The Ghanaian Politics; The Story of Ato Kwamena Dadzie And The Ghanaian Times Editor

The Ghanaian public has never ceased to amaze me when it comes to matters of urgency, need and importance. All that we have wasted our years after Dr. Kwame Nkrumah is on trivial issues. We are quick at making politics out of any issue even if it will go against our development process. For selfish personal interests we will rather watch the country go down into the pit than come together to build a better place for generations yet to come.

Two such cases that have been unduly politicized are the Ato Kwamena Dadzie and the editor of Ghanaian Times’ unprofessional and unethical conduct. To me, we have unnecessarily tried to make political capital out of these ‘stupid’ cases.

Ato Kwamena Dadzie an acting news editor at Joy FM a reputable radio station in the country is called by the police to answer some questions about the news they put out that executives of Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA) suffered death threats from the government that is why they withdrew their earlier resentment about the STX Housing deal.

In Ghana we have all accepted death threats to be a crime so what is wrong in the police trying to find the substance behind the allegations Joy Fm put out. In fact the government drew the attention of the radio station to the flaws in the news and asked them to withdraw it and apologize because executives of GREDA had come out to publicly deny such threats.

Is it not normal and sensible to do a humble thing by withdrawing your story for the least even if you cannot apologize yet they continued to broadcast the story the whole day and even putting it online on their website? For the sake of common judgement I thought people will understand the police but for political interests some people and groups in the name of freedom of expression (without responsibility) have gone to the defense of this editor even to the extent of saying that the government (not the police) wants to prosecute Ato because he has refused to reveal his sources. Now we all know this is not true.

Ato’s source may have been right but immediately the GREDA (those whom he claimed were been threatened) denied the story he had no authority again to broadcast the story. And when he was called to defend his story he could not even when he was asked to specifically give the names of those who were been threatened for protection.

The other case is about the Ghanaian Times editor who reported that armed robbers had taken siege of five police stations in the central region. Over here we are talking about the responsibilities of the police been in question and when they called the editor to seek more insight into the matter some sections of the Ghanaian public are claiming that the government is undermining freedom of speech and expression as if the editor reported about the president or his ministers.

If we really want to strengthen institutions this is not the way to go. We should allow the police to carry out their duties because for the least I know about the law the police has the right to question or seek more information into a story of a journalist. We should not always be blaming the government (though it is sometimes necessary) for the troubles of our institutions.

Let us rather jointly reach a consensus for the sake of Ghana, the country our forefathers fought to free instead of deeply polarizing our economically challenged communities.

An Advice to the NDC

Following the recent brouhaha in the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), I am forced as a patriotic citizen who does not want the current government to fail because if it does it means we have wasted another four years of our development process to give a little layman advice to the party’s members and well wishers.

I will begin first with the President. Mr. President John Evans Atta-Mills the leader of the party please as an acclaimed peaceful and honest man; do try your best by putting your feet on the ground to resolve this unwanted impasse. Call the former president J.J. Rawlings to a one-on-one meeting and try to explain to him why you cannot meet some of his demands and how you will soon meet those that you can accomplish.

To the former president who is the founder of the party I will say as a statesman and the grandfather of this party of yours have some level of tolerance for your own people. When they go wrong instead of going public to the whole world to voice your feelings, remember that whatever you say will be used to send the NDC back to opposition. Bear in mind also that no matter how uncomfortable you are now, it will not be different under another party. Even if it becomes different, it will rather become worse.

To the ministers of the various sectors please avoid passing or granting interviews to journalist on party issues. The best you can do for your party is to ceasefire for a while and never try to go by an eye for an eye.

To the member of parliaments, can you be a little bit loyal to your party and stop the unnecessary comments you pass about the governance style of the president who is the leader of your party. For the better of your party and the government why don’t you put together your so called ‘best option’ and present it privately to the government instead of going public to make yourself look like a reincarnated Nkrumah with all the best ideas.

To the foot soldiers can you be a little patient and patriotic and stop demanding heaven because you think you are in power. Politics cannot be jobs for you because the jobs politics offers are temporary. Instead go get something else to do. Join the National Youth Employment Program NYEP and leave the ‘big man’ to get his way into power.

To the well wishers, please pray hard because the country now seems to be focused for development and the president I think is trying hard to steer the economy of the country to achieve this. At least he always reiterates the fact that Ghanaians will judge him after his first term in office.

Lastly, to the serial callers take a holiday and cool your temper. You people seem to be adding more firewood to the fire that wants to be cooled off.

How Beautiful Is Cape Coast?

Cape Coast is a noble town and the capital of the central region of Ghana. It used to be the capital city of the then Gold Coast now Ghana during the colonial era. It is the home of the Fantes a branch of the Akan ethnic group.

Although this city is relatively less developed it remains undoubtedly a beautiful place for so many reasons.

Cape Coast is widely accepted to be a town for readily accessibility of good education. Many of Ghana’s best academic institutions are found here. Talk about the Wesley Girls Senior High School which remains the best senior high school in the country, the Adisadel College, Mfantsipim School, St. Augustine’s College, Holy Child College and so on. Arguably, one can conclude that the best senior high schools in the country are found in this town.

