The troubling case of the Wasted Generation

The troubling case of the Wasted Generation

Doris Yaa Dartey.                The WatchWoman Column

Whilst in traffic about 2pm in the hot tropical sun, I saw a young boy aged about 14 years chasing after a ‘tro-tro’. I gave the boy a name: Yaw Oteng. As the vehicle slowed down, a passenger tossed a coin to him. Quickly, he grabbed it, looked at it with such calm excitement. He displayed the broadest of smiles on his face, and gently dropped the coin into his pocket. 

Then I noticed that he was carrying about five small sachets of biscuits. So apparently, what I witnessed was a quick sale of a biscuit (probably at 50 pesewas) in hectic traffic between a child who should have been in school, and an adult passenger in a ‘tro-tro’.  

This makes the 14-year old Yaw Oteng a hawker, one of the hardest routes to entrepreneurship. At that young age, someone should be responsible for Yaw—either his parents or the state of Ghana. But he was on his own. He should have been in school as the 1992 Constitution specifies, but he had dodged education to have a very early start at life, exposing himself to the dangers of moving vehicles.

FROM THE SPOILT TO WASTED GENERATION

Those of us born just before and in the early decades after Ghana attained Independence belong to the Spoilt Generation. At the time, Ghana’s population was about a quarter of what it is today. As the saying goes, “the fewer the merrier.” Probably since there were fewer of us, young people who were academically promising could pass through the system and further their education regardless of family origins. In those days, educated people had countless opportunities to find decent jobs and careers, affording them a life of dignity.

Today, higher education is mostly for the privileged. Finding a job after graduation is next to impossible, leaving thousands of educated youth in a state of undiagnosed depression. These are the Wasted Generation. In effect, the Spoilt Generation have produced a Wasted Generation, who are on a prowl throughout our country. You see the youth everywhere; and they are the frightening picture of idleness. 

Of the idle lot who are doing something, it is obvious that they are not fully utilizing their God-given talents that youthfulness offers. For 14-year old Yaw Oteng to be selling a few biscuits, a 30-year old woman to be selling ‘pure water’, or a group of young people in their twenties to be sitting by the roadside in Accra or Kumasi or under a tree in a village to have endless conversations or play card games constitute a waste of youthfulness. 

The Wasted Generation are not wall flowers decorating our national landscape; they are a disgrace on the collective conscience of Ghana. Fact: some of the youth roaming our streets without aim could have become our own versions of Shakespeare, Einstein, Bill Gates, explorers and inventors. 

The fact that an increasing number of young people are on aimless roaming in this country by the highways and bye-ways should give us adults sleepless nights. I am at a point where leaving my house to go to the heart of Accra or towns and villages depresses me beyond measure.  

I find the scene around the Kotoka International Airport particularly worrisome. It is a crowded field in that neighbourhood, with a troupe of youth hawkers and beggars. It is as if they are at a jamboree to welcome visitors to Ghana. First impressions matter a lot. So continuing to have this crowded hawking and begging scene as the main view for people entering and leaving Ghana by air tells a negative story about our country.  

WHAT’S THE FUTURE OF THE WASTED GENERATION?
Today, the Wasted Generation are exposed to the full force of the tropical sunshine, of rain, floods and the other elements; and of the dangers that come from living dangerous lives. How do they sleep and survive? Such a life does not prepare anyone for the future.

What are the long-term psychological impacts of living purposeless and hopeless lives on their future? Can they ever recover from the multiple-layered trauma they are living today? In life, we advance from phase to phase. We do not hope to retrogress. But what's the fate of these youth hawkers and roamers? What does a person graduate to after five to 10 years of living on the streets without undergoing critical preparations for life?

Idleness can produce depression. Idleness can make a person weary. Living a life that is defined by sleeping rough, waking up without a purpose, and going through the day with no hope in sight can produce disappointment, gloom, and deep fear and panic. They must be pondering: “What at all am I in this world for?” There will be temptations to get into illicit acts and self-destructive behaviours like alcohol and drugs to lull the pain of dejection. 

In their quite moments, the Wasted Generation will also harbour unexpressed anger. They will have unwept tears hiding or slowly drying up behind their eye balls. This country should therefore have a collective prayer that the Wasted Generation does not express their deeply-held frustrations and anger! Any wonder that violent crimes abound?

The state of this large number of young people I have labelled as the Wasted Generation has far-reaching repercussions on the future of Ghana. It will change family and societal dynamics. More children will be born out of the safety of marriages and families. What will happen to the children of the Wasted Generation, especially of the children born in kiosks and even on the streets and who live and grow up on the streets? Ghana will stifle hope out of them.

SOLVE NATIONAL CRISIS WITH URGENCY

Whatever the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo administration plans to do to protect the interests of young people and to create jobs that will give them hope about their future, should be done fast and well. Beneficiaries of the NPP government’s interventions should not be drawn from the NPP folks. Like the free Senior High School initiative, all Ghanaians should benefit. 

School-aged children and young people who are roaming the streets in the cities, towns and villages of this country, should be rounded up and made to go to school. No child should be left to be responsible for him/herself. 

