Open letter to Mahama: The solution lies not with free SHS!

Good day Your Excellency,

Well, we have all heard that you have gone back on your word, having initially distanced yourself from the viability of the Free Senior High School policy of your main political opponent, Nana Akufo-Addo, in the run-up to the 2012 elections.

As it appears, your backtracking suggests there’s some good in the policy preached by the New Patriotic Party. Ideally, any country that seeks to build its foundation on education must be commended.

Together with health, I find education as one of the most critical aspects of our economy -- hence assiduousness must be the keyword in our dealings with those sectors.
I must say, however, that I am not particularly enthused about your announcement of free SHS for day students beginning 2015.

Mr. President, must we always reduce important sectors like education to this political ping-pong? While we even struggle to get the basics right, why are we are still committing ourselves to more complicated decisions which have the potential of nudging us further into the path of despondency?

Sad to say, after we fumbled through the introduction of the four-year SHS system, we are now being treated to another meal of a decision borne from a lack of foresight. Mr. President, what is wrong with our educational system? We need to answer this fundamental question first before moving on to proffer solutions.

I believe the problem of our educational system is not about the quantity of products churned out every year, but rather their quality. This is where I find myself miles apart from you over your recent pronouncement.

When people questioned the NPP’s Free SHS policy, it was not plain antagonism. The national debate over this policy was one of the most intellectual debates in our political discourse.

Industry has always complained that the quality of products churned by universities and polytechnics are short of standard. This is not a failure of the universities; rather it is a failure of the entire educational system.

The quality of our educational system has deteriorated and what I would rather have you and your government do is to fix these problems rather than a move that will only reinforce a mass production of low-quality SHS graduates.

In 2012, you argued that education must be progressively free, which sounded the more prudent suggestion around that time. Definitely, if you live in a country where teaching aids are always delayed and standard of teaching is unconvincing, you don’t compound your problems by granting wider access, especially when you have not dealt with the small numbers you have.

In 2007, when the duration of SHS was increased from three years (though technically it was two-and-half) to four years without proper infrastructural provision, all of us witnessed the chaos it brought. Every available space in schools was converted to classrooms regardless -- from canteens, chapels, dining halls and libraries.

Here we are again about to make a mistake that will eventually send us back to the drawing board. When it comes to education, we are all stakeholders and must not allow politicians to toy with it. Sometimes we must be vociferous in showing our displeasure at attempts by politicians to mess it up.

With all due respect, I think this move by your government smacks of populism. At a time when you say the meat is down to the bones, where are we expecting to raise those huge monies to fund these extravagant promises? Already, the rapid fall of the cedi is threatening to override all targets set by your government.

Mr. President, what we need now is assurance that the current difficulties are being managed properly and not promises.

I remember also that even when the National Health Insurance Scheme was on its knees, we were promised a one-off premium.

Thankfully, the one-off premium never came because it would have sent us back to the cash-and-carry days. Please, Mr. President and your NDC government, we have enough problems already facing our small country. Let’s tackle these problems first before we start inflicting more harm on ourselves.

Sir, you know what the famous American theologian James Freeman Clack said about politicians? He said: "The difference between a politician and a statesman is: a politician thinks of the next election and a statesman thinks of the next generation.”

Mr. President, don’t give us the impression you are thinking about the 2016 elections. I know you would like to be remembered as a statesman – and a fine one at that. If that’s the case just watch before you leap.

I’ll stop here because I know you don’t have much time.

Best regards.

Ghana: A ship in troubled waters...but it is all we have

Over the past few months, you have literally felt the economy sink its teeth into your flesh—biting so hard. The situation may not be much better the world over, but the Ghanaian situation points to a state of hopelessness that our leaders are driving us into.

I don’t know whether ours is a leadership which is incompetent or which is bereft of ideas. Either way, we are at a crossroads that could determine the country’s destiny—that is, if you believe in destinies.

There are no jobs for university graduates, not to talk about the high number of people who are not able to make it to the tertiary level. Research has shown that at least 80 percent of people who start basic school are not able to make it to the tertiary level—very alarming figures, if you ask me.

