Sammy Darko

The Honourables

2012-01-07T07:17:00.000-08:00

Most Ghanaians are not specially enamoured of their politicians - many accuse their MPs of doing little to improve their lives. MPs on the other hand claim they can only do so little and that people do not understand the limits of their powers.

The performance of MPs became a subject of heated public debate recently when legislators pushed for over 200 per cent adjustment in their salaries from about three thousand Ghana cedis to eight thousand Ghana cedis.

This as yet another damning assessment of their performance was published by a pan African magazine Africa watch.

The credibility of the grading has since been called into question by some senior editors and the MPs themselves but the damage had been done.

Sammy Darko explores these issues in this documentary.

SCRIPT
[Sound up} MADAM SPEAKER….. a man shouts madam speaker to usher in the speaker of parliament onto the floor of the house]

CUE 1: PELPUO-1 (24 secs) deputy majority leader Rasheed Pelpuo speaks… I like to see people live in comfort and living out of poverty and out of the dangers of destructive life situations so in all my life I have devoted it to the service of people, I used to do so many things as a young person and I will do that when I get malaria I will be struggling to get many to cure myself after sleeping in villages and I love doing that and so I discovered that this is something I can carry to a higher level and that is how come I became a member of parliament

CUE 2: KYEI-1 (9 secs) Minority leader Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu speaks..Well I became a member of parliament because I wanted to be part of the movement to change the destiny of this country,

CUE 3:CONS-1 (38 secs) constituents speaks… initially we had lots of hope in him but after becoming an mp, there hasn’t been an improvement- look he had said nothing about the lack of potable water here in parliament…. Look you can hardly see or meet the mp- he is not available to even tell him your problems.

LINK: Most Ghanaians are not specially enamoured of their politicians - many accuse their MPs of doing little to improve their lives. MPs on the other hand claim they can only do so little and that people do not understand the limits of their powers.

The performance of MPs became a subject of heated public debate recently when legislators pushed for over two hundred per cent adjustment in their salaries from about three thousand Ghana cedis to eight thousand Ghana cedis. This as yet another damning assessment of their performance was published by a pan African magazine Africa watch.

The credibility of the grading has since been called into question by some senior editors and the MPs themselves but the damage had been done.

CUE4: {15Sound …A PLUS A LETTER TO THE WEST sings about poverty in Africa despite huge natural resources}

Politicians in Ghana are not different from politicians across the world –and like elsewhere, Ghanaians have little respect for their MPs. Most are convinced that politicians are a venal bunch only interested in feathering their pockets rather than seeing to the well-being of their voters.

CUES5: fade after seven secs and keep under link until Ghana

Under the fourth republican constitution of Ghana, MPs have three fundamental roles- to pass legislation, exercise oversight over the use of public funds by the executive and represent the interest of their constituents.

Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu is the leader of the largest opposition party in parliament, the new patriotic party. He says MPs are not development agents.

CUE6: KYEI-2 47secs whiles canvassing for votes, some people promise development in exchange for votes….. clearly this is a complete misconception.

Perhaps this attitude explains the disconnect between politicians and their constituents….because just as democratically elected politicians are ‘by the people and for the people, they are expected to improve the lot of those who voted for them. MPs are seen as development agents as well stresses Dr. Rasheed Draman, the director of Africa programmes at the Canadian Parliamentary Centre.

CUE 7: DRAMAN(36 secs) and let me tell you why……research we have done shows more and more constituents…….Mps are seen in terms of what they do than the laws they pass.

The AFRO barometre is a cross national survey by think tanks in 20 African countries which focuses primarily on good governance. The 2008 report on proportional representation and popular assessment of the performance of MPs in 12 countries including Ghana makes for an interesting read.

In all the countries except South Africa, representing constituents is considered to be the main task of MPs, followed by delivering jobs or development. Only 16 percent said legislation should be the top priority of MPs.

There was public outrage earlier this year when MPs asked for a whopping 5000 cedi per month increase in their salaries. There was even talk about linking salaries to performance.

MPs seemed to be taken aback by the public anger. They argued they needed the pay rise because demands from constituents were creating holes in their pockets. Accra based lawyer and MPP for Abuakwa South constituency in eastern region of Ghana Samuel Atta Akyea describe such sentiments as cruel.

CUE 8: AKYEA (1. 28) the mp can use his common fund and buy 20 bags of cement……I even buiy coffins…unfortunately they don’t have the money to do it

Sound up: AMBIENCE fade after 3 secs

LINK: But in Atta Akyea’s constituency, residents paint a different picture. Galamsay or illegal mining is the economic mainstay in this rich forest belt….because of the chronic unemployment in the region. This has led to widespread water pollution and the lack of potable water is a huge issue here.

CUE 9: CONS (59secs) {– 3 voices, 15 to 20 secs max per person….we don’t see the mp here}

Link: But the MP has to be visible, and accessible says Kodjo Assante of the Centre for democratic development, CDD. He says constituents vote for MPs because they need development.

