As the Week Draws to a Close...Thoughts on Ghana's Housing Sector; Ghana's National ID Bill (Passed); Areeba Ghana's Mobile Internet (GPRS)

It was with a great degree of joy that last Saturday, I saw the Ghana's leading Daily Graphic lead with the front-page news that there has been a new boost in the housing sector, with the introduction of the so-called Red Sea Housing company, a Saudi-based company that produces pre-fabricated houses, going for between $10,000 and $12,000.

Whilst for a developing country, that price and its equivalent in cedis is rather prohibitive, it is conceivable that with the falling interest rates in the country, people can obtain loans from banks, and pay off the amount that way. Regrettably, there is also only one mortgage financing company in the country, called Home Finance Company , which enables one to purchase a house, with them providing 80 percent of the loan, whilst you provide 20% deposit.

Or so they claim.

When I actually called them last week, it emerged that they have a ceiling for the amount they can give you. This means that, say I want to buy a house that runs to the tune of $50,000, and my salary enables me to qualify me for the remaining 80% of the amount, I can actually only get 36% of the value of the house!!

This called into question the need to save more, which there is nothing against, but at least, it would help if they reflected this on the website!

SO it was yet again interesting to see that there is in existence--since 1956--a mortagage-financing inistitution called First Ghana Building Society, which offer you the FULL 80%--irrespective of the amount. They are making some serious inroads into the country, and from what one of the top-brass people there told me when I called them, they will by mid-next year become a fully-fledged mortgage financing company--and this is good.

If you look at the astronomical rates of the houses in this country, as exemplified by the capture of WAC Properties that I got, when Ghanaians say they are suffering, it is little wonder why they arrive at that conclusion.


wac properties capture 

Affordable housing is a prerogative of every citizen. It hell should be considered a human right!! The incumbent government likes to talk about a property-owning democracy. Whilst one can give them the credit that this a step, it's a step too little!

In my view, the housing problem in Ghana is less a problem and more of a situation. I think that experience has shown us that the human condition has a visceral desire to exploit a vaccum, since nature abhors one. It is therefore little wonder that not much is happening by way of regulation. Rent, for example, is often quoted in US dollars, and you have to pay a year--or sometimes, two--in advance!

This is not just speculation; I have done that twice since I started paying rent in 2004.

As regards National ID, like I intoned some weeks back, I grew up in a culture that imposed ID cards on you, so my view of the utility of it is refracted through that view.

Having said that, an article on Ghanaweb, by Ghana News agency entitled "National ID Card in the offing", reminds us that way back in 1972...

"The Acheampong regime promulgated the NRDC129 in 1972 that required citizens of Ghana aged 16 and above to be issued with identity cards. In 1973, national ID cards were issued to citizens in five boarder regions in the country including Volta, Northern, Upper, Brong Ahafo and parts of the Western Region. The project was discontinued three years later due to the lack of financial and logistic support. In 1987, the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) revisited the idea of national identity card and had been on the minds of policy makers to this day"

That one can be identified to me sounds reassuring, though the possibilities of another piece of legislation facilitating corrupt practises are not lost over me!

As for AREEBA Ghana, far be it for me to promote their GPRS, or Global Packet Radio System, which enables mobile internet (in all senses of the term), but I think it's woorking rather smoothly, which makes a change with Areeba's general provision of working telephony!

So I went on Tuesday 21 March, with the speed of light, to AREEBA's offices at 37 (so-called because that is where the military hospital 37 is located, as well as vehicle licensing, as well as the Lebanese-owned Max Mart that is treating its numerous workers with impunity, but that's another story...) to pay 50 thousand cedis, and get my phone connected to the GPRS network. Regrettably, multimedia messaging (MMS) is not working:-( so I have to go down there and sort it out.

This is the phone I use:

regrettably blurred picture of my SAGEM MyX-7 phone connecting to AREEBA Ghana's GPRS 

It is a French mark, and originally looks like this:

I tried to capture it for the blog connecting and receiving, but somehow my camera couldn't do it, so you will just have to wait for the short video of it connecting;-)

I can assure you that you see "connecting and receiving" at the bottom of the screen, and within seconds, you can see the AREEBA page. If I go through another way, I get to chose my own URL, by way of the bookmarks. Yahoo is the first. The others take quite a bit of time, and, by extension, considerably more units!

Thankfully, my phone now has "GPRS" permanently featured in the right-hand side of the screen.

My parent's NOKIA phone has been more problematic in the setting up. My Mum's had to go back to Areeba for a look-over. It is far less user-friendly, too. Ouch!! This is surprising as most Ghanaian mobile users utilise NOKIA, and it's frankly a common mark here than any of the other brands!!

The UK's Prospect Magazine has an article in last month's edition about digital exuberance. The crux of the article is about how "technologies of connectivity can threaten stability and community".

It holds, in my view, a degree of resonance with regard to ICTs like GPRS and their potential impact for development, but it is somoething I will broach on another day.

On a lighter note, I called CITI 97.3FM's Programme Manager Nii Amah Dagadu to ask him why two programmes were no longer coming on -- "Every Home", which airs on the station on Saturdays, and "Teen Page".

