Blog (Page 8)

By Isaac Ato Mensah Accra – 3 January, 2020 Prof. J.R. Atsu Ayee, the Ghanaian political scientist, wrote in the African Journal of Political Science (2001), Vol. 6, No. 1, that “the good old days” of the Ghana Civil Service (GCS) were the period immediately before independence to 1974. That period is unfortunately the only one in history when Ghanaian civil servants were well trained, adequately remunerated and resourced to implement the policies of the machinery of government. This “elicited in most civil servants the highest degree of performance and productivity”. Prof. Ayee observed that the decline was caused by a failing national economy afterRead More →

By Isaac Ato Mensah Accra – 23 December, 2019 Christmas is here – and we wish ourselves and each other well. Over the weekend while an elderly friend, Uncle B, poured me a drink, he wished me Season’s Greetings thus: “It’s Christmas. Glory to God in the highest, peace on Earth and good will to all men”. With the gender angle, which excludes women and humankind acknowledged, I reminded him that The Roman Missal has the Luke 2:14 verse say, “Glory to God in the highest and on Earth peace to men of good will”. “It is discriminatory,” he replied. “How can you not wishRead More →

By Isaac Ato Mensah Accra – 11 December, 2019 Jacqueline Woodson’s glossy romance about the Year of Return published on nytimes.com on 9 December is significantly flawed. She was narrating her impressions following a short trip to Ghana and promoting the laudable idea that “African-American dollars should be reinvested in Africa”. She concluded that her family will travel back to America and return occasionally because that is what makes them “African” and “American”. Well the fact is that most of us – 75%, of Ghanaians want to emigrate as revealed by the Pew Research Center. So what are some of what Woodson called the “push”Read More →

By Isaac Ato Mensah Abetifi – 9 December, 2019 Joseph Emmanuel Allotey-Pappoe (JEAP), aged 72, the primus of Institute of Public Relations – Ghana, was cremated at the Lashibie Funeral home on 6 December. The cremation and funeral service of the 72 year old soft spoken teetotaller provided Ghana’s PR practitioners with many useful lessons. Ghana’s PR “gurus” were there – the ladies in their wicked and surreal western-style wigs, but it is all good; their students can now tell the difference. My students were also there to support their classmate, Godfre, JEAP’s son. Now at least one of my classroom battles has ceased, myRead More →

By Isaac Ato Mensah Accra – 2 December, 2019 Sara Maino, Deputy Director, Special Projects and Talents for Vogue Italia, visited BlueCrest College on 21st October. Her mission was to see what the faculty and students at the School of Fashion and Design have for the world. It was that simple. Nothing much to report than to say look out for a feature on the visit in Vogue magazine. The visit included a brief meeting attended by Dev Varyani, the board chair of BlueCrest College himself, which immediately provided serious impetus and gravitas to the event. Also present were Dr Anand Agrawal, Rector and SujithRead More →

By Isaac Ato Mensah Accra – 30 November, 2019 Where is the godly passion and sad emotion in you over the disappearance (if you have already heard of it) of Emmanuel Essien, a 28-year old “fishing observer”? Emmanuel Essien was employed by the Government of Ghana, on tax payers’ payroll to travel in industrial trawlers and patrol our seas and monitor and generally report illegal modes of fishing. By now, the one who has the job of approving his monthly salary at the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture should have queried his absence from duty and then due process will have followed. Since the fishingRead More →

By Isaac Ato Mensah Accra – 26 November, 2019 The 70th anniversary edition of Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) climaxed with the 24th awards ceremony but consideration for diversity and community radio stations (CRS) was at a minimum. This is particularly troubling given that the International Year of Indigenous Languages (IYIL2019) is drawing to a close. The competitive awards categories gave consideration to a few “Regional FM stations” which either broadcast in Akan (mainly Twi) or run frequent syndicated programmes from Accra in English and Twi. The implications of the non recognition of CRS as a separate category are manifold; here are just three. First, communityRead More →

By Isaac Ato Mensah/Desmond Osae Amponsah Accra – 22 November, 2019 For pregnant Miss P, a 19 year old student at a university in Accra, “the emotional trauma is unbearable”. “I had a relationship with a guy for a year. He got me pregnant and wanted me to abort it. I tried, but was unsuccessful. My parents suspected my condition and took me to the hospital for a check-up, it was positive,” narrated Miss P at her residence in Accra. “I’m carrying a six month baby for a guy I loved dearly. My parents have decided that, I will give birth but will not giveRead More →

By Isaac Ato Mensah Accra – 20 November, 2019 My mentor agrees with Tony Benn, the British politician/writer that when a man/woman reaches age 40, (s)he should be stripped of all his/her certificates; all certificates should be collected from his/her room. “What you are, what you stand for; what you are passionate about and what you are known for is the real you,” says my mentor. “That is your profile.” A profile is not the regurgitation or rehash of your CV; that is an error. For a corporate brochure or website your profile should be summarised into a maximum of 400 words. The following isRead More →

By Isaac Ato Mensah/Priscilla Esi Korankye Accra – 18 November, 2019 As far back as the 1960s, Ghana had a national agenda – to control population growth by empowering women with a pro-choice agenda. And on 8 April, 2019 writersghana.com reported President Akufo-Addo as saying that the government’s strategic Coordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development Policies (CPESDP) had outlined clearly government’s proposed action on population and reproductive health which included the reduction of the population growth “from 2.2 per cent per annum to 1.5 per cent per annum”. But, the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25) has taken placed and ended in NairobiRead More →