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Ghana grows stronger when critics bring proof, officials bring files, and the public brings patient attention
When truth becomes a spectator in public debate, credibility collapses, and nations quietly lose their moral balance.
INTRODUCTION: THE CALL FOR CALM AND FACTUAL CONVERSATION
Ghana stands at a delicate crossroads where facts must reclaim their rightful place above factions. Over the last fourteen months, our national dialogue, especially around some state institutions such as MIIF, has shown how easily perception can masquerade as proof.
The media’s role remains indispensable, and so too is its responsibility to verify before amplifying. As a nation that is increasingly striving for transparency and progress, we cannot allow conjecture to replace confirmation or let alternative facts fracture institutional credibility. Truth must be told, traced, verified, and protected.
As the former non-executive chair of a number of institutions, including MIIF and the now further transformed Labadi Beach Hotel, I remain invested in their fortunes because stewardship does not end with tenure.
Even well-run bodies pursue continuous improvement through dialogue with proven past executives and supervisory leaders. That is the spirit of Kaizen. Progress implies learning, not wrongdoing.
WHY MEDIA ENGAGEMENT MATTERS
It serves the public interest for media houses to invite current and former chief executives, including those at MIIF, individually or jointly, to present clear accounts to the public or, where necessary, in private. Investigations into potential wrongdoing must proceed. They are strongest when principals place documents, timelines, and decisions on the table for all to see. Transparency grows when all voices are heard, not in anger, but in accountability. Journalism is not the amplification of suspicion. It is the clarification of truth.
FAIRNESS AND ETHICS IN PUBLIC DISCOURSE
Anyone mentioned or implicated should be approached and afforded the opportunity to present their side of the facts before their names enter the headlines. Due process is not a courtesy. It is the foundation of trust and credibility.
Ghana’s media space is admired for its freedom and vibrancy. Freedom must walk with fairness. A democracy that weaponises perception risks turning truth tellers into targets and institutions into casualties.
A TEACHABLE MOMENT FOR MEDIA AND PUBLIC DIALOGUE
On October 4, during a JoyNews programme, a representative from the Bank of Ghana called in to correct an alternative fact about MIIF. It was unfortunate and regrettable. I felt for the distinguished interviewer who was placed in a difficult position in real time.
Such moments, even when unintentional, show the need for evidence based dialogue in our national discourse. Media remains one of democracy’s greatest guardians. With that power comes a duty to report with accuracy, balance, and fairness. Before any public institution or individual is discussed, it is right and ethical to approach the parties concerned to clarify or present their side of the facts. Balanced reporting requires facts, not fragments.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF ALTERNATIVE FACTS
A single broadcast can illuminate or inflame. When conjecture replaces confirmation, institutions suffer, reputations erode, and public trust falters. The spread of alternative facts is already affecting some state institutions and private citizens.
If left unchecked, it may discourage capable Africans from accepting national duty and from transferring critical skills to the public sphere. Ghana’s media landscape has the talent and influence to set a higher standard, one where integrity in reporting becomes the oxygen of national progress rather than a casualty of political heat. Credibility must never be sacrificed for sensational reach.
ACKNOWLEDGING CIVIC WATCHDOGS AND CALLING FOR BALANCE
IMANI and some of its researchers and Fellows deserve commendation for aspects of their work that have contributed to national awareness and accountability. At the same time, all civic actors must remain cautious about the reliability and motivation of sources.
The critical question for every whistleblower or informant is simple. Are they acting in the national interest, or in pursuit of personal or political gain? Investigative and policy advocacy communities should work together for the common good, not for institutional applause.
Oversight must be objective, not opportunistic. Otherwise, even well-intended initiatives can erode confidence in state institutions and weaken the collective pursuit of good governance.
THE DANGER OF FALSE WHISTLEBLOWING AND MISINFORMATION
Whistleblowers who peddle falsehoods for selfish interests should be publicly exposed to deter the furnishing of watchdogs and media houses with alternative facts that advance private agendas.