Right behind our backyard we are breeding monsters that will soon turn on us. A few days ago, a friend who graduated nearly four years ago told me of her difficulties in securing a decent job. It is easier to find water on the Sahara desert, she said, than to find a job in this country.

So how has she been able to manage all these troubling years? Indeed, everybody does have a limit to which they can withstand temptations. Yes, we all do. Surely, three years of not being employed can dislocate a person’s conscience. In such a situation, anything goes, more or less. Our basic survival instinct sets in.

Sadly, many people have gone beyond that tipping point; the result is their indulgence in all sorts of vices. Illegal mining has become so rampant that if not checked it could drive this country into a serious famine as farms and river bodies are destroyed in search of gold.

No one seems to care. Away from that, I remember hearing President Mahama at the World Economic Forum saying mine workers risk being laid-off should government go ahead to implement the windfall tax in the sector. Is that how worse our situation has become?

It is particularly sad that we have not even done a diagnosis of the ailment we are suffering from as a country. Our attempts at fixing the unemployment conundrum have always ended in a mess.

The old adage says: “more haste, less speed”. Some efforts to solve the problem such as the infamous Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA), formerly National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), have been fraught with allegations of financial malfeasance by officials.

The woes of GYEEDA are an endemic problem and show the systemic rot we have in our society. Rather than benefiting from the success of the system, some people choose to benefit at the expense of it.

Definitely we can’t build a country like this. People cannot continue to reap where they have not sown, particularly in the form of kickbacks. How do we expect contractors to execute projects using the appropriate materials when huge monies have been used in bribing officials?

Sometimes I believe the various political leaders we have had have no sense of shame. Comparing the level of our infrastructure development to that of the countries they visit, how do they feel? Even among their peers, how do they feel about the developments here?

Indeed, the country must work again. If we continue on this path we are doomed. We need to work on the mindset of the people—and the surest way we can do this is to work on the educational system.

Each year the literacy level keeps rising, yet the filth and indiscipline multiply in equal measure. In Japan for instance, in pre-tertiary schools, there are no janitors and students are made to work in lavatories just to instil in them a sense of responsibility.

Try this in Ghana and you will be dragged before the Human Rights Court. I am not calling for the same approach, but we should also be creative in dealing with our problems. This brings me back to the problem I mentioned earlier.

Our greatest bane is democracy or partisan politics. Unfortunately, we have no other alternative to this. Until we figure a way around it, our lot in life may remain unchanged for a long time to come.

Last time I had a chat with UT Bank boss Prince Kofi Amoabeng and he put it succinctly, “one man, one vote won’t lead us anywhere.” And he’s right. We can’t thrust such a key decision of who manages the fortunes of our country into the hands of someone who doesn’t value what’s at stake.

Going back to the drawing board, we should analyse all our options for making our democracy fully participatory, functional and all-inclusive. No group of people should be sitting on the fence waiting or praying for a fault. We can’t toy with this country.

I believe in Ghana and I expect it to work again. The last time I checked, it is the only place I could call home. When all is said and done, a big part of the responsibility rests on me, as well as you who is reading this.

Whether the cedi is taking a nosedive or gone scuba diving, it is the only currency we have. And as citizens who are always at the receiving end, it is not in our best interest to always tow the line of politicians who predict doom for their opponents.

In a way we are all captains of the ship Ghana, and we cannot afford to abandon it in these troubled times.

God bless our homeland Ghana!

I’m out.

What will you die for?

What will you die for?

By Richard Annerquaye Abbey

It was about 1:30pm at Opera Square in the Central Business District. Traders and pedestrians were jostling for space on the pedestrian walkway. As it were, the petty traders would have none of the so-called “right-of-way” talk of pedestrians. It was a lawless, chaotic scene. 

Not that I expected anything different -- because so long as our city authorities do not stamp their authority, traders will always battle with hawkers for space on sidewalks. Previous efforts to “decongest” the streets have always hit a snag, especially when the authorities start to consider the political implications.

Decongestion is even harder in election years as these traders threaten to blackmail the government if they are forced out of their “offices”. The traders have always won, hands down, on such occasions.

Anyway, I don’t intend talking about this messy situation. As I was saying, it was business as usual at the Opera Square until disaster struck. It was quiet a nasty one. I was particularly disturbed to witness such a scene.

