Features
Abandoned projects: Ghana’s monument to neglect (Part 3)
In many communities in Ghana, hope for development is like a good breakfast but a bad supper. Projects start very enthusiastically and continue at breakneck speed, evoking great joy.
With bated breath, the beneficiary communities believe that the next big thing is about to happen for them. They think that the eel’s hope of becoming a whale is about to materialise.
But their expectations are dashed before long. The projects are halted, and their hope of landing a dream project proves to be, after all, a mere dream.
These projects are what I call Ghana’s monument to neglect, a phenomenon that is a very damning indictment of the failures of successive governments.
The first part of this article featured the $200 million Saglemi Affordable Housing Project at Prampram in the Greater Accra Region comprising 5,000 residential units.
The NDC initiated it, completed 1,500 units, and handed them over to the NPP government but none has been allocated because the NPP suspects malfeasance in the deal.
Last week, the KNUST Teaching Hospital project at Boadi, near the university’s main campus took centre stage. The project was begun in 2008 to train more health professionals, bridge the gap between the demand and supply of critically needed staff, and ease the pressure on the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.
But lack of funds left it abandoned for over a decade until work resumed recently. The first phase is expected to be completed in October this year.
In this final instalment, the white elephant in focus is the $2.4 million Youth Sports Centre project at Ho in the Volta Region, comprising a FIFA standard football pitch, an eight-lane athletic track, tennis, basketball, and handball courts among other facilities.
The 10,000-seater project took off in March 2018 and was due to be completed in February 2019 but, reports say it has been abandoned midway.
A press release circulated in February by the NDC said the project site had become a grazing field for cattle and a hunting ground for grasscutter.
Even bigger neglected projects abound but were not prioritised in this article, either because they have been resumed or have been shelved.
Among the resumed projects is the $180 million state-of-the-art, 500-bed capacity military hospital at Afari in the Atwima-Nwabiagya District of the Ashanti Region.
Conceived in 2008 by former President J. A. Kufuor and approved by Parliament in November the same year, the original site was Sofoline in Kumasi.
But a protracted dispute caused the location to be changed three times, from Sofoline, to Tamale after the NDC came to power in 2008, to the 37 Military Hospital before finally landing at Afari.
For six whole years, it got stalled until 2014, when the land at Afari was prepared for actual work to start in 2015. In fact, a sod was cut at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra and work began before further bickering finally relocated the facility to Afari.
The work in Accra had to be stopped but not without great cost. The contract stipulated that if the site changed, the contractor must be compensated. The company demanded about $36 million but the Government negotiated and reduced it to $19 million. The Government hesitated in paying and the contractor slowed down work, further delaying the project.
Thus, due to somebody’s thoughtless negligence, crass laxity, gross dereliction of duty, and lack of due diligence, we had to cough up a whopping $19 million in punitive cost. That money could have been used to provide eight regions with the type of youth centre designed for Ho.
Indications are that all the physical infrastructure such as the administration block, staff quarters, medical and surgical blocks, have been completed. Installation of equipment is on-going with inauguration anticipated to be in December this year.
Another category of deprioritised stalled projects deals with those which suffered a stillbirth, those that were dead on arrival. One such project that would have been a game-changer is the aborted $2.6 billion sky train project, an elevated railway system spanning 194 kilometres with a capacity to transport 400,000 passengers per year within Accra.
At independence in 1957, the population of the capital, Accra, was just 250,000 but it has exploded to its current level of over six million. The project, was, therefore, expected to decongest traffic drastically in the city, boost economic activity and reduce pollution due to unhealthy vehicular fumes.
Most of the works such as the fabrication and construction were to be done in Ghana to create about 5,000 jobs for Ghanaians during the implementation phase scheduled to begin by January 2020.
The South African investment partners, Ai SkyTrain Consortium, were said to have conducted feasibility studies at their own expense to kickstart the project, paving the way for the signing of an agreement on Thursday, November 8, 2018, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Ghana’s Railway Development Minister at the time, Mr. Joe Ghartey, signed for the country, saying: “The economics of this project are good. We are very excited about the prospects,” with President Nana Akufo Addo by his side.
All was set for the project to start in earnest, but, alas, that was not to be. Mr. Peter Amewu, the new railways minister argued that the project was too expensive.
Can you believe that after all the fanfare and economic benefits, the same government chickened out of the deal because of the cost? Are we serious? If not now, when? Some people would argue that given the dire straits in which Ghana finds herself, the new minister was right. I beg to differ.
A wealthy Nigerian, Mr. Omololu Onabanjo, who graciously hosted me while I was on a visit to his country some time ago, told me, with some anguish in his voice: “Tony, Africa has a long way to go.”
I kept pondering over his statement thinking that because he schooled in the UK for a long time, he had become so anglicised as to despise his own continent.
After a while, he came back to me and said: “Listen, I have thought about what I told you and I have realised that we don’t have anywhere to go.”
