Rumours or smear campaigns have gradually become ingrained in the general body politic associated with campaigns in democratic countries. Seen as unfortunate and childish in some quarters, it is something that we must begin to accept as part of the political game. As is the case in many parts of the world, the media plays a huge role in fueling such rumours; this is what is unfolding in Ghana at the moment. The role of the media in fuelling the spread of rumours as is being seen in the current political campaign going on cannot be underestimated.
Rumours by definition and as applied in this case are stories that are usually made up by people especially for political purposes to make an opponent less credible; this is to make themselves the better option (to be voted for) because they are more credible than their opponent. The difficulty with rumours, though, is that sometimes they are true and only time will prove this.
This was the case here (in the U.S.) in the recent elections when smear campaigns gained currency even days before the elections; around this time, the various political strategists went into full gear appearing on different political platforms and using all media available to them to debunk any rumours that went to town. Before I look at some of the rumours making the rounds in the on-going political campaign in Ghana, let me draw your attention to some of the rumours that ‘afflicted’ the two presidential candidates who contested in the 2008 American elections.
John McCain:
* Brainwashed and psychologically damaged as a prisoner of war in Vietnam
* He is senile
* He fathered a black child (McCain’s 17-year-old daughter Bridget was adopted from a Bangladesh orphanage)
* Cast a taboo slur at his wife, Cindy in 1992.
* Crashed as many as five planes, one that killed 134 sailors due to an alleged risky manoeuver.
* Behaved extremely badly on a holiday to Fiji when he insulted vacationers forcing them to listen to him read aloud the writings of William Faulkner.
* His military record is not what it appears to be.
Barack Obama:
* His Kenyan grandmother stated in a tape recording the candidate's birth in a Kenyan hospital giving cause for concerns about his citizenship.
* He is a Muslim in secret
* He is the anti-Christ described in the Book of Revelation in the bible
* He refuses to recite the Pledge of Allegiance or display the American flag.
* His wife, Michelle, used racial slurs against white people by using the word "whitey."
* Campaigned for Kenya’s opposition leader in Raila Odinga and funneled money to his campaign and that they are cousins.
* Conspiring with Odinga to enforce Islamic law in Kenya despite both men being Christians.
The Ghanaian version of this political game is what we are experiencing in these last days leading to the December 28 run-off; as though someone has blown a whistle in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) camps, we wake up every morning to new party-sanctioned rumours and allegations meant to discredit either party, through which activity one party will appear more credible..
I am sure that by now the list (of allegations) is endless and, I hope, readers will add up to what I have compiled from news reports and radio discussions. The list captured under a party does not mean the party is the generator of the rumour but that is what is being told about the particular party.
The NPP
* Supporter drenched clothes in blood (of animals) at an abattoir and took pictures that suggested that NDC stalwarts attacked him
* Plans to make the Okyehene more popular than the Asantehene
* EC officials wore caps laced with ink and contributed to destroying ballots in NPP strongholds
* Government has ‘pregnant’ bank accounts at the Prudential Bank
* Akufo-Addo is a drug addict
* Akufo-Addo is not the father of his children
* Akufo-Addo cannot speak clearly because of fears that his dentures (false teeth) will fall out
* Akufo-Addo is a womanizer
The NDC
o Has developed a growing hit-list using a mafia-like team of assassins
o EC officials used hair-dye and tainted ballot papers
o NPP plans to put Rawlings under house arrest
o Will expand the Nsawam prison to create more room for NPP government officials
o Will scrap the National Health Insurance Scheme
o CPP officials in the Northern Region who fail to endorse the NDC will have their houses burnt and property destroyed
o Prof. Mills is an irresponsible father
o Prof. Mills is not his own man
o Winning elections means third unofficial term for Former President Jerry John Rawlings.
These political rumours have completely taken over the issues-based campaigns that we were promised. No more talk of poverty, employment, health, water, electricity, food security and all that Ghanaians are saddled with currently. Believe it or not that some people (with the literacy rate that we have in Ghana) will end up believing some of these rumours especially as the campaigns are getting to their climax.
As Ghanaians wait to make a final decision come December 28, it is important for the political parties to be reminded of the observation by the late American President, John Kennedy, that the effectiveness of a political campaign in knocking down rumours and smear campaigns is not an unfair test of that campaign’s candidacy.
For now I eagerly wait to see which of the two candidates will join self-declared CPP presidential candidate for 2012, Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin who is hoping for a comeback in that year. What about an opinion poll dubbed Rumour Mongering 2012? Time will tell which of these rumours unfolds as truth.
When a President loses honour, shoes fly about.
Politics is interesting. It has its own way of making and unmaking people. Historically there are many examples of how people came into the limelight after gaining political power and later lost everything when they fell out with their people. It is more painful when such people completely lose their honour and integrity.
These people become a perfect embodiment of the Biblical expression that a prophet is without honour in his own home but with a different dimension- this one is self-inflicted.
I find it difficult to appreciate how people can fall so low. What happened to these fine personalities is a question that keeps haunting me.
This, for me, is how the American presidency of President George Walker Bush can be described. In his own country his rating has dipped to an historical low. No one respects the president in this country and it is a pity to hear words that are used to describe him. Maybe that is just the American style- they are very blunt and will never garnish their words if they do not believe it is a true reflection of their thoughts.
The climax of this sad ending of the president was what happened in Iraq on Sunday. President Bush paid a secret farewell visit to Iraq and finished reviewing a military parade. Together with the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki they went to address a news conference after the parade and that was where the drama occurred.
“This is a farewell kiss, you dog” was the statement spoken in Arabic that preceded a pair of shoes flung at President Bush which missed him narrowly. The shoes came from the feet of an Iraqi journalist, Muntadar al-Zeidi who is a correspondent for Al-Baghdadia television, an Iraqi-owned station based in Cairo, Egypt.
In his humouristic self Bush sought to downplay the issue by saying that the shoes were a size 10. That is how much of an extent a journalist could go to express his dissatisfaction with a president whose farewell visit was also to tell the Iraqis that the war was not over and that it was on its way to be decisively won.
Call it a repetition of history. Do you remember how in 2003 American marines toppled a statue of Saddam Hussein while Iraqis expressed their cultural interpretation of contempt by stamping at the statue with their shoes? In this instance it was not even done to a statue but a sitting president.
With a little over a month left for him to leave office President Bush has become the paper napkin with which people blow their noses. This is a sad depiction of what people can do to themselves.
One can rightly argue this away that he was not popular in the first place when he was elected. True but I am not sure hatred for him was so bad and as he rightly stated after the incident that it was a reflection of the current political situation in his United States.
At this point I want to believe that if there was anything that he will be hoping to do, it will be to hand over to President-Elect Obama and disappear from the minds of Americans.
For the moment the name Bush has become an adjective describing anything negative and unworthy of pursuit like a “Bush policy” or a “Bush programme”. Too bad how a man loses his honour, I only hope those size 10 shoes make it to the famous American Smithsonian museums. I will definitely love to see it for it is worth a ten-page story.
'Abrokyire’ Palaver: Journalism 101
This week marks a very important one for all Ghanaians as we go to the polls at the weekend to elect our president and legislators. A lot has been said and done in the political campaign period just as a lot has gone under the stroke of the pen and the tongue as journalists contribute to our democratic experience.
After all that we have said and debated on the airwaves and in our newspapers this is one week where all journalists would have to go back to Journalism 101 and learn about responsible journalism.
What went down as an apology of journalism culminating in the situation which we all now refer to as the Rwandan genocide is still too fresh to be pushed under the carpet. One radio station’s irresponsibility and its fire-spitting remarks resulted in the death of hundreds of people.
Interestingly I am among the optimists who believe that Ghana is never going to get to that situation but then I also find a lot of wisdom in what our elders say that “when you find your friend’s beard on fire you better put water near yours”. Situations that have happened in other countries are all reminders of what our irresponsibility as journalists can lead to.
Agreeably, it is far-fetched to attribute the outbreak of hostilities especially in elections to the work of the media as research shows but it there is abundance of evidence to show that journalists contribute largely to such situations and so are equally liable for allowing themselves to serve as propagandists and hate messengers of a few selfish politicians who are all too ready and willing to sell their kith and kin for a tin of sardine.
It is in the light of this that I recommend the Ghana Journalists Association for taking steps to educate journalists on what is expected of us in this elections but that point unfortunately also marks my point of departure with my very respected and knowledgeable senior colleague Yaw Boadu Ayeeboafo who was reported as encouraging journalists to ensure equal coverage for all political parties. I am hoping that that was not the thrust of his intervention.
The issue of equality is important but with a week to the elections, this is not the time to advocate for equity. What journalists need is for you to tell them to act responsibly and stop ‘talking by heart’ when the people entrust them with their ears and eyes.
Some of us are just irresponsible and only think of what we can do to promote a candidate who will win and shower us with more favors and more ‘soli’. Sometimes I simply shudder at the thought of how journalism is being redefined by certain practitioners who see any calls for responsible journalism as an attempt to gag them.
I believe that one can make a point without the unnecessary emotional outbursts that follow and add up to an already tensed political situation. As journalists we need to admit that we are human beings who sometimes get things wrong so that instead of fighting to justify our positions, let us lend ourselves to learning the right thing from the right people and infest our audiences with a sense of responsibility in word and deed.
We are all too quick to point at the international media and accuse them of putting out a negative image about Africa, of which we as Ghanaians are an integral part. True, but what are we also doing as journalists to challenge those perceptions put out there when all we spend our time doing is bickering and spewing hate messages and fighting for political favors.
To all those journalists who have kept the standards of responsible journalism high, I cannot but express my admiration for your work and for the rotten eggs among the lot please spare the country in this critical period. We have done it before and we can do it again, let the world see what Ghanaian journalists are capable of achieving in these elections.
As we keep our fingers crossed and pray for a successful election 2008 I am reminded of an article I read in a journal by an African nun in Ireland who in expressing her outrage about the negative image of Africa painted by the western media was told by her friend, “if there is another Africa then let us see it” and I know that Ghana will show the world that there is another Africa which is capable of conducting peaceful elections that are free, fair and smooth.
Dot Asare-Kumah [dortt4u@yahoo.com]
After all that we have said and debated on the airwaves and in our newspapers this is one week where all journalists would have to go back to Journalism 101 and learn about responsible journalism.
What went down as an apology of journalism culminating in the situation which we all now refer to as the Rwandan genocide is still too fresh to be pushed under the carpet. One radio station’s irresponsibility and its fire-spitting remarks resulted in the death of hundreds of people.
Interestingly I am among the optimists who believe that Ghana is never going to get to that situation but then I also find a lot of wisdom in what our elders say that “when you find your friend’s beard on fire you better put water near yours”. Situations that have happened in other countries are all reminders of what our irresponsibility as journalists can lead to.
Agreeably, it is far-fetched to attribute the outbreak of hostilities especially in elections to the work of the media as research shows but it there is abundance of evidence to show that journalists contribute largely to such situations and so are equally liable for allowing themselves to serve as propagandists and hate messengers of a few selfish politicians who are all too ready and willing to sell their kith and kin for a tin of sardine.
It is in the light of this that I recommend the Ghana Journalists Association for taking steps to educate journalists on what is expected of us in this elections but that point unfortunately also marks my point of departure with my very respected and knowledgeable senior colleague Yaw Boadu Ayeeboafo who was reported as encouraging journalists to ensure equal coverage for all political parties. I am hoping that that was not the thrust of his intervention.
The issue of equality is important but with a week to the elections, this is not the time to advocate for equity. What journalists need is for you to tell them to act responsibly and stop ‘talking by heart’ when the people entrust them with their ears and eyes.
Some of us are just irresponsible and only think of what we can do to promote a candidate who will win and shower us with more favors and more ‘soli’. Sometimes I simply shudder at the thought of how journalism is being redefined by certain practitioners who see any calls for responsible journalism as an attempt to gag them.
I believe that one can make a point without the unnecessary emotional outbursts that follow and add up to an already tensed political situation. As journalists we need to admit that we are human beings who sometimes get things wrong so that instead of fighting to justify our positions, let us lend ourselves to learning the right thing from the right people and infest our audiences with a sense of responsibility in word and deed.
We are all too quick to point at the international media and accuse them of putting out a negative image about Africa, of which we as Ghanaians are an integral part. True, but what are we also doing as journalists to challenge those perceptions put out there when all we spend our time doing is bickering and spewing hate messages and fighting for political favors.
To all those journalists who have kept the standards of responsible journalism high, I cannot but express my admiration for your work and for the rotten eggs among the lot please spare the country in this critical period. We have done it before and we can do it again, let the world see what Ghanaian journalists are capable of achieving in these elections.
As we keep our fingers crossed and pray for a successful election 2008 I am reminded of an article I read in a journal by an African nun in Ireland who in expressing her outrage about the negative image of Africa painted by the western media was told by her friend, “if there is another Africa then let us see it” and I know that Ghana will show the world that there is another Africa which is capable of conducting peaceful elections that are free, fair and smooth.
Dot Asare-Kumah [dortt4u@yahoo.com]
‘Abrokyire’ Palaver: Don’t mess with the ‘tsofi’
Thanksgiving Day is this Thursday and in keeping with their tradition Americans are going to spend the day with their families and loved ones over ‘tsofi’ and lots of food. This is the season for turkeys. They are the prized asset of the week.
Seeing turkeys receive so much ‘attention’ reminds me of Adoagyiri-Nsawam where women sell colored ‘tsofi’ to the delight and eagerness of many hands which reach deep into pockets to get a taste of a part of the whole bird which I am told is mentioned by qualifying one’s language.
This important day has two different versions to it, one being that it commemorates an event in 1619 when the Captain of a group of British settlers knelt in prayer and pledged "Thanksgiving" to God for their healthy arrival after a long voyage across the Atlantic.
The second attributes it to an event in 1621 when the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast in keeping with a long tradition of celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops. America ‘Homowo’ is what you may call it.
Apparently the combination of these two versions is what Americans have celebrated every fourth Thursday of November as a thanksgiving feast featuring the good old ‘tsofi’ which is critical to any celebration of the day.
There are some interesting turkey facts posted by the University of Illinois Extension which shows that the average weight of a turkey purchased at Thanksgiving is 15 pounds and the heaviest ever raised was 86 pounds, about the size of a large dog. This year turkey growers estimated producing 271 million turkeys. Of this it is estimated that 44 million are eaten each Thanksgiving, 22 million eaten at Christmas and 19 million eaten each Easter.
This is understandable considering the fact that everyone celebrates Thanksgiving but not everyone celebrates Christmas or Easter.