It started out as a mere quarrel, but what followed were not mere blows. It was a mini-WBC middleweight bout. Little surprise the venue, Opera Square, is located a skip, a hop and a jump from Bukom, home to many boxing legends of the country.

Two young men among the traders, previously seen in a hearty chat, were now literally demanding each other’s head. The argument centred on how these two breadwinners would share an amount of GH¢100 they had just made on a sale.

After colleagues tried in vain to break up the fight, the two remained resolute in settling their scores the old way. The amount at stake was not that much, but as the scuffle degenerated, it was no longer the money that was at stake but life, too. Yes, you read right. 

Soon, an uncharacteristic hefty blow landed on the face of the guy demanding his share of the profit. 
It was so fatal that it sent him crashing his head on a rock and knocked him unconscious. There was sudden alarm and a spontaneous break-up of the brawl. The man on the floor had to be hurried to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. Sadly, he did not survive. Such a youthful soul wasted. It was such a sad scene as the news later broke at Opera Square.

This is not the first and would likely not be the last time someone loses his or her life over such trivialities. Last year a man lost his life fighting a driver’s mate over change. He left behind a very young family whose upkeep fell on their mother, a petty trader.

In the two instances, it was a case of people fighting for what they thought belonged to them. Most of us are fond of this. At times when we just have to let go and lick our wounds, we hold on to fight a little longer because we don’t want to be seen as being “foolish” or giving up easily. No matter how severely the other protagonist in the Opera Square incident may be punished, it would not bring his victim back to life. 

As my old mother in the village puts it, we don’t lose a hair on our head when we are insulted or cheated. Hers was the typical “fama Nyame” or “leave it to God” attitude. Much as I have qualms with her stance at times, I believe it’s a general rule that must apply in the face of severe confrontation.

About four years ago, a friend acquired a brand new laptop after months of saving. Just two weeks after acquiring the laptop, he was pounced on by two hoodlums who demanded he hand over the laptop to them. He would not budge -- not when he had toiled his life to acquire it.

A scuffle ensued and one of the robbers slashed his shoulder with a machete, and his priceless possession fell to the ground. He could not but throw himself to the ground in great pain. At this point, the whereabouts of the laptop mattered little to him.

The robbers grabbed the blood-drenched laptop bag and sped-off. My friend spent four months in the hospital with the affected hand amputated. He wondered whether it was worth fighting for his laptop, which he lost anyway. His inability to let go of the priceless possession marred his life forever.

Every time he looks at his scar, he wishes he had just handed the laptop to them without second thoughts. But the harm has already been done. Once there’s life, there’s always hope. It’s a message we have to live by.

It is always difficult to let go, but in most cases we stand vindicated in the long run. Let’s not endanger our lives over things that will have no value tomorrow. Life is more precious than anything; that’s a fact.
Like I said, once you have life, you have everything.

Happy weekend people.

I’m out.

Death must not end it all…

Death’s sting has always stunned people. The Bible says it is appointed unto man to die, but the death of a relation or a friend is always bound to leave us crushed. Wailing, a pensive mood, and a feeling of one’s life crushing abruptly among others are immediate reactions to the loss of a loved one.

Even some have been driven to commit suicide at the loss of a relation -- which can be very unfortunate. Apart from love, sex and life, death is one of the most popular themes in songs, movies and other arts. This shows that it is at the very heart of everything we do—it is part of life.

Yet the element of surprise in death remains. I once knew a beautiful lady who was also very brainy. She virtually topped every class at school since she was in crèche. She had a wonderful personality and was cut for success. But before she could even finish SHS, death manifested itself. It was not a pleasant piece of news. A budding, healthy tree gone…forever. Her family was devastated and they wondered why it had to be her. Her life had not even begun…but there she lay breathless, cold, a bubbly girl snuffed out never to smile again.

Indeed, death has always had a way of getting at us like none other. The sister of the deceased, who was my friend and schoolmate, found life meaningless soon after -- you know, when it happens like that, at least for the first two or so weeks, we wish it were all just a bad dream.

That this is a person you will never see again in life breaks the soul. For months, my friend went through hell. No amount of tears could revive her sister; she could not come to terms with the fact that her intelligent, innocent sister was no more.

