GITMO 2 ARE NOT A HUGE THREAT

Sometimes when I ponder over the way some Ghanaians cause fear and panic to themselves and the society at large, I understand why we have simple solutions for some problems in Ghana but are implementing cumbersome solutions. Our level of exaggerating simple issues are just getting overboard; typical is the issues on GITMO 2.

News trickled in few days ago that the Ghana government has decided to accept the GITMO 2 as refugees in Ghana, thus are allowed to continue staying in Ghana as long as they desire but under the refugee tag. This announcement has since caused tongues wagging with a section of citizens claiming that it is dangerous for the country to allow the former Al-Qaeda terror suspects from Yemen to continue residing in Ghana.

In January 2016 under the John Mahama administration, ex-President of the US Barack Obama as part of a move to dissolve the US Naval Base prison at Guantanamo Bay ordered that 2 Yemen Nationals – Muhammad Bin Atef, 36 and Khalid Muhammad Salih al-Dhuby, 34 suspected to be terrorists be brought to Ghana for a period of 2 years after which they are free of all accusations.

The 2 years is over and the Presidency has announced that considering the chaste life of the GITMO 2 coupled with their already acquired refugee status in Ghana, government is allowing the two Yemenis to continue staying in Ghana as refugees. This announcement have sparked a lot of argument in the Ghanaian media and among citizens with many scared that the continue stay of GITMO 2 in Ghana is tantamount to likely terrorist attack on the country.

In this article, I want to express my opinion on why I think many of the hullabaloo being made about the continue stay of GITMO 2 in Ghana are uncalled for. Many of the commentary against the decision are doing nothing but just causing fear and panic among some citizens as well as making the Yemenis citizens feel uncomfortable in a place they are already settled comfortably with some family and friends.

One most important fact that we must bear in mind is that the GITMO 2 were not convicted of any terrorist crime. Information available to us states that the two Yemen nationals were suspected Al-Qaeda terrorists. The word ‘suspect’ which was not tagged by Ghana but by the arresting nation themselves depicts that the two men may or may not be terrorists. It probably was for certain unfound reasons that they were arrested and detained in the US Naval Base prison in Guantanamo Bay. Even the USA could not prove that the two men were directly involved in a terrorist act so it will be an unfounded claim to get scared that the two additions to Ghana’s number of refugees are part of any terrorist organization or can trigger any terrorist attack on Ghana.

Furthermore, news has it that the GITMO two have integrated into the Yemeni Association in Ghana and have gone on to give birth with women in Ghana. This information should be one that must curb part of the fear and panic. Even though having children does not mean they cannot be involved in terrorist acts, the decision to settle down and have family should inform us on how known, responsible and settled the GITMO 2 have been in the 2 years of their stay in Ghana. Mingling with fellow Yemenis to the extent of having children shows that the men are traceable enough since people know of them and their current where about.

Notwithstanding, we must not belittle the intelligence of Ghana security agencies involved in keeping an eye on whatever activities the GITMO two engages in. In as much as we can sometimes count the fall outs of our security apparatus, I bet the security agencies are not sleeping on their job pertaining to monitoring and guarding the country against possible terrorist attacks. It is not all security arrangements on how the GITMO 2 are and will be monitored that will be revealed to the public. In this light we must know that just as our security officials were able to monitor their stay for the past 2 years, they will not leave ajar the monitory regulations. I am convinced that even the US who gave us the so called burden of housing the GITMO 2 will not abandon us in terms of security.

In conclusion, I will state that the decision to offer the GITMO 2 a refugee status did not just come out of the blue but out of many considerations and extensive deliberations. In any case we are not out of the world, meaning like all countries in the world including the most powerful countries, we are not safe from terrorist attacks for which me may claim that the stay of 2 suspected terrorists will open the gate for a terror attack. If the terror attack will come, it will come based on many issues other than the stay of GITMO 2; some of which are already taking center stage in the country.

Thanks for reading…Another Reality from my Medulla Oblongata.

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Here for God and country! Long live Ghana! 

PLASTIC RICE BROUHAHA…TIME FOR GHANA TO CASH-IN ON RICE PRODUCTION.

Over the weekend my friend Booty Brown chatting with me over a bottle of whisky complained that he suspects eating the plastic rice that lots of people are talking of. For the sake of the law, I will not mention the name of the rice brand but from his words, he suspects that the brand of rice he bought few weeks ago and had already consumed half of the 5kg bag is the said plastic rice.

Somewhere last year, a video went viral involving the manufacturing of what is purported to be rice made from plastic. From the view of the plastic rice in the video, it is very similar to the natural rice that we know and have been eating over the years. This resemblance has raised more suspicion, consequently causing fear and panic among many Ghanaians. Some others are actually refraining from eating rice for fear that they will eat plastic rice. (For this people, I ask that they rather turn to purchasing local rice because there is local rice on the market). The video also suggests that the said plastic rice is being imported into the country, thus the plastic rice could be bagged as a new rice brand or bagged as already existing rice brands. And with the influx of many foreign rice brands on our markets, one could conclude that the plastic rice will be part of the numerous foreign rice brands imported into the country. Meanwhile there are locally grown brands of rice on the market as well.