These turkey facts were the reason why I found it difficult to understand why anyone would be daring enough to ‘mess up’ with turkeys in this country. Not so for a West Virginia farm whose workers were caught on video not only taunting turkeys but killing them either by stomping on their heads or killing them by twisting their necks with their bare hands which reminds me of that song “no mercy for the alanta”.
According to the Associated Press the video, posted on the website of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has outraged so many people and the farm supervisor has already lost his job.
PETA as the group is known, campaigns against the practices of turkey growers before Thanksgiving and encourages Americans to find vegetarian substitutes for the bird, such as tofu.
The company which owns the farm has immediately taken steps to address the turkey abuse lest it is saddled with eating its own turkeys now and forever.
It is even worse considering that if convicted in this case someone could go to jail for up to three years or end up paying up to $5,000 in fines so if you are reading this and you have a relative struggling to make it out here working on a farm especially at this time please tell them not to “mess up with that tsofi”.
As I honor an invitation by a classmate to join her family for Thanksgiving and in my own way of making meaning of the day I remain grateful to all those who take time off to commend and insult me for my views in this column. I remain grateful to you especially for reading and for those who go the extra mile to send me e-mails. Even as I take every bite of my ‘tsofi’ on Thursday I say thank you all.
'Abrokyire’ Palaver: Foreign Accent Syndrome by choice?
Can you imagine suffering a stroke or a severe head or brain injury and coming around only to realize suddenly that you now speak with a foreign accent?
This is the bane of a number of people who after suffering a stroke or head injury woke up to realize they were speaking with completely different accent- a condition known as the Foreign Accent Syndrome or FAS. They completely lose their native accent.
Medical wonders! Last week ABC TV showed some of these victims, all women, who suddenly woke up one day speaking with entirely different accents. One speaks with a Russian accent, the other French and the third one pure British accent. The interesting thing though is that they never spoke any language other than American English and one had never even traveled out of her home state.
It was so inexplicable hearing previous voice messages they left and hearing the way they speak now. Although scientists are still working to find out the real cause of FAS, as it is called, it is believed that it is a result of the malfunctioning of the left side of the brain during a medical crisis which affects the linguistic-processing functions of the brain.
It is a rare medical condition that has yet to be explained fully but nonetheless exists.
This reminds me of when I first came to this country. Many were those who thought I had to quickly learn how to ‘twist my tongue’ a little in order to speak American English. I remember my good friend giving me a good tease when we went to borrow a movie and I asked the shop attendant, “where can I find The Last King of Scotland” and was met with a big “aaahhhh do you mean The Last King of Scadland?”.
I really could not be bothered because I knew there was no way I would ever want to speak with any other accent other than my pure Ghanaian accent. I was told how difficult it was going to be for Americans to understand me when I spoke but I did not intend to make it any easier for them as I was not having it easy understanding theirs too. (One-one draw).
I therefore find it interesting speaking with Ghanaians here. Whiles some have maintained their accent in spite of the number of years they have spent here, others are still working their way to make FAS not a medical condition that should inspire more research but rather a matter of choice.
In this respect you find three categories of Ghanaians living in this country:
The first category is made up of those I call Americo-Ghanaians. These no longer sound Ghanaian at all, they sound very American as is the case of a school mate who was introduced by a mutual African friend. After only four years in this country it is difficult to distinguish between him and the Clintons. Although he still has a Ghanaian name it is pronounced ‘americanly’.
My second category is the Ghamericans. These have obviously put in a lot of effort into sounding American and yet there is something weighing so heavily on their tongue that makes them very frustrated at not endearing themselves to their own people by speaking like the American. They sound forced, confused and end up not knowing where they come from because their newly-acquired accent has failed to clearly distinguish them as coming from any of the continents on earth.
Then there is the last category of Ghanaians who will not even attempt it and are very much like Nigerians not born in this country. Trust the Nigerian who stays here even for 40 years. For as long as they were not born in this country it is still “bot Oga I jost arrived from Lagos”. These are my personal favourites. They believe in the power of their language serving as a critical pointer to their identity. That is who they are and nothing will change their line of thought in that respect.
Ultimately one’s choice of any of the above categories is purely a matter of personal preferences and what one believes in. Having worked as a food vendor for a year and now working with students on a daily basis I am convinced that gradually people get used to your accent just as well as you also get used to theirs. It is only a matter of time. Just take time off to listen to Indians and Nigerians who have lived in this country for decades, they still survive perfectly without having to “twist their tongues”.
The interesting thing is that while medical research seeks to find out what causes FAS and how to deal with it, others are so willing to embrace it. That is the irony of life- one man’s meat is another man’s poison- isn’t that what they say?
This is the bane of a number of people who after suffering a stroke or head injury woke up to realize they were speaking with completely different accent- a condition known as the Foreign Accent Syndrome or FAS. They completely lose their native accent.
Medical wonders! Last week ABC TV showed some of these victims, all women, who suddenly woke up one day speaking with entirely different accents. One speaks with a Russian accent, the other French and the third one pure British accent. The interesting thing though is that they never spoke any language other than American English and one had never even traveled out of her home state.
It was so inexplicable hearing previous voice messages they left and hearing the way they speak now. Although scientists are still working to find out the real cause of FAS, as it is called, it is believed that it is a result of the malfunctioning of the left side of the brain during a medical crisis which affects the linguistic-processing functions of the brain.
It is a rare medical condition that has yet to be explained fully but nonetheless exists.
This reminds me of when I first came to this country. Many were those who thought I had to quickly learn how to ‘twist my tongue’ a little in order to speak American English. I remember my good friend giving me a good tease when we went to borrow a movie and I asked the shop attendant, “where can I find The Last King of Scotland” and was met with a big “aaahhhh do you mean The Last King of Scadland?”.
I really could not be bothered because I knew there was no way I would ever want to speak with any other accent other than my pure Ghanaian accent. I was told how difficult it was going to be for Americans to understand me when I spoke but I did not intend to make it any easier for them as I was not having it easy understanding theirs too. (One-one draw).
I therefore find it interesting speaking with Ghanaians here. Whiles some have maintained their accent in spite of the number of years they have spent here, others are still working their way to make FAS not a medical condition that should inspire more research but rather a matter of choice.
In this respect you find three categories of Ghanaians living in this country:
The first category is made up of those I call Americo-Ghanaians. These no longer sound Ghanaian at all, they sound very American as is the case of a school mate who was introduced by a mutual African friend. After only four years in this country it is difficult to distinguish between him and the Clintons. Although he still has a Ghanaian name it is pronounced ‘americanly’.
My second category is the Ghamericans. These have obviously put in a lot of effort into sounding American and yet there is something weighing so heavily on their tongue that makes them very frustrated at not endearing themselves to their own people by speaking like the American. They sound forced, confused and end up not knowing where they come from because their newly-acquired accent has failed to clearly distinguish them as coming from any of the continents on earth.
Then there is the last category of Ghanaians who will not even attempt it and are very much like Nigerians not born in this country. Trust the Nigerian who stays here even for 40 years. For as long as they were not born in this country it is still “bot Oga I jost arrived from Lagos”. These are my personal favourites. They believe in the power of their language serving as a critical pointer to their identity. That is who they are and nothing will change their line of thought in that respect.
Ultimately one’s choice of any of the above categories is purely a matter of personal preferences and what one believes in. Having worked as a food vendor for a year and now working with students on a daily basis I am convinced that gradually people get used to your accent just as well as you also get used to theirs. It is only a matter of time. Just take time off to listen to Indians and Nigerians who have lived in this country for decades, they still survive perfectly without having to “twist their tongues”.
The interesting thing is that while medical research seeks to find out what causes FAS and how to deal with it, others are so willing to embrace it. That is the irony of life- one man’s meat is another man’s poison- isn’t that what they say?
'Abrokyire' Palaver: The Church of Latter Day Saints
The outcome of the American elections has seen a general celebratory mood nationwide but not for one minority group in states like Florida, Arizona and especially in California.
For all the right and wrong reasons, the GLBT minority is slowly but surely becoming a major force to reckon with and one whose rights must be ensured at all times if you are to progress in any endeavor in this country.
GBLT is the Gay (men who love men sexually), Lesbians (their female version), Bisexuals (those who do both) and the Transsexuals (males or females who have switched their sexes) either due to biological reasons attributed to hormonal ‘unfairness’ or some other reasons.
In education, the work force, health care, the military and the general American life situations, the GLBT group cannot be done away with. My university recently inaugurated its GLBT center with pomp and pageantry. This is one group that cannot be simply wished away with prayer and supplication in America. You only have to respect them as human beings exercising their right of choice, period.
Like Florida and Arizona, California had on its ballot a number of propositions on constitutional amendments and this included the now famous Proposition 8 which gave citizens the opportunity to vote in favour of an amendment that will recognize only marriage contracted between a man and a woman.
This followed a Supreme Court ruling in May this year which overturned the state’s year 2000 law and decided that marriage could be between two women and two men and it was valid in California. As soon as this ruling was passed in May California became the place to be for same-sex lovers who rushed to get married in the state, which also houses most of the famous people and places in this country.
Now thanks to effort and hard work of the Mormons, Californians voted for Proposition 8 which means that only marriage between a man and a woman will be valid and recognized.
The 52.3 per cent yes votes has not come without consequences for the church identified and known as having supported the passage of the proposition. The Mormon Church or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has been faced with days of “shame unto you, shame unto you” from the about 2,000 protesters who have been picketing outside the Los Angeles temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The supporters blamed the church for fighting against same-sex marriages with the same vigour which the presidential candidates fought for the peoples’ votes. Why are people angry with the Mormons simply because they also exercised their democratic right to speak against something they do not believe?
A Washington newspaper interestingly pointed out that most Blacks voted against same-sex marriage by 70 to 30 so why is the group not even blaming Blacks and simply marching against the Mormons.
Mormons in California are said to number more than 750,000 and have been instrumental in fighting against same-sex marriages with church leaders encouraging their members to sacrifice their means and time to overturn the Supreme Court ruling and they won.
Their leaders ensured that they drummed the message very hard at any given time to protest what for them was a moral rape against the sanctity of marriage and they won.
Now they have to face the brunt of angry would-have-been couples some of who were smart enough to commit to each other by marrying before the elections but too bad, it still will not be recognized in California.
The issue of same-sex rights especially as it regards marriage remains highly contentious in this country but my question is that why should the Mormons be blamed for exercising the same democratic right that the GLBTs also exercised?
Everyone has a voice in a democracy. You are free to fall in love with whoever you choose, others are free to use any legal and appropriate means to express their opinions but in the end who wins – the thumb.
It is the silent participant in all of this and yet ends up as master of all. Can you dispute that?
My only wish though is that the Mormon temple in Los Angeles also has a trumpet like the one on top of the Ghana temple. Who knows maybe one of these days the protests will trigger it to blow and then we will see.
For all the right and wrong reasons, the GLBT minority is slowly but surely becoming a major force to reckon with and one whose rights must be ensured at all times if you are to progress in any endeavor in this country.
GBLT is the Gay (men who love men sexually), Lesbians (their female version), Bisexuals (those who do both) and the Transsexuals (males or females who have switched their sexes) either due to biological reasons attributed to hormonal ‘unfairness’ or some other reasons.
In education, the work force, health care, the military and the general American life situations, the GLBT group cannot be done away with. My university recently inaugurated its GLBT center with pomp and pageantry. This is one group that cannot be simply wished away with prayer and supplication in America. You only have to respect them as human beings exercising their right of choice, period.
Like Florida and Arizona, California had on its ballot a number of propositions on constitutional amendments and this included the now famous Proposition 8 which gave citizens the opportunity to vote in favour of an amendment that will recognize only marriage contracted between a man and a woman.
This followed a Supreme Court ruling in May this year which overturned the state’s year 2000 law and decided that marriage could be between two women and two men and it was valid in California. As soon as this ruling was passed in May California became the place to be for same-sex lovers who rushed to get married in the state, which also houses most of the famous people and places in this country.
Now thanks to effort and hard work of the Mormons, Californians voted for Proposition 8 which means that only marriage between a man and a woman will be valid and recognized.
The 52.3 per cent yes votes has not come without consequences for the church identified and known as having supported the passage of the proposition. The Mormon Church or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has been faced with days of “shame unto you, shame unto you” from the about 2,000 protesters who have been picketing outside the Los Angeles temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The supporters blamed the church for fighting against same-sex marriages with the same vigour which the presidential candidates fought for the peoples’ votes. Why are people angry with the Mormons simply because they also exercised their democratic right to speak against something they do not believe?
A Washington newspaper interestingly pointed out that most Blacks voted against same-sex marriage by 70 to 30 so why is the group not even blaming Blacks and simply marching against the Mormons.
Mormons in California are said to number more than 750,000 and have been instrumental in fighting against same-sex marriages with church leaders encouraging their members to sacrifice their means and time to overturn the Supreme Court ruling and they won.
Their leaders ensured that they drummed the message very hard at any given time to protest what for them was a moral rape against the sanctity of marriage and they won.
Now they have to face the brunt of angry would-have-been couples some of who were smart enough to commit to each other by marrying before the elections but too bad, it still will not be recognized in California.
The issue of same-sex rights especially as it regards marriage remains highly contentious in this country but my question is that why should the Mormons be blamed for exercising the same democratic right that the GLBTs also exercised?
Everyone has a voice in a democracy. You are free to fall in love with whoever you choose, others are free to use any legal and appropriate means to express their opinions but in the end who wins – the thumb.
It is the silent participant in all of this and yet ends up as master of all. Can you dispute that?
My only wish though is that the Mormon temple in Los Angeles also has a trumpet like the one on top of the Ghana temple. Who knows maybe one of these days the protests will trigger it to blow and then we will see.
‘Abrokyire’ Palaver: I hate Barack Obama
I have been following this electioneering process as keenly as I follow that of my beloved country. There has been a lot of forward and backward movement in this particular race which either way was going to mark a major paradigm shift- either a black President or a female Vice-President.
As I sat through one of my classes every week I heard arguments of why one has better leadership qualities than the other. Overall there seemed to be a heavy tilt in favor of the Obama-Biden ticket and it just intensified my hate for Obama.
Before you even consign me to the dustbin of mental history cases let me make it clear that I do not hate him enough though to wish him dead. This feeling of hatred keeps irritating me and although I have always played along as a fan of his I cannot keep it anymore.
Barack has fired me up! He has made it more difficult for me and a lot of other people to make excuses in life and to blame other people for our woes. He has overturned the tables to prove that one can become anything in life with determination, perseverance, fair play and truthfulness.