"Every Home", like CITI FM's "Question of Law" that is hosted by one Mac-Diamond Nyamerko-Amerko (spelling?) a lawyer with the Attorney General's department, with a penchant for most-things spiritual (he also hosts a Sunday religious programme on the same station called "Hotline to Heaven"), is an icredibly thought-provoking programme that discusses relationships (role of fathers, mothers, parents in self-esteem; relationship building--divorce, looking good, being there for partners, building self-esteem with partners, etc...). It is in sharp contrast with the "Sex in the Citi" programme I huffed and puffed about last year.

In any event, "Every Home" is airing tomorrow, and the "Question of Law" will no doubt be looking, as per usual, at the LEGAL aspects of the week's news.

As for "Teen Page", I understood that it was not doing well, so a new host has been found, and it is being "re-packaged".

It is interesting to note that when I asked about CITI-FM's excellent one-month programme of "Heritage Month", I discovered that due to a virus, the whole programme was erased, but thankfully, an organisation that records programmes of radio stations in Accra can be contacted to get the recordings from them. They are called "Steadman Media Monitoring".

Fancy that.

have a good weekend!!

Areeba on GPRS!!!

Ok, so the launch date is tomorrow--21 March--, but I called again today--just to be safe.

Here are the instructions:
1. your mobile phone needs to be GPRS-compatible, which makes sense!!
2. you pay 50K cedis, or approximately $US5.5 in order to have your mobile GPRS-compatible
3. units are dependent on size of information you get
4. every 100kilobytes will attract 6.5 units
5. once GPRS is activated, you can get MMS also, which enables you to send and receive videos and pictures by text.

Can't wait!!

you might as well, while you wait in expectation and palpitation, check out TIGO (it replaced BUZZ some two weeks ago under the moniker of "a new cellular experience"):Tigo Ghana's website

A Rainy and Windy Day in Accra...

The capital did not prepare for rain today. Most people felt it was going to be a sunny day, so this downpour was wholly unexpected. How accurate, then, are our meteorological services, I wonder??

In Response to Koranteng's Toli on Kwame Nkrumah, and His Redemption Thereof

By way of Global Voices, I came across an article written by Koranteng on his blog. Pls check the link on the title. Koranteng is a very well-educated man, and I appreciate the arguments he raised about Nkrumah, but his intimation that Nkrumah was a dictator, because he made Ghana a one-party state is too explicit to be subtle!

Let's face it: Nkrumah made some mistakes, because he was human--and not super-human, plus the fact that he was also a politician, and did some things that are wont of politicians, but a careful assessment of his accomplishments should not go unnoticed. This was my response on his blog:

"deeply alienated from significant portions of the Ghanaian populace" That is a serious fallacy. Nkrumah was a man of the people. Even JB Danquah, hailed as the doyen of Ghanaian politics, as much supported this when he said that "even if we fail you, Nkrumah won't."

I know this, not just because my paternal grandfather worked with the Nkrumah regime [as Minister of Works and Housing], but also because I have in front of me the book, published by the Socialist Forum here in Ghana, entitled "The Great Deception: The Role of the CIA and Rightwing forces in the overthrow of Nkrumah".

It contains de-classified documents by the CIA, with extracts of letters written by Nkrumah to the US government about his aspirations for Ghana, and by extension Pan-AFrican movement.

Not only that, but documentary evidence of the same JB Danquah going to the new US ambassador to Ghana demanding why his pay from the US government was not forthcoming!!!!

I feel the heat here in Ghana, because somehow, somewhere, the acceptance by both parties that Nkrumah was a great man, with all his flaws--the Preventive Detention Act of 1958 for example was deemed a mistake, but was used in equal measure by the British over Northern Ireland in the seventies -- is coming into form.

Both the NDC, and even the ruling NPP, have recently accepted that Nkrumah was a great man.

Finally, I do not think that you have to be a socialist to appreciate the magnitude of social development Nkrumah brought to Ghana. SO, statements like "the economy tanking under the weight of socialist central planning nostrums, trusting in the show of force represented by military support" that amazeddad makes isn't just fallacious, it is a great disservice to the memory of not just the founding father of Ghana, but ALSO of Pan-Africanism.

I must preface all this by saying that I am an amateur diplomatic historian by training, so the ideas over bias are not lost on me. To boot I challenge anyone to provide PROOF that Nkrumah can be likened to those dictators like Mobutu and Bokassa who seriously regressed Africa.

That’s my two cents, cheers!!

I must even also add that Nkrumah was not power-hungry for the sake of it: this was an intellectual, who had studied for his Ph.D, as well as Theology. He was an enlightened man, who made Ghana what it is today by encapsulating ALL manner of tribes within government. Compare that to the Rwandans, and other parts of Africa, where the ethnic divisions were accentuated to disasterous levels.

Ghana has never had that level of violence--except in the Northern region. Apart from coups in Ghana, have you, in Ghana's 49th years, ever heard of a civil war in Ghana even when JJ.Rawlings ruled the country in 20 years?

Please...

I'm Tired of These Arguments on Africa (Yawn)

 

“Making Poverty History?
By Nicholas Newman
Hi! Don’t you agree that just forgiving third world debt is not the solution to tackling the poverty suffered by the poor in the third world, which the rich and famous like Dawn French and Bono would have us believe?

