WE have a bad past that we must acknowledge — a past of political victimisation, political vindictiveness and intolerance; a past of political stigmatisation, a past that had rendered our political terrain unstable over the years and which made it difficult to promote national cohesion, progress and development.
Since the violent overthrow of the First Republic under Dr Kwame Nkrumah on February 24, 1966 and the stigmatisation of his regime which followed, successive governments have consistently pursued a cynical agenda of not giving credit to their predecessors.
The military government which succeeded the Convention People’s Party government of Dr Nkrumah bestowed on itself the acclaim, Liberators. So the National Liberation Council (NLC) did not see anything good about the Nkrumah regime, not even the solid foundation it laid in the various sectors of national development, including education, agriculture and industry.
The short-lived regime of the Progress Party (PP) under Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia which sprouted from the ashes of the NLC could not find any kind words for its predecessors, not even the NLC which made it easy for the PP to gain political power.
When General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong emerged on the scene with his Redeemers on January 13, 1972, it was like nothing good ever happened in this country until their arrival. General Acheampong, then a Colonel, was on record to have justified the coup that even the few amenities the military was enjoying were denied them by the Busia regime.
General Acheampong’s own National Redemption Council (NRC) matured and transformed itself into the Supreme Military Council (SMC) as a way of sidelining junior officers from the realm of things. When Gen. Acheampong was overthrown in a palace coup in 1978, to be replaced by SMC II, he was described by his colleagues in SMC I as a dictator who was running a one-man show.
Incidentally, both General Acheampong, who led SMC I, and General F.W.K. Akufo, who led SMC II, and their other colleagues on the council were cut down by bullets of the firing squad at the Teshie Shooting Range during the infamous house cleaning era under the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) led by Flt. Lt. J. J. Rawlings.
Dr Hilla Limann’s People’s National Party (PNP) which assumed political power in September 1979 had hardly planted its feet in the ground when its mandate was rudely and cruelly terminated on December 31, 1981 to herald the ’Revolution which ended all revolutions’— the 31st December Revolution.
After that, it took 11 long years before constitutional rule was restored on January 7, 1993, spearheaded by the National Democratic Congress (NDC), an offshoot of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC).
Throughout these periods of political turbulence which saw numerous change-overs, there was one thing which remained constant. None of the governments was modest enough to acknowledge the achievements of its predecessors.
Since most of the changes came as a result of military coups, it was always characteristic of the new administration to justify its intervention by condemning everything about the previous government.
The cumulative effect of that phenomenon was that the nation never built upon its past achievements. Successive governments never continued where others left off, with each new government starting something new which was hardly ever completed.
Kwame Nkrumah’s educational policy which was the envy of many countries and which set Ghana on a cracking pace ahead of its contemporaries; his agricultural programmes which attracted the Malaysians to come and understudy our agricultural system and to return home with oil palm seedlings from our nurseries; the ambitious industrialisation policy of that regime which saw Ghana at par with South Korea, India and other emerging industrial nations in the 1960s were all abandoned.
More than 45 years after Nkrumah’s overthrow, Ghana has started talking about going nuclear in power generation when the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission was set up in the 1960s by Dr Nkrumah to manage the Kwabenya Atomic Reactor which had, as part of its objective, the generation of energy for the country’s industrial growth.
General Acheampong’s ‘Operation Feed Yourself’ which attracted the youth of the day to participate in the building of the Dawhenya Irrigation Project in the 1970s could have been sustained instead of being abandoned after his overthrow.
His regime also saw the introduction of the low-cost housing concept which witnessed the construction of modest housing units in various regional and district capitals to cater for public servants serving in those communities. That concept was abandoned and the best other governments could do was to sell this housing units to the highest bidders.
Several other development projects under different regimes went the same way and the nation was the loser.
With the restoration of civil, democratic rule in 1993, many Ghanaians thought our politicians would break away from that negative past but it seems that enlightenment has not reached us yet.
We have witnessed two major changes of government since the 1992 Constitution was promulgated. The first was in 2001 when the NDC lost power and handed over to the New Patriotic Party (NPP). The second was a few months ago when the NPP was also swept out of office and had to hand over to the NDC.
Interestingly, when the NPP came to power, they hardly saw anything good in the previous administration. Everything had to be created anew. It was like the economy had collapsed, the educational system was not working, food production had gone down, unemployment was high and poverty was everywhere. Even the educational system had to be changed, at least in name and number of years. So we were back to square one.
We are a few months into a new administration and we have started hearing the same old words. Nothing was good under the NPP administration. Their best was nothing but the worst this country had ever witnessed. The good and the bad are likely to be put into one basket and thrown away on some filthy refuse dump.
Gullible as we are, those on the side of the new government see members of the previous government as corrupt and useless, while those on the side of the previous government see members of the new government as opportunists who have come to reap where they have not sown.
Consensus building and the spirit of building upon our successes, while making corrections where there is genuine evidence of mistakes or failure, are lost in the name-calling which follows every regime change.
Apart from everything else, the fear of the unknown has contributed largely to the animalistic instinct with which some politicians push their determination to remain in power.
Apart from stigmatisation, there is also the fear of victimisation or political persecution which has become part of our politics.
The danger inherent in this phenomenon is that there is mistrust and suspicion between the key players in the old and the new regimes. It also makes continuity in terms of policies and programmes difficult, since the new regime will prefer starting something new, which will not give any remote credit to the old.
On the part of the old, they will be lurking in the corners ready to jump up with shouts of victory as soon as the new regime tries to build upon something they (the old regime) had initiated.
So do we now realise why we are begging from countries like Malaysia which came to learn from us some 50 years ago?
The greatest danger to us as a nation with this kind of attitude is that corrupt elements in previous governments can escape punishment or attract sympathy from supporters, claiming political persecution when their nefarious activities are brought to public notice.
That is why we must break away from this evil past. Those who do well must be congratulated and recognised, while those who abused public office should be exposed and dealt with appropriately.
