Floods in Accra: Talk Talk, No Show.

Growing up in Accra was fun. I recall the days when children were excited about rainfall because we would get the chance to bath in the rains. After the rains, I was part of the squad who went out on a snail  hunting spree in search of some snails for the household. It was during this stage of my life that I discovered that some snails are edible while others are poisonous; same with mushrooms. Games like "ampe", "tumatu" and clay moulding were also much interesting when played after the rains. For instance,  "tumatu" involved,  first of all,  drawing lines on the ground. You then use sand-in-rubber to jump into each stage till you reach the final level of the game. In all of these processes, the wet ground facilitated clearer lines and proper landing of the sand-in-rubber (the material that determines which level you get into in the game). These days I don't really see children playing these games as much as we did in those days; not on sunny days and neither on rainy days. Perhaps, floods are posing a bigger threat with regards to rainfall in Accra unlike before. 

Rainfall seem to have become a scare for the people of Accra,  especially following the June 3 floods that took away many lives. Nobody dares to play in the rains any longer. My Alajo(a suburb of Accra) days cannot be forgotten when it comes to talking about floods. If you live in the part of Accra where it does not easily get flooded thank Heavens. Those were sad times because rains entered our rooms and most of our belongings would be seen swimming in the water. For days, we had to hang our mattress and wet items in the sun which really did not show up during such moments. It was always a pitiful sight to behold. Sometimes we had to just make fun of the situation and laugh at neighbors whose shoes and "Ghana must go" bags were being carried away. Seeing them chasing after these things could really crack a person up with laughter, despite all that was going on around us. 

Tuning in to my radio set this morning really brought back memories. Can you believe that somewhere last year, the floods carried away a listener's kiosk which she found three days after? What could be the solution to this worrying issue which render people sleepless whenever there are rains? The feeling of loosing a property or a loved one to the floods is what terrifies people these days. One can only ask him or herself if the rains are a blessing or a curse. To me, the focus should be shifted from the rains and be brought to real human activities that pose this challenge in society. Some of these activities may include dumping of refuse into gutters(which I have observed on several occasions), littering around, and not regularly distilling our gutters. 

Recently, I got stuck at Nkrumah Circle because of the rains. I was at the bus stop near Vodafone when the rains suddenly came down, and so I went to seek cover at a Filling station close by. After about ten minutes I decided to move from there and find the next available car to my house because the ground was gradually filling up with rains. On crossing to the other side of the road where I could get a car home, I realised the place was already flooded. There and then, I asked myself if the N1 Interchange constructors had considered building drains or not? The answer to this question is quite obvious. The radio station I tuned in to also had a Public Relations personnel from Zoomlion Waste Management Company, promising Ghanaians, and those in Accra precisely, that the Odaw river dredging exercise was underway. This really got me pissed. What  will 'underway' in this context mean to listeners who need clear answers to this problem? I must admit that so much talk with nothing to show for it is killing us as a nation. It is rather funny how the Odaw river too has been blamed for almost every flood in Accra and yet little or nothing at all is being done about it. 

Let's be frank to ourselves, when last did you drop rubbish on the ground? Was it your fault that you dropped it off since you did not get any wastebin to drop them into? After every sanitation day program, do we collect the rubbish we remove from the gutters or we just leave them there? What is the permanent solution to flooding in Accra? As for me and my family, the little we can do is not to litter around and clean our gutters regularly. Can we guarantee same solution for people in our neighborhood and expect that they will willingly comply? As more and more people are migrating into Accra, are there measures to control waste management or should we just totally forget about finding solutions? I must also make mention that there are fewer drainage systems in most neighborhoods in Accra that could allow easily flow of water into the sea. Assembly men and Community leaders should quickly help check that more drainage systems are built. 

My last statement should be read with meaning... Dear Accra Mayor and policy makers in the Accra Metropolis, save us the plenty talk and less work to show for it. Accra is our 'city' and we need to maintain that status without fear or favor. The last time I checked, a city is a central business district. This is where most of our investors and business  partners come to deliberate on important National agenda and international market relations discussions. Do your possible best to save it. We are truly tired of all the promises and talks. The earlier you put your pens to paper, the better Accra it will be for all of us. You cannot expect us to pay taxes and not demand for solutions from you. Then we might as well keep our monies and use them to solve our own issues in the most efficient ways we can.

What is your take on the Floods in Accra? How have you been a victim to this flood situation? Is it the individual or government responsibility to solve this menace? I will love to hear from you. Let's all help to build a better Accra together. Stop littering. Do the right thing. Also, don't forget to spread the word. 

Justica Anima 

Adjeianima@gmail.com 

Switstica.blogspot.com 

Is Foreign Aid Good or Bad For Africa?: A Case Study of Economic Development of The Third World

According to Todaro(1992), Economic development is a multidimensional process involving the reorganization and reorientation of the entire economic and social systems. In addition to improvement in income and output; it typically involves radical changes in institutional, social, and administrative structures as well as in popular attitudes and in many cases even customs and beliefs.

Africa as a third world nation has the attribute of depending on more developed nations for support. The question however is whether or not these aids have benefited us with regards to the definition stated above; as developing areas of the economy, social structures, and even attitudes and customs of the nation.