All it will do is reward the money grabbing elites that misrule those countries. Angola and Nigeria are major oil and gas producers, but they remain large debtors. In Angola, Global Witness reports that a quarter of oil revenue is unaccounted for each year, and one in four children dies in infancy. The poor in those countries remain poor despite the oil wealth. Debt, by itself, is not the principal cause of poverty in many economically failing states, but bad governance, incompetence and corruption. “Ordinary citizens in oil producing states of Angola, Equatorial Guinea or Kazakhstan have no information on what is happening to that money" Gavin Hayman of Global Witness told the BBC's Today programme. "The international community spends $200m each year trying to feed one million people in Angola who are critically dependent on international food aid," said Mr Hayman.

"Now given that $1.5bn is going missing from the treasury, there is a lot more they could be doing for their citizens."

All debt forgiveness or rescheduling does is to delay the day when such countries will need to make the painful process to reform their economic, governmental and political systems. The 1996 World Bank Report argues “Aid may have unintentionally encouraged misrule that led to collapse and civil conflict”. Almost all civil governance and public development in Africa is paid for by foreign aid, enabling African despots to wage wars on their neighbours.

Ethiopia is a good example of a failed state, a country fashionably popular with our rich and famous. In 2004 AFP reports, this much troubled land bought a new fleet of Sukhoi SU-27 fighter planes and military helicopters, costing millions of dollars, while two million citizens remain dependent on humanitarian food aid. Marti Ahtisaari, the UN special envoy for the Humanitarian Crisis in the Horn of Africa, blames current Ethiopian government policies in two key areas environmental and population polices as the cause of the country’s cycle of catastrophes.

Did you know debt forgiveness or rescheduling increases the cost of future borrowing - as such a process worsens the credit rating of such a state. Indonesia has rescheduled three times and the cost of borrowing has gone up each time. That explains why many third world states including Laos and Vietnam are against such proposals reports the World Bank
.Debt forgiveness or rescheduling is unfair on those countries that have made the effort to pay off their debts like India and Russia; in fact Russia will become a net creditor in a few years time, notes the OECD. Incidentally, there is a strong correlation between states that meet their repayments and later long term strong financial performance.
According to the OECD, did you know that almost every African country has witnessed a systematic regression of economic capacity over the last 30 years? The majority had better economic capacity at independence than they now possess. This poor economic performance is due to many reasons including absence of incentives for the private sector, government control of the economy, and discouraging investment laws., and, of course, corruption.

Having a simple regime change is not the solution; all you will do is replace one corrupt, incompetent, money grubbing elite with another. What is needed is a cultural change through economic, political and governmental reform, which will encourage the majority to work hard to transform their country into a modern prosperous state.

The oft sited mantra ‘that the only solution is to let such countries solve their problems themselves’ is now wearing thin according to often exasperated experts in the aid industry.
It looks like countries like Kenya need outside pressure to force significant change. When President Mwai Kibaki was elected three years ago, he promised Western aid donors and end to corruption by appointing the Kenya's National Anti-Corruption Campaign. Instead, his government has continued the two traditions of African governments, continued as before while paying lip service to Aid donors. This body was kept chronically under funded and blocked at every turn and its steering committee has resigned in disgust reports the Kenya’s Standard earlier this month. This together with the allegations of the Kenyan government ministers involved in a series of dodgy procurement deals worth millions of dollars reports the Kenya’s Sunday Standard.

Whilst Kenya’s Standard complains that ‘The government’s credibility in the fight against corruption has been in freefall in recent weeks, following a barbed attack by British High Commissioner Sir Edward Clay. Mr. Clay’s statement was followed shortly thereafter by the withdrawal of funding for the government’s anti-graft effort by the United States government and, on Friday, (18 February, 2005) by the German government’. It looks like the West is learning, letting Africa solve its own problems does not work - a more hands on, project by project, approach is certainly needed.

Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Bush are right to encourage democracy as part of the solution to turning round such basket cases. Simply throwing more aid to prop up corrupt incompetent regimes who neglect their countries duties to develop their countries for the benefit of the majority of its citizens is not the answer.
Since many of these poor states are victims of their corrupt governments, one possible solution would be for the EU adopt Robert Wheelan Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) proposal. This proposes that the West should privatise the governance of such countries to EU approved multinationals to run such states under a profit sharing deal for a 21 year period, with the aim to rebuild, regenerate and develop these countries economies for the benefit of the majority of these countries citizens.

Somehow I don’t see Dawn French or her Vicar of Dibley persona starting a campaign to support Wheelan’s proposal?

 

From: http://oxfordprospect.blogspot.com/

 

This was my response: (whether he allowed posting of it or not is a moot point!):

 

Ever heard of the WTO, IMF, World Bank and their execrable policies inflicted on Africa?

 

I don't agree that debt is the panacea, but if the latter institutions stopped interfering in Africa and let it follow its on path, rather than predicating our existence on an aid-for-trade policy (<a href="http://www.epawatch.net">http://www.epawatch.net</a>), then Africa might just be the better for it.

