Some Thoughts on "situational blogging" in Ghana

I have wittingly used this picture, which I took in 2005 of the roundabout as a testament to my decision to take you dsown memory lane.

Now, in a bit of a departure from merely quoting articles from what I consider the "best" articles, I thought I would give you some insight into what I would call "situational blogging". There are some 207 "entries" on google as I write this, but permit me to offer a definition.

Even if no-one has defined it, let me coin it: in my view "situational blogging", or "in-situ blogging" is...

blogging on location.

Elaborated, it refers to a kind of blogging that can only be done almost-real-time. So this means that supposing you find yourself in the Central region of Ghana, rather than wait to come back to Accra to blog about your experiences, you decide to blog in situ--on location, as it were. The same would apply to blogging from another country. The advent of more sophisticated mobile phones has given vent to many vistas on the blogosphere including, in my humble opinion, this type of blogging.

Reviewing some of my blog entries, I thought I would refer to some of them to give you an insight into where I'm coming from.

1. My UN trip to Tunis in November 2005

Suffice to say, I am now in Tunis, at this place called Hotel Oscar. The street name? “Rue de Marseillaise”. For a country that is situated right between Algeria and Libya who have dubious histories of French involvement (remember how Nobel Peace prize winner Albert Camus refused the prize for his classic ‘L’Etranger’, which blazed the trail for existentialist thought, because of his perception of French imperialism. That was one of the reasons anyway).

So how does delay and trepidation come into the story? Very easily.

I wonder why people still fly with Alitalia. Last time I took it–in 2000–to come to Accra from Brussels, we weren’t particularly impressed. There was, then also, a delay, and the serving of the food was late. This time, the food was on time, good, and very enjoyable, but the equipment looked like it needed to have “relic” parenthesised to it–and hey, if that word doesn’t exist, I am coining it right now:=)

Seriously, we were supposed to take off at 23h45. Instead, it was around 30 minutes later that we took off, when most of the passengers were dosing in the airport lounge. There was an apology over the tannoy, but being warned about the weather in Italy–misty and cold as it was–did little to assuage fears that we would get there on time.

Thankfully, we did. Most were asleep within 15 minutes of the plane taking off, but had to be awoken to be brought food.

The trepidation, thankfully, was allayed. The delay too–as we miraculously arrived on time in Malpensa, Milan. The treatment of those of us of a darker shade, even with our visas already processed, was nothing to laugh about. Being bungled in a room with around seven others, excluding my work colleague, tantamount to a cell and asked to have passports kept for about twenty minutes when it was clear that the Embassy had issued a transit visa for all of us, was humiliating. But that’s another story that deserves discussion on Trials and Tribulations of a Freshly-Arrived Denizen

BTW, went to the Exhibition parc today — Kram it’s called. Tunis is many parts of Europe, especially Paris, in a time warp!!

2. Watching the eclipse in February 2006

I didn't need this eclipse to remind of the greatness of God, but it has definitely re-inforced my belief that there is a God...

...especially hearing very shortly from my parents, by way of a phone call, that Charles Taylor who had escaped Monday from his villa after hearing that he might be taken to Sierra Leone for war crimes has been caught on Cameroon border in North-Eastern Nigeria.

3. Attending and Observing the first-ever International Africa Media Summit

Conferences like these are rarely for the faint-hearted: there's a good dose of solid, interesting, and often-times voluminous documentation to take home; not to mention a phalanx of elegant and gorgeous hostesses who, regrettably, look like they are clones of each other, what with the beautifully permed hair and the identical dressing. Do they honestly have to have teh same hairstyle?. How will you be able to tell the difference when you want to ask one of them about the fluctuating air-conditioning in the room?;-)

In any event, the summit started off with countries on six/seven rountables, with I believe Joy FM/BBC's Kwaku Sakyi-Addo opening the summit, and asking random people seated in front of sheets of paper of an AU country to describe the country, off-the-cuff, which they saw on their desk.

People described Sudan; Botswana; Mali; to name but three, and all very good general descriptions. The uncanny thing about it all was that the descriptions were ALL positive.

Not bad for a conference that aims to dissect a "re-branding" of the continent.

4. Attending UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) XII in 2008

I have spent the better part of the day uploading documents for the UNCTADXII-CSOFOUM.org[sic] 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.

5. Attending the Sixth ACP-EU Summit in 2008

his was how it all started:a quiet room that would not quite be filled to capacity, but would resonate with the francophone and anglophone voices, chiming along with Arab-looking faces, glum, bright, broad-smile, contemplative faces.

That most of the people in the room were in smart suits, and mostly men only went to remind one of the gender equality challenges that exist--note that the theme of the Sixth ACP summit is "Promoting Human Security and Development"--as well as the challenge on keeping one's time. I don't want to believe that if the world were run by Africans, we would all be late! Ghanaman time (gmt) is bad enough; I do not want Africa Man Time!

The Council of Ministers was supposed to start at 9h00. It is some two minutes to 10! Although I have had the opportunity to do some mobile blogging, I would have preferred we start on time so that we finish accordingly. Still, it has given me the opportunity to observe and witness sycophancy and deference at work.

Sycophancy as exemplified by posse of delegates hovering around a plenipotentiary who might know next-to-nothing about the meeting, but have the lucky break of being a career diplomat who has happened to pull strings to become ambassador; and deference as evidenced by men and women dressed in sharp suits giving muted bows to passing plenipotentiaries.

If I have given the impression that I am this side short of cynical about this whole process, you would not be far off the mark!

6. Twenty minutes after former President Kufuor's accident in November 2007

Some twenty-five minutes before I arrived here from a work-related press conference to see this scene--and take a picture of it--my Mum called me to ask me whether I had heard the news about no less than the President of Ghana John Kufuor being involved in a near-fatal car crash that involved the car somersaulting THREE times, after a car, travelling at top speed hit it.

Here is how Reuters reported it:

Ghanaian President Kufuor involved in car accident - witnesses

Wed 14 Nov 2007, 13:34 GMT
[-] Text [+]

ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghanaian President John Kufuor, chairman of the African Union, escaped unhurt when a car crashed into his vehicle on Wednesday, rolling it over several times, officials and witnesses said.

7. Spintex Road diaries of traffic situation:

It,s 18h39 and the tro-tro engine has burst to life, taking the order-of-four-seated commuters to "bush road! nungua side" destination. Ofcourse some of us will stop closer.

Have to say that it seems rather incongruous listening to Natasha Bedingfield's "These Words are My Own";, and have a few commuters whistling to the lively tune behind me.

Go on, call me a snob.

While ur doing that, spare a thought for those languishing in hospitals out of family negligence, or those who have broken up on Valentine's day.

Those seem to be the small things, but they really are not...in the bigger scheme of things.

Good health is a virtue, and having someone to call your partner or lover are two of the age-old and time-tested formulations that remind us of our humanity. and make it simultaneously meaningful.

Can't wait for CSI tomorrow morning--even if it might make me soporific the subsequent couple of hours!!

It sure is great to be alive, and have and make choices.

8. Ghana Parliament's discussion of Ghana Telecom privatisation deal in August 2008:

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

9. Attendance of Aid Effectiveness Forum in Accra

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

10. Radio Netherlands interviewing of me about significance of Ghana CAN2008

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.

So. There you have it--for now. I appreciate comments and queries on technical aspects associated with this kind of blogging.

Blogging in Ghana: the Paradox of the Returnee --(2)

I think I owe my readers an apology for leading them up a wild goose chase with my title. So allow me to be clearer.

A couple of posts ago, fellow ghanablogging.com member Esi Cleland guest-blogged about how to avoid disappointment when you move to Ghana, and I did same on her blog about the expectation of electricity.

I believe the reason why these issues came up at all was because a lot of the time, when you return home, expectation does not match reality. Let's just say it's inversely proportional to it! When you're a blogger-returnee, you want to write about...Ghana, but you cannot help but make comparisons with where you came from. It is not that it defines you by choice; after a while, it defines you--full stop. So it is that Esi will make comparisons with Ghana and the US; Abby about the her other places she's lived and Ghana; me with Belgium.

