Akufo-Addo still doesn't get it!!

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Folks, the NPP's Akufo-Addo is reported to have said that he has 'ener­gy' and 'commitment' to lead Ghana as president.

"I believe I have the energy; I also have the commitment, and those are the two things that are driving me," the experi­enced politician said on BBC's Democracy Day panel discussion in Lon­don yesterday. (See more at: http://www.myjoyonline.com/politics/2015/January-21st/i-have-energy-to-floor-mahama-in-2016-akufo-addo.php#sthash.UIGU1WNC.dpuf)

MY COMMENTS

It is not a matter of ENERGY (whatever it means to Akufo-Addo) of COMMITMENT (whatever it means to Akufo-Addo). It is a matter of APPEAL to the electorate, based on how they perceive the candidate bombarding them with calls to be elected into office.

Will this AFRILEAKS venture help solve governance problems in Africa?

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Folks, when it comes to bold initiatives to break the back of seemingly impenetrable, invincible, and overly self-confident systems, there is no doubt that Julian Assange and his Wikileaks have done a lot to excite interest in "hidden truths", especially what lies in the diplomatic cables (gathered by the United States' covert intelligence operations).

So also have the revelations of Edward Snowden stunned the almighty US and proved to it that, after all, its “fortress” of covert manouevres in intelligence work is nothing but a house of cards. At the poke of finger, it could collapse with damaging consequences.

"Militarizing" the Nkonya-Alavanyo conflict won't solve the fundamental problems

Monday, January 12, 2015

Folks, social unrests in Ghana can be traced to two major factors: chieftaincy and land disputes. We also have conflicts resulting from ethnic or tribal differences. Anything else sparking spontaneous unrests may include politically motivated disputes, breakdown of law and order, or any other spur-of-the-moment or flash-in-the-pan occurrence.

The perennial conflict between the people of Alavanyo and Nkonya, not to mention the Tsito and Awudome one) in the Volta Region has bothered the various governments and people, but no permanent solution has so far emerged to resolve that conflict.

Taking care of personal security at the Presidency

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Folks, the world today isn't as safe as it used to be, especially with the proliferation of all kinds of terrorist organizations and pockets of malcontents who snatch every opportunity to register and confirm their notoriety. Daily reports of the carnage wreaked on countries by terrorists and such malcontents are alarming.

We in Ghana can congratulate ourselves for not being caught up in such carnage, even if internecine ethnic conflicts—bordering mostly on land and chieftaincy disputes—have endangered limb and property. We are far better than countries that have been ravaged by home-grown terrorists and others operating under the banner of dissatisfied political camps.

This Rev. Owusu Bempah and his doomsday prophecies again?

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Folks, the madness called “prophecy” is in full flight, so early in this year. The first one came from an Odiyifuo Tawiah barely two weeks ago that we quickly dismissed as obnoxiously opportunistic.

As if not wanting to be overdone, none other but the Rev. Isaac Owusu Bempah (Founder and Leader of the Glorious Word Ministry International), has sprung into action, gushing out a string of figments of an infested fertile imagination he labels as “prophecy”. He was speaking on OKAY FM’s Ade Akye Abia programme.

The fault is not within the Electoral Commission, Akufo-Addo and Co.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Folks, I have been wondering why all manner of people and so-called civil society groups, politically motivated ones, and the clergy cannot contribute anything useful to enhance Ghana’s democracy apart from targeting the Electoral Commission and making utterances to suggest that it is the cause of the woes that they alone have perceived as afflicting Ghana’s political system.

Our political developments over the years have attracted attention all over the world, and we have been commended for ensuring political stability and national cohesion, especially since the coming into being of this 4th Republic. No doubt, a lot has gone into creating that impression and proving to the world that despite the acrimony exhibited by malcontents who cannot accomplish their political ambitions, Ghanaians know and value peace, national integrity, and oneness as mechanisms for political stability. Ghana has remained an enviable oasis in the desert of instability, plain carnage, and brimstone and hell in our part of the world.

This “ghost names” problem: Withholding workers’ salaries won’t solve any problem

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Folks, the Controller and Accountant-General's Department is warning workers that if they don't update information on their employment status by a deadline to be given, their salaries will be withheld. According to the Department, the directive is in response to the problem being caused by the huge wage bill that is weighing heavily on the government's management of public funds.

Once again, a directive has been given, aimed at the wrong target. Workers don't employ themselves nor do they impose themselves on institutions in the public sector. They are employed after going through laid-down procedures, meaning that records on their employment status should be available and that anybody not in active service should be known. That is if the proper steps are being taken by the management of the various institutions.