 

Yes, there is corruption in Africa--as there is in the West, but, pls, I am surprised by your sheer tired-old arguments that even DFID are dropping;-)

 

You don't read the Daily Telegraph by any chance do you?;-)

 

24 February 1966--24 February 2006: Ghana's Day of Shame

On 24 Febraury, 1966, the first President of Ghana would be overthrown in a CIA-inspired coup whilst in Hanoi mediating peace. Today, 40 years later, Ghana remembers him.

I sent this text message to Bernard Avle's CITI FM Breakfast Show on Ghana's 97.3FM band:

ROPAB , a law to compel external ghanaians 2 vote was passed on eve of 40th anniversary of a coup that involved external forces 2 remove Nkrumah. Is the irony lost over you?--emmanuel, spintex

The host, Bernard Avle, regrettably, made a sarcastic comment: where do the{y} get these from?

He did say one thing right: "this text was sent by one of our keen listeners".

2.02pm update: I just gave Avle a call, and he said that the Minister (Apraku--Miinister for Regional Integration and Nepad who was there waiting for the programme INSIDE POLITICS) chuckled at what was perceived to be a discerning comment. Avle admitted to now seeing the jocular side. My point was not that the NPP administration passed the ROPAB deliberately on the eve of the fortieth anniversary of the 66 coup, but that irrespective of whether it was a coincidence or not, the IRONY was there! Good to have clarified things!!

More of the Same: Ruminations & Reflections of a Constitutional

--{picture shows yours truly taking our first pet dog PHOENIX for a walk just minutes walk from our house in the suburbs in Belgium. It was a summer day way back in 2003, hence the shades. Mum took this picture as I was just about to walk into the path that leads to the front door of our house}

As I proceeded on my habitual constitutional this morning with my pet dog Fenix, I came across the girl of FCUBE, not ICE Cube fame. I asked her whether she was ok; she said yes, thankyou. And as always, she was ever-so-polite. She was carrying something on her head in a big bowl through the dusty area that is just outside these Manetville gates.

In a manner reminiscent of september 2005, when I asked her about her attendance to school now that it is free--thanks to FCUBE--she said that tomorrow, her Mum was going to find out about attendance for her. "That's good!" I added eagerly and walked on. Maybe she said it for my benefit, but whatever the case, it won't be the last time I ask her:-) How can after five months or so since Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE), mooted by Minister of Sports and Education Osafo-Maafo, this girl not been spotted by authorities who ply that route and her asked what she is doing not at school?

In so many ways, one of the reasons for the absence lately has not just been a busier work schedule, but also because of, well, more of the same.

In other words, last year around this time ( http://www.clubgh.com/showart.asp?art=707&cat=1), petroleum prices had gone up.

They went up a few days ago.

A couple of weeks ago, the so-called National Petroleum Authority (NPA)--established to ostensibly regulate fuel prices--brought the prices down, so there we were not expecting this increase at all. Thankfully, as the cover of today's Daily Graphic reports, the minimum wage has gone up so as to cushion workers from the increases:
The new wage is now ç16,000, "an increase of 18.52 per cent over the previous wage of ç13,500."

Swell.

Yesterday, there was a demonstration (second) orchestrated on the most-part by the minority-led NDC over ROPAB, over Representation of the People's Amendment Bill, that went rather down south in the sense that there was some scuffle, and, regrettably, some violence, which some observers claim was initiated by young police officers.

The truth is in between somewhere there, I guess:-)

While demonstrations to get your spleen vented are all well and good, predicting that they will always go smoothly is a bad idea, cos given the human condition, someone is always bound to take advantage and do something atypical to the pacific nature of the demo.

All that being said, Accra has been polarized for the past couple of weeks over the passing or not of the ROPAB, which would, in effect, give voting rights to those Ghanaian residents overseas. While most Western countries have applied this voting times for as long as I can remember, it is not something that is of great necessity to Ghana at the moment. It only engenders the idea that the incumbent NPP government want to use it as a way of consolidating at best, at worst rigging, future elections.

A good thing that could come out of it is the decision to issue National ID cards--something that appeaars to be anathema to those in the UK, but not those in Belgium. Belgium, like many other EU and Schengen countries issue ID cards. As far back as 1980, when Dad went over to Belgium to prepare to work there at African, Caribbean, Pacific (ACP) Group of States, and prepare the coming over of my Mum, my elder brother, Samuel, and myself -- a tiny tot of 3.5 years old -- he was faced with having to register my brother and I not just in the commune, but having cards issued for us detailing our nationality, occupation, etc.

SO, in short, it's something we, the Bensah family at least, are conversant with and used to. In so many ways, I think it helps organise society in a far better way that with the use of just passports, driving licenses, or voting cards---which are the three requirements of ID here in Ghana. Whether or not society has to be "organised" at all is another debate for another day!

I understand that at the moment, the UK govt, under Blair, {mmm, when will it be under Gordon Brown I wonder?:-) } will be debating it in parliament. Actually, according to this article: (Defence expert undermines Blair on safety of ID cards) , Blair wants to "introduce compulsory ID cards and give ministers powers to order all motorists to replace their driving licence with a new one requiring a biometric ID card".

