GHANA UNITE FOR DEVELOPMENT

China: Friend or Foe to Africa?

2009-10-15T16:38:00.003-05:00

The following post is culled from Pencil Tribe (www.penciltribe.com), an online literary and arts journal focused on Africa

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There is a new foreign power in Africa. It’s not Britain, France, Russia or the US. It’s China! Driven by a need to secure energy and natural resources to fuel its fast growing economy, China is on a prowl all over Africa to secure resources ahead of major competitors like the United States and Russia. Despite the evident investments in infrastructure and technology in African countries like Angola, Chad, Nigeria, Namibia and Zimbabwe, many observers are worried that Chinese national and corporate involvement in Africa can only be a new form of exploitation of the African continent.

China’s aggressive foray into Africa has been made possible by the enormous foreign currency reserves of the Chinese government as well as China’s comparative advantage in cheap labour and manufacturing. With a growing population of more than 1.2 billion people, it makes sense that China is not only looking for natural resources to sustain its economy but also new markets for its products and services. It is an open secret that most of the Chinese firms operating in Africa today are staffed mainly by expatriate Chinese workers who displace local labour even for low skilled positions. In addition, a lot of the construction materials and technologies Chinese firms use in Africa are imported from China thereby reducing potential benefits to local manufacturing sectors.

African manufacturing industries suffer even more by having to compete with cheaply produced imports from China, a situation which has led to the folding of many indigenous African firms. The net effect, opponents of Chinese investments argue, is rising unemployment for African countries, many of which are dealing with urban population booms and shrinking agricultural sector employment of labour.

The greatest cause for concern about China’s spending spree in Africa is that it comes with no conditionalities for rule of law, human rights or targeted development unlike aid and grants from Europe and America. Thus, seen from the perspective of democracy advocates and ordinary Africans, they promote misrule and foster corruption within the public sector. In short, Chinese funds are a lower value source of capital since they do not include necessary safeguards against potential abuse by already corrupt African governments.

African government recipients of Chinese investments are however ecstatic about the new dispensation. They argue that China’s approach is superior to the West’s in that China offers friendship and real business partnership unlike Europe and the US that often use aid and grants as a means to meddle in domestic affairs of sovereign African countries. Moreover, they contend that China’s involvement has already resulted in remarkably fast-paced development especially in areas of infrastructure development and technology.

On balance, this publication contends that the problem is less with China than with African governments themselves. Consider the case of Nigeria: since 1959 when oil was first discovered, more than $400 billion of oil revenue is estimated to have been stolen or misappropriated by rogue regimes. That amount is more than all the foreign aid Africa has received during the period. Under such status quo of bad governance, unemployment and endemic poverty will prevail even without Chinese investments. China’s investments cannot be held responsible for the problems in Africa. Indeed, if African governments are responsible and sensitive to the needs of their constituents, China may very well be the best thing to happen to post-colonial Africa. (PT)

Taking A Page From Nkrumah's Book on Leadership: Vision

2009-09-18T02:54:00.001-05:00

Monday, September 21 2009. That date is important for two main reasons: Eid ul-Fitr and Kwame Nkrumah's 100th anniversary. Going along with the GhanaBlogging.com "Nkrumah" theme, I'm gonna focus on what I think Nkrumah's most important legacy to Ghanaians and Africans is. I don't idolize him, but I definitely do admire and applaud him. I strongly believe that the true mark of an individual's success is in how (much) he or she is able to positively impact others. Nkrumah definitely did that. Heck, he is STILL doing it. With Ghana's population quickly approaching 24million, it is a wonder that we're not bursting at the seams.

The fact that our economy is being sustained by infrastructure and systems put into place by this man who, mind you, was an ordinary human being like ourselves, is even mind-blowing! Sure, he had his issues, but that's the beauty of it all! Despite all the criticisms against him, this man achieved what no Ghanaian man or woman has been able to parallel. Critics say he let the power get to his head (what do you think today's politicians are doing?), and that he wanted to rule Africa, and this and that, but at the end of the day, he certainly had one thing that set him apart from all the others (past and present): Vision.

Let's look at the European Union. This vessel of power, integration, and a definite symbol of what we humans can achieve if we're willing to work together. Sure, there might still be some cracks here and there, but all in all, it's an amazing thing. It's pretty ironic to think that Nkrumah's very own country (and continent) men swept his suggestion of a "United Africa" under the rug, while the Europeans paid heed to what could only have been the immense vision of this man. The man was simply phenomenal. He possessed the vision and foresight that is sorely lacking among our so-called leaders today.

Sure, I've listened to my dad and grandma talk about Nkrumah numerous times. I know the acclaimed "Ghana, your beloved country is free forever" speech all too well. And I've felt pride everytime a foreigner recognises Ghana as a result of Nkrumah. He put our country on the map, and indeed, brought a different light to the continent. However, it wasn't until I was conducting my independent research on Ghana and Malaysia, that I fully appreciated what a visionary Kwame Nkrumah was.

Hidden in the depths of chapter four of Critical Perspectives in Politics and Socio-Economic Development in Ghana by Tettey et al. (2003) was a section on how social and ethnic unrest in Ghana influenced (or rather impeded) its development efforts. The author, Adjibolosoo, explored Kwame Nkrumah's attempts at dealing with these tensions. The Ghana Young Pioneers movement of June 1960 which aimed at character building and citizen development amongst youth was one of the initiatives that led to the ideology of patriotic nationalism or "Nkrumanism." Through the Ghana Young Pioneers initiative, educational programs were implemented to educate children in the concepts of social solidarity, political action, value stabilization, individual integration into changing social structures, the direction and meaning of life, and learning to think in terms of a nation rather than ethnic groups. I think Nkrumah's target group alone (children) is indicative of how forward-thinking this man was.

And, he didn't end there. He implemented similar initiatives at the professional level, where Ghanaians from different ethnic groups were offered civil service jobs in languages other than their own. The current National Service Scheme is remiscent of this initiative; although many Ghanaians today will move heaven and earth to ensure that they remain in Accra or large cities like Kumasi and Tema. Adjibolosoo acknowledges that although Nkrumah's initiatives did not rid Ghana of ethnic rivalries, it did have a significant impact on ethnic dynamics in Ghana. And I concur with that observation.

I cannot imagine what it must have been like living in Ghana a couple of decades ago. Nkrumah knew that in order for Ghana (and Africa) to prosper, we would have to put our differences aside and work together. United we stand, divided we fall. And boy, are we racing each other to the depths of poverty, instability and all the other inefficiencies that plague our country and continent. All nations who have achieved some semblance of democracy and development, have had to let some sleeping dogs lie and work together. In Malaysia, the native Malays and the Chinese and Indian foreigners did this. In the United States, the north and south divides came together. In Ghana...well, let's look on the bright side, things are better.

This example is just a case in point of how visionary Kwame Nkrumah was. We are still living off of his vision. But at some point, the roads, schools, bridges etc that Kwame Nkrumah set up will be in need of serious repair, or will have to be done over entirely. It's time that we quit nit-picking, and go on a full-out campaign to work and make necessary changes. Who cares whether high school in Ghana goes for a term of three or four years? What, pray tell us, are students supposed to be studying over that period of time? That is what we are supposed to be focusing on, the curriculum, the essentialities, the specifics! We need to have a vision and long term goals, and then, we strategize step-by-step and determine how we will achieve these goals. Enough, of the short-term planning already! If we don't commemorate Nkrumah's 100th birthday in any way, I hope we at least take a page from his book on leadership, and strive to be visionaries and work not just in the present, but also for the future. In his own words, "Forward ever, Backward never." RIP Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972).

This article was written by Jemila Abdulai and published on her site Circumspect

Sources: Photo 1, Photo 2

The Culture of "Respect": Robbing Children of Their Future

2009-09-17T09:36:00.001-05:00

Over the past week, I've spent time with my cousins and a visiting "sister" from Ghana who recently had a baby girl. The baby is adorably cute, and my would-be "maternal instincts" immediately kicked in. I've always found it amazing how a tiny baby can grow up to be an individual with dreams, hopes, fears, opinions and the whole hammock of complexities that form a human being. One thing that sticks out to me about babies is the fact that they want to be treated as anything but what they are. You lay her down, she squeals, you cradle her in your arms, she throws a fit, you put her in her crib; are you seriously asking for a full-fledged tantrum? The trick is to treat them like adults. And by 'treat them like adults,' I don't mean throw a suit on her, throw a briefcase into her hand, and sit her at a desk for hours on end. No, what I mean is talk to her. Yes, the baby, talk to him/her.

Now, that suggestion might sound incredulous, and I can definitely understand why. About a decade ago, when my mum was pregnant with my youngest sister, she would occasional mutter words of concern to her swelling tummy. I didn't get it. Why would you talk to a baby, who has not even completed her 9-month hibernation period in the womb? As it turns out, talking to a baby in the womb is recommended by doctors and nurses worldwide. So, how is it that once these lil'uns actually have the capacity to talk and ask questions, we do a total 360 and try to silence them? That was the question on board a couple of nights ago. How is it that children in the US and Europe are more outspoken or vocal than their counterparts in African countries? One of my cousins was convinced there had to be something genetic going on; maybe it has to do with their baby formula? I believe it's deeply rooted in our culture of 'respect'.

Myjoyonline.com featured this article and audio excerpt involving some children who went on-air on JoyFM's Super Morning Show to talk about issues of national interest including the recent unrest in Bawku. Coincidence or not, it was a pretty timely piece given the conversation I'd had with my cousins the night before. In our attempt to instill a culture of 'respect' among Ghanaian and African children, do we unknowingly rob them of the very tools they need to be leaders and change makers in society? During the radio show, 13-year old Yehoada said, "Politicians should put aside politics and their parochial interests on air and focus more on education, health, security and other issues that can help Ghana to progress." Whoever said children were clueless? That statement does make me wonder though. Maybe our politicians aren't to blame. After being denied a platform for expressing their views on issues under the guise of instilling respect in them as kids, it's no wonder why many Ghanaian politicians engage in a "he said- she said" dance in lieu of dealing with the real issues.

The notion of 'respect' today is one that, I believe, is highly overrated and misplaced in many African societies. That's not to say that children shouldn't respect their elders. No, I am not advocating an absolute rebellion against elders, because truth be told, elders do have something that children lack to a large extent - experience. At the same time however, I think it is important to differentiate between earning respect and giving respect because it is demanded. While the first is usually borne out of something profound like genuine admiration, the latter is steeped in fear. Many of the rape and child abuse cases in Ghana I have come across seem to have a common thread. The young girl is asked by the older man to go and buy something for him. Once she arrives with his purchase, he directs her to deposit the item in his room. Now, a typical Ghanaian child who is brought up with the ideology of "the adult is always right," won't ask any questions and will do as requested. And there lies the trap to which many child rape victims fall prey. I strongly believe that a child who has been brought up to think critically, to ask questions (in a respectful manner of course), and to evaluate situations, would probably hesitate before entering the suspicious depths of any man's abode.

By asking children to "keep quiet when adults are talking" or "do without asking", we are not only putting them at risk when they're in the midst of unscrupulous individuals, we are also hindering their growth potential. A couple of generations ago, the attempt at fostering respect for elders among children most likely did exactly what it was supposed to do. Why? Because the level of social vice back then was lower, for one. And also because elders actually deserved the respect they asked for. These days however, you really have to wonder about some of the actions portrayed by adults and elders in society. Think I'm exaggerating? You only have to look to your T.V. set to see who the role models of today are. Undeserving adults who demand respect, also sow another deadly seed in the lives of children: that of hypocrisy. Sure, I'll act respectful towards you when you're around, but once you're out of sight, I'll snicker and talk about you behind your back. And trust, it won't be anywhere near 'respectful'.

Now, after conditioning a child to 'do without asking' and to 'respect all elders', we do serious havoc to a child's ability to discern (between right and wrong, what they have been taught and what is new information etc), even worse is the damage done to a child's self-esteem and confidence. The current culture of 'respect' has done more than rob children of the opportunity to dream, to question, and to simply be who they are. When else are you going to be convinced that you can fly and save the world, than when you haven't the inkling of what problems abound in the world? Next in line, we rob them of their creativity. Creativity, I believe, is borne out of a desire to do something new, and something different. And in many cases, going against the norm requires some iota of courage (which, remember, we have already robbed them of). So essentially, we're not only placing the children's present life in jeopardy, but their future as well. And here's the twist. Children are the future. It's no secret. So if we're robbing the children of their future, we're essentially robbing ourselves, our societies and our countries of what the future could be. I don't know about you guys, but I think that's a pretty heavy responsibility to shoulder, don't you?

All in all, I think adults in society (whether you're in your 20s or late 60s), should make sure they're worthy of the respect they demand. Respect should be mutual. I know many amazing children who are extremely respectful and who are also given the opportunity to voice their opinions on issues. This is not a case of either-or. You can inculcate an attitude of respect in a child without silencing them and ruining them for God-knows what prospective future they could have had. I think it would suffice to say that any self-respecting individual would be willing to grant audience to his or her counterparts. Regardless of how coherent, incoherent, young or old.

This article was written by Jemila Abdulai and published on her site Circumspect

Photo Sources: Photo 1, Photo 2, Photo 3

The GM TakeOver: Why Ghanaians Won't Be Chewing on Their Chicken Bones

2009-08-28T10:16:00.002-05:00

I said I was gonna take a break from writing on development stuff for a while, and technically I have. But this is highly important, and people need to aware about this, so here goes. I woke up this morning and went online to get my daily doze of global and Ghana news. Head to myjoyonline.com, and what do I see? "Health Alert!: Will Parliament Succumb to US Pressure?" Always one for intrigue, I proceed to read the article. It turns out the Ghanaian parliament and U.S. Congress are working on passing a Bill known as the "Biosafety Act" which will allow the introduction of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) into Ghana's food chain. GMOs are organisms (food, animals etc) made using molecular biological techniques. And far from what the bill's name suggests, these foods are far from being "safe". There have been numerous reports of people suffering from "mysterious" diseases due to the production or consumption of GMOs. I wrote an article about how GMOs affect the international student population at MHC. You can read the article here.

The proponents of GMOs claim that it can help avert a food crisis or starvation in the poorer nations. And that's why they push for GMO production in developing countries. True, you might increase the ability of your crops to resist disease and bad weather, and you might even be able to grow those crops in more seasons thus increasing your total yield. But these crops are not destined to remain on the field, are they? So what then are the real effects of GMOs? I can testify that the results are not as beautiful as they are made out to be. I started college in the US in September 2005 and since then I have noticed a number of changes in my physique. Sure, we have the normal changes as one grows up, but these ones...definitely triggered by something other than just growing up.

The US mass produces GMOs, and they are the cheapest foods you'll find around. Big food companies like McDonald's use GMOs in their food and so they transmit this food to a huge populace. My college offered numerous food options other than fast food, as it has many dining halls which operate at the same. However, the ability to pick and choose and plan healthy meals didn't save me or my friends from the effects of GM food. For one thing, if you're a girl/woman, you'll most likely experience some irregularities when it comes to your period. I'm generally an active person, so I usually don't have painful cramps and what-nots. Until I got here that is. All of a sudden, you have highly unbearable cramps with nausea and what-nots. One of my friends actually gets bed-ridden during her period, and this wasn't the case when she was back in Ghana. What's going on here, you ask? Hormonal interference. The artificial hormones injected into GM food messes with your body's natural hormone system and then you have a whole bunch of probs. Oh, lets not forget the "love-handles". They are far from loving when you finally have them and figure out what they are. Basically, it's excess fat that your body has stored, and its usually at hip or waist area. Now there's one thing when you've put on a few pounds in a healthy and even manner. It's a totally different ball game when you see a skinny girl walking around with huge love-handles. Trust me, it's not a pretty sight.

You might be thinking this has nothing to do with you. But please, take a moment and think about this. Once this bill is passed, most Ghanaian farmers will probably opt for GM foods. Why? Because the US will be giving higher support to farmers who push for GM foods. Real, healthy, organic food will become a luxury, that only the rich in Ghanaian society can afford. How am I so sure of this? It's exactly the same thing thats happening in the U.S. In order to be guaranteed organic food (which practically all Ghanaians, for the most part, have access to right now), you have to be pay a higher price. Many people who can afford it, and want to eat healthy food, opt for products from Whole Foods, which carries organic food. And trust me, it is quite an investment.

How would the passing of this bill affect the Ghanaian economy? Well, according to those who push for GM food, more people will be fed, which will lead to more people who are able to work, hence increasing the economic producitivity of the country. True, that will most likely happen. But not indefinitely, because eventually, the health effects of consuming those GM foods will show up. I know that Ghanaians LOVE to chew their chicken bones after some serious fufu and light soup. Once the GM take-over is finalised, chewing your bones will probably be a thing of the past. Why? Because the hormones injected into chickens are usually put in the bone, so you'd essentially be putting yourself at risk if you decide to go ahead and chew on those bones. Obesity, health disease, cancer etc. There are untold number of diseases emerging every day in countries that use GM foods. Trust, those will show up in Ghana too. We barely have our health insurance system straightened out, so who's gonna pay the cost? You the consumer. And since your entire family is probably consuming the same GM food, its gonna be quite a pinch for you money-wise. Unless of course, you're just swimming in money. Meaning, the income -divide will most likely widen further, as poorer people channel their resources towards health-care instead of investing in business ventures or reaping back profits.

Another element of this entire thing is the fact that we could possibly be giving away the right to produce these foods. Yam, cassava, okro, tomatoes etc. Anyone who can afford it, and is willing, probably has a private vegetable garden in their homes. With the GM takeover, it might be illegal for you to grow these without first obtaining permission. I'm not making this up (why would I?), there have been cases in other developing countries where people adopted GM variants of their local foods and have been sued for using food without going through the necessary procedures of obtaining permission. How is this so? Well, since GM manufacturers add a different gene or hormone or what-have you to a regular tomato (for instance), in order to make it more hardy or increase its yield, they figure they have come up with something 'original' and hence claim that GM variant as their own. Now, should this bill pass, the US will be more than happy to supply these GM variants to Ghanaians at a cheaper cost than what we currently have. Going by economic logic, the consumer will opt for the cheaper good, hence GM foods. Note that the 'consumer' in this case doesn't just mean you and I, it also means our farmers. They might even get the first couple of GM seeds and what-not for free. And once they plant those seeds and start growing them, the US can claim ownership. No more can you eat a tomato, and plant the seeds. Because essentially, those seeds have been modified and patented, and so, you don't "own" them. It's how the system of intellectual property rights works, and I did a piece on the need for awareness on those issues as well. Check that out here.

The final danger is with regards to foreign assistance. In as much as I wish our government would limit how many foreign loans and grants it accepts, that's not gonna happen anytime soon. Passing the 'Biosafety Act' and producing GM food will limit our policy space. Organizations wishing to grant us loans and aid can mandate that we accept so-so and so amount of so-so and so GM food as a pre-condition for getting the loan. We're just spinning ourselves into a tight web of conditions. We don't need any more. Seriously. I sincerely hope the Ghanaian parliament looks at the whole picture and the long term effects of passing this Bill, before making a final decision. True, the US operates on GM food, but does that mean we have to? Heck, even the US is shifting its attention to organic, health, non-GM foods. That should tell us something. And yes, there are other advanced countries which operate on an organic-food only basis. France and Germany for instance. I hope Ghana holds talks with these two countries to find out how they are operating on a Non-GM basis. We need to quit looking for the easy way out, cos it always ends up doing havoc in the long-run. Instead of looking at GM foods, let's think about overhauling our agricultural sector and getting young people interested in agriculture. That is practically the only feather we have in our cap, let's not give it away. There is no shame in being a farmer or fisherman. It is a great honor to help feed multitudes of people. Unfortunately, many young Ghanaians look down upon working in the agricultural sector. There are however, people who are willing to do the work. Like Kofi Annan for instance. He talked about the importance of overhauling the Agric sector in Ghana and Africa as a whole. Let's at least listen to these people and give them a chance. I didn't even know they'd already passed the Legislative Instrument on Biosafety, which allows for field trials of GM food in Ghana. We need to get this information out there so people know what they're gonna be dealing with. Please pass on. If this bill is passed, not only will we not get to chew on our chicken bones, our children will probably have an entirely new set of diseases to deal with...and we're barely done handling the current ones.

Read the myjoyonline article here.

I also came across these videos on the danger of GM food:

Part 1

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Part 5:

Part 6:

This article was written by Jemila Abdulai and published on her blog.

Photo Source: Photo 1, Photo 2

The Question of Intellectual Property Rights: Are Africans Even Aware?

2009-07-18T11:10:00.003-05:00

I have wanted to do this post ever since I took an international trade seminar in the my final year in college. It was a pretty eye-opening experience, but like just about everything on the international front, there were no clear cut solutions or resolutions. This past Wednesday, July 17 2009 I participated in a bloggers-only roundtable teleconference on "Obama, Technology and Rural Development" - an initiative that was sponsored by Africa Rural Connect and the National Peace Corps Association. We got a chance to interact with Arlene Mitchell, a Senior Program Officer for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for an hour, and I personally found it to be a pretty eye-opening and interesting experience. [You can listen to a podcast of the roundtable discussion here. To skip to my comments + question, go towards the end (the last 10 minutes or so).]

Many participants highlighted the fact that technology can in fact help Africans transform their lives, and is already doing so. I definitely agree with that, and so do many development economists like Ha-Joon Chang and Robert Wade who consider technology the bedrock for transforming capabilities and stimulating development. My Economic Development Seminar mates and myself got the opportunity to interact with these two leading development economists as well as many others during Mount Holyoke's first-ever Development Economics conference. One of the key things that came out of the conference was the importance of adapting knowledge, research, policy and technology to suit a country's profile. In this light, I decided to ask Ms. Mitchell a question on the potential for Africans to adapt the technology they receive from developed countries. Specifically, I asked her how the notion

of intellectual property rights would play into the ability of Africans to not only implement, but adapt and hopefully invent technology. Although Ms. Mitchell did give me an answer by saying that governments are more open and willing to work together to ensure transfer of technology, she admitted that it was a tough question. From what I learned in my International Trade seminar, its not only a tough question, but a virtually non-existant one on the African continent.

First of, let's get into the question of what intellectual property rights are. Generally-speaking, they are regulations that govern the ownership and use of ideas and creations. Wikipediaincludes the fact that these creations can be both artistic and commercial. In the seminar we debated whether information should fall under the realm of intellectual property rights or not. If so, under whose jurisdiction should it fall? We all agreed that information should be free and accessible to all; except in the case where it is a particularly "new" piece of information or highly

confidential for "security" reasons. The question here is, how do you determine what "new information" is? Was it always existent but never discovered? Did someone literally make it up? If there is a higher being (and most of us agreed there was) wouldn't that mean that all the information is already there and just waiting to be discovered. What about if it was discovered at one point, then "lost" and rediscovered. Definitely an endless stream of questions. But at least, they are questions that are being asked...and as it is, these regulations are already being debated upon within the World Trade Organization (WTO).

I personally believe it's important that African nations start joining that debate. We discussed a case in the seminar where an American, Ryan Black, claimed he had "discovered" acai berry in 1999 - a fruit from the Amazon rainforest region which is purported to have many benefits and is currently in the limelight because of its ability to induce weight lose (there is some controversy surrounding this). Mr. Black currently has the rights to this fruit, but the Brazilian natives refuted his claims saying that they had been aware of the fruit for centuries and it was part of their lives way before Mr. Black came across it. At the end of the day however, Mr. Black still has the rights to the fruit and is making money out of it, while the very people who nurtured and used the fruit stand the possibility of being sued or fined should they not go through the appropriate measures when using the fruit. This is just one of numerous cases where individuals, societies and nations, particularly in the Global South, lose the rights to their own ideas, customs, food etc.

Although the WTO allows African nations to participate in discussing issues, there is the problem of limited staff . Since most of these nations are poor, they don't have large delegates. One individual might be scheduled to attend 5 sessions which might run concurrently. And as far as we know, they haven't yet developed the technology that allows you to be in more than one place at a time. The obvious thing to do then, would be to concentrate on those sessions that deal directly with issues currently affecting their nation. Hence, most African delegations spend time on the WTO Agricultural Agreement Committee and the Non-Agricultural Market Access Committee (NAMA). Even if they do participate in the Committee on Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), they don't have all the legal acumen and research base to adequately represent the interests of their nations. This not only points to the need for more focus on research in African nations, but also indicates the need for relatively unbiased legal presentation. As the current situation is, many of the lawyers who represent African nations in the WTO Tribunal are either not African, have been educated in the West, or generally do not have a realistic understanding of on-the-ground African issues.

As someone who believes that criticisms should come with constructive suggestions, I believe that Africans can make headway in not only concentrating on their current issues, but anticipating what might come about in the future. While the West is busy trying to determine who has control over what idea, piece of information or creation, we are solely focused on developing our agriculture base. While this is ok, we need to start putting the necessary frameworks in place to be able to handle the next generation of struggles. And yes, they will come. If we don't start doing something now, we will find ourselves in a similar position as we currently are (relying on the West for agricultural and manufactured produce, investment & services etc). The only difference is it will be on a more advanced level. Just as the flying geese model suggests, we do have the advantage of numerous country cases to learn from. We need to start tying research and education together even more. Our educational institutions should be our research centers. I think the US model where educational institutions finance and encourage research is one that we should emulate even further. Until we begin to know the pieces of the story, we won't know which pages are missing.

As the technological era continues to advance, many Africans see hope in the future and look forward to a time when they can actually invent something that will be internationally acclaimed. This is where our knowledge of intellectual property rights plays in. We need to know in order to ensure that a) we will be able to adapt the technology we receive to suit our needs and unique country situations, and b) we can eventually invent our own technology without having to deal with numerous claims and suits that we copied a pre-existing model, or used a patented product without seeking permission. Without adapted technology, all we are doing is increasing the phenomenon of e-waste that is gradually taking over the African continent.

This article was written by Jemila Abdulai and published on the blog site Circumspect.

Photo 1 Source: http://www.nadiaplesner.com/Website/Darfur_Boy_and_girl.jpg

Photo 2 Source: http://static.chinaventurenews.com/chinaventurenews.com/imgname--coming_this_month_roundtable_discussion_on_intellectual_property_rights_in_china---50226711--19121867.jpg

Obama's Message to Africa: Reiterating the Obvious

2009-07-13T15:37:00.002-05:00

A lot of people have asked me what I think about Obama's visit to Ghana, and specifically, his speech to Ghanaian parliamentarians. It's undoubted that his presence in Ghana was a historic one - mainly because he is the first black US president, and Ghana is the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence. It was also a great occasion because in many ways than one, Obama has succeeded in reminding a great number of people, about the possibilities that abound, if they are willing to work hard and take the necessary risks. Now that said, I did have some qualms about his visit, because it represents not only possibilities, but challenges too. I aired similar concerns in my article The Obama Effect & the African Illusion during Obama's presidential campaign . Bottomline is, Obama's successes can only be beneficial to Africans, if we regard them as proof that we can make a difference and be the change we want to see in our world. The moment we begin to conceive this single man as our "savior," our chances of "redemption" will be thwarted. My choice of title for this article might sound pessimistic, negative or downright unappreciative. But before you draw conclusions, let me explain why I honestly believe that Obama only reiterated what we already know.

Obama's speech was right on point and as always, President Obama delivered his speech with the level of eloquence, consideration, emphasis, humor and attitude of a great orator. When it comes down to it however, he said nothing new. Perhaps the only novel thing about his speech was his emphasis on the fact that Africans will determine their own future."This is a new moment of promise. Only this time, we have learned that it will not be giants like Nkrumah and Kenyatta who will determine Africa's future. Instead, it will be you - the men and women in Ghana's Parliament, and the people you represent. Above all, it will be the young people - brimming with talent and energy and hope - who can claim the future that so many in my father's generation never found." Unlike his predecessor George Bush who promised billions in aid to Africa, Obama stressed that the U.S. would work in partnership with African countries instead of simply pumping dollars into African economies. "But the true sign of success is not whether we are a source of aid that helps people scrape by - it is whether we are partners in building the capacity for transformational change." He introduced the dimension of focusing on the provision of new methods and technology, as opposed to just food or monetary aid. "... why our $3.5billion food security initiative is focused on new methods and technologies for farmers - not simply sending American producers or goods to Africa. Aid is not an end in itself. The purpose of foreign assistance must be creating the conditions where it is no longer needed."

This notion of "transformatinal change" is something that forms the cornerstone of development economics. Heterodox economists like Ha-Joon Chang and Robert Wade have stressed the importance of building capacities for change. According to Chang, "development is more than providing higher standards of living," and is rather the "transformation of productive structire and the capabilities that support it." Mr. Obama touched on some of these capabilities - namely good governance (democracy), opportunity (employment), health, and peaceful resolution of conflict (socio-political stability).

Africans realized the need for them to handle their own state of affairs about 50 decades ago, hence the desire for independence from their colonial masters. Obviously, we have gone through a series of trials and errors which have resulted in our almost stagnant development. But it is exactly this process of trial and error that made us realize the importance of democracy. Obama rightly stated that different countries achieve democracy in different ways. And Ghana is no exception. Even though our semblance of democracy is far advanced than other African countries, there is still a lot to be done. The situation whereby newly formed governments terminate contracts haphazardly because they were initiated by the opposing party results in grievious loss of capital to the nation. I understand that there is the issue of allegiance and what-nots, but at what point are we willing to forgoe the notion of allegiance to this or that political party, and trade it in for allegiance to the nation? Even within our local social setups, the head of a family determines the direction the family will follow, so the need for committed leadership with the interest of the country at heart is undoubtedly imperative.

