He is quoted to have said that “You don’t drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there.” He could not have said it better, and I find this quote so profound and instructive at this time when the National Democratic Party – NDC is in a state of disarray. The leadership seems paralyzed and busy blaming themselves whilst others are in the media defending their individual reputation. As for the foot soldiers, they are at the mercy of those pretending like Ostriches that all is well within the party. And vulnerable as they are, and for fear of losing the goodies that come with incumbency, they are quiet and busy jostling to either have a job or the monies the gurus are throwing around though worried the party could lose the forthcoming elections.

In Europe and specifically France, austerity measures aimed at improving their economy is the debate and a party in power has lost to an opposition party. In the United States, President Obama has raised the stakes by declaring his support for same sex marriage, whilst the Republican Party Presidential aspirant is busy trying to cash in on the subject by turning to the Christian community. In the UK the phone hacking scandal is ongoing with Rebekah Brooks at the centre. The Chinese who are now described as the new giants in business are busy imitating everything and dumping it everywhere they can.

Paradoxically in Ghana, the concentration and priority of the NDC Government is not too different from that of the opposition. The recent is that of the purported seizure of the Umbrella which is the logo of the NDC party by Dr Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings. Very serious national issues such as education, health and the filth in our cities amongst others require our attention as a nation, but we have left this to suffer. Instead we have opted for political propaganda and intemperate language which could lead us to a disaster, particularly in an election year when the political temperature is mostly high waiting for the least opportunity.

According to William F. Halsey “All problems become smaller if you don’t dodge them but confront them.” But Robert Fulghum puts it better when he said “If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience. ”

The leadership of the NDC party ought to have realized this from the unset. This explains why the leadership is blamable. In fact, Professor Mills cannot be said to be blameless. As Leader of the party, we all look up to him for leadership and not the current situation where we are asked to ‘see no evil, hear no evil and say no evil’. Worse of it is the decision of the party Leader to be a ‘father for all’ referring to equal treatment for all persons, be you party member or not. This has resulted in the party denouncing its values (probity, freedom, justice and accountability). How could you treat the New Patriotic Party government which was in charge for eight years, and had to account their stewardship to Ghanaians the same way as the new Government? But how could one handle the two on the same scale? Comparing oranges and apples here seems to be the case. My opinion is that the President simply forgot of our moral and legal obligations as a party in office and has laid the foundation for a kind of ‘I scratch your back now and you scratch mine later’ in favor of the immediate past government. I find this style of leadership and the Woyome type of judgment debt, tantamount to corruption, in fact a gargantuan one.
This explains probably the numerous allegations of corruption charges against some officials of the Mills administration.

The Leader of the party who doubles as the President of the country ought to have spoken, and done so clearly way back when some of his Ministers suffered some verbal ‘diarrhoea’ on very sensitive issues and matters that bothered on party unity and cohesion. What seems to have eluded them (those in Castle) is that the party gave birth to the Government and not the vice versa. A few examples will suffice.

The National Youth Organizer of the party Ludwig Hlodze, who also operates from the Castle instead of the party Headquarter, is on record of driving home on a motorcade. “Who born dog?”
This is one case that deserved the swiftest comment of the party Leader who doubles as the President to crack the whip, yet no show.

Col. Gbevlo Lartey, the National Security Coordinator in October last year pointed accusing fingers at unnamed persons within the party for being behind a demonstration against him. The group calling itself Concerned Group of the National Democratic Congress went further to demand his exit from the Mills’ Government yet no show by the President. This had to do with the man in charge of security of the state.

In February this year, Messrs P. V. Obeng, Kofi Totobi-Quakyi, Ato Ahwoi and Kwamena Ahwoi who are all members of the party, decided to defend what they claim bothers on their reputations. In a statement to the press, they claimed they have been attacked and criticized in the media unfairly by some faceless persons within the party “…obviously in reaction to our perceived roles in the administration of His Excellency President John Evans Atta Mills”. But the reputation of the NDC as a party ought to have been paramount and not that of a so called ‘Elder Cadres.’ Again no show from the party leader.
Next is the letter to the Leader by the Chairman himself over issues he also claims he could no longer contain. This particular case has confirmed my long held view that the centre of the party cannot hold. Again no show as usual from the professor.

The worse and most unfortunate of incidents is the comment of the General Secretary of the party, who during a meeting to welcome back party members of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) led by Dr Yao Obed Asamoah and his only known member, Bede Ziedeng in October last year. Mr Aseidu Nkatiah who is also known as General Mosquito described the Former President and Founder of the NDC as a dog which has stopped barking, thus allowing the return of the DFP members. In the eight years that the party was in opposition, it was the same Founder who did the same ‘barking’ leading to our electoral success. Where was the General? What about Goosie Tanoh who left to form the Reform Party – Who was barking then? Double standards!

President Mills who also doubles as the party Leader is not just a ‘Rawlings man’ but a product of H. E. Jerry John Rawlings. Professor Mills’ indebtedness therefore to the Founder and the party in terms of gratitude for his political life ought not to have been questioned.

But once the Leader fails to comment on issues as stated above, it results in a situation as the party finds itself; No united front, No clear agenda and of course No Leadership. The Leader’s refusal to comment on matters like this only encourages other gurus to dictate the pace of things as was the case where Ato Ahwoi is on record of saying to the effect that it will be over his dead body that Spio Garbrah would get any appointment in the Government of Professor Mills.

Again, all these actions and inactions of the Leader have resulted in the wrangling, factions and the disunity in the party today. He must therefore speak out particularly in an election year when perceptions are no longer perceptions but the ‘realities’ on the ground. He must show he is in control and not the perception that the Ahwoi’s are ruling.

Maybe the current issue of the logo could be the best opportunity to bring some cool heads around a table to discuss matters that affect the party, for it is better late than never. Professor Mills must speak out now.

ARTICLE: JOHN VIANNEY/ johnngmentire@yahoo.com

Not long ago, Christendom, the world over, celebrated an annual event on its calendar, called Easter (Ishtar, Astarte?). Do the words Ishtar or Astarte ring bells in your ears? Never mind if they do not. We may find time in a future article to talk about Easter, Ishtar and Astarte.

Easter is regarded as the commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This year, 2012 AD, this commemoration fell on Sunday, 8^th April. But of course, it is no news that this day fell on a Sunday; for, ever since the inception of Easter in the second Century, this event has always been celebrated on Sunday.

For all these many years, the celebrants of this occasion have never questioned or thoroughly investigated to know, the history behind their faith in this event. Year in, year out, they are happy to take part in whatever programs and festivities their leaders, commonly called clergy, draw up for the occasion, without asking any questions.

It is significant to note that, first Century Christians, led by the apostles of Jesus Christ, never celebrated Easter. This was because they never knew about it in any of their two constitution documents of the Old and New Testaments; and yet these are the surest of saints, whose complete obedience to God will cause them to be in Heaven to spend Eternity.

And so, we must ask ourselves what benefits we derive, which the first Century adherents to the Christian faith did not, from the celebration of Easter, year in, year out, for close to two millennia.

Eighteen more years from now, mankind will be celebrating the 2000^th anniversary of the 30 AD Ascension to Heaven of the Lord Jesus Christ. Did you know that this anniversary was so close? If you did, what are your preparations to be part of such a great day in God’s secret calendar, dead or alive?

Before I delve into my task of delivering on my assignment, on the subject matter of the above title to my article, I like to make some observations about the Christian faith, Christianity and Christendom.

It is commonly assumed that Christianity, as we know it to be today, is the same as the Christian Faith that was lived and championed by the men who were chosen by God, to walk and talk, for as many as four years, with the Saviour.

But it will be a very dangerous assumption for any serious-minded salvation-seeker to make, by equating the Christian faith of the immediate post-Ascension era to what is termed Christianity today.

Christianity today, has creeds, doctrines, rituals, clergy, laity, visible cathedrals, temples, chapels, dress codes for its clergy, feast-days unauthorised by the word of God and many other peculiar characteristics which the pure Christian faith of first Century adherents never had or even heard about.

In a big contrast, whereas the Christian faith prescribes a unique formula by which any salvation-seeker could secure membership into the invisible spiritual body of its adherents, called the Body of Jesus Christ (or the Church), as being through repentance from sin and baptism, for the remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2: 38-39), most adherents to Christianity, on the other hand, erroneously seek membership to this Body through reciting special prayers.

Again, whereas the Christian faith teaches and champions a unique lifestyle, patterned strictly after that of the Saviour, Christianity is a loose-faith religion: a conglomeration of all manner of creeds, doctrines, dogma, beliefs and lifestyles, practiced by an innumerable number of differently-informed denominations.

Furthermore, whereas the Christian faith is one that establishes all its adherents into one living organism, the spiritual Body of Christ, Christianity on the other hand, is a heterogeneous organisation of no semblance to any organism.

Obviously therefore, Christendom is the jurisdiction within which Christianity is professed and promoted. This is to say that, Christendom is the visible spatial domain, occupied by professors of Christianity.

The adherents of the Christian faith, however, do not possess spatial domains, since its members are citizens of an invisible kingdom (John 18: 36). Adherents of the Christian Faith may not even know themselves assuredly, since it is only God who knows those who are His. (cf. Second Timothy 2: 19).

It is important for me that, in reading this article, the words –Christianity, Christendom and the Christian Faith– be understood within the contexts of my above definitions, so my expressions and intentions with regard to their usage are not misconstrued, misunderstood, or considered to be the same in meaning, as taught by mainline-theologians.

