The Verdict is Complete: Shambolic Registration

It's some fifteen minutes past three in the afternoon. It is cool inside this tent I--and many others -- are in, and I am profoundly disappointed.

I am disappointed because only in April this year, Ghana played host to UNCTAD XI, the organsation of which was commended by observors and guests alike. Only a few weeks ago, Ghana also played host to an OECD-sponsored Aid Effectiveness Forum.

How is it then that for registering yet-another conference of an international dimension, the obtention of the badges would be as laborious as it is today? I have been here for some two hours now, and cannot understand it. Is this how shambolic the registration would have been tomorrow? A great job I did it today. I sure hope the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Information and National Orientation play a better tuhe next time, cos this one

was dissonant with a quality of organisation that UNCTAD had set as a precedent!

I just got my picture taken some twenty minutes ago, with a view to getting my badg. It is now 15h25. I hope to be outta here by 4pm latest...

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Taxi Tales: The driver's made a killing

By the time this thing goes to the web, the hole in my pocket would have been that more deeper, for I foolishly asked the driver to wait for me as I run like hell past Parliament House (Ridge) and headed towards what looked like a white tent to obtain my accredited pass for the ACP Summit tomorrow.

I have been in a queue for the past thirty minutes. Everything is A-ok. Kinda. Just want my pass so I can get outta here. Time is 14h35, and can well imagine that the taxi driver must be feeling that considering the rather-sweltering heat, must have gone and done a runner.

Certainly something my dark side would want me to do. Question is: will I succumb to the easiest option out there right now? Or will I listen to that omscient conscience...

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As Luck Would Have It...

As I get into bed, my mind is as yet unsettled as I ruminate over the strategies I need to deploy to make this a successful week.

First off, too often, international conferences come and go, and we are left with missed opportunities. I have yet-another priviledge to cover, along with a colleague, proceedings of the Sixth ACP Summit that begins on a day that has been declared a holiday--30th September!

Although, I have made necessary plans, I am not particularly encouraged by the lack of information flowing from the ministry of national orientation on collection of badges. When I tried contacting a source there on Sunday, I found myself with the phone being switched off throughout the day. It is worrisome as the badge holds the key to participation!

Still, not one to buckle, I will give it a shot later today.

To get back to the luck, last Friday evening, there I was getting out of the GOIL filling station on the Spintex Road (http://www.spintexroad.com), when whom should I meet but a fellow blogger! This was more than a case of six degrees of separation, for not only did he recognize me, but he lives some four lanes away from my place!

For me, the encounter just reinforced the need to be necessarily parsimonious with whatever you say, for it might just come back!
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Spintex Road Diaries: Always-Inexplicable Traffic

Currently in a shared taxi en route home. There is traffic here that is as inexplicable as it is a regular diet of the average commuter heading home.

The passing of the late Finance minister Baah-Wiredu has dominated news. May his soul rest in peace...

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A Thumping Good Nuisance

There must be a veritable bonfire of vanities exploding on what should be a cool, Sunday night in a suburb somewhere outside Accra.

Otherwise, what could possibly explain loud, thumping noise reverberating in genteel surroundings around 11.30pm? As I head for bed around midnight thirty, I cannot help but wonder who such people might be.

Clearly people not needing to go to work very early, or folks that work in professions some considerable mile away from the law?

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It Can Only Get Better for the CPP

I am reminded on this most auspicious of days-the 99th anniversary of Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah-of the ruling UK Labour government's theme song back in 1997 when they swept to power with the song "things can only get better..."

The irony today for the latter is that Gordon Brown is facing down the toughest opposition against his rule that many consider ineffectual. Bottom line is that many feel that if there were an election today, the Conservatives would sweep back to power.

Back in Ghana, it TRULY can only get better with the elections now that the party is strengthened with the dynamic vice prez that is Dr. Abu Foster...

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The Unbearable Lightness of Being...Broke!

These days--and it's not just because it's an election period--no matter how careful you are with your money, the primary considerations that enter your budgeting are:

1. credits for your phone
2. if you have a car, petrol. If not, transport

Given that quite a number of us own more than one phone, the amount allocated for units becomes all-too-high!

You might have noticed that my series on Westernisation was a non-starter on account of the comments I got when I submitted it to Ghanaweb.com. A combination of bad formatting by Ghanaweb and an attempt to get ideas from an article that might not have been fully-fledged all conspired to get me tremendous criticism from a large number of readers who called me unprintable names.

I still think it was great food for thought to fashion a better argument on the putative westernisation of Accra.

I am only really mentioning it at this stage, because I am wondering how even I whom many might consider middle class is "suffering" from the way money is spent so quickly and easily these days, I wonder how the "working class" and itinerant vendors are doing?

God have mercy on all of us!

Closing ceremony @ 19h16

YAO GRAHAM: Thanks to SEND Foundation...staff of Ghana College of surgeons...to volunteers...to interpreters...

CHAIR:input over the next few days will be decided this evening at 7.30pm.

END of CSO FORUM!!

As closing ceremony of Aid Effectiveness Forum beckons...

it is important to drink deep--or not at all!!

This "The World Debate" is an opportunity in a lifetime to watch and participate in a BBC debate. Though I have to say that my participation will be rather minimal, as aid effectiveness is far from being my forte!

It's going to take place at Ghana's National Theatre, and people have to be seated before 5.45pm.

Straight from office to work!! (if not earlier!)

Am off to try and blog closing session...

tara!

As the Week Opens in Accra...with AID EFFECTIVENESS: From a Carrot to a Spring Chicken, the Evolution is Complete!

Earlier this morning, I sent a text message to my significant other who is unfortunately in the Ashanti region for a funeral that I was looking like a carrot! I mean, come on: check out the orange attire. More precisely, the orange top, which has "Secretariat" written on the back. Look more closely, and you'll see "AID EFFECTIVENESS/GHANA CSO AID/EFECTIVENESS FORUM/31 AUG-1st SEP 2008/ACCRA-Ghana". Not to bore one with trivialities, but I think it gives you a sense of atmosphere. If you consider the fact that my colleague from the office who is an IT officer came dressed in tie and shirt--and looking rather swanky--you can imagine his horror when he, too, had to turn into a carrot;-)

That I was wearing brownish trousers that looked more green than brown underscored the Clarke-Kentish evolution I underwent.

How my girlfriend laughed her head off, though I guess she did it discreetly, considering how odd it might have looked at a funeral, you know...

Still, the headline was apt as a txt message later to her, as it reminded me of Areeba, when it was changing to spacefon". That was back in August 2005. It appeared I was not to impressed with the evolution, because I felt the quality was poor.

Well, here, today, as I sit at the Ghana college of Surgeon's makeshift secretariat in room 12, I know in my heart of hearts that the quality being delivered by the "volunteers" is sound.

Since this morning, we've mostly been running around like spring chickens trying to ensure that those coming for today's meeting and the main conference will be happy people holding hands, as it were.

