Features
Ghanaians expect 2023 to be year of hope & good tidings
Saturday, December 31, 2022, marked the end of last year. The New Year, was ushered in at 12 midnight, on Sunday, January 1, 2023. As usual, churches across the country, were filled to capacity by Christians to keep watch and welcome the new year in a grand style. Praises and worship took the centre stage of the various churches, singing to the glory of God for protecting and guiding us towards the New Year. The religious leaders were also at their best sharing the word of God to their various congregations.
Indeed, God has ushered us into the New Year and mankind needs to thank and praise Him for that feat, while at the same time taking stock of the past in the previous year and chatting a path that will bring about progress and development in our lives and the county as a whole. It has not been easy at all, as many could not make it up to this day due to numerous factors, but thank God, we are alive.
TAKING STOCK OF 2022
Indeed, many are those who will agree with me that 2022 was a very difficult year. It was a year full of trials and tribulations which included adversity, grief, heartache, misery, misfortune, affliction, woes and you can name them. The county’s economy was in total shambles, disarray, total disorder, chaotic and mess. The cost of living was so bad that people found it extremely difficult to make ends meet. The cedi lost more than 50 per cent of its value between January and October 2022, causing Ghana’s debt burden to rise by $6 billion. Fuel prices as well prices of other essential commodities and food items were astronomically high and most Ghanaians could not afford three square meals a day. The government blamed the pandemic and the war in Ukraine as some of the drivers of the economic crisis. However, most economists and analysts thought that the poor performance of the country to help investors to make business was a factor to consider.
IMF BAILOUT
Currently, the country has resorted to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout processes, as a way of solving our economic challenges and bringing the economy back on track since we are not out of the woods yet. It is the prayer of every Ghanaian that this IMF initiative would surely emancipate our country from these economic challenges to enable Ghanaians to lead normal lives. It was a fact that most households, especially families, celebrated last year’s Christmas on a very low key because the means were not there to cater for lavish celebration while at the same time thinking about the school fees of their children and wards.
CAUTIONING DOOMSAYERS
While we are thinking about ways to revamp and restore the economy and put it on sound footing, it is important to caution some of these so-called pastors, prophets and religious leaders who keep prophesying doom and other negative things for our dear country. Instead of using their pulpit to pray for peace to prevail and also to unite the country, they are rather interested in empty prophesies that serve no purpose but to cause disaffection among the people.
It is recalled that in the year 2021, when the police had warned that they would deal ruthlessly with those doomsayers, some of them resorted to dirty tricks to outwit the police by equating Ghana to the state of Umoufia, in Nigeria, which Chinua Achebe highlighted in his famous “Things Fall Apart” novel to predict all kinds of dooms and unnecessary things against Ghana and certain individuals and then got away with them easily without being arrested and prosecuted in the law courts.
Now, they were at it again and the police have kept silence. During the watch night service on Sunday, December 31, 2022, to usher in the New Year, those same charlatans and good-for-nothing pastors and prophets did their own thing again. Some of them mounted their pulpits to castigate, malign and attack certain individuals and personalities while at the same time prophesying deaths, coups, sicknesses and other wicked and dangerous things in the country just to create fear and panic among the society. Such negative behaviours on the part of these unscrupulous and unconscionable doomsayers and so-called men of God, are reprehensible and totally absurd, ridiculous and incongruous.
REVEREND OWUSU
BEMPAH
For instance, the leader of the Glorious Word Power Ministries, Reverend Owusu Bempah, was said to have predicted that while the year 2023 would witness countless marriages and financial prosperity for those that remain steadfast in the Lord, there would also be coups and death of prominent individuals in Ghana. He further prophesied that local airlines could be involved in an accident that would shock the nation. He also predicted that the world might experience another serious disease like COVID. Besides, a prominent person from the Christian fraternity may lose his life. According to him, there would be a lot of accidents in the country this year. He further predicted that a lot of the youth would die this year.
“Lots of policemen will be caught in crossfire and die. Another prominent Ghanaian will go abroad to seek medical care and will not return. There will be a possible coup in the country and that the National Security and other state agencies should be on the alert to avert the overthrow of government,” he prophesied.
