The incident involving the cold blooded murder of the young Kwesi Baah by a Police Patrol team around Kokomlemle drew sharp denigration from the public as to this bellicose style of some trigger-happy Police Constables armed to the teeth and roaming the streets. Young Baah , according to an eye witness, was stopped by a Patrol team a little after 9pm for driving an unregistered vehicle and an amount of One hundred and Fifty Ghana Cedis (GHC150) was extorted from him after which he took off. He was accosted minutes later by another Patrol team who demanded that he stopped again to which he refused. He took to his heels and his vehicle was shot at. He took a bullet in the process and was deliberately, denied medical assistance by the Police and his poor mother had to look on helplessly as his son took the last breath. These goons in uniform Policemen fired warning shots daring friends and family to offer dying Baah timely help. My heart reaches out to the family especially the mother in whose arms he passed away, for this great and unexpected loss.
In quick response to the incident, the Deputy Ministers of Information and the Police Kingpins visited the family of the deceased to console them and gave them their word that they will do all possible to bring justice to the family. Following from this promise, the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Paul Quaye directed full scale investigation into the incident with the promise that he will personally take interest in the matter and bring the perpetrators to book. True to this promise, four Policemen have so far been arrested in connection with the incident pending further investigations.
I am most impressed by the swift manner in which the suspects have been picked up following the interest expressed in the matter by the Police high command. It is indeed unplumbed to believe that investigations could be commissioned this swift and suspects arrested so soon pending further investigations. Beyond this single incident, I am tempted to conjecture the possible causes of such shot outs and unnecessary deaths of productive citizens of the land.
In an earlier article captioned, “Mr. IGP, Your Move” published on the internet and in other newspapers, I raised red flags over the directive by the Public Relations Directorate of the Ghana Police over the fiat that “unregistered motorbikes be banned on the streets after 8 pm” and those using unregistered vehicles “should be thoroughly questioned” by the Police Patrol team whenever and wherever these vehicles are found. My argument was that the fiat was ambiguous and could be manhandled, misinterpreted and misused by miscreants in the service to fete their insatiable desire for bribes. DSP Kwesi Fori came out later to clear the air on the fiat but that did not do much about the misinformation that had already gone out from his own outfit. I am convinced that the mix up in the interpretation of this fiat might have contributed directly to this incident.
Again the eye witness confirmed that a Police patrol team had earlier accosted them and demanded a bribe which they had paid on the spot to enable them go their way. Just as they had left that scene, they were accosted again by another patrol team ostensibly for another session of unnecessary questioning, threats of arrest, seizure of vehicle and possible prosecution which culminated in the demand of another bribe forced the young man to ignore the police and drive on. The Police reportedly smelled of alcohol.
In as much as the young man misjudging his instincts on the matter, the police are equally wrong in firing live bullets indiscriminately at the moving vehicle and hitting Baah in the process. The young lady in his company could have taken a bullet as well. In a desperate attempt to cover their own crime and possible confession from the young man, the police wickedly and deliberately prevented family and friends from rushing the young man to the hospital. They clandestinely read between the lines that the survival of Baah could spell doom for them as they will be implicated in the matter and I am tempted to believe that the bullets fired were meant for both occupants of the vehicle for this same reason. These bribery incidents is the bane of what drivers, pedestrians, hawkers, hookers and motorists go through each day and night at the hands of undisciplined men and some miscreants in uniform who are more than ignorant about the ethics of their chosen profession.
This obsession on the side of the police with any young man; slightly or heavily built riding in the latest unregistered saloon car and draped in fashionable sun glasses, blinks and enjoying the in a company of a sexy looking 17 year old SHS graduate they easily mistake for either a drug dealer or an armed robber should be reconsidered to avoid these frequent confrontations with the citizenry and the Police should learn to respect the principles of the rules of engagement.
It is against this background that I commend the Deputy Ministers of Information Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and Mr. James Agyenim Boateng to visit the family of late Baah to extend their condolence to the family and promised doing all to ensure that those involved in this barbaric act are brought to book.
The inspector General of Police on his part vowed to clamp down on the men involved and I am happy to see that four of the men allegedly involved have been arrested pending the completion of the investigations and possible prosecution. With the same zealous commitment, I expect other unresolved cases handed down the administration of the new government like the Taifa killing incident, the Dansoman shooting incident, the biker who was gunned down somewhere in the Central Region by Military men, the soldier who was murdered in a bush in Burma camp, the killers of Issa Mobila , the Killers of the Overlord of Dagbon, Yaa Naa Yakubu Andani II among many other ritual murders, should be investigated with the perpetrators punished.
As part of measures to wipe the Police Service and the military clean of these scoundrels who deliberately engage in nefarious activities( from loan retrievers to land guards ) that only go to tarnish the reputation of the police and the military, the public should be encouraged to report those involved for prompt action. I am yet to see the implementation of the IGP’s commitment to tag all Police men with ID numbers. This move will support efforts from the public to check the men in uniform who fall out of line in the line of duty.
The late Kwesi Baah is another productive life wasted by some goons in uniform and you and I need not stand aloof while the Police and government struggle to correct the ills within the law enforcement agencies in their quest to provide better security to the good people of Ghana.
The time for action is now!
God Bless Our Homeland Ghana!
Felix Mawulolo Amegashie
lix_mawulolo@yahoo.com
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Hawkers Vrs The State, Who Loses?
It has been a few weeks into the Dr. Vanderpujie-led decongestion exercise in the city of Accra and it appears there is a determined move on the part of the affected Hawkers to return to the streets damning all legal and social consequences in the full glare of guards of the Accra Metropolitan Authority. I am thwarted in the lack of support on the side of civil society and the media to make this all important exercise achieve its objectives. I recall that many journalists (including JOY FM’s Ato Kwamena Dadzie) and social commentators actually shot the exercise down even before it took off and therefore created the psychological milieu for the failure of the decongestion exercise and at the same time giving signals to the affected hawkers that they could return to do brisk business as usual.
Indeed recent observations concur that the hawkers are almost back again to which the media is having a good laugh at the supposed failure of government to clear the streets of the daily nuisance of hawking. This recent development could be blamed on obvious factors including the absence of support from political parties and other civil society organizations. The decongestion exercise by all standards was the right decision the AMA took, not only to clear the streets and pavement of hawkers but to enforce security and cleanliness on our streets. The media was very cold and pessimistic towards this exercise. I recall the mockery the AMA Mayor attracted from pessimistic media practitioners like Joy FM’s Ato Kwamena Dadzie who actually called the exercise a failed one even before it began. He did not only stop at this comment but went ahead to publish disparaging articles on his blog and the Daily Dispatch and on www.myjoyonline.com that only sought to enforce the impression that no powers could clear the hawkers off our street irrespective of which government comes into power. I consider these irresponsible comments from Ato and others of his ilk not only as damaging to the development of our cities but a subtle call on the hawkers to lurk in the woods for a while only to return to the streets when the dust settles.
Second, for obvious reasons, the opposing parties decided to stay away from this initiative knowing too well that it makes good political capital to hold their peace while the ruling government proceeds with this exercise in order to attract disdain for the government of the day. In clear departure from this course, the political parties repeatedly asked government to put a “human face” to the decongestion exercise.
Third, the hawkers themselves, knowing too well that the streets and pavement are not places designated for them to ply their trade blame government of being insensitive. They argue that they had “nowhere to go” if they are driven off the streets. I wonder if this assertion is true. Just take a walk into the Central Business District of Accra at about 8PM each night and you will be amazed as to the serenity on the streets only for the chaos to resurface early the next morning.
Fourth, the argument that the hawkers took loans from banks and micro finance institution to ply their trade and that they may not be able to redeem their loan obligations unless they are permitted to sell on our streets and pavements is a bogus one. I am under the impression that banks do not give out loans just at the snap of the finger unless they are sure of your intentions and a traceable business address? I wonder which financial institution would offer loans to persons faceless individuals who cannot be located in a permanent office, home or shop.
In spite of the arguments above, the AMA has been at the centre of legitimizing the perpetual stay of the hawkers on the street by forcing them to pay all manner of levies and tolls to the Assembly. The hawkers therefore consider any decongestion exercise by the Metropolitan authorities absurd. One cannot fault the hawkers in anyway but to blame the AMA for granting the hawkers such chimney rights. I believe all is not lost as regards the options available to the Metropolitan authorities.
In as much as the current regime where guards are placed at vantage points in the capital to drive the hawkers away might be expensive and stressful, it appears this might be the most effective short terme measure aimed at arresting the situation while the AMA takes steps to open more satellite and pedestrian markets for the Hawkers to move into. This could be significant as it gives respite to shop owners who pay hefty rents to property owners in the city centers only for their front showcases clouded by a swam of aggressive hawkers who make no overhead expenditure or pay taxes to the republic.
Again, the perpetual absence of hawkers from the streets will ensure cleanliness and significant reduction of garbage on the streets. The reduction of garbage means the AMA will have to cut back on their annual budget allocated for garbage collection. This savings could be ploughed back into other social interventions like developing better rest points and toilet and urinal facilities in the metropolis. The streets could be very clean and the stench that emanates from the choked gutters as a result of wanton dumping of refuse and other fecal matter by hawkers especially could be eliminated. The ripples of a successful decongestion exercise could even lead to supporting government’s efforts at eradicating malaria.
Additionally, our streets could be more secured against crime and mob injustice. As it stands now, anyone could be attacked, criminalized and lynched in a very overcrowded environment like what pertains on our streets. A better security means that it will take less time for commuters to move about the capital city during the rush hour. This has significant implications on economic growth in the long run.
Constant education is indeed needed to buttress the actions of the AMA and at the helm of this education is the media especially the local-language-biased electronic media. They need to preach this message of change to the hawkers and encourage them to move to the designated pedestrian shopping malls specially created under the erstwhile Agyire Blankson administration. At the heart of this campaign should be the elimination of bottlenecks and corruption in the allocation of the stalls in the malls. If these things are done in all earnest and openness, I am sure that the average hawker will be lead to share in the concerns of the AMA in making this decongestion exercise a successful one.
To Dr. Alfred Vanderpuije, all is not lost as his outfit can persist in making this all important exercise a central part in improving standards and quality of life in the capital. The success of this initiative will send meritorious ripples in increasing gross domestic product of the nation; from our workplaces to our homes, from hospitals to entertainment centers , from markets to churches and Ghana ,indeed, can be a better place for our generation and others unborn.
Felix Mawulolo Amegashie Lix_mawulolo@yahoo.com
Indeed recent observations concur that the hawkers are almost back again to which the media is having a good laugh at the supposed failure of government to clear the streets of the daily nuisance of hawking. This recent development could be blamed on obvious factors including the absence of support from political parties and other civil society organizations. The decongestion exercise by all standards was the right decision the AMA took, not only to clear the streets and pavement of hawkers but to enforce security and cleanliness on our streets. The media was very cold and pessimistic towards this exercise. I recall the mockery the AMA Mayor attracted from pessimistic media practitioners like Joy FM’s Ato Kwamena Dadzie who actually called the exercise a failed one even before it began. He did not only stop at this comment but went ahead to publish disparaging articles on his blog and the Daily Dispatch and on www.myjoyonline.com that only sought to enforce the impression that no powers could clear the hawkers off our street irrespective of which government comes into power. I consider these irresponsible comments from Ato and others of his ilk not only as damaging to the development of our cities but a subtle call on the hawkers to lurk in the woods for a while only to return to the streets when the dust settles.
Second, for obvious reasons, the opposing parties decided to stay away from this initiative knowing too well that it makes good political capital to hold their peace while the ruling government proceeds with this exercise in order to attract disdain for the government of the day. In clear departure from this course, the political parties repeatedly asked government to put a “human face” to the decongestion exercise.
Third, the hawkers themselves, knowing too well that the streets and pavement are not places designated for them to ply their trade blame government of being insensitive. They argue that they had “nowhere to go” if they are driven off the streets. I wonder if this assertion is true. Just take a walk into the Central Business District of Accra at about 8PM each night and you will be amazed as to the serenity on the streets only for the chaos to resurface early the next morning.
Fourth, the argument that the hawkers took loans from banks and micro finance institution to ply their trade and that they may not be able to redeem their loan obligations unless they are permitted to sell on our streets and pavements is a bogus one. I am under the impression that banks do not give out loans just at the snap of the finger unless they are sure of your intentions and a traceable business address? I wonder which financial institution would offer loans to persons faceless individuals who cannot be located in a permanent office, home or shop.
In spite of the arguments above, the AMA has been at the centre of legitimizing the perpetual stay of the hawkers on the street by forcing them to pay all manner of levies and tolls to the Assembly. The hawkers therefore consider any decongestion exercise by the Metropolitan authorities absurd. One cannot fault the hawkers in anyway but to blame the AMA for granting the hawkers such chimney rights. I believe all is not lost as regards the options available to the Metropolitan authorities.
In as much as the current regime where guards are placed at vantage points in the capital to drive the hawkers away might be expensive and stressful, it appears this might be the most effective short terme measure aimed at arresting the situation while the AMA takes steps to open more satellite and pedestrian markets for the Hawkers to move into. This could be significant as it gives respite to shop owners who pay hefty rents to property owners in the city centers only for their front showcases clouded by a swam of aggressive hawkers who make no overhead expenditure or pay taxes to the republic.
Again, the perpetual absence of hawkers from the streets will ensure cleanliness and significant reduction of garbage on the streets. The reduction of garbage means the AMA will have to cut back on their annual budget allocated for garbage collection. This savings could be ploughed back into other social interventions like developing better rest points and toilet and urinal facilities in the metropolis. The streets could be very clean and the stench that emanates from the choked gutters as a result of wanton dumping of refuse and other fecal matter by hawkers especially could be eliminated. The ripples of a successful decongestion exercise could even lead to supporting government’s efforts at eradicating malaria.
