Catalyzing Change

Ghana's elections: Is 'largely' free and fair good enough?

2009-01-08T11:32:00.000-08:00

Pretty much stopped blogging but resurrecting this as a way to 'think aloud' about something I've been struggling with.

Ghana Elections: Where do we set the bar for 'free and fair'? Should that be something we decide upon internally, or is that set externally in the context of a broader continental picture? Is that constant across time, or have we shifted our definition based on the scale of irregularities in Kenya and Zimbabwe over the last year? Does this depend at all on how close the race is?

So we've voted. It went to two rounds, plus an additional day of voting in one constituency. There was quite a bit of tension, and some fears of unrest, but it's all over now. Akufo-Addo has conceded defeat and congratulated Atta-Mills, Atta-Mills has been sworn in, and around the world we are being heralded as an example of how democracy can work in Africa. Congratulations are rolling in - once again Ghana stands out as an example of peace and the rule of law in Africa.

Of all the media I have seen and heard though; both African and broader international, there has been little mention of any irregularities. This bothers me because it is not as if there were none. There were many reported cases of irregularities, with the most striking of them being violence against polling agents, and an inability of agents to observe elections of some polling stations. Each of the major parties in Ghana have a regional stronghold, and both the NDC and NPP have reported violence against their agents in the opposing party's stronghold. Do these not interfere with a 'free and fair' election? In the Volta region for instance, NPP polling agents were prevented from observing elections at many of the polling stations. The abuse of one of the polling agents (incidentally one of fewer than 5 trained psychiatrists in Ghana, and head of the department of psychiatry at the University of Ghana) was quite vicious, and has been documented, but largely ignored in the classification of the elections as free and fair. The electoral commission claimed that there was no evidence to support a further investigation of allegations of irregularities, but I would have thought that in this instance, the bloody pictures and statement from Elizabeth Ohene would have been enough to investigate.

The lack of acknowledgment leads to the an inclination to agree with what Nana Akufo-Addo said in his concession speech:

“By stating that there is criminal conduct in some constituencies of the Volta Region and yet announcing the results, the Electoral Commission has given the unfortunate impression that it does not matter how votes are being obtained[,] as long as they are duly recorded”

This strongly worded statement points to an undoing of a lot of what we have worked towards as a country, and casts a lot of doubt on the credibility of the electoral commission.

'Free and fair' aside, was the election a reflection of the will of the Ghanaian people? It could be argued that since there were only a few isolated incidents, the election was still largely free and fair. In an election where the victor's margin was ~40,000 votes, representing less than 1% of valid votes cast though, this is still material to the outcome of the election. If NPP agents were prevented from observing elections at the majority of polling stations in even two constituencies - say the Ho Central and Ho West constituencies for instance, that would represent >70,000 votes cast. This in itself is larger than the margin by which the NDC defeated the NPP. The NPP has indeed reported that their polling agents were prevented form observing the elections at several Volta Region polling stations. Herein lies my struggle.

The NPP withdrew all court cases and conceded defeat - a move that likely saved Ghana a lot of trouble. With the declaration of results barely 4 days before the constitutionally mandated inauguration, a lengthy legal process could have left us in a constitutional crisis, with the current president's term having expired, and no new president to inaugurate. Worse than this, tensions were quite high in the week before the final voting in Tain. Any legal wranglings which were not perceived to be above-board could have escalated these tensions and led to an outbreak of violence.

As it is, Ghana is peaceful, and both Africa and the rest of world have something to latch on to as an example of the progress of democracy in Africa, and a glimmer of hope that other countries can also 'succeed'. Do we do ourselves a disservice by overlooking these irregularities in the interest of an outward image, and what this means for people other than us as Ghanaians? Or if it is more for the fear of violence, should the will of the Ghanaian people be subordinated to the fear of a potential outbreak of violence?

Is this something we overlook at this point because we had only had one peaceful handover, and perhaps it is only after we have had two and are a more 'mature' democracy that we will have the confidence to tackle some of these tricky issues? Regardless of the number of transitions, will our democracy ever be 'mature' if we pussyfoot over issues such as these irregularities, which while isolated in the grand scheme of things, could have a material impact on the final result?

If the NPP and Akufo-Addo had persisted with their challenge and violence had broken out in Ghana, they would forever have been labeled as the unpatriotic party which put personal interests over the interests of the country at large. In my opinion though, the Ghanaian people are still done a disservice as long as political parties accept results when there is some doubt as to whether they are a reflection of what actually happened.

I focus on irregularities against the NPP because these are the ones for which I have seen evidence. Obviously, irregularities on both sides should be investigated.

I would love to hear thoughts on whether other people think this matters at all, and if it does, how we can move to a place where we are confident enough in the political process, our legal institutions and the stability of our democracy that we do not accept 'largely' free and fair, but insist that as an *absolute*, Ghanaian people are assured that the outcome of the election is a result of our collective will as a people.

These solutions are not things I have thought about at length, but a few things at the top of my mind:
- Firstly a constitutional change to allow for more time between the elections and the inauguration. Even a month would allow for some challenge to the results, and legal proceedings to take place
- Over time, a review of the legal system and the independence of the judiciary. This is obviously a large undertaking, but at some point, we need to have a system that all parties agree with, and would respect the decision of. The NPP's complaint had been lodged with the fast track court. Leading NDC functionaries have challenged the constitutionality of the Fast Track court in the past, and I can imagine that even if the NPP had not withdrawn, it is quite likely that the NDC would have challenged the legal process
- An overhaul of the voters register. This one is long overdue. It is an open joke that even if you collect and count all the farm animals in some constituencies in addition to the people, you still will not get to the number of people on the voters register, and subsequently the number of votes cast. In an environment where elections are so closely contested between two parties, the accuracy of the voters register in one or two constituencies can make all the difference to the outcome of the elections.

Postscript: International praise of Ghana's elections

Christian Science Monitor: Ghana's new president: Africa's symbol of a working democracy

Washington Post: Ghana's Example- How one African nation has made democracy work

Financial Times: Ghana-ing votes

Nigerian Tribune: How Ghana emerged hero

All Africa: Ghana: A Sign of True Democracy

Daily Nation (Kenya): It’s a triumph for Africa

Disbelief and despondency as I follow the elections in Kenya

2007-12-30T10:16:00.000-08:00

The wait is over in Kenya (for now), and Kibaki has been declared winner . From reports of election rigging which included the falsifying of results, it appears that democracy has been set back again in Africa. I am not angry, but just quietly sad. Sad that in a year that so many Kenyans displayed their faith in the electoral system by turning out to vote, people now have to ask what the point was. Sad that once again, incumbency has been abused. Sad that the ability of power to corrupy has robbed ordinary Kenyans of their right to decide who governs the country.

I've been following the coverage from Ory and M. As Ory talks about the tears she is fighting as she blogs the results, and M about his own tears. I remember the tears I cried in 2000. Very different tears though.

I cried in 2000 as election results were announced in Ghana, and we transitioned for the first time from one democratically elected government to another. I cried because after the Stolen Verdict of 1992, and the obviously fraudulent elections of 1996, Ghanaians had been able to exercise their right to vote, and know that the elections reflected our choice. I cried tears of joy at what I thought was a step forward for democracy in Africa in general, and since then I've smiled at the thought that we can learn from our mistakes, and slowly take steps towards a mature democracy in which people can be confident that their vote 'is their power.' I was drawn to tears again and again when I saw the joy of Ghanaians on the streets, when I saw the renewed sense of hope that people had. Never in my life had I seen such spontaneous euphoria. For many it was because their candidate had won, but for a lot of others, it was also because we had come of age as a democracy, and there was joy in knowing that if this winner did not live up to his promises and perform creditably, their candidate would have a chance again in 2004.