I was once watching an episode of Chuck Norris’ “Texas Ranger” which had something to do with the return of a certain general. As I listened through the lines the general said, “The only limitations we face in life are the limitations that we place on ourselves”. Ever since I heard that statement it has always been hitting back at me any time I feel like giving up and just doing anything to keep me going in life. And as though that has not been strong enough for my conscience to deal with here comes Barack, firing people up all over with a smile, a composure which I still envy very much and a positive attitude spiced with his “Yes we can” slogan.
How can I not hate someone who makes me feel so incapable of pointing a finger in a different direction anytime I have to face life squarely? How can I blame you for being the cause of my problems?
Today Obama makes history but he draws all of us into that history with lessons that we must never forget. I do not however agree with his assertion that it is only in America that you can rise through the ashes to become what nobody ever thought you could become.
I see that very much in my own country. I see people who have and continue to rise through the dark moments to see the sunlight of the day.
What I do not see is a society that supports such people but one where one person’s success is met with constant machinations of the “Pull Him Down” syndrome. I do not see a country that presents equal opportunities for the poor rural boy and the urban. I do not see a country that allows my dear friends at Akyem Ntronang to have the same educational resources as their peers at Achimota preparatory.
That is the American achievement which we can all aspire to and achieve ourselves or through others.
Whiles expressing my hatred for what Barack has disproved in achieving this feat, I cannot help but express my respect and appreciation of John McCain. I am not talking about the campaign he run but his willingness to serve his country at his age.
How many of us do not fold our arms at the least instance and look on. How many of us do not call J.H Mensah and Gladys Asmah names because they are refusing to go and “enjoy their retirement”. Service to one country, as McCain has shown, has nothing to do with age so long as one has the strength and the capability of making a contribution, no matter how small.
I hope that this fire will continue to burn and inspire all of us to go the extra mile to support each other to fight the darkness of the night and rise up to the promise of another day.
‘Abrokyire’ Palaver: Oh my baby!
I am enjoying the summer sun at a park when I hear “oh baby, baby mmmmmwaaa” and a kiss blown behind me. I turn to see who is showing such affectionate afternoon love to her baby only to see this woman cuddling a ‘blonde’ puppy.
Aba! I exclaim to myself. Now even dogs are babies but yes this is America. The first time I experienced this it blew my mind when a panel member at a conference described her family as her dog who loved a lot of attention and needed a new blanket.
Then I remembered our family dog which my father bought from that Achimota place where dogs are sold by the roadside and performed a naming ceremony on his way home simply announcing to the household the arrival of Patience.
Here comes Papa entering the house with Patience, walks into the kitchen and from the watchful eyes of his mate goes in to take Nido milk and make a good shake for Patience. Pla, pla and after two attempts our new pet walks away. Not even the petting and cajoling skills of the poor man would make Patience enjoy our valued Nido milk shake. Then later in the evening my mama decides to put two morsels of fufu near her seat for Patience and with the speed of lightning he swallows the first two and many more to follow. Nima ‘kraman’ versus milk? You must be joking.
Unlike my Patience, the pets (dogs and cats) in this country are really pampered. They wear designer clothes- skirts, shorts, blouses and suits. More people are actually getting into designing pet clothing because apparently it makes good money. One website (darlingpetboutique) even has dog sweaters, jackets, T-shirts to fit “XXS to XXL Dogs”. So whether the dog is ‘obolo’ or ‘atiaa’ there are sizes for all.
There are special beds and blankets just for pets. It is so cozy sometimes you may wish you were only smaller and the designer blanket costs about 100 dollars. Then there are special toys that can be bought from animal stores for your ‘baby’ to play with.
What blew my mind was the animal police and animal courts.
Talking about animal police, I am making a recommendation for the immediate ‘deportation’ of Ernest Debrah, the minister for Food and Agriculture for suggesting before parliament that all “unlicensed stray dogs are to be confiscated and destroyed”. What license if I may ask? That is where the animal police will be valuable- policemen trained for dogs and cats and if you find a stray animal just call them and they come rushing with their phones and gadgets ready to take the stray animal into one of the hundreds of animal shelters dotted around this country where they can be put up for adoption.
There is a television commercial which is so emotional you would think it is soliciting help for abandoned children but no, it is for dog adoption. I stopped listening because it infuriated me- ah when we are talking about human beings then ‘kraman’ but well this is America. But that is what dog welfare officials do for a living- look for homes for dogs to be adopted into. America the beautiful!
Then there are the animal courts where animal disputes are settled. Trained lawyers and judges in their gowns go and argue about which animal scared the other and which one is a bully and then fines are imposed. Wonderful America!
Online legal services abound which litigate on behalf of dogs, cats, mice, lizards and ‘bola’ birds which “face daunting legal disadvantages”. So if the dogs that Mr. Debrah wants to ‘demolish’ need legal services I am ever ready to find lawyers to defend their rights to bark and run amok into the gutters of Ghana like my former dog Patience (former because it walked out when the house gate was left open and never came back) and dash into our living rooms posting a different complexion and requiring immediate shampooing. That is their right and I will not allow this to be taken from them.
With only a couple of months left for me to graduate I am beginning to regret having ‘chewed’ book all this while when I could simply work as a dog walker or be a dog day care provider with special discount rates for bed and breakfast. If people go to work I will walk their dogs to enjoy some fresh air or keep them in my home, feed and bathe them if my services are contracted for days.
That is America, where families can be defined to be one human being and a rabbit or a parrot. The next time you hear someone talk about their family please remember to ask whether it is the wow-wow family or the meow-meow one and you will appreciate why I disagree with Mr. Debrah about his ‘demolition’ of Ghanaian dogs. Please go to the embassy and look for the ‘animals’ consular and just secure visas for them for they will be valuable assets here.
Want to have a feel? Just google dog services or dog day care and you will be amazed at the range of services available – anyone looking to be in my dog care business? Just sign on.
Aba! I exclaim to myself. Now even dogs are babies but yes this is America. The first time I experienced this it blew my mind when a panel member at a conference described her family as her dog who loved a lot of attention and needed a new blanket.
Then I remembered our family dog which my father bought from that Achimota place where dogs are sold by the roadside and performed a naming ceremony on his way home simply announcing to the household the arrival of Patience.
Here comes Papa entering the house with Patience, walks into the kitchen and from the watchful eyes of his mate goes in to take Nido milk and make a good shake for Patience. Pla, pla and after two attempts our new pet walks away. Not even the petting and cajoling skills of the poor man would make Patience enjoy our valued Nido milk shake. Then later in the evening my mama decides to put two morsels of fufu near her seat for Patience and with the speed of lightning he swallows the first two and many more to follow. Nima ‘kraman’ versus milk? You must be joking.
Unlike my Patience, the pets (dogs and cats) in this country are really pampered. They wear designer clothes- skirts, shorts, blouses and suits. More people are actually getting into designing pet clothing because apparently it makes good money. One website (darlingpetboutique) even has dog sweaters, jackets, T-shirts to fit “XXS to XXL Dogs”. So whether the dog is ‘obolo’ or ‘atiaa’ there are sizes for all.
There are special beds and blankets just for pets. It is so cozy sometimes you may wish you were only smaller and the designer blanket costs about 100 dollars. Then there are special toys that can be bought from animal stores for your ‘baby’ to play with.
What blew my mind was the animal police and animal courts.
Talking about animal police, I am making a recommendation for the immediate ‘deportation’ of Ernest Debrah, the minister for Food and Agriculture for suggesting before parliament that all “unlicensed stray dogs are to be confiscated and destroyed”. What license if I may ask? That is where the animal police will be valuable- policemen trained for dogs and cats and if you find a stray animal just call them and they come rushing with their phones and gadgets ready to take the stray animal into one of the hundreds of animal shelters dotted around this country where they can be put up for adoption.
There is a television commercial which is so emotional you would think it is soliciting help for abandoned children but no, it is for dog adoption. I stopped listening because it infuriated me- ah when we are talking about human beings then ‘kraman’ but well this is America. But that is what dog welfare officials do for a living- look for homes for dogs to be adopted into. America the beautiful!
Then there are the animal courts where animal disputes are settled. Trained lawyers and judges in their gowns go and argue about which animal scared the other and which one is a bully and then fines are imposed. Wonderful America!
Online legal services abound which litigate on behalf of dogs, cats, mice, lizards and ‘bola’ birds which “face daunting legal disadvantages”. So if the dogs that Mr. Debrah wants to ‘demolish’ need legal services I am ever ready to find lawyers to defend their rights to bark and run amok into the gutters of Ghana like my former dog Patience (former because it walked out when the house gate was left open and never came back) and dash into our living rooms posting a different complexion and requiring immediate shampooing. That is their right and I will not allow this to be taken from them.
With only a couple of months left for me to graduate I am beginning to regret having ‘chewed’ book all this while when I could simply work as a dog walker or be a dog day care provider with special discount rates for bed and breakfast. If people go to work I will walk their dogs to enjoy some fresh air or keep them in my home, feed and bathe them if my services are contracted for days.
That is America, where families can be defined to be one human being and a rabbit or a parrot. The next time you hear someone talk about their family please remember to ask whether it is the wow-wow family or the meow-meow one and you will appreciate why I disagree with Mr. Debrah about his ‘demolition’ of Ghanaian dogs. Please go to the embassy and look for the ‘animals’ consular and just secure visas for them for they will be valuable assets here.
Want to have a feel? Just google dog services or dog day care and you will be amazed at the range of services available – anyone looking to be in my dog care business? Just sign on.
‘Abrokyire’ Palaver: We are ignorant, others are “ignoranter”
I have never pretended to come from a country of knowledge or where people are better informed than some countries in the world. I am therefore not surprised when people pose certain questions about the United States and all that it is supposed to embody.
I remember that one of the first lessons I learnt, officially during school orientation, was that “Americans know nothing beyond their country” so I am not too surprised when even students in an academic institution keep alluding to Africa as one country. When the Kenyan electoral disturbances broke out, I remember some students asking if my family was okay because there was war in Kenya. Hmm nice to be that thoughtful but I do not come from Kenya and Africa is not one country - at least not yet.
I tried to have a sense of this when a student asked where Ghana was and I said “oh it’s a string of small islands that border the UK and Nigeria” and then she said oh yes I hear there are some nice islands out there and I hope to visit there one day – welcome to my Ghana island, “ignoranter”.
Then is the question, “where did you learn English from, do you speak English in Africa?” Sometimes I am tempted to ‘give it to them’ but often my tongue gets glued to my palate because it is just dumbfounding that such questions get asked not by the ordinary person on the street but by university students and it scares me what questions the ordinary person could be asking.
I got my hair braided and met someone who was all over me admiring it and asked if my hair “was done by the Africans”, oh yeah the Africans did my hair. I had heard this referral to Africa as one country so many times I decided to embark on a little class exercise so anytime there is an assignment that allows for free choice of topics, I choose one related to Ghana or Africa and since presentations are a must it offers me a good opportunity to educate the university “ignoranter”.
This week however I was discussing this with a classmate who is a typical American- brutally frank and honest- and he referred me to some Youtube videos which he felt would give me an appreciation of that statement I first heard during orientation. I do not intend in any way to popularize You tube, although I believe it already is, but so that you appreciate at first hand what my concerns are.
Surprising the knowledge level sometimes does not even extend to the same country in which they live.
I have provided the links to two videos and then you will be surprised to know that there are people who do not even know the religion of Buddhist monks, or that a country that starts with a U is Uthiopia (Ethiopia) or Utah, or that the United Kingdom currency is called Queen Elizabeth or how they can be quick to accept someone who poses as John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia and gets such phenomenal response you can begin to understand why 419 always gets some good victims. And the interesting thing is that these are not staged performances.
Click here to see video
This other link is interesting because it poses questions about Iraq and I am sure we may expect that having been in this war long enough Americans will necessarily be interested in what is happening aside the fact that they have troops in Iraq.
Click here to see video
One thing I keep asking myself is that why do we hold the American to such high expectations? For some reason we think the American is an all-in-all and so we spend all our time watching out for Obama or McCain and spending time listening to them debate each other but fail to hold our own politicians to the zillions of promises they keep making on the campaign trails.
In any case, are we still learning about world history in our schools? How much of our own history do we know as a people? The next time you meet an American and begin to ask all the questions about what is happening in Iraq ask yourself how much you know about your own country Ghana. That may be more helpful to you before the “ignoranter” disappoints you with how little they know about others.
I remember that one of the first lessons I learnt, officially during school orientation, was that “Americans know nothing beyond their country” so I am not too surprised when even students in an academic institution keep alluding to Africa as one country. When the Kenyan electoral disturbances broke out, I remember some students asking if my family was okay because there was war in Kenya. Hmm nice to be that thoughtful but I do not come from Kenya and Africa is not one country - at least not yet.
I tried to have a sense of this when a student asked where Ghana was and I said “oh it’s a string of small islands that border the UK and Nigeria” and then she said oh yes I hear there are some nice islands out there and I hope to visit there one day – welcome to my Ghana island, “ignoranter”.
Then is the question, “where did you learn English from, do you speak English in Africa?” Sometimes I am tempted to ‘give it to them’ but often my tongue gets glued to my palate because it is just dumbfounding that such questions get asked not by the ordinary person on the street but by university students and it scares me what questions the ordinary person could be asking.
I got my hair braided and met someone who was all over me admiring it and asked if my hair “was done by the Africans”, oh yeah the Africans did my hair. I had heard this referral to Africa as one country so many times I decided to embark on a little class exercise so anytime there is an assignment that allows for free choice of topics, I choose one related to Ghana or Africa and since presentations are a must it offers me a good opportunity to educate the university “ignoranter”.
This week however I was discussing this with a classmate who is a typical American- brutally frank and honest- and he referred me to some Youtube videos which he felt would give me an appreciation of that statement I first heard during orientation. I do not intend in any way to popularize You tube, although I believe it already is, but so that you appreciate at first hand what my concerns are.
Surprising the knowledge level sometimes does not even extend to the same country in which they live.
I have provided the links to two videos and then you will be surprised to know that there are people who do not even know the religion of Buddhist monks, or that a country that starts with a U is Uthiopia (Ethiopia) or Utah, or that the United Kingdom currency is called Queen Elizabeth or how they can be quick to accept someone who poses as John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia and gets such phenomenal response you can begin to understand why 419 always gets some good victims. And the interesting thing is that these are not staged performances.
Click here to see video
This other link is interesting because it poses questions about Iraq and I am sure we may expect that having been in this war long enough Americans will necessarily be interested in what is happening aside the fact that they have troops in Iraq.