Additionally, our streets could be more secured against crime and mob injustice. As it stands now, anyone could be attacked, criminalized and lynched in a very overcrowded environment like what pertains on our streets. A better security means that it will take less time for commuters to move about the capital city during the rush hour. This has significant implications on economic growth in the long run.
Constant education is indeed needed to buttress the actions of the AMA and at the helm of this education is the media especially the local-language-biased electronic media. They need to preach this message of change to the hawkers and encourage them to move to the designated pedestrian shopping malls specially created under the erstwhile Agyire Blankson administration. At the heart of this campaign should be the elimination of bottlenecks and corruption in the allocation of the stalls in the malls. If these things are done in all earnest and openness, I am sure that the average hawker will be lead to share in the concerns of the AMA in making this decongestion exercise a successful one.
To Dr. Alfred Vanderpuije, all is not lost as his outfit can persist in making this all important exercise a central part in improving standards and quality of life in the capital. The success of this initiative will send meritorious ripples in increasing gross domestic product of the nation; from our workplaces to our homes, from hospitals to entertainment centers , from markets to churches and Ghana ,indeed, can be a better place for our generation and others unborn.
Felix Mawulolo Amegashie Lix_mawulolo@yahoo.com
Contract Killings: Jerry Rawlings Vindicated!
The shocking and gruesome murder of Kwame Kyei Apenteng-Mensah, Managing Director of Summit Industries last Saturday is surely going to add to the growing list on bizarre and unresolved ‘hired’ killings that have been rocking Ghana lately.
These murders which were tagged by the then opposition NDC as ‘Contract Killings’ include the killing of a deputy Managing Director of Ghana Commercial Bank, the Ashanti Regional President of the Ghana Journalists Association, a fuel station owner who resides in Tema among others.
The Police have moved in swiftly to commence investigations into this latest development in the McCarthy Hills area of Accra. While hoping that this does not end up like the murders already listed, there is no guarantee as yet that the perpetrators of this heinous act will not continue to walk the streets.
That is why we share in the now constant caution from former president Jerry Rawlings that in addition to the armed robbers terrorizing innocent people [he called them social armed robbers] there is another bunch of armed persons lurking in the woods, and he describes them as political armed robbers.
President John Atta Mills when he was Candidate Mills called them “contract killings”, while Jerry Rawlings says they are “political killings”. Whichever it is Rawlings’ Friday caution, for which he was insulted and attacked by some persons was not in vain. Rawlings in commending the police service and other security agencies for their proactive response to the recent armed robberies also cautioned them to be ready and weary of what he called “political armed robbers”. These are persons who come, but won’t rob you of any belongings, but rather to kill in cold blood.
This trend of robbery is very disturbing as anyone could be victim of this ‘political or contract killing’. What is striking about Ex President Rawlings’ assertions is that he distinguishes the casual armed robber who robs his victims of personal valuables at gun point from the “more dangerous political robber” who sneaks in to kill their victims without touching any of their personal valuables not even the sight of money.
As the police administration has promised, we are confident they will move fast and trace the evidence carefully in order to arrest the perpetrators and also devise a scheme to prevent such acts.
These murders which were tagged by the then opposition NDC as ‘Contract Killings’ include the killing of a deputy Managing Director of Ghana Commercial Bank, the Ashanti Regional President of the Ghana Journalists Association, a fuel station owner who resides in Tema among others.
The Police have moved in swiftly to commence investigations into this latest development in the McCarthy Hills area of Accra. While hoping that this does not end up like the murders already listed, there is no guarantee as yet that the perpetrators of this heinous act will not continue to walk the streets.
That is why we share in the now constant caution from former president Jerry Rawlings that in addition to the armed robbers terrorizing innocent people [he called them social armed robbers] there is another bunch of armed persons lurking in the woods, and he describes them as political armed robbers.
President John Atta Mills when he was Candidate Mills called them “contract killings”, while Jerry Rawlings says they are “political killings”. Whichever it is Rawlings’ Friday caution, for which he was insulted and attacked by some persons was not in vain. Rawlings in commending the police service and other security agencies for their proactive response to the recent armed robberies also cautioned them to be ready and weary of what he called “political armed robbers”. These are persons who come, but won’t rob you of any belongings, but rather to kill in cold blood.
This trend of robbery is very disturbing as anyone could be victim of this ‘political or contract killing’. What is striking about Ex President Rawlings’ assertions is that he distinguishes the casual armed robber who robs his victims of personal valuables at gun point from the “more dangerous political robber” who sneaks in to kill their victims without touching any of their personal valuables not even the sight of money.
As the police administration has promised, we are confident they will move fast and trace the evidence carefully in order to arrest the perpetrators and also devise a scheme to prevent such acts.
Prosecute The Bawku Central MP
An Accra High Court yesterday, Wednesday July 15, 2009 at about noon ruled that one Mr. Adamu Dramani-Sakande, who until noon yesterday illegally held himself as member of parliament of Bawku Central, is NOT a citizen of the Republic of Ghana and was not “qualified to have contested the seat” in the first place. This ruling is victory to the rule of law and a disgrace to all manner of fraudulent politicians who smuggle themselves by paying their way into public office through the corridors of various corrupt officials within parties and the electoral commission itself. Perhaps this fraudulent man‘s remainder in parliament has some undercurrents in recent escalations of violent conflicts in the Bawku municipality due to the bitter developments within and outside his own party prior to and immediately after he was declared winner in the parliamentary elections. One Sumaila, the headsman, who exposed this criminal of an MP to the Courts of Ghana has every right to express frustration at the failure of the court to award huge cost to this criminal to deter those who still think they can hold dual nationalities, smuggle themselves into public office, steal, stoke violent conflicts in hitherto peaceful constituencies and when the worst happens, he or she can jump on the next available flight to another country to which he or she holds nationality and leave you and I here to face the consequences of the problems these idiots create.
This ruling by the competence court of jurisdiction brings to the fore a number of questions that the New Patriotic Party, the Electoral Commission and the Courts of Ghana should answer the good people of Bawku and Ghana at large.
Foremost, does this dishonourable man, Dramani-Sakande Adamu want to tell the courts of Ghana and the good people of this country that he did not know that he holds dual citizenship prior to his filing of nomination to contest the primaries and eventually the Bawku Central parliamentary seat?
Also, does Mac Manu, Nana Ohene Ntow and the entire NPP constituency executives of the Bawku Central constituency want us to believe that they were never aware that their candidate was NOT a citizen of Ghana prior to his presentation to the Electoral Commission?
Would the Electoral Commissioner tell us today that his employees in the Bawku Electoral area did not do due diligence in cross-checking the veracity of the vital nomination documents filed by this charlatan before he and his party were cleared to contest the elections?
And to the High Court, why was the man not detained by the Judge immediately after the ruling and handed over to the police for prosecution if the trial Judge had by this ruling declared this man a criminal who engaged in an “illegal” act? These are mind boggling questions that all parties in this fraudulent case must answer to the good people of Ghana.
We expect the man to be arrested and prosecuted immediately for engaging in various acts of dishonesty, fraud and causing financial loss to the state. The man has been in parliament for six months, he had enjoyed lots of financial and other privileges. He had been given a $ 50,000 for a car loan and all these must duly be calculated and made good to the state.
It is pathetic that the NPP, a party that holds herself as the only believer of rule of law, should be in cahoots with this hoaxer to rob the people of Bawku this opportunity to have a fair and legal representation in parliament.
I implore the other aspirants Dramani beat during the NPP primaries in Bawku Constituency to come together and institute fresh legal actions against this man as soon as possible if they are indeed worth their salts.
These idiots and fraudsters who return from abroad with cash in hand ready to pay their way into public office without the legal prerequisites as regards qualification should be exposed at all levels and tried immediately. Vikky Brightt almost got away with this and Ex- President Kuffour , I believe , knew perfectly that the woman was not a citizen of Ghana , but circumvented the constitution to nominate her for vetting. What does the New “Patriotic” Party take Ghanaians for?
President Mills promised to strengthen out institutions to give meaning to a fair legal system. Visiting US President, Obama Barack, reiterated this call at strengthening our institutions as a pillar to democratic governance. The Institutions themselves must on their own show enough commitment at cleaning their acts to win public support at strengthening them and not to leave cracks within their walls that has a direct chaoatic effect on the people as in this specific case against this fraudster.
Long Live the Rule of Law. Long Live Ghana!!
Felix Mawulolo Amegashie
This ruling by the competence court of jurisdiction brings to the fore a number of questions that the New Patriotic Party, the Electoral Commission and the Courts of Ghana should answer the good people of Bawku and Ghana at large.
Foremost, does this dishonourable man, Dramani-Sakande Adamu want to tell the courts of Ghana and the good people of this country that he did not know that he holds dual citizenship prior to his filing of nomination to contest the primaries and eventually the Bawku Central parliamentary seat?
Also, does Mac Manu, Nana Ohene Ntow and the entire NPP constituency executives of the Bawku Central constituency want us to believe that they were never aware that their candidate was NOT a citizen of Ghana prior to his presentation to the Electoral Commission?
Would the Electoral Commissioner tell us today that his employees in the Bawku Electoral area did not do due diligence in cross-checking the veracity of the vital nomination documents filed by this charlatan before he and his party were cleared to contest the elections?
And to the High Court, why was the man not detained by the Judge immediately after the ruling and handed over to the police for prosecution if the trial Judge had by this ruling declared this man a criminal who engaged in an “illegal” act? These are mind boggling questions that all parties in this fraudulent case must answer to the good people of Ghana.
We expect the man to be arrested and prosecuted immediately for engaging in various acts of dishonesty, fraud and causing financial loss to the state. The man has been in parliament for six months, he had enjoyed lots of financial and other privileges. He had been given a $ 50,000 for a car loan and all these must duly be calculated and made good to the state.
It is pathetic that the NPP, a party that holds herself as the only believer of rule of law, should be in cahoots with this hoaxer to rob the people of Bawku this opportunity to have a fair and legal representation in parliament.
I implore the other aspirants Dramani beat during the NPP primaries in Bawku Constituency to come together and institute fresh legal actions against this man as soon as possible if they are indeed worth their salts.
These idiots and fraudsters who return from abroad with cash in hand ready to pay their way into public office without the legal prerequisites as regards qualification should be exposed at all levels and tried immediately. Vikky Brightt almost got away with this and Ex- President Kuffour , I believe , knew perfectly that the woman was not a citizen of Ghana , but circumvented the constitution to nominate her for vetting. What does the New “Patriotic” Party take Ghanaians for?
President Mills promised to strengthen out institutions to give meaning to a fair legal system. Visiting US President, Obama Barack, reiterated this call at strengthening our institutions as a pillar to democratic governance. The Institutions themselves must on their own show enough commitment at cleaning their acts to win public support at strengthening them and not to leave cracks within their walls that has a direct chaoatic effect on the people as in this specific case against this fraudster.
Long Live the Rule of Law. Long Live Ghana!!
Felix Mawulolo Amegashie
Can Konadu Rawlings And Teresa Kuffour Ever Be Friends?
President Barack H. Obama has come and gone but he leaves in his wake memories that will forever linger on the mind of this generation probably until he comes back some day. I must congratulate the Atta Mills-led government for the very simple and down-to-earth manner in which activities celebrating Obama’s historic visit to Ghana has been handled in face of obvious financial challenges that the country has been seriously plunged in.
Equally deserving commendation is the open arms with which His Excellency John Evans Mills embraced his political opponents including those who rated him undeserving of the office of president, to the tarmac of the Kotoka International Airport to welcome the visiting U.S President. This is what I call leadership; making the best of relationships and resources for the common good of the masses! The President did not submerge the opposition but rallied them around his good self in branding Ghana as an “adolescent democracy” in the eyes of the world. It is only in Ghana that competitors in a bitter election can quickly recover from their age old rivalries and come together for a common purpose on a memorable day as that of the visit of Barack Obama. I heard from the grapevine that a very short aspirant from one party had to struggle to get to the front row in order to be visible enough to deserve a handshake. Rumours had it that President Obama, almost skipped him, until President Mills quickly tapped Obama to look below his waistline to see the vertically challenged political opponent. The short man eventually left embarrassingly to his “duty-free”4x4 car to avoid further mockery. One wonders if this blossoming romance extended from the bosom of the president to members of the opposition would have been the case if a different person save John Mills, was the occupant of the Jubilee House, the would-be seat of Presidency. This indeed is a better Ghana that we are really experiencing, and we must all indulge in the credit. Yes, all of us whether one belongs to the coconut climbers, the chicken republicans or the elephant butchers or the Umbrella carriers. We all deserve the credit and I cannot agree with President Obama more when he stressed that “perhaps the minority deserves much commendation as the majority”.
The breakfast meeting between Obama, the President and the two ex presidents was the next attraction to the whole programme. There was life and humour amidst serious talk at that breakfast meeting that saw Nana Konadu Rawlings and Teresa Kuffour with their respective sweethearts, together on the same platform after a long period of unhealthy exchanges of cross-fire between the two former first gentlemen of the land. Again, I hear many “property-owning democratic” practitioners from the minority side were heavily disappointed at the menu served. Their disappointment, I hear, premised on the fact that their regular Ginseng-tea, toasted pancake, spaghetti sandwich, and fruit salad for dessert ,was totally missing on the tables but instead, there was lot of the Bukom-made transition kenkey, wakye, koko and “kose” and “kulikuli” for them to battle with that early morning. Presdent Obama, a social-democrat as he is, was more than delighted to eat with the President and the two ex-presidents the available ration and did not visit the Lou as many had wished. All these taste of domestication of the visit added serious colour, culture and an African courtesy to the entire programme. This is indeed a further in the cap of the Protocol department.
