Are Motor Cycle Drivers Above The Law?

Are Motor Cycle Drivers Above The Law?

Ask Margaret Jackson

It is agonizing for me to admit that in Ghana it is painless for some people to break the law with impunity and get away with it. That is why when we see some people doing certain things which we consider as unlawful, we normally just look at them and move on quietly without questioning them or their motives in doing those things. These little things which we fail to question, over time, become overblown national crises.

There have been several instances when we come across some people breaking the law. Instead of someone just stopping to question the motive or alerting the responsible authority or the police we just look on and move on. Most of the time, people who come across these acts make conclusions that since they are not responsible it is better for them to mind their own business and move on.

It is more than two decades ago when somebody boldly started selling dog chains around the TUC traffic light intersection. When others saw that his trade was booming and that nobody was bothering him, they also moved in to sell different items. Over time we saw bits of trading activities springing up at traffic light intersections around Achimota, 37 Hospital and Kaneshie 1^st Light among others. Today we have over 3,000 individuals selling various wares at all the major traffic light intersections in Accra on any given day.

Due to the inability of the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA) to do something with the initial dog chain seller who broke the law by selling on the street, today they have over 3000 people to contend with. Since these traders make a lot of money by selling on the streets to take care of their families and loved ones, moving them permanently from the roads have become a toxically political issue which no party would want to address.

We have been talking about Sodom & Gomorrah and the chaotic but explosive situation there. Authorities have expressed concerns about how that place could one day explode leading to untold misery of greater proportions. Yet, party by party seems to be turning a blind eye on the situation at Sodom & Gomorrah. It is not because nothing can be done to move the people in that area who are occupying the place illegally. Something can be done, but it is estimated that the population of people living in Sodom & Gomorrah has ballooned to over 45,000, which far exceeds the population of the Akosombo Township by more than 10,000.

As a result, moving the people in Sodom & Gomorrah would be the greatest headache and mistake of any government in power. That is why it has been all talk for the past 10 or more years but little action. You are talking about a big voting block and any party that dares to dismantle the area would pay dearly at the polls.

But the big question to ask is did Sodom & Gomorrah spring up overnight? No, it did not. It started when one or two people brazenly put up a ramshackle house and started to lodge there. Some people in authority may have seen them but said or did nothing. Others who are not in authority also may have seen them but turned a blind eye. But evil prevails when good men fail to act. That is why today we have over 45,000 illegal occupants at Sodom and Gomorrah to contend with.

Another chaotic and volatile situation seems to be brewing in Accra. I have seen it; many people have also seen it. And I bet you the authority responsible for averting the messy situation is very much aware about the problem. But nothing has so far been done. People are breaking the road traffic laws with impunity and brazenly whilst the police or the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) has no clue about what is going on.

The motor cycle drivers in the country especially those in Accra seem to have different traffic laws. To start with most of these motor cyclists drive without their helmets on. There is this motor cyclist who I see very often driving two kids to school daily. None of the kids have helmets but this man does not seem to care but drive the kids to and from school. I bet you a policeman may have seen him but nothing has been done so this motor cyclist thinks what he is doing is okay and cool. What happens if calamity struck one day when he is driving the kids to school? What do you think will happen to the kids if this cyclist is involved in an accident? You guess is as good as mine.

Motor cyclists in Accra drive anyhow. They do not observe any traffic regulations and jump red lights with impunity. In fact they wait for nobody. They just drive and you see police officers directing traffic just looking at them to do their own thing.

What angers me the most is that there have been multiple occasions that some of these motor cyclists in an attempt to avoid huge traffic jams drive in the opposite direction forcing on-coming vehicles to squeeze and create rooms for them in order to avoid hitting them. They simply have no respect for anybody on the road and the MTTU people are simply helpless.

I am disgusted that the MTTU boss, Mr. Awuni Angwubutoge, a trained journalist, who see these disgusting situations by the motor cyclists has done nothing to address it. My biggest question is what are we waiting for? Are we waiting for a big crash which would lead to deaths before we jump in to arrest these offending motorists?

Are the road safety committees in the country not aware about what is going on today on our roads concerning these motor cyclists? Don’t they see what they do on our roads? Somebody tell me, if these motor cyclists have different laws. And if they don’t have different laws, why is nothing being done about their incomprehensible behaviour?

Truly Ghana is turning out to be a country of many laws, but most of these laws are not being observed or enforced. As a result, many citizens have taken advantage of the do-nothing enforcing authorities to do their own thing. We wait until certain issues balloon to higher proportions before we jump in to act. But most of the time out marking time has affected us big time leading us to spend more money and time to clean up our act. But I must conclude by saying that time like tide, waits for no one.  

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Akufo-Addo Says Ewes Have Been Voting One Way

Akufo-Addo Says Ewes Have Been Voting One Way

By Margaret Jackson

If you entertain the ambition of ever holding a public office, be warned of remarks you make today, especially if you happen to have people around you. In the pursuit of your political ambition, if you intend to court the votes of a certain ethnic people, group or an organization, you better not make any disparaging comments against them since those remarks could come back to haunt you big time. If you want to become a career politician be very careful about your big mouth since it could spew fire that would eventually consume you.

To me politics is about being shrewd, prudent and expedient all rolled in one. It is a game that has no prize for those who place second. Like basketball, you either win or lose. There is nothing like a draw. Therefore, if you really want to win in politics, every word that you articulate to voters has to be measured carefully because once you utter it, you cannot take it back. Remember, the first gut feeling is normally the correct one.

The late Mr. Kow Nkensen Arkaah, (Stubborn Cat) was the former vice-president of the country. He served under Efo Rawlings from 1992 to 1996. During the electioneering campaign for the 1992 elections, Arkaah lambasted the NPP by blasting the party’s symbol, the elephant, as a destructive animal. He told a gathering of NDC supporters at a rally that since the elephant is very destructive, so would the NPP be if voted into power. But something happened between Rawlings and Arkaah which most readers know very well. The two of them fell apart whereby Arkaah who was the vice-president suddenly started opposing Rawlings and also stated categorically that he will never resign his position.