ISSUES OF NATIONAL SECURITY
Indeed, some of his prophecies border on national security, especially the coup plot and that should not be taken lightly. If for some reason you have seen issues that borders on security threat as a man of God, you can secretly advise government and the security apparatus to be on alert and not to compromise security instead of announcing that during a watch night service. Also, death is inevitable in one’s life and it will come when it has to. As a man of God, if you have seen that event coming through in the cause of the year, just pray to avert the situation instead of saying it publicly.
A WORD TO OUR
RELIGIOUS LEADERS
These so-called men of God, pastors and prophets are a big problem for this country and if we don’t find ways of checking some of their activities, they will eventually spell doom for us. Much as we need Christ and the word of God in our lives, that should be done in civility and tactfully instead of these crook and dangerous means by these charlatans and doomsayers.
This country must move forward and we need wise counselling, pieces of advice and prayers from religious leaders who have exemplified and established themselves in the profession and not pretenders who are hiding behind the Holy Bible to preach and predict dooms and other negativities that do not conform to the ethics of the religious profession but to set the clock of progress backwards.
MINISTRY OF CHIEFTAINCY AND RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS
The Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, needs to be proactive and sensitive in regulating and monitoring some of these negative activities of these splinter churches across the country by ensuring that they conform to laid down principles regarding their establishment and also to ensure that they will not engage in such issues to undermine national security but rather to unite the people for progress and national development.
Let me use this opportunity to wish my numerous readers and patrons a happy and prosperous New Year.
Contact email/WhatsApp of author:
ataani2000@yahoo.com
0277753946/0248933366
By Charles Neequaye
Features
Fix It Fast or Lose Them Forever: The Ever-Rising Importance of Service Recovery in Competitive Industries
Yes, in literature and in practice, differences exist regarding customer service, service failures, and service recovery.
But have you ever considered the latter (service recovery) and its potential impact on service experience, brand building, and sustainable growth?
Well, in today’s fiercely competitive service economy, customer experience has become one of the most powerful determinants of business survival and long-term success.
Across industries, from aviation and banking to telecommunications, hospitality, healthcare, retail, and digital platforms, customers now expect fast, seamless, and reliable service delivery at every touchpoint.
Yet despite technological advancements and operational improvements, service failures remain inevitable.
Systems experience downtime, deliveries are delayed, reservations are misplaced, payments fail, customer inquiries go unanswered, employees mishandle interactions, and digital platforms experience disruptions.
In the midst of these, what increasingly separates successful organisations from struggling ones is not whether failures occur, but how quickly and effectively they recover when they do.
Service Recovery
Simply put, it is the process of fixing a service problem and restoring customer confidence after a failure has occurred.
Examples of service recoveries are; an airline offering compensation after a flight delay, a telecom company restoring interrupted service and providing bonus data, a restaurant replacing a wrongly prepared meal at no extra cost, a hotel upgrading a guest’s room after a booking problem, and finally a bank reversing an erroneous transaction and apologising promptly.
As competition intensifies and customer expectations continue to rise, service recovery is rapidly evolving from a routine customer service function into a critical strategic capability.
Businesses are discovering a hard truth of the modern marketplace: fix customer problems quickly, or risk losing them permanently.
Customers are More Powerful Now Than Ever
Customers now possess more power than at any other time in business history. Digital technology, social media, online reviews, and mobile connectivity have fundamentally changed customer behaviour.
Consumers now easily compare competitors instantly, publicly share negative experiences, switch providers with ease, and influence the purchasing decisions of thousands of others online.
This evolution has made customer loyalty increasingly fragile. A single poor experience can quickly damage years of brand-building effort.
In highly competitive sectors where products and pricing are often similar, customer experience has emerged as one of the few sustainable competitive advantages.
Modern customers no longer evaluate organisations solely by product quality or pricing. Increasingly, they judge businesses by their responsiveness, reliability, transparency, empathy, and effectiveness in resolving problems.
Why Service Recovery Matters More Than Ever
Failures are no longer viewed as isolated operational incidents, especially in competitive service sectors. They are moments that directly influence customer trust, brand perception, and future purchasing behaviour.
Research across service industries consistently demonstrates that customers are often willing to forgive mistakes when organisations respond quickly, communicate honestly, show empathy, and resolve issues effectively.
