IS DEMOCRACY THE SOULUTION?

IS DEMOCRACY THE SOLUTION

As popular demonstrations swept across the Arab world in 2011, many U.S. policymakers and analysts were hopeful that the movements would usher in a new era for the region. That May, President Barack Obama described the uprisings as "a historic opportunity" for the United States "to pursue the world as it should be." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton echoed these comments, expressing confidence that the transformations would allow Washington to advance "security, stability, peace, and democracy" in the Middle East. Not to be outdone, the Republican Party's 2012 platform trumpeted "the historic nature of the events of the past two years -- the Arab Spring -- that have unleashed democratic movements leading to the overthrow of dictators who have been menaces to global security for decades." Some saw the changes as heralding a long-awaited end to the Middle East's immunity to previous waves of global democratization; others proclaimed that al Qaeda and other radicals had finally lost the war of ideas.

The initial results of the commotion were indeed inspiring. Broad-based uprisings removed Tunisia's Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, and Libya's Muammar al-Qaddafi from power. Since the toppling of these dictators, all three countries have conducted elections that international observers deemed competitive and fair, and millions of people across the region can now freely express their political opinions.

I look at these nations and wonder if really they knew the implication of the political freedom that they sought.

From the ragged mountains of Afghanistan right to the deserts land of Iraq. Where can you point out peace?

And stability which was the reasons for all this uprising. Libya is yet to see any peace after the death of Ghaddafi, Just this morning on Aljazeera it was reported that a UN report has Almost 93,000 people were killed in Syria's conflict by the end of April this year. An average of more than 5,000 people has been killed every month since last July, while Rural Damascus and Aleppo have recorded the highest tolls since November.

I ask myself, is the life of this people worth the fighting. Who will benefit from the death of these innocent mothers, fathers and children? What is the real motive behind the uprising, we all wait to see what happens. Democracy cannot be forced on any nations.

NKRUMAH GHANA SNUBBED MANDELA IN 1960

Retired Diplomat K B Asante has confirmed that the Nkrumah Government, “in a way snubbed Mandela” and the African National Congress (ANC), when they were in Ghana in the 1960s to seek support against the apartheid and racist white government of that country.

Samia Nkrumah, a daughter of the pan-Africanist leader, had denied claims that her father deliberately refused to meet the late South African President during the heady days of the apartheid regime.

The late South African President, as part of his African tour to rally support for his fight against the apartheid regime, was in Ghana in 1962 with a delegation of the ANC to meet Dr Nkrumah, but never had the opportunity to do so.

Samia, who is the Convention People’s Party’s Chairperson, told TV3 that her father could not meet Mandela at the time because he had just survived an attempted assassination at Kulungugu in northern Ghana and was hospitalised.

According to her, there was no rift between her father and Mandela.

Mandela was, however, quoted by renowned Ghanaian Journalist, Cameron Duodo, in his article ‘Mandela and I’, to have said: “Ah, Ghana! I was there in 1962. I went there to see President Kwame Nkrumah. But I never got to see him. I waited for several days, but the Foreign Minister, Ako Adjei, said I would have to wait, as Nkrumah was about to address a meeting of other freedom fighters.”

According to Mandela, “So I didn’t think it would be useful to hang around in Accra and I left for Liberia. There, I was received promptly by President William Tubman!”

In the article, Cameron Duodo said: ‘I had been warned that A K Barden, director of Nkrumah’s Bureau of African Affairs, preferred the Pan-Africanist Congress to the ANC. [I later learnt that Mandela's informer was the raving beauty, Genoveva Marais, Nkrumah's very good "friend", who hailed from South Africa.]’

Nkrumah’s Government’s preference for the Pan-Africanist Congress to the ANC was confirmed by K B Asante on the XYZ Breakfast Show on Monday.

K B Asante who worked closely with Dr Nkrumah at the time, told host Moro Awudu that: “…what I know is that Nkrumah’s policy, based on our intelligence reports and so on, did not favour ANC. We were then - I was the African Affairs Secretary - were supporting the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) because they were more active; they believed in armed struggle, they were fighting for real independence for South Africa. ANC was there but we thought it was not that active”.

According to him, Nkrumah’s Government, after the Sharpville massacre on March 21, 1960, in which 69 South African students were gunned down, including 8 women and 10 children, by the apartheid Police and 180 others injured, should have reviewed its anti-ANC policy since Mandela had at the time, become a “freedom fighter” contrary to the “bourgeois” perception the Nkrumah Government had of the ANC.