Cue 10: DESK (31sec we have to be fair to people that at the end bread and butter issues are the most important thing…. So whether it is delivered by you or somebody is whether it has been delivered

sound up-KILL BILL…sound trackclassical break –battle without honour…….fade under link

LINK: The issue of MPs clamouring for higher salaries generated heated controversy in Kenya as well. There the justification was that only with a pay hike could they meet the demands from their constituents. And despite public anger, Kenyan MPs voted themselves a 25 percent increase in salary – amounting to more than 12,000 dollars a month making them amongst the highest-paid legislators in the world, even more than many of their European counterparts. The discrepancy between the MPs and those they represent is dramatic.

Firoze Manji is the editor of the pan African news site Pambazuka.

CUE 11: FIROZE-1 (48 secs)Over the last thirty years, ….because they feel the pain that their citizens feel….

But greedy MPs and public disenchantment with elected representatives is not restricted to Africa. In 2009, MPs expenses became a huge scandal in Britain.

CUE 12: 20 secs{Sound over- mps quizzed in British parliament

The United Kingdom parliamentary scandal was triggered by leaked and subsequent publication of flagrant and gross misuse and abuse of permitted allowances and expenses. Mps were also accused of pushing for legislation at the behest of the corporate sector and multinationals. According to Firoze Manji, MPs are not really calling the shots……

CUE 13: FIROZE (34 secs) The real problem is they don’t have power…..they don’t have the power constitutionally.”

Use link music

Here in Ghana, a real test case was the 2008 approval of the sale of the then only national telecommunications network Ghana telecom to British Vodafone. P C Appiah Ofori, MP for Asikuma Odobeng Brakwa accused members of his own party then in power of taking five thousand dollar bribe each before voting in favour of the sale.

CUE 14: APPIAH {30secs} unless…. No hope for the country

Despite these allegations, deputy majority leader, Rasheed Pelpuo, believes such cases are few and far between.

CUE 15: PELPUO-2 {26secs} the truth is that Ghana’s parliament doesn’t have those kind of MPs…..but we can’t rule it out.

The performance of the 230 member legislature has not been called into question only here in Ghana but outside as well. The African parliamentary index measures how efficiently African parliaments exercise their oversight role over expenditure by the executive. Ghana’s legislature came last in the assessment of seven countries published earlier this year.

However, the responsibility for development projects lies with the head of local authorities…even if national policy is set by parliament and the government. MPs would be spending their time better if they paid more attention to the details of the policies they promulgate, stresses Kojo Assante of the Centre for democratic development, instead of going around cap in hand looking for development aid.

CUE 16:KOJO (44 secs) so there is a distortion of the role….they asked the MP what did you bring.”

Dr. Rasheed Draman, director of Africa programmes at Canadian parliamentary centre disagrees. The post of a district chief executive is often a stepping stone towards becoming an MP.

CUE 17: DRAMAN-1( 46 secs) one senior MP in Ghana told me if you are not lucky and the district chief executive is not on your side…..you can never run for parliament.”

Parliament works through standing and special committees which may make inquiries, launch investigations, issue statements and table parliamentary questions to examine proposals from the executive. However, MPs are often accused of failing in executing such tasks. Atta Akyea and Kyei Mensah Bonsu share their thoughts……

CUE 18 AKYEA-148 secs) the sheer fact that somebody is very vocal on the floor… I can assure you that some people in NDC as back benchers they have not shared one word.

CUE 19: KYEI-3(55 secs) In our constitution our president appoints ministers…… allow him to go….

Many people think that no matter how poorly an MP performs, he or she is sure to return to parliament for a second term because of political allegiances and party affiliations. Kojo Asante of CDD says people are not that gullible.

CUE 20: KOJO-1(48 secs) the real test is in the internal battle, the primaries because there again you are subjected to democratic sanction…

Song a plus….find relevant verse

LINK: J H Mensah is the grand old man of Ghanaian politics – a former finance minister and three-time MP for Sunyani East. The 83 year old veteran politican has this message for this generation of Ghana’s elected representatives….the honourables of the 21st century….

CUE 21:JH-2 (1.10) it is the duty of the executive to make available resource and is for parliament to ensure equitable and efficient distribution of the resource

Sound up- a plus songs…….

At the end of the day, the issue is really quite simple…. Politicians are elected to serve the people……the voters who elected them….and not the other way around.

I am Sammy Darko .

Sound up- a plus song fades followed by hotline sig tune.

Sammy Darko adjudged Ghana’s Best Political Journalist for 2010

2011-09-14T01:56:00.000-07:00

Sammy Darko a senior Broadcast Journalist with Ghana’s leading private FM radio Joy Fm on Friday 9th September, was crowned Ghana’s best political reporter for the year 2010. He was recognized by award organizers Ghana Journalists Association for his documentary titled “Foot Soldiers”.

The phenomenon of “foot soldiers “though has always been a part of Ghana’s burgeoning democracy was not pronounced until after the 2008 elections in Ghana when this political class began to assert itself, believing that they had singlehandedly brought their party to power.