With regards to employment and opportunities, these not only add to the national cake by way of money, but also lead to general human development which further enhances the chances of future development. With all the buzz about oil in Ghana, there is a lot of promise, but also a lot of danger, and we needn't look further than Nigeria to realize that . When it comes down to the economy, I believe mismanagement is the bane of Africa's existence. We say we don't have money, yet Nigerians were able to raise over half a million dollars towards Obama's campaign? Even with Obama's visit (as with Clinton and Bush), Ghana spent extra money to clean the streets, paint houses and get Accra and Cape Coast in order for his arrival. Economic/business wise, I think it would be cheaper to maintain/clean a premisis regularly than to splurge on one rare moment. And if for nothing at all, aren't the inhabitants of the nation worthy enough of humane environments and treatment? In this era of "green" attitudes, I'm quite surprised that African countries haven't led the way in promoting solar and geothermal energy when we obviously receive greater(if not the greatest) percentages of sunlight than the U.S. and other developed countries. And yes, it is possible to export solar energy. If it doesn't sound believable coming from me, then here's a direct quote from President Obama to assuage your doubts: "From the Rift Valley to the North African deserts; from the Western coast to South Africa's crops - Africa's boundless natural gifts can generate its own power, while exporting profitable, clean energy abroad."

With regards to health, Africa is plagued by many known diseases, and indeed has actually become the poster child for these diseases. From HIV/AIDS to Malaria, it would seem our very senses were being attacked by all the viruses known to man. When people think about health, the first thing they probably think about is a doctor. But pray tell me, how does this doctor get certified to treat his patients. The obvious answer would be education, but that aside, without research, many of the advancements in health and science would not be possible. Sure, many African governments allocate a substantial amount to health and education, but doing this without tying it in with research is backslacking on possibilities. In Ghana, a mere 1% of the budget is allocated to research. If we intend to have healthier and more productive societies, then we need to start thinking holistically. As Lauryn Hill would say, everything is everything. The circle of life extends to our institutions and market sectors - it is a give and take process.

It is often said that is takes hours to prepare a good meal, but merely minutes to consume it. Ignoring socio-economic and political tensions in a nation is like placing a frail egg (development) on one's head and playingampe. Unless you find a way to secure it, it is bound to fall down and break. In my article The North-South Development Divide in Ghana: Why It Could Be Ghana's Downfall , I elaborate on how the "selective development" currently practiced by Ghana - and many African countries - breeds discontent and leads to conflict. We have numerous examples where the neglect of the concerns of specific groups in society impedes the development of that society. Even Malaysia - one of South East Asia's shining stars, and Ghana's one-time counterpart - has had to concentrate on solving its people's racial, ethnic and socio-political issues in order to pursue development.

I hope I have adequately explained to you why I think Obama was just pointing to the obvious. All we need to do is look to our backgrounds and to history, in order to determine what our (common) problems are, and what the likely solutions might be. I am very optimistic about the potential for Africa to develop, and the fact that we have other countries' case scenarios to learn from is a leverage we need to take advantage of. It is however imperative that we realize that nobody is going to do the grunt work. We need to do it ourselves. Although there are people and nations who might be willing to partner with us, at the end of the day, their allegiance lies elsewhere. I believe Obama's presence has jumpstarted our belief in our capacity to do exceptional things, but whether that 0ptimism, drive and passion will be maintained, is up to us. Let's stop living on the promise of tomorrow, and instead build on the possibilities of today. To adapt a line from the movie August Rush, "the solutions are all around us. All we have to do, is look."

This article was written by Jemila Abdulai and published on the blog site Circumspect.

Excerpts of Obama's speech taken from the Huffington Post.

Photo Source: Reuters

The North-South Development Divide in Ghana: Why It Could Lead to Ghana's Downfall

2009-06-06T09:08:00.003-05:00

For a long time now, I have concentrated on writing articles that focus on Ghana's development as a whole, without looking too critically at the various factors and elements that contribute to Ghana's inability to accelerate development. Following my independent study research this past year on Ghana and Malaysia's economic development, I realized that specifics are just as important as generalities, and in the case of Ghana, the lack of development in Northern Ghana is one particular factor that greatly hinders Ghana's development efforts. I am Dagomba, hence from Northern Ghana, so I might be a bit biased when it comes to this topic. However, I'll attempt as much as I can to be objective in this article, and although I will talk about how the disregard for Northerners feeds under development, I'll also take it from a case-study point of view, looking at Malaysia, in order to explain why it is imperative that the Ghanaian government quit paying homage to words, and put actual action into motion.

One resists what one cannot understand. I believe that statement to be true, especially when it comes to interactions between Northerners and Southerners in Ghana. Like any minority-majority relationship, the minority tends to know more about the majority, than the majority ever does about the minority, generally-speaking. The ironic thing here is the fact population-wise, the North and the South in Ghana are pretty balanced. So what kind of minority-majority relationship am I talking about? Access to resources and development. Some people might say that Northerners are not entrepreneurial enough, or that the Southern communities of Ghana were able to develop on their own, so Northerners should be able to do so too IF they really want to. I seriously beg to differ. Any Ghanaian who knows anything about Ghana's history knows that Ghana's development was fed largely due to its experience with colonisation. Due to the fact that Ghana's southern states are located close to the Atlantic, the colonists had easier access to these communities and for a great length of time, did not even venture to the Northern parts of Ghana...hence the initial development base of Southern Ghana took place ages before the 'white man' finally set foot in Northern Ghana. Does this mean that Northern Ghana couldn't develop without the intervention of the West? No. Back in the day, Northern Ghana had strong kingdoms and systems of governance just like the strong Southern kingdoms did. The thing however (which many people seem to miss), is that once these kingdoms were given secondary importance in favor of a NATION comprising both the South AND North, then the development of both is the concern of the ENTIRE NATION aka Ghana.

There seems to be many misconceptions concerning who Northern Ghanaians are, what they are about etc. And honestly, I don't blame anyone. What I do not endorse however, is the fact that Ghanaians continually feed into these misconceptions. In many ways than one, Northerners are regarded as second citizens in Ghana. And I'm not just saying this for the sake of saying it. It's the truth, and I have experienced it personally since primary school. Many people would find it surprising that my English was actually good, or that I excelled in school, or that I was even a Northerner and Muslim....because I "don't look like a Northerner." Pray tell me what a Northerner looks like! Trust me, until we take a stand to get to know one another in Ghana, we're gonna remain in the canker of ignorance that feeds underdevelopment. The disregard for Northerners is however not something recent. Although the ancient Ghana tribes had their scuffles here and there, the level of contempt for one another that exists now (although it is less "in your face") did not exist. How did it come about? Colonization. The colonial masters fueled disagreements between the various ethnic groups in order to advance their objectives. The "divide and conquer" methods used all those years ago, are STILL serving their purpose.

If you live in the South of Ghana like I do, its pretty easy to forget about Northern Ghana. Heck, even a bus trip to Tamale takes approximately 10 hours, add the messed up roads and it might take eons. Why should EVERYONE be bothered about Northern Ghana's development? Because at the end of the day, when the World Bank, UN, IMF etc draw up those statistical tables and rank development in various countries, they won't be listing Northern and Southern Ghana separately. They'll be listing Ghana. This is also another reason why its important for the Northern regions to receive their share of the national cake. Our government receives aid and what-not taking into consideration the underdevelopment in these areas, yet they don't even so much as ensure that basic systems are in place?

Let's look at Malaysia. A lot of Ghanaians know that Malaysia and Ghana have similar economic and historic backgrounds, but the actual comparative study on the subject of why their development levels diverged so much is yet to be done (Hence my interest in conducting the study). Ghana gained independence from the British on March 6, 1957 while Malaysia gained independence from the same colonists in August of the same year. Ghana's per capita GDP (total income) was slightly higher than Malaysia's and most people expected Ghana to advance beyond Malaysia, mainly because Malaysia had racial tensions which were lacking in Ghana at the time. Now, well, Malaysia's total income is 13 times that of Ghana, Malaysia is a leading producer of palm oil (which it got from Ghana and other W/A countries in the 1960s), and living standards in Malaysia are generally higher than that of Ghana. One might wonder how this is so, and there are many reasons. The most interesting one to me (and the most relevant to this article) is the fact that right from the get-go, Malaysia worked at resolving its INTERNAL TENSIONS. Malaysia's population consisted mainly of its native Malays and expatriate nationals like the Indians and the Chinese. The first attempt of ensuring that there was racial harmony was the "Bargain of 1957" which created a dual system of leadership with the Malays handling government affairs and the expatriate nationals dealing with the economy. Soon enough however, it was necessary to re-examine this structure since the native Malays felt like they were not getting their share of the national cake (hence, they were generally poorer) There were riots in 1969 due to this discontent and subsequently, Malaysia came up with it's very first development policy, the New Economic Policy (NEP), which aimed at redistributing the national cake and reducing internal tensions.

By all means, it would seem like Malaysia's internal tensions were on a larger scale than Ghana's especially since theirs was across racial lines and not merely ethnic lines. What did Ghana do once it gained independence? Well for one, little or no attention was paid to ensuring that all Ghanaian citizens were on board for the new era. Additionally, Ghana went ahead to "sack" all its expatriate/foreign nationals, for fear that they would take over the economy (and from the news these days, it seems the government is leaning towards the same mistake it made 50-something years ago!).

You might say that these accounts are all good and dandy, but will probably not have any disastrous effect. Please, for heavens sake, don't be blind to whats going on in our own backyard! For one thing, the NPP and NDC use the Northern regions as their pawns whenever its election time, because they need the votes. Yet after they are in power, virtually no attention is paid to the very people who made it possible for them to win the election! The whole issue with the late Ya-Naa is another time-bomb that is waiting to set off. The old king was murdered in 2004 -- 5 years ago! And the culprits have not yet been found? And of course, this is another platform for campaigning when it comes to political parties. As much as it saddens me to say this, if ever Ghana was to have intense civil unrest, it would probably come through this issue. And trust me, if war ever breaks out in Ghana, we will be set back many years development-wise. So why not cut our losses, deal with the issues at hand, develop BOTH the north and south of Ghana, and advance the development that we've all been waiting for for ages?! I honestly cannot comprehend Ghanaian politicians, and what is even more surprising is the fact that the citizenry lets them get away with most of their nonsense. Any Northerner can campaign for development in Northern Ghana, but until our Southern counterparts join that campaign, we are going to be labeled as empty barrels who are just dissatisfied.

How many of you have actually been to any of the Northern regions? And I don't mean going to Paga, or Mole park or any of that. Aside from Tamale and most of the Northern regional capitals, the state of living that our fellow Ghanaians have to go through is simply saddening. And please, don't tell me that Northerners themselves are not prepared for development. Do you think so many Northern porter girls (Kayayo) would head all the way to Accra to go through the stress, disregard, sexual and physical abuse that they go through if they weren't trying to feed their families? If you think Northern Ghana has nothing to offer to Ghana, then you seriously know nothing about Ghana. Shea butter is one of Ghana's key exports. Where do you think it comes from? The beef kebabs you love munching on come from Northern herdsmen, and so much more! Sure, political parties might not think a Northerner fit enough for the Presidency, but in whatever capacities many Northerners find themselves, they work hard. Whether its as the Vice-president, a Minister (as in the case of the late Hawa Yakubu), or your watchman (Where would you be without the security he provides so you and your family might sleep at night?) . It's time we Ghanaians quit playing blind mice and deal with the issues in front of us. If we really and truly do want to advance development, this is something that needs to be addressed head on. Please feel free to leave comments etc, and for what its worth, try to get to know someone from Northern Ghana and re-examine your perceptions. Peace.

Psychological Effects of Colonization Still Present

2009-03-09T10:57:00.001-05:00

The subject of colonization is one that many people would rather avoid. To some, its occurrence was a necessary evil; one that propelled the now-developed world to the heights it has achieved. To others, it's a thing apart in itself; something ancient that took place under a different set of circumstances and with a different generation of individuals. Others consider colonization and the accompanying slave trade as one of the worst injustices served to humanity. Whether colonization is openly acknowledged or not, there is no doubt that it has played, and continues to play, a huge part in the state of the global community. Although the physical manifestations of colonization, like the loss of natural and human resources are recognized and considered in the development discourse, the unseen psychological effects of colonization are not given the attention due. These unseen effects translate into sovereignty issues which eventually show up on the development platform, and are longer-lasting and more disastrous than they might seem.

Over the past two decades, economists have contemplated the inability of sub-Saharan to develop despite intensified efforts on both the local and global levels. A comparison is often made between the developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa and those in Asia. The poorest economies can be found in these two regions, but while many Asian developing economies like India and China have made great strides in advancing their development efforts, sub-Saharan Africa remains the world's poorest and least developed region to date. Many historians link Africa's current struggle for development to its experience of colonization. Although colonization took place in both Asia and Africa, the structure of colonization in these two regions was vastly different. While the inhabitants of the Asian colonies were, to some degree, allowed to take up leadership positions and essentially handle the affairs of their respective states, their African counterparts were not given that liberty. Instead, the traditional African governance structures and ethnic groupings were destroyed; their once revered chiefs were reduced to obsolete chess pieces and worse still, the notion that Africans and Blacks in general were an inferior group was drummed home to them in the most gruesome ways possible. Consequently, African nations were set on a spiral of inferiority complex that is in motion even today.

In many African nations, there is the general notion that "foreign or white is better." Many Africans will bend over backwards to help a foreigner, but find it hard to even grant audience to a fellow African who might have a new idea. At first glance this phenomenon might seem innocent and harmless. But in societies where communal values formed the foundation of their existence, the current contempt and disregard for contributions from fellow Africans holds grave significance. As the Pulitzer Award winner, writer and historian Will Durant noted, "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within." The "divide and conquer" tactics used by the colonists during the "Scramble for Africa" in the 1800s is one that literally played with the minds of its victim countries and has left them confused ever since. The level of contempt that many Africans hold for their own people has increased to the point where it is even labeled the 'Pull Him Down' syndrome. Countries like Ghana are known for being very hospitable and welcoming to foreigners. But does this hospitality translate onto the local scene? Does it make Ghana's tourism industry one of the most dynamic? Does it in any way improve the development prospects of the nation? The answer to all these questions is no. Although development opportunities in African nations have increased over the course of time, the struggles continue because of this inferiority complex. African governments would rather grant contracts and make risky concessions to foreigners than give a citizen the opportunity to prove him or herself. The main argument given for this reluctance is the relative lack of experience on the part of the citizen. Even if this might be the case, how are individuals expected to garner any experience in their respective fields without being given a first chance?

There are many other scenarios in which this inferiority complex has played out. In 1998 then-U.S. President Bill Clinton visited Ghana for seven hours. He was scheduled to spend his visit in the capital city,Accra. I vividly remember the hurried efforts on the part of the government to ensure that Accra was clean and renovated enough to receive its distinguished visitor. This brought to question not only the priorities of the government, but also the view of Ghanaians as undeserving or unimportant enough to live in a clean environment. Instead, they had to wait for a foreigner to visit in order to enjoy a couple of hours of cleanliness. During Obama's presidential campaign, a Nigeria-based group known as Africans for Obama held a fund-raising gala in support of Obama and proceeded to offer the Obama campaign $630,000. In a continent where poverty and health issues abound, one might wonder why the members of the group did not channel their efforts to solve the many problems in their own country, but instead jumped at the opportunity to raise funds for Obama. In Oct. 2007, the Nobel Prize-winning DNA pioneer James Watson made controversial comments claiming that blacks are less intelligent than whites. Although his comments bring a lot to question, they do raise the question of whether Africa's struggle with development is as much a psychological one as a resource and technological struggle. In order for African and low-income countries to make headway in their development efforts, a change in mentality concerning their own people is necessary. As the famous Bob Marley says in his Uprising album track "Redemption Song," the emancipation of a people and nation starts with breaking the chains of mental slavery.

*This article was written by Jemila Abdulai and published in the Mount Holyoke News
**Photo Source: http://www.mentalslavery.com/archives/mental-slavery-t-shirts

Ghana's Election 08 - Choosing the Lesser Evil

2008-12-02T20:06:00.001-05:00

You probably saw this one coming, I mean, as Ghanaian as I am, how could I not have anything to say about Sunday's presidential election. Either way you look at it, there just might be a drastic turn in Ghana's history come December 7,2008. The only thing is, I am not in the least bit confident in any result that this election might come to. All I can hope is that we don't accelerate the process of ruining what strides we have made so far...Initially, I would have said, "Vote Wisely" but now all I can say is "Try to choose the lesser of the evils."

I realize I am very critical of Ghana's development efforts, and it has nothing to do with being brainwashed by living in the West or anything of the sort. It is simply because Ghana has so much potential, yet continuously squanders it! (Now I understand why they say that our parents and teachers tend to be harder on us because they see the potential we have) And I dare not even go in depth about that one otherwise this post will never end... Who am I kidding, some things have to be said regardless.

First off, I will give Ghana her due. We have had a relatively stable democracy over the past decade or so. But times have changed, the world economy is in a recession, we have just discovered oil, political pundits are ever looking for something to debate about, the list is endless. I have personally never voted in a Ghanaian election. First because I was not "legally of age" (as far as I am concerned I am as old at heart as it gets) and secondly because I am currently abroad and there isn't a system in place for citizens abroad to vote ...or if there is, then the government and media have certainly been very tight-lipped about it.

Even if I were registered to vote, I wouldn't know who to vote for. Sure, there is a whole list of candidates to choose from, but the point of the matter is none of them inspire any trust in me. Why? Unfulfilled promises. Ghana (and practically every African nation for that matter) has a history of those. "I will create x amount of jobs, I will build x amount of schools, I will solve the water crisis." Excuse me, but it is one thing to spew out words, and another thing to act...and it seems the implementation trap always succeeds in tripping us up.

Take the water crisis for instance. Ghana has 2 main seasons, rainy and dry. The rainy season is generally from April to October and the dry season from November to March. Two extreme conditions with two extreme results. In the rainy season, there is immense flooding all over the country; even in the relatively dry Northern region as was seen last year. During the dry season, the amount of water shortage is so acute that even the Hydroelectric Dam at Akosombo which supplies all of Ghana's power does not have enough water to turn its turbines and produce electricity. I remember vividly that in my final year in high school and right before we had to write our final exams, the water crisis was so severe that ALL high schools closed down and students were sent back home. All except my high school.The implications of the water situation on Ghana's development cannot and should not be underestimated. It does not only affect the sanitation and health sectors but basically every area of life in Ghana (Water is Life is not an exaggeration.)

For basically every election so far, the presidential candidates have promised to work on the water and power crises in Ghana. To date, nothing substantial has been done. Sure, many water facilities - pipes etc have been put in place, but what is the use of the pipe when the water is not being harnessed. I would think that the obvious solution to this problem would be to come up with a system by which the water (floods) from the rainy season could be stored and conserved for the dry season. That will not only help reduce the rate of loss of life and property during floods, but will go a long way towards helping ensure that citizens have the basic necessities of life. But I guess this solution is not so obvious to our politicians. Besides, Ghana is still running on the same electricity generation facility set up by Ghana's first President Kwame Nkrumah, and no extreme renovation works have been done on that either.

Now its 2008 and although the outgoing government has made great strides in many areas, it has also committed so many wrongs. On the top of the list, the privatization of the Ghana Water Company. Why in heavens name would you choose to turn over such a vital sector to foreigners (who are mainly profit-seeking), when you have not exhausted attempts at managing your system more efficiently? - Honestly, I don't expect an answer to that question.

This year especially, I am wary about the political climate in Ghana. Ghana's civil society has developed over the years and it is more willing to challenge government's actions. Add a bit of oil and you might have an entire inferno blazing across the country. The discovery of oil in Ghana holds much promise, but it could also spell the country's doom. I have never actually trusted the words of Ghanaian presidential aspirants, and I am even less inclined to do so now with the temptation of money that the oil brings. If ever there were a time when Ghanaians should be afraid, I would say the time is now.

Oil and Water aside, let's talk about social interaction. Every nation has its marginalized populations, and Ghana is no exception. The Northern part of Ghana has been neglected for too long, and continues to be neglected. But instead of the government working at helping solve problems, they play the 3 Northern regions as they would chess pieces. Honestly, the next time I hear something along the lines of "Vote for us because we will make a Northerner Vice-President", I will most likely go over the edge. I am Northerner, and I KNOW and BELIEVE that I am as competent (if not more) as any Southerner to handle the affairs of the country if it came down to it. One shouldn't be surprised that there is unrest in these regions of the country. Neglecting people's basic necessities is bound to have an effect.

There are many more areas where governments have had a chance to inspire confidence in the Ghanaian populace but have failed tremendously, and I do not mean to project the failings of past governments on the incoming government (whoever they may be). But my question is this. If you have an endless portfolio of instances where Ghanaian leaders have not fulfilled their promises, should it be so hard for you as an aspiring President to give case studies and propose solutions to them?? Obviously, the answer is no, but the manner in which presidential aspirants run their campaigns would make you think they were dealing with theories instead of reality. As has been stated by many media outlets, the Presidential Debates resulted in no substantial ideas on how these aspiring Presidents intend to handle the affairs of the country. Here's a piece of advice from a young Ghanaian: Take a page from Obama's book, don't make unrealistic promises.

Any presidential aspirant who can come up with a detailed and realistic proposal on how to solve either of these situations, would have my vote...if I were voting. For now, all I can say to those of you who are voting is not to get pulled in by empty promises and instead choose the lesser of the evils. If in a couple of years, the incoming government puts my words to shame, I would be more than delighted to retract this statement. Until then...well, until then...

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Photo Source: http://www.fosda.net/?q=node/201

The Obama Effect and the African Illusion

2008-11-06T15:12:00.001-05:00

This article was published in the Oct 30, 2008 edition of the Mount Holyoke News.

Many years from now people will talk about the “Obama Effect.”Generations will talk about the revolutionary movement ignited by one man’s fervent belief in people’s ability to come together to effect positive change. Should he win the election, he will be known as the first black President of the United States. Should fate decide to swing the pendulum in the other direction, he will go down as the first black democratic Presidential candidate in the United States. That is all good and dandy. What I do not want him to be known as is the knight in shining armor who rode past Africa when he became president.

True, Obama might not be caught dead wearing shining armor, and if he did, many Africans would probably stare at him in bemusement rather than despair. However, within the context of him being the savior many Africans have been awaiting for centuries, the probability of a major upset is certainly high. A BBC article dated Sept. 1 reported the seizure of about $630,000 raised at a gala by a Nigeria-based support group that calls itself ‘Africans for Obama.’ According to the leader of the group, Mrs. Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke - who also happens to be the chairman of the Nigerian Stock Exchange – there had been a miscommunication in media reports that the group had offered the money to the Obama campaign. Incidentally, the money was to be spent on adverts encouraging Nigerians based in the United States to vote for Obama. The Obama campaign declined the group’s generous offer and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Nigeria has reported that it will return the money to the people who attended the gala.

I find it both amusing and shameful that many Africans can come together to raise this much money for a U.S. Presidential candidate, but readily claim to have no money when it comes to contributing to affairs in their respective countries. It is true that Obama has a Kenyan father and therefore has indisputable ties to Africa. It is also true that he is a black man and probably has experiences similar to many Africans or knows people who do. But does this mean that he is going to grind teeth and nail to ensure that Africa’s problems are solved during his presidency? The manner in which many Africans regard the U.S. Presidential candidate would have you believe so.

Don’t get me wrong, I have absolutely nothing against Obama. I am just as inspired by him as countless people across the globe are. The only difference here is while Obama’s allegiance lies with America, mine lies with my home continent Africa. As such I keep in mind that even if Obama does become the next U.S. President, I might still have to go from door to door in search of water when I return to Ghana. The problems that plague my continent will not disappear instantaneously at the magic words “Obama is President.”

Obama has outlined some plans for dealing with the African continent should he assume the role of President. Some of these include stopping the genocide in Darfur, fighting poverty and expanding prosperity. As is mentioned on the official website of his campaign, Obama has worked conscientiously on many challenges facing African countries. From demanding honesty on the HIV/AIDS situation in South Africa to helping develop a coherent stabilization policy in Somalia, Obama has shown that he is concerned about the African continent. But has his concern and admirable commitment to Africa changed the reality of the average Zimbabwean?

As my friend and fellow activist Omar Dibba puts it, “Africans have currently forgotten their own problems. Despite all relations to Africa, Obama is not going to be the President of Africa and will not develop Africa. There are priorities for the American people and their economy.” In addition, many Africans seem to forget that although Obama might be the head, there are still equally powerful individuals in government who will advise and criticize him and ultimately influence his decisions on foreign affairs. This is not to say that there is nothing to be learnt from the Obama effect. If nothing at all, Obama’s success so far should be an indication of the possibilities and inherent power that abound to everyone, regardless of origin. In order to avoid being slapped in the face with our respective realities, it is important that Africans continue to strive for their own solutions instead of awaiting Sir Obama. Until wishes become horses and beggars begin to ride, the resolution of Africa’s problems will remain the key responsibility of Africans themselves.

A New Congress of Berlin?

2008-11-01T09:14:00.002-05:00

The following link will take you to a video conversation between Dr. Gates and Wole Soyinka.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1859729964/bclid1859720781/bctid1868972004

The Global Financial Crisis: Africa's Blessing In Disguise

2008-10-23T20:30:00.001-05:00

So in my economic development seminar, we talk about a lot of things. One of the things we discussed last week was the effect of the financial crisis on African countries. Many of us agreed it might end up doing more harm to African countries and essentially worsen their already bad economic situations. But after some thought I decided to play devil's advocate. What if I said that the global financial crisis might be bad for the rest of the world, but could essentially be a good thing for many African countries? Would you consider me plain ignorant, naive or maybe, an extremist who knows nothing about what she's saying? Probably. I would too. But before you start throwing out the accusations, take a minute to consider a couple of things.

Trade:
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It is expected that the level of global trade will go down over the next couple of months due to the relative lack of capital in the global system and as a result, reduced levels of production.

Argument:
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This will be bad for many African (and developing) nations because they get most of their foreign capital through trade.

My Response:
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Not necessarily. African countries might have to reduce their level of imports, but this might actually be a good thing:

-Firstly, more African countries could concentrate on the consumption of local goods over foreign products (Eg. Ghana produces local rice, however due to the importation of rice from the US, US rice is preferred over local rice...even to the point where local rice is sometimes frowned upon). As a result, the infant industries (developing industries - mainly manufacturing) in these countries could (finally) be given a chance to grow.

-Secondly, the terms of trade offered to many African countries by developed countries are usually not that favorable in the first place. Lower trade with developed countries could actually spare many African countries from these unfavorable terms and help them cut their losses in the long term.

-Thirdly, since trade between developed countries and developing countries might be stifled due to the crisis, this might actually be a grand opportunity for African nations to give regional trading another go. Many of my course mates mentioned that attempts at regional trade in Africa have proved futile in the past....but maybe, its a near catastrophe like the financial crisis that is going to help us actually get it right this time around.

-Fourthly, trade in the general scheme of things, also involves the importation of the foreign country's economic climate to some extent. This is reflective in the influence of prices of imported goods on the domestic market etc. Which African country wants to import the negative effects of the financial crisis to their already unstable economies???

Foreign Aid:
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Argument:
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Historically, the amount of foreign aid given out reduces whenever there is an economic downturn. This is another expected result of the financial crisis. Given the spate of wars, famine and other issues on the African continent, lower foreign aid cannot possibly be a good thing.

My Response:
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It is true that a lot of nations are going to suffer from the lowered foreign aid they receive from developed countries. But then again, its about time - that we reduced the amount of foreign aid we receive, I mean. Not the suffering.

- First, most of the foreign aid that African countries receive from developed countries come with conditions -- conditions that ultimately benefit developed countries in the long-run and drive African countries into more debt. It also makes African countries more dependent on the developed world. A break in this parasitic chain might actually be what many African countries need to get on their feet. Don't get me wrong, I know the initial effect will be mind-blowing and a lot of suffering will happen...But where much is given, much is expected in return. By not getting more foreign aid (and its attendant conditions) we might actually realize that we don't have to be dependent on these countries and therefore ensure that we come up with suggestions and policies that are beneficial to our respective countries and not necessarily out of compromise for the lending countries.

- Second, the less foreign aid we receive, the lower the amount of debt we have to pay back. Simple as that.

- Third, a crunch in our monetary reserves might actually make us WAKE UP! African economies do have the capital to do what they have to....they only choose not to...or are forced not to (eg. through conditions given with foreign aid) With the relatively shallow sea of money to swim in, we would be inclined to allocate what money we do have efficiently....meaning, in the long run some people who never got the chance to enjoy basic human rights might actually get to. Of course, this is dependent on whether our governments decide to take a more socialistic approach to handling the situation, instead of going with the overplayed capitalistic notion of "the market will sort itself out". Most African countries have historically socialist-type foundations --and by socialist I mean, the focus is on the entire society and not on the individual -- so this shouldn't be a problem.

I know that many of my responses sound too simple, and do not take a lot of things into consideration, but I guess what I am getting at hear above anything else is that African nations should not sit down and accept out rightly that the financial crisis is a roadblock to us. We need to explore our options and BRAINSTORM BRAINSTORM BRAINSTORM.

Besides, why should we have to take on economic systems that bring us more problems than solutions, and which has ultimately succeeded in baffling and wrecking havoc in the very countries that suggest that we adopt their policies and strategies? (No wonder Goliath turned out to be weaker than he thought he was)

If we do nothing within the next couple of years with regards to our respective economies, we should at least aim for a CHANGE IN IDEOLOGY. Its been way overdue, and maybe, this financial crisis is actually the wake up call we need.