Click here to see video
One thing I keep asking myself is that why do we hold the American to such high expectations? For some reason we think the American is an all-in-all and so we spend all our time watching out for Obama or McCain and spending time listening to them debate each other but fail to hold our own politicians to the zillions of promises they keep making on the campaign trails.
In any case, are we still learning about world history in our schools? How much of our own history do we know as a people? The next time you meet an American and begin to ask all the questions about what is happening in Iraq ask yourself how much you know about your own country Ghana. That may be more helpful to you before the “ignoranter” disappoints you with how little they know about others.
‘Abrokyire’ Palaver: The Kalamazoo Station
Kalamazoo is one of the nice cities in Michigan with lots of ‘must see’ places. It has a special place in my heart for many reasons, unforgettably it is the place I learnt my first American lesson of asking any question no matter how dumb you think it is.
Well on this occasion I had gone to school to finalize my registration with the kind help of a friend who also took me home for a Ghanaian rice and stew treat by his wife.
So having been given such a good time and happy to have completed my processes to start school, I was given a ride to the Kalamazoo train station to catch a train to another part of Michigan where I was being hosted.
At the time the American English was nothing but a long hrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr running through my ears (still getting used to it) and having lost my geography sense in form three I did not know that Americans always knew that for any transport movement they were eastbound, westbound, northbound and southbound.
So the public address system at the station starts blaring with the announcement of the arrival of two trains one eastbound and the other westbound. Poor me, I could not hear the English and I felt too shy to ask so using my Kaneshie-Dansoman sense of navigation I looked on as one train finished boarding passengers and took off with people waving and blowing kisses. I was just admiring the ‘abrofo’ expression of love.
Then when it had left I knew that just as I would go the Nungua way if I was heading to the Ministries area, I walked and smiled at the train conductor and showed him my ticket. “Sorry mum, your train just took off, we are heading for the opposite direction”.
I almost wore my not-too-common self to demand a better response but this is America so I quietly and sadly went to the station, called my ‘rice and abom’ beneficiaries and spent the night with them but not before changing the ticket and drawing on the back the direction the train’s head will be facing.
Anyway so I became a regular visitor to the Kalamazoo station after that JJC experience since I still had interests to take care at the other side of town.
What kept tearing my heart apart was the sad picture of the effect of drugs (not paracetamol, the other one) on nice handsome guys, mothers and fathers.
Crack head is how they are called. They would normally gather at the station either trying to catch a nap or begging for money or transacting ‘business’.
Sometimes the picture it painted was so saddening that I would just sink my head in a book pretending to read so I did not have to look at what this drug thing had done and was doing to people.
Hearing about transactions for weed (which is what they call wee) was no more news. I felt particularly sad that some of the mothers had left their families to find ways of servicing their drug habits.
I made a friend, a 22-year-old tattooed guy who was such fun to be around and would always walk over and tell me how happy he was to see me at Kalamazoo. He would then go and hang out with his friends.
Whiles waiting for my train one night, a group of people just moved into my corner where I normally pitch my body and started discussing how two of their sons had gone to rob a store with one leaving a message for his mother that should he die she should know that he always loved her.
I could not take what I was hearing and moved away to another spot but in a matter of fifteen minutes my Kalamazoo friend came to ask if I left my corner because of his mother and her friends.
I was shocked- your mom? “Yes, she has always been like this and I cannot help it. I try to spend as much time as possible but she just cannot change”. We sat down and spoke and I thought he was not as bad after all, only a young man caught up in some form of ‘acceptable’ company because of his mother.
One day he saw me and shouted from one end, “hey, good to see you. I want to surprise you, what is your favourite colour- red or white?” I told him I did not mind but I did especially because I did not know what it meant. Was red and white a coded term for heroin and cocaine or what? Pessimist, but that is what Kalamazoo station was turning me into. Anyway I never got my gift, whatever it was, because I never went to the station again.
By the way did I tell you it was at this same station that I met two men who for me were more intelligent than some of my classmates who think Africa is one country and keep asking how come I speak English.
One of these guys asked where I came from and as soon as I mentioned Ghana, he said “oh your president is Mr. Kufuor, the AU chairman”. I was stunned because I had not heard anyone who knew much beyond what goes on in America.
The other was a crack head and had come to sit close to me mumbling gibberish. He wanted a dime (10 cents) but I offered him a bottle of flavored water instead and immediately he started thanking me and took out an empty bottle from his back and dumped it in the trash. He had run out of water. Anyway I was speaking with my friend Zopye back in Ghana and was telling him how this crack head had come to sit so close to me it was scaring me.
He looked at me and asked if I was from Ghana, I held my breath not sure if he heard what I said. I put the call on hold and asked him how he guessed and he told me he had Ghanaian friends in college and so he had picked the accent quite well.
Hmm impressive but I still feel guilty not sure if he overhead my little gossip in Twi or if he is Ghanaian. Well he did not sound like one but it is still pathetic that drugs had reduced him and many more people to beggars and peddlers at the Kalamazoo station.
Well on this occasion I had gone to school to finalize my registration with the kind help of a friend who also took me home for a Ghanaian rice and stew treat by his wife.
So having been given such a good time and happy to have completed my processes to start school, I was given a ride to the Kalamazoo train station to catch a train to another part of Michigan where I was being hosted.
At the time the American English was nothing but a long hrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr running through my ears (still getting used to it) and having lost my geography sense in form three I did not know that Americans always knew that for any transport movement they were eastbound, westbound, northbound and southbound.
So the public address system at the station starts blaring with the announcement of the arrival of two trains one eastbound and the other westbound. Poor me, I could not hear the English and I felt too shy to ask so using my Kaneshie-Dansoman sense of navigation I looked on as one train finished boarding passengers and took off with people waving and blowing kisses. I was just admiring the ‘abrofo’ expression of love.
Then when it had left I knew that just as I would go the Nungua way if I was heading to the Ministries area, I walked and smiled at the train conductor and showed him my ticket. “Sorry mum, your train just took off, we are heading for the opposite direction”.
I almost wore my not-too-common self to demand a better response but this is America so I quietly and sadly went to the station, called my ‘rice and abom’ beneficiaries and spent the night with them but not before changing the ticket and drawing on the back the direction the train’s head will be facing.
Anyway so I became a regular visitor to the Kalamazoo station after that JJC experience since I still had interests to take care at the other side of town.
What kept tearing my heart apart was the sad picture of the effect of drugs (not paracetamol, the other one) on nice handsome guys, mothers and fathers.
Crack head is how they are called. They would normally gather at the station either trying to catch a nap or begging for money or transacting ‘business’.
Sometimes the picture it painted was so saddening that I would just sink my head in a book pretending to read so I did not have to look at what this drug thing had done and was doing to people.
Hearing about transactions for weed (which is what they call wee) was no more news. I felt particularly sad that some of the mothers had left their families to find ways of servicing their drug habits.
I made a friend, a 22-year-old tattooed guy who was such fun to be around and would always walk over and tell me how happy he was to see me at Kalamazoo. He would then go and hang out with his friends.
Whiles waiting for my train one night, a group of people just moved into my corner where I normally pitch my body and started discussing how two of their sons had gone to rob a store with one leaving a message for his mother that should he die she should know that he always loved her.
I could not take what I was hearing and moved away to another spot but in a matter of fifteen minutes my Kalamazoo friend came to ask if I left my corner because of his mother and her friends.
I was shocked- your mom? “Yes, she has always been like this and I cannot help it. I try to spend as much time as possible but she just cannot change”. We sat down and spoke and I thought he was not as bad after all, only a young man caught up in some form of ‘acceptable’ company because of his mother.
One day he saw me and shouted from one end, “hey, good to see you. I want to surprise you, what is your favourite colour- red or white?” I told him I did not mind but I did especially because I did not know what it meant. Was red and white a coded term for heroin and cocaine or what? Pessimist, but that is what Kalamazoo station was turning me into. Anyway I never got my gift, whatever it was, because I never went to the station again.
By the way did I tell you it was at this same station that I met two men who for me were more intelligent than some of my classmates who think Africa is one country and keep asking how come I speak English.
One of these guys asked where I came from and as soon as I mentioned Ghana, he said “oh your president is Mr. Kufuor, the AU chairman”. I was stunned because I had not heard anyone who knew much beyond what goes on in America.
The other was a crack head and had come to sit close to me mumbling gibberish. He wanted a dime (10 cents) but I offered him a bottle of flavored water instead and immediately he started thanking me and took out an empty bottle from his back and dumped it in the trash. He had run out of water. Anyway I was speaking with my friend Zopye back in Ghana and was telling him how this crack head had come to sit so close to me it was scaring me.
He looked at me and asked if I was from Ghana, I held my breath not sure if he heard what I said. I put the call on hold and asked him how he guessed and he told me he had Ghanaian friends in college and so he had picked the accent quite well.
Hmm impressive but I still feel guilty not sure if he overhead my little gossip in Twi or if he is Ghanaian. Well he did not sound like one but it is still pathetic that drugs had reduced him and many more people to beggars and peddlers at the Kalamazoo station.
“Abrokyire” Palaver: The American Mouse
Being in a foreign country has its own challenging and funny moments but it is a completely different ball game when you realize how people from different cultural backgrounds attempt to devise solutions to the simplest issues that have to be dealt with.
I woke up one night to use the bathroom and saw something running over the cooker in our American kitchen. A mouse? But I thought rodents were just an African thing- at least per our folks who travel to ‘abrokyire’ and come back to condemn everything that we have or ever did. And this was just a couple of months after I landed here to study so the weather was warm and nice- a good environment for mice to breed in. Anyway here came the real test for an apartment occupied by three ‘internationalese’- from Ghana, Kazakhstan and Kryzakstan.
The next morning I called my two roommates to figure out how to deal with this animal (as they called it). What I did not know was that they had seen it earlier and had tried finding some information about it.
One said oh I think this is a rat because I am told a mouse is white or grey and can only be found in laboratories. I laughed and handed her a dictionary to look up the definitions of a mouse and then a rat. That was also my own way of helping them deal with their English deficiencies.
The other one quickly called the landlady’s boyfriend who promised to get us some mouse traps. Yes the abundance of traps and all kinds of ‘killing agents’ in stores confirms that rodents and insects that fly by day and night can all be found here- even mosquitoes. You dare not leave your doors opened in the summer.
Well so here comes the traps and I am given strict instructions not to bait the mouse, and this I conveyed clearly to my roommates. In all we had five traps set up for this tiny creature which was having its own fun time at our apartment in the night.
All this while one of the roommates who had carved a profession in hiding her food in her closet and always wanting to ‘taste’ what I cook was apparently having a good time in her room, no in fact in her suitcase, which was loaded with pastries, chocolates, cheese and anything that could keep you indoors for a week. And that poor little mouse must have had a good time! Initially she did not show much enthusiasm about the mouse until she opened her suitcase in day time (gives you an idea when she was sneaking into that suitcase?) and saw that she had actually been sharing her prized food pantry with the mouse. That was when she decided to seek out the mouse and deal with it.
When I woke up that night (in case you are wondering I do ‘go’ every night because of my high fluid intake) there was something sticking on one of the traps. Hey we got it, I exclaimed and moved to switch on the light to catch a glimpse of this mouse which had succeeded in setting three female students on a hunting expedition but to my utter disappointment I only found a piece of chocolate on one trap and a piece of cheese on another. Who could ever use chocolate and cheese to bait a mouse? Apparently the “most affected” believed that since it had done such a good job in her suitcase it will be a good way to catch it but unfortunately not with that smart mouse. I guess it decided to look for alternative feeding sources in the apartment.
We stayed the whole Summer unable to catch the American mouse but I am sure the Winter took care of it somehow. So I told my roommates, “next time you want to catch a mouse ask the African- no chocolates, no cheese- I will hand over to you a piece of dead meat the following morning”.
As for my other beloved room mate who did not know how to differentiate between a rat and a mouse, she left it to the third room mate to deal with since she had more to lose than any of us.
I woke up one night to use the bathroom and saw something running over the cooker in our American kitchen. A mouse? But I thought rodents were just an African thing- at least per our folks who travel to ‘abrokyire’ and come back to condemn everything that we have or ever did. And this was just a couple of months after I landed here to study so the weather was warm and nice- a good environment for mice to breed in. Anyway here came the real test for an apartment occupied by three ‘internationalese’- from Ghana, Kazakhstan and Kryzakstan.
The next morning I called my two roommates to figure out how to deal with this animal (as they called it). What I did not know was that they had seen it earlier and had tried finding some information about it.
One said oh I think this is a rat because I am told a mouse is white or grey and can only be found in laboratories. I laughed and handed her a dictionary to look up the definitions of a mouse and then a rat. That was also my own way of helping them deal with their English deficiencies.
The other one quickly called the landlady’s boyfriend who promised to get us some mouse traps. Yes the abundance of traps and all kinds of ‘killing agents’ in stores confirms that rodents and insects that fly by day and night can all be found here- even mosquitoes. You dare not leave your doors opened in the summer.
Well so here comes the traps and I am given strict instructions not to bait the mouse, and this I conveyed clearly to my roommates. In all we had five traps set up for this tiny creature which was having its own fun time at our apartment in the night.
All this while one of the roommates who had carved a profession in hiding her food in her closet and always wanting to ‘taste’ what I cook was apparently having a good time in her room, no in fact in her suitcase, which was loaded with pastries, chocolates, cheese and anything that could keep you indoors for a week. And that poor little mouse must have had a good time! Initially she did not show much enthusiasm about the mouse until she opened her suitcase in day time (gives you an idea when she was sneaking into that suitcase?) and saw that she had actually been sharing her prized food pantry with the mouse. That was when she decided to seek out the mouse and deal with it.
When I woke up that night (in case you are wondering I do ‘go’ every night because of my high fluid intake) there was something sticking on one of the traps. Hey we got it, I exclaimed and moved to switch on the light to catch a glimpse of this mouse which had succeeded in setting three female students on a hunting expedition but to my utter disappointment I only found a piece of chocolate on one trap and a piece of cheese on another. Who could ever use chocolate and cheese to bait a mouse? Apparently the “most affected” believed that since it had done such a good job in her suitcase it will be a good way to catch it but unfortunately not with that smart mouse. I guess it decided to look for alternative feeding sources in the apartment.
We stayed the whole Summer unable to catch the American mouse but I am sure the Winter took care of it somehow. So I told my roommates, “next time you want to catch a mouse ask the African- no chocolates, no cheese- I will hand over to you a piece of dead meat the following morning”.