Today I'm stunned as I follow what is happening in Kenya, and robbed of the confidence I had that if nothing else, Ghana's elections in 2008 will be free and fair.

Ory and M give a god snapshot of what has been happening
- Results being falsified by electoral officials before they are announced
- An electoral officer who will have no part in the fraud blowing the whistle, and confirming the widespread rigging
- Kibaki being sworn in at a location with no media coverage minutes after the results are announced
- The AG and Chief Justice attending the swearing-in
- A media blackout in Kenya after rumours that a state of emergency would be declared.
- A rush for food, as no-one knows what is happening because of the media blackout, or what other services will be cut off next.
- Raila Odinga and some of his party members have been arrested

In 2007. It looks like whoever is *in* power decides who will be in power next. If s/he concedes, then we have a chance at the person who was voted for by the general populace. If not, whoever his/her choice is wins. How long before more African countries have judiciaries that are independent of the executive? How long before the Chief Justice can nullify the results and refuse to participate in the swearing in because he believes the results were rigged? Apparently independence till 2007 has not been long enough.

As I follow the elections in Kenya, a lot of the trepidation has to do with the thought of elections in Ghana in December 2008. While I am under no illusions that my preferred candidate will have an easy victory ( or indeed win at all), I've at least been confident that the voice of the people would prevail. With a virtual

Does the Global Fund really save 3000 lives a day?

2007-12-19T10:09:00.000-08:00

The LA Times has a long piece on the Global Fund, which looks at a lot of the complexities of providing solutions to global health problems. In particular, the article highlights a lot of the unintended consequences of the Global Fund’s focus on specific health issues, and questions the overall success claims of the fund. I came across the piece via an article on Valleywag of all places, which takes the article’s findings a step further by labelling the Gates’ work “Failanthropy.” I think Valleywag is a bit harsh in its analysis, but the Times article definitely had me thinking about some of the issues beneath the surface which are often not talked about when the director of the Global Fund says “Global Fund programmes are saving 3000 lives a day”

The main issues the Times brings up?
• The Fund’s focus on specific diseases is causing an internal ‘brain-drain’ in
country health systems as underpaid health professionals are drawn from basic
healthcare to jobs working on these better-funded diseases.
• There isn’t enough of a focus on support systems, so some of the very
expensive interventions are ineffective. A micro case if you want of ‘for want of
a nail the kingdom was lost’
As well as a slightly more serious allegation:
• Health workers are instructed not to discuss health conditions that the funded
vaccination programs cannot prevent, often the more serious concerns that the
patients have
– something which seems to go against all common sense in basic healthcare.

The LA Times piece comes across as a pretty scathing expose, a revelation of elements of paternalism in the Gates’ approach to global health care, and an indictment once again of Western interventions in developing world issues which fail to look at the bigger picture, and to work with other stakeholders in addressing the complete problem.

A little more digging however revealed a few things that the Times article neglected to mention. For instance, that health officials in Zambia have praised the Global Fund initiative for being largely country-driven. Also praise for the fact that Global Fund representatives are willing to listen to suggestions and adjust policies to be more relevant to the ways in which countries have chosen to address health issues ( sector-wide approaches versus a vertical focus on specific diseases.) There is also no mention of the fact that the Fund has admitted that countries have not always been clear on how funds can be channelled, and they are working to improve this, as well as looking at interventions in agriculture and nutrition, and give 1% of funds to support health systems more broadly (info from two Lancet pieces on the Global Fund).

In balance though, a lot more thinking needs to be done about the overall place of the Global Fund and other international health interventions, and how effective they are overall. One of the Lancet articles talks about the Zambian government’s frustration with the many different organizations they have to deal with. “7 months on the Global Fund, 8 months on the Clinton Foundation and 3 months on MAP.” Perhaps more time co-ordinating these different efforts than actually attacking the problem.

One thing which struck me about the article was the statement of Tadataka Yamada, president of the Gates Foundation’s global health program "We're a catalyzer. What we can't do is fill the gaps in government budgets…It's not sustainable.” True enough. Even more striking to me – his statement that Africans need to do more themselves to improve public health, and that they should spend less on weapons and more on doctors before they demand increased assistance. Sure, the likes of Dr. Yamada have no obligation to African countries and African health systems, and I’ve been a pretty vocal critic of some government spending choices, such as this one in Ghana. That being said, if the foundation has taken upon itself to intervene, I expect slightly more nuanced statements from Yamada. Sure, the governments could probably spend more on the health sector. But wouldn’t one of the results be accelerating the development of health systems in other parts of the world? It would take much more than the 15% of GDP that Yamada proposes African countries spend on health care (only 13 countries in the world spend as much as 10%) to come close to comparable conditions for health professionals in developing countries. Perhaps a little work on looking at how the poaching can be discouraged, or how developing and developed governments could cone up with mutually beneficial solutions could help. Just a thought…

As someone firmly in the camp of ‘the only way things will change is if we change them ourselves’ this was mostly a reminder to keep focusing on being impactful in developing the capacity of Africans to solve some of these problems ourselves. Also a reminder of how important leadership initiatives are. Maybe a few entrepreneurial health ministers in these countries could be more successful at coming up with solutions which take the whole picture into consideration. After all, they know the systems best, and they have to deal with the broader consequences of some of these spot interventions.

Breaking News: The race heats up as CPP selects Nduom

2007-12-17T07:16:00.000-08:00

It's official. The CPP has announced that Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, former minister for Private Sector Development has won the race for the party's presidential candidate. Nduom is a lifelong CPP member, but as part of President Kuffours open government policy, was a minister for a long time.
The 2008 elections will almost certainly go into a 2nd round, because while the CPP certainly doesn't have the support base to win, Nduom is sure to cause an upset. His candidacy puts the CPP in a position of immense strength, as they (and their supporters) will be the Kingmakers when it comes down to it.

6 days until the NPP congress, and it promises to be even more hotly contested than the CPP race.

Ghana's "Iron Lady"passes away

2007-03-20T12:55:00.000-07:00

Myjoyonline.com is reporting the death of Hawa Yakubu, a well-known politician and leading member of the New Patriotic Party. Hawa is said to have died in London this morning, after a short illness.
The news of Hawa's death has shocked me immensely, and judging from initial reactions online, many other Ghanaians. In a quote on the website for The Hawa Foundation, there is a quote from Hawa which reads:

"Amongst all the things that history will say about me I hope it will not fail to record that she appealed to the best hopes of people and not their worst fears, their confidence and not their doubts, her wish is that people tread the path of life with liberty lamp lightening their path and stretching and arm of opportunity and help."

Hawa will definitely be remembered as one who championed the cause of Ghanaians. She was a firm believer in the ability of politics to effect widespread change, and lived her life on this belief. She was persecuted endlessly for her political beliefs - she lived through assassination attempts, and had her house burned down in the run-up to the 2000 elections.

Ms. Yakubu was also known for her championing of women's rights, and her staunch support of female politicians, to the extent of being accused by members of her own party of supporting opposition candidates because they were women.

Known as the "Iron Lady" of Ghanaian politics, she was the 2nd Vice Chairman of the ruling NPP when she died, and when people spoke of Ghana's first female president, the name that was most often on peoples lips. She declared her intention to run in 2005, although she has been fairly silent since then.

I'm still in shock, Ghanaians of all political persuasions have lost a woman who dedicated her life to effecting change for all, and a role model in the area of grassroots activism.

Damirifa Due, Hawa Yakubu.

Produce your boyfriend - or else...

2006-06-19T19:33:00.000-07:00

The title reminds me of the punchline to a bad joke, but unfortunately this is not a joke.
I was listening to a Ghanaian radio programme [as an aside.. more and more of my posts seem to include things I hear on this infamous radio programme], and there was commentary on the police commitment to clamp down on crime. Specifically there was a focus on prostitution, and the arrest and prosecution of prostitutes.

