Ghana Must Work

Imagine living in a world devoid of all forms of vices and corrupt activities.  No wars, no conflicts  and sicknesses. One will say that i will be living in a utopian world but we all can make such a world exist if we make up our minds to do the right thing at the right time. Ghana is currently going through  sort of inquisition in terms of how we manage the revenue accruing from our natural resources.  What sort of legacy are our political leaders leaving for the upcoming generations. My heart is heavy as our leaders and politicians are really plundering the nation. Several stinking reports of corrupt activities are making news headlines in both the print and electronic media. We tend to forget that  our little brothers and sisters will one day take over from us and they are watching us. Ghana seems not to be working and we all know the situation at hand. Why cant the authorities put in place measures to curtail the problems that will arise out of the double intake of our Senior High School graduates for the 2013/2014 admissions into the tertiary institutions? Are they waiting for the problem to get out of hand before something is done? We seem to be going back to the drawing board anytime a problem arises and it seems there is a systemic failure in our governance system in Ghana and all over the African continent. Why should the government wait till university lecturers threaten strike action before they do what they are supposed to do? It also seems some people are not doing their jobs but thinking of the selfish interests. They are thinking of where to get bribes and these people are the ones who go to church on Sundays and give thanks and praises to God for blessing them with money and they also give huge offerings to their various churches. We have street lights but they are just white elephants and don’t work at night, yet still we pay for them. Water does not flow through the taps most of the time but the bill given to you at the end of the month could give you high blood pressure and send you to your grave. Our tertiary institutions keep on increasing fees but still no improvement in accommodation facilities to cater for the numerous students. For Ghana to work, why not start education on corruption, provision of social amenities and the responsibilities of the government as a whole in the development of our dear nation at the lowest level of education? We live in a country where if a serious problem arises the president has to step in before it  solved. I keep on asking myself, what are the ministers, DCEs and the other government appointees doing? If they cant do the job why waste the tax payers money to pay them? I use to relish the days gone by when communal labour was a weekly activity. We cant continue this way, for posterity will judge us if we don’t make Ghana work again. Let’s all do our best to make Ghana work again to ensure a brighter and better future for the unborn generations. God bless Ghana my motherland and the whole world, amen.

My Version Of Living In A “High Risk” Country.

  I know this article will make a lot of people ask a lot of questions as to where my loyalty lies, whether for Ghana or another country. But i want them to know that i am loyal to Ghana my Motherland and will forever cherish being a Ghanaian. Current events concerning the relations between the United Kingdom and Ghana has really prompted me to write this article. One will ask the question, is Ghana really a “High Risk” country as we are being tagged by the UK Government? In my opinion the answer is yes, and i will give reasons why Ghana is a “High Risk” country. This article is therefore my version of living in a “High Risk” country.

First of all, why will the citizens always appeal to the President to intervene anytime there is a problem in a certain sector? Those assigned to do that job might as well be sleeping on the job and what are they being paid for at the end of the month. Does the President always have to intervene before the right thing is done? Why did he appoint his ministers? Why should it be very difficult for graduates to get jobs after completion of their tertiary education? If you don’t know any influential person or a big man somewhere forget about securing a job on merit. Why should some health providers connive with certain pharmacy shops to make fictitious claims for NHIS payments and when detected only to turn around and accuse the investigating body of “witch hunting”. I  live in a country where some immigration officials connive with illegal immigrants for them to enter the country illegally, they in turn coerce some of the traditional rulers with substantial amounts of money and these chiefs also give out portions of land for these illegal immigrants to engage in illegal mining. These people end up polluting our water bodies and degrading the environment. No action is taken until someone decides to go undercover and brings out video evidence before action is taken. We have political leaders who are reactionary just to please their supporters and win votes but not for the interest of the masses. I live in a country where promises are made to people during election time but action is taken immediately the people embark on violent demonstrations burning tires and fighting pitched battles with the police just to demand for the fulfillment of the promises made to them. I live in a country where MPs are paid hefty sums of money, but when workers agitate for better salaries and working conditions, the Government tells them that the country is broke, and takes them to the negotiating table and succeeds in deceiving them again by giving them more promises. With all these and many more “High Risk” things i could not mention going on in my country, i feel they were right in giving us that tag  as a “High Risk” country. Your comments are welcome, God bless Mother Ghana.

