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Bailing Mali out of its economic challenges
The relationship between these three friendly nations, Ghana, Guinea and Mali, dated back to the 1950s during which their three leaders, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ahmed Sekou Toure and Modibo Keita, all of blessed memory, worked together and shared common ideology of promoting peace and unity towards the development of the African Continent.
The Union of African States, sometimes called the Ghana-Guinea-Mali, was formed in 1958, linking the two West African nations, Ghana and Guinea, as the Union of Independent African States. Mali later joined that union in 1960.
The classic popular Ghanaian musician, E.T. Mensah’s highlife song, captured the hope of the early 1960s, when the three Pan African leaders, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Sekou Toure of Guinea and Modibo Keita of Mali, formed the Union of African States.
THE UNION OF AFRICAN STATES
The union which was disbanded in 1963, planned to develop a common currency and unified foreign policy among member countries. Unfortunately, none of those proposals were implemented. The union was the first organisation in Africa which brought together former British and French colonies. Though the union was opened to all independent African states, none of them joined. Its legacy was largely limited to the long standing relationships among the three heads of state, Kwame Nkrumah, Ahmed Sekou Toure and Modibo Keita.
The union again, came to the limelight when Nkrumah was named as the co-president of Guinea after he was deposed as president of Ghana by a military coup in 1966. Since that time, the three nations had been working together to promote peace and stability in their respective countries and the continent as a whole under successive governments.
MILITARY COUP IN GUINEA
On 23rd December, 2008, shortly after the death of the long-time president of Guinea,Lansana Conte, a junta called the National Council for Democracy and Development, headed by Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, seized power in Guinea and announced that, it planned to rule the country for two years prior to a new presidential election. Captain Camara, indeed, abided by his promise and stepped down after Alpha Conte was elected president in the 2010 election.
Since then, Alpha Conte who was born on March 1938, continues to be the President of Guinea. He has a clean political record of spending decades in opposition to a succession of regimes in Guinea. When he took office in December, 2010, he became the first freely elected president in the country’s history. He was re-elected in 2015 with about 58 per cent of the votes and again in 2020, with 59.5 per cent votes.
CURRENT SITUATION IN MALI
It is now the turn of Mali, the landlocked country in a coup plot. The head of the former junta in that country, Col Asimi Goita, was reported to have declared himself the country’s transitional president, after he had stripped the country’s interim president and former prime minister of their powers. The current situation is said to be tense but calm.
President Bah Ndaw and the Prime Minister Moctar Ouane, who were placed under a military detention, had since been released.They were taken to a military base late on Monday, 24th May 2021, in what was seen as Mali’s second military coup in nine months. The move, followed a cabinet reshuffle in which two army officers involved in the previous coup lost their jobs. Colonel Goita complained that the ex-president failed to consult him about the composition of a new cabinet.
MILITARY TAKE-OVER IN MALI AND BREAK-DOWN OF MEASURES
It is recalled that on August 18, 2020, some military officers from the Malian Armed Forces, stormed the Sundiata military base in the town of Kati where gun fire was exchanged before weapons were distributed from the armoury and senior officers were arrested. Tanks and armoured vehicles were seen on the town’s streets, as well as military trucks heading for the capital, Bamako. The soldiers detained several government officials including President Ibrahim Boubacar Kaita, who resigned and dissolved the government. This has been the country’s second coup in less than 10 years, following that of 2012. Soon after the take-over, leaders of ECOWAS heads of state, convened an emergency meeting, chaired by the former Nigerian leader, Goodluck Jonathan, and introduced far-reaching measures which brought the situation under control.
There was a breakdown in the interim measures put in place and that necessitated the holding of another emergency extraordinary summit on the situation in Mali on Sunday, May 30, 2021, to find a lasting solution to the problem and to restore peace in that country.