Therein lies the paradox--that the comparison between the two cultures we were priviledged to experience defines the kind of blogging we do.

Still, all is not lost, and far be it for me to speak for any of my two lovely fellow ghanabloggers, but it seems to be a perpetual --if you will--stream of consciousness that runs through the kind of blogging we do about Ghana.

I did offer yesterday more quotations about life in Ghana, so let me just return to five more posts before the days goes out. I just quickly want to take you back to 2005 when I started this blog. I was travelling up and down the Winneba-Cape Coast road very regularly, and here are some of the more "profound" posts I made about those journies (and then some!):

1.

77 Degrees of Separation and a Funeral
Another errant goat. Another Sunday…with a twist: rain, sunshine, and a funeral service.

Isn’t it funny how apparently prosaic things (like the death of a very old man who happened to be a pope) can connect us in so many arcane ways. Don’t get me wrong—I am no Catholic, but after Sunday, I felt like being an Anglican.

Like a scene right out of the Vatican, a portly, bespectacled priest—with a heart full of wit and humour—sang on us yesterday morning as we attended the funeral service (part three of three) of a three-day mourning service for my maternal grandmother’s cousin. He talked about sanitation (sachet water being dumped everywhere); the Kyoto Protocol and why the Americans didn’t want to sign it, because might is right; men and their big toys (read: big cars); keeping peace at home (as the grass always looks and seems greener on the other side); and…appropriately, Noah and the environment.

Noah was a reference to Noah’s ark and the great tsunami that afflicted the Indonesian region on 26 December, 2004, when most Christians were just opening, or had opened, their Christmas presents. It was a poignant sermon replete with humour that just wanted me to go back to this guy’s Church.

Seeing as I am fierce Protestant/Methodist—thanks to my late grandmother—I think it would cause a bit of a storm. But, hey, seeing the fright written over people’s faces over the election of Pope Benedict the XI, I wonder whether people aren’t thinking whether they should do a volte-face on their faith.

But that’s only me.
from: http://ekbensahinghana.blogspot.com/2005/04/77-degrees-of-separation-and-funeral.html

2. The next entry was more of a reflective one looking at why I LOVE my Accra, against the backdrop of the-then newly-contructed Tetteh-Quarshie interchange:

Of Reflections, Ruminations and Redness...in Accra
Accra this time is so breath-takingly beautiful. I stole some time away during lunch break to go give a relative something in the Airport residential area. I haven't been down there in a long time. I was taken aback, en route, by the gorgeous breeze and the scorching sun that lent a paradoxical contrast to the usual scorching African weather. Okay, Ghanaian, as I am not too au fait with other African countries.

On a serious note, it was another sight to behold. As I stood outside the gate waiting to be opened inside the house, I glanced at the street, and the view was very verdant. There was a scattering of red, strangely enough, all over. Note that this particular suburb of Accra is particularly verdant, or green, anyway. At this time of year, it's even more so, and very, very plush.

There was a tree with red leaves that looked much like this one here: and all I could do was stare at it like a mad-man as I tried to process the contrast of the colours of the cars (yes, there was a red car passing, too) plying that route, along with the smoothness of the tarred road, set against the backdrop of the clear, blue sky and the buildings in the surrounding area.

Scenes like these make me so in love with the city, because if my experience in Brussels when I was seriously working in the Belgian capital (2000-2004) is anything to go by, rarely was there a time to appreciate such greenery, as most of it was in the outskirts.

In Accra--my city--the greenery is not too far away, and it enhances the city all the more.

Speaking of which, another infrastructure set against the backdrop of a clear blue sky is the newly-built Tetteh-Quarshie interchange that has been the bane to many a driver, given the contorted manner -- some would say meandering -- of the roads. The Spintex roundabout -- not considered by the African Development Bank in the disbursement (as far as reports go) -- has been, yet again, the bane of the average driver that plies that route to go to Teshie-Nungua, Regimanuel Estates, Manetville, Spintex, and Tema.

from:http://ekbensahinghana.blogspot.com/2005/04/of-reflections-ruminations-and.html

3. This entry provides an insight into some of the frustrations I received from the goats that, erm, ply the road!

Kill Speed before Billy Goat Does!
I cannot for the life of me understand the penchant that goats have for crossing roads when you're cruising at circa 100km/h.

Yesterday, on my way back from Mankessim, TWICE-not once-a goat tried to cross PK. The first had to be the funniest...

There we were, with PK crusing around a respectable speed of 80km/h, when this goat, oh so casually, decides to cross the road. We were approaching Kasoa then, so the speed had been reduced considerably, but still.

With its hips swinging, its legs doing the bop--much like Afro-Americans hooked up in gang-life ascribe to--twisting its whole body like it was trying to chat up a babe, it tried to cross the road.

As we came closer, it **very quickly** crossed the road.

That's more like it, I thought.

The second was almost dangerous, cos this time, t here was no wooing on the goat's part, it just wanted to cross the road. When PK revved the engine, it reversed. Thankfully, there was no car from the opposite direction.
Our visceral response, apart from sucking our teeth in collective defiance, was to proclaim:

"These goats are so DARNED stoo-pid!"

Or something of sorts in vernacular...

Something that really got my GOAT -- no pun intended (I'm sure!!) -- yesterday was the conduct of a driver coming into the capital transporting a huge number of people (supposedly, the huge bus must be a big give-away!)with STC, or State Transport Company...

from:http://ekbensahinghana.blogspot.com/2005/04/kill-speed-before-billy-goat-does.html

4. This entry highlights my day and the evening I spent attending no less than a jazz outing:

Sporting a Grassy, & Kebab-Filled Evening--Is this Accra?
Even though the place was more populated by white people (some US accents, a lot of German ones), the place began filling up with more black people. I couldn’t figure out whether they were all Ghanaian ones, but I must admit that there were a few very good-looking women (black) who were SO well-manicured they had to come from suburbia-land. I shrugged. I didn’t really care much for trying to even chat them up.

Plus the fact that my bum was not a very presentable state given my trousers—hell, there was lights out when we got home from Makola. So no time to re-iron my trousers;-) Let alone any *electricity* to iron them;-)

Seriously, though, I didn’t much care for chatting up, especially because I am now very much into G, but it did make me realize how VERY easy once a guy goes to a public function alone (though this was hardly a function!), he can be driven to distraction. G couldn’t make it regrettably, but I made sure I had a GOOD time.

Jazz, for whatever anyone can make of it is one seriously different type of music altogether. It isn’t just about instruments being played anyhow. Or about syncopated rhythms either. {Yes, I do remember my GCSE Music!!! // syncopated-- adj : stressing a normally weak beat}

It’s more about what music can come, or express itself through your soul, as it were. There was something Jimmy Beckley said to me whilst he was getting a drink, and having Malcolm X’s picture look down at him. He said that jazz is about expressing "yourself through music—not just about making any noise, which is all too-tempting".

He was suggesting that with Jazz you have to know the code—as it were—and be ready to break it. That’s the mark of the REAL jazzman – not one who engages in a cacophanic whim of drums-cum-saxophone-cum-bass guitar all rocking away in their syncopated ways.

The Jazz group—Café du Sport—a German-based group were FANTASTIC.

from:http://ekbensahinghana.blogspot.com/2005/05/sporting-grassy-kebab-filled-evening.html

5. In this last entry for the day, I write a looooooooooooooooong post in which I touch on how my paternal grandfather, E.K.Bensah I, First Member of Parliament for Agona and Minister for Works and Housing during the First Republic opened the Tema motorway, with pieces about the A&C shopping mall, and why I love Accra:

Why I Love Accra--Genesis
Being in Ghana, it is sometimes easy to forget that our next-door neighboursare not so at peace as this country appears to be. It was, for example, hard to believe that, as reported in the Daily Graphic of Friday 22 July, the so-called refugees from Sudan and elsewhere attacked our so-called "Ussher Fort", which is, um, named after the well-known R&B singer;-)

Naughty.