The state of youth idleness is a national crisis issue that can be likened to a dried-up Lake Bosomtwe. You cannot fill it up with little drops of water. You must conjure a heavy downpour of water. Drip drip will not take you anywhere near your goal of filling up the empty lake. Crisis situations call for drastic solutions!

dorisdartey@gmail.com

Urgent! Free breast cancer treatment needed Doris Yaa Dartey. The WatchWoman Column

Urgent! Free breast cancer treatment needed 

Doris Yaa Dartey.                      The WatchWoman Column

Every year, October is marked globally as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It started in the USA in 1985 – 34 years ago. It is a campaign that seeks to crank up public education about the importance of screening to ensure early detection. For breast cancer, and for other cancers generally, early detection is what increases a person’s chance of survival. It is only when the wicked cancer cells can be detected early that treatment can occur to uproot it. Without the knowledge that comes through early detection, the cancer monster gets the chance to quietly spread and to cause murderous havoc.

I do not know the year when Ghana began to throw the searchlight on breast cancer. But clearly, October as a Breast Cancer Awareness Month has come to stay. Beginning in September, posters, flyers, billboards and mass media announcements go up to announce the upcoming breast cancer month. Throughout the month of October, the reminders are very visible and loud – at least in cities and large towns. In health care delivery centres, women are encouraged to do self-breast examinations and undergo scans like mammograms. 

So breast cancer has become a health condition that enjoys the unique status of a campaign. A campaign is a coordinated effort that uses a mix of multiple channels of information to disseminate specific messages to reach targeted stakeholders in ways that can change their attitudes, behaviours and perceptions. A campaign should be sustained. There should be no stopping! A campaign requires that no stones are left unturned, resources are made available, and everything that can bring about the desired results should be accessible.

Undoubtedly, the breast cancer awareness campaign has contributed in saving numerous lives worldwide. Yet, there are many people in Ghana who dread the very thought of early detection. Knowledge is power. But breast cancer knowledge is tantamount to a death sentence. It is tough to gain the knowledge that something strange is lurking inside your body, and vigorously warming up to attack you as you walk about and living your life. You do not see it, and you may not feel it but like an enemy, it hides in your body to get you, and ultimately, kill you. At times, your body may whisper to you that all is not well within.  

COST OF BREAST CANCER DIAGNOSES AND TREATMENT

As matters currently stand in Ghana, breast cancer campaign remains a mere journey into awareness raising. But, woe betides you after undergoing further investigation, you discover that you have breast cancer. It will mark the beginning of your long journey into frustrations. You will then realize that Ghana is not ready for you. You will learn the very hard way that Ghana does not work. 

Last month, I paid GHc200 to do a mammogram. For this month of October, the cost is discounted to GHc160. After diagnoses, the drama and cost of treatment is another can of worms. To figure out what is happening inside my chest region, this week, I did a CT scan. I paid a whopping GHc620 for it!

Trying to negotiate your way through the maze of Ghana’s medical establishment is overwhelming. A person could potentially experience panic attacks at every stage of the journey to find treatment. There is no wonder that prayer camps and other so-called religious healers succeed in preying on people who are diagnosed with cancers.

It is about time for the state of Ghana to commit to the treatment of breast cancer. All the public awareness generated by the breast cancer month campaign every October should consolidate into good treatment and care. What is the point of awareness creation if a person cannot afford the very high cost of treatment? Not surprisingly, some people do not bother to find out their breast cancer status. Apart from the fear of knowing, the overwhelming financial burden to treat this disease demotivates people to take advantage of the awareness created. 

WHAT SENEGAL IS DOING

Three weeks ago, our West African neighbour, Senegal, made a very bold and admirable move. The BBC news headline screamed: “Senegal to offer free breast and cervical cancer treatment!” To fund this noble initiative, the Senegalese government had allocated $1.6 billion. Beginning this month of October, women will be offered free chemotherapy in public hospitals. Earlier on in 2015, the government had committed to covering 60% of the treatment cost of all cancers.

Other countries on the continent (namely Rwanda, Namibia and Seychelles) offer free chemotherapy to women. These are initiatives that can help alleviate poverty, reduce mortality, and lessen the immense pressure cancer unleashes on people. What would be the motivation of my neighbourhood roasted plantain seller with five kids to respond to a well-packaged awareness raising message to enter a hospital to be checked for breast cancer? That kind of knowledge will only unleash heightened grief, to compound a life that is already characterized by deprivation and misery.

It is about time that well-endowed Ghana – the land of gold, diamond, crude oil, bauxite, arable lands, Volta River, and numerous other God-given gifts – for a minimum, copy the superb examples of Senegal, Rwanda, Namibia and Seychelles. The lives of Ghanaian women is worth saving from breast cancer!

“WHEN BREAST STRIKES: THE REFLECTIONS OF A SURVIVOR”

This book, “When breast cancer strikes”, will be published early next year. Here is a teaser of my reflections of what I have gone through for the past five years after being diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2014. Over the past 13 years of writing this column, I have accepted the reality that a columnist must periodically open up about self. Although I typically comment on national issues like sanitation, environment and children, the subject matter I know better than any other is myself. Going through breast cancer taught me a lot about myself and about Ghana. Chapter two of my book is entitled, “There is something about the word cancer!” The chapter begins with this passage:

“There is something about the word cancer that wounds the soul. There is just something! I cannot quite put a finger on that particular something. But there is something about the name cancer that makes the heart beat faster, the knees go limp, the face drops, and the smiles varnish. The C-word Cancer is packaged with full terror! The word cancer seems to be fully wrapped in fear—fear that passeth all understanding. 