I heard a statement which almost had me checking if it was indeed the year 2006 ( and not perhaps 1906). I would have not have believed that a public official could have uttered such statements if I had not heard him myself. According to the Greater Accra regional police chief, women going to bars and hotels etc. by themselves at night may be asked to produce their husbands or boyfriends who they are there with, to prove that they are not prostitutes soliciting customers. ( as these alleged prostitutes would then face arrest). In Ghana??? A country with 'freedom and justice' as its motto, and a place where citizens supposedly have freedom of movement?? This is obviously not something that is being enforced, but I find the fact that the police chief in the capital city could say this scary, and scarier still the fact that he considers it perfectly legitimate to target any woman by herself at a bar or restaurant by herself as a prostitute.

The presenter went on to ask him whether there might not perhaps be single women who could be out for a drink with friends, or even by themselves, an innocent enough situation. His response?? "the timing is very important...if you are a decent woman, you should be able to go there early and move out. If you stay there till 1am, you know it is dangerous" At 1am?? Without a man to show I cannot be out by myself in Accra?

I comment less frequently than I used to on issues related to women's rights, and certainly never have on this blog. It is not to say that I don't have opinions, but I find that too often statements are taken out of context and taken as representative of all the other actions or positions a person takes. It is also possibly as Sefi Atta might say for fear of being labelled a feminist. This time though, I had to say something. What is it about our society that is so skewed towards certain 'traditional' roles for women, and the quick labelling of women as 'good' or 'bad' based on a set of criteria in which they have no say. It comes out in this issue, but also goes back to the now oft-heard argument over how much a woman might be to blame for a situation in which she is raped. And whether perhaps what she was wearing had anything to do with it, or where she was at the time. I'm all for people taking responsibility for their actions,but really should a man's lack of self control be overlooked at the expense of a woman's ability to dress as she pleases?

Then there's the issue of the Ghanaian domestic violence bill, which has been welcomed by both men and women all over the country. Oh - apart from the clause about marital rape that is. For most men ( and some women) there should be no mention of rape in a marriage. When a woman agrees to marry a man, she gives up her right to say no to him.

How can people be so gifted in so many different areas, make extraordinary strides in science, politics, business, sports - be capable of sophisticated analysis on a range of issues, and yet still be stuck in the stone ages on certain issues?

When will a single woman be able to hold her place in society, without needing a man as some sort of validation?

Black Stars - shining on and off the field

2006-06-19T19:29:00.000-07:00

My post yesterday about the euphoria over the Black Stars' victory, and the unifying effects of football reminded me of something else I've been meaning to post about.My post yesterday about the euphoria over the Black Stars' victory, and the unifying effects of football reminded me of something else I've been meaning to post about, The 'I am a Black Star Campaign', an initiative of the NeoAfrica Foundation. The campaign website has an explanation of their project:

Every Ghanaian must strive to be a "Black Star," an individual who embodies excellence, integrity and sacrifice beyond personal gain, for the greater good of our country and our continent.

The premise is that the Black Stars' commitment to excellence has earned them a place in the World Cup, and has the whole country rallied around them. What excited me about the project is not just the commitment to excellence, but the aim of recognizing people who are living that excellence. I was talking to a Zimbabwean friend of mine a couple of years ago ( how time flies!), and we had a long conversation about role models, and which people were celebrated as we grew up. He spoke of Strive Masiyiwa of Econet Wireless, and although we went off on a tangent, there were several other people he mentioned as well. What struck me though was the fact that growing up in Zimbabwe Masiyiwa's example was one that a lot of people wanted to emulate. He spoke of how he and a lot of his friends wanted to replicate Masiyiwa's phenomenal success in business. I thought of Ghana, and who we saw as examples of success when we were growing up. Sure there was Sam Jonah of Ashanti Goldfields fame, and a few others, but to a large extent the only people who are widely know to young people and celebrated as successes are people with political power.

I've thought about this a lot, and the lack of visible role models for young people. Although I miss every moment I'm away from Ghana and I'm always looking for opportunities to go back, or to work on projects that impact communities at home, I don't for a minute regret having left to go to school. My horizons have been expanded beyond anything that was possible at home. By that, I mean not only the opportunities I have access to, but more importantly what I perceive as 'possible.' There are people at home who I like to call 'professional pessimists' . Quick to deflate people's dreams, doubting that anything other than what they have already seen can be successful. Now on the other hand, I firmly believe that if you can dream it, you can do it. This attitude relates to entrepreneurial culture ( which I will be disciplined enough to leave at that, since that is an entire post on its own), but fundamentally to all aspects of everyday life.

It is partly a culture, but also the ability to see people who have excelled in their fields and conceive of what has not been done before as possible. The really cool part about the 'I am a Black Star' project is that it doesn't celebrate people in business, or politics or other select fields, but celebrates people setting examples in their everyday lives.

The teacher extending education to the most remote villages; the ethical public official upholding integrity in our government; the business owner committed to giving back to his community; these are all Black Stars! Our nationwide campaign will feature inspirational profiles of such exemplary individuals and beseech all Ghanaians to discover and exercise their own power to make a difference in their communities.

This is a great start at developing a culture of role models, and hopefully one of people who have enjoyed more success mentoring others. One feature of the campaign is wrist bands which remind people of their commitment to live out the example of the Black Stars in their everyday lives.

certainly commendable, let's see how it plays out

How brightly can a black star really shine?

2006-06-18T11:28:00.000-07:00

Evidently with blinding intensity, when the stars in question are those on the Ghanaian national team. I am still on an undescribable high after the game yesterday. Simply ecstatic after such a masterful display of football :-) I'll let up with the superlatives now, and admittedly there were several chances the team missed, but it was an excellent game, whichever way you look at it.

There was a lot of disappointment after the game on Monday, and I for one was heartbroken. It was an excellent game, but an inability to finish our attack and convert the many chances to goals left us with a 2-0 loss against the Italians. Hence the euphoria in the wake of yesterday's game, and against the Czechs nonetheless. The last *obstacle* is now the U.S. I can't wait till Thursday, and I hope that is a victory, if for nothing at all, to show that we are a country (and continent) to be taken seriously.

I'm always in awe of the phenomenal unifying power of football, and i was reminded of that again yesterday. There's unification on a large scale, such as the stories we hear from the Ivory Coast. The players are acutely aware of these responsibilities, clear from Didier Drogba's statement on behalf of his teammamtes to the country "Ivorians, we ask for your forgiveness...let us come together and put this war behind us."
Yesterday though, I was reminded of how football pulls people together even on an everyday basis. I was in my element after our first goal came so early, and evidently so were a lot of other people. My phone was struggling under the burden of calls, vociemail and text messages from all over the world. My friends who were Zimbabwean, Nigerian, Zambian, Mexican, Ghanaian, American, from St. Thomas - everyone was keenly following the game, and living each tense moment with the Ghanaian fans. In the words of one of my friends "Congrats, every African is happy."
These were sentiments I shared as I watched the other African teams play - praying that Angola could sustain the draw against Mexico or take the lead, wondering if there was any hope for Ivory Coast after they were down 2-0 to Argentina, hoping Togo could sustain their 1-0 lead over South Korea...

Times like these take me back to thoughts of how much of a force Africa could be if this support extended beyond football. We've been disappointed by all the African teams at some stage - none of us won our opening games. That doesn't deter us as fans thoguh, we continue to offer our support, and hope that perhaps the next game will be better, hope that perhaps if Ivory Coast loses, Togo might still have a chnace, or that if Angola is out, Ghana might win and still leave us with an African team in the running. Is it easier because there is so little to lose? Or perhaps because there is little effort expended on our part?