This picture is me in the Secretariat right here holding the folder that was given us this morning. The picture above is not very flattering, but as they say, a picture proverbially paints...you know...

By the end of this post, I'll find one that accentuates the positive about me, cos I'm feeling a bit self-conscious [lights just went off to peple going "WOAH...."...back on!] about my size. I have been exercising, but being tall and already broad, I need to look muscular, and build the muscles to look stronger than flabby. I'm not happy at all. You didn't need this blog of mine to know that I am working, albeit slowly, on my weight.[just rectified stuck paper in a not-so-user-friendly CANON printer that was about to feed when the lights went off...just some of the things a volunteer needs to be ready to do!]

I am not happy at all. Smaller portions of food and more exercise is what I need. I an encouraged by the fact that tomorrow is the beginning of a NEW month, and a new ZEAL to do things better.



I never knew that the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, located in Ridge, near the Ghana Institute of Journalism, has accommodation. Wow...

No news now that that's where the CSO Forum is being held...

If you're wondering how I became a volunteer, well, it's a long story that can be summed up this way: given TWN's experience with UNCTAD XII CSO Forum, it was deemed necessary for the organisation dealing with the CSO Forum [Send FOUDNATION] to require people to assist. My colleague with the tie (see above) put my name down on the request of the big boss at work for people needing assistance with web stuff and uploading. As I write this, nothing has come in my email for uploading.

I await in anticipation...as the gruesome images of yesterday's film in METRO TV's foreign movie segment, which featured Alien vs Predator sinks into...somewhere. PREDATOR being the "enemy's enemy", or convenient "friend" was bloody bloody bizarre. Looked like the predator was not interested in killing the humans there, but Lance Henriksen's character did not know, and got himself killed when the Predator walked away from him and he retorted. Ouch!

Incidentally, the AEFgh.org website rocks. Check it out here: www.aefgh.org

This is Exactly What Govt is Doing in Parliament Right Now

Many column inches have been written about the sale. Some people have become jaded; others more convinced that the sale should not go through--or otherwise.

The most ludicrous arguments, however, have resided with these points:
1. Those opposed to the sale are MTN/Tigo/Kasapa supporters, or opposition supporters
2. If people are so nationalistic, why don't more people use ONETOUCH?

Four years after coming back home to Ghana to make a contribution in this country by the work I do, I am profoundly disappointed by the psyche of Ghanaians and their nationalism.

Any reasonable person is at best nationalistic--but not Ghanaians.

We seem to have thrown caution of multinationals to the wind, even after witnessing the credit crunch, which proved that big capital was only interested in the bottom line.

As I write this, I am both enthused and sad listening to the insults being carried by some sections of MPs over...

Information from CITI-FM's Richard Skye:
1. NPP Flagbearer has put down two names: Hajia Ali Mahama and former deputy governer of Bank of Ghana. Choice is the latter (Dr.Baumia)

floor of parliament...

Ghana Telecom has not been able to realise its own potential...not making as much money as other competitors. All over Africa, how come the workers are so supportive? In the whole of Africa...in all the English-speaking African countries, the state-owned companies have been sold off. There must have been a reason. I am amazed that you are raising objections...document from ITU--65% of state-owned companies have been sold...you cannot allow Ghana Telecom to remain in the state it is in...

How come Westel has gone away. The spineless of them all is Ghana Telecom/ONETOUCH. It cannot compete on that basis. We cannot go on othat basis, that is why the workers have supported it.

SPEAKER: Exercise patience

MP: Kasapa is the smallest. Everyone knows that. He is misinforming the public.

MP Honorable Kan-Dapaah: technology for both hardware in this industry is proving...former MD Mr Aggrey-Mensah who said in the papers. One expert is a former MD. I want that particular office to remember that he himself...wanted to repair ??? he was told it haad gone out of production.

You cannot be small in the telecoms industry and survive. LIsten to the pleas of the GT workers...I appeal to you honorable Bagbin to cut out the politics, and let us move forward as the nation...

12.48--BAGBIN:You mentioned me...Mr.Speaker, the Honorable Kan-Dapaah is my good friend. He has mis-led everyone in his submission. When the elephant starts behaving like the kangaroo, it is a fatal...[boohs and cries...]...it has a fatal injury. Mr.Speaker, the point he raised and quoted the appeal is not the issue we are carrying on this side of the house. We want to put our case. Our position is different from the CPP, so he should not mislead the workers there against me by propagating a different position...

SPEAKER: Honorable member for Boli Bamboi!

MAHAMA:...I cannot begin without addressing a few issues my colleague raised in respect to issues to do with GT. When he talks about the issue of frequencies being allocated, Mr. Speaker, I forgive him because he is not an industry expert...at the time mobitel was licensed in 1991, GSM technology had not come in yet. No space for GSM. There was no reserve allocation for GSM...when it gave it to Mobitel, it did not know it was going to come...

KAN-DAPAAH:...he is not an engineer...I wonder where...I take exception to what he says.

MAHAMA:...if he feels offended, I withdraw that statement. At the time frequencies were allocated to mobitel...there was no reserve band for GSM. WIth the knowledge and technology available, they did not know. They allocated frequency to 900 band...it was only in mid-90s that GSM came. I wa sthe MInister at the time we asked Mobitel to reallocate its frequencies. Let me put on record that there has been no deliberate policy to ask GT not to go into mobile...as my predecessor said, indeed GT was given permission. Just that it did not take off. I heard Kan-Dapaah make this...second GSM after Spacefon was GT's ONETOUCH. How can you say that second company that offered were deliberately prevented from doing so; it is not true.

The evidence is that GT was performing...(12.56pm)

CITI-FM to return to cover Honorable Nana Akuffo-Addo's choice of running mate...

As the Week Opens in Accra: Deconstructing ECOWAS in a Whirlwind West African Weekend

What does it take to have a truly West African weekend? A meal at Tante Marie in Accra Mall, or a Sunday evening with Blood Diamond? How about seeing a close relative off to the neighbouring West African country of Benin, by way of Accra.?

I might not have been sufficiently privileged to eat at Tante Marie, but I most definitely got my good share of West Africa.

It all started with Saturday morning, when up very early, my Mum and I accompanied my Dad off to Nigerian-based ABC Transport, near Caprice. At the time of morning we woke up--circa 4.00am, traffic was bound to be quiet and slow.

Some twenty minutes later, we were there at ABC Transport premises, curious, yet pleasantly surprised about how the Black Man can manage his own affairs. I felt especially proud when, after departure formalities (checking-in of passports at a till labelled "Lome-Benin-Lagos", weighing of suitcases to ensure when they passed the standard 25kg, a small yet reasonable fine would be paid; and finally lining up in not-so-single file to the buses to board (all against a backdrop of DStV) ) I spotted a Westerner, who looked rather confused at this kind of organised chaos.

But if to the Westerner, it looks like chaos, to the average ECOWAS-ian, it looks like a very decent attempt to travel West Africa at a reasonable rate. The trip from Ghana to Cotonou and back goes for around GHC100. For now, it is only four countries--Togo; Benin; Nigeria and Ghana--the ABC transport plies. I live to see the day when it can go westwards towards Cote d’Ivoire and maybe Senegal?

