<<Print>>

On 31st January it rained. Very hard for two hours. Accra flooded, Ashaiman changed its streets to mud lanes, ditches and potholes sucked huge gulps of aqua divine and the Trotros and taxis had a field day, breaking every road rule they have been stopped from executing with the recent police controls on streets and side walks. Ashaiman has the enviable reputation of sneezing burning tires, terrorizing their Municipal Chief Executive, Okadas and energetic youth roaming the corners, picking and fleecing inattentive visitors who don�t understand the mixed culture of the community. I wondered though if Lord Nature had found a compassionate strand for Ghana this week, whether it was tears after hearing the truth from one of its apostles, Rt. Rev. Stephen Richard Bosomtwi-Ayensu, Methodist Bishop in Obuasi and decided to irrigate Accra, not planning, like Mayor Oko Vanderpuye for the flood-prone areas. On a pulpit at the Obuasi Black Park to his congregants and fellow priests, Reverend Bosomtwi-Ayensu simply said enough of all this mess. He was not angry at the townsfolk, he was angry at President folk. �The President is slow. It�s as if he and the Government are suffering from stroke. He seems so unconcerned about our suffering. Times are so hard and life is simply unbearable. He must wake up to realities and stop sleeping on the job�. He was open about his thoughts, angered and frustrated by the current economic hardship in the country, and asked members of the clergy to stop fasting and praying for the nation, and rather speak against the ills of the Government, including corruption, which had taken on a national garb. According to him, enough prayers had been said for the country, yet nothing positive seemed to be happening. So, no more prayers? Enough said? I am sure Christians are cringing and wringing their hands, wailing and running into Basilicas to check whether you can blaspheme against the President. Deputy Education Minister Ablakwa certainly thought so, and reacting to the Reverend�s comments, �Ablakwabish� (rubbish ala Okudzeto Ablakwa) reared its head after a long sojourn from mainstream media, to condemn, not what the Reverend said, but what the Reverend�s political colors looked like. Here is how he ended his diatribe on Radio Gold�s Alhaji and Alhaji programme. �When these people want to wear their political colours and descend into the political arena, they should come out and wear the party colour and T shirts when they wish. If you are an NPP, NDC, CPP priest, feel free to do it but making a mockery of the church is not in the interest of anybody� Later, I thought to myself, Nature started this rainfall to tell Mayor Vanderpuye that his drains and claims of a flood-free Accra was a ridiculous deception and all monies he had paid to various contractors, especially the Zoomlion people had been a waste, nothing achieved and preference given where it was not proper. The only way to let Ghanaians see this was to throw down buckets of water for just two hours and bingo, we were running from choked drains and filth from all kinds of hidden places. So, enough of the lies from the Mayor? Lord Nature poured unchlorinated water on Ghanaians tail-end of Harmattan, caught us all unawares (many Ghanaians had made it to work before it started) and gave Ghana Water Company a chance to salvage some of their 47% losses they charge to our bills and have the audacity to suggest we prepay for non-existent supply. Parliament said enough of all this though, and refused to approve the pilot project. And Savanna Agricultural Development Authority and Asongtaba are wed in business as �SADA ASONGTABA Guinea Fowl Production and Marketing Company Limited.� This joint venture vehicle is responsible for the five million trees never planted in the Northern Regions and the Guinea fowls that flew to Burkina Faso, carefully weighing their options during flight between Mahama�s Ghana and Blaise Campaore�s territory. But they will be back soon. Blaise wants to rule the Burkinabes forever, and that means dictatorship and plenty Akonfem giveaways. Even Rawlings knows that now, after Major General Utuka�s (deceased, murdered) children gave it to him, no holds barred. To show how committed the Government is to eliminating corruption, Mustapha Ahmed at the President�s office announced that Government was terminating a �contract� that did not exist and issued instructions to a Board of the �SADA ASONGTABA Guinea Fowl Production and Marketing Company Limited� it should not be controlling. This is a fully incorporated company under the laws of Ghana. Does our President have a right to abrogate any contract a private company signs? Coming on the back of the Merban Fortiz conflict issues, this seems like another avoidable blooper. Enough said? And new communications Director Mr. Dotse Malor issuing his first press release, unfortunately backdated it to 31st January 2013. And I just advised last week to watch your let flank, Dotse. Did you read the release? Or was Koku the last one to read it? Deputy Kwakye Ofosu refuses to spin this one, so Mr. Malor we will say no more. The cedi continues to depreciate against all the major currencies. Just as it did in June 2012 when it became such a crisis, Governor Amissah Arthur took the step to tamper with customer forex accounts and then denied it. Read my comments from then. We are in similar if not identical circumstances. Demand for forex has again outstripped supply and this Governor has no answers. How many more times? Isn�t it enough? Dumso continues. Enough of that matter. Brace yourself for the major stress. TDC demolished poor people�s homes at Adjei Kojo, National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) stepped in to provide shelter, and in the process elevated TDC to a National Disaster Institution. Main rivers are silting and water flow to the Ghana Water Company treatment rooms are drying up. The Land Administration Project received commendations from The World Bank but too little too slow. How much longer do we have to live with land identification matter? Agh, it is enough! Street naming and house numbering is stuck somewhere between the President�s instructions and the in-trays of the Municipal and District Chiefs, going nowhere, happening no how. I am weary of repeating these things. Can Government maybe reach out and give us some good news to crow about? Do you know that in August 2010 the Ministry of Local Government published final guidelines on Street Naming and Numbering for Districts? It provides detailed notes even as far as what signboard sizes to use. And Harold Agyeman, one of my heroes, has provided an effective way to use regional codes and suffixes to identify places and properties. And the Banks blame poor location of customers as one of the reasons for high interest rates? Can we say more? Here is Harold�s article, which he wrote in May 2006. But I finally understood what Nature was asking of Ghanaians. Don�t get complacent and �over-confi.� We lost the CHAN championship to a lesser Libya side, a match we could have won three times over. Heartbroken, nursing Guinness that had no meaning after we lost the penalty shootout, �tis time to sit up and make football a true national sport. And that means becoming unbeatable in every tournament. Opponents must shiver when they are drawn in a group with Ghana. That would be true national sport quality. Anyway, enough football, it is a funny old game as they say. And a fellow panelist Mr. Yaw Oppong on CiTi fm�s Big Issue pointed out on Saturday morning, �we are pretending to be a democracy, with elected officials pretending to govern us and we, pretending to be governed.� Enough said this week. Ghana, Aha a ye de papa. Alius valde week advenio. Another great week to come!