Where the law so provides, they should be held accountable, including possible prosecution for causing reputational or economic harm to state institutions and individuals. Truthful whistleblowing strengthens democracy. Dishonest whistleblowing poisons it. The legitimacy of transparency depends on the authenticity of those who claim to defend it.
CONTINUITY AND GOVERNANCE PRACTICE
In many state institutions, current and former non-executive chairs and chief executives have yet to meet face-to-face. MIIF is among them. In my capacity as former Chairman of MIIF, I have formally requested such a meeting with my successor.
I am still waiting and looking forward to the meeting. The absence of a meeting does not prevent investigation. It does, however, create room for confusion and weakens institutional memory. Good governance requires more than handover notes. Outgoing and incoming leaders should meet to discuss long term obligations, risk registers, projects in progress, and matters of continuity. This discipline preserves facts, limits speculation, and protects national value.
MULTIPLE NARRATIVES, ONE NATIONAL CONSEQUENCE
Over the last 36 weeks, multiple narratives have circulated across television, radio, and social media. However unintended, they risk harming MIIF’s credibility and, by extension, Ghana’s reputation for continuity, integrity and predictability. Markets price uncertainty, and citizens ultimately bear the cost of it.
When narrative outpaces evidence, risk premia rise, partnerships stall, and managers spend time responding to noise rather than delivering results. Truth delayed can become opportunity denied.
LESSONS ON TRUST AND NATIONAL BRAND
Misinformation may garner applause in the short term, but it ultimately inflicts lasting damage. Nations build trust through facts, not factions. Institutions like MIIF form part of the scaffolding for future prosperity.
We should not chip away at that structure with politicisation or partial information. The Ghana brand and its associated institutional brands must be protected by facts, not by alternative facts.
NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, NOT POLITICAL TROPHIES
State institutions are not assets of the government of the day, and they are not trophies for the opposition. They belong to Ghana and therefore to all of us. We cannot spend years building credibility with one hand and then weaken it with misinformation and partisanship with the other.
The public interest is best served when facts lead and when all parties respect due process. Today, former chairs and chief executives may be under the spotlight. In four or eight years, current leaders could face the same scrutiny. All deserve fair treatment.
Those found guilty of deliberate wrongdoing should face the consequences. Accountability must rest on actual facts, not on alternative or self-serving narratives.
GOVERNANCE IS ABOUT CONTINUITY, NOT CONTROL
Governance is not about control. It is about continuity. It is not about who occupies the seat, but about whether the seat serves the people. Leadership is tested not by the defence of power, but by the defence of process. When facts are buried beneath political dust, institutions stumble and nations lose their rhythm of progress.
MOVING FROM HEAT TO LIGHT
Respected newsrooms can help move the national conversation from heat to light. The best journalism promotes understanding rather than echo. A balanced, fact led discussion may not resolve every question at once, but it will sharpen debate, model accountability, and rebuild confidence. This is a service to citizens and to those who carry responsibilities on the nation’s behalf.
RESPONSIBLE JOURNALISM SERVES GHANA
This is not theatre, and it is not trial by microphone. It is responsible reporting in the public interest. It safeguards reputations where warranted and exposes wrongdoing where proven. Either outcome serves Ghana. Standards and fairness are not obstacles to truth; they are the pathway to it.
A SHARED DUTY TO LOWER THE TEMPERATURE AND RAISE THE STANDARD
This is a respectful request to media leaders, public officials, private citizens, and all who care about our democracy. We are duty-bound to help the current administration govern well by doing what is right, because when any government fails, the cost is borne by everyone and by future generations. Suffering does not choose a party.
Let us therefore lower the temperature and raise the standard. Let us listen more carefully, document more faithfully, and verify more completely. Let us invite those who know to speak on the record, and let us publish the full record for the nation to examine. We are one people. We should not allow politics to divide us where facts can unite us.
FINAL REFLECTION AND A HOPEFUL NOTE
Real facts, not alternative facts, must set the pace.
Let documents speak.
Let truth breathe.
Let fairness guide our words and our work.
Ghana has the talent, the institutions, and the democratic culture to get this right.
