Mr. Rawlings should just hold his fire. He should let the current president be.

It is rather bizarre and petty that his own wife will even be upset because a picture of the husband and President Mills who to be sharing a joke was published in newspapers. What kind of foolish thinking is this, Madam Konadu? Sometimes I don’t want to take to heart the many ranting of Kwaku Baako, who has a strong fixation towards Rawlings-but some of us are beginning to agree with most of the things he says about the Rawlings’; that they are seeking control so they can get whatever they want from government.

It is in the interest of Mr. Rawlings to make sure the NDC stays in power. At least if for nothing at all, he’ll get the goodies being splash on party officials. But if at this time and he does not even trust his own party members for addressing his so-called concerns, does he think the NPP will do that?

Mr. Rawlings should by now remember that he is an elder statesman and recently appointed African Union envoy to Somalia and should know how to behave. He is making himself pretty much irrelevant to the course of history in this country and losing the political plot

His irreverent attitude towards the institutions of state is not helping his own image at all. Mr. Rawlings should be grateful to Ghanaians for once- it was at the back of the many ordinary and impoverished Ghanaians that he managed to get ‘friends’ to pay for the tuition of his children abroad.

Today one of them is a medical doctor, another is a lawyer and until recently, the boy was working at the bank. Not many families who had supported him over the years are fortunate enough to even put their children through secondary school.
Most of them are still struggling to even come by a penny to help them get into ‘trotro’ from one destination to the other.

Ghana MPs; wet dreams, failed grades and pay rise.

2010-10-21T02:57:00.000-07:00

Wet dreamers calling themselves MPs want a pay rise. I thought it was a sick joke the first time I heard it; a kind of an ‘April Fools’ thing happening in October. But I was wrong. It was real. MPs want pay rise and this time around, they want 20 percent increase. I felt like weeping blood. These guys are not only crooks but incompetent and they want the average taxpayer to reward them for their mess.

The report said the MPs had threatened to go public with their grievances but had to be persuaded to halt their so-called ‘going public outbursts’ by deputy majority leader Rashid Pelpuo.

“It is no longer a big problem now, the Members of Parliament would easily recognize this effort, because before the next three days or before the end of this week I believe very strongly that a cheque will be ready and all of them would be happy smiling to the bank to clear what is due them for all these years, which has kept them earning far, far less below the standard of a Member of Parliament.”

Also, I find the claims made by Pelpuo to the effect that MPs salary is about US$D500 month pretty rubbish. Does he know how much a civil servant who has worked his ass of for decades earn in a month? That is stupid to say the least. How on earth can MPs who are on what they want us to believe is a meager salary drive around in four wheel drives, eat in the best restaurants, hire rooms for their concubines, as well as furnish that for them. I want Pelpuo and his brigade of MPs to come forward and tell Ghanaians such crap.

Again, the MPs claim to the effect that their salaries have not been paid for weeks is laughable. Do they know the pain civil servants go through in this country? Most of them have not been paid for months. There are some whose salaries are not even enough to get into a public transport for a month, and they are not even complaining. What rubbish! They can go to hell for all that Ghanaians care. After all the ex-gratia, car loans and allowances paid to them, these gluttons think we should pay for their idiotic pleasures’ sexing up prostitutes etc.

Their ridiculous demands for pay rise can’t be justified with any serious work. Do they expect us to reward them for their idiotic behavior in the so-called august house, where most of them throw punches at each other at the least provocation? Or they expect us to reward them for sleeping in parliament or the failed grades most of them got as per the ranking by African Watch magazine?

They are sick in the head. What has happened to the ex-gratia they took more than 13 months ago during the change of government? They should give us a break. If anyone really wants to know how useless those MPs are, then the answer lies in the grading system issued by the African Watch magazine on Monday 18th October, 2010. Majority of them got failed marks.

And did I hear that MP from Ada Sege in the Greater Accra Region Felix Abayatei complained bitterly about the results? His electoral fortunes are at stake. This was the same MP who denied the existence of child labour in his constituency. When such hoodlums are elected into parliament, only the creator knows the kind of decisions they’ll pass on our heads. He scored ‘F’ and instead of ruminating over it, he chose to open his stinky mouth issuing a threat to haul the publisher of the magazine before the so-called ‘privileges committee.’ What nonsense.

The country is at the moment grabbling with how to resolve the mess in the education system and all these stinky gluttons think about is their already bloated stomachs. Greed! Lecturers at the country’s tertiary institutions are on strike and rather than proposing ideas about how to resolve that, all these political tsetse- flies think about is their personnel welfare. Such attitude makes me appreciate the greed in that parliament house. No wonder heavy face, inept, sleepy and greedy former speaker of parliament, Ebenezer Sakyi Hughes, could stand on his two balls and ransack the entire furnish including the floor tiles at the time he was retiring.

The most foolish statements I often hear them make is this thing about ‘making sacrifices for the country. What sacrifice? Their level of greed is no different from an untrained dog whose insatiable appetite to grab almost anything leads him on a ‘grabbing spree,’ where he grabs with hands and feet so the next animal doesn’t get anything to feed on.

Then again you have these same MPs organized press conference and react to another callous statement made by a deputy tourism minister to the effect that somebody is coming from a village, and deserves to be enlightened.

Titus Glover!

2010-10-07T04:42:00.001-07:00

I firmly believe New Patriotic Party’s Titus Glover needs to check in at the psychiatric hospital. Being in opposition has made him senile, so he talks by-heart. He talks as if he’s sitting on a chamber pot. I heard him last Tuesday evening on Oman Fm’s Boiling Point programme threatening war should his party lost the 2012 elections.

What utter foolishness. If he thinks war is a luxury then he should look at Liberia. I don’t know to tell the ugly spectacle of that country, once a beautiful land with great and amazing women. It was plunged on its knees by self- seeking politicians who believe either they get the power or the rest of the country sinks into the abyss.

Ranting like an unhappy dog, Titus said the 2012 elections will be war and his party, the NPP, will go all out to fight the ruling National Democratic Congress. While I acknowledge it is his right to battle the NDC in elections, I strongly believe this stinky language of ‘war mongering’ should not be coming from him.

He stupidly ignored the fact that declaring war in Ghana also means Nana Akufo-Addo, the NPP presidential candidate, cannot get the opportunity to rule. He has forgotten that nobody can govern a country on the slide: It will not happen. His desperation to get into power has nothing to do with efforts to provide quality social amenities to the citizens.

Titus’s party was in power for eight years and yet the young chaps at Tema Community one, Site Two continued to peddle drugs because they had no jobs. His home is across the street to that particular area so he saw the difficulties most of the young lads there were going through and yet did nothing about it. He did not care. It is therefore important for him to sit quietly and enjoy the fortunes he amassed for the eight. However, if the fuming and the ranting are because he was unable to loot anything, just like his contemporaries before they left power, then I’m sorry for him. I weep for him.

Politics is a contest of ideas and if he finds that difficult to handle, then it will be important for him to take a back seat and allow sound minded persons within the NPP to speak on radio. But this desperation for power which often lead him to make silly comments will not be tolerated at all. If he thinks he’ll call for war and then fly out his country, then he is lying to himself; that will not happen because the war will end soon as the fires from the war consume his wife, kids and himself. Ghana may have its own challenges but it is a lovely place to stay in. I’ll love this country to enjoy the peace and quietness so I can go out and enjoy my live band music, despite the economic challenges.

Therefore the call by Titus Glover that there will be war in the event the NPP loses elections is gibberish. I know his family very well: I went to school with his twin brothers (they are domiciled outside the country), stayed directly opposite a home with his late Uncle and also know some of his family members. They are well behaved and of sound mind. They are not war mongers just because the party they support is not in power, no. the issues for them are whether or not elected governments have been able to deliver on their policies.

Titus Glover is desperate to get back into power, which almost everyone understands. But he must do so with decorum. It is therefore important for him to speak issues instead of this cheap and idiotic threat of war if his party or candidate does not win the elections. The likes of him have no place in Ghanaian politics.

Toddlers at play

2010-10-04T08:46:00.000-07:00

The sorry state of Ghanaian politics will not go away anytime soon-especially in our life time. The stupidity will always continue, irrespective of which of them is in power. The thing is they all behave like underage kids running after the Christmas Santa Clause for sweets. No wonder a change in government comes with the change in almost everything-including changes in the name of buildings, streets, and public toilets.

And talking about names, I got an usual call from a friend last Saturday night asking me if I had heard about the change of the name ‘Jubilee House’ back to its old name, ‘Flag Staff House. My answer was no and that such a thing will not happen, at least for my mind. I promised the friend I was going to call back to confirm or deny whatever she’s heard.

I forgot and when to bed. The following morning I woke up and on the morning news of Accra’s based JoyFM, the news presenter mentioned as part of his lead that the name ‘Jubilee House’ is now ‘Flag Staff’ House, as it used to be known before the egoistic John Kufour, for political pettiness, changed it. Jubilee or Flagstaff house is the name of the monstrous and needless presidential building which John Kufour spent the tax payer’s money to build for the comfort of his own.

Kwame Nkrumah used the place during the early days of Ghana’s Independence and that was how the first name came about. I was one of those who openly spoke against John Kufour’s ridiculous decision to change the name however, I thought the harm had been done and things should remain the way they are. Kufour’s intentions were clearly known; to obliterate Nkrumah’s name from history. Inasmuch as the decision to change the name was stupid, I find also the decision by the NDC government to reverse it crappy.
What on earth will the name do to the people of Ghana? Will that put forward on the table for the truck pusher who is taxed almost on daily basis? Those are the questions we should be asking those idiotic politicians.

The change presents a rather worrying picture for the NDC. President Mills just returned from what government says are two successful trips from both Japan and China and the benefits, we are being told, will soon show. I have heard billions of dollars and, hopefully, when the monies are used for which they have been promised, then we are solving some of the problems at hand. It is a single trip which, according to government sympathisers, is making the opposition elements piss in their pants. And rather than letting the success linger on and for the opposition to piss in their pants, what the NDC chaps have done is that they have shifted attention from the seemingly successful trip of the president to a rather mundane change in name.

And in a country where the media thrives on senseless controversy, the discussion will centre on the change of the name: I can guarantee that a whole week or even more will be spent by both parties to discuss the merits or demerits of the change and while they are at it, the essential things such as equitable distribution of clean water, provision of quality education and regular supply of energy to our people will be left alone.

Already the pettiness involved in the naming and renaming was played out by elements of the two parties: NDC and NPP. Kobby Acheampong, deputy minister of tourism said on Metro TV that the name is ‘meaningless.’ His explanation was that the initial name was more historical in outlook and it was needless for the previous government to change it.

Ursula Owusu, a lawyer and activist of the NPP said reverting back to the old name was just an attempt by the ruling government to erase the name of former president John Kufour.
“When you go to the US… do you see White House written anywhere?...and yet people know that is the White House, it is classy, it is descent …the building speaks for its self,” Ursula claimed.

“But look at what we’ve done, crude, very very crude; and this is the government that calls itself open, transparent and honest. …we go to sleep and wake up and this is plastered on the wall…where was the discussion, where was the preparation of the Ghanaian’s mind?" she asked.

in all of the petty discussion all that these political hoodlums are saying has nothing to do with how to improve the quality of life of the Ghanaian, how to ensure that pregnant mothers go to hospitals and they come back alive, how to ensure that children studying under trees are housed in proper classrooms.
No. That means nothing to them, rather their stomachs mean much more to them than anything.

God Bless Ghana.

Toilets for Senior and Junior staffs

2010-09-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

It’s depressing but the truth is that Africans have not learnt anything sensible from colonialism. What I’m trying to drive at is that the African, after complaining bitterly about the inequality colonialism created, appears to have inherited that and entrenched that garbage with panache.

No wonder there is so much segregation among Africans especially when it comes to who has the power and who does not. We may all claim to be of the same skin colour but the opportunities are completely different for all of us: The rich in African continues to grow in wealth while the poor remains where he is.

Unless he works hard, he’ll remain there until the sun goes down on his soul. It is the same in our churches as well. Visit any church in Ghana and the blessings for those who give what the pastors consider as ‘small offerings’ are given equally small blessings.
Those who give ‘fat offerings’ get ‘fat prayers, then there are those who get to sit right in front of the pew because of their financial power, irrespective of whether or not their behavior runs contrary to the content of the bible.

Such ridiculous segregation is also taken to the ministries or governmental areas where public toilets have been every much demarcated, with Senior and Junior staffs heading out to response to nature’s call at different booths. That is the revelation made by Economist Nii Moi Thompson in an interview with Accra’s based Citi FM.

Obviously irritated by what he saw at one of the ministries, he said such ridiculous practice is a reflection of the shallow mindedness of those who believe they are more human than the rest.

The idiots within.

2010-09-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when I hear persons appointed into responsible positions behave as if they have no brains of their own, I get upset. I get angry, to say the least. Especially when such persons are enjoying salaries collected from the ordinary folks in this country.

That is why I still can’t understand the rationale behind the fruitless efforts the heads of the social welfare department are trying to put up in order to exonerate themselves from failing to protect the children at the Osu Children’s Home whose lives have been left in the hands of treacherous caretakers, who spend endless periods of time abusing them with excitement.

Since the ugly story broke following seven months of undercover works done by investigative journalist Anas Aremayaw Anas of the New Crusading Guide, both Albert Adongo, the head of the department and his assistant Daniel Opare Asare, have not been men enough to accept the fact that they failed in their jobs by regularly visiting the home to make sure the children are ok.

The two idiots are telling the committee investigating the matter that the journalist’s story is skewed in order to make them look bad. What rubbish! I have heard the two idiots speak on two private radio stations and the words from their mouths stink. They speak not with their heads but stomachs. For example on Thursday evening on the Eyewitness News on Accra’s based Citi FM, I heard Abongo’s assistant foolishly questioning the ‘motive’ behind the story done by the journalist.

His claim was that the journalist manipulated the kids into posing for him to take shots of them. What garbage. One of the harrowing scenes of the video captured one of the care-takers furiously unleashing canes either in the palm or the back of the children for failing to pay their school fees. The report is that she was moved from her position and sent to the ‘Shelter for Abuse Children’ so she can continue torturing the children. I couldn’t believe it and yet, that was one of the stories Opare-Asare put forward to exonerate himself and that of his boss for their failure to do their jobs.

Again, he said the department is constraint in several areas including budgetary support and related resources. He said the budget they receive is only one percent of what they often send to the ministry for approval. If it is unfortunate, if that is true but it does not form enough grounds for himself and the boss to sit in their offices, enjoy the tax payers money and, perhaps, spend the rest between the thighs of young women.

The story at Osu Children’s Home is very worrying and my only prayer is that the committee concludes its work, hand over the report to the ministry of employment and social welfare for the necessary action to be taken. It will be an injustice should the report come out and exonerate those who ought to be punished.

My only thing therefore will be that the blood of those young children who died as a result of endless beatings they had to go through from the hands of the caretakers will rest heavily on the heads of those who sat on the committee.

Africa will not meet MDG’s target!

2010-09-23T07:01:00.000-07:00

Honestly speaking, I laugh anytime I hear the so-called world leaders praise African governments for working hard to meet aspects of the so-called Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s). A decade has passed and with only five years left on the calendar for countries to meet the content of the MDG’s, I’m still struggling to find any African government committed to improving the lives of its citizens by putting in structures to minimize poverty, improve the quality of education and maternal health.