These foot soldiers are mainly sympathizers of a political party who executed the campaign at the grassroots level and often included perpetuating violence to as it were, put the fear of God in their rival parties. Interestingly, they never abandon the use of force as a weapon even after their party has gained power. So with the same amount of force if not more, they demand their share of the national cake including locking out government officials, and seizing public property.

They were a great source of worry to the political elite who were clueless how to contain them. This documentary, in the absence of a detailed academic study of the phenomenon provided society with an in-depth of a problem that confronted not just the ruling party, but the other parties whose sympathizers had also discovered an antidote to the “attitude” often put up by their leaders once they assume the reins of power.

Apart from the political parties, the citizenry also needed a solution to the anxiety created by the foot soldiers and the deprivation they cause with their seizures of public property.

Eight days on the high seas- Sammy Darko’s assignment

2010-03-29T11:42:00.000-07:00

After eight days on the high seas, I returned with malaria and Neckpains. As to when I was struck down by the malaria fever I do not know. But one thing is sure, a day before sailing I had a mosquito bite that night in my hotel room in the Twin City of Sekondi –Takoradi in the Western Region. At least that’s were I begun my voyayue to the land of nowhere- the sea. But wait for a moment, what on earth was I doing on the high seas instead of being in parliament reporting?

I was one of two privileged Journalists to board a US Naval ship currently in the sub region to train naval officers from the West African coast on maritime safety and security- they call it African Partnership Station.

It started four years ago and is facilitated by the U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa and other international partners. The goal is to build the capacity of African Navies to better protect its territorial waters from any of these illegal activities on the high sea- drug trafficking, human trafficking, illegal fishing, piracy and illegal oil bunkering.
It also seeks to build synergy, friendship and unity among naval officers in the sub region as they train, learn and live under one roof. In essence it helps to build regional cooperation among navies in the West African Coast.
At the end of the training, these naval officers have gained both theory and practical training on how to safeguard the countries territorial waters. They were trained in four key areas including maritime domain awareness and law enforcement, professional development, search and rescue, small boat maintenance and how to impound illegal vessels on the sea as well as how best to protect oil platforms.

Why Africa
The program is meant for naval officers in West and Central Africa, however maritime experts believe the West African coast is gradually becoming an attractive destination for pirates who find patrol on the seas in these areas either absent or weak.
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Gunston Hall
Gunston Hall is how the Americans call the naval ship I travelled on. To give you an idea of how this ship looks like, picture two football fields put together. It’s a well equipped vessel with almost everything on board from a barber shop to smoke decks. Gunston Hall is a six story structure ship. It has a flight deck that can accommodate two aircrafts and a well deck equipped with three other smaller ships- it’s called the LCU’s.
The Gunston Hall mission I am told is to transport United States marines with their combat equipment to designated areas around the world and to launch and support landing craft and helicopters during amphibious operations against hostile shores. To move out the smaller ships onboard, the well deck of the ship is flooded with water.

Gunston Hall has a crew member of about 300. Their job is just to sail and maintain the ship. However for this trip Gunston Hall served as a mobile university - it had several lecture halls built purposely to train and accommodate dozens of naval officers from Africa and those from the U.S and other countries in Europe.

Life on the Sea
After sailing on the high seas for two days, I got a sickness known in naval parlance as sea sick- headache, vomiting and occasional feeling of throwing up. It’s a normal sickness so they say and mostly affect first time sailors- I am told mine was a mild one and that is because I was travelling on a big ship so the tossing and rocking caused by the sea waves was not that much compared to being on a smaller vessel.

The ship in my estimation though a military one could best be described as a little city. It was full of activities, people going to work in offices and garages every day, students learning both theory and practical studies on the high seas with other ships, food centre, vending machines, shopping and above all entertainment centres. I clearly remember the talent night show typical of American idol among the crew members and the naval officers onboard and the beach party at the high seas, the barbecue and the dance.

It was all excitement as dozens rocked themselves to hip hop tunes oozing from loud speakers at the flight deck. The shopping centre was the most attractive to the African sailors particularly the Nigeria folks who shopped to the degree that the US had to temporary close down the shop until our African friends get out of the ship- it was simple, the Africans were spending their monies on almost everything in the shop, from sanitary pads for women to hair dryers whilst the white folks stuck to confectionaries and cigarettes. I think it was not surprising that the shop was closed down in the sense that the items in the shop are meant to keep the sailors onboard over a long voyage and not to be bought at a goal like OUR African friends just did- shopping anyhow because they find things very economical. Some went to the extent of buying additional travelling bags in the shop to keep the new items.

