By Kofi Akordor
I am wondering what those who are virtually catered for fully at state expense will feel, if, for more than three months, they have not been paid their official salaries. They have immediate families, distant relatives, friends and former school mates who have not been so successful to cater for. It will be very embarrassing, if any time the minister or district chief executive is called upon to respond to his mandatory and voluntary responsibilities, he ends up saying he was unable to do so because he had not been paid. There will be many who will not believe him, accusing him variously of being irresponsible, stingy, ungrateful or plain wicked.
As for those commonly called foot soldiers that helped you in attaining your political ambitions, they will begin to curse you for wasting their time, taking undue advantage of them and ending with a resolute pledge not to be part of your next campaign.
I am talking about political holders and other top public officials, who, apart from their official salaries or declared incomes, have several other ways of making ends meet. So if these people could find themselves in such a vulnerable situation, what about ordinary people such as the railway workers of the Ghana Railways Company (GRC), who for more than three months including the month of December have not received their meager salaries? December is one month that no matter how bad the economy was or how poorly one had performed in his/her pursuits in the year, the children must smile and friends should celebrate. But it came to pass that railway workers forfeited the opportunity to observe this annual ritual.
The problem of the railway workers started as little grumblings about salary arrears. Management responded by saying the company is cash-strapped and that efforts were being made to raise funds to pay the workers.
The question is; did the company become cash-strapped because the workers failed to work, performed poorly or those placed at helm of affairs did not exhibit business acumen and managerial competence? Whatever the case, the railway workers were at post; they went about their duties as demanded from them by the company and, therefore, deserve their wages. As frustration and desperation set in, the workers decided to withdraw their services, first for a limited period to draw public attention to their plight.
While the impasse dragged, there were a lot of behind-the-scene skirmishes at the departmental and ministerial levels to bring the dispute under control. There were assurances that the government was trying to raise funds to settle salary arrears of the workers while other demands such as salary increases and management problems were addressed. The workers then said: ?We are ready for negotiation but pay us first our arrears.? Management and government officials on the hand wanted the workers to go back to work before the arrears could be paid.
To many fair-minded people, the management and government were not treating workers fairly. At least they were expecting that the arrears for the period under contention will be paid while other matters continued to be discussed. So to behave as if the workers were demanding salary advance was to overstretch the matter too far.
While some may wonder why ordinary railway workers should hold a nation to ransom, the management came out with revealing information. That, for every month that the railway workers were not on duty, the company lost US$900,000! If this information was to expose the railway workers as wicked and inconsiderate, it also brought to question, the managerial competence of the Ghana Railway Company. It also strengthened the case for the workers. If they could generate so much for the company every month through their toil and sweat, why can?t they be paid their meagre salaries?
While the verbal assaults of the parties were raging, the intervention of the National Labour Commission (NLC) was seen as welcome news. The attention of the NLC was, however, focused on the workers and the role of the management in the dispute was not brought into question. However, Mr. Austin Gamey, a leading conflict resolution expert and experienced person on labour issues did not colour his words. He said the management of GRC should bear the blame for not taking a proactive, strategic and bold decision at the right time when they saw the fortunes of the company dwindling. To him, therefore, the workers were making a legitimate demand and should not, therefore, suffer from the consequences of managerial lapses.
The NLC added fuel to an already volatile situation, when it mistakenly thought in such matters, legal threats are the best option by threatening the railway workers to court to compel them to go back to work. That was a bad move. Not that it made any impression on the striking workers any way. It rather infuriated them, compelling them to take a more militant position.
Mr. Gamey may not be alone in his assessment of the situation and his verdict. Many Ghanaians, if confronted with the subject are more than likely to share Mr. Gamey?s opinion. For far too long, workers have been made to face the brunt of managerial incompetence. People who do not deserve to call themselves managers, have found their way into managerial seats and ran down their organizations for as along as their patrons will allow them.
All our state institutions are collapsing before our eyes, not because Ghanaians cannot run their own affairs. The basic truth is that the wrong people are always the smartest when it comes to lobbying for big posts in the country. The few times that the good ones get there, they do not last because they will not want to play ball.
We should not be surprised to wake up tomorrow to hear that a foreign consultancy has been contracted to run the affairs of Ghana Railway Company. Ghana Airways is gone; Ghana Water Company and Ghana Telecommunications are struggling under foreign consultants. How many more are left to go?
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
When great minds speak
By Kofi Akordor
I have great admiration for some of our traditional rulers. There may be more, but for the purpose of this article, I shall dwell on three. They are the Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin II, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and the Agbogbomefia, Togbe Afede XIV. These are noble men who speak with conviction and address national issues impartially. These are men who will not sprawl before any politician for favour and, therefore, will say it as it should be said.
If Ghanaians will follow the admonitions and the practical examples set by these chiefs and others not mentioned here, this country will move forward instead of drifting in circles as it is doing now.
About two weeks ago, the Asantehene did not mince his words when the Vice-President in charge of AngloGold Ashanti’s operations in West Africa, Mr Christian Rampa Luhembwe, called on him at the Manhyia Palace. The Otumfuo used the opportunity to express his disappointment at the betrayal of trust and faith as exhibited by AngloGold Ashanti, when they were courting the acquisition of Ashanti Goldfields Company (AGC).
AngloGold, the South African investors at the time, made very tantalising promises, giving the impression that the Obuasi Mine was going to be transformed into a modern and flourishing one.
As the Otumfuo observed, nearly four years after the merger, the new owners have not done anything to near his personal expectations or that of Asanteman in general and definitely that of the nation as a whole.
How many of our leaders will confront the truth in such a blunt manner? The rape of AGC is just one example of how we have surrendered the wealth of our natural resources in the name of seeking foreign investment or due to our abundant faith in foreign expertise. The picture one sees at Obuasi does not reflect that of home of one of the richest gold mines in the world.
What some people choose to describe as illegal mining or galamsey has gained ascendancy because the unemployed youth of the mineral rich Obuasi and its environs have no other means of survival but to plunge into the bowels of the earth even at the peril of their lives seeking for the precious metal. The lifestyle of those who succeed proves that galamsey is a worthwhile venture.
Meanwhile, the mineral wealth of Obuasi and other mining areas continue to keep foreigners in opulence while a classroom block here and a toilet facility there are all that the communities benefit from their God-given treasures. Under the circumstance, defying the law and gambling for survival become the only option for the youth.
Not too long ago, we handed over the management of Ghana Telecommunications Company to a Malaysian consultancy. They fleeced us neat and dry and left with millions of dollars tucked under their armpits, leaving Ghana Telecom worse than they came to meet it. We did not learn any lessons, so we brought in the Norwegians believing that since they are Europeans, they will do better. The Norwegians came and milked us dry without meeting any of the targets set out in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The rest is history.
Still not able to overcome our dependency syndrome and inferiority complex we thought the best way to salvage our water system was to as usual look outwards. A South African company with roots in The Netherlands, Aqua Vitens Rand Limited (AVRL) was brought in about one and half years ago to the rescue. Today, if anything has changed, it is the more monies we are paying to the expatriates who have not proved better than Ghanaians. At the time of contracting these foreigners, many Ghanaians questioned the wisdom to bring in the so-called foreign experts to manage a system we have built and managed ourselves for years but who will go home with ridiculous salaries and consultancy fees. But no one listened. Soon after their arrival in 2006, Accra experienced one of its most painful water shortages.
In 2006, AVRL could be pardoned because they had just arrived. What about the current water shortage in Accra and its satellite towns? I have listened to officials of AVRL and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and the full page adverts in the newspapers by the former on the water crisis.
In their explanation, AVRL said there already exists a deficit of 70 million gallons of water supply a day, since production at Weija and Kpong treatment plants total 82 million gallons a day as against demand of 150 million gallons a day. The long drought has also not helped matters.
Secondly, the two treatment plants at Weija and Kpong were closed down for repair works on February 26, 2008, the former for two-and-half hours and the latter, 18 hours.
Thirdly, on February 27, February 29 and March 1, 2008, there were a series of power interruptions at the two stations which affected water production and distribution.
According to the full page advert running in the major newspapers, AVRL’s contract “is limited to efficiently operating the infrastructure for urban water services, maintenance of water quality, billing and collection”.
If AVRL did not bring into the country any extra volumes of water; did not bring any standby generators in case of emergency; did not bring in foreign capital; have not built additional pipelines or expanded the existing ones and have not in any way contributed to the improvement of the system, but are only here to feed on the existing infrastructure and collect bills, then what is their strategic importance?
The GWCL and many other local companies can be managed efficiently if only our governments will pay little attention to faces and names and concentrate on quality and expertise, when appointing key management staff of our local companies.