This is not sitting very well with campaigners against ID cards, who are claiming that "In light of the numerous inconsistencies and conflicts that have emerged, serious unanswered concerns that remain, project dynamics that are dysfunctional and potential outcomes that may be harmful to the public interest we can now no longer support even the principle of an identity scheme owned and operated by the Home Office."[from: http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/pressAndInformationOffice/newsAndEvents/archives/2006/IDCard_StatusReportJan06.htm

And I don't blame them. That the use of biometric data is being peddled as one of the ways of reducing terrorism, and by extension the introduction of ID cards are an unwitting way of getting biometric data on ID cards, suggest seriously that something wrong is afoot. The terrorism card is being held up too explicitly for comfort.

I do not quite think that the small, developing democracy that is Ghana has quite got to that level of sophistication, but I would not be surprised in any way that if Ghanaians dug deeper, we would not find something rather rotten at the core, that could involve our so-called "international" (donor) partners.

Right now, I have AKOSOMBO Blues. AFter having experienced views as verdant and breathtaking as the ones here, how can I not??:-)

Redemption Song: Let's Push for the Black Stars to Win in 2008

“emancipate yourself from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our mind…”

 

So. Bob Marley would have turned 61 this month, and the Egyptians are bringing the cup –er—home. They did do well, winning on penalties of 4-II to Cote d’Ivoire.

 

Frankly, I was disappointed. I do not consider Egyptians Africans in the TRUEST sense So imbued have they been by the US’s influence and – dare I say it – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s Western proclivities, coupled with their fairer colour that gives them an air of superiority over Black Africans, I have, for some time now, dismissed them.

 

Racist?

 

Maybe.

 

It is a shame really, because this is a country whose (historical) leader – Gamal Abdel Nasser – remains one of my heroes for the manner in which 50 years ago this October, he unwittingly exposed the duplicitous and perfidious actions of Britain and France  (and Israel) over the Suez Crisis of 1956. Watch out for more on this as October approaches.

 

To be fair, the Egyptians played a good game, and their player’s tactics – from a non-pundit perspective – appeared very well-executed. The Ivorians, undoubtedly, played a very strong game, also. To have sustained a score line of nil-nil up until the end, be given 12 minutes of over-time, yet still maintain the same score line (bar a very close goal by Egypt that was apparently disallowed) speaks volumes of the nail-biting intensity – not to mention drama – of this most auspicious game.

 

Speculation is not rife at all about our performance in 2008, but I am hoping over hope that since the Egyptians – as host of the CAN 2006 – won (let’s face it, the thousands of fans/supporters had some impact on the Egyptian player’s psyche and motivation) so will Ghana, also, as host of CAN 2008 win it for the country for its fifth time, as well.

 

Of course, the syllogism of this argument is hardly twenty-twenty, but since we are a nation that likes to pray for everything, why don’t we give this whimsical syllogism a run for its money?:-)

 

While the Black Star’s performance in CAN 2006 was frankly nothing to write home about, (I called it execrable in an earlier entry), I also believe with consistent training, coupled with single-mindedness, we can re-deem ourselves as the eponymous Black Stars of Africa.

 

 

FW: BIRD FLU OUTBREAK IN NIGERIA SHOWS AFRICA AT HIGH RISK FROM DISEASE - UN AGENCY

Scary stuff…

 

-----Original Message-----
From: news11-admin@list.un.org [mailto:news11-admin@list.un.org] On Behalf Of UNNews@un.org
Sent: mercredi 8 février 2006 17:01
To: news11@list.un.org
Subject: BIRD FLU OUTBREAK IN NIGERIA SHOWS AFRICA AT HIGH RISK FROM DISEASE - UN AGENCY

 

BIRD FLU OUTBREAK IN NIGERIA SHOWS AFRICA AT HIGH RISK FROM DISEASE - UN AGENCY

New York, Feb  8 2006 12:00PM

An outbreak of the deadly bird flu virus in Nigeria shows that the rest of Africa is in danger from the disease, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000226/index.html">FAO) warned today, calling for urgent action to stop the spread of the virus.

 

FAO said in a statement that along with the World Organization for Animal Health it would now send veterinary experts to the West African country to assess the situation and examine how the virus got there.

 

“The outbreak in Kaduna state in Northern Nigeria proves that no country is risk-free and that we are facing a serious international crisis,” said Samuel Jutzi, Director of FAO’s Animal Production and Health Division.

 

“If the situation in Nigeria gets out of control, it will have a devastating impact on the poultry population in the region, it will seriously damage the livelihoods of millions of people and it will increase the exposure of humans to the virus,” Mr. Jutzi added.

 

Nigeria has an important commercial poultry sector and millions of backyard poultry farmers. The poultry population is estimated at 140 million.

 

The origins of the spread are not yet known. “It remains unclear if the outbreak has been triggered by migratory birds or by the trade and movement of poultry or poultry products,” said Joseph Domenech, FAO Chief Veterinary Officer.

 

The Rome-based agency urged veterinary services in Nigeria to eliminate the outbreaks through immediate humane culling and to strictly control the movement of people and animals to and from places contaminated with bird flu. It said it would also send two local experts to the affected region to advise authorities there on control measures.

