Features
What a hardworking President! (Part 3)
Real leaders are those who are able not just to fight for political power but make use of it in a positive manner to promote socio-economic growth and development and at the same time overcome difficulties that confront them to preserve the interest of their people which they hold and regard as paramount.
President Akufo-Addo has proved to be such a leader, and this explains that despite all the challenges during his campaign to become president, he worked hard and stayed focus to attain his ambition in life with his political career.Indeed, he is one of the greatest leaders that the country has ever produced and will go down in history as the one who, riding on the presence of former President J.A Kufuor, has made history by propelling the country into a higher standard of living.
The achievements of President Akufo-Addo in the health and agricultural sectors are there for all to see except for professional opposition members who unfortunately would not want to credit him with anything good even though his practical achievements are being enjoyed by all and sundry.
HEALTH SECTOR
Every constituency has been given at least one ambulance vehicle and some hospitals to improve health care delivery. In all, 350 brand-new well-equipped ambulances with well-trained personnel have been provided for the districts and hospitals throughout the country. Again, drones have also been brought in to help in the distribution of essential drugs to all parts of the country to ensure that no one is left out in health care if only people are able to act early enough to save lives in our hospitals.
Also, the government’s programme, Agenda 111, under which many hospitals are to be built at the regions and the districts are also being rolled out. The purpose is to ensure that each region has its own full-fledged hospital as well as ones for the districts. In addition to all these, some hospital beds have been distributed to many of our health facilities. This is noble and deserve the blessings of God.
COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Government’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic was also remarkably impressive. In March 2020, when the disease was first reported in Ghana, the government took immediate steps to ensure that its people became protected. Electricity and drinking water were provided free of charge to Ghanaians. The free water helped the people to regularly wash their hands in line with what the government wanted them to do. The electricity provided free of charge also helped the people to iron all dresses before wearing them since there was the need to ensure that everything, including dresses, was well sanitised before use.
Government is fighting hard to ensure that the COVID-19 vaccines are also produced locally. Prof.Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng has submitted a report with his committee to government on how to go about it.
PREVENTING BANKING CRISIS
To speed up national economic development, certain steps were taken for rapid economic growth as a way of improving upon the welfare of the people. Once such step was a strategy to overcome a looming banking crisis in the country. Many of the banks operating under the previous government, that is, the NDC did not have the required level capital to operate as expected. What had happened in other countries such as Lebanon and others could have also occurred here because the banks with capital below the required levels would have not been able to satisfy their customers’ withdrawals.
To resolve the issue, the Akufo-Addo administration withdrew the licences of such banks and reorganised the banking sector. Those banks that were too small to operate on their own were joined together to operate as one entity as can be seen in the example of Consolidated Bank of Ghana (CBG) which is now doing very well.
The confidence required in the banking sector has risen high and all these are helping the economy to boost up at a faster rate. This, together with other policies, account for the reason Ghana is ranked among the fastest growing economy in Africa and the world. Another achievement related to this is the relative stability of the Cedi. Matters would have been worse if government had not taken these steps to rectify the situation.
FASTEST INTERNET SPEED IN AFRICA
Another issue related to smooth economic growth is the fact that Ghana had been rated as the country with the fastest internet speed in Africa. According to a Speedtest Global Index for the top 10 fixed broadband categories in the first quarter of 2021, South Africa, Madagascar, Egypt, Senegal, Seychelles, Morocco, Congo, and Burkina Faso were ranked behind Ghana. Additionally, Ghana was ranked 79th in the world for the Speedtest Global Index with the speed of 53.28 Mbps, which was the fastest in Africa. This has helped in a way for the economy to develop at a faster rate because modern economies are linked to a fast-speed internet system.
CONSTRUCTION OF MORE ROADS
The Year of Roads, declared in 2020, is still being continued for 2021. The good news about the Year of Roads, including that of this year is that asphalt overlay is in progress for Accra roads and regional capitals. This means that major cities to enjoy the overlays would include as has been pointed out, Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi, Sunyani and Bolgatanga, among others.
Alongside this is the construction of interchange networks in various parts of the country such as Pokuase, Obetsebi Lamptey Interchange, Takoradi, Kumasi and Tamale. Therefore, the country has been uplifted in a pleasant manner as far as road infrastructure is concerned. If this does not constitute a good mark of good governance and economic growth, then what else can it be?
FIGHTING AGAINST CORRUPTION
The government is fighting hard against corruption. A new Special Prosecutor has been appointed to make corruption as unattractive as possible. He has begun to work in an assiduous manner and very soon the country and the world would begin to see the positive results that come out of his endeavour.