Ofcourse it isn't:-)

Point is: these putative, or so-called, refugees saw fit to attack the policemen, and break their mobile phones. Bad mistake -- anywhere!-- to attack policemen--let alone in Ghana!

In any event, the situation turned quite nasty, with newsmen and others callling fro police reinforcements.

This--in Ghana!

Ofcourse, that's a pretty naive taking of the whole thing; social unrest in a developing country is no indicator of the countr'y political climate. We live in a democracy--or so we are told by all and sundry--so a little discontent here and there, as long as it's well-managed by police, does little to disturb the prevalent peace in the country.

from:http://ekbensahinghana.blogspot.com/2005/07/why-i-love-accra-genesis.html

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be interspersing regular postings with some of the "best" entries over 4.5 yrs of blogging after 5 yrs back home.

God bless Ghana! God bless a United Africa!;-))

Blogging in Ghana: the Paradox of the Returnee --( 1)

Blogging, generally, is like a candle in the wind: it waxes and wanes in the most unexpected manner, and like the sea, it ebbs and flows in quality and consistency.

Blogigng is also rather solipsistic in the sense that it represents a microcosm of one's personal world, and is refracted through the lens of the gargantuan blogosphere.

When you find yourself at a milestone--like I have done--it can be embarassingly self-centred. My last post gave a teaser for where I'm coming from, so bear with me for a while.

It is now no secret that my formative years were spent outside my home country of Ghana. SUffice-to-say, coming back home with the family was a blessing as we all arrived safely, even if the folks came a month after I did, and our dog a few weeks before them.

Back home, I felt the only way I could track my life--not that it was a necessity, but a desire--was through blogging. It seemed to be the best way of seeing how far I have grown--or not--and evolved. Since February 2005, when I started this blog, I think I have managed to do the tracking, though not in the way I would have wanted. Still, over 250 posts is no mean feat!

To kind of celebrate five years to the day since I took the picture in the inset (that sees me taking the picture in the Accra-bound KLM plane toilet), I am going to try and pick some of what I consider my "best" entries during the five years I have been back home after toching down from Schiphol on 31 July, 2004.

1. I have travelled to Tunis for a work-sponsored/UN-sponsored trip. It would pave the way for my plunge into matters of the information society:

"As I arrived into the town centre (rue de Marseillaise) near the Hotel Oscar, you could have sworn you were approaching Paris. I swear, man.

This is a gorgeous city. It certainly is not reminiscent of Africa, which in many ways is a shame. What happened to the dusty roads?

The security detail (men taking turns in the lobby and outside with their inimitable earpiece) treats you like royalty and you are sure that you will come to no harm."

2. I witessed the eclipse in Ghana in 2006, video-captured it from television, and blogged about it:

Sporting the special eclipse shades, which many believed not to be that special, most of us wanted to witness the phenomenal experience of seeing outside get dark between 8.30 anad 9.30am in the morning...

As the time of the eclipse grew closer and closer, jubilation was written over ALL our faces. THIS is what living is all about, no? After all, the statistics indicate that few people (around 1/10) ever get to witness an eclipse. So to have witnessed an eclipse a second time (the first being in Belgium in the late nineties--11 August, 1999) is a blessing of epic proportions;-)

3. I commented extensively on the World Cupthat was held in Germany:

The commentators suggested they gave Brazilians a run for their money. At times, Ghana managed to penetrate – and dominate – the Brazilian defence, albeit wastefully. But that’s okay.

Had it been any other team other than my own, I would have rooted for Brazil. But that’s okay, too.

Despite the unnecessary chutzpah of non-pundits like myself of the game over a possible win against Brazil, I think deep down, most believed it would be tough facing a team that not only played a bit like us, but possessed a more skilful technique, associated with an unrivalled experience.

In my final analysis, I reckon the failure of Ghana in beating the Brazilians, whilst that prospect was a non-starter for many observers, was a good wake-up call to a creeping complacency that surrounds any debutante of a global game like the World Cup that advances to the degree the Black Stars advanced.

Failure reminds us that success is a process, and the process, by way of the African Cup of Nations, which Ghana will host in 2008, may just be what the country needs to remind itself that our debutante performance could be a lot, lot better.

Not to burden you too much, my next entry will bring you more of some of the entries about life in Ghana that might have eluded you.

The Curious Case of Kojo Media (aka the Ghanaian Media) & Why I Blog

For the past month, I have been acting as ICT/Telecommunications judge on the 14th Ghana Journalist Association(GJA) Media Awards. They are scheduled to be launched on Saturday 15th August. [ http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/entertainment/artikel.php?ID=163101]

Next week is exactly five years since I arrived back home from Belgium to the job I am in. In my personal opinion, I believe the media has gotten worse over this period. There are quite a number of professionals that are doing well as journalists; sadly the charlattans outweigh the professionals!

The practice of journalism is in a very sorry state--despite the astronomical rise of the private press (yes, you could say that our press is free! (even too liberal at times!!) ), what with papers aligning themselves to political parties. Though that is nothing new, it went o the increase, especially in the second term of the NPP.

Papers like "The Statesman"; "The Ghanaian Observer"; and "The Daily Guide" are three mainstream papers that toe the NPP line. They toed it in the last few months of the NPP, and continue to do so, with often-times bombastic headlines that should alert our National Media Commission, which is itself as toothless as a dodo...

It is now possible for anyone to create two columns on a sheet of paper, and label those papers that are pro- and anti-goverment. The situation with journalism has become that dire and polarised. Party-affiliation is no secret as in the UK, where the Telegraph and Daily Mail are usually in support of the Conservatives, but at least the British press is capable of scoops like that of the parliamentary expenses which exposed BOTH the incumbent Labour and Tories.

In Ghana, any kind of scoop like that would have exposed only ONE party!

The biggest change, in my view, has been the rise of private papers, but many of them have only deepend the polarisation that already exists.

I do believe that a free press is important for Ghana, but free press without regulation (I understand that the National Media Commission is being re-constituted to have teeth as it was woefully under-staffed, and has experienced conflicts with the National Communications Authority that claims to be only technical-savvy) is no free press, but a cauldron of over-zealous (pseudo-)journalists who have hijacked the true journalism in the country.

The Ghana Institute of Journalism is 60 years old this August, and is acknowledged as being one of the premier institutions in the country that Dr.Kwame Nkrumah established to train and TEACH journalists from all over Africa. This sorry state 60 years later is beyond sad, but a horrible legacy to our forefathers who had a vision of the institite churning out QUALITY African journalists. Instead, GIJ has become a conduit to churn out journalists who chase after "soli", or solidarity money to have stories published. This is also another worrying trend that is being dealt with slowly and surely.

At work, we always have a budget for "soli" to have stories published; it usually is to cover transport as the media houses are not interested in catering sufficiently for their employees. Little wonder soli becomes the order of the day. Without it, publication in the dailies is rare. That IS a reality.

As regards the online community, Ghana has an online community, with the latest being GHANABLOGGING.com. I have referred to the eponymous site in my SUNDAY WORLD[http://www.sundayworldonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=45&Itemid=61] ("technology" column: (http://twelvedaysintunis.blogspot.com/2009/03/nighmare-on-hp-pavilion-street-1.html), and will continue to do so. As far as I know, that is the most "structured" online community for bloggers blogging in Ghana. I have given a bit of an explanation of its genesis in the link above.

It is difficult to tell how many hits my blog gets a week, to be frank, as I have not been monitoring that much. What I do know is that it is listed in the TOP 100 Blogs about Africa: http://www.bachelorsdegreeonline.com/blog/2009/100-best-blogs-for-learning-about-africa/. The other bloggers in Ghana include GHANACONSCIOUS: http://ghanaconscious.ghanathink.org/blog.

Why I WRITE MY BLOG

:
I like to write--and enjoy writing. Given that I love technology, the advent of blogging meant that I could combine my two interests to create a voice for myself. I have thus far managed to maintain five blogs quite regularly, and see blogs as helping me organise my ideas and thought. My blogs can be found on http://www.ekbensah.net.