Cape Coast also boasts of the nation’s only university of choice that is the University of Cape Coast which is highly acclaimed for its serene environment for academic work and its beautiful landscape due to its closeness to the Atlantic Ocean.

When it comes to history, it all started here. It is said that the first whites to come to Gold Coast settled at Cape Coast. It is no surprise therefore that it used to be the capital of the then Gold Coast.

Cape Coast used to be a transit point for the slaves brought from all over Africa to be shipped to the white man’s land. Castles and forts are spread over this town to prove this point. These castles are part of the world’s heritage sites and every year many tourists and the diasporians come back to learn about the Transatlantic slave trade. President Barack Obama of the U.S, his wife and two daughters are eminent people to have visited one of these sites the Cape Coast castle.

This town can also boast of other wonderful tourist sites and beautiful landscape. Much of Cape Coast is made up of beaches with long coconut trees. Fishermen can be seen on the waters which tells you of the main occupation of the people of this town. There are many resorts, guest houses and hotels to compliment these natural attractions.

Interestingly, a good number of the elite in the country before and after independence originated from this town. Mention is made of Rev. Philip Quarcoe the first African to become a minister in the Anglican Church, John Mensah Sarbah a lawyer and a political leader in the Gold Coast.

The President of Ghana today John Evans Atta-Mills traces his origin from this town. Even more interesting is Michel Obama whose forefathers are believed to have come from cape coast.

Things To Consider When Buying A land In Ghana

Following the recent floods in Ghana which have killed at least thirty-five people, I am motivated to share with you experiences I have learnt from my father in his ‘land buying stories’.

The recent floods in the country which meteorologists say is as a result of global warming is been referred to as the most disastrous in the past few years.

Ghana is one country that experiences rainfall mostly in June and July every year. The intensity of this rainfall fluctuates between the years with some years experiencing very heavy downpours than others.

But for last year and this year, the downpour has been so intense that it has resulted in floods in most parts of the country. These floods have brought up the destruction of illegal structures mostly houses in water ways. Government is doing so in order to create a runway for the water to minimize the havoc the floods come along with.

This means you have to be careful what land you purchase and where it is situated. The points that follow will serve as an advice for you to follow when you go to purchase a land in any part of the country.

First, I will share with you what my father says will prevent you from acquiring a land that has so many court cases on it or a land that has the potential to generate disputes. When you go to purchase a land especially in the Greater Accra Region, apart from the legal documents, persuade the traditional authorities to pour libation on this particular land. The serious belief in libation by the Ga’s (the owners of land in this region) will prevent them from deceiving their gods by selling this land to a second party.

One thing that is worth noting is from which chief you purchase a land. Due to the many chieftaincy disputes and court injunctions on who sells out lands in many of these areas, you have to ask and know the right chief who can sell to you a land. There have been instances where ‘illegal’ chiefs have sold out lands to individuals and these lands get confiscated later.

Secondly, when deciding to buy a land, do that in a rainy season. So that when you go to the site and the depth of pool of water on the land is at your knee, it implies one day that is how much water will be collected in your house. If on the other hand the land quickly dries up after rainfall, you have a good land you can buy.

Thirdly, you have to look out for a type of shrub that is locally called ‘sre3’ in the Akan language. This shrub grows easily on lands that are prone to flooding. When you go to purchase a land and you see this kind of plant, you may want to consider coming back in the rainy season to confirm your suspicion.

Also very important is your financial standing. This way you can risk buying a flood prone land because you can afford to erect a foundation that will prevent water from running into your house when it rains.

You also have to consider the area or locality in which you are buying the land. When many of the buildings in this area are on water ways it means when there is a heavy downpour there will not be a passage way for the water to escape hence the whole place will get flooded.

Lastly and importantly, after doing all these background checks contact the Lands Commission or any Government Agency in the locality that is responsible for lands to seek more official advice on the land you want to purchase,

Thank you for reading and have a nice land buying experience.

Are you renting an apartment in Accra? See How to Rent an Apartment in Accra for tips.

GHANA MARKS 50TH REPUBLIC DAY

Today the 1st of July 2010 marks the day when Ghana became a republic. This was the day some fifty years ago when the British representatives in Ghana packed bag and baggage and left the Ghanaian affairs in its own people.

All across sub-Saharan Africa, Ghana sparked the flame of independence as its leader Dr Kwame Nkrumah was able to relieve his people from the colonial lazy people as I like to call them some fifty-three years ago.

Ghana by this is a pioneer in a sense in Africa as still today it leads the continent in projecting the good of Africa.

Tomorrow will see the country once again try to set another record by becoming the first African country to reach the semi-finals of a world cup. This time it is on an Africa soil and as many people have said it is a world cup for the whole of Africa and they will attempt to capture the ultimate trophy.

Ghana is a shining example of Africa and on this day I want to wish the people of Ghana a HAPPY REPUBLIC DAY. May God the almighty and the spirits of our forefathers be with the Black stars tomorrow as they attempt to make history.

Long Live Our Motherland.