As I take-off now, in executing my task of proving to lovers of the Saviour and seekers of God’s salvation the camouflaged misinformation in the crucifixion-resurrection story about the Saviour, as put out by theologians for a period close to two millennia, let me, first of all, say a few things in correction to some misunderstandings of the Sabbath.

For many people, the Sabbath Day always falls on the last day of the week, Saturday (or is Saturday indeed Saturn Day?). But it is not wholly correct, that the Sabbath Day of God always falls on Saturday.

And yet it has been the thinking of many people who subscribe to the tenets of Christianity, for ages, that Sabbath Day is always Saturday. Obviously, it is not the Christian faith that has taught its adherents this deception, but Christianity, led by its theological thinkers and clergy.

But of course, the last day of every week is Saturday. And since in every week, the last day is fixed by God as His compulsory day of rest, for all people who love to obey and serve Him, according to His instructions in the Creation account and in His Ten Commandments, the weekly Sabbath Day always falls on the last day of the week (Saturday).

Since the weekly Sabbath Day must always fall on the last day of the week, it always falls on a fixed day (Saturday), but of no fixed date. The weekly Sabbath Day can therefore fall on any date of the days forming the yearly calendar.

This fact, we must keep in mind as we work toward revealing the falsehood in the Friday-crucifixion-Sunday-resurrection-story of the clergy, which has been pushed down the throats of salvation-seekers, for close to two millennia.

Besides the establishment of a weekly Sabbath Day of a fixed day but variable date, God also instituted other Sabbath Days, compulsory for the observance of His people –both biological and spiritual Israelites. These had fixed dates (dates, I say) but were of variable days within the seven-day week.

Let us go to the first month of the Hebrew calendar, to study the very first of such fixed-date Sabbaths. The first month of the Hebrew calendar is Nisan, which is also known as Abib. This month is host to the first fixed date Sabbath Day.

This first fixed date Sabbath Day is the first day following the Passover Day. We must note that, as important as Passover Day is, being the commemoration of the deliverance of Israel from bondage in Egypt, it is not a Sabbath Day. (cf. Exodus 12: 14, Leviticus 23: 5, Numbers 29: 16).

This is because God does not prohibit man and his beasts of burden from doing servile work on Passover Day. That notwithstanding, Passover Day is “an high day” and from the Gospel narratives, was always celebrated with an accorded status, of a fixed date Sabbath Day. (cf. John 18: 28, 19: 14, 31).

Now, because Passover must always be celebrated on the 14^th Nisan of the Hebrew calendar (Exodus 12: 6, Leviticus 23: 6), the first fixed date Sabbath Day is 15^th Nisan. Nisan 15^th is the first day of observing the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which feast must run for seven days, up to its last day on Nisan 21^st. (cf. Leviticus 23: 6, Numbers 28: 17-18).

Both Nisan 15^th and 21^st are days of convocation for Israel in which God instructs that no servile work be done. These two days are therefore fixed date Sabbath Days, which must however be understood to fall on variable days.

One interesting thing is that, since every Sabbath Day must always be preceded by a time of preparation (a Preparation Day), Passover Day would seem to be the Preparation Day for this first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread of 15^th Nisan. But that cannot be, since one must never work in preparation for an in-coming Sabbath Day on a running Sabbath Day.

And so, when two Sabbath Days follow each other, one on the heels of the other, a very big and special Preparation Day evolves, before one starts observing these two Sabbath Days which run into one another. This interesting fact, we must keep in mind as we read further, this article.

Chris Bapuohyele is a bible-expositor and author of the book: BEWARE OF THIS FALSE DOCTRINE… His email address is: chrisbapuohyele@yahoo.com

Suppose the price of a cup of rice is 50p, and Ti-Kelenkelen can afford two cups a day.  Assume now that the price goes up to GH¢1.00, but Ti-Kelenkelen’s salary remains the same.  Now he can afford one cup.  Suppose again that the price of a cup goes up again to GH¢1.50.  It is not likely Ti-Kelenkelen can buy less than one cup, and since his salary remains the same, it is likely he is now spending less on say entertainment.

With each increase in price, two cups will cost Ti-Kelenkelen more money; more money is chasing the same amount of rice, and affordability is gradually becoming a problem.  That means inflation is rising.

There are instances when income levels will rise along with prices, but inflation will still rise.  That is when the percentage rise in income level is lower than the [cumulative] rise in the prices of utilities and commodities.  Thus if the price of crude oil rises and national administration, through the National Petroleum Authority (NPA,) raises the prices of petrol, diesel, [LP Gas] and kerosene, the rippling effect pushes up transport fares and luggage/freight charges and the prices of all commodities.  The following month, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will announce that inflation rose after the increases in the prices of fuels.

Using simple figures, if the price of each commodity – fuels, food, inputs, everything – rises by say 20%, and the minimum wage goes up by say 20%, but the price of utilities, say water rises by 40% and electricity by 30%, we have [a simplistic] total increase in prices of 90% as against a pay rise of 20%.  Affordability will decrease and inflation will rise.

On the other hand, if income level remains the same, but somehow, the price per cup of rice drops to say, 20p, Ti-Kelenkelen could afford more rice or save money on rice to spend on other commodities.  With affordability rising, inflation falls; until, of course, there is scarcity.

Now, prices of commodities have been rising consistently since May 2009 when the Mills administration raised the prices of petrol fuels…  For example, recently talking to cooked-rice sellers, they told Ti-Kelenkelen that the price of a bag of rice has risen from an average of GH¢35.00 to GH¢85.00…  Yet the Statistical Services/MPC tells us inflation has dropped over the period.  Prices are rising, salaries/incomes have [woefully] not kept up, people are buying less of everything, and affordability is dropping, so how can inflation be falling?

That is a strange economic contradiction!  And the experts insist something is not right…”

That was Ti-Kelenkelen in 2010/2011.

“On the competence of the GSS, there are some who say its inability to release the results of the census it conducted in 2010 is another sign of its inefficiency, while others ascribe the delay to a Mills administration intention and design to rig the December elections; the claim is that the release of the census figures will render that ploy impossible.  Whatever the reason, it is the GSS’s credibility that is on the line…  [That credibility is] neither in what Dr. Bawumia said about the Service nor in what the NDC says in its defence.  It does not even lie in what the GSS says…”

Some examples

I recall from history World War II (1939-1945,) how inflation in Italy was described as runaway inflation.  In the morning you could buy an item at a certain price, only to return in the afternoon and pay more for it, and pay more for it in the evening.  Eventually, it got so bad that a mother needed a wheel-barrow-full of money to do her regular daily shopping.  Prices were skyrocketing day by day, taking inflation along into triple digits.

Another example is the hyper-inflation caused by the Zimbabwe economic crisis, sparked by US/EU sanctions imposed after President Robert Mugabe took the best fertile lands away from white farmers for re-distribution to blacks starting 2000.  In 1996 US$1.00 was exchanged for Z$9.13.  Gradually, it went up, unbelievably, to Z$9,000.00, then to Z$17,500.00 by July 2005, and then up to Z$101,196.00 to US$1.00 by early 2006.  At a point during that crisis, one needed a box or wheel-barrow-full of money to buy a piece of bread.

Those examples are extreme cases, but show clearly the direct, irreversible relationship between inflation and prices/interest rates, and thus call in for questioning the relationship between dropping inflation and rising prices & cedi depreciation over the last three-and-half years in Ghana.

The GSS

On Tuesday, May 8, 2010 the Ghana Statistical Service called a press conference addressed by the Acting Government Statistician, Dr. Philomena Nyarko.  She said the procedures the GSS used to compile statistics Dr. Bawumia used to give his party, NPP, pass marks over 2001-2008 are the same procedures it currently employs to calculate inflation.  By casting doubts on current inflation figures, she said, Dr. Bawumia is “attempting to undermine the integrity” of the GSS.  Dr. Nyarko described Dr. Bawumia’s interpretation of GSS figures as “misleading.”

Yet I know another top official who indirectly questioned the validity of GSS inflation figures.  Ti-Kelenkelen will mention neither the official’s name nor organisation, but God and people be my witness the official did.

At a recent press conference, Ti-Kelenkelen asked: About two years ago, the NPA increased the price of petrol by 30%, but we were later told inflation dropped.  Few weeks ago the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission increased electricity tariffs by 6% and you are saying it will exert inflationary pressures.  Twice, at length and in vain, the official tried to answer the question, but eventually conceded by saying those are the figures the GSS gave them.  But the inability to explain is not the official’s fault; the problem is with the figures from the GSS.

The point to note is that he could not explain the conflicting behaviour of inflation in the two instances I gave, and thus pushed the burden of proof onto the compiler, GSS.  Yet the economic relationship between price change and change in inflation is calculated by laws, and you do not need the compiler to explain it; the figures must be self-explanatory.

Conclusion

The value of the cedi to a dollar started falling in 2011.  According to analysts, from January-March, 2012 it fell by 14%.  Interestingly, that has not had any effect on inflation.  Yet funny enough and ironically, official reports say April inflation went up by zero-point-five percent to 9.1%; it was 8.6% at the end of March.

Some days ago, the Executive Director of the Centre for Economic Policy Analysis (CEPA,) Dr. Joe Abbey, pointed out that the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank should do something about the depreciating value of the cedi against the dollar, otherwise Ghana would soon have double-digit inflation.

