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Benjamin Akakpo’s take on the EC & Voter’s Register.

Photo: Benjamin Akakpo – Host, Class Executive Breakfast Show, 91.3 FM

I've been thinking. Our EC complained bitterly about the Biometric Voter Registration kits available to it - those inherited from the former leadership of that body. To get past the purported challenges enumerated by the EC, including the major sticking point of the equipment being "obsolete," or, having reached the end of its shelf life, the EC proceeded to replace it with new equipment.

My question is, where is the new equipment? Is that what is being used in these pilot exercises - the new ones, I mean? From what information I am gathering, the old BVRs are still in use! But if that be the case, that would be a hefty slap in the face to all of us, Ghanaians!

Why are old BVRs being employed when the ordinary taxpayer has had to cough up millions upon millions to foot the bill of purchasing new ones? Have the new ones been secured?

If so, are they being put to use? Were they used in the course of the EC's pilot voter registration exercise? If they were, is it normal to be facing such challenges so early on?

These BVRs, mind you, are meant to be robust and register large numbers of people; if, as we are hearing in some instances, after registering as few as 73 people our BVRs are going kaput, ought we not to be worried? Can we imagine what that could degenerate into when they are being used on D-day?

And especially if the new ones are the ones facing such challenges, then are we really enjoying the benefits of new kits?

Technology can fail you, yes; but these failures, on a mass scale, can foment a lot of trouble, especially as we are considering using this equipment on a national scale.

My research tells me that rolling out a program employing BVRs should, necessarily, take stock of the following:

1. Support

The performance of BVR systems is intrinsically linked to the support that the equipment has: the importance of system maintenance and the institutionalisation of the process so the equipment delivers the intended results cannot be overemphasised. I ask, are the EC's technical partners on the beat?

2. Testing

Piloting BVR systems is integral to their successful implementation. The equipment must undergo technology tests (to help in the understanding and measurement of error rates, response time, etc.) and scenario testing to understand environmental effects on the system (e.g. operational temperature and load effects). In fact, a significant lesson learnt from Kenya’s 2013 general election is allowing sufficient time to test and pilot such systems before they are deployed.

Our EC, within these last two days, has commenced the process of testing. My concern here is whether the 2-day window used for the pilot suffices, in itself, to properly "test-drive" the BVRs.

3. Core processes and considerations:

It is, finally, worthy of note that 4 core phases must be followed when employing BVRs for exercises like the one the EC is embarking on:

A. Live capture of fingerprints (FP) from the field.

B. Building and running the central voters' database.

C. Running the Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS).

D. Actual use during the election.

We are still in the teething stages of the process - so to speak. Hopefully, things pan out much better as real nationwide registration kicks off and equipment is deployed in our main elections, else.

Mukoma wa Ngugi writes: We cannot reform ourselves out of the times we are in

A protestor in Minneapolis, USA. Image credit Lorie Shaull via Flickr CC.

To end racism, we will have to change the structures from which it draws its mandate, and get rid of liberal and right-wing politicians who give it oxygen while we are being asphyxiated.

It is a sad day when Target, a corporation, releases a statement more in touch with the reality of being black in America, than the black former President Barrack Obama. In fact the most hard hitting words in his statement, “’the knee on the neck’ as a metaphor for how the system so cavalierly holds black folks down, ignoring the cries for help” are arguably not his, as he is quoting a friend.

Meanwhile, Target in their own words state categorically that, “The murder of George Floyd has unleashed the pent-up pain of years, as have the killings of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. We say their names and hold a too-long list of others in our hearts.” And, where Obama signals that not all cops are bad, his way of saying there are good people on both sides, the Target statement does not mention the police at all. For those who might have been hoping for a more progressive post-presidency Obama, it is time to simply recognize him as the first black president who gave us hope and leave it at that.

Both statements however do not go enough in understanding that, to put it bluntly, the United States is fucked unless we call for and find radical solutions. They don’t speak to just how weak the façade of democracy and how hollow the claim of being the “richest nation on earth” is. The US national debt stands at $25 trillion with about 10% of that being owned by China and Japan. Internationally, the US is becoming more isolationist, withdrawing from international treaties and organizations the latest one being the World Health Organization, and this at a time of a global pandemic. In effect, it is becoming a colossal, irrelevant giant with a military-industrial-complex to match. And, without diplomacy more war is the likely recourse.