At the moment, rice consumers which undoubtedly constitute the larger chunk of Ghanaians are in a fix sort of since the market in dominated by foreign grown imported rice. From some indications, it is becoming difficult for one to differentiate between the natural rice and plastic rice which could be placing all foreign grown imported rice at a bad position in the minds of Ghanaians.

Though this phenomenon of plastic rice is bad for a rice consuming country like Ghana, this could be another avenue for a rice growing country like Ghana to rethink improvement in the rice sector. Ghana is one of those countries that have very fertile land for the cultivation of many agriculture produce which rice is included. 

Over the years successive governments seem to fail in improving rice production in Ghana from planting improved seeds to attracting Ghanaians to buy. It is no news that Ghanaians have a strong taste for foreign grown rice for which we see a low sale of locally grown rice. And this is due to several reasons ranging from the perception that Ghanaian farmers do not grow long grain and perfumed rice to the assertion that local rice is often broken and not delicious. I will not be quick to blame Ghanaians for this stereotype because before rice farmers began cultivating improved long grain perfume rice seeds, they cultivated seeds that often provided broken rice. Many Ghanaians did not like the idea of eating broken rice and this brought about the stereotyping that Ghanaian grown rice is not delicious. I call the assertion stereotype because for some time now Ghanaian rice farmers are growing long grain perfumed rice seeds thus are producing the same foreign grown rice we crave for.

I think this is where we have come to a crossroad, thus needs government to drum home the news that Ghanaian grown rice are also long grain and perfumed plus getting Ghanaians to understand the fact and change their perception about locally grown rice. 

This morning I spoke to my young Lawyer friend who abandoned his banking job to go into rice production up North. He confirmed to me that he and his farm team are done planting long grain perfumed rice. Meaning when it is time for harvesting, Rashid’s farm will be selling long grain perfumed rice to Ghanaians; same rice that is grown out there and imported here for which we are having cases of plastic rice on our markets.

Some months ago when I heard that Praire Volta Ltd, a rice growing company in Ghana collapsed, I got furious and asked myself when Ghana will be able to manage some of these state owned companies. I used to consume rice produced from PVL and the rice was so delicious. For years now, I have come to know that fresh rice that does not sit in a ware house for over a year is the best since it is healthy. So I was excited to be purchasing locally produced long grain perfumed rice from PVL since it was fresh and not stored for several years. 

But aside Praire Volta rice, other rice farmers and companies are springing up like that of my friend Rashid who are cultivating the same seeds that the foreign grower cultivate for which they must be supported and given the necessary incentives to feed Ghanaians.

With the plastic rice brouhaha plus other numerous advantages like employment creation, profit making and growth of the economy, concentrating on local rice production I think is the best way to go now. We have had occasions where governments try to improve rice production in Ghana but fail. I urge that this time, the story should not be like that of the old times where we failed at a lucrative rice production business. 

Thanks to waakye and omotuo sellers because if not for them, our local rice farmers will not have people buying their produce.  But for the moment where our life and health is at stake, we should capitalize on this and view it as a blessing in disguise. 

For this, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in collaboration with rice farmers across the country should develop modern ways to cultivate rice thereby providing healthy rice to Ghanaians. 

You have been reading Realities from my Medulla Oblongata.

Thank you for reading!

Please drop your comments, contributions and criticisms.

THE GALAMSEY CHRONICLES...GOVERNMENT MUST CONTROL SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE MINING.

In my last write up on Galamsey Chronicles Series published on 11th April 2017, I promised to continue the series by touching on some solutions to do with government's control of the Small and Medium scale mining sector so as to curb the numerous challenges Ghana is facing due to inappropriate and illegal mining.
After 11th April, 2017 when I published my article titled Galamsey Chronicles...#StopGalamseyNow is a Nine-day wonder, the unfolding occurrences on galamsey actually scared me from writing the next piece which is what you are reading now. The whole galamsey industry especially to do with its fight amazes me because just when Ghanaians decided to wage a huge war against galamsey, the following developments are really shocking. From threats received my the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources to the brutal killing of Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama at Denkyira-Boase. Actually the developments almost deterred me from writing the next piece on galamsey because I used to have the feeling that anyone who renders a commentary on galamsey but does so in contrary to the interest of any party involved in the galamsey brouhaha can be abused or killed.