Of course, Dr. Joe Abbey is not supporting Dr. Bawumia.  The former simply referred to the immutable relationship between two economic indices and used it to offer national administration free professional advice.  The co-incidence of the import of their two statements is simply because laws of economics are strict and immutable.

At this point, Ti-Kelenkelen can ask: Are we being told the cedi must depreciate by 14% before it will affect inflation?  Or what Dr. Bawumia said has pinched someone awake to start telling Ghanaians the truth about inflation, hence the rise in April inflation?

I am a CPP person and do not care for the partisan-politicking between the NPP and NDC, hence

I will avoid the politics of the matter, including the Mills administration asking the substantive Government Statistician, Dr. Grace Bediako, to proceed on leave and bringing in her deputy, Dr. Nyarko, as acting head of the GSS.

Also, neither the economic indices nor the relationships between and among them can be affected by anything politicians say.  We therefore deceive no one, but ourselves if the economic indices are indeed not as good as we make them out to be.  The Mills administration may think it is painting a fine picture of the economy to earn partisan capital, but, indeed, who is it trying to deceive?

On the competence of the GSS, there are some who say its inability to release the results of the census it conducted in 2010 is another sign of its inefficiency, while others ascribe the delay to a Mills administration intention and design to rig the December elections; the claim is that the release of the census figures will render that ploy impossible.  Whatever the reason, it is the GSS’s credibility that is on the line.  In 1990, Ghana had a census and 1992 was an election year, but the results, I believe, were released on time.  In 2000, Ghana, again, had a census and though that year was an election year the census results were released on time.

The issue of the credibility and efficiency of the GSS, if you ask Ti-Kelenkelen, is neither in what Dr. Bawumia said about the Service nor in what the NDC says in its defence.  It does not even lie in what the GSS says in criticising Bawumia or in its own defence, but in the fruits of its labour and their validation and validity thereof.

And if the workers of every state institution, right from the Office of the President to the district Assembly offices, will remember and apply that, Ghana will start becoming the better place we all dream of.

YIRENKYI LAMPTEY

Comments like the one above from some friends I bumped into recently, made me feel like I was indirectly mocked at or flattered. Seriously speaking, as much as I tried to give them an honest response for the songs of praises and worship they sang for me, they simply brushed it off and told me to stop giving them flimsy excuses.

And they continued: “You think we don’t know that you’re enjoying eh? How can a whole journalist too complain of ‘holes’ in his pockets? Are you a teacher?” they asked amidst laughter. They wished they were journalists, I said to myself. But apart from the fame and meeting important personalities in one-on-one interviews, what else do journalists gain from the profession? Nothing, I said to myself as my silence to their flattery behaviour forced them to pause laughing for a while.

The fact that you meet a journalist looking good (nicely dressed) doesn’t mean that he/she earns a gargantuan amount of salary every month. That has been my response to friends whenever and wherever we meet and they begin to talk about working conditions and other matters of life. Journalists by nature of their profession must be properly dressed, I told them, adding that, they (teachers) are even fortunate that they earn good monthly salaries and probably with some allowances, yet complain as if they were worse off than a public toilet keeper. Quite apart from that, they’re sure of regular salary increase anytime there is some fuel price increase. And how about journalists, most of whom at times can’t even bargain for an increase in salary; simply because they are afraid their employers might sack them and employ someone they (employers) think they can pay whether he/she is qualified or not? I asked and the response was like the stillness in the cemetery at midnight.

I took my time just to educate these friends on the bad conditions of service if not worse, which pertains in the inky profession — a profession that is so much adored and respected by many people worldwide most especially at places where free speech is uncommon or where there are many entities and individuals seeking to do propaganda.

I cautioned them solemnly against ever compelling their children to become journalists in the future unless it’s their wish and desire. I continued by saying that, the only benefit that I, like many journalists, derive from the profession and which keeps me going, is the respect and praises people like you (referring to them) shower on me anytime you see me and nothing else.

Sounding like a Roman Catholic priest delivering a homily at a Sunday mass, I admonished them that the journalism profession was a calling to serve God and humanity, and not a place to make money or amass wealth. Indeed, journalists are the most poorly paid the world over except for those working in state-owned media organisations and other few private media companies which are richer and can afford to pay their staff well. Even pastors are better than journalists in the sense that, they are paid well by their congregation to stay and do the work of God, although they say their work is a calling, I added. To survive in journalism, one must fall in love with the profession, be passionate about it and be willing to sacrifice his/her life just for the truth to prevail and the wrongdoings in society to stop. If you’re lucky, you may be remembered as a martyr.

If you (referring to my friends) don’t want to curse your child for not being able to send you money to buy porridge and take care of other needs in your old age because you think he/she is a journalist, then I would advise that you rather persuade him or her to work in the bank, oil and gas company, telecommunications company, CEPS, Parliament, etc, because these are the places where one can earn so much.

Journalism is so much adored and respected by many because everyone looks up to practitioners to speak for them in times of difficulties, but hardly do they speak for themselves as if to suggest that they don’t even have problems at all. In fact, journalists have serious bleeding problems ranging from pitiable conditions of service which include very lean salaries, interference in their job by employers and persons or groups linked to the media houses, lack of logistics to function well, lack of training for them to upgrade their skills and lack of security among others. For me, salary is the most serious issue that must be addressed. Finally, I capped the conversation with my friends with a quote: “The LORD looked at my work and was very glad. He then looked at my salary; He bowed his head, turned away and wept.” This is because the salary of journalists is nothing to write home about, thus drawing the tears of the LORD which is a sign of pity for them.

Now back to the focus of this article: why I think owners of media houses should be blamed for the falling media standards in Northern Ghana.

I have been living in Northern Ghana specifically Tamale, for six years now. I have tasted rough times in-between good times as journalist and as Joseph Ziem. I launched my journalism career in one of the most vibrant and most-listened-to radio stations in Tamale in October 3, 2006. I worked in various capacities as News Reporter, Production Assistant, Deputy News Editor, and finally left in 2010 as News Editor. Thanks to Mr. Edmond Gyebi of The Chronicle Newspaper and TV Africa, who groomed me to the extent that, I write almost like him. I can vouch that he’s among the top five best journalists in the Northern Region currently. Please, that’s my opinion and no one can take it from me.

Between 2006 and 2010 that I worked in the radio industry, there were only five (5) Commercial Radio Stations operating in the Tamale Metropolis including Fiila FM 89.3Mhz, Diamond FM 93.7Mhz, Radio Justice 98.5Mhz, North Star FM 92.1Mhz and the State-owned Savannah Radio 91.2Mhz. Currently, there are eight (8) radio stations with the latest ones being Bisharah Radio 97.7Mhz, Might FM 90.5 MHz and Zaa FM 99.3Mhz. There is also Eagle Fm 90.5MHz in Walewale. In fact, I can confidently state that there are two more due to be launched very soon, bringing the total number to ten (10). Additionally, there are four Community Radio Stations namely; Saboba Radio, Fusion FM, PAD FM and Simli Radio.

In the case of Upper West Region, there operates state-owned Radio Upper West 90.1 MHz, Radio Progress 98.2Mhz, Hits FM 108.1 (closed down) as well as two Community Radio Stations which are Radio FREED 92.3 and Rasford FM 107.5. In the Upper East Region, they include state-owned URA Radio 89.7 MHz, Style FM 99.3 Mhz, Rock FM 103.7 (closed down) and A1 Radio 101.1 Mhz as well as three Community Radio Stations which include Word FM, Nabina FM and Builsa Radio. Indeed, the radio industry in the North (Upper West, Upper East and Northern Regions) is growing very fast considering the fact that it’s a powerful medium to put information across for public discourse.

Falling media standards, the cause and who should be liable

At a time that media analysts say that the radio industry in Northern Ghana particularly Tamale is growing so fast, there is in fact a serious shortfall of competent and experienced journalists as well as presenters, to entertain, inform and educate the masses, most of whom are so ignorant about a lot of happenings going on in the country. In other words, most of the presenters or journalists working with these radio stations particularly the private ones, lack a deep sense of knowledge and understanding of contemporary topical issues ranging from basic economics to agric, education to gender, politics to governance, current affairs to civic education and so on, which people need to be abreast of in order to make informed decisions and choices for their lives.

It is true that one can become a journalist no matter the person’s academic background. That is, it doesn’t matter whether the person read agric, medicine, engineering, fashion, pure science, music or whatever at the university, college or high school. But, I think above all these, he/she must be someone who can read, write or speak very good and comprehensible grammar. Besides, he/she must be the type that learns very fast in terms of acquiring knowledge in workshops and seminars as well as making very good use of the knowledge acquired.

Sadly, most of the journalists and presenters in some of these stations write and speak very bad grammar and they know next to nothing in the topics they table for discussion. It’s not their fault. There are no experienced producers or programme directors in most of these stations to ensure that quality programmes are delivered on air. This is because, owners of some of these stations have over the years relied on cheap labour by way of recruiting staff to man the news and programmes departments, hence the poor output on air to a society where majority of its population is not so well educated.

Majority of the presenters, apart from being unprofessional or untrained, also invite panelists with little or no knowledge about topics tabled for discussion. The presenters and their panelists sometimes end up ‘poisoning’ the minds of their listeners, which trigger unhealthy reactions from the public, especially during phone-ins. Managements of most of these stations have over the years recruited unskilled and inexperienced presenters and journalists to work for them, whereas the few qualified and experienced ones they had, also left them due to poor remuneration and frosty working relationships resulting from disrespect and interference from the former.