AVRL has proved that they have nothing better to offer Ghanaians and what we need is the overhauling of the infrastructure of GWCL, not foreign debt collectors.
Since the water crisis, Ghanaians have been bombarded with a lot of rhetoric without much action. The latest is that 13 boreholes are to be sunk in Accra, the national capital, to feed distressed areas with water. We are hearing this less than a week after we have celebrated our 51st anniversary as an independent nation in pomp and pageantry.
This is where I got attracted to one of Osagyefuo Ofori Panin‘s wise observations when he said as Ghanaians, we like talking too much without translating what we say into action. The Okyenhene made that observation when he chaired a forum on dams in Accra about two weeks ago. Talking is good. After all, it eases tension. But how does it benefit us as a nation if we spend all our productive hours talking when we should be thinking, planning and executing meaningful programmes to change our fortunes? If mere talking could develop a nation, Ghana would have been one of the most developed nations in the world.
Our radio stations, in the name of freedom of speech, have become platforms for long and senseless arguments on matters which do not merit the time spent on them. Even where the subject matters are of national relevance, the discussions take such partisan angles, they lose their significance.
I wonder what times our political and their bureaucrats and technocrats sit down to think and act, since most of the time, they are addressing workshops and seminars, receiving various delegations or inspecting projects that never get completed.
Our ministers are always in the media attending one public function or another, where, as usual, they never get short of promises, while our problems as a nation continue to pile up. If they are not engaged in a public function then they are attending any of the endless meetings which do not bring results. The Okyenhene has spoken. We talk too much.
Many Ghanaians were aware of the efforts the Agbogbomefia, Togbe Afede XIV, made to bring a Chinese firm to the country for power generation. This was at a time the country was grappling with power rationing. Just when everything was ready and the Chinese engineers were here to comment business, a land that was lying fallow for years suddenly gained title and ready for a power project and factory envisaged many years ago.
Notwithstanding that setback, the Agbogbomefia is still pursuing his dream, thanks to a new plot released to the company by the traditional authorities of Kpone.
I started with these three great chiefs because of their industry, leadership qualities and their determination to leave behind legacies of success for the present generation and those yet unborn.
This nation, with its abundant resources, will surely change for the better if only those entrusted with power and responsibility will emulate the determination of these chiefs to see Ghana a better place, spend lesser time talking and holding meetings and to confront national issues with greater zeal so that this country will take concrete steps towards progress and development.
The performance of AVRL has also proved a point. Until we stop converting key public offices into ‘thank you’ gift parcels, we shall continue to see our salvations in the hands of foreigners. Our problems can only be solved by ourselves.
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
I have great admiration for some of our traditional rulers. There may be more, but for the purpose of this article, I shall dwell on three. They are the Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin II, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and the Agbogbomefia, Togbe Afede XIV. These are noble men who speak with conviction and address national issues impartially. These are men who will not sprawl before any politician for favour and, therefore, will say it as it should be said.
If Ghanaians will follow the admonitions and the practical examples set by these chiefs and others not mentioned here, this country will move forward instead of drifting in circles as it is doing now.
About two weeks ago, the Asantehene did not mince his words when the Vice-President in charge of AngloGold Ashanti’s operations in West Africa, Mr Christian Rampa Luhembwe, called on him at the Manhyia Palace. The Otumfuo used the opportunity to express his disappointment at the betrayal of trust and faith as exhibited by AngloGold Ashanti, when they were courting the acquisition of Ashanti Goldfields Company (AGC).
AngloGold, the South African investors at the time, made very tantalising promises, giving the impression that the Obuasi Mine was going to be transformed into a modern and flourishing one.
As the Otumfuo observed, nearly four years after the merger, the new owners have not done anything to near his personal expectations or that of Asanteman in general and definitely that of the nation as a whole.
How many of our leaders will confront the truth in such a blunt manner? The rape of AGC is just one example of how we have surrendered the wealth of our natural resources in the name of seeking foreign investment or due to our abundant faith in foreign expertise. The picture one sees at Obuasi does not reflect that of home of one of the richest gold mines in the world.
What some people choose to describe as illegal mining or galamsey has gained ascendancy because the unemployed youth of the mineral rich Obuasi and its environs have no other means of survival but to plunge into the bowels of the earth even at the peril of their lives seeking for the precious metal. The lifestyle of those who succeed proves that galamsey is a worthwhile venture.
Meanwhile, the mineral wealth of Obuasi and other mining areas continue to keep foreigners in opulence while a classroom block here and a toilet facility there are all that the communities benefit from their God-given treasures. Under the circumstance, defying the law and gambling for survival become the only option for the youth.
Not too long ago, we handed over the management of Ghana Telecommunications Company to a Malaysian consultancy. They fleeced us neat and dry and left with millions of dollars tucked under their armpits, leaving Ghana Telecom worse than they came to meet it. We did not learn any lessons, so we brought in the Norwegians believing that since they are Europeans, they will do better. The Norwegians came and milked us dry without meeting any of the targets set out in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The rest is history.
Still not able to overcome our dependency syndrome and inferiority complex we thought the best way to salvage our water system was to as usual look outwards. A South African company with roots in The Netherlands, Aqua Vitens Rand Limited (AVRL) was brought in about one and half years ago to the rescue. Today, if anything has changed, it is the more monies we are paying to the expatriates who have not proved better than Ghanaians. At the time of contracting these foreigners, many Ghanaians questioned the wisdom to bring in the so-called foreign experts to manage a system we have built and managed ourselves for years but who will go home with ridiculous salaries and consultancy fees. But no one listened. Soon after their arrival in 2006, Accra experienced one of its most painful water shortages.
In 2006, AVRL could be pardoned because they had just arrived. What about the current water shortage in Accra and its satellite towns? I have listened to officials of AVRL and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and the full page adverts in the newspapers by the former on the water crisis.
In their explanation, AVRL said there already exists a deficit of 70 million gallons of water supply a day, since production at Weija and Kpong treatment plants total 82 million gallons a day as against demand of 150 million gallons a day. The long drought has also not helped matters.
Secondly, the two treatment plants at Weija and Kpong were closed down for repair works on February 26, 2008, the former for two-and-half hours and the latter, 18 hours.
Thirdly, on February 27, February 29 and March 1, 2008, there were a series of power interruptions at the two stations which affected water production and distribution.
According to the full page advert running in the major newspapers, AVRL’s contract “is limited to efficiently operating the infrastructure for urban water services, maintenance of water quality, billing and collection”.
If AVRL did not bring into the country any extra volumes of water; did not bring any standby generators in case of emergency; did not bring in foreign capital; have not built additional pipelines or expanded the existing ones and have not in any way contributed to the improvement of the system, but are only here to feed on the existing infrastructure and collect bills, then what is their strategic importance?
The GWCL and many other local companies can be managed efficiently if only our governments will pay little attention to faces and names and concentrate on quality and expertise, when appointing key management staff of our local companies.
AVRL has proved that they have nothing better to offer Ghanaians and what we need is the overhauling of the infrastructure of GWCL, not foreign debt collectors.
Since the water crisis, Ghanaians have been bombarded with a lot of rhetoric without much action. The latest is that 13 boreholes are to be sunk in Accra, the national capital, to feed distressed areas with water. We are hearing this less than a week after we have celebrated our 51st anniversary as an independent nation in pomp and pageantry.
This is where I got attracted to one of Osagyefuo Ofori Panin‘s wise observations when he said as Ghanaians, we like talking too much without translating what we say into action. The Okyenhene made that observation when he chaired a forum on dams in Accra about two weeks ago. Talking is good. After all, it eases tension. But how does it benefit us as a nation if we spend all our productive hours talking when we should be thinking, planning and executing meaningful programmes to change our fortunes? If mere talking could develop a nation, Ghana would have been one of the most developed nations in the world.
Our radio stations, in the name of freedom of speech, have become platforms for long and senseless arguments on matters which do not merit the time spent on them. Even where the subject matters are of national relevance, the discussions take such partisan angles, they lose their significance.
I wonder what times our political and their bureaucrats and technocrats sit down to think and act, since most of the time, they are addressing workshops and seminars, receiving various delegations or inspecting projects that never get completed.
Our ministers are always in the media attending one public function or another, where, as usual, they never get short of promises, while our problems as a nation continue to pile up. If they are not engaged in a public function then they are attending any of the endless meetings which do not bring results. The Okyenhene has spoken. We talk too much.
Many Ghanaians were aware of the efforts the Agbogbomefia, Togbe Afede XIV, made to bring a Chinese firm to the country for power generation. This was at a time the country was grappling with power rationing. Just when everything was ready and the Chinese engineers were here to comment business, a land that was lying fallow for years suddenly gained title and ready for a power project and factory envisaged many years ago.