But aside the scare, I feel that nothing should stop me from sharing my opinions when I have a blog and the knowledge to write my opinions. It is in this light that I decided to continue my article series titled Galamsey Chronicles and zoom in on control plus the need for government to totally control the small and medium scale mining sector if it is really considering ending the menace that comes with the illegality.
We must keep in mind that Ghana on couple of occasions tried to stop the negative effects that the activities of galamsey are causing on our environment and the economy of this country but many of the times failed or effected very little changes. I am of the view that one reason why government is unable to champion the fight in these couple of times it tried fighting the menace is because small and medium scale mining is run by licensed/unlicensed individuals in form of a private business.
Anyone interested in mining goes to the Mineral Commission, obtain a license, go to the mining areas to buy lands from Chiefs, families and individuals and then begin mining. I think this is the basic mistake that we are making as a country in terms of small and medium scale mining. Is it for the sake that lands are owned privately in Ghana that influences the decision that where government actually comes in is only at the licensing stage? I think it is totally wrong for Ghana to somewhat leave small and medium scale mining to individuals like we see in many of the instances. Why should a resource that belongs to all Ghanaians be given to individuals who are able to obtain license and buy concessions? Then in that case the gold and other natural resources belong to the individuals and families who own the land and not all citizens. But from my research, natural resources are owned by the entire citizens of the country no matter who owns the land. So just like the way citizens of Western Region are not given license to go and drill oil on their own, just as government has a stake and some control over the activities of large scale mining, I am of the view that government must control and own a higher stake in small and medium scale mining.

In everywhere across the world, individuals or private business persons are more concerned with their profit; in many cases outrageous profits than any other aspect of the venture. Same applies to small and medium scale miners; they are more concerned of making returns out of the cash they invested in buying the concessions and equipment. Due to this character by the miners, it is difficult for them in many cases to think of safeguarding the environment by practicing safe mining. Notwithstanding the fact that some legal miners practice safe mining, secondary research available to me indicates that a number of miners both legal and illegal engage in unsafe mining. It is not surprising to have many of these miners engaged in unsafe mining because safe mining also comes with a cost. A cost that many of the profit-minded miners will not want to bear. Thus when small and medium scale mining continue to be in the hands of individuals, the tendency that they will practice safe mining is minimal.

The second challenge that licensing coupled with government's inability to control small and medium scale mining in Ghana is the cause of Chinese galamseyers on our lands. In an interview on radio, I heard one legal miner claiming that the Chinese have brought a lot of technology into the mining sector which is making the business easy and lucrative. It is no news that many of the Chinese who come to conduct mining activities here in Ghana are brought by their Ghanaian counterparts or business partners. If a business man who is profit-minded feels that the introduction if Chinese miners will enable him or her make huge profit, there is no way they will not engage the Chinese. But since they have legal license to operate and have cash to buy cocoa farms, other concessions for mining, they have the courage to introduce Chinese miners since what permits them to mine is mostly to do with the license. So some Ghanaian business officials just go through the process of licensing, acquisition of land (sometimes with funding from Chinese business miners) and then get the Chinese to mine on the fields. There on the fields and to the authorities, they have a legal documentation to mine but are engaging the services of Chinese. With the licensing loop hole in our system, I do not see the end of Chinese miners coming to Ghana.

Let us turn the other side of the coin where government controls small and medium scale mining by not issuing licences to individuals. Government knows almost all mining areas in Ghana so it is not a difficult task for government to know areas that are appropriate for mining the resource and areas that are inappropriate. Also, government will be able to do safe mining since they have the country at heart and have expertise who knows that mining should not be done in rivers and near water bodies. Furthermore, government will be able to mobilize the huge profit coming from the mining sector and use it in developing the country. This will also curb the situation of Chinese galamseyers coming in because the activities are under the control of government. 
Government can then employ professional miners by decentralizing the process and making the Minerals Commission in all mining areas to employ, monitor and control all activities of mining in the various areas. With this, the tendency to solve many of the challenges coming along with galamsey will cease or minimize. But if Ghana continues to issue mining licenses to individuals, I am skeptical if we can control individual business persons who are looking at making profit than saving the environment. 
Moreover the huge profit made by individual business persons from resources that is said to belong to all citizens will now come into the State's coffers, thus can be used to develop the country as a whole.

Until then...

Well, may be there is a better way government can solve this but like I will always do, I will keep writing realities from my medulla oblongata.

The word ''Galamsey used in this article refers to illegal small and medium scale mining.

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Please do not hesitate to write your comments, contributions and criticisms below.

THE GALAMSEY CHRONICLES...#STOPGALAMSEYNOW CAMPAIGN IS A NINE-DAY WONDER.