The latest that is not there is http://african-union-citizen.blogspot.com, which title is "I am a Proud African Union Citizen".

The blogs that are very different from my ekbensahinghana and accradailyphoto.com are the http://critiquing-regionalism.org and http://twelvedaysintunis.blogspot.com.

The first chronicles ideas and thoughts on comparative global integration, with the latter being more about technology.

When you get no less than the AFP making serious mistakes on Africa as in the case below, then you know percpetions of Africa remain very very poor!:
==========================
from: http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/breaking-news-world/bongos-body-arrives-in-gabon-20090612-c55o.html
"The six-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), of which Gabon is a member, has declared a community mourning period of 30 days. Foreign leaders will continue to arrive in Libreville for Bongo's state funeral."
===========================
1. GABON is in Central Africa
2. ECOWAS has 15 members--and a website: http://www.ecowas.int!

Why the BBC World Service?

I like the World Service because of its plurality, diversity, and quality of English. I am a lexophile, and find that despite the simplicity of the documentaries, I often learn more from the different KINDS of people who are interviewed on the WS. Plus, I miss my BBC Radio Four, and find the WS a great alternative! That it has an African service is great, but I would love to connect with MORE European programmes, such as "Europe Today". A podcast is great, but not enough for me!!

This entry was based on an email exchange with Journalist Adam Westbrook-former Ghana visitor-of-2002 and blogger who took time out of his busy life as a broadcast journalist to ask me some questions which reflect this post

An Accra Publication to Die For: "Consumer Focus"

We've all been there before: walking in town--perhaps a more up-market place like the Accra Mall or some place near Osu Re: and catching sight of a new publication.

Straight away, your heart beats that much faster, thinking "great, new stuff to read!" You take it home, and realise it's replete with mistakes the editor should not have missed, and that it wasn't that great after all.

Suffice-to-say, this rather-new publication falls outside that category.

This is the second time I am picking it up from Accra Mall. This time I took time to read some of the articles. WHat most impressed me was the letters section on pp.36-38. Just an insight for you:

Sorry Barclays, we deserve more!

Re:Stop Cheating us MTN

Bounced Visa on TTB/Stanbic

Shoprite, Quick Service Please!!!

I guess you're getting the picture: perhaps a glimpse of the general complaints the average Ghanaian goes through with banks and major retail outlets!

Still, with each of these, you get the magazine responding with an update that clearly shows they did some investigations for you, and that they actually spoke to the "defaulters" in question. In the case of SHOPRITE, for example, (something I have written about before on this blog), Consumer Focus magazine responds:

In the name of good CS, it would make a great deal of good if a desk/toll free line is dedicated to all those who patronize this shop...

I like the way the responses are long enough for you to realise the magazine did its homework to try to address your query.

Endorsed by the Food and Drugs Board, the page is divided thus:

EDITORIAL / FOCUS DIARY / COURTESY PAGE / FDB PAGE / COVER STORY / IRONY PAGE / FRANKLY MY DEAR PAGE

The Hotline is 020.808.55.18; email: consumer_focus AT yahoo.com.

My mission is to contact them and encourage them to set up a blog to maximize their outreach; possibly a FACEBOOK group; maybe a website?

This Accra-based publication NEEDS encouragement; they're doing swell. Let's begin to encourage them today!

The Elusive Ghanaian Middle Class

Is there a Ghanaian Middle Class? Each year I get the opportunity to ask myself that question when I see the number of vehicles rise astronomically on the road. Although I do accept that cars do not a class define, a certain number of private vehicles undoubtedly go a long way to confirm that capital is far from dead in this town!

The first time I got the opportunity to write a more coherent entry on this blog was back in 2006, when I looked at it in the context of CITI97.3fm's Salsa Mania.

In 2007, I reprised the question, and wrote a longer post, which found expression in a a three-article series -- shortly after the Accra Mall opened -- looking at the "Westernisation of Accra".

I submitted some of them to ghanaweb. To say the least, I was enlightened by the barrage of negative comments I received, including accusations of naivité to be comparing Ghana to the West.

On Saturday night, after walking Fenix gave vent to creative juices, I decided to re-visit the issue on Facebook. Below are some of the answers I received. Feel free to click on the image to view the conversation in bigger fonts.




What about you? What are your thoughts on the Ghanaian middle class?

Global Voices: Hope and Candour Float post-Obama Visit

You can read the whole post, and its subsequent links here: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/07/15/ghana-hope-and-candour-float-in-ghana-following-obamas-visit/

Obama's Visit: A [trenchant] View from Ghana

It was always going to be difficult writing an entry about Obama, when all around me had written theirs, and I was found wanting.

For me, never in the short history of this twenty-first century has so much airtime probably been dedicated to one single person. From the blogs to the regular news—both opinionated and otherwise—everyone has been talking Obama—and whether you like him or not, he is the twenty-first century superstar President of no less than the United States and, who happens to double as a black man.

In the centenary of Osagyefo Dr.Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president, who advocated and promulgated the concept of the African personality, Obama’s meteoric rise could not have been more poignant. In my view, he has come to represent by becoming not just the 44th president of the US, but the first African-American president: the epitome of the post-modern African personality.

Forget the fact that the Black Man no longer has any excuses for getting where he wants to, and maybe consider this: with Obama, no longer will myopic white anglo saxon protestants and people of that ilk obsessed with the rigid preservation of division -- where blacks go this way and whites the other—be confronted by the distorted reality that Blacks are inferior, and that they cannot also have nuclear families with 2.4 children.

With Obama, no longer will it be cool to skip school, to feign helplessness in the assistance of those less fortunate than you; to pretend that your communities do not matter. With this man, no longer will it be cool to display machismo, disrespect the concerns of the opposite sex, and be polygamous in a marriage. With the "yes, we can"-grandmaster, no longer will it be a uncool for the Black man to be happily married, with a supportive wife by his side, who might also be educated. Nor will it be an issue for his progeny to be "only" girls.

For those of us who have been brought up to feel that having a son makes you great, let it be clear that your greatness does not depend on the sex of your progeny, but what you accomplish in your life.

Do they not say that it is not the degree that makes a man great, but the man that makes the degree?

When I set all this against the backdrop of President Barack Hussein Obama’s visit to Ghana, I cannot help but wonder whether his visit was more spiritual than political.

I couldn’t help but wonder whether it was not now cool to be a Black man; be happily married with kids that are girls; be highly-educated; be a listener and an engager?

For so long, the West has managed to perpetuate a picture of Africans being polygamous; having loose sexual morals and being uneducated. Despite the fact that many Africans have gone and come back home to improve the lot of their people’s, it has still taken an awfully long time for the rest of the world to cotton on to the fact that an African is also capable of managing his own affairs. To wit: be well-educated and have a good marriage, where the woman is supportive despite being herself a professional.

The insistence on this side of Obama may belie my sub-conscious—for I too aspire to have a good woman by my side who may be in a good job. I have never espoused the idea that a woman has to be kept at home before doing a good job with the children, and I am slowly and surely accepting that not having a son will not kill me.

As someone who greatly aspires to be a father some day, I believe that the significance of Obama as a family man must not go unnoticed. That he can visibly share intimate moments with his wife and children is a reflection of how far the African personality has come. And by extension, the post-modern African personality.


We know the politics already, and it has been discussed to the death. I am proposing that we use his visit as a filter through which we examine the African family, which for too long has been plagued by the absence of an omnipresent father.

His visit is also about giving hope to the youth, and empowering them to push the envelope in as many ways as possible. It is a serious irony that only this year, the AU declared 2009 to be the beginning of a decade that celebrates the youth of Africa.

I do not know about you, but I am hopeful.

We have always had change, but what ultimately we have with Obama is the quietly-confident capacity of the unsung hero towards existential change that is profound and transformative in a way that he can whisper in the shadows...

yes, we can!

What is Success?...and on How to be a Great Human Being

BBC Radio Four's "Thought for the Day" is a great favourite piece of radio of mine from my days in Belgium. A truly inspiration three-four minute segment in the "Today" programme on BBC Radio Four that profoundly puts to shame the length and breadth of our morning radio shows in its quality and diversity, and GREAT interviewing.