That said, our LEADERS need to become what their titles suggest: LEADERS. Without leaders who are willing to put their personal interests aside and work towards protecting and developing their societies, we are going nowhere. Seriously. So, as much as possible, in any way you can, try to sensitize the leaders in your communities to think OUTSIDE THE BOX! Many of the most significant advancements in thought, invention, systems etc have been born out of "calamities".

Okay, so now I'm done with my little spiel. I also came across an article in the Economist which also looks at the effect of the crisis in Africa from a similar angle. Check it out at: http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12376610 .Feel to agree, disagree, suggest alternatives etc....but constructive comments and criticism only. Thanks.

*Photo source: http://lcrcollection-shop.com/repositorioarchivo/?S=A

Education: An Essential Element in Youth Leadership

2008-08-21T10:18:00.001-05:00

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” These words by William Shakespeare meant little to me as I sat on the plane on my way to the United States in September 2005. But a good two and a half years later, and with a substantial number of life-changing experiences on hand, these words have formed the core of what has become my educational and life experience.

I have always been an individual with a wide variety of interests and as such I prefer to operate in an educational setup that allows me the flexibility to explore and brainstorm. Fortunately or unfortunately, I had to leave the shores of my homeland in order to find such an academic setup. Ghana has one of the best educational systems in Africa and has paved the way for young Africans to realize their dreams and contribute substantially to society. The unfortunate aspect of this ‘success’ story is the fact that the country is operating an educational system that was put in place decades ago. Consequently, despite the fact that there are educational facilities in place, many youth complete their secondary and tertiary education without the skills, knowledge or exposure necessary to take up positions in society as leaders and agents of change. The simple explanation for this is the fact that the educational system in Ghana does not meet the current needs of the Ghanaian society.

Mount Holyoke College is a private women’s liberal arts college in the United States. It is also a turning point in my life, perceptions, understanding of global issues, and most especially in my comprehension of the power of choice. In many African societies there is the widespread idea that only ‘elders in society’ can take important decisions or make substantial contributions. This notion, as well as many other misperceived ideologies, contributes to our inability to effect sustainable developmental change on our continent. We would rather listen to and implement the directives of foreigners than listen to what the people and youth – who coincidentally form a greater percentage of our respective populations – have to say. There have been past efforts aimed at introducing liberal arts components such as critical thinking into the educational systems of African countries. But these efforts have been thwarted with the excuse that we are imbibing western culture and values, and that providing a platform for young people to question authority is akin to providing youth with the tools to stage a rebellion. Unless we take a strong stand to involve young people and set up institutions that encourage critical-thinking among youth, we will remain in the canker of our current situations.

Is it possible to think outside the box and operate outside of what has been the norm in society for centuries? The answer to that question rests in our own backyard. In March 2002, Ghana’s first liberal arts-based university started operation with a pioneer class of 30 students on a small campus in Accra. What started as a mere dream of Patrick Awuah - a US-based Ghanaian citizen and former Microsoft employee – is a shining, real-life example today of the possibilities available to us as Africans and the power of young people in society. Ashesi University has made great strides in advancing education in Ghana and has formed strong and important partnerships with other educational institutions and agencies across the globe. Some members of Ashesi’s first graduating class went on to set up Dream Oval - a computer software development firm that is making important contributions to the information technology sector in Ghana.

The Ashesi example is one of many and has received international recognition. It is my fervent desire that there will be a replication of the Ashesi experience not only in Ghana, but across the African continent and in the Diaspora. In order for this to happen however, we need to realize four things as young leaders. First we need to realize that we do have the power to contribute to and change our current situations. We are the masters of our own destinies. Secondly, we ought to remember that we always have a choice regardless of obstructions. It is our responsibility as young leaders to inform ourselves and examine our situations so as not to be tricked into thinking that we have no choice in a matter. Deciding not to choose is choosing. Thirdly, we need to work towards being the change we want to see. Finally and most importantly, no contribution is too small. Strive at being the best you can be and doing the best you can do. So long as there are young people working towards a positive goal, the hope of Africa and the Diaspora continues to burn strong.

*This article was written by Jemila Abdulai and is an excerpt of the YOWLI 2008 Magazine.

$700m from Oil in the 1st year... hmmm. what should it be used for???

2008-08-18T20:45:00.013-05:00

As you all might have heard, Ghana has discovered oil. I am sure you all heard that ages ago. With the way its being trumpeted everywhere, you would think God decided to come spend the year 2008 in Ghana....... Ok.Ok.. its old news, and i know.!!

The "new" news is that government has announced how much they think they would be making from the production of oil over the course of the next few years and what they are intending to do with it all..

Even though prudent planning says that we should plan and know how much we might be getting, do i get the inkling that someone is counting their eggs before they hatch??, and I am also hoping against all that there are no other people behind that "someone", also doing their best to count their $$$ bills before the bills even "drop"; if you get my catch.

Oil for most countries has not been a blessing, but has been a curse since it was found; take Iraq, Nigeria and a few others .... is it due to bad policies, greediness or what?. i would give my own two cents on what i think the direction for our Ghana should be with the oil revenue at the end. but first lemme rant and rave a bit.

Lets once again look at the classic example of the paradox of oil wealth; Nigeria.

Nigeria is estimated to be making $60m a day from crude oil exports. Can anyone give me a fair idea what benefit that has given to this massive country. I think none!!!. it has had no impact on the land that they live in whatsoever. Poverty is rife in Nigeria, and armed groups, making an excuse of the governments mismanagement of the oil wealth, have also tried to get a piece of the cake that is being shared without them. Come on you, who should be sitting aside whilst you "eat" it all yourself. i want my cut, and id get it anyway i can. If i got to pick a gun and say i am protecting an old lady's interest somewhere, so be it.

In Ghana, The government claims that they would equitably distribute the oil wealth amongst the population. My problem is with that word "equitable". How will the equality be measured.

ok.. lets see...., Ashanti take 2mil, Northern because you are bigger than ashanti, take 6mil, accra you are small, take 500k, or what..? what is the plan for this "equitable" distribution of revenue.

Or is it going to be through handouts??, or Investments??.

God help us if its handouts, because immediately kojovi in the the east finishes chopping his share, he would say that since ama in ashanti hasnt still finished chopping hers, so then that means ama got more than he did, Mr salaga in the north too will say that his didnt "reach anywhere".

If it is not in the form of handouts, then how is it going to be distributed; development, investments .....? Roads, Hospitals, Homes, Water... that for me will be great ..

But........ wait. !!! i am not all of Ghana.

i even heard that a certain ** insert superlative here ** somewhere said that.., the school feeding programme should be scrapped and the money be used to pay his group of teachers. OH Ghana!!..., so what do you think they would say about oil money then??, even kenkey money they want!!

So then there will definitely come the age old Ghanaian cry.... "there is no money in our pocket ooh. the government is chopping our money". This is because the money will be put into roads and other social amenities. But Ghanaman no go understand. never!!!, he wants to put his hand into his pocket and see cash $$$$. free cash..

Even the number of feeder road that brong ahafo should have more than accra will become an issue.

i think this oil revenue thing is going to be more of a head ache than any of us imagine it will be. Because with all these prayers and saliva that people have given to thanking God for this oil find, all the prayers that have been said and songs that have been sung; do you think that that man is not thinking of his share.

Come on!!; if Mr. man doesnt get his $1 share in his pocket everyday then he would ask for aluta.!!!

By now i am sure that some people have done all the necessary calculations and are thinking of how much they might have to save on fuel in the coming years, since Ghana will be producing oil. if they dont save that much, then government has done something wrong.

All these and more will also give some crazy people the reason to pick up arms and say that THEYare fighting for the people, whilst greasing their own palms and breaking laws with impunity.

Now i come back to the main question i was asking..., and which i was trying to illustrate a little with all the talk i have done up there.

How do you think that the oil revenue should be shared.???

maybe you are a great mind and have thought out a way to give it out through handouts, or through development; both ideas should have the word "equitable" attached and working somehow, mind you!!.

As for me i think it is time i gave my own laymans ideas. i think that there are only 4 things that the government could do to share this wealth. It would not be equitable, but neither will it be discriminatory.

i think that the government should do these things and do them simultaneously

1. Do all in its power to increase the power generation capacity of the country. build coal plants, nuclear plants, whatever. they should just try to increase the power generation capacity of the country in whichever way possible and extend it all over the country. This can support new industry.

2. they should set up a publicly managed fund, for which a percentage of the oil revenue is put in each day or month and this fund should just be available for providing capital to those who provide feasible business plans to set up industry/companies in the country. It should be a Ghanaian only fund that would be partial to recently graduated university students with great ideas, even though any Ghanaian should be welcome. It should also give more support to those who set up outside the capital City and other big cities.

3. they should try to build a public university in each region to absorb the masses that leave the SSS and encourage the students to be entrepreneurial all throughout their studies and after. The students will also know that if their ideas are good, the fund, stated above will support them realise their dreams.

4. last but definitely not the least; they should try to also build beginner cities in places that they know businesses might not go, to encourage people to relocate to those areas. The UAE is doing that and we can also do that if what we estimate to earn is true.

this last idea is in no way related to the oil, but i think is a good idea that should have been introduced long ago to encourage investment in other regions of the country. I think that the government should charge different and heavy taxes on companies that have their headquarters located in the capital city, and should give incentives to those that have their headquarters outside the big cities.

Now to bring all my ideas together in a coherent and meaningful way. This is what led me to my ideas. I believe that for industry to grow it needs 3 major things; energy, capital and great minds (ideas). When people with ideas come out of school and know that they can get funding to put their ideas into reality, they would think of better and greater ideas and will not be limited in their scope. this will encourage invention and innovation. When all these industries are springing up and there is enough power to sustain them then they will grow... and just imagine, if just 10% of the students who come out of 10 public universities can start profitable businesses and employ some other university students. can you imagine how many jobs will be available.? can you imagine what that will do to the economy of the country.?

And also by encouraging people who take from the fund and other companies to set up headquarters and facilities outside the big cities, they would be discouraging urban migration, bettering the lot of the rural folk and keeping people closer to their communities. If there is work available in your community why would you come to Accra and sleep in the cold at a bus station.??

i have intentionally said nothing about the old and the current 50+ year old bracket in Ghana. I believe that they should be ready to sacrifice a little for us the young to make a country that they would be proud of. By the way they are the ones who always tell us that we are the future..... :-)

this are just a few of the ideas and thoughts that find themselves into my head everyday, as i go about my daily activities.

All this has also stemmed from my belief that, no matter how equitable the government would claim to be, there would always be someone who thinks that he is not getting enough. Business and growth are the only ways to get a country's wheels going and i believe that even though these ideas will not solve the problems, the far reaching consequences of their implementation will affect the whole economy.

so i believe that the best way to solve all this "wahala" will be to teach the man how to fish and show him where the fish can be caught, and then leave him to be. If he comes back and says that he is still hungry, then you can tell him that you showed him how to fish and he can go burn the sea if he is hungry :-D. (dont mind me on that one.!!!)

whatever you think of my ideas. just write them in your comments. if you think that they are ingenious (which would make me feel like i am in heaven by the way), if you think that they are stupid :-(, and whatever else you think. just drop a comment after this article.

You can also leave your suggestions and ideas too.

Its a blog, c'mon. everyone is invited........

Is this a good idea... (a thought)

2008-08-16T13:31:00.002-05:00

There is an idea that has been bouncing around in my mind for ages now and i just wanted some opinions...

Its a thought i was thinking about "for" our good country Ghana. I asked a few people for their opinions on how they thought a policy like what i have been thinking about will help our nation Ghana and i got mixed reactions.

Now here is my thought, and its for the economic minds out there to tell me what they think and if they think it might work out... I was thinking...

Wouldnt it be a great idea for the government to set up industries in the country, float these companies on the Ghana stock exchange and then recover its capital by having the elected management of these companies pay them a percentage of the yearly profits till the company is paid for??.

i know a lot of you would shoot down this idea saying that government is not supposed to be in business and all that and that how will government recover its money by floating the shares of the companies on the stock exchange. My answer to the first question will be that government will not be in business since the shares of these newly formed companies will be floated on the GSE and the answer to the second is that government could ask the shareholders of the company to pay part of the profits of the company to them over a period of time until the cost of founding these various companies are recovered; something like the way a mortgage is paid for.

Government has the money and can easily ganner the expertise to form these companies. Government in so doing will also help the people take a more active part in the management of the economy, create massive jobs for the out of univeritsy students, create avenues for gaining skills and also encourage the buying of made in Ghana goods. The companies will ultimately be owned by Ghanaian shareholders and by having the shares on the Ghana stock exchange will encourage economic activity amongst the people.

This idea of mine was strengthened after the "credit crunch" begun. Western nations especially the US and the UK did what they have always been preventing and advising other nations not to do; they put public taxpayer money into private companies so as to help their economies and prevent them from collapsing; examples being the cases of the UK bank Northern Rock and American companies freddie may and freddie mac.

i believe that it is high time that we develop our own unique form of managing our economy in Ghana and stop listening and following the "traditions" of other nations, be they socialist or capitalist.

We are under no obligations whatsoever to follow any of these and we should stop dancing to the tunes other people sing and start creating our own tunes.

Now i throw this to the economic minds that read this blog.... What do you think. Do you think this idea is feasible, and if it is how do you suggest "we" bring it to the attention of government and stakeholders.

WHAT DO U THINK.......

let us all know!!

Buy made in Ghana goods!!! C'mon, they cant be serious. Or are they ???

2008-07-12T03:55:00.004-05:00

I am sure that many of us Ghanaians have for the past number of weeks been following all the hullabaloo of the national awards.

The argument over this whole period has been about the people the awards are being given to and if the president should give himself an award.

I would like to come from another perspective on these national awards because i do not really care who they were given to and i cannot change what has already happened.
My "beef" with the government is the price of those medals and even more importantly where those medals were purchased.

I was really surprised when I read that the award medals were purchased for the total price of £740,000 from a jeweler in UK, which for me was really outrageous. If the British government decides to buy at this price for their national awards, that’s their problem; it’s their currency and it stays in their country.

Can we really continue producing gold here in Ghana, selling the raw gold and then after that buy back our own gold for outrageous prices from those same people who bought it from us. And then the government says they want to encourage industry for the export of manufactured and processed goods.

I do not understand why the Ghanaian government should spend £740,000 of our hard earned foreign exchange on buying medals from jewelers abroad. I believe Ghana and Ghanaian jewelers have the ability to produce these medals and anything else the government should need, given the right encouragement. Can you imagine how many Ghanaian jewelers £740,000 could have paid, how much development this money could have achieved in their industry. In my usual style, I ask….

Is the Ghanaian government really serious about developing our local industries like they say they are ?..

The government by just buying whatever they need from the country would give confidence to the rest of the Ghanaian public to buy made in Ghana goods. We had this same issue during the 50th anniversary when the government bought the fabrics for the celebration from china. Think about freight costs, cost of travel for those who had to go to china to eyeball those goods etc….; just a little bit of this money could have caused a massive change in the textile industry here in Ghana.

The government claimed that it was cheaper to buy from China. That might have been true; YES!!! But the idea is this; every industry starts from somewhere and the government is the only one with the clout to encourage others to have confidence in our local industry, no one else has enough money and influence to do otherwise.

Respond to this post and let me hear what you think of this and the idea floated by one of the current presidential candidates that in the future, banks operating in Ghana should be forced through legislation to set aside a part of their profits as loans for the development of local industry. I am no economist and have never studied economics, but I believe it’s not rocket science, neither is it computational neuroscience. It’s simple logic!!!, there has to be available credit in the country for industry to grow.

I believe its time the Ghanaian government has confidence in using the industry in the country. When they do then the rest of the people will follow.

I am finished!!!

K.B Asante: What is the vision of the political parties?

2008-06-24T07:42:00.003-05:00

The good book tells us that "where there is no vision the people perish". It portrays the blessing of the spirit as the ability of the old men to dream dreams and the young men to see visions. I venture to suggest that without leaders of vision to inspire the people the nation will face a bleak future.

Ghana has come this far because we had men and women of old like Mensah Sarbah and Kwegyir Aggrey who fought to preserve our heritage and self-respect. The work of the patriarchs has been continued in recent times by men like J.B. Danquah and Kwame Nkrumah who gave vision and purpose to the nation.

Danquah inspired the people with confidence in themselves and beckoned them to rise up and shape their own future. Nkrumah dreamt of a great and prosperous Gold Coast with a metropolis of renown men and women whose culture, science and industry commanded the respect of the world and whose leaders laboured untiringly and cheerfully for the well-being and prosperity of the people.

To quote Nkrumah himself, he said, "And across the parapet I to see the vision of African Unity and independence her body besmeared with the blood of her sons and daughters in their struggle to set her free from the shackles of imperialism. And I can see and hear springing up cities of Ghana, becoming the metropolis of science, learning, scientific agriculture industry and philosophy."

The dream fired the imagination of the people before and after independence. Many saw in leadership an opportunity to serve and to achieve. The greatness and prosperity of the nation, not self and ethnic advancement, was the aim of many who became leaders. Thus K.A. Gbedema did not try to replace Nkrumah when the leader was in prison. On the contrary he laboured expertly to get Nkrumah elected to realise the dream which many shared.

I would suggest that the vision, which focused the attention of Nkrumah and his collaborators, enabled the nation to overcome ethnic and religious tensions which seriously threatened the nascent state. It further resulted in institutions, industries, and projects which were established to realise what was seen across the parapet.

Nkrumah's great rival J.B. Danquah also had a dream. His was a great Ghana built essentially by individuals acting freely in a just society. The two visions gave rise to two ideologies which the followers of the two leaders have generally pursued since independence.

Unfortunately the two philosophies got entangled in the ideologies of the cold war.

Relevance to the Ghanaian situation were not dispassionately discussed and assessed. Today with only one superpower in existence ideologies have been relegated to the background and ideas and ideals appear to have no place in politics in Ghana.

But all the major powers have their ideology. They all have a system of ideas and ideals, which inform their political, economic and social policies. Only the naive believes that the leading world states do not promote and preserve the perceived national interest even to the extent of attacking another state for a vital asset on the grounds of a concocted security threat.

Only the naive believe that the major powers do not base their political, economic and social policies on a system of ideals and ideas which are modified according to time and circumstances. Of course political parties in these countries have different ideas on particular issues. But these different ideas are promoted ultimately to advance national interest and not to impede it.

And what is the national interest of Ghana? This depends on the national vision. If we dream of a Ghana whose system and practice of government and governance are praised by nations we acknowledge as our peers; if we want a Ghana whose economy is praised as robust while the people complain of poverty; if we want a Ghana whose youth are bereft of any dignity and hope and who line up at foreign missions daily for visas to flee the country; if we want a Ghana whose citizens believe that they are independent when the budget is subsidised by other nations; then the national interest will be promoted and maintained by the careless and lazy policies and strategies we have practised for so many years in the recent past.

I am afraid these policies cannot save us from our present predicament. We cannot move the country forward, eradicate poverty and build the brave new prosperous Ghana even with the help of the oil finds if we continue with incoherent, uncoordinated myriad of projects and institutions. We need a plan which will determine what we can do and what we do with the resources available to achieve desirable ends leading to the realisation of the grand design born of the national dream.

Our political parties should therefore tell us of their grand design. They should tell us of their dreams and the ideology or ideas and ideals which would guide their plans. They should present their manifestos which would indicate not only what they would do but their aims and ideals.

Without such an undertaking, we would continue to be fed with promises such as the following vague statements:

"We would vigorously promote education at all levels and make it relevant to our needs, we would pay the withheld salaries of NAGRAT."

"We would expand and improve the health delivery system and address the shortage of health personnel."

"We would keep inflation down and maintain financial stability in order to promote economic development."

We should be spared the meaningless debates which such assertions and promises generate. The party manifesto for example should indicate how any expansion or improvement in education is to be financed.

It should also indicate the rationale of new measures or proposals. For example, why should the Agricultural Development Bank advance money to pay the youth in questionable employment while it does not adequately do its job of promoting agriculture through reasonable credits and other assistance.

The questions are many but we should ask them. This is not the time for vagueness. The political parties should come out with the vision which will enable their ideologies to liberate our minds to the intellectual processes necessary to build that viable economy and social and political systems in which leaders serve and not defraud.

Credit: K.B. Asante (Voice from Afar)/Daily Graphic

Ghana vision 2020; an impossible dream?

2008-06-09T13:19:00.002-05:00

http://ghana2020.tripod.com/ghana_2020/

Above is a link to a couple of images someone posted from the vision2020 plans for Ghana.

You can click here to also view them.

With less than 12 years to go are these "images" still achievable?.
Is it o.k to dream this big, or do we have to start very small.
Is Ghana vision2020 an impossible dream, or is it achievable in the time left?
look and answer for yourself.

The politics of Accra's Mayor and the management of the capital

2008-05-25T13:05:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago I read an article on a Ghanaian website about the Accra Metropolitan Assembly owing Sanitary Contractors tens and thousands of Ghana Cedis in unpaid arrears for their services.

Not surprisingly, sometime after that, Ghanaian citizens started complaining about the waste that was building up in the city, due to the fact that the contractors had stopped working; they (the contractors) couldn’t take it anymore. Who can do business without getting paid? No one!!

This article is just to initiate a discussion, and to ask a question that might seem a very little question when asked, but when probed goes very deep.

I ask….

Is it not time that mayors and district chief executives were elected in our good country Ghana. Let’s take a look at the city of London and the recent election for London Mayor. That election campaign was a platform to argue about the management of their city on all spheres and to challenge the politicians about issues that affected citizens; from crime, to transport, to utilities, to housing. In developed countries the mayor of a city is held responsible for the development of his city, and the way forward for that city. Because he was elected by the people he is held accountable to the people, and whenever they think he is under performing, away he goes.

Not too long ago in history, the mayor of Accra instituted measures to rid the streets of Accra of illegal hawking, which I believe would have also helped bring more sanity and cleanliness to the capital. His plan, as i am sure you already know, failed.

He seemed to have the will and was telling everybody who had an ear to listen, that he did not care what people thought of him. But what of the people who appointed him; did they care? The policy was discontinued or otherwise became ineffective. This goes to show that maybe those who appointed him did care, who can blame them. They were loosing potential voters by the truck loads.

I would like to ask, what if the mayor had been elected by residents of the city, by people who cared about the way their city was run. what if the position of Mayor was fought on a political platform as large as that of the presidency, by the way, they both live in the capital and will benefit too.Maybe he would have had the independent political will to continue with his policy and then maybe they wouldn’t be in their current predicament.

Go to cities in other countries and you would see mayors independently instituting measures that are bringing profound development to their cities. Measures that other cities look at and emulate, therefore for me, I think the way to develop Accra into a world class city would be to start from the metropolitan authority and the position of mayor.

And now to a few things I think a strong willed, independently elected mayor could do for our city, Accra. I would just touch on transport and community management.

Transport

The city of Accra, if my memory serves me right, in the morning and evening rush hours is nothing short of hell. Massive traffic jams, taxi and "trotro" drivers who care nothing for the law and general mayhem, and through all this the police look on unconcerned, whilst also being corrupt in the process. The public mass transit bus system which was introduced to encourage people to leave their cars at home is poorly managed and unreliable and therefore many people who have vehicles totally ignore its existence. How can you encourage people to get out of their cars and into public buses when there are no bus lanes,inadequate number of buses, buses do not have timetables and bus stops are few and far between? Would the current Accra mayor take a “Kuffour” bus to work? I don’t think so. Not on your life. If he doesn’t why should I?.

With the provision of bus lanes, bus stations, well maintained and timed buses that wait for no one and so are therefore reliable and consistent, people who have vehicles would consider the buses as an option to save time and money on fuel and therefore will use them.

I believe even a change as inherently expensive as this can be started if we have an elected mayor who can think about the future of the city and not about if his party will give him the sack.

Street and community management

There is something about the streets of Accra and its outlying areas I have always been surprised about. If you take a guess at what it is you might be wrong. No it’s not the poor nature of the roads, or even the total lack of roads in some areas. It is the total lack of street names in Accra. Take a look around the streets of the city and I am sure up to 50% or more of the streets would not have names.

The following is a typical conversation that could go on between a stranger to a community and a Good Samaritan “Madam”.

Stranger: Hello madam, can you help me. I am looking for "Kofi Kofi" ventures. They produce nails.

Madam: oh !!, I know that place. Let me show you how to get there. Do you see that yellow house over there? When you get there take a right after it. And then you go forward a bit, you would then see a "Waakye" seller; right after the "waakye" seller you turn left and then you go on until you see a purple house, and then you take another right after that house. "Kofi Kofi" enterprise is about a hundred metres up that street.

I ask; what if the "waakye" seller did not come to work that day, or the purple house has been painted a more visually pleasing colour of white. Where does that leave our stranger?

LOST!!

I would be frank with you, I do not know (and i really don't care) how much it would cost the city of Accra to name the streets. I am a citizen and it is my right not to care how you manage the city, just that you do it and do it well; but I believe that the benefit to businesses would be immense. Take the example of a furniture delivery business that currently delivers to two homes a day because of the amount of time wasted asking for directions. Can you imagine the amount of business they would make and the costs they could save if all that time asking for direction is saved by just having a functional and up to date map of Accra? I’m sure your guess is as good as mine; A lot more than they do now.

Let me also just add the issue of street lighting which is virtually nonexistent in the city of Accra. Even where it exists it is poorly managed and some of the poles are an eyesore. The Accra Metropolitan Assembly could develop the structure which most of the private estate companies’ in Accra use and which even they use in the waste management sector. Hire private estate management companies to manage stuff like street fittings and drains, and hold them responsible for the work they do.

I could go on and on really and bore you with pages and pages of what I think our City can gain from just that little step of electing a mayor.

Maybe I am being a little too optimistic and a little shallow in thinking that just the step of electing our mayor could bring this much change and more to Accra. But I think it is a stepping stone, something that has to be done in order to usher in these things which are now nothing but dreams and luxuries for some people in Accra. Let’s just wait and see what our next president brings to the table.

Long Live Ghana.

God Bless our homeland Ghana.

belief in ourselves, thats how we can

2008-05-25T11:21:00.004-05:00

http://justjunkblog.blogspot.com/2007/11/africa-open-for-business.html

The above hyper link points to a series of documentaries I saw that really epitomize the way Africa and Africans have to go to create a beautiful and prosperous continent. They just show us the future we can have by just being a little entrepreneurial and believing that notwithstanding all the challenges we can achieve something for ourselves. No one else can do it for us. The challenge is just to begin………

The change has begun ….

Africa is open for business.

Jump on the bandwagon or you risk missing it totally.