Soon after breakfast, Radio Gold and TV3 granted simultaneous interviews to the two Ex-Presidents. While Jerry Rawlings promised that the perceived “bad Blood” between himself and John Kuffour will be dealt with, John Kuffour quickly jumped in to say that there was no “bad blood” between the two of them. Jerry Rawlings and John Kuffour might not be enemies but there share different political ideologies and that makes them political opponents. We may have our internal differences as individuals and sympathizers of different political parties but when it comes to forging a common tie to project the image of Ghana beyond our borders, it is imperative for government to do all she could possible to put the two gentlemen on the forefront. Tasking them with specific roles to play on behalf of government in order to harness their contributions to the common good of the nation will not be too little too late.
To President Mills who is held in high esteem by the international community for his commitment to the rule of law and, freedom of speech, multi-party democracy and his readiness to combat corruption, drug-trafficking and ostentatious lifestyle as a sitting head of state, Obama’s visit is a real exercise to legitimize your office and our “adolescent democratic’ credentials of Ghana.
Mrs Konadu Rawlings and Terasa Kuffour might not be friends but in times as these when we need each of them to play one role or the other to support the development agenda of the Nation, appointing the former first families as ambassadors of one government initiative or the other under the Mills administration will be very rewarding and a major plus to our “adolescent democracy” in order to attract major and minor policy advantages from all over the world so that we can perpetually remain on top as the beacon of democratic hope to a continent bedeviled with undemocratic regimes, crime, hunger, wars and diseases.
A move in this direction from His Excellency the President, assures any sitting president that upon a peaceful transition and handing-over, one does not only retire , sit at home on a “Chinnery-Hesse” report and tell mythical tales to his grandchildren but one is equally useful and respected as an ex president to partaking in the activities of the successive government. This will discourage the temptation of doing all one could, fair or foul, to perpetrate his party in office. The Vladimir Putin example in Russia is worth noting.
God Bless Our Homeland Ghana! Long Live John Evans Mills, our President!!!
Felix Mawulolo Amegashie Lix_mawulolo@yahoo.com
Equally deserving commendation is the open arms with which His Excellency John Evans Mills embraced his political opponents including those who rated him undeserving of the office of president, to the tarmac of the Kotoka International Airport to welcome the visiting U.S President. This is what I call leadership; making the best of relationships and resources for the common good of the masses! The President did not submerge the opposition but rallied them around his good self in branding Ghana as an “adolescent democracy” in the eyes of the world. It is only in Ghana that competitors in a bitter election can quickly recover from their age old rivalries and come together for a common purpose on a memorable day as that of the visit of Barack Obama. I heard from the grapevine that a very short aspirant from one party had to struggle to get to the front row in order to be visible enough to deserve a handshake. Rumours had it that President Obama, almost skipped him, until President Mills quickly tapped Obama to look below his waistline to see the vertically challenged political opponent. The short man eventually left embarrassingly to his “duty-free”4x4 car to avoid further mockery. One wonders if this blossoming romance extended from the bosom of the president to members of the opposition would have been the case if a different person save John Mills, was the occupant of the Jubilee House, the would-be seat of Presidency. This indeed is a better Ghana that we are really experiencing, and we must all indulge in the credit. Yes, all of us whether one belongs to the coconut climbers, the chicken republicans or the elephant butchers or the Umbrella carriers. We all deserve the credit and I cannot agree with President Obama more when he stressed that “perhaps the minority deserves much commendation as the majority”.
The breakfast meeting between Obama, the President and the two ex presidents was the next attraction to the whole programme. There was life and humour amidst serious talk at that breakfast meeting that saw Nana Konadu Rawlings and Teresa Kuffour with their respective sweethearts, together on the same platform after a long period of unhealthy exchanges of cross-fire between the two former first gentlemen of the land. Again, I hear many “property-owning democratic” practitioners from the minority side were heavily disappointed at the menu served. Their disappointment, I hear, premised on the fact that their regular Ginseng-tea, toasted pancake, spaghetti sandwich, and fruit salad for dessert ,was totally missing on the tables but instead, there was lot of the Bukom-made transition kenkey, wakye, koko and “kose” and “kulikuli” for them to battle with that early morning. Presdent Obama, a social-democrat as he is, was more than delighted to eat with the President and the two ex-presidents the available ration and did not visit the Lou as many had wished. All these taste of domestication of the visit added serious colour, culture and an African courtesy to the entire programme. This is indeed a further in the cap of the Protocol department.
Soon after breakfast, Radio Gold and TV3 granted simultaneous interviews to the two Ex-Presidents. While Jerry Rawlings promised that the perceived “bad Blood” between himself and John Kuffour will be dealt with, John Kuffour quickly jumped in to say that there was no “bad blood” between the two of them. Jerry Rawlings and John Kuffour might not be enemies but there share different political ideologies and that makes them political opponents. We may have our internal differences as individuals and sympathizers of different political parties but when it comes to forging a common tie to project the image of Ghana beyond our borders, it is imperative for government to do all she could possible to put the two gentlemen on the forefront. Tasking them with specific roles to play on behalf of government in order to harness their contributions to the common good of the nation will not be too little too late.
To President Mills who is held in high esteem by the international community for his commitment to the rule of law and, freedom of speech, multi-party democracy and his readiness to combat corruption, drug-trafficking and ostentatious lifestyle as a sitting head of state, Obama’s visit is a real exercise to legitimize your office and our “adolescent democratic’ credentials of Ghana.
Mrs Konadu Rawlings and Terasa Kuffour might not be friends but in times as these when we need each of them to play one role or the other to support the development agenda of the Nation, appointing the former first families as ambassadors of one government initiative or the other under the Mills administration will be very rewarding and a major plus to our “adolescent democracy” in order to attract major and minor policy advantages from all over the world so that we can perpetually remain on top as the beacon of democratic hope to a continent bedeviled with undemocratic regimes, crime, hunger, wars and diseases.
A move in this direction from His Excellency the President, assures any sitting president that upon a peaceful transition and handing-over, one does not only retire , sit at home on a “Chinnery-Hesse” report and tell mythical tales to his grandchildren but one is equally useful and respected as an ex president to partaking in the activities of the successive government. This will discourage the temptation of doing all one could, fair or foul, to perpetrate his party in office. The Vladimir Putin example in Russia is worth noting.
God Bless Our Homeland Ghana! Long Live John Evans Mills, our President!!!
Felix Mawulolo Amegashie Lix_mawulolo@yahoo.com
Jerry Rawlings Might Be Wrong But…
Truth, according to Honourable Clend Sowu, board chairman of the Electricity Company of Ghana, identifies with three (3) main constituents; Facts, Figures and Sources. Recent developments on the political scene especially with uncharitable bashings to the freely expressed democratic thoughts of Ex-president Jerry Rawlings, leaves much to be desired. Take it or leave it, Jerry Rawlings might conclude wrongly by his analysis , of course as human a he is, but on hindsight his thought is a breeding ground by some media bloodhounds who are only apt on cashing in on anything-Rawlings for the economic and political propagandizing only.
What is the reality about the spate of crime especially armed robbery in Ghana as of today? Facts are that Ghana witnessed very gruesome murders in the past ten 8 years. The common citizen, highly placed individuals in society, even great Kings, have not been spared and it appears the perpetrators of these heinous crimes are either walking the streets as free men or have been beneficiaries of one presidential pardon or the other. The exaggerations the media deliberately puts to the issues of armed robbery are not far fetched. On the media landscape today more than half of the media in Ghana do not express kindness to the Mills government and the National Democratic Congress as a political party. The agenda for daily discussions on radio and television morning programmes are set by the charade of misleading headlines of pro-opposition newspapers and columnists. Ex-President Rawlings had had his ugly days in the media especially under the Kuffour-led NPP government, things do not look much different today. Rawlings was deliberately demonized but the man has stood the test and his thoughts today cannot just be dismissed on surface value even by those who wished him dead. It is against this backdrop that recent comments by Ex-president Rawlings should be critically analyzed on its merits.
What then are the figures in respect to crime in Ghana, under the Atta Mills government and the National Democratic government? According to the records “23 cases of rape and defilement were recorded in the first quarter of 2008 as against 7 cases recorded in the first quarter of 2009; 246 cases of threat in 2008 compared to 128 in 2009; 144 cases of property damages in 2008 as against 139 in 2009, and 9 cases of illegal possession of narcotic drugs in 2008 compared to 3 this year”. “The rest were 558 cases of theft recorded in the first quarter of 2008 as against 506 recorded in the first quarter of 2009;179 fraud cases against 177 cases in 2009 for the same period and 1,076 cases of assault in the first quarter of 2008 compared to 603 cases in the first quarter of 2009”.
What is the source of this statistics? From the Ghana Police Service, the Divisional Commander for the Accra East Division, Ms Elizabeth Dassah, posits that crime prone areas like Cantonments, Osu, Teshie,La and Nungua recorded less crimes in the first quarter of this year compared to the first quarter of 2008, by the above quoted statistics. So dear readers, this is what I call “TRUTH”! Not any form of whimsical conjecturing by an array of diabolic pro-opposition media trumpeting that is targeted at misleading the public in order to feed into an orchestrated perception the NPP holds that the Atta Mills government has failed on her promise to eradicate crime in the capital and in Ghana as a whole as regards the spate of armed robbery.
From Ex President Rawlings’ perspective on why crime seem to be quite rampant lately and the public hype that comes with it, he was frank with the fact that these crimes only go to create panic in the citizenry and scare potential investors away as recent media reports of these gruesome attacks are targeted at foreigners and their close associates on various investment errands in the country. This view of course holds truth!
Again, Ex President Rawlings intimated that the mystery of the serial killing of women that bedeviled the last hours of the NDC administration in 2000 cannot be wished away especially on the back of the NPP’s campaign collateral that these killings will cease as soon as the NPP wins power! True to candidate Kuffour’s words at the time, these serial killings disappeared. The excuse the NPP gives till date is that the NPP government collaborated with the FBI of America in arresting one Quansah and that was the turning point in unraveling the mystery of the serial killings. This to me is serious fraud, because Quansah confessed to murdering only eight (8) out of thirty- six (36) women, and till date the killers of the rest cannot be found. What I find rather misleading about the killings in the days was that save the women murdered by Quansah, the bodies of the rest could not be identified by any one in the immediate environment as friends or family. This lends credence to Rawlings’ unwavering belief that the women were murdered by a carefully planned syndicate on unknown grounds, transported and fixed in these selected spots in Accra or alien bodies of dead persons were paid for and used for an obvious scare mongering habit by a political party. (A few years on, One wonders why the NPP could not equally collaborate with the US Seals to combat the drug menace that rocked the NPP administration). A similar situation almost occurred in the run-off elections in the Volta Region when Nana Ohene Ntow claimed that a dead body discovered somewhere there belonged to an NPP polling agent. The name of the polling agent, Nana is yet to provide. Again, some secret recordings played on Radio Gold in Accra on the eve to the presidential run-off exposed this ancient game of fixing lifeless bodies of children in certain parts of the country to create scare among electorates as basis to reject the NDC as a violent party. What a coincidence?
We can also remember that ex president Kuffour released scores of hardened criminals from the various Prisons in the country on the eve of January 7, 2009 clearly for personal aggrandizement. The NPP at the time had lost the elections bitterly and handed down our throats scores of hardened criminals who knew nothing but robbery, rape and murder. These criminals had not served their term before their release. Today, we are suffering the spill-over effects of these hasty decisions of the desperate NPP at the time and all we can do today is to point fingers at the new government and Jerry Rawlings? It is so shameful nobody read into the ramifications of these selfish decisions as of the time they were taken.
I am not sure that Ghanaians have forgotten so soon the controversy of the “Action Troopers” of the NPP who were said to have been trained and armed for intents only Lord Commey at the time could tell. Most especially, when these persons do not have any meaningful skill to earn a living, what do you expect a hungry ignorant man with a pistol in hand to do? Your guess is as good as mine!
Were we not in Ghana when some persons who posed as military men were apprehended by the Ghana Army and openly displayed on Live TV with ID cards and arms terrorizing people all over the place in the early hours of the Mills administration? What explanation had the Military and the NPP at the time to these developments? I believe that hundreds of these idiots are still out there creating all sorts of bedlam. What happened to the issues of the contract killings? Who has been arrested and charged thus far?
I am quite impressed Mr. Dan Botwe, NPP MP for Okere , admitted on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Thursday June 2, 2009, that the figures from the Police actually points to the fact that contrary to the claims of the NPP and their propagandist media houses, crime rates are rather declining!
It sounds very embarrassing that Honourable Nana Akomea, MP for Okaikoi North, should be slamming the Atta Mills administration and the IGP for doing little to curb his definition of a rising crime rate, and asked the new administration to table a blueprint to combating crime. My simple question to Nana Akomea and his believers is that if they had handed over a “blueprint” that they used in tackling crime, armed Robbery and the drug trade, to the new government, I believe they would have had a better leverage in demanding all the magical transformations they look up to from Mills and the NDC in six (6) months.
Ex President Rawlings might be radical in calling for the total institutional overhaul in tackling corruption in a little under six (6) months, but on hindsight, a total bureaucratic and institutional overhaul is indeed necessary in the fight against corruption especially on the back of developments in the Information and Sports Ministries which I believe might be that status quo in many other ministries.
