Isaac Ato Mensah (Page 16)

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 24 April, 2019 The Adom TV African movie broadcast on Holy Thursday is unpardonable; it was titled “Cocoa Krakye Part 3” and aired between 10:20 and 10:45am. During this period the protagonists, led by Kojo Nkansah popularly called Lil Win, repeatedly used the terms Fante woman and Ashanti man, and used expressions and actions to stereotype Fante women as very caring people who use their cooking skills to snatch other women’s husbands. Conversely, Ashanti men were portrayed as aggressive and playboys who will abandon all their responsibilities just to date a woman, using their wealth as a bait. ItRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 22 April, 2019 Old students have been helping their alma mater for years, but some of the details will shock you. Let us take the case of two secondary schools in Ghana to highlight a serious national problem, one more example that confirms my mentor’s quip “underdevelopment has many facets”. First Legon Presec in Accra. The 1994 year groups (of the O and A Level old system, and the current system) by tradition will host this year’s speech and prize giving day and donate a project to mark their 25th anniversary. These old students want to donate an e-library.Read More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAHAccra – 19 April, 2019 Lecturing or teaching in Ghana’s academic institutions has never appealed to the aspirational class. This is a personal observation for which I have no hard data, but nothing in the history of Ghana points to the contrary. When our secondary school Economics teacher asked how many will like to teach, I was the only one who raised my hand, and the teacher promptly used that to justify his absences and why he wanted to leave. Everyone empathized with him. “Most of our College or University lecturers don’t hold the PhD. So we have given them time toRead More →

By Lilly Adjorkor ADJEI Tema – 17 April, 2019 There are groups of people I have found are especially misunderstood, labelled and teased for what they are not: people who practice sexual abstinence and wait until marriage and Tom boys or Tom girls. A voluntary decision to abstain from engaging in any sexual activity, usually for religious reasons is what is defined as chastity. It has been with mankind for thousands of years. But these days such persons are labelled “Holier than Thou”, or classified together with those who identify as lesbian or gay. In Ghana, this brings untold pressure on women in their 20sRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 14 April, 2019 This article is for every shade of opinion about the man of the week; mythical figure; dreadlock Rastafarian; Nazarite; Nazarene; Son of Man; son of God. “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth”, authored by Reza Aslan, is considered controversial. Aslan gives facts about the events surrounding the Passion Week (Holy Week), sourcing from Josephus, and other true and proper evidences of Biblical knowledge. He then places everything in context so that the reader can see a justification for why Jesus could not have escaped the events of Good Friday. Aslan leads arguments toRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 12 April, 2019 The Woodin photo of a poolside model is not good enough and exposes how we continue to cavort with ignorance. If Woodin intends to show us a swimming costume then Ghana is in even more serious trouble. We shall not even get into the hair design and accessories; we must be charitable. Three culprits are identifiable; first, the ad agency; second the Woodin corporate affairs team; and third, the standards of the society within which such life-threatening communication thrive. Ad agencies the world over have such a meticulous process of managing an account. Let us examineRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 10 April, 2019 The Sunday evening rains gave Ghana the most appropriate theme for World Health Day 2019, but the health authorities stuck with their plan to highlight non-communicable diseases. And that itself shows the layers of crises Ghana faces; talk about leadership that is asleep. For some years now, the Institutional Care Division of the Ghana Health Service has sought to drum up attention to the threat posed by non-communicable diseases – diseases such as diabetes that are not infectious but are ending lives. The theme for this year still kept that promise: “Universal Health Coverage [UHC]: Everyone,Read More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 8 April, 2019 Something very significant happened in the Jubilee House last month; the inauguration of the National Population Council (NPC). Using the appropriate development communication tools such as public education through radio and TV, the NPC can reorient the nation’s thinking about population matters. Dr Gladys Norley Ashitey, former deputy health minister and chairperson of the newly inaugurated 23-member NPC, responding to the president, said: ‘We are encouraged by the President’s vision to give Ghanaians a better life’. And what did the president have for the NPC board? ‘I want to assure you of government’s support in thisRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 5 April, 2019 Your Excellency The Economic Management Team Ladies and Gentlemen What we saw and heard from the town hall meeting, at the auditorium of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons on Wednesday, can only happen in the land of make believe! Let us examine three different sets of analyses in H.E. Dr Bawumia’s written speech and see how soon we can find our way out of Neverland. ‘Real GDP growth (Our ability to produce goods and services in the economy) declined from 9.1% in 2008 to 3.4% in 2016.’ Clearly, H.E. Dr Bawumia, the economist, shouldRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 2 April, 2019 ‘Take this as a token of appreciation’ is the equivalent of ‘All protocol observed’ in speech delivery. Both are public relations disasters. And that was what happened on 29 March, POTROG’s 75th birthday. Those in charge of affairs within the government of Ghana are not willing to call upon those who know and they are not willing to learn. History tells us of a man who was living in his own world in some ramshackle in town. When once Alexander The Great was coming to town, everybody was preparing and rushing to see him. A concernedRead More →