Features
The outcome of the NPP National Executives Election and the daunting or difficult task ahead of the party
As a normal routine, every Tuesday of the week which is a market day at the Korle-Gonno Tuesday Market in Accra in my vicinity, I never missed going there myself as a bachelor to buy my assorted fruits such as oranges, water melon, pineapples, sugarcane, apples, mangoes among others which I normally relied upon to keep my body fresh, lively and active. Trust me, ever since I started consuming these fruits, I hardly complained of sickness, even though I regularly visited my health providers for routine check-ups.
SHORTAGE OF FOOD ITEMS AND WHAT IT MEANS TO GHANAIANS
The last time I went to this market to buy my fruits, I had the shock of my life, as this market which was normally booming with fruits, foodstuffs and other assorted wares, was completely short of these items with some market women around, complaining bitterly about how things were negatively going on in this country and how their families were affected in their daily living conditions.
Being a senior and experienced journalist who was curious to know more, I spoke to a few of them around to know what had necessitated the shortage of these items on the market this time round. As if they were trained economists, they told me bluntly that the general bad economic conditions that had affected petroleum products, had prevented most of the people who transported these foodstuffs and other food items from the hinterland to the marketing centres for sale to consumers. It will interest my readers to know that I spent thrice more than what I normally used, to purchase these fruits which were dear to me in my routine daily meal. I can tell you that the situation I met at the Korle-Gonno Tuesday Market, will definitely cut across the various markets in most cities of the country.
RELATING THE EMPTY MARKET TO THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY
Such is the terrible economic challenges in which Ghanaians find themselves at the moment with the terrible high cost of living, shortage of goods, services and food items, constant depreciation of the cedi against the dollar, high inflation, excessive borrowing and spending, debt ratio escalating, opulence and extravagant way of living by government appointees among others. No doubt we are in difficult times in the history of our country and we have to run to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to seek a bailout. But all is not lost yet, with the Almighty God on our side, we have to fight and extricate ourselves from these economic challenges and together, help build our dear nation into a formidable force for generation unborn.
I have decided to deviate a bit from the topic I have chosen to write on just to let my readers understand the arduous task ahead of the new national executives elected by the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) who are expected to be in office for the next four years to help the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo/Alhaji Mahammadu Bawumia administration to move the country out of the present economic challenges in order to position the party to fight for the next election to fulfil the party’s much touted agenda, “Breaking the Eight”.
The NPP on Saturday, July 16, 2022. came out from a successful National Delegates Conference at the Accra Sports Stadium which saw the party electing a new crop of officers to steer it affairs for the next four years. God being so good, there was no nasty incident to mar the beauty of the conference which was attended by delegates drawn from all over the 16 regions of the country. It was a nice display of party paraphernalia with President Akufo-Addo and his Vice, Alhaji Bawumia in attendance.
NEW NATIONAL EXECUTIVES OF NPP
By midnight, the over 6,000 delegates had cast their ballots to elect new executives they think can help propel the party to greater heights. Those elected are, Mr Stephen Ntim, National Chairman, Mr Danquah Smith Buttey, First Vice Chairman, Madam Rita Asobayire, Second Vice Chairperson, Alhaji Masawudu Osman, Third Vice Chairman, Lawyer Justin Frimpong Koduah, General Secretary, Lawyer Henry Nana Boakye (Nana B), National Organizer, Ms Kate Gyamfua, Women Organiser, Abdul Aziz Haruna Futah, Nasara Coordinator, Mr Salam Mohammed Mustafa, Youth Organizer and Dr. Charles Dwamena, Treasurer.
It was a tough contest, especially, in the case of the national chairman and the general secretary positions. Mr. Stephen Ntim, after five attempts within 20 years has finally won the chairmanship, having defeated strong contenders such as Mr Stephen Asamoah Boateng, Mr Kwabena Abankwa-Yeboah among others. The former General Secretary, Mr John Buadu, who was tipped to retain his position, lost painfully to Lawyer Justin Frimpong Koduah.
AMENDING THE CRACKS AND DIVISIONS WITHIN THE PARTY
Now that the elections are over and the executives have been sworn-in, it is the wish and desire of many Ghanaians and, indeed, the ardent supporters of the NPP that the cracks and divisions that have been created as a result of the elections which did not favour supporters of some of the contestants, will be amended to unite the rank and file of members to prosecute the agenda the party has set for itself. It is so painful to lose your candidate considering the amount of campaign you have put in for that person. However, in every election, there is bound to be a winner and a loser and that has been the beauty of the game. No one can cry over spilt milk and in every human institution, there are some of these infractions that is why the losers must quickly put the past behind them and team up with the winners for the progress of the party.