I didn’t mention Liberia or Senegal because I was reserving it for the part of the weekend that took me there--well almost: Blood Diamond.

After seeing Leornardo DiCaprio’s Oscar-winning performance in the 2007 movie "The Departed", I was convinced this guy as an actor was going to go far. Though I saw the former before this one, I knew I was going to get something great. And very good it was. From DiCaprio’s very good emulation of a White African accent to his shaky relationship with the ruthless colonel, one got an impression that you were living the movie with him and the Sierra Leonean fisherman – Vandy – played by Djiman Housou.

But back to West Africa: as Solomon Vandy was introduced at the end of the film as someone instrumental in highlighting the path of what has become known as Blood Diamonds, I almost couldn’t help hold back tears at the sheer evil of the global Western money-men who, in collusion with Africa’s corrupt leaders, perpetuate the conflicts that seek to enrich them perpetually at the expense of the number of countless innocent lives.

In the end, it felt like I had met Jennifer Connelly’s character journalist Maddy Bowen in Conakry, Guinea (even though we never saw the meeting in the film) with Vandy, and back to London, after the turbulent period of meeting the child soldiers in Sierra Leone near the mining “village”.

Far be it for me to give away too much of the film—especially for those who have not seen it – for it’s a profoundly disturbing ride through West Africa and much of the Western world, where profiting from diamonds are de rigeur. When the end credits exhorted one to insist on the quality of the diamond, I thought it risible, yet a good start in sensitizing our minds to the terrific history behind that which is claimed to be a "girl’s best friend".

Ultimately, as I thought about the regular unbearable lightness of being West African, I paused for a second and thought about the weekend. Being West African may sometimes be unbearable, but you just have to know where to look. Sierra Leone, so the film intoned, is at peace—and so is much of West Africa. ECOWAS’s attempts at conflict prevention and conflict resolution are bearing fruit with institutions like Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Training Centre and efforts like the Kimberely process. That even Guinean citizens were able to force the country’s long-serving leader in 2007 to consider former ECOWAS official to be prime minister is a reflection of the long road to a conflict-free ECOWAS so many of the 230 million members of the region have hoped for.

Long live West Africa! Long live ECOWAS.

Ghana's Business & Financial Times Paper, Come Again!

The picture on the cover of today's Business and Financial Times newspaper--a paper I look forward to reading each week -- is strangely familiar: it is from http://accradailyphoto.blogspot.com/2008/05/money-laundering.html, my Accra blog--without attribution. I called them as soon as I saw it. They promised me they would acknowledge in next edition.

Mr Editor of BFT, we live in hope!

Mid-Week Madness:Why did NPP Government Have to Sell Ghana Telecom?

The 70% acquisition by Vodafone of state-owned Ghana Telecom may be a done-and-dusted deal, subject only now to parliamentary approval in the august house. There are, however, serious issues arising that merit some consideration.

First of all, one would have to be from Mars not to know that this is an election year. After the announcement was made in 2006 to privatise, why is it only now that the putative sale has gone through, some five months before general elections? Secondly, despite the fact that there was a breather after France Telecom and Portugal Telecom were rejected some months back, at what point did Vodafone up and decide to make the bid, which, if we believe the opposition, was a non-starter, on account of the fact that there were other bidders ready to pay more than the $960million?

In December 2007, Kenya, where Vodafone operates as a mobile operator under Vodafone Kenya, was in the concluding stages of privatising state-owned Telkom Kenya, with the winning bidders France Telecom taking control by 21 December, 2007. The uncanny similarity of an opaque bidding process coupled with a privatisation so close to general elections makes for an explosive coincidence that is so serious it’s not funny. One might be tempted to think that this has nothing to do with Vodafone, till we read that an offshore-registered company by the name of Mobitelea was offered an opportunity to acquire 25% of Vodaphone Kenya Limited at the same price Vodafone had acquired them. This prompted civil society groups in Kenya to argue that “the privatisation of Telkom Kenya cannot…be deemed regular until the true picture of its ceding of [mobile provider] Safaricom shares to Vodafone Kenya is unravelled and rectified.”

Here, there is little proof that anything irregular has gone on despite the manner in which the sale went through so quickly, but reading the *Financial Times* account of the sale was sufficient to prompt speculation that given that the country is experiencing a budget deficit, the government might have seen a sale so close to the election as an opportunity to make amends around the economy.

Practices elsewhere
Still, whilst Kenya can talk about Vodafone Kenya bidding for a part of Safaricom, Ghana cannot even talk about a Ghanaian consortium ready to buy GT. This is one of the unique things about this privatisation. The online encyclopaedia Wikipedia tells us that Vodafone has three networks in the Middle East and Africa that are majority-owned: Egypt, Qatar and now Ghana. In the first case, state-owned Telecom Egypt owns 45% of Vodafone Egypt. In the Qatari case, Vodafone went in as a mobile operator, securing a 45% stake in Qatar Telecom, the Middle Eastern country’s second mobile licence provider. When we come to Ghana, a significant 70% was not only at stake, but also of our state-owned provider, prompting one to wonder why such a high figure, and why the land-line provider? Reports in the Ghanaian media indicate that Globacom had also made a bid, but had to settle for second best through a mobile service.

Questions Unanswered
Those are not the only questions. Reports in the media suggest that the minority’s concern was that Vodafone comes in as a strategic investor with little experience in landline provision. That it is setting up new services in New Zealand, where Vodafone also operates, that look like landlines and mobile lines combined should not be sufficient to assuage our fears of how it will manage our broadband services, national fibre optic system, and others. What of our national security? There is anecdotal evidence of our state security – BNI -- monitoring landlines; how far will the security services go in allowing a mobile provider with plenty of capital to share the monitoring of our landlines? Thirdly, all mobile providers have had to pass through GT for their operations. Now that Vodafone’s acquisition is semi-complete, will Vodafone’s supreme interest be in the regulation of the other providers, or a rough-and-ready competitor alongside them? Will the lines be indefinitely blurred on all these issues?

Vodafone on my Mind

Well, Tuesday 1 July was Republic Day and, as such, it was a holiday. It was odd coming to work on a Monday only to rest on Tuesday and get back the following day--but, hell, better than none at all!;-)

Back to the State of the payphones...well, they still exist in the country--like this one by the state-owned Ghana Telecom. It's a delicious irony I should be using this picture, for just today, heard that the British-based Vodafone has just bought 70% of Ghana Telecom(GT) for some $960million.

Results are what matters, so let's see what they will bring, though I cannot understand why Ghanaian polcy-makers have to consistently divest state-owned enterprises to attract investment. We've had horror stories from the Malaysians and Norwegians who did a bad job and left us. We're now going to the British...

Time will tell...