“The diagnoses of cancer laid on you can quickly jolt you away from your ever-evolving exciting life plans to the gloomy fear of dying—of the end. It brings the concept of ‘life is fleeting’ very much alive and to an urgent reality. Fact: You never know how you will react to something like cancer until it strikes you. Being diagnosed with breast cancer revealed me to myself, and lay bare all the fault-lines in my personhood.”

dorisdartey@gmail.com

Does tongue speaking belong in the secular space? By Doris Yaa Dartey. The WatchWoman Column

Does tongue speaking belong in the secular space?

By Doris Yaa Dartey.                 The WatchWoman Column

Should the religious space be so tightly interwoven into the secular space to the point that they become inseparable? Definitely not! Should the sacred be separated from the profane? Definitely yes!

If the super-Christianity that is very pervasive in Ghana was to truly manifest in our national life, this country would not have been weighed down by corruption and other unchristian behaviours. Corruption and Christianity do not gel. Corruption and Islam do not get. Corruption and God do not gel.

SPEAKING IN TONGUES IN A PUBLIC BOARDROOM

A couple of years ago, my sister/friend (let’s call her Belinda; not her real name of course) narrated an incident that occurred during a meeting in the board room of the public institution where she works. With no provocation whatsoever, a senior staff member began to speak in tongues. It is a diverse workplace with people of varying faiths – Muslims, Christians from several denominations, and others.

From Belinda’s narration, the incident was a very awkward moment. People’s faces expressed shock. Others were confused and were left in disbelief about what they had witnessed. A few staff members giggled, not knowing what to do with the tongue-speaking situation. No one understood what the tongue-speaker said because there was no translation. It might have been a deeply spiritual moment or just a fluke occurrence meant to obfuscate and impress the onlookers. Whatever it was, the significance (if any) got lost on the observers.

The tongue-speaker moved on with his life without giving any explanation of what he did. No one had the courage to ask him for an explanation. People left the meeting, carrying the story away, and to use it as rich fodder for gossips. That was how come my sister/friend Belinda called me almost immediately to share the juicy gossip. I was flabbergasted. Not knowing what to make of such a story, I filed it away. 

Since I personally know the tongue-speaker, my surprise was deeper because the information kindled my imagination whenever I meet him (I secretly giggle!). Filing it away was underlined by an assumption that it was an odd incident that do not just happen in everyday life in the public space. 

SPEAKING IN TONGUES ON NATIONAL TV

So it was with the baggage of my unresolved amazement about Belinda’s tongue wagging gossip that sent me rollicking into a higher state of amazement when I watched Paul Adom Okyere’s interview of William Ato Essien, the founder of the defunct Capital Bank in a ‘Good Evening Ghana’ trailer. Any story that offers to explain what happened to cause the near meltdown of Ghana’s financial sector gets my full attention. I did not lose any money but close friends of mine lost fortunes. 

As I watched to gain understanding of the financial issues, I was not prepared for the ending of the programme. Mr. Essien broke out with facial contortions, to passionately speak in tongues! I had never witnessed tongue speaking behaviour in a secular context on national television. I blinked and blinked and blinked. Then, to satisfy my curiosity and cure my doubt, I went back to watch the video all over again just to be sure. And lo and behold, what I saw was real – the man prayed and spoke in tongues on national television in a non-religious programme!

The context of the interview was for him to state his case to Ghana about his role in the collapse of his beloved Capital Bank. What did that have to do with speaking in tongues in a language that probably only very few Ghanaians understand? The substantial case is that GHc490 million (almost half a billion cedis) of Ghana’s money, which was given to Capital Bank by the Bank of Ghana as a bail out, somehow got squandered by the shareholders and directors of the Bank. In effect, these folks owe Ghana some hard fat cash. So ultimately, the Bank’s license was revoked in August 2017.

How on earth does an opportunity to explain this very sticky stinky matter end up with speaking in tongues? What exactly was the tongue-speaking supposed to convey to Ghanaians? Was it meant to instil fear in us so we will forget our money, or to win our sympathy? I am imagining what half a billion Ghana cedis can do for the average Ghanaian. For sure, half a billion can mop up a couple of thousand children from risking their lives regularly to hawk odd wares on our streets. But speaking in tongues will not help these children.

Or, was the public display of tongue-speaking meant to display good and flawless character? Speaking in tongues should not be taken lightly. If it is the same holy language spoken by the disciples of Jesus Christ in the Upper Room after the Holy Spirit fell on them, then publicly wagging tongues would imply that the speaker lays some claim to holiness. How does a “holy holy” person oversee the events that led to the collapse of Capital Bank? Did he do everything right, in a Christ-like manner?

On another level, if he is such a big-time tongue-speaker, how come he could not foresee the impending end of his Bank to the point that he could have intervened spiritually to stop that from occurring?

TONGUE SPEAKING CAN POTENTIALLY GET UGLY

I maintain that the display of tongue-speaking in non-religious settings is manipulative and deceitful. It belongs to the category of communication that is meant to impress and not to express. It is babble that no one understands. It is merely meant to show off as in, “Look at me! I am very holy; I am very close to God”, meanwhile, the sinning continues. 

Someday, in a copy-cat fashion, an unemployed graduate might over-excite him/herself and consider it appropriate to speak in tongues half-way through in a job interview during a heated questions and answers session. After all, a big man spoke in tongues in an interview on national television! A job interview is on a smaller scale and a good place to show off to the interview panel or just to confuse issues. 

How would the interview panel handle such a situation? I can imagine some panellists saying, “Erhm, erhm, erhm …….what language is that? What are you saying? Speak English!” Other panel members might giggle and break out into laughter that is louder and more piercing than the tongues. 