Am busy writing an article closely connected to the launch of the UNCTAD report last week that claimed regional integration is great for developing countries, and which I claim I will deliver on Thursday, so blogging is in the back-burner: [David, thanks for your ocncern!!]

Enjoy this piece on success, and how "Our maturity as human beings depends on our capacity to be at ease with ourselves." (from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/thought/documents/t20090707.shtml

Thought for the Day, 7 July 2009

The Rev. Rosemary Lain-Priestley

'Federer takes place in history', 'Roger Federer is the greatest' - the headlines were as epic as the match itself. My favourite few lines of commentary were from the sportswriter at The Times: '(In the past Federer) has created such visions of loveliness that we got all fanciful and called it Art. On Sunday he won by the brilliantly simple tactic of Not Losing'.

Success, it seems, is about talent, flair and focus - and when you're up against the wall, just refusing, ever, to give in.

Reading all this I've been reminded of something I heard recently about the latest parenting technique. The idea is that people should deliberately encourage their children to do things that they are not very good at. Because otherwise, the theory goes, they will grow up with an aversion to doing anything at which they will not shine. They might excel at music, sport, art or science - but they will have lost the ability to have a go at something just because it's fun. And they will measure their own worth solely through the certificates and trophies that grace their walls. They might look like highly successful people but their fear of failure will have denied them many other things life has to offer.

Jesus told a parable about talents which suggests that God does not suffer gladly those who squander the potential of their resources and gifts. If we have a talent we should use it, to the glory of God and humanity. There is another Biblical strand, however, that tells us we are valued and honoured and loved for everything that we are - our weaknesses as well as our strengths, our comic failures as well as our moments of achievement. From Moses who feared his own inability to string a sentence together, to St Peter who failed to reach his own standards, the scriptures are peppered with people who are celebrated as much for their ability to have a go as their questionably heroic status.

Our maturity as human beings depends as much on our capacity to chill and be at ease with ourselves as it does on our ability to win trophies. And maybe this is a truth that even in the heat of the moment with his fifteenth Grand Slam triumph in sight Roger Federer could appreciate. We now know that as the score reached 12 all in the final game he was feeling bad about the pressure through which he was putting his pregnant wife. Asked yesterday: 'What will you do this week to relax?' he spoke about this very exciting time in his life at home and said that he's going to put the tennis racket in the cupboard and support his wife as much as he can. Being a great human being is as much to do with the habit of luxuriating in all of life's gifts, as it is to do with winning.

copyright 2009 BBC

A Musical Legend--Michael Jackson--Waves Goodbye to the World

So dominated has the news of the demise of Michael Jackson on 25 June in the media that I am not quite sure what to write. Listening to BBC World service's News Hour this afternoon at its regular midday slot, Claire Boulderson anchored the show with the news of his death, spending an inordinate amount of time examining his style and his iconic status. That's when it really struck me.

Actually, I lie: it struck me this morning, when I found myself with teardrops rolling down my face. I looked at myself in the mirror to see whether it was really true. After I washed my face, the tears came even more!

Small wonder: the African culture tells us that we don't speak ill of the dead--and I am not about to do so anytime soon, but what I will do is to categorically state how much of a bad decision it was to become a white man.

Black is beautiful--and it will forever be so. As a Black Man, Michael Jackson had the looks, the voice; the talent. Oh what a shame.

Was it the price of vanity, or the price of a lack of self-esteem brought about by
a lack of self-esteem produced by a childhood of occasional "abuse".

Abuse

I've never quite understood what the West meant about abuse. [as I write this, BBC World Service's Africa service on "Focus on Africa" has dedicated a whole programme on his demise, ending the special with Billie Jean.] I don't know which average African has not endured beatings as a child.

I have certainly been at the butt of quite a few beatings myself, but it's a staple of the average Ghanaian (let's be specific here!) who grew up in the eighties. Nothing really to write home about.

That said, was it this kind of abuse that the West likes to call abuse on his part? It is true that his childhood was lost singing and whatnot at such an early age, but I cannot help but wonder whether the delectable and very personable Drew Barrymore who was also a child star underwent that degree of lack of self-esteem? Reports indicate that she went through drugs and re-hab at an early age, but she snapped out of it--like many of them eventually do.

Jackson's was a bit extreme: I am still unsure whether the skin-changing was because he could or because of low self-esteem. He might have been a lonely kid and perpetuated his Peter-Pan life-style by surrounding himself with things of the youth--rather than as the Desiderata admonishes--"...gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Still, his greatness preceded him, and he will go down in history, in my view, as a legend.

My tears this morning came down, I suspect, because at the end of the day, Jackson was a human being with frailties and foibles. He might have made serious mistakes and over-spent and been profligate with his money. He might have pulled the rug under Paul Macartney as wikipedia maintains. He might have been foolish in transforming his fine, Black features to a white mass that was not him.

But he was human.

If you and I were in his shoes, would we have done the same thing?

Tell me this isn't human nature...

Rest in perfect Peace, Mr.Jackson.

Ghanablogging Here I come!

To my phalanx of ghanabloggers, you've been doing brilliant stuff, and I profoundly apologise for not coming by often. We're all piled with work, but clearly, some more than others!

Next week, I do a mid-yr resolution to change the bad habit of not blogging as much, or visiting my fellow ghanabloggers.

Whilst I'm at it, I want to remember that Ghana is a truly blessed country: let's keep it Ghanaian; let's keep blogging!

What, Am I a Magnet for Job-Hunting, or What? (So You STILL wanna work for the UN?)

There I was walking Fenix this morning when someone I rarely remember approached me reluctantly, asking whether I remember him. I feigned doing so, and he went on, sayingv that he heard I was a Fante, and he's from Elmina. Point is he was looking for a job. Ok, so he asked rather deferentially, as if he was afraid my ever-so-good-natured pet dog would bite him.

I wasn't amused, shaking my head at him that what has being a Fante got to do with anything? Did he honestly think that because I was allegedly a Fante, I would get him a job?

Let's be clear: I am not fully Fante, but that's another story; the real story is that I am not a coastal native in full, and even if that were the case, that would not be the basis for getting him a job. Finally, I don't do jobs!

So, I'm okay with assisting the average colleague-intern with their cover letter (as I did last week) for an application [it took some two days working on it!], but I suffer being approached because I look like I could be a "director" or "manager".

Like physiognomy or looks have got anything to do with procuring a job, you know?!

Getting back to my response to the guy on the Estates, I explained that I am a mere worker--no manager or anything, and that the staff is small, so I couldn't help him.

This might be--and is--in sharp contrast to my approach last week--and rightly so. Last week's encounter was soft and accommodating; this guy was walking with a colleague, speaking in twi, who kept on praising loudly how nice my dog was!

I really was far from amused!

Bottom line: I love to assist people with tips and ideas to enhance job prospects, but out-of-the-blue questions about whether I can get someone a job on the basis of my ethnicity are definitely a no-no.

All that said...

So You Wanna Work for the United Nations?

A British Journalist-blogger, whom I made acquaintance with two years ago--and who visited Ghana in 2003-- has already written me believing that I am working for the UN! Adam, if you're reading this, not quite! I will get back to you. My twitter feeds are deliberately cryptic!

Seriously speaking, I have met very few people who want to work for the UN, so it's difficult to hear of experiences of people trying to get in. What I can tell you is that 43things.com tells me that some people have been trying for as long as Seven years!!

That's rather scary!

If you are really interested, you will have to do a lot of trawling online. Two good places to start are: UN Jobs.org, and the the official UN job portal.

Looking for a job is far from ever being easy, but a combination of humility and dedication, coupled with belief in your skills can get you there.

With alarming reports about unemployment in West Africa, and how that will have adverse consequences for the development of West Africa, I think it behooves all of us to facilitate the transition from the state of being unemployed to employment--for our own security!!

Few people are ever capable of saving the world, and you don't need to get to the UN before you make a difference, but for other West african nationals checking online, there are peace missions all over the sub-region, which might require your services to make this sub-region one of the more peaceful on the continent!

