VOODOOISM AND CHRISTIANITY; THE DISAPPEARING FAULT LINES...

Who are these so called “Prophets”, “Apostles” and Miracle Workers of God and who trained them?

This is the mind boggling puzzle that battles my spirit each time I watch or listen to these preachers on TV and on radio advertise their prowess as if they acquired them from unknown lands and can use them to manipulate the spirit of God. No wonder many church-goers (not Christians) are terribly frustrated as their cravings for the 24 hour-lifeline-miracle sponsored by these mountebank preachers never happen anyway.

Recently, I heard one prophet announce on radio that his area of specialization was in the use of a special “rod” cum the scriptures and that whoever visits his church will feel the true healing power of God and will never walk out the same. He went a step ahead to liken his rod to the “rod of Moses” as a surety to place value on wherever that rod came from.

Another tells us that his oil is called “back-to-sender-oil” and that whoever buys this oil will be free from witchcraft, “kooko”, spiritual marriages and all manner of allergies. It reminds me of an Ejisu-based herbalist I encountered a few months back on board a VIP Bus en route Kumasi. The man had the effrontery to watch me in the eyes and said that a birthmark under my eyelids was the early stages of piles (kooko) and that I should buy his concoction for GHc 5.00, store it in a bottle of gin and takes it 3 times daily. I smiled and questioned his basis for his conclusions?

Lately, many of us are falling prey to power-thirsty preachers, prophets, prophetesses and spiritualists who pump fear and panic into their unsuspecting victims with some extracted biblical verses to back their ignorance and selfishness. What will soon follow is the direction to his church or to a private meeting.
It is at this point that the real deal is unraveled. Either one will have to bath naked by some stinking lagoon , or buy the “back-to-sender oil “ or fasted forty (40) days and forty (40) nights to seek solutions to one’s problem.

The stock of the vulnerable ones are mostly women, especially on marital issues and these charlatans masquerading as servants of God, will stop at nothing in taking advantage of them. They are exploited emotionally, physically and sexually. Some even hypnotize their victims so as to keep them under their spell especially if it turns out that that very man or woman is wealthy.

Cars, shops, clothes etc are now objects that are being prayed over , exorcised and anointed by these so-called prophets.

The King James Bible warns us in Joel 1:11-21 “And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness. 12. And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. 13. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. 14. And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it. 15. Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: 16. Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, 17. The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, 18. The likeness of anything that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: 19. And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven. 20. But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day. 21. Furthermore the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and sware that I should not go over Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

The question then arises that if “Holy water”, “Back-to-sender oil” perfumes, incense, rods, sticks, crucifixes are the totems that Christians should possess, purchase and trust in before God listens to their prayers, what difference then exists between the voodooist that consults his idols as his medium to reaching the Supreme God and the Christian who pays money in exchange of water, oil, perfumes crucifixes and body massages and even sexual intercourse as means of reaching God?

The crooks and charlatans in Christendom must be exposed for the harm they are causing to many Church-goers and Christians in search of solutions to their worries. We are thus constantly on the urge as we are scared of the next prophesy or revelation or vision that the man of God might be receiving from God which mostly includes accidents, accidental deaths, broken marriages and witchcraft attacks.

Church is now even getting scarier than the voodoo shrine as the word of God that is supposed to be a soothing balm to our bruised souls is now a weapon for fueling heart attacks, hypertensions and High Blood Pressure due to such quack revelations and revelations from these so-called prophets, pastors and Bishops.

God might deny us our ill-motive and ill-inspired prayers while we keep jumping from one prayer camp to the other, from one pastor to the other, from one prophet to the other messing ourselves and cutting short our blessings , happiness and our very existence lives in the name of spiritual exercises.

It is completely unbiblical for any Christian to transfer his or her belief and trust from the Great God Elohim unto objects like oil, water, sticks, rods and crucifixes for the performance of miracles and the answer to prayers.

The Christian Council, instead of getting too much involved in political, economic and pseudo-political debates should be more focused on the issues that are destroying the church, morality and society.

The disappearing fault lines between paganism, voodoo worship, astrology and Christianity is getting rather disturbing and many supposed Christians are losing their faith and belief to these ersatz entrepreneurs called servants of God.

God save our homeland Ghana.

IMPROVING SAFETY ON THE VOLTA LAKE

A major source of livelihood for many inhabitants, from time immemorial, within its catchment area had been the Volta Lake, the biggest man-made lake in West Africa. The lake, which plays host to the Akosombo hydro electrical dam, in the Eastern Region, equally provides the most important and reliable source of power supply to the nation and some neighbours as well. The construction of the dam, in the early days of the Nkrumah administration, has affected the lifestyle of many communities, some extinct, through the devastation the trapped waters of the dam left in its wake on homes and farmlands. Of course every project comes with its social cost and its social benefits as well.

Lately, portions of the Volta Lake has been in the news, not for its tourist potentials, electric generation capacity or its buoyant fishing industry but rather for the numerous boat accidents that claim the lives of many productive lives leaving many families wrecked and broken. Women and children bear the brunt of the devastation.

The problems associated with water transport on the Volta Lake, I believe has been belaboured in many documentaries, newspaper publications and academic materials but the outstanding question till this moment is, what has been done over the years to reduce the tragic effects that each accident bring to many hearts in the country? A common phrase that runs the mouth of many politicians over and over at any public gathering or press conference is the unending liturgy of “this government is committed to improving one situation or the other” while this so-called commitment has never been demonstrated over the years.