In view of the problems between Rawlings and Arkaah, the latter switched gear and moved to the NPP camp, and eventually became John Agyekum Kufour’s running mate in the 1996 presidential election. What Arkaah did not know was that the NDC had a ready-made ammunition waiting to unleash on him. The ammo was simply by playing the words of Arkaah back to him, and it was very effective and powerful. How can somebody who claims the NPP is a destructive party suddenly go and join the same party and even become its running mate? Mr. Arkaah felt highly uncomfortable when adverts upon adverts showed him stick a knife into the same party he has joined hands with. The day Kufour lost the 1996 elections was the day he hugely regretted for making Arkaah his number two. Beware of what you say today!!!

In the Third Republic, the NPP, then called the Popular Front Party (PFP) had its presidential candidate called Victor Owusu. During the electioneering campaigns, the PFP realized that things were not going well for them in the Volta Region. The PFP became seriously handicapped in the region, and as a result they did some soul searching and cast lots. Funny enough the lot fell on no other person than their own presidential candidate Victor Owusu.

It was found out that Victor Owusu had made some withering and serious comments against the Ewes hence the struggles the party was encountering in the Volta Region. Victor Owusu was found to have stated that the Ewes were in-ward looking people. Why Victor Owusu said that only God knows. The PFP then thought of doing something to save their fortunes in the Volta Region. They went and begged the chiefs in the Volta Region with drinks and slaughtered cows to appease the people in the area. But ladies and gentlemen, that act by the PFP did not save Victor Owusu from the wrath of the Voltarians. They considered what the PFP did as too little, too late. As  result, Victor Owusu suffered a humiliating defeat in the Volta Region in the 1979 elections which was won by Dr. Hilla Limann.

But there is this wise saying that coming events always cast their shadow. If this saying is not true, Akufo-Addo who did not have any good traction in terms of votes in the Volta Region, would not repeat the same mistake that Victor Owusu made. Readers would recall that not quiet long ago Akufo-Addo embarked on a door-to-door campaign but cunningly labeled it a listening tour. What he went to listen only God knows. Akufo-Addo’s door-to-door took him to the Volta Region, the area that has always looked at the United Party with suspicion because of their disdain to the Voltarians.

Since a crab can never beget a bird, or since a decorated donkey is still an ass, Akufo-Addo’s tongue slipped big time into the gutters burrowed by Victor Owusu. He told the Ewes in the face and in their own backyard that they have over the years voted one way. And therefore, it was time for them to mend their ways and vote for him and the NPP. One way and inward looking, is the difference wide or close? You be the judge.

What is incomprehensible is that, it is not only the Voltarians who have been voting massively for one particular party. If anything at all, the Ashanti and Eastern Regions are equally guilty. So my question is, can Akufo-Addo go to the Ashanti and Eastern Regions and charge them for voting one way? Why did he single out the Voltarians? The NPP folks think that the matter has died down, but they are far from the truth. It has rather brought bitter memories to what Victor Owusu did to the Voltarians in the 70s.

I am betting you that this time round, the Voltarians would not be amused even if the NPP slaughter the alleged elephant that Akufo-Addo sneaked into the country to celebrate his assumed victory in the 2008 elections. Truly the NPP folks have not learnt anything since they lost the 2008 elections. That elections were largely lost when Ghanaians came to the conclusion that the NPP folks were an extremely arrogant bunch of people. Have they learnt anything, I may ask? I am very afraid to say that even the arrogance being demonstrated by the NPP folks today has reached new decibels unprecedented in the annals of Ghana’s political history.

I am therefore, inclined to conclude that the Voltarians would remember what Akufo-Addo said all the way from now till elections day on December 7, 2012. It is on that day that they would indeed demonstrate to Akufo-Addo that yes, they having been voting one way, but it is for a good reason and it is to demonstrate that they a proud group of people just like any other tribe in the country. The Voltarians I must state are not second rated citizens and they are equally a good bunch of people with equal stake in the country.

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Ecobank’s Sinking Image

Ecobank’s Sinking Image

By Margaret Jackson

It has become a common norm for many businesses to take Ghanaians for granted once they get their foothold in the country and start making huge profits at the backs of their customers. As a result, many of these businesses who roll out excellent services at the beginning of their operations, over time, resort to stinking services much to the disadvantage of Ghanaians. And the most worrying aspect of it all is that, these companies do little or nothing when customers begin to raise concerns about the kind of services they receive.

Ecobank, is one of the leading banks in the country today with many branches. The company which has grown from leaps to bounds has even merged with The Trust Bank, but I am saying it on authority that Ecobank, offers the worst Automated Teller Machine (ATM) services in the country today. Ecobank’s ATM services simply stinks and most of their customers and staff members can confirm what I am saying. The bank offers the worst form of ATM services when compared to other banks operating in the country.

It all started way back in September 2010, when Ecobank’s ATM services started to develop severe problems. On any given day a customer can drive from Ecobank’s branch at Weija through Mallam, Dansoman, Odorkor, Agblobloshie Market, Ecobank’s Head Office, Osu and through to Labone and realize that all their ATMs are down. And it is very disheartening that the only lame excuses given to customers are that “We are aware about the problem and are working on it.” So for almost 17 months customers of Ecobank have been suffering softly from this intermittent malfunctioning of Ecobank’s ATMs without any comprehensive action by the bank to address the problem.

It may interest readers to know that customers are normally put at this disadvantage situations by the malfunctioning ATMs on Fridays through Sundays. And the situation is even worse at the end of the month. Therefore, Ecobank customers have to swallow their pains and frustrations by running from one branch to another with the hope of getting a functioning ATM which normally does not happen.