As the tongue-speaking phenomenon gains wider acceptance in this era of fake prophets, just imagine a groundswell of a trend showing its ugly head in the school system. In a face-off with a teacher, a rascally school kid, who did not do homework, will break out to speak in tongues as a strategy to escape punishment. The tongue-speaking “dis-tin” phenomenon could potentially morph, and send us on to the odd fringes. 

In this era of fake prophets, we should dread that rampant tongue-speaking in secular spaces does not become too fashionable and acceptable as normal. Without a doubt, a census will show that currently, Ghana has more prophets than Israel in its entire history.  

dorisdartey@gmail.com

Ato Essien, founder of defunct Capital Bank

Ghana can afford GHc45 per child to maintain school toilets By Doris Yaa Dartey. The WatchWoman Column

Ghana can afford GHc45 per child to maintain school toilets

By Doris Yaa Dartey.                 The WatchWoman Column

Maintenance is a major fault-line in our nation’s development. Low or zero maintenance creeps into the most unexpected spaces of our national life. One of such spaces is the toilet facilities in our public schools.

Recently, I had an eye-popping experience when I toured four newly constructed school toilet facilities in Accra with about 12 journalists, all members of M-CODe (Media Coalition against Open Defecation). These are state-of-the-art facilities that meet international best standards. They are fitted with water closets and sinks for handwashing. Water tanks are provided to ensure the flow of water for flushing and running water for hand-washing. The facilities were constructed by GAMA, the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area Water and Sanitation Project.

The facilities are very beautiful. Are they too modern and beautiful for Ghana’s children? Definitely not. Ghana’s children also deserve good things. But without vigilance, a good thing can turn into a bad thing. At the time of our visit, the facilities had been in use for a maximum duration of six months. 

THE MAINTENANCE FAUL-TINES

The maintenance fault-line had already created cracks to dent this very good thing. Some of the facilities were not cleaned well, water did not always flow, toilet paper was not readily available, vandalism had showed its ugly head, droppings were visible on floors, signs of lack of care were obvious, and some sections of the facilities were locked up – out of use. 

It was obvious that the handwriting of disrepair was already boldly on the wall. A bad omen stared! If usage for only six months had resulted in these negative outcomes, what would be the fate of the facilities in two to 10 years from now?

Clearly, a disaster awaits! When these toilets break down completely, the children will have to resort to responding to nature’s calls in unholy uncivilized places. This situation will have far-reaching health implications because the children will be exposed to diarrhoeal and other funky diseases that are typical when recklessness and lack of civilization are allowed to fester.

THE END RESULTS OF FREE FOOD

Yet, the schools that are beneficiaries of the GAMA project are the lucky ones. They have the facilities but are struggling with maintenance! There are many schools in Ghana that do not even have toilets at all, as if having a toilet is a mere privilege! It should be a right! It cannot be acceptable to send off children to school to learn, but disregard the outcomes of critical bodily functions. The way nature works is that as we intake stuff, there will be exits. It is just like breathing in oxygen and breathing out carbon dioxide. Things go in, and things go out! That is just the way of nature!

At the beginning of the last academic year, the NPP government introduced its flagship Free Senior High School Programme – in fulfilment of a political campaign promise. Free SHS comes with free feeding. It is a good thing; it is a very good thing! Free SHS has broken the charts to the numbers of admissions to senior high schools. 

Much earlier in 2004, Ghana introduced the School Feeding Programme. Despite the challenges it had faced over the 14 years since its establishment, it has been hailed as a model programme on the African continent. The programme guarantees one hot meal a day for children in public schools. A cause and effect outcomes showed almost immediately. It resulted in an increase in school enrolment and a reduction in drop-out rates. Of course, who would not want a guaranteed free hot meal a day? It is especially so for children from low-income households whose parents and guardians struggle to feed them. 

On a 1 to 10 of a made-up outlandish scale of measurement (with 1 being very good and 10 being super outlandish and unacceptable), not having a school latrine or having one that is so poorly maintained is super outlandish. It is disgraceful and a mark of a lack of civilization. It is bizarre to provide free education and free food but neglect to provide toilets. What do we expect school children to do? How are they supposed to handle the outputs of digesting the free food we give them?

A school without a toilet should not be considered a school. Similarly, a school without handwashing facilities should not be considered a school. Just having a building and a teacher cannot make a school a school. It should be the right of the children of Ghana to have toilets in their schools that are well-maintained; and which are not disease-infecting spaces. After all, a toilet is not a self-cleansing facility. Usage demands regular cleansing. Usage by school children demands more vigorous maintenance and attention to detail. 

An interesting thing occurred that had thwarted the initial efforts to keep the GAMA school toilets clean. Since the state of Ghana has not seen the need to take charge of the maintenance of the facilities, parents of some schools were levied to provide funds for maintenance. But for the fear of it being abused (which was likely to have happened), the Ghana Education Service issued a directive that placed a ban on all levies in public schools. This directive froze any opportunities for parents, who so desired, to help their children’s schools to provide supplies to maintain anything including latrines.

THE AFFORDABLE 45 GHANA CEDIS

The GAMA project estimates that it will cost about GHc45 per child per year to maintain toilets in public schools. The maintenance cost covers purchasing cleaning supplies, paying for minor repairs of broken facilities, paying utility bills and janitors, and ensuring that the facilities are generally fit for purpose. 