It is a fact that the new executives have a difficult task of healing the wounds created as a result of this election by uniting the rank and file of the party members and supporters alike. They have to support the government to put in place sound and pragmatic economic policies within the shortest possible time to restore the loss of confidence most Ghanaians have developed for the Akufo-Addo- led administration as the country prepare for the 2024 general election. The government is also expected to open its doors to the new executives for dialogue and consultation because they are on the ground and, therefore, feel the pulses of the grassroots who will in the future, determine the fate of the party come 2024.
ENSURING THAT THE RIGHT LEADER IS CHOSEN
It is also a paramount duty of the new executives to ensure that the right of person is chosen to lead the party in the 2024 presidential election. Already, names are being bandied around for the leadership position. That is very important because any attempt to compromise their position on the flagbearer, will deepen the woes of the party and affect it badly in the next election. They have to ensure a fair playing ground in the parliamentary primaries to choose competent and well- groomed candidates for the general election in 2024.
The year 2024, is a bit far from now to assess the chances of any political party in the upcoming election, but the various afrobarometer surveys by research institutions and pollsters so far conducted across the country, indicated that the majority of Ghanaians were not comfortable with the ruling NPP when it came to the next election. According to findings from some of these researches, “the economy is not moving in the right direction, hence the high cost of living and general economic hardships among the people.” They claimed the fact that we had run to the International Monetary Fund for a bailout, clearly indicated that the Akufo-Addo/ Bawumia-led administration had disappointed Ghanaians and that they could not manage the country well. To the majority of Ghanaians, if election is to be conducted today or anytime soon, the NPP will lose massively.
AFROBAROMETER REPORT AND REACTION FROM PRESIDENT
However, President Akufo-Addo in his address to the NPP National Delegates Conference, dispelled the claim that the party was not doing well. According to him, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine accounted for the present economic challenges in the country. He said the party was going to negotiate a good deal with the IMF,a deal that would allow the government to build a sound economy that would take the country out of the difficult economic challenges.
Time is, indeed, running fast and we are just a little over two years to our next general election to elect a new President since the mandate of President Akufo-Addo is coming to an end. He has a difficult task to leave a good and sound legacy to his successor in view of the present state of the economy. However, we hope that things will change rapidly in the shortest possible time.
BY CHARLES NEEQUAYE
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0277753946/0248933366
Features
Tears of Ghanaman, home and abroad
The typical native of Sikaman is by nature a hospitable creature, a social animal with a big heart, a soul full of the milk of earthly goodness, and a spirit too loving for its own comfort.
Ghanaman hosts a foreign pal and he spends a fortune to make him very happy and comfortable-good food, clean booze, excellent accommodation and a woman for the night.
Sometimes the pal leaves without saying a “thank you but Ghanaman is not offended. He’d host another idiot even more splendidly. His nature is warm, his spirit benevolent. That is the typical Ghanaian and no wonder that many African-Americans say, “If you haven’t visited Ghana. Then you’ve not come to Africa.
You can even enter the country without a passport and a visa and you’ll be welcomed with a pot of palm wine.
If Ghanaman wants to go abroad, especially to an European country or the United States, it is often after an ordeal.
He has to doze in a queue at dawn at the embassy for days and if he is lucky to get through to being interviewed, he is confronted by someone who claims he or she has the power of discerning truth from lie.
In short Ghanaman must undergo a lie-detector test and has to answer questions that are either nonsensical or have no relevance to the trip at hand. When Joseph Kwame Korkorti wanted a visa to an European country, the attache studied Korkorti’s nose for a while and pronounced judgment.
“The way I see you, you won’t return to Ghana if I allow you to go. Korkorti nearly dislocated her jaw; Kwasiasem akwaakwa. In any case what had Korkorti’s nose got to do with the trip?
If Ghanaman, after several attempts, manages to get the visa and lands in the whiteman’s land, he is seen as another monkey uptown, a new arrival of a degenerate ape coming to invade civilized society. He is sneered at, mocked at and avoided like a plague. Some landlords abroad will not hire their rooms to blacks because they feel their presence in itself is bad business.
When a Sikaman publisher landed overseas and was riding in a public bus, an urchin who had the impudence and notoriety of a dead cockroach told his colleagues he was sure the black man had a tail which he was hiding in his pair of trousers. He didn’t end there. He said he was in fact going to pull out the tail for everyone to see.