The most strangest thing happens when you even go to the very Head Office of Ecobank at Ridge and realize that all the three ATMs there are also down. The lady who is in charge of the bank’s ATM services in the country or Accra has simply lost it, because she does not provide any encouraging information as to when the bank will fix this terrible problem once and for all. She is normally found throwing her hands up in the air to signify her own frustrations with the bank’s management’s inability to help in putting this blight to bed.

Many Ecobank customers are very angry because when they go to other banks to use their ATMs they are charged a fee which Ecobank will not refund as a courtesy for their malfunctioning ATMs. Indeed many customers are grumbling that Ecobank is taking them for a ride whilst others have threatened to close their accounts and do business with other banks if this problem is not fixed immediately.

I am told some customers have even sent emails to the Managing Director of Ecobank Ghana, Mr. Samuel Ashittey Adjei, but they have not yet received any responses from him. And I bet you if this article is published you will see Ecobank scrambling all over the place trying to do damage control by way of either giving lame excuses or try to fix the problems with the ATMs.

There is another problem with Ecobank that I want to bring to the notice of the public. Due to fraud, many customers are afraid to give their documents or ask basic questions from non-bank officials whenever they go to banks to do business. It is therefore good that when you enter many Ecobank branches you will see the following statement boldly displayed at their counters;

Caution:

Dear customer. Do not accept any assistance when withdrawing or depositing

cash/cheques from non-staff. Please identify staff members with their name tags.

Very well said! But I am afraid to inform readers that this bold display by Ecobank warning customers against fraudsters is simply cosmetic. Reason being that on any given day you can go to several Ecobank branches and see tellers of the bank giving customer documents like passports/drivers licenses/voters identification cards to the security men/women on duty to make photo copies for them. I am not lying because I took it upon myself and visited several Ecobank branches to ascertain the truth about this allegation and it proved to be true. 

Why would tellers of Ecobank feel too big to stand up to go and make photo copies? The reason is obvious. These tellers who were like angels when they were looking for jobs seem to have grown wings and feel too big to stand up from their cubicles to go and make photo copies, hence their penchant to ‘use’ the security men/women on duty. Do the tellers not know that a crook security man/woman can go and make two photo copies of a customers’ identity card and keep one for something creepy? Don’t they know that a criminal security man/woman can sell information about customers to fraudsters if they get hold of their documents?

I am tempted to say that Ecobank has a long way to go. It is not good or funny if for 17 good months Ecobank with all its bragging and pomposity has not been able to fix its malfunctioning ATMs. Truly somebody must be sleeping at his/her job otherwise this should not take the bank more than a week to fix. Is Mr. Adjei saying that he is not aware about this terrible unpardonable problem? And is he happy to be in his suit and sit at his comfortable office every week whilst customers upon whose back he enjoys all those comforts troop from one branch to another looking for a functioning ATM just to withdraw their own God given monies?

Ecobank’s image if they still have any is indeed sinking. And if the bank is unable to resolve these problems that I have raised, I would be forced to come out with more. Stay tuned!

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Kufour Is Akufo-Addo’s New Campaign Manager

Kufour Is Akufo-Addo’s New Campaign Manager

By Margaret Jackson

Strange things are happening these days in the country’s political gamut, and I bet stranger things which are yet to unfold are still in the pipeline. That is why bizarre things we never assumed to be possibilities in the political playing field are weirdly enough unfolding before our very eyes. Therefore, I am being pushed to predict that by the time we hit mid-year when the political campaigns would have peaked, Ghanaians would better understand me better.

Ladies and gentlemen, the number one stranger in town today is no other person than ex-president John Agyekum Kufour. He has not been indicted of committing any crimes yet. In fact he has not been accused of smoking the weed or having a heavy smoke around his head when he wakes up. I do not recall Kufour being captured on camera fondling the breast of a make-up artist nor did he facilitate the issuance of Ghana’s prized diplomatic passport to a jailed drug baron.

But what Kufour has been doing has sent many tongues wagging. Kufour has hit the campaign trail big time. He is currently the unofficial campaign manager of Nana Dankwa Akufo-Addo. Kufour is presently doing what he failed to do in 2008, by touting and defending Akufo-Addo at every turn of event. This sudden change of attitude by Kufour I am told has even shocked Akufo-Addo beyond belief, and he is reported to have stated that if Kufour had done just a quarter of what he is doing today he would have been sitting on the highest throne of the land today.

You may label Kufour’s actions these days as Redemption if you want to, but that word would painfully remind the NPP folks of the National Redemption Council headed by the late General Kutu Acheampong that dismissed the government of Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia from power in 1972. If we go with the word Liberation, still the NPP folks would feel highly uncomfortable since the Convention People’s Party (CPP) had never forgiven the NPP folks for having a hand in the National Liberation Council’s coup that sent Dr. Kwame Nkrumah packing to the political oblivion in far away Guinea. So let us try another word. To be on the safest side, I guess we can settle on Emancipation since that word is yet to be tied to any political event in the country.

Ever since Akufo-Addo lost the 2008 presidential election to President Mills, the NPP folks never forgave Kufour and thought he played a passive role during the campaign events. In fact some NPP people quietly accused Kufour of doing little or nothing to help Akufo-Addo when Kufour’s assumed heir apparent, Alan Kyeremanteng, lost out at the NPP presidential primary to Akufo-Addo. Even though this conspiracy theory exist in NPP circles the sudden approach taken by Kufour to polish his image by selling Akufo-Addo to Ghanaians has taken many NPP folks by surprise and are wondering what next he would do to help Akufo-Addo who has seen his popularity and numbers dipping within the past two weeks.  

I am tempted to say that Kufour after listening to himself and the various criticisms labeled against him after Akufo-Addo lost despondently to President Mills in 2008, is maybe trying to emancipate or redeem his name and image by going all out this time round by whipping the campaign of the “dead horse”, Akufo-Addo.