Notwithstanding that setback, the Agbogbomefia is still pursuing his dream, thanks to a new plot released to the company by the traditional authorities of Kpone.
I started with these three great chiefs because of their industry, leadership qualities and their determination to leave behind legacies of success for the present generation and those yet unborn.
This nation, with its abundant resources, will surely change for the better if only those entrusted with power and responsibility will emulate the determination of these chiefs to see Ghana a better place, spend lesser time talking and holding meetings and to confront national issues with greater zeal so that this country will take concrete steps towards progress and development.
The performance of AVRL has also proved a point. Until we stop converting key public offices into ‘thank you’ gift parcels, we shall continue to see our salvations in the hands of foreigners. Our problems can only be solved by ourselves.
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
Monday, March 10, 2008
Even before the oil gushes out
By Kofi Akordor
FOR three days, from Monday, February 25, 2008 to Wednesday, February 27, 2008, the country hosted a forum on oil and gas in readiness for Ghana’s oil boom. It was addressed by very prominent Ghanaians and outsiders who are very conversant with the oil industry. They included Mr Ebenezer Sekyi Hughes, the Speaker of Parliament; Odeneho Gyapong Ababio, the President of the National House of Chiefs; Nana Dr S.K.B. Asante, the Chairman of the Ghana Arbitration Centre, and Ms Joyce Aryee, the President of the Ghana Chamber of Mines.
Since the announcement of the discovery of oil in large quantities was made last year, the country has been gripped in some kind of excitement. Some may argue that we are being over-enthusiastic or rushing too much about the whole thing. But can we afford not to?
First, in the past we failed to utilise the vast wealth generated from our natural resources such as timber, gold, diamond and cocoa for any meaningful national development. The greater part of this wealth has gone to expatriate companies and their corrupt political collaborators. Whatever entered the national coffers was generally misused, misapplied or mismanaged. In short, we should have gone farther than where we are today with the resources at our disposal, without necessarily waiting for an oil discovery.
The discovery of oil in large volumes was seen by many as a second chance and, therefore, the nation must be on red alert to ensure that this time we are not rendered the losers. We know oil means wealth, but when its production, distribution and revenue management fall into the wrong hands, the result will be death.
Ghana also has the fine opportunity of learning from the mistakes of other countries who made their oil discovery a gloom instead of a boom and to avoid the pitfalls associated with uncontrolled massive inflow of oil cash.
For the three days, speaker after speaker hammered almost on the same things. They all stressed the need for transparency in all things connected with the oil business — from the signing of oil drilling agreements to the equitable sharing of the money accruing from the sale of the oil.
They also stressed the need for vigilance. Oil business is not as straight as people would want it. At every turn there are bottlenecks, corrupt politicians, corporate vampires and downright crooks, all scheming to harvest undue profit or make illegal money. The giant multinational oil companies have a way of siphoning oil wealth from producing countries, especially where these countries have very little knowledge in oil technology and the complexities associated with the oil and gas business. When these oil companies find accommodation with corrupt politicians, then oil becomes a curse, instead of a blessing.
From far away Norway, its Minister of Environment and International Development, Mr Erik Solheim, warned the government about the type of agreements it entered into with oil companies so that the country could derive full benefits from the oil discovery. He even went further to suggest the setting up of a special tax to take care of education, health and other priority areas. Towards that direction, Ms Aryee also cautioned against the mistakes of the past which made it impossible for the nation to derive maximum benefits from its mineral wealth.
Another important issue dwelt on was fairness. The sharing of royalties from the exploitation of every natural resource is always a contentious issue. It is because the royalties are not considered adequate enough, there are different claimants to such royalties or they are misused by traditional and local authorities.
In Ghana, we are not going to run from some of these conflicts, no matter how hard we try. Already, some prominent people in the Nzema area of the Western Region, including three Members of Parliament have started agitating for the proper demarcation of the geographical location of the oil find, obviously in readiness for the expected royalty windfalls. That is an indication that sooner than later, there will be agitation from some traditional authorities pressing for royalties and so the earlier we gird our loins to confront the realities on the ground, the better.
Apart from the sharing of royalties, communities close to the drilling operations need to have their fair share of development projects. The story of Obuasi and other mining towns is very pathetic, taking into consideration the wealth that these communities have generated for the comfort of others far away from the pollution and environmental hazards left behind through mining activities.
The conflict in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria is mainly the result of the neglect and squalor the communities in those areas have to suffer because of drilling operations. The tendency of investing all our national wealth in Accra and a few towns, at the expense of the rest of the country, should be discarded and a holistic approach adopted. The first beneficiaries of a new development strategy should, of course, be the communities who are going to face the side effects of the oil operations.
Oil and gas are both very volatile. Like electricity, they can give us light and energy, which are essential for human survival. But that is when they are used positively. As to whether this oil discovery is going to be a blessing or a curse is a choice we have to make as a nation.
For the records
In last week’s Kofi Annan proves a point, we published that the date for Kenya’s controversial polls was December 27, 2008. The actual date was December 27, 2007. The error is regretted.
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
FOR three days, from Monday, February 25, 2008 to Wednesday, February 27, 2008, the country hosted a forum on oil and gas in readiness for Ghana’s oil boom. It was addressed by very prominent Ghanaians and outsiders who are very conversant with the oil industry. They included Mr Ebenezer Sekyi Hughes, the Speaker of Parliament; Odeneho Gyapong Ababio, the President of the National House of Chiefs; Nana Dr S.K.B. Asante, the Chairman of the Ghana Arbitration Centre, and Ms Joyce Aryee, the President of the Ghana Chamber of Mines.
Since the announcement of the discovery of oil in large quantities was made last year, the country has been gripped in some kind of excitement. Some may argue that we are being over-enthusiastic or rushing too much about the whole thing. But can we afford not to?
First, in the past we failed to utilise the vast wealth generated from our natural resources such as timber, gold, diamond and cocoa for any meaningful national development. The greater part of this wealth has gone to expatriate companies and their corrupt political collaborators. Whatever entered the national coffers was generally misused, misapplied or mismanaged. In short, we should have gone farther than where we are today with the resources at our disposal, without necessarily waiting for an oil discovery.
The discovery of oil in large volumes was seen by many as a second chance and, therefore, the nation must be on red alert to ensure that this time we are not rendered the losers. We know oil means wealth, but when its production, distribution and revenue management fall into the wrong hands, the result will be death.
Ghana also has the fine opportunity of learning from the mistakes of other countries who made their oil discovery a gloom instead of a boom and to avoid the pitfalls associated with uncontrolled massive inflow of oil cash.
For the three days, speaker after speaker hammered almost on the same things. They all stressed the need for transparency in all things connected with the oil business — from the signing of oil drilling agreements to the equitable sharing of the money accruing from the sale of the oil.
They also stressed the need for vigilance. Oil business is not as straight as people would want it. At every turn there are bottlenecks, corrupt politicians, corporate vampires and downright crooks, all scheming to harvest undue profit or make illegal money. The giant multinational oil companies have a way of siphoning oil wealth from producing countries, especially where these countries have very little knowledge in oil technology and the complexities associated with the oil and gas business. When these oil companies find accommodation with corrupt politicians, then oil becomes a curse, instead of a blessing.
From far away Norway, its Minister of Environment and International Development, Mr Erik Solheim, warned the government about the type of agreements it entered into with oil companies so that the country could derive full benefits from the oil discovery. He even went further to suggest the setting up of a special tax to take care of education, health and other priority areas. Towards that direction, Ms Aryee also cautioned against the mistakes of the past which made it impossible for the nation to derive maximum benefits from its mineral wealth.
Another important issue dwelt on was fairness. The sharing of royalties from the exploitation of every natural resource is always a contentious issue. It is because the royalties are not considered adequate enough, there are different claimants to such royalties or they are misused by traditional and local authorities.
In Ghana, we are not going to run from some of these conflicts, no matter how hard we try. Already, some prominent people in the Nzema area of the Western Region, including three Members of Parliament have started agitating for the proper demarcation of the geographical location of the oil find, obviously in readiness for the expected royalty windfalls. That is an indication that sooner than later, there will be agitation from some traditional authorities pressing for royalties and so the earlier we gird our loins to confront the realities on the ground, the better.
Apart from the sharing of royalties, communities close to the drilling operations need to have their fair share of development projects. The story of Obuasi and other mining towns is very pathetic, taking into consideration the wealth that these communities have generated for the comfort of others far away from the pollution and environmental hazards left behind through mining activities.