Absolutely none! It may sound pretty unbelievable but I’m yet to see or read a truthful document about African governments working hard to improve the lives of the ordinary people. I know Ghana has been highly praised by the international community towards effort to improve the lives of ordinary Ghanaians. I’m not sure how to accept this kind of praise.

This country is where she is because of the ridiculous praise singing those world leaders hip on us.. Most of the time they don’t mean well, that is the truth.
I’m not sure a leader with a sound mind will praise a country whose fresh mothers share a bed soon after coming from the labour ward. Almost a week ago I visited a cousin of mine at the La General Hospital (formerly La Polyclinic but we are told it has been upgraded) who has given birth. The kind of things I saw at the hospital hounded me almost throughout the night. Fresh mothers with their babies had been forced to share a bed covered with dirty sheets.

My cousin had to share her bed with another new born mother. It was a very pathetic sight. Other mothers unable to get a bed had to fight for a share of the floor. I was moved to tears. The room was full of spider web and the stench from within was ugly. That is only La hospital.

There is also Korle Bu Teaching Hospital which is the main health facility in the country. The experience there is always harrowing for fresh mothers as they have to struggle not even for bed but the floor. Reports about mothers being detained with their babies because they are unable to pay their bills are daily rituals.

Maternal mortality in the country has not seen any significant improvement and I wonder how that could be good enough to say Ghana has performed well with the MDGs. What the ruling elites have spent their time doing is to just talk with no proper action happening. Their interest lies more in the money they loot from the ordinary people rather than committing themselves to fixing the roads, providing water and improving the unemployment levels in the country.

Their failure was well articulated by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan who told the BBC’s Mike Williams in an interview poor people don’t benefit from handouts given to their leaders by developed countries.

"Governments go public with amounts that they are giving, they get lots of publicity in the press, but the money never really comes through. The poor don't see that money."

Mr. Annan again said: "We cannot expect to live in a world where some people have immense wealth and you have extreme poverty living side by side and not expect some sort of a reaction... we are beginning to see a bit of that even here around Europe, with the social upheavals, with people in the streets demanding their rights - this is obviously something that has happened in the past but is beginning to happen as things get tighter and tighter economically for them."

It is pitiable to know that Africa produces more but her citizens are extremely poor. More than 70 percent of the poverty most Africans find themselves in is brought on them by their idiotic leadership.

For example, you have a president in the person of Jacob Zuma who foolishly decides to take advantage of a tradition to have more women for himself and their expenses are being paid for by the state. According to a report last year, a total of more than One million pounds was spent on the living expenses of his wives, at a time when the vast majority of South Africans still live in abject poverty.

The least said about that useless King Mswati in Swaziland the better.

Rubbish Politics.

2010-09-16T05:44:00.000-07:00

The decency in Ghanaian politics has obviously been sacrificed to sheer stupidity. Since the space of the so called democracy was opened more than ten years ago, all that has been going on is stupidity. Politicians have permanently lost their sense of decency and have all joined the fray of crude politics such as naming calling, stealing and bare faced madness.

The recently released United Nations Development Report about the Millennium Development Goals clearly indicted the political leadership. The report said apart from education which is somewhat moving in a certain direction, though the quality is still an issue, action taken on maternal mortality and poverty is zero. The report said all that politicians have spent time doing in the country is simply talking crap. Almost every single policy statement that was spoken about for ten years was never implemented, leaving majority of the population in poverty.

It is obvious what the politicians are best in doing is loot the state resources and spend it on themselves and concubines, while the rest of the population is left in misery. There is no priority towards improving the lives of the ordinary people most of whom are used as ‘political handsets’ during election periods. The by-election at Atiwa is just an example.

The content of the report does not surprise somebody like me. The robbery mentality of our political elites is so well known. What kind of leader will go to a foreign country, borrow money to fight mosquitos and yet spend more than fifty million dollars to dancing around like a masquerader before the public?

Either the person is mad or has no clue what holding political leadership is all about. That is exactly what former president John Kufour and his band of plunderers did to the poor man’s money. He spent the money just dancing around with equally brain dead African political figures in the name of celebrating 50 years of nationhood. The money was just stashed into personal accounts while social amenities for ordinary people still hang in the balance.

Rather than reform and change their ways, these same politicians are foolishly telling us who is homosexual and who is not. I have my personal views about gays but I’m still wondering how that adds up to the daily struggle of ordinary Ghanaians.

Prince Derrick Adjei, the deputy national youth coordinator of the National Youth Secretariat was accused by a rather faceless and idiotic characters within the opposition NPP’s branch in the United Kingdom of being gay. The letter was not signed and that alone was enough prove it was a calculated attempt to hound him, because of his consistent bashing of the NPP and their elements.
There are decent minds in the NPP who will not sink to such absurdity. Prince was advised to just ignore it and move on. I’m not sure what he knew but suddenly went to town accusing members of parliament of being homosexuals.

Under certain jurisdictions that ought not to be an issue but in a country where people foolishly pretend to be pious and yet go about doing things under the cover of darkness, it is a whole canker on its own. Just recently some senior officials from the clergy warned the president not to give in to demands that gays and lesbians should be granted freedoms to practice. That is the extent to which the issue is a taboo in this country.

Mr. Adjei threw the counseling he received into the dustbin and went to town, getting himself in a self-created mess. Now he is going around saying there are journalists who are homosexuals. That is for him to prove. I have read several comments on facebook which were not nice to his person.

He could have avoided the mess but invited it upon himself. It is clear politics in this country has sunk so low that almost every crap is used just doing anything to stay up where the loot can easily be reached.

Echoes of yester-years

2010-09-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

Political life in Africa is funny; two sets of treatment are handed out to key actors in the field. The treatment when in power is juicy but in opposition is messy. It is normal in African politics. Ghana is going through that phase, at least since we all submitted ourselves to the strong arms of democracy.

Back in 1993 the National Democratic Congress under President Rawlings was in power. Almost everything on the news was and about the former President and his party; commissioning of projects, meeting children at daycare centres, or drinking palm wine at nearby ghetto, the television brought all of that to our homes.

And despite one’s dislike for seeing those pictures, one had little choice but to see them. The best one can do is to put off the television set and wait for some minutes with the hope that Rawlings and his followers will be off the screen and then come back. But that never happened, in most cases. Every single news item was all about him.

Very little was said about those on the other side of the political divide. Their criticisms were muted in the media. They didn’t matter in the scheme of things. Everything was about Papa Jay.

The situation of the opposition became miserable during election periods. They were given a meager airtime on national television and despite their protests nobody gave them hearing.

Fast forward to 2000 and John Kufour became President. Everybody thought he will not stick the finger in the eyes of the opposition. He did not. His party was everywhere in the media. The NDC, then under the leadership of John Mills, were denied adequate access to the media.

Unfortunately, the National Media Commission, the body mandated to ensure such matters did not arise, went to sleep. Majority of their members who had spoken against the ugly practice during Rawlings’ time were mute. They had become bootlickers and were busy to take notice of any such thing.

The NDC cried and cried but their tears did not get anywhere. They were the lone crusaders. Nobody, at least from the NMC, was interested in their noises. After all they did not listen to anyone when voices were raised against them for deliberately restricting the opposition’s access to the state media.

The state owned Ghana Television carried every single news about Kufour. He was a globetrotter so every single news item never ended with announcement that read: “President John Kufour will tomorrow evening leave the shores of Ghana to attend the G8 Summit in Japan. He joins other African leaders who will be kept at the corridors of the event venue while the leaders from developed countries deliberate on how to slash debts owed them by poor countries. The president will also visit the Ghanaian community and hold bi-lateral talks with other investors.He returns after three weeks.”

This was the usual news bulletin during Kufour’s era. John Mills, who had twice lost elections, was also busy knocking on doors to be given a chance. He carried his placard marked ‘Better Ghana’ and was hopeful Ghanaians will give him the mandate. But very little was said about his campaign. At best he was ridiculed.

Everything in this country was about Kufour. Even when he coughed, spied on a beautiful girl while sitting on a high table at a public function, the state owned media covered it.

‘Sexy president’ eyes a young woman from his high table during the launch of the ‘Presidential Special Initiatives.’
He was the only president and he had his time ‘paaaaaaaaaa,’ as we say in Ghana.
He attended many festivals, met chiefs and got all manner of farm produce including goats brought to his home. He had it all but was still collecting from the poor. Only in Ghana!

President Kufour went to the annual Fetu Afahye in Cape Coast. That was in 2008. He was the big man for the day. Forget about the Omanhene. President Kufour was the big man.

Other visitors included John Mills, then in opposition. He was making his last attempt to the presidency and the Central Region, the very region which had ditched him twice, was the last stop for him. So any little chance would be most welcomed to him.

The festival was his last chance of getting close to his people so he could be given the nod. He was not the president but the leader of the then biggest opposition party. The story was that he went to the festival grounds and an attempt to greet President Kufour turned bloody. His bodyguards were subjected to severe beatings to the point that one of them nearly lost his balls.

The incident clouded the festival. It was all over the news. The beatings of Mills’ aide were never talked about.
The NDC raised protestation but nobody cared about them. After all opposition is not profitable.

The response from the ruling NPP and their elements was that ‘there is only one president.’ So Mills had no business going round to shake hands, including that of John Kufour.
Times have changed and the NPP are now in opposition. They have lost every single privilege that comes with power. The party has a new leader in the person of Nana Akufo-Addo (not so new though).

He went to the Fetu Afahye in Cape Coast somewhere a little over a week ago. The story was that he was prevented from going round to shake hands with the chiefs and people. Organisers say they did not want any of the visiting political figures to use the platform for their personal campaign. That was fair comments.

Secondly, President Mills was coming to the durbar grounds and anyone other personality ought to sit in his seat. Times have changed.
The Omanhene of Cape Coast was even reported to have overlooked Nana Akufo-Addo presence at the grounds. He was peeved and felt humiliated. He is the leader of the biggest opposition leader but was not respected at such an important ground.

His people were all over the place shouting their lungs out. They were also peeved their man was overlooked. Surprisingly the same chaps had forgotten there is only ‘ONE PRESIDENT.’ And that president is no other person than Prof. Mills.

This was the same man whose bodyguards were beaten to pop. Nana’s men did not go through that incident. So the best he can do is to wait and pray he comes to power so he pays the NDC back in the same coin.

Ghana’s spicy sex and judiciary stories.

2010-08-25T09:58:00.000-07:00

These are interesting times. Especially for those of us living in Ghana it’s pretty much interesting. While our politicians are busy throwing mud at each other following a statement made by an overzealous party chairman towards the judiciary, some citizens are also busy exploring their romantic domains.

The judiciary tantrums or whatever is well known to all of us. Except this time around some elements within the ruling NDC are just making needless and unguarded statements which appear to suggest the party has some diabolical agenda against some members of the judiciary. It is not true. That’s why I have a problem with the incessant campaign the opposition NPP continues to embark on to suggest members of the judiciary could be killed just as some judges were killed in the 1980s.

That is rubbish and I still stand by it. I don’t think any judge’s life is in danger. Those spineless politicians who wish to spend time pushing this ridiculous agenda in their desperate attempt to win power are only making a fool of themselves. Attacks on the judiciary are unfair and that is why I had expected those rogue elements within the NDC to shut up. The latest attacks on even the chief justice by those regional chairmen of the NDC are needless.

I heard Ade Coker- Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the NDC on the radio foolishly asking for an open public discussion about the performance of the judiciary. That was the most stupid comment I heard on radio on Tuesday. What kind of public discussion on the judiciary do citizens need and what will the public say afterwards? Our politicians ought to get down to the business of running the country so the many problems confronting the country would be resolved. This attention seeking comments will not help anyone.

And just when those silly politicians were busy hacking into each other in the media about the judiciary, a young man was busy sexing himself to death. The story, carried by Daily Guide- a political tabloid- said a 26 year old man had died after six bouts of sex. Report say the lady involved in the sex said he warned the gentleman to stop after the third round but the deceased insisted he was prepared to go beyond the third round.

The lady said he gave him a blow job after which the gentleman took a break, went in for water and continued the action. It was during the sixth bout that he fainted and died. Though pitiable it provided a great deal of laughter to the nation.

As if that was not enough, Enoch Lamptey-Mills, proprietor of the Great Lamptey-Mills School also had his head buried in his palms. He was facing criminal charges of bedding one of her female students. The girl was said to be underage at the time of the bedding.

The lady in question however said the man did not rape her and that they had an affair. He said jailing the man could spell disaster for her and a three year old child who came out as a result of the affair.

She is reported to have told a radio station she had long lost her virginity before going on a sex romping spree with the owner of her school.

Full statement from Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana

2010-08-20T08:18:00.000-07:00

Following the pronouncements by ruling NDC party chairman Dr. Kwabena Adjei that he'll 'cleanse' the judiciary in order to purge it from corruption, it has been suggested his statement amounts to threat on the lives of judges on the bench. I publish below an unedited reaction from lawyers association.

PRESS STATEMENT BY THE ASSOCIATION OF MAGISTRATES AND JUDGES OF GHANA ON RECENT ATTACKS ON THE BENCH

The Association of Magistrates and Judges (AMJG) has noted with grave concern, the recent press statement of the ruling National Democratic Congress which was delivered by its National Chairman, Dr. Kwabena Adjei in response to a ruling of the High Court that discharged Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobbey and Mr. Kwadwo Mpiani, the two accused persons in the Ghana @ 50 trial.

It has become pertinent for us to explain how the Judiciary goes about its work in response to the very issues raised at the Press Conference organized by the NDC on 17th August, 2010.

Prior to the 2008 Elections, election matters had delayed for almost four years, a typical example is the Isaac Amoo and Rebecca Adotey case which started in 1996 to 2000. The case was finally determined after the tenure of that Parliament had expired.

In order not to repeat any such occurrence the Electoral Commission in conjunction with the Judicial Training Institute (JTI) organized workshops to update the knowledge of Judges on current Laws for the timely disposal of Election related disputes.

The Judges were also introduced to the new law in CI 47 by which the Chief Justice could assign matters for quick disposal during public holidays and any other days previously described as ‘non-days’. By invoking those existing provisions, Her Ladyship the Chief Justice was invoking a constitutional instrument which was approved by Parliament. So she was not doing anything untoward, unconstitutional or improper.

As regards the empanelling of the Supreme and Appeal Courts to hear cases that are brought before them, this is done by the Hon. Chief Justice.

The High Courts are in divisions like the Fast Track Court and the Specialized Courts. The Specialized Courts are the Land, Labour, Industrial, Human Rights and Financial Courts. So a case is heard depending on where one files a suit. These are assigned by the Registrars and in the instance of the Commercial Courts and Specialized Courts, cases are assigned by the Administrator.

Under the Constitutional dispensation, the Chief Justice is the first Judge of each court and therefore has overall responsibility for assigning or empanelling.

It is not true that the empanelling of Judges is done to suit a particular person, group of people or political parties.

Again, the Chief Justice has power to assign an Appeal Court Judge to act as an additional High Court Judge if the High Court Judges have too many cases on their hands and for any other good reasons. This is aimed at ensuring a speedy and expeditious disposal of cases.
These powers are derived from statute and unless anybody can prove any impropriety, it lies within the powers of the Chief Justice to utilize this power.

Justice is dispensed according to law and that is what the court does to the best of its ability and as prescribed by the various oaths.
In the recent High Court Ruling in the case involving Wereko Brobbey and Kwadwo Mpaini, Justice Marful-Sau gave an interpretation from his understanding of the law and it is refreshing that the Attorney General’s Department has stated that it is preparing to challenge that interpretation. Such a step if embarked upon is in consonance with the spirit of the Constitution which provides for appeals.
Certainly, there are principles guiding the application of the laws but the Judicial Oath is the underlining factor that guides the dispensation of Justice by all members of the Bench. There is also the Black Letter Law, precedence as well as any other relevant matters that also guide the determination of issues.