If the managers of Ghana really decide that this matter is of priority, the money will be made available. Already, we fail our young people in many ways. It is as if Ghana does not know what to do with the majority of her children. Many of them have nothing in store for them as they grow older.  They are almost guaranteed unemployment. But for a minimum, we should not fail our young people on the toilet front.

What comes to mind are the numerous cases of wastage in our public sector. Regularly, news reports point to several audacious stories of embezzlement. The Auditor General’s annual reports are loaded with stories of wastage and bold raw thefts throughout the public sector of Ghana. If we consider the school children of this country as important enough, we can ensure that when they go to school, they will not just eat free meals but will also have access to well-maintained latrines. 

This matter is not about latrines; it is about human dignity. It is about the dignity of school children to prepare them for their tomorrows. Who has the guts to maintain that Ghana’s children do not deserve dignity?

dorisdartey@gmail.com

If we can afford free school feeding, we should be able to afford free school toilet facilities

Of recycling political public office holders By Doris Yaa Dartey. The WatchWoman Column

Of recycling political public office holders

By Doris Yaa Dartey.                 The WatchWoman Column

If you track the appearance of “returnees” in appointments to public positions, you may come to the conclusion that there is a shortage of competent professionals in the public political arena. When the NDC wins, some of their key movers-and-shakers quickly move into their previous positions. As if by design, the NPP folks do exactly the same. By that, the two dominant political parties hold our country to ransom and recycle persons who might be the owners of the parties.

This situation underlines both the perception and reality that our four-year election cycle is nothing but an opportunity for the winners, who take all, to grab and squander the spoils of war. This makes Ghana a mere chess board at which the players make moves to win!

SCENARIOS FOR THE RETURNEE APPOINTEE

Why are public government office holders re-appointed to their previous positions when their political party wins elections? A good reason may be: because they already know the organization or ministry so they can easily “hit the ground running” from the very first day. One may argue that appointing a new person into a position will present a sharp learning curve. Political parties do not have time to waste for an appointee to learn before performing to meet the party’s campaign promises. So the easier option seems to be in bringing back the old, tried and tested appointees from yesteryears.

But the flip side of a good thing could be bad—very bad. A recycled official into a public office position could potentially present dangers to the position in particular and to the country as a whole. A “returnee” appointee, who is up to no good, could easily go on what can be likened to a shopping spree of a free-range to assault the resources of the organization and of the country. As it is said, familiarity breeds contempt! 

During the “second coming” into a position, a returnee will already know all the loopholes, tricks and ropes. A re-appointment could therefore be tantamount to getting an opportunity to finish all unfinished businesses. A returnee appointee, who seeks to amount illicit wealth, could quickly exploit the situation and enrich him/herself.

Also, the appointee will know staff who have survived across political administrations. The deeply-seated loyalists will have a honeymoon whilst the others (who may be perceived as belonging to the opposition party) will weep and gnash their teeth. In effect, the so-called direct and relevant experience that informed the decision to re-appoint a person could potentially not serve Ghana well.

THE WHO-IS-WHO OF RETURNEE APPOINTEES

There are countless examples of public officials who had taken back their positions when their party won elections. AB Adjei was appointed by former President Kufuor as the first head of the embryonic National Procurement Authority in 2003 by Act 663. When the Mills/Mahama administration took over, he was promptly dropped and replaced with an NDC faithful. Then when Akufo Addo won the December 2016 elections, Adjei walked right back to grab his previous position in 2017. It was as if being the CEO of the PPA was his birth-right! Was his tenure as the first PPA head ever scrutinized? Not likely! 

I vividly recall the case of Kofi Kportufi, who was forever the head of NADMO—the national disaster management organization—from the PNDC days, and rolled over into the NDC era. When President Kufuor replaced Rawlings in 2000, Kportufi was replaced. Then as soon as the results of the December 2008 elections were announced, it is alleged that he promptly moved in to take over his previous position (probably, without an appointment letter). Clearly, for several years, NADMO was like the property of Kportufi. Was his long tenure ever investigated for Ghana to learn any lessons? Not likely!

As recently as two weeks ago, a scandal erupted over a certain Emmanuel Sin-nyet Asigri, the CEO of the National Youth Authority (NYA). As if the word “sin” in his middle name (Sin-nyet) offers a clue, he today, stands accused of sinning against Ghana. This same person was a District Chief Executive during the Kufuor administration. 

What assessment of his integrity was conducted before his elevation to this higher position of being responsible for the employment matters of the youth of Ghana? What corruption track record did he establish from his powerful DCE days? What tricks did he learn and perfect? If his DCE tenure is forensically audited, what would we find? A can of worms? 

The audacity with which Asigri is alleged to have acted at the NYA suggests that he may be experienced at this game; and he sure knows the tricks. As the stories of his infractions unravel, it becomes clear that he is very courageous in taking risks that benefit him but harm the common good. He must have believed that nothing will ever happen to him; and that he can get away with any infractions no matter the extent of outrageousness. 

Mr Alan Kyerematen was the Minister of Trade, and also of Presidential Special Initiatives (PSI) during the Kufuor presidency. Under Akufo Addo, he grabbed his old position at the helm of the Trade Ministry. Albert Kan Dapaah was the Minister of Interior under Kufuor. Today, he is in a related capacity as Minister of National Security. Shirley Ayorkor Botwe was the deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, with Nana Akuffo Addo as her boss. As Nana rose several notches higher to occupy the seat of the presidency, Madam Botwe became the substantive minister of foreign affairs. 

