Features
What a hardworking President! (Part 1)
When we look at the work style of the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in terms of his age and ability, it tells us that to be able to go far in any endeavour we need the grace of God to be upon us to advance to very high unparalleled levels that are extremely difficult to attain from the point of view of human physique and effort.
There are those who teased the President when he was the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, prior to the 2016 elections that he would never become President in this country. They humiliated him, attacked, and insulted him and bastardised all his attempts to remain focused and win the presidential elections.
After two unsuccessful attempts in 2008 and 2012, he did not call it quit even though he was advancing in age, decided to take some holidays elsewhere, reflect on his lifestyle, back and front, meditate on God, and then come back in full swing. To say the least, he is the most vilified person in Ghana politics today, but despite this, has embraced everyone into his fold.
THIRD ATTEMPT AND GOD’S PURPOSE
For the third attempt, he still chose Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia as his running mate because he strongly believed that God had a purpose for them and so it came as no surprise when in 2016, he emerged gargantuan victorious with the able support of Dr. Bawumia and the people of Ghana who voted for him.
ENORMOUS PROBLEMS
Since becoming President, he has not failed the nation but worked hard, claiming that he was in a hurry to quickly fix the problems facing the country. The enormous problems were lack of good roads, poor health facilities, lack of ambulance vehicles, difficulties in the educational system, abysmal performance of the agricultural sector, low productivity in mining, destruction of rivers which were a source of drinking water, high unemployment rate, looming banking crisis as well as a collapsing economy, among others.
The President of the Republic was not disturbed by these challenges but was rather encouraged to remain focused and see what he could do for the lovely people of this country. Within the first year of his administration, he reiterated that Senior High School, together with Technical and Vocational School, was going to be free so that parents could have the freedom to attend to other needs of their families.
There was one Nana Diasempa of a village in a remote area in the Bono Region. He was so passionate and kind-hearted that despite the numerous problems that faced him and his elders, he gave every assurance to his people and provided meaningful and practical leadership to them, ensuring that their crops became well cultivated while the rivers around were adequately protected to serve as a source of drinking water for his people. This leadership style, provided by Nana Diasempa, is comparable to that of the current President of the Republic of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo for which reason Ghanaians should be proud of him.
FREE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
When Ghana’s President mentioned that we needed a free educational system, some people did not take him seriously. As if this was a joke, the free educational system was put in place by the Akufo-Addo administration in the light of mounting economic difficulties facing the country. Indeed, some members and supporters of his government even doubted whether the government would be able to carry through its promise but, to the glory of God, this was done.
How was the Akufo-Addo administration able to finance the huge debt that was brought about because of the Free SHS, Vocational and Technical School system? This was made possible by hard work and honesty. Instead of putting the money into their own pockets, the little funding available was spread over the educational system to the great relief of many parents. As a result, some village dwellers, who had no hope of making it to second cycle institutions, especially the elite schools, have found themselves there and are also enjoying from the limited resources of the nation.
HEALTH INSURANCE SCHEME
There has also been great improvement in the Health Insurance Scheme. People can now renew their health insurance subscription without seeking physical contact with health insurance officers. All that a person needs to do is to sit in the comfort of his/her home and use his/her phone or computer to renew their registration. The good news is that the number of subscribers has gone up tremendously, indicating that many more people are now benefitting from the Health Insurance Scheme.
Having spoken about using the phone or computer to renew a person’s health insurance registration brings in the issue of digitalisation, a move by the Akufo-Addo administration being spearheaded by Vice-President Dr. Bawumia with assistance from the Minister of Communication, Honourable Ursula Owusu-Ekuful. As a result of digitalisation, application for and renewal of passports have been made very easy and convenient for Ghanaians who need such services. Other services like registration for and renewal of driver’s licence have all been made easy. Again, the use of crypto currency instead of real cedi notes and coins is also coming in to modernise the Ghanaian economy. All these show that the economy is being transformed from its old stage to a modernised one.
In the area of peacekeeping, the government has ensured that our military who go on peacekeeping programmes are given better portions of what is paid to them by the United Nations. This has made our soldiers very happy and are more committed to peacekeeping than was the case in the past. Again, new barracks for the military have been built for our soldiers who need decent accommodation to be able to perform their official functions very well. At Burma Camp, Accra, for instance, new accommodation for some of the soldiers has been built while other places in the country have also enjoyed similar facilities for the welfare of our soldiers.