President John Evans Atta Mills has been repeating at almost every opportunity that he was not going to embark upon any political vendetta nor would he be in a rush to go after officials of the previous regime just to satisfy the demands of his party supporters.
He, nonetheless, gave assurance that he would not shield any public official, whether in the previous or his administration, who would fall foul of the law.
Members of the previous regime should also be honourable enough to admit that as human beings they are not perfect and, therefore, could have made mistakes. They must also admit that not all of them operated above board and, therefore, they should not apply the group interest to defend those who, clearly, did not satisfy the dictates of their public offices. Pretending to be angels when they are not near saints will not help the fortunes of this nation.
President Mills has also declared publicly on several occasions that he will continue with every project initiated by the previous regime and build upon every good thing bequeathed to his administration by the Kufuor administration.
Of course, there will be need for the correction of genuine mistakes which should be expected in any human institution.
These are fine and noble pledges that President Mills should be encouraged to fulfil. We cannot live and progress with bitterness in our hearts. We cannot live in fear and anxiety as a people who want to move forward and we cannot make the necessary sacrifices if we are not sure whether our good works will be recognised and appreciated or added to the malfeasance of others who have failed the nation and condemned.
The distinction must be drawn and proper things done in the interest of this country.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
A NATION OF BEGGARS (APRIL 21, 2009)
AS if their silent prayers have been answered, the vehicles come to a halt on the command of the 'RED' traffic light. Then from the pavements, they troop in different colours, charging on their preys. Some being pushed in wheelchairs, some with walking sticks and being led by guides, while others, fully 'intact', make a direct approach.
There are others who sit on the pavement waving, like we used to do when a big man from the city was being driven by. They all share a common trade — begging.
In fairness to the visually impaired, it could be argued that some of them got afflicted at an old age, when they could not undergo any training in the schools for the blind.
There are other cases where you could hardly tell what their problems are. Some, apart from a slight limp, are more than fit and are far better than many other Ghanaians who are struggling daily through productive ventures to make a living.
Apart from our own people, there are these brothers and sisters from some Sahelian countries whose beliefs do not allow them to work but to beg. These adult men sit under the comfort of shady trees and order their wives and children into the scorching sun to beg. They are not only an eyesore and a nuisance, but their sight constantly reminds us of our primitive state as Africans who cannot live independent lives.
A new breed of beggars has also emerged on the scene. These are young and unemployed men who have taken advantage of a national calamity — non functioning traffic lights — to do business. Having declared themselves as volunteers, these unofficial traffic wardens, using tree branches and dirty garments as their tool, beg motorists for financial support as they conduct their business.
The police administration has on numerous occasions made public pronouncements declaring these young men persona non grata at the traffic intersections. But it seems we have been overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation so much that these unofficial traffic wardens have been integrated into our national youth employment programme, with the burden of paying them being borne by motorists.
The begging spree can substantially be reduced if we make a conscious national effort to get rid of it. Those in wheelchairs can do a lot of things for themselves. They can take post strategically near any kenkey, yor ke gari seller or any other food vendor and sell just sachet water, which can fetch them some modest income on daily basis.
I know with a good lobby, most newspaper publishers will willingly encourage the physically challenged to sell their products to the reading public for an honourable living.
Some manufacturers are already trying to take beggars or the physically challenged off the streets and redefine their destinies by encouraging them to be traders instead of beggars.
As for the unofficial traffic wardens, they will become redundant and look elsewhere for a living if only the authorities will work hard and save us from this huge national disgrace of seeing these, sometimes bare-chested boys directing traffic at major intersections in our national capital, 52 years after political independence.
These interventions can only succeed if begging itself is discredited and not given a national blessing as it appears to be the case for now.
These are but individuals though, who have every right to exercise their freedom of choice, which includes what they want to do for a living, provided no law has been breached. But with all types of hybrid beggars around, can we say that there is any law against begging?
The biggest beggars are, however, found in the seats of power. From the presidency to the lowest level of state authority, men and women entrusted with the destiny of this nation do not fail to beg at the least opportunity.
Any foreign visitor to the Castle to pay his/her courtesies to the head of state will not depart without tonnes of requests in his/her briefcase. And we beg for anything. From medical syringes for our starved and ill-equipped hospitals and clinics to furniture for our dilapidated classrooms. We do not know where to end.
We did not even think of our pride as a sovereign nation, when we went to beg India, another Third World country, to come and build a Presidential Palace for us. And we seem to be so proud of such a national disgrace that we think we deserve national honours for the misadventure.
Some of us have always been against using a slave outpost as our seat of government. More so, when we pride our country as the first Black nation to gain independence from British colonialism. I am, therefore, in total agreement with any project to relocate the seat of government.
But that, for the sake of our national pride, should have been done from our national resources, which many Ghanaians believe we are capable of if only we are determined to look within for solutions to most of our problems.
Even the design of the palace should have emanated from our local architects who will incorporate into it, concepts that would represent our national unity in diversity. Construction could have been done using local materials and labour. Then we can proudly call it our presidential palace.
Indeed 48 years ago, local materials, labour and technology were employed to put up one of the most magnificent edifices in Africa — the State House at Osu. Who says we cannot do even better today, if we want to? Instead, we have allowed a foreign architectural design to dominate an important part of our national history at a time we were celebrating half a century of our sovereignty and nationhood.
That is where our national calamity lies. We have virtually lost our independence and national dignity. We have given up hope for survival without foreign intervention in one form or another. Otherwise why will our political leaders not spare us a moment without pleading with a foreign visitor for assistance to acquire the basest of things?
Because of this cruel mentality, we have turned our country into a dumping ground for used items, which we receive here as donations. They include old computers that never work, old hospital furniture and equipment, books that have no relevance to our educational system, expired drugs that have lost their potency and many more, which all add up to debase our sovereignty and humanity.
Why should we ask for food aid from countries that have not seen the Sun or experienced any rainfall for months? Why should we seek financial support from countries that do not have half of the natural resources we are endowed with?