If we choose patience over haste, evidence over conjecture, and country over faction, we will strengthen trust at home and respect abroad. That is the surest path to shared progress. Ghana deserves nothing less, and with calm minds and steady hands, Ghana will achieve nothing less.
By Professor Douglas Boateng
Walk into any supermarket in Accra, Kumasi, or Tamale today, and you will see the modern Ghanaian diet packaged as ‘progress.’ You will see breakfast cereals with cartoon mascots, fruit drinks that are mostly sugar and colour, and snacks promising energy and happiness in bright fonts.
Even products loaded with salt and unhealthy fats often wear a health halo labeled as fortified or natural, while the real nutritional risk is hidden in tiny print on the back. This is not just a consumer inconvenience; it is a public health blind spot. Ghana is living through a silent surge of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like hypertension, diabetes, and stroke.
These conditions quietly drain household income and steal productive years. According to the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates, NCDs are now responsible for nearly 45 per cent of all deaths in Ghana.
We cannot build a healthy nation on a food environment designed to confuse people at the point of purchase. Ghana must mandate simple front-of-pack warning labels (FOPWL) on high-sugar, high-salt, and high-fat packaged foods because consumers deserve truth at a glance, and industry must be pushed to reformulate.
Why Back-of-Pack Labels Are Not Enough
In theory, consumers can read nutrition panels. In reality, most Ghanaians shop under pressure, limited time, rising prices, and children tugging at their sleeves. The back label is a relic that requires a high cognitive load to interpret—essentially, the seller knows what is inside, but the buyer cannot easily tell.
This ‘information asymmetry’ is not fair. It is not consumer choice when the information needed to choose well is deliberately difficult to find.
Simple warning labels like the black octagons used in the Chilean Model act as a ‘stop-and-think’ nudge. They do not ban products but they simply tell the truth so people can decide.
Reshaping Our Food Environment
A generation ago, Ghana’s meals were mostly home-prepared, like kenkey and banku with soups and stews. Today, ultra-processed foods have become the norm, especially in urban areas. Children are growing up with sugary drinks and salty snacks as everyday items, not occasional treats.
If Ghana is serious about prevention, we must act where decisions are made—thus, the shelf. Warning labels protect parents from sugar traps and pressure the market to improve. When warning labels are mandatory, manufacturers start to compete to make healthier recipes to avoid the stigma of the label.
Addressing the Pushback
Industry will argue that labels create fear or that education alone is enough. However, health education is slow; labels work immediately. While the informal street food sector is a challenge, regulating pre-packaged goods is the practical starting point because the supply chain is traceable. We cannot wait until the whole system is perfect; we must start where action is feasible.
A 2026 Implementation Roadmap for Ghana
To move from talk to action, Ghana needs this 5-step plan:
- Issue mandatory regulation: The Ministry of Health, Food and Drug Authority (FDA), and Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) must define the label format and nutrient thresholds for all pre-packaged foods.
- Simple, bold symbols: Use plain language and clear symbols, such as “HIGH IN SUGAR,” designed for busy families, not experts.
- Transparent thresholds: Adopt technically defensible standards adapted to the Ghanaian diet.
- Transition and enforce: Provide a 12–18 month period for manufacturers to reformulate, followed by firm enforcement at ports and retail centers.
- National literacy campaign: The Ghana Health Service must pair labels with public messages explaining why high salt or sugar increases disease risk.
Conclusion: Truth Is Not a Luxury
Prevention is cheaper than treatment. A warning label costs little compared to the price of dialysis, stroke rehabilitation, or lifelong diabetes complications. A black octagon on a box of biscuits is more than a label; it is a shield for the health of all Ghanaians. It is time to put the truth where we can see it, right on the front.
By Abigail Amoah Sarfo
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Natives of the Kenkey Kingdom were mad with joy. They were still recovering from the hangover of the kingdom’s loss of the African Cup when their spirits were rekindled. Their great warrior, Zoom Zoom, stormed Melbourne and made sure that every Australian refused food. And that was after he had drawn contour lines on the face of their idol, Jeff Fenech.