As for my other beloved room mate who did not know how to differentiate between a rat and a mouse, she left it to the third room mate to deal with since she had more to lose than any of us.
Gays Meet Opposition In Ghana Saturday, 02 September 2006
WHEN two weeks ago, the alleged president of the Gay and Lesbian Association of Ghana, named as Prince MacDonald, made a request on an Accra private radio station asking for public recognition and announced that the group would be hosting an international conference of homosexuals and lesbians in Ghana, he surely did not imagine what controversy he was stirring.
The request for recognition of homosexuality and lesbianism and the announcement of their proposed conference has sparked off an unprecedented furore in the country.
Phone-ins to radio stations have largely condemned homosexuality and they have asked the government to intervene, citing the country’s cultural norms and beliefs as frowning on the practice. However, some have expressed support for gay and lesbian rights, saying they should be allowed to practise openly to avoid the spread of HIV/AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).
The hostile reaction to the proposed gay and lesbians conference, later this month, appears to have forced Mr. MacDonald to swallow his words. He denied on phone that he never gave out any such information. When he was contacted by the Times, he retorted “I have not said anything and I do not know what is happening. Go and find out the source of your information,” and hung up.
In a press release issued on Thursday, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Kwamena Bartels said: “The government would like to make it absolutely clear that it shall not permit the proposed conference of international gays and lesbians to take place anywhere in Ghana”.
“Ghanaians are a unique people whose culture, morality and heritage totally abhor homosexual and lesbian practices and indeed any other form of unnatural sexual acts”, he added.
Mr. Bartels stated that under the country’s criminal code, “unnatural carnal knowledge is illegal. Homosexuality, lesbianism and bestiality are therefore offences under the laws of Ghana”.
He said the Minister of the Interior had been directed to investigate, through the security agencies, officials who gave permission for the conference to be held at the Accra International Conference Centre.
“The Minister is further directed to institute disciplinary action if they are found to have acted in contravention of our laws”, the release said, adding that having taken note of the unequivocal condemnation of the proposed conference “government does not and shall not condone any such activity which violently offends the culture, morality and heritage of the entire people of Ghana”.
Commenting on the government’s statement, Professor Sakyi Awuku Amoa, Director General of the Ghana Aids Commission, said since the practice was against the norms of society, the government’s decision could not be contested.
Tracing the history of HIV/AIDS which started among a group of gays in the United States he said, the commission’s worry was the increase in the pandemic that the practice of homosexuality could lead to.
“This is not a practice that the country position would support and asking for rights will only create the environment that will spread the AIDS pandemic,” he said. “If we want to manage the practice, we will have to be cautious. It is not just a matter of individual rights.”
Edmund Amarkwei Foley, a Project Coordinator of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, said although people could ask for their rights, it must fall within a society’s rules and norms.
Citing Article 12(2) of the constitution, he said, the public’s interest was vital in acceding to the demands for rights which he said in this case, was the right to freely associate.
Article 12(2) states: “Every person in Ghana, whatever his race, place of origin, political opinion, colour, religion, creed or gender, shall be entitled to the fundamental human rights and freedoms of the individual contained in this chapter but subject to respect for rights and freedoms of others and for the public interest”.
Mr. Foley said that the wide public condemnation of the proposed conference, as expressed on radio over the last few of days since the announcement, showed clearly that public interest had limited the exercise of these rights.
Interesteingly, a research study report published in March 2004 by the late Dr. Dela Attipoe, then the Greater Accra Research Coordinator for HIV/AIDS, showed that the phenomenon of ‘men who have sex with men or MSM,’ in medical parlance, “is real in Ghana with Ghanaians fully involved. It is not a recent phenomenon being visited on Ghana and Ghanaians by ‘whites’ or foreigners”.
The report said reasons that people gave for engaging in homosexuality included economic, pleasure, curiosity and adventure while some claimed that by their biological make-up, they were only attracted to people of the same sex.
Of the 150 gay respondents cited in the report, 43 claimed to have one regular male sex partner while 82 had between two and four regular partners with a few having five or more regular partners.
In order to encourage homosexuals to report cases of STIs for treatment, a number of health-related NGOs have put in place interventions to provide information to MSMs and treat their infections to avoid the spread such infections.
The West Africa Project to Combat AIDS and STI, one of such NGOs, has set up special clinics in some hospitals to cater for the health needs of MSMs, lesbians and HIV persons.
At these clinics, education on ways to prevent the spread of infections and the provision of health services forms an integral part of such special clinics.
The request for recognition of homosexuality and lesbianism and the announcement of their proposed conference has sparked off an unprecedented furore in the country.
Phone-ins to radio stations have largely condemned homosexuality and they have asked the government to intervene, citing the country’s cultural norms and beliefs as frowning on the practice. However, some have expressed support for gay and lesbian rights, saying they should be allowed to practise openly to avoid the spread of HIV/AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).
The hostile reaction to the proposed gay and lesbians conference, later this month, appears to have forced Mr. MacDonald to swallow his words. He denied on phone that he never gave out any such information. When he was contacted by the Times, he retorted “I have not said anything and I do not know what is happening. Go and find out the source of your information,” and hung up.
In a press release issued on Thursday, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Kwamena Bartels said: “The government would like to make it absolutely clear that it shall not permit the proposed conference of international gays and lesbians to take place anywhere in Ghana”.
“Ghanaians are a unique people whose culture, morality and heritage totally abhor homosexual and lesbian practices and indeed any other form of unnatural sexual acts”, he added.
Mr. Bartels stated that under the country’s criminal code, “unnatural carnal knowledge is illegal. Homosexuality, lesbianism and bestiality are therefore offences under the laws of Ghana”.
He said the Minister of the Interior had been directed to investigate, through the security agencies, officials who gave permission for the conference to be held at the Accra International Conference Centre.
“The Minister is further directed to institute disciplinary action if they are found to have acted in contravention of our laws”, the release said, adding that having taken note of the unequivocal condemnation of the proposed conference “government does not and shall not condone any such activity which violently offends the culture, morality and heritage of the entire people of Ghana”.
Commenting on the government’s statement, Professor Sakyi Awuku Amoa, Director General of the Ghana Aids Commission, said since the practice was against the norms of society, the government’s decision could not be contested.
Tracing the history of HIV/AIDS which started among a group of gays in the United States he said, the commission’s worry was the increase in the pandemic that the practice of homosexuality could lead to.
“This is not a practice that the country position would support and asking for rights will only create the environment that will spread the AIDS pandemic,” he said. “If we want to manage the practice, we will have to be cautious. It is not just a matter of individual rights.”
Edmund Amarkwei Foley, a Project Coordinator of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, said although people could ask for their rights, it must fall within a society’s rules and norms.
Citing Article 12(2) of the constitution, he said, the public’s interest was vital in acceding to the demands for rights which he said in this case, was the right to freely associate.
Article 12(2) states: “Every person in Ghana, whatever his race, place of origin, political opinion, colour, religion, creed or gender, shall be entitled to the fundamental human rights and freedoms of the individual contained in this chapter but subject to respect for rights and freedoms of others and for the public interest”.
Mr. Foley said that the wide public condemnation of the proposed conference, as expressed on radio over the last few of days since the announcement, showed clearly that public interest had limited the exercise of these rights.
Interesteingly, a research study report published in March 2004 by the late Dr. Dela Attipoe, then the Greater Accra Research Coordinator for HIV/AIDS, showed that the phenomenon of ‘men who have sex with men or MSM,’ in medical parlance, “is real in Ghana with Ghanaians fully involved. It is not a recent phenomenon being visited on Ghana and Ghanaians by ‘whites’ or foreigners”.
The report said reasons that people gave for engaging in homosexuality included economic, pleasure, curiosity and adventure while some claimed that by their biological make-up, they were only attracted to people of the same sex.
Of the 150 gay respondents cited in the report, 43 claimed to have one regular male sex partner while 82 had between two and four regular partners with a few having five or more regular partners.
In order to encourage homosexuals to report cases of STIs for treatment, a number of health-related NGOs have put in place interventions to provide information to MSMs and treat their infections to avoid the spread such infections.
The West Africa Project to Combat AIDS and STI, one of such NGOs, has set up special clinics in some hospitals to cater for the health needs of MSMs, lesbians and HIV persons.
At these clinics, education on ways to prevent the spread of infections and the provision of health services forms an integral part of such special clinics.
3 S.S.S. Students Sold For ¢100 Million Friday, 09 June 2006
When three students of the Mpasatia Secondary School, near Nkawie-Toase in the Ashanti Region, responded to an invitation to follow two dormitory mates to Bibiani last Sunday, to seek refund of a colleague’s lost mobile phone, little did they know that they had been offered for sale for ritual purposes.
It was not until the Nyinahini District Police swooped on them that they discovered that they had been exchanged for Ñž100 million to a ‘buyer’ in Bibiani by their colleagues, Norman Nti Jnr. 22, and Godwin Biri Asamoah, 19.
The two who finished writing the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination last week Friday had allegedly arranged to sell Edward Osei-Tutu, 16, a first-year student, Seth Osei, 17, second year and Bright Darko, 18, who also wrote his last paper last Friday.
Nti and Asamoah have since been arraigned before the Bibiani Magistrate Court and remanded in prison custody until July 21.
Narrating the incident to the Times, ASP Felix Toya, Bibiani District Police Commander, who led the operation to arrest the boys, said that on Friday, June 2, Nti called Ofosu Apenteng in Bibiani, and allegedly asked him to find a buyer for three boys promising that if the deal went through, he would receive ¢20 million.
Nti and Apenteng had previously lived in the same area and according to him, Nti sent his mobile number through a neighbour and requested that he (Apenteng) got in touch. It was after this contact that Nti followed up with his request.
ASP Toya said that Apenteng alerted the police who got a cashier working in Bibiani to feign interest. Apenteng then asked Nti to bring the boys to Bibiani, telling him that he had only ¢3 million cash available and would pay the remaining ¢97 million by cheque.
ASP Toya said that around 4pm on Sunday, Nti called Apenteng to inform him that they were waiting to be picked up in front of the Bibiani Secondary School. The police arranged a private vehicle to take them to a hotel which had been booked for them while they mounted a surveillance around the area.
He said that as previously arranged, Seth Osei-Tutu and Darko were left at the reception while Nti and Asamoah bargained with Ofosu and the prospective ‘buyer’ in the hotel room after which they were to leave by another exit as the buyer took possession of the boys.
The District Commander stated that as soon as Nti was given the money and the cheque, plain-cloth policemen who had positioned themselves at the other exit moved on and arrested the suspects.
He said that all this while, the three unsuspecting victims were waiting in the lobby of the reception and did not believe it when the police told them what was happening.
The genesis of the matter according to Mr. Toya, was when Nti took Osei’s mobile phone and later informed him that it was missing. He said that when Osei insisted that the phone be replaced, Nti asked him to accompany him to Bibiani to see his millionaire uncle who could pay it.
He, however, told Osei to quote the cost as ¢4 million since his uncle could pay it and even more.
Osei-Tutu and Darko, he said decided to join the group so that they could also get a share of the money.
Asamoah was alleged to have confessed during police interrogation, that he had once sold someone for ritual purposes and so agreed to assist Nti.
The police are investigating his claims.
The three victims have been released to go back to school to complete their end-of-term examination.
Seeking Workers’ Comfort, The Task For T. A. And TeamSaturday, 23 September 2006
The Presidential Commission on Pensions set up in 2004 by President Kufuor rounded up its work last week Friday. It was set up following many concerns raised about the country’s present pension schemes. The Commission was tasked to study them and make appropriate recommendations to ensure a comfortable life after work.
It presented its final report to the President on March 3, 2006 and on August 29, 2006 the government.
Thomas Ango Bediako, (popularly known as ‘T.A., former General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers and himself a pensioner, chaired the nine-member committee. In this interview with Times Weekend he explains the work of the Commission and the proposals it has made to the Government. Excerpts from the interview follow:
Q: What necessitated the setting up of this Commission?
A: The CAP 30 pension scheme Act was passed around 1950. Under it, workers are paid pensions from the Consolidated Fund (government chest).
Since the passage of the Act, CAP 30 has not seen any review although it is obvious that government can no longer pay pensions from the consolidated fund. Over the years, however, there had been bits and pieces in terms of amendments, some by law and others by administrative provisions.
Then came the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) pension scheme.
It was therefore decided that all those who were employed in the public services before January 1972 could remain on CAP 30 and then those who were employed from 1st January 1972 had to join the SSNIT scheme which was for both public and private sector workers.
Now it is evident that public servants who were employed after 1972 have not been happy with the benefits that they receive from the SSNIT scheme especially with what has became known as the lump sum payment.
The lump sum payment is actually a reduced pension with gratuity. Based on a formula, it is calculated and a certain percentage deducted before the final sum is determined.
So you go home with a lump sum, which is one quarter of what you were supposed to get for the whole period of your work. The remaining three quarters is divided by twelve months and you get what is called the monthly pension.
Now the SSNIT used a different formula as an independent and different scheme, but it was later found out that under the scheme most public workers were going home with a reduced lump sum.
Their lump sum was not as much as that of CAP 30. In fact it had a ratio of about 4:1. For every four cedis that someone under CAP 30 takes as lump sum, under the SSNIT it is one cedi and this resulted in some agitations.
What made it worse was when the previous government decided at certain times to return new beneficiaries from certain categories of employment back to CAP 30. The contributions they made under the social security were refunded to them and this worsened the situation.
That made civil servants, teachers and others to go on demonstrations.
Q: What was the Commission tasked to look at under its terms of reference?
A: We had nine points of reference. The first one was to examine the SSNIT pension scheme and that of CAP 30 and other retirement schemes both in the private and public sectors and identify differences.
We had nine points of reference. The first one was to examine the SSNIT pension scheme and that of CAP 30 and other retirement schemes both in the private and public sectors and identify differences.
Apart from the two sectors, the armed forces had their own scheme, the universities had their own scheme and so on and therefore we were to look at these as well and identify the differences.
We were also to examine and determine the sustainability of the existing pension scheme to the public sector.
To determine pension benefits we were mindful of cases where some public employees have their salaries and in addition to these also take between eight to 15 different allowances.
They have lunch allowance, travel allowance, houseboy allowance and so on.
But when it comes to pension calculation all these allowances are not taken into consideration so when you are in active service you are happy because of all these things because at the end of the day you do not pay taxes. However, when you go on pension all these are not considered when calculating your pension therefore you see a sudden change in your income and standard of living.
So we had to make some kind of recommendation to determine which part of your total remuneration should be taken into consideration when calculating pension, that is the salary and the allowance, which part should be taken into consideration when calculating pensions.