Crossing the equator
It’s a rare opportunity for sailors to cross the equator. The equator is just an imaginary line that divides the Northern hemisphere from the Southern hemisphere. Vessels recognise they have reached the equator when both the longitudes and latitudes signals on the Ships radar read zero degrees. At this moment the sea becomes very stable like water in a glass.
Symbolically old sailors have placed a bough at the centre of the equator. It is a phenomenon the navy cherish so much that there is a tradition and ritual they perform and observe anytime a ship crosses the equator – they call it SHELLBACK. Shellback is any sailor who has crossed the equator before. What this means is that anytime a naval ship crosses the equator those who have never perform the ritual will have to go through the tradition to officially become one.
That rituals I am told has modified over time. It now includes lots of training exercises to better you as a naval officer. In the past, Shellbacks use to molest and maltreat the green horns the dawn before the ship crosses the equator.
The festival
I do not know the exact origin of this ritual but I am told it’s as old as the first sailors who discovered the equator centuries ago. It’s a day when the God of the sea known as King Neptune judges all sailors on the ship to ensure that no wog crosses the equator without going through the ritual- in essence the ritual is a process of cleansing yourself to qualify to cross the equator.
I was surprised to see seasoned naval officers subjected to this ritual and that is because they’ve never crossed the equator before all their lives despite years of sailing. The ritual can be nasty to the extent of through water boarding, crawling in dirty water and spoilt food spread all over the flow. At the final stage, candidates who excel are made to kiss the dirty stomach of one of the servants of King Neptune.

The Islands of Sao Tome and Principe
Our sailing on the high seas took us to the island of Sao Tome and Principe. What struck me most about the city is the freshness and neatness of the sea water. One can virtually see all the weeds and flowers deep in the sea. We docked at the only port of the city- the Afaninga Port in the morning at about 7am. The port is so small to accommodate the US naval ship so we anchored several nautical miles in the sea and sailed there in a smaller ship.

From a distance, the fortress, hotels and colonial structures along the sea portrays the country as very developed and a place to be, however poverty and underdevelopment stares you in the face when you get closer- bad roads, ramshackle buildings and lost hopes of a people that appear to be expecting a miracle to change their lives.
There are only three major roads in the island- North South and West. It has a land mass of about a 1000 sq with a population less than 200 thousand. Their major occupation is farming and fishing. Their political setting and media landscape is typical of Ghana.

They all speak Portuguese and as I understand from their history- they are descendants of a bunch of slaves drawn from many countries in Africa sent to the island to work on cocoa farms for the Portuguese. They speak no local language except Portuguese. Their women look plump and short. The country imports almost everything from bed sheets to ear bags.

The stranded Ghanaian sailor
My curiosity to find out more about the town took me and my colleague Moses Akrobeto of Daily graphic to outskirts of the ports. Interestingly, motorbikes popularly known as Okada are one of the cheapest means of transport there. When we moved out, most riders approached us unfortunately they speak no English.
At this point I decided to try my little French I learnt whiles onboard the ship, truly one of the riders knew how to speak French somehow- it was afternoon so I greeted Bon-Aprie-midi bonsoir.
As we communicated he learnt we were Ghanaians and all of a sudden started calling out the name of this Ghanaian who sat in the open from far away looking quite morose under the scotching sun. Immediately he saw us, a big smiled beamed on his face and he begun to run towards us.
After a few chats, he began to tell us about his story and how he ended up in Sao Tome with virtually nothing left. He says the past one and a half years have been a period of struggle just to get back home. Emmanuel Arthur, 49, told me he has been wandering in the country because he cannot afford $300 to pay for his journey back home.
Arthur, a native of Komenda and a father of three children, went to Sao Tome as a sailor on a Spanish vessel but he missed the return journey. Mr. Arthur said although he has lost all his belongings, he would love to return home.

The sleepless night
Our return journey was quite smooth and fast but somehow I sensed desperation on the faces of most of the African naval officers and don’t get me wrong I was also desperate to get back home- I said to myself just eight days on the sea and I have missed home like that- maybe this could be due to the uncomfortable period of having to bath and drink treated sea water and above all the uncomfortable food of the US- although we were fed morning, afternoon and evening, their food in my estimation is nothing compared to our local food- it lacked salt, pepper and too oily.

The night before the ship entered the waters of Ghana was a sleepless one for many of us, I noticed many of the officers pull out their mobile phones shuttling between the bedroom and the flight deck to check if they had reception on their phones from 12 midnight to about 3 am and that is because the ship network does not permit any other signal be it internet or telephone signals inside the ship, the only way to make calls even if you are in a coverage area is to move out to the flight deck.
After a short sleep, I woke up at about 3 am, manuvered my way to the flight deck in the darkness- just before I could reach there, I noticed one Ghanaian naval officer a few metres away laughing and shouting on his phone, I switched on my phone, noticed I had reception, then it suddenly dawned on me that really - there is no place like home

APS begins training on Gunston hall for Ghana and most West African colleagues

2010-03-24T05:17:00.000-07:00

The United States Africa Command is collaborating with the Ghana navy to ensure maritime peace and security in the country’s high seas.

The naval command says the training has become necessary to check increasing illegal activities such as drug trafficking, fishing and dumping of waste along the West coast. The project will also involve training for Ghana’s Navy and navy from most west African countries-Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameron as well as logistical support.

The training is been conducted on the US naval ship-Gunston hall. The ship will for the next eight days serves as a mobile university given tutorials and practical training to the navy personnel onboard the vessel.

