By Kofi Akordor
I did not know how to react to the announcement that the government is to initiate a performance rating and ranking scheme for local contractors. Under the scheme, the performance of contractors will be assessed for each project executed to ensure that only qualified and competent contractors were awarded contracts.
This is a good idea which, some may say, is long overdue. But the truth is that this is not the first time something like this, or close to it, has been heard from men in authority.
Good infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, water and sanitation facilities, schools, hospitals, clinics and health centres, office and residential accommodation and other social amenities, constitutes a vital and major segment in any country’s development agenda. Incidentally, all these amenities share one thing in common — construction.
What that means is that any irregularities or inefficiencies in the construction sector deprive the nation of not only important infrastructure but also the loss of huge amounts of cash, both in local and foreign currency. Already available data, which one needs not be an expert or a government auditor to verify, indicate that construction and its staunch ally, procurement, constitute the widest conduits through which our country and many others on the continent lose money as a result of the endemic corrupt practices associated with the two sectors.
The construction sector, however, poses the biggest challenge in public sector expenditure and development and so any step which will bring sanity into the system, ensure efficiency and accountability will be a decision in the right direction and must be supported by all.
To begin with, most of our local construction firms lack the basic equipment, the capital base, the requisite human resource and the technical expertise for their businesses. For obvious reasons, all sorts of characters have found their way into the construction industry. The result is that the nation is saddled with shoddy work, uncompleted projects and huge debts that cannot be justified.
Governments, it must be admitted, have not helped the cause of contractors in the country. Oftentimes, contractors who commit bank loans to execute public projects are not paid for months and sometimes for years. The Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, at the launch of the new scheme, admitted that the government owed contractors huge sums of money which had piled up over the years and which it was doing everything to clear to put the contractors on a healthy path to revive the industry.
Another factor militating against the growth of the construction industry in the country is governments’ lack of faith and confidence in local contractors. Foreign contractors are always given preferential treatment when it comes to the award of major contracts, which sometimes involve the payment of foreign cash. The argument has always been that the local contractors lack the capital and equipment base to undertake major road and building contracts.
The question is: How do they elevate their status if they are not given the type of jobs that will improve their financial position? The suggestion that the local contractors should team up with foreign companies to bid for jobs with international funding support, to many well-meaning Ghanaians, is not tenable. This is only another excuse to frustrate local entrepreneurs and encourage capital flight from the country. There have been many instances when local consultants have done the spade work, but when it comes to the real job which will fetch them big cash, the clauses which will alienate them are introduced into the contract. Incidentally, these same local engineers do the real work for these expatriate companies which finally win the contracts and succeed in going away with millions of dollars, to the detriment of the development of local expertise.
I believe, and so do many other Ghanaians, that this country abounds in qualified people in the construction industry, from engineers to artisans, and this makes nonsense our incapability to manage big projects when given the opportunity.
The greatest threat to the construction industry is corruption at high places. We have made construction such a lucrative business that everybody, including those who do not know the difference between a ruler and a T-square, call himself or herself a contractor.
Even though there are firm guidelines for the award of contracts through the various tender boards, somehow, along the line, the board members are corrupted or issued with counter orders by powerful people in higher authority. The end result is that transparency, principles and quality are compromised and contracts go to the wrong people. These are people who are prepared to play ball or can throw about pieces of notes from certain personalities occupying high political positions.
Once that is done, the nation, which is the main client of these projects, should not expect anything close to a perfect job. They will either be abandoned midway, delayed or completed in a shoddy way. Once contractors are compelled by circumstances to part with fat envelopes before getting contracts or having their payment certificates approved and processed, the only logical things for them to do to recoup their ‘investments’ is to use inferior material, vary the drawings or engage less skilled staff. Whatever the case, the state is the loser.
It is good to set standards for contractors, which should be the normal thing, any way. It is also good, as an incentive, to reward those who have done good jobs, both in terms of time and quality. It will also satisfy a crucial national objective if local contractors and consultants are encouraged to win big international contracts, instead of always operating in the shadows of foreign companies and consultants.
The best thing the government can do for the construction industry and the general good of Ghana as a nation is to adhere strictly to the guidelines for the award of contracts for public projects. We should stop awarding contracts as reward for political foot soldiers and cronies. We should stop seeing the construction sector as a fertile ground for making illicit money at the expense of national development. It is only when we allow real competition to dominate the industry that we can expect the best out of our contractors.
.kofiakordor.blogspot.com
Monday, January 28, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
The People's Assembly and beyond
January 22,2008
By Kofi Akordor
Every political leader comes to office with something new and President J. A. Kufuor could not be out staged in this regard. He has come something he could call his own. That is the People's Assembly concept. The philosophy behind this concept from the President's own perspective is quite laudable — to bring the presidency to the doorsteps of the people and to have a direct assessment of his policies and programmes, receive complaints and hear the grievances of the people at the grass roots.
It, therefore, did not come as a surprise, when at the latest of the people's assembly held in Sekondi the Western Regional capital, the President appealed for the sustenance of the concept even after his tenure. From various accounts, the Sekondi assembly, like other ones was successful. That is when one considered all protocol arrangements, security and manner the President answered questions posed to him.
However, since the President himself would want the concept to be institutionalised to become part and parcel of our political regimen it is necessary we strip it of any cosmetic dressings and begin to see it as serious part of our political calendar.
First, the idea of lining up people in a queue to fire questions at the President is not the best. It is agreed there must be law and order but it should be possible for the prospective questioners to get seated in an orderly manner in the hall and rise up to ask their questions when called upon to do so. The atmosphere must be relaxed such that those who have serious questions to ask could do so without any fear of intimation
Another thing is that even though the forum is meant to encourage those at the grass root to express themselves and relate more closely with the President, care must be taken so that the whole exercise is not turned into a farce. Some of the questions are just trivial, mundane, bordering on personal sentiments or interests. An opportunity to have a frank chat with the President should not be wasted away on issues that have no regional or national bearing. It should be serious business in a relaxed atmosphere.
The President will be the first to admit that it is an opportunity for him to know the real feelings of the people which may differ from what his district chief executives and ministers may be telling him and, therefore, be in his own interest that only serious national issues are brought before him.
The forum is essentially for members of the public to ask questions. The right purpose will, therefore, be served if more time will be devoted for questions. Last Tuesday, the greater part of the time was spent on drumming and dancing and for the President to narrate the usual catalogue of achievements, something that we have heard again and again.
I do not want to believe it, but I heard some whisperings in certain corners that some people were purposely coached to come and ask certain questions which will be easy for the President to handle. I think if the exercise is to bear fruit, then it must be allowed to follow its natural course. People must be encouraged to ask fair and object questions without fear or favour. Any attempt to doctor the proceedings will dilute the exercise and render it a useless venture. I will rather expect the President to accommodate more 'hostile' questions, because at the end of the day it is the so-called hostile questions which would serve as the real mirror to help him see a true reflection of himself. If we fail to do that, the forum will only serve as a platform to heap praises on the President and that naturally devalues its relevance and significance.
One of the calamities of politics in Africa is that, the president is always surrounded by praise-singers, bootlickers, liars and opportunists, who always shield their boss from the truth for obvious reasons. These are the type of persons who will make our president walk naked among his people without knowing because he had been told, as was written in the “King's Beautiful Cloths “, that only his enemies will not see his beautiful magic cloth. That means telling the truth makes you an enemy of the president. It is only after they have finished with you and you come to terms with your own nakedness that you realise rather too late how you have been fooled by the so-called confidants and trusted friends.
It is, therefore, important that the people's assembly concept is taken seriously and stripped of all political entrapments so that it will serve as a barometer to measure the performance of our presidents and other political leaders. It is an undeniable fact that a lot of the things we read in the newspapers about development projects in the districts are on files and it is during such open forums that some of these truths will come out.
This country would have been a paradise by now if all the good things we have been hearing about and the promises made since independence more than 50 years ago were actually fulfilled.
I was not privileged to be in Sekondi to ask the President a few questions. I know if I were to be in Sekondi I would not have been allowed to ask too many questions and I do not want to abuse the privilege of this column to do that now. However, if I may be permitted, was the President aware that a private company had offered to build one of the two remaining flyovers on the Accra-Tema Motorway which will substantially ease traffic which piles up in front of his private residence on daily basis?