I am currently writing this week's piece for my column in Sunday World in which I raise some old and new questions about the Vodafone sale. Meanwhile, Ayo of Africanloft.com put up last week's piece on Ghana Telecom and Vodafone, which you can read here, which I have entitled New Country for Telecom's Men.

Truth is I am alive, but been preoccupied by a new website for the office that is Joomla-based, and getting me all excited!

More on that later!

Driven to Distraction: Week 3, From Slow & Sure Spintex to Aggressive and Animated Airport

This week has been particularly interesting as far as driving on the road. After five hours, I was given a new instructor, who started last week. A DVLA-trained instructor, it appeared he was instrumental in saving the driving school from being another victim of the mass-closure of DVLA to root out bad and unregulated schools. His stories are not for here, except to say that he's a vivacious and interesting character whom I'd like to see more of to help train me further in my driving.

He wasn't particularly happy with the way I started the car. Though I was able to move with the clutch and accelerator in tow, he lamented my speeding, and the need to curb it.

The Steering wheel is another place he gave me grief for. He felt I held it too tough, as if I was going to war or something, so he's slowly and surely encouraged me to hold it lightly. The lighter I hold it, the more control I can get of the car. It's been my second week with him, and I can see the effects. It enables me concentrate more on the road and anticipate more--something both the folks and Joseph alike have inculcated into me.

On Wednesday, I was able to endure the infamous and legendary Spintex road traffic with a new instructor who stepped in in place of Joseph. The half-clutch/break combination was not easy at all! The more I do it, the better I shall become. On Tuesday, it had rained rather heavily. As such, it was darker than usual for that time of evening (around 6.15pm). The experience was useful in helping me get used to driving in those conditions, what with the potholes and all, and the badly-lit roads.

Monday saw me hitting the airport residential area--not by my own choice. We were to drop off a driving instructor colleague who wanted to meet up with his sister, so we passed through the infamous Tetteh-Quarshie interchange past the Polo Club, past Airport shell and back onto the road from 37 northbound to Tetteh-Quarshie. It would be the first time I ventured that side since I started practicals. The half-clutch was tricky, and the car went off a couple of times. My gear-changing has improved considerably, though Joseph suggested I drive without putting my hand near the gear as it distracts.

No driving today. But better things to come--for sure!!

Apologies for the absence

Here's hoping you all have a wonderful weeekend, but before I go, the reason for the absence has more to do with seriously sporadic broadband internet connection, which somehow screwed up blogger.com.

For some strange reason, I was unable to BROWSE for pictures and upload, so I am doing that here through EML to BLOG service by blogger.com.

I went to Ghana's Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) [website: http://www.dvlaghana.gov.gh/] to get my learner's license, and here's the proof!;-)

Have a good one!

Given that Sunday is Africa Union Day, (it's always on the 25th May), Monday will be a public holiday. Yipee!!

Taxi Tales: Road Rage à la Bicyclette

Insults and tro-tros are no strange bedfellows, but Monday night’s was particularly insightful.

There I was having boarded a tro-tro heading to Tetteh-Quarshie interchange (roundabout) from driving school, when a man on a bicycle almost bumped into the tro-tro. Now, the natural thing in Ghana is to suck your teeth, cuss a bit and move on. Instead, after the insults went flying from some of the male passengers to the cyclist as to whether he was drunk, etc, the cyclist would return a few minutes later as the tro-tro slowed down. He tried to cross the route of the vehicle so that it couldn’t pass!

The insults went in freefall – and it was interactive! The cyclist cried out to the tro-tro "you’re a fool! Didn’t you go to driving school?! Don’t you know how to drive?!"

Meanwhile, some of the men visibly agitated started waving their hands unceremoniously and accusingly at the cyclist for this foolhardy action, asking whether it as *he* who was not mad and a stupid fool for his action? In the meantime, a female security guard sat between the men grinning like a chesire cat, and shaking her head mildly. I could tell that she would have done things differently. That’s perhaps the reason why my actions unwittingly mimicked hers;-)

My Mid-Week Madness: GBS Goes Gaga on Three; Driven to Distraction

Justbefore I disappeared for ten nights away from home for UNCTAD XII, I was anxious to see the new stations that GBS had promised.

After the three new channels -- G-Series; G-Africa; KidsCo -- "arrived", I next had a question for the ages: how on Earth did GBS procure Lipstick Jungle, which is an entirely new show on NBC in the States? How on Earth, when the show started airing only earlier this year?

It's clear that those are some of the insider secrets that only GBS staff would know--and would not be willing to divulge--no matter how hard I tried to interrogate them;-)

I have to say that G-Africa has been the bomb in the sense that it's exploded in our senses and--my God!--our minds and whatever else it can explode into. Sundays these days are to die for, 'cos there's only one station we tune to--and that's G-Africa. You've got your series and your Nollywood movies all vying for our attention--and plenty of attention they get from us!!! ([note to Editor: $100? for this plug? come on! you can do better than that!] I've had enough now--it's simply good! In all seriousness, it's hard to believe that you can even get a monthly subscription as low as GHC11.00!! (circa $US11.00)

Friends and acquaintances comparing DsTV to GBS have great basis of comparison in the sense that the former offers its proverbial so much more. Question is: how much MORE tv can I watch?? I struggle even with these 17 stations that GBS offers in that I cannot watch even half of them regularly. We generally watch SKY news to catch up news in the UK; G-Prime; and MGM.


Driven to Distraction
I'm being lazy in formulating new, funky terms to describe my going back to school to drive, so I'm stuck with the one above, which is also featuring on my Reflecting Eccentric World of E.k.Bensah II here.

Point is: I have started doing the theory on driving since the beginning of this week. I was a bit patchy on my memory of INFORMATORY; REGULATORY and warning signs, so I backed a bit this lunch-time. Will get back to you on how well I do, but I feel more confident today.

Keep yer fingers crossed, merci bien!

Cats and Dogs
How can I forget about the rain? I never said I was not yellow! Yesterday night proved how much so I was when I dodged into a corner to sleep (!) to prevent any lightning strikes come the way of my room!

I value my life too much, thankyou!

UNCTAD XII--ACCRA ACCORD is Adopted! -- Some Reflections

at exactly 6.38pm GMT

It must be dark outside by now, and I guess TV3 news will be coming on soon. Blue uniform guards are standing in strategic places around the tent that seats some four thousand people. Trouble is there are NOT four thousand people here today, this evening. This is because a number of people have already left, with some leaving tonite, and others having left already. I know already that the the personable Anne-Laure Constantin of  the Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy left yesterday; I think the ACCORD bunch in Nairobi did so, too. I saw the OXFAM--at least some of them--here today. I think Emily Jones from Oxfam (featured here: http://apps.twnafrica.org/blog) is still around; she's done some terrific work.

I think the CSO Forum was da bomb, but I witnessed some things I profoundly disliked, such as the francophone contingent taking advantage of the CSO host--ie Third World Network's -- "generosity". As someone who can communicate in French, they were like to me like a magnet; I must confess that at times it was superficial. One colleague has described their 
relationship with France as "colonial", and I think to a large extent, this is true. They praise where need be--to get something. They inflate prices--if need be, capitalising every opportunity they can.