The conflict in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria is mainly the result of the neglect and squalor the communities in those areas have to suffer because of drilling operations. The tendency of investing all our national wealth in Accra and a few towns, at the expense of the rest of the country, should be discarded and a holistic approach adopted. The first beneficiaries of a new development strategy should, of course, be the communities who are going to face the side effects of the oil operations.
Oil and gas are both very volatile. Like electricity, they can give us light and energy, which are essential for human survival. But that is when they are used positively. As to whether this oil discovery is going to be a blessing or a curse is a choice we have to make as a nation.
For the records
In last week’s Kofi Annan proves a point, we published that the date for Kenya’s controversial polls was December 27, 2008. The actual date was December 27, 2007. The error is regretted.
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
Monday, March 3, 2008
Kofi Annan proves a point
Kofi Annan proves a point
By Kofi Akordor
AT first it appeared impossible, following the contempt with which the peace overtures of the African Union (AU) were treated. At one stage the peacemaker, out of frustration, threatened to withdraw if the two factions would not shift from their entrenched positions.
The AU Chairman at the time, President J.A. Kufuor of Ghana, was virtually an unwelcome guest when he attempted to respond to the conflict which was looming soon after the declaration of President Mwai Kibaki as the winner of the December 27, 2008 polls in Kenya.
The doors of carnage were opened and machete, gun, bow and arrow-wielding youth went on the rampage and, within days, hundreds were dead, with many more left injured and others in their thousands had to scamper to safety in neighbouring Uganda.
At the last count, more than 1,300 Kenyans were declared dead, while 600,000 others were displaced and had to seek refuge in camps in Kenya and Uganda. That was the outcome of a poll whose result was highly disputed, with ethnic and political sentiments bubbling over.
While all these were happening, the West, as usual, with no life and wealth at stake, were murmuring some weak appeals in the background, with threats of withdrawing aid, which did not make any impression on the combatants. They were silent on the generally held belief that Kibaki won the election fraudulently because he was not their target man. Hell would have come down if something close to what happened in Kenya had been reported in Zimbabwe.
The entry of Mr Kofi Annan, the Immediate Past Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), in the peace-making process raised hopes for obvious reasons. Mr Annan’s stature as a seasoned international diplomat and statesman was not in dispute. That, coupled with the fact that he is a principled and peace-loving man, gave many Africans the hope that if anyone was in a position to bring peace to Kenya, that person should be Mr Annan.
After more than three weeks of protracted and sometimes acrimonious negotiations, Kenya’s rival politicians finally signed a peace agreement on Thursday, February 28, 2008 to end the post-election conflict which had reduced the once peaceful and healthy country which was the pride of acontinent full of conflicts to shambles, with wounds that will take many years to heal.
Under the peace deal, there will be a coalition government formed by Kibaki, who remains President, and Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement, who assumes the newly-created position of Prime Minister.
The most important thing, however, is that Mr Annan has proved a case and has once more established a point: That Africans are capable of solving their problems and that only they can be their own saviours and redeemers.
The Americans, who were shouting from a distance, suddenly found their voices, and with abundant money to spare, pledged US$25 million in humanitarian aid to sustain the peace effort. That effort should be commended, but what will US$25 million do to a people at one another’s throat? In other words, there can only be room for sharing that money after peace has been restored. However, in the heat of events, the Americans and Europeans were not ready to show their face once oil or some other natural resource that is of strategic importance was not at stake.
It happened in Liberia. For more than 14 years West African countries, led by Ghana and Nigeria, had to squeeze limited resources to bring peace to that war-ravaged country. The contribution of the international community was very minimal. The same was the situation in Sierra Leone. If ECOWAS countries had abandoned their neighbours in the two countries and placed all their hope in the Americans and the Europeans, those two countries would still be at war today.
Ironically, but not strangely, soon after ECOWAS was able to broker a peace deal for Liberia, under which the then President Charles Taylor vacated the Executive Mansion in Monrovia and took refuge in Nigeria to end the war, America and its allies in Europe wore their battle dress on human rights abuse and crimes against humanity.
Today, thanks to the machination and intrigues of America and its European allies, Charles Taylor is on trial in The Hague, The Netherlands. America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan which have sent hundreds of thousands to their premature graves are hailed as wars against terror, whatever that means.
The conflict in the Darfur region in The Sudan has been raging for five years now without any sign of ending. America’s solution only starts and ends on the corridors of the UN Security Council. Meanwhile, more than 200,000 have been declared dead and millions displaced and living in horrible conditions.
Other conflict regions desperately in need of solution include Cote d’Ivoire, Eritrea and Somalia. Kenya is just another demonstration of the fact that foreign intervention can only augment what Africans can do for themselves. It can never be the main solution.
Kenya is also a reminder that political opportunism should not be allowed to destabilise our national equilibrium. The determination of a few people to attain or remain in power through any means is a threat to peace, stability and progress on the continent and it should be fought and crashed at all cost.
By Kofi Akordor
AT first it appeared impossible, following the contempt with which the peace overtures of the African Union (AU) were treated. At one stage the peacemaker, out of frustration, threatened to withdraw if the two factions would not shift from their entrenched positions.
The AU Chairman at the time, President J.A. Kufuor of Ghana, was virtually an unwelcome guest when he attempted to respond to the conflict which was looming soon after the declaration of President Mwai Kibaki as the winner of the December 27, 2008 polls in Kenya.
The doors of carnage were opened and machete, gun, bow and arrow-wielding youth went on the rampage and, within days, hundreds were dead, with many more left injured and others in their thousands had to scamper to safety in neighbouring Uganda.
At the last count, more than 1,300 Kenyans were declared dead, while 600,000 others were displaced and had to seek refuge in camps in Kenya and Uganda. That was the outcome of a poll whose result was highly disputed, with ethnic and political sentiments bubbling over.
While all these were happening, the West, as usual, with no life and wealth at stake, were murmuring some weak appeals in the background, with threats of withdrawing aid, which did not make any impression on the combatants. They were silent on the generally held belief that Kibaki won the election fraudulently because he was not their target man. Hell would have come down if something close to what happened in Kenya had been reported in Zimbabwe.
The entry of Mr Kofi Annan, the Immediate Past Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), in the peace-making process raised hopes for obvious reasons. Mr Annan’s stature as a seasoned international diplomat and statesman was not in dispute. That, coupled with the fact that he is a principled and peace-loving man, gave many Africans the hope that if anyone was in a position to bring peace to Kenya, that person should be Mr Annan.
After more than three weeks of protracted and sometimes acrimonious negotiations, Kenya’s rival politicians finally signed a peace agreement on Thursday, February 28, 2008 to end the post-election conflict which had reduced the once peaceful and healthy country which was the pride of acontinent full of conflicts to shambles, with wounds that will take many years to heal.
Under the peace deal, there will be a coalition government formed by Kibaki, who remains President, and Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement, who assumes the newly-created position of Prime Minister.
The most important thing, however, is that Mr Annan has proved a case and has once more established a point: That Africans are capable of solving their problems and that only they can be their own saviours and redeemers.
The Americans, who were shouting from a distance, suddenly found their voices, and with abundant money to spare, pledged US$25 million in humanitarian aid to sustain the peace effort. That effort should be commended, but what will US$25 million do to a people at one another’s throat? In other words, there can only be room for sharing that money after peace has been restored. However, in the heat of events, the Americans and Europeans were not ready to show their face once oil or some other natural resource that is of strategic importance was not at stake.
It happened in Liberia. For more than 14 years West African countries, led by Ghana and Nigeria, had to squeeze limited resources to bring peace to that war-ravaged country. The contribution of the international community was very minimal. The same was the situation in Sierra Leone. If ECOWAS countries had abandoned their neighbours in the two countries and placed all their hope in the Americans and the Europeans, those two countries would still be at war today.
Ironically, but not strangely, soon after ECOWAS was able to broker a peace deal for Liberia, under which the then President Charles Taylor vacated the Executive Mansion in Monrovia and took refuge in Nigeria to end the war, America and its allies in Europe wore their battle dress on human rights abuse and crimes against humanity.
Today, thanks to the machination and intrigues of America and its European allies, Charles Taylor is on trial in The Hague, The Netherlands. America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan which have sent hundreds of thousands to their premature graves are hailed as wars against terror, whatever that means.
The conflict in the Darfur region in The Sudan has been raging for five years now without any sign of ending. America’s solution only starts and ends on the corridors of the UN Security Council. Meanwhile, more than 200,000 have been declared dead and millions displaced and living in horrible conditions.
Other conflict regions desperately in need of solution include Cote d’Ivoire, Eritrea and Somalia. Kenya is just another demonstration of the fact that foreign intervention can only augment what Africans can do for themselves. It can never be the main solution.