At first it was our colonial masters and superiors in Europe and America we turned to. Today, we do not feel ashamed begging Malaysia, India, Korea, Iran, Singapore, Brazil and Thailand and many other Third World countries we can best describe as classmates for assistance. What happened to us as a people? Can it be the same colonialism and slavery excuse?
It is a pitiful sight seeing long articulated trucks carting used bicycles, lorry tyres, fridges, television sets, cups, plates, fork and knives, car batteries, drinking glasses, plates, pants, brassieres, computers, towels, napkins, prams, bedsteads, mattresses and many more from the ports, heading for the markets in our cities, towns and villages.
This is a country where some honourable persons did not find anything wrong recommending that its ex-presidents should, among many other things, be given six brand new customised vehicles every four years for their comfort.
Strangely enough, having declared ourselves as very poor and helpless, we are never modest when it comes to spending on certain facilities for the comfort of a few public office holders. China, one of our benefactors, is a world power, take it or leave it. But for the sake of national pride and modesty, its Prime Minister does not drive in a Mercedes S-Class, or a 7-Series BMW car, at least not officially. The same applies to the Indians who built our presidential palace for us and to whom we are always sending our supplications for more favours. In that country, Tata vehicles dominate their roads, not because they cannot afford luxury vehicles from Europe or the US.
The Koreans are very proud of their KIA and Hyundai vehicles, while the Japanese have no business going in for American and European vehicles. Check the Japanese Ambassador here, whether he had ever driven in any vehicle apart from Japanese-made ones to any official function before. That is the sign of nationalism, a sense of patriotism and the utmost exhibition of pride in what they deem to be theirs. Compare these to the type of vehicles we buy for official use in this country.
Don't we realise that there is something awkward about us when in the midst of this begging orgy, we should be scrambling for armoured BMWs, Mercedes and American-made Ford wagons for personal use at the expense of the state? What are we trying to prove to the rest of the world?
We cannot live in isolation and we cannot pretend that we are so self-sufficient that we shall not need external support. However, the begging is becoming too much. It makes nonsense of our independence and sovereignty.
There are many things we can do ourselves, if only our leaders will make judicious use of our national resources. We can do more if we can challenge ourselves and show determination to attain certain national goals.
Our benefactors did not get where they are now by simply begging. It took them determined efforts to be where they are. Sometimes too, it will be good for our national pride if our leaders will look at the faces of the people they intend solicit assistance from.
This tendency of asking any foreigner to the country for favours and assistance is becoming embarrassing, at least to some of us. What are we there for, if we have to beg for everything, from sawdust to spacecraft for survival as a nation?
Chairman Mao Zedong, once told the Chinese, during the Cultural Revolution, that they had two things to prove. That they were backward and useless as proclaimed by Western propaganda, or that they were capable of taking their destiny into their own hands. They made a choice and the rest is history. We can choose to remain a beggar nation or a nation proud to stand on its own feet.
We can also choose to be frivolous when it comes to spending the little that we have.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
There are others who sit on the pavement waving, like we used to do when a big man from the city was being driven by. They all share a common trade — begging.
In fairness to the visually impaired, it could be argued that some of them got afflicted at an old age, when they could not undergo any training in the schools for the blind.
There are other cases where you could hardly tell what their problems are. Some, apart from a slight limp, are more than fit and are far better than many other Ghanaians who are struggling daily through productive ventures to make a living.
Apart from our own people, there are these brothers and sisters from some Sahelian countries whose beliefs do not allow them to work but to beg. These adult men sit under the comfort of shady trees and order their wives and children into the scorching sun to beg. They are not only an eyesore and a nuisance, but their sight constantly reminds us of our primitive state as Africans who cannot live independent lives.
A new breed of beggars has also emerged on the scene. These are young and unemployed men who have taken advantage of a national calamity — non functioning traffic lights — to do business. Having declared themselves as volunteers, these unofficial traffic wardens, using tree branches and dirty garments as their tool, beg motorists for financial support as they conduct their business.
The police administration has on numerous occasions made public pronouncements declaring these young men persona non grata at the traffic intersections. But it seems we have been overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation so much that these unofficial traffic wardens have been integrated into our national youth employment programme, with the burden of paying them being borne by motorists.
The begging spree can substantially be reduced if we make a conscious national effort to get rid of it. Those in wheelchairs can do a lot of things for themselves. They can take post strategically near any kenkey, yor ke gari seller or any other food vendor and sell just sachet water, which can fetch them some modest income on daily basis.
I know with a good lobby, most newspaper publishers will willingly encourage the physically challenged to sell their products to the reading public for an honourable living.
Some manufacturers are already trying to take beggars or the physically challenged off the streets and redefine their destinies by encouraging them to be traders instead of beggars.
As for the unofficial traffic wardens, they will become redundant and look elsewhere for a living if only the authorities will work hard and save us from this huge national disgrace of seeing these, sometimes bare-chested boys directing traffic at major intersections in our national capital, 52 years after political independence.
These interventions can only succeed if begging itself is discredited and not given a national blessing as it appears to be the case for now.
These are but individuals though, who have every right to exercise their freedom of choice, which includes what they want to do for a living, provided no law has been breached. But with all types of hybrid beggars around, can we say that there is any law against begging?
The biggest beggars are, however, found in the seats of power. From the presidency to the lowest level of state authority, men and women entrusted with the destiny of this nation do not fail to beg at the least opportunity.
Any foreign visitor to the Castle to pay his/her courtesies to the head of state will not depart without tonnes of requests in his/her briefcase. And we beg for anything. From medical syringes for our starved and ill-equipped hospitals and clinics to furniture for our dilapidated classrooms. We do not know where to end.
We did not even think of our pride as a sovereign nation, when we went to beg India, another Third World country, to come and build a Presidential Palace for us. And we seem to be so proud of such a national disgrace that we think we deserve national honours for the misadventure.
Some of us have always been against using a slave outpost as our seat of government. More so, when we pride our country as the first Black nation to gain independence from British colonialism. I am, therefore, in total agreement with any project to relocate the seat of government.