The recent disaster on the Lake that claimed over twenty (20) lives should not be treated as just another accident but rather a call on the new government to demonstrate her commitment to the many inhabitants along the banks of the lake including school children and their teachers; who use canoes to crisscross the lake in pursuit of basic education, doctors, traders, fishermen, travellers and all other who also use the various landing sites dotted along the banks of the lake.
It is sickening that just after lavishly celebrating fifty (50) years of Independence on an unprecedented million-dollar budget, Ghana should still go a begging for funds for the provision of basic needs that ensures the daily safety and survival of the minority in society.

Hope might be in sight in coming months especially in dealing with the annual accidents on the Volta Lake.

Foremost, the Ministry of Transport and a Dutch logging company specialized in underwater logging have collaborated to initiate an “Under water Logging” project on the lake. This concept is very new in this country. The idea being uprooting and removing all tree stumps, roots and logs that have been trapped on the basin of the river for export. Maybe our government and private individuals could device good use of these underground logs after they have been harvested, for the local industry. If it is possible, the Electricity Company of Ghana could find good use of these logs for transmission poles instead of over depending on our dwindling forests resources for the erection of transmission poles.

A direct benefit of underwater logging to the people who use the lake for various purposes, is the relief from the threats these tree stumps, fallen logs and twisted roots pose to the nets of fishermen, propellers of pontoons and outboard motors and those who use the river especially at night. The basin of the lake would be cleared of any foreign material that is likely to obstruct passenger boats and ferries thus causing tragic accidents on the lake.

Government via the Ministry of Transport has assured the citizens that they are in league with the Ghana Navy to form a Patrol Task Force on the Lake. This task force, I believe, will be engaged in rescue operations among other duties as and when the need arise. The challenge I envisage however, is an injection of capital expenditure in the procurement of expensive an non available logistical supplies for the Naval Task Force as they will seek to perform this new duty which is at variance with their traditional role. It is important for the Navy to set up a camp at a vantage point on lake that could connect the various landing sites. This camp should be provided with communication gadgets that would make them easily accessible to respond to emergency situations.

Additionally, the Ministry must focus some attention in this area of transportation just as they have done over the years in the roads, rail and aviation sectors. Now that the Minister of Transport has hinted that they have formed a task force to ensure safety and security on the lake, it is most important for the task force to begin serious sensitization, education and public relations exercise to educate users of the lake on safety measures, best practices and modern ways of avoiding accidents, rescue operations, first aid treatment and any other relevant practise that is needed to ensure safety and security of the users of the services and potentials the Lake offers.

As prelude to many other initiatives to be taken by the central government, Zoil Ghana Limited has gone out of their way to provide life jackets and lifebuoys to the Ministry of Transport and the Canoe owners Association on the lake for the use of passengers. To this exploit, I congratulate, Mr. Oscar Provincal and his team for the far sight in providing immediate solutions to the problems bedevilling water transport on the Lake.

It has been revealed that only one (1) out of four (4) pontoons on the lake is functioning. The Vice President, John Mahama , promised the delivery of a new engine for on of the pontoons by December this year to get it back to bay. This will be very critical to ease pressure on the only surviving pontoon and the risk of it breaking down under pressure. Getting all four (4) pontoons back to work, consequently, will help improve the solutions to the problems on the lake and also ease cost to many users as many more goods and services will be rendered in less time on the lake.

The extent of indiscipline among operators of boats and canoes on the lake should be addressed immediately. We have seen footages of evidence of overloading, over speeding, among other indiscipline acts on the lake, but nobody seem to care about dealing with the situation until another disaster strikes. How come the police stationed in these areas are indifferent to the situation? It is a case of the perpetrators of these indiscipline acts compromise the law enforcement authority thereby rendering impotent in dealing with the situation? In any case, how come the police would not attach the same level of commitment and seriousness that the Motor, Traffic and Transport Unit of the Ghana Police Service attach to road users? It is about time wrong doers, whose pursuit of their selfish interest plunge passengers into accidents, are dealt with in accordance with the laws of the land. Such cases must be dealt with as clear instances of murder and not mere boat accidents.

To this end, the Ministry of Transport and the Ghana Police Service must set aside days on their annual calendar to go round the major landing sites in the country to do serious public sensitization, education and engagements just as what pertains with the National Road safety Commission. Government could equally establish a commission for water transport to give them the needed mandate to deal with issues pertaining to water transport safety and security in totality.

As a society with strong traditional beliefs, it is important that we do not forget customs and traditional practices that are associated with these rivers and lakes as custom demands in settling the cultural twist to these accidents. Of course the Chief of the one of the towns badly hit by the accident lamented bitterly about the wanton disregard for the traditional practices associated with the Lake. According to him, customs does not allow the use of some portions of the lake for human activities on some days and coincidentally the day in question was the same day the accident occurred. He advised a return to the performance of those practices to pacify the gods of the lake to ensure safety. These cultural and religious underpinnings cannot be ignored.