Kenya is also a reminder that political opportunism should not be allowed to destabilise our national equilibrium. The determination of a few people to attain or remain in power through any means is a threat to peace, stability and progress on the continent and it should be fought and crashed at all cost.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Football administration: Monkey business for a few?
Football administration: Monkey business for a few?
By Kofi Akordor
THE euphoria created by the 26th MTN Africa Cup of Nations tournament has virtually died down and discussions on the performance of the Black Stars have reached their sunset level. It is now time for us to switch the searchlight on how football is being administered in the country. In other words, now is the time to take a closer look at how those noble men tasked with the responsibility of managing our football affairs to ensure a successful local league and raise winsome national teams are doing their work.
Whether we like it or not, the type of football administrators we have has a direct bearing on the outcome of any national assignment we undertake. This is because by their decisions, actions, inaction and judgements we shall reap rich laurels or come home vanquished and disgraced.
We know that in the past those who offered to run the various football teams or serve on the governing board, that is, the Ghana Football Association (GFA), did so voluntarily for their love for the game. That was why players of yesteryears deemed it personal achievements and pride to wear the national jersey in major competitions without a second thought about monetary gains.
Everything has changed. Football, like many other sporting events, has become serious business and all those who indulge in it, one way or another, have their eyes glued first and foremost to the financial benefits that will accrue from their efforts. So whether as a player, a coach, a sponsor or an administrator, the words ‘patriotism’, ‘nationalism’ and ‘voluntarism’ have very little meaning. Even those who claim to be ardent supporters of the national teams have been proved to have gone for the monetary gains.
It is, therefore, not a big deal if those who run the affairs of our football make sure that they do not go home empty-handed. But that should be after a good job has been done and the client decides to give a good handshake to show appreciation. After all, you can’t feed a hungry child without licking your fingers!
However, after a closer look, it appears that the nation is being led on a kind of monkey business lane. You want to know why? Take a good look at our FA and its members. It is more or less like a club of team owners or managers coming together for the common purpose of serving their interests under the guise of helping the country called Ghana. And these are people who are supposed to ensure a fair and impartial league so that at the end of the day only the best could be good for Ghana. These are people who, directly or indirectly, have a hand in the selection of players to constitute the national teams and who must make sure that only the best find their way into the teams.
Let us take a critical look at the membership of the FA and see whether we are in normal times or people are just playing absurd games with the Ghanaian public. The first name that comes to mind is Mr Kwasi Nyantakyi, the President of the FA and at the same time Chairman of Wa All Stars, a Premier Division club.
The second person, Mr Fred Pappoe, is the Vice-President of the FA and Chairman of the Black Stars Management Committee. As if Mr Pappoe’s hands are not full enough, he is also the Board Chairman of Midjland Football Club, a Division One team.
Mr Randy Abbey is an Executive Committee Member of the FA, Chairman of the Management Committee of the Black Meteors and Director of Communications of the FA. Outside the FA, Mr Abbey is the Chief Executive of Kessben Football Club, a Premier Division football team.
Mr Fred Crentsil is an Executive Council Member of the FA and Board Chairman of St Mirren, a Division One football club.
So, one may ask, are these people on the FA serving the interest of Ghana football or as representatives of their clubs? Incidentally, these are people who would want the players of their teams to get international exposure so that they can go on to win lucrative contracts with foreign clubs. You see where the conflict of interest lies? Are we going to get a fair bargain as a nation if it comes to player selection for the national teams with the people with so much personal ambition in charge of affairs?
Where is the guarantee that there will be transparency, fairness and competitiveness in the national league if key personalities on the FA are themselves interested parties as club owners/managers?
By all means those who want to do business should be allowed to do so, as long as they operate within the laws of the land. I, however, do not consider it a fair deal for people to hide behind the national interest to do private business.
I do not believe in indispensability and those on the FA must make a choice — to run their own football clubs or serve with unalloyed loyalty. There should be no divided attention.
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
By Kofi Akordor
THE euphoria created by the 26th MTN Africa Cup of Nations tournament has virtually died down and discussions on the performance of the Black Stars have reached their sunset level. It is now time for us to switch the searchlight on how football is being administered in the country. In other words, now is the time to take a closer look at how those noble men tasked with the responsibility of managing our football affairs to ensure a successful local league and raise winsome national teams are doing their work.
Whether we like it or not, the type of football administrators we have has a direct bearing on the outcome of any national assignment we undertake. This is because by their decisions, actions, inaction and judgements we shall reap rich laurels or come home vanquished and disgraced.
We know that in the past those who offered to run the various football teams or serve on the governing board, that is, the Ghana Football Association (GFA), did so voluntarily for their love for the game. That was why players of yesteryears deemed it personal achievements and pride to wear the national jersey in major competitions without a second thought about monetary gains.
Everything has changed. Football, like many other sporting events, has become serious business and all those who indulge in it, one way or another, have their eyes glued first and foremost to the financial benefits that will accrue from their efforts. So whether as a player, a coach, a sponsor or an administrator, the words ‘patriotism’, ‘nationalism’ and ‘voluntarism’ have very little meaning. Even those who claim to be ardent supporters of the national teams have been proved to have gone for the monetary gains.
It is, therefore, not a big deal if those who run the affairs of our football make sure that they do not go home empty-handed. But that should be after a good job has been done and the client decides to give a good handshake to show appreciation. After all, you can’t feed a hungry child without licking your fingers!
However, after a closer look, it appears that the nation is being led on a kind of monkey business lane. You want to know why? Take a good look at our FA and its members. It is more or less like a club of team owners or managers coming together for the common purpose of serving their interests under the guise of helping the country called Ghana. And these are people who are supposed to ensure a fair and impartial league so that at the end of the day only the best could be good for Ghana. These are people who, directly or indirectly, have a hand in the selection of players to constitute the national teams and who must make sure that only the best find their way into the teams.
Let us take a critical look at the membership of the FA and see whether we are in normal times or people are just playing absurd games with the Ghanaian public. The first name that comes to mind is Mr Kwasi Nyantakyi, the President of the FA and at the same time Chairman of Wa All Stars, a Premier Division club.
The second person, Mr Fred Pappoe, is the Vice-President of the FA and Chairman of the Black Stars Management Committee. As if Mr Pappoe’s hands are not full enough, he is also the Board Chairman of Midjland Football Club, a Division One team.
Mr Randy Abbey is an Executive Committee Member of the FA, Chairman of the Management Committee of the Black Meteors and Director of Communications of the FA. Outside the FA, Mr Abbey is the Chief Executive of Kessben Football Club, a Premier Division football team.
Mr Fred Crentsil is an Executive Council Member of the FA and Board Chairman of St Mirren, a Division One football club.
So, one may ask, are these people on the FA serving the interest of Ghana football or as representatives of their clubs? Incidentally, these are people who would want the players of their teams to get international exposure so that they can go on to win lucrative contracts with foreign clubs. You see where the conflict of interest lies? Are we going to get a fair bargain as a nation if it comes to player selection for the national teams with the people with so much personal ambition in charge of affairs?
Where is the guarantee that there will be transparency, fairness and competitiveness in the national league if key personalities on the FA are themselves interested parties as club owners/managers?
By all means those who want to do business should be allowed to do so, as long as they operate within the laws of the land. I, however, do not consider it a fair deal for people to hide behind the national interest to do private business.
I do not believe in indispensability and those on the FA must make a choice — to run their own football clubs or serve with unalloyed loyalty. There should be no divided attention.
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Ghana 2008: The gains and the drains
Ghana 2008: The gains and the drains
By Kofi Akordor
THE Ghana 2008 soccer fiesta is now history. While it lasted, Ghana came under the international spotlight. It also fired nationalism and patriotism among Ghanaians and, for good reasons, pushed politics into the background.
Organising a tournament of such magnitude was not an easy task and the organisers, spearheaded by the Local Organising Committee (LOC), need to be commended. That does not take away their inadequacies when we come to that.
As should be expected, the victorious Egyptian team, The Pharaohs, will be counting their blessings, while the rest will be licking their wounds in agonising silence.
As in any human endeavour, there were gains, just as there were drains. For the gains, it is easy to point at the two new stadia in Tamale and Sekondi and the renovation of the two in Kumasi and Accra to bring them to international standards. Surely, Ghana did not disgrace itself before the international community when it came to the physical structures which hosted the 26th MTN Africa Cup of Nations, even though there were complaints that the layers of grass on the various turfs were too high or took thick for player comfort.
The tournament also inspired entrepreneurs to put up new hotels and eating joints, while others renovated existing ones. The nation also gained a lot from international media exposure. For more than two weeks, Ghana featured prominently on every major international television network, including the giants in the field, Cable News Network (CNN) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). This is something we should exploit further as a nation to attain greater international recognition as a good destination for foreign business entrepreneurs.