It is worthy to note that the Judiciary does not initiate the trial of accused persons. It is the Attorney-General who does. A lawyer is just as good as his brief and if the brief is not good it shows in its outcome. However, a well prepared brief that is also well presented plus the proper deployment of quality witnesses would show that investigations had been properly conducted. It must be stated in the instant case, that the accused persons have only been discharged on procedural grounds and so the options are open.

It is important to understand the basis within which the criminal justice system works in all Common Law Countries including Ghana which puts a much bigger burden on the State (with all its machinery behind it) than on an accused person. This is based on the principle that it is better for 99 criminals to go away scot free than for one innocent person to be wrongfully convicted.

It must be emphasized that the courts do not see cases in party colours. For any criminal prosecution to succeed, the State must successfully discharge its burden of proof in order to secure a conviction.

The Judiciary is undertaking quite a number of in-house reforms aimed at improving service delivery, building the capacity of various staff levels and also improving the infrastructure under which we perform. Codes of Conduct for the Bench and staff have just been adopted. The measures cut across, including number of Judgments being delivered timeously; staff training to improve upon judges’ understanding and appreciation of the law both old statutes or even new ones are being vigorously pursued.

If anybody outside is proferring any mode of improving upon our service delivery, one could channel it through our Client Service Center or the Secretariat of the Chief Justice.

It is unfortunate for a perception of bias in any particular direction to be attributed to the Bench when there are several dimensions to the success of a case. Judges by their oaths have a duty to uphold and sustain the democracy in our country more so when the stability and prosperity of our nation lies in the confidence the citizens, investors and all other stakeholders place in our justice system.

Reform has been ongoing for improved content and delivery of service by both Judges and staff. The public, no doubt have a role to play by providing concrete information of any malfeasance but it must be stated in no uncertain terms that the utterance at the press conference that the NDC as a party would cleanse the Judiciary is most unfortunate in the light of all the strenuous efforts being put into this house cleaning effort championed by the Judicial Council, the Hon. Chief Justice and the various committees in place to ensure accountability at various levels. It is also unfortunate because it smacks of a stab at the independence of the Judiciary and its ability to work above itself to ensure the continued confidence of the Ghanaian people in their justice system-a system which is the hope for the future of our citizenry and democracy.

We pray and hope that we would not have cause to revisit such sentiments again. We want to assure the nation that we do not have NDC, NPP, PNC, CPP, GCPP or any Political Parties on the Bench. What we have is a Ghanaian Bench whose unalloyed allegiance is to Mother Ghana no matter which party is the government of the day. In fact it is against the rules of ethics of the Judiciary for any member of the Bench or staff to be a member of any political party or supporter of an independent candidate.

We of the Association of Magistrates and Judges wish to affirm our undivided loyalty to our Judicial Oaths to dispense justice to all manner of persons without fear or favor, ill-will or affection, race, color or creed.

We refuse to be party to any attempt to divide our ranks in this noble institution that gives hope for our dear country. Politicians will come and go but this time tested institution will remain the bastion of hope for the future of our nation. If history is a lesson to anybody, such utterances as ‘cleansing the Judiciary’ or ‘there are several ways to kill a cat’ should not come from the party that begat the Government of the day which aspires to make this nation a better Ghana. The remark about Christ’s inability to salvage the perceived bias by Judges is rather insensitive and unfortunate and ought not to come from the Honourable Chairman.

Judges are as much Ghanaians as anybody else; so if there are any problems regarding any member of the Bench or the Service these could be addressed through the appropriate channels and not to play to the gallery.

Ghana has a lot to learn from neighbouring countries such as Cote d’voire, Liberia and Sierra Leone and even Rwanda. Thus there is the need for all to be circumspect and discreet in their public utterances.

The Judiciary continues to look up to the good people of Ghana for the confidence reposed in us for which we vouch to do justice to every citizen without fear or favor and this is our assurance. We also pledge our unflinching support to the Hon. Chief Justice of Ghana and the Judicial Council in their effort to build a Judiciary of excellent repute.

JUSTICE JOSEPH B. AKAMBA JUSTICE ELIZABETH ANKUMAH
(PRESIDENT, AMJG) (SECRETARY, AMJG)

Dr. K. Agyei’s loose tongue

2010-08-18T12:07:00.000-07:00

‘There are several ways of killing the cat,’ was the phrase that emanated from the mouth of NDCs Chairman Dr. Kwabena Agyei. He made the statement at a press conference organized by his party, on Tuesday, to react to allegations, by his own party that certain rulings that had gone against government were because judges at the Supreme Court are against them.

His unguarded and stupid statement had created a storm in the country, with almost everyone making reference to an incident that happened back in the 1980s. Obviously, the comments were very stupid, like I said, and had pitched his party in an ugly position.

It was a needless statement that could have been avoided but his stupidity has landed his own party in a mess. Everybody knows the judiciary is corrupt, no too waste about that. Even an ordinary child knows that very well. Even the Chief Justice herself has come out to admit that there is corruption at the bench.

Kwabena Agyei also has the right to express his opinion about the way the judiciary is handling things, and that could have been done in a more decorous manner. But to say that the judiciary needs to be ‘cleanse’ is idiotic, and smacks of a desperate politician who is sitting on a chamber pot hanging on top of a tree. How is he going to react if by tomorrow any of the judges he intends ‘cleansing’ dies in a car crash?

How is he going to react to the news? I think people who are well educated in our societies ought to be measured in their statements. This idiotic and childish statement of threats coming from the likes of loud and stinky mouth Kwabena Agyei should not be tolerated. He has embarrassed himself, the party and the entire country and he ought to come and apologise. His explanation that his comments were meant to restore confidence in the judiciary is nothing but foolish.

I also hear the Ashanti Regional branch of the bar association has boycotted, indefinitely, its services in solidarity with judges sitting on the Supreme Court. What hypocrisy! The same bar association during the former NPP government went to bed, refusing to comment on the many political infractions happening at the time.

The then Bar Association president Kwame Tetteh made it clear at a press conference the association was not going to comment on any political issue. It emerged that an appointment to serve on a state owned board was the reason for his statement.

The entire GBA is suffering from identity crisis because of that foolish decision.

Education in Ghana: the uncertain future of secondary education.

2010-08-16T05:56:00.000-07:00

So where does Ghana’s secondary education heading? Ordinarily, the answer to this question will be simple and straight forward. But no. it’s convoluted than one may think. And more so because after 53 years of a so-called independence from the British, Ghana has no sustainable blue print in education-especially at the secondary level. The ones implemented over the years are those plucked from the politicians, and they are heavily inundated with partisan ideas.

The so-called fourth republican era has more of that. But it started even a bit before that. Ghana had previously operated the O&A levels concept and it was very much better. It was modeled on the British system. The quality of students was very mature and analytical. The system was however changed, thanks to the (P) N.D.C.administration under Jerry Rawlings. It was sacrificed for no apparent reason. In the wisdom of Jerry and his advisers, the introduced senior secondary school (operating on the sidelines) will better serve the nation’s interest. It will fall in line with other countries in the sub-region, was the excuse given. Over a decade down the line and with Rawling’s era coming to an end, the N.P.P. regime under John Kufour decided not to think right and implemented its own concept, against the advice of a committee it had set up to look into the education system.

The Anamua Mensah Committee headed by Professor Anamua Mensah of the University of Education, Winneba, was subsequently inaugurated by the government to look into the issue. The excuse given for the setting up of the committee was very lame and stupid, to say the least; that more than half of those who graduate from the secondary level record failed marks. The solution is to add one more year so the students can use that to prepare themselves for university. It followed no logic. The committee recommended to the government to shelve the additional year but Kufour will not listen.

He went ahead with his plans. Churlish and ill advised by his own praise singers, he went ahead, had a big conference and the so-called ‘educational reform’ was made public. The absurdity of the whole reform is the change of the name from the Senior Secondary School to that of Senior High School. The government had no structures in place for the change; textbooks, classrooms, teachers and additional incentives. The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) protested against the year’s addition. The government will have none of it. Then in opposition, the National Democratic Congress indicated it will change the policy when it comes into office.

Almost two years into office the NDC has carried out its ‘electoral promise’ and this has set a lot of students on the wheels of confusion. On the 2nd of August, 2010 and after back and forth partisan debates in parliament, the NDC’s majority passed the bill to slash the one year from the four.

Parliament voted 106-78 to amend a portion of the Bill which captured the year’s addition. The argument by the NDC is that there are no classrooms for the additional year. The textbooks are also not in place, the party said. So the whole reformed undertaken by the NPP was irrelevant, in the mind of the NDC. Like the NPP, the NDC is not going to be in power forever. The NPP Ballado Manu had openly spoken against the decision and from the looking of things his party will go back to the four years, that’s when they come into power.

The NDC will not be in power forever, which is for sure. In the midst of this senile partisan consideration, it is the future of the students at stake.Those in their third year are now in limbo; are they going to end at the third year before tertiary or do the fourth and head out?

Just on Monday 16th August,2010 the stated owned Daily Graphic called on its frontpage the sad story about how ‘O Reilly’ senior high school, one of Ghana’s oldest, will soon be shut down because owners of the land where the school is are demanding their property back. The students are now being asked to look for other schools where there are vacancies so they put themselves up.

Funny! It is amazing how authorities in this country make so much noise about education but end up doing extremely little or nothing at all about the quality.

E.T Mensah senile suggestion to NDC foot soldiers.

2010-08-11T10:30:00.000-07:00

I have just read a disturbing article on the website of Accra’s based Joy FM. It is a story about the woman called Gizele Yadzi, the alleged mistress of former President John Kufour whom the latter had spent time in memorable sleeping arrangement with, and as a result of which two children were brought on earth. The woman is back in the news, thanks to Kufour’s own self righteous revelation. I don’t have children with her, he said but fell short of saying he took off her pants. Speaking to journalists in Accra to mark 9 years of the repeal of the criminal libel law, Mr. Kufour told the ‘happy boot licking journalists (most of them) that he did not father any baby outside his marriage. He said all his children are the ones with wife Theresa. It took him seven years to confess or speak out on the issue, and that has opened the can of worms. His denial has thrown everything into chaos, with the woman insisting there're twins in Kufour's name.

She is back and making the same silly accusation of Kufour’s twins but can’t produce any picture of them. Even Richard Anane’s O’Brien has brought pictures of their son. The child is a gain to Ghana, Anane said. Funny, huh? Gizele should do same and shut up.
But back to E.T. Mensah. The story says he has implored NDC ‘foot soldiers’ to get copies of the tape and play it around the entire country for Ghanaians to know the kind of person Kufour is. But

…Babo, (Baffoe Bonney, CEO of Radio Gold) Babo should take note, let’s do something about Radio Gold so that they can be heard thought the country because this is a story that should be told again and again and again and I want to appeal to our foot soldiers ‘let us all go and get copies and play in our constituencies, this is something that people need to know,” he was quoted to have said on Radio Gold.

What foolishness, E.T.? The MP from my hometown has shown gross disrespect for the foot soldiers. Some few weeks ago these same foot soldiers were screaming and running around, locking offices and threatening people with death because they can’t find jobs. E.T. was around when all the crappy behavior of these guys was going on.

I never heard him say a single word about how the foot soldiers could be helped to get jobs, or given capital to set up businesses of their choice. It was not an issue to him. He cares more about his position and pocket.

He sat in parliament (and good grief this man is making laws for us to obey) and read all the noise going on around him and never said anything. Even as a minister for employment and social welfare he’s not been able to put down any concrete plan regarding how the foot soldiers can be helped. He does not see these guys worthy of any good thing apart from carrying tapes around to add to the silly woes of Kufour.

E.T’s son is studying in America. Every single day he wires money into his account while the foot soldiers wallow in misery and poverty. They walk distances on dusty roads in search of their daily bread. E.T has collected enough per diem and ex-gratia because of his long service in parliament. He has not thought about setting aside a fraction of that money to help the foot soldiers. I have heard personal accounts by some of these foot soldiers about the struggle to even get decent meal a day. That is not E.T’s concern. He needs them to carry the tapes and play them around the country. But I don’t blame E.T.

It is the foot soldiers I blame. I can bet my last coin majority of them will run after the tape without even thinking they’ve not eaten any decent meal.

On ward foot soldiers, it is time to March on for Gizele’s tapes.

Ghana is an Ass(2)

2010-08-11T08:32:00.000-07:00

Celebrate but not for long, Attorney General Betty Mould Iddrisu has told Kwadwo Mpiani and Wereko-Brobbey who were on Tuesday acquitted by an Accra High Court for stealing huge sums of money from the state under the pretext of celebrating a rather useless golden jubilee celebration.

The court struck out the case on the grounds that the findings of the commission of enquiry established by the president to investigate the stealing of state money were not enough grounds to nail the two. So they were left to go home and enjoy their kept booty. But the Attorney General, who told Accra’s based Joy FM on Tuesday that she’ll appeal the judgment, was out of the country when judgment was passed. What the heck was she doing out of the country?

In a statement sent across the board, the Mrs Mould-Iddrisu said the two can drink their champagne for now but will have to get ready to face the courts

“The Attorney-General wishes to point out that the discharge of the accused persons by the court is not a determination of their guilt or innocence. It is consequently not an acquittal as has been erroneously interpreted in certain quarters.

She said she was going to study the ruling and will “appropriate actions that will address the procedural issues raised by the court.”

“The Attorney-General’s office wishes to assure Ghanaians that it remains firm in its resolve to seek justice for the people of Ghana,” the statement said.
Inasmuch as I’m saddened by the ruling I’m encouraged by the statement from the AG that the case will be appealed and the two plunderers will have their day in court.

It will heart my soul if the two are allowed to go without a fight. Even their own party followers know they plundered the coffers, so why allow them to leave. The law is an ASS but not in this case. The two must be back to respond to the many cases against them. I have faith in the law but the two must not go home for free. They must be made to cough up every single dime they have looted into their accounts.

The money spent for that lousy celebration could have gone into education, water, health, and security. Majority of our folks are still studying under trees while the looted money sits in their accounts. Pregnant mothers are still sleeping on cold floors at the hospitals and rather than use the money to improve the quality of healthcare delivery, the two decided to push that into their account.

Too many times we’ve seen our politicians come to power, steal and walk away for free without being made to pay back. It is unfair. A poor man goes to steal a fowl and he goes in for life. A politician plunders and he goes home to his wife and concubines.
Government will do all of us good especially the struggling masses if these two plunderers are brought back to serve their time behind bars.

This steal and walk away home can’t be tolerated by the good people anymore.

Ghana is an Ass!

2010-08-10T11:07:00.000-07:00

My initial reaction was that of scorn to the news that both Wereko-Brobby chief executive officer of the defunct Ghana@50 secretariat and Kwadwo Mpiani had been freed by a high court in Accra on the grounds the case against them was unconstitutional. My face hanged in my palms and wondered if we are a serious people in this country. It is only a mad person who, in his madness, will say these guys, who obviously spent the state resources in a more reckless manner, should go home, eat dinner and have sex with either their wives or concubines.

I’m not a lawyer but I’m not sure how on earth could a so-called high court tell Ghanaians especially the ordinary persons who pay taxes through a pinched skin that these plunderers must go home because there is no case against them. I can imagine the champagne sitting right on their tables. Shit!