One of the most longest topical issues ever to reign in the Ghanaian media landscape is the recent call against illegal small scale mining in over 6 regions in Ghana. It is no mistake that Ghana used to be known as the Gold Coast because it has been revealed that gold mining is taking place in over 6 out of 10 regions in Ghana. The 3 Northern Regions which many did not believe had gold is now witnessing mining in many forms.
"Galamsey", popular term used to describe illegal small and medium scale mining originated from the phrase "Gather and Sell". It is not a new thing in Ghana to see English words being mentioned in different ways or have become some sort of local words and terms used. It is quiet evident that the word Gather and Sell some way some how via the normal Ghanaian way changed to become Galamsey.
To many, Galamsey is evil and yes, it is the devil of our time. Because the rate at which Galamsey have and is destroying arable land and almost all our water bodies are so devastating that the new fierce call from all sections of the Ghanaian citizens is not surprising. Meanwhile small scale mining dates way back to the 60s where only Ghanaians are allowed to mine in small ways by using small equipment like shovel and pick axe. Many claim that the introduction of Chinese miners brought about the use of excavators and some sophisticated and heavy machines.
But I have a reservation and a part of me keeps reminding me of the high possibility that the recent loud dedicated looking campaign to the end of Galamsey is a nine-day wonder. To those who may want me to refresh their memories, ex-President Atta Mills in 2013 used somewhat this same emotional way to solving the illegal mining menace where he deployed security forces including the 'Almighty" army. But if that had worked quiet extensively, we will not be crying barely 3 years after that supposed effective measure.
We are in the era of hashtags so it is not astonishing that the #StopGalamseyNow hashtag has been trending on most social media platforms for weeks now. It is a story that caught the attention of international media as well accounting for an interview between Akwasi Sarpong of BBC African and Akoto Boateng of Accra based Citi FM.
With no intention to downplay the good effort some section of Ghanaians are putting into the help to end the Galamsey menace coupled with the launch of a media coalition of ending galamsey, I think that if the solution of galamsey is not carefully thought through, the media rant may not be successful as anticipated.
On the small scale mining front, there are legal and illegal miners who ply the business with the zeal of making huge returns considering the huge money that must be invested in it. For the legal small scale miners, they are supposed to set up an appropriate mining facility that will ensure a safe mining activity devoid of land degradation and polluting of water bodies. While on the other hand, the illegal miners are said to be the ones violating the appropriate mining laws, thus damaging our environment extensively by degrading the land and polluting our water bodies.
Meanwhile variety of investigations conducted by most media personnel reveal that some legal small scale miners who are licensed by the Ghana Minerals Commission are also practicing their venture in an inappropriate way thereby causing extensive harm to the lands and water bodies. Not to talk of the everyday casualties of people dying through mining accidents.
This is where the cross road lies - reason I said that the recent #StopGalamseyNow call may not see a drastic change of our mining sector and subsequently a clean of our environment like we expects now. I make this assertion because legal small scale mining cannot be stopped. And in a situation where it is quiet difficult for all to differentiate between legal and illegal small scale miners, it will be very difficult to stop galamsey. Galamsey depicts only the illegal small scale miners and excludes licensed legal small scale miners. The part of the call that seem legitimate is that some legal small scale miners are also mining inappropriately adding to the devastating effect on our land and water bodies. But how long can our security services go into the mining areas to stop the illegal ones from mining? Deducing from the 3 weeks ultimatum given by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, he is likely to throw in the security apparatus to forcefully sack miners from the fields. This was the similar action taken in 2013 by the then government but like we all know, the security team will not forever remain on the field to prevent illegal mining.
Even among the work of security forces in the country, reports from many areas prove that some individuals of the police and army who are supposed to stop illegal miners rather aid and guide them to continue the barbaric act. They go on to find ways of intimidating residents who seem to call for a stop to the menace in their areas.
I have heard on one front which I think will be one of the only extent that the government can go is try to enforce their regulation process of small scale mining activities. This is likely to be done by reviewing existing mining licenses and try to enforce certain measures that are getting our lands degraded and water bodies polluted. How far can authorities go with this measures since it is actually their initial mandates that they just seem to be failing on. What new measures can the Minerals Commission take to actually stop Galamsey? Because one smart way these illegal miners could go is accept to go for license to deem them legal but still mine inappropriately.
Therefore deducing from the inappropriate mining activities undertaken by both legal and illegal miners, it is quiet evident that issuing license alone cannot ensure that small scale miners will stop degrading our lands and polluting our water bodies.
The license era coupled with enforcing appropriate mining activities by the Minerals Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Ghana Police Service and all other institutions mandated to oversee small scale mining have witness a large percentage of failure.
If those who are paid to work are not doing what they are to do, do you think a mere hashtag or a media rant could change their attitude towards work? As a blogger and a believer in the power of media, I think it can awaken and push them but to a better extent that we can witness a drastic change is quiet skeptical.
Meanwhile many people talk of the problem but are not suggesting a good solution to the menace. Some say there should be a STOP to illegal small and medium scale mining while others say there should be a stop to all forms of small scale mining whether legal or illegal. Notwithstanding, some section too think that the quest to mine gold and other natural resources from the earth itself is devastating to the existence of humans thus the activity both big or small scale, legal or illegal must stop.
Mining as an activity is not new to Ghana since we have seen the mining of natural resources such as gold, diamond, bauxite, manganese,etc over centuries. Meaning the growth of Ghana partly has been dependent on mining so the call to suggest a STOP to the various forms of mining are quiet unrealistic. The call to probably accept legal mining and stop illegal mining also seem not achievable considering the management of the sector over the years. So the word STOP is quiet unrealistic when it comes to mining in Ghana. Regulation is what many suggests but in a situation where regulation seem not working in a society with all appropriate institutions, I doubt if it might really work.
It will be incomplete if I do not also add my voice to solutions than just drum home the problem. Thus in my next article on the Galamsey Chronicles, I will outline a solution that will not talk of stop or regulate but rather concentrate on proactive CONTROL of the small scale mining sector by government. Control is the word and with action on controlling the sector, the menace will be reduced drastically.
Thus watch out for my next article outlining some solutions to this menace.
As always, it has been another #Reality from my Medulla Oblongata!