 

Transparency, rapid interventions and close collaboration with the international community are crucial to stop the spread of the virus, FAO added.

 

“We are aware that veterinary services in Nigeria are in need of international support. The animal health infrastructure in the country is facing a big challenge and will require outside assistance,” Mr. Domenech said. Laboratory materials for diagnosis and protective equipment for veterinarians undertaking investigation are urgently required.

During the last two years, several countries have reported outbreaks of avian influenza caused by the H5N1 virus in people, and close to 100 have died, most of them in Viet Nam. In addition more than 140 million chickens have been slaughtered in an effort to contain the disease.

So far, the virus has only spread from infected animals to humans, but the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that it could change into a form that spreads easily from person to person, triggering an influenza pandemic that could kill tens of millions of people worldwide.

Last month, donors pledged $1.9 billion to fight the spread of the disease, and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for a massive, coordinated international response to the virus.

 2006-02-08 00:00:00.000

 

 

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Ghana in Mourning...Over the Black Stars

I have never been a football pundit, and I do not profess to be one at any time soon.

But, in all honesty, the monumental cock-up displayed by my country’s national team – the Black Stars – donning ominous black attire for the fateful game that saw them being whipped by two goals to one by the Zimbabwean team two days ago, has to be the greatest expression of bad football I have seen in a long time.

At least, that is the general (national) consensus, coming from the pundits.

Another school of thought is saying that the fact that few of the very good players –- an injured Stephen Appiah was there, fine – being there (notably Chelsea’s Michael Essien; Sulley Montarey(sp); Laryea Kingston (who earned a four-match ban during the Senegal-Ghana game last week); to name but three) were present was sufficient to warrant such a failure, sending our boys back home with their tails between their legs.

Having a BMW, and $18,000 spare cash waiting quietly from the qualification to the World Cup a few months back is not bad, though;-)

Whatever the case may be a substantial number of pundits and non-pundits alike are calling for the head of the Serbian coach Djukovic.

Perhaps AFRICATODAY.com presaged this when it wrote in the January edition: “Ghana has never won the cup with an expatriate coach”.


Serious mental pabulum!

Back on the 31st January

 

I’m off – with all members of staff—to an organisational/institutional retreat an hour outside the capital (beautiful, lush, by-the-sea) for a few days.

 

I doubt I will be blogging, though I will be thinking about it;-)

 

Till then!

 

 

Oh!! Nigeria 1 - Ghana 0

Nigeria scores at the 85^th minute!!! Ghana’s defence was execrable, according to all accounts. Leaving Ghana’s goalkeeper—Sammy Agyei— alone from the Nigerian striker Tawu(sp?) George Mensah’s defence considered “lousy”.

 

OuchL

 

Now Ghana is to play Senegal Friday.

 

Thanks, DSTV for feeding into CITI-FM97.3—even though your rates are still too prohibitive—3million cedis/month!!

 

Double ouch!!

 

Adjei has just saved a goal

It’s 3.50pm GMT, and Ghana 0, Nigeria 0. Listening to commentary (BBC feed?) on CITI 97.3FM. Port Said…is the place at the African Cup of Nations, in Egypt…

 

 

Ghana drawn in Group E (World Cup) in Italy, US, Czech Republic. “Difficult, difficult group for Ghanaians” says commentator…

 

Commentator is praising Appiah and Essien for having qualified Ghana to world cup.

 

3.52pm Ghana has a free kick…

 

Matthew Amoah plays an “outstanding” free kick…”Ghana coming close…” says commentator

 

4.10pm “breath-taking first half” says Zelda Kpoku, of citi-fm97.3 sports desk…

 

Half time!!

 

 

 

As the Week Draws to a Close...Thoughts on the late Lumumba, Politics, CAN 2006, Black Stars

I am immensely disheartened by the fact that the 45^th anniversary of the assassination of Patrice Lumumba practically went un-noticed. Why? Just because we are not Congolese, so it doesn’t matter? And why are the Congolese bloggers (if any they may be) writing about it?

 

For a strange reason, Global Voices, which usually picks up my posts, and feeds it into its summaries, did not cover it AT ALL.

 

Was there a political motive/reason behind this? Are those who write the summaries for Global Voices not also imbued by certain prejudices that may make them deliberately, or unwittingly, not cover the issue?

 

Or are we waiting a good fifty years—five years from now-in 2011 before we celebrate fifty years of the man’s assassination, when the consciousness needs to build now?

 

As for politics, that over pre-dominates the media landscape in Ghana, it has gone down a bit for the past few days, to be replaced by Ghanaian fears as to whether Ghana’s Black Stars can bring the cup from the CAN (African Cup of Nations) home.

 

Yesterday, there was some interesting analysis by the softly-spoken-British-accented football analyst (Nana Agyeman, lately working for CITI-FM’s Saturday programme “Final Whistle”) of Metro TV, hosted by Paul Adom-Otchere (CITI-FM news presenter-cum-lawyer), about the Black Stars, and why Chelsea’s Michael Essien probably did not want to come to CAN 2006 (hosted in Egypt: http://www.egypt2006.com.eg/english/

) because he is a player of international repute who does not need to show his calibre at CAN, which usually serves as a platform for up-and-coming footballers.