Besides, most of the owners of these media houses don’t see it as a necessity to organise professional development workshops for their staff and also do pay them pittance which cannot help most of them to continue their education or seek knowledge improvement in institutions that provide such expertise. My interaction with some new and former staff of the radio stations in Tamale, Bolgatanga and Wa revealed, that most of them are paid between the range of GH¢30.00 and GH¢200.00 a month, when in actual fact, owners of these stations particularly those in Tamale, could pay them between GH¢400.00 and GH¢600.00 a month.

In fact, even most of the staff of these stations don’t have social security and are on what is best called monthly allowance and not salary. Some of them told this writer that, salary increase is not based on merit or competence and experience, but only when the owner of the station likes your face or thinks that you sympathise with the political party that he/she belongs. Can you imagine what someone would be taking after retirement if he/she is or was earning GH¢100.00 a month as salary? What about those not on salary but allowance?

What needs to be done to stop the standards from falling?

First of all, lest owners of these radio stations in the three cities particularly Tamale hire the services of competent and experience journalists and presenters, and pay them well to provide quality, educative and informative programmes, many people like me would only tune in to their stations when they link up with their affiliate stations abroad and in the nation’s capital, Accra. As one Senior Journalist and Managing Editor of the Al hajj Newspaper Alhaji Iddrisu Bature told The Africawatch in an interview in February 2012,: “Journalists are the cheapest and easiest people to be bribed in Ghana. That is a fact”. So the question is, how do you expect a journalist earning GH¢40.00 or GH¢60.00 as salary or allowance to refuse a bribe of lest say GH¢200.00? Whose fault is it? Your guess is as good as mine.

Secondly, owners of these media companies must also stop interfering with the job of the few qualified personnel they currently have at their disposal and allow them to do their work as professionals. I will cite myself as an example. I had the opportunity to work with a media organization where the C.E.O, for his own parochial and selfish interest, would often accuse me of being a member of the National Democratic Congress whenever I published a story that is critical of the party he belongs to – New Patriotic Party. But, when I wrote similar stories critical of the NDC, he never accused me of being NPP or belonging to any of the other political parties. Why? So, I will advise that, C.E.Os or managers, who are like the aforementioned, must endeavour NOT to dictate to the few experience journalists/presenters they currently have otherwise, they will desert them and seek opportunities elsewhere.

Thirdly, owners of media houses must also make it a point to periodically organise training workshops for their staff in order to enhance their professional and managerial skills. Just as it’s good to periodically change the engine oil of your automobile machine in order to make it more roadworthy or efficient, so is it good to refresh the skills and knowledge of your staff so that their output would impact well on the station’s target audience and bring more money to your company. A good broadcaster is someone who has been trained over and over again in most periods of his/her professional career and make good use of what he/she has learned by making a positive impact in the lives of his/her listeners or viewers.

Fourthly, in places like Accra, Kumasi, Sunyani and other regions in the Southern part of the country, experienced journalists and presenters are poached or signed on to long term contracts by media owners who are serious-business-minded-people. Some of the contracts come with free cars, free accommodation, scholarships and free life/health insurance among others. Maybe, its time owners of radio stations in the North also adopted such moves in order to improve upon their programming, which will culminate into attracting many customers and listeners since they are business entities and can only continue to exist when they make profit.

Last but not least, commercial radio in contemporary times has gone beyond just sending marketing executives out to source for customers to come and advertise their products and services. In fact, I feel sorry for marketing managers of radio stations in Tamale for instance, who boldly say without any shame, that their outfits are not making money or profits. If there is no money, why are many financial institutions and business entities opening up branches in the city? Now radio marketing is about events and promotions, and not sitting comfortably in your swiveling chair waiting for people to bring you announcements to read on your networks. So, I will urge owners of radio stations who want to survive in this business to begin to think innovatively otherwise they will soon fizzle out.

ARTICLE BY: JOSEPH ZIEM, ziemjoseph@yahoo.com
The writer is a freelance journalist but regularly writes for The Daily Dispatch newspaper. Views or comments may be sent to him via ziemjoseph@yahoo.com/ +233 207344104.

“Praise we the wise and brave and strong

Who graced their generation,

Who helped the right and fought the wrong,

And made our folks a nation.”

I believe that if we fail to acknowledge the good deeds of our fellow human beings, we would find it difficult to show gratitude for God’s gift of abundant resources.

It is common for people to wrongly assume that anybody in our country who gains modest recognition for some good deed may have attended what is always described as first class high schools. I have always said with pride that I attended Nkawkaw Secondary School (Great KAWSEC) which I still consider as the best high school existing in our country. I am proud to be an old KAWSECAN and my school whose motto is “Education for Service” influenced my life greatly.

What makes KAWSECANS unique and so proud of their school?

The answer lies in the fact that the first Headmaster of Nkawkaw Secondary School, Rt. Rev. Victor BuerNartey-Tokoli, a highly respected priest of the Methodist Church, an Educationist par excellence, a great father, Counsellor and a dedicated public servant built the school on a strong foundation of truth, hard work and service to humanity.

In 1968 when the then Methodist Training College at Nkawkaw was to be closed down by the government, it took the ingenuity of the Rt. Rev. Nartey-Tokoli to accept the challenge of developing Nkawkaw Secondary School from the ashes of the Training College to serve the human capital needs of the Kwahu area and the nation. Rt. Rev. Nartey-Tokoli had the onerous task of starting Nkawkaw Secondary School with very poor facilities bequeathed to the school by the old Methodist Training College. He was driven by a strong desire to develop a secondary school that would provide social, moral and formal education to prepare the products of the school to serve mother Ghana.

The late Rt. Rev. Victor Buer Nartey-Tokoli went round from church to church, market places and schools convincing parents to enrol their children in the new Nkawkaw Secondary School. He marketed Great KAWSEC as a government school with great potential to provide a holistic   education to the many young people in the area who had not been able to further their education beyond the Middle School level. The first batch of students of Nkawkaw Secondary School included former pupil teachers, street hawkers, petty traders and those recruited directly from Middle schools without stressing so much on the Common Entrance Examination initially since that could have prevented many of the first batch of students from gaining admission. I would explain why I feel compelled to write this tribute to the memory of the Late Rt. Rev. Victor Buer Nartey-Tokoli.  I am filled with deep emotions as I write about my personal experience with him and I know many of my compatriots of Great KAWSEC feel the same.

I passed the Common Entrance Examination in 1970 and was invited for an interview in one of the schools on the Kwahu Mountain. I was successful at the interview and was provided an admission letter and a prospectus. The prospectus had a long list of items I needed to buy and the school fees which I had to pay within a short period. I realised that I had come to the end of my education because I knew my mother could not afford to buy the tall list of items on the prospectus and then pay the school fees. I burst out weeping and continued crying when we were descending the Odweanoma hill until I got to the market place at Nkawkaw where my mother was. The passengers in the vehicle with me probed into why I was in such deep sorrow but I was filled with too much grief to explain to them.

After a few consultations with some market women who had heard of Nkawkaw Secondary School through the campaigns of Rt. Rev. Nartey-Tokoli, my mother decided to go and meet the headmaster to make a plea for my admission. My mother and I walked about 5 km to the old site and we met Rt. Rev. Nartey-Tokoli waiting at the entrance of the school as if he was expecting us. My mother talked about everything including the sudden death of our father who was a Presbyterian priest and the efforts she was making to educate us. He listened attentively and started acting on the issue before my mother could complete her story. That was how I gained admission to Nkawkaw Secondary School as a day student in the second batch of students without any impediment. Interestingly, many students of Nkawkaw Secondary School have testimonies similar to mine.

The Late Rt. Rev. Victor Buer Nartey-Tokoli taught me the greatest lesson that one needed to be upright in public life.  My mother would not have been able to pay a farthing as bribe if the Rt. Rev. Nartey-Tokoli had demanded money as a condition for my admission and I have vowed never to receive bribe in the course of my work.  He encouraged all his students to uphold high moral standards and that is what has kept some of us through the difficulties of public service.

On 29^th April, 2012, about 60 old students of Great KAWSEC paid a visit to our father and mentor Rt. Rev. Victor Buer Nartey-Tokoli who had not been in good health for some time. Brigadier-General Yeboah Morphy ( first School Prefect) and Ms Stella Appiah-Nkansah of Vodafone (Secretary of the Old Students’ Association) in their speech paid glowing tribute to the  legend  of our great school and told him that though late, we were honoured and excited to interact with him. His face glowed with smiles and he looked very happy to have seen many generations of KAWSECANS who had gathered to pay homage to him.  We sang many Methodist Hymns together and we prayed for him.  Our father bid us good bye and we left his home very satisfied that we had accomplished an important duty only to hear that he died peacefully the next morning. It was as if he was waiting to see the generations of his children before passing over. Rt. Rev. Victor Buer Nartey-Tokoli changed the destiny of poor people to educationists, top military officers, successful business persons, medical officers, accomplished public servants, police officers, human relations managers, nurses, scientists, and economists etc. We owe him tons of gratitude.  May his soul rest in perfect peace!