Not only did the terrible warrior transform Old Boy Jeff’s face into a contour map useful for geography lessons, but he also accomplished the feat of retaining the much-envied super-kenkeyweight title against all odds. The warrior had not been eating hot kenkey for nothing.
The Fight Against Fenech
When Jeff Fenech bit the dust in the eighth round, I was tempted to consider if Adanko Deka could not have faced him in any twelve-rounder, title or non-title bout. Adanko has improved tremendously, and soon he would be facing Pernell Whitaker.
Sincerely, I was pessimistic about Azumah’s man, who the last time took him through twelve grueling rounds of rough boxing. I expressed my fears to my colleague Christian Abbew, alias Gbonyo, who surprisingly had total confidence that the Australian brawler would fall, predictably in Round Five.
Gbonyo gave reasons for his contention, all of which I counteracted using the age factor. Fact is, I didn’t know that contrary to the laws of nature, Azumah was all the time growing younger.
When Fenech fell briefly in round one, I asked my brother whether it was the same Fenech that fought Azumah in Las Vegas. Sure, it was the same Fenech, all out to beat Azumah before his countrymen.
But the African Professor had no intention of making the Australian a hero. As he spun round the desperate Aussie, dancing and stinging out his jabs, it was not too long before I realized that the end was near.
The Eighth Round Showdown
Two minutes into the eighth round, the African ring-master proved to the whole world that he was a true son of Bukom. He himself was cornered, but like the tough nut he is, he managed to break free before overwhelming the panting Australian with several blows that made him crash headlong.
Moments after, the referee, expressing fatherly sympathy, stopped the fight to prevent an obituary. After the ordeal, Fenech’s fairly handsome face was full of newly constructed hills, valleys, ox-bow lakes—whatever. I noticed that his nose was very tired and had a miniature volcano sitting restlessly on it. Obviously, Jeff’s wife will have to nurse that nose back to its normal shape—but I’d advise her not to use iodine, otherwise her dear husband will wail like a banshee.
Reflections on Boxing
Because Mohammed Ali was the kind of boxer kids liked, many school-going kids often entertained the wish of becoming like him. I remember one day when I told my father I wanted to become a boxer, and he advised me to first complete my education to the highest level. Then, if I decided to become a boxer and was knocked out a couple of times, I’d fall back on my degrees and make a living.
Boxing used to be interesting when bouts were fought more with the mouth and tongue than with gloves. You had to brag well, psychologically belittling your opponent before beating him up physically. Mohammed Ali became a very successful pugilist because he also managed to become a poet. He often blew his horn across America, calling himself the “pretty boxer” and opponents like Joe Frazier “the gorilla.”
Ali made a living fighting hard fists like Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Jerry Quarry, George Foreman, Leon Spinks, and Trevor Berbick. Twice he came back from retirement to fight just for money. It was Larry Holmes who finally pensioned him, and since then the great Ali has never been himself.
The Path Ahead for Azumah
When Azumah nailed Jeff Fenech on the cross and barked almost immediately that he was after the head of Pernell Whitaker, I was happy but concerned. I would have been happier if he had announced his resignation there and then—he would have been more of a hero. Beating Fenech in Australia is more newsworthy than facing Whitaker in the States.
With Whitaker, it might be a little difficult. The “Sweet Pea” is agile, has a crooked body like a snake with diarrhea, and stands awkwardly as a southpaw. He is known for having the fastest pair of fists and the rare ability to dodge punches no matter how close they may be.
Much as I do not doubt that Azumah can take his title, I also don’t want him to retire beaten. I want him to retire as a hero and live a fuller, healthy life.
As Azumah himself said after dishing Fenech, he is now a professor and has something to show for it. Like a true professor, I think it is time he resigned and took up training young talents who could draw inspiration from him and become like him in the future.
Closing Thoughts
I must say that although ageing boxers like Larry Holmes and George Foreman are making a name for themselves, boxing is not like the Civil Service, where you can even change your age and retire at 74. Zoom Zoom has delighted the hearts of the natives, and Sikaman will forever hold him in high esteem—but only when he retires as a hero.
This article was first published on Saturday, March 7, 1992.