That flyover we were told, would have linked Accra to Tema, Teshie, Nungua, Ashaiman, La, Madina, Adenta and Ashaley Botwe and considerably ease the traffic congestion at the Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange. That project, if it had had official green light, would have transformed the status of the Spintex Road, which now represents a giant fishing net which traps its victims and gives them no room for escape.
I know to some people, for every national project, there should be a personal harvest. So where this is not available or seems to be available, the whole nation must suffer, that is why the President should call his Transport Minister and found out what is happening. In this case, the usual “There is no money” is not an excuse.
If the people of Jamestown or British Accra, were in Sekondi last Tuesday, they would definitely have asked the President, “Where is our modern fishing harbour promised us?” As for me, if I have the opportunity again, the last question I would have asked the President was, “Where is the Accra-Paga railway line, which was to be a Golden Jubilee birthday gift to the nation? The President has limited time between now and election time and so we are anxiously waiting for his answers. For, the best measure for the success of the concept will be President’s response to the questions, not at the assembly halls, but how he solves the issues raised at the assemblies.
By Kofi Akordor
Every political leader comes to office with something new and President J. A. Kufuor could not be out staged in this regard. He has come something he could call his own. That is the People's Assembly concept. The philosophy behind this concept from the President's own perspective is quite laudable — to bring the presidency to the doorsteps of the people and to have a direct assessment of his policies and programmes, receive complaints and hear the grievances of the people at the grass roots.
It, therefore, did not come as a surprise, when at the latest of the people's assembly held in Sekondi the Western Regional capital, the President appealed for the sustenance of the concept even after his tenure. From various accounts, the Sekondi assembly, like other ones was successful. That is when one considered all protocol arrangements, security and manner the President answered questions posed to him.
However, since the President himself would want the concept to be institutionalised to become part and parcel of our political regimen it is necessary we strip it of any cosmetic dressings and begin to see it as serious part of our political calendar.
First, the idea of lining up people in a queue to fire questions at the President is not the best. It is agreed there must be law and order but it should be possible for the prospective questioners to get seated in an orderly manner in the hall and rise up to ask their questions when called upon to do so. The atmosphere must be relaxed such that those who have serious questions to ask could do so without any fear of intimation
Another thing is that even though the forum is meant to encourage those at the grass root to express themselves and relate more closely with the President, care must be taken so that the whole exercise is not turned into a farce. Some of the questions are just trivial, mundane, bordering on personal sentiments or interests. An opportunity to have a frank chat with the President should not be wasted away on issues that have no regional or national bearing. It should be serious business in a relaxed atmosphere.
The President will be the first to admit that it is an opportunity for him to know the real feelings of the people which may differ from what his district chief executives and ministers may be telling him and, therefore, be in his own interest that only serious national issues are brought before him.
The forum is essentially for members of the public to ask questions. The right purpose will, therefore, be served if more time will be devoted for questions. Last Tuesday, the greater part of the time was spent on drumming and dancing and for the President to narrate the usual catalogue of achievements, something that we have heard again and again.
I do not want to believe it, but I heard some whisperings in certain corners that some people were purposely coached to come and ask certain questions which will be easy for the President to handle. I think if the exercise is to bear fruit, then it must be allowed to follow its natural course. People must be encouraged to ask fair and object questions without fear or favour. Any attempt to doctor the proceedings will dilute the exercise and render it a useless venture. I will rather expect the President to accommodate more 'hostile' questions, because at the end of the day it is the so-called hostile questions which would serve as the real mirror to help him see a true reflection of himself. If we fail to do that, the forum will only serve as a platform to heap praises on the President and that naturally devalues its relevance and significance.
One of the calamities of politics in Africa is that, the president is always surrounded by praise-singers, bootlickers, liars and opportunists, who always shield their boss from the truth for obvious reasons. These are the type of persons who will make our president walk naked among his people without knowing because he had been told, as was written in the “King's Beautiful Cloths “, that only his enemies will not see his beautiful magic cloth. That means telling the truth makes you an enemy of the president. It is only after they have finished with you and you come to terms with your own nakedness that you realise rather too late how you have been fooled by the so-called confidants and trusted friends.
It is, therefore, important that the people's assembly concept is taken seriously and stripped of all political entrapments so that it will serve as a barometer to measure the performance of our presidents and other political leaders. It is an undeniable fact that a lot of the things we read in the newspapers about development projects in the districts are on files and it is during such open forums that some of these truths will come out.
This country would have been a paradise by now if all the good things we have been hearing about and the promises made since independence more than 50 years ago were actually fulfilled.
I was not privileged to be in Sekondi to ask the President a few questions. I know if I were to be in Sekondi I would not have been allowed to ask too many questions and I do not want to abuse the privilege of this column to do that now. However, if I may be permitted, was the President aware that a private company had offered to build one of the two remaining flyovers on the Accra-Tema Motorway which will substantially ease traffic which piles up in front of his private residence on daily basis?
That flyover we were told, would have linked Accra to Tema, Teshie, Nungua, Ashaiman, La, Madina, Adenta and Ashaley Botwe and considerably ease the traffic congestion at the Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange. That project, if it had had official green light, would have transformed the status of the Spintex Road, which now represents a giant fishing net which traps its victims and gives them no room for escape.
I know to some people, for every national project, there should be a personal harvest. So where this is not available or seems to be available, the whole nation must suffer, that is why the President should call his Transport Minister and found out what is happening. In this case, the usual “There is no money” is not an excuse.
If the people of Jamestown or British Accra, were in Sekondi last Tuesday, they would definitely have asked the President, “Where is our modern fishing harbour promised us?” As for me, if I have the opportunity again, the last question I would have asked the President was, “Where is the Accra-Paga railway line, which was to be a Golden Jubilee birthday gift to the nation? The President has limited time between now and election time and so we are anxiously waiting for his answers. For, the best measure for the success of the concept will be President’s response to the questions, not at the assembly halls, but how he solves the issues raised at the assemblies.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Two bridges to cross, from Adjiriganor to La
By Kofi Akordor
Accra’s traffic situation is now a matter of concern to all. It started many years ago, but as a result of inaction and the lack of foresight, the problem has been allowed to fester and today everybody is wondering whether there is going to be any remedy.
A survey carried out by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) which was captured by the Daily Graphic in its Wednesday, December 5, 2007, issue, under the headline, “Crisis Looms”, painted a gloomy picture of the traffic situation in the country, especially the nation’s capital.
According to the survey, we are not far away from the situation when vehicular traffic will choke the streets of Accra, bringing it on level terms with what is happening in such mega cities as Lagos in Nigeria and Beijing in China.
The negative effects of traffic jams are quite obvious. To start with, they are counter-productive, since the long hours wasted in traffic affect productivity, not to talk about the physical exhaustion which one experiences in traffic which goes nowhere.
There is also the problem of pollution, which was captured in the DVLA survey. The longer vehicles stay on congested roads, the more the pollutants they emit into the atmosphere and into the nostrils and eyes of pedestrians and other motorists who may not be lucky to be driving in air-conditioned vehicles.
For a country which depends heavily on imported fuel, it is unfortunate that this important and expensive commodity should be allowed to go waste in traffic just trying to cover a shot distance to the workplace. Already, figures released by the Bank of Ghana indicate that the country spent roughly US$2 billion on crude oil imports alone last year.
The question is, why have we allowed ourselves to be caught in this horrendous traffic jam when something could have been done long ago? The truth is that Accra has experienced tremendous expansion over the last two decades or so, without a corresponding improvement in road development. A place like Macarthy Hill, which a few years ago was dotted with a few buildings, is now a first-class residential area. Beyond Macarthy Hill are new residential areas such as Weija, Aplaku, Kokrobite, Ablekuma and other areas along the Accra-Winneba road. In fact, Kasoa, which is administratively part of the Central Region, is umbilically tied to Accra.
Incidentally, all these settlements mentioned continued to use the old single-lane Accra-Winneba road to and fro and the consequent traffic jams had to be experienced to appreciate its enormity and how frustrating it was.