So with Komla Dumor’s death. It seems the news has not even sunk; many people are still in denial. “He’s gone? Just like that?” you ask? Yes, just like that. But don’t be surprised there are those who still hang on to a glimmer of hope that Komla would come out and clear the air and describe his death as an expensive joke.

But you know, in times like this we have two options: to resign ourselves to fate or pick ourselves up from the dust and forge ahead with our lives. Of the two, the latter seems the more difficult to do.

Komla lived a very fulfilling life, and I am sure he would not want us to beat ourselves up for something we did not do. Of course he would cherish the love we have all shown him, but at the same time he would also appreciate that we continued with the remainder of our tasks here assigned on earth.

Taking care of ourselves

While we work so hard, we must pause and share some time with our family and friends, for they are the ones that do cherish us most. Personally, I believe hard work should not be detrimental to one’s health. That is not to say you must not give your utmost, but what you must also know is that the body has limited capacity just like a machine, and overworking it and not taking it through regular maintenance will lead to an eventual shutdown—a system overload.

The Bible says that God created the universe and all that’s in it within six days, and he rested on the seventh day. Even the Almighty rested. This underscores the need for rest; it must not be taken for granted at all.

You can decide to adjust your body to work for 10, 12 or even 14 hours daily. That’s cool, but you should know that rest must also be taken in similar proportion to ensure a well-balanced body.

Prof. Frimpong Boateng, former CEO of the Cardiothoracic Centre at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, has bemoaned how a lot of young professionals are working themselves to their graves. You can’t cheat nature. The sad aspect is that mostly, the people we work so hard to impress, our families, are rather left miserable because we died trying to provide for them. Sad as it is, you can be replaced at your work place but your family will never be able to replace you with somebody else.

But this should not to be an excuse for people who are outright lazy. Not at all; lazy people must not seek refuge in this. While giving your 101% best is ideal, you must also know it is because of the need for rest that we have five working days, the weekend off, and an annual leave.

I am saying all this because I believe beyond work, we must also make time and enjoy with the ones we so cherish. It should be as simple as ABCD. No? We all have got to get the balance right.

Our thoughts and prayers should be with the family of Komla, especially his wife Kwansema and those three lovely angels of theirs, Elinam, Elorm and Emefa.

Toying with unemployment …a ticking time bomb

In this 21st century, one would wonder why formal education is still regarded a luxury in our part of the globe. You’re lucky if your parents or any relative or Good Samaritan puts you in a school to begin this sometimes difficult journey.

Going through our educational system is indeed a tough struggle, with quite a good number of students dropping out before senior high school. From here, too, the attrition is quite high as there are only few openings at the tertiary level.

After all this“wahala” one may pass through to complete at least tertiary education, the graduate is confronted with the fiercest of battles yet. Getting a job, much more a decent one, is a thing that literally requires fasting and prayers for many graduates.

Sometimes those in authority are quick to proffer solutions to the aggravating issue of unemployment. The last time, I heard a Deputy Minister admonishing graduates to create their own jobs. Sometimes, I wonder why people were put in authority at all.

It is sad enough that as a country we have zero data on unemployment. In fact, we can’t even trace the number of people who secure jobs right after tertiary education.

Many academicians as well as technocrats continue to fault the educational system. accusing it of not preparing graduates for industry. Well, their criticism may be true, but the question is: what then is the fate of those who have begun the journey or are still in the school pipeline?

You know, there’s no “abort” function in our educational system for us to use in aborting all the half-baked graduates who are about to be birthed by our “deformed” educational system. So the earlier we come to this realisation the better.

Ghana must make a conscious effort at providing at least the right environment for people to create their own jobs, that is, if this is the direction the government wants to go. It is public knowledge that previous attempts by government have failed miserably.

The likes of the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency or the erstwhile National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) have all suffered the same fate. Nobody can really pinpoint to the transformational effect these policies have had in the country.

What this calls for is a rethink of government’s approach to resolving unemployment. I believe government has no business trying to be the major provider of employment. We should use the GYEEDA brouhaha as a cardinal example of our failure.