That, in my view, is simply wrong. The francophone CSOs have a LONG way to go if we are to act collectively and cohesively. It really sucks, and it pains me as someone who is a great proponent of regional integration (http://regionswatch.blogspot.com).

As I write this, Supachai Panikpatchdi is reading from a prepared statement, and I am gonna try and capture verbatum some of his statements:

the conference emphasized debt sustainability. In the area of ODA, quantity and quality were emphasized...last but not least the Accra accord has resulted in the strengthening of UNCTAD...to address the new and emerging issues. Member states have also taken measures..increasing the focus and effectiveness....this week has also seen many ssmall and significant..Inter-AGency cluster of ?? This new cluster includes FAO/UNIDO/regional commissions/UNDP,WTO, etc. On Sunday, Creative Econiomy report, which highlkights activities and potential of music and fashion, etc, which we now realise could be a significant asset for development.

On Monday night....EMPRETEC Africa Forum. This is a very practical way...to promote entrepreneurship. There have been many such initiatives. UNCTAD XII has thus been an important step. UNCTAD emerges from this conference as a reinvigorated one...please also allow me to extend gratitude to Ghana for such an excellent host...

You have done it...QATAR to host the next in 2012...

uneditted @ 7pm.

Will continue this much later:-)

UNCTAD XII Diary: Day 5: Final Outcome--UNCTAD XIII in QATAR!

Final session is being given by UNCTAD official

RESEARCH and ANALYSIS--solid mandate. Conference has reinforced official mandate. Innovative work. Short mandate for UNCTAD. Great. Policy options and independent analysis for developing countries. Significant.

Another area is the...role of trade and development board in conducting policy dialogue...has been retained and reinforced. So UNCTAD will continue with that on the inter-governmental level. Will review some of its flagship documents. Ministerial meeting in Addis Ababa, UNCTAD should have a commission on globalisation; this was a problem for some UNCTAD members...theer will be some discussion on globalisation issues; atr least some compromise.

UNCTAD will have two commissions--one on trade and development and will address any topic that UNCTAD has; second one will be on enterprise development and ?? Multi-yr extract groups. Issues identified by Trade and development board will be taken to the Commissions. Secretariat is still very important.

12.03pm Palestin issue being retained. Slightly problematic yesterday. A rather contentious issue that could have affected outcome. Last few hours, agreed on s.o. that satisfied everyone. UNCTAD continues to support Palestine liberation with technical assistance.

any questions?

12.05pm
YAO GRAHAM: Commissions reduced from Three to two. Commission on enterprise...what are practical implications of having globalisation as standing issue. How will it have a cross-cutting effect on how the Commission does its work? Doesn't strike as a mandate to work, but something to discuss?

RESPONSE: Our view is not the number of commissions that matter; more about what they do. Will feed into general assembly. The proposal by Africa group to have one on globalisation is not because we do not, but there will be continuous work on it.  Partly political, partly practical. Every year, we will have to prepare a background document on a specific area of globalisation.

EKB: my questions are answered below:

WORLD INVESTMENT REPORT--continued interaction with private sector. Outcome emphasises UNCTAD working with civil society and private sector

COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY--there was a paragraph in the document that referred to that.

Jo Butler speaks @ 12.13pm--Irish government provided minimum transportation and living costs. WIll try and get funding in future to go to Geneva. Commend the document. We are very pleased we have an accord. It is a good accord. Everyone will find something missing. Can be built upon the next four years.

In SAO PAOLO(UNCTAD XI), we can say it is Sao Paolo plus. WE will still have hearings once a year in context of trade and devt board; will also ensure civil society is part and parcel...CS needs to be heard, and member states need to be advised on how to be prioritised. Having a hearing once a year whereby civil society comes to Geneva is certainlhy not enough. Need to know that CSOs are an integral part. Ideas and suggestions forward so that work can be realised.

CHALLENGES IN ACCRA: we can congratulate Ghanaian govt to having sacrificed much to pass it over. Constraints to documentation. Let us not have Ghanaian govt to make one million copies, etc. Lots of statements would be avaliable on the Web. Happy to send statements through the mail. We try to take an attitude to constraint and restraint. If you heard speech on Monday and did not get it, probably because we did not have it.

HOTEL ACCOMMODATION; ensuring that all participants had a suitable room was responsibility of host, but we had to be creative by checking homes, apartments, etc. To that end, team came THREE weeks in advance. Happy to answer any questions. 12.19pm.

INTERACTIVITY--everyone wants to be heard. Panellists to a minimum and interactivity to the highest leevl, but when you have so many coming from afar, they want to be heard! For the future, going beyond read statements. The ACCRA Accord does not stop here. It is a work in progress. How we implement mandates in next four years matter.

Look forward to hearing from you in the future.

YAO GRAHAM: we will put together a report about the forum to put on the website. We have compiled a list of participants. Some registered but did not turn up. UNCTAD also haas its own lists. Have had a summary of some events and that will all go up. We can optimise the amount of information. We have a common interest,. That networking part is where we have a responsibility. Just last word on the costs, some brought by UNCTAD, daily amount not enough for costs. Some future work for the UN and their data. Hotels are expensive in Accra.

Let me say here on behalf of the African participants, there is a pattern. Very little African representation. Certainly more than in Sao Paolo. Next meeting in QATAR , challenge. Prices went through the roof in Doha 2001, let alone in 2012, UNCTAD XII. Nothing more to say. Just again to thank you for your forbearance.

Thankyou all very much; have a safe journey back home.

done @ 12.27pm (uneditted)

Re: Briefing of UNCTAD XII Negotiations--The Killing of UNCTAD?

6.04pm--UNCTAD does not have an effective communications strategy (what does that mean?)

missed quite a bit, but interventions should seek to clarify some of that which I missed.

here goes.

6.05pm SESSION ON COMMODITIES, where developed countries wanted to push commodities on the shoulder of national govts. Last night, issue not resolved. Can you help on that? If not, how. Commodities are coming up strongly.

Secondly, can you explain what are the different groupings--and who was part of it.

THIRDLY--Strengthening of UNCTAD. How contentious an issue do you see this point where CSOs are pushing the strengthening of UNCTAD, thank you.



INTERVENTION -@--6.07pm
I would like to know the main reason why US and other countries want to abolish the policy...commissions? of unctad.

INTERVENTION--possibility of UNCTAD in the field. What is your view..why is it impt to have business at UNCTAD? what is motive of proposal?

INTERVENTION--KEPA.fi: does UNCTAD have a mandate on???

RESPONSES
============

6.08pm. On commodities, there are about three or four issues that they are trying to come up with. One on commodities ; One on Palestine. Third one is on unilateral sanctions on Cuba. They are still working on them. By eight o'clock, it would have been finalised. Different groupings--changes over the years. There are about one hundred and seventy-four countries, including China. Latin America, Caribbean, Asia, Africa. Then ofcourse, the EU, with its twenty-seven countries. Former soviet countries, etc. Then there is the loose grouping--Japan, the US, Norway, Australia; New Zealand, Japan. They do not always coordinate. This is the tradition in UNCTAD.