One area of attention is the need for authorization and inspection and insurance cover before boats, ferries and pontoons are allowed to commence business on the lake. The National Insurance Authority should consider this as an important element in ensuring security on the rivers, lakes and other water bodies in the country, if this is not already in place. If boat owners and transport operators are made to pay insurance premiums annually, they will be more conscious of what they do with their boats and the cost to their passengers.

We need to join the crusade to ensure safety and security on our rivers, lakes and lagoons for these traditional sources of transport are still relevant today in many other countries as it provides cheaper and faster means of cutting goods and people from on island community to the other.

TRADING THE GOSPEL FOR COWRIES; THE CHANGING FACE OF CHRISTENDOM

The place of the church is to preach the message of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, win souls for the Kingdom of God, baptise them in the name of Jesus, and promote the Gospel of Christ and to impact positively on society through the principles and the teachings of Jesus Christ.

The church in contemporary times have obviously moved beyond these virtues and are now busying itself in a fierce but silent inter-denominational competitive battle for laurels and materialism, first among leadership and then with corporate entities for limited and innovative advertisement space in the country.

Not too long, the airwaves was polluted by the abusive, unprintable and satanic exchanges between two Kumasi-based preachers, Rev. Dr. Prophet Ebenezer Darkwa-Yiadom (who now calls himself “Prophet1 Senior”) and one Bishop Daniel Obinim. So repulsive were their exchanges and threats that the Police had to step in to broker a truce between these two servants of God amidst threats of murder, occultism and allegations of kidnapping.

These and other acts of indiscipline, lawlessness and paganism have given the church a bad name in recent times. I vividly recall the His Excellency John Evans Atta Mills’ admonishment to the Clergy when he opened the 69th Synod of the Global Presbyterian Church. He advised the clergy to be trail blazers and lead lives that speaks well of their faith. In fact, His Excellency the President expressed his regret about the lifestyles of some leaders of the Christian community in Ghana which did not give credit to the Christian faith.

Not too long after this event, the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rt. Rev. Frimpong Manso stated at the 10th General Assembly of the Church that “I wish to restate that we move away from our overdependence on offerings and tithes in the light of current fatigue in giving the poverty of most of our members”.

The waste in church expenditure is lately evident in the fierce advertisement, promotions and live presenter mentions on TV, radio, posters and on giant digital signage and bill boards of activities of orthodox, pentecostal and charismatic churches irrespective of size, location or membership.

This new advertisement drive that has taken the better side of the ministry of the gospel has seen the walls of many of our public buildings, electricity and telephone poles, schools, pavements, cars, among other sites splashed with posters of all colours, sizes and shapes announcing one crusade, healing encounter, motivational lecture, seminar, pastoral conferences and conventions and the cycle repeats itself year after year, while the increasing cost is borne by members of the church especially those who are richer and more popular including our politicians.
We are thus under intense pressure to pay more in church to outdo the church next door in terms of popularity and advertisement which i deem very occultic.

Aside the very high quality and expensive nature of these posters, billboards, and banners displayed at various locations all over the city, the cost of the production of such advertisement materials are borne by no other but the members of the congregation. Members are tasked to provide the resources via tithes, offerings and other “sacrificial offerings” and lately “corporate tithes” for the production of these expensive advertisement materials among other capital intensive engagements of the church. To me, the church is gradually ceding their responsibilities of helping shape our moral and prepare our soul for the coming of Christ to uppish social activities. I won’t be surprised if some churches soon begin organising beach events and pool parties all in the name of socialization.

I am yet to pay detailed attention, let alone concentrate to read the contents of many of these posters that are mostly posted at places obviously illegal; ie; on walls, tress, electricity poles, on transformers, Telephone exchange boxes, AMA rubbish containers, and areas clearly designated with the “post no bill” sign. This is the level of indiscipline that some of these churches are promoting in our society.
Equally disgusting is the current trend of our men of the cloth, shedding their collars for military uniforms to speak at conventions and programmes to depict a posture against the devil. Some even carry these pictures onto their posters that look very awkward.

I support the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA)’s resolution to close down all illegal churches and mosques to help curb the noise they generate even in the still of the night.

Our Churches must be the first to respect our laws so that they would live their mission of influencing our society, our nation and work places by the word of God. And it is disappointing how out city authorities have sat down to allow our cities and highways to be littered by huge billboards, posters, advertisement announcements , by religious bodies, event planners, individuals and corporate organisations.

Again, the foremost culprits of noise making in public beside beer bars and pubs are Churches and Mosques with their excessive noise making even when residents are fast asleep after a very hectic day. I am looking forward to seeing Dr, Alfred Vanderpuije deliver on his promise that the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) will close down all illegal churches and mosques springing up in every corner in the capital. Residents have the right to peaceful sleep and I am not sure that any church or mosque must be encouraged to deprive anyone of their sleep same way no resident should have the right to disturb any church legally located in an area.

It is even more annoying that lately, there are speakers mounted at vantage points in the capital where self-styled preachers scream their invectives into our ears with collection bowls placed tightly in front of them urging passer-byes to drop in their tithes, offerings and sacrifices. I wonder if the purpose for which the man erected those speakers was to preach or collect money from people.

I am convinced that the days when Evangelist roamed from village to village on foot and on bicycles mostly at dawn speaking to your very soul about the gospel of Christ and how he is ready to forgive us our sins if we believed in him and how we can find solace in a Bible believing Church in our neighbourhoods and develop our Christian lives are completely over! Those days are now replaced with fierce TV and Radio advertisement, paid up broadcast, text messaging, and digital banner and Radio Jingle advertisements all in the name of preaching the gospel of Christ.