But that, for the sake of our national pride, should have been done from our national resources, which many Ghanaians believe we are capable of if only we are determined to look within for solutions to most of our problems.
Even the design of the palace should have emanated from our local architects who will incorporate into it, concepts that would represent our national unity in diversity. Construction could have been done using local materials and labour. Then we can proudly call it our presidential palace.
Indeed 48 years ago, local materials, labour and technology were employed to put up one of the most magnificent edifices in Africa — the State House at Osu. Who says we cannot do even better today, if we want to? Instead, we have allowed a foreign architectural design to dominate an important part of our national history at a time we were celebrating half a century of our sovereignty and nationhood.
That is where our national calamity lies. We have virtually lost our independence and national dignity. We have given up hope for survival without foreign intervention in one form or another. Otherwise why will our political leaders not spare us a moment without pleading with a foreign visitor for assistance to acquire the basest of things?
Because of this cruel mentality, we have turned our country into a dumping ground for used items, which we receive here as donations. They include old computers that never work, old hospital furniture and equipment, books that have no relevance to our educational system, expired drugs that have lost their potency and many more, which all add up to debase our sovereignty and humanity.
Why should we ask for food aid from countries that have not seen the Sun or experienced any rainfall for months? Why should we seek financial support from countries that do not have half of the natural resources we are endowed with?
At first it was our colonial masters and superiors in Europe and America we turned to. Today, we do not feel ashamed begging Malaysia, India, Korea, Iran, Singapore, Brazil and Thailand and many other Third World countries we can best describe as classmates for assistance. What happened to us as a people? Can it be the same colonialism and slavery excuse?
It is a pitiful sight seeing long articulated trucks carting used bicycles, lorry tyres, fridges, television sets, cups, plates, fork and knives, car batteries, drinking glasses, plates, pants, brassieres, computers, towels, napkins, prams, bedsteads, mattresses and many more from the ports, heading for the markets in our cities, towns and villages.
This is a country where some honourable persons did not find anything wrong recommending that its ex-presidents should, among many other things, be given six brand new customised vehicles every four years for their comfort.
Strangely enough, having declared ourselves as very poor and helpless, we are never modest when it comes to spending on certain facilities for the comfort of a few public office holders. China, one of our benefactors, is a world power, take it or leave it. But for the sake of national pride and modesty, its Prime Minister does not drive in a Mercedes S-Class, or a 7-Series BMW car, at least not officially. The same applies to the Indians who built our presidential palace for us and to whom we are always sending our supplications for more favours. In that country, Tata vehicles dominate their roads, not because they cannot afford luxury vehicles from Europe or the US.
The Koreans are very proud of their KIA and Hyundai vehicles, while the Japanese have no business going in for American and European vehicles. Check the Japanese Ambassador here, whether he had ever driven in any vehicle apart from Japanese-made ones to any official function before. That is the sign of nationalism, a sense of patriotism and the utmost exhibition of pride in what they deem to be theirs. Compare these to the type of vehicles we buy for official use in this country.
Don't we realise that there is something awkward about us when in the midst of this begging orgy, we should be scrambling for armoured BMWs, Mercedes and American-made Ford wagons for personal use at the expense of the state? What are we trying to prove to the rest of the world?
We cannot live in isolation and we cannot pretend that we are so self-sufficient that we shall not need external support. However, the begging is becoming too much. It makes nonsense of our independence and sovereignty.
There are many things we can do ourselves, if only our leaders will make judicious use of our national resources. We can do more if we can challenge ourselves and show determination to attain certain national goals.
Our benefactors did not get where they are now by simply begging. It took them determined efforts to be where they are. Sometimes too, it will be good for our national pride if our leaders will look at the faces of the people they intend solicit assistance from.
This tendency of asking any foreigner to the country for favours and assistance is becoming embarrassing, at least to some of us. What are we there for, if we have to beg for everything, from sawdust to spacecraft for survival as a nation?
Chairman Mao Zedong, once told the Chinese, during the Cultural Revolution, that they had two things to prove. That they were backward and useless as proclaimed by Western propaganda, or that they were capable of taking their destiny into their own hands. They made a choice and the rest is history. We can choose to remain a beggar nation or a nation proud to stand on its own feet.
We can also choose to be frivolous when it comes to spending the little that we have.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
PUTTING NATION'S PRIORITIES RIGHT (APRIL 14, 2009)
It was sad, unbelievable, but real to see men and women sharing a common ward at a hospital, each battling for survival against various ailments. And the problem is whether that facility qualifies to be called so.
The place was overcrowded, the stench of medicines, laundry and various forms of excretions and toiletries was very repulsive and the groaning and moaning of patients very pathetic.
There were only a few on rusty beds with worn-out mattresses. The rest were put on stretchers mounted on wheels or left on the bare floor. But these are the lucky ones. In all cases, you will need a clean bed sheet and pillow cases from home or do with what is available. Others not so lucky have to be turned away to seek treatment elsewhere because the place is simply full.
The toilet facilities could themselves be potential sources of other infections, if you are compelled by circumstances to use them. Against all these odds, the hospital staff, at least most of them, could be seen doing their best to save their patients.
If the patient, and mind you, this is somebody whose condition may be very critical, is not followed by relatives who have stuffed their pockets with cash, then he/she is likely to be in trouble, since there will be a demand for cash or the need to take prescription for drugs or related items that the hospital cannot provide.
Dear reader, before your mind begins to drift towards a hospital in a God-forsaken rural community, let me tell you that this is the sight which meets you on daily basis at the Medical Emergency Ward of the 37 Military Hospital in the heart of Accra.
This is a place that has been touted as a centre of excellence in health delivery. You know any time we want to measure our performance, we do not look at those ahead of us, but those behind us and clap for ourselves.
The 37 Military Hospital is among the nation’s top public health institutions in terms of facilities and human expertise. It may rank third after Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, so if we are presented with such a situation at 37, as it is commonly referred to, can we guess the state of health delivery in the less endowed parts of our country? Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital itself has its own story to tell, especially if you are taken there in an emergency situation.