Ghana Youth Leadership Alliance

2008-04-20T18:13:00.004-05:00

Ghana's 'hybrid' rice dilemma

2008-04-17T06:53:00.000-05:00

Ghana's 'hybrid' rice dilemma
By Will Ross BBC News, Ghana
Take a drive around rural Ghana and large swathes of the country appear green and fertile.
So you might then wonder why Ghanaians spend between $200 and $300 a year on imported rice.
The current supply of local rice is less than a third of the demand but there is potential for a green revolution here. And as international rice prices escalate, experts say the time is right.
"I believe if we used just 1% of what we spend in a year on importing rice to build up our own rice industry we could be self sufficient," says Kofi Dartey of Ghana's Crop Research Institute, based in Kumasi.
A two-hour drive away near the town of Ejura, rice farmers are comparing notes and planning a strategy to boost their yields now that the rains have started.
Sitting outside the district agricultural headquarters, their immediate danger comes from above - mangoes are dropping from the tree at an alarming rate and someone is soon going to get a bruise.
Kofi Dartey is working with the farmers to develop a new rice seed which has been hailed as the answer to Africa's rice shortfall.
New Rice For Africa (Nerica) was developed less than 10 years ago and is a hybrid combining the higher yielding Asian and the hardy African seeds.
For the Ghanaian market, the grains are too short Kofi Dartey Ghana Crop Research Institute
As Kofi Dartey produces several plastic bags of different seeds, the farmers closely inspect them, even taking a nibble to check the quality.
"The rice is very good. If you chop [eat] it, the taste is good.
"The children love it because it tastes sweet," says Samuel Uunuu, who planted the hybrid seeds last season.
At 33, he is one of the youngest farmers around.
But the farmers note that unless fertiliser is used, Nerica yields are very low.
With the price of imported fertilisers increasing as a result of the cost of oil plus the need for herbicides, many of the farmers are not yet convinced that the green revolution is coming.
Escape from poverty
Three shiny 4x4 vehicles turn up with the US and Ghanaian flags emblazoned on them.
Remember when US President George Bush promised a five-year grant of more than $0.5bn to Ghana?
These vehicles funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation are fruits of the package which is partly targeted at the agriculture sector.
At a signing ceremony in August 2006, the US promised that the investment would lift more than 500,000 poor Ghanaians out of extreme poverty and would lift over one million people out of poverty in total.
Almost two years since the deal was struck, farmers are still being identified for training.
The escape from poverty is clearly not happening at speed.
Rice farming is one potential area for investment but there are question marks over whether the US would really like to see Ghana become self-sufficient in rice.
After all, subsidised American rice is on sale throughout Ghana.
'Not impressed'
As the cars move on, I am taken to the district agricultural stores where storerooms are packed with sacks of the Nerica seeds - over 50 metric tonnes ready for the farmers to sow.
But at the local mill there are signs of some of the problems facing the agriculture industry.
If you refuse to plant and you stay at home, you have no rice and you have no choice than to beg Kofi Dartey
The miller is fast asleep and outside a young woman is drying some maize flour on the concrete - walking all over it with her bare feet - this is not the most hygienic food preparation.
Once she has left, a goat comes along for a free lunch.
For the equivalent of around $2, the miller is woken up and a sack of last year's Nerica crop is poured into the small diesel fuelled machine.
What comes out of the shoot does not impress Kofi Dartey.
"Many of the grains are broken, there are still some husks amongst the rice, and for the Ghanaian market the grains are too short," he says.
It would seem that Nerica rice is still very much work in progress, but the Africa Rice Centre based in Benin aims to keep improving the seed.
'Hooked'
The competition is tough.
In Kumasi's central market there is no shortage of rice.
Women sit behind 50kg sacks of rice marked "Produce of Thailand" or "USA Grain".
Ghanaians in the cities seem hooked on the imported longer grain and prefer their aroma.
But their prices have gone up by around a third since the beginning of the year, so tastes may change and local rice could be on the rise.
There may be promises of aid and assistance for farmers, but Mr Dartey says the workforce needs a total change of attitude - an end to the mentality of waiting for help from outside to fix a problem.
In some cases he says Ghanaians are hungry because they choose to be hungry.
"The whole hunger problem is an attitudinal problem.
"You plant this, you have your harvest and you have your rice to eat.
"If you refuse to plant and you stay at home, you have no rice and you have no choice than to beg."
The potential in Ghana is huge, but working on the land is going out of fashion as people stream from the villages to the cities.
To solve the food problem someone will have to convince them that they'd be better off moving in the opposite direction.
Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7350856.stmPublished: 2008/04/17 11:03:16 GMT© BBC MMVIII

K. B. Asante: Time to work for what we deserve

2008-04-14T09:14:00.002-05:00

K. B. Asante: Time to work for what we deserve

Most of those who seek our votes mean well. This is my belief, which is born of experience. There are of course those who are so fanatical about shaping society their way that they will organise thuggery, bribery and corruption to win elections. Generally, however, most politicians and aspiring statesmen and women are so convinced about the superiority of their ideas and plans, and their own capacity that they would succumb to a few unseemly acts to win the power to improve society and the lot of man. And generally, we the people by our actions and behaviour endorse the path taken by our rulers to win power. Not long ago it was sardines and corned beef that lured us to vote for a particular party. These days T-shirts, money, and other inducements do the persuasion. Of course not all of us are so easily bought and gullible. And it is the duty of those who are privileged by education and enlightenment to show by example how the vote can be used to establish and enhance the public wellbeing. The public must know that the government does not pluck money from mango trees. The money it uses for development comes from us directly or indirectly. It also borrows for specific projects and the like; but eventually we the people or our children and grandchildren must pay for it. The government may also beg in ways that hide its scrounging supplications. But then we the people should not be surprised if because of excessive reliance on others we are not respected by our benefactors who may flout our municipal laws and town plans with contempt. We may borrow wisely for specific purposes and use assistance from outside to promote our plans but we should realise that we Ghanaians are responsible for our own development and progress. We should elect a government and representatives who will promote national well-being and not personal advancement. The international atmosphere is not favourable for our economic and social development and progress. But we cannot wait for the global village to turn in our favour. We cannot plead for the US dollar to be salvaged from its present crises because of the apparent dire consequences on our economy. We should leave the mighty Americans alone to solve their problems and "cry their own cry". We should find out what we can do in present circumstances to promote Ghana's interest. We should "cry our own cry". We trade with the dollar as many countries do. We are, therefore, involved in the ongoing "inclusive globalisation". The important thing is to understand the global village so that we may work within it to advance Ghana's interests. For example, if the dollar falls greatly in value, does it not mean that American goods become cheap? Why do we not then influence the local environment so that Ghanaians buy from the US market when this is beneficial? We need a government that will set its experts to work in these areas and design programmes and procedures that will be in Ghana's interest. And so let us ask the presidential and parliamentary aspirants what they would do to take advantage of events in the global village. Let us ask them whether it is wise to continue to price our cocoa in dollars, and if not, what action they propose to take in collaboration with the major cocoa producers. Gold price has gone up considerably recently. What advantage have we derived from the rise in the value of gold? How far has the gold price increased or improved our balance of payments and reserves? We should ask these questions not to embarrass the government but to ensure that we exploit happenings in the global village with intelligence to move forward with confidence while we endeavour to eradicate unnecessary corruption by good husbandry. Good management of our resources will not succeed with endemic corruption and massive flouting of procedures, rules and regulations.We should, therefore, insist on enquiry into revelations of massive misdeeds. The last hearings of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee made sombre reading. Any self-respecting Ghanaian should have been greatly annoyed. Taxpayers' money, that is your money, appeared to have been looted on a massive scale. Donor funds were not spared. It was made clear to the discerning that no amount of sophisticated procurement laws would halt the advance of the art of sophistry in the pillaging of public funds. We need a comprehensive enquiry leading to the dismissal and prosecution of those found to be criminally involved. The system must be purged. If the enquiry cannot start this year it should be among the first decisions of the next parliament. We should ask the views of those who seek our votes. We should not vote for those who would not agree to take action on the Public Accounts Committee reports. This is the time to make sure that we are properly governed. We should not be swayed by mere sentiments and ignorant shouts, about market forces and Socialism. If it is socialist planning we want we should outline it and show that we have taken account of the global village and the character of Ghanaians who alone can transform the economy.If we want to rely on the market we should be true to the philosophy of free enterprise and not frustrate Ghanaians who want to enter into business by a suffocating web of institutional impediments. Such impediments drive the Ghanaian to trade in goods manufactured in other countries and thereby diminish local enterprise and employment.We should not ignore things under our noses. If we do we encourage worse happenings. The rain some two weeks ago left a pool of water on High Street near the Bank of Ghana. Therefore, over a short distance the dual carriageway became a one-way route. This has led to congestion from the law courts to Standard Chartered Bank. Nothing has been done to remedy the situation for two weeks.What if it had been a flood? If we cannot deal with such a minor incident how can we say that we are ready for floods, which may follow the heavy rains expected? Are there no, institutions and individuals responsible for making our roads passable? Those who seek our votes should tell us what they would do to institutions and individuals who fail to perform their duty. The future is in our hands and this is the time to demand the government we deserve.

Source: K. B. Asante/Daily Graphic
Story from Myjoyonline.Com
News: http://www.myjoyonline.com/features/200804/15299.asp
Published: 4/14/2008

Is Africa a Breadbasket or a Basket Case? Why You Should Invest and Do Business in Africa

2008-04-02T07:57:00.005-05:00

By Atta Addo

The media by its nature is a hostage of time. Africa has its 15 seconds. And that 15 seconds is Mugabe, a dictator.

-African billionaire, Dr. Mo Ibrahim, Forbes Magazine.

Happy Tales from the ‘Dark Continent’

In an era when ‘doing good in Africa’ is exploited by attention-seeking celebrities and politicians, you may be forgiven if you didn’t know that in the latest edition of Forbes Magazine’s list of the world’s billionaires, two self-made native sub-Saharan African businessmen, a Nigerian and a South African made it to the list for the first time in more than twenty years of Forbes world richest rankings. Including Egyptian and South African family business dynasties quickly pushes the number of Africa’s dollar billionaires closer to ten.

Not bad for a continent with 34 of the 50 UN estimated least developed countries. In many African countries, annual per capita income hovers around 200 USD, with a significant majority of some countries’ population living on much less than a dollar a day. Furthermore, according to estimates by Jeffery Sachs, Africa's share of global income has dropped consistently over the last century. In 1820, a European worker earned roughly trice what an average African worker did. Fast forward to the 21^stcentury, an average European now earns twenty times what an average African does. In light of such daunting stats how have numerous businesses managed to thrive in Africa and the continent managed to add its modest 2 cents to the list of world billionaires?

Part of the answer can be deciphered from the occupations and locales of Africa’s billionaires. These men from Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt (in order of increasing combined net by nation) have been involved in commodities trade, manufacturing, telecommunications, construction, mining and lumber, retail, insurance and hotel service. Though mining and lumbering have traditionally been the mainstay of most African economies, Africa’s booming population and high fertility rate, along with increasing liberalization have created growing domestic markets for other sectors like manufacturing, construction, telecommunication, retail, banking, insurance and hotel services. This transformation has been supported by increasingly sophisticated indigenous financial markets which though far from Wall Street can still allow the kind of IPOs that recently helped Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote net his estimated 3.3 billion USD.

While these three countries—Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt—are not your BRIC nations (unless you throw in the terminal‘s’ for South Africa), there is a strong expectation among bullish Africa investment analysts and investors that they will lead Africa’s rapid growth and penetration into the global economy. What is needed is greater global investor awareness and confidence about Africa’s potential as a business and investment destination. As Mo Ibrahim, a self-made African billionaire who made his money in the booming African telecom industry lamented in an interview with Forbes, “There are 15 times more analysts covering Indian companies than covering African companies, and 11 times more analysts covering Chinese companies than African companies. Can someone please switch on the light and enhance our knowledge of this place a little bit?”

Risk

Risk is just a board game. Like for any emerging market, risk of investing in Africa is present and quite high in many instances but as argued by Kim Jaycox, CEO of Emerging Markets Partnership’s Africa Fund, the largest fund investing in Africa, perceived risk far exceeds actual risk. And without risks the reward is simply not as good. Africa Open for Business, director Carol Pineau’s influential documentary featuring ten business people on the African continent, strongly makes the point in all the cases of the entrepreneurs interviewed. In one extreme case, a private domestic airline company managed to thrive in Somalia which has no official government and is overrun by warlords and criminal factions. While one would rightly hesitate to invest in present day Zimbabwe with inflation rate beyond sky-rocketing, several other countries in Africa provide secure and lucrative avenues for investment and impressive returns.

And corruption? Mo Ibrahim answers it well, “I'm a little bit puzzled and annoyed when my friends in the West start to lecture me about corruption in Africa. Who are the partners in corruption? Are the Africans corrupting each other? I don't think so.” While corruption is certainly a problem in Africa it is important to bear in mind that the same could be true anywhere and there are many firms and investors who have made it without following the bandwagon.

As with the telecoms example, while profits may level of in some sectors, the shear market size of over 900 million potential consumers can result in high overall profits (Between 1999-2004, cell phone use in Africa grew by 58% per annum and only 35% in Asia, the next largest market. This growth may however be leveling of). The UN trade agency, UNCTAD and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) both estimate that Africa offers the highest return on direct foreign investment in the world, more than any other region in the world. Other sectors now show impressive growth even though petroleum and minerals previously undergirded this high return.

With regard to oil, Africa’s strategic interest to the global economy has grown. In a few decades the continent may provide more petroleum to the US than the Middle East currently does. The leading oil importer to China is Angola, a nation known more for its war-torn past than anything else. Both Indian and Chinese firms are getting in on the action in Africa often sweeping the stakes before European and American firms move in.

Development

Trade or aid? The debate has raged among Africa development experts for decades. What appears evident is that most African nations will fail to reach the 2001 UN Millennium Development Goals, especially the goal of halving poverty, without massive capital investment in the domestic private and public sectors. Aid will not do it. “Aid is like a painkiller, it may stop the symptoms but will not cure the disease” says Mo Ibrahim, whose Mo Ibrahim Foundation offers a 5 million USD annual prize to icentivize good leadership in Africa. His foundation is also involved in other philanthropic projects on the African continent. “For me, it’s about putting my money where my mouth is” he says, “I made the money in Africa and I must put it back where it belongs.”

Apart from the direct social impact many top firms and philanthropic investors in Africa strive to make, new jobs, technology and skill transfers and several positive transformations inadvertently result from business investments in Africa. Africa’s need for investments and organizations with a triple bottom line mission appears endless; businesses that are committed to making economic, environmental and social impact on the continent are highly needed.

Gold Rush?

For a continent that has provided setting for the slave trade, most brutal colonial expeditions in history and several cycles of blood-fueled mineral and resource plunder, is there cause for alarm over a mad investment rush? Maybe. Maybe not. While the dealings of some businesses and investors in Africa are far from ethical it is also true that others have made substantial and lasting impact which will linger for long.

For one thing income inequalities within and across African nations is grotesque and a majority of people on the continent may not benefit from the spoils, especially without caring and resolute political leadership. But the alternatives to strong private sector involvement in business and investment are almost always worse. For Africa to start thinking about equitably sharing its pie it must first have a pie and a significant one at that. This is why the question of equitable distribution, though important, may be secondary to economic growth and capital accumulation.

As with any investment decision, doing ones own prior research is key. Whatever you decide it helps to remember that despite what the media would like you to believe, Africa can excel and more than ever before it is ready and open for business.

Wendy's, Cannibals and the Boy from Ghana

2008-03-18T15:59:00.003-05:00

I chanced on this interesting article during my usual internet foraging.The author mulls over issues many migrant Africans have had to contend with at some point or another: western media and pop-culture portrayal of 'otherness' ; of Africa and to a larger extent non-whites in general.

PS: I tried in vain to find the Wendy's ad to accompany this post.

Recently I visited Ghanaian friend. A new acquaintance who had spent time in Nigeria in the 1970s – 1980s before the civilian government of the day heaped the blame for all the country’s woes on the Ghanaian diaspora in Nigeria and sent them packing. Ghana-must-go bags, widely used today by Nigerian politicians to steal and store raw cash, have become the most intriguing legacy of that collective demonization of Ghanaians, as well as Nigeria’s most colourful contribution to the lexicon of corruption.

I had also spent time in Ghana – in Accra and Ho – in the early 1990s. Our experience of each other’s respective countries provided sufficient ground for loud African conversation, aided by Ghanaian delicacies and generous quantities of the abomination we call bottled palm wine here in North America. I recalled my time in Ghana: good roads, stable electricity, water, efficient public service delivery at all levels, courtesy in government offices, security of life and property, and, above all, ridiculous levels of corruption. I recalled the level of noise Ghanaians made if a politician was so much as suspected to have misappropriated, say, fifty thousand dollars! In Nigeria, a politician who steals as little as fifty thousand dollars could be found guilty not of stealing but of embarrassing the Nigerian State with the amount involved. Politicians in the deluded “giant of Africa” steal “giantly” in hundreds of millions. And theft is denominated in dollars. In Nigeria, no self-respecting politician steals in Naira. When Nuhu Ribadu, the anti-corruption czar began to take his job too seriously, fighting corruption – albeit very selectively - rather than making the appropriate body movements to convince the international community that we are indeed fighting corruption, he was promptly shoved aside. My Ghanaian friend offered the familiar feel-good, consolation comments other embarrassed African brothers always make when Nigerians lament the fate of their country in the hands of visionless leaders: these things happen everywhere you know. Even here in North America. It is not peculiar to Nigeria. Things were even worse in Ghana but we came out of the woods. Don’t be fooled by the Ghana you experienced in the 1990s. We were in the doldrums before then. If Ghana can do it, Nigeria can do it…

Our discussion moved to football – the real football, not the hand-and-leg ball they call football in North America – and we almost brought down the roof as is customary when Africans discuss football, the continent’s religion. The African cup of nations was around the corner and I assured my friend that President Kuffour would be pleased to deliver the cup to the Nigerian captain, Kanu Nwankwo, at the end of the competition. My friend dismissed me as a typical Nigerian loudmouth. We were about to place bets when his eight-year-old son stormed out of his bedroom screaming: “dad, turn on the Tee Vee!” My friend reached for the remote control and flicked on the television. Wendy’s new commercial was on. The lad asked: “Dad, why do the tribesmen want to eat that innocent man?” A hush fell on us. The palm wine turned stale in my mouth. My friend looked at me in exasperation. Oro p’esi je! The answers one could have given the boy were smothered instantly by his questions. How do you explain the discursive politics of Wendy’s commercial to an eight-year old?

I had noticed that commercial when it went on air last year and dismissed it as one of those irritating Western figurations of the Other, just like the cave men in the Geiko commercial. Wendy’s, the fast food chain that’s so desperate to become a household name like McDonalds and Burger King, has dug into the deepest recesses of Western imagination to produce the commercial. What’s the gist? Roll tape: we are in the jungle. A bunch of cannibals appear with a prized prey, a Caucasian man that they have ostensibly captured for dinner. He is attached to a pole slung over the shoulders of some of the cannibals. They are hurrying home to a good dinner. The cannibals look fearful. They remind you of Chinua Achebe’s description of masquerades in Things Fall Apart. They certainly remind me of Ojigindo, the fearful ancestral masquerade in my hometown, whose annual carnavalesque outing succumbed to the interloping antics Roman Catholic priests when I was in elementary school. I now only have vague memories of Ojigindo, etched erroneously in my imagination as paganism until I encountered the historical remedy of Négritude philosophy when Francophone Africa and France became my areas of scholarly specialization. Wendy’s cannibals are covered in chalk-white powder from head to toe. Only skirts of reed cover their nakedness. They carry primitive hunting instruments. The Caucasian man pleads for his life in American English: “please don’t eat me! I’m not delicious! I don’t taste good”. He has a clear, definite American identity. The cannibals do not get any such treatment. They are not that lucky. They remain an open, vicious signified. They could be Africans, Native Americans, Maoris, or Aborigenes. In short, anything but Western and modern.

The “they want to harm us” mantra of George Bush’s ‘ war ron terra’ can very easily become “ they want to eat us” in the field of cultural production…

Eventually, one of the cannibals shows himself capable of reasoning and worthy of preliminary admission into Western modernity. Thankfully, the commercial endows him and his kinsmen the gift of native-speak, the sort of incomprehensible native babble you find in Conrad and Sir Rider Haggard. “He is right, you know”, our cannibal pronounces in cannibal-speak, modernized and rendered in English as Wendy’s subtitles flicker onto the screen. He then advises his fellow cannibals to dump the human prey and opt for any of the items on Wendy’s delicious menu.

This was what caught the attention of my Ghanaian friend’s son. The boy from Ghana naturally identified with the Caucasian victim and was horrified by the fact that the tribesmen almost ate an innocent man but for Wendy’s felicitous and humanitarian intervention. I sympathized with my friend as he wrestled with what to tell the inquisitive boy. Do you tell an eight-year-old that in the imagination of those who conceptualized that ad for Wendy’s and the larger society in which he lives, he is only an improved version of those cannibals by virtue of the accident of his birth in Canada? Do you explain to an eight-year-old that in all the great tomes of this society, those cannibals figure as his ancestors, his kinsmen? How do you handle the fact that the word “tribesmen”, complete with the entire gamut of its baggage in the West, has somehow crept into the vocabulary of your eight-year-old son and you didn’t even realize it? The boy from Ghana was so disgusted when he uttered the word “tribesmen” and that was particularly worrisome.

“Can’t you see I’m busy with our guest? Go back to your room and we’ll talk about this later”. The boy left, sulking. “That’s a temporary escape for you”, I told my friend, “This boy obviously thinks himself Canadian. For now he is still too young to realize that a tree trunk may spend twenty years in the river, it will never become a crocodile. There will always be the artillery of the West’s stubborn image of the Other to remind him of his “savage” origins. You’re lucky he still doesn’t realize his kinship with Wendy’s cannibals”. “Pius, it’s easy for you to sermonize now. Your daughter is only three months old. Wait until you reach this bridge. All African parents here in the West face this problem”.

“Has your son ever been to Ghana”, I asked my friend. He replied in the negative but told me he was making plans to take him home soon. That’s part of the problem, I told him. Those of us here have two options. Our first option is to raise children who are going to be completely deluded that they are Canadians or Americans, that they are not like “those Cannibals and tribesmen” whereas the imagery of Otherness and its economies of meaning will follow them their entire lives, never mind that they “speak English with no accent!” Obama is a good example. From time to time, they remind him… a photo of him dressed as a Somali elder, a trip by CNN to meet his grandmother, little hints here and there. They don’t want him to have any illusions. Our second option, therefore, is to raise hybrid subjects who have no illusions about who they really are deep down, a secure inner core, beneath the monochromatic surface of hybridity and métissage, even if their passports and their accents tell other stories, other supposed narratives of modernity.

“How do you do that when the cards are so thoroughly dealt against us”, my friend ventured. He continued: “We don’t even have the pedagogical resources to counter Wendy’s narrative at age-appropriate levels. Take the case of your countryman, Chinua Achebe. Things Fall Apart is a great material. Do we have abridged, Children’s versions of that great African book? If my son had encountered masquerades in age-appropriate abridged versions of Things Fall Apart, perhaps his question today would have been: Dad, why is Wendy’s making those masquerades look bad?”

Now, that was a brilliant point I hadn’t even thought about. “Well there is always a start”, I exclaimed. “Subscribe to Setanta sports. Make sure he watches the nations cup with you. Let him add Stephen Appiah, Samuel Eto’o, Didier Drogba, and Kanu Nwankwo to his list of heroes composed exclusively for now of names from Canadian ice hockey and American football and basketball!” We laughed and returned to our football talk but something had changed about the evening. On my way home, I thought about my three-month-old daughter and what my friend had said about getting to that bridge. How will I react when she is old enough to go to school and returns one day to ask me, innocently, about disgusting cannibals and tribesmen from Africa?

Culled from Nigeria Village Square

Happy Independence Day!

2008-03-10T19:42:00.003-05:00

6th March 2008 marked Ghana's 51 independence anniversary.Happy birthday to the nation that was and still appears to be a beacon of sub-Saharan Africa.

Left: Ghana's founding father, Osagyefo Dr.Kwame Nkrumah and the 'Big Six',6th March 1957.

...Western Media Influence and Africa's Youth

2008-03-10T18:22:00.008-05:00

I chanced on this article on Ghanaweb.com and bashful as I usually am about moralising and religious fire-breathing, I shared part of the author's worry about undue western media influences on Africa's traditionally conservative youth and culture.In particular,the popular continent-wide broadcasted Big Brother Africa's (BBA) increasingly loose moral bend.The image on the left is of Makosi, a recent contestant from Zimbabwe, who in addition to routinely baring herself to the tens of millions of Africa's live audience, also had unprotected sex with a house-mate on the set.For a continent plagued with AIDS and struggling to reassert its cultural heritage and identity on the international stage, what messages do such western-influenced mass media programmes send to the youth? Should we be concerned?

"The devil can cite scripture for his own purpose. An evil soul producing holy witness is like a villain with a smiling cheek. What a goodly outlook falsehood hath?"- William Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice.

In a country, where some so-called 'men of letters' screamed for the exclusion of Religious and Moral Education from the curricula, I was least surprised when I stumbled on endorsing reviews on that disguised immorality show called Big Brother. In the name of truth, I do not care about whose ox is gored or whose sleep is murdered. The fact that we are being swept off our feet by the alarming rate of biblical illiteracy does not mean I would not wear my born-again badge with fierce pride, and honour.

It is no contradicting the fact that a small percentage of Africans have access to television sets and even a fewer number to Cable Television, or regular power supply, but the interest that the Big Brother Africa programme has been generating since it was introduced in 2003, perhaps due to the generous reports it continually receives from the gutter press is quite worrisome.

In advanced countries, divorce rates, killings, thefts seem to be getting higher by the day, and I wonder why we continue ape the morally bereft aspects of western culture? Tragically, several analysts seeking to turn logic on our sane heads advance claims that seek to lure us into following them to the demonic cesspit.

In the maiden edition, despite all its flaws, the show got endorsement from no common a peerless one like Mandela. The concept of Big Brother Africa was one of educating the public and unifying the African audience, but the 2007 version played up all the negatives for a $100,000 prize. With contestants behaving like some sex-starved marauders packed in a glorified human zoo, you start wondering if the wind of immorality came from as far as the Hades to swoop on contestants. The Ofunneka/ Richard 'fingergate' scandal is instructive. How on earth could a 'lady' worth his dignity and integrity allow for some murky-hearted man insert his fingers into her privates in the glare of the public? Gosh! This is absolute madness! Do these shameless fellows ever stop to think that the footage of their disgraceful outing in South Africa would survive tomorrow, and that posterity would release fusillade upon fusillade of questions they would have little answers? How do these girls intend to rationalize their acts by explaining to their kid-brothers about the chest baring they lent themselves to? It is painful to imagine that they would carry the shame of immoral acts all their lives. It must be clear to them now that whoever counseled them into participation meant little good for them. It is irrefutable, those contestants are now role models for delinquents and no attempt to smuggle them to the good books of history would make for their shameful acts. It was perhaps the most annoying apology for a display of moral-bankruptcy when Kwaku Tutu, Ghana's so-called representative in the house, known for his Ghano-Bronx accent was given a red-carpet treatment in our country where hypocrites profess to worship the Almighty.

Controversies have continued to trail this show. The Malawian parliament voted to ban Big Brother Africa when it was on. The ruling party and political opposition could not but get on a consensus in condemning the show. The same thing happened in Namibia where the President, Sam Nojuma, called on the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation to stop running the show and rather showcase historical footages. In Zambia, the powerful clergy which had gotten shows banned in the past declared a 'moral alert' and also demanded a government ban on the programme.

The last straw upholding the show's chip of integrity finally snapped when two contestants in the Big Brother Nigeria house were caught on full glare of cameras zigzagging (sic). Probably, at the advice of organisers, they had the effrontery to act as 'porn stars' before the more than one million viewers in Africa. Left to me, being crowned the winner of such a show is the least enviable in the world (besides being the queen of frumps, perhaps). Now the point has also been regularly made, namely, why watch BBA if you know it would offend your mind? Indeed, porn channels and websites like BBA abound, but they do not attract generous positive reviews from "serious" newspapers like BBA does. And that is where my beef lies.

The devil having lost his place in heaven due to pride and rebellion is very much desperate on getting many more people to suffer the eternal torments of hell with him. The battle of evil and good is as old as Adams, and as the crafty-Lucifer veils immorality in the name of entertainment, we should indeed be weary. There is a plethora of dead-beat ministries on the radio and so-called "Christian" broadcast networks. The simple gospel of Jesus Christ has been polluted with teachings about "financial seeds" and "witchcrafts." You hardly hear pastors give sermons that are against immorality. They even question critics like me on my definition of what constitutes an indecent dressing. Dapper televangelists masquerade as "God's Anointed" and shamelessly turn the gift of salvation into a charismatic infomercial with the goal of getting their hands on your money. To attract more people to their churches, they proclaim to heal even without the receiver's faith and bait gullible ones with gospel gimmicks. The inevitable question I am forced to ask is: why would people leave their bibles and allow some person stamp their foreheads with simpletons?

Those clamouring for the next staging of that immorality show in our country should please visit the harshest place in hell for support. They can waltz into the arms of the devil and dine with him if they wish. The heavens know this show leaves a pernicious influence of third-degree immorality on viewers and I call on nimble minds to help hammer the ugly head of immorality. I pray our enviable sexually conservative society never witness such wanton celebration of banality and immorality. The destiny is in our hands!

Manu Afreh Bernard, henroafro@yahoo.com

Source:
Manu Afreh Bernard,
WWW.GHANAWEB.COM

Ghana's Deceptive Peace and Black Gold

2008-02-26T02:37:00.002-05:00

I'm sure most of you have heard about this, but for those who haven't, Ghana struck more 'black' gold aka oil. So after the whole excitement of the first oil find died down and the oil companies continued their search, they've been once more successful and struck gold! And once again the excitement starts up. That's all good and dandy. But...(there's always a but.lol)...I think its important that Ghana start putting the necessary structures and institutions in place to manage this 'new' resource. Otherwise, theres really no reason for all the jubilation cos its just going to end up as mismanaged as all our other resources AND we might even end up importing more quantities of it than we currently are.

President Kufour and a number of state figures have urged that the right factors be put in place and all, but I'm just wondering...do we have Ghanaian oil specialists or are we gonna outsource those responsibilities to foreigners? Whats worrying is the first oil find was about 6 months ago, and there was all the talk about putting in the right management institutions and laws and all, but after the excitement died down, that talk died down as well and theres nothing to show for it...nothing that I've seen/heard/read about at least. My greatest fear in this regard is that its only the elite few whole will actually benefit from this added resource, and that could lead to a whole number of other things. Are Ghanaians prepared to and capable of managing their own resources, and Africans in general for that matter? To check out the articles:

Ghana strikes more black gold: http://myjoyonline.com/business/200802/13798.asp

Pres. Kuffour charges stakeholders: http://myjoyonline.com/news/200802/13827.asp

Call for law on oil management: http://myjoyonline.com/business/200802/13809.asp

On another note, a former government worker has declared that Ghana's peace is deceptive! How dare he? Ghana prides itself on its peace...but really, I don't think he's far from the truth. His argument is that most of the conditions that preceded violence in many African countries are present in Ghana. And that I absolutely concur with. For one thing, we have all these ethnic scuffles going on that never quite die down. For another thing, a greater percentage of our population is poor and as a result is most likely unhappy about living conditions. Do you think the notion of peace in Ghana and some of the other 'relatively' peaceful African countries is deceptive? Like they say, its not by might nor by power, but by the Grace of the Lord. Inshallah, come election time there will be no extreme violence of any sorts.

Article: http://myjoyonline.com/politics/200802/13805.asp

Finally, is it just me, or has anyone even realised that its about 9 days to Independence Day!!!...*Silence* .... Okay, just checking.lol. Ciao.

Bush's Ghana Visit: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

2008-02-18T18:18:00.003-05:00

Okay, so there have been a number of things on my mind lately...and all of them seem to be connected in some way to a code name: Bush.