Thanks for reading!
Your comments and suggestions are welcomed.

SUPREME COURT MUST REGULATE POLITICAL PARTIES

The Supreme Court of Ghana is the highest judicial body in Ghana. Ghana’s 1992 Constitution guarantees the independence and separation of the Judiciary from the Legislative and the Executive arms of government.

Before I zoom in on why I think Ghana’s Supreme Court must regulate some activities of political parties, I want to do a bit of justice in explaining the short information I wrote in my first paragraph on what the Supreme Court is. I am not an authority on governance issues and may not be able to say all about the Supreme Court and their mandates, a reason I have not written much on their mandates, thus I will not go deep into that. My brief explanation is therefore based on logic and what the Supreme Court must be doing in order to safeguard Ghana's peace.

The first sentence reads; The Supreme Court of Ghana is the highest judicial body in Ghana. The word ‘highest’ which in other sense means Supreme depicts the level of power that office holds in the country.

The second sentence reads; Ghana’s 1992 Constitution guarantees the independence and separation of the Judiciary from the Legislative and the Executive. The words 'independence' and 'separation' in this context means these three arms are not the same. Mind you this is a guarantee provided by the highest law of the land which is our 1992 Constitution.

Let me therefore site an example each of the independence and separation bit that the Constitution guarantees in the statement above. (I believe many of you reading this may have better or perfect examples that best explains this). An instance where the Supreme Court is said to be independent is that The Supreme Court is a body on its own where their activities are not attached or regulated by both the Legislature and the Executive. This brings about the separation between these hierarchies. One main demarcation is that officials of the Judiciary are not voted for or elected into office unlike the Legislature and Executive who is voted for every four years in a general election.

Becoming a Supreme Court judge requires that the fellow has integrity and is of high moral standards. Meanwhile officials of the Legislature and the Executive mostly politicians are not strictly required to have such qualities to contest for elections.

I could go on and on giving instances on the independence and separation of the Judiciary from the Legislative and the Executive. So let me pause here and zoom in now on why I am of the view that Ghana’s Supreme Court must regulate activities of our political parties.

Note, the judiciary provides judgment even when officials of both the Legislature and the Executive have an issue. A typical instance is the 2012 General Election petition. At this point, you will agree with me that the Judiciary is powerful than both the Legislature and the Executive.

Politicians fall within the jurisdiction of Legislature and Executive. These are officials who are not appointed to their various positions but instead contest for elections for them to be voted into those ranks. Be it the President, Ministers or Members of Parliament. The competitive nature of this process gives way for officials of these two arms to engage in activities that can jeopardize the peace of this nation.

In the history of many countries where political wars and chaos erupts are mostly due to the activities of members of the Legislature and the Executive. Same applies to Ghana, the peace of this country can be considered to be in jeopardy if the activities of officials who fall under these two hierarchies are not regulated and curbed. Politicians are one section of human species who love power more than any other item, making them do everything within their means to hold on to power or take over power.

As we speak now there is clash between NDC and NPP supporters at Zabzugu over the voter registration exercise. This and many more confusions and minor chaos are happening at different places across the country. Apparently the voter transfer exercise should not involve political parties but that directive is not been adhered to by politicians and their supporters. Orchestrators engaging in this voter transfer malpractice are the various Members of Parliament. (This answers the question of anyone who may argue on my earlier assertion that Legislative and Executive Council members are not actually required to be of integrity and of high moral standards like that of the Judiciary. I am sorry to say this but a lot of malpractices being carried out by politicians do not portray integrity and high moral life standards).

The current chaos in Zabzugu resulted from two political parties ignoring directives of the Electoral Commission. I heard the Public Relations Director of the EC in an interview claiming political parties were invited to witness the transfer for reasons of transparency. But the intention of the EC has been thrown out into the dustbin where political parties especially the two large parties have turned the exercise into transfer malpractice. The main allegation was various political parties are alleged to be bringing people from outside the constituency to transfer their votes to that constituency.

This is actually not the first time political parties have sort of ignored directives of the Electoral Commission. But these political parties often turn around to accuse the Electoral Commission for wrong doings. (This is where I think groups such as LMVCA, Occupy Ghana and co. must condemn the political parties. Not only finding interest in vilifying the Electoral Commission.)

At this point I will draw my first curtains. If political parties especially the two large parties have on several occasions ignored directives given by the Electoral Commission, then we have no guarantee that they will continue to abide by incoming directives. Everyone will bear with me that news of such confusions is not good especially in an election year where tensions are so high. It is in this light that I think the Supreme Court should step in and regulate these political parties. The chaos in Zabzugu and other places may be burning beneath even after calm is restored. And this can trigger to other chaos getting into the Elections or during the elections. If the law is made to work where the Supreme Court backs the Electoral Commission’s directive, I am not sure we will witness such chaos or just a little of it since perpetrators are aware they may face jail terms.  