SUSPENSION OF MALI FROM THE ECOWAS AND THE AU
The meeting, under the auspices of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana and the current ECOWAS Chairman, brought together leaders of the 15-member countries. The leaders agreed that with immediate effect, Mali should be suspended from the regional bloc until the deadline of the end of February 2022, when the country’s interim leaders are supposed to hand over to a democratically elected government. They called for the immediate appointment of a new civilian prime minister and the formation of an all- inclusive government.
It affirmed 27th February, 2022, as the date for the presidential election, but indicated that the Head of the Transition Government, the Vice President, and the Prime Minister, should not under any circumstance, be candidates in the planned presidential election.
The 38-year old Special Forces Commander, Col Assimi Goita, was said to be one of the several colonels who overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita last year.
Meanwhile, the African Union (AU) has also announced the suspension of Mali from the union.
HANDLING THE MALIAN ISSUE TACTFULLY
The situation in Mali needs to be handled tactfully and with all the seriousness it deserved, in order not to create an unnecessary upheavals and chaos in that country. If care is not taken to resolve this thorny issue fairly, it will escalate and affect other neighbouring countries in West Africa.
The leadership of ECOWAS, must ensure that the new interim administration in that country be well represented by all sections of the society, the military, chiefs, opinion leaders, the clergy among others and to ensure that decisions are taken collectively when it comes to governance.
Already, Mali is faced with a number of emerging difficulties, such as droughts and desertification. These problems have impacted so much on foodsecurity and nutrition, especially among children and the vulnerable groups. Poverty is on the high side. Displaced children don’t have access to healthcare and education. This terrible situation in this landlocked country, needs emergency solutions to put the country back on track. Already, the deadly corona virus pandemic has taken a major toll on the economy and the country is currently counting its losses.
BACKGROUND ABOUT MALI
Mali, which is the eighth largest country in Africa is confronted with violent crimes such as kidnapping and armed robbery. It is among the 10 poorest nations of the world and one of the 37 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC). The country is a major recipient of foreign aid from many international sources, including bilateral and multilateral organisations mostly, the World Bank, African Development Bank (ADB) and the Arab Fund. Conflicts in this landlocked country continue as frequent and severe droughts have added to the country’s challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic has put a strain on the nation’s poor healthcare system and worsened economic decline in the country.
Indeed, the prevailing difficult condition in Mali, has necessitated an urgent need for the African Union(AU) and ECOWAS to provide the needed support to that country to overcome the challenges, rather than imposing restrictions on that nation.
AV0IDANCE OF COUPS IN AFRICA
While steps are being taken by ECOWAS to restore peace in Mali and ensure that election is held to select a leader through democratic means, it is important to drum home to fellow African countries that using the military and for that matter the barrel of the gun to overthrow a constitutionally mandated government is criminal and, therefore, not in the best interest of any nation but rather causes misery and worsens the living conditions of the suffering masses. Let us, therefore, avoid these unnecessary coups which are not doing the continent any good but rather creating a lot of harm to African continent.
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THE Orthodox Church is leading a moral revolution. At least the Methodist Church will no longer permit entry to church members or visitors dressed as if they were heading for a beach party. Those dressed in hot-pants and skimpy tops will be ushered out or physically prevented from entering.
It has taken a lot of courage for the Methodist Church to come to this decision, even at the risk of losing members who believe in sartorial liberalism and ecclesiastical democracy.
Some churches have still not mustered that courage, because they still nurse misconceptions about the church. Some say the church must be built with increased membership, which is unbiblical. Narrow is the path of righteousness.
The house of God is not a market-place or a discotheque. It must be kept holy. Anyone who wants salvation should be humble enough to dress decently before coming to the altar of the Lord. Jesus had to cane people who desecrated the synagogue.
CONTROVERSIAL
The other change people want in the church is about TITHING. It is a very controversial matter, made more controversial by some pastors insisting that all church members must pay tithe.
In other words, tithing has been made compulsory. Even some tithes are allegedly calculated and deducted at source. When Jesus hears some of these things he’d lament.
In some churches, you must pay tithe, otherwise when you die, the church will have no hand in your burial. Is that the unscriptural mandate the church has arrogated to itself?