In spite of the proliferation of churches in the capital, crimes and social vices seem to be on the increase and I shudder to ask why. Either many people are just tired of these preachers and their penchant for money or they have no reason to turn to Christ for salvation knowing too well that the message of salvation has been replaced by that of prosperity, riches and miracle.

In some churches, salvation and deliverance has now been tied to your ability to pay the preacher to say special prayers or prophesy or speak mysteries into your life which is gradually turning these churches into cults. The privileged will always be in the good books of the pastors as they are the ones who pay the more during pledges and contributions while the poor widow who needs the gospel to comfort her never gets noticed let alone the young man who has only pair sandals to enter the house of God to worship.

We have created a society within Christendom that is making the gospel of God look like some kind of joke as many people have lost touch with what they actually want in church and what the church offers them lately.

The world needs the gospel of Christ as I believe Jesus is coming soon to judge this world and our churches must rise to the occasion, feed our souls and turn away from such acts of idolatry.

The church should not be seen as a business entity in a fierce battle for recognition, competition and in search to make demagogues out of their leaders.
It is just a place where the poor, the meek, the rich, the humble and even repentant criminals can find solace and turn to God their maker.

For how long should the church trade the gospel of Christ for cowries?

THE SCRAMBLE FOR SPACE IN A MILLENNIUM CITY OF ACCRA.

I have been quite impressed by the performance of Dr. Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, the Mayor of the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA), since his appointment by His Excellency President John Mills. It is obvious that the successes of the AMA cannot be divorced from the progress this country has chalked up within the last nineteen months under the leadership of His Excellency the President.

The truce between the AMA and outraged traders in the Kimbu area for the relocation of the latter to the Pedestrian shopping Mall is worth noting owing to the disagreements that greeted the exercise.

A few months on, it appears the concerns of these traders have been met albeit the serious sanitation challenges in and around the Pedestrian Shopping Mall at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle. A lot more has to be done to improve on the situation in the market so patrons can ply their trade under a better hygienic condition.

Another phenomenon that should engage the AMA, besides the search for new burial grounds for departed souls, is the daily reduction of parking space in the capital; a major contributor to the traffic situation on many streets and lanes.

The cosmopolitan nature of the capital Accra, has witnessed the construction of many high rising buildings for residential and commercial purposes without accompanying provisions for parking spaces in and around these property.

The real estate industry as of today has become more sophisticated. Apartment buildings for residential and commercial purposes are being encouraged as a first step to land optimization and space maximization.

This suggests that the population density per metre square on a plot of land has seen some increase and is still expected to rise. Hotels, flats, churches, mosques, banks, office complexes by individuals, entertainment centres, among others are increasing in the capital while the space upon which these property are erected have grown smaller and smaller exponentially.

It is sad that many developers put structures on every available space as high as ten to twelve storeys while very little consideration is made for parking by the staff, residents, patrons and visitors to these establishments. The chaos emanating from this negligence, lack of supervision and corruption is that many streets, lanes and roads are being used as parking spaces owing to the lack of space in and around these buildings.

Bus stops are being used by taxi drivers as parking lots and taxi ranks. The chaotic situation of hawking on our streets has added to the dangers on these busy roads and the daily hustle and bustle of huge traffic jams on our “shrinking” roads.
Along the Kwame Nkrumah Circle-Achimota Highway, bicycle vendors, garages, vulganizers, and motorbike vendors have virtually taken over the bus stops with their wares parked right on the streets. I am yet to understand how and why the AMA has neither noticed these people nor taken any serious action to clear them off the roads in another decongestion exercise.

The public cannot be denied the use of these public facilities under no circumstances. I wish to see the AMA take appropriate measures to decongest our streets, roads and highways with the same passion and motivation they have used in flushing out hawkers and illegal structures that have been built along water ways and ramser sites.

I am sure there are regulations that clearly spell out guidelines for the erection of property in our cities for both residential and commercial use. It is rather amazing that property owners will defy these rules and go ahead to build their property without recourse to these regulations. Many vehicles are forced to park on our streets due to the lack of car parks.

The Disability Act stipulates that buildings should be “disability-friendly”. I am yet to be educated on the monitoring or supervisory agency tasked by the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to ensure that the law was obeyed and the act implemented to favour that constituency of persons with disabilities. On this score, I wish to see the National Disability Council collaborate with the various MMDAs to enforce these regulations. New buildings are springing up daily and it is obvious that many of these contractors are not in tune with the dictates of this law. The construction companies must also be educated on the law and what is required of them to do to ensure its full implementation.

Our roads, streets and lanes are shrinking by the day due partly to the limited spaces available and the reckless abandon with which many real estate companies and property owners are erecting structures.

The AMA must wake up to this problem or else we might , in the next two decades, be overwhelmed by the terrible traffic jams if the combined threats of hawking, unavailable parking spaces, corruption and indiscipline are not dealt with to make more space available for road users in the country.

In a better Ghana, I wish to see a reduction in the time I spend each day commuting between my work place and my home.

In a better Ghana, I wish to see the sanitation situation, in the Pedestrian shopping Mall and many other markets dotted around the capital cities, improve.
In a better Ghana, I wish to see many Ghanaians express satisfaction in our collective effort to improve our living conditions and quality of life.