A good seed sown demands tendering, nurturing and regulated watering for that seed to geminate, grow and produce good fruits for the benefits of society. To the critics of a new government by the NDC, we need you to channel your energies and interest into nurturing this good seed the people of Ghana planted by voting the NDC and Prof. Mills into power. For the fruits of the change we voted for to grow, we need you to join hands in building a better Ghana, rather than standing akimbo and praying deities for the worst to befall the good people of Ghana.
Long Live Ghana!
Long Live Atta Mills!!
Long Live the National Democratic Congress!!!
Felix Mawulolo Amegashie lix_mawulolo@yahoo.com
What is the reality about the spate of crime especially armed robbery in Ghana as of today? Facts are that Ghana witnessed very gruesome murders in the past ten 8 years. The common citizen, highly placed individuals in society, even great Kings, have not been spared and it appears the perpetrators of these heinous crimes are either walking the streets as free men or have been beneficiaries of one presidential pardon or the other. The exaggerations the media deliberately puts to the issues of armed robbery are not far fetched. On the media landscape today more than half of the media in Ghana do not express kindness to the Mills government and the National Democratic Congress as a political party. The agenda for daily discussions on radio and television morning programmes are set by the charade of misleading headlines of pro-opposition newspapers and columnists. Ex-President Rawlings had had his ugly days in the media especially under the Kuffour-led NPP government, things do not look much different today. Rawlings was deliberately demonized but the man has stood the test and his thoughts today cannot just be dismissed on surface value even by those who wished him dead. It is against this backdrop that recent comments by Ex-president Rawlings should be critically analyzed on its merits.
What then are the figures in respect to crime in Ghana, under the Atta Mills government and the National Democratic government? According to the records “23 cases of rape and defilement were recorded in the first quarter of 2008 as against 7 cases recorded in the first quarter of 2009; 246 cases of threat in 2008 compared to 128 in 2009; 144 cases of property damages in 2008 as against 139 in 2009, and 9 cases of illegal possession of narcotic drugs in 2008 compared to 3 this year”. “The rest were 558 cases of theft recorded in the first quarter of 2008 as against 506 recorded in the first quarter of 2009;179 fraud cases against 177 cases in 2009 for the same period and 1,076 cases of assault in the first quarter of 2008 compared to 603 cases in the first quarter of 2009”.
What is the source of this statistics? From the Ghana Police Service, the Divisional Commander for the Accra East Division, Ms Elizabeth Dassah, posits that crime prone areas like Cantonments, Osu, Teshie,La and Nungua recorded less crimes in the first quarter of this year compared to the first quarter of 2008, by the above quoted statistics. So dear readers, this is what I call “TRUTH”! Not any form of whimsical conjecturing by an array of diabolic pro-opposition media trumpeting that is targeted at misleading the public in order to feed into an orchestrated perception the NPP holds that the Atta Mills government has failed on her promise to eradicate crime in the capital and in Ghana as a whole as regards the spate of armed robbery.
From Ex President Rawlings’ perspective on why crime seem to be quite rampant lately and the public hype that comes with it, he was frank with the fact that these crimes only go to create panic in the citizenry and scare potential investors away as recent media reports of these gruesome attacks are targeted at foreigners and their close associates on various investment errands in the country. This view of course holds truth!
Again, Ex President Rawlings intimated that the mystery of the serial killing of women that bedeviled the last hours of the NDC administration in 2000 cannot be wished away especially on the back of the NPP’s campaign collateral that these killings will cease as soon as the NPP wins power! True to candidate Kuffour’s words at the time, these serial killings disappeared. The excuse the NPP gives till date is that the NPP government collaborated with the FBI of America in arresting one Quansah and that was the turning point in unraveling the mystery of the serial killings. This to me is serious fraud, because Quansah confessed to murdering only eight (8) out of thirty- six (36) women, and till date the killers of the rest cannot be found. What I find rather misleading about the killings in the days was that save the women murdered by Quansah, the bodies of the rest could not be identified by any one in the immediate environment as friends or family. This lends credence to Rawlings’ unwavering belief that the women were murdered by a carefully planned syndicate on unknown grounds, transported and fixed in these selected spots in Accra or alien bodies of dead persons were paid for and used for an obvious scare mongering habit by a political party. (A few years on, One wonders why the NPP could not equally collaborate with the US Seals to combat the drug menace that rocked the NPP administration). A similar situation almost occurred in the run-off elections in the Volta Region when Nana Ohene Ntow claimed that a dead body discovered somewhere there belonged to an NPP polling agent. The name of the polling agent, Nana is yet to provide. Again, some secret recordings played on Radio Gold in Accra on the eve to the presidential run-off exposed this ancient game of fixing lifeless bodies of children in certain parts of the country to create scare among electorates as basis to reject the NDC as a violent party. What a coincidence?
We can also remember that ex president Kuffour released scores of hardened criminals from the various Prisons in the country on the eve of January 7, 2009 clearly for personal aggrandizement. The NPP at the time had lost the elections bitterly and handed down our throats scores of hardened criminals who knew nothing but robbery, rape and murder. These criminals had not served their term before their release. Today, we are suffering the spill-over effects of these hasty decisions of the desperate NPP at the time and all we can do today is to point fingers at the new government and Jerry Rawlings? It is so shameful nobody read into the ramifications of these selfish decisions as of the time they were taken.
I am not sure that Ghanaians have forgotten so soon the controversy of the “Action Troopers” of the NPP who were said to have been trained and armed for intents only Lord Commey at the time could tell. Most especially, when these persons do not have any meaningful skill to earn a living, what do you expect a hungry ignorant man with a pistol in hand to do? Your guess is as good as mine!
Were we not in Ghana when some persons who posed as military men were apprehended by the Ghana Army and openly displayed on Live TV with ID cards and arms terrorizing people all over the place in the early hours of the Mills administration? What explanation had the Military and the NPP at the time to these developments? I believe that hundreds of these idiots are still out there creating all sorts of bedlam. What happened to the issues of the contract killings? Who has been arrested and charged thus far?
I am quite impressed Mr. Dan Botwe, NPP MP for Okere , admitted on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Thursday June 2, 2009, that the figures from the Police actually points to the fact that contrary to the claims of the NPP and their propagandist media houses, crime rates are rather declining!
It sounds very embarrassing that Honourable Nana Akomea, MP for Okaikoi North, should be slamming the Atta Mills administration and the IGP for doing little to curb his definition of a rising crime rate, and asked the new administration to table a blueprint to combating crime. My simple question to Nana Akomea and his believers is that if they had handed over a “blueprint” that they used in tackling crime, armed Robbery and the drug trade, to the new government, I believe they would have had a better leverage in demanding all the magical transformations they look up to from Mills and the NDC in six (6) months.
Ex President Rawlings might be radical in calling for the total institutional overhaul in tackling corruption in a little under six (6) months, but on hindsight, a total bureaucratic and institutional overhaul is indeed necessary in the fight against corruption especially on the back of developments in the Information and Sports Ministries which I believe might be that status quo in many other ministries.
A good seed sown demands tendering, nurturing and regulated watering for that seed to geminate, grow and produce good fruits for the benefits of society. To the critics of a new government by the NDC, we need you to channel your energies and interest into nurturing this good seed the people of Ghana planted by voting the NDC and Prof. Mills into power. For the fruits of the change we voted for to grow, we need you to join hands in building a better Ghana, rather than standing akimbo and praying deities for the worst to befall the good people of Ghana.
Long Live Ghana!
Long Live Atta Mills!!
Long Live the National Democratic Congress!!!
Felix Mawulolo Amegashie lix_mawulolo@yahoo.com
Nana Ohene Ntow Plays The Circus!
I could not believe my ears when I heard Nana Ohene Ntow, the embattled chief scribe of the opposition New Patriotic Party, go to town late Wednesday encouraging members of his party especially the former government functionaries, to refuse honouring “friendly courtesies” extended to them by the constitutionally backed Bureau of National Investigations.
What I found amazing was his party’s quick reference to the actions of the BNI as “tantamount to witch-hunting”! Quiet a joke, isn’t it?
Maybe Nana Ohene Ntow needed a refresh of his “defeated” memory! I recall, the day Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata was arrested at church, this same Nana Ohene Ntow, was on Joyfm leaning unflinching support to the swoop on Mr. Tsikata and stated clearly that the arrest of Mr. Tsikata was justified and that he needed to account to the taxpayer on his “misapplication” of public funds by the former. And all along his trial of Mr. Tsikata, Nana Ohene Ntow continuously supported his government’s pursuance of this matter that finally landed Mr. Tsikata in jail. Again this same Ohene Ntow, was all out for the prosecution of Mrs Konadu Rawlings and Madam Sherry Ayitey for the Carridem saga.
Today, Nana Ohene Ntow happens to sit in the opposite seat to the ruling government and he is crying foul because a former Minister who has the same rights and privileges as the tomato seller in Kantamanto, had been prevented from leaving the shores of Ghana in order to honour an invitation of which all indications showed that he (Asamoah Boating) saw coming sooner than expected?
Again, was Nana Ohene Ntow telling Ghanaians that anytime the police, the BNI or even the Interpol extends similar “friendly courtesies’ to any Ghanaian or foreigner to assist in unraveling some mysteries surrounding certain transactions under any government, that person should turn down all forms of invitation save written ones only? What kind of “property-owning” illogical philosophy is this one?
It is only a technologically sterile entity of political party like the NPP trumpets the infantile assertion as Nana ohene Ntow sought to do on that fateful Wednesday just like what his failed presidential candidate sought did a month ago. In this modern world of high-tech, high-speed transactions when at the click of a button, contracts are entered into, proposals are sealed, permissions are sought, bilateral and multilateral agreements are concluded, invitations sent and even cyber-crimes committed, the NPP still lives in the times that only paid up messengers should be sent to deliver urgent messages on elephant back? This is most unthinkable and I hope the earlier the leadership of the party whipped these irate comments by elements like Nana Ohene Ntow in line, the better for the future of the NPP.
The Boatengs did the honourable thing by presenting themselves to the BNI though he threatened non-compliance minutes before he sneaked into the BNI installation. I presume Mr. Boateng had indeed thought dispassionately through his actions and comments on air seriously and advised himself that the earlier he complied with the BNI, the better for all of us.
What at all did Nana Ohene Ntow mean when he said “Nana Addo’s comments perhaps received the biggest reinforcement on Wednesday when the youth of the Mfantseman West constituency threatened mayhem if the president fails to ensure that the BNI follows due process in handling the former officials of the NPP”? It is a direct support for their paid up youth groups like AFAG and their incredible leadership to create panic, mayhem and stoke violence in the country to feed into that myopic insecurity ghost that chases only the NPP in today’s Ghana. What a facade!
I sympathize with Nana Ohene Ntow. The man is a frustrated scribe of his party. It is obvious he loves his job. It is also obvious he wants to keep the job in spite of the obvious incompetence he had demonstrated in thoughts, words and actions. It is also obvious that they are working too hard to be seen as a credible opposition in raising the political temperature of the country as against the impending Obama visit. It is only unfortunate that the NPP and its functionaries would stoop so low in playing this comic circus they tag press conferences to trumpet their steep sided understanding of issues of accountability and probity.
My generous advice to Nana Ohene Ntow and his NPP is that they should be in tune with recent trends in technology. It is widely acceptable that transactions via the internet, mobile phones, hand-delivered messages and even third-party directives are legal and valid. For Mr. Ohene Ntow to conjecture that the BNI will play to this dangerous circus of theirs and grant them this fantasy will forever remain a figment of their ‘property-owning’ imagination.
Again for Nana Ohne Ntow and the NPP to say that only a court order can invite them for inquisitions, it’s a direct undermining of our traditional values where chiefs use Linguits, messengers and even drunkard town-criers to deliver their messages and invite persons to their palaces without a court order to participate in, and answer mind-boggling questions of mutual concerns.
Nana Ohene Ntow, wake up, yours is a mere circus!!!
Felix Mawulolo Amegashie lix_mawulolo@yahoo.com
What I found amazing was his party’s quick reference to the actions of the BNI as “tantamount to witch-hunting”! Quiet a joke, isn’t it?
Maybe Nana Ohene Ntow needed a refresh of his “defeated” memory! I recall, the day Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata was arrested at church, this same Nana Ohene Ntow, was on Joyfm leaning unflinching support to the swoop on Mr. Tsikata and stated clearly that the arrest of Mr. Tsikata was justified and that he needed to account to the taxpayer on his “misapplication” of public funds by the former. And all along his trial of Mr. Tsikata, Nana Ohene Ntow continuously supported his government’s pursuance of this matter that finally landed Mr. Tsikata in jail. Again this same Ohene Ntow, was all out for the prosecution of Mrs Konadu Rawlings and Madam Sherry Ayitey for the Carridem saga.
Today, Nana Ohene Ntow happens to sit in the opposite seat to the ruling government and he is crying foul because a former Minister who has the same rights and privileges as the tomato seller in Kantamanto, had been prevented from leaving the shores of Ghana in order to honour an invitation of which all indications showed that he (Asamoah Boating) saw coming sooner than expected?
Again, was Nana Ohene Ntow telling Ghanaians that anytime the police, the BNI or even the Interpol extends similar “friendly courtesies’ to any Ghanaian or foreigner to assist in unraveling some mysteries surrounding certain transactions under any government, that person should turn down all forms of invitation save written ones only? What kind of “property-owning” illogical philosophy is this one?
