Transition ’09

‘People don’t realise when they pray for a government’s downfall, they pray for a nations too’

I have always wanted to write a blog on the aftermath of the 2008 General elections. I think I have been very busy or I just don’t want to be drawn into the discussion now.

When people ask about my thoughts on the keenly contested elections and my assessment of the new administration, I say ‘The elections was the biggest test to our democracy so far and I think the Mills administration will do good. All they need is time‘. I closely followed the run-off and the Tain decider to the swearing-in through to vetting of the ministers to the state of the nation address. In all, I can say confidently that Ghana is building the best democracy in Africa.

For now, I want to give the Mills administration some time to see what they are made of. I was hoping to see Alex Segbefia pick up a position in Mills’ cabinet but I can’t say I am disappointed by his ministerial picks. Hannah Tetteh, Dr. Dufuor, Mrs. Betty Mould Idrissu, Haruna Idrissu, Akua Sena Dansuaa are picks I believe are the best. I hope to see them making big impacts at their various ministries.

On the question of the ex-gratia, I think we are giving too much. I heard comments by President Kufuor that if we think $80000 is too much for our members of parliament, then we don’t know the value of the work of parliament. Comments have also been made that these ex-gratias are intended to get the best people into Government. In all this I strongly disagree! Are we saying parliament puts in more work than the house of commons or house or representatives? I hate drawing comparisons but this is simple logic; Governance is Public Service! One goes in to serve, not as a business. I am in no way suggesting there should be no remuneration for public servants but I am saying you do not attract people to this field with remuneration! One should have the dedication, zeal and the sense of patriotism to be in Government. I say most governments have failed because of the lack of patriotic, selfless and zealous personnel!

Why can’t a former president start a foundation with his remuneration or his own initiative? What happened to fund raising dinners and all that? Why can’t former president request vehicles from state protocol for their visitors but need a whole fleet of their own? The entire Chinery-Hesse Report should be reviewed!

I have observed the president, John Evans Atta Mills preaching and practicing modesty and a cut in government and state protocol expenditure. I realised he went to parliament with a one car to deliver his State of the Nation address. I think this is a good thing and i hope it continues and spreads to all governmental departments and agencies.

In the past weeks, there have been talk about reverting the senior high school education system from 4 years to 3 years. Please lets not place politics with this. I think we can all agree on a compromise. Personally, I think it is the quality of of syllabus and not the number of years spent in school that matters. If students in senior high schools dont know what GPS devices are then there is a cause to worry. If even with 4 years and students are learning almost the same thing I did five years ago, there is a cause to worry.

There has been the argument that three years is too small for the current syllabus and students pay extra tuition to cover the syllabus. That assertion is false! There will always be students with special needs and there will always be special/extra classes. The real deal is that teachers need to be paid well so they stay in the classrooms and put in their best. Some teacher deliberately delay the completion of their syllabus so they can earn extra from their private classes.

I say let us pay our teachers well, change the syllabus to meet modern standards and if there is a need to extend or reduce the number of years in school, then we can. I am currently teaching Geography in a senior high school and I can say that I am teaching the same thing I studied years back. Form 2 students have no idea what a GPS device is and most of them haven’t even set eyes on compasses or simple instruments. Let’s invest in our human resource. Let’s not play politics here. A country which fails to invest in it’s human resource will fail.

to be continued……..

GOD BLESS OUR HOMELAND GHANA!!!

Why I Am Voting For Dr. Paa Kwesi Ndoum

‘’The sovereignty of Ghana resides in the people……..’’
(Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, Chapter 1, Article 1 (1) )

I am Anthony Kwabena Akuamoah-Boateng and I am voting for Dr. Paa Kwesi Ndoum on December 7th, 2008 as president of the Republic of Ghana. You should too.

After reading manifestos and careful thoughts, I have decided and believe without reasonable doubt that Dr. Ndoum is the the right man to put Ghana on the path of self reliance, accelerated growth and development.
One catching statement in the CPP manifesto is a quote from Dr. Nkrumah and that is how Dr. Ndoum wants his progress to be measured;

“We shall measure our progress by the improvement in the health
of our people; by the number of children in school, and electricity
in our towns and villages and by the happiness which our people
take in being able to manage their own affairs. The welfare of our
people is our chief pride, and it is by this that my Government will
ask to be judged.”

Broadcast to the Nation, 24 December, 1957
By Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah,
First President of the Republic of Ghana

I am one Ghanaian who believes in self reliance. We as a nation can do everything a nation should do. We can provide good education, roads, electricity, water, technology etc for our citizens. I am tired of the IMF and IBRD dictating policies for us like some real banana republic. I am tired of our heads of state begging for aid. Why cant we as a country generate revenue for our projects? I will personally support increase taxes to generate revenue for the development of Ghana. Our donors are not dictating policies for us because they want to, but because we seem incapable of drafting for ourselves these policies. Dr. Ndoum & the CPP stand for self reliance and Ghana, he promises a whole new era.

Ndoum promises to fight corruption in a whole different way by strengthening our institutions among other strategies. Ndoum intend to check tax evasion. We all evade tax in this country. some people havent paid income taxes since they started working. Edwumaruwa, who was a partner at Deliotte & Touche intends to check that vigourously. Paa Kwasi even intend to make his salary as president tax deductible.

