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The wahala of Sikaman MPs (2)
Some Members of Parliament at a funeral
When the honourable Member of Parliament returns home after the visit to his hometown, he can breathe easily now. He could have died from financial strangulation or from Common Fund disease. He must give thanks on Sunday at the church service for being alive.
As for the next visit, unless the second coming of Jesus Christ. Meanwhile, he must reflect and reckon whether the visit to the constituency was a successful one, after all. It will then hit him hard that what he had wanted to do during the visit was quite forgotten immediately he landed.
The natives completely distracted him. For example, there was this man who said he had contributed to his castration, sorry circumcision. The man later added that he was his uncle called Koli Badu, although he has no such uncle.
IMPRESSION
He was also forced to chair a funeral gathering where he had donated heavily to impress the folks and to glorify the size of his briefcase. He had given money to others to pay school fees, communal labour default penalties, free palmwine and tobacco snuff, court fines, whatever.
What he had gone to do, however, was not to cure poverty or alleviate it. He was not a doctor and therefore could not vaccinate the folks against the poverty disease, Africa’s most widespread epidemic.
He had gone there to meet the constituents to tell them about how the government was faring, what had been discussed in Parliament and his personal contributions to the debates; government’s infrastructural programmes and how they relate to his constituency and allied matters.
However, when he got that the natives would not be in the mood for official briefs. It was not their immediate concern if government’s infrastructural ideas were growing or ‘slimming.
That was a secondary matter and could not be entertained now, May be, it could be looked at during the next visit.
What was exigent was the palaver of the stomach and the issue bordering on the back- pocket economy of the men and the financial health of the white handkerchiefs of the women.
That, was certainly more important than parliamentary news and the state of the Yamoransa or Aflao road or the Keta Sea Defence project.
The folks needed new funeral cloths, second-hand church clothes, new tobacco snuff containers and Charlie Wote, The MP must be able to address such pertinent issues first. If he couldn’t, then what was the use of the MPs Common Fund, they would reason?
So the petrol he had wasted brought no benefit in terms of his work as a parliamentarian.
EDUCATION
The people of Sikaman would have to be educated on the need for them to stop seeing MPs as their financial messiahs. MPs are legislators and are supposed to be making laws and debating them. They are not operators of charity homes and neither are they philanthropists.
The laws they make are not only for their constituencies but also for the entire territory of Sikaman. Their salaries are really not enough to finance school fees and frothing palmwine.
Because of the pressures on them, they cannot do their jobs the proper way.
They cannot even stay overnight in the hometowns. The Common Fund is not for palmwine and tobacco. It is to enable them to initiate constituency projects and fund them. They are not meant for poverty alleviation. The Poverty Alleviation Fund is got through the assemblies.
HARASSMENT
Ghanaians must also stop the habit of travelling from their hometowns to Accra to base at the homes of their MPs to look for jobs. It is worse than harassment. It is almost criminal.
Sometimes MPs host about six people at a time. They have to feed them three times a day, and they must eat what the MP eats lest they go back home and say the MP discriminates in terms of stomach matters. That could cost him votes at the next elections.
You can find that where the MP’s accommodation isn’t big, his hosts sleep in the living room, some with their heads under a coffee table, one leg in the kitchen, the other in the bathroom,
What is worse is that they can snore heavily and the MP can hardly have a sound sleep. Sometimes the building vibrates due to the combined forces of the snorers. The house dog is compelled to bark because it is not used to such resonance. It might cause an earthquake.
The wahala of MPs is not cheap. People think it is all glory being an MP. It can also mean sweat, discomfort and even the temptation to resign and be in a less stress-free vacation.
But at the next election, you’ll see all of them standing to be elected again. Such is politics.
This article was first published on Saturday, July 13, 2001
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.