It is only a technologically sterile entity of political party like the NPP trumpets the infantile assertion as Nana ohene Ntow sought to do on that fateful Wednesday just like what his failed presidential candidate sought did a month ago. In this modern world of high-tech, high-speed transactions when at the click of a button, contracts are entered into, proposals are sealed, permissions are sought, bilateral and multilateral agreements are concluded, invitations sent and even cyber-crimes committed, the NPP still lives in the times that only paid up messengers should be sent to deliver urgent messages on elephant back? This is most unthinkable and I hope the earlier the leadership of the party whipped these irate comments by elements like Nana Ohene Ntow in line, the better for the future of the NPP.
The Boatengs did the honourable thing by presenting themselves to the BNI though he threatened non-compliance minutes before he sneaked into the BNI installation. I presume Mr. Boateng had indeed thought dispassionately through his actions and comments on air seriously and advised himself that the earlier he complied with the BNI, the better for all of us.
What at all did Nana Ohene Ntow mean when he said “Nana Addo’s comments perhaps received the biggest reinforcement on Wednesday when the youth of the Mfantseman West constituency threatened mayhem if the president fails to ensure that the BNI follows due process in handling the former officials of the NPP”? It is a direct support for their paid up youth groups like AFAG and their incredible leadership to create panic, mayhem and stoke violence in the country to feed into that myopic insecurity ghost that chases only the NPP in today’s Ghana. What a facade!
I sympathize with Nana Ohene Ntow. The man is a frustrated scribe of his party. It is obvious he loves his job. It is also obvious he wants to keep the job in spite of the obvious incompetence he had demonstrated in thoughts, words and actions. It is also obvious that they are working too hard to be seen as a credible opposition in raising the political temperature of the country as against the impending Obama visit. It is only unfortunate that the NPP and its functionaries would stoop so low in playing this comic circus they tag press conferences to trumpet their steep sided understanding of issues of accountability and probity.
My generous advice to Nana Ohene Ntow and his NPP is that they should be in tune with recent trends in technology. It is widely acceptable that transactions via the internet, mobile phones, hand-delivered messages and even third-party directives are legal and valid. For Mr. Ohene Ntow to conjecture that the BNI will play to this dangerous circus of theirs and grant them this fantasy will forever remain a figment of their ‘property-owning’ imagination.
Again for Nana Ohne Ntow and the NPP to say that only a court order can invite them for inquisitions, it’s a direct undermining of our traditional values where chiefs use Linguits, messengers and even drunkard town-criers to deliver their messages and invite persons to their palaces without a court order to participate in, and answer mind-boggling questions of mutual concerns.
Nana Ohene Ntow, wake up, yours is a mere circus!!!
Felix Mawulolo Amegashie lix_mawulolo@yahoo.com
Nana Addo Sounded Like A 'Serial Caller'?
Ghanaians woke up to the news that Nana Addo was covertly planning a self-imposing, image-redeeming and ego-flattering press conference as a conduit to getting his cohorts in WILDAF and the ranting Ursula Owusu to run riot in the name of advocacy for women in Ghana.
Many of us expected nothing other than a liturgy of accusations, deceptions and an ego-massaging address in the name of a Press conference to lash out at the Atta Mills Government.
I listened to Honourable Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa’s quick rebuttal on Joy Fm, seconds after the Press Conference and he minced no words in describing Nana Addo’s laughable assertions as dicto-compo reverberations of a frustrated “serial caller” on Kennedy Adjepong’s Oman FM.
The NPP propaganda machinery hastily jumped on the frail and called the bluff of the Honourable Deputy Minister calling him a small boy .Lets face the reality of the situation.
In the first place, Nana Addo arrived late for the Press Conference just like the way a serial caller calls into a live programme very late and hastily makes uninformed and rude and divisive statements and ruined the rather perfect afternoon of serious-minded Ghanaians. How can a man who wanted to be president arrive late at a Press Conference he personally organized and wants Ghanaians to trust him with running a government with seriousness?
Secondly, Nana Addo mentions that President Mills had failed to make good the following promises; clearing the city of filth, appointing 40% percent of women into government, tackling crime and violent robberies, reduction of taxes on petroleum products, amongst others. May be Nana Addo had been out of the country nursing his wounds after he was defeated in the elections. May be he had been busy trying to raise money to pay the difference of the taxes he allegedly dodged with the CEPS on his vehicle for so long and maybe he has been drinking too much tea and pancake for so long that he has forgotten that prices and taxes has been reduced ever since he stepped foot in Ghana after his loss! It is shocking that Nana Addo again gathers his Dutch courage to point his short accusing fingers at the President for aiding the perpetuation of the Dagbon crisis. Nana was Attorney General when the murder happened and we all know how his bad judgment and shallow knowledge of our laws exonerated the accused, and now he wants to talk about this issue again? Nana Addo should give Atta Mills a long break and wait impatiently to see if at the end of the four years this matter will not be put to a permanent rest.
Again, Nana Addo deceptively quotes strange prices for the cost of tubers, gari, plantain, ice etc. What he failed to tell you and I was that there are a variety of foodstuffs on the market and their respective prices. So what kind, variety, size and quantity of rice, plantain, gari or tubers was he referring too? A case of predetermined deception and a blatant misrepresentation of the facts!
I will not bore you with the garbage Nana Addo fed his gullible audience but to inform Nana Addo that his concentration should be on reconciling his party and his internet opponents and not to use this childish political antiques as a decoy to the real personal and political witches that haunt him!
If I heard Honourable Okudzeto clearly, he stated that Nana Addo “sounded” like a serial Caller. I admire the courage of these callers because they contribute one way or the other to deepening the freedom-of- speech component of our democracy but Nana Addo and his ambitious chain of spokespersons and newspapers should not insult the intelligence of these serial callers by alluding that they make silly comments and statements and that Nana Addo cannot be compared to them because he is a better individual and has a higher social status than anyone else within his party.
Obviously, unholy attempts are being made to vilify and misconstrue the rather fair comments of Okudzeto but like we say, “truth stands”! I believe Okudzeto just wanted to tell Ghanaians that all the issues that Nana Addo was raising are the same issues that activists of the NPP kept repeating all these years and his press conference sounded nothing more than a reverberation of these trivial.
Honourable Okudzeto was explicit in his comments and no measurable quantum of spin put on his words by the treacherous NPP propaganda machinery can misrepresent and misinterpret these fair assertions.
To Nana Addo and cronies, we expect a more intellectually established arguments to helping build a better Ghana whilst the NPP is in opposition rather than the verbose and dishonest statements he made on that fateful Tuesday.
The NPP has a lot to handle with taming the ego of this defeated flag bearer other than Atta Mills has in dealing with our economic and social problems of this country in moving us forward in a better direction. Long Live Ghana and Long Live the NPP in opposition!
FELIX MAWULOLO AMEGASHIE
lix_mawulolo@yahoo.com
Many of us expected nothing other than a liturgy of accusations, deceptions and an ego-massaging address in the name of a Press conference to lash out at the Atta Mills Government.
I listened to Honourable Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa’s quick rebuttal on Joy Fm, seconds after the Press Conference and he minced no words in describing Nana Addo’s laughable assertions as dicto-compo reverberations of a frustrated “serial caller” on Kennedy Adjepong’s Oman FM.
The NPP propaganda machinery hastily jumped on the frail and called the bluff of the Honourable Deputy Minister calling him a small boy .Lets face the reality of the situation.
In the first place, Nana Addo arrived late for the Press Conference just like the way a serial caller calls into a live programme very late and hastily makes uninformed and rude and divisive statements and ruined the rather perfect afternoon of serious-minded Ghanaians. How can a man who wanted to be president arrive late at a Press Conference he personally organized and wants Ghanaians to trust him with running a government with seriousness?
Secondly, Nana Addo mentions that President Mills had failed to make good the following promises; clearing the city of filth, appointing 40% percent of women into government, tackling crime and violent robberies, reduction of taxes on petroleum products, amongst others. May be Nana Addo had been out of the country nursing his wounds after he was defeated in the elections. May be he had been busy trying to raise money to pay the difference of the taxes he allegedly dodged with the CEPS on his vehicle for so long and maybe he has been drinking too much tea and pancake for so long that he has forgotten that prices and taxes has been reduced ever since he stepped foot in Ghana after his loss! It is shocking that Nana Addo again gathers his Dutch courage to point his short accusing fingers at the President for aiding the perpetuation of the Dagbon crisis. Nana was Attorney General when the murder happened and we all know how his bad judgment and shallow knowledge of our laws exonerated the accused, and now he wants to talk about this issue again? Nana Addo should give Atta Mills a long break and wait impatiently to see if at the end of the four years this matter will not be put to a permanent rest.
Again, Nana Addo deceptively quotes strange prices for the cost of tubers, gari, plantain, ice etc. What he failed to tell you and I was that there are a variety of foodstuffs on the market and their respective prices. So what kind, variety, size and quantity of rice, plantain, gari or tubers was he referring too? A case of predetermined deception and a blatant misrepresentation of the facts!
I will not bore you with the garbage Nana Addo fed his gullible audience but to inform Nana Addo that his concentration should be on reconciling his party and his internet opponents and not to use this childish political antiques as a decoy to the real personal and political witches that haunt him!
If I heard Honourable Okudzeto clearly, he stated that Nana Addo “sounded” like a serial Caller. I admire the courage of these callers because they contribute one way or the other to deepening the freedom-of- speech component of our democracy but Nana Addo and his ambitious chain of spokespersons and newspapers should not insult the intelligence of these serial callers by alluding that they make silly comments and statements and that Nana Addo cannot be compared to them because he is a better individual and has a higher social status than anyone else within his party.
Obviously, unholy attempts are being made to vilify and misconstrue the rather fair comments of Okudzeto but like we say, “truth stands”! I believe Okudzeto just wanted to tell Ghanaians that all the issues that Nana Addo was raising are the same issues that activists of the NPP kept repeating all these years and his press conference sounded nothing more than a reverberation of these trivial.
Honourable Okudzeto was explicit in his comments and no measurable quantum of spin put on his words by the treacherous NPP propaganda machinery can misrepresent and misinterpret these fair assertions.
To Nana Addo and cronies, we expect a more intellectually established arguments to helping build a better Ghana whilst the NPP is in opposition rather than the verbose and dishonest statements he made on that fateful Tuesday.
The NPP has a lot to handle with taming the ego of this defeated flag bearer other than Atta Mills has in dealing with our economic and social problems of this country in moving us forward in a better direction. Long Live Ghana and Long Live the NPP in opposition!
FELIX MAWULOLO AMEGASHIE
lix_mawulolo@yahoo.com
Better Security In A Better Ghana, Mr President!!!
To Mr Paul Quaye (the Inspector General of Police) and the kingpins in the security services appointed under the Mills administration, I wish to congratulate you for your feat and equally welcome you to the hundreds of challenges that confront your outfits and the good people of Ghana. Commentators have expressed different shades of opinion on “general safety and insecurity” in our country. Some schools of thought have over-exaggerated this issue but I opine that a comprehensive security paradigm should be designed and implemented anytime soon under the leadership of the IGP that will be a blueprint for the security services and ancillary agents aimed at improving the system.
Statistics from the Ghana Police Service, according to the Divisional Commander of Police for the Accra East Division, Ms Elizabeth Dassah, indicate that crime prone areas like Cantonments, Osu, Teshie,La and Nungua recorded less crimes in the first quarter of the year than in the first quarter of 2008.
She gives the following details,”23 cases of rape and defilement were recorded in the first quarter of 2008 as against 7 cases recorded in the first quarter of 2009; 246 cases of threat in 2008 compared to 128 in 2009; 144 cases of property damages in 2008 as against 139 in 2009, and 9 cases of illegal possession of narcotic drugs in 2008 compared to 3 this year”.
“The rest were 558 cases of theft recorded in the first quarter of 2008 as against 506 recorded in the first quarter of 2009;179 fraud cases against 177 cases in 2009 for the same period and 1,076 cases of assault in the first quarter of 2008 compared to 603 cases in the first quarter of 2009”.
It is refreshing that hours into the administration of a new government, available figures dispute the assertions of the NPP that violent crime has overwhelmed many parts of the country. It is in the spirit of contributing to an advanced national safety and security system in a technologically driven world that I all out for renewed fervour to reforming the police service via the structural changes and realignment of roles the IGP is bent on implementing. A well-structured participation by government and the private sector is critical to augment the current operations of the security agencies. This will give meaning to President’s pledge to grant Ghanaians a sigh of relief as regards general security in our homes, offices and on our streets to promote national peace, cohesion and economic development.
Foremost, I task the Ministry of Interior and Local government to revisit the failed attempt at street-numbering as soon as possible. It is inevitable that this rather pragmatic but carelessly implemented under the Kufuor administration should be revisited and properly done for its obvious security and economic benefits to all and sundry.
As a second step, I entreat the IGP, the Chief Fire officer and the Director General of the Ghana Health Service to establish emergency response units in designated Police, Fire Service and Ambulance Services outposts within selected radii in our communities, towns and cities. These outposts should be allocated customized three (3)-digit toll-free emergency numbers and automatically prefixed on all GSM service providers.
It is against this backdrop that I urge the players in the telecommunications industry and civil society to support the call of the Minister of Communications to implement that interconnectivity platform among all network providers that makes it possible for one to switch mobile phone networks without necessarily swapping SIM cards using the same phone.
Additionally, these toll-free numbers should have the convenience of changing from one designated area to the other as one move into a different community. This should be done with the full support of the National Telecommunications Authority and the Six (6) mobile network providers in Ghana.
