Isaac Ato Mensah (Page 25)

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra- 19 September, 2018.   At PRESEC there was a school rule that pivoted on truth, logic, virtue and tolerance – or simply put, justice. It stated, ‘Every breach of common sense is a breach of school rules and regulations’. As an old boy of PRESEC (Ɔdadeɛ), that is how I understood President Akufo-Addo when he stated last Saturday, ‘Those responsible for the sequence of activities that led to the so called banking crisis…. will face the full brunt of the law if they are found to have broken the law…..It is not right that the overwhelming majority of ordinary Ghanaians shouldRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra- 15 September, 2018. The late Ghanaian UN Secretary-General, H.E. Kofi Atta Annan, aged 80, was laid to rest Thursday at the military cemetery in Accra. May his soul rest in eternal peace. At the outset, it needs be stated that debating any protocol breaches that occurred  during the historic 3 day funeral does not make anyone unpatriotic. So let us begin with the ‘postmortem’ comments by Nana Kofi Brewuo III, head of Kofi Annan’s family. The head of family has a right to speak and he must be allowed to speak. But when he does so publically, we also haveRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra- 11 September, 2018. ANOTHER new moon has come to replace the August new moon, when the ‘Sacrifice of the Ram’ took place across the Muslim world. But alas, the Western media will most likely today focus on when suspected Islamic terrorists hijacked planes in the US and destroyed innocent lives and property. It will hardly be mentioned that for the true Muslim, obedience to the will of Allah abhors all forms of evil against mankind, animals and the environment. ‘Allah has blessed his servants with various types of provisions in life- included among them is guidance’, Shaykh Hussain Al-Ash-Shaykh statedRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra- 10 September, 2018.   What Nike has done these past few days, as has been its practice on several previous occasions, is to choose principle over public opinion. Public relations professionals always strive for the maximum attainable positive public image or public opinion. This is where Nike’s latest promotional material gets our attention. In the promotional piece released last Monday – that has since gone viral, Nike features a close up shot of Colin Kaepernick, an American football quarterback. Kaepernick is looking straight into the camera- chin up, with the words, ‘Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything’. ThenRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra- 7 September, 2018. Scandals have been present throughout human history. Church scandals and surviving church scandals is as old as the church itself. But the church has always had all the resources for self-reform. ‘Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections’ – St Francis De Sales A good example is St Francis De Sales, leader of the Counter Reformation (1567-1622) and ‘patron saint of Catholic writers and the Catholic press’. Francis De Sales combined the secular culture of the Reformation era with the church’s need to propagate church doctrine. The Catholic Church is currently facing a sex abuseRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra-5 September, 2018.   The Ghana Police Service (GPS) suffers from perpetual public relations turmoil and fiasco. When assessed from the perspective of international best practice of PR, the GPS has very little that it can be proud of. Officers Jaleel, Tehoda and Awuni epitomise what is wrong with our GPS. ‘I want to [garnish] the accounts of the police administration to force them [to reinstate me and pay my benefits],’ interdicted officer Abdul Jaleel stated to the media recently. Abdul Jaleel plans to sue the Ghana police and the inspector general of police (IGP) for contempt of court for failingRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra- 3 September, 2018.   We have written so much on the Ghana Banking Scandal (Part 1-5). One of our regular readers (let us call her Sheila) has insisted that she wants a ‘purely ethical exposition’. So let’s roll…. Ethics is about making the right choices for ourselves and the society in which we live. These choices are revealed in our speech and acts of omission and commission. ‘No one is more hated than he who speaks the truth,’ says Plato. ‘And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free,’ says the teacher from Galilee (John 8:32).Read More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra- 31 August, 2018.   You can never deny free speech to the Ga man or woman. If you try, you will probably hear about your mother. On Wednesday evening, I went through La Maamli, in the company of my two sons. One of my favourite haunts is the La Kpaa Tsoɛ Shishi, the sacred foliage grove offices of the chief priest. The occasion was the Hɔmɔwɔ Shɔ, that is, Hɔmɔwɔ Wednesday. It is the day appointed for the male and female elements of the deity to embrace at exactly midday thus symbolising that the fasting and abstinence of the people,Read More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra- 29 August, 2018.   You cannot hold a man against his views; release Alban Bagbin – and let him go! ‘What I said was that certain wrong decisions were made in placing or assigning some government appointees,’ Alban Bagbin, second deputy speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, read from his prepared speech Tuesday in reaction to the latest media craze in Ghana. He continued, ‘This wrong placement cost the NDC some votes’. Some media houses on Tuesday reported that Alban Bagbin ‘took responsibility’ for his earlier speech on a presidential primary campaign in the Volta Region earlier this month which has gotRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra- 27 August, 2018.   We all know living in Ghana is tough. Now when was the last time you tried leaving Ghana, starting from renewing your passport? Last week I tried renewing my passport by buying an online application form. I’d never heard of an online passport application form until I got into the Osu Oxford Street Ecobank where the teller told me hard copies were not available. He said the online form works just the same. I believed him. I started the online process on Friday through to Sunday midday. Then I gave up. It’s far easier to wakeRead More →