The new dual carriageway from Mallam to Kasoa and beyond has brought some improvement to a bad situation, but even with it the peak hours always have registered heavy traffic on this busy road, either because the engineers have underestimated the volume of traffic or the arteries which should distribute vehicles going to the various residential areas have not been well-developed.
Accra’s phenomenal development is not limited to the western part alone. The eastern part, which links Accra to Tema, has experienced such rapid development that city planners have been overtaken by events. As stated earlier, we would not have come to this desperate state if our governments had been proactive and backed our urban planning engineers with the necessary support to design and develop new road networks to take care of the city’s rapid growth.
Today, as things stand, vehicles coming from La, Teshie, Nungua, Tema and its numerous satellite residential communities must necessarily use the Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange if they are going towards Legon, Adjiriganor, Trasacco Valley, Madina, Adenta, Ashale Botwe, Dodowa and beyond. In the same way, those coming from the above-mentioned places to Tema and the new settlements along the Spintex Road up to the Sakumono Estates, La, Teshie or Nungua must, without any alternative choice, come all the way to Tetteh-Quarshie before selecting their routes, which, at the end of the day, are circuitous, winding and heavily jammed with other commuters.
Separating these two sets of new and emerging residential areas is the almighty Accra-Tema Motorway. At Tetteh-Quarshie, one has to determine whether to use the Motorway before branching into an unapproved route to Communities 13, 14, 15 17, 18, 19 and 20 or use the Spintex Road and suffer the consequences.
For those going to La, Teshie and Nungua the other alternative is to drive all the way through the Airport area, through the Burma Camp Road to join the Accra-Tema Beach Road for those continuing to Teshie and Nungua.
Unknown to many, it will take only one bold decision on the part of the government to get this big problem solved. Even though, according to a top official of the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA), there were no plans for flyovers on the Motorway at its conception, plans have now been made for three of these flyovers. One has already been provided at Ashaiman, linking it to Tema and Accra and the beneficial results are there for all to see.
The other two, which, to a large extent, are of bigger significance, are to be sited near the Accra Abattoir and the Manet Estate. These two, which have the answer to the heavy traffic on the Spintex Road and at the Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange and which can remedy the plight of residents of Adjiriganor, Trasacco Valley, Madina, Adenta, Ashale Botwe and beyond, are still on the drawing board because of the much-heard refrain, “lack of no money”.
This is where the government must exploit private participation in the provision of some of these essential facilities.
Incidentally, a private estate development company, Trasacco Estates Development Company (TEDC), which, apart from its social responsibility, has its corporate interest at stake, has made a proposal to the government, as was reported on page 49 of the Daily Graphic of Wednesday, January 9, 2008. According to the story, the company, in several memoranda to the government, had offered to pre-finance and construct the Motorway end of the flyover which, according to estimates, will cost US$20 million and the cost recouped through two options the government must choose between.
The first option is that the company and its affiliates must be given tax breaks so that it could raise the funds for the project. The second, which sounds reasonable to many people who were asked for their opinions, is the build, operate and transfer (BOT) option.
The government may not be too comfortable with the first option which involves the state losing some amount of revenue needed immediately for development. The same, however, cannot be said of the second, which will make the state and the people the ultimate gainers.
According to the drawings, this flyover will pass through several settlements on the eastern corridor, finally ending at the International Trade Fair Centre at La. Immediately, the advantages of this flyover can be well-imagined. All the areas from Madina, Adenta, Ashale Botwe, East Legon, Adjiriganor and Trasacco Valley will be opened up and linked to the eastern part of Accra, without necessarily using the Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange.
It will also mean that those in La, Teshie, Nungua and the communities along the Spintex Road could link up with their counterparts on the western part of the Motorway without joining the heavy traffic to the Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange.
Even though the Department of Urban Roads has indicated its intention to construct an access road near Community 18 to link the Motorway, that, at best, can only offer temporary relief. The bigger and greater problem will still be hanging on our necks.
Accra’s problem is not about too many vehicles plying the roads; it is about too few roads coming under pressure to give space to our vehicles.
The government cannot do it alone and so where private sector participation is possible, those in authority must not hesitate to take the necessary decisions. The country is lagging seriously behind in development simply because decisions which should be taken today are postponed to tomorrow or they are never taken.
If we do not have US$40 million to build the two flyovers, let us start with one now! The most important thing is that the parties involved will negotiate in a candid and mutually satisfactory win-win manner so that at the end of the day the people of this country are saved from undue hardship, while the integrity and sovereignty of the state are not compromised.
Accra’s traffic situation is now a matter of concern to all. It started many years ago, but as a result of inaction and the lack of foresight, the problem has been allowed to fester and today everybody is wondering whether there is going to be any remedy.
A survey carried out by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) which was captured by the Daily Graphic in its Wednesday, December 5, 2007, issue, under the headline, “Crisis Looms”, painted a gloomy picture of the traffic situation in the country, especially the nation’s capital.
According to the survey, we are not far away from the situation when vehicular traffic will choke the streets of Accra, bringing it on level terms with what is happening in such mega cities as Lagos in Nigeria and Beijing in China.
The negative effects of traffic jams are quite obvious. To start with, they are counter-productive, since the long hours wasted in traffic affect productivity, not to talk about the physical exhaustion which one experiences in traffic which goes nowhere.
There is also the problem of pollution, which was captured in the DVLA survey. The longer vehicles stay on congested roads, the more the pollutants they emit into the atmosphere and into the nostrils and eyes of pedestrians and other motorists who may not be lucky to be driving in air-conditioned vehicles.
For a country which depends heavily on imported fuel, it is unfortunate that this important and expensive commodity should be allowed to go waste in traffic just trying to cover a shot distance to the workplace. Already, figures released by the Bank of Ghana indicate that the country spent roughly US$2 billion on crude oil imports alone last year.
The question is, why have we allowed ourselves to be caught in this horrendous traffic jam when something could have been done long ago? The truth is that Accra has experienced tremendous expansion over the last two decades or so, without a corresponding improvement in road development. A place like Macarthy Hill, which a few years ago was dotted with a few buildings, is now a first-class residential area. Beyond Macarthy Hill are new residential areas such as Weija, Aplaku, Kokrobite, Ablekuma and other areas along the Accra-Winneba road. In fact, Kasoa, which is administratively part of the Central Region, is umbilically tied to Accra.
Incidentally, all these settlements mentioned continued to use the old single-lane Accra-Winneba road to and fro and the consequent traffic jams had to be experienced to appreciate its enormity and how frustrating it was.
The new dual carriageway from Mallam to Kasoa and beyond has brought some improvement to a bad situation, but even with it the peak hours always have registered heavy traffic on this busy road, either because the engineers have underestimated the volume of traffic or the arteries which should distribute vehicles going to the various residential areas have not been well-developed.
Accra’s phenomenal development is not limited to the western part alone. The eastern part, which links Accra to Tema, has experienced such rapid development that city planners have been overtaken by events. As stated earlier, we would not have come to this desperate state if our governments had been proactive and backed our urban planning engineers with the necessary support to design and develop new road networks to take care of the city’s rapid growth.
Today, as things stand, vehicles coming from La, Teshie, Nungua, Tema and its numerous satellite residential communities must necessarily use the Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange if they are going towards Legon, Adjiriganor, Trasacco Valley, Madina, Adenta, Ashale Botwe, Dodowa and beyond. In the same way, those coming from the above-mentioned places to Tema and the new settlements along the Spintex Road up to the Sakumono Estates, La, Teshie or Nungua must, without any alternative choice, come all the way to Tetteh-Quarshie before selecting their routes, which, at the end of the day, are circuitous, winding and heavily jammed with other commuters.
Separating these two sets of new and emerging residential areas is the almighty Accra-Tema Motorway. At Tetteh-Quarshie, one has to determine whether to use the Motorway before branching into an unapproved route to Communities 13, 14, 15 17, 18, 19 and 20 or use the Spintex Road and suffer the consequences.
For those going to La, Teshie and Nungua the other alternative is to drive all the way through the Airport area, through the Burma Camp Road to join the Accra-Tema Beach Road for those continuing to Teshie and Nungua.