As a major logistical boost to this project, the office of the National Security Adviser should procure customised mobile handsets that are tolerant to these emergency numbers ONLY in the designated Police, Fire and Ambulance service outposts all over the country. This measure is to discourage the misuse of these phones by unscrupulous personnel for private purposes rather than the reasons for which these handsets had been procured.
Furthermore, these emergency response numbers should be automatically displayed on the screens of our handsets each time your handset is switched on. Let me admit that TIGO has demonstrated the possibility of this service. Users of this network enjoy the luxury of identifying one’s current location each time one finds oneself in an area foreign to you. As soon as one moves into another area the display automatically swaps if one moves out and enters a different zone where the network is available, thus ones handset could display locations like “Achimota1” or “Kanashie2”, etc. This technology should be co-opted by National Security and used for this project. The emergency numbers that should be considered include the Police Patrol Team, Ambulance Response units and National Fire Service. This would be very useful especially in promoting our tourism industry and foreign nationals in and on visit to Ghana would better trust our security system and encourage others to travel to even the most remote tourist sites in Ghana without fear.
The obvious merits of system is that, at the spur of the moment, every mobile phone user is able to make a distress call, free of charge, to the nearest service point of the Police, Ambulance or the Fire Service for swift response to save life and property. This move will generally reassure citizens that one need not call a Radio Station or pick a taxi to report physically at the nearest service point when emergency strikes. This I believe will help curb the loss that comes with violent robberies, Fire outbreaks, fatal accidents, Floods and other major unforeseen disasters when they strike us in our homes, on highways and in any part of the country.
This project should be welcomed by the major telecommunication network providers as a social corporate responsibility to help this and future governments in the hydra-headed attempt to curb and eliminate dangerous crime, disaster and unforeseen mishaps as and when they occur.
The responsibility will fall on the Information Ministry and the National Commission for Civic Education to educate Ghanaians on the measures adopted by the government and their civic roles in support of the security agencies in fighting crime, accidents and natural disasters.
Obvious challenges will be the rather high illiteracy and GSM distribution and usage rate in the country. But in spite of these demerits, this initiative will foster more secured public-security services cooperation in giving useful information leading to making timely arrests of drug, sex, and human traffickers, smugglers and quick responses to scenes of fire outbreaks, accidents and other emergency situations.
I am sure that these initiatives will definitely require millions of dollars to pursue and implement especially on issues of procurements and logistics but I believe it will be worth the effort to save mother Ghana toady and the future. President Mills has demonstrated enough commitment on his promise of a lean government and I believe that the financial gains from the implementation of this policy could be ploughed back to support the Ministry of Communications, the National Communications Authority and the Security Services to embark on this project.
Support will be needed from the international community and the corporate institutions within Ghana to make this project a reality. An insignificant percentage of the huge entertainment budgets of some network providers could be channeled into this outfit to help develop this initiative as part of their social-corporate responsibility.
We live in a new world that is powered by information technology and we need to replicate the advantages of the times in all facets of our economic, social and political life.
I might not be a Security Expect like Dr Kwesi Anning or a Peace and Conflict Resolution Consultant like Mr Emmanuel Bombande, but I hope these suggestions could be considered and reviewed by these expects in contributing to the debate at engendering peace and preventing conflicts in Ghana. God Bless our Homeland Ghana and make our Nation great and Strong!!!
FELIX MAWULOLO AMEGASHIE
lix_mawulolo@yahoo.com
Statistics from the Ghana Police Service, according to the Divisional Commander of Police for the Accra East Division, Ms Elizabeth Dassah, indicate that crime prone areas like Cantonments, Osu, Teshie,La and Nungua recorded less crimes in the first quarter of the year than in the first quarter of 2008.
She gives the following details,”23 cases of rape and defilement were recorded in the first quarter of 2008 as against 7 cases recorded in the first quarter of 2009; 246 cases of threat in 2008 compared to 128 in 2009; 144 cases of property damages in 2008 as against 139 in 2009, and 9 cases of illegal possession of narcotic drugs in 2008 compared to 3 this year”.
“The rest were 558 cases of theft recorded in the first quarter of 2008 as against 506 recorded in the first quarter of 2009;179 fraud cases against 177 cases in 2009 for the same period and 1,076 cases of assault in the first quarter of 2008 compared to 603 cases in the first quarter of 2009”.
It is refreshing that hours into the administration of a new government, available figures dispute the assertions of the NPP that violent crime has overwhelmed many parts of the country. It is in the spirit of contributing to an advanced national safety and security system in a technologically driven world that I all out for renewed fervour to reforming the police service via the structural changes and realignment of roles the IGP is bent on implementing. A well-structured participation by government and the private sector is critical to augment the current operations of the security agencies. This will give meaning to President’s pledge to grant Ghanaians a sigh of relief as regards general security in our homes, offices and on our streets to promote national peace, cohesion and economic development.
Foremost, I task the Ministry of Interior and Local government to revisit the failed attempt at street-numbering as soon as possible. It is inevitable that this rather pragmatic but carelessly implemented under the Kufuor administration should be revisited and properly done for its obvious security and economic benefits to all and sundry.
As a second step, I entreat the IGP, the Chief Fire officer and the Director General of the Ghana Health Service to establish emergency response units in designated Police, Fire Service and Ambulance Services outposts within selected radii in our communities, towns and cities. These outposts should be allocated customized three (3)-digit toll-free emergency numbers and automatically prefixed on all GSM service providers.
It is against this backdrop that I urge the players in the telecommunications industry and civil society to support the call of the Minister of Communications to implement that interconnectivity platform among all network providers that makes it possible for one to switch mobile phone networks without necessarily swapping SIM cards using the same phone.
Additionally, these toll-free numbers should have the convenience of changing from one designated area to the other as one move into a different community. This should be done with the full support of the National Telecommunications Authority and the Six (6) mobile network providers in Ghana.
As a major logistical boost to this project, the office of the National Security Adviser should procure customised mobile handsets that are tolerant to these emergency numbers ONLY in the designated Police, Fire and Ambulance service outposts all over the country. This measure is to discourage the misuse of these phones by unscrupulous personnel for private purposes rather than the reasons for which these handsets had been procured.
Furthermore, these emergency response numbers should be automatically displayed on the screens of our handsets each time your handset is switched on. Let me admit that TIGO has demonstrated the possibility of this service. Users of this network enjoy the luxury of identifying one’s current location each time one finds oneself in an area foreign to you. As soon as one moves into another area the display automatically swaps if one moves out and enters a different zone where the network is available, thus ones handset could display locations like “Achimota1” or “Kanashie2”, etc. This technology should be co-opted by National Security and used for this project. The emergency numbers that should be considered include the Police Patrol Team, Ambulance Response units and National Fire Service. This would be very useful especially in promoting our tourism industry and foreign nationals in and on visit to Ghana would better trust our security system and encourage others to travel to even the most remote tourist sites in Ghana without fear.
The obvious merits of system is that, at the spur of the moment, every mobile phone user is able to make a distress call, free of charge, to the nearest service point of the Police, Ambulance or the Fire Service for swift response to save life and property. This move will generally reassure citizens that one need not call a Radio Station or pick a taxi to report physically at the nearest service point when emergency strikes. This I believe will help curb the loss that comes with violent robberies, Fire outbreaks, fatal accidents, Floods and other major unforeseen disasters when they strike us in our homes, on highways and in any part of the country.
This project should be welcomed by the major telecommunication network providers as a social corporate responsibility to help this and future governments in the hydra-headed attempt to curb and eliminate dangerous crime, disaster and unforeseen mishaps as and when they occur.
The responsibility will fall on the Information Ministry and the National Commission for Civic Education to educate Ghanaians on the measures adopted by the government and their civic roles in support of the security agencies in fighting crime, accidents and natural disasters.
Obvious challenges will be the rather high illiteracy and GSM distribution and usage rate in the country. But in spite of these demerits, this initiative will foster more secured public-security services cooperation in giving useful information leading to making timely arrests of drug, sex, and human traffickers, smugglers and quick responses to scenes of fire outbreaks, accidents and other emergency situations.
I am sure that these initiatives will definitely require millions of dollars to pursue and implement especially on issues of procurements and logistics but I believe it will be worth the effort to save mother Ghana toady and the future. President Mills has demonstrated enough commitment on his promise of a lean government and I believe that the financial gains from the implementation of this policy could be ploughed back to support the Ministry of Communications, the National Communications Authority and the Security Services to embark on this project.
Support will be needed from the international community and the corporate institutions within Ghana to make this project a reality. An insignificant percentage of the huge entertainment budgets of some network providers could be channeled into this outfit to help develop this initiative as part of their social-corporate responsibility.
We live in a new world that is powered by information technology and we need to replicate the advantages of the times in all facets of our economic, social and political life.
I might not be a Security Expect like Dr Kwesi Anning or a Peace and Conflict Resolution Consultant like Mr Emmanuel Bombande, but I hope these suggestions could be considered and reviewed by these expects in contributing to the debate at engendering peace and preventing conflicts in Ghana. God Bless our Homeland Ghana and make our Nation great and Strong!!!
FELIX MAWULOLO AMEGASHIE
lix_mawulolo@yahoo.com
NHIS- The Missing Link!
t is difficult to believe that card bearing citizens under the National Health Insurance Scheme are being turned away from some public health delivery facilities especially in the Volta Regional capital, Ho if the newspaper publication of the Ghanaian Times, Thursday September 3, 2009 is anything factual. Equally disturbing is news that there is a selective treatment of patients under the National Health Insurance scheme citing unpaid claims by the Health Insurance Authority, over the past 12 months, resulting in the inability of the facilities involved to deny beneficiaries free medical care.
Upon checks from the CEO of the National Health Insurance authority, he admitted that the system as bequeathed to him by the out gone CEO Mr. Ras Boateng under the Kufour-led administration owed Health delivery facilities a total of 115 million Ghana Cedis, which his outfit paid only 2 weeks ago, hampered smooth management of the scheme. Mr. Sylvester Mensah, CEO of the NHIA, confirmed that he has paid visits to some hospitals in the Volta and Eastern Regions to ascertain developments resulting from these challenges. At least for once we are seeing clear signs of transparency and truthfulness as regards the state of the NHIS under his leadership, as to how the out gone CEO and his officials should sit down to allow the scheme to allow the scheme to accumulate so much debt to this tune should be a matter for forensic investigations due to the critical role public health delivery plays in the daily life of the Ghanaian.
Leading to the December General elections, the NPP promised doom to the National Health Insurance scheme under an NDC led administration if the good professor was voted into office. The National Youth Employment programme was also not spared this vile propaganda. Eight months into the Mills administration facts and figures indicate that government has rather made expansionary moves into the above mentioned programmes albeit the current challenges that bedevils these schemes, chief among which is the current debt burden of the National Health Insurance Authority.
A setback to the National Health Insurance Scheme is the hydra headed bureaucratic bottlenecks inherent in its centralized system. From the operators of the scheme, it takes approximately two (2) months for the clinics and Hospitals rendering the service to submit their claims to the Authority. It takes time for the submitted claims to be verified and after this verification, it takes another four (4) weeks for the National Health Insurance Authority to pay the verified claims to the local clinics and hospitals. It therefore takes at least five (5) months for payments to be made from the operators of the scheme to the beneficiaries, while it is expected that hospital administrators keep servicing their clients on credit till the claims are paid in the middle of the year. I wonder which public or private health institution could keep rendering credited services to the public for such a time while awaiting their receipts from the authority. This development is unacceptable and the CEO of the scheme must initiate moves to address this phenomenon.
There are clear cases of corruption in the system where some Health administrators submit false or double claims in a bid to milk the Authority. This crime occurred in some health facilities in the Ashanti region as reported on the front page of the daily Graphic sometime last month. This revelation exposed the covert activities by saboteurs of the scheme since its inception and I wonder why it had to take a change of government to bring the perpetrators of these criminal acts to justice. The media should follow this case closely to ensure that those found culpable are not spared in the criminal justice process to deter others who might have already nurtured this diabolic idea to sabotage the scheme.
As of today, the NHIS does not cover some salient ailments that are common in Ghana. Worst still is the limited prescribed drugs that are covered by the scheme. It is therefore a daily affair that patients under the NHIS go to the Hospital and pay cash for laboratory tests, drugs and other services rendered by those clinics. The end result is that patients are turned away on daily basis if they do not have cash in hand to pay and these services and therefore feeds into the wrong assertion that the government of the day is responsible for these inadequacies.
Under the scheme, some pharmacies are supposed to provide free dispensary services to the public but this is yet to be known let alone practiced in our communities. The bad public relations outfit of the NHIS ought to rise up to the call. The outfit neglected their core duties of informing the public on the services the scheme renders but rather concentrated on engaging in undue politicking before the 2009 general elections with clear intentions to win favour for the NPP candidate.
I urge the Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Scheme to reorganize the Public Relations outfit of the Authority as early as possible in tune with the vision of the new board and the Better Ghana Agenda.
The limited coverage of the scheme to the various districts is worth mentioning. It is a fact that one can only access a health facility if only one is within the boundaries of the district of registration. One is doomed to pay for consultancy if one finds oneself in another district in the same region and worse still in another region in Ghana.
In offering a better public health delivery service to the expectant public in Ghana, these challenges must be addressed.
Foremost, once the 115 million Ghana Cedis debt Mr. Ras Boateng et al saddled the Scheme with has been paid by the new administration, there should be immediate arrangements to reduce the time frame between submission of claims, verification and payments to the barest minimum. This arrangement will ensure that within any given time, funds are made available in the clinics, hospitals and service centers to support the scheme.