Sometimes, these stories sound remote in our ears until we are taken sick or have to take a relative in critical condition to the hospital. It is then that we realise that a lot of the talk by politicians that they are committed to efficient health delivery in the country is mere hot air they are blowing into our ears.
Ours may not be a rich nation but that cannot take away our capacity to paint our hospital wards and provide basic facilities that will soothe the pain of a sick person. How much does it take to provide water closets in our hospitals for our general use, if we can part with large sums of money running into billions of Ghana cedis to provide for the comfort of a few politicians and public servants?
If you drive around Accra, you will realise that most of the traffic lights have become symbols of national decay and negligence. These traffic intersections have become accident spots and have added to an already bad traffic situation in the city.
Why should it be so? Can this also be blamed on poverty or irresponsible behaviour on the part of some public officers? Most often, it is not easy where to place the blame for such lapses in our national life.
Recently, after a series of accidents, certain decisions were taken to enforce existing motor traffic regulations or the introduction of new elements to bring sanity onto the roads. We still see leaves and tree branches being used as signals on the roads.
Alcoholic beverages are still being sold at the lorry stations and vehicles with heavily-tinted windows are still common on the streets. We have done the talking but are inadequate when it comes to action.
Whoever ordered that the original design for the Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange should be scaled down to cut cost has done a great disservice to this country. Whether we like it or not, we are going to spend a lot of money, far more than we should have spent in the first place, if we are to remove the mess at Tetteh-Quarshie.
Some of us may not have the technical brains of road engineers, but common sense told us that that roundabout in the middle of what is supposed to be an express way linking Accra and Tema could only create one thing – chaos – and it has succeeded in doing just that.
Against all good judgement, we have decided to construct a shopping mall where it is, and Ghanaians can go to hell with their protestations because the interest of one or two persons supersedes that of all other Ghanaians. In its present state, Tetteh-Quarshie is more than a jungle where only the fittest can survive.
We have treated poverty with too much dignity for far too long. We have gradually turned poverty into a kind of shield to cover incompetence, inefficiency, mediocrity and corruption to the detriment of our national growth and progress.
If we can go on a vehicle-buying spree to reward a few for national service, why can’t we get enough money to make our hospitals the true centres of health delivery instead of making them look like camps for prisoners of war?
Why can’t we make a few traffic lights to work to save us the agony of traffic jams and accidents? Why can’t we transform Tetteh-Quarshie into a masterpiece of engineering work we can be proud of? It is all about doing the first things first.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
The place was overcrowded, the stench of medicines, laundry and various forms of excretions and toiletries was very repulsive and the groaning and moaning of patients very pathetic.
There were only a few on rusty beds with worn-out mattresses. The rest were put on stretchers mounted on wheels or left on the bare floor. But these are the lucky ones. In all cases, you will need a clean bed sheet and pillow cases from home or do with what is available. Others not so lucky have to be turned away to seek treatment elsewhere because the place is simply full.
The toilet facilities could themselves be potential sources of other infections, if you are compelled by circumstances to use them. Against all these odds, the hospital staff, at least most of them, could be seen doing their best to save their patients.
If the patient, and mind you, this is somebody whose condition may be very critical, is not followed by relatives who have stuffed their pockets with cash, then he/she is likely to be in trouble, since there will be a demand for cash or the need to take prescription for drugs or related items that the hospital cannot provide.
Dear reader, before your mind begins to drift towards a hospital in a God-forsaken rural community, let me tell you that this is the sight which meets you on daily basis at the Medical Emergency Ward of the 37 Military Hospital in the heart of Accra.
This is a place that has been touted as a centre of excellence in health delivery. You know any time we want to measure our performance, we do not look at those ahead of us, but those behind us and clap for ourselves.
The 37 Military Hospital is among the nation’s top public health institutions in terms of facilities and human expertise. It may rank third after Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, so if we are presented with such a situation at 37, as it is commonly referred to, can we guess the state of health delivery in the less endowed parts of our country? Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital itself has its own story to tell, especially if you are taken there in an emergency situation.
Sometimes, these stories sound remote in our ears until we are taken sick or have to take a relative in critical condition to the hospital. It is then that we realise that a lot of the talk by politicians that they are committed to efficient health delivery in the country is mere hot air they are blowing into our ears.
Ours may not be a rich nation but that cannot take away our capacity to paint our hospital wards and provide basic facilities that will soothe the pain of a sick person. How much does it take to provide water closets in our hospitals for our general use, if we can part with large sums of money running into billions of Ghana cedis to provide for the comfort of a few politicians and public servants?
If you drive around Accra, you will realise that most of the traffic lights have become symbols of national decay and negligence. These traffic intersections have become accident spots and have added to an already bad traffic situation in the city.
Why should it be so? Can this also be blamed on poverty or irresponsible behaviour on the part of some public officers? Most often, it is not easy where to place the blame for such lapses in our national life.
Recently, after a series of accidents, certain decisions were taken to enforce existing motor traffic regulations or the introduction of new elements to bring sanity onto the roads. We still see leaves and tree branches being used as signals on the roads.
Alcoholic beverages are still being sold at the lorry stations and vehicles with heavily-tinted windows are still common on the streets. We have done the talking but are inadequate when it comes to action.
Whoever ordered that the original design for the Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange should be scaled down to cut cost has done a great disservice to this country. Whether we like it or not, we are going to spend a lot of money, far more than we should have spent in the first place, if we are to remove the mess at Tetteh-Quarshie.
Some of us may not have the technical brains of road engineers, but common sense told us that that roundabout in the middle of what is supposed to be an express way linking Accra and Tema could only create one thing – chaos – and it has succeeded in doing just that.
Against all good judgement, we have decided to construct a shopping mall where it is, and Ghanaians can go to hell with their protestations because the interest of one or two persons supersedes that of all other Ghanaians. In its present state, Tetteh-Quarshie is more than a jungle where only the fittest can survive.
We have treated poverty with too much dignity for far too long. We have gradually turned poverty into a kind of shield to cover incompetence, inefficiency, mediocrity and corruption to the detriment of our national growth and progress.
If we can go on a vehicle-buying spree to reward a few for national service, why can’t we get enough money to make our hospitals the true centres of health delivery instead of making them look like camps for prisoners of war?
Why can’t we make a few traffic lights to work to save us the agony of traffic jams and accidents? Why can’t we transform Tetteh-Quarshie into a masterpiece of engineering work we can be proud of? It is all about doing the first things first.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Putting nation's priorities right
By Kofi Akordor
It was sad, unbelievable, but real to see men and women sharing a common ward at a hospital, each battling for survival against various ailments. And the problem is whether that facility qualifies to be called so.
The place was overcrowded, the stench of medicines, laundry and various forms of excretions and toiletries was very repulsive and the groaning and moaning of patients very pathetic. There were only a few on rusty beds with worn-out mattresses. The rest were put on stretchers mounted on wheels or left on the bare floor. But these are the lucky ones. In all cases, you will need a clean bed sheet and pillow cases from home or do with what is available. Others not so lucky have to be turned away to seek treatment elsewhere because the place is simply full.
The toilet facilities could themselves be potential sources of other infections, if you are compelled by circumstances to use them. Against all these odds, the hospital staff, at least most of them, could be seen doing their best to save their patients.
If the patient, and mind you, this is somebody whose condition may be very critical, is not followed by relatives who have stuffed their pockets with cash, then he/she is likely to be in trouble, since there will be a demand for cash or the need to take prescription for drugs or related items that the hospital cannot provide.
Dear reader, before your mind begins to drift towards a hospital in a God-forsaken rural community, let me tell you that this is the sight which meets you on daily basis at the Emergency Medical Ward of the 37 Military Hospital in the heart of Accra. This is a place that has been touted as a centre of excellence in health delivery. You know any time we want to measure our performance, we do not look at those ahead of us, but those behind us and clap for ourselves.
The 37 Military Hospital is among the nation’s top public health institutions in terms of facilities and human expertise. It may rank third after Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, so if we are presented with such a situation at 37, as it is commonly referred to, can we guess the state of health delivery in the less endowed parts of our country? Korle Bu Teaching Hospital itself has its own story to tell, especially if you are taken there in an emergency situation.
Sometimes, these stories sound remote in our ears until we are taken sick or have to take a relative in critical condition to the hospital. It is then that we realise that a lot of the talk by politicians that they are committed to efficient health delivery in the country is mere hot air they are blowing into our ears. Ours may not be a rich nation but that cannot take away our capacity to paint our hospital wards and provide basic facilities that will soothe the pain of a sick person. How much does it take to provide water closets in our hospitals for our general use, if we can part with large sums of money running into billions of Ghana cedis to provide for the comfort of a few politicians and public servants?
If you drive around Accra, you will realise that most of the traffic lights have become symbols of national decay and negligence. These traffic intersections have become accident spots and have added to an already bad traffic situation in the city. Why should it be so? Can this also be blamed on poverty or irresponsible behaviour on the part of some public officers? Most often, it is not easy where to place the blame for such lapses in our national life.
Recently, after a series of accidents, certain decisions were taken to enforce existing motor traffic regulations or the introduction of new elements to bring sanity onto the roads. We still see leaves and tree branches being used as signals on the roads. Alcoholic beverages are still being sold at the lorry stations and vehicles with heavily-tinted windows are still common on the streets. We have done the talking but are inadequate when it comes to action.
Whoever ordered that the original design for the Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange should be scaled down to cut cost has done a great disservice to this country. Whether we like it or not, we are going to spend a lot of money, far more than we should have spent in the first place, if we are to remove the mess at Tetteh-Quarshie.
Some of us may not have the technical brains of road engineers, but common sense told us that that roundabout in the middle of what is supposed to be an express way linking Accra and Tema could only create one thing – chaos – and it has succeeded in doing just that. Against all good judgement, we have decided to construct a shopping mall where it is, and Ghanaians can go to hell with their protestations because the interest of one or two persons supersedes that of all other Ghanaians. In its present state, Tetteh-Quarshie is more than a jungle where only the fittest can survive.
We have treated poverty with too much dignity for far too long. We have gradually turned poverty into a kind of shield to cover incompetence, inefficiency, mediocrity and corruption to the detriment of our national growth and progress.
If we can go on a vehicle-buying spree to reward a few for national service, why can’t we get enough money to make our hospitals the true centres of health delivery instead of making them look like camps for prisoners of war? Why can’t we make a few traffic lights to work to save us the agony of traffic jams and accidents? Why can’t we transform Tetteh-Quarshie into a masterpiece of engineering work we can be proud of? It is all about doing the first things first.
It was sad, unbelievable, but real to see men and women sharing a common ward at a hospital, each battling for survival against various ailments. And the problem is whether that facility qualifies to be called so.
The place was overcrowded, the stench of medicines, laundry and various forms of excretions and toiletries was very repulsive and the groaning and moaning of patients very pathetic. There were only a few on rusty beds with worn-out mattresses. The rest were put on stretchers mounted on wheels or left on the bare floor. But these are the lucky ones. In all cases, you will need a clean bed sheet and pillow cases from home or do with what is available. Others not so lucky have to be turned away to seek treatment elsewhere because the place is simply full.
The toilet facilities could themselves be potential sources of other infections, if you are compelled by circumstances to use them. Against all these odds, the hospital staff, at least most of them, could be seen doing their best to save their patients.
If the patient, and mind you, this is somebody whose condition may be very critical, is not followed by relatives who have stuffed their pockets with cash, then he/she is likely to be in trouble, since there will be a demand for cash or the need to take prescription for drugs or related items that the hospital cannot provide.
Dear reader, before your mind begins to drift towards a hospital in a God-forsaken rural community, let me tell you that this is the sight which meets you on daily basis at the Emergency Medical Ward of the 37 Military Hospital in the heart of Accra. This is a place that has been touted as a centre of excellence in health delivery. You know any time we want to measure our performance, we do not look at those ahead of us, but those behind us and clap for ourselves.