Joy FM’s Sammy Darko will be on the patrol ship and he believes the trip will be a challenging one.

Expectations

The capacity of the Ghana Navy is soon expected to be boosted to a level where they can ward off most illegal activities on the high seas.

In recent times, concerns have been raised about the country’s inability to combat drug traffickers, illegal fishing and dumping of waste on the high seas.

That is because the Navy lacks the equipment and required skills to do so. But the US Africa Command is hoping to reverse the trend with its African partnership station.

Pirates on high seas

The object of this program is to improve maritime safety and security on the African continent. Under the program, officers of the Ghana Navy will be given professional training and provided with some logistics to aid in patrol offshore.

For instance, under this exercise the US has given Ghana four defender class boats for surveillance.

These are fast speed boats attached to a vessel to chase out criminals on the high seas. The training is considered crucial as the nation prepares to sell its oil in commercial quantities in the last quarter of this year.

Story by Sammy Darko/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

17 Ghanaian navy officers and sailors undergo training on how to secure the nations maritime boundary on a US navy ship

2010-03-24T04:47:00.000-07:00

Seventeen Ghanaian Navy officers and sailors are receiving training on how to secure the nations maritime boundary on a US naval ship currently on sail on the gulf of Guinea.

Also onboard the ship are navy officers from other West African countries. The idea is to pull together synergy on how to check insecurity on the African waters in recent times.

The training is being organized by the United States naval forces Africa and its partners under a program code named African partnership station.

The reporter is currently onboard the USS Gunston hall currently enroute to Sao Tome and Principe to deliver some items. It will take us roughly four days to get there.

To give you an idea about the ship I am on, picture two football fields put together, that is how big this ship is.

It is a well equipped vessel. Inside this ship are several lecture halls where naval officers from Ghana and other West African countries are undergoing tutorials on a wide range of maritime courses with emphasis on professional development, respond capabilities, and infrastructural development.

Some of the students tell me the lessons have been very useful. " I have learnt how to administer first aid to any of my offers if they were to suffer injury- A ghanaian naval officer said".

For the next seven days, trainees are expected to also undergo practical training as we sail to Sao Tome and back to Tema.

Captain Ossinowo is the deputy commander for African Partnership Station-APS. He says African more than ever needs to recognize it's maritime domain awareness and protect it from criminals on the highseas.

Sammy Darko
Joy Fm
Accra-Ghana

300 dollars leaves 49 year old Ghanaian stranded in Saotome and Principe

2010-03-24T04:29:00.000-07:00

A 49 year old Ghanaian sailor is stranded in far away Island of Saotome and Principe.

Emmanuel Arthur has been wandering in that country for a year and a half now just because he cannot get 300 dollars to pay his transport back home for the long voyage.

Mr. Arthur a native of komenda and a father of three children went in search of job in Togo. He got employed as a sailor on a Spanish vessel named ‘Sonia to fish in deep waters across countries.

But he was left behind at Saotome’s Afaninga harbor in one of the trips on the high seas and for a year and a half now he has been looking forward to getting back home in vain.

Several attempts to stow away to Ghana failed however when he gathered resources to board a vessel bound for Nigeria enroute to Ghana- he was thrown out of the vessel after naval officers discovered he had no visa.

JOYNEWS' Sammy Darko and Graphics' Moses Akrobeto uncovered this man on a visit to Saotome on a US naval vessel which had entered the country to deliver items to a charity organization.

The two in a frustrating interaction with residents there were told about the plight of Mr. Arthur who in an attempt to survive in that country has learnt how to speak Portuguese by force.

I Look Upon A Damsel

2009-11-07T07:49:00.000-08:00

I have set my eyes upon a damsel
So sweet, so beautiful.
My heart thumps heavily.
No. It quake violently
For she has captured my heart.

I will love her.
I will make her my dream.
Within me I feel glad
For I look upon a damsel sweet.
It smell like joy.
I hear her lovely voice
Like many rumblings and mutterings
Of streams and waterfalls.
Or is it those guiltless eyes?
I look upon a damsel.

Girl of my eternal dreams
Grant me passage to your heart.
Let me sink into your heart.Let me sink into your love.
Carry me away, dear
For I look upon you.

It smell like joy.
I hear her lovely voice
Like many rumblings and mutterings
Of streams and waterfalls.
Or is it those guiltless eyes?
I look upon a damsel

Girl of my eternal dreams
Grant me passage to your heart.
Let me sink into your heart.
Let me sink into your love.
Carry me away, dear
For I look upon you.

Poem by a good Friend;
Kofi Gyamfi Anane-Kyeremeh

Jion me

2009-11-07T07:33:00.000-08:00

Had wings but couldn't fly-plight of Asabee

2009-06-16T09:57:00.000-07:00

.. Was he running away from justice? The former information minister says he was going on a vacation with his wife and kids. It’s a pretty striking coincidence that Steven Asamoah Boateng (aka Asabee) decided to make the trip just a few days after his former deputy, Frank Agyekum, had gone to the Bureau of National Investigations to “sing” about a contract for the renovation of the information ministry.