Then there was the issue of the retirement age, the matter of different schemes having different retirement ages. Under the Constitution, public sector employees can retire willingly before the official retirement age of 60. However, while under CAP 30, an employee can do so at the age of 45, under SSNIT it is at 55 years.
Another source of concern was that under SSNIT, those who go on voluntary retirement pay a penalty, and their entitlements are reduced but going home voluntarily under CAP 30 does not attract any such penalty.
Q: Some people argue that ‘CAP 30’ is not sustainable.
A: First, CAP 30 used to be a non-contributory scheme with the entitlement paid from government resources from the consolidated fund. Now there were so many competing demands on the consolidated fund and we needed an expert to do research for us.
First, CAP 30 used to be a non-contributory scheme with the entitlement paid from government resources from the consolidated fund. Now there were so many competing demands on the consolidated fund and we needed an expert to do research for us.
After the research it became clear for as that one of the causes of the delay in the payment of pension was that there was hardly ever enough money in the consolidated budget so there was a kind of backlog in the payment so we made a recommendation that since pensions depend largely on salaries there was the need for government to look at the payment or remuneration of individuals.
Q: Now that a new scheme is being proposed, what happens to beneficiaries of CAP 30?
A: There was a general debate as to whether the whole CAP 30 cannot be stopped but that will be unlawful because we should not make people suffer. If things go as planned, then there will be a transition period and then CAP 30 will eventually fade away.
There was a general debate as to whether the whole CAP 30 cannot be stopped but that will be unlawful because we should not make people suffer. If things go as planned, then there will be a transition period and then CAP 30 will eventually fade away.
But as soon as a new law for the new pension scheme comes into effect then no person should be enrolled under CAP 30. The Commission is hoping that within two years the law on the new pension scheme will be passed by Parliament.
Q: What does the new scheme being proposed by your Commission entail?
A: Under this scheme, there will be single structure but with three schemes. The first and second schemes are mandatory and every worker would have to be under that scheme.
Under this scheme, there will be single structure but with three schemes. The first and second schemes are mandatory and every worker would have to be under that scheme.
The first tier is a state-funded restructured SSNIT scheme (17.5 per cent) but there is going to be an additional percentage making it 18.5 per cent because already 2.5 per cent has been taken off to support the National Health Insurance Scheme. Individual contributions will therefore be 18.5 per cent with 2.5 per cent going to the NHIS.
SSNIT will invest 11per cent of the contribution for the monthly pension so that at least every month pensioners get something. The remaining five per cent will go to a fund manager to be selected by an organization or a group of people.
The third tier is voluntary but by virtue of its name it will be a long-term savings package. We felt that in addition to the two mandatory schemes, workers or employers can come together and invest some of their savings in the long term. It could be towards acquiring houses, cars
The CAP 30 pension scheme Act was passed around 1950. Under it, workers are paid pensions from the Consolidated Fund (government chest). We had nine points of reference. The first one was to examine the SSNIT pension scheme and that of CAP 30 and other retirement schemes both in the private and public sectors and identify differences. First, CAP 30 used to be a non-contributory scheme with the entitlement paid from government resources from the consolidated fund. Now there were so many competing demands on the consolidated fund and we needed an expert to do research for us. There was a general debate as to whether the whole CAP 30 cannot be stopped but that will be unlawful because we should not make people suffer. If things go as planned, then there will be a transition period and then CAP 30 will eventually fade away. Under this scheme, there will be single structure but with three schemes. The first and second schemes are mandatory and every worker would have to be under that scheme.
Q: In coming up with your recommendations what were the guiding principles you adopted?
A: Our 99-point recommendation was guided by the basic principle that all over the world there is a movement from non-contributory to contributory pension schemes. In other words, it means that it has become a joint responsibility of workers, their employers and the government to ensure that there is adequate pension to all workers and their employees.
The committee also felt that the pension scheme should reduce the poverty of the retired person, not increase it. In this vein the pension scheme must be participatory and easy to understand. It should also encourage the participation of workers in it.
We found out that there was a multiplicity of pension schemes and this is not good enough so we proposed the creation of a unified pension structure, which the government has accepted.
Q: How do you factor in the informal sector?
A: For the informal sector we held discussions with the farmers and fishermen. They are all interested in getting pension but are not interested in the current SSNIT system and obviously it is because most of them are seasonal income earners.
There should be a scheme that is different where cocoa farmers, for example, can pay into it after selling their produce and this proposed scheme will take care of that sector.
Q: How are you going to ensure that the new scheme works?
A: If there are no checks it will not be successful, so we have recommended that there should be a regulatory body, which we learned from other countries such as Nigeria. The Commission proposed an independent regulatory body to ensure that the fund managers, including SSNIT, work according to laid down regulations.
In arriving at all of these we looked at practices in some countries in Africa such as Mauritius, Swaziland, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Senegal and in some of the emerging economies like Chile, Bolivia, Thailand and Singapore.
Q: How would you describe the level of public response to your work?
A: The response was good and we were privilege to have people from various walks of life on the Commission. We had an economist, a lawyer, an actuary and others but in addition, we got the support and cooperation of the ministries, departments and other agencies. SSNIT was very helpful; we had an extensive consultation with them.
Also, in the course of our work it became necessary to look at certain areas which were not directly our task. For instance, the working environment of the Accountant General’s pension division was unacceptable. People were working with papers scattered all over.
There was an uncompleted building, started many years ago, which we recommended that the division be moved into and I believe that by now the staff have moved in. So we not only recommended what should be done in future, we also looked for pragmatic solutions to some of the current problems. On MR. BEDIAKO’S team were: Chief Musa Adam, a Management Consultant and former MD of the Electricity Company of Ghana; Ms Josephine Amoah, the Commissioner of Insurance, National Insurance Commission; Ms Irene Wontumi, a Management Consultant; Mr. Daniel Mensah, a Managing Consultant and Chief Executive Officer of Tri-Star Consulting Actuaries; Mr. Austin Gamey, a former Deputy Minister for Employment and Social Welfare and CEO of Gamey & Gamey Academy of Mediation; Captain Joel Sowu (Rtd), a Consultant of Internet Ghana Limited; Mr. Andrew Asamoah, a United Nations Consultant and Business Executive who also once served as a WHO Representative to the UN Joint Pension Fund and Mr. Martin Eson-Benjamin, CEO of EMPRETEC Ghana Foundation and former MD and Chairman of Ghana Breweries Limited.
It presented its final report to the President on March 3, 2006 and on August 29, 2006 the government.
Thomas Ango Bediako, (popularly known as ‘T.A., former General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers and himself a pensioner, chaired the nine-member committee. In this interview with Times Weekend he explains the work of the Commission and the proposals it has made to the Government. Excerpts from the interview follow:
Q: What necessitated the setting up of this Commission?
A: The CAP 30 pension scheme Act was passed around 1950. Under it, workers are paid pensions from the Consolidated Fund (government chest).
Since the passage of the Act, CAP 30 has not seen any review although it is obvious that government can no longer pay pensions from the consolidated fund. Over the years, however, there had been bits and pieces in terms of amendments, some by law and others by administrative provisions.
Then came the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) pension scheme.
It was therefore decided that all those who were employed in the public services before January 1972 could remain on CAP 30 and then those who were employed from 1st January 1972 had to join the SSNIT scheme which was for both public and private sector workers.
Now it is evident that public servants who were employed after 1972 have not been happy with the benefits that they receive from the SSNIT scheme especially with what has became known as the lump sum payment.
The lump sum payment is actually a reduced pension with gratuity. Based on a formula, it is calculated and a certain percentage deducted before the final sum is determined.
So you go home with a lump sum, which is one quarter of what you were supposed to get for the whole period of your work. The remaining three quarters is divided by twelve months and you get what is called the monthly pension.
Now the SSNIT used a different formula as an independent and different scheme, but it was later found out that under the scheme most public workers were going home with a reduced lump sum.
Their lump sum was not as much as that of CAP 30. In fact it had a ratio of about 4:1. For every four cedis that someone under CAP 30 takes as lump sum, under the SSNIT it is one cedi and this resulted in some agitations.
What made it worse was when the previous government decided at certain times to return new beneficiaries from certain categories of employment back to CAP 30. The contributions they made under the social security were refunded to them and this worsened the situation.
That made civil servants, teachers and others to go on demonstrations.
Q: What was the Commission tasked to look at under its terms of reference?
A: We had nine points of reference. The first one was to examine the SSNIT pension scheme and that of CAP 30 and other retirement schemes both in the private and public sectors and identify differences.
We had nine points of reference. The first one was to examine the SSNIT pension scheme and that of CAP 30 and other retirement schemes both in the private and public sectors and identify differences.
Apart from the two sectors, the armed forces had their own scheme, the universities had their own scheme and so on and therefore we were to look at these as well and identify the differences.
We were also to examine and determine the sustainability of the existing pension scheme to the public sector.
To determine pension benefits we were mindful of cases where some public employees have their salaries and in addition to these also take between eight to 15 different allowances.
They have lunch allowance, travel allowance, houseboy allowance and so on.
But when it comes to pension calculation all these allowances are not taken into consideration so when you are in active service you are happy because of all these things because at the end of the day you do not pay taxes. However, when you go on pension all these are not considered when calculating your pension therefore you see a sudden change in your income and standard of living.
So we had to make some kind of recommendation to determine which part of your total remuneration should be taken into consideration when calculating pension, that is the salary and the allowance, which part should be taken into consideration when calculating pensions.
Then there was the issue of the retirement age, the matter of different schemes having different retirement ages. Under the Constitution, public sector employees can retire willingly before the official retirement age of 60. However, while under CAP 30, an employee can do so at the age of 45, under SSNIT it is at 55 years.
Another source of concern was that under SSNIT, those who go on voluntary retirement pay a penalty, and their entitlements are reduced but going home voluntarily under CAP 30 does not attract any such penalty.
Q: Some people argue that ‘CAP 30’ is not sustainable.
A: First, CAP 30 used to be a non-contributory scheme with the entitlement paid from government resources from the consolidated fund. Now there were so many competing demands on the consolidated fund and we needed an expert to do research for us.
First, CAP 30 used to be a non-contributory scheme with the entitlement paid from government resources from the consolidated fund. Now there were so many competing demands on the consolidated fund and we needed an expert to do research for us.
After the research it became clear for as that one of the causes of the delay in the payment of pension was that there was hardly ever enough money in the consolidated budget so there was a kind of backlog in the payment so we made a recommendation that since pensions depend largely on salaries there was the need for government to look at the payment or remuneration of individuals.
Q: Now that a new scheme is being proposed, what happens to beneficiaries of CAP 30?
A: There was a general debate as to whether the whole CAP 30 cannot be stopped but that will be unlawful because we should not make people suffer. If things go as planned, then there will be a transition period and then CAP 30 will eventually fade away.
There was a general debate as to whether the whole CAP 30 cannot be stopped but that will be unlawful because we should not make people suffer. If things go as planned, then there will be a transition period and then CAP 30 will eventually fade away.
But as soon as a new law for the new pension scheme comes into effect then no person should be enrolled under CAP 30. The Commission is hoping that within two years the law on the new pension scheme will be passed by Parliament.
Q: What does the new scheme being proposed by your Commission entail?
A: Under this scheme, there will be single structure but with three schemes. The first and second schemes are mandatory and every worker would have to be under that scheme.
Under this scheme, there will be single structure but with three schemes. The first and second schemes are mandatory and every worker would have to be under that scheme.
The first tier is a state-funded restructured SSNIT scheme (17.5 per cent) but there is going to be an additional percentage making it 18.5 per cent because already 2.5 per cent has been taken off to support the National Health Insurance Scheme. Individual contributions will therefore be 18.5 per cent with 2.5 per cent going to the NHIS.
SSNIT will invest 11per cent of the contribution for the monthly pension so that at least every month pensioners get something. The remaining five per cent will go to a fund manager to be selected by an organization or a group of people.
The third tier is voluntary but by virtue of its name it will be a long-term savings package. We felt that in addition to the two mandatory schemes, workers or employers can come together and invest some of their savings in the long term. It could be towards acquiring houses, cars
The CAP 30 pension scheme Act was passed around 1950. Under it, workers are paid pensions from the Consolidated Fund (government chest). We had nine points of reference. The first one was to examine the SSNIT pension scheme and that of CAP 30 and other retirement schemes both in the private and public sectors and identify differences. First, CAP 30 used to be a non-contributory scheme with the entitlement paid from government resources from the consolidated fund. Now there were so many competing demands on the consolidated fund and we needed an expert to do research for us. There was a general debate as to whether the whole CAP 30 cannot be stopped but that will be unlawful because we should not make people suffer. If things go as planned, then there will be a transition period and then CAP 30 will eventually fade away. Under this scheme, there will be single structure but with three schemes. The first and second schemes are mandatory and every worker would have to be under that scheme.
Q: In coming up with your recommendations what were the guiding principles you adopted?
A: Our 99-point recommendation was guided by the basic principle that all over the world there is a movement from non-contributory to contributory pension schemes. In other words, it means that it has become a joint responsibility of workers, their employers and the government to ensure that there is adequate pension to all workers and their employees.
The committee also felt that the pension scheme should reduce the poverty of the retired person, not increase it. In this vein the pension scheme must be participatory and easy to understand. It should also encourage the participation of workers in it.
We found out that there was a multiplicity of pension schemes and this is not good enough so we proposed the creation of a unified pension structure, which the government has accepted.
Q: How do you factor in the informal sector?
A: For the informal sector we held discussions with the farmers and fishermen. They are all interested in getting pension but are not interested in the current SSNIT system and obviously it is because most of them are seasonal income earners.
There should be a scheme that is different where cocoa farmers, for example, can pay into it after selling their produce and this proposed scheme will take care of that sector.
Q: How are you going to ensure that the new scheme works?
A: If there are no checks it will not be successful, so we have recommended that there should be a regulatory body, which we learned from other countries such as Nigeria. The Commission proposed an independent regulatory body to ensure that the fund managers, including SSNIT, work according to laid down regulations.
In arriving at all of these we looked at practices in some countries in Africa such as Mauritius, Swaziland, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Senegal and in some of the emerging economies like Chile, Bolivia, Thailand and Singapore.
Q: How would you describe the level of public response to your work?
A: The response was good and we were privilege to have people from various walks of life on the Commission. We had an economist, a lawyer, an actuary and others but in addition, we got the support and cooperation of the ministries, departments and other agencies. SSNIT was very helpful; we had an extensive consultation with them.