Tensions getting so high lead me to another reason why the Supreme Court must regulate the activities of the political parties. Comments made by the various political parties are tantamount to possible unrest in the country. Elsewhere in countries where there have been or there is political unrest, some were triggered by just a comment made by one party official or the other. I think the Supreme Court must regulate comments made by political parties where victims of comments that are detrimental to the peace of this country must be taken to the law court.

Imagine the recent vilification of the EC by Let My Vote Count Alliance and other pressure groups. Many of these comments in a way damaged the reputation of the EC and its Chair. Even as it stands now, there are citizens who by hearing such comments have lost trust and may not trust the EC to give us fair judgment come December 7. This perception in the minds of citizens can result in chaos during the elections.

Other comments made by high ranking officials of certain parties such as party supporters after voting should not go home but instead stay over at the polling station to guard votes as if their life depended on it is inappropriate. Contrary to this, the Electoral Commission demands that voters should go home or stay away from the polling station after voting meanwhile few may come over to witness the counting process. Is this not a situation where political parties are ignoring a directive of the EC thereby misinterpreting the EC? The probability of chaos and confusion at these polling stations are very high if all supporters of the various political parties sit there to 'so called' guard their votes.

These and others comments, allegations and claims which we all hear every day and can testify to are dangerous to our peace especially in a tension-filled election year. It takes a moment, an act or a comment for political chaos to spark in any country meanwhile Ghana is not different from those countries. We do not have to sit down unconcerned and allow political parties to plunge this country into chaos. It is obvious they will not openly charge their supporters to cause confusion but their actions and comments can lead to unrest.

In as much as we have trust in our security officials to calm tempers down and guard this country before, during and after the elections, prevention they say is better than cure.

Since the Supreme Court is the highest judicial body of this land and are at the best position to uphold and guard this country, I think officials of the Supreme Court must begin to condemn, criticize and regulate some activities of the various political parties. Ghana is bigger than all political parties; same way the Supreme Court is powerful than all political parties so I humbly urge that they begin exercising that power.

I think the Supreme Court’s involvement in this will go a long way to assure citizens, investors and the entire world of Ghana’s peace going into the December polls.

GHANA FOR PEACE!!!

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MEDIA HOUSE OWNERS BECOMING A THREAT TO JOURNALISM.

Journalism is defined by the dictionary as an occupation of reporting, writing, editing, photographing, or broadcasting news, or of conducting any news organization as a business. 
Journalism is a very noble profession due to its educative, informative and entertaining nature. Greater percentage of the public relies on the media for information which they deem as very real and true. Professionals in this aspect of life turn to become middle men between public and private institutions and the people, thus a very delicate and important activity. In Ghana where there is a high level of press freedom coupled with the fun and fame that comes with journalism, a greater section of the youth aspire to become journalists in the future. I am no exception because as a primary pupil where I did not even know that talking on radio was called journalism, I will always say that I want to work on radio anytime I am asked what I want to be in future. At the time, distinguished names like Komla Dumor were in the lime light and I will always tell my family that I want to become like Komla Dumor. It was later in JHS that I learnt more about what journalism was, a reason I opted to offer General Arts in High School. In High School too, more than half of my classmates wished to become journalists, meaning a lot of the youth in Ghana see the profession as a worthy one.

Yes indeed, journalism is a noble and powerful profession. Greater part of the media landscape is made up of journalists who perform various duties of the entire profession from reporting, writing, editing to broadcasting, presenting, etc. Thus if the media which in some circumstances considered as being a very crucial section in national development and a supposed fourth arm of government,then professionals who work in these media houses can be said to be powerful. People every now and then are glued to their radio and TV sets just to listen to what information is trending which they deem very true and accurate. It is very difficult to convince a people to change their mind over something that they hear on radio or watched on TV. Meaning people act in direction to a lot of information that comes from the journalist. These and other reasons are why the profession of journalism is such a crucial one. 

But gradually, the journalism profession is going down the drain where a lot of the youth today are somewhat not enthused or highly interested in becoming journalists. And one main reason for this decline is due to the lack of proper gain and care that the journalist gets from his or her employers. Not to shadow the issue, the profession of journalism does not pay in Ghana, a reason for the high decline in interest. In this piece, I will apportion the blame of this decline to media house owners. A greater percentage of journalists are not paid well in Ghana which I deem very worrying and a threat to this noble profession. As for what accounts for that, I am unable to determine. In most media houses, only the top notches who after struggling for so many years get paid well. Others are those who get poached from other media organisations. If one is not in this category, then you may either be paid less or not paid at all. Aside passion, every individual in life wishes to benefit from whatever job he or she does so as to take care of him or herself and the family. Thus no matter the passion for the profession, journalists will want to live and live comfortable with what they do. But it is unfortunate that in this part of the world, journalists are one of the least paid in the job market. The 
situation is so bad that at the least opportunity, journalists who should be working in their field accept offers from other areas in the job sector.