This is Accra; Live in-Love it!

GHANA’S FALLING STARS…

Ghana’s entertainment industry has witnessed some rejuvenation in recent times albeit the attendant excesses. Indeed, the verve introduced by some good film and music video directors within the last 4 years cannot be over emphasized. Ghana’s film and music industry today is rubbing shoulders with their counterparts in sister nations and even beating them up to it.

A recent African Movie Award ceremony held in Nigeria, saw many young and budding Ghanaian movie stars, directors and musicians winning awards. This is testimony to the reforms and changes that the industry has witnessed thus far. Besides the soccer teams of Ghana, I am of the view that the entertainment industry is another strong marketing tool the nation is yet to benefit from.

In spite of these successes, recent developments in the sector leave much to be desired. Our stars in the entertainment industry are either heading for destruction or assuming lifestyles that they can obviously support and thus forcing them into all manner of social vices including armed robbery, theft, cheating, drug abuse and sexual immorality.

From the Goodie’s cocaine smuggling syndicate, his arrest and subsequent imprisonment to the ongoing trial of Ibrahim Sima, of Exopa fame; the imprisonment of Ramzy; a finalist in the Stars of the Future fame, to the theft case against Miss Nasara, winner of TV3 Ghana’s Most Beautiful and her subsequence loss of the crown, the fracas between Miss Confidence Heugan and a hiplife artist, Ayigbe Edem over a million dollar Mobile phone theft; the death of Santo, a popular Akan movie actor after he was busted for swallowing some quantities of cocaine with the purpose of transporting them to the United States of America, just to mention but a few cases.

A few days ago, another Music Star, 31 year old Richard Cobbina, popularly known as Shaka Zulu, of the 4X4 fame, was arrested at a popular drinking spot at Adabraka on Monday night after he had been identified by another robbery suspect. The report, according to Ghananewslink.com, stated that Shaka Zulu allegedly confessed to taking part in robbery with some Nigerians on the Spintex Road.

This incident will go down as another blow to Ghana’s entertainment industry which has been saddled with negative publicity lately. I remember walking into a chop bar in Ashalley Botwe, a suburb of Accra, for launch one hot afternoon, only to be joined by some young Hiplife Musicians. Just after taking their seats, I realized something was wrong somewhere. I could not believe the sight that held me spellbound. This young man was heavily drunk and had to be virtually fed to the embarrassment of the owners of the joint and to the amusement of other patrons.

This is a young man whose group and their performance had won them and Ghana an international award for a song they made way back in 2006. Immediately it dawned on me, that what we watch on TV might be a creation of a world of these young men and women who are bent on copying blindly from the West and other culture so as to be accepted in society. For many of them who cannot afford living this high society lifestyle, they are quick to resort to unorthodox means of financing their greed via the drug trade, armed robbery and other social vices.

In their videos, life is always and will forever remain a party. Blings, big boots, expensive clothes, exotic cars, etc are what is portrayed as the life of the man behind the microphone, while in the secrets of their homes, the wear themselves down on drugs, booze among other social vices.

A serious challenge to our Stars, (soccer, music, movie or media) is that the image they cast for themselves today might haunt them in future. In some countries, entertainment and soccer stars have found themselves in public offices as members of parliaments and even attempting the highest office of President.

The dashed dreams of Wycleff Jean, the International HipHop Raggae Artist, in his quest to contest the Presidential elections of his country Haiti is a call on our Stars to live a life worthy of testimony and emulation.

I have heard some radio presenters who host reggae programmes on a number of radio stations across the country sing the praise of marijuana, a banned substance. Some even go to the extent of calling for a legalization of the drug. That is the extent to which we have allowed the entertainment sector the free hand to engage in all manner of social vices that has the tendency to derail our campaign towards greater discipline and morality.

Just watch our movies, music videos, live shows and other TV Reality Shows lately and you will appreciate the fast rate to which morality is fast becoming a stranger in the sector. In their music videos, nudity, smoking, drinking of hard liquor, riding in exotic cars, exotic tastes for clothes, jewelry and even the very language that they use to express themselves is sounding more American than Ghanaian!

The challenge is upon all of us to call our stars to order and ensure that they do the right thing to protect the moral fibre of our society. While it is common knowledge that many groups condemn publicly actions of politicians and call them all manner of names in their bid to deter them from engaging in some action or the other, we are dead silent on the very terrible things happening in the entertainment sector.
There are many of these Stars who are flying high the national colours in their chosen fields and there are others who are disgracing our country by their acts.

Our stars must project themselves as role models for our young generation. The way we dress, the way we speak, the way we even react to problems as young people is heavily influenced by what we watch on TV and in music videos.

Lately, the craze is about poolside and bikini parties. These parties are sustained by an array of hard booze, nudity and hard drugs. Worse of all, there are no restrictions as to the ages of patrons. I understand in other countries, some form of identification is needed before one is admitted into such parties and concerts but in Ghana, I doubt if we even concern ourselves about the age factor as many of the organizers busy themselves with bagging in their profits than caring too much about who attends.

It is sad that our entertainment industry is being infiltrated by hoodlums, criminals and drug addicts and it behooves you and I to work hard to clean it up if we are really interested in building a this nation.