If you're ever tempted to think the argument above is tenuous, you might remember this poem, which I referred to earlier in the year on this blog:

First they came for the Jews


and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.


Then they came for the Communists


and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.


Then they came for the trade unionists


and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.


Then they came for me


and there was no one left to speak out for me.

If you might ever doubt it, your (job) security is also mine!

As the Week Draws to a Close in Accra:Of Milk of Human Kindness, and So You Wanna Work for the UN?

This picture of yours truly is only to illustrate how lovely an experience it was two days ago when I went into town for an appointment (in the service of the nation!) before getting back to work. I travelled in the trusted tro-tro, and found it was great to have the back of the seat all to myself! This must have been around 9.30/9.45am. Sales are so low that time for the mates and the drivers that it's small wonder in the evening, they want everyone and anyone to join--and as quickly as possible!.

In any event, on my way back to the office (again, I took the tro-tro), I stopped by the block factory located at SHiashi, and walked some ten minutes to the office. Passing by a banana, I couldn't resist and returned to buy myself GH0.50p worth.

The young man suddenly asked where I work; I explained just opposite "East Gate Hotel", and then some. "I'm looking for a job, o! I'm an SS graduate. Been home all this time."

He said this in good English.

I felt so bad, sighing a huge one.

"Look", I explained, "I'm merely a worker--not a manager or anything", so I cannot really help you--except to give you this paper called "Weekly Donkomi. I explained it was a recent one.

He thanked me profusely.

As I offered him the money, he refused categorically adding that he wouldn't take the money as I paid for the paper.

"Oh, no, massa!", I exclaimed, "it was free, o!".

"It's okay, sir!" he went on. "Thank you very much!"

I was so touched by the gesture it was not funny. I know many people who, despite all the explanations, would have taken the money and the paper--no matter how ostensibly negligible.

It's at times like these that I realise that the milk of human kindess is still rife. And I'm proud to know that I made a small difference. God bless that guy; he's clearly someone humble--and possibly magnanimous--enough to appreciate a small gesture. He will most likely take it to his job and career.

Good luck to him!!

So You Wanna Work for the UN?

...to be continued!!

The Unbearable Lightness of Being...an ECOWAS Community citizen...on ECOWAS Day!

You could be forgiven for thinking that the front page of Wednesday's Business and Financial Times newspaper is an indication that all is not necessarily well on the ECOWAS front. If you couple it with the news that ECOWAS common currency can only be achieved by 2020(!) That Niger is behaving in a way that might merit its suspension can only further buttress the fact that regional integration in West Africa has failed.

Wrong!

The West African sub-region remains one of the more vibrant regions on the African continent. You do a google search, and consistently, ECOWAS, SADC, and East African

Community (EAC) are cited as three of the more successful regional blocs out of the eight RECs that exist.

Just in case you might not know, German academics have written this of ECOWAS:

Being the prime engine of regional integration on the African continent, ECOWAS is currently undergoing impressive transformations aimed at defining new priorities and objectives. The ECOWAS priorities and objectives may also serve as a source of inspiration for other regional groupings anywhere else in the world.

The news also that the Ghana Investment
Promotion Council is doing serious outreach work to get Ghanaians to form
cooperatives and link-up with businesses in Burkina Faso and Niger suggests that this forward-looking vision can only facilitate ECOWAS integration. You can read the news of this here: http://www.ghananewsagency.org/s_economics/r_5968/.

What of the ECOWAS Parliament?

I daresay few people might be cognisant of the ECOWAS Parliament. I took the liberty of copying some of the "achievements" from the publication to the left:

In addition to providing parliamentary opinion on matters referred to it by ECOWAS Institutions, the Parliament has recorded the following achievements:

• Brokered peace process in the Mano River Region of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

• Sped up the process of adoption and implementation of ECOWAS decisions, protocols
and treaties.

• Widened the scope of participation of the ECOWAS peoples through its collaboration
with the civil society and the bringing on board of many Non-Governmental Organizations and Community-Based Organizations, a very focal point and nexus of democratic integration process.

• Advanced the cause of democracy and good governance through its support, mediation,
and diplomatic shuttles and peace missions to conflict zones in the region.

• Made texts, drafts and resolutions and amendment of protocols, and treaties in
compliance with a people-oriented integration of the region.

• Partnered, collaborated and shared experiences with the African Union Commission,
NEPAD Secretariat, the UN Agencies,the European Union, the African-Carribbean Pacific (ACP) Secretariat, etc to draw support for the region’s integration and development process.

• Critical engagement in election monitoring in many countries of the region like Nigeria, Benin Republic, Sierra-Leone, Liberia, Guinea, Togo, the Gambia, Ghana etc.

• Made key inputs in the administration of ECOWAS institutions through the timely
sharing of experiences and feed backs to the parliament by the heads of such institutions or their delegates at the House Sittings.

• Institutional re-engineering of the organs and institutions of ECOWAS through the
setting of some criteria or standard of conformity and capacity building.

• Convened parliamentary sittings in different countries of the region to bring the integration process closer to the people and build confidence; rather than holding all the sittings in Abuja, Nigeria; which is the seat of the parliament.

• Surveillance on the economic and political developments within the region and intervention at appropriate times where need be.

• Early warning and proactive measures to forestall full blown crises through its shuttle diplomacy and country-specific collaboration.

• A program of Action at advanced stage to kick-start the process of membership election through universal suffrage to give the parliament legitimacy.

• Promotion of youthful activities and participation across the region.

• Budget Appropriation for ECOWAS Institutions.

• Facilitation of payment of development levy by Member States.

• Image making for ECOWAS and the integration process and deepening of relations
among Member States and with development partners.

• Contributed to the processes of Trade Liberalization, Macro-economic convergence,
creation of customs union and free movement of persons, goods; and investment across
the borders.

• Raised awareness through the Mass Media and mobilized Media establishments within and outside the Community to support ECOWAS institutions and agencies.

• Engaged the private sector, which is the driver of economic growth, to invest in the region.

I'm not quite sure what else to add, except whenever you read this, I hope you've learnt something more than you knew about the 34-yr-old institution, which WE all --community citizens of ECOWAS--have a stake in building up.

Happy ECOWAS day!

Mid-Week Madness: At the Dawn of ECOWAS Day, am Livid about Coverage of AU Day by Ghanaian media

Tomorrow is the 34th anniversary of the the Economic Community of West African States, but I can bet my bottom-dollar that Ghanaian media will provide scant coverage of it.

Yesterday, I sent a message to the CITI97.3FM appreciation group on Facebook, which you can read below:

Hello! Yesterday I tuned in to citi around 13.02GMT to catch up with what I felt I had missed of Kat's brilliantly-presented African music programme, only to hear Farida K read the news, which she did brilliantly.

After that, I heard none other than popular presenter Jessica and Kat comparing notes on who could read the news better!!! On AU day!

I tuned after some ten minutes to Uniiq FM to hear a lengthy discussion/interview of an academic about AU day and what it meant for Africans. Then I tuned to Joy FM's news on the hour. Again, special coverage of AU day.

Surely something is wrong CITI-fm? Why can JOy and Uniiq cover AU day on the hour of their news and CITI not? I know Moro interviewed someone on the special breakfast show for some thirty minutes or so; that was commendable. The rest of the CITI bReakfast show was about SERIAL CALLERS!!! On AU day???? A segment would have been fine!

Two years ago, AU day was celebrated in grand style on CITI fm--from excerpts of Osagyefo Dr.Kwame Nkrumah to analysis of Bob Marley's lyrics.

This is what the UK media calls "dumbing down", in my humble opinion!

CITI fm, wake up!!!

Some hours later, the big boss of the station, Mr.Samuel Attah-Mensah, responded with a simple "thanks". I thought that was good of him; let's hope things can change for next year.

FW: Going Undercover Till African Unity Day on 25 May

The time of the year has come when I am compelled to legally hibernate for a while. Will be swotting up on African regionalism, AU citizenship, and tryng to avoid getting angry over Ghanaian media's propensity to unwittingly encourage political polarization!