THE RECYCLING MUST END 

Over time, public positions that have been politicized have become like part of the grand spoils of war in our political culture. If you have held a certain position before, you automatically earn a right to it when your party returns to power. As the 2020 election campaign season heats up, you can be sure that some individuals who occupied positions during the Rawlings and Mills/Mahama eras are dusting their boots and ironing their clothes (supported with fervent prayers) in readiness to re-occupy their previous positions. 

Meanwhile, the Public Services Commission, which has a mandate to hire qualified officials into public positions, has been rendered toothless, redundant and irrelevant. The political parties have usurped the role of the PSC. It is time for governments to stop recycling political public office holders. Fresh people should be identified and appointed. It is time to phase out the old names and bring in fresh ideas. Ghana needs regular gasps of fresh air. 

But more especially, it is time to allow the PSC to perform its constitutional role of searching for and appointing qualified and non-partisan persons to manage public institutions. The only spots the parties can keep are the ministerial appointments. Politicians should stay away from our public institutions.

dorisdartey@gmail.com

Science sets can be the game-changer in science education ………………….More lessons from MTN Heroes of Change

Science sets can be the game-changer in science education 

………………….More lessons from MTN Heroes of Change

By Doris Yaa Dartey.                 The WatchWoman Column

He is only 26 years old but is already well set to make an impact on society. He has found a niche for himself in the area of science education. At age 26, most young people who have had the privilege of graduating from a university in Ghana are struggling to figure out how to prepare curriculum vitae and to clutch on to them like weapons to distribute like roasted groundnuts to potential employers, in a wild search for non-existent jobs. 

His name is Charles Ofori Antipem. He was the overall winner of the Season Five MTN Heroes of Change held last month. He is an inventor and an entrepreneur who has provided a much needed innovation in science education. His unique invention is a science set, a tool that cracks the door wide open for school children who suffer from science- and maths-phobia to at long last, find something exciting about science.

His invention has already caught the attention of world leaders including the Prince of Wales (son of the Queen of England) and the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. Earlier this week, I listened to the tail end of an interview BBC radio conducted with him. I felt so proud of him.

THE SCIENCE SET INNOVATION

The motivation behind this invention goes back some years to the life of his late father, who was a science teacher somewhere in rural Accra. Charles remembers the struggles of his father to figure out how to creatively teach science for the school kids to understand. Then as if to step into his father’s tired shoes, during vacations in his university days, Charles did some school teaching himself and experienced the challenges at first hand. 

He noticed that in class, most of the pupils were not interested in science at all. For him, the reason was that the abstract methodology used did not lend itself to whipping up the interest of pupils. The kids were showed drawings or pictures of what they were being taught. The methodology used in science education at the primary and secondary school levels was devoid of any practical component. He identified this as the cause of the lack of interest toward science.  After all, science is a practical subject. It is only when children get the chance to practice what they are taught that they can appreciate things better.

If you are familiar with a math set, then you can imagine what a science set does. The science set is like a mobile science laboratory with tools including conductors, capacitors and cells, which the pupils can actually touch and use to creatively perform basic experiments with their own hands. For the kids, touching a science set is the first time they touch science. 

On the whole, Ghana struggles with STEM education. This situation weakens our national base for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It is always worrying when results of basic school examinations are released, showing the below average performance and even failures of our young people in science and mathematics examinations. 

It is equally troubling to see the sheer number of students who enrol in courses in the social sciences in our tertiary institutions, and graduate with human resource management and such social disciplines. Any wonder there is a high rate of graduate unemployment!  

THIS INNOVATION CAN CHANGE DESTINIES 

Children with access to Charles Antipem’s science sets are acknowledging them as life-changers in their science education. In effect, Charles has provided an answer to an old problem: the fear of science! The science set is a dream-fulfiller for school children as it is awakening the inventiveness spirit in them. 

So far, 370 school have been reached and 9,000 science sets have been sold, providing access to several thousand pupils to actually experience the practical side of science as they are taught. 

Charles Antipem’s science set has also created jobs; about 11 people are currently employed under this project who manufacture and assemble the sets and handle marketing. The sets are wholly made in Ghana. This invention is therefore the pride of Ghana. 

About 550 teachers have been trained to use the science sets to enable them to competently handle the practical aspects of science education, making it easier to teach, and making the science classes very interesting for kids. 

Interestingly the science sets fit in well with the science syllabus of the education service. Some school children who would otherwise not have passed science at the basic school level have developed passion for science and successfully moved on to the senior high school as science students. 

I am convinced that this innovation has the potential to change generations. In just two years, about 25,000 pupils in Ghana have been reached with the science sets. This number constitutes barely one percent of the population of school-going children in Ghana. 

Now the challenge remaining is for the science set innovation to be scaled up. This good thing must get to the intended targets. We should not wait until a similar product is invented in China for a trader to import them cheaply for sale in Ghana.If the science set innovation is properly and widely diffused throughout the country, the impact will be vast. Already, by using the science set, some school children have overcome their fear of science and are confident that they can realise their dreams in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education.