There were a few drawbacks, however. First, we overestimated that number of foreign visitors. Organisers gave an initial estimated figure of over one million visitors. Based on that, hotel accommodation was increased and improved in some cases. In the end, many hotel rooms remained unoccupied, while food vendors who were counting on bonanza sales took home unsold food. At the end of the day, official figures did not go beyond 10,000 visitors.
Where were those hordes of international prostitutes determined to invade the country and drown us in uncontrollable sexual orgies? What happened to the condoms the HIV/AIDS campaigners were desperately distributing all over the place?
Ironically, while people were struggling to get tickets for the various matches, most of the stands were empty during matches, except those involving the Black Stars. It was argued that the situation was due to ticket racketeering.
The greatest lesson, which was also a big source of drain on the tournament, was the glaring inequality in our national development programme. Before the tournament, there had been rumours that some of the teams were not satisfied with hotel facilities at match venues, especially those in Tamale and Sekondi/Takoradi. There was also the question of how to put the modern stadium facilities in Tamale and Sekondi/Takoradi to profitable use after the tournament.
First, it is true that development strategies in the country have been skewed in favour of Accra, the national capital, and to a limited extent Kumasi. In other words, almost all the development projects have been sited in Accra, leaving little room for other towns to develop.
As a result, the rest of the country lacks the infrastructure and facilities to support large numbers of international visitors.
Apart from a few hotels which were hurriedly put up to receive the expected foreign visitors, almost all our towns and cities, except Accra and Kumasi, lack modern first-class hotels, the type that could accommodate celebrities and those who have big money to spare.
Take estate development, for example. Under the excuse of providing more accommodation for public servants, large tracts of land are acquired to put up estate houses in Accra, while the regional capitals and other urban centres are not given equal attention for similar facilities. It is just natural that many public servants are reluctant to accept posting to certain parts of the country. Incidentally, the more estates we build in Accra, the more people prefer to come to Accra to enjoy the benefits of our national resources where it appears everything good belongs.
We should not expect our regional and district capitals to grow to attract investors and public service workers, which will ultimately ease the population burden on Accra, if we do not put in place a national development strategy to spread the national cake to all parts of the country.
For instance, why should we site a cocoa processing and chocolate factory in Tema when that factory could have served a more useful purpose in a better national strategic development plan if it had been sited in a cocoa-growing area? Where do we expect our school leavers to go for jobs, after a factory best suited for their locality has been sent to the city?
The Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Centre was originally designated for an abandoned military base near Ho, the Volta Regional capital. That project, if it had been sited at its original place, would have breathed some life into the social and economic activities of the regional capital, given employment to the local youth and transformed the fortunes of the surrounding communities. But those who take decisions on our behalf decided to relocate the centre in Accra, which is already over-populated and whose resources are already overstretched.
There are examples of such decisions in which projects of national importance have been located in Accra, just because in their narrow-mindedness public officials have come to that sad conclusion that anything beyond Accra has no national relevance.
We have always complained about the rural-urban drift without taking steps to stem it. We think appeals to young school leavers and all the unskilled youth to remain in the rural areas will achieve results when we do not put in place the appropriate measures that will serve as a disincentive for them to travel to the cities.
As a result of this imbalance and unplanned development agenda, our cities, except Accra and Kumasi, were not ready to receive our guests.
Another area where we were exposed was transportation. Ghana is a very small country and after 50 years we should be in a position to have a good transportation network in rail, road and air to open up the country. In which case it should have been possible for fans to sleep in Accra and go to Tamale to watch football matches and return the same day without worrying about sleeping accommodation.
Some have started talking about relocating the national capital, as if that is the answer to a bad development policy. We can start decongesting Accra now by changing our attitude towards national development. Our regional and district capitals can start hosting industries and absorbing many public servants if the right infrastructure will be put in place and entrepreneurs and investors encouraged to locate in those places.
As it is now, it is a real challenge how we are going to utilise the modern stadia we have built in Tamale and Sekondi/Takoradi when we do not have the type of teams that can draw crowds to fill the stands during matches.
May be the 26th MTN football tournament should reawaken our national consciousness to the realisation that Ghana will not attain real growth while we continue to pour all our national wealth into Accra and a few other places.
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
By Kofi Akordor
THE Ghana 2008 soccer fiesta is now history. While it lasted, Ghana came under the international spotlight. It also fired nationalism and patriotism among Ghanaians and, for good reasons, pushed politics into the background.
Organising a tournament of such magnitude was not an easy task and the organisers, spearheaded by the Local Organising Committee (LOC), need to be commended. That does not take away their inadequacies when we come to that.
As should be expected, the victorious Egyptian team, The Pharaohs, will be counting their blessings, while the rest will be licking their wounds in agonising silence.
As in any human endeavour, there were gains, just as there were drains. For the gains, it is easy to point at the two new stadia in Tamale and Sekondi and the renovation of the two in Kumasi and Accra to bring them to international standards. Surely, Ghana did not disgrace itself before the international community when it came to the physical structures which hosted the 26th MTN Africa Cup of Nations, even though there were complaints that the layers of grass on the various turfs were too high or took thick for player comfort.
The tournament also inspired entrepreneurs to put up new hotels and eating joints, while others renovated existing ones. The nation also gained a lot from international media exposure. For more than two weeks, Ghana featured prominently on every major international television network, including the giants in the field, Cable News Network (CNN) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). This is something we should exploit further as a nation to attain greater international recognition as a good destination for foreign business entrepreneurs.
There were a few drawbacks, however. First, we overestimated that number of foreign visitors. Organisers gave an initial estimated figure of over one million visitors. Based on that, hotel accommodation was increased and improved in some cases. In the end, many hotel rooms remained unoccupied, while food vendors who were counting on bonanza sales took home unsold food. At the end of the day, official figures did not go beyond 10,000 visitors.
Where were those hordes of international prostitutes determined to invade the country and drown us in uncontrollable sexual orgies? What happened to the condoms the HIV/AIDS campaigners were desperately distributing all over the place?
Ironically, while people were struggling to get tickets for the various matches, most of the stands were empty during matches, except those involving the Black Stars. It was argued that the situation was due to ticket racketeering.
The greatest lesson, which was also a big source of drain on the tournament, was the glaring inequality in our national development programme. Before the tournament, there had been rumours that some of the teams were not satisfied with hotel facilities at match venues, especially those in Tamale and Sekondi/Takoradi. There was also the question of how to put the modern stadium facilities in Tamale and Sekondi/Takoradi to profitable use after the tournament.
First, it is true that development strategies in the country have been skewed in favour of Accra, the national capital, and to a limited extent Kumasi. In other words, almost all the development projects have been sited in Accra, leaving little room for other towns to develop.
As a result, the rest of the country lacks the infrastructure and facilities to support large numbers of international visitors.
Apart from a few hotels which were hurriedly put up to receive the expected foreign visitors, almost all our towns and cities, except Accra and Kumasi, lack modern first-class hotels, the type that could accommodate celebrities and those who have big money to spare.
Take estate development, for example. Under the excuse of providing more accommodation for public servants, large tracts of land are acquired to put up estate houses in Accra, while the regional capitals and other urban centres are not given equal attention for similar facilities. It is just natural that many public servants are reluctant to accept posting to certain parts of the country. Incidentally, the more estates we build in Accra, the more people prefer to come to Accra to enjoy the benefits of our national resources where it appears everything good belongs.
We should not expect our regional and district capitals to grow to attract investors and public service workers, which will ultimately ease the population burden on Accra, if we do not put in place a national development strategy to spread the national cake to all parts of the country.
For instance, why should we site a cocoa processing and chocolate factory in Tema when that factory could have served a more useful purpose in a better national strategic development plan if it had been sited in a cocoa-growing area? Where do we expect our school leavers to go for jobs, after a factory best suited for their locality has been sent to the city?
The Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Centre was originally designated for an abandoned military base near Ho, the Volta Regional capital. That project, if it had been sited at its original place, would have breathed some life into the social and economic activities of the regional capital, given employment to the local youth and transformed the fortunes of the surrounding communities. But those who take decisions on our behalf decided to relocate the centre in Accra, which is already over-populated and whose resources are already overstretched.
There are examples of such decisions in which projects of national importance have been located in Accra, just because in their narrow-mindedness public officials have come to that sad conclusion that anything beyond Accra has no national relevance.
We have always complained about the rural-urban drift without taking steps to stem it. We think appeals to young school leavers and all the unskilled youth to remain in the rural areas will achieve results when we do not put in place the appropriate measures that will serve as a disincentive for them to travel to the cities.