Alors, the American President is scheduled to visit Ghana...tomorrow, as part of his 'Africa tour'....in order to show how 'committed the US is to advancing US-Africa nation relations'...or something to that effect.

Now, its really interesting to note a couple of things about this visit.
No.1 More people are scared about his impending visit than overjoyed. I remember when Clinton visited Ghana in...when was it again...it was a big deal and some people honestly felt like a savior had been sent from heaven or something to that effect. Sure everyone knows that America currently holds hegemony in world affairs (I say currently because history has proven that nothing is permanent..and with China literally giving the US a run for its money which is seriously losing value in relation to the Euro you can see how possible it is to be 'unhegemonised' at any point in time), and it is important to be in the good books of the 'world leader'.

Now you know how we Africans just love to suck up to Westerners,(Before you're quick to deny it, think about why we haven't taken any substantial stands in refusing some of the economic policies which we KNOW aren't doing our economies any good)...but I can understand the sucking up if we look at it from a survival stance. When faced with 2 choices that will not benefit us, we would rather go for the one that would give immediate gratification. And history has proven this point too so many times. So. In this day and age, if even the regular people of a country are somewhat against a US President's visit to their country...you really have to wonder what is going on. Is the fear of 'not-so-welcome' results greater than the prospect of being able to enjoy a few debt reliefs here and there? Check the article out here: http://myjoyonline.com/politics/200802/13567.asp

Okay, i for one sometimes wish I could go beyond all the artfully crafted (but sometimes not so eloquently delivered) speeches that President Bush makes. Really, aside all the stuff they tell the public to keep them quiet, wouldn't it be interesting to actually know the real reasons for pursuing one venture or another? Okay, so there are a whole number of reasons being associated with President Bush's visit to Ghana:

1)To make up for his 'until recent' lack of real committment to African related issues
2)To redeem himself before his term is over
3) Because Ghana recently discovered that she just might have oil...at this point I plead with all the forces that be. Don't let this oil thing cause us more harm than good...
4)In order to finish up plans for a military base on African soil
5)Because he suddenly realised that there is a West African country that might actually be turning its economy around :o
6) Because at heart Mr.President is a true Ghanaian with much love for the GH!

Okay, so I personally think there could be some truth to the whole oil thing, and maybe also to the whole Ghana is a rising star on the African continent thing (tell me, are they now realising this? We've had that Black Star since our independence...even if we don't always uphold it) but one thing I am honestly hoping against is the whole military base thing. There's a reason why military concerns and civilian concerns are not mixed together. And this should remain as it is. Introduce a US military base into ANY African country and you're just wishing that country damnation. I have talked to some people who seriously believe a military base could be a good thing. But please for the love of whatever is dearest to you, you need to look at the whole picture!!!! Anyways, after all of Bush's speeches saying how important it is for the African military base, it seems they are backing off.... check it out here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7251648.stm . The Ghanaian government has also proclaimed once again that they are not interested in hosting a US Military base: http://myjoyonline.com/news/200802/13563.asp . I think it would be helpful to point out that the Ghanaian government has refuted these claims many times...as far back as 2001...and a few months after each declaration there's another news article that talks about advancements in plans to set up the base...so honestly, I wouldn't start jubilating just yet. I'll try to keep tabs on this topic in particular and post updates etc cos there's already too little publicity about it as it is.

Final of finals (Gosh this is such a looong note.lol)...Okay seriously, Ghana. WHY do we make such a big deal about Western Presidents visiting our country!!! Fine, Taeya explained the whole we need to present our best foot forward deal to me but I still don't get it!!!!! With Clinton's visit there was like a total revamp of Accra (mind you, he was in Ghana for only 8 HOURS) and about a week later everything was back to normal. For heavens sake can't we just restore or revamp our cities just because and most especially for ourselves???? Okay, so its one thing that the major roads will be closed for Bush's visit (Check it out: http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=139364 I wonder if these leaders even realise all the effort) but its another thing to write a full-page article on his visit and only 5 meager lines on the visit of the Zambian President!(http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=139362) Gosh, what happen to the notion of equality...virtually non-existent huh?

Talk about rubbing the fact in my face...so here's a news update...Bush is spending more days in Ghana than previously arranged...and he's spending the most days in Ghana than in any of the other African countries. http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=139412 . I don't know whether to say 'nawa oo' or to smile in amusement (the longer he stays the higher the probability of him seeing the true state of affairs in Ghana). Anyways, its 12 midnight and I'm sure you guys have had a looong read. (Thanks for sticking with me this far lol). Feel free to leave thoughts/comments on anything discussed here or anything else you like. Oh, and my English is currently undergoing reconstruction seeing that my French is battling with it for dominion. lol . So do forgive me if I made any serious errors. Ciao!

2008-02-06T15:35:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite songs by the Timeless Fela Kuti.The day his words cease to be relevant, Africa would have arrived at the promised land....

Professor Agyeman wants to legalise prostitution?

2008-02-05T10:54:00.000-05:00

http://www.myjoyonline.com/news/200802/13232.asp

The above linked news piece reports on Prof. Agyeman's (Senior Fellow, University of Cape Coast) proposal that prostitution in Ghana be legalised so as to "enable government control and avert child prositution." I found this report interesting for 3 reasons; its length, assumptions and, the fact that this particular suggestion came from a Sociology professor. As always, i doubt the truthfulness or accuracy of this report. However, for the sake of Ghana, i find it irresistible to not comment on a subject that merits serious discussion among all concerned.

Depending on how one prefers to look at prostitution, it could be described as either a problem or good business. Yet the debate does not necessarily center on the moral question; is it good or bad? Rather, I believe the problem lies in the definition of prostitution. I am sure many people would regard it as the exchange of sex for money. But let us consider a new proposal of the concept by the Dutch authorities; full consent to exploitation of the self. In defining prostitution, the Dutch government seeks to establish whether there was any coercion. So that, in determining the legality of the exchange of sex for money, the authorities would rule that whenever consent was established, the act constituted prostitution thus a legal trade. But does a mere offer or acceptance of money for sex constitute consent? Well, that depends on a lot of things, including the manner of offer, circumstances surrounding the offer and acceptance, persons involved etc. However, since this commentary is about the report referenced above, I will leave such discussion of definitions for a later posting.

I used the Dutch example because I believe Ghana can learn a lot from it. Ofcourse I am not advocating that we proceed to legalizing prostitution as the Dutch did. Rather, to solve the socio-economic problems that emanate from this business, Prof. Agyeman and concerned Ghanaians must look to defining the problem in a way that the people's psyche can adapt. So, assuming the report about Agyeman's proposal is true, it makes no sense and it solves no problem to check a person's national identification card to determine his or her age after the act (consented or forced prostitution) has occured. The Prof. probably does not know that ID duplication is real and, as a matter of fact a booming business in the shadow economy. Even if prostitution is made legal and rules are created to govern the business, how do we address the problem of desperate underaged children from the rural areas who go into that line of business in order to survive the crazy city life? Also, the Professor's explanation that security personnel would be able to determine a person's age upon presentation of an ID can be confusing as it relies on age as a determining factor of whether prostitution has occured. Yet the age factor plays an important role in discussing child prostitution; another topic I will not delve into here as it is broad enough to merit its own forum.

Another look at the report makes me think that perhaps Agyeman is addressing two separate issues; the National ID Project and Legalization of Prostitution. He may be advocating for the legalization with the belief that it will curb child prostitution or, he may be calling on government to expedite action on the ID project. However, in politics and certain levels of business, I believe it is expedient (sometimes) to merge two unrelating issues and then derive a senseless conclusion in order to score a sub-contract with a party. Maybe Prof. Agyeman is a potential subcontractor of the ID project, otherwise all of the above is bullshit!

The Great African Scandal (2007)

2008-01-16T00:28:00.000-05:00

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Academic Robert Beckford visits Ghana to investigate the hidden costs of rice, chocolate and gold and why, 50 years after independence, a country so rich in natural resources is one of the poorest in the world. He discovers child labourers farming cocoa instead of attending school and asks if the activities of multinationals, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have actually made the country's problems worse.

RAVINGS OF A WORRIED YOUNG GHANAIAN

2008-01-09T18:07:00.000-05:00

i think no matter how far from home someone is; the persons heart always longs for home(more so with us Ghanaians who seem never to forget our kelewele's, fufu's and groundnut soup's).
with this longing look at Ghana, i and i believe a lot of others have been looking on with something akin to worry at sum of the utterances by our so called political leaders in the latter part of last year and in this new year.
like many Ghanaians both home and abroad, www.myjoyonline.com and Ghanaweb are websites that we use to keep up to date with the going's on in the country and we have been watching with some worry as we see some of the statements people utter.
the first one that really got me were the utterances by one NDC chairman that Ghana was going to burn if NPP retained power, a statement i and i know a lot of others translated as meaning "IF NDC LOST". what i say and continue to say is Ghana will burn my foot... Ghana belongs to nobody.... not NDC, NPP, AAA, BBB, CCC and which ever political parties crop up along the line... and if he wants to set it ablaze he would make world class firefighters out of a lot of us who believe in our country heart, soul and body!!!...
i believe no political leader!!....
no matter your political affiliations should be allowed to utter such statements like this, they border on the immature and desperation.
The second one was by an NDC statesman i have always respected, because he has put Ghana on the map in his field of specialisation.... i think he more than most should have known better. i prefer not to mention names here but anybody who follows Ghana news would know who i am talking about.
i have never been a political person and also have as yet to come across someone who can read the future well enough to predict something with any degree of certainty, so either the people predicting this future doom have perfected a new art which in my opinion could fetch a lot of foreign exchange for our country if marketed well, or i think they have nothing better to give a Ghana that is growing more objective and hungry for success by the day and that has a solid future ahead of it.....
as for the man on the streets they always say is crying for money in his pocket.. i believe they should look to other countries and see how every common man is putting his hands to the wheel and transforming his own life and the life of those around him.
They say if you teach a man to fish it is much better than giving him fish... but i say even if you don't teach the man how to fish but show him where the fish are, a "wild" man will learn how to fish himself.
i don't think the fathers of Ghana are displaying the political maturity we expect them to display almost 12 solid months before Ghanaians go to the polls. 12 months....., man that's a lot of time.
Ghana I BELIEVE is on a pathway as i am speaking to achieving more than it has in decades. Parents should stop talking and listening to themselves and listen to the wheels of enterprise that are being set in motion by us the youth who believe we can raise our country up.
walk into any Ghanaian college or university right now and ask this question......
"what do you want to do after school"...
and i believe this statement will be found in almost all of the answers, albeit cautiously said... "i hope to own my own company".. i think the age of the 40,50,60 and ++ year olds fighting to achieve something for themselves has to end and the age of parents looking at their children, thinking about their futures and thinking.... "he has to achieve his(&her) dreams, and i have to help him do that" has to be ushered in. Ghana is in motion and has to be allowed to move and i think in 12 months a lot could happen that could shape our country, good and bad..... NPP could collapse..., NDC could collapse..., a newer more loved candidate could arise... etc.....
i believe Ghana can lead Africa if we set our minds to it, forget petty fights and ambitions and let all our collective ambitions point towards the common good of our country... by the way..
"if u go heaven come down... masa u be Ghanaian.. u never fit erase that from ur body... and Ghana for dey give all our Kiddies"
there is so much that can change the politics of a country in 12 months and i don't believe (with my 22 yr old experience) that anybody has mastered that art of reading the future to the extent that he could start predicting now... if he has i think id better invite him to help me draw the map of my own future..... what do you think???
it would be nice to know how it would turn out

Ghana - Pacesetter

2008-01-03T15:18:00.000-05:00

Ghana is a frontrunner in capital market development

On September 27 this year the eyes of the international capital markets were drawn to Ghana: on that day Ghana became the first sub-Saharan country after the Republic of South Africa to issue a dollar-denominated, ten-year government bond and in so doing experienced huge demand. This important test of the international appetite for African bonds thus proved extremely positive and cleared the way for future bond issues by other promising candidates like Gabon, Kenya and Zambia.
As a whole, however, Ghana’s capital markets are still relatively small and illiquid. The stock market with its 30 or so listed companies is completely open to foreign investors in principle. Gaining access and making a stock market transaction, however, requires a great deal of organisational and administrative effort.
The local-currency bond market is only just starting to emerge. Nurturing its growth is, however, very high on the list of government priorities, which is also shown by the increasing liberalisation of access for foreign investors. Since December of last year foreign investors have been able to invest in capital market instruments with a maturity of at least three years. An alternative option is investing in bonds issued by the African Development Bank which are denominated in Ghanaian cedis.
The above-mentioned options are, however, out of the question for retail investors on account of the high minimum investments or lack of access. Also equity funds and fixed-income funds with a significant share of Ghanaian securities are still very thin on the ground. Retail investors must therefore be a little patient before they can include the trendsetter in West Africa in their portfolios.

* This article was published in the Börsenzeitung newspaper on November 24.

To read more, go to Deutsche Bank Research's website; http://www.dbresearch.com/servlet/reweb2.ReWEB;jsessionid=13d24:47500c4d:aaab924776128b3?rwkey=u40482028

"Immature" Politicians

2008-01-03T05:23:00.000-05:00

has anybody seen this article...how can people who hope to lead a nation speak like this
"Ghana Will Burn, If NPP Retains Power" http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=136822&comment=3433087#com

Ghana will burn my foot....

Kofi Akosah-Sarpong, thought provoking writer

2008-01-03T04:28:00.000-05:00

Reportedly based in Sierra Leone (http://people.africadatabase.org/en/person/11031.html) but really based in Canada this, Ghanaian-Canadian as he calls himself writes some thought provoking articles about Ghana and the state and percieved future of our country. He has been mooted along with Prof. Ayitey as one of Ghana's great emerging thinkers. you can view some of his articles at http://www.africanexecutive.com/modules/magazine/articles_editor.php?editor=45

enjoy.....

Debt relief and perpetual dependency - EU & AU

2007-12-11T10:02:00.000-05:00

Africans wary of Europe's trade offer

By Will Ross BBC West Africa correspondent, Ghana

As African and European leaders meet in Portugal, one of the most important issues on the agenda is trade.
But a new trade agreement being offered by the European leaders has proved controversial and few countries have agreed to sign up.
An hour and a half by road from the Ghanaian capital Accra, Billy Gameti is inspecting his pineapple crop.
He leases 75 acres (30 hectares) of land and employs 25 workers. Starting early in the morning to avoid the intense heat, one of the workers, Moses, bends over to pick the pineapples and tells me how this job has helped him.
"I can pay school fees for my two children, pay the electricity bills, my rent and also borrow some money if I need to from the boss."
A 20-minute drive away, 1,500 men and women work in shifts at the Blue Skies factory which buys the produce from 130 farmers like Billy Gameti.
They are preparing pre-packed fruit salads and juices for the European supermarkets - about 20 metric tons of pineapples, papaya, mango and coconut leave by truck for Ghana's international airport every day.
Export challenges
These fruit salads may be healthy but this kind of business is criticised by some because of the impact on global warming. With some fruit currently out of season in Ghana, the mangoes are flown in on a charter flight from Brazil and the pomegranates come from Egypt.
The business is booming. Turnover was around $50m (£25m) last year and it is growing by 25% a year.
The challenges of exporting perishable goods, especially in Ghana's climate, are great - the European supermarkets are unbelievably fussy customers, Ghana's electricity supply is far from guaranteed, the road to Accra is currently appalling and there have been problems with the supply of aviation fuel at Ghana's airport.
But once these challenges have been overcome, at least Blue Skies has been able to sell to Europe tariff-free.
But for how long?
The current preferential trade agreement between the European Union and almost 80 countries has been declared illegal by the World Trade Organisation, so a new deal has to be found or else companies like Blue Skies will suddenly be faced with tariffs at the end of this month.
"Our juice products to UK supermarket Marks and Spencer would immediately become unviable and the remainder of our products would take a significant hit," says Blue Skies chairman and founder Anthony Pile.
He says the company would try to re-negotiate prices with European supermarkets.
"But a price increase is extremely difficult and if no solution was found the possibility of relocating the company elsewhere would be looked at."
Divide-and-rule strategy
There is an offer on the table from Europe - the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
You can play the piano with the white keys only or you can play it with only the black keys - but for harmony you must use the black and the white keys Ernest Debrah Ghanaian agricultural minister
If countries sign they can continue to get their products into Europe duty-free but this agreement - which the Europeans are pushing hard - would also mean allowing most European goods into countries like Ghana duty-free. There are fears local industry in Ghana would struggle to compete.
"What the Europeans are putting in place is aimed more or less at undermining the attempt by African economies to move away from the dependence on exporting raw materials towards industrial processing," says Tetteh Homeku of the research and advocacy group Third World Network.
Tetteh Homeku says the Europeans are also interfering with the Ghanaian government's attempts to nurture its industry, and sidelining other trade agreements which would serve poor countries like Ghana better.
He points to the Generalised System of Preferences, or GSP Plus, which is a European trade deal for countries whose economies are poorly diversified and therefore dependent and vulnerable.
Countries in the regional grouping Ecowas have failed to adopt a common position on the European offer and Ivory Coast is so far the only West African nation to have signed an interim deal.
Some analysts suggest that, by negotiating agreements with separate countries, European leaders have adopted a divide and rule strategy aimed at weakening any possible regional clout.
With the threat of: "Accept this EPA deal now or pay tariffs from the start of next month," it is not surprising that the likes of the fruit exporters are getting nervous and are pushing the government here to sign.
'Lack of harmony'
The Ghanaian government now has to appease both the exporters like Blue Skies and those who fear the impact of the EPA on local industry.
Agriculture Minister Ernest Debrah says the time for "winner takes all" is over and, as leaders from Africa and Europe meet in Lisbon, he calls for a more harmonious relationship between Africa and Europe.
"You can play the piano with the white keys only or you can play it with only the black keys. But for harmony you must use the black and the white keys," he says.
"If you continue to take too much of the advantage then you create a situation where you've got a stronger and a very weak side and we don't get the harmony we deserve.
"We must look at balancing the global issues so that we can live on this globe very peacefully."
While there is talk at the Lisbon summit of a new better relationship between Africa and Europe, this controversial trade agreement has done little to convince the sceptics that European leaders are really determined to help Africa develop.

Hippos V Cheetahs: Prof. George Ayittey

2007-11-27T00:41:00.000-05:00

Science Museum cancels talk by Watson after 'racist' comments

2007-10-18T05:53:00.001-05:00

Science Museum cancels talk by Watson after 'racist' comments
By Cahal Milmo
Published: 18 October 2007

A speaking tour by the DNA pioneer James Watson was thrown into chaos last night when one of Britain's most high-profile scientific institutions announced it was cancelling a planned sell-out appearance.
The Science Museum in London said Dr Watson had gone "beyond the point of acceptable debate" during an interview this weekend in which he claimed black people were less intelligent than their white counterparts.
The 79-year-old American academic, who won a Nobel Prize for his part in unravelling the structure of DNA in the 1960s, had been due to kick off a week-long publicity tour at some of Britain's leading academic institutions, including Oxford and Cambridge Universities, tomorrow by addressing a capacity audience at the museum.
But it said that although the museum was ready to discuss difficult subjects it could no longer act as a platform for Dr Watson's views in the light of his remarks. The scientist, who is director of one of America's leading research institutions, the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, had been due to discuss his autobiography, in which he suggests that the notion of " equal powers of reason" across all races are a delusion.
In a statement, the museum said: "We know that eminent scientists can sometimes say things that cause controversy and the Science Museum does not shy away from debating controversial topics.
"However, the Science Museum feels that Nobel Prize winner James Watson's recent comments have gone beyond the point of acceptable debate and we are as a result cancelling his talk at the museum."
The move came as other academic institutions hosting Dr Watson vowed to ensure he faced tough questioning on his views, which have once more opened a debate on race and intelligence considered beyond the pale by the scientific mainstream.
Human rights campaigners called on Dr Watson, a Nobel Prize winner for his role in the discovery of the structure of DNA in the 1960s, to apologise publicly for his comments, describing them as "scientifically unethical and unjustifiable".
Dr Watson is still due to speak at five engagements, including events at the Oxford and Cambridge universities. He will also attend a reception at the Royal Society in London.
But his comments in The Sunday Times have overshadowed the visit and caused an outcry from across the worlds of science, politics and the anti-racism lobby. He said he was "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa ... because all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours – whereas all the testing says not really ". The new Human Rights and Equality Commission, which has the power to investigate alleged infringements of race laws, has said it is studying Dr Watson's comments "in full".
Among Dr Watson's appearances will be an event at Bristol's annual Festival of Ideas hosted by the university's vice-chancellor, Eric Watson. A university spokesman said yesterday: "As a university, we respect ... the right of people to express their views. But we would also expect there to be some robust questioning of Dr Watson on his ideas."
Organisers at each of the appearances in London, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Oxford, Cambridge and Bristol said there would be questions from the audience. The co-ordinator of one event, who asked not be named, said: " The correct way to respond is to allow him to be challenged as strongly as possible. A view that is not based on science or is simply wrong will be exposed as such."
Professor Dawkins, who as author of the The God Delusion is no stranger to controversy, yesterday declined to comment on Dr Watson's remarks. The two men, widely considered to be among the world's leading secularists, will appear at Oxford's Sheldonian Theatre next week. Professor Dawkins has previously sprung to Dr Watson's defence after he suggested in a 1997 newspaper interview that a woman should have the right to abort a foetus if it was found to be carrying a "gay" gene. The Oxford academic said Dr Watson was merely speaking in favour of choice for women.
Blink, a London-based human rights organisation for black people, described Dr Watson's remarks as "scientifically unethical, unjustifiable theories [that are] ideologically fudged and bankrupt propositions".
Koku Adomdza, the director, said: "We call on Dr Watson to lodge an unreserved apology to Africa and all people of African origin for his disrespectful remarks and request for the leadership of his university to take appropriate action against him."
CSHL said last night that Dr Watson was unavailable to comment as he was en route to London.
Interesting?

Reuters Sympathetic Report On Ghana Post Independence

2007-10-17T09:42:00.000-05:00

The Unstopable Rise of the Afropolitan

2007-10-14T12:59:00.000-05:00

Here is an interesting article sent by a friend. It was published in LIP magazine, a media project devoted to complicating the stereotypes about Africa, and on the author's blog.

by Taiye Tuakli-Wosornu

It’s moments to midnight on Thursday night at Medicine Bar in London. Zak, boy-genius DJ, is spinning a Fela Kuti remix. The little downstairs dancefloor swells with smiling, sweating men and women fusing hip-hop dance moves with a funky sort of djembe. The women show off enormous afros, tiny t-shirts, gaps in teeth; the men those incredible torsos unique to and common on African coastlines. The whole scene speaks of the Cultural Hybrid: kente cloth worn over low-waisted jeans; ‘African Lady’ over Ludacris bass lines; London meets Lagos meets Durban meets Dakar. Even the DJ is an ethnic fusion: Nigerian and Romanian; fair, fearless leader; bobbing his head as the crowd reacts to a sample of ‘Sweet Mother’.

Were you to ask any of these beautiful, brown-skinned people that basic question – ‘where are you from?’ – you’d get no single answer from a single smiling dancer. This one lives in London but was raised in Toronto and born in Accra; that one works in Lagos but grew up in Houston, Texas. ‘Home’ for this lot is many things: where their parents are from; where they go for vacation; where they went to school; where they see old friends; where they live (or live this year). Like so many African young people working and living in cities around the globe, they belong to no single geography, but feel at home in many.

They (read: we) are Afropolitans – the newest generation of African emigrants, coming soon or collected already at a law firm/chem lab/jazz lounge near you. You’ll know us by our funny blend of London fashion, New York jargon, African ethics, and academic successes. Some of us are ethnic mixes, e.g. Ghanaian and Canadian, Nigerian and Swiss; others merely cultural mutts: American accent, European affect, African ethos. Most of us are multilingual: in addition to English and a Romantic or two, we understand some indigenous tongue and speak a few urban vernaculars. There is at least one place on The African Continent to which we tie our sense of self: be it a nation-state (Ethiopia), a city (Ibadan), or an auntie’s kitchen. Then there’s the G8 city or two (or three) that we know like the backs of our hands, and the various institutions that know us for our famed focus. We are Afropolitans: not citizens, but Africans of the world.

It isn’t hard to trace our genealogy. Starting in the 60’s, the young, gifted and broke left Africa in pursuit of higher education and happiness abroad. A study conducted in 1999 estimated that between 1960 and 1975 around 27,000 highly skilled Africans left the Continent for the West. Between 1975 and 1984, the number shot to 40,000 and then doubled again by 1987, representing about 30% of Africa’s highly skilled manpower. Unsurprisingly, the most popular destinations for these emigrants included Canada, Britain, and the United States; but Cold War politics produced unlikely scholarship opportunities in Eastern Bloc countries like Poland, as well.

Some three decades later this scattered tribe of pharmacists, physicists, physicians (and the odd polygamist) has set up camp around the globe. The caricatures are familiar. The Nigerian physics professor with faux-Coogi sweater; the Kenyan marathonist with long legs and rolled r’s; the heavyset Gambian braiding hair in a house that smells of burnt Kanekalon. Even those unacquainted with synthetic extensions can conjure an image of the African immigrant with only the slightest of pop culture promptings: Eddie Murphy’s ‘Hello, Barbar.’ But somewhere between the 1988 release of Coming to America and the 2001 crowning of a Nigerian Miss World, the general image of young Africans in the West transmorphed from goofy to gorgeous. Leaving off the painful question of cultural condescenscion in that beloved film, one wonders what happened in the years between Prince Akeem and Queen Agbani?

One answer is: adolescence. The Africans that left Africa between 1960 and 1975 had children, and most overseas. Some of us were bred on African shores then shipped to the West for higher education; others born in much colder climates and sent home for cultural re-indoctrination. Either way, we spent the 80’s chasing after accolades, eating fufu at family parties, and listening to adults argue politics. By the turn of the century (the recent one), we were matching our parents in number of degrees, and/or achieving things our ‘people’ in the grand sense only dreamed of. This new demographic – dispersed across Brixton, Bethesda, Boston, Berlin – has come of age in the 21st century, redefining what it means to be African. Where our parents sought safety in traditional professions like doctoring, lawyering, banking, engineering, we are branching into fields like media, politics, music, venture capital, design. Nor are we shy about expressing our African influences (such as they are) in our work. Artists such as Keziah Jones, Trace founder and editor Claude Gruzintsky, architect David Adjaye, novelist Chimamanda Achidie – all exemplify what Gruzintsky calls the ‘21st century African.’

What distinguishes this lot and its like (in the West and at home) is a willingness to complicate Africa – namely, to engage with, critique, and celebrate the parts of Africa that mean most to them. Perhaps what most typifies the Afropolitan consciousness is the refusal to oversimplify; the effort to understand what is ailing in Africa alongside the desire to honor what is wonderful, unique. Rather than essentialising the geographical entity, we seek to comprehend the cultural complexity; to honor the intellectual and spiritual legacy; and to sustain our parents’ cultures.

For us, being African must mean something. The media’s portrayals (war, hunger) won’t do. Neither will the New World trope of bumbling, blue-black doctor. Most of us grew up aware of ‘being from’ a blighted place, of having last names from to countries which are linked to lack, corruption. Few of us escaped those nasty ‘booty-scratcher’ epithets, and fewer still that sense of shame when visting paternal villages. Whether we were ashamed of ourselves for not knowing more about our parents’ culture, or ashamed of that culture for not being more ‘advanced’ can be unclear. What is manifest is the extent to which the modern adolescent African is tasked to forge a sense of self from wildly disparate sources. You’d never know it looking at those dapper lawyers in global firms, but most were once supremely self-conscious of being so ‘in between’. Brown-skinned without a bedrock sense of ‘blackness,’ on the one hand; and often teased by African family members for ‘acting white’ on the other – the baby-Afropolitan can get what I call ‘lost in transnation’.

Ultimately, the Afropolitan must form an identity along at least three dimensions: national, racial, cultural – with subtle tensions in between. While our parents can claim one country as home, we must define our relationship to the places we live; how British or American we are (or act) is in part a matter of affect. Often unconsciously, and over time, we choose which bits of a national identity (from passport to pronunciation) we internalize as central to our personalities. So, too, the way we see our race – whether black or biracial or none of the above – is a question of politics, rather than pigment; not all of us claim to be black. Often this relates to the way we were raised, whether proximate to other brown people (e.g. black Americans) or removed. Finally, how we conceive of race will accord with where we locate ourselves in the history that produced ‘blackness’ and the political processes that continue to shape it.

Then there is that deep abyss of Culture, ill-defined at best. One must decide what comprises ‘African culture’ beyond pepper soup and filial piety. The project can be utterly baffling – whether one lives in an African country or not. But the process is enriching, in that it expands one’s basic perspective on nation and selfhood. If nothing else, the Afropolitan knows that nothing is neatly black or white; that to ‘be’ anything is a matter of being sure of who you are uniquely. To ‘be’ Nigerian is to belong to a passionate nation; to be Yoruba, to be heir to a spiritual depth; to be American, to ascribe to a cultural breadth; to be British, to pass customs quickly. That is, this is what it means for me – and that is the Afropolitan privilege. The acceptance of complexity common to most African cultures is not lost on her prodigals. Without that intrinsically multi-dimensional thinking, we could not make sense of ourselves.