I do not sympathize with these goons. The law must deal with them.

So Long, Mr. President!

Hello Mr. President,

In fact, we miss you back home in your beloved country Ghana. In your absence, your trusted Vice President and Acting President has been doing just fine and working tirelessly to sustain the momentum of the successes of the Better Ghana Agenda.

These are indeed good times within our great party and we appreciate the team work that you have built in your government and the good rapport between you and your able Vice President. I must confess that Ghanaians are really appreciative of your meticulous decisions and progress of work done thus far and we expect more upon your return soon. I am convinced that you will not return home empty handed but you are coming back with good investment deals, bilateral agreements, relationship and investment packages that you might have negotiated along the side of your holidays, like a good father who never returns home empty-handed.

Your Excellency, great things are happening in your absence and I cannot help but to draw your attention to the good news.

The first that is worth mentioning is the work of His Excellency the Vice President, John Dramani Mahama. Aside a dozen programmes that he had honoured in your stead, as Acting President, he launched the much awaited National Youth Policy, as a working tool for youth development and capacity building of the youth of Ghana towards national development. I remember the last time you came to my village on a campaign trail, you promised that under your administration, you would deliver to the youth of Ghana, a national policy within which youth related activities and development programmes would be coordinated. I am glad to see this day and the launch of the policy.

Additionally, our traditional rulers have expressed their gratitude in advance to a recent announcement you have communicated via your able Vice President, about your commitment to strengthening the chieftaincy institution by reviewing the allowances paid to our chiefs. The Vice President said you have decided to pay same allowances to out Queen Mothers, an action that is unprecedented in our history.

Your Excellency, following the Public Utilities Regulation Commission’s decision to adjust utility tariffs, which your administration heavily subsidized by almost 50%, there had been some anomalies in the implementation of the new tariff regime. There had been wide spread concerns that the implementation process had been fraught with some inconsistencies. There were some attempts by labour unions and industry to go on the streets on peaceful demonstrations to back demand for reduction of the newly implemented increases in utility tariffs. I must admit that this is an area of major concern of industry and the good people of Ghana who believed, still believe and are continually keeping faith with you and your promise to improve on their quality of lives. I understand a meeting was called by the Vice President in the Castle to bring on board all the power brokers in the energy sector to find an amicable solution to the matter.

Your Excellency, as I write, credible information reaching me indicates that a truce has been reached and all parties concerned are very comfortable with the agreement reached and they have pledged their commitment to support the PURC and government to do more in their various sectors to push the development process of Ghana a step further.

Mr. President, a few days ago, your Vice President again commissioned a fleet of Yutong Buses via a Private Public partnership agreement for the transport Unions in the country. This is a good development for the transport sector. I understand there is an elaborate plan to remove old, worn out and potentially dangerous vehicles off the road and replace them with these modern buses to promote the local transport industry and at the same time supporting the tourism sector. That is a good move and may I suggest that steps must be taken to begin a programme of importing spare parts, brand new tires among others to guarantee the safety, and maintenance of these buses on our roads. The beneficiary companies, including the Metro Mass Transport Company (MMT), The State Transport Company (STC), The Ghana Private Roads Transport Union (GPRTU) among others would not have difficulties servicing the new buses on the roads while repairing the old and damaged ones. It is obvious that many of the Metro Mass buses are off the road due to difficulties in securing spare parts and maintenance challenges.

As regards our farmers, your Excellency, I understand a new variety of cereals have been introduced to them and that is very intriguing. My information indicates that the new varieties are drought resistant and they can thrive within short harvest time. I crave your indulgence that the Agriculture Ministry takes this news closer to the doorsteps of the farmers so they as many can benefit from this initiative to support our food safety and security. This is a good addition to the subsidized fertilizer policy that you have brought to our hard working farmers.

Your Excellency, as of the time you took over office, I remember inflation was hovering around 20% in spite of all attempts by your predecessor to keep it down. For the past eighteen (18) months, however, we have witnessed a steady and consistent decline of inflation from that point to a single-digit and still dropping! This is another campaign promise that you have honoured and we cannot help but to commend you for the successes you have chalked up in less than two (2) years of your administration.

Coming events they say, cast their shadows. Ghana cannot wait but to expect more of these success stories under your leadership especially at this time that the Single Spine Salary Structure and the STX Housing deal has come as a lifeline to motivating our security personnel and our hardworking civil and public servants to do more for our nation.

As for the good news, Mr. President, there is more to say but I am limited by time and space, but I guess you have noticed the substantial gains the Ghana Stock Exchange (now international), has made in the past weeks. Our cedi has strengthened against all major currencies and that is definitely good economic pointer for many businesses in Ghana.

Mr. President, we thank God Almighty that he delivered your wife, the Second Her Excellency Naadu Mills from an accident that could have broken our hearts and cut short your leave. She is doing good and well by God’s Grace and we are continually supporting you and your family in prayers to grant you long life and wisdom to execute your good plans for mother Ghana.