But in his perceptible attempt and over anxiety to sell Akufo-Addo to the voting populace, Kufour may be hitting the wrong cords and saying things that may rather come back to hurt Akufo-Addo’s campaign. Kufour stated during the NPP “gargantuan rally” held at Mantse Agbonaa, in Jamestown, that Ghanaians were yearning for Akufo-Addo, adding that Ghanaians were looking forward to a quality leader like Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Ever since Kufour left office in 2009, he is just continuing from where he left off: traveling, since he claims its part of his hobby. Therefore, if Kufour happens to be in Ghana, his main outings have been to funerals, engagements and weddings of closely knitted NPP folks. He has not done just a single solo campaign event for Akufo-Addo. So one may ask, where did Kufour go that he heard Ghanaians yearning for Akufo-Addo? At those funerals or weddings or on a campaign event?

To add insult to injury Kufour said Ghanaians were looking forward to a quality leader like Akufo-Addo. Quality indeed! If Akufo-Addo has some special qualities in him, why did Kufour support Alan Kyeremanteng in both the NPP primaries for 2008 and 2012 presidential elections? What is Kufour seeing today in Akufo-Addo that he did not see in 2008 hence his lukewarm attitude towards his campaign? Kufour should stop throwing dust into the eyes of Ghanaians, because the last person he Kufour wants to see at the Osu Castle as President of Ghana is not called Nana Akufo-Addo.

But wait and hear more from Kufour. In an interview with journalists after the rally, Kufour touted Akufo-Addo for showing maturity and “impressive restraint” in the face of petty and “rather immature propaganda” from the NDC. Kufour stated that despite being the target of persistent vile propaganda and concoctions, Akufo-Addo had shown impeccable maturity and restraint by not responding in like manner.

Impeccable maturity and impressive restraint? Please, add more for Kufour. Now I have gotten Kufour caged and would want him to provide answers to some simple basic questions. It was not too long ago when the George Walker Bush Motorway was commissioned. It brought competing claims as the NPP was demanding full praise for securing the funding for the project that was executed under the leadership of President Mills. But another claimant in the person of Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, also emerged. But acting like a swift crocodile Kufour jumped from one radio station to another stating that he is the sole person who secured the funding for the road project. He lambasted Nduom for daring to claim part of the funding credit.

Ladies and gentlemen, look at the way Kufour moved swiftly to fight Nduom off the George Walker Bush Motorway funding. Do you think that by Kufour’s behaviour on this project if it is rumoured today that he smokes the weed, would he sit down quietly as Akufo-Addo has been doing and do nothing? Won’t Kufour say anything? Won’t Kufour who is so obsessed about his legacy fight it out? Will he dodge for people to fight for him? Just look at how Kufour fought Gisselle Yajzi, who accused him of fathering her twins? I personally do not think so. Therefore, for Kufour to praise Akufo-Addo for keeping quiet on serious charges that got a school kid in the Central Region to tell Akufo-Addo in the face, “Naa Nana, Naa Cocaine”, is indeed incomprehensible.

Ever since the Woyome issue broke out Kufour has been part of the NPP gang that keeps accusing President Mills of having a hand in the whole stinking incident. He is reported as saying that since the issue happened under the watch of President Mills, the buck stops in his office. Fair deal, if only Kufour would also take blame for the issuance of Ghana’s diplomatic passport by Akufo-Addo to the disgraced but jailed drug baron, Raymond Amankwah during the time he Kufour was president of Ghana.

Kufour claims Akufo-Addo has unmatched credentials when compared to President Mills. Now bring it on! Can a man who claims to have unmatched qualities just sit there and do nothing when three women of his party were arrested at the Kotoka International Airport for attempting to smuggle cocaine? And Kufour calls this impeccable maturity? In the Lord of War movie, it is stated that, "Evil Prevails when Good Men Fail To Act.”

Ewuranom Ghanafo, if you are being accused of being a thief and you claim to be one of the top lawyers in Ghana, what do you do? Is it cool to dodge everybody and keep quiet and later get praise from Kufour for showing “impressive restraint”? How impressive can it be?

I have my last question for Kufour. Assuming he has a big company employing 24 million people, that he is looking for a good, well-mannered and seasoned CEO to man. Kufour then advertises in the newspapers and lots of people show interest and therefore apply for the job. Later, three of the candidates were short-listed for interview for that big job. Would Kufour without cross-checking the backgrounds of the short-listed candidates simply assume that they all have impeccable and impressive moral characters? What then happens if Kufour does not allow the backgrounds of the candidates to be cross-checked and the one who eventually bamboozles the interviewers gets the job, only for the company to realize two weeks after he had taken the job that he has a criminal record? How would Kufour and his company look in the eyes of the 24 million employees? Mr. Kufour, with all due respect, this is the possible mistake that we Ghanaians want to avoid.

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Kennedy Agyapong’s Apology Just Hollow

Kennedy Agyapong’s Apology Just Hollow

By Margaret Jackson

There is this anonymous ancient proverb wrongly attributed to Euripides that “Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad.”

The Member of Parliament for Assin North, Kennedy Agyapong, who simply does not know or understand what the word honourable or subtlety means, has been running fowl with his mouth ever since he was elected a parliamentarian. It seems not even the Pope of the Catholic Church he attends can counsel him or call him to order. The man seems to be running amok and pulling down everything he sees in sight, hence his penchant to spew garbage or pure rubbish anytime he gets to the microphone. It seems Ghanaian journalists have developed some kind of fondness for Agyapong which is why he is always given the platform to say the kind of things he says.

Ever since Kennedy Agyapong acted as the first person to raise concerns on the unlawful ¢51 million debt judgment paid to businessman Alfred Woyome, he has been trying hard daily to tag President Mills to the scandal. In fact he had on multiple occasions even impugned that President Mills knowingly authorized the payment to Woyome, a charge he is yet to prove with his stack of documents he claims to have, (I hope you remember Kweku Baako).