Clarifying his point, he said: “The people we are chasing are out of sight. They negotiated the development curve ahead of us a long time ago. We don’t see their back. How then can we follow them to where they have reached?”
Who said we are broke? The simple truth is that we cannot eat our cake and have it. When we do not prioritise and cut our coat according to our size, where do we expect to get the money to fund a capital-intensive but ultimately profitable venture like the sky train project?
When we waste money uselessly on emoluments, a situation worsened by bureaucratic obesity, how can we prioritise feasible projects like the Ho youth sports centre? If we scrap ex-gratia alone, we can build such centres in all the regional capitals.
If you will not do it, do not promise on your honour to do it. Do not build castles in the air. If you cannot complete it, do not start it at all and waste our scarce resources.
But, if it is a game-changer like the sky train, why chicken out? If we fail to take bold and pragmatic steps to develop our country now, we would continue to linger far behind while others reach for the stars as Mr. Onabanjo said.
Where was Singapore when Ghana was blossoming under the inspiring leadership of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah? Now, Singapore which gained its independence in 1965, eight years after Ghana’s, is the richest country in Asia and among the world’s top ten economies in terms of its GDP per capita. It is the only Asian country to attain a higher per capita GDP than the US by every measure.
It took a combination of free enterprise, social interventions like quality mass education, affordable healthcare, cheap transportation, capital accumulation not dissipation, and strong-willed leadership by Lee Kuan Yew to transform Singapore into the economic power it is today.
One time he told his people without mincing words that he was on a mission, and anyone who would withstand him, would have himself to blame.
That is what I call leadership. Paul Kigame of Rwanda is manifesting similar traits despite the political turmoil and the disruptions of war he inherited.
With his no-nonsense style and refusal to be pushed around by any Western godfather, he is doing for his country what Nkrumah wanted to do for Ghana.
Akufo Addo must take a cue from Nkrumah and Kagame and transform Ghana into the haven she is destined to be. He must not just hire; he must begin to fire as well.
By Tony Prempeh
Contact: teepeejubilee@yahoo.co.uk
Features
The Prophet part 4
Antobam woke up with a terrible headache. He checked the time on his mobile phone, 2:30 am. “What! Where is the money?” He asked aloud. “Where are those girls? Why did I drink so much of that whisky? What were those two girls up to?” He sat up on the bed and noticed a bulge close to the pillow.
He lifted the mattress and picked up the newspaper wrappers with the neatly arranged notes. He saw the neatly written record of the value of the notes. No, those girls are not thieves.
“It was my mistake. If I hadn’t drank myself to sleep they would be here in bed with me, giving me the time of my life. Pretty girls, those two. And so loyal and honest. Tomorrow will be different.”
“I will not drink any whisky, and I will show them that I am a real man. Just then he heard the whispers. Very soon it will be time, they seemed to be saying. This is an important day.”
The gold dealer will bring lots of money. Give him some of the liquid to drink, and we will prepare him. He will do very big business, and he will give you anything you ask for. There will be more miracles and testimonies today.
Antobam smiled to himself. “I am going to be a very rich man in only a few days man. Money, power, and women. Wow! Antobam got to the grounds at 5, but there were quite a number of people waiting.
Mr Kwame Dofu was among them. He greeted them all, and they came around to shake his hand. “My brothers and sisters, I assure you that whatever your problem is, you will not go home without a solution.” Shouts of “Amen” “thank” you Osofo and “you are a true man of God” responded.
“Please take your seats, and start talking to the great one about whatever bothers you. Before the service is over, there will be a solution.” He waved Mr Dofu over, and went with him to the wooden structure that serves as a temporary office.
“My brother, I have done quite a lot of work on the issue you came to see me about. I have prepared a special, powerful package for you. Take this, drink it, and go back to your business. I want to see you in two weeks.”
Beaming with smiles, Mr Dofu drank the foul smelling liquid in two gulps, said a big thank you to Antobam and took his leave. “I believe you, Papa Osofo. And I assure you that I will reward you, big time.”
Just when Osofo Antubam finished with Mr Dofu, Mary and Suzzie went over to him. “Good Morning ladies. I am very sorry about yesterday. I drank too much of the stuff you gave me. Today will be different, I assure you.”
“Don’t worry, Osofo. Since you are now setting things up, our main concern now is to help you to put things in place, and to make you comfortable. We are always there to serve you. This morning, Osofo, we want to go and clean up your place, and prepare something nice for you when you close.
And before coming to church, we will pass by the bank and collect the forms. After you have signed them, the account will be open. You can check the payments anytime and, of course, issue cheques whenever you need money.”
“Suzzie and Mary, I am happy I picked the two of you from the very start. Listen, I will take good care of you, okay? Here is some money. Buy whatever you need for the errands you have mentioned.
And here is the key. Please come back as early as you can. You know I need you here.” The service was very lively. The lively singing of praise songs was followed by one and a half hours of testimonies.
