Blog (Page 11)

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 20 September, 2019 The Aljazeera journalist Mahmoud Hussein has just spent his 1000th day in prison. His arrest by Egyptian authorities is widely linked to reporting news about the former Egyptian leader and the Muslim Brotherhood – a body that has been classified by the present administration as a terrorist organization. Initial charges of “incitement against state institutions and broadcasting false news with the aim of spreading chaos” were dropped. On the occasion of the 1000th day of his detention, aljazeera.com gave the following update:“In May, an Egyptian court rejected an order by the state prosecutor to release himRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 16 September, 2019 There are newspaper articles that my mentor will classify thus: “Fit only for living room chatter; public discourse demands more intellectual rigour”. Elizabeth Ohene – the veteran jouurnalist, writing in the Daily Graphic on 11 September, expressed dismay that Ghanaians expect people who are moving up the social ladder and political appointees to dress “grand” and “look the part”; she equated it with profligate spending and hence immorality. There is nothing wrong with being expected to “look the part”. There is absolutely no logic that can link looking the part with “expensive” dressing or grooming whichRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 11 September, 2019 Augustine Addo, Director of Member Services of Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana, granted a very shocking interview to Citi 97.3FM on Eye Witness News on the evening of 6 September. Questioned about the four audit firms the ICAG has fined for poor audits in the banking scandal matter, Addo said that the audit firms that were fined and the individuals who work for them are very competent, and therefore people should “have faith in them”. He stated: “They’ve handled about 100 files in a year and if these small infractions are detected we should withdraw theirRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 9 September, 2019 Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, MP, aka NAPO – Ghana’s Minister for Education (MOE) has written a letter with reference number SCR/DA 198/470/01 and subject “Reports of tension on the campus of KNUST” dated 5th September, 2019. It is addressed thus; The Chairman University Council Kumasi There is no salutation, and no courteous signing off. Please, surely the Minister at MOE(!) must be careful not to negate the serious work being done by our overstretched and poorly appreciated teachers in instructing their legion of (?double track) students on how to structure a formal letter properly. The devilRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 6 September, 2019 The Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana (ICAG) has released a report on their probe into the Ghana Banking Scandal – after one full year! So yet again, true to form – as happens in ghana every week, at least one high public official or institution does or says something that raises more questions than provides answers; this time it is the ICAG…..and a few others. The ICAG report details “errors” committed by auditing firms – not individual auditors – against International Accounting Standards (IAS) and recommends punishment in the form of huge monetary fines, but onlyRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH 5 September, 2019. BlueCrest University College has opened up to community participation its online radio that was initially restricted only to student practice. At the same time Ms. Sreemoyee Thapa Dasgupta, the Head of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, has announced Isaac Ato Mensah as the new Station Manager. “We are henceforth forming a BlueCrest Radio Club,” stated Dr Anand Agrawal, Rector of BlueCrest College at a meeting last Thursday called to discuss the new direction for BCC Radio. “We are inviting the general public to join and the club will be modelled on the best university clubs anywhereRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 2 September, 2019. The directive by Ambrose Dery, Ghana’s interior minister, that traffic police should carry arms is dangerous. It’s only value is to boost police morale. But it could also easily be the beginning of many more gun battles in an indisciplined nation with millions of unlicensed light weapons and porous borders. Yet again, our underachieving politicians have resorted to knee-jerk reactions aided by woefully ill-prepared special assistants who cannot dare disagree with their bosses on the basis of facts, evidence and reason. “The police will be provided with bulletproof equipment, vests and helmets to enable the policeRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAHAccra – 28 August, 2019 Professor Ransford Gyampo’s article with the title “African elections thrive on fame and popularity” published on ghanaweb.com on 26 August, 2019 is not airtight. In a society where according to Ghana’s Ministry of Education, the average publication per lecturer per year is 0.5 or one publication every two years, any publication by a faculty member is welcome and should be carefully appraised. We must read them keenly since some of the students, ( – if they read!), that employers will hire would have been influenced by such perspectives and precepts. Let us examine the thinking behind theRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 26 August, 2019 Arnold Boateng resigned last week from the board of Ghana’s National Youth Authority, with a curiously worded letter. He alleged wrongdoing and yet refused to disclose details on grounds of an “oath of secrecy”. “It all beggars belief,” my mentor concluded in exasperation. “An oath of secrecy does not cover wrongdoing or illegality.” To those who might want to debate what an oath of secrecy is not: Will you accept that Bank of Ghana officials refuse to disclose to a judge details of the banking scandal because they swore an oath of secrecy? The position ofRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 22 August, 2019 Senyo Hosi, Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors is the latest to criticize the poor state of education in Ghana. A video of his comments has gone viral. Prof. Peter Quartey, also an alumus, in his response to Hosi’s scathing criticism said that they the lecturers do “think” but “the students do not read”. Interestingly, Prof. Ransford Gyampo, a UG lecturer, who has been relentless in advocating academic freedom has responded to Hosi, telling him in a write-up, “I wasn’t there else I would have stopped you, trust me,” and suggesting furtherRead More →