Wereko-Brobby obviously spent reckless amount of money during that useless celebration which provided him the opportunity to loot from the state coffers. Was he not the man who promised fleets of toilets around every single highway and was unable to provide? Did the court ask where the money went? Obviously not, so why this silly judgment?

Did those wig wearing chaps sitting there at the high courts with their silly heads ever thought about what happened to the proceeds from the sale of the houses at the AU village? That clearly is not important to them because they’ll take ‘nokofio’ from those plunderers. It is their stock in trade, most of them. That is a fact!

The judiciary is corrupt, we hear about that all the time. Surely the man should be smiling wherever he maybe, having succeeded in outsmarting a rather lazy Attorney General and her deputy who have failed to build up any credible case against those corrupt in the system. Mills must sit the woman down and pump some sense into her over-greasy hair. The poor tax payer is losing millions to these plunderers.

Her per diem is a life saving grace for most people in this country and must therefore sit up or gets her ass kicked by those spineless ‘foot-soldiers.’ I wonder why those irritants have not demonstrated against her as they have done to others.

Back to my issue with these plunderers. Somebody like that Kwadwo Mpiani should not even be allowed to go home and browse his wife’s ‘gadgets. What the hell!
This chap literally turned the castle into money save and dished the monies out the way and manner he liked. He was the most powerful chap in the country, apart from the president. He respected his own fart more than even the sitting vice president.

He told sitting MPs who questioned him about how much this poor country was spending to celebrate that foolish celebration to go and build their own house before asking him any question. He was the man, the Bokassa of Ghanaian politics, the Field Marshal Idi Amin Dada, the giver of fresh breath and spender of our money.

He spewed foolish things from his ugly head (mine is not nice but better than his). He is now going home to enjoy his booty. It saddens my heart. He supervised massive thievery against the people of this country. Only God knows how much he has in his accounts.

I’m sad that monies that ought to have gone into education, provision of portable water and security are now sitting silently in the accounts of plunderers while majority of Ghanaians wallow in pain and misery.

God help us!

The log is still in your ‘sexy’ eyes, John.

2010-08-09T09:54:00.000-07:00

Personally, I can count the number of times former President John Kufour has made any public statement since leaving office. He has pretty much kept to himself, except one or two instances where press statements had been issued in his name by Frank Agyekum, his aide. He is most of the time out of the country, something he loves to do even when in office. He competed fairly with former Nigerian President Obasanjo on presidential trips. No wonder they are friends.

But, like I said, he has spoken very little unlike colleague Jerry Rawlings. And anytime he speaks he’s been well measured in his statements. Apart from, and ridiculously so, his refusal to accept a number of vehicles given to him by the government as part of his ex-gratia. He could have gone to hell if I were in the shoes of the learned professor. But I’m not. I’m just a lonely journalist working hard to ensure at the end of the day I earn my daily bread. It appears the man often referred to as gentle giant has stepped on the political ‘balls’ of the learned Professor’s led administration, accusing it of corruption. And this has not been taken lightly, I must say.

Mr. Kufour, on Saturday 7th August, 2010 at a party’s function where once defeated presidential candidate Nana Akufo-Addo was re-elected, said the learned professor has sat down and allowed corruption to flourish. He said “ccorruption is becoming incarnate. We see corruption everywhere.” I don’t know but politicians behave rather foolishly and strangely anytime they see malnourished, jobless and unkempt party supporters. As if to excite them to escape from their own incompetence, they say silly things to keep their (supporters) minds from examining their jobless status. JAK was motivated by that and he said things which have ignited this whole pointless finger pointing game.

His comments did not go down well with ruling government who quickly, and unsurprisingly, launched a stinging attack on Mr. Kufour reminding him of those multi-million dollar pre-paid meter contracts his then struggling son back in the United States, and that of the famous hotel ‘waaaawaaa’ owned by another son soon after he became president. According to Deputy Minister for Information Samuel Okudzeto-Ablakwa, the former president should be the last person to speak on the issue of corruption because he stings more than anyone.

He said the former president, while in office, had his private “residence renovated under suspicious circumstances.” The benefactor for the renovation of the house was said to be a farmer based in the Ashanti Region. It however turned out that the said farmer was a cook at the residence of the former president who, unable to cope with life, was drafted into his home to prepare late afternoon ‘ebunu-ebunu’ so the ‘oldman’ could get something to eat when he returns from work.

“We wish to also remind President Kufuor that it is his own associates and former working colleagues like Mr. Kwame Pianim and Hon. P.C. Appiah Ofori who have publicly lamented and condemned the nasty levels and quantum of corruption which he President Kufuor presided over when he was President,” Mr. Okudzeto-Ablakwa said in his statement.

Again, the statement made reference to the allegation leveled against Mr. Kufour by former NPP party chairman Haruna Esseku, who insisted that the castle, then under Kufour, had become a reservoir where ten percent kickbacks collected from contractors(both qualified and unqualified) are sent to, to the detriment of the party’s own coffers.

“It is significant to stress that despite the fact that President Mills is centuries apart from President Kufuor’s sordid corruption record which even the opposition including Mr. Kwame Pianim and several others concede to, President Mills has not awarded himself at state expense.”

The young minister who has a rather stinging tongue and good for such exercise said the former president’s unsavory remarks about how free expression has ‘stalled’ under the professor’s watch is nothing but petty. Mr. Okudzeto-Ablakwa reminded a man who could be his grandfather of how vindictively added more judges to the Supreme Court so that Tsatsu Tsikata would be sent from the comfort of his bed and family.

It’s rather sad that in the 21st Century you have the leadership of a country (both past and present) using their energies to throw mud at each other while the population wallow in abject poverty. The number of jobless youths is still on the rise, Accra, the capital, is in a messy state and provisions of quality social amenities still a distance dream to many. Rather than focus on these and other issues and resolved them, our politicians are foolishly busy telling us whose anus stinks and whose doesn’t.

Desperate power seekers or genuine contenders to change lives?

2010-08-06T09:56:00.000-07:00

I have been sitting on the edge of a wobbling political seat, carefully watching and reading the happenings in the opposition New Patriotic Party. The party goes to the polls on Saturday 7th August, 2010 to elect a new flagbearer to lead them in the 2012 elections. The voting will take place in all the 230 constituencies across the country. It will be the first time in the history of Ghana that a political party elects a leader in such a way.

There are five candidates in the contest but only two are the main contenders: Alan Kyeremateng and Nana Akufo-ADDO. Two years ago when the two met, Nana won ahead of Alan though he was unable to secure the needed 50+1 percent to get ahead.
He had to rely on the benevolence of Alan’s refusal to contest to make him party leader. Nana Addo lost in the main elections. But he is back again but not alone. He is being checkmate by Alan and this time around, the former Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States is determined to push the deal till the end.

Obviously the lead contender in the race, he has enjoyed enormous support from senior party members and that of the national executives, the latter which has landed some of them in trouble. The main accuser Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, the party’s chairman and friend to Nana, is said to be working behind the scenes to rig the elections. He is an expert in rigging, his opponents claim. The man has however dismissed such accusation as ‘nonsense.’

Senior party elders met to broker peace in a meeting and despite a purported positive outcome, one of the contenders and former heart surgeon Professor Frimpong Boateng said all was not well. He said the rigging machine is still in place. He is contesting the elections eventhough his chances are more than slim. He is not in the race at all! He is however joined the rest to make silly promises of freebies, though he knows it’s more of a political talk than reality. It is the mantra of corrupt African politicians.

I have heard Nana Addo speak about how he intends to ‘liberate’ the ‘suffering’ Ghanaians from the clutches of Atta Mill’s government. Mills is killing Ghanaians with his style of leadership, he has been ranting on campaign platforms. He has spoken extensively about freebies, how he intends making Ghana a haven etc.

Alan has also been saying the same things he said which cost him the slot; cash for the people, jobs for the people. The last time he was given the position as a trader minister and asked to handle those senseless presidential initiatives, he messed them up. He was unable to handle that small project but believes he can manage Ghana. What silly! The two are not articulating any meaningful and right thinking ideas about how to change the fortunes of the country and arrest the mass thievery and economic mess.

All I have heard them say amount to nothing but petty lies: Pure political lies and deceit, which are the stock in trade of Ghanaian politicians. Also, the two or rather supporters of the two have been trading insults against each other. For example those in the Alan camp say Nana Addo is too old and should not be voted for.

They claim his age should be good enough grounds to disqualify him because he might possibly die in office and waste everybody’s time. Perhaps tired of such silly accusation, the man has been, once again, compelled to make a public statement in defence of his age bashing: “Every argument that is made about things which have really nothing to do with the quality of political leadership, you can find an example. There have been extremely successful old political leaders and there have been extremely successful young political leaders.”

Ironically his main contender Alan Kyeremateng who is favoured to be the youngest is way out of the forty bracket. There are rumours he’s in his early 60s while others say he’s in his late 50s. But the truth however is that he is out of the 40s.

Personally, I find this whole age thing very foolish and silly. We have had leaders from both generations who have either been wise or foolish. Jerry Rawlings was in his early 30s when he assumed power. He got all the accolades but became very stupid at his older age. J.A. Kufour was more than 50 when he became president. He failed to use his brains on over many decisions, making his opponents see him as an idiot. There are many examples of such leaders.

Winston Churchill was in his 60s when he became the premier of the United Kingdom. He is regarded as the best leaders the UK has ever had. Tony Blair who became the youngest leader in the United Kingdom foolishly committed his country to a senseless war. A lot more young UK soldiers had died prematurely because of his foolish obsession to a war he knew his country was not going to win. He was young but stupid and thick headed!

The truth is this age argument does not put forward on the table for the economically marginalized in this country.

Then there is also this longevity argument being pushed forward by those from Akufo-Addo’s camp. His supporters say he has been in the party long enough and therefore deserves to be given the slot. That is a funny suggestion. When did one’s longevity in a party become a panacea for leadership? It is a silly argument I pray they don’t repeat.

Nana should throw himself into the woods, fight for the minds and hearts of the delegates. This desperate attempt about being the oldest will not bring him anything but fuel the existing perception that leadership is an entitlement and as such, he deserves to have it without a fight. He must go out there and fight for whatever he thinks is his.

As for the other candidates I say whoever advised them to enter the race has done them a great disservice. They have thrown their money-or part of the stolen state cash-away. It will be better they don’t even waste their time putting monitors around the constituencies. The results will not be too pleasing at all.

Political power is transient, Mr. Mayor!

2010-07-15T05:36:00.000-07:00

I’m still not sure if any of our politicians have learnt any lessons about being in power. They are so much intoxicated with it such that the positions they occupy almost make them tin-gods. Or better still impervious to logical reasoning. I’m not old enough but I have been lucky enough to witness how miserable those arrogant officials of former President Limann became.Especially those who thought being in political office means they could literally piss on the ordinary Ghanaian.

It took a dawn broadcast by a certain Jerry Rawlings on New Year’s Eve to bring them to reality. Soon those powers on which they so much hanged on and issued ridiculous instructions were gone. Scared and pissing in their pants at the slightest noise for fear they might be arrested, they sought refugee from the very people they had so much overlooked and disrespected.

That coup was totally unwarranted but that’s another subject well left to the dustbin of political history. Then Jerry Rawlings had almost two decades in power and some of his ministers began behaving like tin gods. They lost the plot. Blinded by fake allegiance and fan-fool respect most of his officials-including senior party members- almost saw themselves as gods who could do no wrong.

Their egos were larger than themselves. They carried with them the pride of arrogance were never afraid to show them off. No single advice worthy of consideration ever went into their skulls. They were simply impervious to any logical reasoning. After all they have the power and can even decide whether or not people should breathe, granted they had been given the chance.

But what did we see when they lost the elections? Most of them became extremely miserable. I personally remember one of them who was then a district chief executive somewhere in the Ashanti Region. He was a close friend’s uncle. This man respected his dog more than those around him.

He could speak and embarrass them in the presence of visitors. His decisions were final even when he was clearly out of order. Nobody could overrule him. He became a wretched and I’m not sure he’s been able to recover, at least from the last time I met him a year ago. I could not believe the same man huffing and puffing is the same person with his hands behind him speaking with such an angelic tone.
Clearly his symbol of arrogance has been taken away from him.

Then you come to the era of John Kufour and, I must be blunt, the greatest level of arrogance was exhibited. Even ordinary party flies with no constituency had the effrontery to look Ghanaians in the eye and talk back at them panache. They were LORDS OF THE RINGS and wouldn’t listen to anyone. They had no time for any logical reasoning. It means nothing to them.

Only theirs matter because they controlled state power. They were simply arrogant and not ready to entertain any thoughts. I still remember an encounter one of them had with a custom officer around the airport. ‘I’ll make sure you are sacked from here. Do you know who I am? He quipped with such air of arrogance. His party was kicked out but the custom officer is still around and has moved up in rank.

Some current officials in the Mills administration are walking on the same rope and decisions they take are final. One typical person is the Mayor of Accra Alfred Vanderpujie who believes his words are final and no matter of pleas could make him change his mind. A case in point is new rates he has directed members of the Advertising Association of Ghana to pay if they want to continue with their outdoor advertisements.

The new rate, which the association says represents eight times more than what they used to pay, will drive most of them out of business. Despite their pleas for Mr. Vanderpujie to have a rethink of the rates, he has on the other hand maintained his stance.

He is the lord of Accra and his words are final. His refusal to change his mind has since compelled members of the association to seek the intervention of parliament.
“We are presenting a petition with the support of the AGI to draw the attention to the anomalies in the procedures and processes which the AMA adopted in fixing the rates and the fact that they ignored all our concerns were thrown to the dogs,” says Francis Dadzie, a member of the association.

Mr. Vanderpujie’s ‘Lords of Lords’ attitude is more felt when he decided to replace a technical team responsible for determining the rates for outdoor advertising with a private firm for the next eight years. Rumours are that he has shares in the company. I’m yet to ascertain that but there in Ghana rumours have some iota of truth in them, so I’ll like to go by that.

Vanderpujie certainly has a job to do but he must understand that he’s dealing with people who have feelings and any decision take could have an effect on them and their relations. It is clear his stubbornness is borne out of the fact that he controls power, thanks to political victory which is but transient.

I personally don’t know him but I happened to have bumped into him during the periods of the elections and he was pretty much measured in his speeches with most of the people who had converged around the party’s headquarters. He literally had his two hands behind him anytime he wanted to speak to anybody around.
These are surely interesting times!