That contract stinks on different levels – not least because it was awarded to Mr. Asamoah-Boateng’s sister-in-law. Mr. Agyekum, who signed for the contract to be awarded, insists that his conscience is clear and sources say he reportedly told the BNI that he was just ordered to append his signature. That leaves his former boss with a few questions to answer.

The issue, once again, brings the operations of the BNI under the spotlight. In my mind stopping Asabee from getting on that British Airways flight was the right thing to do. It will be very difficult for him to convince anyone (but his friends and sympathisers) that he was getting on that plane with an intention to return to this country anytime soon.

But, once again, couldn’t the BNI agents have done this in a more sensible manner. That scene they created at the airport was unnecessary. To begin with, agents refused to identify themselves. Then they refused to spell out whether he was being arrested – only asking the former minister to “come to the office”, ostensibly offering him an invitation to come to the BNI.
Now, they have given Asabee every opportunity to “run his mouth”. I am delighted that he’s called the BNI’s bluff and refused to go to their office on a mere verbal invitation. He wants them to put it in writing. But I think he should go a step further and dare the BNI to arrest him for question. This BNI “invitation” nonsense must stop!

Granted that Asabee and his ilk have a lot of questions to answer. But if the state gives them opportunity to go about shouting “this is Gestapo” – meaning there is some sort of deliberate ploy to intimidate and harass them – the cause of justice is not served as well as it should.
The former government officials are looking for every opportunity they can get to accuse the government of “witch-hunting” – of which I see none, by the way. By sticking to their age-old crude, illegal, and often, inhumane methods the government (through the BNI) is only playing into their hands. Someone has to call the BNI to order – and soon! No one is saying they should not probe whatever needs to be investigated.

But they should do it right.

Source: Ato Dadzie

Letter to Obama

2009-05-20T13:25:00.001-07:00

I am one of the few Ghanaians (if not the only one) who didn’t want you to become American president. In the primaries, I supported Hilary Clinton with every breath in me and when you won the Democratic ticket I decided to back McCain.

Don’t get me wrong, man. You are a very impressive guy. I think God invested too much talent in you. I admire you... if only you were white, I’d lay down for you to walk on me. But you are not white and that’s the one thing I don’t like about you. Just the idea of a black man becoming the president of the most powerful nation on earth filled me with dread and consternation. Whiles I didn’t support you because you were black, an overwhelming majority of my compatriots gave you their backing simply because of the fact that you are black.

Like they say, there’s nothing like an idea whose time has come. Nothing could stop this impressive, articulate young half-black man from becoming the most powerful man on earth. When you won the election, a good number of African started thinking that almost all our problems are going to end because there is a negro in the White House. But I’ve often tried to make the point that there is very little you can do to take our continent (and the entire black race) from the miserable conditions we find ourselves in if we continue doing the same silly things we’ve been doing for the best part of the past 50 years.

I hope that with your impending visit to Ghana you will find a way to forcefully send this message across. Seriously, I don’t know why you chose Ghana to be your first destination in sub-Saharan Africa. And I don’t want to know. All I need you to do when you get here is to spend a few minutes to knock some beautiful sense into some heads – especially those of our politicians.

First, I need you to tell our politicians that none of them – absolutely none – should dare take credit for your decision to visit Ghana. That decision was entirely yours and you supposedly decided to come here on the basis of what we the people of Ghana have achieved in the democratic sphere. Our politicians have the tendency to use such visits to validate all the silly things they do. Last year for example, when Bush came to town to show Kufuor how to chase mosquitoes, our president turned around to say that your predecessor had shown enormous confidence in all he (Kufuor) had been doing. But he wouldn’t have come here if we the people had been hacking ourselves with machetes, would he?

We are the longsuffering ones who have decided that even though we are yet to reap the democratic dividends, we would not hack each other with machetes to settle our political differences. Time and again, we’ve been tempted, the politicians have often almost taken to the abyss, but we always resolved to take the path of peace. Last December, for example, things really got so tensed because the losing party was unwilling to concede defeat. Scared but anxious for peace to prevail, most of us went into our rooms and slept. When we woke up, everything was alright. So, please, don’t forget to say a few nice words to the people and tell them to keep on trudging the peaceful, democratic path – in your own inimitable way, of course.

Mr. Obama, I don’t know how you manage to keep your black mind sparkling white but I’d like you to bring us some scouring powder, which we will use to scrub the skulls of our politicians. Most of our politicians have their minds filled with so much dirty crap and I believe a thorough skull-scrub (preferably with ‘Ajax’ or ‘Comet’) will help them see things a bit more clearly, realising that public service is just that – public service and not an expedition of plunder.

I also think some of our leaders have grains for brains. Some of them have lost the medulla in their oblongata – and that, for me, could also explain some of the incredibly stupid things they do. Most Ghanaians will be able to easily point out to you those politicians whose skulls need a thorough scouring – someone like the former speaker of parliament, for example. But for those we are not so sure about (they show flashes of brilliance today and act like idiots tomorrow), I will be delightfully grateful if you could agree to sponsor a CT (or MRI) scan of the brains, preferably under the supervision of those beautiful doctors in ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ – I love that show!