One reflection of this is the low interest in enrolling to offer journalism in our institutions. A typical 
example is the number of students offering journalism at the Ghana Institute of Journalism. The school offers two main courses which are journalism and public relations. From my little research, I have noticed that people prefer to offer Public Relations to Journalism. It is somewhat surprising to know that students who are already working and given the opportunity to offer a top- up course in either Public Relations or Journalism are opting for Public Relations over Journalism. Funny enough, most of these workers are journalists working in the various media houses. So one will ask, why will someone already a journalist refuse to offer a course in that area but rather offer a sister course which is Public Relations. My little interaction with some of these students reveal that the journalism job is not paying, thus a study in Public Relations will offer them the advantage of leaving their respective media houses to take up jobs in institutions that may need the services of PR 
practitioners. As at now, the level 300 top-up Public Relations class of the Ghana Institute of Journalism is divided into A and B due to the large number of entrants whiles the Journalism class is not even half of either A or B of the PR class. 

Another reflection is how quick journalists accept offers from institutions different from media houses. Even very renowned and excelling journalists leave their respective media houses and are now seen working for the various public and private institutions. A few seem to be doing the journalism job as rather a part time activity. Like I indicated earlier, I will want to blame the owners and managers of the various media houses for not paying most of their employees well. I have not worked as a manager in any media house before but I have worked in a media house and have an idea how much media houses make from companies who come to advertise with them. Indeed, a lot of money is charged for placing an advert on any program in a media house especially when the program has so much listenership. Placing adverts on the various media platforms is one key way of making sales in Ghana thus every company irrespective of how small or big they are strive to advertise their products and services . So how come the huge amount charged by media owners does not reflect on the pay check of their workers; the very people who work tirelessly with passion and creativity to bring listenership to their various programs which in turn attracts the sponsorships.  This is a job that does not attract pension pay or any ex-gratia, thus at the time of working, I think the journalist needs to be paid well so that he or she can be able to cater for him or herself and the family. 

From another angle, the low pay check given to journalists is having a serious effect on the profession as a whole. It is no news that journalists accept some form of tip or allowance popularly known as ‘’soli’’. This allowance which is given by institutions who invite journalists to come and cover their events is a threat to the truth and accuracy ingredient that the profession holds. Some institutions go to the extent of influencing the journalists after giving out ‘soli’ on what angle he or she should report the story from. Thus, the journalist may cover up some truths. This menace is not good which I see as an indictment of the integrity of the profession. But the inadequate monies paid as salaries make this a well-known activity where some journalists even go to the extent of chasing institutions for their ‘’soli’’. Failure to pay may hinder the institution’s story from getting broadcast or given less attention in time of broadcasting or publication. But when people who 
make the story begin to control how it should be broadcasted, then we are in danger because it takes away that impartiality nature of the journalist which is one of its main attribute.

I could go on and on about how the low pay checks issue is becoming a serious threat to the interest of journalism and the integrity of the profession. I therefore plead and urge media houses to treat their workers well because these are the same people who work hard for them to make money.

Another #Reality from my Medulla Oblongata!

Thanks for reading, you comments, criticisms and contributions are welcomed. 

I WEEP FOR SETH KWAME BOATENG, MANASSEH AZURE AND ANAS

Ghana is undoubtedly one of the most peaceful countries in Africa in terms of war and crimes. But Ghana is not free from corruption and injustice which makes the country unpleasant for its citizens especially the poor who turns to suffer at the detriment of their supervisors and officials. Right from the District Assembly level to the Presidency alongside public and private institutions, there have been several instances of alleged and proven corruption and injustice.

This menace keeps going on for so many reasons. Among them is that most of these officials who are found guilty of squandering state monies or indulging in acts of injustice are not prosecuted. In most cases, they are suspended, transferred or sacked. In few cases where they are taken to the law court, they are fined lesser than the amount stolen. The lack of no severe punishment for perpetrators somewhat encourage other state and private officials to find dubious means of defrauding the state or their institutions.

Another reason why this menace still lives with us is because greater percentage of Ghanaians are timid, thus unable to agitate or make strong calls for accountability and justice. The far a corruption or an injustice issue can go is its discussion in the media where panellists express their displeasure. Even during such times, there is someone who will be defending the culprit. Social media is the next place where such issues are discussed where the ordinary Ghanaian also expresses their displeasure or in a way lambaste the fellow in question. It is so rare to see a pressure group or the ordinary Ghanaian calling for the prosecution of someone or accountability to the extent that it will yield results.

One of its kind where Ghanaian actress Yvonne Nelson called on Ghanaians to assist her hold a vigil in the wake of severe power outages across the country, though successful, a section of the public and officials labelled her as a member of the opposition, disrespectful among others. Some people went to the extent of abusing her personally with phone calls and on social media. Lack of proper supervision is also one reason why corruption and injustice still stares us in the face as Ghanaians. It's as if those who are tasked to supervise rather team up with those working to dupe the nation and their various institutions. I could go on and on to give simple reasons why corruption is still alive so glare in Ghana.