The World Cup, the Madiba's and tragedy

2010-06-11T02:36:00.000-07:00

Finally the tournament i hear, and South Africa, the host, goes into the game, this afternoon against Mexico, hoping to win the game. The excitement has long been bubbling for months and got more to its fever pitch days before the first ball is kicked. More than ninety thousand partisan supporters with their vuvuzelas are expected to pack the stadium, and give the Bafana-Bafana the needed boost. It is first time in Africa and almost everyone including the Mandela's were looking forward to the game. However the death of a thirteen year old great granddaughter moments after the concert in the Soweto appear to have shattered their joys. The thirteen year old girl who is said to have celebrated her birthday two days ago, was driving home from the concert venue when the tragedy occurred. News report at the moments are mixed as to whether or not Nelson Mandela will be attending the opening ceremony. He is largely credited for bringing the tournament to the one time aparthied South Africa and his presence, according to most South Africans, will inspire the team to victory. But with the tragedy now sitting right at the centre of their home, it will be hard for the man to leave the family behind and celebrate with the football fans. The Mandela is a global brand and inasmuch as his iconic status brought the tournament to South Africa, the latest tragedy adds to the family's biography. 'Ke na Ko but certainly not in this moment of tragedy!

oil still creates doubts

2010-06-01T12:52:00.001-07:00

Ghana has found oil, that is often the sermon politicians tell their friends in the International community. They are quick to say the revenue from the oil will change everything in Ghana; good roads, education, jobs and appreciable incomes. Unfortunately not many people are falling for that. After all gold, cocoa, timber and other natural resources have done extremely little to change the country's fortunes. People are still poor. Obuasi, the hub of gold mining in Ghana is in a gory state; residents are living in abject poverty. Enchi, one of the most endowed cocoa growing communities is living without any decent electricity, buildings, decent water and roads. Health facilities are completely crap. The only health health facility is more than seven kilometres away from most of the people and was built by the presbyterian church. They run the hospital with no funds coming from government. It's a pity but that is the truth. So not many people are swallowing this whole talk of oil boom and economic prospects. Lessons have well being learnt by the average Ghana and the thing you don't do is to allow the politicians to convince you when it comes to matters like natural resources. At the moment the country's percentage is less than five percent, so where is that economic empowerment going to come from? There is no proper oil regulation to define the boundaries about the drilling and how the expectations among ordinary people will be managed. The BBC has been on the road with the programme, Africa Kicks, where they look at different aspects of life in countries they are visiting.The team was in Takoradi on Tuesday afternoon to discuss this so-called black gold. After an hour of crossed debate from all the guests it became clear that not many people are looking forward with clean teeth about the oil changing anything. It's going to be the same old story, according to one of the guest, a dreadlocked beauty who spoke with loads of Jamaican slang in his lines. Others like her also cited the wanton corruption in the system and how much politicians love to talk but do nothing. It was an unfortunate spectacle but the gospel truth, even from me, is that the oil discovery will change nothing. Ghana will be as corrupt and inefficient as it has been for more than forty years. That is my verdict.

Wavin’ an idiot flag.

2010-05-20T05:32:00.000-07:00

The last time I checked the price for a miniature flag of Ghana, It was pegged around US$6 dollars. It was not even the original. it was one of those materials joined together and with the black stars stashed in the middle. It was not attractive. The last time I saw t something of that type was doing the African Cup of Nations held in Ghana in 2008. I was backing Cote D’Ivoire to lift the trophy.

They had been doing well, scoring many goals against their opponents, so I decided to give them my support. I bought one of those unattractive flags, tied them to my head. Little did I know I was heading out for defeat. They were beaten in their next game and even failed to grab the fourth spot. I threw the flag away, never to wave it again.

Then I got an assignment to do an article about the song ‘Wavin Flag’ by rapper K’Naan. The remix version of his song for coco cola said to be one of the songs for the World Cup is enjoying massive airplay in Ghana. I headed off to speak to people about the song and whether or not they were going to wave their flags in support of Ghana.

I wrote a personal piece about K’Naan and those who love the song were happy to read about his background. I’m not going to pretend to be the one who uncovered him. Information about him is on the internet however, I picked my line from comments he made on Aljazeera about Somali pirates and the response of the international community. I enjoyed that very article, though I can’t say it was my best.

There were loads of Ghanaians drawing inspiration from the song. They will wave the country’s flag when the first whistle of the tournament gets underway. Even in the face of defeat, they will still wave though they are confident the team can go far. I have my doubt. The current list of players in the team could be described simply as ‘sick list.’ Stephen Appiah, John Mensah, Michael Essien and others are not in good shape. Their health is not good. That is the truth most Ghanaians don’t want to face. They’ve resigned themselves to this crap about ‘ooh God will do it.’ They talk as if God is not there for everyone, including idiots who want to be political leaders.
And talking about political leaders I heard economist and New Patriotic Party stalwart Kwame Pianim say political office holding is more than just waving flag. Mr. Pianim, whose statement has been widely reported by the Ghanaian press, said at the programme organized by Professor Frimpong Boateng to launch his bid to contest the NPP leadership that any idiot can be a flag-bearer and that what Ghana needed was a leader. I could not agree more with him.

Who would want even an idiot as a relative let alone the leader of a country. There are those who even believe that Africa is underdeveloped simply because of the idiotic tendencies of the leadership. For example in such difficult economic times, Jacob Zuma, hiding behind culture, has grabbed for himself four wives and the ordinary South African taxpayer has been forced to pay the bills for all of them.
The expenses made on his many wives, according to reports, run into thousands of British pounds per month. What stupidity!

Then you have a country like Nigeria. It has massive oil but its citizens are poor. It takes an idiotic leadership to impoverish the people. Equatorial Guinea, Gabon etc all have the so-called black gold but their citizens are poor. No right thinking leader will stash the funds of his country in a foreign bank and allow his citizens to wallow in squalor. Can that be possible? But that is the story of Africa
You move to Ghana and you have gold, timber, cocoa and now oil. Great natural resources but poverty levels are high.

Every single day one hears a certain policy or another in the ‘pipeline.’ I have been following development issues in this country since I was a teenager and the word ‘pipeline’ has been used more than enough. I’m still hearing the same word repeated by every government in power.

Our leaders are more interested in grabbing properties including ex-gratia while the vast majority are left to dry their teeth in anger and despair. The story of gold mining town Obuasi is pitiable-despite the many gold dug from the place. The people are still struggling to keep their heads above the scale of poverty.

Which right thinking leader will allow such foolishness to take place under his watch? We are more than five decades since asking the British Queen and her people to leave and our story today has been nothing but crap. We can’t even feed ourselves and we say we are ‘independent’ nation with great leaders. Who are the leaders; those who part themselves at the back even while in office or those who desperately spoke up against people owning a single toilet only for them to leave with more than three?
Are they the leaders we are talking about? I beg to differ.

I’m not a big fan of Kwame Pianim but I want to believe he has his own issues. He speaks only when it suits him. I however salute him for his frank remarks. In any case the world has become so small so who would want a leader without any technological skills?

As for the flag everybody can wave even an idiot. What Ghana needs is a leader who thinks about the masses and not one who would go on property grabbing spree. A word to the wise is in the thumb.

Good day!

Another Arsenal heartbreak!

2010-04-16T12:34:00.000-07:00

For straight five years, I have had to endure hearbreaks. It has nothing to do with a relationship with women but rather football. Arsenal Football Club, based in North London has been the club i have given almost all my emotions to; buy replica jerseys anytime a work colleague is heading out from London to Ghana, etc. I love the club with every emotion.

I have endured insults and name calling from friends who continue to insist i cut off links with the club. "Why don't you just give up on these kids,' is often the statement I hear. But i can't. Arsenal is to me a breast milk to a fresh baby. I have heard stories about how important it is for people to even stay and be loyal to their teams during those hard times. I have done all of that and i'm not about to ditch Arsenal for any club.

Will surely not do that. But it was really heartbreaking when on Wednesday night of April 14th,2010,I had to seen the dream of the club winning its first trophy in five years evaporates. And the defeat did not come to no any club than main rivals, Hotspurs. I was heartbroken! I had earlier in the day challenged a colleague i was going to thrash spurs to the extent that they'll not find their training pitch. I was wrong. I had to go back to work with my face hidden behind sunglasses. I had lost.

Since the defeat, I have spent time reading news articles from the UK and listening to the BBC Sports programme, Sports Roundup' and the song is the same; 'enough is enough, Arsene Wenger must buy.' It's without a doubt that he is the club's greatest manager but his stubbornness for not wanting to strengthen the squad is causing sleepless nights to the club's fans all over the world.

Fans in Africa and for that matter Ghana are as much worried as those in England, who pay for season tickets to watch the games. It is really heartbreaking. It has not been easy for me at all.

But will I quit supporting the club? a big 'NO. Arsenal forever but Arsene must buy!

Osu sits on untapped wealth

2010-04-15T08:02:00.001-07:00

It is past mid-day at downtown Osu-Alata, on the main Castle road in the capital, Accra. A white painted building sits close to the main busy street. On the wall is a campaign poster of a smiling President John Mills (then a candidate) which has suffered from the rays of the sun and heavy rains over time.

The house, built in the latter part of the 1880s by a former European merchant Henry Richter, is forgotten with its rich history not spoken about except architects and historians who are concerned about the potential it has to increase tourism revenue.

In the baking sun a group of professionals from different spheres of work are taken on a tour of the building by retired Ghanaian professor of architecture Nii Adziri Wellington. The tour forms part of an exercise organised by the Arts in Social Structure, an Accra based NGO to sensitize journalists on the need to appreciate works of architecture and report accurately on it.

Once a historical building much envied by other foreigners and rich Gold Coast merchants, the outlook of the building is considered a perfect model of architecture befitting the status of the rich at the time. However, it became a secret hideout for the smuggling of slaves from the northern parts of the Gold Coast during those brutal years of slavery.

There are traces of captured slaves who spent their past time playing oware. Professor Wellington who led the excursion to the Richter Fort as well as other historical places in Osu, said the house, which today sits as a lone voice was a busy trading post for some descendants of Henry Richter who were completely against the idea of banning on slavery.

Inside the house is a security post used by some of those hired to watch over the slaves during the period. Today a pale shadow of itself with very little regard given to it in terms of harnessing its untapped potential, most of those on the trip were confident the building has the capacity of to boost the tourism outlook of Ghana as well as create jobs even for its inhabitants most of whom are sitting ideal with no jobs.

Apart from the Cape Coast and Elmina Castles, all in the Central Region, which are mostly associated with the slave trade, historians like Professor Wellington are confident there are more historical sites scattered across Osu alone that has enough rich but ugly history of slavery as that of the two main castles which tourists would like to see and even write about.

The Richter fort which forms part of European castles and forts found in other places such as Kinka in Osu have the capacity of adding up to the expected revenue collection this country is hoping to get, if properly harnessed.

The country currently relies on the two main castles with the rest of the revenue coming from other places such as Kakum. Some tourism writers and experts however believe the country is making far less in tourism receipts than it can actually rake in.

“There is so much in Accra that the tourism sector can benefit from but are those in charge of tourism really ready to tap into it?” asked one of the participants.

By its own expectations, Ghana hopes to make tourism the third income earning sector in the country and participants were confident that the Ministry of Tourism and its agencies will consider the newly identified attractions.

Since becoming a member of the World Tourism Organisation since its formation in 1975, the country has only ranked a lonely 100th in tourists’ arrival out of the more than one hundred tourism destinations in the world.

For example, statistics from the UNWTO indicate, as far back as 2005, that the numbers of tourists who visit a place like Egypt was more than seven million while that of Ghana stood within the four hundreds. The highest Ghana has recorded for the past five years was more than 500,000 though Nigeria exceeded that target despite her many trouble spots.

According to tourism writer Bill Reynolds, one of the country’s biggest selling tourism point is the proverbial Ghanaian hospitality, but that has even not been translated to have the expected revenue effect.

“Where the country falls short is the presentation of tourism products, particularly with the sites and attractions which are thought to be monotonous.”

Celibate Yoke: Boys Not Women are welcomed

2010-03-29T08:21:00.000-07:00

Current events emanating from the Catholic Church point to a certain fixation their Priests have towards children instead of women. Priests have acquired such a fine taste for molesting young people in their parishes, contrary to their own perceived beliefs as ‘Holy Fathers.’

And in rather bizarre sleeping arrangements, a good numbers of priests have been busy bedding most of their children in the churches who, ironically, see them as spiritual fathers. The recent revelation, though not surprising, is the abuse of deaf children in the 1970s by one Father Lawrence Murphy, a notorious molester of children at Wisconsin.

Now deceased, Father Murphy, according to released documents, took advantage of the children, mostly deaf, who came to him for spiritual guidance and bedded them. He spent his ‘priestly’ times sleeping with the kids against their will and though reports were sent to the Vatican about his behavior, officials who received the documents slept over it.

Fingers are now pointing at Pope Benedict XIV for his role in the purported cover up. His credibility now hangs on a thin thread, as calls for him to resign continue to grow. He has been forced to render apologies to sexual acts committed by his subordinates mostly in Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, Italy and the United States.

The New York Times reported that documents available to them indicate that long before he became Pope, he failed to response to letters about the abuse of children in the United States. Again in 1996, according to the documents in the New York Times’s possession, Cardinal Ratzinger on two occasions failed to act on letters he personally received.

They concerned the Rev. Lawrence Murphy, who worked at a Wisconsin school for deaf children from the 1950s, according to a report carried by the BBC.
The report further said that two archbishops wrote letters to a Vatican office led by then Cardinal Ratzinger for him to act on the reports but he halted the process, giving the sexually notorious Murphy to continue his abuse of children in blissfulness.

Calls for the Pope to resign has been growing however, the Vatican has also expressed its unflinching support for him. The church is not like any corporation, one catholic faithful who spoke to the BBC Focus on Africa programme on Friday. She thinks the pope has done the right thing by apologizing and the matter should rest there.

Rest there, dude?

Voodoo statistics?

2010-03-25T06:06:00.000-07:00

Politicians are very funny people. Especially for those in Africa and by stretch Ghana, they make nice characters for a comedy script. Every single word emanating from their mouths is enough to create laughter, making one wonder if they take themselves serious at all.

Just last week I heard a story attributed to Deputy Minister of Information Samuel Okudzeto-Ablakwa to the effect that government has created 1.6 million jobs, since taking over power in 2009. Lots of eyebrows were raised. 1. 6 million jobs in 15 months? That is too much! I did not hear it but heard reactions from other persons.

The opposition New Patriotic Party was the loudest, accusing the government of massaging figures for political reasons. But pro government supporters quickly jumped to the defence of the minister and pointed to the agriculture sector as where majority of those jobs are?

I personally find it interesting, the statement from government especially when one considers the defence often put out that they’ve only being in power for 15 months. If 15 months how then does one reconcile the creation of 1.6 million jobs? I have personally heard some of the harsh comments made against the young minister and it’s not my intention to repeat them on this platform.

The only thing I’ll say is that the comments were extremely harsh, with some hitting at his personality. It was unfortunate, but that’s what happens when politicians decide to talk in the open without watching their backs. I remember in the heat of the campaign and how figures were bundled around with glee.

In their desperate bid to maintain power the NPP used all kinds of figures to show how good the economy was doing. GDP, Inflation rates etc were making the rounds. Almost on daily basis Ghanaians were inundated with figures, contrary to the harsh economic conditions on the ground. ‘We Are Moving Forward’ was the phrase from the NPP at the time.

It was a throat-seated obsession. The reality on the ground however dawned on them when they failed to win the first round of the elections, as predicted by fake polls. They lost after three rounds of elections. The NDC at the time accused the government Ghanaians don’t eat figures. Is it not an irony the same party is today making claims with figures while the opposition shouts the loudest?

The voodoo statistics in Ghanaian politics is becoming way too much and it’s important our politicians learn some lessons. But I doubt if they will.

Switzerland day of shame.

2010-03-19T08:36:00.000-07:00

It’s almost becoming a sick joke but the loud silence often shown by African governments over the mistreatment of their citizens abroad is really shocking.

Almost on daily basis, the story of an African abroad especially in the west beaten by racists elements dominate the news media and yet their governments keep mute.
They matter less to their home governments, who prefer to sing the praise of their European masters because of the excesses from the dinner table. Either seeking asylum or doing legitimate business, most Africans have been subjected to such embarrassing moments as if they are worse than dogs.