Unknown to many, it will take only one bold decision on the part of the government to get this big problem solved. Even though, according to a top official of the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA), there were no plans for flyovers on the Motorway at its conception, plans have now been made for three of these flyovers. One has already been provided at Ashaiman, linking it to Tema and Accra and the beneficial results are there for all to see.
The other two, which, to a large extent, are of bigger significance, are to be sited near the Accra Abattoir and the Manet Estate. These two, which have the answer to the heavy traffic on the Spintex Road and at the Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange and which can remedy the plight of residents of Adjiriganor, Trasacco Valley, Madina, Adenta, Ashale Botwe and beyond, are still on the drawing board because of the much-heard refrain, “lack of no money”.
This is where the government must exploit private participation in the provision of some of these essential facilities.
Incidentally, a private estate development company, Trasacco Estates Development Company (TEDC), which, apart from its social responsibility, has its corporate interest at stake, has made a proposal to the government, as was reported on page 49 of the Daily Graphic of Wednesday, January 9, 2008. According to the story, the company, in several memoranda to the government, had offered to pre-finance and construct the Motorway end of the flyover which, according to estimates, will cost US$20 million and the cost recouped through two options the government must choose between.
The first option is that the company and its affiliates must be given tax breaks so that it could raise the funds for the project. The second, which sounds reasonable to many people who were asked for their opinions, is the build, operate and transfer (BOT) option.
The government may not be too comfortable with the first option which involves the state losing some amount of revenue needed immediately for development. The same, however, cannot be said of the second, which will make the state and the people the ultimate gainers.
According to the drawings, this flyover will pass through several settlements on the eastern corridor, finally ending at the International Trade Fair Centre at La. Immediately, the advantages of this flyover can be well-imagined. All the areas from Madina, Adenta, Ashale Botwe, East Legon, Adjiriganor and Trasacco Valley will be opened up and linked to the eastern part of Accra, without necessarily using the Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange.
It will also mean that those in La, Teshie, Nungua and the communities along the Spintex Road could link up with their counterparts on the western part of the Motorway without joining the heavy traffic to the Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange.
Even though the Department of Urban Roads has indicated its intention to construct an access road near Community 18 to link the Motorway, that, at best, can only offer temporary relief. The bigger and greater problem will still be hanging on our necks.
Accra’s problem is not about too many vehicles plying the roads; it is about too few roads coming under pressure to give space to our vehicles.
The government cannot do it alone and so where private sector participation is possible, those in authority must not hesitate to take the necessary decisions. The country is lagging seriously behind in development simply because decisions which should be taken today are postponed to tomorrow or they are never taken.
If we do not have US$40 million to build the two flyovers, let us start with one now! The most important thing is that the parties involved will negotiate in a candid and mutually satisfactory win-win manner so that at the end of the day the people of this country are saved from undue hardship, while the integrity and sovereignty of the state are not compromised.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
ALl is well that ends well
January 8,2008
All is well that ends well
By Kofi Akordor
Something is happening on our political landscape and I am wondering whether others have noticed it. I am referring to the growing tolerance and maturity being exhibited by the various political parties. Last month, December 2007, to be precise, the People’s National Convention (PNC), the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) went to congress to elect their presidential candidates and came out with flying colours. The NPP, in particular, surprised everybody, including itself, when it came out from the special delegates’ congress unscathed and stronger than before.
However, this trend was set in December 2006 when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) held its delegates congress at the University of Ghana to elect its flag bearer. The NDC has a history of violence at most of its congresses so when the party was gearing up for the December 2006 congress, many were very apprehensive and sceptical about the outcome.
Readers may remember that at the party’s congress in Koforidua in December 2005 to elect national officers, flesh was torn and blood oozed copiously, tearing the party into tatters. That acrimonious and violent congress led to the resignation of some key members of the party, including Dr Obed Asamoah, who had been defeated in the chairmanship race of the party. Later, together with other disenchanted members, he formed the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP).
That event was preceded by two other events which ended on sour notes. The first was in 2002, at the party’s congress at the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre to elect national executives. The party came out so heavily bruised that it could not garner the necessary strength to conduct its 2004 electioneering. The second was in 2003, at the congress at the University of Ghana to elect the flag bearer for the 2004 presidential elections.
If what happened at the trade fair centre a year earlier was a fight, Legon was a battle ground for war between supporters of Prof J.E. Atta Mills and Dr Kwesi Botchwey, the two contestants. That, and the 2002 episode, played a big role in the party’s defeat in 2004.
That was why the party’s 2006 congress was approached with caution and suspicion. Many thought the NDC would disintegrate further and possibly sound the death knell of the party, depending on the outcome. That never happened. “We shall not desert the party, we shall not form a new party and we shall throw our full weight behind Prof Mills to capture the presidential seat in 2008,” Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, the man who injected a lot of power into the contest and who was seen to be marshalling a lot of support among the youth, declared after the results had been announced.
All the candidates left the Legon campus pledging unity and support for the party and, with the blessing of Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings, always seen as the source of most of the confusion, the party came out intact and more solid than before.
The CPP congress, held at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi last December to elect its presidential candidate, was more exciting than those of previous years. This was apparent because of the entry into the race of stalwarts such as Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, a former Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, and Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, a business entrepreneur and a former minister in President J.A. Kufuor’s government. The two, together with Mr George Aggudey, Dr F.W.K. Akuffo and Dr Kwaku Osafo, brought some life into the CPP and gave some hope to its supporters.
However, the party which electrified the political scene last year was the NPP. With a record entry of 18 presidential aspirants, the party caught national attention, with many asking whether all those declaring their intention to contest for the flagbearership of the party were serious or not. Some believed that by the time nominations opened, a lot of the candidates would bow out honourably and leave the field for, say, five candidates.
Those who thought that way were disappointed. When nominations opened, all the 18 candidates went for the forms and actually paid the GH¢25,000 filing fee to prove their seriousness. One candidate, Mr Nkrabea Effah-Darteh, however, fell by the wayside on technical grounds. The rest marched on to congress.
Though all the candidates pledged to conduct their campaigns in a mature and decent manner, caution was thrown to the winds when the going got tough and mudslinging became the order of the day. At one stage, it was alleged that Nana Akufo-Addo’s dentures were falling. At other times it was said of him that he was arrogant and that he sounded too upper-class British.
The other candidates had their fair share of condemnation and ridicule. But the man who caught the biggest attraction was Mr Alan Kyerematen, perceived to be the President’s darling boy and who had enough to spread and spare. Like the Biblical Joseph, who was seen by his brothers as the darling of Jacob, their father, and who must be eliminated, all the other candidates and, to a large extent, the rank and file of the party, as it seemed, ganged up against Mr Kyerematen, the Cash Man.
The party as a whole was not spared image bashing. For many people, for 18 candidates to express interest in the presidency meant there was something more than leadership at stake. To some, the NPP was full of people who were inordinately or overly ambitious or just power hungry. Others felt that some of the candidates, after a critical self-examination, would have realised that they had no chance, but in their quixotic mentality, they thought the delegates would embrace them.
However, at the end of the day, it was democracy which triumphed. The NPP congress demonstrated that when the people were given the freedom, they knew how to make a choice. That is why it is wrong for a few individuals to come to the conclusion that a government has lost favour and arrogate to themselves the authority to remove it from power.
All said and done, Mr Kyerematen should be congratulated on the excitement and anxiety he injected into last year’s campaign for the presidential slot and the eventual success of the congress. He brought real competition into the game which, otherwise, from the look of things, was going to be a one-way traffic for Nana Akufo-Addo, the eventual winner.
Even though he was accused of dishing out money freely and exploiting the blessing of the President, Mr Kyerematen sustained the tempo of the campaign and left some of the candidates dazed and mesmerised with his campaign strategy. Some of the aspirants, no doubt, might have wondered whether he was one of them.
When he felt he was running out of time, he went by air, while others struggled with the pothole-filled roads to reach the delegates. In fact, it needed a formidable person like Nana Akufo-Addo to deny Mr Kyerematen his presidential ambitions.