This of course calls for some mechanization and a complete overhaul of the operations of the Scheme to which the Mr. Sylvester Mensah should rise to. In these days that almost every aspect of the nation’s economy is mechanized and computerized, the NHIS has no excuse not to automate their operations. The automation of the system should be decentralized to all Regions and Districts so that claims could be paid from the Regional Administrators of the Health Insurance Authority to eliminate the over concentration of all administrative functions of the scheme to Accra.
I must admit that this might be the long term solution to the problem and of course it demands good broadband penetration and logistical support coupled with in depth IT training for hospital staff and administrators who will handle the project. Second, it is important to create a buffer fund at the District Assembly level as a stop-gap measure to limit the long period between submission and payment of claims right away. This buffer fund should be curved out of the District Assembly Common Fund and other internally generated funds and managed by a qualified Accountant and a representative from the National Health Insurance Authority.
The purpose of this fund is to reimburse a percentage (50% percent at least) of claims submitted by facilities within the District within a certain period of time as the District waits for the processing of the claims as submitted by the health service providers. This will ensure that there are at least some funds available at all times in the district from which the local clinics can draw from upon an initial verification in order to eliminate the embarrassment of the long payment period by both the National Health Insurance Authority and the service providers. As and when the verified claims are released from the national headquarters of the NHIA to the Districts, the differences are then paid to the clinics and Hospitals.
Third, with alacrity, those who have already been found culpable in submitting double claims from their Clinics and Hospitals should be prosecuted and punished as a deterrent to others who intend to milk the state dry out of their insatiable greed.
Four, another look should be taken at the services, drugs and ailments currently covered under the scheme in consonance with the Mills administration’s commitment to expand the scheme and make it more beneficial to all and sundry and to give true meaning to the “free” component of the scheme.
Five, to check the case of corruption in the system, random checks, visits by scouts from the National, Regional and District offices should be paid in the health delivery facilities for monitoring purposes. Immediate action should be taken to reorganize and reorient the public relations outfit of the NHIA with a possible introduction of a complaints department to deal directly with problems patients face in the clinics spontaneously.
As Ghana awaits the implementation of the one-time premium payment under the Public health Insurance, these efforts must be made to improve the existing system.
God bless our Homeland Ghana!
Felix Mawulolo Amegashie
elolo.elolo@gmail.com
Upon checks from the CEO of the National Health Insurance authority, he admitted that the system as bequeathed to him by the out gone CEO Mr. Ras Boateng under the Kufour-led administration owed Health delivery facilities a total of 115 million Ghana Cedis, which his outfit paid only 2 weeks ago, hampered smooth management of the scheme. Mr. Sylvester Mensah, CEO of the NHIA, confirmed that he has paid visits to some hospitals in the Volta and Eastern Regions to ascertain developments resulting from these challenges. At least for once we are seeing clear signs of transparency and truthfulness as regards the state of the NHIS under his leadership, as to how the out gone CEO and his officials should sit down to allow the scheme to allow the scheme to accumulate so much debt to this tune should be a matter for forensic investigations due to the critical role public health delivery plays in the daily life of the Ghanaian.
Leading to the December General elections, the NPP promised doom to the National Health Insurance scheme under an NDC led administration if the good professor was voted into office. The National Youth Employment programme was also not spared this vile propaganda. Eight months into the Mills administration facts and figures indicate that government has rather made expansionary moves into the above mentioned programmes albeit the current challenges that bedevils these schemes, chief among which is the current debt burden of the National Health Insurance Authority.
A setback to the National Health Insurance Scheme is the hydra headed bureaucratic bottlenecks inherent in its centralized system. From the operators of the scheme, it takes approximately two (2) months for the clinics and Hospitals rendering the service to submit their claims to the Authority. It takes time for the submitted claims to be verified and after this verification, it takes another four (4) weeks for the National Health Insurance Authority to pay the verified claims to the local clinics and hospitals. It therefore takes at least five (5) months for payments to be made from the operators of the scheme to the beneficiaries, while it is expected that hospital administrators keep servicing their clients on credit till the claims are paid in the middle of the year. I wonder which public or private health institution could keep rendering credited services to the public for such a time while awaiting their receipts from the authority. This development is unacceptable and the CEO of the scheme must initiate moves to address this phenomenon.
There are clear cases of corruption in the system where some Health administrators submit false or double claims in a bid to milk the Authority. This crime occurred in some health facilities in the Ashanti region as reported on the front page of the daily Graphic sometime last month. This revelation exposed the covert activities by saboteurs of the scheme since its inception and I wonder why it had to take a change of government to bring the perpetrators of these criminal acts to justice. The media should follow this case closely to ensure that those found culpable are not spared in the criminal justice process to deter others who might have already nurtured this diabolic idea to sabotage the scheme.
As of today, the NHIS does not cover some salient ailments that are common in Ghana. Worst still is the limited prescribed drugs that are covered by the scheme. It is therefore a daily affair that patients under the NHIS go to the Hospital and pay cash for laboratory tests, drugs and other services rendered by those clinics. The end result is that patients are turned away on daily basis if they do not have cash in hand to pay and these services and therefore feeds into the wrong assertion that the government of the day is responsible for these inadequacies.
Under the scheme, some pharmacies are supposed to provide free dispensary services to the public but this is yet to be known let alone practiced in our communities. The bad public relations outfit of the NHIS ought to rise up to the call. The outfit neglected their core duties of informing the public on the services the scheme renders but rather concentrated on engaging in undue politicking before the 2009 general elections with clear intentions to win favour for the NPP candidate.
I urge the Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Scheme to reorganize the Public Relations outfit of the Authority as early as possible in tune with the vision of the new board and the Better Ghana Agenda.
The limited coverage of the scheme to the various districts is worth mentioning. It is a fact that one can only access a health facility if only one is within the boundaries of the district of registration. One is doomed to pay for consultancy if one finds oneself in another district in the same region and worse still in another region in Ghana.
In offering a better public health delivery service to the expectant public in Ghana, these challenges must be addressed.
Foremost, once the 115 million Ghana Cedis debt Mr. Ras Boateng et al saddled the Scheme with has been paid by the new administration, there should be immediate arrangements to reduce the time frame between submission of claims, verification and payments to the barest minimum. This arrangement will ensure that within any given time, funds are made available in the clinics, hospitals and service centers to support the scheme.
This of course calls for some mechanization and a complete overhaul of the operations of the Scheme to which the Mr. Sylvester Mensah should rise to. In these days that almost every aspect of the nation’s economy is mechanized and computerized, the NHIS has no excuse not to automate their operations. The automation of the system should be decentralized to all Regions and Districts so that claims could be paid from the Regional Administrators of the Health Insurance Authority to eliminate the over concentration of all administrative functions of the scheme to Accra.
I must admit that this might be the long term solution to the problem and of course it demands good broadband penetration and logistical support coupled with in depth IT training for hospital staff and administrators who will handle the project. Second, it is important to create a buffer fund at the District Assembly level as a stop-gap measure to limit the long period between submission and payment of claims right away. This buffer fund should be curved out of the District Assembly Common Fund and other internally generated funds and managed by a qualified Accountant and a representative from the National Health Insurance Authority.
The purpose of this fund is to reimburse a percentage (50% percent at least) of claims submitted by facilities within the District within a certain period of time as the District waits for the processing of the claims as submitted by the health service providers. This will ensure that there are at least some funds available at all times in the district from which the local clinics can draw from upon an initial verification in order to eliminate the embarrassment of the long payment period by both the National Health Insurance Authority and the service providers. As and when the verified claims are released from the national headquarters of the NHIA to the Districts, the differences are then paid to the clinics and Hospitals.
Third, with alacrity, those who have already been found culpable in submitting double claims from their Clinics and Hospitals should be prosecuted and punished as a deterrent to others who intend to milk the state dry out of their insatiable greed.
Four, another look should be taken at the services, drugs and ailments currently covered under the scheme in consonance with the Mills administration’s commitment to expand the scheme and make it more beneficial to all and sundry and to give true meaning to the “free” component of the scheme.
Five, to check the case of corruption in the system, random checks, visits by scouts from the National, Regional and District offices should be paid in the health delivery facilities for monitoring purposes. Immediate action should be taken to reorganize and reorient the public relations outfit of the NHIA with a possible introduction of a complaints department to deal directly with problems patients face in the clinics spontaneously.
As Ghana awaits the implementation of the one-time premium payment under the Public health Insurance, these efforts must be made to improve the existing system.
God bless our Homeland Ghana!
Felix Mawulolo Amegashie
elolo.elolo@gmail.com
Friday, May 28, 2010
THE RAINS…THE FLOODS..THE PROMISES…
There is no doubt that the rains have started and I shudder to admit that once again, lives and property will be lost in this season like the previous ones. It tells us how petty we had been as a nation and how quick we are to forget or even recall how the last season brought much grief, tears and losses to many citizens especially those living in flood prone areas.
Last year, the rains washed away many feeder roads and many other access routes in and around Accra. Moves were made to restore the damaged roads even before the onset of the rains. These moves were however hampered by the delays in the approval and implementation of the Road Fund Levy Amendments.
Readers will recall that road and bridge tolls were increased a few months back and these monies were meant to rehabilitate and to maintain some roads and streetlights in and around the capital.
I must admit that there are visible signs that these promises are being redeemed. In fact, the fast progress being recorded on the Tetteh Quashie-Spintex Road, the new Street lights being set up all over the city, the gravelling of some roads in and around many environs in Accra, Tema and many other places around the country, the improvement in the street light system among others offer some hope that sooner these problems would be a thing of the past while Ghana invests more in infrastructure do make up for the huge deficit.
Two projects that would suffer the brunt of the devastation of the rains are the abandoned Teshie-Nungua-La road Project and the Achimota-Ofankor road that is progressing at snail pace due to non-availability of funds.
Conversely, a project that is progressing rather steadily is the Millennium Development Authority’s sponsored Tetteh Quashie-Mallan Highway project which I earlier suggested muts be named after Ex-President Kufuor or Jerry Rawlings and the Obasanjo Road renamed after Ex-President Dr. Hilla Liman. I believe that the availability of funds for the latter and the difficulty in sourcing funds to either continue or complete the former ones mentioned might be responsible for the negative trend.
I pray that government find partners who would support Ghana fund these and many other projects dotted around the country that are yet to be complete.
The last decongestion and demolition exercises suffered some hitches as many property owners either sought court injunctions or other court papers to stop the exercises. Until these cases are determined, the Ministry of Works and Housing, The National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) and the state can only stand aside and look.
NADMO will be out there doing what they have specialized in for many years now; distributing food, mattresses and blankets to flood victims among others while the initiatives that needed to be taken to at least reduce the effects of these avoidable disasters still remain a mirage.
I only pray that the farmlands are spared the harsh pelts of the rain and the floods as this would visit huge losses to farmers many of whom are rural dwellers. Food security and the bumper harvest we anticipate might be heavily affected with its direct effects on our economy and inflation.
On the brighter side, the rains would bring much water to the thirsty Akosombo dam, and into our rivers and lakes to boast the output of fishermen.
The rains are also needed to support our rain-fed agriculture, a trend we have lived with and practised since the days of Kwame Nkrumah. Perhaps the rehabilitation of the irrigation dams in Northern Ghana and the importation of the 1000 tractors would help increase food production in as much as the rains remain stable and do not fail us.
As to the numerous court actions against the Accra Metropolitan Assembly and her agents, until the cases are determined, we cannot blame them for doing little or nothing to curb the perennial chaos, grief and destruction that comes with the floods.
Last year, the rains washed away many feeder roads and many other access routes in and around Accra. Moves were made to restore the damaged roads even before the onset of the rains. These moves were however hampered by the delays in the approval and implementation of the Road Fund Levy Amendments.
Readers will recall that road and bridge tolls were increased a few months back and these monies were meant to rehabilitate and to maintain some roads and streetlights in and around the capital.
I must admit that there are visible signs that these promises are being redeemed. In fact, the fast progress being recorded on the Tetteh Quashie-Spintex Road, the new Street lights being set up all over the city, the gravelling of some roads in and around many environs in Accra, Tema and many other places around the country, the improvement in the street light system among others offer some hope that sooner these problems would be a thing of the past while Ghana invests more in infrastructure do make up for the huge deficit.
Two projects that would suffer the brunt of the devastation of the rains are the abandoned Teshie-Nungua-La road Project and the Achimota-Ofankor road that is progressing at snail pace due to non-availability of funds.
Conversely, a project that is progressing rather steadily is the Millennium Development Authority’s sponsored Tetteh Quashie-Mallan Highway project which I earlier suggested muts be named after Ex-President Kufuor or Jerry Rawlings and the Obasanjo Road renamed after Ex-President Dr. Hilla Liman. I believe that the availability of funds for the latter and the difficulty in sourcing funds to either continue or complete the former ones mentioned might be responsible for the negative trend.
I pray that government find partners who would support Ghana fund these and many other projects dotted around the country that are yet to be complete.
The last decongestion and demolition exercises suffered some hitches as many property owners either sought court injunctions or other court papers to stop the exercises. Until these cases are determined, the Ministry of Works and Housing, The National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) and the state can only stand aside and look.
NADMO will be out there doing what they have specialized in for many years now; distributing food, mattresses and blankets to flood victims among others while the initiatives that needed to be taken to at least reduce the effects of these avoidable disasters still remain a mirage.
I only pray that the farmlands are spared the harsh pelts of the rain and the floods as this would visit huge losses to farmers many of whom are rural dwellers. Food security and the bumper harvest we anticipate might be heavily affected with its direct effects on our economy and inflation.
