Features
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
Indeed, numerous Ghanaians across the regions, all over Africa, and even people from other parts of the world were struck with sadness and grief upon hearing the sudden passing of the former First Lady of Ghana, Her Excellency Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, which occurred on the black day of Thursday, October 23, 2025.
Very often, it is difficult to believe the death of very high-profile persons in our communities, country, and even across the world, as recently witnessed in the passing of this indefatigable leader.
Former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings was the better half of the indomitable former President of Ghana, His Excellency, the late Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, who ruled Ghana for a record period of 18 years.
His Excellency Jerry John Rawlings, alongside his able men like Osahene Boakye Gyan, Akatapore, and other young army officers, shook the political foundations of this country for a brief period from June 4 to the end of September 1979. Following the general election, His Excellency Jerry John Rawlings handed over power to the late President, His Excellency Dr. Hilla Limann of the People’s National Convention (PNC), in a colorful national ceremony amidst pomp and pageantry.
Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings and other colleagues in the Ghana Armed Forces, dissatisfied with the PNC Government’s administration—which was considered volatile at the time—staged another coup to topple the Limann Administration on December 31, 1981. After a successful dispensation, he reassumed the position of Head of State under the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), remaining in power until 2000 when, following the general election, he handed over power from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to former President His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
It is noteworthy that from the June 4 period of 1979, stretching up to the 2000 general election, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings was very vocal in Ghana’s political administration.
Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings not only actively supported her husband to realize his political ambitions but also made a lasting impact across Ghana by tirelessly advocating for women’s emancipation in social, economic, and political spheres.
Consider her dynamic role in the formation of the 31st December Women’s Group. She established various food processing industries in multiple towns and villages to empower women economically.
There were countless other initiatives through which she encouraged and benefited not only women but also numerous families, enabling them to lead meaningful lives. For instance, the family home of Nene Kofi Opey-Fiagbor in Adjikpo-Amlakpo, Somanya, was highly privileged to welcome Her Excellency Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings anytime she visited.
On a Saturday in early January 1983, she visited to seek the hand of one of our beautiful sisters, Lucy Kpodjie, for Alex Dautey, who was then one of her husband’s military guards at the Castle in Osu-Accra. How can we, as a family, ever forget such a diligent, graceful, and distinguished person like her in our memories?
Your Excellency, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, your loss is deeply felt and irreplaceable for Mother Ghana. We all join the Rawlings immediate family in Accra, the people of Asanteman, the Keta people of her late husband, and the National Democratic Congress, which she helped found, alongside the President and Government of Ghana, to mourn this loss.
To a highly beloved and illustrious daughter of Ghana: may Mother Earth lie lightly upon your body as your precious soul rests in perfect peace in the bosom of the Good Lord, until the resurrection day when we shall all meet again. Fare thee well!
DAMIRIFA DUE! DUENI AMANEHUNU!
By J. K. Tetteh Kpodjie
Concerned Citizen
Somanya
0557672086
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Sometime ago, money-doubling used to be a very lucrative trade for people who had the skill. But it all depended on the availability of street-lights, which were used as accessories in the money-doubling schemes. The more street-lights that were available, the more likely it was that money would be doubled.
Money has indeed been doubled for people—civil servants, pastors, journalists, and diplomats. People suspected of being naive and carrying cash were conned into believing their money could be doubled without chanting. All they had to do was place their money under a ‘sacred’ stone, then walk in a certain direction, counting ten street-lights in the process without looking back.
“If you look back, you’ll go mad, wallahi!” they were warned, to ensure obedience. After counting the ten street-lights, participants were told to return and collect their doubled money under the ‘divine’ stone with jubilation. And for a moment, it seemed real—the cash appeared doubled. The problem, of course, was that the entire sum was nothing but newspaper cut to fit the currency size. At first, victims would be amazed, thinking they were hallucinating, only to frantically realize the trick. Meanwhile, the money-doublers would vanish miles away with the real cash.
In this era, money-doubling schemes often occur around payday, when people have just received their salaries. Those with ¢80,000 in hand could be tempted with the promise of returning home with ¢160,000. But in reality, many end up empty-handed, learning the harsh lesson of the financial culture of today.
Not long ago, Edward Alomele, who claims he is “Original Alor,” collected his pay and walked leisurely home, planning to celebrate. A wayside lottery operator noticed his bulging back pocket and thought he could easily trick him into handing over the money. But Alor was no amateur when it came to finance.
The lottery man pointed to a display of consumer items—televisions, sound systems, cookers, water heaters—and explained the game. Alor tried a sample ticket and “won” a colour television instantly. However, since he hadn’t staked money, he was told he needed to hand over his pay to claim the prize. Alor, sensing the scam, studied the man’s reaction carefully.
He deliberately wore mismatched footwear—one red canvas shoe and one green—to signal that he was not an easy target. The lottery operator realized his mistake, apologized, and acknowledged that Alor was not a naive newcomer.
Despite widespread reporting on these scams, hundreds of people fall victim every week, losing a significant portion of their salaries. Many prefer to remain silent, ashamed of having been deceived. Some notable individuals, like Devine Ankamah, have managed to dodge these traps through vigilance and experience, but the majority remain vulnerable.
Even pastors and other respected members of society have been duped by money-doublers, proving that awareness alone is often not enough. As Merari Alomele notes, “When shall we ever learn?”
This article was first published on Saturday, August 5, 1995.
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