Tithing began with the Levites, the priesthood. Because priests were not permitted to work, God stipulated that Israelites should see to their welfare through the sub-mission of 10 per cent of their crop and animal yield. This was to be put in the storehouse of the Lord. Anyone who did this was expected to be blessed in terms of increased farm or animal yield.
The priesthood itself has gone through many changes. Today, it is only the Catholic Church that properly undertakes to cater to the needs of the Catholic Church cannot be challenged
In other churches, what pastors are given is so puny that they virtually have to fend for themselves. So pastors have drifted into other vocations, and pastoring has become a part-time job.
When Jesus came, He neither condemned nor promoted tithing, probably because He did not want to be an impediment in the way of the Law and neither did He want to condone a practice that was outliving its usefulness. So He spoke very little about tithing, not saying whether it was good or bad.
What He however stressed was GIVING. “Give and it shall be given unto you…” Luke 6:38. He emphasised kindness to the poor, because both the rich and poor have the spirit of God in them.
What I am sometimes curious about is why the modern church has abandoned all the Old Testament edicts and laws, but sticks so rigorously to only tithing.
In the Old Testament, believers in God were sacrificing sheep, cows, doves and burning grain as a way of atoning for their sins or as offering to God. They were barred from eating certain animals and birds because they were labelled unclean.
When Jesus came, all these stopped because there was a new dispensation. It no longer mattered what your sins were or what you ate. If you became penitent and believed in the Lord Jesus as your personal saviour, you were indeed saved
OBLIGATORY
Jesus or the church did not come to prosper anybody. He said give and it would be given unto you. And giving must not only be to the church, but to fellow human beings who need our support. With the advent of Jesus, tithing had become an issue of little relevance, because instead of tithing (giving to the church a tenth), Jesus declared no limits. You give according to your freewill “because God loves a cheerful giver.”
Today, those who tithe give it grudgingly because it is not of their own freewill. It is like a tax. This should not be!
And because it has become more compulsory than obligatory, believers are paying tithes on gifts, on loans they take and whatever monies they get. Even those who do not work borrow money to pay tithe, when your tithe is supposed to be from your income earned out of productive work.
Those who don’t work are not supposed to pay tithe. You can give money to the church but not in the form of tithe, because tithe is paid only from productive work. Once you pay tithe, you are supposed to be working.
Now, should tithing be abolished? I would say no, because I feel that the priest-line must still be maintained so that we cease having part-time pastors who have divided attention. So the church must look after their pastors so that they can lead the flock safely to heaven. However, those who give towards this cause should not be called tithers. They should be called GIVERS TO THE CHURCH.
It doesn’t have to be 10 per cent. It could be 20 or 30 per cent so long as you give of it cheerfully. It could be five per cent or a widow’s mite.
I personally do not believe that unless you tithe, you will not prosper. What of if I give more than a tenth? It is not a tithe, but would God not appreciate it?
I believe, there must be no limit to giving. The tithing was God’s limit to Israel at the time so as not to overburden them. That should not be the standard-of today. Jesus didn’t say “tithe.” He said “give”
Giving to the church will open doors of blessings. And giving to the poor will open even greater doors.
This article was first published on Saturday September 30, 2006
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My name is Bernard Forson. I was fortunate to have been blessed with three elder sisters, who contributed to give me a smooth tertiary education.
My dad taught Economics in senior high schools all his working life, mostly in the Central Region, and my mother worked as a matron or catering officer, either in the same school with Dad, or in senior high schools and polytechnics close by. My parents gave their four children a good upbringing and education.
Interestingly, all my three sisters studied catering at the polytechnic, and after a few years working in government establishments, established the Sankofa Restaurant and Catering, where they provided first class local dishes for patrons and delivered regular orders. They were strategically on the Circle-Achimota road, and many customers stopped for breakfast, lunch and supper all day.
I was a ‘retirement baby’, born ‘by accident’ when my parents were close to retirement, so my sisters took over all issues relating to my education. I sailed smoothly through university, earning a first class degree in development economics.