Conversely, poor recovery experiences frequently create stronger dissatisfaction than the original service failure itself.
For many businesses, the greatest reputational damage does not arise from operational errors, but from delayed responses, poor communication, lack of accountability, and unresolved customer frustrations.
This has elevated service recovery into a central component of customer relationship management and competitive strategy.
Speed, a Competitive Weapon
In the modern service economy, speed is no longer merely operational efficiency; it is a basic customer expectation.
Consumers increasingly expect: immediate responses, real-time updates, fast complaint resolution, and proactive communication. Delays are often interpreted as incompetence, indifference, or organisational inefficiency.
Consequently, organisations are redesigning their service recovery frameworks to prioritize rapid intervention and customer reassurance.
A cursory assessment revealed that some businesses now operate dedicated customer experience teams, 24/7 support systems, AI-powered service platforms, automated escalation systems, and real-time issue monitoring dashboards.
The ability to resolve customer problems quickly is now a major source of competitive differentiation.
Technology Is Transforming Recovery Strategies
Technology is fundamentally reshaping how organisations manage service recovery. Across industries, companies are leveraging artificial intelligence, customer analytics, chatbots, predictive monitoring systems, and integrated digital support platforms.
These tools allow organisations to identify service failures earlier, monitor customer dissatisfaction, automate responses, personalize engagement, and accelerate resolution timelines.
Some organisations now proactively contact customers before complaints are formally lodged, using analytics to identify service disruptions in real time.
This means that the future of service recovery is increasingly preventive rather than purely reactive.
Service Recovery as a Brand Strategy
Forward-looking organisations are now treating service recovery as part of brand management strategy rather than operational damage control.
The logic is straightforward because, acquiring new customers is expensive, dissatisfied customers influence others, and loyalty is increasingly experience-driven.
Businesses are therefore measuring customer satisfaction, response times, complaint resolution rates, customer retention, and net promoter scores more aggressively than before.
In many industries, service recovery performance is now discussed at executive and board levels because of its direct relationship with profitability, reputation, and long-term growth.
A call to action
As industries become more digital, interconnected and customer-driven, service recovery will likely become even more important.
Therefore, organisations that succeed in the future will likely be those that respond rapidly, communicate transparently, empower employees, leverage technology intelligently, treat customers fairly, and place their (customers’) trust at the centre of recovery strategies.
Remember, customers now have more choices, less patience, and greater influence than ever before, a clear message to forward-looking organisations that when service breaks down, recovery is everything. Fix it fast or risk losing customers forever.
Writer: Mohammed Ali
Conflict at work is more common than you might think. According to 2022 research by The Myers-Briggs Company, more than a third of the workforce reports dealing with conflict often, very often, or all the time in the workplace.
Addressing a dispute might feel tense or awkward, but resolving the conflict is typically well worth it in the long run. Whether you are trying to mediate conflict between colleagues or are directly involved. Last week we looked at three and this week is the remaining four steps you can take to manage workplace conflict.
4. Find common ground
The best way to handle workplace conflict is to start with what you can agree on. Find common ground between the people engaging in conflict. If you are directly involved in the conflict, slow down and focus on results instead of who’s right.
If you are the mediator for conflict resolution between coworkers, observe the discussion and help point out the common ground others may not see.
5. Collectively brainstorm solutions
When deciding how to handle workplace conflict, it can be tempting to problem-solve on your own. Sometimes, it feels easier to work independently rather than collaboratively. However, if you want to achieve a lasting resolution, you will need to motivate your team to get involved.
Brainstorm possible solutions together, and solicit input from everyone involved on the pros and cons of each option until you settle on a solution that feels comfortable to everyone. This will help all team members feel a sense of ownership that can help prevent future conflicts.
6. Create an action plan
Once you have created an open dialogue around workplace conflicts, it is time to resolve them. Just like any other work goal, this requires creating a concrete plan and following through.
Create an action plan and then act on it. It does not matter what the plan is, as long as you commit to it and resolve the conflict as a result.
7. Reflect on what you learned
All conflicts offer an opportunity to grow and become a better communicator. Identify what went well and what did not.
Work with your whole team to gather learnings from the conflict so you can avoid similar situations in the future.
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