On the brighter side, the rains would bring much water to the thirsty Akosombo dam, and into our rivers and lakes to boast the output of fishermen.
The rains are also needed to support our rain-fed agriculture, a trend we have lived with and practised since the days of Kwame Nkrumah. Perhaps the rehabilitation of the irrigation dams in Northern Ghana and the importation of the 1000 tractors would help increase food production in as much as the rains remain stable and do not fail us.
As to the numerous court actions against the Accra Metropolitan Assembly and her agents, until the cases are determined, we cannot blame them for doing little or nothing to curb the perennial chaos, grief and destruction that comes with the floods.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Open Letter to Mr. Kofi Kapito..”Why should I put my phone off on May 27?
Open Letter to Mr. Kofi Kapito..”Why should I put my phone off on May 27?
Kofi,
I guess you are doing fine by the Grace of God. It’s just another normal day at work for me running through a tall list of meetings, appointments and deadlines I have to meet. In fact, I have to work hard to satisfy my clients in other to make my money.
Kofi, My secretary almost annoyed me yesterday when she indicated in my Diary that my phone was expected to be switched off on Thursday May 27, from 6:00am to 12:00 noon. I was not just shocked at the thought but I thought it useless for me to put off my phone knowing too well that I had four(4) meetings to attend, and other commitments (family and friends) to deal with by 2pm same day.
Knowing how committed and meticulous my secretary was, I invited her to my office to rationalize her notice on my calendar. That was when she mentioned your name, Mr. Kofi Kapito, the Consumer Protection Agency Boss. Coincidentally, that was the same moment that you were on TV3 Sunrise programme trying to convince Ghanaians about the need for them to carry out your suggestions of turning our indispensable phones off in protest of bad services being rendered to the public.
As a young man who have been part of all Vandals-led student protests in the University of Ghana while in school between 2003-2007, I considered the news as a radical stance which needed all the support it could especially from government.
Kofi, frankly speaking I am not sure this call is a good one and your attempts to justify it are making no impact. I think you are rather worsening the situation as many would see your suggestions and modus operandi as a desperate, attention-seeking and utopian for the following reasons;
1. Ghana cannot do without mobile telephony anytime, any moment, any day and any year. From the coastal towns near Keta in the Volta Region, to the oil rigs of West Cape Three Point in the Western Region, right to our boundaries near Buake to the Upper West Region and to the troubled spots in Bawku to the Upper East-Togo Boarder, constant and consistent communication is very vital in keeping our very social, economic and political life in one piece. The very thought that phones would go off on the said day could be the day that all manner of hoodlums, goons and nation-wreckers could take advantage of this newly adopted “culture of silence” to visit mayhem and settle scores, which could have otherwise been prevented.
2. Many business persons like myself, would have to lose millions of cedis, goodwill, contracts, and even relationships if this threat is carried through. I am not sure, Mr. Kapito, that you would rather sit down and smile at the millions to be lost in revenue and expenditure to the innocent citizens just in the attempt of “punishing” these recalcitrant mobile phone and internet service providers.
3. Your lack of support on the quest to fight this battle on behalf of your country should tell you that many are not listening, let alone interested in this idea of yours, save the Alliance of Accountable Governance (AFAG) and a few other institutions that are using this opportunity for reasons other than those you intended. I am not sure government would even encourage a thing like this as it has serious diplomatic and International Protocol ramifications for government. Our government might be seen as “unfriendly” to businesses and hiding behind this cloak to go on a “witch-hunting” expedition against private local and international Telecommunication and related businesses in Ghana. That would open a can of worms for the economic future of Ghana and I think it would serve no purpose for you as a generator of the idea and for us as a nation. Consider the Vodafone and the Kosmos experiences and you would appreciate this.
4. The media, that should be screaming the loudest, are dead silent and I can understand their silence. The media has corroborated this wanton abuse and thievery by these Telecommunication companies for their selfish gains. If you wouldn’t mind, Kapito, just do a simple survey. Get your boys to sit behind radio, TV and monitor our newspapers. A huge percentage of their advertisement budget, announcements and programmes (Live, recorded and lately Reality Shows) are heavily sponsored by these network providers. This was the smartest way these companies gagged our media to stay calm and humble even in the midst of public agitations against their services.
Are you sure Kojo Oppong Nkrumah of Joy FM Super Morning Show, Benard Avle of the Citi Breakfast Show, Gift Anti of GTV Breakfast Show, Alhassan S Suhuyini of Radio Gold Morning Show, Bola Ray of Drive Time, Bobie Ansah of Asempa “Eko Si sen” Kwame Sefa Kayi of Peace FM Morning Show and many other Editors in the print and electronic media would openly criticize let alone condemn these companies on their live shows knowing too well that they are broadcasting and publishing on the so-called “generosity” of these companies? The media, which represent the voice of the masses, have been gagged. Once they cannot speak in private and in public vehemently to criticize these companies fleecing us the same way they do with excitement and passion when a politician is engaged in a sex scandal or in corruption, your efforts as an individual would be totally useless. Lest we forgot how the Association of private broadcaster went to court and got a restraining order to lift the ban on the advertisement of alcoholic substances and herbal “bitters” on their channels. It tells you how “serious” we are as a nation!
5. The National Communication Authority (NCA) and Hon. Haruna Iddrisu’s Ministry of Communication are helpless in this instance. Helpless to the extent that they are heading institutions that are “toothless”. They can do nothing or take no punitive measures besides “expressing concerns”, being “worried”, “advice” or “suggest” (as always reported on our front pages). The NCA has no guidelines for standards, efficiency and quality control for these telecommunication companies and thus it has become a free-for-all game for these Happy-go-lucky Telecom companies to come to Ghana, acquire licenses, decide when to walk in and commence business and roll out whatever services they feel will earn them maximum profits and not necessarily maximum benefits and quality to their consumers. Take the case of GLO for instance, they have announced their launch over 3 times and postponed it indefinitely.
Who really cares? Internet services in our offices are terrible (the Vodafone Broadband Services) and yet who really cares? MTN’s tariffs, voice quality, lost calls, interconnectivity and “switched-off/Out-of-coverage area” notices are a nuisance, but again, who cares? That tells you how useless these institutions have been in failing to set standards that must be adhered to. Not too long, the Minister for Communications, Hon. Haruna Iddrissu, and his Deputy Hon. Gideon Quaiqoo made some moves to restore sanity into the erection of telecom masts and mobile number portability and the frustrations they are going through are obvious because of the absence of a legal framework to regulate these actions.
Kofi, for want of time and space, I will end here but not without reminding you that in as much as I would want to be part of this protest, I find it a rather easy way out of a problem. Switching off my phone on May 27 , would not help me and my business same way it would not help improve on the services. I would rather want to see you and those who reason with you to go to parliament to seek legislation so that a legal frame work is legislated to back such demands. It is only when this is done that we can make some progress. As to the hypocrisy of the media on this matter, I know it will not end anytime soon. After all, it is an unholy matrimony between the service operators and the media to “rub my back while I rub yours”.
Kofi, the next time you hear a radio or TV presenter say “… the best mobile network in Ghana”, Please do not puke but take it as the crystallization of corporate corruption in Ghana.
Have a great day, bro.
Truth Stands,
Mawulolo.
Kofi,
I guess you are doing fine by the Grace of God. It’s just another normal day at work for me running through a tall list of meetings, appointments and deadlines I have to meet. In fact, I have to work hard to satisfy my clients in other to make my money.
Kofi, My secretary almost annoyed me yesterday when she indicated in my Diary that my phone was expected to be switched off on Thursday May 27, from 6:00am to 12:00 noon. I was not just shocked at the thought but I thought it useless for me to put off my phone knowing too well that I had four(4) meetings to attend, and other commitments (family and friends) to deal with by 2pm same day.
Knowing how committed and meticulous my secretary was, I invited her to my office to rationalize her notice on my calendar. That was when she mentioned your name, Mr. Kofi Kapito, the Consumer Protection Agency Boss. Coincidentally, that was the same moment that you were on TV3 Sunrise programme trying to convince Ghanaians about the need for them to carry out your suggestions of turning our indispensable phones off in protest of bad services being rendered to the public.
As a young man who have been part of all Vandals-led student protests in the University of Ghana while in school between 2003-2007, I considered the news as a radical stance which needed all the support it could especially from government.
Kofi, frankly speaking I am not sure this call is a good one and your attempts to justify it are making no impact. I think you are rather worsening the situation as many would see your suggestions and modus operandi as a desperate, attention-seeking and utopian for the following reasons;
1. Ghana cannot do without mobile telephony anytime, any moment, any day and any year. From the coastal towns near Keta in the Volta Region, to the oil rigs of West Cape Three Point in the Western Region, right to our boundaries near Buake to the Upper West Region and to the troubled spots in Bawku to the Upper East-Togo Boarder, constant and consistent communication is very vital in keeping our very social, economic and political life in one piece. The very thought that phones would go off on the said day could be the day that all manner of hoodlums, goons and nation-wreckers could take advantage of this newly adopted “culture of silence” to visit mayhem and settle scores, which could have otherwise been prevented.
2. Many business persons like myself, would have to lose millions of cedis, goodwill, contracts, and even relationships if this threat is carried through. I am not sure, Mr. Kapito, that you would rather sit down and smile at the millions to be lost in revenue and expenditure to the innocent citizens just in the attempt of “punishing” these recalcitrant mobile phone and internet service providers.
3. Your lack of support on the quest to fight this battle on behalf of your country should tell you that many are not listening, let alone interested in this idea of yours, save the Alliance of Accountable Governance (AFAG) and a few other institutions that are using this opportunity for reasons other than those you intended. I am not sure government would even encourage a thing like this as it has serious diplomatic and International Protocol ramifications for government. Our government might be seen as “unfriendly” to businesses and hiding behind this cloak to go on a “witch-hunting” expedition against private local and international Telecommunication and related businesses in Ghana. That would open a can of worms for the economic future of Ghana and I think it would serve no purpose for you as a generator of the idea and for us as a nation. Consider the Vodafone and the Kosmos experiences and you would appreciate this.
4. The media, that should be screaming the loudest, are dead silent and I can understand their silence. The media has corroborated this wanton abuse and thievery by these Telecommunication companies for their selfish gains. If you wouldn’t mind, Kapito, just do a simple survey. Get your boys to sit behind radio, TV and monitor our newspapers. A huge percentage of their advertisement budget, announcements and programmes (Live, recorded and lately Reality Shows) are heavily sponsored by these network providers. This was the smartest way these companies gagged our media to stay calm and humble even in the midst of public agitations against their services.
Are you sure Kojo Oppong Nkrumah of Joy FM Super Morning Show, Benard Avle of the Citi Breakfast Show, Gift Anti of GTV Breakfast Show, Alhassan S Suhuyini of Radio Gold Morning Show, Bola Ray of Drive Time, Bobie Ansah of Asempa “Eko Si sen” Kwame Sefa Kayi of Peace FM Morning Show and many other Editors in the print and electronic media would openly criticize let alone condemn these companies on their live shows knowing too well that they are broadcasting and publishing on the so-called “generosity” of these companies? The media, which represent the voice of the masses, have been gagged. Once they cannot speak in private and in public vehemently to criticize these companies fleecing us the same way they do with excitement and passion when a politician is engaged in a sex scandal or in corruption, your efforts as an individual would be totally useless. Lest we forgot how the Association of private broadcaster went to court and got a restraining order to lift the ban on the advertisement of alcoholic substances and herbal “bitters” on their channels. It tells you how “serious” we are as a nation!
5. The National Communication Authority (NCA) and Hon. Haruna Iddrisu’s Ministry of Communication are helpless in this instance. Helpless to the extent that they are heading institutions that are “toothless”. They can do nothing or take no punitive measures besides “expressing concerns”, being “worried”, “advice” or “suggest” (as always reported on our front pages). The NCA has no guidelines for standards, efficiency and quality control for these telecommunication companies and thus it has become a free-for-all game for these Happy-go-lucky Telecom companies to come to Ghana, acquire licenses, decide when to walk in and commence business and roll out whatever services they feel will earn them maximum profits and not necessarily maximum benefits and quality to their consumers. Take the case of GLO for instance, they have announced their launch over 3 times and postponed it indefinitely.
Who really cares? Internet services in our offices are terrible (the Vodafone Broadband Services) and yet who really cares? MTN’s tariffs, voice quality, lost calls, interconnectivity and “switched-off/Out-of-coverage area” notices are a nuisance, but again, who cares? That tells you how useless these institutions have been in failing to set standards that must be adhered to. Not too long, the Minister for Communications, Hon. Haruna Iddrissu, and his Deputy Hon. Gideon Quaiqoo made some moves to restore sanity into the erection of telecom masts and mobile number portability and the frustrations they are going through are obvious because of the absence of a legal framework to regulate these actions.
Kofi, for want of time and space, I will end here but not without reminding you that in as much as I would want to be part of this protest, I find it a rather easy way out of a problem. Switching off my phone on May 27 , would not help me and my business same way it would not help improve on the services. I would rather want to see you and those who reason with you to go to parliament to seek legislation so that a legal frame work is legislated to back such demands. It is only when this is done that we can make some progress. As to the hypocrisy of the media on this matter, I know it will not end anytime soon. After all, it is an unholy matrimony between the service operators and the media to “rub my back while I rub yours”.
Kofi, the next time you hear a radio or TV presenter say “… the best mobile network in Ghana”, Please do not puke but take it as the crystallization of corporate corruption in Ghana.
Have a great day, bro.
Truth Stands,
Mawulolo.
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