Till then...when I come back with a bang!

___sent: e.k.bensah (OGO device)+233.208.891.841/ekbensah@ekbensah.net

These words brought to you by Ogo.

As the Week Draws to a Close in Accra: Of Job-hunting Tips in Accra; the African Youth; and Climate Change

When I posted the entry last week about job hunting in Accra, I could hardly believe the number of hits I got. I couldn't believe it, partly because I had no clue how many! Seriously, all I saw in that bar to the right of the screen were entries from all over the world--some that had been referred through FACEBOOK and whatnot--that had gone straight to that post.

Let me be clear: this list is far from exhaustive as I indicated. I am encouraged, though, to regularly post more of these. I got a thumbs-up from quintessential blogger Esi Cleland, which blog I highly recommend visiting, even if I am jealous of the number of visitors she gets and the number of comments her entries elicit! I'm talking green-eyed monster city baby!;-)

On the more serious point of some of the other tips for looking for a job in Accra, I got some other tips from someone else who commented, but would like to offer some of my other ones: "Be Humble"; "Create a Blog"; "Practise Dressing Neatly--Always"; "Carry a Pen-Drive Wherever You Go".

Be Humble

This is a lesson straight from the Good Book. Humility pays. If you don't have it, better learn it fast! My parents have often accused me of lack of humility when I don't ask questions. At first I thought they were off-tangent, but the older I get, the more I kind of see the light on that one. It realy is true; if you do have a problem or a challenge, what stops you simply asking for help? Apart from shyness or an excessive introspection, when stuck, ask for help--and that includes tips on getting to the job market!

Create a Blog

You might have guessed I would bring this one in. I cannot tell you the immense benefits have been "bequeathed" me owning a blog. Let me be straight for a second, though. I Started a blog when I landed a job, but I did have a website before then, which I started in 1999. I learnt HTML language on my own (with plenty encouragements from the folks, especially my Dad who would print many, many self-help stuff on it, expecting me to learn it the following day!).

To the point: despite holding down a job, I'm in the unique situation of owning and maintaining five major blogs. The one you're readinig has been around since 2005, and is one of the more popular ones, followed by Accra Daily Photo. The third is more sector-specific, and more geeky, with me pontificating on my knowledge of an emerging disclipine of international affairs, known as regional integration. That's been around since 2006. I have two others, which include writings on technology, etc.

This glorification of my good self has less to do about me, and everything to do with my interests. As I advanced in blogging, I decided to categorize my interests through blogs. It has little to do with me being intelligent and everything to do with trying to be smart. By segregating my interests, I've developed a kind of esoteric, cult followings on my other blogs, which is pretty cool. You might want to do that when you set up a blog on blogger.com[no, no pay for this ad!!], or wherever else you might want.

Blogging gives you exposure; and exposure means you're likely to be noticed by someone out there. Somewhere. Believe me when I tell you that there's always someone watching and reading--and not just the CIA!;-)

Practise Dressing Neatly--Always

A picture paints a thousand words, so if you're dressed neatly even when you're unbase, you're half-way there. Why should you dress down just because you're out of work? Practise being the person you want to be, so that you attract what you think about. It doesn't mean wearing your best every time you go out, but dressing even if conservatively (blue,black,white colours) when you need to go into town. Remember that the law of the universe is so powerful that you attract what you think about most. Dressing gives confidence, and with confidence, you never know who might notice you for some networking...!

Carry a Pen-Drive Wherever You Go

Make sure that a relative or a friend, or you yourself procure a pen-drive. They're one of the most useful communication tools--bar the mobile phone--in town. Why? That's where you put your CV on, and carry it around--always. Perhaps, if you can get a scanned copy of your certificates/transcripts, that would be great too. This means wherever you are, as long as you can get to an internet cafe, you can pop out your necessary documents for consideration.

Lecture Over!

the African Youth

I turned 32 on 26 April. According to the African Youth Charter that was adopted in Banjul, Gambia in 2006, I am still a member of the youth, for the youth ranges between 18 and 35 years old. I guess in between the the three years I have left before I leave that age bracket, I can think of what I can do not just for myself, but my country, my sub-region of ECOWAS; my continent;-) Thinking about it just gives me a headache, but it's one I'm prepared to endure.

If you never heard of the AU Youth Charter, kindly allow me to fill you in on some of the main parts:

Every young person shall have responsibilities towards his family and society,
the State, and the international community.
Youth shall have the duty to:
􀀾 Become the custodians of their own development;
􀀾 Protect and work for family life and cohesion;
􀀾 Have full respect for parents and elders and assist them anytime in cases
of need in the context of positive African values;
􀀾 Partake fully in citizenship duties including voting, decision making and
governance;
􀀾 Engage in peer-to-peer education to promote youth development in areas
such as literacy, use of information and communication technology, HIV/
AIDS prevention, violence prevention and peace building;
􀀾 Contribute to the promotion of the economic development of States Parties
and Africa by placing their physical and intellectual abilities at its service;
􀀾 Espouse an honest work ethic and reject and expose corruption;
􀀾 Work towards a society free from substance abuse, violence, coercion,
crime, degradation, exploitation and intimidation;
􀀾 Promote tolerance, understanding, dialogue, consultation and respect for
others regardless of age, race, ethnicity, colour, gender, ability, religion,
status or political affiliation;
􀀾 Defend democracy, the rule of law and all human rights and fundamental
freedoms;
􀀾 Encourage a culture of voluntarism and human rights protection as well as
participation in civil society activities;
􀀾 Promote patriotism towards and unity and cohesion of Africa;
􀀾 Promote, preserve and respect African traditions and cultural heritage and
pass on this legacy to future generations;
􀀾 Become the vanguard of re-presenting cultural heritage in languages and in
forms to which youth are able to relate;
􀀾 Protect the environment and conserve nature.

In short, there is a lot the African Youth--strike that: the Ghanaian youth--is capable of doing, but is not, instead allowing themselves to be the tools of politicians who use them to further polarize society! We have a climate in peril, yet we are forever talking about forming groups left, right, centre to support politicians. If that is not folly, I don't know what is!

The Unbearable Lightness of Being a Tree

I've never been a tree before, so I wouldn't know how light it feels being a tree! What I do know is that it's no fun these days being a tree in Africa, as you're most likely to be chopped down? Yesterday, the BBC World Service had an Africa Have Your Say programme on Trees.

Coincidentally, my colleague and I had just attended a two-day workshop, discussing climate change, and the international instruments--such as REDD and FLEGT--and how they help complement the fight to have a greener world.

Let me be clear--and not for the last time!--I am so spooked by climate change. To think that if the Earth warms up by less than 2m degrees, civilization as we know it will no longer be around is just downright scary. To also think that more trees are being cut down by the day is even scarier. We need to think about planting more trees to absorb the carbon that the absence of them creates. I am beginning to understand that our carbon footprints are what we leave behind as excessive levels that all contribute to climate change.

Trees are a good start, and maintaining the greenery also counts.

It begins with YOU...and me.

Have a great weekend/May Day!

So You Want a Job in Accra? Here are Some Tips!

There's nothing as humbling as getting a call from someone younger than you, who happens to be in their final year of Legon, and is also a good friend-acquaintance.

So you can imagine how humbled I was when two days ago, I got a call just from a young lady whom I've known since 2005 (and which sister is a good friend of the organisation) to ask me these some questions on entering the job market.

Let me be clear: anyone who has a job in these uncertain times is this side short of lucky. No matter how drab or dull it is, count yourself lucky you're not with the bunch in the West that were laid off in the factories and whatnot. It's great to be alive and with a job!

While we are patting ourselves on the back that we've been able to hold down a job, we forget so easily how difficult it was when we were looking for employment, don't we? Speaking to my friend gave me an insight into some of the challenges out there in the Ghanaian job market, but I think I can impart a few tips.