43 million people in the US were living in poverty before the pandemic. Jobless claims stand at $40 million decimating the much touted middle class—which was made up of millions of people living from pay check to pay check, in mortgaged homes, and driving loaned cars. To put it another way, the dream never really existed for black people, and it had long died for millions of others. Racialized incarceration rates, always a major concern, and amongst the highest in the world, are now turned deadly by the pandemic.

There are 100,000 COVID-19 deaths, and because we have a government that delayed locking down and is now opening up the country for business without doing the minimum preparation of contact tracing and testing, we can be sure that without a vaccine, more people will die.

And in all these examples, black people have been doing most of the suffering and in today’s context, most of the getting sick and dying.

It is a terrible and worsening economic system, except for the wealthy, that has been driven by racist ideology. White supremacy is the opium of white people. Even the liberals and those on the left are beneficiaries, in the same way the North was benefiting from slavery in the South—money did not respect state borders, trade continued, and money was kept in banks in the North. They need to take responsibility for slavery, the very foundation on which our present racist society rests. No more saying my great-grandparents were not slave owners and/or I am not a racist and therefore it is not my concern.

When US Vice President, Mike Pence, tweets, “We condemn violence against property or persons” and in that order, he means white property and white persons. Having previously refused to acknowledge police racism and violence, he is in effect defending his soldiers out in the frontlines of the war against black people—the predators, the thugs, welfare queens and looters. On looting, I have only two words to say, it was James Baldwin who said, “you’re accusing a captive population who has been robbed of everything of looting. I think it’s obscene.”

In a sense I can understand why the police sometimes seem perplexed when people protest, after all they are just doing the job the government has tasked them to do. But as agents and enforcers of a racist state, they must be protested, at least so they can enforce their mandate without shooting and strangling black people to death. So at least we can at least breathe, and live and work to dismantle the system that makes a racist police its foot soldiers.

Given the radical times we are in, both the vacuous and vicious nature of American capitalism and the failure and racism of the Trump regime have to go. Given how deep the hole we are in is, to crawl out there is no real difference between Obama, Trump, or Biden. There was a vast difference between Sanders or Warren and Trump. But the fear that Sanders could not win led us to picking the safer bet in Biden. And for that choice black people, especially, will continue to suffer the most.

For Karl Marx, looking back on revolutionary France and its failure to transform the lives of workers, part of the problem was the impossibility of making change as if the past did not matter. He argued that “Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past.” To end racism, we will have to change the structures from which it draws its mandate, and get rid of liberal and right-wing politicians who give it oxygen while we are being asphyxiated.

We cannot reform ourselves out of the times we are in.

source: https://africasacountry.com/2020/06/we-cannot-reform-ourselves-out-of-the-times-we-are-in

Felicity Nelson writes: Rape is rampant.

Photo: Felicity Nelson, Feminist, Entrepreneur & Media Personality.

When I first moved into my area, I thought it would be nice to jog around and explore the area. On my first day of jogging in the area ( there's a lot of new developments) a man approached me with a razor blade. ( He came out of one of the uncompleted buildings)

I literally stared him down until he backed off. It was scary and I've never jogged outside of the gates of my estate ever since.

If I had been raped that day, someone would have asked why I didn't jog in my estate

Is it a crime to want to explore an area you've recently moved into you?

Should you be raped for daring to walk around in your area as a woman?

I've lived here for three years and I barely know the area because I only move around in my car.

Due to coronavirus and the social distancing rules, I've stopped walking up the Aburi mountain. I can't resume on Saturdays because there's too many people doing the walk on that day. I can't go alone on Sunday because I'm worried about my safety. These are the considerations that women need to make to be safe

How many men have to consider the risk of being raped when they want to exercise?

A lot of women live in fear of experiencing an armed robbery scenario because of the possible risk of being raped.

Some single women would only opt to live in an apartment or a gated estate due to the extra security detail that these living spaces come with.

This is not a drill. We are living in fear. Our fears are not unfounded. Rape is rampant. Every woman knows someone that has been raped but no man knows a rapist yet all these women were raped by men.

Anon writes: “We will forever remain a fucking 3rd world country despite our numerous resources because of our shitty mentality”.

Source: Tilapia Da Cartoonist.

Every time I think about the 100 million dollar cathedral our president wants to build, it makes my blood boil. I get so angry I feel like suffocating. I rarely talk politics for various reasons, but let's get real. We will forever remain a fucking 3rd world country despite our numerous resources because of our shitty mentality.

How many factories has he built during his 4 year term?

Factories that could provide jobs for people, where are they?

They claimed they built 70 factories, where exactly are they?

How many roads have been fixed? Or constructed? People still trudge on dusty roads just to get to work.

