February 2019

By Lilly Adjorkor ADJEI Accra- 27 February, 2019 Widespread discussions continue on the recent multiple financial scandals within our nation. These discussions often revolve on who to blame for these crises; the greed of some investors; the lack of knowledge of others; incompetence of regulators such as Bank of Ghana, auditors and the institutions themselves. The solutions were then easy to identify. But is this the first time Ghana is experiencing such turmoil within the financial sector? The answer is No! We have had the likes of CB Net Marketing Concepts, E Finance, DKM and now The Menzgold saga, as well as the collapse ofRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra- 25 February, 2019 This is the time when public intellectuals have to step up and speak up – down with public opinion; we are in crisis mode! Occasionally, along with chatter on social media platforms, there is a query over the range and domain of some article posted on a particular platform (pardon my mathematics). Questions arise whether such and such a topic is appropriate or could be discussed on a platform or not. Surely, we all have experienced that before. It is always good to set the ground rules for the platforms so that “brethren or sisteren” do notRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 22 February, 2019 The best photo journalism prizes are no doubt won by persons with great cameras and superlative technical and artistic skills. Our Online Journalism campaign is being done with a simple smart phone; no cropping, no editing of photographs and very minimal to no captions ……and hardly any artistic and technical abilities. We simply take raw pictures and let them speak to the reality on the ground. On Wednesday, as I walked on the Starlets ’91 Road, from the Ministries Traffic Light towards the Accra Sports Stadium, I saw madness. It was in my face as IRead More →

(For both genders to understand that mentoring for women is important, and to show men how to correctly mentor a woman). By Lilly Adjorkor ADJEI Tema – 20 February, 2019 Feedback from the previous article on this very topic really shows how sensitive yet important the subject of mentoring is. The process of men mentoring women has suffered setbacks which can be repaired, but how? The majority of societies have been organised along patriarchy. Sometimes this has been justified based on religious writ. ‘Certainly you will find more traditionally male-dominated organisations, professions [and] industries out there today. And in places like the military and tech,Read More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 18 February, 2019 “Hymns and Their Meanings” has been broadcast on the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) FM channel 95.7MHz for more than 30 years. It is one of the best post production (recorded) programmes on radio. On Sunday it featured the Association of Security Services Choirs. The host was The Very Reverend Lt. Col. David Benedict Quayson, Senior Minister, Methodist Church, Ghana Armed Forces. The first hymn was “And Can It Be” by Charles Wesley. ‘Did Christ really die for me?,’ Very Rev. Lt. Col. Quayson put those words into Charles Wesley’s mouth. He inferred, extrapolated, theorised that statementRead More →

By Lilly Adjorkor ADJEI/Isaac Ato Mensah Tema – 15 February, 2019 The recent news that the Ghana Library Authority will declare 2019 the Year of Reading must surely provoke writers and library workers to pen down their experiences. ‘We are receiving about 100,000 books from Book Aid International and this means that our libraries will have fresh content from across the world,’ said Hayford Siaw, the boss of the Ghana Library Authority. ‘The truth is that the more books a library has, the more people visit the library.’ Managing a basic school library in a resource poor country is not for the faint hearted. ‘OurRead More →

By Lilly Adjorkor ADJEI/Isaac Ato MENSAH Tema – 13 February, 2019 HE: Twenty years ago in my undergrad days, there was an ad in a magazine with a lady on one page and a gentleman on another, each leaning on a mountain bike. They were both wearing designer sun glasses and smiling. In the foreground was mountain scenery. The text was simple: WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SHARED THE SAME PERSPECTIVE? It was a great concept. When you like each other’s company, great productive creativity is born. SHE: In the wake of the #MeToo campaign, many men are shying away from cross gender relationshipsRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Kyebi – 11 February, 2019 We have been conducting social science research on the Atewa Range Forest Reserve. This article is to draw attention to some of the important issues at stake. “The Nana has not hidden his intentions that he does not want the mining of bauxite in the Atewa Forest but he is so powerless to stop Nana” – Deep Throat. But DM Ofori-Atta, the Okyenhene’s spokesperson spoke on the record with a recorder in full view on the table and with academics present who also spoke their minds freely. Ofori-Atta spoke in his personal capacity at a focusRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAHKyebi – 8 February, 2019 “Follow the crowd” was a common derogatory cliché when we were growing up. There is nothing wrong with following the crowd save that you must know where it is headed and the values of the one herding that crowd. Trending on social media are issues surrounding Menzgold. Many allegations have reportedly been being made by the father of Nana Appiah Mensah, the Menzgold founder and CEO. What is Menzgold? This question should under normal circumstances be answered by the company itself. But now, it is clear they have a serious problem with respect to moral and intellectualRead More →

By Engr. Kwame OFORI-ADDO/Isaac Ato MENSAH Nsawam – 6 February, 2019 It can be very annoying and frustrating working with Ghanaian contractors; they often lack basic project communication skills. This happens because anybody at all who has money thinks (s)he can jump into construction forgetting that it is a sector that deals with professionals. The perception out there is that there is so much money in construction. ‘Please exercise patience, we are mobilising funds,’ is the typical irritating Ghanaian response. And such responses only come when you get annoyed and fire off a strongly-worded email or WhatsApp message seeking a rational explanation for inordinate delaysRead More →