When it mattered most, it needed a Kyerematen style to bring proceedings to a happy end when the man threw in the towel after a thrilling first-round contest when he could have overstretched the already tired delegates to a second gruelling round. That singular and honourable decision ensured party solidarity and took the steam out of the doomsday prophets, sending the strategists of the opposing parties running into their planning offices, knowing that now had a lot of work to do.
The outcomes of the various congresses, to me, have a common message to Ghanaians: That our politics is maturing very fast and that hero-worshipping, tribal, religious or ethnic sentiments have very little to determine the people’s choice if it comes to those who hold their destinies in their hands. We are gradually getting to the point where a critical assessment of the quality of candidates will supersede all other considerations.
We are beginning to realise that numbers are good spices for democracy, that they engender healthy competition and offer freedom of choice. We are also learning to accept that tolerance and accommodation are the best tools to confront underdevelopment. It is for this reason that we should get ready for a tough and interesting presidential and parliamentary contest this year.
Kofiakordor.blogspot.com
All is well that ends well
By Kofi Akordor
Something is happening on our political landscape and I am wondering whether others have noticed it. I am referring to the growing tolerance and maturity being exhibited by the various political parties. Last month, December 2007, to be precise, the People’s National Convention (PNC), the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) went to congress to elect their presidential candidates and came out with flying colours. The NPP, in particular, surprised everybody, including itself, when it came out from the special delegates’ congress unscathed and stronger than before.
However, this trend was set in December 2006 when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) held its delegates congress at the University of Ghana to elect its flag bearer. The NDC has a history of violence at most of its congresses so when the party was gearing up for the December 2006 congress, many were very apprehensive and sceptical about the outcome.
Readers may remember that at the party’s congress in Koforidua in December 2005 to elect national officers, flesh was torn and blood oozed copiously, tearing the party into tatters. That acrimonious and violent congress led to the resignation of some key members of the party, including Dr Obed Asamoah, who had been defeated in the chairmanship race of the party. Later, together with other disenchanted members, he formed the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP).
That event was preceded by two other events which ended on sour notes. The first was in 2002, at the party’s congress at the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre to elect national executives. The party came out so heavily bruised that it could not garner the necessary strength to conduct its 2004 electioneering. The second was in 2003, at the congress at the University of Ghana to elect the flag bearer for the 2004 presidential elections.
If what happened at the trade fair centre a year earlier was a fight, Legon was a battle ground for war between supporters of Prof J.E. Atta Mills and Dr Kwesi Botchwey, the two contestants. That, and the 2002 episode, played a big role in the party’s defeat in 2004.
That was why the party’s 2006 congress was approached with caution and suspicion. Many thought the NDC would disintegrate further and possibly sound the death knell of the party, depending on the outcome. That never happened. “We shall not desert the party, we shall not form a new party and we shall throw our full weight behind Prof Mills to capture the presidential seat in 2008,” Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, the man who injected a lot of power into the contest and who was seen to be marshalling a lot of support among the youth, declared after the results had been announced.
All the candidates left the Legon campus pledging unity and support for the party and, with the blessing of Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings, always seen as the source of most of the confusion, the party came out intact and more solid than before.
The CPP congress, held at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi last December to elect its presidential candidate, was more exciting than those of previous years. This was apparent because of the entry into the race of stalwarts such as Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, a former Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, and Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, a business entrepreneur and a former minister in President J.A. Kufuor’s government. The two, together with Mr George Aggudey, Dr F.W.K. Akuffo and Dr Kwaku Osafo, brought some life into the CPP and gave some hope to its supporters.
However, the party which electrified the political scene last year was the NPP. With a record entry of 18 presidential aspirants, the party caught national attention, with many asking whether all those declaring their intention to contest for the flagbearership of the party were serious or not. Some believed that by the time nominations opened, a lot of the candidates would bow out honourably and leave the field for, say, five candidates.
Those who thought that way were disappointed. When nominations opened, all the 18 candidates went for the forms and actually paid the GH¢25,000 filing fee to prove their seriousness. One candidate, Mr Nkrabea Effah-Darteh, however, fell by the wayside on technical grounds. The rest marched on to congress.
Though all the candidates pledged to conduct their campaigns in a mature and decent manner, caution was thrown to the winds when the going got tough and mudslinging became the order of the day. At one stage, it was alleged that Nana Akufo-Addo’s dentures were falling. At other times it was said of him that he was arrogant and that he sounded too upper-class British.
The other candidates had their fair share of condemnation and ridicule. But the man who caught the biggest attraction was Mr Alan Kyerematen, perceived to be the President’s darling boy and who had enough to spread and spare. Like the Biblical Joseph, who was seen by his brothers as the darling of Jacob, their father, and who must be eliminated, all the other candidates and, to a large extent, the rank and file of the party, as it seemed, ganged up against Mr Kyerematen, the Cash Man.
The party as a whole was not spared image bashing. For many people, for 18 candidates to express interest in the presidency meant there was something more than leadership at stake. To some, the NPP was full of people who were inordinately or overly ambitious or just power hungry. Others felt that some of the candidates, after a critical self-examination, would have realised that they had no chance, but in their quixotic mentality, they thought the delegates would embrace them.
However, at the end of the day, it was democracy which triumphed. The NPP congress demonstrated that when the people were given the freedom, they knew how to make a choice. That is why it is wrong for a few individuals to come to the conclusion that a government has lost favour and arrogate to themselves the authority to remove it from power.
All said and done, Mr Kyerematen should be congratulated on the excitement and anxiety he injected into last year’s campaign for the presidential slot and the eventual success of the congress. He brought real competition into the game which, otherwise, from the look of things, was going to be a one-way traffic for Nana Akufo-Addo, the eventual winner.
Even though he was accused of dishing out money freely and exploiting the blessing of the President, Mr Kyerematen sustained the tempo of the campaign and left some of the candidates dazed and mesmerised with his campaign strategy. Some of the aspirants, no doubt, might have wondered whether he was one of them.
When he felt he was running out of time, he went by air, while others struggled with the pothole-filled roads to reach the delegates. In fact, it needed a formidable person like Nana Akufo-Addo to deny Mr Kyerematen his presidential ambitions.
When it mattered most, it needed a Kyerematen style to bring proceedings to a happy end when the man threw in the towel after a thrilling first-round contest when he could have overstretched the already tired delegates to a second gruelling round. That singular and honourable decision ensured party solidarity and took the steam out of the doomsday prophets, sending the strategists of the opposing parties running into their planning offices, knowing that now had a lot of work to do.
The outcomes of the various congresses, to me, have a common message to Ghanaians: That our politics is maturing very fast and that hero-worshipping, tribal, religious or ethnic sentiments have very little to determine the people’s choice if it comes to those who hold their destinies in their hands. We are gradually getting to the point where a critical assessment of the quality of candidates will supersede all other considerations.
We are beginning to realise that numbers are good spices for democracy, that they engender healthy competition and offer freedom of choice. We are also learning to accept that tolerance and accommodation are the best tools to confront underdevelopment. It is for this reason that we should get ready for a tough and interesting presidential and parliamentary contest this year.
Kofiakordor.blogspot.com
Monday, December 31, 2007
Ghana Airways ,we miss you
January 1,2008
By Kofi Akordor
We have heard a lot about refugees. We have seen images of refugees whether in Darfur region of The Sudan, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda or Eritrea, all victims of armed conflicts.
In Ghana, the civil war in Liberia brought us very close to the refugee menace when thousands of Liberians came here to seek refuge. A new township called Buduburam has become a historical monument to that war. However, generally speaking, apart from scattered communal conflicts and natural havocs such as the recent floods which displaced people, we have been spared the massive exodus of people running away from war.
At least that was the case until two weeks ago when over 2,500 Muslim brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers got stranded in Accra, while on their way to Mecca, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform this year’s Hajj. Apparently having been assured that they need not spend even extra one minute before boarding their aircraft, these pilgrims from every part of the country came to Kotoka International Airport without any preparation whatsoever in case things went wrong.