And if it all sounds a little self-congratulatory, a little ‘aren’t-we-the-coolest-damn-people-on-earth?’ – I say: yes it is, necessarily. It is high time the African stood up. There is nothing perfect in this formulation; for all our Adjayes and Achidies, there is a brain drain back home. Most Afropolitans could serve Africa better in Africa than at Medicine Bar on Thursdays. To be fair, a fair number of African professionals are returning; and there is consciousness among the ones who remain, an acute awareness among this brood of too-cool-for-schools that there’s work to be done. There are those among us who wonder to the point of weeping: where next, Africa? When will the scattered tribes return? When will the talent repatriate? What lifestyles await young professionals at home? How to invest in Africa’s future? The prospects can seem grim at times. The answers aren’t forthcoming. But if there was ever a group who could figure it out, it is this one, unafraid of the questions.

Patrick Awuah: Educating a new generation of African leader

2007-10-08T22:25:00.001-05:00

Patrick Awuah, founder and President of Ashesi University in Ghana--a revolutionary model of Liberal Arts education in Africa, speaks at the TED global conference on the need for ethical and sound leadership in Africa's development.

The Madmen of Africa

2007-10-07T10:38:00.001-05:00

The story of Africa's misfortune is a story of failed leadership. This slideshow,rolled to the background track of the indomitable Fela Anikulapo Kuti, is a stark reminder of what bad leadership has done to Africa.We as Africans must begin to seek,cultivate,incentivize and appreciate good leadership.Given the wave of democratization across the continent, there is still a lot that citizens can do.

Freedom For Ghana

2007-10-07T10:36:00.001-05:00

Great archival video on Ghana's road to independence.In this 50th anniversary year,it's important to remember that historic even but perhaps even more important to ask what the way forward for Ghana will be.

Heartbeat of Ghana

2007-10-06T11:28:00.001-05:00

Paa Kwesi Nduom on the weak Cedi.

2007-09-20T08:25:00.000-05:00

The following was taken out of a longer article written by Dr. Nduom on why the cedi keep falling and what must be done to reverse the trend. My posting the article to this blog is in no way an indication of endorsement of Paa Kwesi.

L. A. Adjetey

Specifically, we must do the following if we want a strong local currency:
1. Reduce the cost of doing business: Our focus as a people over the next three to four months, should be to force the financial system in this country to drastically reduce the cost of borrowing for business purposes. This may be a tough job in an election year. However, if this is not done, the next administration will face en economic catastrophe of revolutionary proportion. There is no justification whatsoever for the unnatural interest rates being charged by the banking system in Ghana today. According to Government and Bank of Ghana statistics, inflation has now reached 20 percent. No plausible official reasons have been given to support these high interest rates. The lending rates today are an invitation for business people to engage in corrupt, unhealthy and unethical practices in order to make ends meet. Major business enterprises may be able to sell assets to raise cash, rely on foreign partners for additional capital or rely on export dollars to be okay. But a strictly cedi based business can simply not make it on the rates that prevail today. The rates can be forced down with concerted action on the part of the Bank of Ghana and the Executive Branch of government. Highly rated companies and top ranked business start-ups should be able to borrow at rates between 10-15 percent.
2. Put brakes on the trade liberalisation policy: There is no question that we have over-liberalised trade in Ghana. To change course will require a two-pronged attack. The first step will be to make it economically difficult and unprofitable to carry on import trade in unessential goods and services. A trade committee of importers, manufacturers, labour and government representatives should define what is essential/unessential. What is unessential should attract charges, surcharges and whatever else will make it non profitable to be imported. Where necessary, quotas should be applied. Some liberals will be unhappy about this. But, they should be referred to the United

States of America, Japan, the United Kingdom, etc. In all of these countries, quotas, surchages, taxes etc. are applied to prevent or minimise competition from imports. The other step will be to consciously provide support in the form of inputs, price stability, extension services for our producers so that they can deliver goods we need particularly what we eat, wear and use for shelter. The first order of any government should be to get our food production (cereals, meat, poultry, fish, etc.) policy in gear and with the same level of priority as has been applied in the past to cocoa and gold. Since the majority of Ghanaians are engaged in some form of food production, this will also have the effect of touching the lives and standard of living of our people in every corner of the country.

Ghanaian Mentality: Why are we the way we are?

2007-09-19T03:55:00.000-05:00

Ghanaian Mentality: Why are we the way we are?

Part 1
Let us start with the interesting notion that certain peoples or nations behave in particular ways that are distinct from others. It is said, for instance, that Americans are loud and arrogant (or confident, depending on whose view you are listening to), yet fiercely patriotic; that Italians are passionate lovers and fiery-tempered; that the British are reserved; the Germans are depressingly efficient and humourless, and that the Japanese are overly polite.Of course all these are stereotypical views and do not apply to each national of these countries. These views are therefore unsustainable. Or are they? Is there a general truth to each of these stereotypes? How else have they gained currency over time? Most of us will evoke a certain stereotype the moment a country or race or profession is mentioned. How many people, for instance, genuinely think lawyers are nice angels and not lying silver-tongued, money grabbing, two-faced crooks?So what is the Ghanaian national character? How do we differ as a people from, say Nigerians or Kenyan, Albanians or Peruvians?

There is this popular anecdote about a European researcher who had heard that Ghanaians were known for answering questions with questions. He therefore hopped on a plane to Accra to research this phenomenon and to see for himself whether this was true. On arrival at Accra’s Kotoka International Airport and whilst being attended to by an immigration officer, he asked casually: ‘ So is it true that Ghanaians answer questions with questions? ‘Who told you that?’ came the reply, quick as lightning. The European smiled, turned around and caught the return flight back home, mission accomplished.Is the Ghanaian character, whatever it may be, divisible along the various ethno-linguistic divides?

Mention a certain ethnic group and the words ‘braggart’, ‘money-loving’ and ‘funeral addict’, readily spring to the mind of many. Another group is feared by many for their supposed ‘magical’ powers but they are reputed to be excellent scholars and carpenters. Yet another ethnic group said to be bestowed with a sweet palate and therefore a preference for ‘building their houses in their bellies’ whilst their roofs leak and their buildings crack and wobble. It also believed that the men from a certain ethnic group are lazy and prefer eating their mother’s food well into adulthood, whilst people from certain parts of the country are generally looked down upon the rest of the country as lacking basic understanding. The list goes on and on, and if you have been able to identify various ethnic groups by the generalities just referred to, well, chances are you are thinking what I am thinking and have therefore proved my point.

The Akuapems are perhaps the only ethnic group in Ghana to enjoy rave reviews for their extraordinary politeness, flavouring every other sentence with ‘me pa wo kyew se’ (please) even when they are just about to insult you. However, it is said that their politeness is no licence for you to mess with their palm nut soup, for that would be tantamount to a declaration of war!How do these diverse groups, each with its own perceived character traits, blend together to produce a ‘national character’ that can be claimed as distinctly Ghanaian, if indeed it is accepted that there is such a thing a Ghanaian character, however loosely you define it? Are there common traits running through all the groups and threading them together?Of course all of the above are silly stereotypes. But nonetheless, they carry a great deal of force in modern Ghana and tend to influence many people’s decisions and perceptions in serious issues like political affiliation, marriages, employment and promotion prospects as well as economic activities like trading.

This is because they have been around for so long that they are believed to be gospel. Perceptions are very important, even of dangerously so.If someone asked you to describe Ghanaians in one word, what would you say? Friendly? Resilient? God-fearing? Peace-loving? Hard working? The defunct Ghana Airways went by the slogan ‘Africa’s Friendly Airline’.

How about the not-too- wonderful attributes: our time-keeping skills (or lack thereof), attitudes towards ‘government’ work, the prevalence of corruption and lack of public accountability, and a shameful belief in the superiority of everything European over African, etc.How do these attributes outlined above (both good and bad) impact on us as a nation? Is the Ghanaian character (which is arguably influenced by our culture) a good engine for economic growth? Do we need a paradigm shift in our mindset?

Has religion (whether traditional, Islam or Christianity) got anything to do with our mindset and therefore our development as a nation? How have our traditional family set-up and philosophical belief systems shaped and defined our national character, and has it been for the good? How about our political and economic history, under slavery and then subsequently colonialism up to the post-colonial era? Has our mentality shaped the social economic and political structures we have in place today? Or is it the other way round?
Why, simply put, are we the way we are?

Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of GhanaHomePage.
Source:Nkrumah-Boateng, Rodney

Feeling patriotic....let's read!!!

2007-09-13T20:14:00.000-05:00

National Pledge:

I promise on my honour to be faithful and loyal to Ghana my motherland.
I pledge myself to the service of Ghana with all my strength and with all my heart.
I promise to hold in high esteem our heritage, won for us through the blood and toil of our fathers;
and I pledge myself in all things to uphold and defend the good name of Ghana. So help me God.

Interesting article sent by a friend

2007-09-13T14:45:00.000-05:00

In Ghana 1+1 = 3

1. A Ghanaian minister earns $600-a-month, buys three houses for $200,000 each and three cars for $20,000 each, sends his kid to a $10,000-per-year university in the US, pays $20,000 to be allowed to contest for the presidential nomination of his party and his bank balance is still in the black. With such an economic genius, I wonder why we are still begging for food aid.

2. We drive 2007 model automobiles on 1930s roads to our 2007 mansions with 1960s power supply feeding our 2007 Televisions sets broadcasting 1930s ideas from our politician elected in 2004.

3. Load Sharing seems to have very little effect on the economy. According to our government, the economy is even growing faster than ever before. Light your candles and let’s get rid of Akosombo Dam!

4. According to our Minister for Information and National Orientation - Oboshie Sai-Coffie: 31 days have September, all the rest do not matter, except February alone which cannot yet make up her mind on how many days it shall have¡¨

5. Ghana's quick & nice solution to solving economic woes: - Slash 4 zeros from your currency, name the process re-denomination and Pronto¨ your economy is as strong¨ as the United States. Eat your heart out Adam Smith. Is Mugabe reading?

6. Our president and his predecessor cannot unite, yet we have the guts to chair and expect success from an African Union summit to unite 51 African countries. Unity begins at home!

7. The current load sharing¨ is due to the low level of water in the Volta Lake, caused by less rainfall. We are in the process of starting another $600m hydro-electric project. I hope our policymakers have a promise from God that in 5 years time, there will be rain, rain & more rain ALWAYS.

8. For obtaining¨ the African Union's rotating presidency, President Kufuor was mobbed when he returned home. Since Rotating¨ is now an achievement in Ghana, I’ll suggest we celebrate the earths rotation K big party every 24 hours.

9. According to the bible/Koran, Fornication, Adultery and Homosexuality are all sins. According to the Ghanaian holy book¨ (the constitution), only the latter is a sin.

10. We the people of Ghana are being told that, the president’s son who could not raise $1,000 in 2000 for his father's campaign was able to raise $8million three years later, to buy a hotel?

No wonder 1+1 is equal to 3 in Ghana

In reponse to Shaker255 - GhanaThink (Political Forum)

2007-08-24T15:25:00.000-05:00

Who qualifies to be a Ghanaian politician? Well, every Ghanaian with a conscience would qualify. That is because there is no special education required to become a politician anywhere in our world. However, it takes more than mere consciousness to engage in politics. The ability to affect human behavior or to effect positive change would serve as a major requirement on who qualifies to lead Ghana. I raise this point because it is very important to distinguish between a politician and a leader. Whilst I would describe a politician as one who engages actively in party politics or the person who uses party politics for personal gains, a leader, however, would be described as the person with attributes such as belief, values, character, ethics, skills and knowledge. These attributes does not automatically transform into a good leader but rather, a persons ability to effectively apply them.

Perhaps what you meant by the question posed was leadership. The ability to focus and motivate Ghanaians as well as being accountable and responsible to the people is highly important. Here, I must note that although the role is to lead, the leader does not necessarily have to always be in the spotlight or be at the forefront of the group. There are books on the subject and I can surely add on, but am sure I have answered the original question. Any thoughts?

RE: 2008 Presidential Race - Akosa Enters

2007-08-20T15:47:00.000-05:00

After reading the piece from Graphic Ghana, I am left with no choice but to declare Akosa to be just another sorry Ghanaian power monger. He surely did his share of dishing out criticisms towards the current government but fell short of providing proof to his claims or promises. I believe it is perfectly fine to craft a campaign message to the mass uneducated of the Ghanaian population. However, it is quite an insult to my intelligence to read about Akosa, despite his credentials, to proclaim among other things that, “…was motivated by the need to help reduce abject poverty….” “…although the nation had a vision to have a per capita income of $1000 by 2015, the road map to that vision was not clear…..” “…promised that a CPP government under his leadership would ensure that the sharp differences in development between the northern and southern parts of the country would be bridged while it would also take steps to halt the rural-urban drift….” Perhaps these are issues of utmost importance to either Akosa or the CPP. For now let us assume they are priority issues.

Prof. Akosa fails to distinguish himself from Ghana’s current line-up of Presidential hopefuls. First, there is no introduction of the character of Prof. Akosa to his audience. Who is he? What would he bring to the table? What would he do differently? How would he do it? Also, by neglecting to elaborate on the above Akosa gives the impression that mere rhetoric affords a person of his stature an opportunity to enjoy a nicely decorated office in the Castle. An impression that in effect leads to a climate of rhetorical frippery if such climate is not present. So, instead of substantive debates about issues that truly affects the less fortunate Ghanaian, politicians, especially those running for the big office rant about who is better and engage in name calling.

An even worse situation is when today’s CPP still campaigns on the accomplishments of the old CPP, accomplishments that have almost faded in the minds of many Ghanaian youths. When you do not understand how something came to materialize, it becomes very difficult to assert your views on how you plan to continue in that effort. Such is the predicament of the current CPP. I believe there is a way to craft a campaign message in a manner that would effectively connect the new CPP to the old CPP’s accomplishments in a very positive light. Unfortunately, in Ghanaian politics showering cedis and t-shirts takes precedence over providing the necessary tools to voters to enable them make well thought out decisions. Needless to say, the CPP does not stand a chance, let alone Prof. Agyeman Badu Akosa!

Energy Development and Access Project Ghana

2007-07-31T13:49:00.000-05:00

The project described below was approved a few days ago (July 26, 2007) by the World Bank's Board of Executive Directors. Thought it might interest all Ghanaians especially when it contains some details we would otherwise never have access to back home.

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/PROJECTS/0,,contentMDK:21423150~menuPK:115635~pagePK:41367~piPK:279616~theSitePK:40941,00.html

Ghana: Energy Development and Access Project Ghana

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Project-At-A-Glance
Approval Date N/A
Closing Date 30-NOV-2012
Total Project Cost** 210.55
Region Africa
Major Sector (Sector) (%) Energy and mining (Power) (60%)
Energy and mining (Renewable energy) (17%)
Public Administration, Law, and Justice (Central government administration) (13%)
Finance (Micro- and SME finance) (10%)
Old Major Sector N/A
Old Sector N/A
Environmental Category B
Bank Team Lead Mathrani, Sunil W.
Borrower GOVERNMENT OF GHANA
Implementing Agency VOLTA RIVER AUTHORITY, ECG
Project Goals
To view the project outcomes and goals click here.

Available Project Documents
Resettlement Plan (RPL), Vol.1 17-MAY-2007
Project Information Document (PID), Vol.1 08-MAR-2007
Integrated Safeguards Data Sheet (ISDS), Vol.1 06-MAR-2007
More»

Related Country Information
To view information on the country where the project is implemented click here.

* The project abstract is drawn from the PAD, SAR or PGD and may not accurately reflect the project's current nature.
**Total project cost includes funding from World Bank and non-bank sources in US$ millions. Active and Closed projects show commitment at Board approval. It does not reflect any cancellations. Proposed (pipeline) and dropped projects show the forecast amount. The commitment amount for projects in the pipeline is indicative and may be modified during the project preparation.

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Ghana's Energy Crisis: God Helps Those Who Help Themselves

2007-07-30T16:26:00.001-05:00

Okay, so thank God it rained a couple of times and the water level of the Akosombo Dam rose slightly. And its all good and dandy that religious leaders and Ghanaians in general are praying that God works the Akosombo situation out for us. But it seems like we conveniently forget "God helps those who help themselves" . Prayer is a powerful tool, but I also believe God has equipped us with what we need, or at least some of what we need..and what do we do? We decide not to use it. As much as we should trust in God to turn our situation around, why not use the lovely brains he's blessed us with and come together to find a permanent situation to the electricity situation?? And while we are at our prayers, I think we should slip in a couple for the 2008 elections (which is really not that far away now). We need to pray for good leaders who have Ghana at heart and not their selfish ambitions or are more interested in pleasing outsiders.

I was watching "Meet The Faith" last night on BET and they were talking about money in the Black community and how people spend it. Apparently, the Black community contributed the most to raising the US out of the recent regression...and its not because people made well placed investments...its because we spent our money on clothes, cars, and jewelry. There was this interview with Oprah where she tells her critics that she can choose what to do with her money, and to her setting up the school in SA was putting her money where her mouth was. You might be wondering where I'm going with all of this...basically, all I'm saying is its about time we Ghanaians start putting our money where our mouths are. This electricity situation happens basically every year. And every year we say we'll work on it, but every single year we're back at Square 1. Honestly, this is a vicious cycle we NEED to break, otherwise we're wasting both our time and money by investing in certain things when even the basic utilities of our people cannot be met. Maybe I'm just ranting and raving up in here, but seriously, even before the 2008 Elections roll in and the politicians start throwing soon-to-be-unfulfilled promises left, right and center, start thinking about which potential leaders might actually have Ghana at heart. I hope we continue to pray for our homeland Ghana and other African countries in general. In the meantime, lets get to work!

Check out the article about prayers for the dam at http://www.myjoyonline.com/news/200707/7076.asp

Prayers for rain???

2007-07-30T10:41:00.000-05:00

Holy shit!! Well, excuse my language fellas but they must have lost their mind. Or perhaps they never had brains to begin with. If the energy crisis has reached a dire stage then, faith or expectations of miracles seem quite an awkward step in containing the situation. The act by the group of "pastors" is a classic example of gross irrationality.

It is common for some of these "pastors" in Ghana to lose touch with reality but it is quite a different story when a prayer session is organized above the dam with the belief that God would intervene. The energy problem is persistent and, I think it shows just how much the government understands about the connection between the problem and Ghana's economic future. Instead of taking to the streets (mass demonstration) to demand immediate action from the government, some in Ghana pray. Instead of serious engagement in fixing the problem, government sits and hope the situation reverses itself. Perhaps it is so because Ghanaians are a peace loving people and the ruling party is idling because it is politically expedient, respectively, or Ghanaians just do not understand the principles of democracy well enough to utilize the tools it provides.

But what bothers me mostly is the question of belief. I have learned that BELIEF is the mental acceptance of and conviction in the validity of an idea. This is usually based on FAITH, REASON and sometimes EXPERIENCE. Am i the only one that sees the embarrassment (of Ghana as the world laughs) and drama regarding the news article linked above??

2007-07-27T20:31:00.000-05:00

I found this poem very inspiring and wanted to share:
-A

TESTAMENT FOR THE FIRST ACCUSED:
NELSON MANDELA FOR THE TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS

I know Patrice Lumumba had been sometime dead,
and Sylvanus Olympio only just,
though I'm not sure why,
As I try to re-connect myself with my child's mind,
and the memories of events that jumble there-
A knowledge of our distant world, pieced together,
through overheard conversations
and voices on the radio.

In 1962 the world was a very different place:

I didn't know where Montgomery was,
but I'd learnt the meaning of boycott.
Didn't understand Mau Mau,
except it taught the impact of lies,
and what all freedoms cost.
I remember your name, and vague talk of a trial,
and treason being a serious thing;
Sisulu and Mbeki, Goldberg and Mahlaba,
Kathrada, Motsoaledi and Mlangeni, at Rivonia.
These names I have learnt through the years,
but at the time, what I recall for sure,
Is Abebe Bikila's second Olympic Gold,
And Cassius Clay proving he was the greatest,
By the time you made your statement,
And disappeared.

We have not seen you since.

I didn't mark your fiftieth birthday,
but in Ghana J.B. Danquah was already dead,
and we had lived through coups
and countercoups already,
at the start of a second republic.
While Baldwin warned of The Fire Next Time,
the White Rhodesians declared UDI,
and the Zimbabweans braced for war.
But we were killing our brothers already in Biafra,
while the whole world watched,
and a young Christopher Okigbo reminded us
that even the poets were dying.
And you were still alive,
And you were still not free.

Though James Brown danced us off the streets,
And "Soul came to Soul" in Ghana,
No one remembered Paul Robeson, and
Mahalia Jackson sung her last.
Singing "We Shall Overcome",
Through frustrated Freedom summers we left
Mississippi, Watts, and Newark burning-
And Medgar, Malcolm and Martin dead. All dead.
And you were still alive,
And you were still not free.

In an angry and lonely world,
we marked the passage of your tenth year
reading Letters to Martha, and Soledad Brother.
All "Souls were on Ice"
As Arthur Nortje killed himself in an Oxford room,
and an exiled Kabaka died.
We freed Angela Davis, but, on your desolate island,
You were still alive,
And you were still not free.

Your sixtieth birthday reminded us
"This struggle was your life".
But by then, your life had become our struggle
as we buried Hector Petersen,
and a hundred slaughtered children
on the scorched streets of Soweto.
With a jailed Thandi Modisi
We "Cried Freedom" for a murdered Steven Biko,
People young enough to be your children,
And children younger than your children, dead,
So many of them dead.
Yet you at least were still alive,
But you were still not free.

We shouted Frelimo and another empire fell,
Antonio Jacinto "Survived Tarrafal",
But Augustinho Neto was dead.
Eduardo Mondlane had been many years murdered,
And we have since mourned the wreckage
of Samora Machel
On the South African side of Mozambique's mountains,
And you were still alive,
And you were still not free.

By your twentieth year,
Anwar Sadat had sued for peace in the Knesset,
And had been later killed for his pains.
And Haille Sellassie the Lion of Judah, had disappeared
Leaving no memorial, except a three thousand year
Imperial kingdom, now decades at war.
And in Eritrea, Tigre, the Sudan, the Spanish Sahara,
The "Harvest of our Dreams" "Reaped a Whirlwind"
of nightmares
And we searched for Jannani Luwum
amongst Kampla's martyred.
Marley, who sang for Manley and Mugabe,
was so young dead
But you were still alive,
And you were still not free.

The decades bring the deaths of leaders,
the power and the myth that was Nkrumah
lie broken, like his shattered statue
On the Accra streets.
And in the same week that Jomo Kenyatta
"Faced his sacred Mount Kenya" for the final time,
Kofi Busia's "Challenge to Africa"
in Search of Democracy
Ended. All your peers dead.
But you were still alive,
And you were still not free.

Yet, on a continent being "liberated" "redeemed",
"revolutionised",
Proclaiming "Uhuru", the people were marching.
Twenty-five years after Sharpeville, we march-
Ten years after Soweto, we march.
And when they killed mothers and babies
On their march through Mamelodi,
Still, with them, we march,
For you were still alive,
And you were still not free.

By the time we reached your seventieth birthday,
Another generation of children
Had learned to call your name.
We carry old images of your face, in our hearts,
And on the T-shirts on our backs,
As an icon of a new morning.
The Tembu warrior prince, the lawyer-activist,
The prisoner.
Around the world we marched in our millions,
Demanding your return into this troubled world,
So sadly bereft of heroes,
For you were still alive,
And you were still not free.

You disappeared from our view,
in a world which had taken no small step on the moon
for man;
no Apollos, no Challengers, no Salyuts.
No photographs of the furthest planets,
no walks in space.
The small steps taken on earth for mankind
had included
No Flower Power Love concerts in Woodstock,
No One Love Peace concerts in Kingston, Jamaica
No Art Against Apartheid freedom concerts in Sun City,
No Bands in Aid proclaiming "We are the World".
That world had known no "Cultural Revolution" in China,
No drafted U.S. troops in Vietnam,
No "Killing Fields" in Cambodia.
No vanished Prisoner Without a Name
in a Cell Without a Number, mourned by the
Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo- And through this all
You were still alive,
And you were still not free.

And now it is the Lord's Day,
the eleventh of February 1990,
And it is five a.m. in Los Angeles, California,
It is eight a.m. in New York and Kingston Jamaica,
It is one p.m. in Stockholm, London, and Accra Ghana,
And half the marching world has paused-
To keep vigil,
For it is three p.m. in Cape Town, South Africa,
And we wait to see your face.
After twenty-seven years of fighting, marching
and singing
We keep a ninety-minute watch;
To see you take these next few steps
On this, your No Easy Walk
To our uncertain Freedom;
To witness your release into this changing world,
Unceasingly, the same.
For you are still alive,
But we are still not free.
Amandla Mandela,
A Luta Continua.

Prof. Abena Busia, Ghanaian writer and activist currently teaching at Rutgers University in the United States, wrote this poem in 1990 in the immediate wake of Nelson Mandela's release from prison but it has never been published previously. She read it movingly at a public gathering in Johannesburg in July of this year and at that time graciously agreed to SAR's presenting it in our pages.

Courtesy: Africafiles.org

Manye Foundation

2007-07-16T03:27:00.001-05:00

Manye Foundation

The Manye Foundation is a small non-governmental organization (NGO) that assists migrant families in Kpone Barrier, Ghana (close to the Tema Motorway Roundabout). The main operation of the foundation is overseeing a primary school that offers a merger of traditional and enhanced curriculum. The foundation also administers other programs with the goal of accessible, relevant, and enjoyable education. It is a small organization that relies on volunteer work, local support, and hard work. Although it tries to lay out programs in a systematic order, you should recognize that beyond Manye Academy, many of these services are provided informally, as a need arises. As the Foundation expands, more of their programs are becoming fully integrated and institutionalized.

We encourage members to check this out and offer any help or service to the Manye Foundation.

http://www.manye.org/ or http://www.manyefoundation.org/

The AU Summit in Ghana

2007-07-05T07:09:00.000-05:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6259252.stm

This link provides an interesting account of the summit from the perspective of a BBC reporter in Ghana.

A Long way gone Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah

2007-07-05T04:11:00.000-05:00

This detailed account of the experiences of child soldiers in Sierra Leone is simply heart wrenching. It is impossible not to feel the pain of these innocent children as the author vividly describes the harrowing experience of losing his family and his will to live. His inner strength and perseverance even when all odds were against him is certainly to be admired especially, in conditions where the idiom “survival of the fittest” is certainly apt.

I urge all visitors to this site to spare some time to read this especially history enthusiasts as this book provides a historical timeline of Sierra Leone’s fight to gain democracy.

One thing you do learn from this book is that although it is easy to give up hope in life one should never undermine the resilient nature of our human essence.

Zimbabwe's starving border jumpers

2007-07-05T03:59:00.000-05:00

Zimbabwe's starving border jumpers

By Orla Guerin BBC News Africa correspondent

Many Zimbabweans feel driven to flee by poverty and hunger
How far would you go to put food on the table?
Would you take your life in your hands - wading through crocodile-infested waters, and walking unprotected through land where leopards roam?
That is what Monica has just done, for the sake of her three-year-old daughter.
She has joined the exodus of Zimbabweans crossing illegally into South Africa - the so called "border jumpers".
They travel in the dead of night, guided by traffickers. The going rate is 200 rand (£14 or $28).
Even pregnant women or women with a baby on their backs are jumping a 2m high razor-wire fence
Taxi driver
Q&A: Zimbabwe meltdown
We met Monica shortly after dawn, as she emerged from the bush about 6km (3.7 miles) inside South Africa.
She was on foot with four other women - their faces showing the strain.
Monica told us they had been travelling for four days with traffickers who abandoned them when their money ran out.
"They called us baboons," she said. "They told us if you have no money we will leave you here and call the police to come and arrest you.
"We have nowhere to go right now. We have no money and the police are all over. We don't know what to do."
Ordeal
Monica was driven out of her homeland by poverty, hunger, and concern for her little girl.

Local thugs often lie in wait to rob or rape the new arrivals, sometimes tipped off by the traffickers
"The situation is very bad," she said. "We will try by all means to get jobs. We can't go back. We are starving in Zimbabwe."
Mary, one of her travelling companions, is a mother of four. She also talked of starvation.
"We've got no jobs," she said. "We can't do anything in Zimbabwe. We are suffering."
After resting for a few moments the women picked up the few belongings they were carrying, and began walking towards the highway.
With no money and no place to go, their ordeal may be just beginning.
A short distance away a group of taxi drivers were waiting at a favourite rendezvous point - under a baobab tree.
They are part of a highly organised and lucrative trafficking network.
The taxi drivers have spotters with mobile phones, who warn if the police or army are near.
A ride to Johannesburg costs a fortune for a Zimbabwean - 1300 rand (£92 or $184).
Panic
No-one knows for sure how many border jumpers arrive every day, but the estimate from the taxi drivers is more than a thousand.

Most deported Zimbabweans cross the border again into South Africa
"Even pregnant women or women with a baby on their backs are jumping a 2m high razor-wire fence," one driver said. "Some are carrying newborns. It's bad."
The taxis leave with their human cargo within three to five minutes.
"We phone the guy at the corner," he says. "If he says the place is safe, we take everyone. If not, we offload them quickly."
For some the journey involves jumping fences, or cutting holes in them to crawl underneath. But there are easier places to cross the border, if you know where to look.
We found an area protected by only a single fence. There is no need to cut a hole, because there is an unlocked gate.
Once through the gate, the Limpopo River is just ahead, and beyond it, Zimbabwe.
Risking everything
The Limpopo is low now, but border jumpers have drowned when the river is in flood.
Just downriver another group was making their crossing, holding their valuables above their heads.