Conscious effort is also being made to guarantee peace and security in the country. In fact, Ghana today has been ranked the first most peaceful country in West Africa and remains the second most peaceful country in the whole of Africa. It is this credential of being a peaceful country that attracted the AfCFTA secretariat into the country. It is the same reason that President Akufo-Addo has been chosen as ECOWAS chairman for two consecutive terms.
IGNORING PROPAGANDA
Many Ghanaians are complaining about facilities they lack in their communities such as good drinking water, electricity, telecommunication facilities, clinics, or hospitals etc. These are being provided in a systematic manner so as much as we want people to draw the attention of government to their community needs, they should also bear in mind that this is a government that is committed towards the good of the people and that if we don’t allow it to complete its project successfully, we may all live to regret later. For this reason, no one should be influenced by any form of propaganda to turn his/her back against the government.
President Akufo-Addo appears tireless in his desire to fix the problems of this country looking at how energetic he is as if he is only forty (40) in age. This is what the Akufo-Addo administration has planned for this country, so do we support him or not?
The answer is not far-fetched and that means that we all need to support him no matter what!
Contact email/whatsApp of author:
Pradmat2013@gmail.com (0553318911)
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God”. The Holy Bible (Psalm 53:1)
The greatest gift I ever received was the Bible, given to me by Mr Anyetei Sowah of BIBLE HOUSE on April 4, 1991. It saved my life. He was my mate in sixth form, and while some of us were easy-going, perpetually looking for adventure in town, he was a bit different and we all respected and admired him for his Godly ways, his mild manners, his wise counsel.
When I became a journalist, he paid me a visit and asked me to attend one of his plays which was staged at the Arts Centre. He performed in this magnificent drama and I recall the role of one character, Reverend Sozo Macumbe. As a reward for being present, Anyetei presented me with a gift – The Holy Bible. It was more than One Million Dollars.
Earlier, I had always wanted to possess one but found it extremely difficult to purchase although it was very cheap, about the equivalent of two bottles lager beer. I could buy several lagers for myself and friends and yet couldn’t bring myself to spending on a Bible.
When Anyetei brought me the wonderful gift, I confessed almost on my knees that if he hadn’t presented me with the Bible, I couldn’t have bought one for myself no matter how hard I tried. I then blamed the devil for my inability to spend on a Bible rather than on beer. Of course, everybody blames the devil, so why not Kwame Alomele.
The Bible I got made me quite religious and as I read through and prayed, I was able to veer from dangerous paths of temptation and self-destruction. It was also an opportunity for me to reminisce my born-again days of old when I drew very close to Christ until Satan tore me away and re-baptised me fully into sin.
I really did not know what happened to me at the time. I was strongly in the faith but suddenly Satan came round and presented the whole world to me in exchange for my soul. On the whole, it was not a bad deal and I accepted Satan’s offer. Man mon enjoy life, abi!
When Anyetei’s Bible came, I told myself, “Kwame, you’ll fall a thousand times and take the mandatory count like a battered boxer. But you won’t remain sprawled, in the name of Jesus! You’ll crawl, you’ll stagger but eventually rise above beer bottles and continue from where you left off. Halleluyah!”
Yeah, you’ve got to give God his due. If you are a Christian, be strong in the faith and don’t be a mere church-goer; if a Moslem, don’t fail to pray and read the Koran daily; if you’re a Buddhist, chant ‘Myoho renge kyo nam’ till your jaw breaks; and if you’re a follower of Krishna, chant ‘Hare Krishna Hare’ till you collapse. And if you want to follow the devil too, please go ahead and wind up in hell. And in hell, you’ll find yourself in the form of ‘human khebab, precisely ‘human suya’. Hare.
In any case, research has shown that religious persons rarely become neurotic or psychotic. A person who is in a grave financial distress but is religious would hardly commit suicide.
Aside all the divine benefits, there is a psychological consolation that with God all things are possible. This is not only psychological, but real.
Those who are religious and get gilted by their boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands or wives just laugh it off. They never get broken-hearted to the point of mental derangement.
After lamenting a day or two over the loss of her lover, a gilted girl who is truly religious would declare that “Jesus is now my boyfriend”. She would never go mourning for days, weeks, months and end up at the Psychiatric Hospital. No, not when Jesus has taken over the show.
Of late, I’ve come a bit closer to Jesus not because I’ve been gilted by a ‘babe’ or in financial distress; far from these. I have realised that a youngman must organise his life and your life can hardly be organised if you are not religious. Jesus is like a pillar of your life, just as Buddha or Krishna might be.
The Lord says, “When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm”. (Psalm 75:3).