Also, in the course of our work it became necessary to look at certain areas which were not directly our task. For instance, the working environment of the Accountant General’s pension division was unacceptable. People were working with papers scattered all over.
There was an uncompleted building, started many years ago, which we recommended that the division be moved into and I believe that by now the staff have moved in. So we not only recommended what should be done in future, we also looked for pragmatic solutions to some of the current problems. On MR. BEDIAKO’S team were: Chief Musa Adam, a Management Consultant and former MD of the Electricity Company of Ghana; Ms Josephine Amoah, the Commissioner of Insurance, National Insurance Commission; Ms Irene Wontumi, a Management Consultant; Mr. Daniel Mensah, a Managing Consultant and Chief Executive Officer of Tri-Star Consulting Actuaries; Mr. Austin Gamey, a former Deputy Minister for Employment and Social Welfare and CEO of Gamey & Gamey Academy of Mediation; Captain Joel Sowu (Rtd), a Consultant of Internet Ghana Limited; Mr. Andrew Asamoah, a United Nations Consultant and Business Executive who also once served as a WHO Representative to the UN Joint Pension Fund and Mr. Martin Eson-Benjamin, CEO of EMPRETEC Ghana Foundation and former MD and Chairman of Ghana Breweries Limited.
Did You Received A Hamper? Saturday, 23 December 2006
Have you received a hamper this season?
Are you sure about the motives for which it was sent? If you are not, follow the example of the Commissioner on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Ms. Anna Bossman, by immediately returning it to the sender or donating it to charity.
The Commission recently launched a set of guidelines on conflict of interest in which it asked public officials to, among other things, ask questions about any gifts they receive and only accept it if it would not influence their dealings with the sender.
Speaking to the Times yesterday, Ms. Bossman said that although she had received some hampers, she had equally rejected others, and donated to charity, those that she was not comfortable with.
"In fact, I had to insist in some instances that I could not take them and turned them away.
$44.2b Goods Exported Under AGOA Thursday, 19 July 2007
Six years after the introduction of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) initiative, Africa has exported a total of 44.2 billion dollars worth of products to the United States.
Although there are 6,400 products that can be exported under AGOA by 39 eligible countries, so far fewer than 4,000 of such products are being exported by the 39 eligible countries.
Susan Schwab, US Trade Representative who led a delegation of 139 high-level technical officials to attend the 6th AGOA forum in Accra, said this yesterday when she addressed a joint press conference after the official opening of the two-day forum under the theme "As Trade Grows Africa Prospers: Optimising The Benefits Under AGOA".
The delegation was drawn from 16 states who work in the private sector and civil society organisations.
Ms Schwab said the forum was an opportunity to take stock of progress being made under the initiative and stimulate new trade opportunities between the eligible countries and the US.
"AGOA remains one of the series of initiatives that reflect the commitment of the US to development in Africa", she said adding that in 2001, Africa’s exports made up less than one per cent of imports into the US but "today it is about two per cent."
Ms Schwab said contrary to the perception that there was a concentration on the export of only petroleum products and garments and textiles, the export of non-oil products had seen a steady rise but conceded that it was important for African countries to take a second look at the product mix of their exports.
Reacting to concerns about the need to build the capacity of countries in expanding their export base, she said discussions at the plenary session centred on ways of addressing that problem she agreed that opening markets to Africa was not enough, adding that this informed the reason for coming with a large delegation of private sector operators and representatives of major retailers of garments, food products and food processing experts and not oil or mining interests.
"If our efforts will succeed, we must work closely with the private sector," she said.
The Minister of Trade, Industry and PSI, Alan Kyerematen at the ministerial session which was held two days prior to the forum suggested the setting up of an AGOA Fund and the introduction of other financial instruments to support in particular, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises that seek to produce for export under AGOA.
He said the main issue in the six years of the initiative has been the lack of supply capacity by African countries," a situation which such a fund could help to address.
Mr. Kyerematen noted that with the AGOA initiative expiring in 2015, it was important for countries to start deliberations with the US to explore ways of exploring opportunities for negotiating a Free Trade Agreement "that will rock in the benefits of AGOA on a more permanent basis."
Trade Ministers from the 39 AGOA qualified countries in sub-Saharan Africa, representatives of the private sector, Civil Society groups and US officials are using the forum to deliberate on ways of increasing trade between the US and Africa.
The AGOA, a legislative initiative which ends in 2015, is an opportunity created to open up the US market to eligible African countries to export over 6,400 duty-free and quota-free products and is estimated at more than 10 trillion dollars.
Although there are 6,400 products that can be exported under AGOA by 39 eligible countries, so far fewer than 4,000 of such products are being exported by the 39 eligible countries.
Susan Schwab, US Trade Representative who led a delegation of 139 high-level technical officials to attend the 6th AGOA forum in Accra, said this yesterday when she addressed a joint press conference after the official opening of the two-day forum under the theme "As Trade Grows Africa Prospers: Optimising The Benefits Under AGOA".
The delegation was drawn from 16 states who work in the private sector and civil society organisations.
Ms Schwab said the forum was an opportunity to take stock of progress being made under the initiative and stimulate new trade opportunities between the eligible countries and the US.
"AGOA remains one of the series of initiatives that reflect the commitment of the US to development in Africa", she said adding that in 2001, Africa’s exports made up less than one per cent of imports into the US but "today it is about two per cent."
Ms Schwab said contrary to the perception that there was a concentration on the export of only petroleum products and garments and textiles, the export of non-oil products had seen a steady rise but conceded that it was important for African countries to take a second look at the product mix of their exports.
Reacting to concerns about the need to build the capacity of countries in expanding their export base, she said discussions at the plenary session centred on ways of addressing that problem she agreed that opening markets to Africa was not enough, adding that this informed the reason for coming with a large delegation of private sector operators and representatives of major retailers of garments, food products and food processing experts and not oil or mining interests.
"If our efforts will succeed, we must work closely with the private sector," she said.
The Minister of Trade, Industry and PSI, Alan Kyerematen at the ministerial session which was held two days prior to the forum suggested the setting up of an AGOA Fund and the introduction of other financial instruments to support in particular, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises that seek to produce for export under AGOA.
He said the main issue in the six years of the initiative has been the lack of supply capacity by African countries," a situation which such a fund could help to address.
Mr. Kyerematen noted that with the AGOA initiative expiring in 2015, it was important for countries to start deliberations with the US to explore ways of exploring opportunities for negotiating a Free Trade Agreement "that will rock in the benefits of AGOA on a more permanent basis."
Trade Ministers from the 39 AGOA qualified countries in sub-Saharan Africa, representatives of the private sector, Civil Society groups and US officials are using the forum to deliberate on ways of increasing trade between the US and Africa.
The AGOA, a legislative initiative which ends in 2015, is an opportunity created to open up the US market to eligible African countries to export over 6,400 duty-free and quota-free products and is estimated at more than 10 trillion dollars.
Ghana Rated 'Moderate' In Campaign Against Corruption Friday, 12 January 2007
GHANA has been rated "Moderate," having scored 78 out of 100 points in a global report which assessed national anti-corruption policies and practices around the world.
The ratings are ‘Very Strong,’ ‘Strong,’ ‘Moderate,’ ‘Weak’ and ‘Very Weak’.
The report is the outcome of a study carried out by Global Integrity, a Washington D.C.-based international non-profit organisation dedicated to the comprehensive and timely research and reporting of governance and corruption trends around the world.
Named the ‘2006 Global Integrity Index,’ it also assessed the existence and effectiveness of anti-corruption mechanisms that promote public integrity.
The report which covered 43 countries including some of America’s foremost trading partners and diplomatic allies, major emerging markets, and some of the poorest countries in the world, was released in Washington, USA on Wednesday. Ghana posted a strong position at the West African regional level placing second to Benin which scored 79 points and was also rated "moderate".
Six countries were studied at the West African level out of the total of 15 African countries included in the study. The others are Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone.
The report showed that Ghana’s strongest performance was in the areas of oversight and regulation, anti-corruption, the rule of law and elections.
Government accountability and civil society, public information and media were said to be ‘moderate’ while the worst performance were in administration and civil service.
"The Integrity Indicators not only assess the existence of laws, regulations, and institutions designed to curb corruption but also their implementation, as well as the access that average citizens have to those mechanisms," the report said.
It noted that corruption was a global problem and that the survey had confirmed that most citizens perceived and often experienced deep-rooted public corruption in their daily lives.
"From Washington to Cotonou, changes in government are occurring on the back of anti-corruption platforms as citizens demand greater accountability. Journalists and civil society groups have become more effective in their watchdog roles, ferreting out specific corrupt acts and abuses of power," it said.
The Managing Director of Global Integrity, Nathaniel Heller, at the report’s launch, said: "The mixing of money and politics continues to be a recipe for corruption in countries both rich and poor, and yet some nations have shown that even with limited resources, political will and strong leadership can prove effective in addressing governance challenges".
A recent Corruption Perception Index report released in October, last year, by Transparency International, a non-governmental organization based in Berlin ranked Ghana 65th amongst 159 voluntary countries included in the 2005 index, with a score of 3.5 out of a possible 10.
This score represented a drop from the 2005 score of 3.6.
The ratings are ‘Very Strong,’ ‘Strong,’ ‘Moderate,’ ‘Weak’ and ‘Very Weak’.
The report is the outcome of a study carried out by Global Integrity, a Washington D.C.-based international non-profit organisation dedicated to the comprehensive and timely research and reporting of governance and corruption trends around the world.
Named the ‘2006 Global Integrity Index,’ it also assessed the existence and effectiveness of anti-corruption mechanisms that promote public integrity.
The report which covered 43 countries including some of America’s foremost trading partners and diplomatic allies, major emerging markets, and some of the poorest countries in the world, was released in Washington, USA on Wednesday. Ghana posted a strong position at the West African regional level placing second to Benin which scored 79 points and was also rated "moderate".
Six countries were studied at the West African level out of the total of 15 African countries included in the study. The others are Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone.
The report showed that Ghana’s strongest performance was in the areas of oversight and regulation, anti-corruption, the rule of law and elections.
Government accountability and civil society, public information and media were said to be ‘moderate’ while the worst performance were in administration and civil service.
"The Integrity Indicators not only assess the existence of laws, regulations, and institutions designed to curb corruption but also their implementation, as well as the access that average citizens have to those mechanisms," the report said.
It noted that corruption was a global problem and that the survey had confirmed that most citizens perceived and often experienced deep-rooted public corruption in their daily lives.
"From Washington to Cotonou, changes in government are occurring on the back of anti-corruption platforms as citizens demand greater accountability. Journalists and civil society groups have become more effective in their watchdog roles, ferreting out specific corrupt acts and abuses of power," it said.
The Managing Director of Global Integrity, Nathaniel Heller, at the report’s launch, said: "The mixing of money and politics continues to be a recipe for corruption in countries both rich and poor, and yet some nations have shown that even with limited resources, political will and strong leadership can prove effective in addressing governance challenges".
A recent Corruption Perception Index report released in October, last year, by Transparency International, a non-governmental organization based in Berlin ranked Ghana 65th amongst 159 voluntary countries included in the 2005 index, with a score of 3.5 out of a possible 10.
This score represented a drop from the 2005 score of 3.6.
Health Workers Call Off Strike Tuesday, 13 March 2007
Striking health workers in the Greater Accra Region have reportedly called off their strike and resolved to resume work immediately, following the intervention of the leadership of the Health Workers Group (HWG).
After hours of meeting yesterday, the workers decided to allow the Appellate Body of the National Labour Commission (NLC) to resolve the impasse that had arisen as a result of distortions in the salaries of health workers.
Speaking to the Times yesterday, Raymond A. Tetteh, Chairman of the Group, said the action by the health workers was as a result of the improper flow of information. He noted that since negotiations were still going on, it was important for the workers to go back to work while they continued.
"The leadership has made it clear to the workers that if they refuse to go to work, they will be responsible for any individual sanctions taken against them by their respective health facilities," he said.
Asked when the workers will start working, Mr. Tetteh said "In fact, for those who have night shifts they are expected to go to work this (yesterday) evening."
The Chief Director of the Ministry of Health, Lepowura M.N.D. Jawula, for his part, said the health workers will not be dismissed as had been put in the public domain. He described as unfortunate an internal memorandum circulated within the ministry which was being miscontrued as government’s final decision on the matter.
"As we talk, the doors to negotiations are not closed yet and we are handling this matter as humanely as possible. What that letter sought to do was to draw attention to the current situation," he said.
The Chief Director said it was not a simple issue dismissing workers because, "we are not in a hurry to fire workers.What we did was to remind the Director General of the Ghana Health Service and the heads of the teaching hospitals as to what would be required of them in the event that matters got to a head."
He explained that even after submitting such a list, government would have to further investigate and make sure that the names of innocent people are not on such a list.
He described the decision by the workers to go back to work as "a welcome news" and expressed the hope that all parties would work together to ensure an amicable settlement of any issues.
Last week Monday, some health workers served notice of their intention to embark on a strike although the NLC had, in a press statement, advised them to rescind the decision and rather address their concerns within the framework of the existing law.
The Commission noted that the HWG had not exhausted the necessary procedures under the law before announcing its intention to go on strike.
"The NLC made it clear that the HWG had not satisfied the requirements of Section 159 of the Labour Law before serving notice to embark on a strike and so any action taken at this time will be in contravention of the law," the Commission said.
Section 159(b) says that the party intends to go on strike shall serve written notice seven days to the employer and the NLC.
RIVAL IS THE KILLER - SAYS BOYFRIEND Thursday, 21 September 2006
NII Nanyo Agoe Tsuru, the truck pusher arrested over the murder of his girlfriend, Barikisu Jumah Ayittah, in La, Accra, has confessed to the police that it was Doris Tsotsoo Ashie, his other girlfriend, who committed the murder.
He said that Tsotsoo slit Barikisu’s throat with a knife.
The two women were engaged in a fight in his house at Abafum, La, and Tsotsoo allegedly drew a knife and slit Barikisu’s throat, leading to her eventual death through excessive bleeding.
The La District Police Commander, ASP Nyamekye Adane-Ameyaw, told the Times that Nii Tsuru subsequently hid the knife in his room but it has been retrieved.
Tsuru, upon his arrest last Wednesday, told the police that he hit Barikisu with a coal-pot during the fight between her and Tsotsoo.
ASP Adane-Ameyaw said Tsuru’s confessions had also led to the arrest of five people who are assisting the police with their investigations.
They have since been granted bail.
He said those arrested had been very cooperative with the police and hoped that others who will be contacted by the police would provide information that could help the determination of the case in court.