Dr. Ndoum has a plan for women. 50% of regional ministers are goining to be women. Not just women, but competent women. CPP has enough women to take up these positions plus the CPP is looking at an all inclusive government.
I listened to Mrs. Yvonne Ndoum on TGIF and on a CPP documentary today and I was really impressed. Personally, I think she will be a very active first lady. I remember the days of Nana Konadu as first lady. She was very active and lobbied to get women into key position. I cant say that for Mrs Theresa Kuffour, but I do want our next first lady to have women and children issues as a priority. I want to see a vibrancy in the first ladyship.

Technology and ICT development, Dr. Ndoum intend to re-establish the Ministry of Science & Technology and protect by law against tampering or dissolution in the future. The Council for Scientific & industrial Research will be better equipped etc. A new ICT policy is to be put in place to place. The plan has good news for all in the ICT sector. Affordability is one thing that will get Ghanaians smiling.

I wish I could type all the good stuff in the CPP manifesto. It’s a 500kb pdf form and you can even read it on the net. Please find time to download and read the manifesto and I am sure you will agree with me…… (www.ghana.gov.gh/files/cpp_manifesto.pdf)

I understand the CPP might not win, but this isn’t going to stop me from making my voice heard and making the CPP stronger. I believe we will make the difference in this election. We will win sunday’s polls. If everybody who believes in Dr. Ndoum and the CPP votes, we will make a huge impact. Forget about what you heard in the media, all the polls and lies been peddled. CPP is winning!!!!!

… I will do my best
you should do your best………..

CPP -
FORWARD EVER, BACKWARDS NEVER!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

GOD BLESS OUR HOMELAND, GHANA!!!

www.akuamoahboateng.wordpress.com

WHO DO I WANT AS THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA?

I come across this question everyday. Kwabena, who do you want as the next president? Who are you voting for? Well, i have a lot of questions for myself and the presidential hopefuls before I decide. Right now, I just dont know who to believe or who to trust. I want a lot from the next president. I admit that I am social-democrat and have leanings toward CPP and NDC, but at this point I want to think freely and make a decision, a decision that I will feel proud of.

That brings me to what I want in the next president of the Republic of Ghana;

1. I want a president who will be selfless and put the nation above him, his family, his party and his friends. I want the nation to be supreme and not his personal dealings.

2. I want a president who will do a whole lot more to stamp out corruption and the perception running through Ghanaians especially the youth that corruption is everywhere and it is a way of life. I come across people who say corruption is the way and we should let the NPP administration take their share of the national cake like NDC did and every party will do the same. Everybody I have met who shares that perception admits he or she will do worse if in public office. I want a president who wont take selective justice to stamp out corruption or will come back after two years to tell me provide evidence or a president who will after four years tell the nation that corruption is everywhere and we should live with it.

3. I want a president who will address Ghana’s human resource problems. A president who will be much concerned with the quality and output of graduates and not the quantity. Some people will disagree, but we need to make sure the best students get university education and not everybody who qualifies. We should realise that quality is always better than quantity. In my years at the University of Ghana, I saw all sort of people walk in and out of the university ignorant. To me, it is shocking that university graduate do not know how to perform basic operations on a computer or do simple internet searches. With the exception of a few courses I studied in school, I somehow find the rest irrelevant and outmoded.

4. I want a president who will change the national service scheme. The current system is just funny to me. If we are serious we will be running a better system. I have a suggestion, though I havent written to parliament and the secretariat to tell them about my plan, I feel it can work and thats what we should have done eight years ago. Who wants to hear it? National service is a nine months programme and there is a lack of co-operation between industry, government and education. Why cant we build that relationship whilst students are in school? Long vacation or summer holidays is a 3 months break. For example, in your 4 years through the university, you will have 9 months of long vacation. I suggest, we use the long vacation for the freshman, sophomore and junior years for national service and this should be integrated into the your final GPA based on the report from your supervisor. I can hear some people booing my plan already but it is the best. By the time you graduate, you have a strong relationship with industry. If you’re thinking about summer holiday in Europe or elsewhere, you will have to wait till the christmas break. But the student also stand to gain from all this. Not every student is lucky to find a vacation internship. With this system, there is work for everybody and when you complete your studies, you wont have to wait to finish national service before you can think of graduate school or get a real employment. I am not saying the system is fool proof but we can all agree on this and seal the loop holes.

5. I want a president who will have ICT development at heart. Why can I pay $69 for my internet bill monthly and all I get is 128kb/s download and 64kb/s upload speed. Why cant I get the same service as people in the Europe, Asia, Oceania and the America? After all, some pay less than $69 for 1mb/s download or higher download speed. Why cant the Ministry of Communication and National Communication Authority stamp some authority? Why do we have to high tele-density and call drop rate is twice that? My next president should be ICT savvy. No more typewriter and snail mail president!

6. I want a president who will continue, expand and improve on the gains of this country. The next president should work to improve democracy and grass root participation. He should improve the state transport systems and find a way to reduce the number of trotros on the road. A president, who will put out a strong team for both the school feeding programme and national health insurance scheme. GDP and other economic indicators should be high priority on his list.

7. I want a president who will have the armed forces and veterans at heart. He should work on building a very strong army. He should also build a good image for Ghana on the international scene. He must continue to hold that neutral position we hold.

8. A president who can unite the country. North and South, East and West, Abudus and Andanis, Rawlings and Kuffour, NDC and NPP, me and everybody etc

So, who do you think I should vote for? Is it Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo or Dr. Edward Mahama or Prof John Evans Atta-Mills or Dr. Paa Kwasi Ndoum?

GOD BLESS OUR HOMELAND, GHANA!!!