But woe betides you if the place you call your home is located anywhere near a church or a cluster of churches where deafening-noise from electronic guitars, keyboards, drums and microphones is the order of the day (Amoah, 2004). Unconfirmed reports has it that whenever the Ga Traditional Council imposes it’s one-month ban on drumming, populace residing in the same neighbourhood with ‘noisy churches’ give bigger thanksgiving offerings to God almighty and the gods for restoring order and silence into their lives temporarily.

The ban on drumming, dancing, funerals, and other forms of noisemaking, according to Ga oral tradition, is a period of quietude imposed by the priests right after the ritual sowing of maize to “to leave the gods undisturbed while they look after the yams” (Field, 1937; van Dijk 2001; Baneseh, 2002;). Quite fascinating, is the fact that some modern-day churches in Accra are defying the one-month ban on drumming as they claim the tradition seeks to suppress the Christian faith and the influx of foreigners on the Ga land. The massive membership—young, urban, educated followers of the Christian religion—perceive the ban as traditional leaders’ ploy to force Christians to not only abandon their way of worship, conscience, human rights, but the gesture contradicts the provisions of article 21, clause 1 paragraph (c) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

But the leadership of the Ga land respond by maintaining that complying with the ban on drumming during the Homowo festival is acknowledged by the state on the basis of the 1992 Constitution, the general public’s respect for chiefly and religious tradition, and that Homowo is a ritual of traditional religion which has an equal status to other religious rituals, be they Christian, Muslim or whatever (van Dijk, 2001). According to Kwarteng (1999), the Christians hold that since not all Gas are traditionalists, it is unfair for the overlords to make legislations that binds other Ga natives who are Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. So when these ‘unconcerned’ churches defy the ban and hit their instruments and drums harder, consequences are bound to follow in accordance with the saying ‘when you go to Rome you do what the Romans do.’

Some unidentifiable members of society have capitalized on the defiance of the churches to loot them of their musical instruments (in many cases). On Sunday, May 31, 1998, for example, the Korle Bu branch of the Lighthouse Chapel was severely attacked by a mob that injured church members and confiscated the church’s costly instruments (van Dijk, 2001). The raid persisted as agitated gang armed with stones and clubs on Sunday, May 9, 1999 attacked members of the Awoshie branch of Victory Bible Church and confiscated their instruments (Bamfo, 1999).

Further attacks and looting of musical instruments by irate youths was launched at the Osu branch of Christ Apostolic Church (Ghanaian Chronicle, 2001), branches of Apostolic Faith Mission, and the El Shaddai Charismatic Church.

I chanced on additional information, on the noise you and I create as part of doing business or entertaining ourselves, which I could previously have waived off as a threat to noise pollution; in Ghana currently, unemployment has forced many of our youth to veer into the selling of audio and video compact discs (CDs), SIM cards, and the promotion of products like medicine, television antennas, etc. on most principal streets.

The more sophisticated approach these youth adopt is to place a public address system, a machine playing loud music powered by a generator set in an open track to catch the attention of customers from far and near.

The sound release from these trucks for even 5 seconds is too inconveniencing to the ears and is a complete barrier to communication. So imagine the chaos that will generate in your system and in your working place if this same vehicle with these blaring speakers stands in front of your shop for close to 10 minutes or everyday of the week. I doubt if Section five of the AMA abatement of noise Bye-law of 1995 that states, “no person shall play or cause to play any recorded music in public for advertising purposes so as to cause a nuisance to the public” is being regarded here.

Funerals include the commonest and loudest source of noise every weekend. In most neighbourhoods, no weekend passes without a funeral or a wake keeping ceremony. The ceremony involves erecting canopies and placing public address system, big loud-mouthed speakers and plastic chairs on the streets thereby blocking vehicular movement all weekend.

Perpetrators of such acts not only inconvenience motorists and make unnecessary noise but do so without any permit from the assembly or the police. I don’t even want to talk about the excessive noise from the horns of trotros, taxi cabs, motorcycles, cars selling ointments like ‘Akobam’, the countless street jams, birthday parties, and the various types of celebrations we have weekly.

These episodes highlight how we as a society have allowed a lot of water to go under the bridge although there are laws in this country to control excessive noise. Section 28 of the Environmental Protection Agency (Act 490), section 7, sub-section 1 and 2 of the Local Government Act, 1993 (Act 462), and the AMA Nuisance Abatement by-law of 1995 are amongst the laws and by-laws passed to protect the people of Ghana against all forms of pollution, including noise pollution.

But the question is do we even know of the existence of such laws? The local metropolises in their own wisdom have categorized areas according to the level of noise activity on-going and the time of day. Generally speaking, residential areas with infrequent transportation disturbances, educational and health facilities, commercial or light industries (comprising of areas with some light industry, places of entertainment or public assembly, and places of worship), and heavy industrial areas are rated differently and attract varying noise levels during the day or in the night.

But as it stands now, the various metropolitan assemblies are seriously handicapped as many residents, churches, businesses, etc. are plainly flouting these laws and exhibiting gross disregard for the well-being of their neighbours.

I don’t seek to use this platform to bastardize local assemblies for not doing much to salvage the situation, or churches for playing instruments louder, or law enforcement agencies for not arresting enough defaulters, or traditional leaders for imposing a ban on drumming when citizens think the law is illegitimate. But if we really want to be honest with ourselves, we’ll realize that the stipulated sanctions for sound pollution as captured in section 10, clause one of the AMA Abatement of Noise bye-law is a big joke nicknamed ‘a sanction.’

The law states among other things that, “any person who contravenes any provisions of these Bye-laws commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding GH¢20.00 or in default to a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months or to both.” This sanction, in my view, can never scare the numerous multi-billion companies, churches, distribution firms, night club, etc. who make billions of Ghana Cedis within seconds and are willing to pay any fine so they stay in business (if they so please to ignore the greater good).

Honestly, we are doing our nation, community, our eardrums and general health a great disservice if we endorse a ban on drumming for just a month and leave the floodgates of noise making open for the rest of the year. What good is our wealth when we all go deaf? What use also is there in mentioning that we belong to a particular religion when we preach peace but act lawlessly and our actions or inactions maim somebody else? What we need is enough common sense to realize that the effects of sound abuse are far bigger than religious practices, profit margins of businesses, wealth creation or our constitution rights. “Tell your neighbour that his or her fundamental human rights ends, where yours begins,” the constitution says so.—Ghanaweb.com

Paa Kwesi Forson
cbforson@gmail.com

Months ago the U.S. Department of State warned U.S. citizens of the risks of travelling to states like Imo in Nigeria because of kidnapping and robbery. This is getting out of hand! Cases of kidnapping in Imo as reported in the media are too numerous to mention. And there seems to be no solution. For example, the Eze –elect of Awo Mbieri autonomous community in Mbaitoli local council area of Imo State, Nze Oliver Nwaozuzu, was abducted by gunmen last week. The Medical Director of Saint Charles Hospital, Emekuku in Owerri North local council area of Imo State, Dr. Henry Dozie, was kidnapped by unknown gunmen in June last year. Mr. Chijioke Nnaemeka Iheaku, a lawyer and industrialist was kidnapped and murdered in Owerri in December last year.

What about the case of Chief Obinna Onuegbu, a businessman and politician who was kidnapped in July last year. Armed men also, last year, kidnapped the Catholic bishop of Okigwe, Bishop Samuel Amatu. The former speaker of Imo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Godfrey Dikeocha was kidnapped in March this year .The husband of a Commissioner in Imo State was kidnapped. Lady Chioma Ogoke a serving Commissioner in this administration was kidnapped? Three girls were abducted on Sunday sometime in September last year at Saint Mulumba’s Catholic Parish, Owerri. The girls were on their way home from mass when they were kidnapped. The Chief Medical Director of Owerri Specialist Hospital, Umuguma, Dr Moses Amako too was reportedly kidnapped by gunmen in December last year? A staff nurse attached to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Owerri, Mrs Ursula Ohagwa and a former member of the House of Reps, Hon Tony Okere were also kidnapped this year.

This is really getting out of hand. It is worrisome the ease with which these criminals are getting away with this heinous and unwholesome act in Imo State. Our streets, homes and offices have become increasingly vulnerable with virtually no where to turn to for help. At the moment we all live like prisoners wherever we are in Imo State. We sleep at night with one eye open and yet we have a governor who is the Chief Security Officer of the State. It is really sad that Imo State has degenerated to this level. It is really sad.

State security falls right on the laps of the governor. One reason of having a government in place is for the provision of security of lives and property of the citizenry. The 1999 constitution in section 14 (2) (b) provides that; “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government”. One of the world’s best known political philosophers of all times Thomas Hobbes also stated that one purpose of government is the maintenance of basic security and public order. Hobbes was of the view that people in a community create and submit to government for the purpose of establishing for themselves, safety and public order. If the governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha cannot provide security for Ndi-Imo then he should peacefully resign.

The actions of governor Okorocha make it clear that he is to be blamed 80 percent for the high rate of kidnappings and robberies in Imo State. He has so far sacked 16,000 Imo citizens from jobs and he is about to disengage more 3000 in the name of redeployment of civil servants to serve in an illegal fourth tier government. We must blame the government for putting the youths out of jobs. People opt for kidnapping because of two major reasons: greed and lack of employment.

What do you expect in a state where the youths are pushed out of jobs? A state where the security vote has been diverted for other use; a state where workers are owed salaries. A state where contractors are subjected to fund government projects to completion without payment; a state where the Governor has refused to release money into the system and the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the State are asked to engage in commercial activities in order to generate their salaries and allowances. A state where LGA funds are looted; a state of escalating executive lawlessness, a state of disregard for constitutional rights.