Border jumpers must cross a crocodile-infested river
They arrived safely on dry land, but there was a reception committee of local thugs.
They often lie in wait to rob or rape the new arrivals, sometimes tipped off by the traffickers.
The border jumpers spotted them in the distance. There was panic as they rushed to squeeze back through the fence, and return to the river.
They got away this time, but the thieves are a constant threat.
Zimbabwe is haemorrhaging some of its brightest and best.
In Johannesburg these days you find doctors, lawyers and head masters from Harare ready to work as cleaners.
Plenty of illegal migrants are arrested and sent home. So far this year, 57,600 have been deported to Zimbabwe, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
But many attempt the crossing again and again, unable to survive in a country with 80% unemployment and the world's highest inflation rate - now 2,200%.
The price of corn, the staple food in Zimbabwe, has just risen by a staggering 680%. That may drive many more desperate men and women into the arms of the traffickers.
Along the border between Zimbabwe and South Africa, a tragedy is unfolding - though its victims usually pass unseen.
They are women like Monica and Mary - mothers risking everything for a chance to feed their children.

On The United States of Africa (USA) PART II: The Hare versus the Tortoise?

2007-07-03T23:12:00.001-05:00

As part of his reportage on the recent African Union Summit in Accra, Ghana, the BBC correspondent, Will Ross, found it useful to compare the two emerging ideological camps of immediatists*** (led by Col. Muammar Gaddafi and Abdoulaye Ouade) and gradualists*** (led by the likes of Yoweri Museveni) to the famous hare and tortoise of Aesop's fable.

Not to fault the good gentleman from the BBC, but the hare and tortoise story is often told to illustrate the proverb slow and steady wins the race. Thus, by using the analogy of the hare and tortoise, there is an implicit suggestion that the gradualists in the United States of Africa debate are fated to prevail in the end while immediatists like Gaddafi are bound to 'lose.' That was indeed the outcome in Aesop's fable when the tortoise, despite being slow, won over the hare.

Will Ross, in the same report asked Ghana's Foreign Minister, Nana Akuffo-Addo whether "Muammar Gaddafi is going to be disappointed as it looks as though the tortoises are dominating the debate."

From his report and many I've read about the African Union Summit, many western reporters seem uneasy about the prospect of a United States of Africa now whereas many African journalists are more upbeat about the prospect. Perhaps, this unfounded cynicism (or unease) in the western media about a United Africa now has something to do with the suspicion Muammar Gaddafi--arch- champion of the United States of Africa-- commands in the west, though I believe it goes deeper than that.

Historically, gradualist camps and movements have always found favor in the eyes of the media and risk-averse moderates who dread revolution or the upheaval immediate action might cause. During the struggle for Ghana's independence, the UGCC which supported gradual change initially had more support but in the end it was Kwame Nkrumah's 'action now' CPP party that wrestled power from the colonizers. The same can be said of the Civil Rights movement in the US;King's triumph came through the cry for immediate action.

The idea for a United States of Africa has gathered dust on the shelf for 50 years. To call for a slow approach to unification is to beg for another 50 years of divided micro states too enfeabled to singly deal with the giant problems created by globalization. There is little reason to tarry. In politics action defered is often action denied. Thus, it may be wrong to assume that slow but steady will win the race or that the hare will lose to the tortoise.

***The core difference between the two camps is the question of timing not substance. Almost all the leaders agree on some form of African unification and have signed several agreemenets to that effect.

On the United States of Africa (USA) PART I : An Old Dream Revisited

2007-07-03T21:32:00.000-05:00

50 years after the idea of a United States of Africa was tossed around by Ghana's independence hero, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, African heads of state have convened in Accra, Ghana to not just discuss the political unification of Africa but hopefully agree on concrete steps towards its realization.

The move has been met with a heavy dose of skepticism, cynicism or an even more lethal concoction of both. Worse still, the western media--even the often more objective BBC--is viewing the conference with the same paternalism it has viewed Africa since antiquity by suggesting that African leaders,rather than discussing African unification should focus on other pressing issues like Darfur or poor AU financial management.

True, there is a crisis in Darfur that's in dire need of attention and AU internal management is far from perfect but these in themselves should have no bearing on the issue at hand which is African political unification. The fact is that with the unification of Europe (EU) and the proposed unification of USA,Canada and Mexico into the North American Union (NAU), Africa will be strategically disadvantaged if it fails to coalesce economically and politically to protect her fundamental interests and to better face modern global challenges.

The question then is not whether Africa should unite; Kwame Nkrumah answered that 50 years ago with a resounding yes that still echoes in the heart of everyone with Africa's interest at heart. Neither is the question when; for even Europe which is much better of by all economic and political indicators has long realized the need to unify and find common ground in the face of today's globalization challenges.The best time for Africa to unite is...or should I say was 50 years ago.

The question that remains then is how Africa can unite in the shortest possible time,possibly in the next decade. The OAU/AU system failed miserably since it lacked any real power. The regional bloc arrangements have had limited effect and have at best only secured the interest of the few directly affected states.

The real challenge now is for African leaders--many of whom do not have college diplomas,much unlike the Founding Fathers of the United States or the technocrats and statesmen who crafted the EU--to come up with a unique model that speaks to the unique challenges of Africa. If the west will not help in this noble endeavor, they must at least not frustrate it.

RE: Little Ama

2007-07-02T11:46:00.000-05:00

Emmanuel, the answer to this question is very simple; Ama could be sponsored by anyone. In fact, $1.00/day from about 20 members of this group for a set period would help Ama get through basic education if not secondary school. With a total contribution of just over $600.00 a month from the 20 members, Ama, her younger sister and parents could benefit immensely. The siblings would not have to engage in hawking at the expense of their study time. But the focus would not be on just the education of the girls. With $600.00/ month, I believe we can help Ama’s mother/ parents start or expand their trade/business.

Now, there are numerous other children like Ama in Ghana. However, individual cases may vary yet we can contribute such low amounts and address the problem in such a manner as would promote the welfare of these less fortunate citizens. The goal here should be to enhance the ability of the poor to participate in and benefit from our society.

So far, the above would qualify as direct assistance. But we are looking for long-term solutions to these issues. Assuming GSolutions is able to help at all, I propose targeting a geographic area within Ghana, with a focus; women. Starting with a small group of women, members will, again, donate or raise funds to assist in projects aimed at developing entrepreneurial skills. Upon successful completion of the program, a small loan may be granted to help these women start individual businesses. The good news here is that, by enabling these women, we would in fact place their families in a position of self-reliance and independence. Of course I am referring to micro-empowerment. But how many of us can really make the sacrifice??

Little Ama

2007-06-30T13:10:00.001-05:00

There is no place like home. Our old people say whenever the bird leaves its nest to search for food, it always returns to the same nest, no matter its condition.
While at home in Ghana for the summer, I was visiting a friend when a little girl came by carrying a bucket of bottles and asked if we were going to buy kerosene. She was holding her little sister's hand. I asked the cute little girl what her name was. Ama, she replied. I went ahead to ask Ama and her sister a few more questions and the following is what I discovered.

Ama is 5 years old and does not go to school. Her sister is 8 years old, in class two at Community 8 no 1, in Tema (a public school). We asked little Ama and her sister to keep the change after my friend had purchased some kerosene, for which they were very grateful.

Afterward, on my way home in an "overloaded" taxi, I kept on thinking: “What could we have done for Ama and her sister to make their lives better?" The little change we gave them definitely wouldn’t last for more than 3 hours. Though Ama’s sister is in school, she has to sell kerosene at the end of each school day. She confessed how she’s usually too tired to study, during the evenings. I began asking a few people on what possible long term solutions G-soluxions and young people like us could come up with to hopefully make life better for little Ama and her sister (and all her peers facing the same plight).If you have any ideas or suggestions, please contribute.

Ghana: The Next Resource Curse ?

2007-06-18T19:30:00.000-05:00

Tullow Oil, a UK oil firm has announced the discovery of 600 million barrels of light oil offshore from Ghana. The news has been hailed by Ghana's president and many Ghanaians who deem it a blessing for the impoverished West African nation.

But oil is not new to Africa, neither is the euphoria that often accompanies its discovery. Nearby Nigeria and Sierra Leone provide case studies for what social scientists have aptly named the resource curse; the paradox that most nations endowed with natural mineral wealth have slow economic growth and development.

The resource curse often happens for different political and economic reasons including suppression of competition in other economic spheres, shaky revenues from the mineral sector, corruption and ill-management of huge mineral revenue inflows.

Without proper democratic, human rights and socio-economic foundations, generations of Ghanaians down the road will wail to high heaven and curse the day Ghana struck oil.Ghana should strive to escape being another statistical example of the resource curse if this is not to happen.

From all indications Ghana is on the right track as far as democracy and rule of law are concerned but Ghanaians should neither delude themselves nor fall complacent. The oil discovery in itself is no good news,the true good news will be how the government of the day uses it to improve the lives of impoverished people.The world watches!

Does Fathia Die with Nkrumah's Hopes for Pan-Africanism?

2007-06-10T14:15:00.000-05:00

The death was reported on May 31 of Fathia Nkrumah, first First Lady of Ghana at Egypt's Badrawi Hospital in Cairo. The Egyptian national--a belle in her youth-- married Ghana's first president, Osagyefo Dr.Kwame Nkrumah, as part of a political move by Gamel Abdel Nasser,then president of Egypt, to consummate the alliance between Egypt and Ghana and to promote the cause of pan-Africanism.

Sadly,Mrs. Nkrumah was separated from her husband in the sudden 1966 coup that toppled her husband. It is said that she did not meet her husband again until his death in exile in 1972.

Despite her foreign origin, Madam Nkrumah was as loved by Ghanaians as her husband and most Ghanaians better understood Nkrumah's message of African unity through her example of marrying a Ghanaian (Nkrumah) and making her home in Ghana at a time when there was less social and cultural interaction between nations than in today's globalized world. This is perhaps Madam Nkrumah's greatest legacy to Ghanaians and one that we must not lose sight of. The popular Ghanaian Kente cloth, affectionately christened 'Fathia fata Nkrumah'*** is a reminder of the goodwill and welcome she has enjoyed among Ghanaians from the Nkrumah era till today.

She is expected to be laid to rest in Ghana where she will finally join her husband in the same soil after 41 years of separation. Hopefully, her burial in Ghana will symbolize a reunification of the shattered pan-African vision of Nkrumah and Nasser and rekindle a spirit of oneness among Africans. We must not allow the fertile pan-African vision to die with Fathia!

***this Twi phrase translates as 'Fathia is worthy of Nkrumah'

Bankruptcy and burials

2007-06-04T08:29:00.000-05:00

Can Ghanaians afford such splendid funerals?

SWEATING under the weight of the coffin, red rags tied round their foreheads, the pall-bearers dip and weave through the crowd of mourners as the winged coffin soars above them, its brightly painted feathers forming a halo around the shining eyes and sharp beak. On a recent Saturday, Ghana's funeral day, 67-year-old Nana Kobina Okai was buried in a multi-coloured, hand-carved, eagle-shaped coffin signifying his high social standing as the chief's brother. Mr Okai left behind three wives, a dozen children and 14 grandchildren.

The day began with mourners gathering in their funeral attire of black, red and white. Professional mourners led the wailing; a band played. The procession through the dusty streets of Nyanyano, near the capital, Accra, lasted hours, stopping periodically for a libation of schnapps to be splashed over the coffin. After the body was lowered into the ground, the coffin was smashed up with rocks to deter grave-robbers. Then the eating, drinking and dancing began.

In Ghana the funereal send-off is as important as the life itself. But the costs, borne by extended families, can be punitive. Some 45% live on less than $1 a day, 79% on less than $2. Yet funerals tend to cost between $2,000 and $3,500. “Money measures the quality of the funeral and the family,” says Sjaak van der Geest, an anthropologist. The more cash spent, the higher the reputation of the deceased and the family. Mr Okai died in hospital, then spent almost three months in the morgue, at a cost of $521: the longer your body is in the fridge, the more prestigious. The Ga king, recently buried in Accra, was on ice for 18 months; the Dagbon king, in northern Ghana, for a record four years.

Mr Okai's house was repainted for the wake. His coffin cost $319, two-thirds of the average Ghanaian's annual income. Posters announcing the funeral were printed and distributed around town, beer and soft drinks bought, food prepared, the band hired, T-shirts bearing Mr Okai's picture printed, transport for mourners arranged, diesel generators rented and cameramen brought in to record the day. A funeral arranger, Joseph Akrashie Annan, reckons that $2,470 was spent sending Mr Okai to his grave.

In the 1980s Ghana's then military ruler, Jerry Rawlings, set up a commission to look at the exorbitant costs of funerals amid fears they were retarding the country's economic growth. “Every year funerals grow in size, pomp and pageantry,” says Edward Kutsoati, a Ghanaian economist at Tufts University in the United States. “They are becoming centre-stage in the life of Ghanaians. This is not an efficient allocation of resources.”

Why I Love Africa (The European Colonizers' Creed in Contempt of the African)

2007-04-11T00:31:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd share this poem which first appeared on www.ghanathink.org as part of an article I submitted last year. Check out www.ghanathink.org, they are great guys doing great work in the service of Ghana and Africa.

They welcome me at first Sight
First sight 'cause I'm white
They bow to me and call me Sir
Sir 'cause my skin is fair
They enthrone me and dance for me
Dance because I crossed the sea
They give me gold and wealth untold
Wealth untold for guns I’ve sold
They smash their gods and pray to mine
Pray to mine for rain and shine
They cry on me to give them light
Light for sight to walk their night
They say I oppress but love me still
Love me still of their free will
They count on me to show the way
Show the way each single day
They know my tongue as well as I
As well as I, and I don’t lie
They’ve loved my ways and hated theirs
Hated theirs too many years
They know my Art,my Science my Maths
Science and Maths but not themselves

MPs In Africa: So it Wasn't Just Ghana?

2007-03-21T01:56:00.000-05:00

I saw this cartoon in The Standard Newspaper of Kenya and thought it was worth sharing. CLICK IMAGE TO VIEW FULL PIC.

Kuffour's Clothes and Ghana’s Agenda Setting

2007-03-18T00:39:00.000-05:00

Two weeks after Ghana’s much criticized 20 million dollar 50th Independence Anniversary Celebration, Ghanaians are still talking and engaged in heated debate. The debate is not about how much was spent on the yearlong celebration—in fact that debate has long been swept under the carpet—or about the current state of the nation or even more importantly about the future Ghanaians could build for coming generations in the next 50 years. Rather, the editorials, radio talk shows and news articles are all focused on the President’s choice of garb for the 6th March occasion: a grey suit instead of what some suggest should have been kente.

Critics point out that Kente would have been more symbolic of our ‘national culture’ and that the President’s grey suit meant kowtowing to Britain, the colonial power we were celebrating independence from. Whatever the arguments by critics or defenders (I hope to probe these in a future post), I submit that such a debate belongs to the dining table or the confines of some market kiosk and not on the national agenda,certainly not for two weeks. Debating the President’s choice of clothes when we have no long-term national development plan to discuss is trivial, shallow, characteristic of a growing national culture of mediocrity and pettiness and symptomatic of inherent weaknesses in our national agenda setting, debate framing and public discourse.

Ghana’s politicians, when they are not at each others throats, lie so frequently that it is hard to believe the truth when they finally speak it. But then isn’t that what politicians are for? Ghana’s chiefs, rightly or wrongly, are politically neutered by the 1992 constitution and they take that to mean abstinence from national discourse. Opinion leaders are corrupted to the point of losing their respectable voices of wisdom. Ghana’s academics have fallen silent and busy themselves with their own personal ends, leaving the national agenda to misinformed plebs whose only ‘knowledge’ comes from self-interested journalists who pursue sensationalism at the cost of truth.

From Monday to Friday, the national discourse is controlled by major media outlets like Peace FM, staffed by poorly qualified journalists and a new breed of nonqualified ‘professionals’ called ‘social commentators.’ With opposition ideologues and ruling party loud-mouths as facilitators, these ‘journalists’ and their ‘social commentator’ peers decide for the nation what ought to be discussed and create one conspiracy theory after another in lieu of the more important national issues they are not formally trained to effectively discuss. Here in the U.S., journalism is not a last resort for drop-outs but a highly professional field that requires rigorous training and qualification. The ‘social commentators’ are highly educated public intellectuals who play a key role in framing national debates, policy and setting public discourse. The result is that in general—and I concede the U.S. media is far from perfect—the media plays its proper role as the fourth estate in government and does not merely play to popular chorus.

So who must set our national agenda and frame our public debates? Well, everyone. If we fail to make our voices heard and our opinions known; if we fail to demand higher standards from our media and journalists; if we fail to write, and speak, and debate, and compete in the market of ideas, we will continue to simmer in discussions of the President’s choice of clothes when there are bigger issues of national importance. Ghanaians deserve better! Indeed, we can do better.

Wearing a red nose for Africa's corrupt clowns is a bad joke

2007-03-12T22:53:00.000-05:00

Here's an interesting article from the British Sunday Telegraph Newspaper about Ghana's independence celebration framed in a British and African context.But for two factual errors:the date of Ghana's independence (6th March 1957 not 5th March) and Mr.Ferguson's claim that the NDC is still in power,this article is fairly sound.Source:Sunday Telegraph UK

By Niall Ferguson, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 11/03/2007

Next Friday is Red Nose Day in Britain. Perhaps it should also be Red Face Day in Ghana. Let me explain why.

Comic Relief, the entity behind next Friday's antics, has as its stated aim the creation of "a just world free from poverty". To this end, it has raised a total of more than £425 million since coming into existence in 1985 - just under £20 million a year. Some of this money has been spent to reduce poverty in Britain. But, according to its website, Comic Relief has also made "over 1,700 grants internationally" to a variety of non-governmental organisations to mitigate the sufferings of street children, AIDS sufferers, oppressed women, victims of conflict and slum-dwellers.

Currently, Comic Relief is funding four projects in Ghana, to the tune of £1.7 million: a "Women's Development Agency", an "African Women's Support Group", an entity called "Hope for Children" and another calling itself "African Outreach". If you are the kind of person who likes to don a plastic red nose once a year, you may wish to think of these (doubtless worthy) recipients as you make yourself look like a clown this Friday.

Red Face Day, meanwhile, was last Monday. That was the day that Ghana began a planned 12-month celebration of its independence from British rule, which was granted 50 years ago, on March 5 1957. The total budget for these festivities, which commenced with an all-night

party in Accra, is said to be £10.4 million.

You might reasonably ask if this is a sensible way of spending $20 million dollars at a time when the average citizen of Ghana has a daily income of around 67p ($1.33). You might also ask what exactly Ghana has got to celebrate after 50 years of "freedom".

Let us not pretend that the Gold Coast, as the country was known before independence, was a flourishing economy. Heavily reliant on the export of cocoa, with scarcely any manufacturing industry, it was highly vulnerable to fluctuations in world commodity prices. The average Briton was 39 times richer than the colony's average inhabitant. On the other hand, the Gold Coast was regarded as one of the most advanced of Britain's African possessions, which was one reason it was the first to be granted independence. Three years before independence, thanks in large measure to the efforts of missionary schools, Africans already occupied a third of senior civil service posts.

Yet the economic consequences of independence gave the lie to the old Leftist claim that Britain was exploiting her colonies. Between 1960 and today, the gap between Britain and Ghana has more than doubled, so that the average Briton is now 92 times richer than the average Ghanaian.

Today, according to the World Bank, aid accounts for 16 per cent of Ghana's national income and covers fully 73 per cent of government expenditure. (I am sure the donors were delighted to hear that $20 million of this year's handout was being blown on a year-long party.) In short, it has been but a short step from independence to aid-dependence.

So what went wrong? The answer is more or less the same answer you would give for any sub-Saharan African country since 1957. Kwame Nkrumah, who led Ghana to independence, was in many ways typical of the first generation of post-colonial African leaders. The product of a Catholic mission school and an American university (he was turned down by the University of London because of weak Maths and Latin), Nkrumah was wholly incapable of distinguishing the virtues from the vices of British rule.

Though it was tightfisted when it came to education and healthcare, the Colonial Office at least provided the foundations for economic and political stability: trade, balanced budgets, sound money, the rule of law and non-corrupt administration. Nkrumah lost little time in ditching all of these things.

If you look at the photographs of the handover of power in 1957, the Duchess of Kent looks pained; the Governor, Sir Charles Arden-Clarke, looks sceptical. Those facial expressions proved eminently justified.

Five year before, one British official had warned: "It seems fairly clear that the danger\u2026 now is not that of an outburst of anti-European\u2026 feeling but rather that of an abuse by a certain section of Africans of the power which we are transferring to them. This danger arises partly out of the tendency of the African to exploit the African if placed in a position to do so, and partly out of the lessons in the organisation of party dictatorship which some of the\u2026 leaders learnt from their early flirtation with Communism\u2026"

Too true. As soon as he had been brought into government after the country's first general election in 1951, Nkrumah had increased government expenditure by a factor of ten and expanded the senior civil service by a factor of five. It was a classic case of jobs for the boys, as members of Nkrumah's Convention Peoples' Party hit the political equivalent of the jackpot. "The Government is in the hands of knaves," lamented one departing British official. Too late. Ghana provided the first of many examples of African democracy in action: one man, one vote - once.

The government was also in the hands of dupes. A long-standing Communist Party member, Nkrumah was easily persuaded by the KGB that the CIA was plotting against him, and readily acceded to Soviet offers of assistance.

This took the form of a KGB-trained National Security Service with a huge network of paid informers and over a thousand Russian "advisers". By the early 1960s Ghanaian women were staging protests with placards reading "BRING BACK THE BRITISH".

Harold Wilson's government had other concerns, however. It was left to the Ghanaian army to overthrow Nkrumah in 1966 (while he was visiting Ho Chi Minh in North Vietnam). Far from improving matters, this proved to be the first of umpteen coups, culminating in the bloody seizure of power by Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings in 1981. Although Rawlings formally

restored democracy in 1992, he remained in power until 2001 and his party, the National Democratic Congress, continues to rule the country.

Today, there are still people who fondly believe that all Africa's problems are a legacy of colonialism - the fault of the wicked British. Those same people also cling to the notion that this legacy can be expunged only by the payment of reparations in the name of "aid". Fifty years on we can surely think more clearly. In virtually every case (Botswana is the sole exception), former British colonies in sub-Saharan Africa have fared worse under independence than they did under British rule. In virtually every case, as New York University's William Easterly has pointed out, the expenditure of billions in Western aid has failed to raise their rate of economic growth.

In his forthcoming book, The Bottom Billion, the Oxford economist Paul Collier brilliantly anatomises the true causes of Africa's post-colonial failure. He identifies four traps into which a depressingly large number of sub-Saharan countries have fallen since the 1950s. Some are trapped by their dependence on natural resources like diamonds or oil, some by being landlocked and some by recurrent civil war. But the fourth trap is the one that applies to Ghana: the trap of bad governance.

To illustrate the folly of giving aid to chronically misruled countries, Collier cites a recent survey that tracked money released by Chad's Ministry of Finance to fund rural health clinics. Just 1 per cent reached its intended destination. The rest was raked off by one corrupt official after another.

So forgive me if I don't wear a red nose on Friday. I simply have no desire to join the Africa-saving circus currently run by NGOs, aid agencies and Irish rock stars.

As Easterly and Collier have shown, there certainly are ways to end poverty in a country like Ghana (not least a crackdown on corruption). But acting the clown while Ghana parties? Tell me another.

Birth of a New Nation

2007-03-10T11:00:00.000-05:00

As part of our coverage of Ghana@50 this March,I thought I should share this piece by Martin Luther king which he made a month after Ghana's independence on 6th March,1957.It is a reminder of the larger context into which Ghana's independence must be placed vis-a-vis the struggle of the black race and of oppressed people all over the world.Source:http://www.blackstate.com/kingnewnation.html
-Atta-

by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
April 7, 1957
I want to preach this morning from the subject, "The Birth of a New Nation." And I would like to use as a basis for our thinking together a story that has long since been stencilled on the mental sheets of succeeding generations. It is the story of the Exodus, the story of the flight of the Hebrew people from the bondage of Egypt, through the wilderness, and finally to the Promised Land. It’s a beautiful story. I had the privilege the other night of seeing the story in movie terms in New York City, entitled "The Ten Commandments," and I came to see it in all of its beauty - the struggle of Moses, the struggle of his devoted followers as they sought to get out of Egypt. And they finally moved on to the wilderness and toward the Promised Land. This is something of the story of every people struggling for freedom. It is the first story of man’s explicit quest for freedom. And it demonstrates the stages that seem to inevitably follow the quest for freedom.

Prior to March the sixth, 1957, there existed a country known as the Gold Coast. This country was a colony of the British Empire. This country was situated in that vast continent known as Africa. I’m sure you know a great deal about Africa, that continent with some two hundred million people and it extends and covers a great deal of territory. There are many familiar names associated with Africa that you would probably remember, and there are some countries in Africa that many people never realize. For instance, Egypt is in Africa. And there is that vast area of North Africa with Egypt and Ethiopia, with Tunisia and Algeria and Morocco and Libya. Then you might move to South Africa and you think of that extensive territory known as the Union of South Africa. There is that capital city Johannesburg that you read so much about these days. Then there is central Africa with places like Rhodesia and the Belgian Congo. And then there is East Africa with places like Kenya and Tanganyika, and places like Uganda and other very powerful countries right there. And then you move over to West Africa, where you find the French West Africa and Nigeria, and Liberia and Sierra Leone and places like that. And it is in this spot, in this section of Africa, that we find the Gold Coast, there in West Africa.

You also know that for years and for centuries, Africa has been one of the most exploited continents in the history of the world. It’s been the "Dark Continent." It’s been the continent that has suffered all of the pain and the affliction that could be mustered up by other nations. And it is that continent which has experienced slavery, which has experienced all of the lowest standards that we can think about, and its been brought into being by the exploitation inflicted upon it by other nations.

And this country, the Gold Coast, was a part of this extensive continent known as Africa. It’s a little country there in West Africa about ninety-one thousand miles in area, with a population of about five million people, a little more than four and a half million. And it stands there with its capital city, Accra. For years the Gold Coast was exploited and dominated and trampled over. The first European settlers came in there about 1444, the Portuguese, and they started legitimate trade with the people in the Gold Coast. They started dealing with them with their gold, and in turn they gave them guns and ammunition and gunpowder and that type of thing. Well, pretty soon America was discovered a few years later in the fourteen hundreds, and then the British West Indies. And all of these growing discoveries brought about the slave trade. You remember it started in America in 1619.

And there was a big scramble for power in Africa. With the growth of the slave trade, there came into Africa, into the Gold Coast in particular, not only the Portuguese but also the Swedes and the Danes and the Dutch and the British. And all of these nations competed with each other to win the power of the Gold Coast so that they could exploit these people for commercial reasons and sell them into slavery.

Finally, in 1850, Britain won out, and she gained possession of the total territorial expansion of the Gold Coast. From 1850 to 1957, March sixth, the Gold Coast was a colony of the British Empire. And as a colony she suffered all of the injustices, all of the exploitation, all of the humiliation that comes as a result of colonialism. But like all slavery, like all domination, like all exploitation, it came to the point that the people got tired of it.

And that seems to be the long story of history. There seems to be a throbbing desire, there seems to be an internal desire for freedom within the soul of every man. And it’s there - it might not break forth in the beginning, but eventually it breaks out Men realize that freedom is something basic, and to rob a man of his freedom is to take from him the essential basis of his manhood. To take from him his freedom is to rob him of something of God’s image. To paraphrase the words of Shakespeare’s Othello: Who steals my purse steals trash; ‘tis something, nothing; twas mine, ‘tis his, has been the slave of thousands; but he who filches from me my freedom robs me of that which not enriches him, but makes me poor indeed.

There is something in the soul that cries out for freedom. There is something deep down within the very soul of man that reaches out for Canaan. Men cannot be satisfied with Egypt. They tried to adjust to it for awhile. Many men have vested interests in Egypt, and they are slow to leave. Egypt makes it profitable to them; some people profit by Egypt. The vast majority, the masses of people never profit by Egypt, and they are never content with it. And eventually they rise up and begin to cry out for Canaan’s land.

And so these people got tired. It had a long history. As far back as 1844, the chiefs themselves of the Gold Coast rose up and came together and revolted against the British Empire and the other powers that were in existence at that time dominating the Gold Coast. They revolted, saying that they wanted to govern themselves. But these powers clamped down on them, and the British said that we will not let you go.

About 1909, a young man was born on the twelfth of September. History didn’t know at that time what that young man had in his mind. His mother and father, illiterate, not a part of the powerful tribal life of Africa, not chiefs at all, but humble people. And that boy grew up. He went to school at Achimota for a while in Africa, and then he finished there with honours and decided to work his way to America. And he landed to America one day with about fifty dollars in his pocket in terms of pounds, getting ready to get an education. And he went down to Pennsylvania, to Lincoln University. He started studying there, and he started reading the great insights of the philosophers, he started reading the great insights of the ages. And he finished there and took his theological degree there and preached awhile around Philadelphia and other areas as he was in the country. And went over to the University of Pennsylvania and took up a masters there in philosophy and sociology. All the years that he stood in America, he was poor, he had to work hard. He says in his autobiography how he worked as a bellhop in hotels, as a dishwasher, and during the summer how he worked as a waiter trying to struggle through school.

"I want to go back home. I want to go back to West Africa, the land of my people, my native land There is some work to be done there." He got a ship and went to London and stopped for a while by London School of Economy and picked up another degree there. Then while in London, he started thinking about Pan-Africanism and the problem of how to free his people from colonialism. For as he said, he always realized that colonialism was made for domination and for exploitation. It was made to keep a certain group down and exploit that group economically for the advantage of another. He studied and thought about all of this, and one day he decided to go back to Africa.