Members of the Hajj Board and the agents did not prepare any reception centre for the pilgrims in their belief that everything will be on schedule. That was where they failed and inflicted such pain on the pilgrims. The hallmark of every planning is the provision for contingencies. That was why if you are organizing an outdoor programme even at the peak of the dry season, you still need to make provision for canopies should the unexpected happens. Members of the Hajj Board had history to guide them and, therefore, had excuse for their lack of foresight.
When the aircrafts failed to land, everything went haywire and the pilgrims had nowhere to go but to seek refuge on the lawns of the Aviation Social Centre. It was a pathetic sight. Come to think of it. Adult men and women sprawled on the lawns, eating, drinking and discharging the waste material all in the open. And this is happening in the 21st Century.
Admittedly, the organisers may escape blame for the failure of the aircrafts to arrive as scheduled. They cannot, however, have cover for abandoning the pilgrims the way they did in the open like that. At least when the first signals of a possible disappointment started to show, they should have quickly organize a reception centre with the basic facilities of toilet, bath and sleeping tents for the pilgrims. That they failed to do that was an indictment on their organizational capabilities.
The last minute frantic efforts to get aircraft for the pilgrims even with presidential intervention bring to mind the collapse of Ghana Airways, the national carrier. After the intervention of President J.A. Kufuor, we were told that the aircrafts that were secured including those of Ghana International Airlines did not have landing rights at the Jeddah International Airport.
Ghana Airways, when it was in existence, was flying pilgrims to Jeddah in the past. This means if the national carrier were to be alive, it would have filled the void created by the chartered aircrafts. This is why sometimes certain institutions are there not only to serve profit motives but to undertake critical national assignments when the exigency of the occasion demands.
If we think the ordeal of the pilgrims is over, then we are in for another shock. We have been told that due to flight problems, the first batch of the pilgrims could only return home 25 days after they had completed the Hajj. Granted that the government is prepared to feed and accommodate them during that long period, what about the time spent there when they should have been back at home to be pursuing their legitimate businesses?
What will be the fate of those who might have asked permission from their employers for a limited period to undertake the pilgrimage? We surely have missed Ghana Airways at this crucial moment and the damage to the nation by its collapse is clearly visible.
The decision to investigate this year’s Hajj and apply sanctions where necessary is good. However, the probe will be better if it will go beyond this year’s Hajj and find out why the annual pilgrimage has become a period of suffering for the pilgrims.
By Kofi Akordor
We have heard a lot about refugees. We have seen images of refugees whether in Darfur region of The Sudan, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda or Eritrea, all victims of armed conflicts.
In Ghana, the civil war in Liberia brought us very close to the refugee menace when thousands of Liberians came here to seek refuge. A new township called Buduburam has become a historical monument to that war. However, generally speaking, apart from scattered communal conflicts and natural havocs such as the recent floods which displaced people, we have been spared the massive exodus of people running away from war.
At least that was the case until two weeks ago when over 2,500 Muslim brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers got stranded in Accra, while on their way to Mecca, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform this year’s Hajj. Apparently having been assured that they need not spend even extra one minute before boarding their aircraft, these pilgrims from every part of the country came to Kotoka International Airport without any preparation whatsoever in case things went wrong.
Members of the Hajj Board and the agents did not prepare any reception centre for the pilgrims in their belief that everything will be on schedule. That was where they failed and inflicted such pain on the pilgrims. The hallmark of every planning is the provision for contingencies. That was why if you are organizing an outdoor programme even at the peak of the dry season, you still need to make provision for canopies should the unexpected happens. Members of the Hajj Board had history to guide them and, therefore, had excuse for their lack of foresight.
When the aircrafts failed to land, everything went haywire and the pilgrims had nowhere to go but to seek refuge on the lawns of the Aviation Social Centre. It was a pathetic sight. Come to think of it. Adult men and women sprawled on the lawns, eating, drinking and discharging the waste material all in the open. And this is happening in the 21st Century.
Admittedly, the organisers may escape blame for the failure of the aircrafts to arrive as scheduled. They cannot, however, have cover for abandoning the pilgrims the way they did in the open like that. At least when the first signals of a possible disappointment started to show, they should have quickly organize a reception centre with the basic facilities of toilet, bath and sleeping tents for the pilgrims. That they failed to do that was an indictment on their organizational capabilities.
The last minute frantic efforts to get aircraft for the pilgrims even with presidential intervention bring to mind the collapse of Ghana Airways, the national carrier. After the intervention of President J.A. Kufuor, we were told that the aircrafts that were secured including those of Ghana International Airlines did not have landing rights at the Jeddah International Airport.
Ghana Airways, when it was in existence, was flying pilgrims to Jeddah in the past. This means if the national carrier were to be alive, it would have filled the void created by the chartered aircrafts. This is why sometimes certain institutions are there not only to serve profit motives but to undertake critical national assignments when the exigency of the occasion demands.
If we think the ordeal of the pilgrims is over, then we are in for another shock. We have been told that due to flight problems, the first batch of the pilgrims could only return home 25 days after they had completed the Hajj. Granted that the government is prepared to feed and accommodate them during that long period, what about the time spent there when they should have been back at home to be pursuing their legitimate businesses?
What will be the fate of those who might have asked permission from their employers for a limited period to undertake the pilgrimage? We surely have missed Ghana Airways at this crucial moment and the damage to the nation by its collapse is clearly visible.
The decision to investigate this year’s Hajj and apply sanctions where necessary is good. However, the probe will be better if it will go beyond this year’s Hajj and find out why the annual pilgrimage has become a period of suffering for the pilgrims.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Who wins Legon race?
By Kofi Akordor
The list is quite tall but at the end of the day, only candidate gets the nod to defend the flag of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2008 presidential elections. That is the Herculean task confronting the over 2,300 delegates who vote the party’s delegates’ congress this weekend to elect the party’s presidential flag bearer.
By the close of nomination, there were 19 candidates. This number reduced by one after the vetting exercise with Mr. Nkrabea Effah Darteh falling by the roadside through the axe of the party’s vetting committee. The rest who made it to congress include; Alhaji Aliu Mahama, the Vice President; Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, and Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.
The rest are Dr Barfuor Adjei-Barwuah, Prof. Mike Ocquaye, Messrs Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, Dan Botwe, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Felix Owusu-Adjapong, Jake Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey, Kyeremateng Agyarko, Kwabena Agyepong and Hackman Owusu-Agyeman.
This is quite a formidable team to select one person from as against the six candidates who contested the Convention People’s Party (CPP) flagbearership, the four candidates who contested that of the National Democratic Congress (NDC); and the two who vied for that of the People’s National Convention (PNC).
One could argue that the large number of presidential aspirants is a credit to internal democracy existing in the New Patriotic Party, which allows for diverse opinions and freedom of choice. It could also be an indication that the party is rich in human resources, a pool of human wealth out of which several presidential materials could be found.
But for their styles, there is very little to separate the candidates. Their campaign messages were a monotonous cacophony of the standard promises made by politicians to the electorate. Almost in unison, they all pledged to fight corruption, and as a people who were once in government or are still in it, they know every bit of what they are talking about. They were also quite uniform in their determination to fight unemployment, hunger and disease, improve educational and health infrastructure, build good roads and remove tribalism, nepotism and cronyism from our body politic. I even heard one of them promising to build a state university in all the regions.
These are fantastic promises that any nation yearning for development will welcome, but as we all know they are easier made than done. As President J.A. Kufuor’s second and final term heads towards an end, we are still waiting the fulfillment of some very important promises. These include the modern fishing harbour promised to the people of Jamestown in Accra and the nationally or even sub-regionally important and strategic Accra-Paga Railway Project promised the nation.
That means campaign promises alone are not enough to determine who should be elected as the party’s flag bearer. What the nation expects from the delegates is a choice not only for the party but a choice which will be an asset for the nation.
As leading motivational speaker, Mr. Emmanuel Dei-Tumi, observed in Daily Graphic of Wednesday, December 12, 2007, what the nation lacked over the last 50 years is a sustainable national vision for socio-economic transformation. All the campaign promises are valid. What the nation wants is a leader who can harness all available resources, both human and material to activate these promises and transform them into national developmental goals. We want a leader, who, as soon as elected as President of the land, will look beyond party supporters, loyalists and interests and begin to see Ghana as his party and Ghanaians as his constituents.