If you come to learn that people like mystic writer LOBSANG RAMPA have turned over a new page in life doubled-up. He was an occultist and one of his and is now a born-again Christian, then it is time man famous books which is now very infamous is ‘THE THIRD EYE’. I have read it three times over.
Before Mr Rampa came into the Christian fold, he apologised to the world for having deceived people with his writings and led them away from the path of righteousness.
I fellowship at the E. P. CHURCH OF GHANA at Tema. It is regarded as a renegade wing of the E.P.CHURCH. When they broke away, I was furious with them and called them good-for-nothing devil-inspired idiots.
Today, that is where I meet Jesus for a chat. And that is where my younger brother Edward Alomele, a latter-day convert, does business with Christ.
In fact, when churches split, it is only an opportunity for the word to spread further. So the two churches are now far apart and doing the work of God to spread the good news further and further. They need not be antagonistic to each other after all. Isn’t it?
And it came to pass that last Sunday when I walked into the synagogue I espied Diana Akiwumi sitting on the dais. Not sure if it was her, I looked out for her husband; they are almost always together.
And lo and behold, there was the Reverend Samuel Akiwumi perching beside his superstar wife. They were our guests. Today be today, I said.
As expected, Lady Diana led the praise and worship. It was an inspiring ecclesiastical blitz as the lady songbird with a musical call took the congregation through an explosive spiritual extravaganza. I was completely overwhelmed with joy and if it hadn’t been for my weight I would have executed the monkey-dance Kwame Korkorti taught me years ago.
When it came to delivering the word, it was no other than Evangelist Samuel Akiwumi. I never knew he was such a vibrant preacher man. He delivered the sermon with total conviction and power and the congregation nodded and nodded with satisfaction. Basing his sermon on Chronicles 2 Chapter 20, he urged us to rely exclusively on God in times of trouble.
After the service I cornered the Europe-bound duo and asked them about the AKIWUMI GOSPEL MINISTRIES.
This article was first published on Saturday, July 22, 1995
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If God grants us the grace to live long like our parents, I am of the firm conviction that we shall hear a lot of interesting things. Discipline in schools, especially at the Senior High School level, has become a hot topic for discussion in the country in recent times.
I recall Achimota School, a few years ago, being in the news for insisting that a Rasta-haired student, who had just gained admission, must cut his hair before being admitted. This generated a heated national debate, and the parents of the student decided to go to court. The Ministry of Education eventually intervened for the student to be admitted, and the court later ruled that he could not be prevented based on religious grounds. Interestingly, the teenager recently completed the school with no disciplinary issues — and on top of that, had 8 As.
A few days ago, a Minister stirred up another debate in the education space by announcing that regulations governing short hair in schools must be strictly enforced to ensure discipline and character formation. But I fail to see how cutting one’s hair short ensures morality.
In the past, students in second-cycle institutions were required to keep their hair short. Many of these boys later became men, completed universities, entered politics, and ended up in Parliament as Members of Parliament (MPs) representing their respective constituencies. At that time, the fashion in vogue among men was short hair, and in many cases, completely shaved heads, popularly called “Sakora.” One would therefore assume that these men would be morally upright.
Surprise, surprise! During the previous government, it came out that some MPs had dishonestly received double salaries. One then begins to wonder — what correlation, therefore, exists between short hair and right conduct? If short hair has anything to do with character formation, then something went very, very wrong somewhere.
Frankly, I fail to see the correlation between short hair and moral uprightness. I once lived in an area notorious for wee (marijuana) smoking, yet I never smoked wee. Character formation, in my opinion, depends largely on the individual — not on whether they have long or short hair.
What happens when a child is forced to pretend to be obedient and morally upright in school, only to go to university after three years in SHS? Even those of us who went through Sixth Form before university had our challenges — how much more those who spend only three years in SHS?
Some argue that in the army, soldiers cut their hair short and that’s why they are disciplined. I find this reasoning absurd because in countries like the United States, Canada, and across Europe, students do not cut their hair short, yet their societies are disciplined. They do not litter their streets, corruption is frowned upon, and their MPs do not take double salaries. That’s not to say they are angels, but on the whole, they eschew anti-social behaviour and are patriotic citizens.
A look at the Public Accounts Committee sittings proves my point beyond reasonable doubt. Most of the people engaged in misconduct had their hair cut short in various Senior High Schools, yet they turned out to be unpatriotic citizens.
I am sure that the man who a court of competent jurisdiction ruled had unlawfully taken GH¢51 million from the state of Ghana also observed the short-hair rule while in secondary school — and yet, he swindled the nation.
Food for thought. God bless.
NB: Change Kotoka International Airport to Kofi Baako International Airport.
BY LAUD KISSI-MENSAH
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