As a result of this imbalance and unplanned development agenda, our cities, except Accra and Kumasi, were not ready to receive our guests.
Another area where we were exposed was transportation. Ghana is a very small country and after 50 years we should be in a position to have a good transportation network in rail, road and air to open up the country. In which case it should have been possible for fans to sleep in Accra and go to Tamale to watch football matches and return the same day without worrying about sleeping accommodation.
Some have started talking about relocating the national capital, as if that is the answer to a bad development policy. We can start decongesting Accra now by changing our attitude towards national development. Our regional and district capitals can start hosting industries and absorbing many public servants if the right infrastructure will be put in place and entrepreneurs and investors encouraged to locate in those places.
As it is now, it is a real challenge how we are going to utilise the modern stadia we have built in Tamale and Sekondi/Takoradi when we do not have the type of teams that can draw crowds to fill the stands during matches.
May be the 26th MTN football tournament should reawaken our national consciousness to the realisation that Ghana will not attain real growth while we continue to pour all our national wealth into Accra and a few other places.
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
Monday, February 11, 2008
A plea from the cemetery
By Kofi Akordor
I watched Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama respond to questions from a respectable audience as part of their campaign to win the Democratic presidential nomination which is due in August 2008. Each candidate addressed issues of national interest, ranging from recession, health to the war in Iraq. They both tried to convince the American public why they felt qualified to occupy the White House next January. In all these, they were polite, civil and straight to the point. At the end of it all, Mrs Clinton and Obama went into a warm embrace which will be the envy of their spouses, amidst a thunderous ovation from the audience.
Then my mind turned to the home front and I knew why we are like this and they are like that. The picture became clearer — why we are marking time or drifting backwards while others are always marching forward — our understanding of politics.
Elsewhere, politics is a dream to offer service and change things for the better, while here it is an opportunity to run down perceived opponents or enemies and amass wealth at the expense of the progress of the state. That is why, when others are seriously addressing issues of how to tackle unemployment, provide health care for the people and bridge the yawning gap between the poor and the rich, we here dwell on trivialities and reduce the exercise to who is stronger or more handsome, who is taller or shorter or who is older and richer than the other.
Senator Obama is barely 42, with mixed parentage. His father is Kenyan and his mother an American. Even if he does not get the presidential nomination at the end of August, he has already entered the record books for being the first African-American to have stirred such massive excitement in American politics.
The truth is that Obama is the most sensational name in America today because of what he stands for — change and racial equality. He is a bridge between the younger generation and the old, a man who represents a new America which is not only seen as strong and a bully but an America which must play its father-figure role more responsibly and humanely.
Obama did not rise to this level in so short a time just playing on the emotions of the people, throwing words about irresponsibly and making promises he knew deep down his heart that he was incapable of fulfilling. For him to have received endorsements from public and renowned figures such as Senator Edward Kennedy, John Kerry, the former Democratic presidential candidate, and Oprah Winfrey, the popular talk show hostess, means that Obama did not reach here by accident.
An enlightened and discerning public will not expect anything less from those who offer themselves to take care of their destiny and so you do not toy with them when you mount the political platform to address them.
Here at home, we do politics the crab style, with each candidate trying to bring down the other through fair or foul means. Serious issues are lost in the melee and gullible members of the public who should demand responsible politicking from those aspiring to lead them join the fray and add to the drama. At the end of the day, the country remains rudderless and its numerous problems remain unsolved.
Simply put, our politics is very dirty and primitive. We think we are more impressive when we heap insults on our opponents and tell lies about them. There is something called psychological warfare when we try to weaken our opponents with certain types of information which will deflate their ego and plant doubts of their own strengths in their minds. It is a good battle strategy to hammer on the weaknesses of the opponent while being silent on his strengths. But, in all things, there must be decorum and in trying to gain ground we do not tell outright lies or dwell on matters that have little or no relevance to the issues at stake.
Sometimes, in our desperation, we lose control and begin to see campaign for political office as a battle for survival in which anything is allowed. This is seen even within the same party during campaigns for executive offices and presidential and parliamentary nominations.
I quite remember during the recent election to pick the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP’s) presidential candidate, all the aspirants, especially the two front-runners, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Mr Alan Kyerematen, received a lot of bashing from the supporters of the various candidates. All of them had their fair share of the insults and lies.
I was, therefore, surprised that those aspirants who just yesterday were saying Nana Akufo-Addo was not fit to lead the NPP to victory in the presidential election could suddenly see him as the best person with the strongest credentials that could defend the flag of the party and give credible and effective leadership to this country.
So Nana Akufo-Addo is no longer trying to establish a Kyebi dynasty in the party; he is no longer arrogant and his English accent is now tolerable and even an asset to the presidency. The question is, why should 16 people line up against one person if they knew he was the most suitable person under the circumstances to lead the party? Or why should it take their defeat at the polls to come to that realisation? How do we retract all those scandalous and slanderous words said about Nana Akufo-Addo during the campaign?
Some may argue that the sudden turn around by those now supporting Nana Akufo-Addo is a sign of unity in the party. That may be so, but to some of us that smacks of opportunism or downright hypocrisy. Soon, there will be posts to be shared and contracts to be awarded so everyone is suddenly one another’s keeper.
America is big enough with a lot of rich people to have over a million people vying for the presidency. But the big race is for only a few, for obvious reasons. The White House is not a theatre for concerts and beauty contests.
As for the internal bickering of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), sometimes igniting into violence, the less said about it, the better.
Apart from internal discipline and harmony which are important in building stable political parties, the parties owe it as an obligation to the electorate to address national issues in a fair and objective manner, devoid of insults, lies and mudslinging.
It is interesting that suddenly people are more interested in the health status of presidential candidates than the myriad of problems confronting this nation of ours.
The physical and mental health of every citizen is important. It even becomes very important to know the health status of someone who is aspiring for public office. It is not for nothing that employers demand to know the health status of new employees. This is because the state of mind and physical condition of the employee has a close relationship with his job performance.
Granted that we want our next President to be physically strong and mentally alert. But should the subject be turned into a kind of national joke? There have been several instances when people woke up hale and hearty, took breakfast with their families, shared lunch with friends but never returned home for dinner. That is the bitter truth of life — that we have very little control over sickness and death, no matter how hard we try.
It is, therefore, unfortunate when some people begin to sound as if they have entered into some kind of pact with sickness and its more dreadful and remorseless partners and can, therefore, afford to play games with these two.
First, we were told that Prof John Evans Atta Mills, the NDC presidential candidate, was in coma. Then, on Friday, February 1, 2008, news went round that the man was dead. And this story was on the Internet. Before that display of recklessness on the part of politicians and their collaborators in the media, several stories had gone round that Prof. Mills was too sick to run for the office of the President.
May be out of frustration and to play the game to the letter, news started filtering in that Nana Akufo-Addo, the NPP presidential candidate, was being treated for HIV/AIDS. Who can claim absolute health and who can claim immortality? Can we not start to focus on serious national development challenges confronting us and stop this cheap and primitive game?
Fifty years after our political independence, a lot of our children do not have decent classrooms conducive for teaching and learning. Many more squat on the bare floor for their lessons. Others simply do not have any educational facility at all. So right from the word go, their fate and that of their children have been defined as hewers of wood and drawers of water.
Our health facilities, where they exist, are a far cry from the conditions they are supposed to be. If you doubt it, go to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, the nation’s biggest and best hospital, to visit a relative who is an accident victim. The Korle-Bu situation will give you a fair picture of what to expect as you descend the health facility ladder until you get to the point where there is nothing for people in the rural areas.
Our school dormitories are choked to the extent that there is very little difference between them and police or prison cells. Our roads are still not the best and potable water is a luxury for many communities.
Fifty years on, our independent status is seen only in terms of the national pledge, the national flag and the anthem. We are importing everything, from toothpicks to discarded junk. When we reflect and cast our eyes over the horizon and see the strides those who were in the same trench with us at independence have made, we will begin to realise that we have greater issues to confront than who is sick and who is not.
We are importing vehicles from Malaysia, China, Brazil, South Africa, South Korea and Iran, all the so-called Third World countries, and we think this is less worrying than to dwell on one person’s health status? Almost all the traffic lights in Accra, our national capital, are not working and we do not find it strange and disturbing?
We should be more interested in knowing how come people who could not afford to buy wheelbarrows could buy a fleet of vehicles months after entering political office. We should be more interested in knowing why so much is spent on projects which are neither completed nor executed well. The issue of corruption in high places is real and that should engage our attention at all times.