On the commission, this is contentious issue--for about three of five months. Official line is that they believe that the commissions do not add value in terms of policy. Many experts do not come from developing countries. Reps from member states of Geneva. They are the ones that attend and they sit there going through the same issues, etc. Also, to add value, the commissions have to come up with recommendations. At unctad, we work on consensus; the commission ends up coming up with a few conclusions and most of the time, the developing countries block it. This goes to trade and development board. It does not add up to anything...

Recently, Brazil and India have used language from UNCTAD forum to make case at WTO dispute settlement. Big countries cannot object to such language...there is that aspect as well. The time they spend debating with other countries should be addressed elsewhere

UNCTAD in the field--again tradition in core area, which is research and analysis. This is where it has been strong...we are very proud to come up with ideas that challenge...This is what has made UNCTAD different from the past. Some members think this is not helpful. They want UNCTAD more on technical cooperation; more capacity-building. Non-resident agencies; no presence in countries--c.f. imf/wb

EVALUATION--we have a mandate on regional groupings...usually, we work on agreements. We do for example assessments on services at the WTO...sometimes preparing position on working parties, etc...

NEXT ROUND OF QUESTIONS: if no more questions, we thank spokesperson from conference. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH session is ended @ 6.17pm

--editted@6.26pm Accra time--GMT

UNCTAD XII Diary: Day Three: Gearing towards Endgame

I am currently freezing my backside and much more besides off at the conference room--also known as CONFERENCE HALL -- at the NGO/MEDIA Centre situated at the International Conference Centre here in Accra.

This picture serves as a small vignette of what has transpired today. Though I might be exaggerating, lemme just say that it is appropriate and current, because it features from the left to the right Martin Khor (Third World Network-Malaysia) and Yao Graham (Third World Network-Africa) and an Indian diplomat who's ideological stance is far from his seated position (to the right!) On a more serious note, as Marita Hutjes (NOVIB--OXFAM NL) stands up preparing to listen to the debate and participate, I have spent the better part of almost two hours uploading documents here: http://www.unctadxii-csoforum.org/latest.htm.

Ok, so not the best way of checking out the latest uploads, but I have been complementing it with TWO uploads of MP3 files that I captured digitally earlier at a meeting that included someone I know -- John Clarke of DG Trade at the European Commission in Brussels. I understand he is now in Geneva, and is Head of EU delegation to UNCTAD XII. I really only know him because he was the guy in Brussels when my colleague Jennifer Cyr was writing reports about the state of play of dialogue between civil society and EU here: http://icdasecretariat.tripod.com/eu_ngo/doharound/lamyanalysis.htm.

As the web-man gotta have some record!

Anyways, that was that. So I know John Clarke (red tie), though he won't be remembering me very quickly.

In any event, the wireless has been working very dandily today. Currently awaiting an UNCTAD official to come give us the state of play of the negotiations. Sounds exciting stuff. Meanwhile to hear the MP3s, please check: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unctadxii-info/files/ 

UNCTAD XII Diary: Day One: Connected to UNCTAD Wireless

I have spent the better part of the day uploading documents for the UNCTADXII-CSOFOUM.org website, whilst simultaneously experiencing pangs of hunger. Currently located in the heart of the NGO/Press epicentre of UNCTAD XII, with two/three UNCTAD officials to the left of the room I am in, where computers and printers are located. You could say it is the secretariat, for there's plenty of paper and people wondering why their wireless is working with their laptops, yet their desktop computers are not.

Anyway...

The wireless, as you can see from the picture, is connected--at least on my computer! My desktop friends could do a lot better, which they are now in fact, especially after the UNCTAD ICT people came down to help set it up. I find it fascinating that the UN is the only organisation--bar the private sector I guess--where the ICT doodes were suits and ties!

More pictures to come later!

My Piece on UNCTAD for Ghana's only Sunday Newspaper Sunday World

from: http://www.sundayworldonline.com/newsdetails.asp?id=3110&cat_id=1

 

EVERY four years since 1964 when it was established, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has been holding its highest level meeting, where member States make assessments and reviews of current trade and development issues, discuss policy options and formulate global policy responses. The conference also sets the organization's mandate and work priorities.
UNCTAD is in fact an organ of the UN's General Assembly, and seeks to add value by enabling intergovernmental agencies arrive at a consensus regarding the state of the world economy. The last time an UNCTAD conference was held in Africa was in 1996, when it was hosted by the South African government under UNCTAD IX. This year, it is back in Africa-specifically Ghana, where the 12th session of UNCTAD is to take place.

The theme of UNCTAD XII is "Addressing the Opportunities and Challenges for Development" , and comes at what some might consider an appropriate time when the global economy is beset with a number of significant challenges-as exemplified by the rising prices of food stuff, which has been triggered by the interest by the West in bio-fuels; as well as the impact of the US's sub- prime mortgage crisis that saw poor people in America being given loans they were unable to pay back, triggering a crisis of confidence in the credit markets.

The ramifications of these two events have stretched far and wide to even Europe, where not only has the British-based Northern Rock collapsed, triggering its nationalization by the Brown government, but there have been instances of riots in countries as far apart as Haiti, d'Ivoire and Senegal. Against backdrop, it might seem difficult reconcile the fact that there is a commodity boom.

Put into context, these elements an apparent commodity boom, in foodstuffs and general malaise he global economy point to a globalization that continues to create opportunities and challenges. stands to reason that because of civil society organizations (CSOs) particularly keen to make an impact in the outcome of the conference. One way of doing so is at the Society Forum that will take place from 17-19 April in Accra before conference. CSO Forums not new practice
Parallel civil society forums for many years been an important component of UN conferences. Accra conferencee is no exception. civil society, the primary concern bringing collective energies to from all the participants to finalize the civil society statement that be delivered at the opening plenary of the main conference.


Even before the conference, society has already initiated activities that will seek to influence outcome of UNCTAD XII-as exemplified by the many workshops, seminars and forums that will take place in those three days. The tradition has been for CSOs-which incidentally include the media-to unite around common positions that are enshrined in a Declaration that is formally presented to the UNCTAD conference. Here in Accra, the collective statement will be finalized during the 17-19 period. For this reason, the drafting process was started ahead of time so as to ensure the broadest possibilities to input into it.

As for the main conference, the main theme has been framed in a way as to invite Ministers to identify the changes that need to be made to tackle the challenges around globalization, as well as capitalize on the attendant opportunities.

According to one Ambassador Stepenson's outlines on the UNCTAD website, the first sub-theme invites a discussion on how to continue to enhance policy coherence at all levels, including global, regional, bilateral and national.

