Ahead of Ghana’s Official Oil Outdooring Ceremony

Tomorrow will see Ghana’s oil officially outdoored to the merry of Ghanaians and the vigilance of the outside world.

Ghana found its oil in commercial quantities in 2007 by the help of the UK firm Tullow Oil after several attempts by the Ghana National Petroleum Commission to discover the ‘black gold’proved unsuccessful though the commission was able to collect relevant data that helped Tullow Oil in its discovery

This oil find has raised the expectations of many Ghanaians including the then President John Agyekum Kuffuor whom with joy said “with oil as a shot on the arm, we’re going to fly”.

As President Mills goes to officially outdoor the oil tomorrow, I want to say a big AYEKOO to Ghanaians and I pray that we come together as good citizens to protect this resource in order that it becomes benefitial to us.

Controversies have already stirred up with the collateralization clause in the petroleum law. The minority in parliament want the revenues from the oil to be banked for future use while the majority want part of the revenue to be used as collaterals in procuring loans in order to hasten infrastructural developments of the country.

As it stands now, the collateralization clause has been approved by parliament and all we can do as a country is to rally behind the petroleum law, safeguard it and ensure the oil revenue is used judiciously so that in the future will be able too tell our own unique positive  oil story.

Congratulations to Ghanaians and may God bless our homeland Ghana.

Newspaper Reviews: A Factor to Ghana’s Irresponsible Media

With the incessant call on responsible journalism and a positively functioning media in the country, I want to put to the fore the bane of all these media fallacies.

The too many newspaper review shows both on the televisions and the numerous radios stations across the country have put us in this state.

It is a surety that one will wake up each morning to the shout and outbursts on the various especially radio stations in the country and the unfortunate thing is that only the political news items take center stage of these discussions.

I must hereby commend such FM stations as X fm, Citi fm and Joy fm for keeping true to the course of national development in the country. I think so far they are yet to have partisan political newspaper review shows throughout the week.

It is a fact that the print media has shaped the kind and nature of discourse in the country through the help of the radio stations. It is also true that the political parties been aware of this are using their favourite newspapers to champion their political agendas.

What the political parties do is to contact these newspaper editors to put out stories that will be strategic and advantageous to their motives and most often than not these stories are very untrue. The radio stations then pick these stories up and go the extra mile contacting controversial persons who will add more flavor to the stories.

And our media is in this state because we have decided to reduce our national attention to who wins the 2012 general elections and in an attempt to outwit each other these political parties through their newspapers end up churning out falsehood. I ask myself, after 2012 do we again concentrate on who wins 2016?

While all these political stories are been debated, majority of us do not have access to pipe-borne water, the lights come and go anyhow, foreign investors are taking all the money away

It is my suggestion therefore that we restrict if not ban the partisan political discussions we have on the airwaves by taking out the representatives of the political parties from participating in these discussions for it is them who make the reviews unimportant and rather bring competent and non-aligned citizens to talk about national development.

As I write this article, I am listening to speeches of our founder Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and he is categorically confronting the challenges of his time.

God bless our Homeland Ghana.

A Service I Rendered to Mother Ghana

I have always seen myself as a patriotic and a dedicated child of our dear country. For this reason I have tried hard in contributing positively to the success of the country in Africa that will one day lead the world. I take inspiration from the selflessness of our founder and first president Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

In pursuit of this agenda I have never shut the door to volunteerism. At the close of last semester of last academic year I fought hard to get my department t the University where I study to issue me with an introductory letter for an attachment (you can call it internship). This was supposed to make it easy for me to render my services freely to one of the institutions in my locality.

Unfortunately my desire to work for a rural bank because of my area of study in Mathematics and Statistics was shattered when three to four attempts to get myself attached to the institution failed. I just could not believe I was refused to work freely for that institution even when I bore an introductory letter from a reputable university in the country. But for the fact that it is a private bank I was not so bothered.

Back on campus that semester, I had lobbied my student association (Mathematics Students’ Association of Ghana) to put me on the list of students there were sending out to the National Health Insurance Scheme for attachment.

Luckily this one worked out. I was offered a temporary job as a registration officer at the Adenta Mutual Health Insurance Scheme. I think it worked out  because it was a public institution and also that  I may have impressed the manager at the short interview conducted to test my competence.

I started work immediately, and before I could blink an eye I fell so much in love with the task assigned me. I was seeing to the new registrations, renewals and replacement of Insurance cards for all manner of persons in the society. I was particularly happy attending to pregnant women who came to register for the free maternal care cards.

But this was not to last forever, my time of three months was up and I was supposed to leave back to school. I learnt a lot and gathered enough  experience as I look forward to joining the world of work one day. Among the things I learnt are:

First , it is true what they say that we should for once as Ghanaians move away our eyes of scrutiny from the politicians and put them on civil servants. I believe  they come ,if not top of the list, second to the politicians when it comes to wastage of the country’s resources. Truancy, late arrival to work are some of the bad habits these people have.