We want a leader whose promises do not end on political platforms but go beyond that to crystallize into national monuments. We want leaders who dream into the next 50 to 100 years and not just four or eight years of their tenure. A leader who will challenge the scientific and technological community to come out with inventions that will bring us out of perpetual mediocrity and revolutionise the industrial landscape of the country.
Ghana’s problems over the last 50 years could not be attributed to lack of resources. They have more to do with those who were at helm of affairs. A lot of had to do with the disjoined programmes that have characterized our national life with each successive government trying to undo what was done by its predecessor and initiating its own programmes. That is why we want a leader who will not throw overboard what others before him have done but will build and improve upon them. That was why Mr. Dei-Tumi noted that there was a difference between vision and policy and that a lot of what past governments referred to as national visions were rather policies which often emanated from the ideologies of political parties. In short, we want movers and achievers.
Visionary leaders driven by the desire to leave a legacy for their people are not easy to come by. However, if the delegates will think beyond the weight of their pockets, ethnic and religious biases, they are more than likely to find some one who will fit into this description or at least come very close to it.
The campaign itself started on a very civil note, but as things started to gather momentum, elements of acrimony, back-biting and suspicion began to show signs. In the last few days to the D-day, we wish to appeal to all the candidates and their supporters to maintain cool heads to ensure that the party emerges from the congress stronger and more united.
Our prayer is they will give us a leader who will set the country on a path of development and transform it from the near beggar-status into a truly independent, vibrant and proud nation.
The list is quite tall but at the end of the day, only candidate gets the nod to defend the flag of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2008 presidential elections. That is the Herculean task confronting the over 2,300 delegates who vote the party’s delegates’ congress this weekend to elect the party’s presidential flag bearer.
By the close of nomination, there were 19 candidates. This number reduced by one after the vetting exercise with Mr. Nkrabea Effah Darteh falling by the roadside through the axe of the party’s vetting committee. The rest who made it to congress include; Alhaji Aliu Mahama, the Vice President; Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, and Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.
The rest are Dr Barfuor Adjei-Barwuah, Prof. Mike Ocquaye, Messrs Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, Dan Botwe, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Felix Owusu-Adjapong, Jake Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey, Kyeremateng Agyarko, Kwabena Agyepong and Hackman Owusu-Agyeman.
This is quite a formidable team to select one person from as against the six candidates who contested the Convention People’s Party (CPP) flagbearership, the four candidates who contested that of the National Democratic Congress (NDC); and the two who vied for that of the People’s National Convention (PNC).
One could argue that the large number of presidential aspirants is a credit to internal democracy existing in the New Patriotic Party, which allows for diverse opinions and freedom of choice. It could also be an indication that the party is rich in human resources, a pool of human wealth out of which several presidential materials could be found.
But for their styles, there is very little to separate the candidates. Their campaign messages were a monotonous cacophony of the standard promises made by politicians to the electorate. Almost in unison, they all pledged to fight corruption, and as a people who were once in government or are still in it, they know every bit of what they are talking about. They were also quite uniform in their determination to fight unemployment, hunger and disease, improve educational and health infrastructure, build good roads and remove tribalism, nepotism and cronyism from our body politic. I even heard one of them promising to build a state university in all the regions.
These are fantastic promises that any nation yearning for development will welcome, but as we all know they are easier made than done. As President J.A. Kufuor’s second and final term heads towards an end, we are still waiting the fulfillment of some very important promises. These include the modern fishing harbour promised to the people of Jamestown in Accra and the nationally or even sub-regionally important and strategic Accra-Paga Railway Project promised the nation.
That means campaign promises alone are not enough to determine who should be elected as the party’s flag bearer. What the nation expects from the delegates is a choice not only for the party but a choice which will be an asset for the nation.
As leading motivational speaker, Mr. Emmanuel Dei-Tumi, observed in Daily Graphic of Wednesday, December 12, 2007, what the nation lacked over the last 50 years is a sustainable national vision for socio-economic transformation. All the campaign promises are valid. What the nation wants is a leader who can harness all available resources, both human and material to activate these promises and transform them into national developmental goals. We want a leader, who, as soon as elected as President of the land, will look beyond party supporters, loyalists and interests and begin to see Ghana as his party and Ghanaians as his constituents.
We want a leader whose promises do not end on political platforms but go beyond that to crystallize into national monuments. We want leaders who dream into the next 50 to 100 years and not just four or eight years of their tenure. A leader who will challenge the scientific and technological community to come out with inventions that will bring us out of perpetual mediocrity and revolutionise the industrial landscape of the country.
Ghana’s problems over the last 50 years could not be attributed to lack of resources. They have more to do with those who were at helm of affairs. A lot of had to do with the disjoined programmes that have characterized our national life with each successive government trying to undo what was done by its predecessor and initiating its own programmes. That is why we want a leader who will not throw overboard what others before him have done but will build and improve upon them. That was why Mr. Dei-Tumi noted that there was a difference between vision and policy and that a lot of what past governments referred to as national visions were rather policies which often emanated from the ideologies of political parties. In short, we want movers and achievers.
Visionary leaders driven by the desire to leave a legacy for their people are not easy to come by. However, if the delegates will think beyond the weight of their pockets, ethnic and religious biases, they are more than likely to find some one who will fit into this description or at least come very close to it.
The campaign itself started on a very civil note, but as things started to gather momentum, elements of acrimony, back-biting and suspicion began to show signs. In the last few days to the D-day, we wish to appeal to all the candidates and their supporters to maintain cool heads to ensure that the party emerges from the congress stronger and more united.
Our prayer is they will give us a leader who will set the country on a path of development and transform it from the near beggar-status into a truly independent, vibrant and proud nation.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Will President Bush Silence his war drums?
December 11,2007
Will President Bush silence his war drums?
By Kofi Akordor
IN 2002, President George W. Bush took the world by storm with his incessant war drums.
“Saddam must be punished.” “The world must not wait.” “Time is running out.” These were some of his battle cries.
President Bush was then flying on euphoria of public support after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York, the Pentagon, America’s defence headquarters, and an aborted one which, according to intelligence report, was heading for the White House.
Not only had the whole of America but a big part of the world as well, with one voice, declared war on terrorism. That was when the American President took advantage of the situation to launch an attack on Afghanistan, which was then under the control of the Talibans, considered to be hardened Islamic fundamentalists.
The justification for the attack on Afghanistan could not still be established, except for the fact that Osama Bin Laden, the person suspected by America to be the brain behind the September 11 attacks, was said to be operating from Afghanistan.
As you read this piece, the war in Afghanistan is still raging, after five years, and there is yet no evidence that Osama, whose capture or death was the motive for the war, has been touched.
While the war on terrorism was receiving support in several places, especially in Europe and the Middle East, President Bush saw another opportunity to start a long-cherished campaign against countries he described as the Axis of Evil. These are Iraq, Iran and North Korea. Iraq was the most vulnerable and so naturally it became the first in the line of fire.
A story had to be created to justify an attack on Iraq. That was when the charge that Iraq was amassing weapons of mass destruction became the rallying message sold to the world. The Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, was painted as a monster who was roasting his compatriots with chemical weapons and the battle cry was that if he was not stopped early, Saddam would annihilate the human race with his weapons of mass destruction.
Saddam denied the accusations by opening all factories, warehouses, laboratories and even residential palaces to weapons inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for scrutiny. The verdict was clear and unambiguous, that there was nothing that came near a weapon of mass destruction, nor were even materials for that purpose found.
President Bush was upbeat in his determination to go to war. He virtually cajoled the whole world into submission and, against all voices of moderation, diplomacy and dissent, President Bush managed to put together a frightening arsenal, with the support of his Western allies, and marched on Iraq in March 2003. Even the late Pope John Paul II could not hide his revulsion at such blatant display of raw power and total disregard for human feeling. He remarked before the start of the war that it would be a great injustice for anyone to attack Iraq under the circumstances.
That wise counsel and numerous others went unheeded. Saddam was finally hanged on December 30, 2006 to end an era during which Saddam was at various times an ally to the West and the East power blocs.