“…We should have changed policy but unfortunately, the Bureau of African Affairs did not realise that things had changed; that Mandela and his group were then leading the fight, and so when he came here - in fact I wasn’t aware that he came, later I heard he came - they [Bureau of African Affairs] did not provide access”, K B Asante recalled.

He said unlike today: “…Before you saw the President those days, you had to go through the appropriate channels, and the Bureau of African Affairs did not facilitate that contact and therefore the ANC, I would say was not - even in recent years - has not been happy with Ghana…So that is true, we in a way snubbed Mandela”.

A debate started in Ghana recently about which of the two freedom fighters was greater on the Continent.

It followed US President Barack Obama’s description of Mandela as the greatest African Liberator at his memorial service in Soweto.

Mandela, who was imprisoned for 27 years by the apartheid Government, became President in 1994 after his release in 1990. He refused to go for a second term despite his huge chance of winning. He also did not retaliate against the white minority in South Africa when he was President.

Mandela was buried Sunday. He died at age 95. Hordes of world leaders thronged his memorial and burial ceremonies.

Nkrumah, who was voted as the African of the Millennium, died on April 27, 1972 in exile, Romania, after his overthrow in a 1966 coup.

He had travelled to Bucharest for skin cancer treatment from Conakry, Guinea, where he had been living after his overthrow. He was 62 years.

Nkrumah spent most his political career fighting for independence for Ghana, Africa and seeking to unite the entire African Continent.

 

Source: 

Ghana | RadioXYZonline.comA

inside out. gh politics

We will match our critics boot to boot-Mahama Ayariga

The Minister for Information and media Relation has stressed that his outfit will match all critics and political opponent of the NDC “boot to boot” with regards to the achievement of President John Mahama in his first year as President.

Speaking at a public forum Under the theme “Advancing the Better Ghana Agenda: Prospects for 2014”,the minister mentioned that one of the key reasons for organising the event was to show their critics and opponent their readiness to match them “boot for boot” on every platform.

“We at the ministry of information will make sure we work with our colleagues to ensure that the better Ghana agenda is delivered” he added.

Hon. Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa, Deputy Minister of Education, also mentioned some achievement by his Ministry under President Mahama. According to him, contrary to what critics say, his outfit has facts and figures to prove that indeed a lot of success has been made.

He cited the distribution of free uniforms as well as the distribution of over 1000 computers and laptops to various educational institutions as some of the steps taking by the government to improve on education.

On the issue of schools under tress he mentioned that “there were over 3000 schools under trees when the NDC came into office and as I speak the NDC government has reduced this by 43% and hope to achieve more by the 2016”

He further reveal that a survey conducted by the ministry of education indicated that overstaffing in some schools was a major problem whiles other schools also lack teachers hence the need to redistribute teachers in the various regions.

He added that “Contrary to what people, we suggest on training more teachers, the real issue is to make sure that we avoid situations where we have more teachers in the regional capitals leaving very few teachers in the smaller towns and districts”

This redistribution of teachers if implemented will bring equity in all the regions.

Work according to him is also set to begin on the promised Senior high schools to be constructed in new districts and old districts that do not have high schools.

Other speakers at the program were Hon Hanna Tetteh Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Hon. Fifi Kwetey Minister of State in Charge of Financial and Allied Institutions, Dr Edward Omane Boamah Minister of Communications.

They all stressed that indeed the achievement of the president in his first year in office is unprecedented.

However, they mentioned that more could have been done if their opponent had spared the productive 8 months that was used to challenge the legitimacy of the president who according to them was elected through the most transparent elections ever.

current situation of ghana

Civil Society Group, Centre for Policy Research has stated that Ghanaians must not railroad the Government into prosecuting people indicted in the GYEEDA rot without resorting to the rules of natural justice.

The Government recently cancelled its contracts with some private organisations in connection with GYEEDA.

They are to refund about 55 million Ghana cedis to the state.

But some critics including the biggest opposition party say the Government must go beyond just cancelling the illegally awarded contracts and punish those involved.

However, Samuel Salga a Research Fellow with the Centre for Policy Research in an interview said the critics must be patient.

He said if “we take people to court based on this report alone, the case is likely to be thrown out of court and the same would come back and say we didn’t do a good work”.

president mahama

President John Dramani  Mahama will go down in history as the only first ghanaian leader who  never caught his breath after he had assumed office before he was besieged with mountains of   insurmountable problems

even before the president was sworn into office, on January 7 2013, Nana Akuffo Addo the candidate he defeated in the 2012 election has filled a petition to challenge  the validity of his victory