Government in Imo today is Okorocha only. Imo people are suffocating. The teachers are suffering. The civil servants are suffering. Business men are suffering. Even the traders are suffering. What we have in Imo State is the more you look the less you see. In Thisday newspaper of 3rd May, back page, Segun Adeniyi, a popular Nigerian writer gave graphic details of the joke and comic going on in Imo state. According to Adeniyi ‘In Imo State today, it is one day, one promise. Okorocha is going to build a megacity in Okigwe; he will build two palm oil plantations; he will construct a 25-storey hotel; he will build three universities for the state; he will construct an ecumenical centre; and he has already taken over all federal roads in the state for which he has awarded contracts without any documentation! The governor has practically become the sole administrator, expending public money and coming up with all manner of bizarre ideas without any legislative oversight.’

I do not hate my governor as a person but I hate his anti-peoples style of governance. His worst enemies are the choir members surrounding him singing hosannas into his ears for their selfish reasons. I call them vultures because they feed fat on the carcasses of the poor. These people are not only castigating him presently in their closets, they will be the first to shout ‘crucify him’ as soon as he is out of power. He should learn from history.

He knows that without the people, he wouldn’t have won the seat. Instead of serving the people, he is serving himself, his thugs and praise singers. He has travelled to all the continents of this world and has seen what leadership is all about in descent countries. Leaders are the junior partners in the social contract between the leaders and the people. Imo people are complaining but our governor is deaf to the cries. Save us o’ God.—Myjoyonline.com

ARTICLE BY: KENNETH UWADI MMAHU-EGBEMA, anwuri252002@yahoo.co.uk   

Unfortunately, in most of the developing world including Ghana, radio is fast becoming an instrument of terror. It appears the lessons of the Rwandan genocide have quickly been forgotten.

The knife, in the hands of a physician is a source of relief to the perishing soul that needs surgery; in the hands of the armed robber, it’s a pain booster to the vulnerable victim. So, the media that the Rwandans could employ for education and problem solving, they used as killing catalysts in ethnicity motivated genocide. Like the knife in the hands of an armed robber, radio became a pain booster. Out of a population of 7.3 million people – 84% of whom were Hutus, 15% Tutsi and 1% Twa – the official figures published by the Rwandan government estimated the number of victims of the genocide to be 1,174, 000 in 100 days (10,000 murdered everyday, 400 every hour, 7 every minute).

Another source put the death toll at 800,000, 20% of whom were Hutus. It’s estimated that 300,000 Tutsis survived the genocide. Thousands of widows, many of whom were subjected to rape, are now HIV- positive. There were about 400,000 orphans and nearly 85,000 of them forced to be become heads of families.

Certainly, the first lesson Rwandans practically learned is that the world cannot be trusted to save them from their suffering, as the former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, candidly admitted of the sad event later in the year 2000, “the international community failed Rwanda and that must leave us always with a sense of bitter regret.”

With this sense of bitter regret the entire world moved to assist in the recovery of poor Rwanda; but, as Ellis Cose wrote in ‘Lessons of Rwanda’ published on the Newsweek website on April 12, 2008, “the important thing is not how quickly the country is healing but how easily it descended into madness.”

It is in this swiftness to such heights of madness that growing democracies like Ghana could locate the lessons soaked in the thick blood of the people of Rwanda. One of the greatest lessons here to infant democracies is that they ought to appreciate with insight the responsibilities democratic freedoms; especially, media freedom, come with before they set their countries ablaze.

The head of the media capacity building project in Rwanda – ‘Rwanda Initiative’, Prof. Allan Johnson bluntly put it his way, “…: local media fueled the killings, while the international media either ignored or seriously misconstrued what was happening.” The local print media are believed to have started hate speeches against Tutsis, which were further broadcast by radio stations.

In a country where nearly fifty per cent of the population could neither read nor write, radio was a vital form of public communication. Radio appears also to have been widely trusted in Rwanda, with several surveys in the 1980s showing that the vast majority of the population believed that ‘radio tells the truth.’ Television was expensive, and given the hilly terrain it was almost impossible at that time to receive a clear terrestrial signal.

By contrast radio could reach nearly 90% of the country. During the 1980s, the production of radios was subsidised by foreign donors and the government. Both sold sets at a reduced price and gave them away to party administrators, as well as more widely during elections. Some of these radios could only receive FM.

As captured in Jolyon Mitchell’s article, ‘Remembering the Rwandan Genocide: Reconsidering the Role of Local and Global Media’, “in 1970 there was about one radio to every 120 people, but by 1990 this had increased to one radio to every 13 people. With this greater availability, increasingly radio became a focal point for entertainment, information and discussion in Rwanda.” With the founding of Radio-tèlèvisionLibre des Mille Collines (RTLM) in July 1993, Rwanda’s airwaves were filled with a new sound.

It soon became Rwanda’s most popular radio station, and in the months preceding the genocide, many residents tuned to RTLM in their homes and ‘in offices, cafes, bars and other public gathering places, even in taxis.’ In the midst of what some saw as a civil war and others an invasion, RTLM contributed to the development of an increasingly tense public sphere, which provided a forum for extremist speakers to articulate old grievances and new anxieties.

Given this context it is not surprising that subsequent journalistic accounts of the Rwandan genocide pointed to locally produced radio broadcasts as a significant catalyst for the explosion of violence.

Other media particularly the Hutu extremist newspaper Kangura (‘Wake him up’) were also blamed, but it was the radio broadcasts of RTLM and to a lesser extent Radio Rwanda that were deemed to be particularly culpable. One Canadian journalist described how ‘Hutus could be seen listening attentively to every broadcast… They held their cheap radios in one hand and machetes in the other, ready to start killing once the order had been given.’

Other journalists in the West also highlighted the part played by RTLM in the genocide. The Washington Post, for example, as early as April 7, 1994 quoted a RTLM broadcast that warned Tutsis in Rwanda, ‘You cockroaches must know you are made of flesh! We won’t let you kill! We will kill you!’’

Associated Press also on April 25, 1994 quoted a UN spokesman in Kigali claiming that ‘Radio RTLM is calling on militias to step up the killing of civilians.’

The belief that radio was partly culpable for the Rwandan tragedy has been reinforced in other contexts. For example, a short French film Itsembatsemba: Rwanda One Genocide Later (Alexis Cordesse and Eyal Sivan, 1996) depicts how RTLM began to broadcast with the assistance of the government and then played a central part in ‘the unleashing and the coordination’ of the genocide.

Recent feature films about the genocide, such as Hotel Rwanda (2004) also highlight the role of the radio. Nevertheless, the actual role that RTLM played in the Rwandan genocide remains not only a contested phenomenon, but also a point of judicial inquiry.

Yes, during the 2008 General Elections in Ghana, many a resident stood frighteningly at a steep edge seeing the power of the media when a broadcast from Radio Gold got many supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) surround the station to stop the police from allegedly effecting some arrest there. And, we all saw how simple broadcast got thousands of supporters besiege the Electoral Commission head office at Ridge, Accra…To be Continued—Myjoyonline.com
ARTICLE BY: RAYMOND ABLORH

RAYMOND ABLORH is a special writer for African Leader Media Group.

Contact: presidentablorh@yahoo.com
+233 244 04 08 03, theafricanleader@gmail.com

As a man, I am sometimes baffled by how much bigger Mothers’ Day is than Fathers’ Day but that argument belongs to a different day.

Like most of us, I too, am thinking of my mother—or to put it more appropriately, my mothers.

I say mothers because aside from my biological mother, I have had a few other mothers who have been significant in my life. I believe that sometimes, women who have never had children of their own are outstanding mothers. Sometimes they make you wonder how providence determine who would have children and who would not.

In this piece, I hope I can celebrate my mothers, all of the great mothers I know and indeed all mothers. Of course, there are bad mothers. Amongst these are those who take harmful illegal substances while pregnant or abuse their children. We all have bad stories about women maltreating their children or giving them bad counsel.

Despite these exceptions, I say all mothers because even a bad mother deserves some gratitude from the child she conceived and carried to term. Come to think of it, I should appreciate mothers more than most because I never had a father of my own. Now, that is not to say that my paternity was ever in dispute—it was not.

My mother, of blessed memory, was wonderful. Even though she never had a day of schooling, she was uncompromising in her commitment to the education of her children. She did everything she could, with the help of a generous government to educate all her children. She was truly, an “obaatan”. Whenever she cooked, she made sure every child around had enough to eat. I can still remember her “fufu na abenkwan”. Despite this generosity, she was a disciplinarian par excellence. Indeed, sometimes, even thinking of her makes me think instinctively of pain in my buttocks. In retrospect, while my mother, like all mothers, was sweet, she was stronger than sweet. I am sure that when they wrote, “spare a rod and spoil the child”, they had her in mind. She was the kind of mother who would discipline you before asking questions. I remember once, during my post-graduate training, a black American woman came to see me with her teenage son. The boy had an arrest record and when I started to admonish him, the mother offered a defense of his conviction. “Doctor, you know, my boy did not actually take part in the robbery; he was only the look-out and it was really unfair that they sent him to prison.” Without missing a beat, I replied, “Madam, my mom would have wupped my ass for just being in the neighbourhood while other boys were committing a crime.” I remember the first time I complained to her as a teenager about one of my friends. She listened patiently and asked, “Son, have you told your friend to his face about this?” “Well, no” I replied. “If you cannot tell him to his face, then keep quiet” she said.