Things however came to a head last two weeks when Kennedy Agyapong on Radio Gold declared that President Mills is a thief. A sound bite to that horrible statement was created by Radio Gold which they played multiple times during different segments on that day for listeners to hear those unpalatable words from Kennedy Agyapong, who claims to be a parliamentarian.

Kennedy Agyapong did not stop there but took his imprudent and coarse deeds to the NPP’s hurriedly arranged rally dubbed, “The Gargantuan Rally” at Mantse Agbonaa, James Town in Accra on Saturday, which was addressed by Akufo-Addo and some leading members of the NPP.

When his turn came up to address the rally, Kennedy Agyapong, who has said it multiple times that he fears nobody in the country and will say anything that comes from his stomach damn the consequences, again labeled President Mills as a “first class thief”, and went on to say that the NPP under Akufo-Addo would jail him.

Some sensible and reasonable Ghanaians felt that Kennedy Agyapong, the man who does not even know how much he is worth, but directed those who want to know to contact his cousins and close associates to find out, this time round crossed the line. Even some NPP die-hards felt uncomfortable but expressed their disgust to Agyapong’s unprofessional ranting quietly. But the NDC folks did not allow matters to rest as they rained on Agyepong by pointing out to him that it is the most insulting and disrespectful behaviour ever to come from a parliamentarian to an elected president of the land.

The heat the NDC and other prominent people in Ghana turned on Agyapong became so unbearable that for the first time in his life Agyapong like Nebuchadnezzar, who was brought down by God, turned into an animal, had his hair grow like eagles feathers and ate grass as the oxen, went on air and made a lame apology to President Mills for calling him a “first class thief.”

Ghanaians who were properly brought up and coached by their parents and other relatives and friends would testify to the fact that in this country when you wrong somebody and sincerely want to render an apology you reach out to the person. You either go to the person, call the person on the phone or issue a statement to that effect. You do not sit on the Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem’s segment for the presenter to force an apology from you. This is un-Ghanaian. This is hokum. Therefore, the so-called apology coming from Kennedy Agyepong to President Mills is simply concave and will not fly.

If you even listen attentively to the professed apology, you will find out that Kennedy Agyepong was not apologetic, but was rather trying to blame the media for sensationalizing his comments to inflame passion, hence his call on politicians not to be at the beck and call of the media because some media practitioners cannot set the pace for politicians. What a way of dancing around your own shi-.

I do not know if the children of Kennedy listen to him on radio and television as he spew gibberish, and the kind of comments or advice they give to him. With the exception of those who chase after Agyapong for his money, many wise thinking Ghanaians will be extremely embarrassed if even found hanging out with Agyepong. Reason being that this man apart from being hollow and hot-headed seems not to know why the NPP and his constituents sent him to parliament.  He simply does not know what it takes to become a parliamentarian. He has simply lost it, which is why the gods seem to have made him mad.

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Akufo-Addo’s Biggest Missed Opportunity At Rally

Akufo-Addo’s Biggest Missed Opportunity At Rally

By Margaret Jackson

In case you have not been on the Ghanaian block and as a result have not tuned in to know what’s going on, I have news for you. The NPP, with its loud-mouthed and over confident leadership has been reeling under severe stress for the past two weeks. It never crossed the minds of the NPP folks that some unforeseen circumstances will change the political tide leading them to run for cover or helter-skelter.

The past two weeks saw the Woyome issue which the NPP has been trumpeting as a criminal act by the NDC government suddenly crumbling in their face. When news and documents started emerging that some NPP gurus notably ex-president Kufour, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, OB Amoah, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie and a host of others all scooped some soup from Woyome, suddenly the NPP started singing with confessions. The NPP’s Communications Director, Nana Akomea, came out to confirm that indeed some party members notably OB Amoah have “gone to the market” with monies from Woyome. As a result, OB Amoah who was arrested and questioned by the police on Sunday was forced to come out of his woods and for the first time substantiated the allegations that he had been given some monies by Woyome.

As the sudden about-turn confessions by the NPP was steaming up, out of nowhere came the news on the arrest of Asem Darkey, the mastermind behind the missing 77 parcels of cocaine with a street value of over $438.9 million. This sent dread shock waves across the length and breadth of the NPP as Darkey dropped the bombshell by mentioning names like the loud-mouthed parliamentarian, Kennedy Ohene Agyepong, Albert Kan-Dapaah, Member of Parliament for Afigya Sekyere West, Chief Kufour (Son of ex-president Kufour) and Kofi Osei-Ameyaw, former MP for Asuogyaman, as being part of the network of beneficiaries of the missing cocaine.

But wait a minute since I am not done yet. When the NPP sent its paid hacks to avert attention from the missing 77 parcels of cocaine and they realized that their explanation/s were not being bought by anybody except their shameful supporters, they came out in full force charging that the arrest of Asem Darkey was rather meant by the NDC government to cover-up the Woyome issue which some NPP members have been implicated.

I have always had the belief that criminals would never hide forever as their sins would eventually find them out. Therefore, before one could say jack, another powerful stinking story about the NPP emerged which scattered them into smithereens. Readers would recall the Daily Graphic’s front page lead story on Monday February 13, 2012, which stated that the notorious Ghanaian drug baron, Raymond Kwame Amankwah, who is serving a 14-year prison term at the Provisional Detention Centre at Caucaia in Brazil for drug trafficking was holding a Ghanaian diplomatic passport at the time of his arrest. And that the diplomatic passport was issued to Amankwah when Akufo-Addo, the all-die-be-die would-be-president, was the Foreign Affairs Minister, to help the drug baron facilitate his illicit drug trade.