Apart from the President’s achievements in the educational and health sectors, it is also clear that he has done very well in the areas of digitalisation as well as peacekeeping for personnel of the military. Our soldiers are very happy with him because he has been honest enough to pay them higher figures in terms of dollars compared with what was previously given them.
There are other important achievements that the Akufo-Addo administration has been able to attain. These include his role in African intra-regional trade, programmes in the agricultural sector, healthcare delivery and the establishment of a commodity exchange to support the agricultural sector, thereby helping to boost up growth in this sector. These and other achievements are to be discussed for all and sundry to know the good works which the Akufo-Addo administration has undertaken and is still undertaking for this country.
Many African countries would wish that President Akufo-Addo was their leader, seeing that he would have worked hard and catapulted them from misery to happiness. For this reason, people in Ghana should pay attention to his achievements as has been discussed here and continue to give him the support he needs to make the country a lovely and pleasant place for all Ghanaians and other people who are staying in Ghana.
Features
The Cop, press and lost fingers
The job of a policeman, whether he is short or tall, is not a cheap one. He is supposed to keep the peace, protect society and monitor the activities of local magicians and money doublers who are specialists in making civil servants lose their pay within seconds.
By far the most difficult job of the policeman is when he is expected to arrest a murderer who is not only armed but also has a record of appearing and disappearing at will. Even if the tough cop is in the company of other policemen all armed to the teeth, his stomach will turn to water when the criminal suddenly appears.
He is terrified not because the criminal is a better marksman, but because nobody dies twice. The problem also is that a criminal might be prepared to die in a bid to shoot his way to freedom. But is the police-man prepared to risk death in the course of duty when he has a family to rear.
If he had just acquired a new girlfriend with whom he is enjoying life, should he not run away with his tail between his legs and tell his boss that the criminal is uncatchable?
Before some policemen go on patrol duties, they actually pray solemnly. “God send me into the wilderness and bring me back safely with my nose intact because I’m worth more than a common rat. I also do not want to die like a stray dog. If a bullet is targeted at my forehead, Holy Spirit please let it go over the bar, because six children is not a small palaver. If I die, who will look after them? Lord keep me safe day by day. Amen!”
The Sikaman policeman’s job is a risky one because he is not properly equipped with even a trained dog to help track down criminals easily. So he has to use his own nose judiciously in sniffing out suspects while making sure a bullet doesn’t catch him square on the jaw.
My friend Sir Kofi Owuo, a.k.a. Death-By-Poverty was telling me journalists are in an even riskier profession. Apparently, he had been reading about the palaver of journalists in places like Algeria and Columbia. Algeria, even women journalists are not spared assassin’s bullet. You’d see them lying in front of their homes with their heads full of bullet holes.
In Columbia, no journalist is safe. When a journalist is leaving home, he has to tell his wife. “Darling, when I don’t come back by 7 p.m. check the mortuary
The drug trade in Columbia has made journalism a profession not worth practising. If you write on cocaine and the harm it is inflicting on society, you’ll certainly receive a phone call.
“Hello, Mr Journalist, your article yesterday was great. Congratulations! We never knew you were such brilliant writer, championing the cause of society. Again we say congrats! But you know something, by your article, you want to take the bread out of my and that of my family. You don’t want us to beak. We are aggrieved beyond measure”
“Oh, I was just… “You’d try to say something
“You don’t have to explain. The harm has already been done by your award-winning masterpiece. We have an appointment with you. You’ll hear from us.
Rest In Peace!” After such a phone call, you just have to pray to your soul, sing a hymn or two and get prepared fort appointment with death. For, death will surely come
I think pressmen in Sikaman would also have start informing their families appropriately before leaving for work now. “If I don’t come back early, I’m probably at the Ear, Nose and Throat Department of Korle- Bu checking a leakage in my left ear due to a gendarme slap from an AMA official. If you don’t see me there, track me down to the emergency ward. If you see a newly-made cripple, I’m the one”
What about referees? These days they are guarded during football matches so that the risk they bear in terms of lost teeth is minimal. Formerly, it used to be a job full of woes and tribulations.