But she had help from my other mothers. My mother was a trader who used to travel quite a bit. Whenever she was away, she left my brother and me in the care of Madam Aminata, a Wangara woman who had no biological children of her own. She was wonderful. Even when my mother was around and I had one of my rare “last-born” “head sweetness” which led to a refusal to eat my mother’s food, she would step in with “Tuo Zaafi” and other delicacies! Indeed, sometimes, I looked forward to my occasional run-ins with my mother so that Madam Aminata would “boss” me to eat. Whenever I think of her, I am convinced that indeed some of the best mothers around are childless.

My next really great mother would surprise a lot of my friends. She was, Miss B, my biology teacher in Secondary school and she got on my list for tough love. I remember that for quite some time, I just seemed to rub her the wrong way. Then one day, in form five, a couple of months before our “O” levels, right in the middle of a biology class, she started being philosophical. “Now, there are some of you who are wasting a lot of time trying to teach some girls who are not interested in learning. These girls want to just go to the market and be big market women and so do not waste your time on them. We expect a lot from some of you so do not waste time and end up disappointing us—Arthur!! Did you hear that?” That may have been one of the most embarrassing moments in my life but I took that advice to heart and did well enough to progress to sixth form. Later on she gave me a lot of valuable advice and encouragement. Today, she is a good friend.

Then there was Maame Serwaa. It was 1983 and as NUGS President, I had been declared wanted by the PNDC regime, dead or alive. During that time, I and a few of my friends lived with Maame Serwah and her husband Nana Brefo Boateng as well as the Senavoes. Once, while we were hiding there, a member of the government actually came to visit and did not have a clue that we were there. Mind you, around that time, even relatives were afraid to be identified with me. But when finally arrangements had been completed for us to leave, she showed courage that was then rare even in men. “But Nana, why is Kwabena leaving? He can live here for years and no one would know”. She showed no anxiety at all about the fact if I were to be found under her roof, she would be in trouble.

The next of my mothers was a Canadian Professor, Prof. Doane. She was always positive and encouraging without saying much. Then when I finally finished my undergraduate medical education and was leaving for my post-graduate training in the United States, I went to thank her and to say goodbye. When I told her that I had an offer to begin a Residency and was leaving the following week, the white-haired Professor’s reserve finally broke. “Come for a hug, son” she said. “I have been teaching for 25 years here and I have never met a student who has overcome bigger odds.” She gave me a hug. Then when I got up to leave, she uttered the sentence that got her on my list. “Son, you have done very well but do not let it go to your head. Stay humble.” When I turned at the door, she was wiping her face with her handkerchief.

Those have been my mothers—except for one—my wife. While every woman thinks unfairly that her husband is, perhaps, one of her children, my wife gets on the list as a mother of my children. She is an ideal combination of sweetness and strength and I think my greatest gift to my children is probably their mother.

I am sure that as you read this, you too are thinking of the mothers in your life. Find time to thank and celebrate them, not just on Mothers’ Day, but all year round.

While we celebrate our mothers and motherhood though, there are some tough questions we must ask ourselves.

First, if we respect our mothers so much, why is there so much domestic violence? How can we respect our mothers so much and yet beat our wives or companions?

Second, why is it that all around the world, despite our universal reverence for our mothers, women have so little power and earn less for equal work?

Third, if we think motherhood is so important, why have we not made childbirth and motherhood safer?

Fourth, if we love our mothers and mothers to-be so much, why do we not help them with chores?

Do we do these despite our adulation of our mothers because we are hypocrites? Of course, some have argued that women—our mothers—must take some of the blame for these defects because they brought us up.

Whatever your answers to these questions, as you celebrate your mother or motherhood, resolve that you will do a little more to make the plight of women better.

We cannot celebrate motherhood and be indifferent to the plight of women.

Let us move forward—together.

ARTICLE BY: ARTHUR KENNEDY

On behalf of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), I am happy to note that over the past three weeks, the red PPP sun has been shining brightly in all the ten regions of the country.  During this period, presidential and parliamentary candidates, national, regional and constituency executives have been on a national tour to all ten regions.

The purpose of our tour was to assess the biometric voters’ registration, thank our members and supporters for helping bring our party this far so quickly and make the case for Ghanaians to support and vote for the PPP and the bright red sun as the Change Ghana Needs.

We are here to report that the national leadership of the PPP is greatly satisfied and encouraged by the positive response and support of Ghanaians during the tour.  We want to express our sincere appreciation to the traditional authorities, religious leaders, traders, drivers and others who received us in a befitting manner.  At the same time, we are here to report that the PPP is deeply disturbed by the enormous task left undone across the country.  The level of deprivation, poverty and inhumane conditions across the country contrasts sharply with the political talk and propaganda by those who wish to take credit for work they have not done.  It was obvious to us throughout the tour that the PPP is unique.  It is the only political party that is going to the people to discuss what its people can do to unite the country, raise the quality of Ghanaian life and solve the problems that confront us – no insults, respectful of others, no inciting people to violent behavior yet aggressively organizing and gaining strength from community to community.

There is no better Ghana anywhere in the country.  While people sit in air-conditioned offices and media houses to engage in endless arguments over statistics, the people out there are expressing their anger at the slow pace of development.  The people are tired of poverty in all its forms – disease infected water they drink, dangerous roads, low quality of education, poor housing, preventable diseases and very, very high unemployment.  If we do not take care, many of our people will simply get tired of voting, lose faith in the democratic form of government and take matters into their own hands.  Out there in the country, there is no hope for a better Ghana.  Ghanaians are looking for redemption and the PPP has made itself abundantly available running to the rescue.

We are here to thank PPP members and executives across the length and breathe of this country for the great discipline and positive attitude they showed during the just-ended biometric voters’ registration organized by the Electoral Commission.  Our representatives at the registration centers and our regional monitoring teams who went around to observe the registration process did not prevent anyone from registering; neither did they engage in any behavior that could disturb the peace or the registration process.  This is the true character of the PPP – respect, discipline and positive energy.

In our short period of existence, the PPP has sworn to work with great discipline and show respect to all Ghanaians including our political opponents. This National Tour enabled the PPP to make its case directly to the people in small community group meetings, on radio stations and at places of work.  In the wake of the violence, anger and divisive behavior exhibited by the NDC and the NPP over the past few weeks, many Ghanaians have expressed the willingness to vote for an alternative political party.  Many are afraid of what will happen in December if any one of those two parties somehow won the presidency. Ghanaians want to protect the peace and stability we have all sacrificed to establish in the 4^th Republic. The PPP appreciates the recognition being given to the party of the bright red sun as the best alternative and a serious contender to win political power in 2012.

Biometric voters’ registration

Over the years, Ghana has been considered as an island of peace and stability and beacon of democratic practice in a continent beleaguered with conflict and political instability. But the violence that characterized the recent biometric voter registration exercise demands condemnation from all progressives of this nation.  The registration of people to take part in elections is a normal activity which should not generate violent behavior and injuring of people.

Our experience and information gathered from our members during our tour showed that the problems recorded could be laid squarely at the doorstep of politicians and specifically the actions and/or the inactions of political leadership of the NDC and NPP calculated to gain advantage in an election year.  The decision of the Electoral Commission to allow so-called polling agents to “monitor” the registration and voting processes in Ghana also encouraged party people to misbehave in the name of being “vigilant”.

Chapter One of the 1992 Constitution says inter alia that ‘‘The Sovereignty of Ghana resides in the people of Ghana in whose name and for whose welfare the powers of government are to be exercised in the manner and within the limits laid down in this Constitution’’.   The Electoral Commission must not allow political parties to bully it into ceding its responsibilities and authorities granted to it by the Constitution and the Political Parties law to anyone.  The responsibility to conduct free and fair elections, to protect the ballots cast and to prevent fraud/cheating rests squarely with the Electoral Commission.

As a result of the obstruction and aggressive behaviour of the NDC and NPP agents, there is wrong perception out there that it is only these parties that are on the ground. This is not true.  The PPP is equally on the ground but as a law-abiding political party, we cautioned our members and supporters to conduct themselves with discipline and not engage in any unlawful or overly aggressive behaviour at the polling stations. We want to be a positive example to the people of Ghana.

In contrast, we find the lack of will, the inability or unwillingness of President John Evans Atta Mills and Nana Akufo-Addo to publicly address and condemn problems caused by their members in public very puzzling and disturbing.  When the president told a nation in conflict over voters’ registration that he is not a law enforcement officer or a prosecutor, we asked ourselves what then is the job description of the President of Republic.  The President is the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces and on whose shoulders the fortunes of the nation rest.  The buck as is said stops with him.  And he must wield these powers gently but firmly and in a manner that respects our freedoms and diversity as a people.

We are appalled by the overly aggressive way that some leading politicians have gone about this biometric voters registration exercise.  We find it inexplicable that Mr. Akufo-Addo has not found his voice to condemn the “call to arms” in the heat of conflict in parts of the city of Accra during the registration process.  Those of us who lead must not throw more firewood into the fire.  We must work to calm the fears of our people.  The bad blood exhibited and anger expressed by leading members of these two political parties if not checked will lead this nation on a very negative path to destruction.  But it is the NDC led by President Mills that governs this country.  The responsibility to lead and act in a positive manner rests with the NDC.