We've had so many accidents that maybe could have been prevented if we had better roads.

How many hospitals has he built? People die because there aren't enough hospital beds when we aren't even in crisis, can you imagine if we were to be in a crisis?

We don't need a Cathedral right now. We need better equipped hospitals, better healthcare, safer roads, running water, constant electricity and less corruption. We do not need a Cathedral. We have lots of churches already. We pray already. We do not need a 100 million dollar Cathedral for God to answer our prayers.

We have seen how incompetent both the NDC And NPP are. We need to break this cycle. We need to wrest control from their thieving hands. We need to vote them out. Or we will be forever poor and forever doomed.

Judith N. Okanteye-Jackson writes: The New Voter’s Register Brouhaha.

Source: Cartoon: Tilapia Da Cartoonist

The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana in 2019 announced it would compile a new voter's register after an Inter-party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting claiming the current register is excessively bloated and highly defective therefore not credible to be used to conduct the 2020 general election.

There has since been a political brouhaha, even before COVID-19, as to whether it’s imperative to have a new voter's register or not between the Jean Mensah-led EC, the biggest opposition party (NDC), the ruling NPP and other civil society organisations.

A Senior Programmes Officer at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), Nana Kwabena Abrampah Mensah, added his voice when he spoke to Neat FM – an accra based radio station – by saying the reasons given by the EC to compile a new register is unconvincing. He further cautioned the EC to be careful not to plunge the country into chaos over its stance.

The EC continues to make categorical statements like "No new register, No election" despite the stiff opposition against their decision by the majority of well meaning Ghanaians.

The posture of the EC and the NPP begs a lot of legitimate questions. It seems as though the EC is in bed with the government hence not open to any consensus.

The current voter's register has seen the effective functionality of:

1. Biometric Verification Devices (BVD's) from the 2012 general election. 2. The 2015 District Level Elections 3. The 2018 Referendum which birthed the 6 new regions. 4. The 2019 District Assembly Elections conducted by the Jean Mensah led EC in August which filled 40,000 vacancies where the EC categorically said that the BVD's where 99% efficient.

So if I may ask, what changed?

•How do you seek to outlaw a valid voter's ID that over 15 million people have as compared to 6.5 million people currently with an NIA card?

•Doesn't the current NIA card registration primary requirements amount to disenfranchising people?

• Why can't we just have a limited voter's registration exercise to cut down cost?

•Even if a new register is to be considered, how is the EC going to ensure that there will still not be foreigners in the new register they insist on compiling knowing a lot of foreigners have illegally acquired a Ghanaian birth certificate and a Ghanaian passport which is the only primary requirement in getting the NIA card for voting?

•Where is the National Peace Council? They are not as vocal as they were during the erstwhile administration. Are they waiting for the worst to happen before they start releasing statements?

In the wake of COVID-19, the EC must rescind its decision and join hands in helping to mitigate the spread of the virus because dead men don't vote!

In any case, the EC must know that the sovereignty of Ghana resides in the people in whose name and for whose welfare the powers of government are to be exercised.

This has to stop!!! #JusticeForUwa #EndRapeNow #EndViolenceAgainstWomen

Rapists, rape apologists and rape enablers are all disgusting pieces of shit.

La Copacabadi beach: The Brazil in Ghana – Selwyn Sackey

Mural of Afro Brazilian Colony in Accra,Ghana.

Ghana ‘the brazil of African football’. A term adopted in the football circles especially during international tournaments. It is no coincidence as to why the two nations have similarities in style of play. A typical Ghanaian or Brazilian footballer will like to show his tricks and dribbling skills.

Ghana is located in West Africa while Brazil is in South America. Different continents but science makes us understand the history and geographic locations of continents through Tectonic activities. Continents rest on massive slabs of rocks called tectonic plates and move away from each other through these activities. Continents are still moving today and we can evidently see that if you try to join the East Coast of South America to the West African coast, it fits.

Merged South America and Africa

Brazil House of the Tabon People. Accra, Ghana.

History will also refer to us that a lot of slaves from Ghana then ‘Gold Coast’ were “exported” across the Atlantic Ocean to South America especially Brazil. Until the late 1800s slave population of Brazil exceeded the freemen. In Accra there’s a Brazil House in the Tabon Community.

They are Afro Brazilians who returned from exile in 1836.Then newly arrived “strangers” and their descendants and others who “returned” from overseas exile, found space to preserve their unique “Brazilian” identity while adopting the Ga language. The Ga people labelled the Brazilians “Tabon.”