You were expected to oversee a match in such way that would favour a particular team. If that is not done, you’ll get back home and your wife will not recognise you. She’ll mistake you for Frank Bruno who had just lost a bout. When she finally recognises you, she’ll fix some hot water to massage your poor face.
I hear that these days, apart from the protection referees receive, some are well-armed with Damfo Dzai, a kind of jack-knife that can carve a rowdy supporters face in several designs.
My Press Secretary and part-time bodyguard Devine Ankamah, was telling me if he happens to be a referee, he’d surely carry a Kalashnikov AK 47 rifle with him, complete with loaded magazine, before officiating matches. According to him, that is the only way to do the job without fear or favour. Anyone dares will lose his jaw.
Anyway, risky jobs require good remuneration. As Kwame Korkorti once said, risky jobs require risky salary. A policeman would require a good pay so that when a criminal targets his left ear it would be worth the ‘amputation’. Same for journalists and cameramen.
But go round private workplaces and factories and you’d see really risky occupations where workers are receiving salaries they can’t see with the naked eye.
In fact, in some private workplaces, environmental safety is completely absent. Workers breathe in fumes, poisonous gases and risk lung and respiratory problems. Their employers do nothing about protecting them against these hazards. Check out their payer.
In other places, workers have their fingers chopped off on the job, some losing as many as four fingers in stretch. The compensation they get can best be described as “wicked”. Their employers live big, chop big, ride big but are not willing to pay more than ¢120,000 for lost fingers.
Actually the more fingers you lose, the more money you get. So if you intend losing your fingers on the job, it is advisable to lose as many as possible so that you can get more cash. Those who have lost one finger have not benefited much and are encouraged to lose more next time around.
Sikaman Palava is undertaking to investigate some of these cases of very risky jobs in private setups and companies where workers are being exploited to unnecessarily but not offered protection against health hazards, and not properly compensated when they sustain injuries.
This article was first published on Saturday, September 28, 1996
Features
Position yourself for God’s blessings
Motivated by the impending 40-day fasting and needless to add prayer programme, preceding the Greater Works Conference scheduled for August in Accra, I would like to draw attention to how believers can receive blessings from God.
There is a scripture in Hebrews 11:5 that “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: and before his translation, he had this testimony that he pleased God”.
This clearly shows that in order to receive blessings from God, you must please God. How can one please God? You can only please God by obeying him and walking in line with God’s word. Just like how children who obey their parents, enjoy special treatment, so does God deal with his children who obey his word.
There are ways by which people receive blessings from God and holiness is an important criteria in the whole equation. Holiness is a process and not a one day event.
It is a mindset borne out of walking in obedience to God’s instructions i.e. his word. In order to have a mindset of living to please God, requires studying God’s word coupled with praying and fasting.
This helps us to develop trust in God by knowing his nature, what he likes and dislikes. This is what will enable us to live to please him and for our faith in him also to increase.
The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6 that “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him”
Fasting is one of the required criteria for blessings to be released and it goes with prayer because fasting without prayer is just a physical exercise. Fasting enables a person’s inner man to be in tune with the spirit of God and also becomes spiritually empowered to hear from God and also obey God.
Fasting enables a person’s spirit to feed on God’s word in a much more focused manner as compared to studying God’s word in normal times. As a result our spirit gains the upper hand to dominate the body and the soul, so that we are more conscious of the presence of God in our lives which causes us willingly the desire to live to obey God.
Holiness which is a prerequisite for pleasing God, can only manifest in our lives if we are able to overcome the desires of the flesh and this only happens when the flesh is subject to the spirit.
Apostle Paul said that “But l keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means when I have preached to others, I myself should not be castaway”, according to 1 Corinthians 9:27.
In order to bring the body or flesh into subjection so that believers will be able to live to please God, we have to study, God’s word in a certain state of mind which fasting and prayer appropriately provides.
Our minds are the battle grounds for decisions that either please God or the Devil. In order to please God so his blessings can be released upon our lives, we must continuously engage our minds with thoughts that is in line with God’s word.
Philippians 4:8 says that “Finally Brethren whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things”. May God help us to live to please him by meditating on things that please the Lord, so we shall be blessed in all aspects of our lives. God bless.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT’
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