But whether Iraq is a better place now than as Saddam left it is for all to judge. Suffice it to say, the streets of Baghdad have become killing fields where fragmented bodies of men, women and children are removed on a daily basis. One thing is also not in dispute — the war was not to destroy any weapons of mass destruction which did not exist but for a regime change and the realignment of geo-political forces to serve American and Israeli interests.
The Americans thought they could finish the Afghanistan and Iraq campaigns quickly to go to the next stage of attacking Iran, another emerging superpower in the Gulf. Things did not work according to plan, as the resistance in both countries was woefully unanticipated. The wars have also brought some diplomatic setbacks to the US, as countries which were hitherto allies are gradually coming under severe domestic pressure to end those senseless wars. The latest casualty in the growing discontent against the war was John Howard, the former Australian Prime Minister and key Bush ally, who lost miserably in his country’s general election two weeks ago. Immediately, the man who vanquished him, Kevin Ruud, has taken certain major decisions, including troop withdrawal from Iraq.
In spite of the mounting opposition to America’s wars of attrition, the political leadership is still looking for an excuse to cause trouble in Iran. This time too, the Bush Administration is using Iran’s nuclear programme as a pretext to canvass for support to carry out its ambition to ensure that only Israel remains a strong military force in the Middle-East and Gulf region.
Despite persistent denials by Iran that it is pursuing a nuclear weapon programme, the US and its allies continue to see differently. They have already managed to force through two resolutions on sanctions against Iran at the UN and were closing in on the crucial third when the jolt came. Two days after the US and the other major allies had met in Paris to discuss a third compromise sanctions resolution, an intelligence report from the unholiest of places – the US – came out to stun President Bush and his advisors.
The report from the National Intelligence Agency of the US concluded that Iran, since 2003, has abandoned its nuclear weapons programme and had since not showed any signs of resuming it.
That bit of information brought welcome relief to Iranians and their allies.
“This is a declaration of victory for the Iranian nation against the world powers over the nuclear issue,” Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinajad, said when he addressed what Iranians considered a victory rally last Wednesday.
The reaction from Russia and China, two permanent members of the UN Security Council, is an indication that the US had to step up another diplomatic effort to achieve its aim. According to the Russian Foreign Minister, the report’s findings undermined Washington’s push for a new set of sanctions against Iran.
The head of the IAEA, Mohammed El-Baradei, said the report had brought a ‘sigh of relief’ because its conclusion agreed with the agency’s own findings.
Iraq was not so lucky.
It is good that the report exonerating Iran came from US sources. Even, then, President Bush is not conceding. The only thing is that there is a change in tune from ‘Iran is developing nuclear weapons’ to ‘It is capable of developing them in future’.
The so-called fight against terrorism has rather made the world unsafe and dangerous. This time you cannot tell whether the handsome passenger sitting by you and wearing a long beard has concealed in his gown a grenade ready to explode. That is why the world should plead with President Bush to hush his war drums a bit and give diplomacy a chance.
Will President Bush silence his war drums?
By Kofi Akordor
IN 2002, President George W. Bush took the world by storm with his incessant war drums.
“Saddam must be punished.” “The world must not wait.” “Time is running out.” These were some of his battle cries.
President Bush was then flying on euphoria of public support after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York, the Pentagon, America’s defence headquarters, and an aborted one which, according to intelligence report, was heading for the White House.
Not only had the whole of America but a big part of the world as well, with one voice, declared war on terrorism. That was when the American President took advantage of the situation to launch an attack on Afghanistan, which was then under the control of the Talibans, considered to be hardened Islamic fundamentalists.
The justification for the attack on Afghanistan could not still be established, except for the fact that Osama Bin Laden, the person suspected by America to be the brain behind the September 11 attacks, was said to be operating from Afghanistan.
As you read this piece, the war in Afghanistan is still raging, after five years, and there is yet no evidence that Osama, whose capture or death was the motive for the war, has been touched.
While the war on terrorism was receiving support in several places, especially in Europe and the Middle East, President Bush saw another opportunity to start a long-cherished campaign against countries he described as the Axis of Evil. These are Iraq, Iran and North Korea. Iraq was the most vulnerable and so naturally it became the first in the line of fire.
A story had to be created to justify an attack on Iraq. That was when the charge that Iraq was amassing weapons of mass destruction became the rallying message sold to the world. The Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, was painted as a monster who was roasting his compatriots with chemical weapons and the battle cry was that if he was not stopped early, Saddam would annihilate the human race with his weapons of mass destruction.
Saddam denied the accusations by opening all factories, warehouses, laboratories and even residential palaces to weapons inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for scrutiny. The verdict was clear and unambiguous, that there was nothing that came near a weapon of mass destruction, nor were even materials for that purpose found.
President Bush was upbeat in his determination to go to war. He virtually cajoled the whole world into submission and, against all voices of moderation, diplomacy and dissent, President Bush managed to put together a frightening arsenal, with the support of his Western allies, and marched on Iraq in March 2003. Even the late Pope John Paul II could not hide his revulsion at such blatant display of raw power and total disregard for human feeling. He remarked before the start of the war that it would be a great injustice for anyone to attack Iraq under the circumstances.
That wise counsel and numerous others went unheeded. Saddam was finally hanged on December 30, 2006 to end an era during which Saddam was at various times an ally to the West and the East power blocs.
But whether Iraq is a better place now than as Saddam left it is for all to judge. Suffice it to say, the streets of Baghdad have become killing fields where fragmented bodies of men, women and children are removed on a daily basis. One thing is also not in dispute — the war was not to destroy any weapons of mass destruction which did not exist but for a regime change and the realignment of geo-political forces to serve American and Israeli interests.
The Americans thought they could finish the Afghanistan and Iraq campaigns quickly to go to the next stage of attacking Iran, another emerging superpower in the Gulf. Things did not work according to plan, as the resistance in both countries was woefully unanticipated. The wars have also brought some diplomatic setbacks to the US, as countries which were hitherto allies are gradually coming under severe domestic pressure to end those senseless wars. The latest casualty in the growing discontent against the war was John Howard, the former Australian Prime Minister and key Bush ally, who lost miserably in his country’s general election two weeks ago. Immediately, the man who vanquished him, Kevin Ruud, has taken certain major decisions, including troop withdrawal from Iraq.
In spite of the mounting opposition to America’s wars of attrition, the political leadership is still looking for an excuse to cause trouble in Iran. This time too, the Bush Administration is using Iran’s nuclear programme as a pretext to canvass for support to carry out its ambition to ensure that only Israel remains a strong military force in the Middle-East and Gulf region.
Despite persistent denials by Iran that it is pursuing a nuclear weapon programme, the US and its allies continue to see differently. They have already managed to force through two resolutions on sanctions against Iran at the UN and were closing in on the crucial third when the jolt came. Two days after the US and the other major allies had met in Paris to discuss a third compromise sanctions resolution, an intelligence report from the unholiest of places – the US – came out to stun President Bush and his advisors.
The report from the National Intelligence Agency of the US concluded that Iran, since 2003, has abandoned its nuclear weapons programme and had since not showed any signs of resuming it.
That bit of information brought welcome relief to Iranians and their allies.
“This is a declaration of victory for the Iranian nation against the world powers over the nuclear issue,” Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinajad, said when he addressed what Iranians considered a victory rally last Wednesday.
The reaction from Russia and China, two permanent members of the UN Security Council, is an indication that the US had to step up another diplomatic effort to achieve its aim. According to the Russian Foreign Minister, the report’s findings undermined Washington’s push for a new set of sanctions against Iran.
The head of the IAEA, Mohammed El-Baradei, said the report had brought a ‘sigh of relief’ because its conclusion agreed with the agency’s own findings.
Iraq was not so lucky.
It is good that the report exonerating Iran came from US sources. Even, then, President Bush is not conceding. The only thing is that there is a change in tune from ‘Iran is developing nuclear weapons’ to ‘It is capable of developing them in future’.
The so-called fight against terrorism has rather made the world unsafe and dangerous. This time you cannot tell whether the handsome passenger sitting by you and wearing a long beard has concealed in his gown a grenade ready to explode. That is why the world should plead with President Bush to hush his war drums a bit and give diplomacy a chance.
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