He got to Africa and he was immediately elected the executive secretary of the United Party of the Gold Coast. And he worked hard, and he started getting a following. And the people in this party, the old, the people who had had their hands on the plow for a long time, thought he was pushing a little too fast, and they got a little jealous of his influence. and so finally he had to break from the United Party of the Gold Coast, and in 1949 he organized the Convention People’s Party. It was this party that started out working for the independence of the Gold Coast. He started out in a humble way, urging his people to unite for freedom and urging the officials of the British Empire to give them freedom. They were slow to respond, but the masses of people were with him, and they had united to become the most powerful and influential party that had ever been organized in that section of Africa.

He started writing. And his companions with him, and many of them started writing so much that the officials got afraid, and they put them in jail. And Nkrumah himself was finally placed in jail for several years because he was a seditious man, he was an agitator. He was imprisoned on the basis of sedition, and he was placed there to stay in prison for many years. But he had inspired some people outside of prison. They got together just a few months after he’d been in prison and elected him the prime minister while he was in prison. For awhile the British officials tried to keep him there, and Gbedemah says - one of his close associates, the Minister of Finance, Mr. Gbedemah - said that that night the people were getting ready to go down to the jail and get him out. But Gbedemah said, "This isn’t the way; we can’t do it like this. Violence will break out and we will defeat our purpose." But the British Empire saw that they had better let him out. And in a few hours Kwame Nkrumah was out of jail, the prime minister of the Gold Coast. He was placed there for fifteen years but he only served eight or nine months, and now he comes out the Prime Minister of the Gold Coast.

And this was the struggling that had been going on for years. It was now coming to the point that this little nation was moving toward its independence. Then came the continual agitation, the continual resistance, so that the British Empire saw that it could no longer rule the Gold Coast. And they agreed that on the sixth of March, 1957, they would release this nation. This nation would no longer be a colony of the British Empire, that this nation would be a sovereign nation within the British Commonwealth. All of this was because of the persistent protest, the continual agitation on the part of Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah and the other leaders who worked along with him and the masses of people who were willing to follow.

So that day finally came. It was a great day. The week ahead was a great week. They had been preparing for this day for many years, and now it was here. People coming in from all over the world. They had started getting in by the second of March. Seventy nations represented to come to say to this new nation: "We greet you, and we give you our moral support. We hope for you God’s guidance as you move now into the realm of independence." From America itself more than a hundred persons: the press, the diplomatic guests, and the prime minister’s guests. And oh, it was a beautiful experience to see some of the leading persons on the scene of civil rights in America on hand to say, "Greetings to you," as this new nation was born. Look over, to my right is Adam Powell, to my left is Charles Diggs, to my right again is Ralph Bunche. To the other side is Her Majesty’s First Minister of Jamaica, Manning, Ambassador Jones of Liberia. All of these people from America, Mordecai Johnson, Horace Mann Bond, all of these people just going over to say, "We want to greet you and we want you to know that you have our moral support as you grow." Then you look out and see the vice-president of the United States, you see A. Philip Randolph, you see all of the people who have stood in the forefront of the struggle for civil rights over the years, coming over to Africa to say, "We bid you Godspeed." This was a great day not only for Nkrumah, but for the whole of the Gold Coast.

Then came Tuesday, [March] the fifth, many events leading up to it. That night we walked into the closing of Parliament - the closing of the old Parliament, the old Parliament, which was presided over by the British Empire. The old Parliament which designated colonialism and imperialism. Now that Parliament is closing. That was a great sight and a great picture and a great scene. We sat there that night, just about five hundred able to get in there. People, thousands and thousands of people waiting outside, just about five hundred in there, and we were fortunate enough to be sitting there at that moment as guests of the prime minister. At that hour we noticed Prime Minister Nkrumah walking in with all of his ministers, with his justices of the Supreme Court of the Gold Coast, and with all of the people of the Convention People’s Party, the leaders of that party. Nkrumah came up to make his closing speech to the old Gold Coast. There was something old now passing away.

The thing that impressed me more than anything else that night was the fact that when Nkrumah walked in, and his other ministers who had been in prison with him, they didn’t come in with the crowns and all of the garments of kings, but they walked in with prison caps and the coats that they had lived with for all of the months that they had been in prison. Nkrumah stood up and made his closing speech to Parliament with the little cap that he wore in prison for several months and the coat that he wore in prison for several months, and all of his ministers round about him. That was a great hour. An old Parliament passing away.

And then at twelve o’clock that night we walked out. As we walked out we noticed all over the polo grounds almost a half-a-million people. They had waited for this hour and this moment for years. As we walked out of the door and looked at that beautiful building, we looked up to the top of it and there was a little flag that had been flowing around the sky for many years. It was the Union Jack flag of the Gold Coast, the British flag, you see. But at twelve o’clock that night we saw a little flag coming down, and another flag went up. The old Union Jack flag came down, and the new flag of Ghana went up. This was a new nation now, a new nation being born.

And when Prime Minister Nkrumah stood up before his people out in the polo ground and said, "We are no longer a British colony. We are a free, sovereign people," all over that vast throng of people we could see tears. And I stood there thinking about so many things. Before I knew it, I started weeping. I was crying for joy. And I knew about all of the struggles, and all of the pain, and all of the agony that these people had gone through for this moment.

After Nkrumah had made that final speech, it was about twelve-thirty now. And we walked away. And we could hear little children six years old and old people eighty and ninety years old walking the streets of Accra crying, "Freedom! Freedom!" They couldn’t say it in the sense that we’d say it - many of them don’t speak English too well - but they had their accents and it could ring out, "Free-doom!" They were crying it in a sense that they had never heard it before, and I could hear that old Negro spiritual once more crying out:

Free at last! Free at last!
Great God Almighty, I’m free at last!

They were experiencing that in their very souls. And everywhere we turned, we could hear it ringing out from the housetops. We could hear it from every corner, every nook and crook of the community: "Freedom! Freedom!" This was the birth of a new nation. This was the breaking aloose from Egypt.

Wednesday morning the official opening of Parliament was held. There again we were able to get on the inside. There Nkrumah made his new speech. And now the prime minister of the Gold Coast with no superior, with all of the power that MacMillan of England has, with all of the power that Nehru of India has - now a free nation, now the prime minister of a sovereign nation. The Duchess of Kent walked in, the Duchess of Kent, who represented the Queen of England, no longer had authority now. She was just a passing visitor now. The night before, she was the official leader and spokesman for the Queen, thereby the power behind the throne of the Gold Coast. But now it’s Ghana. It’s a new nation now, and she’s just an official visitor like M. L. King and Ralph Bunche and Coretta King and everybody else, because this is a new nation. A new Ghana has come into being.

And now Nkrumah stands the leader of that great nation. And when he drives out, the people standing around the streets of the city after Parliament is open, cry out: "All hail, Nkrumah!" The name of Nkrumah crowning around the whole city, everybody crying this name, because they knew he had suffered for them, he had sacrificed for them, he’d gone to jail for them. This was the birth of a new nation. This nation was now out of Egypt and had crossed the Red Sea.

Now it will confront its wilderness. Like any breaking loose from Egypt, there is a wilderness ahead. There is a problem of adjustment. Nkrumah realizes that. There is always this wilderness standing before him. For instance, it’s a one-crop country, cocoa mainly. Sixty percent of the cocoa of the world comes from the Gold Coast, or from Ghana. And, in order to make the economic system more stable, it will be necessary to industrialize. Cocoa is too fluctuating to base a whole economy on that, so there is the necessity of industrializing. Nkrumah said to me that one of the first things that he will do is to work toward industrialization. And also he plans to work toward the whole problem of increasing the cultural standards of the community. Still ninety percent of the people are illiterate, and it is necessary to lift the whole cultural standard of the community in order to make it possible to stand up in the free world.

Yes, there is a wilderness ahead, though it is my hope that even people from America will go to Africa as immigrants, right there to the Gold Coast, and lend their technical assistance, for there is great need and there are rich opportunities there. Right now is the time that American Negroes can lend their technical assistance to a growing new nation. I was very happy to see already people who have moved in and making good. The son of the late president of Bennett College, Dr. Jones, is there, who started an insurance company and making good, going to the top. A doctor from Brooklyn, New York, had just come in that week and his wife is also a dentist, and they are living there now, going in there and working, and the people love them. There will be hundreds and thousands of people, I’m sure, going over to make for the growth of this new nation. And Nkrumah made it very clear to me that he would welcome any persons coming there as immigrants and to live there. Now don’t think that because they have five million people the nation can’t grow, that that’s a small nation to be overlooked. Never forget the fact that when America was born in 1776, when it received its independence from the British Empire, there were fewer, less than four million people in America, and today it’s more than a hundred and sixty million. So never underestimate a people because it’s small now. America was smaller than Ghana when it was born.

There is a great day ahead. The future is on its side. It’s going now through the wilderness, but the Promised Land is ahead.

And I want to take just a few more minutes as I close to say three or four things that this reminds us of and things that it says to us - things that we must never forget as we ourselves find ourselves breaking loose from an evil Egypt, trying to move through the wilderness toward the promised land of cultural integration. Ghana has something to say to us. It says to us first that the oppressor never voluntarily gives freedom to the oppressed. You have to work for it. And if Nkrumah and the people of the Gold Coast had not stood up persistently, revolting against the system, it would still be a colony of the British Empire. Freedom is never given to anybody, for the oppressor has you in domination because he plans to keep you there, and he never voluntarily gives it up. And that is where the strong resistance comes. Privileged classes never give up their privileges without strong resistance.

So don’t go out this morning with any illusions. Don’t go back into your homes and around Montgomery thinking that the Montgomery City Commission and that all of the forces in the leadership of the South will eventually work out this thing for Negroes, it’s going to work out; it’s going to roll in on the wheels of inevitability. If we wait for it to work itself out, it will never be worked out. Freedom only comes through persistent revolt, through persistent agitation, through persistently rising up against the system of evil. The bus protest is just the beginning. Buses are integrated in Montgomery, but that is just the beginning. And don’t sit down and do nothing now because the buses are integrated, because, if you stop now, we will be in the dungeons of segregation and discrimination for another hundred years, and our children and our children’s children will suffer all of the bondage that we have lived under for years. It never comes voluntarily. We’ve got to keep on keeping on in order to gain freedom. It never comes like that. It would be fortunate if the people in power had sense enough to go on and give up, but they don’t do it like that. It is not done voluntarily, but it is done through the pressure that comes about from people who are oppressed.

If there had not been a Gandhi in India with all of his noble followers, India would have never been free. If there had not been an Nkrumah and his followers in Ghana, Ghana would still be a British colony. If there had not been abolitionists in America, both Negro and white, we might still stand today in the dungeons of slavery. And then because there have been, in every period, there are always those people in every period of human history who don’t mind getting their necks cut off, who don’t mind being persecuted and discriminated and kicked about, because they know that freedom is never given out, but it comes through the persistent and the continual agitation and revolt on the part of those who are caught in the system. Ghana teaches us that.

It says to us another thing. It reminds us of the fact that a nation or a people can break aloose from oppression without violence. Nkrumah says in the first two pages of his autobiography, which was published on the sixth of March - a great book which you ought to read - he said that he had studied the social systems of social philosophers and he started studying the life of Gandhi and his techniques. And he said that in the beginning he could not see how they could ever get loose from colonialism without armed revolt, without armies and ammunition, rising up. Then he says after he continued to study Gandhi and continued to study this technique, he came to see that the only way was through non-violent positive action. And he called his program "positive action." And it’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it? That here is a nation that is now free, and it is free without rising up with arms and with ammunition. It is free through non-violent means. Because of that the British Empire will not have the bitterness for Ghana that she has for China, so to speak. Because of that, when the British Empire leaves Ghana, she leaves with a different attitude than she would have left with if she had been driven out by armies. We’ve got to revolt in such a way that after revolt is over we can live with people as their brothers and their sisters. Our aim must never be to defeat them or humiliate them.

On the night of the State Ball, standing up talking with some people, Mordecai Johnson called my attention to the fact that Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah was there dancing with the Duchess of Kent. And I said, "Isn’t this something? Here is the once-serf, the once-slave, now dancing with the lord on an equal plane." And that is done because there is no bitterness. These two nations will be able to live together and work together because the breaking loose was through non-violence and not through violence.

The aftermath of non-violence is the creation of the beloved community. The aftermath of non-violence is redemption. The aftermath of non-violence is reconciliation. The aftermath of violence however, are emptiness and bitterness. This is the thing I’m concerned about. Let us fight passionately and unrelentingly for the goals of justice and peace, but let’s be sure that our hands are clean in this struggle. Let us never fight with falsehood and violence and hate and malice, but always fight with love, so that, when the day comes that the walls of segregation have completely crumbled in Montgomery. that we will be able to live with people as their brothers and sisters.

Oh, my friends, our aim must be not to defeat Mr. Engelhardt, not to defeat Mr. Sellers and Mr. Gayle and Mr. Parks. Our aim must be to defeat the evil that’s in them. But our aim must be to win the friendship of Mr. Gayle and Mr. Sellers and Mr. Engelhardt. We must come to the point of seeing that our ultimate aim is to live with all men as brothers and sisters under God and not be their enemies or anything that goes with that type of relationship. And this is one thing that Ghana teaches us: that you can break loose from evil through non-violence, through a lack of bitterness. Nkrumah says in his book: "When I came out of prison, I was not bitter toward Britain. I came out merely with the determination to free my people from the colonialism and imperialism that had been inflicted upon them by the British. But I came out with no bitterness." And, because of that, this world will be a better place in which to live.

There’s another thing that Ghana reminds us. I’m coming to the conclusion now. Ghana reminds us that freedom never comes on a silver platter. It’s never easy. Ghana reminds us that whenever you break out of Egypt, you better get ready for stiff backs. You better get ready for some homes to be bombed. You better get ready for some churches to be bombed. You better get ready for a lot of nasty things to be said about you, because you're getting out of Egypt, and, whenever you break loose from Egypt, the initial response of the Egyptian is bitterness. It never comes with ease. It comes only through the hardness and persistence of life. Ghana reminds us of that. You better get ready to go to prison. When I looked out and saw the prime minister there with his prison cap on that night, that reminded me of that fact, that freedom never comes easy. It comes through hard labour and it comes through toil. It comes through hours of despair and disappointment.

That’s the way it goes. There is no crown without a cross. I wish we could get to Easter without going to Good Friday, but history tells us that we got to go by Good Friday before we can get to Easter. That’s the long story of freedom, isn’t it? Before you get to Canaan, you’ve got a Red Sea to confront. You have a hardened heart of a pharaoh to confront. You have the prodigious hilltops of evil in the wilderness to confront. And, even when you get up to the Promised Land, you have giants in the land. The beautiful thing about it is that there are a few people who’ve been over in the land. They have spied enough to say, "Even though the giants are there we can possess the land, because we got the internal fibre to stand up amid anything that we have to face."

The road to freedom is a difficult, hard road. It always makes for temporary setbacks. And those people who tell you today that there is more tension in Montgomery than there has ever been are telling you right. Whenever you get out of Egypt, you always confront a little tension, you always confront a little temporary setback. If you didn’t confront that you’d never get out. You must remember that the tensionless period that we like to think of was the period when the Negro was complacently adjusted to segregation, discrimination, insult, and exploitation. And the period of tension is the period when the Negro has decided to rise up and break loose from that. And this is the peace that we are seeking: not an old negative obnoxious peace which is merely the absence of tension, but a positive, lasting peace, which is the presence of brotherhood and justice. And it is never brought about without this temporary period of tension. The road to freedom is difficult.

But finally Ghana tells us that the forces of the universe are on the side of justice. That’s what it tells us, now. You can interpret Ghana any kind of way you want to, but Ghana tells me that the forces of the universe are on the side of justice. That night when I saw that old flag coming down and the new flag coming up, I saw something else. That wasn’t just an Ephemeral, evanescent event appearing on the stage of history, but it was an event with eternal meaning, for it symbolizes something. That thing symbolized to me that an old order is passing away and a new order is coming into being. An old order of colonialism, of segregation, of discrimination is passing away now, and a new order of justice and freedom and goodwill is being born. That’s what it said: that somehow the forces of justice stand on the side of the universe, and that you can’t ultimately trample over God’s children and profit by it.

I want to come back to Montgomery now, but I must stop by London for a moment, for London reminds me of something. I never will forget the day we went into London. The next day we started moving around this great city, the only city in the world that is almost as large as New York City. Over eight million people in London, about eight million, three hundred thousand; New York about eight million, five hundred thousand. London larger in area than New York, though. Standing in London is an amazing picture. And I never will forget the experience I had, the thoughts that came to my mind. We went to Buckingham Palace, and I looked there at all of Britain, at all of the pomp and circumstance of royalty. And I thought about all of the queens and kings that had passed through here. Look at the beauty of the changing of the guards and all of the guards with their beautiful horses. It’s a beautiful sight. Move on from there and go over to Parliament. Move into the House of Lords and the House of Commons. There with all of its beauty standing up before the world is one of the most beautiful sights in the world.

Then I remember, we went on over to Westminster Abbey. And I thought about several things when we went in this great church, this great cathedral, the centre of the Church of England. We walked around and went to the tombs of the kings and queens buried there. Most of the kings and queens of England are buried right there in the Westminster Abbey. And I walked around. On the one hand I enjoyed and appreciated the great gothic architecture of that massive cathedral. I stood there in awe thinking about the greatness of God and man’s feeble attempt to reach up for God. And I thought something else - I thought about the Church of England.

My mind went back to Buckingham Palace, and I said that this is the symbol of a dying system. There was a day that the queens and kings of England could boast that the sun never sets on the British Empire, a day when she occupied the greater portion of Australia, the greater portion of Canada. There was a day when she ruled most of China, most of Africa, and all of India. I started thinking about this empire. I started thinking about the fact that she ruled over India one day. Mahatma Gandhi stood there at every hand, trying to get the freedom of his people, and they never bowed to it. They never, they decided that they were going to stand up and hold India in humiliation and in colonialism many, many years. I remember we passed by Ten Downing Street. That’s the place where the prime minister of England lives. And I remember that a few years ago a man lived there by the name of Winston Churchill. One day he stood up before the world and said, "I did not become his Majesty’s First Minister to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire." And I thought about the fact that a few weeks ago a man by the name of Anthony Eden lived there. And out of all of his knowledge of the Middle East, he decided to rise up and march his armies with the forces of Israel and France into Egypt, and there they confronted their doom, because they were revolting against world opinion. Egypt, a little country; Egypt, a country with no military power. They could have easily defeated Egypt, but they did not realize that they were fighting more than Egypt. They were attacking world opinion; they were fighting the whole Asian-African bloc, which is the bloc that now thinks and moves and determines the course of the history of the world.

I thought of many things. I thought of the fact that the British Empire exploited India. Think about it! A nation with four hundred million people and the British exploited them so much that out of a population of four hundred million, three hundred and fifty million made an annual income of less than fifty dollars a year. Twenty-five of that had to be used for taxes and the other things of life. I thought about dark Africa, and how the people there, if they can make a hundred dollars a year they are living very well, they think. Two shillings a day - one shilling is fourteen cents, two shillings, twenty-eight cents - that’s a good wage. That’s because of the domination of the British Empire.

All of these things came to my mind, and when I stood there in Westminster Abbey with all of its beauty, and I thought about all of the beautiful hymns and anthems that the people would go in there to sing. And yet the Church of England never took a stand against this system. The Church of England sanctioned it The Church of England gave it moral stature. All of the exploitation perpetuated by the British Empire was sanctioned by the Church of England.

But something else came to my mind: God comes in the picture even when the Church won’t take a stand. God has injected a principle in this universe. God has said that all men must respect the dignity and worth of all human personality, "And if you don’t do that, I will take charge." It seems this morning that I can hear God speaking. I can hear him speaking throughout the universe, saying, "Be still and know that I am God. And if you don’t stop, if you don’t straighten up, if you don’t stop exploiting people, I’m going to rise up and break the backbone of your power. And your power will be no more!"

And the power of Great Britain is no more. I looked at France. I looked at Britain. And I thought about the Britain that could boast, "The sun never sets on our great Empire." And I said now she had gone to the level that the sun hardly rises on the British Empire - because it was based on exploitation, because the God of the universe eventually takes a stand.

And I say to you this morning, my friends, rise up and know that, as you struggle for justice, you do not struggle alone, but God struggles with you. And He is working every day. Somehow I can look out, I can look out across the seas and across the universe, and cry out, "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored." Then I think about it, because His truth is marching on, and I can sing another chorus: "Hallelujah, glory hallelujah! His truth is marching on." Then I can hear Isaiah again, because it has profound meaning to me, that somehow, "Every valley shall be exalted, and every hill shall be made low; the crooked places shall be made straight, and the rough places plain; and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together."

That’s the beauty of this thing: all flesh shall see it together. Not some from the heights of Park Street and others from the dungeons of slum areas. Not some from the pinnacles of the British Empire and some from the dark deserts of Africa. Not some from inordinate, superfluous wealth and others from abject, deadening poverty. Not some white and not some black, not some yellow and not some brown, but all flesh shall see it together. They shall see it from Montgomery. They shall see it from New York. They shall see it from Ghana. They shall see it from China.

For I can look out and see a great number, as John saw, marching into the great eternity, because God is working in this world, and at this hour, and at this moment. And God grants that we will get on board and start marching with God, because we got orders now to break down the bondage and the walls of colonialism, exploitation, and imperialism, to break them down to the point that no man will trample over another man, but that all men will respect the dignity and worth of all human personality. And then we will be in Canaan’s freedom land.

Moses might not get to see Canaan, but his children will see it. He even got to the mountaintop enough to see it and that assured him that it was coming. But the beauty of the thing is that there’s always a Joshua to take up his work and take the children on in. And it’s there waiting with its milk and honey, and with all of the bountiful beauty that God has in store for His children. Oh, what exceedingly marvellous things God has in store for us. Grant that we will follow Him enough to gain them.

O God, our gracious Heavenly Father, help us to see the insights that come from this new nation. Help us to follow Thee and all of Thy creative works in this world, and that somehow we will discover that we are made to live together as brothers And that it will come in this generation: the day when all men will recognize the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. Amen.

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World Bank's Perpective....Ghana@50

2007-03-08T12:33:00.000-05:00

Ghana’s Growth, Falling Poverty Rates, Could Raise Income Status in a Decade
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March 2, 2007—Ghana fetes 50 years of independence on March 6, but the next decade may give one of the best-performing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa more reason to celebrate.
The last five years brought higher economic growth (6.2 percent in 2006), after a steady two decades of moderate 4 percent growth. Inflation is lower (10 percent, down from 40), and so are interest rates (15 percent, down from 30), and poverty (33.4 percent in 2005, down from 39.5 percent in 2000, and 51.7 percent in 1990).
Those statistics, combined with strong improvements in business climate and the democratic process, civil liberties and freedom of the press, indicate Ghana may be able to halve poverty before 2015.
“This is striking progress, both on growth and poverty,” says World Bank Ghana Country Director Mats Karlsson.
As Ghana prepares for its golden anniversary party, with 25 heads of state and delegates from over 60 countries in attendance, its prospects of becoming a middle-income country in the next decade are “high,” he says.
“Even though we who live and work in Ghana want to celebrate now, we of course also recognize the challenges. But objectively, Ghana scores very well compared with its peers on any grounds: governance, growth, structural reform, and poverty reduction.
“But it doesn’t score well compared to what people perceive is Ghana’s potential,” he adds.
“Looking at the past five years, we see acceleration of progress. And that acceleration is what we’re building on now.”
Resource rich but energy poor Ghana’s biggest challenge is remedying power shortages that force frequent brownouts. The Akosambo Dam, completed in 1964, can no longer meet the country’s needs, including skyrocketing demand from mineral and aluminum producing companies.
The Bank is providing guarantees for a regional effort—the West Africa Gas Pipeline—to bring in cheaper, environmentally friendly power from Nigeria in the form of gas that would otherwise have been released into the atmosphere.
It’s also supporting the West-African Power Pool, which allows West African countries to access power “where it is cheapest,” and working with the Ghanian government on a major new project, the Ghana Energy Development and Access Project, financed with zero-interest International Development Association (IDA) funds, to distribute power more widely in the country, says Karlsson.
Despite shortages, “already today Ghanaians have higher energy access than almost any country in Africa, but we think we can reinforce that so and make power reliable not only for light but also to run machinery and create jobs,” he says.
In a major new state-of-the-art move on March 1, practically all donors (covering 95% of flows to Ghana) signed an innovative commitment, the Ghana Joint Assistance Strategy – G-JAS. Covering a four-year program, with as much as US$5.3 billion, the G-JAS partners commit to back Ghana’s national development strategy at the highest best-practice levels, harmonizing work and backing results with efficient resource utilization.
The country is intent to achieve shared growth, entailing both strong investment in competitiveness, particularly infrastructure, but also relying on decentralization, better quality education at all levels, and greater impact in child survival, nutrition, water and sanitation. An emerging challenge is new urban poverty, even as poverty is falling country wide.
“If you sustain growth, you will also sustain poverty reduction, because it’s basically a one-to-one relationship,” says Karlsson.
The Bank alone has committed US$1.3 billion to 19 zero-interest IDA-financed projects or grants. Two thirds support agriculture, rural productivity and sustainable resource use, energy infrastructure, the business environment, and transport. Another third goes to human development, including water and sanitation, HIV/AIDS, and education program.
Over the past four years, 2003-2006, the Bank has committed and disbursed $1.2 billion. On top of that the Bank and other partners have agreed to debt relief which has reduced Ghana’s external debt stock from $6.4 billion to $1.5 billion. For 2007 the Bank is committing to more than $400 million in new finance. The World Bank Group is also seeking to combine the tools of the whole World Bank Group, including IFC and MIGA, for innovative financing solutions to expensive infrastructure investment.
“Ghana is still an economy that is commodity-dependant,” says Karlsson. “But has Ghana changed? You bet it has, and therefore we are celebrating Ghana’s 50th full of promise. Empowerment is making all the difference.

Why I Wasn’t Excited about Ghana@50

2007-03-08T01:32:00.000-05:00

By Atta Addo

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Ghana’s independence from Great Britain on 6th March 1957, an event that sparked the wild independence fire across the continent and gave inspiration and hope to many oppressed populations around the world. This event itself is laudable and I differ from those who have opined that Ghana has nothing to celebrate. Nonetheless, amidst the nationalist hysteria that many Ghanaians exhibited, I found myself asking if that is what the anniversary of our independence should be all about, especially considering the state of our nation and the seeming lack of a cohesive national vision for the future. I submit that what needed to happen on 6th March 2007 was a profound national reflection on the state of our nation and Africa as a whole and not only the $20 million jubilation and free lip service we saw. Ghanaians missed a fine opportunity to reflect —through a thousand public forums and dialogues—on what they want of their nation and to draw lessons from the past.

To celebrate the end of oppression is one thing, and to blindly be whipped into nationalist frenzy is another. I was disheartened by the overwhelming emphasis the planning committee placed on ‘celebration’ rather than reflection. It is ironic, that the very nation we celebrate was in many ways none of our creation or desire as ‘Ghanaians’ but a western imposition and a direct consequence of the 1884 partition of Africa; when European men driven by ambition and satiated with paternalism, haphazardly drew state boundaries across ethnic and linguistic lines to make civilizing mandates of happily settled populations. Even the concept of nationalism, if we are to take Ernest Gelner, its most prominent theorist at his word, is an emanation of modern industrialization and thus alien to the pre-agrarian and agrarian societies under which Africa falls. So to what extent do we own the nationalism we blindly celebrated on March 6 and for what reason must we obstinately insist on being distinct from our kinsmen on the continent? Why are we Ghanaian and what does Ghana mean anyway?

As I watched jubilant Ghanaians wrapped in the red, yellow, green national colors and waving the black star flag, I recalled Marx’s characterization of nationalism as a “false consciousness” and wondered to what extent Ghanaians’ daily actions are guided by their professed nationalism. Clearly, after 50 years of self-rule, there is a chasm between our professed love of nation and our actions--this is true of politicians and the masses alike even though we like to think our miserable state is solely the fault of politicians.

But of course who cares about the origins of the nation-state, of nationalism or of how our borders came to be? Who cares about the symbolism of the flag or the idea it represents? Who cares whether after 50 years we have a national budget that can only balance with donor assistance? Who cares about the fact that majority of citizens are illiterate and cannot sing the first verse of the so-called national anthem?

But maybe we should care. For the most part, we are stuck with these and other legacies of the colonial encounter to deal with. The political turmoil that plagued the first two decades of our post-independence national life, the agro structured economy (rather than industrial or knowledge based) that largely kept our nation in poverty, the ethnic tensions and distrust that even exists today are all traceable in whole or in part to British legacy. This is partly why, I believe our current state is not all bad and that given what we were left to build upon, we have made decent progress especially in the last decade.

Yet, we must not sit back and flatter ourselves by our relative success in the West African sub-region. We must not sing and chant and dance on the same streets that had been raided of beggars to keep them out of view of foreign dignitaries. We must not dance.Not yet! At 50, we should be thinking hard and reflecting deeply; fashioning a new Ghana for our children to celebrate in the next fifty years when Ghana turns 100. We should reflect on how to be truly independent and understand that nationalism is only superficial and a construct that may not even be our own.Celebration alone is not enough.