But in the midst of all these, some selfless journalists have dedicated their work to unravel some of these corruptions and injustice acts going on in the various institutions. Example of such revelations brought into the lime light by the award winning investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas are Inside Ghana's Madhouse (January 2010), In the interest of the State (April 2010), Orphans Home of Hell-Osu (September 2010), Enemies of the Nation (February 2011), Ghana's Gold (December 2011), Presidential Assignment-Stealing the People's Power (January 2012), Dons of the Forest (June 2012), Deadly Gold (July 2012), Wild Ghana Project (September 2012), Spirit Child (January 2013), The Messiah of Mentukwa (May 2013), Ghana Sex Mafia and Ghana's Soul Takers (April 2014) and Ghana's Food for Thought (December 2014). 

Another hard working award winning journalist who have been putting in much efforts to unravel corruption and injustice in Ghana is Manasseh Azure Awuni ; an investigative journalist presently working with Joy FM. Notable among them was The GYEEDA Rot (2013), The SADA Rot (2014), The World Cup Kickback Scandal (2014) and the Gay Doctor (2014).

The list cannot be ended without mentioning another hardworking journalist also working with Joy FM; Seth Kwame Boateng. He has been in the new lately for his ground breaking documentary Locked and Forgotten which even won him a citation from President John Dramani Mahama and adjudged overall Best Journalist in 2014 by the Ghana Journalist Association. He also produced documentaries like Buying Life (2014), Pain from Cursed Cell (2014) among others. 

In life, the goal of every worker is to finish whatever project it is and then see results or make the solution work. The same applies to these assets of ours. Am not sure Anas, Manasseh and Seth are just so passionate about journalism that they pick up their equipment and go out there to investigate corrupt and injustice issues in the society. All of them have on several platforms shared how far they go and how dangerous the work gets sometimes to the extent of nearing their graves. Thus the utmost goal of these journalists is to see that desired change that triggered them from the onset to take on a particular project. So the question is, do changes and justice come to the projects they embark on?

I have not gone back after a project carried out by these gentlemen to see whether change and justice is carried out as expected but looking from afar, everyone can attest that the desired end result do not happen. 

In the wake of the revelations, authorities who were supposed to be working but sleep on the job for such corruption and injustice to be happening stand on their feet to get the mess cleaned up but after the heat is gone and another topical issue comes into the limelight, most of the happenings continue. Due to this, the mess does not get cleaned up entirely but rather give culprits the awareness on how to restructure and divert their dubious acts. 

Let me take Enemies of the Nation as an example. This was a documentary filmed by Anas Aremeyaw Anas on the fraud and corruption that goes on at Tema Habor. It showed how officials of CEPS who are supposed to be taking tax for the state team up with importers, receive bribe from them and allow them to transact business at the loss of the state. It is no news that many of these happening revealed by Anas still goes on at the Tema Habor. 

Another is the SADA Rot, a mystery unravelled by Manasseh Azure. This documentary revealed the fraud and corruption going on at the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority. How SADA lied about growing trees in the Northern Region, how SADA claimed of investing in a Guniea Fowl project but had no evidence to show for it but rather gave an excuse that all the Guinea Fowl had flown to Burkina Faso (the lamest excuse I have ever heard in my life), etc. The CEO of SADA at the time Alhadji Iddi was in a way found to be the main culprit together with other staff. But the worse was to sack the CEO, change members of the Board and work goes on. Virtually no one was seriously prosecuted for the huge amount that was cited to go into personal pockets.

One documentary that made the biggest waves and took even the President to the prisons is Locked and Forgotten by Seth Kwame Boateng. Locked and Forgotten reveals how some citizens are taken into prison for remand but never get their cases to be investigated. And in many of such cases, the people are somewhat innocent. Ghana's prisons is said to be over populated which gives way for disease outbreak, hardship, etc. but everyday, our judges sentence and remand people. Some of these sentencing are said to be outrageous because a man who stole cassava or mobile phone can be jailed 10 years. A boy arrested for smoking marijuana can be jailed 15 years. Others are in remand for over 5 years where their cases never get back to the law court or investigated.

In the wake of this documentary, about 100 remand prisoners were released doubled with the call by several social groups for a bill to be passed which will see less or no jail sentence for minor crimes whiles others will see only fines. As at now, it is not news that a lot of people are still locked up and forgotten whiles others will still be locked and forgotten. This bill could take a long time to get passed by parliament because as soon as the heat of the issue goes down, even the parliamentarians will seem to forget. 

Some judges will as well forget or ignore and continue to sentence even minor offenders to many years in prison forgetting that there ever existed a documentary revealing the injustice caused by their actions. 

In conclusion, I think it is unfair to these hardworking journalists that after going the extra mile to unravel such corruption and injustice in our society, justice and changes are not ensured well. I don't think the award or citation they mostly get is their dream but rather solution to the problems since the solutions will make that better Ghana they always desire and want to live in.
Also, we have to be bold enough as citizens to support such selfless and hard working fellows who are putting their lives at risk for the betterment of us all.
I will also urge our beloved fellows to conduct a cross check after sometime and ascertain the level of change where the findings will be made known to the public.
LET'S RALLY BEHIND THE BOLD!!!
God Bless Our Homeland Ghana and put the corrupt to shame.

Another #Reality from my Medulla Oblogata.

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