Ghana Presidential Transition: History should not repeat itself.

 

Once again, Ghana has underscored her reputation as a model African democracy – a standing which owes much to the peaceful change of governments through the ballot box. It is, however, ironic that previous changes in government through the democratic process have exposed serious shortcoming in our country’s governance institutional framework.

Ghana’s record on political transitions is not a proud one. Due to a history of coup d’états, the first time in our history when power was transferred from one democratically elected President to another was in 2001; the second was in 2009.

Africa's avoidable deaths

A couple of weeks ago, Kervin Kofi Moses, a 15-year old student of Ghana's Achimota School, died at the 37 Military Hospital after falling ill at school. His distraught mother called for the school to be closed down because school authorities were negligent in his death. This story hit me hard, maybe, because I have a son of the same age.

In truth though, the needless death of this boy was not an isolated incident. In 2012, I was involved in the care of a post-partum patient at Interbertin hospital in Cape Coast who died. Amongst other things, we could not get labs on weekends while the patient was on a ventilator!

A few months before then, I walked into a Healthcare post at Moree in the Central region of Ghana and found a two and a half-year old boy who had mental status changes and was on a blanket quietly waiting to die because his mother could not afford transport to send him to a hospital in Cape Coast.

ASHANTI TRADITIONAL RELIGION.

The hierarchy of Ashanti deities has at its apex, Nyame, the supreme god, omniscient and omnipresent.  His 'sons' are generally represented as being various natural features, such as rivers and lakes, his favourite son being the River Tano. The earth is represented by the goddess Asaase.  Below these are the many lesser gods, or abosom, which are of great immediate importance as they are directly accessible to human beings, in a way in which the principal gods are not. Nyame is too remote to be petitioned directly in the normal course of events; although many Ashanti compounds contain an altar in the form of a forked branch in which is set a pot or basin, where offerings are placed, and most prayers commence with an invocation to the supreme being.  The abosom are important therefore, in that they act as intermediaries between Nyame and mankind.

Mission possible for Nduom's Progressive Peoples’ Party (PPP).

Ghanaians are going to the polls this Wednesday 7th December,2016, to elect a new government that shall take over the administration of our country from 2017 to 2020. Care must be taken to choose a credible, competent and efficient leader to champion the cause of our dear nation. 

The electorate are advised against voting on tribal, religious or parochial lines. We no longer need promisers to lead us but we need a leader with a proven and practical track record and an incorruptible person who shall be a servant rather than master of the people.

Past and present leaders

Other rulers, past and present; President Kwame Nkrumah, Prime Minister Busia, Presidents Hilla Limann, J.J. Rawlings, J.A. Kufuor, J.E. Atta Mills and now J.D.

Full Speech: Donald Trump & Mike Pence Speech At Carrier Indianapolis Plant (12/01/2016) #Trump

Donald Trump spoke at the Carrier plant in Indianapolis on Thursday, announcing a deal with the company to keep about 1,000 jobs in the state instead of moving them to Mexico.

The decision by the air-conditioner company comes as a win for the President-elect, who made the issue of retaining manufacturing jobs in the United States a core economic focus of his campaign.

 Trump has said he will overhaul the corporate tax code to be more friendly to businesses like Carrier, and the company will receive economic incentives worth $7 million, which were negotiated by Vice President-Elect Mike Pence, who is still governor of Indiana, according to the New York Times.

Despite the deal with Trump, Carrier still plans to close a plant in Huntington, Indiana, which will result in about 700 jobs moving to Mexico, NBC reported Thursday.