The violence acted out during the voters’ registration process must be considered a strong wake- up call to all Ghanaians at home and abroad.  It can only mean that some politicians are determined to win the 2012 elections at all cost.  This is the time for all good men and women to rise and collectively work to prevent chaos, hatred and selfishness from destroying the sacrifices we have all made over the years.  Let us act tomorrow positively in the national interest to avoid chaos and instability.

National tour – First step

The first step of the PPP’s national tour that took us to all ten regions of the country was a tremendous success in every way.

We went out to introduce the PPP to the people.  Much to our pleasant surprise, the party had gone out ahead of us.  The people know the PPP already.  A lot of this is due to the effective organization and public education being done by our local executives and aspiring Members of Parliament.  The spontaneous jubilation and expression of happiness upon seeing the PPP convoy, party symbol and our leaders was great.  Indeed, “party papa paa” and “per papa preko” can only mean PPP!  At even some of the more remote communities, adults and children alike know “Edwumawura”.  They quickly translate it into local language and can explain why that appellation is appropriate.  We are satisfied that the PPP is truly national.  Our party is well-represented nationally and considered a strong contender with the NDC and the NPP.

Our message on this tour was simply a request, “Give PPP a Chance” said with great humility.  Where ever we went, we explained the PPP’s colours, red and white.  The white colour stands for discipline, purity and incorruptible leadership and red means determination, assertiveness and strength of character.  Our symbol, the bright red sun means life, hope and being wide Awake! and ready to work.  We acknowledged contributions made by the NDC and NPP in government but pointed to the enormous task ahead of us – poor education, bad roads, lack of good water to drink, inadequate health facilities and very high unemployment – all despite the best efforts of those parties who have had a chance to be in government in the 4^th Republic – as the reasons for change to put PPP into power.

The PPP we explained is for free, compulsory, continuous education from kindergarten to senior high school.  Ghana we said cannot afford to repeat the sad happening of over 1.5 million children failing BECE examination and ending their formal education at that level.  We pledged the eradication of preventable diseases such as malaria, cholera, etc as other countries in the world with determined leadership have been able to do.  We discussed how we would facilitate job creation through the use of government’s purchasing power to support the Ghanaian private sector and building a world class inter-region highway to open up the country.  All these and more we explained will be made possible through incorruptible leadership, the use of the best people without regard to ethnic, religious or party affiliation and the completion of projects started by previous administrations.

We asked the people after voting for the NDC and the NPP to now vote for the PPP in 2012.  We have demonstrated on this tour that we have the ability to gather strength in numbers to win a national election.  We have also made it clear that our 2012 campaign is going to be conducted on the strength of our parliamentary candidates, volunteers and coordinators at the polling stations and communities.

The experience gained on this tour has made us more humble and even more determined that public service of the positive, selfless type is needed and the PPP wants and has the will and ability to serve and work to transform our country.   Many of us had toured some of the same towns and villages we visited this time during the 2008 campaign.  Unfortunately, it is as if time had stood still for four years.  In some instances, the situation had gotten worse.  Each and every one of us who is looking to be in government or go to Parliament in 2013 must be very sober, tread cautiously and focus on problem solving and not people bashing, being boastful or engaging in insulting language etc.  Our people are suffering and we all have not done enough to lift up most of our people from poverty.  A lot needs to be done.  We went to places such as Aflao, Sogakope, Biriwa, Bamboi, Nyanyano, Jakepahi, Gizaa, Asankare, Foase, Moree, Lawra, Wenchi, Tumu, Bawku, Mion, Ajumako, Wallembele, Hemang, Shama, Tolon etc.  It still takes 6 to 7 hours to drive from Wa to Bolga.  Ghanaians are telling us that they have voted in 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 but they do not see what benefit that has brought them.  Ghana needs change of the positive type.  The PPP is the change Ghana needs.  The PPP wants the opportunity to bring transformational leadership to bring the change that will be felt by the people of this republic.

Recognition of political parties

Throughout the country, our people are concerned and are greatly disturbed by the continuing use of “political parties with representation in Parliament” as a means of determining which parties deserve attention; and which should participate in formal and informal activities this election year.

Some media organisations insist on picking winners and restrict who they invite to their studios.  Even though such may have been the practice in the past, there is no reason to continue with it. Circumstances have changed, the political dynamics of this country have also changed, and therefore our societal institutions must also necessarily change as such distinction contradicts our 1992 Constitution.

This country is led by a President whose election is not based on how many seats he or she has in Parliament.  Indeed, the President does not need to have even one seat in Parliament to be elected. This feature of the Constitution safeguards the people from tyranny of the majority.

The Constitution empowers the Republic to choose their leadership not based on the leader of the most popular party, but the leader best equipped to bring positive progressive change every citizen can feel. Political parties are not to be based on ethnic or religious lines but are to be national and on the ground, with offices opened and officers elected nationally and audited accounts provided.

The Progressive People’s Party is a serious political party working to win the mandate of the people, and so, as required by the Constitution, PPP is fully represented in every district of the country with active membership in each region. Those who want to provide a platform for serious political parties must look beyond representation in Parliament and do proper research to determine which ones are firmly rooted on the ground. We urge the Electoral Commission to engage in continuous compliance review of the political parties to give guidance to those who have a legitimate reason for working with the ones in good standing.

Recommendations

There are a number of recommendations we wish to make to improve the system of governance and help maintain peace and security during this election year.

1. We suggest that the practice of allowing so-called polling agents of the political parties to “monitor” the registration of voters and voting on the day of election must be abolished.  It enables political parties to engage in unnecessary aggression and all manner of illegal acts that if not checked will plunge this country into chaos.  The Electoral Commission must not cede its responsibilities as a strong independent institution to anyone.
2. Once parliamentary and presidential candidates are officially registered as candidates by the Electoral Commission, the political parties and independent candidates must be compelled to present monthly financial reports to show income and expenditure, assets and liabilities including sources of income through the end of the year.  Political parties and independent candidates who fail to comply with this requirement must be disqualified from competing in the December elections.
3. Ghana as a nation has invested in the building of an invaluable data base and the creation of a National Identification Authority.  This data base uses biometric means of identifying people.  We must invest more money in the work of the NIA and ensure that it gets the credibility needed to win the confidence of all stakeholders in the country.  This data base should be used as the source for registration of voters.  As long as one carries a National Identification Card as a Ghanaian 18 years or older, he/she should be registered as a voter.  Continuous registration should be the practice from here on.
4. For future elections, the Electoral Commission should explore the feasibility and practicality of electronic voting to further bring credibility and confidence to election results.
5. The Electoral Commission must prepare the necessary procedures and legal instruments to ensure that it can nullify the results in any polling station that records more votes than are recorded in the voters’ register.
6. The Ghana Statistical Service must as a matter of urgency release the census results to enable the figures to be used to check voters’ registration results to help bring confidence and credibility to the voters’ register.

With regard to the national campaign, we wish to suggest the following:

1. To bring the nation’s collective mind to ideas and solutions, a monthly briefing on the state of the economy and national security should be given to the Presidential Candidates and five national executives of the political parties who continue to meet the criteria for certification included in the Political Parties Law.
2. All official candidates from political parties and subsequently independent candidates registered with the Electoral Commission should be assigned security personnel who can assist in ensuring protecting candidates and maintaining the peace.
3. We wish to recommend to all political parties the need to focus on the solutions they have for the many problems that confront our people.  Specifically, all political parties must show how their manifestos follow the dictates of the Constitution.  The 1992 Constitution offers a general policy guideline for all political parties to follow especially the party in power.
4. All political parties must commit to adhering to the Constitutional provision for accountability.  It provides the requirement for accountability as it provides a proper opportunity for the President to account for his stewardship.  That is what Chapter Six – Directive Principles of State Policy calls for when it directs the President to appear before Parliament at least once a year to tell the nation what it has done to implement the State Policy included in the Constitution.  The Directive Principles of State Policy together represent our collective broad national agenda for the Constitution says is the “…establishment of a just and free society.”  The PPP is convinced that if we were to live by these broad principles and the Constitution’s requirement for monitoring and evaluation, our nation would see significant growth and development.  Article 34 (2) directs that:

“The President shall report to Parliament at least once a year all the steps taken to ensure the realisation of the policy objectives contained in this Chapter; and, in particular, the realisation of basic human rights, a healthy economy, the right to work, the right to good health care and the right to education.”

Ghanaians can feel assured that should they vote for the PPP to run the affairs of this country in 2013, our party will live by the dictates of the Directive Principles of State Policy.

Conclusion

The PPP feels deeply humbled by the human condition experienced during this first step of our national tour.  We the leaders of this party will make sure that our members and supporters continue to campaign with discipline and give respect to everyone.  Ghanaians are crying for change.  They want leadership that is firm and caring.  Our people want political parties to stop the noise, stop the violent talk and behavior and pay attention to what they can do to solve the problems of mass failures in education, preventable diseases, high unemployment and corruption.  The PPP wants the Electoral Commission to act strongly as an independent institution to ensure fairness and prevent cheating before and during the 2012 elections.  We are encouraged by the recognition and support shown to us in the field.  We are gaining strength.  We like it when people in Moree, Tumu, Konongo, Gizaa and Keta look at us and say, “these people are serious!”

All the PPP is asking for is “Give Us a Chance”!

Awake Ghana!

Thank you all and God Bless Our Country Ghana.