Meanwhile, Barikisu’s body which was deposited at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital mortuary, has been collected by her relatives for burial at Ningo.
Tsuru and Tsotsoo have been remanded in custody by the La Magistrate’s court.
Tsotsoo, who initially went into hiding, surrendered herself to the La police on Friday in the company of her lawyer and a brother.
She denied her complicity in the murder saying that she was not at the scene of the crime even though she was in Tsuru’s house on that faithful day.
.jpg)
Nii Tsuru’s father was reported to have reported to the police on Tuesday, that his son had killed Barikisu during a quarrel at his home in the night over the alleged presence of Tsotsoo in the house.
STUDENTS, POLICE, DIFFERENT VERSIONS Tuesday, 27 March 2007
THE police and the students of Commonwealth Hall, University of Ghana, have given different accounts of a confrontation that ensued on Saturday when the students organised a float in Accra Central to mark their Hall Week.
The students have alleged that they were shot at by the police in the confrontation, maiming one student, while others were brutally molested. They are calling on the Minister of the Interior to institute an investigation into the confrontation.
"Some students were dragged 200 metres on the ground to the police station," the students said at a news conference on campus yesterday.
They described the explanation of the Accra Regional Police Commander, ACP Douglas Akrofi Asiedu, as a misrepresentation of the events that led to a clash and asked him to render "an unqualified and naked apology to the hall".
The president of the Junior Common Room (JCR), Evans Owusu Amankwah, who addressed the news conference, said ACP Asiedu’s comments on an Accra-based radio station, that the students pounced on an ice water seller leading to the clash, amounted to dragging the hard won reputation of the hall in the mud and also throwing dust into the eyes of the public by "misleading, misinforming and misrepresenting facts."
The JCR President while conceding that a student made what could have passed as a harmless statement said the policeman took issue with the student and arrested him.
He said as the policeman was finding it difficult to control the other students who insisted on getting their colleague released, he called for reinforcement rather than employing "a high level of professionalism to calm tempers."
Mr. Amankwah alleged that as soon as the reinforcement got to the scene, they started beating anyone in red Areeba T-shirts.
"They police amazingly started firing live bullets to disperse the unarmed students who were quietly waiting anxiously for the release of their colleagues who had been detained," he said adding that many students who were brutally molested were detained until the intervention of some state officials.
Mr. Amankwah called on the Minister of the Interior to institute an independent investigation into events that led to the clash.
However, the Accra Regional Police Public Affairs Officer, Inspector Clement Kweku Dompreh, told the Times yesterday that when a Police officer detailed to prevent hawking on the streets questioned why the students treated the water seller that way, one of the students hurled insults at him.
According to him, in the ensuing exchange of words between the students and the police, some of the students, threw stones at the police and in the process damaged the windscreen of a Mercedes Benz vehicle.
This, he said, angered the police who intervened and arrested and detained 30 of the students.
However, he said, they were released following the intervention of the Minister of the Interior, Albert Kan Dapaah, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Joe Ghartey, who met with the Accra Regional Police Commander, Douglas Akrofi Asiedu, a representative of the University and the students leaders.
Inspector Dompreh said that although individuals and groups have the right to go on a float they must also respect the rights of others, especially security agencies who are there to maintain law and order.
The students have alleged that they were shot at by the police in the confrontation, maiming one student, while others were brutally molested. They are calling on the Minister of the Interior to institute an investigation into the confrontation.
"Some students were dragged 200 metres on the ground to the police station," the students said at a news conference on campus yesterday.
They described the explanation of the Accra Regional Police Commander, ACP Douglas Akrofi Asiedu, as a misrepresentation of the events that led to a clash and asked him to render "an unqualified and naked apology to the hall".
The president of the Junior Common Room (JCR), Evans Owusu Amankwah, who addressed the news conference, said ACP Asiedu’s comments on an Accra-based radio station, that the students pounced on an ice water seller leading to the clash, amounted to dragging the hard won reputation of the hall in the mud and also throwing dust into the eyes of the public by "misleading, misinforming and misrepresenting facts."
The JCR President while conceding that a student made what could have passed as a harmless statement said the policeman took issue with the student and arrested him.
He said as the policeman was finding it difficult to control the other students who insisted on getting their colleague released, he called for reinforcement rather than employing "a high level of professionalism to calm tempers."
Mr. Amankwah alleged that as soon as the reinforcement got to the scene, they started beating anyone in red Areeba T-shirts.
"They police amazingly started firing live bullets to disperse the unarmed students who were quietly waiting anxiously for the release of their colleagues who had been detained," he said adding that many students who were brutally molested were detained until the intervention of some state officials.
Mr. Amankwah called on the Minister of the Interior to institute an independent investigation into events that led to the clash.
However, the Accra Regional Police Public Affairs Officer, Inspector Clement Kweku Dompreh, told the Times yesterday that when a Police officer detailed to prevent hawking on the streets questioned why the students treated the water seller that way, one of the students hurled insults at him.
According to him, in the ensuing exchange of words between the students and the police, some of the students, threw stones at the police and in the process damaged the windscreen of a Mercedes Benz vehicle.
This, he said, angered the police who intervened and arrested and detained 30 of the students.
However, he said, they were released following the intervention of the Minister of the Interior, Albert Kan Dapaah, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Joe Ghartey, who met with the Accra Regional Police Commander, Douglas Akrofi Asiedu, a representative of the University and the students leaders.
Inspector Dompreh said that although individuals and groups have the right to go on a float they must also respect the rights of others, especially security agencies who are there to maintain law and order.
OUR ENVIRONMENT, OUR RESPONSIBILITY Thursday, 08 March 2007
I do not know about the story of the Seven South-East Warriors or what they must have done. All I know is that the person who wore a green T-shirt with this label has become a warrior of some sort, defying all odds and strictly adhering to his own game plan which he set out after accepting his position.
When most Ghanaians were snoring and sleeping on the warm and dark night of Saturday, January 20, he quietly set out to execute his Plan A, which for me was becoming more of a talk, talk than a do, do.
Stanley Nii Adjiri Blankson, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Chief Executive has not reneged on his promise to make Accra environmental friendly and in the spirit of 50 years of nationhood has actually gone all out to make this a reality.
As I saw him the day after he rid the streets of the business district of unwanted and illegal structures, in his warrior-labelled shirt and in a warrior-like mood in a mop-up exercise at the Kwame Nkrumah circle area with the help of a strong police team, my admiration for the work of this man got lost in the quantity of filth that had engulfed the area.
I have always held the view that generally we Ghanaians are just not disciplined. Right from our homes to our offices our acts of indiscipline keeps painting the picture we are all witnessing today- filth, filth, filth.
Only a couple of days ago I encountered a young man who gave me a good ‘dressing down’ for questioning which he threw the empty water out of a ‘tro-tro’ instead of dropping it in the car. “Are you the one paying those who sweep our streets, ‘kwasia’, if you have been employed to check people go and stand at Makola” he said topping it up with a heavy dose of spittle.
I looked at him pitifully because straightaway I was imagining the room he slept in and how such a person will bring up his children but above all I wished I knew his doctor. I would have made some proposals to let him pay heavily for his folly but then I remembered the National Health Insurance Scheme will make people like this man go away with such ‘foolishness’ anytime they reported sick.
I notice that we like to eat everything and everywhere, I have a problem with that but most of all I am worried about the way we dispose of the things we eat and use.
It is shameful that our own attitudes are killing us. Now we have become so dirty that it is no longer news to find used sanitary towels lying about anyhow and I shudder to think that in the 20th century some Ghanaian ladies living not just in Accra but in areas regarded as ‘middle class’ areas do not even know how to dispose of their sanitary towels but these are the same people some of whom we find all dressed up and thronging to the big offices, churches and mosques. ‘Ntama kata adieso’ (Clothes are covering things).
Along the stretch of grassland at the Ashiaman side of the Tema motorway our brothers, fathers, sons, boyfriends and husbands throw all decorum to the dogs and shamelessly pull down their underpants and ‘freely range’ in the area in the full glare of the public especially those who use the motorway.
Does it mean that we no longer know what is right or wrong or even know no shame?
My parents tell how in the past school children were taken out as part of environmental lessons to pick up little from communities but today such practices are no more for no sooner will you ask school children to even sweep their school compound will some parents’ ‘gnaw’ at whoever issues the instructions.
ATTITUDES AND EDUCATION
Attitudes are difficult to change and it takes a careful and conscious effort to work at changing ones way of doing things over the years especially when it has built into a confirm zone. For this reason, it will require constant education and the collective effort of all Ghanaians to help in this regard. We must never lose out on educating the populace on what must be done to maintain good environmental practices.
The churches, mosques, shrines and other places of worship must begin to hammer more strongly the need for their members not only to raise their hands in worship but to also raise their minds to maintain the earth they came to inherit for the future generations.
I am not sure how to describe the performance of our local authorities in ensuring good sanitation. Some of the people I have spoken with on this issue lay the blame for the poor sanitary conditions the nation is facing at the doorstep of our district, municipal and metropolitan assemblies and I quite agree with them.
Most of our areas lack the requisite facilities that will entice them to ‘behave properly.’
Public toilets are not enough and for those available the maintenance is a different story and yet we take daily tolls from people for using them. What do we do with the money we collect ? No thorough cleaning, no disinfection, no soap to wash hands after using such facilities, the only interest in running such public facilities is to collect some paltry sum and that is it.
A private person put up a public toilet at Tema Community One and when I first said it I could not believe it was a public facility. It looked so clean and well maintained and years after you still pass by and the air around will not give one the slightest hint that it is a public toilet.
Water is again one major setback to effort to keep a clean environment.
There are a myriad factors militating against making progress in our fight for a clean environment but let us start of individually by doing whatever is possible, in our own little way to make the country environmentally friendly.
I decided not to mention the health hazards associated with poor sanitation practices, experience is always the best teacher.
Let not Mr. Adjiri Blankson’s commendable efforts end with the Ghana@50 celebrations. Let us not get into any cosmetic exercises but let all right thinking Ghanaians join hands to make Ghana a showpiece in Africa. This is not for government along or for a DCE but for all 20 or so million citizens of Ghana. I believe we can make it. This is our land, this is our heritage, let us preserve it well.
When most Ghanaians were snoring and sleeping on the warm and dark night of Saturday, January 20, he quietly set out to execute his Plan A, which for me was becoming more of a talk, talk than a do, do.
Stanley Nii Adjiri Blankson, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Chief Executive has not reneged on his promise to make Accra environmental friendly and in the spirit of 50 years of nationhood has actually gone all out to make this a reality.
As I saw him the day after he rid the streets of the business district of unwanted and illegal structures, in his warrior-labelled shirt and in a warrior-like mood in a mop-up exercise at the Kwame Nkrumah circle area with the help of a strong police team, my admiration for the work of this man got lost in the quantity of filth that had engulfed the area.
I have always held the view that generally we Ghanaians are just not disciplined. Right from our homes to our offices our acts of indiscipline keeps painting the picture we are all witnessing today- filth, filth, filth.
Only a couple of days ago I encountered a young man who gave me a good ‘dressing down’ for questioning which he threw the empty water out of a ‘tro-tro’ instead of dropping it in the car. “Are you the one paying those who sweep our streets, ‘kwasia’, if you have been employed to check people go and stand at Makola” he said topping it up with a heavy dose of spittle.
I looked at him pitifully because straightaway I was imagining the room he slept in and how such a person will bring up his children but above all I wished I knew his doctor. I would have made some proposals to let him pay heavily for his folly but then I remembered the National Health Insurance Scheme will make people like this man go away with such ‘foolishness’ anytime they reported sick.
I notice that we like to eat everything and everywhere, I have a problem with that but most of all I am worried about the way we dispose of the things we eat and use.
It is shameful that our own attitudes are killing us. Now we have become so dirty that it is no longer news to find used sanitary towels lying about anyhow and I shudder to think that in the 20th century some Ghanaian ladies living not just in Accra but in areas regarded as ‘middle class’ areas do not even know how to dispose of their sanitary towels but these are the same people some of whom we find all dressed up and thronging to the big offices, churches and mosques. ‘Ntama kata adieso’ (Clothes are covering things).
Along the stretch of grassland at the Ashiaman side of the Tema motorway our brothers, fathers, sons, boyfriends and husbands throw all decorum to the dogs and shamelessly pull down their underpants and ‘freely range’ in the area in the full glare of the public especially those who use the motorway.
Does it mean that we no longer know what is right or wrong or even know no shame?
My parents tell how in the past school children were taken out as part of environmental lessons to pick up little from communities but today such practices are no more for no sooner will you ask school children to even sweep their school compound will some parents’ ‘gnaw’ at whoever issues the instructions.
ATTITUDES AND EDUCATION
Attitudes are difficult to change and it takes a careful and conscious effort to work at changing ones way of doing things over the years especially when it has built into a confirm zone. For this reason, it will require constant education and the collective effort of all Ghanaians to help in this regard. We must never lose out on educating the populace on what must be done to maintain good environmental practices.
The churches, mosques, shrines and other places of worship must begin to hammer more strongly the need for their members not only to raise their hands in worship but to also raise their minds to maintain the earth they came to inherit for the future generations.
I am not sure how to describe the performance of our local authorities in ensuring good sanitation. Some of the people I have spoken with on this issue lay the blame for the poor sanitary conditions the nation is facing at the doorstep of our district, municipal and metropolitan assemblies and I quite agree with them.
Most of our areas lack the requisite facilities that will entice them to ‘behave properly.’
Public toilets are not enough and for those available the maintenance is a different story and yet we take daily tolls from people for using them. What do we do with the money we collect ? No thorough cleaning, no disinfection, no soap to wash hands after using such facilities, the only interest in running such public facilities is to collect some paltry sum and that is it.
A private person put up a public toilet at Tema Community One and when I first said it I could not believe it was a public facility. It looked so clean and well maintained and years after you still pass by and the air around will not give one the slightest hint that it is a public toilet.
Water is again one major setback to effort to keep a clean environment.
There are a myriad factors militating against making progress in our fight for a clean environment but let us start of individually by doing whatever is possible, in our own little way to make the country environmentally friendly.
I decided not to mention the health hazards associated with poor sanitation practices, experience is always the best teacher.
Let not Mr. Adjiri Blankson’s commendable efforts end with the Ghana@50 celebrations. Let us not get into any cosmetic exercises but let all right thinking Ghanaians join hands to make Ghana a showpiece in Africa. This is not for government along or for a DCE but for all 20 or so million citizens of Ghana. I believe we can make it. This is our land, this is our heritage, let us preserve it well.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