This nickname was apparently a local rendering of the Portuguese greeting, “ésta bom” and “ta bom.” Both terms mean “how are you” and “all’s well” respectively. Coconut Trees, Carnivals, Music, Drums, Dance and Spirituality are what you’ll experience at the Copacabana and Labadi Beach.

In Ghana we say “Football is the passion of the nation”, Brazil says “the nation’s passion or the country of football”. There’s no way we can compare Brazil and Ghana on the football world stage. Brazil is obviously miles apart but let us look at them in their respective continents. Brazil has 9 Copa America titles, they won their fourth in 1989 while Ghana had won their fourth and last AFCON seven years earlier. In 2019, Brazil won their 9th Copa America. In 2019, Ghana made their 19th attempt at winning the AFCON after their last in 1982. It’s been 38 years since Ghana Black Stars last won a major tournament.

On the 6th February, 1969 Accra Hearts of Oak were held to a 2–2 draw game by a Pele led Santos FC of Brazil in an international friendly at the Accra Sports Stadium. Pele went on to predict an African country will win the World Cup before the 21st Century.

Hearts of Oak Striker Amusa Gbadamosi and Pele

Ghana’s greatest player Abedi Ayew was named after one of the world’s greatest Edson Arantes do Nascimento ‘Pele’. Another Ghanaian player who was dubbed as the next Pele is Nii Odartey Lamptey.

Who Pele himself said that’s his successor after he watched the then 15 year old live at Hampden Park when he burst onto the scene in the 1989 Under 16 World Championship before leading Ghana to win the successive tournament in 1991 and winning the best player of the tournament.

A tournament which had Alessandro Del Piero and Juan Sebastian Veron of Italy and Argentina respectively. In the streets and sandy fields where football is played in Ghana there are so many players nicknamed Pele because of their dribbling skills and tricks. Growing up as a young Ghanaian footballer in my generation, you were either Ronaldo Fenomeno or Ronaldinho Gaucho and our fathers made reference to Romario and Bebeto. So you know from generations Ghana draws inspiration from the World’s greatest football nation, Brazil.

Nii Odartey Lamptey celebrates winning the 1991 FIFA Under 17 World Cup.

In 1995,Ghana won their second Under-17 FIFA World Cup beating Brazil 3–2. In 1997 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, Brazil beat Ghana 2–1 in the final in Egypt. A game Ghana dominated but lost to loss of concentration.In 1999 FIFA Under-17 World Cup the two nations clashed in the semi-final with the South Americans winning on penalties and going ahead to win their second FIFA Under-17 World Cup.

Ghana’s Under-20 team Black Satellites met their South American counter parts in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in 2001 in Argentina. The West Africans won 2–1 in the quarter finals against Brazil going all the way to the final but lost to the host nation. The two nations crossed paths again in the 2007 FIFA Under-17 World Cup. Ghana won 1–0 in the round of 16. The Black Starlets finished in the semi finals losing 2–1 to a Bojan Krkic extra time match winner for Spain. Two years after that on African soil, Ghana became the first African nation to win the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Egypt. 4–3 on penalties against Brazil after a goalless 120 minutes of football.

Three years earlier, their seniors, the Black Stars were battered by Selecao (Brazil Senior national team) 3–0 in the Round of 16 of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Notable names in that fixture are players who beat Brazil in 2001 in the Under-20 tournament. Muntari, Essien, Pappoe, Mensah, Boateng, Pimpong, Paintsil and Owu were all part of the 2001 winning side. For the Brazilians, only Adriano and Kaka were in that 2001 squad. In the 1999 Ghana Under-17 team that lost to Brazil on penalties in the semifinal were names like Razak Pimpong, Michael Essien and Ishmael Addo who won the tournament’s golden boot with 7 goals.

Brazil had Adriano as the only breakout star of their squad. In the previous tournament which Brazil won they had a certain Ronaldinho. In 1995 which Ghana won the Under-17 FIFA World Cup, the West Africans had a certain Stephen Appiah who captained the 2006 world cup squad.Brazil also had Juan and Julio Cesar in 1995 and 2006. This Ghana team are products of former Ghana FA boss, the Late Ben Kuofie’s Five Year Development plan.

From Left to Right. Ibrahim Abdul Razak, John Paintsil, John Mensah, Razak Pimpong,Michael Essien and Derek Boateng. Ghana Black Satellites, FIFA U-20 World Cup Argentina 2001.