This is where the state comes in. The Ministry of Education should not passively ignore such an innovation, but provide the much needed enabling environment that will make it possible for the innovation to diffuse to the most remote parts of the country. Even children who study in schools under trees need an exposure to science sets. The exposure will show them the exciting possibilities of science and result in changing their destinies. After all, we are all God’s children!

dorisdartey@gmail.com

Germany Chancellor, Angela Merkel, interacting with Antipem at an exhibition

The science set, showing the conductors and a manual

Life lessons from MTN Heroes of Change 

By Doris Yaa Dartey.              The WatchWoman Column

I have had the privilege of serving as a juror of MTN Heroes of Change for all the five seasons; and as the only female juror. From its inception in 2014, we set out into the raw wildness of Ghana, not having a clue on what we would find or learn about the extent of philanthropy in this country. Fortunately, during the course of the five seasons, I have had the chance to peep into the awesome heart of Ghana. I have witnessed kindness in the most unlikely people and places. The desire, eagerness and determination displayed by ordinary persons to reach out and help others is remarkable.  

Often, the content of the daily news grind at the national level, which is characterized by much drama of wastefulness and corruption, is disappointing and depressing. But viewed against the kindness and impressive work being done by ordinary well-meaning people in various parts of Ghana lightens up one’s mood and gives hope for the future. 

Altruistic reasons appear to underlie the motivations of the nominees unearthed through Heroes of Change. In the just-ended fifth season, I observed some commonalities in the stories and projects of the winners. They all started small. Their projects were extensions of their lived experiences, which were scaled up to make impressive impacts on people. This week, I will share the stories of three of the winners. Next week, I will bring you the stories of the other four winners.

LOUISA ENYONAM ANSAH

Louisa Ansah was the toast of the award event. She danced and danced and danced! She successfully changed the mood of what is usually a sombre event. Typically, over the past four seasons, the Heroes of Change award event was just a typical award event. But thanks to Madam Enyonam, the season five event was a super-fun evening.

Born 56 years ago without arms, Louisa’s life has been marked by people staring at her—because she has no arms! I recall that her childhood made the national news as people did not know what to make of a person without arms. The extent to which she literally set the tone for the award event gave a clear message: Ghana must accept people who have various forms of disabilities! The disabled have the same rights as all other Ghanaians. It was very touching to see her in defiance of public stares and boldly moving on with her life. For how long can anyone stare at a person who is steeled against stares? Her posture is that of a winner!

Enyonam Ansah won the education award. Yes, despite her visible physical disability, she uses her life to empower and make an impact on others who have similar disabilities. 

Without a doubt, she has personally experienced the very difficult, cruel and often crude quality of life people living with disabilities in Ghana experience. You think life is tough? Try becoming disabled! The uniqueness of Enyonam’s story is that she has truly defied all the odds. She does not withdraw into herself. Rather, she has opened both her heart and home to physically challenged children. For several years, she has lived with some of the children and continues to provide them with both formal education and life training. 

She recognizes the challenges physically disabled persons face in our regular schools. For that reason, she had acquired land to construct a disability-friendly school as a way of providing a safe space to educate physically disabled children who may otherwise not get a formal education in our mostly disability-unfriendly schools. 

Enyonam had extended herself even further. She knows from experience the challenges the parents of the disabled go through. After all, when she was born, and her biological father set eyes on her, his response was to flee. The cowardly run-away father never returned to take responsibility for the child who had been born to him. Enyonam therefore grew up without a father. 

So as part of her role in educating children with physical disabilities, she reaches out to parents in her community (and beyond) who have children with disabilities. She counsels and provides them with emotional support to save them from living with depression. Through her interventions, she eases the societal stress on parents and helps to cure the stigma they face. She even finds money to help some struggling mothers of disabled children. 

As if all that were not enough, she took notice of the deplorable condition of water sources in the Otoase and neighbouring communities. She intervened by widening and extending the wells in the area. 

Having known of her early years at the Orthopaedic Training Centre in Nsawam/Adoagyiri, I consider it amazing to find out all that Enyonam has done with her life. Without a doubt, Enyonam will never be silent and go into hiding. For a long time to come, she will be a force to reckon with among disabled persons in Ghana. She is very bold and will speak her mind to anyone, to push for the issues of the disabled. With such a powerful voice, she is a true heroin! 

AFIA POKUA 

Afia Pokua (popularly known as Vim Lady), won the special award for media. Afia is a well-known radio personality who used the platform graced to her to do good deeds. Using her media influence, she rallies around young volunteers, and raises money to fund the construction of decent structures and libraries for rural schools. Through her leadership, a full classroom block was constructed for the use of school pupils of Amenam in the Birim District of the Eastern Region. The pupils had hitherto sat on the bare floor to write on concrete blocks. She is undertaking similar projects in other villages—and none of these villages is her hometown!

She mentors young people, mostly in rural and deprived areas through forming reading clubs and giving talks to motivate them. Her potential to impact other lives is vast. She is a down-to-earth person who publicly discloses her lowly origins, and uses her privileged position to motivate herself to touch other people’s lives. More “vim” to Afia!

DERICK OMARI

Derick Omari won the special youth award. He has set himself apart as an outstanding young social entrepreneur, who is an excellent role model for other young people. He led a team of university students to impact the lives of over 800 persons living with disabilities across the country to enable them have access to quality and inclusive education as a way of increasing their chances of acquiring gainful employment. 

He accomplished these impressive feats through the use of technology to build the capacity of the youth to mobilize and train visually impaired persons at different educational levels to use laptops and smartphones to learn. Specifically, his team works with children with autism and cerebral palsy. The team organizes skill development programs that trains the disabled in robotics, 3D modeling, IT and programming. They also organize academic assistance programs. What a fine young man!

dorisdartey@gmail.com

Even without arms, Louisa Enyonam Ansah has accomplished a lot

Do hotels sleep off and die? Then what? By Doris Yaa Dartey. The WatchWoman column

Do hotels sleep off and die? Then what?