Your Excellency, we have had some unpleasant developments in court over the Ghana@50 trial. In fact, the presiding Judge ruled that your government, our government and our nation for that matter, cannot hold these men accountable purely on procedural grounds. Personally, I found the Judge’s argument quite misleading and I cannot wait to see the Attorney General, Madam Betty Mould Iddrisu back to court to appeal the decision of the Judge. The furore generated by not just this but the Asamoah Boateng case and the Maame Dorkunu trials, have been quite disturbing especially due to some misleading reports in the public domain. Many are calling for the removal of the Attorney General, but I presume that her competence and her commitment to the course of your government and the National Democratic Congress cannot be questioned. I guess such set backs are part of life. I remember in one of your speeches, you admonished us that “Life without Challenges is not worth living”. This is just , but a challenge which must be surmounted with your full moral support to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice.

Mr. President, I would want the Attorney general to stay on her job and fight this case to its logical conclusion. Such reactions are normal, and expected, but since cases are not tried in the media but rather in the law courts, I trust in your sound judgment that you will grant the Attorney general all the support she needs to make sure that the case is reopened and the trial is initiated all over again. I know she has won more cases for Ghana than she has been branded to have lost in recent times. I will not rule out saboteurs who will want to collapse her professional and political career for whatever reasons. The media propaganda against her and her job is just an attempt to break her spirit, intimidate your government and to deter you from prosecuting the social justice upon which you were elected as President of the Republic.

Your Excellency, the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) is in trying moments and your intervention is paramount. Apart from the havoc that the rains had caused within the year, our Northern neighbours, La Cote D’Ivoire, served notice that they were going to spill water from their Bagri Dam again! It is heartbreaking that our farmers, their cotton, millet, livestock, homes, lives and property would be lost annually to the effects of the spillage from this dam. I would suggest some diplomatic arrangements to solve this problem once and for all. I will make my suggestions known to you in a separate letter pretty soon.

Mr. President, I cannot end without mentioning the election of Nana Akuffo Addo as Flag bearer of the opposition New Patriotic Party. In fact, hours before the election, Ex President Kufuor advised the party to elect a candidate with “moral authority” to contest you in 2012. Well, it is Nana Addo that they got now, who I cannot beat my chest to say, has that “moral authority” to outstrip your values and qualities. It was even interesting that just days after his election, Ex President Kufuor granted audience to the Press to deny his amorous relationship with Madam Gizzle Yadji. Some commentators saw the move as a clear attempt to divert the discussion from Nana Addo to J.A Kufuor , knowing too well that he never supported Nana Addo’s bid, let alone his election. It is their albatross and they must deal with it. In an interesting twist however, Nana Akufo Addo, decided to call you “Professor Do-little” in the foreign media. Knowing how humble, and God Fearing you have always been, I know you have ignored his tantrums, like those of a recalcitrant child who never learned lessons from his failures.

Your Excellency, just before I go, Rt Rev. Dr. Antwi Asante, the immediate past president of the Methodist Church used his pulpit to say some rather untruthful things about your administration. He did that when Nana Addo went to his church to worship.I know you smiling this one off already. The Reverend has been "taken care of" and reminded of his duties as a man of God. I guess he has regretted what he did and I won't be surprised if he calls upon you demanding your forgiveness one of these days. I know you have already forgiven him as the good father you have always been.

Thank you so much for all that you have been to this country and our great party. We love you and we will continue to support you spiritually, morally and physically to achieve every promise you made to the good people Ghana.

Indeed, you are the man we trust and our faith in you is unflinching. God richly Bless you.

Your friend,
Mawulolo

Over to you, Alban Bagbin!

I am tempted to believe that the torrential rains that came with the season (albeit, the earlier predictions of drought), is easing and that should be a huge relief for many citizens especially those living in flood prone areas of Accra, Swedru, Keta, and many parts of the Country.

Aside the destruction and the havoc the torrential rains have caused to life and property, I believe it is about time we considered housing and construction policy that harnessed the huge volume of rainfall year in and year out. I am sure that the destruction that the rains leave in their wake season after season would have been minimal but for human activities that impede the flow of surface and underground water at the onset of the season.

It is common k knowledge that many of us ignore warnings of the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (acting on behalf of government) to either pull down or stop the construction of structures in unapproved areas, especially on waterways, near dams, high tension masts, electricity poles, railway lines, streets, rivers and lagoons.

We are however quick to blame nature and even government for the woes that we suffer due to our own negligence as a result of our haphazard building and housing practices. There are areas in Ghana that should not and must not be used for any residential purpose but we ignore all cautions and develop these places. A case in point is the areas demarcated as earthquake zones along the Akwapim-Togo-Atakura ranges and the Mcarthy Hills area.

Take a walk to these places and u will be amazed at the fast pace of human earth movement activities in these areas. In the spur of the moment, residents around these disaster zones are having a field’s day and they have totally forgotten that their lives could change overnight in the case that the dreaded occurs to them. It is at that moment that our government would be running helter-skelter in search of relief items for victims.

A strict adherence to building and planning regulations, layouts and prohibitions would have saved us millions of cedis annually instead to going through the cycle of rebuilding and reconstruction after each rainy season.

In many of these instances, we are the cause of our own problems and yet we tend to believe that governments have done either little or nothing at all to help the situation. I am not sure there would be much to be done aside constructing drains within the limited spaces left of the waterways as a remedy to the situation which in the long run does very little to avert the chaos.

As the parliament of Ghana is lacing her boots to deal with the STX Ghana-Korean Housing Agreement which will help reduce the housing deficit in the country, it is important for the negotiators of this deal and the parliament of Ghana to ensure that the housing project incorporates a “rain-harvest scheme” that would help trap rain water for domestic consumption by those dwelling in the apartments.