True to his word he went and put his hand into the backside of the bewildered publisher, intent on grabbing his imaginary tail and pulling it out. It took a lot of patience on the part of the publisher to avert murder. He practically pinned the white miscreant on the floor by the neck and only let go when others intervene. Next time too…
The way we treat our foreign guests in comparison with the way they treat us is polar contrasting-two disparate extremes, one totally incomparable to the other. They hound us for immigration papers, deport us for overstaying and skinheads either target homes to perpetrate mayhem or attack black immigrants to gratify their racial madness
When these same people come here we accept them even more hospitably than our own kin. They enter without visas, overstay, impregnate our women and run away.
About half of foreigners in this country do not have valid resident permits and was not a bother until recently when fire was put under the buttocks of the Immigration Service
In fact, until recently I never knew Sikaman had an Immigration Service. The problem is that although their staff look resplendent in their green outfit, you never really see them anywhere. You’d think they are hidden from the public eye.
The first time I saw a group of them walking somewhere, I nearly mistook them for some sixth-form going to the library. Their ladies are pretty though.
So after all, Sikaman has an Immigration Service which I hear is now alert 24 hours a day tracking down illegal aliens and making sure they bound the exit via Kotoka International. A pat on their shoulder.
I am glad the Interior Ministry has also realised that the country has been too slack about who goes out or comes into Sikaman.
Now the Ministry has warned foreigners not to take the country’s commitment to its obligations under the various conditions as a sign of weakness or a source for the abuse of her hospitality.
“Ghana will not tolerate any such abuse,” Nii Okaija Adamafio, the Interior Minister said, baring his teeth and twitching his little moustache. He was inaugurating the Ghana Refugee and Immigration Service Boards.
He said some foreigners come in as tourists, investors, consultants, skilled workers or refugees. Others come as ‘charlatans, adventurers or plain criminals. “
Yes, there are many criminals among them. Our courts have tried a good number of them for fraud and misconduct.
It is time we welcome only those who would come and invest or tour and go back peacefully and not those whose criminal intentions are well-hidden but get exposed in due course of time.
This article was first published on Saturday March 14, 1998
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Features
Decisions have consequences
In this world, it is always important to recognise that every action or decision taken, has consequences.
It can result in something good or bad, depending on the quality of the decision, that is, the factors that were taken into account in the decision making.
The problem with a bad decision is that, in some instances, there is no opportunity to correct the result even though you have regretted the decision, which resulted in the unpleasant outcome.
This is what a friend of mine refers to as having regretted an unregretable regret. After church last Sunday, I was watching a programme on TV and a young lady was sharing with the host, how a bad decision she took, had affected her life immensely and adversely.
She narrated how she met a Caucasian and she got married to him. The white man arranged for her to join him after the marriage and processes were initiated for her to join her husband in UK. It took a while for the requisite documentation to be procured and during this period, she took a decision that has haunted her till date.
According to her narration, she met a man, a Ghanaian, who she started dating, even though she was a married woman.
After a while her documents were ready and so she left to join her husband abroad without breaking off the unholy relationship with the man from Ghana.
After she got to UK, this man from Ghana, kept pressuring her to leave the white man and return to him in Ghana. The white man at some point became a bit suspicious and asked about who she has been talking on the phone with for long spells, and she lied to him that it was her cousin.
Then comes the shocker. After the man from Ghana had sweet talked her continuously for a while, she decided to leave her husband and return to Ghana after only three weeks abroad.
She said, she asked the guy to swear to her that he would take care of both her and her mother and the guy swore to take good care of her and her mother as well as rent a 3-bedroom flat for her. She then took the decision to leave her husband and return to Ghana.
She told her mum that she was returning to Ghana to marry the guy in Ghana. According to her, her mother vigorously disagreed with her decision and wept.
She further added that her mum told her brother and they told her that they were going to tell her husband about her intentions.
According to her, she threatened that if they called her husband to inform him, then she would commit suicide, an idea given to her by the boyfriend in Ghana.
Her mum and brother afraid of what she might do, agreed not to tell her husband. She then told her husband that she was returning to Ghana to attend her Grandmother’s funeral.
The husband could not understand why she wanted to go back to Ghana after only three weeks stay so she had to lie that in their tradition, grandchildren are required to be present when the grandmother dies and is to be buried.
She returned to Ghana; the flat turns into a chamber and hall accommodation, the promise to take care of her mother does not materialise and generally she ends up furnishing the accommodation herself. All the promises given her by her boyfriend, turned out to be just mere words.
A phone the husband gave her, she left behind in UK out of guilty conscience knowing she was never coming back to UK.
Through that phone and social media, the husband found out about his boyfriend and that was the end of her marriage.
Meanwhile, things have gone awry here in Ghana and she had regretted and at a point in her narration, was trying desperately to hold back tears. Decisions indeed have consequences.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT’
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