At the 2009 FIFA Under-20 World Cup which Ghana won with 10 men and on penalties, Ghana’s attacker Dominic Adiyiah won the Golden Ball and Golden shoe with 8 goals. After the tournament, Adiyiah’s market value had risen from 100,000 Euros to 1 million Euros. Milan signed him for a reported 1.4 Million Euros. Alex Teixeira the silver ball winner from Brazil had a market value of 3.5 Million Euros after the tournament and was sold for 6 million Euros to Shakhtar Donetsk from Vasco. Bronze ball winner Giuliano was also transferred from Parana to Internacional in 2009 for 4.7 million Euros in the Brazilian Serie A. Juventus’ winger Douglas Costa was a member of the 2009 Brazilian Under-20 team. He also joined Shakhtar Donetsk for 8 Million Euros at a Market Value of 4 Million Euros from Gremio in 2010.

Giuliano, Dominic Adiyiah and Alex Teixeira. Source: FIFA.com

Let’s date back to 1991 where Odartey Lamptey the new ‘Pele’ was playing for Anderlecht in Belgium. Lamptey was smuggled from Ghana to Belgium through Nigeria after the Ghanaian FA confiscated his passport, he joined for free. The Late Stephen Keshi adopted Odartey and got him a Nigerian passport to fly to Europe. In the 95, 97 and 99 squads of Ghana, most players transferred from Ghana to Europe left for free due to various circumstances. In that 2001 squad, 18 year old Michael Essien had joined Bastia for an undisclosed fee but was sold to Lyon two years later for 11.7 Million Euros and went on to become the most expensive African player when he joined Chelsea for 38 Million Euros in 2005.

All these foundations are laid to understand why two football nations with similar history and culture but one has developed than the other. First of all, this comes down to the quality of the local leagues of both countries, the football brand, how valuable it is on the Global stage and level of youth development. It is obvious Brazil has invested more into their football as a nation while Ghana has done less of that.

In 1962 after Brazil had won the world cup, President of Ghana Kwame Nkrumah sent national team coach Charles Gyamfi to Brazil’s national team camp for four weeks to study their tactics and methods. He came back and won the 1963 Africa Cup of Nations, Ghana’s first trophy.

Captain Aggrey Fynn lifts Ghana’s first Africa Cup of Nations in 1963.

Brazil’s legendary coach Carlos Alberto Parreira came to Ghana in 1967 as a young Physical Education Teacher. He started coaching and led Ghana to the 1968 AFCON Final where Ghana lost 1–0 to Zaire (DRC). So we can say Carlos Alberto Parreira had his coaching foundation in Ghana and shaped our modern game. One of Ghana’s best coaches ever, the late Sir Cecil Jones Attuquayefio says the Brazilian was partly responsible for giving Ghana their one-touch style which he claims leads them to be called the “Brazil of Africa”.

We have mismanaged our national teams, poorly organized our local league to make it profitable and finally abandoned youth football development. The government should assist the clubs in youth development. The Ministry of Youth and Sports should collaborate with the Ministry of Education and Ghana Football Association to build a youth football development plan for both boys and girls.

Source: https://medium.com/@sackeyselwyn/la-copacabadi-beach-the-brazil-in-ghana-c46c8db31262

Esinam Seade writes: We rise by lifting others.

Photo; Esinam Seade

I was interning with an International organisation a few years back. A very reputable one.

Anyone who worked with them walked shoulders high. That should tell you there was ego flying all around and a lot of fake smiles each morning which I overlooked.

One regular day a contact from another organisation tipped me that he had recommended me for an exclusive training opportunity in their host country.

I was super excited and in my excitement I showed the letter or acceptance to a superior.

“She” seemed excited and congratulated me. Then the time came for her to issue an introductory letter for me.

This was a superior who smiled with me often and I offered some personal assistance to her on some occasions.

On the day of submitting the letter, she blatantly refused to write it for me. I worked around till I found assistance and went forward to process my training and travels.

The next day I was called my top Management into a meeting. I was confused. Let me rather say I was curious. I got into the room and here was madam superior in front with other big officials.

I was being accused of wrongfully breaching security codes and using the institutions name and image for my personal ambition. I dropped silent. My eyes turned watery. This could mean criminal prosecution.

My future begun flashing back. Was it ending this way?

Madam had reported me to the country I was travelling to and my travel documents all got clamped.. I mean seized. If you understand what that means.

The training institution kept sending emails and calling. They heard there was a problem. My tickets, hotel and everything they had done just went to waste.

Investigations were done and it was later found I was innocent.

Madam superior didn’t know how I managed to process my documents and thought I could not do it without her.