By Doris Yaa Dartey.                 The WatchWoman column

Businesses may just be like living beings: born today, dead someday! Humans can thrive, and they can also decay. Similarly, businesses can prosper but they can also decline and even collapse. In the past month, I have visited two hotels that used to thrive beyond measure, but which appear to have now fallen on their knees. 

The two hotels are the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel and Coconut Grove Regency Hotel. They are both located in Accra. La Palm is a 4-star hotel at a prime beach-front location; whilst Coconut Grove is a 3-star hotel tucked in the centre of Accra within the general business district. 

From what I had witnessed, it is painful to even remember and acknowledge that these hotels used to be bustling with customers. Today, it appears as if the two hotels have sleep-walked their way into a state of retrogression. 

Some enduring questions: Did the managers/owners of these hotels see the degeneration coming? Did the waning of their high patronage happen suddenly? Are the managers in shock over the new reality of affairs? What did they do wrong to have resulted in this substantial deterioration of their affairs? But most importantly, will these hotels ever come back to their former glory amidst the ever increasing competition, or they are just dying off before our eyes?

LA PALM BEACH HOTEL IS DOSING OFF

The La Palm Beach Hotel is our national bright and shining star! It is one of our national prides! It is imposing; it commands respect; it is located by the mighty Atlantic Ocean. It has infrastructure that competes very well with that of other world-class hotels anywhere in the world. It has welcomed guests from across the world. So what could have gone wrong?  

A month ago, when I spent a full day on a Saturday at La Palm and noticed a certain emptiness, it struck me as very abnormal. I was with a group for a workshop. With the exception of a white couple, we were the only people in the hotel. It felt eerie. If you had been to La Palm in its days of glory, you will not miss the present unsettling feeling of emptiness. You may be tempted to scream out a question: “Hello, where have all the people gone?”; and your voice might echo back at you because you might be alone.

My shock was when I took a walk by the magnificent swimming pools with clean blue waters. Around mid-day, there was not a single soul there for a very long time. I spotted three workers seated around, idle. It was not until later in the afternoon (after 3 pm) that some guests arrived to use the swimming pools.

During lunch time, what used to be a very busy restaurant, was empty—with the exception of my workshop group. In the course of the day, I had side conversations with some of the staff. They whispered, “Hmm, these days, people don’t come ooh!” Why has the La Palm shine faded away? Ghana cannot own such a magnificent facility and watch it to be empty. That constitutes a waste of a very valuable national resource.

COCONUT GROVE REGENCY HOTEL 

For several years, I have dreaded going to the Coconut Grove Regency Hotel owing to the difficulty with finding a car parking spot. The few and woefully inadequate parking spaces inside the hotel premises filled up quickly. So one had to hope and pray that space along the narrow roadside will be available for you to squeeze in your vehicle. You would think that the hotel owners did not factor in the likelihood of customers driving to visit the facility! As if people would walk there! So to resolve the challenge of parking, I often resorted to going to Coconut Grove by taxi. 

Then I got the surprise! Two weeks ago, I had a commitment at Coconut Grove for two days. As usual, I left home dreading where I will park. As I approached the entrance, the spaces by the roadside stared at me, welcoming me with open arms. So with relief, I pulled up and parked in one of several spots available and beckoning me. As I crossed the street to enter the reception, I noticed that the hotel’s own parking spots inside were mostly empty. So innocently, I expressed my surprise to the security folks. They smiled politely!

As I walked towards the conference room area, I noticed that only the conference room allocated to my session was occupied. The usual busy flow of people out-flowing onto different floors, and the hectic movements at the staircase that used to be so full of life with people, was visibly absent. 

During lunchtime, the near emptiness of the restaurant was profound. Over the years, I have had lunch on numerous occasions at Coconut Grove. The restaurant was always packed and the guest overflows were served in an adjoining section. But during my recent visit, the restaurant was so unoccupied. The only people present were the six of us in my group. For a hotel restaurant that used to cater for crowds at lunchtime, watching half-a-dozen of us go for our food as if we were orphans, just broke my heart. Three European colleagues of mine who stayed at the hotel as guests, remarked that they were very alone on their floor.

So clearly, something had happened to Coconut Grove. And that something is not good for business. That something seems to have placed the hotel in a difficult state.  

WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING TO THE SLEEPY HOTELS?

What does it really mean for two of our busiest hotels in Accra to be sleeping off? As matters currently stand, it is as if the famous La Palm Beach and Coconut Grove hotels are on life support. I dread to think that someday soon, someone will pull whatever remaining plugs that are keeping them alive and with that, declare their deaths. 

These hotels need to be revived. They must take their pride of place in Accra. They have both seen good times and it is heart-breaking to think that the good days might have ended. 

It is worth pondering over some critical questions: Are other major hotels in Ghana also collapsing, similar to the situation in the banking and microfinance sectors? Can there be a point at which it could be said that a city has too many hotels? Whose responsibility is it to caution would-be investors and entrepreneurs that the space and opportunities in the hotel/hospitality sector may be choked so they will be saved from investing to build hotels that may not be patronized because there is a glut, rendering it difficult to succeed? A hotel requires a large outlay of investment in infrastructure. 

And there are the human beings who work in various areas to provide the needed hospitality. So when well-established hotels like La Palm and Coconut Grove go to sleep, many jobs are lost and livelihoods suffer.

dorisdartey@gmail.com