I draw great inspiration from the Amedzofe Township in the Volta Region of Ghana, as to how a properly planned and managed rain harvest policy has kept the community water-sufficient till date. Amedzofe is the highest human settlement in Ghana. Mountain Gemi and the Amedzofe falls are two major tourist attractions that the community boasts of.

The high altitude of the area and the rugged nature of its topography make it very difficult for pipe-borne water to be supplied in the area so the community depends heavily on natural springs flowing in the mountains and the abundance of rain per the climate, for their water needs.

At the E.P Training College and the Amedzofe Guest House and many private residences in the township, right from Vane, Gbadzeame to Amedzofe, many of the property have water reservoirs buried under a portion of the buildings. It goes to say that the early Basel Missionaries who built the town, the college and the infrastructure there envisaged the water supply difficulties and adequately designed their buildings and structures to harness the abundance of the annual torrential rainfall for domestic and commercial use. In the rainy season, they shut their reservoirs and depend on the tasty natural springs for domestic consumption, while in the dry season when the pressure on the Springs are great, they augment their supply with harvested rain water until the rainy next season.

It would be a perfect replication of this ideal if the management of the STX Construction Company and the Government of Ghana agrees that in view of the unresolved pipe-borne water deficit that has hit the capital and many parts of the country, this agreement must as a matter of need, incorporate a rain-harvest component in the construction such that the apartments, when complete will have a good stock of water supply throughout the year for domestic use.

The company must established a central treatment and distribution point for the harvested rain to all apartments for domestic consumption so that we can move away from the over-dependence on the erratic pipe-borne water supply by the Ghana Water Company Limited and Aqua Vittens Rand Ltd. We could either directly consume the water of use the trapped water only for other purposes besides direct human consumption, i.e. washing of vehicles, watering the lawns and parks, fire fighting, water fountains, cleaning, laundry, etc .

The pressure then on pipe-borne water supply will be greatly reduced and conserved. Readers would bare me out that much of the water the flow in our taps are unclean and thus many prefer to drink sachet water and use the pipe-borne but use the tap water for other uses aside direct human consumption. The Ghana Water Company Limited must address this concern in other to restore public trust and confidence in the product of the company.

The enactment of government policy to tie the hands of building contractors and housing companies is paramount if indeed we are interested in resolving our water deficit while curtailing the havoc of annual torrential rains on our lives and property. The Ministry of Housing and water Resources headed by Honourable Alban Bagbin, must consider this as a matter of policy for consideration of cabinet before the STX deal is ratified.

It behoves on the Ministry to push this policy to the entire Housing and construction Industry not limited to STX-Korea only. The local industry heavily dominated by the likes of GREDA, Regimanuel Gray Ltd, Hydraform, Maria-O’Sullivan, HFC, etc must be brought under the policy which stipulates that all constructions projects (residential and office accommodation) must be provided with rain-gutters and Underground water reservoirs of a size commensurate with the size of the building.
If a policy of the sort existed during the Nkrumah Regime, I am sure that much of the surface water wastefully flowing into our polluted rivers and drains after every torrential rainfall would have been harvested or trapped and put into much more beneficial use. This would equally reduce the amount of money households spend on the purchase of water from water tanker operators while in the long run reduce the impact of flooding in some areas of the country.

A community that has made good this practise is the Dzodze-Penyi Township in the Ketu-North Constituency of the Volta Region of Ghana. For many decades, Dzodze-Penyi has no supply of pipe-borne water and the water table in the area is so deep that sank wells and boreholes are virtually dry or their contents unhygienic. The dwellers thus have constructed their own water reservoirs buried in the belly of the earth for the storage of water in the rainy season.

Dzodze and many of the surrounding communities dedicated to rain-harvest can only look forward to the rains with smiles as they know that they can only benefit from the blessing of nature, while many of us in the capital and elsewhere dread the onset of each rainy season. Some even pray to God to either reduce the volume of rains or altogether avert the consequences the heavy rains leave in its wake.

It is not late to introduce this idea into our Housing and construction policy in Ghana, with the full backing of the parliament of Ghana using the STX-Korean Housing Project as a starter and a pacesetter in the industry.

It is about time we did something about the abundance of rains in our atmosphere especially within the raining season to help address our water supply deficit and the harvesting of water for domestic and Industrial use as a matter of government policy.
Together, we can make change happen in Ghana if we pushed our parliament to consider this idea as a workable one so we can task the STX-Korean Housing Company to put it in fruition for the sake of the generation yet unborn. It will be a betrayal of trust for you and I to retire in our old age only to suffer the consequences of perennial torrential rains if we have the opportunity to make change the status quo in our generation.

The Consumer Protection Agency, the Civil Society organisations operating in the water sector, Chiefs, students Unions among other interest groups can support this dream so we can make it happen for mother Ghana.

By making rain-harvest a policy decision by this Mills administration and this Parliament, our generation would be remembered for delivering change in the Housing and Construction Industry that will benefit mother Ghana for many years to come. This is one sure way to trap the little drops of rain that run into crevices, gutters, drains, gullies and congregate into dangerous floods that kill, destroy and break our social and economic activities.

Over to you, Honourable Bagbin!