We should begin to hold our politicians and other public officials more accountable. We should be engaging them in fruitful debates. Given the resources Nature has bestowed on us, this country should not be like this, 50 years after the colonialists left. That is the challenge confronting us and those who offer themselves to serve us must assure us that they are capable and equal to the task. That is a better battle the media can wage on behalf of the people of this country, not whether a presidential candidate’s dentures have fallen or not.
Prof Mills has said it already — those who want him dead should wait for his death before proclaiming it to the world. That was the man talking from South Africa at the time the news was on air that he was dead. Maybe it was his ghost talking to us from the cemetery. But it is a humble plea that should be seriously addressed by all those who want to see this country move from the begging syndrome to become a confident and proud developing one.
I watched Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama respond to questions from a respectable audience as part of their campaign to win the Democratic presidential nomination which is due in August 2008. Each candidate addressed issues of national interest, ranging from recession, health to the war in Iraq. They both tried to convince the American public why they felt qualified to occupy the White House next January. In all these, they were polite, civil and straight to the point. At the end of it all, Mrs Clinton and Obama went into a warm embrace which will be the envy of their spouses, amidst a thunderous ovation from the audience.
Then my mind turned to the home front and I knew why we are like this and they are like that. The picture became clearer — why we are marking time or drifting backwards while others are always marching forward — our understanding of politics.
Elsewhere, politics is a dream to offer service and change things for the better, while here it is an opportunity to run down perceived opponents or enemies and amass wealth at the expense of the progress of the state. That is why, when others are seriously addressing issues of how to tackle unemployment, provide health care for the people and bridge the yawning gap between the poor and the rich, we here dwell on trivialities and reduce the exercise to who is stronger or more handsome, who is taller or shorter or who is older and richer than the other.
Senator Obama is barely 42, with mixed parentage. His father is Kenyan and his mother an American. Even if he does not get the presidential nomination at the end of August, he has already entered the record books for being the first African-American to have stirred such massive excitement in American politics.
The truth is that Obama is the most sensational name in America today because of what he stands for — change and racial equality. He is a bridge between the younger generation and the old, a man who represents a new America which is not only seen as strong and a bully but an America which must play its father-figure role more responsibly and humanely.
Obama did not rise to this level in so short a time just playing on the emotions of the people, throwing words about irresponsibly and making promises he knew deep down his heart that he was incapable of fulfilling. For him to have received endorsements from public and renowned figures such as Senator Edward Kennedy, John Kerry, the former Democratic presidential candidate, and Oprah Winfrey, the popular talk show hostess, means that Obama did not reach here by accident.
An enlightened and discerning public will not expect anything less from those who offer themselves to take care of their destiny and so you do not toy with them when you mount the political platform to address them.
Here at home, we do politics the crab style, with each candidate trying to bring down the other through fair or foul means. Serious issues are lost in the melee and gullible members of the public who should demand responsible politicking from those aspiring to lead them join the fray and add to the drama. At the end of the day, the country remains rudderless and its numerous problems remain unsolved.
Simply put, our politics is very dirty and primitive. We think we are more impressive when we heap insults on our opponents and tell lies about them. There is something called psychological warfare when we try to weaken our opponents with certain types of information which will deflate their ego and plant doubts of their own strengths in their minds. It is a good battle strategy to hammer on the weaknesses of the opponent while being silent on his strengths. But, in all things, there must be decorum and in trying to gain ground we do not tell outright lies or dwell on matters that have little or no relevance to the issues at stake.
Sometimes, in our desperation, we lose control and begin to see campaign for political office as a battle for survival in which anything is allowed. This is seen even within the same party during campaigns for executive offices and presidential and parliamentary nominations.
I quite remember during the recent election to pick the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP’s) presidential candidate, all the aspirants, especially the two front-runners, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Mr Alan Kyerematen, received a lot of bashing from the supporters of the various candidates. All of them had their fair share of the insults and lies.
I was, therefore, surprised that those aspirants who just yesterday were saying Nana Akufo-Addo was not fit to lead the NPP to victory in the presidential election could suddenly see him as the best person with the strongest credentials that could defend the flag of the party and give credible and effective leadership to this country.
So Nana Akufo-Addo is no longer trying to establish a Kyebi dynasty in the party; he is no longer arrogant and his English accent is now tolerable and even an asset to the presidency. The question is, why should 16 people line up against one person if they knew he was the most suitable person under the circumstances to lead the party? Or why should it take their defeat at the polls to come to that realisation? How do we retract all those scandalous and slanderous words said about Nana Akufo-Addo during the campaign?
Some may argue that the sudden turn around by those now supporting Nana Akufo-Addo is a sign of unity in the party. That may be so, but to some of us that smacks of opportunism or downright hypocrisy. Soon, there will be posts to be shared and contracts to be awarded so everyone is suddenly one another’s keeper.
America is big enough with a lot of rich people to have over a million people vying for the presidency. But the big race is for only a few, for obvious reasons. The White House is not a theatre for concerts and beauty contests.
As for the internal bickering of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), sometimes igniting into violence, the less said about it, the better.
Apart from internal discipline and harmony which are important in building stable political parties, the parties owe it as an obligation to the electorate to address national issues in a fair and objective manner, devoid of insults, lies and mudslinging.
It is interesting that suddenly people are more interested in the health status of presidential candidates than the myriad of problems confronting this nation of ours.
The physical and mental health of every citizen is important. It even becomes very important to know the health status of someone who is aspiring for public office. It is not for nothing that employers demand to know the health status of new employees. This is because the state of mind and physical condition of the employee has a close relationship with his job performance.
Granted that we want our next President to be physically strong and mentally alert. But should the subject be turned into a kind of national joke? There have been several instances when people woke up hale and hearty, took breakfast with their families, shared lunch with friends but never returned home for dinner. That is the bitter truth of life — that we have very little control over sickness and death, no matter how hard we try.
It is, therefore, unfortunate when some people begin to sound as if they have entered into some kind of pact with sickness and its more dreadful and remorseless partners and can, therefore, afford to play games with these two.
First, we were told that Prof John Evans Atta Mills, the NDC presidential candidate, was in coma. Then, on Friday, February 1, 2008, news went round that the man was dead. And this story was on the Internet. Before that display of recklessness on the part of politicians and their collaborators in the media, several stories had gone round that Prof. Mills was too sick to run for the office of the President.
May be out of frustration and to play the game to the letter, news started filtering in that Nana Akufo-Addo, the NPP presidential candidate, was being treated for HIV/AIDS. Who can claim absolute health and who can claim immortality? Can we not start to focus on serious national development challenges confronting us and stop this cheap and primitive game?
Fifty years after our political independence, a lot of our children do not have decent classrooms conducive for teaching and learning. Many more squat on the bare floor for their lessons. Others simply do not have any educational facility at all. So right from the word go, their fate and that of their children have been defined as hewers of wood and drawers of water.
Our health facilities, where they exist, are a far cry from the conditions they are supposed to be. If you doubt it, go to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, the nation’s biggest and best hospital, to visit a relative who is an accident victim. The Korle-Bu situation will give you a fair picture of what to expect as you descend the health facility ladder until you get to the point where there is nothing for people in the rural areas.
Our school dormitories are choked to the extent that there is very little difference between them and police or prison cells. Our roads are still not the best and potable water is a luxury for many communities.
Fifty years on, our independent status is seen only in terms of the national pledge, the national flag and the anthem. We are importing everything, from toothpicks to discarded junk. When we reflect and cast our eyes over the horizon and see the strides those who were in the same trench with us at independence have made, we will begin to realise that we have greater issues to confront than who is sick and who is not.
We are importing vehicles from Malaysia, China, Brazil, South Africa, South Korea and Iran, all the so-called Third World countries, and we think this is less worrying than to dwell on one person’s health status? Almost all the traffic lights in Accra, our national capital, are not working and we do not find it strange and disturbing?
We should be more interested in knowing how come people who could not afford to buy wheelbarrows could buy a fleet of vehicles months after entering political office. We should be more interested in knowing why so much is spent on projects which are neither completed nor executed well. The issue of corruption in high places is real and that should engage our attention at all times.
We should begin to hold our politicians and other public officials more accountable. We should be engaging them in fruitful debates. Given the resources Nature has bestowed on us, this country should not be like this, 50 years after the colonialists left. That is the challenge confronting us and those who offer themselves to serve us must assure us that they are capable and equal to the task. That is a better battle the media can wage on behalf of the people of this country, not whether a presidential candidate’s dentures have fallen or not.
Prof Mills has said it already — those who want him dead should wait for his death before proclaiming it to the world. That was the man talking from South Africa at the time the news was on air that he was dead. Maybe it was his ghost talking to us from the cemetery. But it is a humble plea that should be seriously addressed by all those who want to see this country move from the begging syndrome to become a confident and proud developing one.
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