I am still chilled when I recall comments I heard on a Ghanaian radio station about refugees from Darfur in Ghana.. Callers to the programme were largely of the opinion that they should be sent back where they came from, and that they were not welcome in Ghana. I know it is a lot more complex of a situtation than simply having a governemnt take in people from anywhere who seek refuge, but there was complete disregard for their plight, not even a wish to help balanced by a regret that the country only has limited resources.

There was also the day I was listening to the same program, this time with Nigerian friends of mine, as callers discussed a shooting incident that had taken place at a Ghanaian university, ostensibly involving Nigerian students. I could only hang my head in shame at the preposterous generalizations the callers were making - branding all Nigerians as criminals. There was a call for the wholesale expulsion of Nigerian students from our schools, and comments on how they were introducing unheard of criminal elements into our society. Arguably, many parts of Nigeria are more accustomed to violent crime than parts of Ghana, but is that to say that none of the crime in Ghana is attributable to Ghanaians? Or that none of the commendable things in our society are attributable to foreigners?

as we watch the games and revel in the successes of the African teams, I hope we can build a culture that is supportive both in good times and in bad..

Better internet connectivity for East Africa - will it be EASSy?

2006-03-17T23:47:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Africa | Warning over African internet cable

BBC news has an article about the EASSy cable to connect East Africa. The cable is supposed to provide direct interconnectivity for the countries of East Africa, and then link them to 'the global fibre optics network'. It sounds great in principle, and if it really does provide people with significantly improved access at reasonable prices that'll be great, but will it?
The article goes on at length about SAT3, the cable connecting countries along the west coast of Africa to each other and to Europe. Like EASSy it was heralded as a breakthrough in communcations that was supposed to provide previously unheard of speeds and reliable, constant connectivity at a low price.
I'll take ghana as an example since that's the market i'm familiar with. The article talks about how

In contrast, Sat3 has led to a huge expansion in internet access in Ghana

Sure there's been an expansion in availability, but is it really accessible to people? Right now ( outside ghana) for $17.99 a month, I can get a broadband connection with an upload of 1.5 to 3 Mbps , and a downstream connection of about half that.

Now let's take Ghana
from internet ghana, i can get a (business) download of 512 kbps and upload of 128 kbps for $225 a month ( of course only after I've paid the set-up fee of $150. There is also a school option of 256/128 k for $100 a month and a $200 set up fee ( it costs more to set up than in an office?)
from busy internet, i can get 512 k for $1,399 a month ( the shared package! it is $2,299 per month for a dedicated connection) This mind you is for downloads, i am kindly informed that uplink speeds are 25% of downlinks...
from ghana telecom, i can get a 256k downlink and 64k uplink for $95 a month (and a $195 installation fee) and for a business, i can get a 512/128k connection for $195 a month and a $295 connection fee.

Sure, the connectivity options are there, but when they are so prohibitively priced, soes that really count? Not to mention the fact that some of these exhorbitant prices are for what is little more than glorified dial-up.

I know i've gone on about this for a while, but I don't see why this should be the case when the cable that links us directly to Portugal lands right on the coast!! Sure, I don't expect to be able to pay $18 a month for a 1.5mbps connection in accra, but really these prices. in case you couldn't tell from the fact that their prices are significantly lower than everyone elses, ghana teleom is the national telecommunications service provider, and basically 'owns' the sat3 infrastructure in ghana.
it has finally opened up to allow access to private companies, but at these ludicrous prices.
The BBC article mentions two causes of these high prices in the SAT3 member countries, the second of which applies to ghana

Secondly that companies which dominate their domestic markets are under little pressure to provide a fast, cheap service to their consumers.

this is the case of ghana telecom. there is no incentive to provide improved access, and frankly no penalty for failing to provide it. One of the reasons i've heard for the necessity of the exorbitant prices? "we invested a lot of money in getting the connection, and we have to be able to recoup our investment'. A 2004 study on facilitating access to the west african sat3 connection states that ghana telecom spent $24 million on the sat 3 connection, and also admits that 'only 10 - 15% of the capacity is being used while internet users are demanding more bandwidth.'
Now I'm no economist, but let's take a look at this here. Ghana telecom has made this investment which they need to recoup. they open a miniscule portion of the available bandwidth to private companies at exorbitant prices. these companies in turn offer droadband connections to their customers at similarly high prices. most people are priced out, few people are using the service and ghana telecom does not make as much money as it could.
now how about a scenario in which ghana telecom lowered the prices a bit. more comapnies are able to access the bandwisth, and offer it to people at lower prices. more people access the service, and a host of industries which need a reliable high-spees connection at a reasonable cost relocate to ghana. there is more revenue for the private ISPs, more money for gt and most importantly affordable internet access!
this is hardlya sophisticated argument, and it has been made by many before, but is it really that hard to get?

the news on the east african cable is exciting, and since all these problems with sat 3 have been identified, hopefully it will be spared the same fate. somehow though i don't think it will be that EASSy ( sorry i couldn't resist...)
tags: sat3, eassy, ghana ,telcos, africa, internet access

Google Okays Abuja for Wireless Network Project??

2006-02-14T08:44:00.000-08:00

allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Google Okays Abuja for Wireless Network Project

in what is reported to be the first of a planned roll-out in several African cities, the Nigerian finance minister has (purportedly) announced plans by Google to cover Abuja with a wireless network.

i can't find any official news from google, or indeed any news that isn't from coverage of the briefing (in Abuja) at which she announced this, but hopefully the interest she says Google has expressed translates to a firm committment to network Abuja...

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala says this is in relation to some work already being done in Abuja, perhaps the initiative Chippla referred to in his post a while back.

the text quoted from her actually only says a proposal for a Nigerian city was in the works, and she suggested Abuja...
perhaps some over-zealous journalists making it sound like a done-deal?

i have heard the usual arguments about people needing food to eat first, there not being enough people to take advantage of the nettwork, poor infrastructure etc. but i think that if it is true, it will be a welcome addition to other initiatives to promote technology as an engine of growth in Nigeria

"Malaria Monitor" wristwatch - Engadget

2006-02-14T08:26:00.000-08:00

"Malaria Monitor" wristwatch - Engadget

another interesting gadget which i came across....pricks you four times a day and lets you know whether parasites in your blood have reached a critical level "before symptoms manifest themselves"

according to the article, there has been much interest in this yet-to-be-launched device, with 'several African governments and the WHO' having expressed interest, as well as mining companies.
if it will be on sale to individuals, i imagine that the personal market will be huge as well, judging from the number of people i have had to convince that malaria does not mean certain death :-)

not being ahuge fan of needles, i'm wary of being pricked four times a day ( although the $280 price tag means i will not be purchasing one anyway)
i also wonder about whether people might consider sharing them? perhaps students on budget trips...
but certainly an interesting device

eShopAfrica.com - Fair Trade Ga Coffins

2006-02-14T08:17:00.000-08:00

interesting item for sale on eShopAfrica...

eShopAfrica.com - Fair Trade Ga Coffins

Welcome to Ga coffins or decorated chests from Ghana
These hand sculpted wooden coffins or decorated chests have been featured by National Geographic. They are made by the famous Ga coffin carpenters in Accra, Ghana.
Traditionally these chests are the size of a full coffin or a half-length coffin (see the bottom of the page for detailed specifications). However, we are working with the coffin carpenters to scale down their work making it easier to ship. They are also developing new lines such as the football and computer mouse - see pictures below.
The coffin carpenters can make just about anything you want. Below is just a sample of their creativity. They can work from a photo or a model. Order a chest according to your hobby or interest - these are truly antiques of the future. See how these amazing pieces are made in the Coffin Gallery.