The second involves examining the new policy environment and how new realities-such as terrorism and climate change-are affecting strategies for the promotion of development; the third is more proactive in the way it which it invites action on enhancing the enabling environment at all levels. Finally, sub-theme four focuses on how to strengthen UNCTAD by enhancing its development role, impact and institutional effectiveness.

In fact, for Ghanaians, the role of UNCTAD might hold resonance not just because there is a general impression that many Ghanaians are unaware of this forty-four -year old UN agency, and therefore a better appreciation

of it can be obtained here at the CSO Forum, but also because there has been a lot of talk about the WTO and its influence of developing countries, including Ghana, but rarely has there been an understanding of how a countervailing influence it can represent to the neoliberalism enshrined in the WTO, where trade matters above all else.

UNCI'AD's edge over the WTO is in the manner in which it consistently undertakes research, policy analysis and data collection for the debates of government representatives and experts. Furthermore, it offers technical assistance that is specific to the needs of developing countries. In the last Trade and

Development Report on regional integration for example, UNCTAD talked about the need for developing countries to be given policy space to develop their own regional integration, simultaneously castigating the offensive launched by the West against poor countries and the tremendous pressure they are often under to sign FfAs.

Regrettably, the report went little-noticed among many Ghanaians. UNCI'AD XII is an opportunity to make a loud noise and re-dress constructive and proactive debates on the imbalance that has been created by forces greater than that of poor countries.

 

ENDs 

UNCTAD XII Hits Accra!

I am sitting in a cyber cafe at the NGO side inside the main UNCTAD XII (http://www.unctadxii-csoforum.org) conference that just opened some almost-two hours ago. The President of Brazil Lula da Silva opened the conference in his capacity as President of UNCTAD XI. After that the new presidentg incumbent John Agyekum Kufuor of Ghana opened it, with a long speech that was covered by Ghana Broadcasting Radio Live (http://www.gbcghana.com). The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon also read a rather long speech. I did some digital recording of the two speeches, and hope to upload it as soon as.

 

I am rather impressed by the security detail around and the organisation of the whole set-up so far. I hope the media--unlike at the AU summit last June -- will have plenty to write home about!!

 

There are people -- mostly of the civil society ilk -- lingering around hoping to get access to UNCTAD wireless. The login and password have not been that great for the desktop computers; the laptops, like yours truly connected rather seamlessly.

 

Fingers crossed for the start of a fast-paced week for all participating! More pictures to come for sure!

Mid-Week Madness: UN's Still Coming to Town!; Shoprite Disappoints -- and So Do Their Salesgirls!

It was always too good to be true: a high-power retailer like Shoprite coming to Accra, and not taking Ghanaians for a ride.

For the past few weeks, I have been through Shoprite to meet only a scene like this mostly at the margarine/butter side. A quick glimpse reveals a full house insofar as margarine/butter is concerned. Move down a few departments, like the biscuit section, and you find that the shelves have been empty for a while. I have only complained to one or two people who have assured me it would be full up.

No such luck.

I'll have to bring you picture of the empty stores I'm talking about some time--'cos there are quite a few! Who's monitoring these things?

I am sure they will not be losing sales by any stretch of the imagination, but they must be putting those who patronise the shop off quite a bit! Not that I mind that they lose or anything, but I do wonder about claims of quality, where the provision of it is next-to-none.

Whilst we are at it, is it a quintessential Ghanaian trait for sales-girls working in retail outlets like these to not smile at you, at worst, and greet you at best? How long does it take to say "good evening", or "good afternoon". I've ended up a couple of times asking: "so you won't greet?".

To which they will grimace, or feign a smile and say "sorry, you were distracted", or "sorry, but you didn't see it", or some such excuse.

Until Ghanaians begin to demand quality service from them--even if they are under-paid--we will be worse off. I sympathise sincerely about the bad pay, and probably bad conditions of service, but this takes the biscuit!

You would at least expect a greeting, not silence for your goods to be passed through like robots. Robots, we are not, thankyou!



UN Still Coming to Town
The UN Conference on Trade and Development is still coming to town! It aint going anywhere. There are a number of interesting conferences and interactive seminars that will be held during the time. It appears, though, that some of these will take place during the official UNCTAD conference, scheduled for 20-25 April.

The emphasis on "official" is important, because it means that if you are not formally accredited to the main conference--and frankly, it's too late now--you cannot attend. All is not lost, however, for there is the civil society forum, which I mentioned in the last post, which you can access here. That means that any one of you--be you journalist or non-governmental organisation, or citizen--can register here.

All that said, I shall be at the heart of things during the period, and be sure to be blogging as avidly as ever!

Today's edition of the NPP-sponsored Statesman newspaper has an editorial on UNCTAD XII, in which the title appears to be a thinly-veiled exhortation to be vigilant about globalisation.

As The Week Draws to a Close in Accra: the UN is Coming to Town; Onetouch, not Always in Touch

It's been a while, and I can only say that blogging has taken a back-seat due to seious work pressures, which I can primarily attribute to the design (and conception) of a website for the Civil Society Forum for no less than the 12th session of the UN Conference on Trade And Development. Last time it was held was in Brazil, and after CAN2008, that's the next big thing. Ghanaians, sadly, are not finding it too sexy, so there's little coverage of it in the news. Ofcourse, it is not without good reason. Next week, a press conference will put paid to the ignorance.

Still, I cannot for the life of me understand why the Ghana government is not trumpeting it the best way it knows how (through corporate sponsorships, like MTN?? maybe?;-))). In any event, the Ghana government's site, with accommodation in Ghana and everything else about Ghana can be found here:http://www.unctadxii.com.

I wil most certainly be posting more UNCTAD-related information about UNCTAD over the next couple of weeks. UNCTAD is scheduled for 20-25 April, with the civil society one held alongside it on 17-19 April. The site can be accessed here: http://www.unctadxii-csoforum.org.


Onetouch--Not Always in Touch
The network that is "always in touch" in Ghana has not lived up to its name offlate. Sure, I'd die for ONETOUCH and all that, given that it's "proudly Ghanaian", but not any time soon! Both my significant other and myself have made what we can report to be interminable calls -- if you count three or four callsas "interminable" -- to the network's FREE hotline on 011. They are very responsive and quick, but their products on ONETOUCH have been decisively strange. Sending a CALL me back, which involves sending a FREE text message from the network to a recipient, does not work by sending a text message to the recipient. Strange thing, though, is that it works on some phones.

Consequently, I have had to use my other phone that has a ONETOUCH number to send a "CALL ME BACK" txt message to my girlfriend, which is not always the best!

I needs must bother them this weekend, I guess!

Enjoy yours!

Happy Leap Year Day!

Today is the ONLY extra day one will have in the next FOUR years.

 

Beyond a (female) partner proposing to you, what are you gonna do today to make that difference in your life?

 

Only the Brits can come up with quaint things to do on this beautiful day. Here are some of my favourites, taken from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/main.jhtml?xml=/portal/2008/02/29/fttwentynine129.xml&DCMP=ILC-traffdrv07053100

The Unbearable Lightness of Blogging

Oh the tomes! The tomes I have written in my head, and in my heart. Not to forget on paper, as well!;-)

 

Regrettably, the proverbial refrain of work has hit -- truly, madly, and deeply. And rather intensely.