I remember somewhere in the late 1990s, a Ghanaian resident in Germany who was engaged with a white German woman and had a child by her was thrown out of that country. He was forced on the plane against the protestation of his girlfriend, bundled and chained behind like a shameless dog. The aircraft, unfortunately for the man, did not come to Accra directly. It had to go to Malta, a tiny European country.

The soldiers who accompanied him on the flight even refused to give him water to drink. They got to Accra and just dumped him and left. They were not arrested or anything. The man was rather kept in prison and locked up by the authorities.
It was only when he appeared on a radio programme than government foolishl

y came in, promising to take action. I didn’t hear anything and I wonder where the man currently is. I also remember how some British youths beat and killed a young Nigerian boy Demilola.

The boys behind his death nearly went off the hook until some immigrants decided to protest against the shameful mistreatment they often endure from the hands of the British authorities.I’m just reading another article on the BBC news website about the death of another African asylum seeker in Zurich, Switzerland.

The Swiss authorities, according to the report, are in the process of deporting more immigrants but had to halt the exercise following the death of the 29 year old man believed to be a Nigerian national. The man’s feet were shackled and forced, with 15 others, to a waiting aircraft. He however fell ill on Wednesday but the shackles were left to remain until he was took weak to look into the skies.

"They treated us like animals," said one, called Emmanuel.
"They shackled our feet, knees, hands, hips, arms and torso and made us wear a helmet like those worn by boxers. It was simply impossible to move," he was quoted by the BBC. .

Last year for example, the Swiss authorities made a special case to repatriate 43 persons from Switzerland, deporting some 360 people, mostly to the Balkans or Africa, according to the Swissinfo reports.

Okro stew, Kenkey and the DOLLAR BILL.

2010-03-17T11:19:00.000-07:00

I’m wondering if anyone has an idea where I could get some real good Okro-stew spiced with salt peter or ‘kanwey. I have a fight with a Philippino. I’m making some dollars out of the fight. It is a risk I have decided to take. Because the gentleman I’m going to fight is deadly as the python.

He is left handed; he has retired three boxers in our division, some of them equally deadly. But he retired them. One of them a British Ricky Hatton could not go beyond three rounds. He is smallish but a bully in the ring. He had beaten almost everyone else in the division. I know it was a stupid decision to fight him but I can’t let the money at stake evaporate into tin air. That is huge.

I’m from a poor West African country called Ghana. I come from Bukom in the Ghanaian capital Accra. It is a small but poor suburb with lots of unemployment and uneducated people. It is the home of boxing. The legendary Azumah Nelson honed his skills from there. Ike Quartey who also made a huge pay cheque after he was walloped by Oscar De La Hoya also comes from there. His loss against De La Hoya was deliberate.

He is no fool. I’m one of few boxers to get this lifetime opportunity and If my destiny lies here, I should not let the money slip by me. If my destiny is to be beaten by this smallish guy just for the DOLLAR BILL, I’ll certainly not let that pass me by. However I’m not going to allow him to waste my face like he’s done to the others. Hell no. my folks back home expect me to win the fight.

Especially my immediate relatives, but I’m not interested in that. What interests me most is the money, the DOLLAR BILL. Rather than allow him to reduce me to rubbles, I’ll rather eat some Okro-stew with kenkey, get into the ring and cover up my face till I’m able to cover the 12 rounds. That is my strategy. I’m no fool, folks, I’m no fool. Like I said it’s a risk I’m taking but the money involved is too much to be ignored. I’ll go for the dough, folks.

I surely will find some excuse to tell folks back home about why I lost the fight. Growing up one of the things I learnt from my relatives is that eating Okro-stew laced with salt-peter or ‘kanwey’ gives one stomach upset. I had tried one in the past and I think it better suits me to go back to it. So I headed off to Dallas, one of the cities in Texas, the venue of the fight, and requested a friend’s girlfriend to cook me some spicy okro-stew with kenkey. I’m feeling for it.

The fight is only 24 hours away and I guess if I’m able to visit the toilets from time to time, it will be a good excuse for me to tell the trainers something when I lose the fight. The truth is I can’t fight the former sugar worker. He is strong, smart and fast. After all he is the one giving me the opportunity to make some money.

But I’ll try to make sure he doesn’t retire me from the ring. I can’t wait to cash the money right into my bank account. I’m a rich man regardless of what my country men will say about me. They can talk ‘by-heart’ but I’m not bothered. They can say all things about waking up early to see me fight and I disappointed them. But do I care? I didn’t ask them to wake up and watch me fight.

Even if that happened, I had apologise to them so what do they want from me again, money or the title? I’m not going to eat the title, to be frank with you. Even when I was sitting on the toilet my mind was firmly on the money, not the fight. I was simply praying for the fight to just come to an end so I’ll go out there and cash my money. That was what I thought about and nothing else.

I’m I that stupid to allow my face to be destroyed by this tiny man and use part of the DOLLAR BILL to recover from hospital? I’m no fool. I’m in boxing to make money and not to joke. So if I could fight and lose but rake in that much money I’m fine.

The amount is payment for services rendered in barely an hour work. How many educated people back in Ghana could make that much money? All of you should just shut up and allow me enjoy my money. It’s my money and body so keep quiet. I’m not going to eat the belt and I’m sure you guys sure know that. Who cares about the belt when there is money to be made?

For the last time I’ll like to say that should such an opportunity come my way, I’ll go back to Dallas, look for okro-stew and kenkey so I can get enough sittings on the toilet if only I’ll make the money at the end.
Think about it again, folks!

Glory beckons Joshua Clottey

2010-03-11T05:16:00.000-08:00

When Ghana’s Joshua Clottey mounts the ring on Saturday March 13th in arguably one of his biggest fights against Manny Pacquiao, it will raise the number of his record to 36, and for most boxing pundits that is really an impressive record.

Especially because he has a decent record with 20 knockouts, so far. However, the question on the lips of most boxing lovers is; does he have the fire power to stop Manny Pacquiao who has been in such a devastating form, reducing British pride Ricky Hatton to rubbles and that of Miguel Cotto, the man who beat the 32 year old Ghanaian for his welterweight belt last June.

Clottey, known by his fans as the hitter, is not alarmed by what Pacquiao can do in the ring. After all he is just a boxer like himself, he told boxing writer Lem Satterfield in a recent interview.
"Manny Pacquiao is a human being, like everyone else. He's just a really good fighter who is out there now who is No. 1 now," said Clottey. "I don't know how he's coming to fight me, but I can tell you that I'm a different fighter altogether than anyone else that he's faced. I'm a really difficult fighter, you see."

Pacquiao, a left handed or southpaw as they say in boxing, is said to have accumulated enough fire power and speed since moving up weight, and had gone 11-0, with eight knockouts since his last loss by unanimous decision to Erik Morales in March 2005 as a super featherweight (130 pounds).

He has since stopped his last four opponents in such devastating circumstance, David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, and, Miguel Cotto.

Clottey is however refusing to be added to the list and as he mount the ring at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on March 13, he will also be excited about one thing; that, unlike previous fighters such as Cotto and De La Hoya who had fought Pacquiao and lost, he will be allowed to fight the 147-pound weight limit rather than, according to Satterfield, being contracted by Pacquiao to fight at catch weights of 145 pounds like Cotto and De La Hoya.

"It is good for me to be at 147. I'm a very big welterweight, so it's not really easy to make 147. I'm going to be big," said Clottey, beginning to warm up. "But I'm going in there and taking it like, 'I'm just going to go in there and do my thing and make people happy.'"

Ironically Clottey did not enjoy such a move in weight since his last fight against Cotto, whom most boxing experts say appeared dazed almost anytime he received a punch from Clottey but the Ghanaian failed to take advantage and allowed him to take away his belt.

He has since buried that disappointment behind him and against Pacquiao he is certain the past mistakes will not be repeated.

"I don't throw punches that get blocked. I don't respect that. I want to connect good. After the fight, Cotto's face showed who won and who lost. That's the way I'm coming to fight Manny Pacquiao."

For Clottey a win against Pacquiao will not amount to an upset but a victory with one of the most respected boxers in the welterweight division.
"I've never left the ring feeling like I lost. I feel like I'm undefeated. If I win this fight against Manny Pacquiao, I will never feel like I beat the best fighter in the world."

"I will feel like I had a fight with Manny Pacquiao, the best fighter out there, and I won," he said. "So even if I beat Pacquaio, and people talk about it like it's a big upset, I'll say, 'It's not an upset, but a win.'"
Clottey has been training in Florida with a new trainer DeJesus when his Ghanaian trainer could not get the entry visa, and was optimistic his plans are turning out well.

"Today, I sparred 10 rounds with four-minute rounds and a 30-second rest in between. I'm not really even tired after I'm finished," said Clottey. "I'm in shape. I want to prove to the whole world that this is a fight that I can win, and that they should be careful not to write me off."

Clottey has never been stopped. His resiliency and durability are not in dispute, and against Pacquiao on Saturday the question that is still waiting to be answered is when the smoke of battle has been cleared. Will Clottey be the man to call off the bluff of Pacquiao?

2010-03-09T09:34:00.000-08:00

Will Bob Geldof end charity campaign because of ‘cash for arms’ revelations?

2010-03-09T09:21:00.000-08:00

The news that funds raised by former rock singer and now anti poverty campaigner, Bob Geldof in a charity event called ‘Band Live’ to support starving Ethiopians a little over twenty years ago, has become a bit more of a shocking news. The first time I came across the story was in the British ‘Times’ newspaper, at least the online version.

The story claimed that a BBC documentary had uncovered the extent to which substantial funds raised during the charity programme had gone to aid a rebel movement in the Tigray province in 1985 to buy arms to execute their rebellion.

Though the BBC consistently maintain that it stands by its story, Geldof also maintains that there is “not a shred of evidence" Band Aid or Live Aid money was siphoned off. I listened to programme last Sunday on the BBC ‘Assignment’ programme presented by Martin Plaut. the World Service Africa editor.

The presenter admitted he was young at the time and looking back there were couple of ends he ought to have tightened up. But he did not because he was then a young reporter and pretty much inexperienced. But is that an excuse, Martin?
Mr. Plaut is one hell of an amazing journalist, surfing through some of the most difficult leads to make stories look good.

I want to believe Geldof is as exasperated as admirers especially looking at the amount of work and efforts that went into such an exercise and for news report to emerge that substantial portions of the money ended up with rebels who used it to kill their own citizens facing starvation.

I’m wondering the rationale behind the BBC story; is it to spite Geldof and his works over the years or just alerting him to be more proactive and keep an eye on funds he intend raising for similar projects. He has insisted he’ll sue the Ethiopian government if it turns out the story is true.

Alhaji Muntaka, the albatross around Mill’s presidency?

2010-03-08T09:58:00.000-08:00

Does the name Alhaji Mohammed Muntaka ring a bell? That might be a silly question to ask anyone in the public holding the anti-corruption torchlight.

Especially for those who have been following the footprints of the National Democratic Congress and holding them up against their commitment to fighting corruption, the name does ring a bell.

A former Minister for Youth and Sports, Alhaji Muntaka was forced out of government when it emerged he made false representation to the German Embassy in Accra to secure a visa for his ‘girlfriend’ to travel with him.

It also emerged that the same lady also travelled with the minister on a similar trip to Ivory Coast when Ghana played a football with DR. Congo at the maiden edition of a Cup of Nations involving local based players.

The minister’s conduct came to the light following reports made by a former official of his ministry who alleged that the minister had soiled his hands with filth, contrary to promises by government that they were going to ensure corruption, one of the campaign tools, is reduced to the minimum.

The incident happened barely a year when the government had taken power and it was a major embarrassment to the NDC- especially at a time when government officials and their supporters continue to accuse former government officials of the New Patriotic Party regime whom they said virtually left office with the country’s kitty hidden under the belly of former president Kufour and his cronies.

It was the perfect grenade conveniently handed out to the opposition elements or anti-government personalities who impressed upon the president to hand the minister over to the security forces for him to be prosecuted. But was government going to yield to this pressure?
That was a multi-million dollar question which still hangs on the mind of most people in the country.

The minister was one of few other youthful members appointed by the president to serve in hi cabinet. During his vetting in parliament his own colleagues advised him to serve as a role model to most of the youths in the country. He was one of three young ministers who organised a press conference and advised most of the country’s youth to stay off corrupt habits.

But did he follow that path? I am certain the debate on this will be lengthy and unfinished but for a case as sensitive as this to even choke President Mills during an interaction with the media recently, shows how hot the issue hanging around the neck of the president is.

The issue of corruption is very pervasive in the country and young people in the country have a responsibility to ensure it is curtailed. One of the tools most young people hope to use to effectively wage the war against corruption is the passage of the Right to Information Bill-which would compel state officials to voluntarily, without hesitation; hand over information requested for by one from the public.

The perils of blogging elsewhere

2010-03-02T06:35:00.000-08:00

Despite my strong reservations for things I consider mundane but which most of our political leaders pursue, I still love Ghana. There is so much poverty, there is so much corruption, there is so much religious bigotry, there is so much pettiness, there is so much self centred people but I still love this country.

I have spent about five minutes reading about the arrest of a 20 year old Egyptian blogger, Ahmed Mustafa, for allegations that he published false information in a blog a year ago, that there is so much nepotism at Egypt's premier military academy.

The article which is published on the BBC news website said Mr. Mustafa is being held under an emergency law that has been in place since 1981. the law allows indefinite detention and trials of civilians in military courts.

Since reading the article and hearing comments from human rights groups, I have been asking myself what the hell will be happening to characters like myself who dare to speak out against the establishment, should I be residing in Egypt. Ghana’s terror days are over, thanks to this so-called democracy.

But there are still laws sitting in our books that make it easy for us to be called before a wig wearing judge in any of our law courts- and this wig thing I have a problem with. It’s colonial and the earlier our judges get their heads off that smelly thing the better for us all. I can’t image subjecting my head under that colonial thing-especially in this heat. Just a bit of digression.

Our constitution has laws that could ensure somebody like me go to prison easily, based on what I write.

And that is not fair. Recently in Ghana, a young man went on a radio station and said something very stupid; that the former president burnt his own house. It was a free speech exercised in the most irresponsible manner. He was however arrested and made to spend a night in police cells.

That really was unfortunate. Just recently, a high court judge sitting on a case involving a former foreign minister who left his job and rather became a rice imported, cited a newspaper journalist for contempt. He was made to apologize and pay a fine in far excess of one thousand American dollars.

That was gross! Just two instances to say that yeah we are in a democratic society but the laws are not friendly at all however, I would prefer to enjoy that to, say, a place like Egypt or even Iran even ‘unseen’ forces are always on the heels of people soon as they get close to the internet.

pix source: BBC

Breaking Neuz!

2010-03-01T10:39:00.000-08:00

I’m going to talk about two issues: First will be the fallouts from the congress of the opposition New Patriotic Party and the sour ‘salads’ if I have to use that phrase. The second will be a statement issued by the Ga chief or King Joe Blankson. I’ll however like to deal with the first issue first. I was one of the few who had predicted the flogging of Charles Wereko-Brobbey, one of the contestants for the chairmanship position.

I was hopeful he was not going to get even one hundred votes, despite repeated noises that he had been to everywhere in the country and that delegates had assured him of the necessary votes. He ought to have consulted Arthur Kennedy about what delegates can do even when they had taken your money from you.

So for him to come and tell Ghanaians he had gone through all the regions and it was his right to become chairman smacks of sour ‘salades. On Monday morning when Joy Fm called him to share some few thoughts about why he lost, he said those who had promised to vote for him were induced with cash.