But things came to a head for the NPP when the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sene, Felix Twumasi Appiah (NDC) goaded his colleague MP, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong (NPP, Assin North) to produce Nana Akufo-Addo for a test at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital to establish who between them is a wee smoker. Twumasi Appiah, Chairman of Parliament’s Joint Committee on Communications became angry and issued that challenge when Ken Agyapong called him a wee smoker.

The NPP realized that they have had enough bad press so they had to do something quick to change their sinking image and also shake up the base of their party. Therefore, out of the blue moon was the hurriedly arranged rally dubbed, “The Gargantuan Rally” at Mantse Agbonaa, James Town in Accra on Saturday, which was addressed by Akufo-Addo and some leading members of the NPP.

Many political pundits assumed that this was going to be Akufo-Addo’s moment: A day that Akufo-Addo was going to look into the eyes of his teeming supporters and address any negative stories about him once and for all. Therefore, there were some people including myself who went to the rally grounds just to see if Akufo-Addo is indeed serious about the presidency, and that he was going to put to bed all the negativity surrounding his candidature.

But we were all dead wrong. Akufo-Addo, who is seriously being manipulated, coached and staged managed by a bunch of people got to the microphones and stated that no amount of vilification, insults, fabrications and concoctions will stop him from carrying out his core duties to the state and his party. Hear him in his own words, “They have decided that the only campaign weapon they have is to attack me and blacken my name and reputation in this country. But I’ve news for the president, I’ve news for his so-called advisors; No amount of vilification, no amount of insults, no amount of fabrications, no concoctions against me is going to stop me from doing my work for the people of our country and for the progress of our nation.” I then asked myself, what core duties is Akufo-Addo currently carrying out for the state of Ghana? Akufo-Addo added that the NDC party can continue to put him under the microscope by subjecting him to a campaign of defamation but he Akufo-Addo will not be deterred in his mission.

Can you please roll back the cameras? When Akufo-Addo spoke about the campaign of vilification and fabrication by the NDC, he climbed the hill where many people expected him to tell Ghanaians that it was all lies about his drug abuse, and that he has never smoked the weed or tasted cocaine as was being spread around. Many political pundits thought Akufo-Addo will tell Ghanaians that the Wikileaks story that he wakes up with heavy smoke engulfing his head was a made-up story and that he was ready to go for a test to confirm it. Ghanaians again expected Akufo-Addo to tell everybody that he knew nothing about the issuance of the diplomatic passport to convicted drug baron, Raymond Kwame Amankwah.

But Akufo-Addo chose a different and a wrong path by listening to his ton of advisers who have nothing good to offer him and danced around those allegations at the rally grounds. This further compounded his situation and his sinking image and also gave credence to the fact that he is indeed a drug abuser and also the brain behind the issuance of the diplomatic passport to Raymond Amankwah. If Akufo-Addo thought that by wiggling around rather than addressing issues that bores on his credibility will cut it, I want to tell him that he failed woefully, because what he said did not fly with anybody.

I want to tell Akufo-Addo that his credibility issue alone would sink his 2012 campaign if he continues to shy away from it rather than tackle it headlong. Akufo-Addo claims he is running on his record, but I personally believe he has no record to run on. So far nobody including Akufo-Addo knows the kind of record he is going to run on. I am telling Akufo-Addo to get prepared for questions since he has stated that the 2012 elections would be based on his record versus that of President Mills.  

Questions that would pop up during the 2012 campaigns would involve the case of the three NPP Dzorwulo women who were busted for attempting to smuggle drugs at the Kotoka International Airport when Akufo-Addo was Attorney General and Minister of Justice. The case concerning the 44 butchered Ghanaians in the Gambia when Akufo-Addo was Minister of Foreign Affairs but did nothing for the affected families is not a solid record he wants to share with Ghanaians. Issues would also be raised concerning the undiplomatic issuance of the diplomatic passport to jailed drug baron, Raymond Amankwah by Akufo-Addo, and the cloud of smoke that hangs on Akufo-Addo’s head daily. The Wikileaks information that Akufo-Addo is a womanizer is another record that would come under sharp focus. Even his arrogance and disdain for others would be considered as part of his record. 

I strongly believe things are not looking too good for Akufo-Addo. He can run but he cannot hide forever. Issues bothering on his character and judgment aint going away, therefore, he should deal with it!

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Classy President Mills

Classy President Mills

By Margaret Jackson

When leaders speak to their citizenry or deliver addresses to their lawmakers, many have used those occasions to rise beyond partisan predispositions to demonstrate how deep they care about their countries and the welfare of their people. That is why I have personally stated to close friends that real leaders who are a rare breed are normally not born from trees but cast from stones. Many leaders have emerged, some of whom came to accomplish a lot, but authentic recognition and remembrance by and large are given to those leaders who displayed more dept, and whose thinking and behaviour transcended beyond their comfort seats of governments to encompass the living conditions and development of the very people they governed.

Leadership is about being inclusive. True leadership is about giving recognition and respect where it is due. Leadership is not about being served but about serving others. Leadership is not about losing your cool but remain calm and at times classy in the midst of a hostile environment. Leadership got to do with selflessness, which bores down to denying yourself the comfort and luxury for the good of those you are governing. And I remember this famous saying that “Politics is about stomaching nonsense”.  The above describes the sterling qualities of President Mills, who the opposition NPP quietly admires in their chambers because they have come to the realization that no matter how much they hit the whip on him he will always remain focused, resolute and not engage anybody in any distractive tendencies.

If there was any point in time that Ghanaians lost this first-rate character trait of President Mills they saw it in full glow when he delivered the State of the Nation address last week. Against the disrespectful taunting and hooting from the shameful and fickle minded NPP members of parliament, President Mills just glided through with his address to demonstrate to Ghanaians and the International Community that he will never dent his God-given temperament, honesty, cool-headedness and respect for all, by descending into the gutters to engage those who were goading him.

There is this ex-president of Ghana who has been going round trying to claim everything that he used the country’s monies to accomplish as his own baby. This man has been running around and fighting everybody who lays claim to anything under his leadership. And many people are disgusted about this behaviour because it portrays some childish tendencies on the part of this ex-president.

It is a fact that ex-President Kufour secured the funding for the 18-kilometer George Walker Bush Motorway (GWBM). This, I give to him. But it is also a fact that the construction and completion of the GWBM was supervised by President Mills. This, I also give to President Mills. We see some similarities of this in 1 Corinthians 3:6, where Paul preached and planted the seed of God in so many cities and communities but had Apollos travelling and doing visitations, offering encouragements and support to water those seeds. That is why we had this famous quote “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.”

Even though we have these facts starring us in the face, Kufour does not want to have anything of those. He wants Ghanaians to give him the sole recognition for the GWBM because he secured the funding. That is why Kufour who is so obsessive about his legacy (I will write an article on this) has been behaving like a wounded tiger and giving a loud growling purr or rawr-rawr-rawr sound when anybody talks about the motorway.

But President Mills sounding classy and reducing Kufour to a school kid who caught his football and ran home because he was being scored plenty of goals by his friend, set the records straight and gave recognition to the big players in the GWBM. President Mills stated that it was the NPP that secured the funding, but the execution of the GWBM was done by the NDC. He therefore, said that in football, we call it a draw. What a classy way to put the issue of the GWBM to bed! 

Ghanaians have not forgotten that it was former President Rawlings who secured the funding for the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange. Again, Ghanaians are aware that the execution of the project was done by Kufour. But things are different when compared with the GWBM. First, Kufour changed the construction specification of the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange so that it does not seem that the project was the baby of the NDC. And when the project was finished and was being commissioned ex-president Rawlings who secured the monies for the project was never invited by Kufour. But today we have wise President Mills giving recognition to Kufour for securing the funding for the George Bush Motorway by inviting Kufour to the commissioning ceremony. Just compare notes and keep talking things over.

During the State of the Nation address there was also something that President Mills said that caught my attention. Now read this: “Our common yearning to see Ghana moving forward binds us as one people. Even as we seek to promote our respective political ideologies, we must be willing to synthesize the best ideas from both sides of the House for the advancement of the country. We must all be willing to put aside unnecessary partisanship and keep in mind the big picture of how to sustain together our middle-income status through sustainable economic development. That will be the multi-party democracy dividend for which we all continue to toil in the name of Mother Ghana.”

Can anybody from the NPP ever utter such words, as members of the NPP continue to see the NDC as demons that have descended from nowhere to take their rightful place of governance of the country? For the NPP whose leadership thinks about nothing but how they can return to power and rape the country from where they left off, can you ever imagine anybody from the party rallying the country to see the bigger picture of developing the country for posterity to be the judge?

Even by being classier, President Mills showed how funny he can be, when he used the word gargantuan which has gained a wider currency in the country today, to describe how the minority NPP heckled him in parliament during the delivery of his speech. This sent the audience into laughter and applause, demonstrating how a leader has to behave in the midst of difficulties.

Before President Mills ended his speech he had these sage words for the parliamentarians, “Many Honourable Members of the House have been through a hectic period of campaigning towards constituency primaries. Whether you won or lost, you remain MPs and I will treasure your input at all times. Do not forget there is still a lot of work to be done here in the House.
I wish Members on both sides a fruitful session and may all that we do help in building a Better Ghana. Let us always bear in mind that as a people, we have much more common ground than we make it seem. Therefore let us build on the things that unite us.” I do hope Akufo-Addo is either listening or he read President Mills’ speech.

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NDC: Time To Mend Bridges Not To Burn It

NDC: Time To Mend Bridges Not To Burn It

By Margaret Jackson

Two months after President John Evans Atta Mills was sworn into office in 2009, his National Democratic Party (NDC) started bleeding from incessant criticisms from its own members, notably, the party’s founder and former president, Efo Rawlings and the largest opposition party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP). Whilst some NDC party members variously accused the Mills’ government of neglect and not rewarding them for their efforts towards the party’s victory in the 2008 elections, the NPP has systematically but assiduously been reproving the NDC government for non-performance even in the midst of the high level of prudent economic management, which puts Ghana’s 2011 GDP growth to 13 percent, making it one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

It must however be noted that whilst these internal wrangling have not helped the NDC very much for the past three years, to forge ahead as a united front to execute programmes on its manifesto, it has rather opened deep wounds and avenues which the opposition NPP has cashed in from time to time to damn the NDC much to the dismay of many of its loyalists. It seems whenever everything begins to cool down for the NDC to concentrate on the way forward, some invisible hands working against their karma have always waded in to worsen matters for the party.

Sometimes, I am inclined to think that the NDC is behaving as if it’s the first time it has won power, because some of the basic issues which any party would have resolved swiftly and forcefully are mostly allowed to play off in the media turf, much to the angst of those who truly love and cherish the NDC. As a result, the NPP has made a concerted effort to further deepen the wounds of the NDC by weekly planting untrue and made-up stories in the radio, television and newspapers to disorganize and put the NDC on the defensive. As a result, the NDC has largely become reactive than proactive.

Today, we have a well organized orchestrated lying gang, the NPP, who after planting imaginary stories in the media; send their paid-up feeding frenzy crew to frame those stories into talking points, and amplify them to destroy the image and also belittle the overall achievements of the NDC.

Many political minds are seriously wondering when members of the NDC would put their personal and hidebound interest behind and look at the bigger picture staring them in the face this year; 2012 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections. Others are praying fervently that with the parliamentary primaries over, the NDC would get focused, and execute their pragmatic programmes for this year in order for their achievements to sell the party to voters before December 7, 2012.