To start with, we can say that Africa has benefited through the numerous infrastructural set ups we see in our cities today. For instance, the building of roads, schools,  hospitals, banks, and industries among others. It cannot be disputed however that these infrastructures render a level of output that go into developing other aspects of our economy.

The debate however lies in how negatively we use these aids and how the negative effects far outnumber the positive. For example, the rate of corruption has increased in African nations. The leaders end up using the greater part of the monies acquired on luxury to the detriment of our development. Most of these leaders are very clear about the goals for seeking these aids but are not able to bring them into fruition due to selfish gains and ambitions. Corrupt practices, embezzlement of funds, and using monies generated from international organizations like International Monetary fund for misplaced priorities is the cause of our many woes in Africa.

Furthermore, more areas of Africa remain impoverished and the sufferings of the larger population increases. In Ghana for instance, the Northern and rural areas have nothing to write home about when it comes to development and social interventions unlike the the few urban centers. Throwing good money to a bad government and a people with poor attitudes make their nation worse off. That is to say that the attitude of the people must change. Of what use will the aid from World Health Organisation be if the people still observe poor sanitation practises which can render them unhealthy  anyway?

Last of all, these aids seek to cripple and manipulate the people to do the will of their donors. An example is how Ghana and Uganda had their aids withdrawn due to the fact that they did not accept to legalised homosexuality. This is to inform us that so far as there is some level of influence from the donor country to use these aids for specific interests, Africa and therefore underdeveloped nations will continue to struggle for development.

Once there is over dependence on foreign aid,  we can forget about developing our total infrastructure, level of income and output, and to some extent our attitudes and beliefs as a continent.

Adjeianima@gmail.com

Tell me About 59 Years Old Ghana.

"Our independence is meaningless unless it is linked to the total liberation of Africa" -Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first President.

It is a good thing to be independent, if you ask me. It is not by mere coincidence that a country gains total control of its own affairs at an early stage. Well, for me independence means a lot more than just not being under the control of another nation. It is a life long journey with a million stories.

The problem about us as a people is that we refuse to free our minds just as I am about to do, yet we claim to be "bold to defend forever the cause of freedom and of rights". I will not hesitate to applaud our forefathers, especially the Big Six, for their great achievements and heroic acts towards building this nation. They did all they could to make sure we could man our own affairs. The baton has since been passed and here we are, 59 years and still counting.

The stench at the Makola market sings "happy birthday to you Ghana". The trotro mate greets you, "yeees! Front" literally scaring its occupants, and reminding you not to look back. The hawkers on our streets sell their wares to you, Ghana, by crying out, "yeees! Pure water, Yoghurt, Tampico, Fan Ice, P.K, Mentos, meat pieeee!". Traders run helter skelter with their wares in a bid to escape the wrath of A.M.A task force(Abaye). 59 years old Ghana wakes up not to alarm clocks but to the harsh beatings on the shoe maker's box and the cries of, "hwan na etwe3 ?", translated as, "whose turn is it to scrub?". 

School children sing in chorus, "...Feel our hearts with true humi-li-ty, make us cheerlish, fearest, honestly..." With what meaning can the average Ghanaian school child attach to its National Anthem? Something we claim to have taught them in our schools. The minimum wage a worker takes is 120 Ghana cedis. Will you take that amount at 59 years old? After having to work for 30 days or more and this could be your take home salary. What will you buy with it? In a sudden speed, transportation fares have taken a full fly and citizens pay silently in pain out of their meagre salaries and income.

Ask me about 59 years and I will only assume it is a time for rest and a time void of stress. A time when your money works for you and your children cater for your needs.  The children you took time to bring up, and not shirk your responsibilities from. A period of enjoying the fruits of your labour. But no! The only fruits to be enjoyed here is that of freedom to move about freely and say anything freely. Yes! freedom like the madman roaming aimlessly in the streets, graduates lying lazily in their beds and of "dead goats living"  unconcerned lives.

Is that all there is to say about Ghana? Oh! Lest I forget. We are enjoying less than 3% of proceeds from our mining sector and importing tilapia when we are surrounded by sea and rivers everywhere. We almost import everything and export chocolate wrapped in paper and foil since the day of Tetteh Quarshie's discovery of the cocoa seeds. Is this the Liberation our father of Independence was referring to?

And to think that Yaa Asantewaa may have left some of her courage in Ghanaian "queens", women of our time are rather "queens" of America. Buying the hair, eyelashes, hips, lips, nails, and waists of the western world. Call it globalisation and Yaa Asantewaa will sneeze in her grave. Ashamed of their "kpenkpeshi"(kinky) sun-silk hair. And even more so, afraid to rise up and proclaim, "Where are the brave men of yesterday? If you men will not fight, we the women will". Women of our time cannot even boast of independence from their men amidst all the feminism advocacy.

59 years old Ghana has a lot to boast of, yet a lot more to achieve. We have too many literates in this nation to be hungry and poor. Our thinking caps must not fail us. Our universities are part of the best in Africa.  We have all the natural resources and the able bodied men that the world can boast of. We have one of the best airports in Africa. And our streets are void of attacks by armed men. We can do more. Yes we can!

If the saying that "life begins at 40" is true, then that can be said about us. Five decades and on, we are still and remarkably the Gateway to Africa. Our nation is blessed and so are its inhabitants. