By Kofi Akordor
The politics of our democracy, it seems, is being driven by two powerful forces – the quest for power and the determination to remain in power. So powerful are these obsessions that all other things must fit into a grand design that goes to consolidate them.
In the process, we are unconsciously missing out on most of the good things that democracy offers countries that practise it. These include a very liberal environment that would engender free flow of ideas out of which will come consensus-building towards a common national development objective.
During election time, all the political parties and candidates use every available platform to market themselves and at the same time use every opportunity to discredit their opponents. This is tolerated in any multi-party environment since the more you can make your opponent appear weaker and less reliable, the better your chances of getting the support of the electorate.
Unfortunately, so consumed are we in our determination to win power that our campaigns become very acrimonious, unethical and antagonistic to the point of threatening national peace and stability. All said and done, one would have thought that the end of an election would signify the end of political campaign until another season, so that the party in power will address serious matters of state that will transform the country into a better place.
We are yet to come to that level in our political development. Right from day one, government officials do not know how to exit the campaign platform because their opponents, by some cunning way, have succeeded in keeping them there, thanks to a media that has found politics a profitable venture that should be exploited to the fullest advantage.
What that means is that the government’s focus is always distorted and its actions are virtually dictated by the opposition, whether internal or external, as the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government of Professor John Evans Atta Mills is experiencing now.
That is why the media, especially the electronic media, have become campaign platforms in which case on daily basis government officials must hop from one radio or television station to another, supported by party activists, justifying why they won the election and why the other party lost the election.
We are constantly being reminded of the past as if our whole national life is dependent on that and not the present and the future. A party in government rather than pursuing the agenda of national development becomes the party on the defensive, always trying to parry queries from the opposition or trying desperately to please its so-called grass roots supporters, who have become an army of hungry and frustrated foot-soldiers.
A big chunk of the population has turned every part of the city into a marketplace. City authorities want to act by enforcing the bye-laws. The traders let off the battle cry: “We shall not vote for you in 2012”. Party victory supersedes national development, so the government recoils to allow the illegality to continue. Opposition parties, especially those who are more likely to gain from any slip by the ruling party, know the truth and know that the city authorities are on the right track if there should be decency in the town we call our capital city but will join the chorus with the traders. “You see how callous the people you elected are?” they would ask with wicked smile on their faces. A national cause has been lost to political expediency.
A President comes under siege from within and without. He is reeling under a barrage of accusations – from leaving party loyalists to go hungry to failing to arrest and prosecute people perceived to have drained the national coffers for personal aggrandisement.
Out of desperation and without doing proper ground work, people are sent to court and later set free not necessarily because they are innocent but on technical grounds. Nothing can be more humiliating than to see a typical national wrecker laughing all the way to celebrate victory over haste and impropriety.
We know things that governments such as the ones that we have under the 1992 Constitution cannot do even if they wish to do so. We have gone beyond arbitrariness, so no matter how hard we may try, at the end of the day, the rule of law will prevail, no matter how people interpret it.
These realities are often lost to us when we are campaigning for political office. At the end of the day, we are held hostage by our own promises. The late Ya Na’s case is a national calamity that should be addressed so accordingly. But we have made it a political case to the extent that the effects have gone beyond the boundaries of Dagbon and are gradually pitting half of the country against the other, when that should not have been the case in the first place.
We must be bold and admit that our democracy is drifting. The party in government is spending a greater part of its time fending off accusations, while the major one in opposition is pushing the government on retreat. Both ways, the national cause is lost and it is all about how to remain in power or how to come back to power.
Meanwhile our national problems remain almost the same. Our educational system is still in a bad shape. To some of us the Capitation Grant and the School Feeding Programme that have become the song on the lips of government officials are not what we consider to be the solutions to a collapsing system. They are not answers for poor infrastructure, inadequate learning materials, lack of motivation for teachers and other workers in the education system and the poor examination results being recorded by our children.
We still have poor road network. It is strange and amazing that travelling between Accra and Kumasi, our two biggest and most important cities, cannot be an exhilarating experience, nearly 60 years after independence. Even a journey between Accra and Tema, a distance of about 30 kilometres, can be nightmarish.
With all the bureaucracy called the Ministry of Agriculture, we are not ashamed to receive maize donation from Japan, a country that is still trying to recover from the devastation of earthquake and the resultant tsunami and nuclear melt-down.
We still have serious challenges in several sectors, including health, water and sanitation, graduate unemployment and youth delinquency. These are serious challenges but which appear not to be of much concern to our politics. Ours is to win power, fair or foul, and do everything to remain there.
Very soon, four years will be over and the game will start all over. Government officials will tell us a million and one achievements they have chalked up while the rest of us struggle to see or come to terms with those achievements. The blame game will start as usual in the inordinate ambitious fight for supremacy in the political arena. But our country may not change for the better.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping and Training Centre — A beacon of peace-building, conflict resolution
By Kofi Akordor
From the ashes of any major calamity sprouts monuments of peace and progress. That being the case, one can say the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) did not come by through accident.
Those who have followed the numerous political upheavals in the sub-region, some culminating in violent confrontations and civil wars, will admit that the KAIPTC was a consequence of the many conflicts which bedevilled the sub-region over the last two decades or so. It was conceived and nurtured by the desire to pre-determine coming events, proactively act to stem conflicts and, where they become unavoidable, put mechanisms in place to restore normalcy in conflict situations as quickly as possible and reduce to the barest minimum the carnage and social disintegration associated with such violent conflicts.
After the secessionist war between the short-lived Biafra and Nigeria between 1967 and 1970, the sub-region enjoyed relative peace, even though military coups were rampant in most of the countries. But when Charles Taylor led his fighters of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) to launch an attack on Samuel Doe’s forces on Christmas Eve, 1989, the situation in the sub-region changed.
For the next 10 years or so, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had to intervene in the Liberian civil war until the return to civilian rule in 2003. That war and those in Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire and, to a limited extent, Cape Verde, might have brought it home to leaders of the sub-region the need to have an early-warning mechanism in place to engender proactive efforts to pre-empt violent confrontations, instead of waiting for the harm to be done before mobilising for peacekeeping operations.
The experiences gained mainly by Ghanaian soldiers in several peacekeeping operations in various parts of the world, including the Middle East, Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur and other conflict zones where they saw the ravages and miseries brought about by wars, created the platform for the establishment of an institution that would serve as a forum for top military officers, leading politicians and civil society organisations committed to peacekeeping and conflict prevention and resolution to engage themselves on matters of peace-building and security challenges.
There was also the growing awareness that the wind of democracy blowing across the continent had brought in its wake election-related conflicts such as those witnessed in Kenya in 2007 and Cote d’Ivoire after the November 2010 elections. That demanded diplomacy and expertise in peace-building and conflict resolution to handle. The ground was, therefore, fertile for an institution such as the KAIPTC to sprout out of the debris of war and conflicts in the sub-region.
In January 2004, the KAIPTC became formally established, even though the records show that it started its programmes in 2003 as one of the three ECOWAS-designated training centres of excellence committed to undertaking research into conflict and issues of which appropriate training courses are developed and delivered for various military, police and civilian personnel involved in peace support operations not only in West Africa but also other parts of the world.
It was established by the Ministry of Defence Instruction (MDI) dated November 10, 1998, with Establishment Number MOD/03. The Ministry of Defence, in collaboration with the ministries of Foreign Affairs, the Interior and Finance, exercise limited supervision over the activities of the KAIPTC. It, however, has an independent governing board as its highest decision-making body.
For its vision, the KAIPTC aims: “To be an internationally preferred centre of excellence for research into and training for conflict prevention, management and resolution, and innovative thinking in integrated peace support operations and sustainable delivery of enhanced regional capacity building for peace support operations.”
It has as its mission: “To develop and deliver internationally recognized professional training courses and related programmes to equip personnel with selected skills and competencies required to meet Africa’s present and future complex peace and security challenges.”
At the end of the day, the strategic objectives of the KAIPTC include: Contributing to the development of regional and sub-regional capacity in the delivery of integrated peace support operations; Enhancing regional and sub-regional capacity for conflict prevention, management, resolution and peace-building; Enhancing understanding of critical peace and security issues in West Africa in particular and the continent as a whole; Creating effective, efficient and sustainable management and support arrangements for the centre.
These are laudable objectives and, seven years down the line, the research and training staff of the centre have collaborated with various development partners to deliver over 170 courses in diverse aspects of peace support operations for over 5,400 individuals and organisations from 87 countries across the world.
Within this short period of its existence, the KAIPTC has already attained recognition as a renowned international centre of excellence for education, training and research in peace support operations. It has, over the period, successfully engaged and collaborated effectively with national governments, regional and international organisations, diverse national and international institutions and others involved in research/training, governance, peace and security issues.
It has programmes in crisis information management; disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration; small arms and light weapons specialised course; conflict prevention; the rule of law and the media in peace support operations.
The centre has also been conducting research in areas such as regional peace and security, conflict prevention and peace-building and civil-military relations. Others are human trafficking, money laundering, maritime security, cross-border crimes and post-conflict peace-building.
As an indication of its development and progress, it has received accreditation from the National Accreditation Board as a tertiary institution. This has paved the way for the centre to run graduate programmes, including Master of Arts in Conflict, Peace and Security; Postgraduate Diploma in Development Diplomacy and Post-Certificate in Integrated Peace Support Operations.
The idea is to deliver peace and security training at an academically upgraded level, while at the same time providing an avenue for generating sustainable funds for the centre.
The centre has also established partnerships with some renowned international bodies and educational institutions, including the University of Pretoria in South Africa, the Fourah Bay College, the University of Sierra Leone, the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services and the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Conflict Prevention.
The KAIPTC’s journey this far would not have been possible without support from various international development partners, both governmental and non-governmental, from the US, Germany and the UK.
From the ashes of any major calamity sprouts monuments of peace and progress. That being the case, one can say the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) did not come by through accident.
Those who have followed the numerous political upheavals in the sub-region, some culminating in violent confrontations and civil wars, will admit that the KAIPTC was a consequence of the many conflicts which bedevilled the sub-region over the last two decades or so. It was conceived and nurtured by the desire to pre-determine coming events, proactively act to stem conflicts and, where they become unavoidable, put mechanisms in place to restore normalcy in conflict situations as quickly as possible and reduce to the barest minimum the carnage and social disintegration associated with such violent conflicts.
After the secessionist war between the short-lived Biafra and Nigeria between 1967 and 1970, the sub-region enjoyed relative peace, even though military coups were rampant in most of the countries. But when Charles Taylor led his fighters of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) to launch an attack on Samuel Doe’s forces on Christmas Eve, 1989, the situation in the sub-region changed.
For the next 10 years or so, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had to intervene in the Liberian civil war until the return to civilian rule in 2003. That war and those in Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire and, to a limited extent, Cape Verde, might have brought it home to leaders of the sub-region the need to have an early-warning mechanism in place to engender proactive efforts to pre-empt violent confrontations, instead of waiting for the harm to be done before mobilising for peacekeeping operations.
The experiences gained mainly by Ghanaian soldiers in several peacekeeping operations in various parts of the world, including the Middle East, Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur and other conflict zones where they saw the ravages and miseries brought about by wars, created the platform for the establishment of an institution that would serve as a forum for top military officers, leading politicians and civil society organisations committed to peacekeeping and conflict prevention and resolution to engage themselves on matters of peace-building and security challenges.
There was also the growing awareness that the wind of democracy blowing across the continent had brought in its wake election-related conflicts such as those witnessed in Kenya in 2007 and Cote d’Ivoire after the November 2010 elections. That demanded diplomacy and expertise in peace-building and conflict resolution to handle. The ground was, therefore, fertile for an institution such as the KAIPTC to sprout out of the debris of war and conflicts in the sub-region.
In January 2004, the KAIPTC became formally established, even though the records show that it started its programmes in 2003 as one of the three ECOWAS-designated training centres of excellence committed to undertaking research into conflict and issues of which appropriate training courses are developed and delivered for various military, police and civilian personnel involved in peace support operations not only in West Africa but also other parts of the world.
It was established by the Ministry of Defence Instruction (MDI) dated November 10, 1998, with Establishment Number MOD/03. The Ministry of Defence, in collaboration with the ministries of Foreign Affairs, the Interior and Finance, exercise limited supervision over the activities of the KAIPTC. It, however, has an independent governing board as its highest decision-making body.
For its vision, the KAIPTC aims: “To be an internationally preferred centre of excellence for research into and training for conflict prevention, management and resolution, and innovative thinking in integrated peace support operations and sustainable delivery of enhanced regional capacity building for peace support operations.”
It has as its mission: “To develop and deliver internationally recognized professional training courses and related programmes to equip personnel with selected skills and competencies required to meet Africa’s present and future complex peace and security challenges.”
At the end of the day, the strategic objectives of the KAIPTC include: Contributing to the development of regional and sub-regional capacity in the delivery of integrated peace support operations; Enhancing regional and sub-regional capacity for conflict prevention, management, resolution and peace-building; Enhancing understanding of critical peace and security issues in West Africa in particular and the continent as a whole; Creating effective, efficient and sustainable management and support arrangements for the centre.
These are laudable objectives and, seven years down the line, the research and training staff of the centre have collaborated with various development partners to deliver over 170 courses in diverse aspects of peace support operations for over 5,400 individuals and organisations from 87 countries across the world.
Within this short period of its existence, the KAIPTC has already attained recognition as a renowned international centre of excellence for education, training and research in peace support operations. It has, over the period, successfully engaged and collaborated effectively with national governments, regional and international organisations, diverse national and international institutions and others involved in research/training, governance, peace and security issues.
It has programmes in crisis information management; disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration; small arms and light weapons specialised course; conflict prevention; the rule of law and the media in peace support operations.
The centre has also been conducting research in areas such as regional peace and security, conflict prevention and peace-building and civil-military relations. Others are human trafficking, money laundering, maritime security, cross-border crimes and post-conflict peace-building.
As an indication of its development and progress, it has received accreditation from the National Accreditation Board as a tertiary institution. This has paved the way for the centre to run graduate programmes, including Master of Arts in Conflict, Peace and Security; Postgraduate Diploma in Development Diplomacy and Post-Certificate in Integrated Peace Support Operations.
The idea is to deliver peace and security training at an academically upgraded level, while at the same time providing an avenue for generating sustainable funds for the centre.
The centre has also established partnerships with some renowned international bodies and educational institutions, including the University of Pretoria in South Africa, the Fourah Bay College, the University of Sierra Leone, the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services and the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Conflict Prevention.
The KAIPTC’s journey this far would not have been possible without support from various international development partners, both governmental and non-governmental, from the US, Germany and the UK.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
NDC bleeding slowly internally
By Kofi Akordor
Whenever there is a cut on the body, blood oozes out to signal that there is damage that needs to be repaired. It is not always that we see blood where the body suffers an injury. There is something called internal bleeding and health professionals will tell you that it is very dangerous, since you are not likely detect any danger until it is too late.
I lost a colleague who suffered that fate. He had been involved in a motor accident and since there had been no wounds on the body, it was assumed that the injuries were minor and so he did not go for a thorough medical check-up. Two weeks later, the man was dead. He had woken up in the morning and prepared to go for a review of a broken limb which had been put in plaster of Paris (POP) when he collapsed.
Apparently, he had had a cruel knock on the head in the accident and suffered internal bleeding. Who knows, my friend would be alive by now if the damage had been detected through scan or something else.
Such is internal bleeding.
I do not think only the human body suffers internal bleeding, at least from the figurative sense. And I want to think that one organisation or institution which is suffering from what can be described as internal bleeding is the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the party that forms the present government led by President John Evans Atta Mills.
The NDC has gone that lane before and so apart from the fresh disciples, those who have been with the party for a long time know what I am referring to. The NDC has two serious ailments which keep recurring, with severe consequences. These are its inability to manage internal dissent and excessive hero-worshipping.
The party suffered its first major political defeat in 2000 mainly on account of these twin ailments. That does not take away credit from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) which went into the 2000 electoral battle fully prepared and well organised. But it confronted an opponent that was bleeding from self-inflicted wounds.
So at a time when the NDC needed its human and material resources most, it suffered a split and went into an election battling itself. It started in 1998 when the Founder and Leader, Jerry John Rawlings, breached party protocol and declared Professor Mills his chosen successor. That anointing episode became known as the Swedru Declaration.
As a man who brooked no challenge, Rawlings’s declaration blocked all appeals for a democratic means of choosing his successor and voices of dissent were actually silenced in a ruthless manner to compel some party members, especially a good chunk of youthful activists, led by Goosie Tandoh, to break away.
The wounds deepened and bled profusely when the leader and founder played a significant role in the choice of parliamentary candidates. The death blow came when Dr Obed Yao Asamoah, who had his eyes glued to the running mate slot, was swerved in the last minute and replaced by Mr Martin Amidu, Obed’s deputy at the Ministry of Justice. Not even the huge popularity of President Rawlings, who was exiting after two terms, could save the NDC in the 2000 elections.
No lessons were learnt, as later events proved. In 2002, at the International Trade Fair Centre at La, the party went into battle against itself again. That time, it was over the election of national officers. The founder and leader came out strongly against Dr Asamoah, one of the contestants for the chairmanship.
The contest became so acrimonious that by the end of it the NDC was so battered and bruised that unity was the last thing anyone would expect from disgruntled members.
The fragmentation continued. In 2003, the party went to congress at the University of Ghana to elect a flag bearer for the 2004 presidential election. The congress venue became a hostile turf for supporters of Dr Kwesi Botchway, the man who was contesting Prof Mills. It was more like a battle between two opposing forces than a party event to pick a presidential candidate to represent the party. There were even allegations of ball-squeezing at the congress to put more fear into those who dared to challenge the founder’s choice.
Things went so bad that by the time the party geared up for the presidential and parliamentary elections in 2004, the presidential candidate and the party chairman could not be seen on the same campaign platform.
The infamous Koforidua Congress to elect national officers for the party left deep scars which time has not been able to heal. That time the injuries went from bruises to gaping wounds. The formation of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) by Dr Asamoah, who lost his position as party chairman, was one of the fallout from that congress.
The Koforidua Congress and the experience gained from it informed the party leadership to prescribe a format for the election of a flag bearer for the 2008 presidential election which seemed to have worked and brought the NDC back to power.
In the past, all the battles were engineered and led by Rawlings in favour of Prof Mills, the man he had chosen against party wishes and who, he made sure, faced no obstacles on his path.
Today, Rawlings is preparing for another battle. Incidentally, by an irony of fate, the gun has been turned on Prof Mills, the man Rawlings claims has betrayed him and the party he founded. From day one when the man entered office as President of the Republic, he has had no peace and, for the first time since we entered the Fourth Republic, an incumbent President is to face challenge from his own party for nomination to contest a second time.
There is nothing wrong with that if some people think the ship of state is not being steered out of troubled waters and want a change of captain. After all, democracy is about choices. But the bitter and foul language being used by the game players and the ill-effects they are bound to leave behind make it necessary for some of us to appeal for moderation.
We can learn something from Mrs Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama. They fought one of the fiercest battles for nomination as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party. But when it ended, they are still working together.
Mrs Clinton has not given any indication that she is going to challenge President Obama, who has declared his intention for a second term. Who knows — Mrs Clinton may be waiting for the end of Obama’s era before restaging her ambition for the presidency, apparently in reverence for the man who made her Secretary of State.
The NDC leadership is not unaware of the damage internal bleeding can cause to its fortunes and must, therefore, play it cool to avoid another electoral fiasco in 2012.
It is the prayer of many Ghanaians, I hope, that after July 10, 2011, things will return to normalcy in the NDC and President Mills will have the needed concentration to complete his term on a sound note for the sake of the millions of Ghanaians who want to see positive changes in their lives.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
Whenever there is a cut on the body, blood oozes out to signal that there is damage that needs to be repaired. It is not always that we see blood where the body suffers an injury. There is something called internal bleeding and health professionals will tell you that it is very dangerous, since you are not likely detect any danger until it is too late.
I lost a colleague who suffered that fate. He had been involved in a motor accident and since there had been no wounds on the body, it was assumed that the injuries were minor and so he did not go for a thorough medical check-up. Two weeks later, the man was dead. He had woken up in the morning and prepared to go for a review of a broken limb which had been put in plaster of Paris (POP) when he collapsed.
Apparently, he had had a cruel knock on the head in the accident and suffered internal bleeding. Who knows, my friend would be alive by now if the damage had been detected through scan or something else.
Such is internal bleeding.
I do not think only the human body suffers internal bleeding, at least from the figurative sense. And I want to think that one organisation or institution which is suffering from what can be described as internal bleeding is the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the party that forms the present government led by President John Evans Atta Mills.
The NDC has gone that lane before and so apart from the fresh disciples, those who have been with the party for a long time know what I am referring to. The NDC has two serious ailments which keep recurring, with severe consequences. These are its inability to manage internal dissent and excessive hero-worshipping.
The party suffered its first major political defeat in 2000 mainly on account of these twin ailments. That does not take away credit from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) which went into the 2000 electoral battle fully prepared and well organised. But it confronted an opponent that was bleeding from self-inflicted wounds.
So at a time when the NDC needed its human and material resources most, it suffered a split and went into an election battling itself. It started in 1998 when the Founder and Leader, Jerry John Rawlings, breached party protocol and declared Professor Mills his chosen successor. That anointing episode became known as the Swedru Declaration.
As a man who brooked no challenge, Rawlings’s declaration blocked all appeals for a democratic means of choosing his successor and voices of dissent were actually silenced in a ruthless manner to compel some party members, especially a good chunk of youthful activists, led by Goosie Tandoh, to break away.
The wounds deepened and bled profusely when the leader and founder played a significant role in the choice of parliamentary candidates. The death blow came when Dr Obed Yao Asamoah, who had his eyes glued to the running mate slot, was swerved in the last minute and replaced by Mr Martin Amidu, Obed’s deputy at the Ministry of Justice. Not even the huge popularity of President Rawlings, who was exiting after two terms, could save the NDC in the 2000 elections.
No lessons were learnt, as later events proved. In 2002, at the International Trade Fair Centre at La, the party went into battle against itself again. That time, it was over the election of national officers. The founder and leader came out strongly against Dr Asamoah, one of the contestants for the chairmanship.
The contest became so acrimonious that by the end of it the NDC was so battered and bruised that unity was the last thing anyone would expect from disgruntled members.
The fragmentation continued. In 2003, the party went to congress at the University of Ghana to elect a flag bearer for the 2004 presidential election. The congress venue became a hostile turf for supporters of Dr Kwesi Botchway, the man who was contesting Prof Mills. It was more like a battle between two opposing forces than a party event to pick a presidential candidate to represent the party. There were even allegations of ball-squeezing at the congress to put more fear into those who dared to challenge the founder’s choice.
Things went so bad that by the time the party geared up for the presidential and parliamentary elections in 2004, the presidential candidate and the party chairman could not be seen on the same campaign platform.
The infamous Koforidua Congress to elect national officers for the party left deep scars which time has not been able to heal. That time the injuries went from bruises to gaping wounds. The formation of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) by Dr Asamoah, who lost his position as party chairman, was one of the fallout from that congress.
The Koforidua Congress and the experience gained from it informed the party leadership to prescribe a format for the election of a flag bearer for the 2008 presidential election which seemed to have worked and brought the NDC back to power.
In the past, all the battles were engineered and led by Rawlings in favour of Prof Mills, the man he had chosen against party wishes and who, he made sure, faced no obstacles on his path.
Today, Rawlings is preparing for another battle. Incidentally, by an irony of fate, the gun has been turned on Prof Mills, the man Rawlings claims has betrayed him and the party he founded. From day one when the man entered office as President of the Republic, he has had no peace and, for the first time since we entered the Fourth Republic, an incumbent President is to face challenge from his own party for nomination to contest a second time.
There is nothing wrong with that if some people think the ship of state is not being steered out of troubled waters and want a change of captain. After all, democracy is about choices. But the bitter and foul language being used by the game players and the ill-effects they are bound to leave behind make it necessary for some of us to appeal for moderation.
We can learn something from Mrs Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama. They fought one of the fiercest battles for nomination as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party. But when it ended, they are still working together.
Mrs Clinton has not given any indication that she is going to challenge President Obama, who has declared his intention for a second term. Who knows — Mrs Clinton may be waiting for the end of Obama’s era before restaging her ambition for the presidency, apparently in reverence for the man who made her Secretary of State.
The NDC leadership is not unaware of the damage internal bleeding can cause to its fortunes and must, therefore, play it cool to avoid another electoral fiasco in 2012.
It is the prayer of many Ghanaians, I hope, that after July 10, 2011, things will return to normalcy in the NDC and President Mills will have the needed concentration to complete his term on a sound note for the sake of the millions of Ghanaians who want to see positive changes in their lives.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Back to Okada debate
By Kofi Akordor
A friend once narrated a traumatic experience he had in one of those terrible traffic jams ravaging Accra. He was being driven to the Kotoka International Airport to catch a flight when he got caught in heavy traffic.
At one stage, he became desperate, as his mind was in turmoil. He knew that unless something miraculous happened, he was definitely going to miss his flight. Then it happened. A motor rider was passing by and without knowing why, he signalled him to stop. The rider obliged and my friend pleaded with him that he was on his way to the airport but, as things stood, he would need his assistance if he was to get to the airport in time to board his flight. The rider did not hesitate and so my friend bid his driver farewell and joined the rider with his suitcase at the back.
If there is anything such as divine intervention, that was one. My friend got to the airport on time to go through departure formalities. The motor rider even politely rejected the monetary ‘thank you’ my friend had offered him but gave my friend his phone number so that they could stay in touch.
In today’s scheme of things, that kind rider would have qualified as an Okada operator and possibly face prosecution for undertaking an illegal operation.
I cannot tell how the Okada business started. Maybe it began on a very low key with a few motorbike owners who wisely thought they could make a living out of the madness on the streets of Accra called traffic jams by ferrying desperate commuters through the jam to their destinations.
And who says the market is not saturated with willing passengers like my friend who can see their business opportunities slipping away as they get trapped in heavy traffic at Mallam, on the Spintex Road or Abeka-Lapaz.
That is how Okada operations has become part of our transportation system.
But, no matter the good purpose Okada serves, it is illegal. The law is quite explicit on that. Section 128, Part IV of the Road Traffic Regulations prevents the use of motorcycles for commercial purposes. The regulations also make the ownership and patronage of commercial motorcycles or tricycles for commercial purposes illegal. As a result, Okada operators occasionally suffer arrest and court fines upon conviction.
On Tuesday, February 1, 2011, the Okada operators decided to make a case for their business and to seek legal recognition. They, therefore, rode in convoy, about 300 of them, to present a petition to Parliament.
The operators, who parade under the umbrella of the Ghana Private Motorbike Operators Union, wanted legal recognition so that they could operate freely without arrest. They made a strong case for recognition because, apart from finding employment for themselves, the Okada system was also serving the travelling public to avoid heavy traffic or go to areas vehicles could not go.
The reception at Parliament House was cordial, as the Majority Leader, Mr Cletus Avoka, and the Deputy Minority Leader, Mr Ambrose Dery, gave the Okada leadership a good hearing and promised to push their petition to the appropriate quarters for consideration. They also praised them for the orderly manner in which they had organised themselves to the House.
However, the response of some members of the public was not positive for Okada operations. Some perceived Okada operators to be mostly criminals who snatch bags. Others also claimed that the Okada business, if legalised, would add to the chaos on the streets. Some, for environmental purposes, kicked against the Okada business because the bikes would pollute the atmosphere with their fumes.
These are all legitimate concerns. But can we say Okada has no positive sides? In the first place, who says everyone on a motorbike is a criminal? Don’t we have criminals driving some of the most expensive vehicles in town? If we take the case of the fumes, can we say that motorbikes emit more carbon monoxide than the jalopies we are compelled by scarce resources to allow into the country and which are polluting the atmosphere with dark smoke?
For a developing country confronted by many challenges, the best we can do is to look at the positive side of things. Secondly, the best way to manage a situation is to recognise its existence and the good things it can offer. Then we can be in a position to streamline its operations.
It is a fact that many Ghanaians patronise the services of Okada operators, not only in Accra and the big towns but also in the rural areas where roads are very bad or non-existent. We also know that Accra’s traffic problem is partly due to the large number of vehicles on our limited roads. So if there is a way we can reduce reliance on vehicles for intra-city movement, that opportunity must be exploited.
Remaining glued to the past, without relating to current trends and exigencies, will only lead to sabotaging our forward march. The law against the use of motorbikes for commercial purposes was made by man for man. At the time of making that law, it made sense because we had a smaller population, public transportation was not much of a problem and only a few vehicles were on the roads.
Today, the reality is that we have a bigger population and more vehicles are on the same few roads and so very often people get to their appointments very late or never make it. If we are not in the position to build vast flyovers in the city to reduce traffic, we can use our ingenuity to find other ways to solve an endemic problem.
So, as stated earlier, the law was made by man for man and, therefore, the law can be changed by man for the convenience of man. It should be possible to amend the law so that motorbikes that want to operate commercially will have special registration plates and insured appropriately. It should also be possible to organise Okada operators under a recognised body, just as the GPRTU is for commercial vehicles. To further protect patrons, other precautionary measures, such as special uniforms and personal identity tags, will be required of the riders.
As for criminalising Okada operations, the earlier that notion is discarded, the better. There are criminals among taxi drivers who rob their passengers; there are criminals who wear three-piece suits and drive expensive cars; there are criminals in our offices, in our communities. In fact, there are criminals everywhere and it should not be strange to find a few criminals in the Okada business.
But, surely, there are those in the majority who are committed to their job and are saving many on a daily basis the heartache of getting stuck in heavy traffic for hours.
It is for us, as a nation, to accept Okada as part of our transportation system and define the rules that will govern its operation. That is thinking positively.
It is, therefore, reassuring that Alhaji Collins Dauda, the Minister of Transport, has stated that the subject is not closed and that his ministry will consult various stakeholders to discuss the issue. I hope at the end of the day the positive things about Okada will see more light than the negatives to pave the way for legalising it.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot
A friend once narrated a traumatic experience he had in one of those terrible traffic jams ravaging Accra. He was being driven to the Kotoka International Airport to catch a flight when he got caught in heavy traffic.
At one stage, he became desperate, as his mind was in turmoil. He knew that unless something miraculous happened, he was definitely going to miss his flight. Then it happened. A motor rider was passing by and without knowing why, he signalled him to stop. The rider obliged and my friend pleaded with him that he was on his way to the airport but, as things stood, he would need his assistance if he was to get to the airport in time to board his flight. The rider did not hesitate and so my friend bid his driver farewell and joined the rider with his suitcase at the back.
If there is anything such as divine intervention, that was one. My friend got to the airport on time to go through departure formalities. The motor rider even politely rejected the monetary ‘thank you’ my friend had offered him but gave my friend his phone number so that they could stay in touch.
In today’s scheme of things, that kind rider would have qualified as an Okada operator and possibly face prosecution for undertaking an illegal operation.
I cannot tell how the Okada business started. Maybe it began on a very low key with a few motorbike owners who wisely thought they could make a living out of the madness on the streets of Accra called traffic jams by ferrying desperate commuters through the jam to their destinations.
And who says the market is not saturated with willing passengers like my friend who can see their business opportunities slipping away as they get trapped in heavy traffic at Mallam, on the Spintex Road or Abeka-Lapaz.
That is how Okada operations has become part of our transportation system.
But, no matter the good purpose Okada serves, it is illegal. The law is quite explicit on that. Section 128, Part IV of the Road Traffic Regulations prevents the use of motorcycles for commercial purposes. The regulations also make the ownership and patronage of commercial motorcycles or tricycles for commercial purposes illegal. As a result, Okada operators occasionally suffer arrest and court fines upon conviction.
On Tuesday, February 1, 2011, the Okada operators decided to make a case for their business and to seek legal recognition. They, therefore, rode in convoy, about 300 of them, to present a petition to Parliament.
The operators, who parade under the umbrella of the Ghana Private Motorbike Operators Union, wanted legal recognition so that they could operate freely without arrest. They made a strong case for recognition because, apart from finding employment for themselves, the Okada system was also serving the travelling public to avoid heavy traffic or go to areas vehicles could not go.
The reception at Parliament House was cordial, as the Majority Leader, Mr Cletus Avoka, and the Deputy Minority Leader, Mr Ambrose Dery, gave the Okada leadership a good hearing and promised to push their petition to the appropriate quarters for consideration. They also praised them for the orderly manner in which they had organised themselves to the House.
However, the response of some members of the public was not positive for Okada operations. Some perceived Okada operators to be mostly criminals who snatch bags. Others also claimed that the Okada business, if legalised, would add to the chaos on the streets. Some, for environmental purposes, kicked against the Okada business because the bikes would pollute the atmosphere with their fumes.
These are all legitimate concerns. But can we say Okada has no positive sides? In the first place, who says everyone on a motorbike is a criminal? Don’t we have criminals driving some of the most expensive vehicles in town? If we take the case of the fumes, can we say that motorbikes emit more carbon monoxide than the jalopies we are compelled by scarce resources to allow into the country and which are polluting the atmosphere with dark smoke?
For a developing country confronted by many challenges, the best we can do is to look at the positive side of things. Secondly, the best way to manage a situation is to recognise its existence and the good things it can offer. Then we can be in a position to streamline its operations.
It is a fact that many Ghanaians patronise the services of Okada operators, not only in Accra and the big towns but also in the rural areas where roads are very bad or non-existent. We also know that Accra’s traffic problem is partly due to the large number of vehicles on our limited roads. So if there is a way we can reduce reliance on vehicles for intra-city movement, that opportunity must be exploited.
Remaining glued to the past, without relating to current trends and exigencies, will only lead to sabotaging our forward march. The law against the use of motorbikes for commercial purposes was made by man for man. At the time of making that law, it made sense because we had a smaller population, public transportation was not much of a problem and only a few vehicles were on the roads.
Today, the reality is that we have a bigger population and more vehicles are on the same few roads and so very often people get to their appointments very late or never make it. If we are not in the position to build vast flyovers in the city to reduce traffic, we can use our ingenuity to find other ways to solve an endemic problem.
So, as stated earlier, the law was made by man for man and, therefore, the law can be changed by man for the convenience of man. It should be possible to amend the law so that motorbikes that want to operate commercially will have special registration plates and insured appropriately. It should also be possible to organise Okada operators under a recognised body, just as the GPRTU is for commercial vehicles. To further protect patrons, other precautionary measures, such as special uniforms and personal identity tags, will be required of the riders.
As for criminalising Okada operations, the earlier that notion is discarded, the better. There are criminals among taxi drivers who rob their passengers; there are criminals who wear three-piece suits and drive expensive cars; there are criminals in our offices, in our communities. In fact, there are criminals everywhere and it should not be strange to find a few criminals in the Okada business.
But, surely, there are those in the majority who are committed to their job and are saving many on a daily basis the heartache of getting stuck in heavy traffic for hours.
It is for us, as a nation, to accept Okada as part of our transportation system and define the rules that will govern its operation. That is thinking positively.
It is, therefore, reassuring that Alhaji Collins Dauda, the Minister of Transport, has stated that the subject is not closed and that his ministry will consult various stakeholders to discuss the issue. I hope at the end of the day the positive things about Okada will see more light than the negatives to pave the way for legalising it.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot
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