Mr. Obama, I have no doubt in my mind that when you come to town, you’d offer us some money and explicitly state how it should be used. I am grateful for that. Thanks to strict monitoring, it’s tough – almost impossible – for our politicians to steal money from the American government. But, they steal our money with such alacrity – sometime in broad daylight, by passing laws that ensure that they live in luxury and comfort whiles the rest of us go without the basics of life – water, schools, good health care and electricity.

I do not understand why our leaders should come to America – as Kufuor did last year – to beg for 17 million dollars to chase mosquitoes while we spent about 70 million dollars (of our own money in the previous year) throwing a party to celebrate our 50^th year of independence.

Whatever amount of money you give to this country, Mr. Obama, I just want you to be aware that that multiples of that will be expended either on useless ventures or on the luxury of a privileged political clique. To illustrate my point, take Mills’ predecessor for example. He it was who decided to “cook” for himself a pension package that would make you want to run for president in Ghana someday – and I tell you, there is no way you will lose an election here. John Kufuor’s pension package is juicier than the one your predecessor got and I am definitely sure that in about eight years, when your tenure ends, you will earn nothing near what he contrived for himself. Why should a retiring president in a poor country earn more than that of the most powerful nation on earth?

Our politicians also have this thing they call “ex-gratia”. I am sure even a man as learned and intelligent as you has never heard of the phrase. Well, it refers to these gift packs of cash and other goodies (houses, furnishings and cars) our politicians package for themselves when their tenure comes to end. Essentially, they use the “ex-gratia” to say “thank you” to themselves for doing such a marvellous job plundering the country’s wealth to enrich themselves whiles much of the nation wallows in abject, heart-wrenching poverty.

Does this make sense to you? I don’t expect it to. So, please, when you come down, I will like you to find a stern (even if undiplomatic) way to tell Mills in no uncertain terms that he should end the ‘ex-gratia’ nonsense and quickly review the retirement package for former public office holders. You should make it clear to all the politicians on this continent that you are not Africa’s messiah and that there is absolutely nothing you (or America) can do to reverse its backwardness if we continue to waste our resources on the comfort and luxuries of a privileged few. Please, this is very important to me and I need you to make it and make it forcefully. It will also be very much appreciated if you made it known to the legions of your supporters in Africa that they should not relent in pushing their leaders to do the right things and demanding accountability from them.

Mr. President, could you also please take a few moments to show our leaders how not to take themselves too seriously? I have seen you in pictures prancing around the White House with your dog, dancing with your wife in public, kissing her and even cracking some pretty jokes. I really liked the one you said about your relationship with Hilary Clinton. The other time, you stopped over at a wayside pizzeria to buy a pizza for yourself. Our leaders carry themselves about as if they carry all the burdens of the world on their shoulders – busy for nothing. But you, Mr. Obama, are the most powerful man on earth. Everyone wants a bit of your attention and intervention. Yet, you take time to have fun and let people know that you are human. Please, show our president how to take it easy. It will help him a great deal. He’s not a well-man and if you showed him a few tricks, I am sure it would help reduce his stress levels and improve his health a great deal.

Finally, Mr. Obama, let me leave you with a little word of caution. Our president has this pesky habit of transposing the pronunciation of words. For example, he says “extragavanza” of extravaganza. Recently, he said “ecomini” instead of economy and “Ofumtuor” for Otumfuor (which is a traditional title). If you hear him say “Omaba” instead of Obama, don’t take offence. Just laugh it off. Take it all in good fun – and I am sure you would have a lot of that in Ghana.

See you soon,

atokwamena!

President Mills: Stumbling, fumbling and rambling

2009-02-27T03:47:00.000-08:00

President John Mills might go down in history as one of the most diffident leaders the world has ever seen.

His effeminate gestures, his frail voice and the general manner he carries himself – like tossing his head about when speaking – doesn’t exude confidence in any measure.

A man who has set himself the task of rallying the nation to build “a better Ghana” needs to demonstrate in word and in deed that he knows what he’s about. The Atta Mills I saw on Wednesday is not that kind of man.

He’s never been. And he may never be. But can’t he, at least, try?
President Mills said in his inaugural speech that his government will “hit the ground running” and if he expects the whole nation to start running after him, he needs to immediately shore up his confidence level.

His aides should get to work, teaching him a whole lot of presidential mannerisms. They also need to ensure that conditions around him are always just right so that feel as comfortable as possible.

This wasn’t the case at the Independence Square on Wednesday. Crowd control was shamefully awful and the media scrum around the new president didn’t help matters. So as he moved to the dais to take his oath of office, there was too much chaos around him.

In the full glare of television cameras, President Mills stumbled and nearly fell. It’s hard to tell what exactly happened but it seems he might have tripped on his ‘kente’ or some cables. This should never have happened.

But those who gasped at the near-fall and heaved a sigh in the hopes that things were going to go smoothly thereafter might have been very disappointed.