i still can't get over this one. The coffins from the coffinmakers in Accra have long been recognized for their creativity, but since when did they become 'chests' for sale online? My favourite part is the fact that they are made by 'coffin carpenters', they are 'traditionally the size of a full-size coffin' but they're just shests, not coffins...
i guess they might be looking at making smaller sizes, but considering that only full-size coffins are displayed now it's highly amusing...

on a more serious note though, since these 'chests' have gotten so much attention, is this finally a way for their makers to reach a wider market? the story says that one of the coffin makers has a business based on eSHopAfrica, but I wonder how much control he actually has over that, and what sort of revenue he gets from that. somehow it strikes me that someone else was the initiator....

my personal favourites: the mouse, and the err...flying coffin painted like a ghana airways plane :-)

World Cup trophy tour...and then some

2006-01-16T17:20:00.000-08:00

another overdue post from ghana..
the picture is a bit hard to see, but it is of prez. kufour raising the trpphy aboce his head in accra during the trophy tour. i'm not complaining about the ceremony per se, because i was there, and certainly wanted to see the cup, but it raised a few questions for me.
the event was advertised as an opportunity to see the world cup and have your picture taken with it, so one would have thought it would be a one to two hour ceremony at MOST. i was very wrong, firstly it started 2 hours ( yes, 2 hours! ) late, for reasons i will leave you to guess. after that we were taken through a series of performances by the Black Stars supporters group and the Winneba Youth choir, a film on Ghana's football history, a special 3D film on the world cup and the trophy tour...and speeches by coca cola executives, the president, the list goes on...
by the time we finally got round to seeing the cup, we had been there 3.5 hours and counting.
i don't take issue with the ceremony, and how it was organized. not even really with the fact that it started late. did i mention the fact that apart from the president, practically every minister of state and deputy minister was there as well??? basically for at least 4 hours that morning, none of them did any of the work they're in office to do for the country. i mean seeing the trophy was nice, but was it worth that much? if it had been some sort of investors conference, or strategizing session...maybe an update on each person's vision for ghana in 2006, just something which might bring some benefit to the country somewhere along the line it wouldn't have been as bad. but a loss of that many hours of productivity ( multiply all the ministers, deputy ministers there by the number of hours) all to see the world cup trophy? that is a hard sell. granted i did see one minister leave before the ceremony was over, but that was it. and this on top of a holiday season in which for the previous 2.5 weeks every other day was a holiday ( or so it seemed) sure there is christmas, but then there is boxing day, and then another day because christmas fell on the weekend, and there's new year's, and another day because new year's fell on the weekend. and then who workd on the 24th anyway? and oh what's one more day at the end of the year?

i'm thinking we need to take another look at productivity, and the reasons for which we lose productivity. at a GDP per capita of under $400, maybe only the Minister of Education and Sports should have been there?

The Beauty of Competition :-)

2006-01-16T17:08:00.000-08:00

a much overdue post on some observations i made in Accra

by the very first day i was inundated with adverts on the radio from all the cellular service providers
Scancom Ghana: areeba ( spacefon, then spacefon-areeba and now areebaa) : buy a sim card and get one free, plus the chance to be entered into a draw to win a mercedes, plus 2 free areeba t-shirts
Millicom Ghana :buzz : get buzz, because we're the only ones with buzz crbt ( caller ring back tone) and your friends can hear all these wonderful songs when they call you etc.
Ghana Telecom: one-touch: get one-touch ecause we have one-touch family and friends, where you can call your 4 (?) favourite people for 40% less.
Kasapa Telecom: kasapa: get kasapa because calls are free after 11pm and on weekends

some of the networks were advertising features that other networks already have or were also introducing, but each was trying to push theirs out as unique, and the best buy. i was amazed everytime i heard the ads. was i really in accra? 13 years ago, Millicom Ghana Ltd. pioneered Mobitel as the first cellular service provider, and that was followed by kasapa ( then celltel). 9 short years ago Scancom introduced areeba ( then spacefon) and quickly picked up a lot of customers since they had GSM whereas mobitel had pioneered an analog service. spacefon soon became the dominant service provider, and their sim cards and pre-paid units were extremely highly priced, but seeing as they had very little competition, they could afford to do that.

today the landscape is completely different. although areeba has the broadest coverage nationwide, and by far the largest subscriber base, one-touch and buzz now offer services to rival it, and are picking up quite a few cutomers with their more reasonably priced pre-paid units. also quite frankly, areeba used to be the network of choice also because it was considered 'cool'. not so anymore...buzz and one-touch have upped their 'coolness factor' and are competing hard.

kasapa is a different story. they are pioneering CDMA technology in ghana, and have managed to offer a fully connected handset for about 100,000 cedis ( a little over 10 dollars). in accra in december, there were quese daily outside the kasapa offices to get phones. there were police officers at the offices to control the crowds - it was that bad.

it has been really exciting to see how the competition has forced the different service providers to improve their performance, and find a basis to compete. they all sold sim cards for unreasonable prices in the beginning, but now all the rates have been slashed incredibly. who would have ever thought that you could get a 'starter pack' (sim card and a few units, with instructions etc.) for 20,000 cedis (a little over $2, buzz promotional rate in december)

granted, there is still some work to be done on the quality of service itself, particularly in relation to calls between areeba and one-touch. when i first to accra i thought my phone wasn't working, due to the number of times i got the message 'call not allowed!' but i realized later that was the usual process for making a call from an areeba user to a one-touch user. both companies claim they are not doing anything intentional, but the interconnection is terrible. this is while there is an ongoing feud between the two on interconnection rates (money paid by ghana telecom to scancom for calls originating on the one touch network and terminating on the areeba network and vice versa). one wonders whether it is really no fault of the providers. hopefully 2006 sees the National Communications authority mandating that something be done about this.

Tags: ghana, areeba, one-touch, kasapa

Two New Investec Funds Target African Markets

2005-12-15T13:25:00.000-08:00

http://clubgh.com/showart.asp?cat=8&art=1081

"FUND manager Investec Asset Management yesterday announced the launch of two funds investing in African markets, to tap further into the continent's vast
investment potential.... "

interesting development drawing attention to financial markets outside south africa. hopefully the interest in the huge potential for returns in some of the sub-sharan african markets leads to better access to capital for companies operating in these countries. IMHO access to cpaital has long been a problem, and is a key component in tackling the challenge of development through entrepreneurship. Unfortunately the returns haven't been very consistent, with the GSE (ghana) having a terrible run for the better part of this year.
In addition to this we need to get our governments (and people) to ensure better governance, so investors ( both from within and outseide the country) have better security. Then that'll pave the way for more interesting investments, like the expansion of PE firms outside of south africa, and access to venture funsing on a larger scale.

Tags: Investec, africa, finance africa

MyJoyOnline.com, Top stories - Ghanaian graduates develop software to ease health care delivery

2005-12-15T09:22:00.001-08:00

http://www.accra-mail.com/mailnews.asp?id=15007

"ChildNet Electronic Publishing, Ghana's first local educational software
developer and producer will be launching its first product, Squirrel's
Compututor. ChildNet Electronic Publishing was formed in 2003 by four University
and Polytechnic graduates to develop their own range of software for children."

some pretty exciting news in my opinion, i haven't actually seen the product yet, but there's something to be said for the fact that new graduates are actually going into that area, and the public interest is great as well. It gives me hope that perhaps even a few more people are seeing that there is only so far that we can go if our fortunes are permanently tied to cocoa production, and subject to the vagaries of the world market. On a personal note though, I think education is *incredibly* important, and that technology can be an incredible force in improving access and quality, so i look forward to following this project. There'll be afollow up post when I have more information, and hopefully have demo'd the software. That's one of the drawbacks...none of the stories say very much about exactly what the software does, whether it is being used anywhere, the target audience, business model etc. I guess we have to start somwehere though, no?