Most of them related to money – big sales, new jobs and overdue debts paid. But there were also testimonies about healing. Barren women had taken seed, and, of course, several men who had lost their bedroom authority had regained them, to the delight of their partners.
As he had promised, Antobam preached for only 30 minutes, exhorting the congregation to attend church regularly, pay their tithes and offerings, and strictly follow his ‘directions’ for securing solutions to their problems.
After another round of praises during which the congregation danced to the floor to drop their offering, he closed the service, grabbed the big bowl which was full to the brim with money, and moved to his desk. A long queue was quickly formed at the desk.
Meanwhile, Mary and Suzzie had gone to give Antobam’s place quite a decent look. A new bedsheet and pillows, a secondhand carpet and four plastic chairs placed in the verandah had done the trick.
They also prepared two fish and chicken stews. After all these, they rushed to the National Savings Bank and collected application forms for opening current and savings accounts.
They joined the service a few minutes before the main session closed. Antobam looked round and saw, to his relief, Mary and Suzzie moving towards him. “Hello ladies. What have you been up to?” “Quite a bit, Osofo. We’ve just collected your drink. Here you are. We’ve made a few changes at your place. I think you will like it. You will also have something nice to eat. Now, here are the forms for the savings and current accounts.
If you will sign them, the bank will open the account. From today, we can pay all monies direct into the account.” ‘How can I thank you, ladies?” “You don’t need to thank us,” Suzzie said. “It is our duty to help a man of God succeed.” “Okay, my ladies, please take the offerings and count them as you did yesterday.
You can add the payments made after the consultations. Will it be possible to pay them into the account today?” “Yes,” Mary said. “The bank closes at four. If we leave here at three, we would be there just in time.”
The two friends started counting, as Osofo Antobam gave his clients his directions for solving their problems. On quite a few occasions he closed his eyes as if he was receiving direction from above on what to do.
But as the fetish priest at the Nana Kofi Broni shrine and the dwarfs had assured him, the solutions would certainly be provided. Having heard the huge testimonies earlier in the day, the clients parted with substantial sums of money in expectation.
By Ekow de Heer
Features
The issue of spiritual father in our churches
A student was supposed to go to school as the natural cause of events should be when universities or schools in general opens but this was not the case in a certain young man’s life.
He decided to postpone his trip because apparently he could not get to meet his pastor, his spiritual father. The question is, should this spiritual father die, will the young man’s life come to an end?
Does it mean in such an instance, he is going to curtail his education? This is a worrying trend in a lot of churches where the pastors use this notion of spiritual father to manipulate members especially the youth.
Some unscrupulous pastors utilise this spiritual father concept to have affairs with gullible young ladies in their churches.
Now with homosexuality gradually making inroads into some of the churches, young men are becoming vulnerable to pastors who have hidden homosexual inclinations.
This spiritual father concept is a Biblical concept that runs through both the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. We see it in 2 Kings 4:12 where Gehazi is serving Elisha and also in the New Testament we see Paul relating to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:2 as a Spiritual Father.
In fact, the concept of spiritual father is a good thing if executed according to the word of God since it helps in guiding the younger ones. However, it becomes problematic when it is being executed by unscrupulous wolves in sheepskins as described by Jesus in Mathew 7:15.
I see it as a way that these unscrupulous so-called men of God maintain their hold on the congregants so they do not question their unchristian actions.
One of the things I have observed since I got born again many years ago is that, any pastor who often insists that members recognise that he is their spiritual father is a warning sign that he is doing some wrong things or is about to indulge in some wrong things.
A parent complained about how his daughter was being influenced by a pastor of the church she attends and how worried he was. I am sure there are many parents out there with stories to tell about how their wards are being made to see their pastors almost like their Jesus.
These pastors have managed to make their congregants so loyal to them and to believe in them so much that it is terrifying, as a parent.
The way things are going, an immediate intervention is required otherwise I am not a prophet of doom but I forsee unfortunate instances where parents burst into church auditoriums and star shooting some Pastors out of frustration and anger.
We cannot look on unconcerned as a society and allow unscrupulous fraudsters using the name of God to create problems for families. My recommendation is for a certain amount of regulation in order to bring some sanity in religious practices.
I agree that ordinarily regulating religious practices makes it a bit restrictive in terms of freedom of worship as enshrined in our constitution but given the way things are going, a bit of regulation will not be out of place.
Disgusting stuff are being attributed to some men of God. There are cases of manipulation of young ladies and sometimes married women by so called men of God and it is bringing Christianity and therefore the name of the Lord into disrepute.
Christianity is gradually losing its attractiveness as a result of the negative reportage resulting from disgusting stuff happening in Christian circles. The way some pastors have been manipulating congregants to take money from them leaves much to be desired to the point where they are convincing some of the youth to give out their phones. May God help us.
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