The 37 Military Hospital is among the nation’s top public health institutions in terms of facilities and human expertise. It may rank third after Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, so if we are presented with such a situation at 37, as it is commonly referred to, can we guess the state of health delivery in the less endowed parts of our country? Korle Bu Teaching Hospital itself has its own story to tell, especially if you are taken there in an emergency situation.
Sometimes, these stories sound remote in our ears until we are taken sick or have to take a relative in critical condition to the hospital. It is then that we realise that a lot of the talk by politicians that they are committed to efficient health delivery in the country is mere hot air they are blowing into our ears. Ours may not be a rich nation but that cannot take away our capacity to paint our hospital wards and provide basic facilities that will soothe the pain of a sick person. How much does it take to provide water closets in our hospitals for our general use, if we can part with large sums of money running into billions of Ghana cedis to provide for the comfort of a few politicians and public servants?
If you drive around Accra, you will realise that most of the traffic lights have become symbols of national decay and negligence. These traffic intersections have become accident spots and have added to an already bad traffic situation in the city. Why should it be so? Can this also be blamed on poverty or irresponsible behaviour on the part of some public officers? Most often, it is not easy where to place the blame for such lapses in our national life.
Recently, after a series of accidents, certain decisions were taken to enforce existing motor traffic regulations or the introduction of new elements to bring sanity onto the roads. We still see leaves and tree branches being used as signals on the roads. Alcoholic beverages are still being sold at the lorry stations and vehicles with heavily-tinted windows are still common on the streets. We have done the talking but are inadequate when it comes to action.
Whoever ordered that the original design for the Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange should be scaled down to cut cost has done a great disservice to this country. Whether we like it or not, we are going to spend a lot of money, far more than we should have spent in the first place, if we are to remove the mess at Tetteh-Quarshie.
Some of us may not have the technical brains of road engineers, but common sense told us that that roundabout in the middle of what is supposed to be an express way linking Accra and Tema could only create one thing – chaos – and it has succeeded in doing just that. Against all good judgement, we have decided to construct a shopping mall where it is, and Ghanaians can go to hell with their protestations because the interest of one or two persons supersedes that of all other Ghanaians. In its present state, Tetteh-Quarshie is more than a jungle where only the fittest can survive.
We have treated poverty with too much dignity for far too long. We have gradually turned poverty into a kind of shield to cover incompetence, inefficiency, mediocrity and corruption to the detriment of our national growth and progress.
If we can go on a vehicle-buying spree to reward a few for national service, why can’t we get enough money to make our hospitals the true centres of health delivery instead of making them look like camps for prisoners of war? Why can’t we make a few traffic lights to work to save us the agony of traffic jams and accidents? Why can’t we transform Tetteh-Quarshie into a masterpiece of engineering work we can be proud of? It is all about doing the first things first.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
BATTLE OVER SPOILS OF WAR IN 100 DAYS (APRIL 7, 2009)
THE magic hundred days in office by President John Evans Atta Mills is here. Under normal circumstances, we should be celebrating our gains, especially considering the pains we went through to maintain our stability and sanity as a people. But can we celebrate? Yes, but to a limited extent.
The first 100 days into Professor Mills’s four-year term, we are still vetting people for ministerial appointments: A process that has in the main veered from its objective of assessing the suitability of nominees to manage state affairs in their respective ministries, to become an inquisition, more or less an extension of the acrimony and mudslinging we witnessed on the campaign platforms during Election 2008.
Though it is not easy to forget some of the things political opponents said during the campaign period, more so, when some of those things had serious bearings on the electoral fortunes of some political parties; many Ghanaians were of the opinion that the earlier we buried the campaign miseries behind us, the better for our national equilibrium.
By all means, people should not be allowed to escape with careless and irresponsible statements. However, an obsession with the past will also not augur well for national development.
In fact, if we have to always recall all the things that were said or done in the name of politics by all the political parties very few will have the peace to have a full night’s sleep.
The posture of certain Members of Parliament on the Appointments Committee, while it may seem to be an exercise in setting the records straight, is not only raking over old wounds but also dragging government business unduly. At the end of the day, it only offers an excuse for another set of people to exact their pound of flesh when the opportunity offers itself.
What is, however, more worrying is the way we have used the first 100 days of a new government not to confront national challenges, but to fight over who takes what in the previous administration.
One would have thought that, having gone through a gruelling transition in 2,001, which left us with a lot of scars, we would conduct ourselves better this time. But the accusations and suspicions will not just go away.
First, we engaged in unnecessary and senseless debate over what should be the appropriate ex gratia to be paid to the former President and other high public office-holders captured under Article 71 of the 1992 Constitution.
It is true the recommendations captured by the Chinnery-Hesse Report did not reflect this country’s status as a beggar nation, the majority of whose children continue to squat and take lessons under trees. It also made it seem as if the presidency is a battlefield, where an ex-president, like a conqueror, must go home with spoils of war.
While the world’s rich and powerful nations were meeting in London to map out strategies to overcome the global recession that is eating into their economies, we have spent more than three months haggling over acquisition of state properties as if that is the end of the world.
After that, we shall go back to those nations, with cup in hand, begging for their support for our national budget. While we condemn government agents for their impatience and unorthodox manner of retrieving state vehicles from previous ministers and other public office-holders, we equally condemn those former public officers who know they must not take away what does not belong to them.
For instance, do we always have to justify bad behaviour by taking refuge in the past? If something was not good yesterday and was condemned, should we repeat it and justify it in the present?
In 2000, former President Rawlings was alleged to have vacated the Osu Castle with a large fleet of state vehicles. Very few applauded that action and as was expected, they included some fanatics who would not see anything wrong with their idol.
Can we proudly say we have learnt lessons from the past and improved upon our performance, when former President Kufuor, after eight years, also decided to select his own state vehicles that he must retire with? No matter what some may think, the answer is a big NO!