Fire Safety 2

  Recent fire outbreaks in some of the major markets in Ghana’s capital, Accra has really brought to the fore the need for the government, traders, Fire and Rescue Service and all  stakeholders to come on board and tackle this menace which is bedeviling the country. The markets in question are the Kantamanto Market, Tudu Market and the Agbogbloshie Market.  In all these market fires, huge sums of monies were lost and most of the victims were women who are also the breadwinners in their families. The anguish and sorrow that has gripped all these traders is too much for me  to bear, as i am always moved to tears when they narrate their inability to pay off loans they have taken from some of the banks and financial institutions. Most of these traders are contemplating on committing suicide if the government does not come to their aid. I pray it does not come to that, because Ghana needs them alive. It is very painful for me to say this but since we are not prepared to do the right things in our markets all over Ghana, the markets will continue to burn and traders will keep on loosing their items and huge sums of money. Most of these traders  do not have have any form of insurance cover for their businesses. There is no market in Ghana that has an access road right through it. I want someone to prove me wrong. Even if there is one, traders have virtually taken over that space by placing their containers there.  This poses a challenge to the personnel of the Fire and Rescue Service preventing them from gaining access into the markets whenever there is a fire outbreak. They are also sometimes prevented by the very people they want to help from bringing the fire under control as they are always accused of arriving late at the scenes of these market fires.. They also find it difficult to use the fire hydrants in the cities as containers and other structures have been built on them. Due to all these disadvantages, the firemen are unable to prevent lives and property from being lost and destroyed, but are only able to bring these market fires under control. Most of the traders in these markets are also to be blamed for the frequent fire outbreaks. They  tap electricity illegally and also leave charcoal fires and other electrical gadgets on when they leave the markets at the end of the day. The frequent blackouts could also be said to be one of the causes of the fire outbreaks. Are we prepared to do the right thing and ensure fire safety in our markets? If not our markets will continue to burn and as painful as it is more monies and properties will be lost and we will keep on hearing the mantra “we want the government to come to our aid” on our radios and television news items. God bless my homeland Ghana, amen.

It Is An “Animal Farm” World In Ghana.

I did not want to wade into the current situation in our dear country, but for sometime now sadness has engulfed my heart and it seems i can’t be mute and look on while our leaders and politicians rob our nation in the name of democracy, hence my decision to write this piece. As i write this article, i feel we have totally lost it as a nation since those we elected to our legislature and the government seems to be very insensitive to the plight of the masses.Do we understand democracy at all? Why should democracy be used as a tool by our politicians to empty the nation’s coffers? Since the beginning of this year, several groups of government workers and unions have threatened to lay down their tools, and some have actually carried out their threats. Mention could be made of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Tertiary Education Workers Union (TEWU), University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), in fact the list is endless. It seems whenever a group threatens to embark on a strike action, that’s the moment you hear of the Labour Commission and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission. So what are they being paid for? Why wait for the situation to get out of hand before you try to find a solution to it? In my opinion, these two institutions mandated to look into the emoluments of workers are not working, but rather sleeping on the job. Now back to the substantive issue of Ghana now being turned into an “Animal Farm”. I am still baffled as to why workers go on strike over unpaid allowances and salaries, then the government comes out to tell them that there is no money in the state coffers, but the government is able to pay the exgratia of parliamentarians. It seems we have two classes of human beings in Ghana currently, and the “Animal Farm” method is being applied here. Four legs good, two legs bad. So ti means that some groups of people are more important than others. With this mentality, do you think workers would have sympathy for the government? My answer is a big NO. Why the special dispensation for the so called “Article 71” office holders which includes parliamentarians, the Speaker of Parliament, the Chief Justice, President, Vice President etc etc? Now every educated young man or woman is being tagged as a thief by our folks from the rural areas, because the rural folks toil for the economic sustenance of the country, but end up not benefiting. Why do you build a “Cocoa Clinic” in Accra which is not a cocoa producing area, whilst the cocoa growing areas lack even a basic health center? In my opinion, we have lost it as a nation and until we get a leader who would be sensitive to the plight of the masses who don’t have access to health, water, electricity, education, good roads etc, we would continue to live in this “Animal Farm” world.