It is therefore, not encouraging that with less than 10 months to go for the 2012 elections, some faceless individuals within the NDC want to use the Woyome issue to get even at some top party members whose sterling qualities in terms of education, political experience and dept, knowledge on governance, level headedness, political strategy and execution, love and devotion to the NDC party pails to none. As a result, these four brainy individuals, Mr. Kwamena Ahwoi, Lecturer and former Minister of Local Government, Mr. Paul Victor Obeng, Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission, Mr. Kofi Totobi Quakyi, Chairman of the National Communications Authority and Mr. Ato Ahwoi, Board Chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, who the opposition NPP would have loved to court if they had the chance or the means, were forced to issue a joint statement condemning the maneuvers against them.

But barely a day after the four NDC top guns have complained of being maligned, a group calling itself NDC Youth For Victory 2012 questioned the rationale behind the release of the statement by the four cadres. In an interview on Citi FM, John Vanni, the spokesperson for the group, accused the NDC kingpins of being self-centred rather than exerting their energies in unifying and defending the integrity of the party. According to Vanni, the NDC party leadership has paralyzed hence the decision by cadres to think about defending and protecting their reputation. Vanni in that interview also stated that under the leadership of former President Rawlings the habit of circulating faceless tracts and issuing of statements would never have happened.

Well said Vanni, but I think you either did not read thoroughly the statement issued by the four cadres. In the statement by the cadres, they stated categorically that they were putting the party over and above their personal hurts, hence their decision not to expose those who were behind the circulation of the malicious tracts. Is this self-centredness, Vanni? I believe not.

Secondly, I strongly believe that any party whose top leadership does not have any good reputation is finished. I guess you have not missed what has been happening to the tattered image of Akufo-Addo, NPP’s 2012 Presidential Candidate, who for the past week has been reeling and limping under severe pressure for issuing a diplomatic passport to a jailed drug baron, Raymond Kwame Amankwah, in addition to credible allegations concerning his drug abuse. If you did not, then you would understand me better when I say that any leader who has no credibility of reputation is only good for the trash can. Therefore, to me, there is nothing wrong with the four cadres protecting their reputation, because their reputation is something that the NDC and swing voters can bank on.

Mr. Vanni, who seems to be the only stranger in Jerusalem, stated that the perceived disunity in the NDC would never have occurred during the time of Rawlings. Wrong. Was Vanni not around when Goosie Tanoh, Obed Asamoah and company broke away from the NDC due to some disagreements? And can Vanni look up to the heavens and say with all truthfulness that Rawlings would have tolerated the kind of public attacks that he constantly launches on President Mills? I bet not.

It is therefore, very sad to note that even though the collective contributions of these cadres and others during the PNDC and NDC days has largely contributed to the stability, peace and the economic growth being enjoyed by the country today, these unknown cowards within the NDC party have adopted a campaign of vilification against them even though they had played no role in the Woyome saga. But the big question is, even if these top guns within the NDC have expressed their views on the Woyome issue, what is wrong with it? Aren’t all NDC members worried about the impact the Woyome chronicle could have on the December elections?

I am appalled that those who are sympathetic to Woyome are thinking that the guy’s survival is much more paramount or important than the survival of President Mills and the entire NDC party. Otherwise why would some members of the NDC still continue to have sympathy for and defend Woyome when it has become abundantly clear that he has indeed duped the nation, and that the NPP which has no campaign message for the upcoming elections, is looking to make the Woyome tale its main campaign issue?

I am calling on NDC members to stop defending Woyome and allow the issue to play out in court. It is true that Woyome doled out monies to some NPP members. Ex-President Kufour, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, OB Amoah, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie and a host of others all scooped some soup from Woyome, but have we seen anybody from the NPP camp defending him? The NDC members should also be wise enough and just allow the man to prove in court that he did not steal from the state. Period!

But in the midst of all this uneasiness in the NDC, it is very gratifying to know that these cadres who intercepted some scandalous anonymous letters circulating within the NDC circles and in some selected media houses damning their perceived roles in the Mills’ administration, have stated that nothing will make them shy away from their responsibilities as elder cadres of the NDC party who have as much interest as every genuine NDC member in ensuring victory in December 2012. Now hear some of the things they wrote in the joint statement issued on Tuesday, “Even though we know those who are behind these attacks and much as we feel inclined to take on our detractors, we have opted to let our sense of maturity and better judgment to prevail. As we have always done, we will continue to exercise restraint and not compound an already delicate situation. We respect the leadership of His Excellency President Atta Mills and we place the larger interest of the party over our personal hurts.” This is all what NDC needs at this point in time. Focus! Focus on 2012! Focus on Victory!

If you love the NDC party, and you read the joint statement issued by the four cadres it should serve as the cut-off point for all NDC members to forgo their personal ill feelings, egos, hurts, pains, frustrations and feel-good attitude and importance and focus on the larger interest of the party. The NDC party has suffered from personal squabbling for long. And with the 2012 elections staring the party in the face, it would be nonsensical and suicidal for members of the party to continue to wash their dirty linens in public whilst leaving the overall campaign work on the shelves.

If there is any time in the history of the NDC that they have to gird their loins and forge ahead as a party, it is now, because the upcoming elections is going to be a make or break affair for any party that goes on top or down. That is why the party needs to mend it bridges in order not to leave any room for any miscreant to burn it to the ground. If you saw what happened in parliament when President Mills in delivering his State of the Nation address, the NPP parliamentarians got clad in mourning cloths and each bearing red card signs sang the dirges of the NDC, then this should be a wake-up call for all NDC members to look at the bigger picture ahead, since a defeat at the polls would bring untold hardships never experienced in the country since the overthrow of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

The eight long years by the Kufour administration should always serve as the “Zion Days” for the NDC, where they were hunted, chased, taunted, hooted, maligned, marginalized, sacked from the their jobs and jailed. Many NDC people have never forgotten that during that period, after the NPP gang had eaten and drunk their full, they taunted the NDC to come and play the harp for them to dance.

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