The private sector offers a more realistic chance at providing sustainable or stable employment. To start with, the government can give tax breaksor other incentives to organisations that generate employment.

In so doing, government would not put its limited resources into paying wages. Whatever revenue government may relinquish in the form of these tax breaks or incentives it stands to recoup through the payment of income taxes.

We can use those incentives to attract foreign companies to come establish their presence here. We need to reduce our dire unemployment situation. Doing that would mean that crime will not be an option for people who have been frustrated because they lack jobs.

Agriculture is also an area where government can promote employment opportunities. It is a cliché that Ghana has vast arable lands and agriculture, which already employs quite a huge number of Ghanaians, still offers a decent chance of taking a lot of people off the streets.

The lack of investment or a clear-cut policy for the agricultural sector has led to the decline in productivity. Indeed, it is no surprise that many farms are being turned into illegal mining fields. It is really a shame.

It is common knowledge that our farmers are all aging and the youth can prove to be the game-changer if we are to salvage our agriculture output. Pushing the youth into agriculture must go beyond lip-service.

Then again, we don’t need government to own these initiatives. Government must be creative about these solutions to boost agriculture.We obviously need to relook at unemployment.

I’m out.

By Richard Annerquaye Abbey

Killing a fly with a Hammah!

The former Deputy Minister of Communications Victoria Hammah has for a while been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Little wonder the latest news of her pledging to make US$1 million--according to a secretly recorded audio--before quitting politics culminated in her being given the sack.

Since Ms. Hammah has not publicly denied the tape nor its content but rather caused the attempt of her driver, it will be logical to conclude that the voice on the tape is hers. Whoever did the recording really did her in.

Nevertheless once the content of the tape became public, we have no other option than to interrogate it and see whether issues raised merit our consideration. Personally I think we have exaggerated almost the issues Ms. Hammah raised on the leaked tape.

Of course US$1 million is no small money. It could build thousands of boreholes or provide dozens of classroom blocks for many deprived communities. Indeed many were those who raised issues with Ms. Hammah’s appointment as a Deputy Minister.

Frankly, she didn’t have many sympathisers and being embroiled in one scandal or the other did not help much in winning over public sympathy. What did the President see in her to employ her? It indeed sad that she could not justify the faith Mr. Mahama had in her considering her “appointment was solid way back.”
But come to think of it I don’t understand why an “innocent” person could be used to pacify the sins of many a corrupt government official. Yes, she declared her intent of making a certain amount of money in politics.

Unlike her, many people who have masterminded many corrupt deals are still walking free with some still at post as government appointees. What didn’t we hear about GYEEDA, ISOFOTON, Subah, as well as millions of dollars paid as judgement debts?

While I hold the view that corruption in any form must never be countenanced, I still believe government’s swift reaction to hammer Victoria is a clear case of double standards. Despite the several reports of financial malfeasance reported at Public Account Committee, Judgement Debt Committee, among many other committees set up to review the infamous GYEEDA rot, nothing really had come out of it.

Of course the likes of Victoria and co are touchable; you can do away with them. She is just a small fly in the mix—no wonder her target was a paltry US$1 million while the likes of GYEEDA and Subah, SADA alone are reported to have blown over US$1billion.

Aunty Vick is a product of the system—one which promotes and institutionalised corruption. Unless we have a system that allows political parties to be financed with public money, we ain’t doing away with corruption anytime soon.

Party financiers are no philanthropists. The juiciest of contracts are awarded to them as a way of rewarding them for their loyalty. However, public financing of political parties allows the parties to streamline their spending.

It does not create a platform where one party will be attempting to outshine the other. In this case, money does not become a key factor as for instance, expensive advertisement among other things can be dealt with.

As far as the funding of political parties is left to private and “hidden” businessmen, we will always breed a crop of people who are into public service to make returns on their “investment”. There are so many Victoria Hammahs in the system.

The big fishes in the soup are the relatively unknown, wrecking more havoc to us than the Vic Hammahs. Sadly, these are the untouchables and no leader of a party will dare touch a hair on their body. Like Vic said on the leaked tape, she has no roots in the party so her sacking was easier and swift.