 

On the diplomatic front, the First Lady of the US—Laura Bush—was in town a few days ago to emphasize the point that Ghana is one of the countries’ that has a high AIDS-rate, which is TOTALLY untrue. Ours is falling considerably. Colleagues were saying that our President did very badly in not saying anything, allowing Bush’s wife to connect HIV AIDS to the country as if to say the country was HIV – AIDS-ridden. Here are some pictures of the meeting: http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/photo.day.php?ID=97602, taken by Kwasi Kpodo. It revealed Bush’s daughter (I guess it’s not the one who had the drink problem) looking very, very personable. Yum!

 

I wouldn’t put it past Barbara Bush, Laura’s daughter, that she’s wondering why all those darkies are looking at her like that. From the pictures, it appears Ghanaians were not that enamoured!

 

In any event Bush transited through Ghana to attend the inauguration of the election of the first African female Head of State to be elected on the continent. Days earlier, down in Chile, South America, a very good-looking Dr. Bachelet – also a lady – had just won elections and awaiting inauguration as the first female Head of State on the continent.

 

Ghanaians are holding their breath for Ghana’s game against Nigeria on 23 January.

 

Let’s see whether Ghana can re-claim itself from the drip-drip of complacency that had been created as a result of qualification for the World Cup a few months back!

 

Have a good weekend!

 

 

This Man Must Not be Forgotten

Were it not for history's capacity to conciliate egregious actions of yore committed against the African continent, Africa would continue to be a continent very much at war, with a people remaining fiercely racist.

Looking back 45 years to the Cold War – a tense confrontation that pitched two superpowers of US and USSR on the brink of war – the assassinations, both successful and attempted, that abounded from Congo’s Lumumba in 1961 to US’s Kennedy in 1963, and Ghana’s Nkrumah in 1966 is sufficient to perpetually enrage the psyche of Africans.

It is not enough to have endured the slave trade of the nineteenth century, which in a UN-sponsored conference on racism in 2001, Western powers refused to give reparations for, but to be consistently dictated to, and be consistently denied the continent’s capacity to industrialise, by way of execrable trade policies that progressively hurt and hinder its development in the twenty-first century when Africa has a collective wherewithal to fend for itself, beggars belief that Africa continues to do business with those who suppressed and killed our ancestor’s souls two centuries ago.

Fine, Africans were equally bribed and corrupted to exact that degree of calamity on the continent, but that does not do away the glaring fact of their objective: throw the so-called Dark Continent into ever-more obscurity, by reducing it to one merely for extraction of minerals and resources.

It is one of the reasons why that anger has compelled me to write this biting tribute to Patrice Lumumba who, ostensibly inspired by Ghana’s Nkrumah, failed to muster sufficient support from those whom he felt could assist – the United Nations and the Russians – to rescue him from a fate worse than the proverbial death: the cutting up of his body and dissolving into acid just because he dared to speak the truth about the atrocities that the Belgians had visited on his country.

Today, I say SHAME to Belgium for having killed this man, and SHAME to the US for having had a President under the name of Eisenhower who ordered his death because of the distorted view that the man, fighting for his country, was a Communist.
.

Water, Water, Nowhere! (World Cup arrives in Ghana!)

I woke up yesterday to a horrible reality that the water in my tank had run out. I took it in my stride. The next best thing would just be to go buy pure water (sachet) and use that to do the things I needed to do. I was praying that it would be a temporary situation--and thank God, it was!

But to say nothing of the frustration that I felt just to see that only drops--yes drops! -- of water were dripping down into the bucket made me saw the proverbial red. Hearing on the news that the water company, Ghana Water Comany Limited (GWCL), had caused a considerable amount of confusion in many other parts of Accra, because of an apparent fault in the system outside Accra, near a place called Weija, did nothing to my rising frustration.

Ghana Water Company expects us to pay water bills every month--as you do--yet are not willing to fulfill their social contract by providing sufficient water to people. To boot, they have the audacity to go round publishing in the papers that they will conduct mass disconnection exercises.

Reports on the news (ofcourse it had to be CITI FM's Breakfast Show with Bernard Avle) indicated that as far away as Teshie-Nungua, people's water was so scant in distribution, as it were, that people were compelled either to travel very far (expensive travelling) to go fetch water, or use pure water. The problem with this is that it is expensive on both counts.

The other side of the coin, and one which I very much espouse, is that in the wake of the November decision to bring in the very dodgy South African company, as well as a Dutch company to ostensibly manage Ghana's water and (effective privatisation), earn salaries in excess of 10 million euros for the management, speaks volumes of something rather monstrous that is afoot: forcing Ghanaians to believe that an inefficiency in the water company is so grave and acute that privatisation is justified!!

News yesterday on TV3 news indicated that CAMEROON has privatised its water.

---

RandWater Vitens win bid for Ghana Water Company Limited
Credit: Saint Doe Tamakloe (CITI NEWS)

Tuesday, 15 November 2005

Government has announced that it would sign a technical agreement with the two bidders for the management of the Ghana Water Company Limited, Randwater of South Africa and Vitens of Holland who have put in a joint bid for the management of the company.