 

As such, blogging has been light, and promises to be for the next w eek or so. Please bear with me.

 

I am still around!

 

Enjoy the weekend,

 

Keep safe. Keep cool.

As the Week Draws to a Close in Accra: The Expensive Game, Where Talk is Cheap

The defeat of the Ghana Black Stars by the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon with a scoreline of 1-0 in their favour has gone to further shatter to smithereens the idea of the "host-and-win" concept. When my Cameroon colleague told me that Cameroon would beat us—and that the home crowd was nothing to write home about, I disbelieved her. Today, I bow my head in shame—not because she was right, but because Ghanaians hyped the success of the Black Stars too much.

I know that at times like this, we all become armchair coaches and pundits—and that's why blogging at this time is as instrumental in airing grievances!!!—and seek to twist and over-exploit the proverbial "hindsight is 20/20" till it's no longer funny.

But Ghanaians are wont to behave this way—and were always going to do some hyping. After all, we saw CAN2008 as the perfect opportunity to market the country—even if Ghana Tourist Board did little to sufficiently market it for us—and the beautiful game, as played by Africans. There were such high hopes—possibly excessive—of the players. Agogo, for starters, is a good player, but in the family's view, in the last game before our resounding trounce yesterday—in which we packed Nigerians home—he maximized an opportunity to best effect. The dribbling was absent—as was the good technical play. His angles could be a bit better—as in yesterday's game, when he headed the ball just slightly over the bar.


The little said of Pele's son brought on when he's not as experienced as the likes of Asamoah-Gyan (reportedly nursing an injury—as was Laryea Kingson) the better. That Ghana's "rock of Gibraltar"—John Mensah—red-carded in the Nigeria-Ghana clash, but cleared of one game into a putative final-that-never-was-for-Ghana was absent did not help the country in any way.


A discussion on CITI97.3FM today was heated—and for the right reasons. The UEFA-licensed coach and award-winning journalist/columnist Nana Ageyman attacked the literacy of our sports journalists that transmogrify, he believed, from "shoe-shine boys" to ones "behind a mike", and how they ask "stupid questions." His attitude, though decried by many, was, in my view, along the lines of what we should be asking ourselves at times like this—how responsible is our media towards tournaments like these, and, yes, how well-trained are they in generating a discerning view of the sports they report on. At what point do they cross from being fans to journalists? These are valid questions that need to be asked.




If there had, perhaps, been a more toned-down expectation of what the senior football team could offer, they would not be as crest-fallen as they, along with the nation, are.

I personally take consolation from the fact that the beautiful-yet-expensive game creates pundits from all of us, but always, we are reminded that talk truly is cheap. If not, the Ivorians would not have conceded a good four goals to title-defenders Egypt. I sent a text message to CITI Morning Breakfast Show host that too bad for Ghana, and let's rally behind the team to make it a "West African affair." I was hoping that the "ECOWAS-man" in me would come out. It wasn't to be--for Cameroon and Egypt in the final makes a nonsense of the ECOWAS nexus I had promulgated last Sunday, when we beat Nigeria, and Cote D'Ivoire qualified over fellow-ECOWAS country Guinea.

Yet again, we are all Africans.

May the best team win—and may that be one closer to West Africa—Cameroon!

As the Week Opens in Accra: We Were All (West) Africans Yesterday

I spent the better part of 4pm yesterday trying to craft this entry. To me, the day seemed like an all-African affair.

I had woken up to a beautiful harmattan-yet-dry day which, in retrospect, would augur well for the rest of the day. I would hear local station CITI97.3 FM reporting the build-up of excitement of the duel between Ghana and Nigeria.

BBC Worldservice would report on the imminent ousting of Chad's Deby; the station's Have Your Say would host one whole hour on Kenya and the violence there, trying to ascertain the extent to which it was an ethnic-driven conflict. Meanwhile, Saturday's news of Tanzania's Kikwete, newly-elected African Union Chairman, denouncing the crisis in Chad, as one which would see an "excommunication" of the country, only went to underscore--along with a BBC "From Our Own Correspondent" report on the recovery of Cote d'Ivoire five years after the 2002 coup -- that on Sunday, we were all Africans.

Then my Mum reminded me to check the Internet for the download of an interview granted me, Ndesanjo Macha, Sub-Saharan Editor of Global Voices and one John, a football consultant, a week ago on Radio Netherlands International.

Amy Walker, of Radio Netherlands, would ask me a few days before the interview on the significance of Ghana 2008 on Africa.

One of my more specific questions were on how football is a great "equalizer"--or not.

At 5pm on the dot, the whole family was seated behond the tv set, with the stage set for an explosive match between West African rivals of Ghana/Nigeria.

Ofcourse, Ghana would win--but not without enduring the (initial) rough game of the Nigerians; nor the 11th minute, when Yakubu missed the goal by inches; nor the free kicks awarded to Nigeria and Ghana; nor the red card handed to an irate John Mensah in the 59th minute--compelled to give his "captaincy" to Michael Essien. Neither was it without a yellow card to Nwaneri for kicking Hans Adu Sarpei; nor the 20th minute, when Quincy Owusu Abeye(sp?) missed a Ghanaian goal by inches; nor without the infamous penalty that secured a goal for Nigeria; nor without the Black Stars playing 10 men.

That the Algerian coach blew the whistle sometimes a bit too late, but contemporraneously overlooked some Nigerian "mistakes" only went to underscore the speculation that he was paying Ghana back for the Morocco game. Whether this was founded or not, it's clear that he overlooked some Ghanaian mistakes too.

Either way, it was always going to be about the goals--and boy did Ghana score. The videos I have posted attest to this. You will also see Nigeria--in the TV3 clip showing their penalty--and how they mocked Ghana's "kangaroo dance".

They got punished, if anything, for that alone.

But if we were to stop at the football for a second, it was not too hard trying to contrast the violence in Kenya with the jubilation over the "beautiful game." Whatever the case may be, it is a real shame about Kenya, plus the fact that it was not even able to enjoy solace from football by being participants in the CAN2008.

Long live West Africa. Long live ECOWAS! Long live Ghana.

Long live Africa.

Ghana's Winning Goal Against Nigeria's Super Eagles--Thankyou Dramani / Agogo!

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Haminu Dramani slides the ball towards the mouth of the six-yard box from the left--only to have Junior Agogo rush on it and convert it into a second goal

Video Clip: Game Over! Ghana 2, Nigeria 1!

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Yet another video clip recorded straight from TV3. A short clip illustrating the jubilation from the 40,000-packed-to-capacity Ohene Djan stadium after that game which was the stage for an explosive West African duel...

Video Clip: Michael Essien Scores Ghana's Equalizer & first goal in Heated Ghana-Nigeria Semi-Final Qualification Game

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