I did my National Service with the Electricity Company of Ghana, and was offered a job in the Projects Department, My sisters advised me to acquire a postgraduate qualification, so with the ECG experience in mind, I did an 18 month Masters Degree in Project Management at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, during which time I often went to help my colleagues at the Projects Department.
I was re-engaged at the ECG, but six months into the new job my fatherly Head of Department, Mr. Osekre, encouraged me to apply for the job of Northern Sector Project Manager at what was advertised as a ‘development agency’.
It turned out to be the European Union, which gave me the responsibility of coordinating the development jobs being done by various contractors in the northern regions. I was offered a comfortable flat in Tamale, and given a new pick-up truck.
I established good rapport with the contractors, and sent monthly reports which informed them about the progress of work. I established an online portal which enabled them to easily monitor what was happening in all their projects.
This was greatly appreciated, and the Commissioner wrote to thank me, and informed me that due to my work, the regular visits by expatriate staff to the north had become unnecessary. And better still, the offices in Brussels and other countries heard about me. I was sent to several African countries to help them establish similar online facilities, and was soon promoted to Consultant.
I often came to Accra by air to spend a few days with family and friends, but I preferred to drive, because it gave me the opportunity to bring a substantial amount of foodstuffs for use in the restaurant. Of course, I was very well paid, Upon the advice of my elder sisters and my mentor Mr. Osekre, I took two major decisions. I decided to find a stable lady partner to marry and start a family. I also decided to invest in housing projects. Mr. Osekre took me to some areas in Accra with several uncompleted buildings, and suggested that I buy a couple of these houses, finish them and sell.
Under his guidance, I did extensive investigations to find the actual owners of the properties and completed negotiations with them.With all the resources I could muster, I put them into perfect condition, and buyers rushed to take them even when I was putting final touches to them. Having made a substantial profit, I registered a company, opened an office and employed two graduates to scout for properties, conduct searches on property documents, and arrange meetings with the owners of the properties. This became a very successful business to which I could retire anytime I wanted.
On the relationship side, I reconnected with Abena Gyasi, who was two years behind me at the university, and was working in a recruitment agency. We had gone out a few times, and I had visited her family and enjoyed their company.
Apart from the fact that her parents were well known to mine, we got on well together, and although I did not propose directly, all indications pointed to our heading towards marriage. She was tall and quite elegant with a commanding presence, and I felt proud about the glances that were cast in her direction when we went out. We enjoyed each other’s company, and spent long hours on the phone when I was out of town.
Everything went well until I went to her house one morning, and she introduced her friend Jennifer, who was her mate in senior high school. She was a big girl, quite fashionable and outgoing. They talked excitedly about new fashion trends, and called other mates to chat.
I was quite glad that she had found someone to spend time with when I was not around. She smiled and even joked with me, but I felt a bit uneasy that she was not too excited about me. I thought this was normal, as she perhaps wanted Abena all to herself.
A few weeks later, Abena started asking questions about my job, even though I had told her a lot about my work in the north. On Mr. Osekre’s advice, I had only told my family about the investment business.
It was better to wait till it was on firm ground, he advised, and that would take at least a couple of years. Of course, I would tell her everything when we decided to get married. She started asking some funny questions like ‘did you say you were doing agricultural extension work or development projects?’
Initially I gave her answers with some details, but when she persisted along the same lines, I said out of exasperation, ‘Abena, why do you keep asking the same questions even though I have answered you? Listen, there is nothing wrong with agricultural extension work, but that is not my line of work. But if that is what you wish to believe, then please go ahead, if it makes you happy.
I just don’t understand this’. Not long after, some friends said they had seen her with Jennifer eating lunch with some young guys. I complained, and said that I would prefer it if she went out with only me at that stage in our relationship. And if she needed to go out with others, I had to know.
To my great surprise, she brushed it off, saying ‘but Bernard, what is wrong with going out for lunch with friends? As for this one, I think you are doing too much?’ That was the beginning of the end.
By Ekow de Heer
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