Doesn’t that make for a good laugh? Inducement and how is doing that? I love the word especially when it comes from a character like the man they called Tarzan, who supervised one of the most useless bodies, the Ghana@50, in the history of this country. It was under his watch that this country wasted loads of money to party, when people didn’t have quality drinking water (and they still don’t have) and the quality of education excessively low.

How does a party like the NPP entrust its chairmanship in the hands of a man who said he took up appointment but didn’t have a clue as to what was expected of him. Brobbey or Tarzan is a funny character, to say the least.

This guy is full of him self. He believes he speaks better English or whatever done everyone else and so should be made party chairman. What rubbish! It will be important for him to shut his mouth and moustache and think about how he can strategize to win the presidential slot of the party (that I know he’ll lose as well) instead of hipping accusations at the delegates.

My second issue is with this Ga Chief or King called Joe Blankson. The man is angry President Mills, since assuming power, had failed to invite him to participate in state functions so he could have the opportunity to eat and drink. Is that not a sick joke? Somebody of his calibre should be pushing for developments for his people rather than this idea of wanting to dine with the president and foreign guests.

He has been around for a little over three years and I’m yet to hear him make a single policy statement geared towards improving the lives of his people. There are good number of Ga youths in this country who have no jobs or even decent education and one would be expecting that such issues engage the mind of the Chief. But naaah!

He rather prefers self and personal comfort; a dinner with the president so he can enjoy in alcohol, get drunk and come home to sleep while his people suffer. Even so stupid of his comments was the accusation that he is suffering from the victimisation’ because the government perceives him to hve been forced on his 'own people' by the former NPP government.

This is really interesting especially coming from Joe Blankson himself. He should tell Ghanaians what happened during his so-called installation as the Chief. I hope he has not forgotten that heavy police presence ensured he became a chief.

It’s sickening to hear him rant and rave like a child running after a toffee in shopping mall. It will be important for him to tell Ghanaians or the people of Ga his policy plan to help bring some comfort to them.

This thing of running to the press because he has been ignored from a tall list of those who go to dine and wine with the president is not only petty but amount to foolishness.

We need progressive chiefs not the likes of the Joe Blanksons whose stomachs mean a lot to them!

Bloggers gossips!

2010-02-26T10:19:00.000-08:00

I usually spend my Thursday evening either reading obituaries published in the on-line version of the Economist magazine or simply courting troubles with friends at obscure places. Obscure places? Sure, but not what you might be thinking.
However on Thursday 25th February, 2010 I got an invitation from a Swedish friend of mine, Kajsa, who is a lecturer at Ashesi University to sit in a meeting of bloggers. Bloggers? Yeah bloggers.

I must say blogging is something alien to most people in this country. I’ve got friends who might be tempted to unleash a hefty slap on my solid cheeks if I’m to turn up in any of our old school’s meetings informing them I’ve taken up blogging as a full time job. Blogging for a living, what crap is that? It’s strange but that is the reality on the ground. Blogging is something alien to our system.

However, the trend appears to be changing. There are lot more young folks who are coming to appreciate the essence of blogging, even if nobody reads what they write. They just write and post anything at all that comes to mind: It could be John Mills expunging that stupid medallion Former President J. A. Kufour awarded to himself. I’m still not clear the heck that motivated him to go the 50 Cent style.

A bit of presidential foolishness, I guess. Thank God Mills has scrapped that crap off the national honours list. He could do us all a favour by asking Kufour to bring that stuff back. And what the heck was Mills talking about in parliament during his address.

That yeah he is going slowly but surely? That is absolutely rubbish. People are hungry and you are telling them slowly but surely? 2012 is just around the corner and unless he wants to be a term president, which I want to believe he doesn’t, he should sit there and pamper himself.

Things are not properly working right on the economic right, though inflation is said to have dropped. But who is going to eat inflation figures?
What the hell does inflation figure mean to the guy handing out newspapers at a public toilet? Or the commercial Trotro driver who is always on the road even during those odd hours when myself and others queued up to be carted home.

Back to my issue. Kajsa sent me an email and later met with the group. It was at Smoothy’s one of the eateries thrusting its name in the minds of the so-called upper and middle classes in Ghana.

The place is normally cold due to small giant air conditions stashed at the corners. However on the said Thursday, a blackout in some parts of Accra which affected Osu(and are we not getting tired of this erratic power supply in this country) rendered the air-cons useless. We just sat behind joint tables in the smouldering heat talking about ourselves, blogs and the topic ‘Citizen Journalism.’

One of the bloggers called Kofi,a brilliant photographer(hope I got your name right) set the tone. He told us about how they are training some inexperienced but determined guys to undertake some photojournalism job. His remarks set the stage for a debate. I really enjoyed the discussion. There were fertilised ideas from almost everyone and people made their point forcefully. It was Donald who brought up the issue of the chap who lost a finger at work and yet told by the supervisor to return to work. How inhumane could that be.

During the discussion, somebody raised the issue of the legal wranglings involved in our attempts to write.I have no knowledge in law, though I have always said I might end up someday as a lawyer, but I tend to have problems with the long arms of the law being used to cajole all of us into playing it safe.

Fuck the law! Fuck the law? Yeah fuck the law! That’s how most of us respond anytime the law is used to kind of, again, cajole all of us into dancing to a hiop-hop tune when it's that of reggae. It’s a dangerous thing to fall into the hands of the law. Your life will be be miserable.

Go ask editor of the Enquirer Raymond Archer. A court in Accra recently asked him to apologise and stop publishing materials in an on-going trial involving former foreign minister Akwasi Osei Agyei who stupidly forgot his diplomatic duties and rather chose to import rice. Sorry if I have erred on the side of the law by mentioning that.

I see the meeting as an opportunity to share ideas and discuss issues of national importance. I’ll be looking forward to learning from almost everyone. Just being a bit demonic but the issue of gender balance was clear. I’m not sure if it does matter to the women!

.

I must say blogging is something alien to most people in this country. I’ve got friends who might be tempted to unleash a hefty slap on my solid cheeks if I’m to turn up in any of our old school’s meetings informing them I’ve taken up blogging as a full time job. Blogging for a living, what crap is that? It’s strange but that is the reality on the ground. Blogging is something alien to our system.

However, the trend appears to be changing. There are lot more young folks who are coming to appreciate the essence of blogging, even if nobody reads what they write. They just write and post anything at all that comes to mind: It could be John Mills expunging that stupid medallion awarded Former President J. A. Kufour awarded to himself. I’m still not clear the heck that motivated him to go the 50 Cent style.

A bit of presidential foolishness, I guess. Thank God Mills has scrapped that crap off the national honours list. He could do us all a favour by asking Kufour to bring that stuff back. But what the heck was Mills talking about in parliament during his address.

That yeah he is going slowly but surely? That is absolutely rubbish. People are hungry and you are telling them slowly but surely? 2012 is just around the corner and unless he wants to be a term president, which I want to believe he doesn’t, he should sit there and pamper himself. Things are not properly working right on the economic right, though inflation is said to have dropped. But who is going to eat inflation figures?

What the hell does inflation figure mean to the guy handing out newspapers at a public toilet? Or the commercial Trotro driver who is always on the road even during those odd hours when myself and others queued up to be carted home. Back to my issue. Kajsa sent me an email and later met with the group. It was at Smoothy’s one of the eateries thrusting its name in the minds of the so-called upper and middle classes in Ghana.

The place is normally cold due to small giant air conditions stashed at the corners. However on the said Thursday, a blackout in some parts of Accra which affected Osu(and are we not getting tired of this erratic power supply in this country) rendered the air-cons useless. We just sat behind joint tables in the smouldering heat talking about ourselves, blogs and the topic ‘Citizen Journalism.’

One of the bloggers a photographer called Kofi(hope I got your name right) set the tone. He told us about how they are training some inexperienced but determined guys to undertake some photojournalism job. His remarks set the stage for a debate. I really enjoyed the discussion. There were fertilised ideas from almost everyone and people made their point forcefully. It was Donald who brought up the issue of the chap who lost a finger at work and yet told by the supervisor to return to work. How inhumane could that be.

In the course of the discussion the issue of legality came in. I have no knowledge in law, though I have always said I might end up someday as a lawyer, but I tend to have problems with the long arms of the law being used to cajole all of us into playing it safe.

Fuck the law! Fuck the law? Yeah fuck the law! That’s how most of us respond anytime the law is used in such discussion but try and be caught on the wrong side of it. It’s a dangerous thing to fall into hands of the law. Life will be miserable.

Go ask editor of the Enquirer Raymond Archer. A court in Accra recently asked him to apologise and stop publishing materials in an on-going trial involving former foreign minister Akwasi Osei Agyei who stupidly forgot his diplomatic duties and rather chose to import rice. Sorry if I have erred on the side of the law by mentioning that.

I see the meeting as an opportunity to share ideas and discuss issues of national importance. I’ll be looking forward to learning from almost everyone. Just being a bit demonic but the issue of gender balance was clear. I’m not sure if it does matter to the women!

Communique on Niger crisis

2010-02-24T11:39:00.000-08:00

WACSOF DECLARATION ON THE
UNFOLDING SITUATION IN NIGER

We, representatives of civil society organisations in West Africa, after learning of the military coup d’Etat carried-out on the 18th of February, 2010 in Niger;
Already Preoccupied by the autocratic drift initiated and sustained by President Tandja Mamadou through the unconstitutional referendum of August 4, 2009 and the ultimate dissolution of some of the most democratic institution in Africa as was observed in the Abuja Declaration, during the symposium organised by WACSOF with the support of OSIWA on Democratic Transitions from July 31-August 1, 2009;
Concerned that coups d’Etat of any kind whatsoever, constitute a flagrant violation of democracy and human rights;
Further concerned that such an undertaking is a serious breach of the Additional Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance of ECOWAS, signed and ratified by Niger;
Determined to oppose any resort to force to accede to and remain in power;
Convinced that only democracy and popular consultations are the paths for saving our states;
Further convinced of the interdependence of member states, an interdependence which is reposed in ECOWAS for the realisation of our aspirations as contained in its Vision 2020;
• Denounce the military coup that was orchestrated in Niger as a means of resolving the political crisis;
• Holds Mr. Tandja Mamadou solely responsible for the impasse that created an opportunity for the use of arms as the only way to resolve the ongoing political crisis until February 18, 2010;
• Deplore the casualties that occurred during these events;
• Reaffirm our commitment to democracy and the republic and to the respect of the provisions of the Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, 2001;
• Take note of the speech by the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD) in its Communiqué No. 001, of February 18, 2010, concerning the restoration of democracy, while at the same time maintaining our view that the role of the junta is to create the conditions for the return to democratic processes and not to address issues of poverty and corruption;
• Launch a vibrant appeal to the democratic forces of Niger and to ECOWAS Member States for a transitional process within the shortest time possible, with the sole agenda of organising free and transparent elections to ensure the stability of the institutions of the Republic of Niger, self-reconciliation and its reinstatement within ECOWAS; and
• Welcome the positions taken in this regard by ECOWAS, the AU and the international community.

WACSOF recommends as Follows:

To Civil Society and Media of West Africa
Continue to support and work towards the achievement of genuine democracy in Niger, while maintaining their role as watchdogs in the ECOWAS region, especially in an era where the stakes of power are major obstacles to normal democratic processes.

To ECOWAS,
Take all the necessary steps and measures to get the CSRD to withdraw from politics in Niger through general consultations as well as free and transparent elections within the shortest time frame;
Maintain an uncompromising attitude and vigilance for the respect of the founding texts of the Community, and
Encourage a spirit of unity and solidarity of member states wherever the signs of authoritarian excesses are detected;

To the African Union
In line with the Constitutive Acts that recommend the suspension of any power that is not achieved through democratic and constitutional means, ensure rapid return to normal constitutional order in Niger;

Implement and enforce the provisions of the last Summit held in Addis Ababa on unconstitutional changes.

To the International Community, Technical and Financial Partners
Encourage and accelerate the restoration of democracy that has been confiscated since August 4, 2009, in Niger.

Done in Abuja, this 19th Day of February, 2010

For WACSOF

Prof Oumar Ndongo,
General Secretary,
WACSOF

IMF's John Lipsky's rantings

2010-02-24T10:56:00.000-08:00

John Lipsky, the first Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), received severe criticisms from civil society groups in Ghana following his argument during a visit to Ghana that subsidies are not always good. According to him, it must not be encouraged because it mostly goes to benefit only the rich.

His statement was not taken kindly at all- especially when Ghana’s economic woes have, partly, been blamed on the IMF and its sister, the World Bank. When he met Parliamentarians later however, Mr. Lipsky defended the Fund’s past actions saying; “loans are tailored closely to member-country’s needs, so that we can disburse low-cost funds quickly when a country has a temporary, urgent needs, or we can set up arrangements for disbursement over several years when this is appropriate.”

The IMF deputy MD said the Fund’s approach to how individual countries manage public borrowing today has given countries flexible options especially with “strong macroeconomic and public debt performance and with well developed debt management institutions.”

He mentioned that Ghana has benefited from such a policy, adding that one of the Fund’s operations on the African continent last year was the $600 million package spread over a period of three years for Ghana. Cameroon and Tanzania are the other beneficiaries.

“The conditions on our financial arrangements have also been made more flexible.”
According to Mr. Lipsky, the Fund’s goal is to focus its conditionality on reforms that would yield economic success “while ensuring that countries have the opportunity to follow policy approaches that are appropriate for their circumstances.”

“We want to work with our members to explore a variety of options for economic reforms that will generate real progress.”

He said the IMF is also encouraged by the many African countries, including Ghana, who have been able to survive the economic meltdown and are now doing better than most countries in the world.

“In considerable part, this is because of the earlier strengthening of monetary and budget polices, as well as structural reform in many countries.”

He said,” African central banks started the crisis with stronger international reserve positions than in the past, providing a cushion against balance of payments shocks.”

Again, he said the Fund also played a crucial role in this regard by offering debt relief because, according to him, it freed up resources that could be used to improve the business environment, invest in infrastructure, and support the poor.

“But with a legacy from the global recession of sluggish growth and higher poverty, it will be critical for African countries to raise their growth performance further, to help accelerate job creation and boost incomes.”

However, Mr Lipsky said an improved business climate and macroeconomic management will equally be essential in this regard.

Touching on the Ghana’s relationship with the IMF, he said the country turned to the Fund because of the public debt snowballing and the depreciation of the cedi, as well as high inflation. He said the three year programme centred on fiscal adjustments and on reforms to budget management to prepare Ghana for “the transition to oil producer status.”

“Not everything is rosy, of course. The deficit is still far too high, and public debt is still rising. Large-scale government borrowing is keeping interest rates high, which means more out-of-pocket costs for repayment.”

We gave contract out of sympathy – Mpiani

2010-02-19T01:26:00.000-08:00

Former Chief of Staff, Kwadwo Mpiani has told Citi FM that an energy contract signed between the former Government and the Former Deputy British High Commissioner to Ghana, Craig Murray was done as a humanitarian favour to help Mr Murray deal with his financial constraints.

Mr Mpiani says Mr Murray came lamenting to former President John Kufuor about his financial difficulties and virtually groveled for a contract to save him from bankruptcy in his home country, Britain.

Mr Mpiani confessed that an energy contract was thus signed between the Government of Ghana and Mr Murray’s company, Atholl, as a favour.