After the investigations I refused to stay in the organisation and so I sent in a letter to end my agreement and not renew.

I was wondering why a fellow Ghanaian will do this and worse of all to a younger person. I’ve been trying not to even add that she was another woman from my part of the country. I know how you’ll feel.

Finally my documents were released and before I left the workplace she was made redundant for another reason no one understood. Basically she was asked to leave even before I left.

I lost the training opportunity and have not been given another chance at it again. When I left I rather I started providing private consultancy services in what I was doing at the institution.

My message is simple. Our actions no matter how insignificant they may seem to us could make and unmake others.

Listen, there is no point in proving your power if you really have it. The worse is flaunting your ego at the wrong opportunities. As a matter of fact, the power is meaningless If there are no followers or satisfied subordinates.

We rise by lifting others. No matter what.

The revolutionary army under construction

“We are building a dynamic and fearless army of youth from diverse backgrounds with the zeal and enthusiasm to liberate Africa from economic bondage. Youth who are intellectually sound and self-confident, motivated by nothing but the economic salvation of the people.”

– Economic Fighters League.

The story of JM

John Dramani Mahama was born on the 29th of November 1958 in Damongo, the then capital of the West Gonja District of the Northern Region. His father, Emmanuel Adama Mahama, a prominent rice farmer was a Member of Parliament for the West Gonja Constituency and the first Regional Commissioner of the Northern Region under Ghana’s first leader, President Kwame Nkrumah.

John Mahama spent the first years of his life with his mother, Abiba Nnaba, in Damongo, before moving to Accra to live with his father, who imbued him with a strong passion for education. He received his basic education at Achimota Basic School, where he began defending other children from bullies, and later moved to the Ghana Secondary School in Tamale.

He will later gain admission into the country’s premier university, the University of Ghana, in Legon, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1981. After his BA degree, John Mahama moved back to Tamale, where he taught history at Ghana Secondary School. However, the political and economic situation in Ghana forced him to flee to Nigeria, where he rejoined his father who was in exile.

In 1983 he came back, with a strong desire to build bridges between people through communication, so he enrolled in a post-graduate programme in Communication Studies at the University of Ghana. He graduated in 1986 and then went to Moscow, in the former Soviet Union, to the Institute of Social Sciences, where he received a post-graduate degree in Social Psychology in 1988. While in Moscow, he noted the imperfections of the Socialist System and came to the realization that each nation had to find it's own transformative way, away from ideological dogmas.

His book, ‘My First Coup d’État and Other True Stories From the Lost Decades of Africa’, published in July 2012, has won international praise for describing a world of love, fear, faith, despair, loss, longing, and hope despite all else.

He recalls in its first chapter the day in 1966 when he learned of the ousting of Ghana's founding president, Kwame Nkrumah, in a military coup: "When I look back on my life it's clear to me that this moment marked the awakening of my consciousness. It changed my life and influenced all the moments that followed."

He has also written essays, which have been published in the Ebony, Huffington Post, the New York Times and The Root.

The political path

The personal pillars

MY HEROES: “First, I must mention Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. Then, I admire Mahatma Ghandi for his calm disposition and his non-violence struggle. Mandela naturally is one of my heroes, and then Professor Atta Mills. He is not only my hero but was my mentor.” -John Dramani Mahama

John Mahama, or JM, as he is popularly called, is a Christian, born and raised a Presbyterian but now a member of the Assemblies of God Church. He is a member of a multi-faith family consisting of both Christians and Muslims. He is married to Lordina Mahama (née Effah, born on 6th March 1963).

JM loves afrobeat music, is a passionate reader and a consummate writer, and has a vivid interest in farming, information and communication technology, and environmental issues.

Africa Must Unite – Ernesto Yeboah

The time to speak about uniting Africa has come and gone. The time to dream about uniting Africa has come and gone. The time to act is here. The time to act is now. This year let us promise ourselves that we are not going to put next year to waste. That, Africans in Ghana will come together and breakdown the borders of Togo. That, Africans in Togo will come together and destroy the colonial boundaries that have been set between them and the People of Benin. That, the people of Benin will come together and breakdown the colonial walls of Nigeria. We want to see this happen in South Africa where they breakdown the colonial walls of Botswana. We want to see this in Congo. We want to see this in Kenya - we want to see this in all over Africa. Agenda 2063 is what they are telling us. In 1963 when Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah stood before his colleague heads of State praying them that Africa should unite now or perish, he knew that , that was the time to ACT. But these slave leaders are telling us today that we should wait until HUNDRED years time before Africa can wipe out its colonial borders. Let us say to them here and now, that never again will we allow them to waste our time. Let them arrest us for destroying the borders - the colonial borders that were erected on the tables of Berlin with just a conference. We are standing on the great shoulders of our forefathers and foremothers. This is the time for us to act; this is the time for you to act. For Healthcare systems for the People – Africa Must Unite For Free Education for the People – Africa Must Unite For Sustainable Development – Africa Must Unite For a Truly Democratic Society – Africa Must Unite To break Foreign Control over African resources – Africa Must Unite For Economic Freedom in our lifetime – Africa Must Unite