Minister for Works and Housing, Hon. Hackman Owusu Agyeman made this revelation when he took his turn at the meet the press series in Accra on Tuesday.

Mr. Owusu Agyemang said that the 10million Euro contract is approved by the World Bank and expressed the hope that it would bring some managerial expertise to the National Utilities provider.

As per the arrangement for the management takeover of the Ghana Water Company Limited, about six hundred workers were billed to be laid off which formed part of the campaign against the move by the coalition against the privatization of water.

However, Mr. Owusu Agyeman revealed that contrary to the earlier reservations about the repercussions of the lay offs, about 1500 employees of the company agreed to voluntarily leave the water company and explained that the this was due to the professional manner in which the situation was handled.

It is however expected that the Coalition against the Privatization of Water led by firebrand advocate, Mr. Gyekye Tandoh of the Third World Network, would hold a press briefing to indicate their position on this new development and their next line of action.

from: http://www.ghananewstoday.com/portal/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=2357&Itemid=37

---

Some good news is that the World Cup is in the country, with Ghana being one of the priviledged first countries to see it.

On the water front, the problem is far from resolved; many people remain still without water, with accounts of people having to travel as far as Paloma (in the centre of the capital) before obtaining some.

Now ask yourself whether this is not a sleight-of-hand by the water company to force privatisation on denizens?

More Vignettes of Christmas in Accra

At the I-Net internet cafe in the A&C mall this evening, doing some work for the office wouldja believe...!! and ofcourse, having some fun to boot:-) )

More of the Spintex Road. The authorities--whoever they may be--did little to create the Christmassey feel. At least, that "OPTIMUM THERAPY" could have had some Christmas lights. Honestly!!


Is that red garden chair going to a party? Only in Ghana!! Incidentally, only a ubiquitous van like this, with the characteristic yellow number plate (indicating public transport), would dare to do something like this...I took this on the Spintex Road, on Christmas day, in my parents' car as we cruised into the capital.

A Vignette of Christmas in Accra

Sort of.

The picture to the left was taken at A&C Shopping Mall a few days ago.

Would just like to say that despite Accra not looking very "christmassey", people, pls, I exhort all of you--in particular, ELSA, to have a STUPENDOUS Christmas and a joyous new year!

Many thanks to all those who cruised in on this blog. Will see you next year!

lots of hugs,
Emmanuel

I'm Getting Some Good News from Hong Kong

News coming in from my colleagues in Hong Kong are indicating that the WTO talks are going to present to us another failure.

This is most endearing news. The developing countries got bigger and more proactive.

Finally.

More grease to the Third World, I say!

check this article out: New Power Bloc Emerges.

The Future of West African Regional Banking is Here!

The article in Nigeria’s Daily Trust newspaper of November 24 suggests that the West African landscape is undergoing a revolution. Forget ECOBANK, which is not going anywhere anytime soon, but watch out for First ECOBANK. According to the article, this will revolutionise the West African banking area, with the merger of three banks. What is most exciting is this—that the bank aims to “be one of the largest end most diversified banking groups in Africa with assets of over $5.5 billion and over 470 branches and offices across 15 countries in West and Central Africa, a subsidiary in the United Kingdom and a representative office in South Africa.”

 

Rock on West Africa!!

 

 

First Bank, Ecobank to Become First Ecobank

Daily Trust (Abuja)
NEWS
November 24, 2005
Posted to the web November 28, 2005

By Adelenwa Bamgboye

First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and Ecobank Nigeria Plc Tuesday signed a combination agreement setting out the framework and timeline for the completion of what would be the largest indigenous cross-border banking combination in Sub-Sahara Africa.

The marriage of the three institutions which would give birth to First EcoBank plc with the elephant logo of the FirstBank would operate in 15 countries in the West African sub-region.

The agreement calls for Ecobank Nigeria and Ecobank Trans-national Incorporated, the parent company of the Ecobank Group to be listed prior to the completion of the combination which will take place in the third quarter of 2006.

Upon completion, Business Trust gathered that the future potential of the combined group will be one of the largest end most diversified banking groups in Africa with assets of over $5.5 billion and over 470 branches and offices across 15 countries in West and Central Africa, a subsidiary in the United Kingdom and a representative office in South Africa.

Alhaji Mutallab, chairman of First Bank said the Bank looks forward to the combination as a vehicle for better meeting the needs of the African private sector and for developing products for the consumer, SME and microfinance sectors.

Omo-Obe Odimeyo, chairman of Ecobank Nigeria in his remark said "we are elated with this combination from which our shareholders and employees should derive optimal value."

Ecobank Nigeria will be fully capitalised before the end of the year in order to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) minimum capital requirement and will be subsequently listed in the first quarter of 2006 on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

In line with its regional identity, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated will be listed in the second quarter of 2006 on the three regional stock exchanges in West Africa namely the Ghana Stock Exchange in Accra, the Bourse Regionale de Valeurs Mobilisers (BRVM) in Abidjan and the Nigeria Stock Exchange.

	Copyright © 2005 Daily Trust. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).

From: http://allafrica.com/stories/200511280735.html