The mere recitation of the oaths turned out to be a theatre of embarrassing drudgery – not just for the new president but for his citizens as well. He had the written oaths in his hand.

All he had to do was to follow the lead of the Chief Justice and read out the words, inserting his name where appropriate. At one point, it seemed he couldn’t hear the Chief Justice clearly. We don’t know exactly why.

Some say the president’s auditory canals need as much desilting as the Korle Lagoon. Others are of the view that the public address system were not functioning properly and so it stands to reason that he couldn’t hear much except for the cacophony from the rowdy crowd.

But I thought that was why the oaths were written out for him. The idea was for him to look at the damn booklet and just read.

Unfortunately, Mr. President didn’t have his reading glasses on. The pair he wore are like mine – they only help you to see farther. Therefore, the president was very seriously handicapped – in his ears and in his eyes – as he took his oaths of office.

As a result, he resorted to mumbling words which were not supposed to be in the script. Alarmed, the Chief Justice calmly asked for the process to start all over again.

The new president instantly became a laughing stock and an object of pity at the same time. This could have been avoided if his aides have had his reading glasses on hand.

And that’s why I say that those around the president should always make sure that he is as comfortable as possible at all times – and most especially in public.
Fumbling on his oaths in public as happened on Wednesday made our diffident president seem worse than a hapless kindergarten kid who cannot remember the words of the poem he is supposed to be reciting at the school ‘open day’.

But as if that wasn’t bad enough, the president decided to deliver the all-important inaugural speech extempore. His spokesman, Mahama Ayariga, will like us to believe that President Mills delivers “brilliant” speeches off-the-cuff. I beg to differ.

The gift of gab in not one of President Mills strong points. I can’t remember a single speech of his which made me go “wow!”

His inaugural speech was like most of the rest from the past. It was uninspiring and it’s the sort of speech you tend to forget even before it ends.

Even Barack Obama – the most gifted orator in the world today – doesn’t speak extempore on such important occasions.

I would have thought that the president would have gone to every length to make his inaugural speech extra special and so I was quite disappointed.

Delivering a speech as important as his inaugural address without a script was big mistake.

The speech was good. But it wasn’t good enough because it lacked the strong punch lines (or the ‘quotable quotes’) many of us would have loved to keep in our minds to mull over for a while.

I can’t help but compare Mills inaugural speech with Kufuor’s in 2001. I still remember phrases like “all-inclusive government”, “golden age of business”, “zero tolerance for corruption” and “property owning democracy” – from the Kufuor speech of eight years ago.

Kufuor’s presidency was defined by these ‘nuggets’. It’s been less than 48 hours since Mills’ speech and I can’t point to a single phrase that remotely suggests how he intends to run his government.

The only thing I remember from his speech is his partial-plagiarism of the Noko Fio Party motto when he said: “We have changed to move forward”. He left out “to chop small”.

I never expected Mills to deliver a rousing speech. But what we got on Wednesday was far below average. I am sure the story would have been quite different if the president had been advised to come along with a script – and a pair of reading glasses, of course.

It is a rarity that a man would stumble, fumble and ramble within a period of 30 minutes at the most important event of his life – his induction into the highest office in any country.

Mills achieved that feat on Wednesday. We can’t congratulate him for that. But let’s pray that in the next four (or eight) years, he only comes up with equally rare but very positive feats, which will move our country forward and earn him abundant praises.

What is India up to in Africa?

2009-02-27T00:14:00.001-08:00

African countries can now get online training on healthcare and education. Governments on the continent can also engage one another and transact business without having to physically travel miles to the next country.

These become possible with the introduction of the pan-African E-network project.

The E-network project which began in 2006 is an initiative of the Indian government and will enable all 53 African countries share Indian expertise through voice and video conferencing.

The project is the brain child of the former Indian prime minister Dr. Abdul kalem.

So far sixteen African countries have been networked through the E-network. What this means is that Ghana or any other African countries can get direct online training from top notch institutions in Indian through voice and video conferencing.

In Ghana, three sites have been established for the facility - the komfo Anokye teaching hospital for tele- medicine, the Kwame Nkrumah university of science and technology as the hub for tele-education programmes for the sub region and the University of Ghana to serve as the learning centre for teaching undergraduate and post graduate courses in business administration, tourism and computer science.

For instance students at the University of Ghana should be able to attend lectures online - ask questions, get further clarifications on specified courses from a lecturer in a university in Indian.

The facility can also be extended to facilitate government business.

It is to enable all African heads of state hold meetings and discussions online without having to travel from one country to the other.

In Ghana the facility has been installed at the golden Jubilee house.

So any time president Mills might want to chart with say Yaraduah in Nigeria, all the two have to do is to activate the facility and there they go.

But is this part of a ground ploy by India to woe Africa? Ghana alone in the past couple of years has benefited substantially from India including building of a Presidential Palace for her.

India's economic influence on Africa is spreading like a wildfire, and the country's eyes on Africa is growing keener by day- so why is that? stay tune......

One Young World

2009-02-26T12:29:00.000-08:00