1. Learn French
2. Build your IT/communication skills
3. Be passionate about your career
4. Think Big!
5. Get a Masters

Learn French

So you want a job in an English-speaking country that's surrounded by francophone countries? Come on now, learn that French language. We have Alliance Francaise among many other organisations that can offer the language. If you think you cannot cope with how much they charge, find a private tutor. It also pays as failing to get a job in Ghana doesn't mean you cannot get it anywhere else! With French, you're most likely to get a position in the sub-region of ECOWAS, the AU, or who knows, the UN?

Build your IT/communication skills

So you know how to type, but can you touch-type? Working through Microsoft Office is average, but can you do desktop publishing in Word? How about Excel? and Microsoft Access? Try and master a package that will pit you above the others. You might want to do a Marketing/public relations course at the Ghana Institute of Journalism, or the African University College of Communications. It pays to communicate/articulate well wherever you go!

Be passionate about your career

Whether it's the public or private sector--in this country or outside--it's important to be passionate about what your career. No-one can miss passion. Live, breathe, speak human resource management; communication; administration; marketing; banking; law.

Make sure you reek it, so that it's without doubt that YOU are the one to come to on the latest trends.

Let me just say that though I have my bosses who have been working on regional integration, for a longer period than I have, my focus has been more than looking at African integration initiatives; I look at world-wide trends, plus keep up to date on the latest literature. Whenever anyone mentions regional integration, people know they'll get a word or two from me--despite my apparent/relative lack of years spent imbibing it (as compared to my other colleagues).

Think Big!

Why should you only settle for the Ghanaian market? If you've come this far, why not consider working for an international public organisation like the United Nations/African Union/ECOWAS? Sure, it's competitive, but on the African market, the possibilities of going higher than the national are greater. Think big!

Get a Masters

If you haven't gotten one already, it pays to get one. There are people with first degrees and plenty experience -- with sound working experiences, but possessing a Masters means you've taken a step to improve yourself, and therefore are capable of any challenge that comes your way. I will always remember my Dad who pushed me to do one. Now, the deepening of my knowledge on regional integration is more than I could ever imagined, because I'm more than confident of pushing the envelope on my abilities.

This list is far from exhaustive, but I'd like to end that yesterday I coincidentally heard a programme on Joy FM about job-hunting which suggested these short tips:

1. be friendly to the receptionist of any prospective workplace
2. never tell any employee to whom you are passing your CV that you're looking for a job; insist that it's "an important document" that needs to go to the director, or HRO!

The Unbearable Lightness of Being...Spiritually Light

I discovered the Joyful Way's Nyame Ohene in 2005, listening to CITi 97.3FM's religious Sunday programme "Gospel Unlimited". At the time I was going through a relationship wherein I didn't know where it was going.

Fast forward to yesterday, when I started listening to it again. I'm not quite sure why I was drawn to it. I must say though that I obtained a bit of an epiphany today, when...
...I realised that the man who goes by "Kojo Anan" on Facebook, was the one who wrote and produced it! I've asked him for t he lyrics; let's see what I get.

Seriously, though, I've been feeling rather spiritually light for the past couple of days. Easter wasn't this side of exciting--somehow as I grow "older", the excitement of it reduces--but I honestly want it to be more than a four day holiday!

I'm in a birthday month; I turn 32 on 26th. It's not quite a milestone, but a grand step forward in all senses of the word.

I've been praying. Perhaps not enough, or not the right way?

Maybe, God directed me to this piece to get some perspective.

Sometimes you have to come full circle to find the truth.

And not just only in fiction like The X-Files.

RE: from Over To You on World Service

Dear Mr.Morris,

Many thanks for getting back to me so quickly--and here's wishing you a belated Happy Easter!

Now, I am based in Accra, GHANA. You can reach me on +233-204-311.789. I resume work on Tuesday, but you can kindly reach me around 12.30pm GMT.

Hope to hear from you soon.
Best wishes,
Emmanuel.K.Bensah
----

-Original Message-----
From: Andrie Morris <>
Date: 12/04/09 21:56
To:
Cc:
Subject: from Over To You on World Service

Hello Mr Bensah,

Many thanks for your note to Over To You and the voicemail message you left us.

I'd very like to phone you, to record your comments on what you thought about Saturday's edition of NewsHour, when it tackled the issue of human rights.

I'd be grateful if you could tell me where you're based, the best number to reach you on and time to call.

This is is something I'm keen to do on Tuesday pm in order to make my deadline.

Looking forward to hearing from you very soon.

With best wishes,

Andrie Morris
Reporter / Producer
BBC World Service: Over To You programme made by City Broadcasting
43-51 Great Titchfield Street, London W1W 7DA

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/over_to_you.shtml
mobile: +44 7545 214 355

These words brought to you by Ogo.

Comment re: BBC News Hour programme

Dear Sir/Madam,

I thoroughly enjoyed the second part of Saturday 11 April edition of News Hour. However just to clarify on my call to OVER TO YOU, I want to state that the panel could have included a member of the Arusha-based African Commission on Human & People's Rights, which plans to be subsumed under the African Court of Justice this year.

To boot, a March 2009 report by Chatham House entitled "Africa's New Human Rights Court: Whistling in the Wind" serves to address some of the issues about what African Union is already doing on human rights.

To ask whether the Peru case is a precedent for Africa is, in my view, myopic on the part of a veteran service like the BBC that has great researchers who could have found this report right under their noses, and thus helped inform the programme with a better perspective on Africa.

Thanks.

___sent: e.k.bensah (OGO device)+233.208.891.841/ekbensah AT ekbensah.net

These words brought to you by Ogo.

In Praise of the Trotsky (Tro-Tro)

When you're confronted with news like that of Joy Fm online (

Road accidents consume 1.6% of GDP

) that road indiscipline is killing Ghanaians (and it is!), and you also hear and witness the execrable driving of tro-tro drivers, you're inevitably going to feel that they remain the bane of traffic woes.

Trust me, though, that there are as many bad private drivers as there are commercial ones.

Before I set off for work this morning, I needed to run an errand in town (Osu), and decided in order to save money and all that, I'd take the trotsky. It cost me almost three-quarters less of the price. To get into town--specifically 37--I paid GHp0.40 (forty pesewas, or almost thirty US cents). A taxi "dropping" would have cost me a cool GHC4.5-GHC5.00 maximum!

On the way, I saw a young, personable and well-dressed lady, with a cute haircut who was holding a lovely Nokia n900 series phone! I am serious! I wondered what someone like her was doing a trotsky like this. Someone might have asked the same thing about me, too! Except to say I'm neither cute nor particularly well-dressed, nor personable!:-) Oh, and though I have a Nokia phone, too, it's profoundly exclipsed by this lady's!

On a more serious note, I kept on observing and wondering about the utility of the trotsky. If only they got the drivers to go back to school and know the road signs; plus get some uniforms for good measure, a great number of Ghanaians would probably patronise it?

There are so many trotsky's in town, and I guess it's a reflection of the supply-and-demand associated with the choice of commuters to shun expensive "dropping" (chartered) of taxis, and opt for a mode of transport that would compromise their safety, and/but get them from A to B in the cheapest manner possible.

For that reason, I foresee that they'll be around for a while!

some site has compiled all of my transport stories here: http://www.wowzio.com/pulse/846201_ghana-transport

Taxi Tales: Of Men & Moral Ambiguities

The moral ambiguity that comes with not asking questions in a situation where the wrong thing is clearly being done is an article of the average Ghanaian's application of the law.

From tro-tros using the shoulder in traffic, to using illegal routes on the Tema motorway, you would be hard-pressed finding a Ghanaian who has not over-looked wrong-doing.

I am no exception!

Last Friday evening, I joined three others in a shared taxi to the Spintex Road--except that it was not a taxi. This taxi was a private-registered car, meaning that it had white number plates. This is one of the the beauties of commuting in Ghana--knowing how to identify either a private or commercial (yellow plate) car. I must confess that the car was rather comfortable, which is atypical to the usually-shared taxi that plies the Tema/Fridays/Baatsona route every day!

I, like the other three, said nothing because we all wanted to get home on time. We didn't call him--he did.

How could we have refused an offer like that?

And so the ambiguity continues...