Second, the Health Insurance Scheme should be given more attention. After one pays to be hooked onto the scheme it lasts a period of not less than five months for the applicant to receive his/her card and during this period, all the applicant can do is to pray he/she does not fall sick.

I also suggest all district schemes be networked to the main scheme. This will ensure all applications are processed in time. This will also make it easy for transfers from one scheme to another be easily monitored and done.

Aside these challenges, I really enjoyed my service to the nation. I was not offered any remunerations but I got satisfied from the fact that somehow someway my country is moving on.

God bless our homeland Ghana.

A Message to President Mills

I salute our humble President John Evans Atta-Mills and urge him on to continue with bravery the running of our beloved homeland Ghana.

Recently, the power struggle within the National Democratic Congress (NDC) which has left the party divided amongst itself, should not be a distraction to our already focused President. I say the President is focused because he has shown publicly that he seems undisturbed by whatever confusion is in his party.

Mr. President, the success of your party in the 2012 general elections as you are already aware depends on how well you perform i.e. to what positive level you have uplifted our dear nation. How well you manage our country is also directly proportional to how well you will be celebrated after your tenure of office.

I am aware of how difficult it is to satisfy all your fellow citizens. One great philosopher said “if you try to please every follower as a leader, you are planning to fail”. Definitely and undoubtedly, there will always be a group, a section or a party of people who will always where necessary and even unnecessary not agree with your policies, initiatives and strategies but this should not for once lead you to doubt your managerial capabilities.

You came into office alongside the coming into office of the US President Barack Obama. And let me say whatever strong resistance of policies you receive, Obama also receives. In the Democratic Party (Obama’s Party) there are forces trying to sideline his executive authority as I know your special intelligence may have told you about. The Tea Party Movement is at his (Obama) throat as AFAG, FONKAR among others are on yours but please do not back down on your promises to us. These resistances are not peculiar to both of you but also to many leaders worldwide. We are in difficult times and this has grown the canker of destructive opposition.

Coming back to the power struggle within your party, it is out there and this seems to be gaining grounds that you may not seek a second term. I want to say that if you have considered this as a solution to the problems in the NDC, please Mr. President reconsider this because instead of solving the problems, it would rather put the party divided and in opposition for a long time since your failure to run in 2012 will cost the NDC and if the party loses in 2012, God knows when it will come back. And the interesting thing is, the coming generations of NDC supporters, followers and sympathizers will always blame you for sending their party into opposition because of your maybe right decision.

It is worth noting also that some sections of us (citizens) are using your patriotism, nationalism, selflessness and humbleness as your weakness. To them you look ‘dull’ and too humble but Mr. President remind them of what our National Anthem says ‘… and fill our hearts with true humility..’. For now, they will not see the essence of these qualities in you but as we move on as a nation, you will one day be celebrated.

Mr. President I want to assure you that you have so many discerning followers who are not looking at what is happening in your party or how much noise your critiques make but are interested in your motives which no one doubts and how you put them into action.

Let me end by saying that even the visionary leader Dr. Kwame Nkrumah encountered serious opposition so Mr. President, one step at a time.

Obrafour and Tic Tac Shake U C C

Obrafour and Tic Tac last Saturday stormed and shook the University of Cape Coast campus as part of the 48th annual SRC week celebration of the Students Representative Council.

This event was a massive one with students abandoning their academic work and standing and shouting at the forecourt of Valco Hall (where the event took place) from about 9pm deep into the night.

Obrafour 'the executioner' who was the first to perform after scores of student underground rappers and singers had done their thing, arrived in a black saloon waving amidst cheers from the roof of his car.

Anxious students at the grounds that evening couldn't help but to shout on top of their voices when the self acclaimed 'rap sofour' got onto the stage. He was dressed in a white t-shirt, a black jeans and a towel on his shoulder.

He started off with one of his prayer songs and then moved straight to his old time hits.I can undoubtedly state that from this time to the end of his performance
was real excitement.

The 'rap sofour' gave out a copy of his newest album to a student who helped him perform the part of Guru in his new 'kasiebo' track after he had done several of his songs.

He left the stage taking off his t-shirt and throwing it to the joyous crowd.

Tic Tac followed next and by this time the tempo of the crowd had gone wild. He was on stage with one of his new artistes Jay-ho.

Tic Tac also dressed in a coloured shirt with a pair of jeans danced off the crowd with some of his favourite hits; philomena, kangaroo among others. Occasionally, the crowd will tell him what hit song to do next and he willingly listened.

For more than thirty minutes he was on stage as students enjoyed with their hands in the air.Before he will leave he performed his newest single with a line of the song being 'show me your shoe and let me show you your character'.This particular performance was done with shoes raised in the air.

He signed off assuring the crowd of his return to perform at Nkrumah and Valco halls' week celebartion.
written by: abdul-rahim munaga for mycampuspal.com