Tags: ghana, e-learning, ChildNet

BBC NEWS | Africa | Microsoft Swahili speakers launch

2005-12-14T12:49:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | Africa | Microsoft Swahili speakers launch

"The company argues that in a region with few computer users and high illiteracy rates, the Swahili version of Windows will inspire East African governments to expand their IT economies, encourage literacy campaigns and attract more computer users."

encourage maybe, but isn't there still the high cost barrier?

GCG Main - Articles: Ghana ranked 22nd among premier offshore locations

2005-12-08T08:58:00.000-08:00

GCG Main - Articles

GCG Main - Articles: African Countries make progress on VoIP

2005-12-08T08:55:00.000-08:00

GCG Main - Articles

allAfrica.com: Ghana: Ghanaian Company Releases First Locally Produced Children's Educational Software

2005-12-07T13:50:00.000-08:00

allAfrica.com: Ghana: Ghanaian Company Releases First Locally Produced Children's Educational Software

TECTONIC: Jonga search engine launches

2005-12-05T15:30:00.000-08:00

"Alistair Carruthers launched South Africa's biggest Web search engine, Jonga, today. The one-man project took two years to complete and features a creative mix of open source and proprietary technology."

More below:

TECTONIC: Jonga search engine launches

US Visa Lottery Drains Ghana

2005-12-03T07:12:00.000-08:00

General News of Monday, 21 November 2005

A comparison of a few countries' populations
Ethiopia: 73 million
Nigeria: 129 million
Bangladesh: 144 million

and Ghana? population: 21 million. What do the countries above have in common? Those are just a few of the countries which (according to an article in Ghana's Daily Graphic) Ghana has surpassed in the number of profesionals leaving the country each year. Yes, the number of professionals, not the percentage of the population leaving. It is estimated that an average of 8,000 Ghanaians leave the country annually through the US diversity lottery. That is to say nothing of the people who leave and go to other countries, people who work in both the US and other countries illegally, and the students who leave to go to university and do not return. Whichever way you look at it, Ghana has a significant problem with the 'brain drain'.

Doctors and nurses emigrate at an alarming rate, making the health sector one of the most hard hit, but according to the article, accountants, engineers, lawyers and pharmacists are also among the people leaving in large numbers. Why are they leaving and where are they going? It is estimated that about 47% of Ghanaian college graduates live outside the country. This statistic is scary.

In my view, this can be looked at in several ways. First, on just the most basic level, who is left working in the country? The director of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Akosa estimates that he has 'at least 9 hospitals which have no doctors at all.' This is to say nothing of the many other hospitals which are woefully understaffed. In Korle-Bu, the nation's 'premier' teaching hospital, many of the doctors still making the rounds on the wards taught people who in many other places would be close to retirement. Yes, their students would be close to retirement, to say nothing of them. The brain drain in the health sector puts an incredible strain on the remaining health workers, and the sector in general. A case in point is when the recent death of 3 Ghanaian urologists in a road accident cost the country 43% of its urologists. Yes, for a country with a population of over 21 millon, there were 7 urologists. How many Ghanaian urologists have been trained in even the past 20 years? The situation with nurses is no bettter. A 2003 report estimates that Ghana had about 10,000 nurses at the time, for a population of over 21 million, when nurses training colleges turn out over 600 nurses a year.

University lecturers, civil servants, technical professionals...different profession, same story. The Tema oil refinery recently closed its catalytic cracking plant shortly after the media had been full of stories of technical professionals from the plant leaving for more lucrative jobs in other countries.

The situation is admittedly bad, but why do they leave. That's not a hard question to answer. One just needs to compare the average salary of a nurse, doctor, univerity lecturer etc. in Ghana with one in a developed country, and the answer is clear. And it is not even a question of greed or wanting to maximize their earnings( for a lot of people), but a need to survive. It is easy enough from afar to talk about the need to sacrifice for the good of one's country, and give back etc. but when feeding your family from one day to the next, and paying your kids' school fees become aproblem, it is no wonder that sacrificing for your country slips down the priority list.

The more interesting question perhaps is what can be done? Many interesting suggestions have been promulgated, and several implementations of sorts have taken place. A lot of people place the burden of action on the developed countries, especially in the health sector, and there have been calls for a total ban on the employment of nurses ( read poaching) from certain countries. In Ghana for instance, it is currently very difficult for trained nurses to get visas to go to 1st world countries. Some people have talked about foreign countries paying governemnts directly for the professionals working in their countries, but that would be a messy undertaking by any estimation, and at any rate, is the money really what we need? Yet others say the emigration of Ghanain professionals is not as bad as it is made out to be, afterall, remittances from Ghanains living abroad are one of the single largest contributors to GDP of the country. Unfortunately, I don't think the remittances translate directly to a replacement of the skills lost with those who leave.

In a nutshell trained professionals are leaving largely because they can't make the money commensurate with teir skills in Ghana, and often have deplorable living conditions. A simplistic solution many people put out is to pay them better. That's easy enough to say, but where does the money come from? On some level, the government could probably cut spending in other areas ( read: how many ministers does a country of 21 million really need??), but that is not an entire answer. I would argue that the promotion of private enterprise would lead to wealth creation, and increased government revenue in terms of tax revenue and general consumer spending, and that could translate to more money to put into esssential services like education and healthcare. Ghana's 'golden age of business' is a step in the right direction, but with stories i've heard from people about the continued difficulty of sourcing capital and setting up a business, it seems more like a 'gold plated' ( and not reallly golden) age of business...

Another solution would be encouraging college graduates from Ghana ( and other African countries to return home). Of course there need to be increased opportunities for them, but to a large extent people need to be willing to go back for these opportunities to be expanded.

This has become a rather lengthy posting, but I think it is an important issue, and hopefully i practice what i preach :-)

File under: ghana, brain drain, diversity visa lottery

Ghana's 2006 budget encourages Venture Capital Funds

2005-11-11T08:02:00.000-08:00

Business News of Thursday, 10 November 2005

The private sector is talked about a lot as one of the highest potential drivers of growth for the economy, but acess to capital is usually an obstacle in promoting private enterprise. Baah'Wiredu's 2006 budget gives previously unheard of incentive to people interested in launching VC funds, so hopefully this should spur some innovation and private enterprise. One of the highlights is tax deductions for financial institutions who invest in VC subsidiaries (100% of their investment), and the Ghanaweb article also says:

"The incentives are the upfront relief from stamp duty in each year on subscriptions for new equity shares in venture capital funds, the full tax exemption from corporate income tax, dividend tax and capital gains tax for five years and the provision for the losses from disposal of the shares during the tax exempt period to be carried forward to the post-exempt period up to five years."

It is great that the government is not putting itself in the middle of this, and is encouraging the private sector to take it up. It does however raise a question someone brought up in a conversation we had. The issue of regulation. The tax breaks are pretty substantial, and we could see a slew of people setting up VC funds to finance (in my friend's words) 'their sister's rice importing business.'

File under: ghana, vc, baah-wiredu

Togo: the (largely) untold story

2005-11-10T14:35:00.000-08:00

People around the world were quick to decry Faure Gnassingbe being put in power by the Togolese army after the death of his father, Gnassingbe Eyadema. This led to elections marred by violence, and after that little has been heard about the situation in Togo. In September, the UN released a report stating that almost 500 people were killed in violence surrounding the elections, but the report has received little attention, and the plight of the Togolese people goes largely unnoticed.

Togo comes to mind after a talk I went to on Tuesday, where a Togolese human rights journalist spoke about the situation, and showed pictures of the post-election brutality. The pictures were horrifying, to say the least, and gave a perspective of the story we don't hear much. The journalist was in the US talking to groups of people and trying to rally people to put pressure on governments to put pressure on Faure and Togo to aloow for a more pluralistic democracy in Togo. He argues that while there may have been elections, they were far from fair, and opposiiton supporters are still being persecuted in Togo. The journalist himself is currently in exile in Ghana, after narrowly escaping in his words, an attempt on his life by the Togolese government.