“He came to see President Kufuor about difficulties he was facing; he had been sacked by his government and his newly wedded wife was pregnant at that time and if he doesn’t get anything doing he would be declared bankrupt in his country so he came to see the president for support…this was the time we were looking critically at the energy sector in this country and he came in and said he could supply these turbines or generators and we talked to the ministry of energy on his behalf to see if they could help.” He said.

Mr Murray, in a recent article on his website, chronicled a number of corruption allegations in a number of contracts signed between Ghana and energy companies such as Balkan and Zakhem.

In that same article, Mr Murray admits he is the Chairman of several companies, including Atholl Energy. He said Atholl had a contract with the NPP government which has been honoured by the NDC government, because the company carried out its work “diligently and honestly.”

Mr Mpiani however discredits Mr Murray’s apparent selflessness in the manner he appears to be pushing the anti-corruption crusade against Balkan and Zakhem.

“When I met Craig and he was talking about people, about countries, about his own government and I realized that this is somebody who thinks that everybody else is wrong except him…he was behaving like a person who was so much concerned about Ghana and therefore went round to see what was going wrong to enable him report on that but that was not so."

Credit: Citi Fm.

Pentecostal declaration: Come to church ‘All Ye’ in Jeans and dreadlocks,

2010-02-18T11:17:00.000-08:00

You are no more going to be banished from the church for leaving your hair uncovered, so please come to church, senior officials of the Church of Pentecost have said, as the church seeks to increase its membership drive.

In a surprise communiqué issued by the church on Tuesday and signed by the Chairman of the church Apostle said women wearing dreadlocks are also allowed to come and fellowship with the church.

The communiqué which was issued after the end of the church’s annual prayer meeting in Accra, admitted the compulsory wearing of headscarves has no foundation in the bible and, it was time women break free from the tradition.

The church has been very vocal about members wearing scarves before entering the church to worship, and most members who had objected to the practice have been openly sacked from the church, labelling them ‘unholy’ elements who are not pure to come to the thrown of God.

The church has also frowned on members especially the women marrying from outside. However, the latest twist has come at a time when most churches in the country have become very lenient with their members about their mode of dressing, though they stress that decency should not be lost on any of them.

Among other things, the communiqué said; “ the issue of head covering, which has been the source of embarrassment to female visitors to the Church over the years, has no categorical biblical foundation as a requirement for salvation and should, as such, not be imposed on church members or visitors to the Church’s worship services.”

The church said having examined the book of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, which spoke extensively on hte issue, it has become clear that the import of the message has been lost on the church.

“That, a critical examination of the historical records, such as circulars of successive Chairmen of the Church from 1953 to 2007 revealed that the forefathers of the Church, particularly the Founder,
Rev. James McKeown did not discourage or encourage the covering of the head by women; but that he had rather admonished the Church through a circular letter of August 7, 1967, that the leaders should not meddle in the private affairs of church members by prescribing dress codes for them. He had taught that church members dress decently and modestly.”

The communiqué also said the practice of women covering their heads before entering the church was something that emanated from the kingship settings in Africa.

“The practice of head covering might have crept into the Church’s practices from the fact that it was traditionally required of women in Ghana to cover their head before speaking to their kings and this might have led foundational women of the Church to insist on appearing before the Lord, the King of kings, with their head covered;

the communiqué said the

The church said studies conducted over the socio-cultural situation in the country, indicate that though Ghanaian women were traditionally expected to cover their hair at a certain age, the practice has long been done away with.

The church also said some churches in the country equally have similar challenges and the best way of addressing the issue is to allow people to dress the way they want, but should be decent.

“The entire membership of the Church consider the issue of the covering of head by women in the spirit of Christian maturity so as not to offend anybody with regard to this controversial matter, which appears to have defied theological and hermeneutical agreement.”

“ Female visitors who attend church services without a head covering should be accepted as they are, without being either turned back or offered a head covering, since head covering does not subtract from a person’s salvation,” the communiqué read.

Again, the church also reminded strong adherents of the church who might find it difficult to come to terms with the new directive not to condemn those who come to worship at the church as lacking spirituality. However, it advised such women to respect the ethics of decency and be modest in their dressing so as to please God.

“That, church members appreciate the progressive changes in the socio-cultural environment in which the gospel is preached in order to make the gospel relevant to its hearers.”

The church, through the communiqué, also cautioned against the wearing of “seductive or sexually-provocative dress” to the church.

The communiqué concluded by calling on all members of the church to “accommodate one another in love, unity and for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:23-33), and joins Apostle Paul in stating: “Give no offence, either to the Jews, or to the Greeks or to the church of God (1 Cor. 10:32).”

Kwaku Sakyi-Addo unveiled.

2010-02-15T02:58:00.000-08:00

An award-winning Ghanaian journalist can say in all modesty that he has seen it all and more so he is the monarch of all that he has surveyed, and no one can begrudge him.

This fact is incontestable especially when he has been twice awarded the journalist of the year aside many other coveted prizes in his chosen field
Currently he hosts front page on JOY FM and Kwaku one on One on TV3, and has put him in a good stead to interview some of the most prominent news makers from different disciplines. And the beauty of it all is the fact that he keeps re-inventing himself, and this is so important especially when you live in the country like Ghana where people are fetish about the shelf-life of TV and radio personalities.

There is a Ghanaian proverb which states literally that; “if you know how to wash your hands, you eat with elders,” the moral of this saying is not lost on Kwaku at all. He has mastered his craft very well, metamorphosing into a strong brand, to the extent that his equity keeps appreciating anytime he sits behind the JOY FM console or the TV3 lights are beamed on him.

His insightful, intelligent, and straight-to-the-point line of questioning endears him to his endless list of admirers. His nice and boyish looks, could easily deceive one to think that he must be in his 40s, and his solid command over the English language, are some of the qualities that have earned him a place of among his many admirers. And these are qualities that even his bitterest critics as well as his enemies will attest to.

When I pointed out to Kwaku Sakyi-Addo that he’s spoken to some of the prominent people in the world from different background in a head to head interview, he said to me: ‘I have not spoken to Barack Obama.’ That is true but I’ll not be surprised if the next time I hear he’s had the opportunity to interview the US President.
Some of the personalities he’s interviewed include current United Nations boss Ban Ki Moon and his two predecessors: Boutros-Boutros Ghali and Kofi Annan. He has also interviewed not only the current Liberian President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf but her predecessor, Charles Taylor-currently answering charges of war crimes at the Hague, Holland.

“Charles Taylor is an interesting subject; he makes good news in quote from a journalistic point of view, the kind of guy who will give you a story anytime. He creates the news,” he said about Mr. Taylor
Then a correspondent for the BBC Focus on Africa programme, Kwaku said his last encounter with the former Liberian president was here in Accra during the summit of African leaders.

Mr. Taylor had been indicted by the UN war crimes. He risked being arrested so he left the summit to get back to Liberia in good time. Before leaving, Kwaku said he waited for him to get an interview on what he thinks about the indictment for his arrest.

He thrust the microphone to Mr. Taylor’ face but “he wouldn’t talk and ‘Focus’ had started and I described what was happening to him.”
Kwaku said he sat in one of the convoys in tow of Taylor’s and described what was happening. Incidentally, Mr. Taylor who was listening to the programme became enraged at Kwaku’s behaviour.
“So when we arrived at the airport, I got out of the car and he also got out of the car and he then came face to face to me wagging his finger saying to me, ‘Kwaku, that was very unprofessional.”

His bodyguards nearly ruffled him when he subsequently attempted taking pictures of Mr Taylor entering the aircraft. It took the intervention of former Vice President Aliu Mahama then close to the scene to prevent any further scuffle.
“I got my job done and it was interesting encounter, and that was the last time I’d spoken to him,” he said though he’s spoken to Taylor’s ex-wife Jewel and lawyer Courtney Griffiths.

He has written for The Economist, Newsweek, the Washington Post, the British Guardian, Telegraph and the Mail. He has also reported for CNN.
He worked for the BBC for a period of thirteen years and in between worked for Reuters News Agency for eight years, leaving the two jobs three years ago.

Kwaku said his first interview for the BBC was with fashion designer Oswald Boateng. Oswald was on his way to Ghana with a number of journalists from the UK to do a fashion show. The interview did not turn out as well as he wanted it to go.

“I think we might have talked for four hours and I was recording everything... and I couldn’t edit it....so I completely lost the plot and nothing good came out of the interview. I was clearly told why it could not be used. The sound quality was bad. But I learnt from that experience.”

Kwaku’s journalism career started more than two decades ago.
“I have been in journalism for 25 years since 1984. Initially for about eight years for Ghana News Agency and subsequently acting editor for the Ghanaian chronicle for about a year.”

It was at the Ghanaian Chronicle that his column the “Animal Farm” won the Columnist of the Year prize in 1994. The idea for the column started during his time at the United States, where he had gone to study at the World Press Institute at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.

Kwaku’s host at the institute was the American actor Harry Morgan who incidentally hosted Kofi Annan, during his time at the institute. During a Republican Party’s Convention Kwaku said Mr. Morgan had encouraged him to speak to Condoleezza Rice, then an adviser to George Bush, Snr- because she was somebody to look out for in the future.

Mr. Morgan also hosted Kofi Annan during his stay at the institute.
Upon his return to Ghana, he changed the name ‘the American Postcard’ to ‘Back to Kokokmlemle’ where he was living at the time. He later settled on “Animal Farm” as a platform to addressing the many injustices in the system at the time.
The twenty-five years as a journalist has taken him around almost everywhere in the globe, where he had shared the same platforms with the likes of UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Funnily enough, Kwaku said he wanted to become either a lawyer or diplomat but poor A-Level results helped bury that dream.
“I stumbled upon journalism because I write poetry and at the time I didn’t do well in my A levels, I was distrusted, so when I wasn’t able to go to University and appear to have an interest and some skill in writing, I was advised to try journalism,” he said.

His love for current affairs even at a very tender age was good enough to shape up his writing skills.

“I remember when I was 12, 13, 14 I was reading Newsweek from cover to cover, my father subscribed to Newsweek. So I have always been interested in national affairs, in international issues about Africa so that combined with my writing skill, I was advised to try journalism. “

He said he felt like “fish in water” when he entered journalism school in 1981.
Kwaku said he had never been attacked in his journalism career though an encounter with the then notorious Salifu Amankwah’s guards in 1985 still hangers at the back of his mind.

“There was a boxing match at the holy gardens. And there were people standing on top of the bridge watching the match. And Salifu Amankwah’s guards were ruffling them up, driving them away from the bridge and I intervened. I told them but you can’t stop people from standing on the bridge.”

“These guys attacked me, beat me, ripped my necklace handed to me by my grandma to my mother to me. I was cooked up in the place with two others. We managed to escape because we had to. The thought that the next morning we would be made to crawl on the streets or go and sweep a gutter was too much, so we managed to escape.”
Kwaku said he later met Salifu Amankwah who had just been released from prison and they patched things up.

“I asked him if he knows me and he said of course, and I said ‘how you remember me. He said you were the man who got attacked by my boys, you lost your necklace in the process.”

Kwaku’s life is not all about interrogating guests on his radio or television shows.
“I go to the gym, I lift weight, I have been in body building for almost 17 years,” He is also into Tae Kwondo and holds a senior belt. He said he’ll be taking his examination this month for the Red Belt and later Black Belt.

“I listen to music. I love African music and reggae and Jazz more Malian, Senegalese, southern African, I don’t do r and b, it doesn’t mean anything, it doesn’t do for me, it’s noise, they all sound the same.”
Though he appreciates the creativity in hiplife, he doesn’t think it fits into his life as a 51 year old.

Kwaku is married to Georgette Barnes and, they have three children; Akua Ofeibea, Ohene Kofi and Nine months old Abena Oforiwa Baawa.
He is the second of six siblings. He comes from Akropong in the Eastern Region. His father turns 86 next month.

He was educated at the Ghana Institute of Journalism, School of Communications Studies, and University of Ghana, Legon, University of Wales in Cardiff, the International Institute for Journalism in Berlin, Germany.
He has just completed an MBA in ‘Leadership and Governance’ from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration-GIMPA.

Jerry John Rawlings, does the grayhair mean anything to him?

2010-02-10T08:03:00.000-08:00

Telling Jerry Rawlings to shut will sharply contradict my belief in free speech. He has the right to speak his mind, as the constitution of this country, which he supervised to come to being in April 28, 1992 after a referendum. Despite all the reservations people had at the time, Ghanaians still voted for the constitution and ensured the hands of military dictatorship are over the country’s pie.

It has been a decade since he left office but he’s given his opponents the reason to believe he’s suffering from withdrawal syndrome. Soon after leaving office in 2001, he gave the new NPP government hell, calling them very serious names. He lambasted to the extent that he called the then sitting President Kufour Ataa Ayi-a notorious criminal now suffering life sentence in Nsawam prison.

He did not limit his insult of the then president to Ghana alone but abroad. Every single opportunity provided him with the opportunity to hit him with barrages of insults. It was an unfortunate spectacle, to say the least. The government responded by stripping him off his privileges. It was a foolish decision for them to have done that.

That is a position I still hold on to. In the run-up to the Second Round of the 2008 elections, I went to interview Mr. Rawlings-together with journalists from the New York Times and AIT, from Nigeria. I was doing some work with a reporter from the French channel, 24. The interview took place at his residence. It was my first time of coming face to face with him in such a manner, though I have attended press conferences at his residence in the past.

It was a real privilege and after more than three hours, he requested we came back again. He is a nice man. He’s got warm personality, jovial and lover of nature. We took some nice pictures with him and I still have mine, though I have not framed mine yet. I hope to do so anytime soon. I admire him for his frankness but as an elder stateman and having served 19 years as head of state, I think the time for him to observe from afar is now.
Since his government came to power, he has never failed to insult the sitting president. How on earth does a former president of his calibre describe members of the current administration as ‘bastards?’ I didn’t believe it the first time I read that report. I thought it was the usual tabloids who are scheming things up. I was however shocked to realise he’s indeed made the statement. So what at all does Rawlings want from Ghanaians?

That seems to be the question people including his own party members are now asking. It is a shame that a former president of his calibre will be using every opportunity to insult the very president Ghanaians had elected into office. If he thinks he doesn’t like the president, he should wait for four years. If that happens he can then go and vote against him.

This senseless attitude of always wanting everybody to believe he is the single most important thing in life is foolish. Mr. Rawlings should remember that he had the highest periods in terms of reign in Ghana and, the only thing he can do for those of us in Ghana is to keep his mouth shut. I listened to his recent comments and I said to myself ‘this man is chipping’ the respect people have for him. It is important for those always screaming his name to let him know that he’s no larger than life.

He is not a messiah and that should be told to him. His time as president did not change the fortunes of Ghana to anything good. His children are well educated; can the same be said about the many people whom he promised to bring the needed change? He has always been going about this thing of ‘accountability, integrity’ etc and yet he is not. Mr. Rawlings should remember that Ghanaians voted for Mills and not him.

He can’t be president again. If he knows anybody at the civil service who is an NPP person and working against the interest of the state, he should point those people to us. What kind of foolishness is this? Is Rawlings the only sensible person in this country who has the solutions to every single problem? Was he not the same man accusing people of having more than a toilet? How many does his household have?

He should come and tell Ghanaians and stop this sick mentality. This primitive mentality of arresting or chasing out political opponents as practised by former president Kufour and his cohorts. Ghana is not a primitive state Mr. Rawlings must get that into his head. He’s greying and its important those around him tell him something good.

He has greyed but that hasn’t come with enough wisdom.