Is Ghana Really Independent?

Ghana is about to celebrate her 56th independence anniversary on the 6th of March, 2013. It seems it has become an annual ritual whereby more lip service is given to the development of the country. Impressive parades would be held in the nation’s capital, Accra and in all the regional capitals across the country. School children would be made to stand in the sun all in the name of honoring mother Ghana’s heroes and heroines who helped in the struggle for independence. But one may ask, what struggle went on in Ghana? If you compare our so called independence struggle to the struggle in Zimbabwe, Algeria, Mozambique and some of the African countries, we did not go through any struggle at all. Yet still we put so much emphasis on the word “struggle” when we are commemorating Ghana’s attainment of independence from the British colonial masters. Fast forward to our modern times, what sort of independence are we celebrating? How has the various sectors of the economy fared for the past 56 years? Why do we still rely on external loans to propagate the development agenda of the country? Why are we still struggling with the educational system? Have we been able to provide basic amenities like water and electricity for the citizens of our dear nation? What about all the academic terrorism going on in our tertiary institutions, preventing the youth of this country from moving up the academic ladder? When will that end for Ghana to properly develop? Have we been able to manage the issue of sanitation which has become an albatross which has hung around the necks of the various governments and current one? As citizens, do we still litter our environment and later call on the government to come to our aid? As civil servants, do we still go to work late, spend the whole day working lotto, take government property home and also close early from work whilst we still put pressure on the government to increase our wages? As law enforcement officers, do we still take bribes and pretend not to have seen a crime being committed or a faulty vehicle being allowed to pass by? As government officials, do we still indulge in corrupt activities which later end up tarnishing the image of the country on the international stage? Why can’t we grow our indigenous industries so as to produce most of the items that are imported into the country? Do we still allow contractors to do shoddy work and go scott free? As a government, why do we wrongfully terminate contracts and later pay huge sums of money as judgement debts? In fact, why do people in some parts of our dear nation Ghana have to compete with animals for water to drink? Have we as a nation been able to strengthen the health sector so as to ensure effective health delivery? Are our roads in good shape? Do we still need to take action on an important issue the moment someone or an influential person is affected by that problem that has been left unattended to for so many years? I do not see why we should celebrate 56 years of independence if we can’t provide the basic necessities of life to our people. Has Ghana been really independent for all these years? I think posterity is just waiting to judge us if we don’t portray the true meaning of the word “Independence” and stop the lip service approach we have adopted for the past 56 years, God bless my homeland Ghana, amen

Fire Safety.

The recent fire outbreaks all over the country has prompted me to write this article. The year 2013 was welcome all over the world with open arms and good tidings, but we in Ghana for the past one week have been met with over two hundred fire outbreaks all over the country. These fires have caused a lot of destruction to properties worth thousands of Ghana Cedis. It seems those days when the teaching of fire safety in our basic schools and senior high schools should be revisited. This was done with the much needed attention that was deserved. Most of these fires happened at industrial complexes where the safety officials went against the laid down regulations. Combustible materials were kept in conditions that could easily spark fires. Indiscriminate burning of bushes has also been on the increase with some farmers loosing their farm produce as a result of the carelessness of some of their colleagues, who do not construct fire belts before burning their farms to clear the weeds. As we are still in the Harmattan season, we must ensure that farmers do the right thing when burning weeds on their farms. This is the time that the Ghana National Fire and Rescue Service should intensify their education on fire safety in the schools and at the various industrial complexes all over the country. Fire can destroy both lives and properties, that is why we need to intensify the awareness and education on fire safety. The Ghana Fire and Rescue Service must be adequately resourced by the Government, all fire hydrants must be checked for their readiness, and the general public must also be made aware of the consequences of the deliberate setting of fires. One worrying fact is when some companies refuse to disclose vital information concerning materials used in the production of certain products to the Fire Service when there is a fire outbreak on their premises. This leaves the personnel helpless as to the right type of liquid or powder to fight such fires. Lets all come together and ensure that we use fire for its intended purpose, and not use it in such a way that would lead to destruction of lives and properties. God save Ghana.