These recent events point to our ineptitude in tackling corruption. So why is it that some alleged corrupt practices are left to committees and review committees and others acted on swiftly. Why must we be quick to punish intents but slow to punish the actual action?

The golden rule to stealing, as someone will say, is not to get caught--if you are clever, you will continue to cheat the system. No wonder the “father” of modern judgement debts is a financial engineer by profession—Alfred Agbesi Woyome.

Apart from the two salient points in the leaked tape that relates to her low ambition and the part relating to the justices of the Supreme Court, the rest is idle gossip. Almost everybody is guilty of that one way or the other.

Of course we have not been caught on tape. With the advancement of technology, Vicky Leaks indeed points out that we are all vulnerable. Those who are fond of badmouthing in particular must take a cue from this.

Not only has she lost her job, but her “friends” and potential ones who would be wary of falling victim to her acidic tongue. To some extent I pity her and I know she will be traumatised for a long time to come.

Victoria Hammah, please take a cold shower and come back to show some maturity. Apologise to all those you who were hurt by the incident. And please don’t try justifying some of the things you said. Build bridges and extend the olive branch to particularly Rachel Appoh, yeah?

It’s never easy but the world has not come to an end; move on.

I’m out.

Will Christmas ever be the same again?

It was December 25 and I had just arrived from church in the company of my siblings. It was one of those moments the whole family had been waiting for -- a rare opportunity to have a taste of sumptuous food and an excuse to demand newly sown clothes from my parents.

In those days, Christmas brought the family together. It was not Irish cream or any exotic drink that brought us together, just a bottle of squash with plenty water to serve the entire family. Everyone was content with it, except on a few occasions when the accompanying Piccadilly biscuits had run out.

There can never be a Christmas without firecrackers, popularly known as “knockouts”. Much as the little explosions caused by the crackers were a nuisance at times, we loved it all the same. The eve of Christmas and December 31 were always special times to light these firecrackers.

Of course, this was in the late 80s and 90s. Getting the family together was always an inexpensive venture. Indeed, Christmas provided yet another opportunity to meet the family once more. Nowadays, everyone seems busy minding their own business.

With the passing of time, the mechanical solidarity of society -- the term sociologists use 
to describe community bonding based on shared beliefs and activities -- has waned. The little things that connected the family now mean nothing. The surge in technology -- if not the cause of this rift -- can be said to have further compounded it.

If you leave two or more people in a room, don’t be surprised to come back and find them busy on their phones, either “tweeting”, “facebooking” or “whatsapping”; it tells you of the times we are in. In fact, this practice is pervasive.

The family’s (extended) segregation into smaller (nuclear) units is something sociologists have expressed worry about. Inasmuch as the mobile phones, the social media networks, video games and satellite TVs have become a crucial part of our lives, I believe the opportunity still exists for us to bring the family together again.

It’s never too late for us to go back to the little things that knitted the family together in the past. Being the basis of every society, the family system must be made to work once more. I believe we can improve the mechanical solidarity.

Of course the era of the squash and Piccadilly biscuits may not come back, but we can still recreate those special moments. We can still organise those little parties on Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, etc.

The society is a collection of families; without it the society will cease to exist. If we all contribute to the demise of the family, knowingly or not, we will all suffer from the consequences.

Even as we challenge ourselves to improve our families, let’s not also ignore the disadvantaged in the society. Christmas is a time to show love to those who need it most, not those who can return the love shown.

No gift is too small as long as it gets to needy hands. We should not make these orphans or needy persons feel left out of this years’ holiday celebrations. Not many can hold parties or make huge donations to orphanages or needy homes, but at least there would be someone in our community or in some other place who would appreciate a little kind gesture this Christmas.

For me, my Christmas will be spent with my family. I will try reliving those moments. It is not going to be easy but I will make an attempt, and I will urge you to do same. Let’s build bridges and not burn them. Life’s very short; make friends, enjoy with your family—they are all you have.

Being my last write-up for the year, I want to use it to wish all who have been reading my column the best of the season. I trust the good Lord will keep all of us safe as we approach the New Year. I pray the New Year brings us unprecedented favours and blessings.

I’m out!

The writer is the author of Rhythms of Thoughts, a column published in the Weekend edition of the Business and Financial Times (B&FT).