Africa Must Unite

The author, Ernesto Yeboah, is the Commander-in-chief of the Economic Fighters League.

Extend duration period for clean-up exercise in 14 regions.

The period scheduled, from 13th to 15th May, 2020, by the Ministry of Sanitation, for a clean-up exercise in fourteen (14) regions and districts should be extended.

Two (2) days is not a sufficient amount of time; this will only provide a short-lived facelift for communities. I doubt it'll last for more than a week.

We need to devise and initiate a long-term plan that is sustainable. If we invest properly in sanitation this will cut the costs required for the improvement of healthcare. We expect less people to fall sick when the environment is clean and people take personal hygiene much more seriously.

We need to lay pipes through all the communities in Ghana and ensure clean water reaches everyone.

The Ghana Armed Forces have been enrolled in the clean-up exercise. This is commendable. They are respected and revered by the masses. This influence can be channelled towards a more effective sensitisation exercise led by soldiers.

The traditional royal households can also help galvanise community support for weekly clean-up exercises. Individuals who demonstrate a noticeable zeal for cleanliness in their communities should be awarded gifts and cash prizes. This could be sponsored by corporations or, perhaps, such persons could even receive exemptions on utility bills from government.

Government can also train professional cleaners and pay for their services; other members of the community could also employ trained janitors. Yes, cleanliness should be a common responsibility but it also needs to be the duty of trained professionals, bound by a contract, to oversee and maintain the high standards.

Members of Parliament can take this opportunity to assess the specific needs of each constituency and advance, or advocate for, the enforcement of legislations that can help improve sanitation.

It is equally important for local government to maximise the little resources it has to ensure it achieves maximum results. There should be a specific plan for each community that guides the expenditure of district and municipal assemblies. In some areas, waste disposal may be the focus. In others, this could be toilet facilities or water supply. While it is important to alleviate all issues long-term, we need to prioritise the most pressing issue in each constituency and tackle it first.

We cannot adapt a one-size fits all approach for all constituencies.

The author

Vincent Djokoto is an Adviser at D. K. T. Djokoto & Co and a Columnist passionate about politics, pop culture and history. He is an avid chess player, music enthusiast and Accra Hearts of Oak fan.

Nowhere near normal

Like many of us, I am holed up at home. I have been toiling at the desk pictured above. My University has swamped me with enough work to make you forget that we have a crisis of huge proportions, but alas, that is not possible.

My unkempt hair is also a testament to the weird times we’re in (Man needs a haircut!). It is then with disbelief that I come upon tweets which entail plans of what they are going to do once Rona is over.

Most people are assuming it will be over in a matter of months, and whereas that is possible, it is highly unlikely. Optimism has never been a bad thing, but the truth is we are very far from coming back to the normal we know. The virus might abate in the coming months, but we will not return to the good ole days.

I want us to be clear on one thing. The normal we all crave for is nowhere near us. Until a permanent medical solution is found to this novel virus, we cannot return fully to the old normal. Those linkups planned with friends cannot happen. You will not be able to go for that dream vacation without the fear of contracting the virus. You will not get away from your worrisome parents for a while. The earlier we get used to this fact, the better.

On the back of all that, I was quite alarmed when I saw the tweets below;

Whereas one could argue that it is not a fair representation of the population, this indicates that there is a lack of education in some sections of society. A close friend of mine also pointed out that there is a natural distrust of politicians and government in general among the populace. These problems, coupled together, has created a conundrum.

The Information Services Department, in my opinion, has to ramp up its public education to eradicate any sort of ridiculous notions about the disease. Also, the government, through the NCCE and other institutions, needs to work on mending the distrustful relationship they have with the masses. Ignorance about COVID-19 can accelerate our infection rate faster than we all think. Meanwhile, this pandemic has revealed to us how fragile our healthcare system is. According to President Akufo-Addo, “There are eighty-eight (88) districts in our country without district hospitals”. This information is, by all means, very alarming. It was with great excitement then that I heard the President, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announce that 88 new hospitals will be built in these districts. Others have raised doubts over whether such a feat is possible.