The talk raised a lot of issues for me, the first just the most basic one of people being denied their fundamental human rights. The journalist showed multiple pictures of people who had been killed and beaten just for wearing opposition colours - horrific pictures. Can there be progress/development when people do not have the right to hold and assert particular points of view, when a perception of your opinion is enough to mark you for death?

Another issue was why he was in the states to begin with - something we talked about at length. I asked the journalist why he didn't talk to leaders in Africa, Kufuor, Obasanjo and those of other neighbouring countries, afterall, their pressure helped to force elections. He recounted how they have tried that to no avail; he was adamant about collusion between the regional governments, but I will not pursue that for now. What struck me most about this was the similarity between the current situation in Togo and what has previsouly happened in Ghana and many other places. The extra-judicial kidnappings and murders are reminiscent of stories from Ghana under a certain leader who shall remain nameless, and few African countries are strangers to elections where the incumbent military junta wins under what many people believe to be dubious circumstances. Why then would African leaders not go to the aid of people fighting many of the same battles they fought? Is there something to his claims of collusion, or are each countries problems just too large and numerous to warrant attention to any others?

This is an issue I've been thinking about for a while, particularly in relation to the idea of an African identity( a topic i will leave for a future posting). Are we largely blind to the problems of neighbouring African countries because we see them as having no bearing on us? This issue came to the forefront again when I was listening to a Ghanaian radio programme online. The host was commenting on a news story about violent protests by a rgoup of refugees in Ghana. He and his co-host made uncomplimentary comments about the refugees, and how they should be sent back to their countries,since Ghana has its own problems. Admittedly Ghana has many problems, and unrest caused by refugees is certainly not something to turn a blind eye to, but surely such comments go against any semblance of commiseration and attempts to provide support to fellow Africans.

I digress, but my point was to look at why to a large extent, Africans are unwilling to help each other. I could understand the (Togolese) journalist when he calimed to have lost faith in international institutions, but when he made the same statements about other African countries, particularly the governments, that hit me hard. He was largely convinced that none of them cared about the plight of the Togolese people.

Later in the day I saw emails which had been sent to him from other Togolese in exile in Ghana. My heart tore as I read stories of their misery, strangers in a foreign land, dying to go home, but having to make a choice between a familiar environment and comfort, and their lives. It was as simple as that.

I'm the first to admit that Africa has many problems, perhaps some arguably more threatening than human rights abuses in Togo, but this shouldn't fall between the cracks. When people do not have the right to express themselves freely without fear for their lives, there is a problem. A similar situation is brewing in Ethiopia, with the government of Meles Zenawi victimizing protestors.
Is this a cycle we will never break?

BBC NEWS | UK | Education | Illiteracy 'hinders world's poor'

2005-11-09T06:59:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | UK | Education | Illiteracy 'hinders world's poor'

BBC carries this story on the link between illiteracy and poverty. It's another point in favour of focusing on literacy as a driver of development. I would agree that literacy is important, but to play the devil's advocate here, the article fails to make a strong case for the link between redusing illiteracy and increasing people's economic wellbeing. Sure, it shows that there is a link between poverty and illiteracy, with the poorest regions of the world having the lrgest percentagees of illiterate people, but stops there. As a former professor of mine would say 'correlation does not imply causality'

File under: education, literacy

CNN.com - Fab Labs unshackle kids' imaginations - Nov 8, 2005

2005-11-08T21:25:00.000-08:00

CNN.com - Fab Labs unshackle kids' imaginations - Nov 8, 2005

CNN carries a story about the Fab Labs MIT is setting up around the world, and the story of the innovation of one girl in Boston. A Fab Lab has also been set up in Takoradi, in Ghana, and wired news has previously carried a story about this. This is an interesting venture in design, and according to fablab staff, kids are picking up computing and design skills fairly quickly. Is this perhaps a way to encourage indigenous innovation and solutions to some of Ghana's challenges? One of the projects being worked on looks at harnessing solar power for cooking etc.

FIle under: fablab, Ghana, MIT

"i go chop your dollar"

2005-11-02T16:30:00.000-08:00

I'm still laughing to myself after seeing the hilarious video for 'i go chop your dollar', by Osuofia of 'Osuofia in London' fame.The video itself is rather poorly done, with little in the way of innovation, poor cinematography and a set of not very enthusiastic dancers. It is the song itself I find funny, since the video was the first time I heard the song. Osuofia sings about '419' crimes, or advanced fee fraud. He talks about 'the white man' as the victim, and is resolute in his plans to continue perpetrating such fraud. He makes amusing statements about the amount of power he has and the resources at his disposal - not dissimilar from the claims in these '419' messages. Central to the song though is the claim that '419 it no be crime, it's just a game, everybody dey play am.' I was highly amused when a friend sent me this, and indeed still am, but it raises a few questions i think are pretty serious.

A UK presentation at the 2002 International Conference on Advanced Fee (419) Fraud claimed that global losses to this fraud may total $1.5 billion. That's some pretty serious money. The song is meant to be taken lightly, but is it really taken lightly by everyone who hears it? Or does it provide some sort of justification for perpetrators of this fraud, and exacerbate an already bad situation. After all, the song begins with Osuofia bemoaning his suffering in his former penurious state, and in that way justifying the crime as a source of income. If I was a low-income person ( as I would imangine mostof these criminals are) considering perpetrating such a crime, that would certainly make me see it as slightly more reasonable.

Another justification used is that 'the white man' is too greedy. Admittedly there is something somehwat avaricious about someone who beleives they have been randomly selected to help with some secret transaction, often with a promised reward in the millions of dollars for little to no effort on their part. Not to mention the fact that many of these letters make no bones of the fact that it is an illegal transaction; trying to avoid government scrutiny or the payment of some form of fees. That being said it is not (in my opinion) justification for committing such crimes, although the song gives the impression it is.To cut a long story short, is this seemingly harmless song actually encouraging the continuation of 419 scams?

On another note, in one attempt to combat the spate of these crimes, which to a large extent originate in Nigeria, the Nigerian government has considered outlawing spamming. While the hefty fines might serve as a deterrent to an extent, how much of a dent can this really make in the crimes? There is the problem of enforcement to begin with, and perhaps this is not the best use of Nigeria's resources( ie the tracking of spammers). In addition to this, is this the way to tacke the problem? Some of the 419 emails are quite ingenious, to say the least, and take some amount of brain power to cook up, not to mention following through till the money is collected. Given an estimated success rate of 1%, very few scammers are making money (even though the payoff can be tremendous when they do). That being said, might not another way to address the problem be to channel the energies of these people elsewhere? Perhaps training schemes to encourage people to set up in private enterprise? Or business plan compeittions as an incentive to use their brain power for something more beneficial?
Just a piece of my mind....

And to end, here is my favourite 419 email of all time :-)

Dear Mr. Sir,

REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE-STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL

I am Dr. Bakare Tunde, the cousin of Nigerian Astronaut, Air Force Major Abacha Tunde. He was the first African in space when he made a secret flight to the Salyut 6 space station in 1979. He was on a later Soviet spaceflight, Soyuz T-16Z to the secret Soviet military space station Salyut 8T in 1989. He was stranded there in 1990 when the Soviet Union was dissolved. His other Soviet crew members returned to earth on the Soyuz T-16Z, but his place was taken up by return cargo. There have been occasional Progrez supply flights to keep him going since that time. He is in good humor, but wants to come home.

In the 14-years since he has been on the station, he has accumulated flight pay and interest amounting to almost $ 15,000,000 American Dollars. This is held in a trust at the Lagos National Savings and Trust Association. If we can obtain access to this money, we can place a down payment with the Russian Space Authorities for a Soyuz return flight to bring him back to Earth. I am told this will cost $ 3,000,000 American Dollars. In order to access the his trust fund we need your assistance.