What was not justifiable yesterday cannot be justifiable today. State property remains state property and nobody should be seen to be disregarding this basic fact, and more significantly a former President should be the last person to be making light of this.
The most honourable thing former President Kufuor should have done was retire peacefully to his residence and await the response of the new President. It is then that we can determine whether he had been treated fairly and honourably or not.
But to take the first step of making your own selection undermines one’s integrity and jeopardises national unity. It gives room for people who are prone to mischief to have a field day, just as we are witnessing in the country now.
As could be seen, the discussion on the matter has taken a partisan twist, which does not augur well for a more dispassionate approach to arrive at a national consensus for future and permanent application.
The same can be said about the choice of a state bungalow by former President Kufuor for his office. It is the duty of the new President to honour the previous President by allocating him a suitable place for an office, which must be appropriately furnished and equipped at state expense.
The new President stands accused if he fails to do that. The Presidency should be treated with dignity and not reduced to property-grabbing enterprise.
The former Speaker of Parliament, Mr Begyina Sekyi-Hughes, swept his official residence clean when he was vacating. What could be the excuse? And who is trying to defend this?
I hate to hear those who make reference to what happened in 2000 or before, to justify the bad things of today. Why do we yearn for a change, if we were pleased with what happened yesterday or are happening today? So what is change, if it only means different people repeating the same thing?
We must grow out of the iniquities of the past. We must know the things that are good for us as a people and pursue them with all determination and stop the merry-go-round business.
Public service should remain public business and those who offer themselves to serve should do so in humility and in similar vein accept whatever is due them with gratitude. State properties should not be treated like spoils of war that must be raped and plundered by invading armies and their generals.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
The first 100 days into Professor Mills’s four-year term, we are still vetting people for ministerial appointments: A process that has in the main veered from its objective of assessing the suitability of nominees to manage state affairs in their respective ministries, to become an inquisition, more or less an extension of the acrimony and mudslinging we witnessed on the campaign platforms during Election 2008.
Though it is not easy to forget some of the things political opponents said during the campaign period, more so, when some of those things had serious bearings on the electoral fortunes of some political parties; many Ghanaians were of the opinion that the earlier we buried the campaign miseries behind us, the better for our national equilibrium.
By all means, people should not be allowed to escape with careless and irresponsible statements. However, an obsession with the past will also not augur well for national development.
In fact, if we have to always recall all the things that were said or done in the name of politics by all the political parties very few will have the peace to have a full night’s sleep.
The posture of certain Members of Parliament on the Appointments Committee, while it may seem to be an exercise in setting the records straight, is not only raking over old wounds but also dragging government business unduly. At the end of the day, it only offers an excuse for another set of people to exact their pound of flesh when the opportunity offers itself.
What is, however, more worrying is the way we have used the first 100 days of a new government not to confront national challenges, but to fight over who takes what in the previous administration.
One would have thought that, having gone through a gruelling transition in 2,001, which left us with a lot of scars, we would conduct ourselves better this time. But the accusations and suspicions will not just go away.
First, we engaged in unnecessary and senseless debate over what should be the appropriate ex gratia to be paid to the former President and other high public office-holders captured under Article 71 of the 1992 Constitution.
It is true the recommendations captured by the Chinnery-Hesse Report did not reflect this country’s status as a beggar nation, the majority of whose children continue to squat and take lessons under trees. It also made it seem as if the presidency is a battlefield, where an ex-president, like a conqueror, must go home with spoils of war.
While the world’s rich and powerful nations were meeting in London to map out strategies to overcome the global recession that is eating into their economies, we have spent more than three months haggling over acquisition of state properties as if that is the end of the world.
After that, we shall go back to those nations, with cup in hand, begging for their support for our national budget. While we condemn government agents for their impatience and unorthodox manner of retrieving state vehicles from previous ministers and other public office-holders, we equally condemn those former public officers who know they must not take away what does not belong to them.
For instance, do we always have to justify bad behaviour by taking refuge in the past? If something was not good yesterday and was condemned, should we repeat it and justify it in the present?
In 2000, former President Rawlings was alleged to have vacated the Osu Castle with a large fleet of state vehicles. Very few applauded that action and as was expected, they included some fanatics who would not see anything wrong with their idol.
Can we proudly say we have learnt lessons from the past and improved upon our performance, when former President Kufuor, after eight years, also decided to select his own state vehicles that he must retire with? No matter what some may think, the answer is a big NO!
What was not justifiable yesterday cannot be justifiable today. State property remains state property and nobody should be seen to be disregarding this basic fact, and more significantly a former President should be the last person to be making light of this.
The most honourable thing former President Kufuor should have done was retire peacefully to his residence and await the response of the new President. It is then that we can determine whether he had been treated fairly and honourably or not.
But to take the first step of making your own selection undermines one’s integrity and jeopardises national unity. It gives room for people who are prone to mischief to have a field day, just as we are witnessing in the country now.
As could be seen, the discussion on the matter has taken a partisan twist, which does not augur well for a more dispassionate approach to arrive at a national consensus for future and permanent application.
The same can be said about the choice of a state bungalow by former President Kufuor for his office. It is the duty of the new President to honour the previous President by allocating him a suitable place for an office, which must be appropriately furnished and equipped at state expense.
The new President stands accused if he fails to do that. The Presidency should be treated with dignity and not reduced to property-grabbing enterprise.
The former Speaker of Parliament, Mr Begyina Sekyi-Hughes, swept his official residence clean when he was vacating. What could be the excuse? And who is trying to defend this?
I hate to hear those who make reference to what happened in 2000 or before, to justify the bad things of today. Why do we yearn for a change, if we were pleased with what happened yesterday or are happening today? So what is change, if it only means different people repeating the same thing?
We must grow out of the iniquities of the past. We must know the things that are good for us as a people and pursue them with all determination and stop the merry-go-round business.
Public service should remain public business and those who offer themselves to serve should do so in humility and in similar vein accept whatever is due them with gratitude. State properties should not be treated like spoils of war that must be raped and plundered by invading armies and their generals.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
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