After all, we have seen promise after promise being put out and no actions being made towards the realisation of them. However, looking at the track record of the present government, I have some confidence that efforts will be made at fulfilling those promises.

I do sincerely hope that this is not a political lullaby meant to lull the electorate into a deep sleep. The People cannot stand another stunt, especially in these times. We, the citizens, will continuously be monitoring the progress of this project. That is all we can do in these times.

Numerous assignment deadlines are staring at me in the face so I’ll have to drop my pen now. Stay safe guys! Deo Volente!

PS: I would recommend keeping a diary and recording what you’ve done and experienced in the day. Also, include your thoughts on the state of the world. The diary has given me a sublet through which I can air out my thoughts and feelings, warts and all. That is what has kept me sane for a while now. I am positive it will work for others.

Author: Barima Peprah-Agyemang

Bosom P-Yung is the wild card pop culture never expected.

Photo: Bosom P-Yung

The next best conducive environment to author fine articles, besides sunset hours at the beach, is at dawn; it’s quiet and streams of consciousness flow effortlessly.

I took considerable time out to give Bosom P-Yung's debut music project – Awiesu – a careful listen. It’s an incredible work of art, from an unorthodox personality, packed with vibes. A good artiste must have an ear for great production and the talent to match it. Bosom has these core attributes.

Awiesu is a potent cocktail of divergent genres that oddly make an excellent mixture. It feels unconventional; he has discovered a new universal sound.

Photo: The album cover for Awiesu

He seems jovial and bubbly. In fact, you could almost mistake him for a carefree person. But there’s more than meets the eye; there's a method to his craft. He is calculated and uniquely curated. His influence on the culture is the mathematical result of an emotional desire for a loyal fan base that will expand into a cult around his personality.

Bosom is the wild card that pop culture never expected.

He isn’t ahead of his time, neither is he a blast from the past; Bosom is in sync with the times. And that is what makes his path unpredictable. His career is literally a page turner. I haven’t quite witnessed a star shine so irrationally bright since Terry Bonchaka.

Photo: Bosom P-Yung

Photo: Track list for Awiesu

Author: Vincent Djokoto

Economic Fighters League (Fighters) to storm the NIA registration centres

Ernesto Yeboah, Commander-in-chief, Economic Fighters League.

PUBLIC NOTICE

It is announced to the general public that the Economic Fighters League (Fighters) has decided to storm the NIA registration centres in the Eastern Region to stop the registration exercise in the national interest, if the exercise is not called off.

They have defied and rejected all persuasions, advise and sound counsel to consider the national interest. Their recklessness is putting lives at risk and if nobody acts, it will be the death of us all.

This is a national call to duty and we have no option than to respond to it.

COVID-19; The virus that will go down in history as one that destabilized “giants” – Hilda Djokotoe writes:

COVID-19, aka coronavirus. The virus that will go down in history for some, as one that destabilized “giants” of the world and brought powerful nations to their knees.

In the not so distant past, Ebola virus put Africa in a state of panic, as some watched helplessly, the suffering of many and while many others lived their lives as though nothing was happening. The last ebola patient was discharged only weeks ago and suffice to say that it got little or no media attention, given that it was an African problem.

Here we are today, grappling with what was a “China” problem, now a world problem. Nature knows no boundaries, borders or walls and Corona certainly does not need a passport nor permission to enter any country. The past weeks have been eye opening, as perceived scarcity, due to store closures, throws people into a frenzy and exposes a side of humanity that would have been described as “uncivilized”, if it was not happening in the “civilized” world. These behaviors as witnessed, tend to be the norm for those who live in real and constant scarcity, and are described as “uncivilized “ rather than seen as humans exhibiting natural human survival instincts. Hopefully, seeing civilized people also behave badly, will help in the recognition of our sameness, rather than our differences.

While the fear and chaos continues around us, I hope we hold on to hope, knowing that this too shall pass. Absolutely nothing is permanent and CORONA is no different. Someday, when we have the luxury to look back on COVID-19 and see our interconnectedness, I hope we drop all the labels we’ve created to emphasize our differences such as race, sexuality, gender, class, economic standing of countries, the various levels of world (1st world, 2nd world, 3rd world), and see one world, one humanity in pursuit of the same thing - LIFE.

I hope we find the strength and courage to ride these treacherous waves. This too shall pass! Peace and good health from me to you.

Drake - When To Say When & Chicago Freestyle

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