Consequently, my colleagues and I are willing to transfer the total amount to your account or subsequent disbursement, since we as civil servants are prohibited by the Code of Conduct Bureau (Civil Service Laws) from opening and/ or operating foreign accounts in our names.

Needless to say, the trust reposed on you at this juncture is enormous. In return, we have agreed to offer you 20 percent of the transferred sum, while 10 percent shall be set aside for incidental expenses (internal and external) between the parties in the course of the transaction. You will be mandated to remit the balance 70 percent to other accounts in due course.

Kindly expedite action as we are behind schedule to enable us include downpayment in this financial quarter.

Please acknowledge the receipt of this message via my direct number 234 (0) 9-234-2220 only.

Yours Sincerely, Dr. Bakare Tunde Astronautics Project Manager tip@nasrda.gov.ng

Tags: nigeria, africa, 419

Open Source on the rise in Africa

2005-05-13T08:58:00.000-07:00

Open source rising in Africa by ZDNet's Dana Blankenhorn -- One of the fastest-growing markets for open source in the world is Africa. (The satellite image is originally from NASA.)If you think of sub-Saharan Africa in terms of jungles or primitivism, you're making the same mistake Europeans do when they think of America as the Wild West. Africa has a large, and growing middle class, spurred [...]

Tags: africa, open-source

of politics and Africa...

2005-05-01T20:43:00.000-07:00

"Cultural center destroyed in ______", "Refugees flee fighting in _______", "Government soldiers and rebels clash in ______"

You fill in the blanks, because those could be headlines about many different African countries. Isn't that sad? Now it's Togo, but there've been many more before, and it doesn't seem that as Africans, we've learned enough to hope that this might be the last. I've been greatly saddened by the conflict in Togo, and mostly because it comes in the wake of conflicts in Liberia, Sierra Leonoe, Ivory Coast....and that's just West Africa. Will we never learn that nothing is worth the price a civil war exacts from a country?I realize that injustice can only be tolerated up to a point, and that after a point desperate people resort to desperate measures, but when has fighting resolved any of our problems?

After Faure Gnassingbe was installed as president earlier this year, it was international pressure that had him removed from power, and not acts of violent opposition on anyone's part. In fact, I think that if the opposition had tried to remove him by brute force, they would still be fighting a (losing) battle. Why then do they think that insurgensy now will reverse the results of the elections? Sure, it might increase pressure on the government to justify the results, but at what cost? Over 12,000 people have already fled the country, and it doesn't look like that is going to let up anytime soon. Wouldn't perhaps a campaign to increase international pressure on the government to hold another election, or to recount the votes in the areas with high irregularities have been more effective?
To answer my own question, maybe not. Especially not after ECOWAS ok'd the elections, saying there weren't enough irregularities to deem it unfair.

I'll end what is already a long posting here, but basically, i think african politics leaves much to be desired, and that we have no hope for eceonomic advancement unless we're able to move away from the transition of power by the gun to transitions by the ballot box..

Tags: africa, media, elections

Education

2005-05-01T20:23:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me even slightly well knows that i love children, and related to this, i'm really passionate about education, and ways to improve the quality and accessibility of education, especially in Africa. Here's a quote which sums up a lot of what i tihnk about education and educational policies..

"There is no extravagance more prejudicial to the growth of national wealth than that wasteful negligence
which allows genius that happens to be born of lowly parentage to expend itself in lowly work"
-Alfred Marshall

Basically, I have a problem when people are limited by the resources available to them. My ideal is a situation in which the only limit placed on the possibility of intellectual exploration for a person is their desire to pursue it. This struck me particularly during a documentary i watched over the weekend, invisible children. In brief, it is a documentary about children in Uganda who are forced to flee their homes every day, and make a 10km trek to a big city to sleep there, to avoid being conscripted into the Lor'd Resistance Army (LRA) by the LRA rebels. These young children make this journey alone every day, with no adult supervision, and sleep in bus terminals, and the often damp, dark basements of various other buildings. But lest I digress, back to the point about education.
One segment of the movie featured the children as they completed their homework...by the extremely poor light of very few candles. These are children caught up in a war, without their parents, often having lost siblings and friends to the war, but are still able to find the determination to learn. Isn't it sad that they should have so much drive but be denied the opportunity to advance? One of the students said he 'wanted' to be a doctor. Another that he 'wanted' to be a lwayer. These both in the past tense because they realized how bleak a future they had in their present situation.
It's things like that which really get to me, and hopefully Africans and other people around the world can help to work together to change this.

Camp Amelia, a non-profit I work with, is one effort to improve the quality and accessibility of primary education . Check out www.campamelia.org . It's just one thing, in a limited set of locations, but as long as it makes a difference to even one child's life, i think it is worth it.

Here to stay :-)

2005-05-01T20:18:00.000-07:00

After a long hiatus, and a period of deciding whether or not I want a blog, I've decided to keep one. I haven't changed my mind about not wanting to write about me, but i think i've come to find a separation between personal and 'other' that i'm ok with. that being said, this will be about my thoguht on issues i think are important, and not my personal life (or at least not much of it :-) )
the problem now is that i have so much to say, after being away for so long...well let's get right to it then. to make it easier to read, i'll do a series of posts...stay tuned haha

imPOSSIBLE

2005-03-16T20:06:00.000-08:00

Welcome!
I’ve always thought it slightly presumptuous that I should deem my life interesting enough to expect other people to read about...so this blog is not about me. Instead, it’s about some of the things I’m most passionate about, and why they’re important to me. This seems to have started off pretty formally, but it’s just going to be a series of conversations. With myself? With you? Who knows?

This entry is called impossible because that’s my philosophy on life right now. Most of that word is POSSIBLE. Just like most things in life...as long as you set your mind to them.

I’m making this one short because I promised myself I wouldn’t start till after finals, so more later. But while we’re on the topic of finals….the situation at Legon (check it out on Ghanaweb) has had me alternately shocked, disgusted and just sad.

More later, dare to dream:-)

Catalyzing Change

Ghana's elections: Is 'largely' free and fair good enough?

Disbelief and despondency as I follow the elections in Kenya

Does the Global Fund *really* save 3000 lives a day?

Breaking News: The race heats up as CPP selects Nduom

Ghana's "Iron Lady"passes away

Produce your boyfriend - or else...

Black Stars - shining on and off the field

How brightly can a *black* star really shine?

Better internet connectivity for East Africa - will it be EASSy?

Google Okays Abuja for Wireless Network Project??

"Malaria Monitor" wristwatch - Engadget

eShopAfrica.com - Fair Trade Ga Coffins

World Cup trophy tour...and then some

The Beauty of Competition :-)

Two New Investec Funds Target African Markets

MyJoyOnline.com, Top stories - Ghanaian graduates develop software to ease health care delivery

BBC NEWS | Africa | Microsoft Swahili speakers launch

GCG Main - Articles: Ghana ranked 22nd among premier offshore locations

GCG Main - Articles: African Countries make progress on VoIP

allAfrica.com: Ghana: Ghanaian Company Releases First Locally Produced Children's Educational Software

TECTONIC: Jonga search engine launches

US Visa Lottery Drains Ghana

Ghana's 2006 budget encourages Venture Capital Funds

Togo: the (largely) untold story

BBC NEWS | UK | Education | Illiteracy 'hinders world's poor'

CNN.com - Fab Labs unshackle kids' imaginations - Nov 8, 2005

"i go chop your dollar"

Open Source on the rise in Africa

of politics and Africa...

Education

Here to stay :-)

imPOSSIBLE

Does the Global Fund really save 3000 lives a day?

How brightly can a black star really shine?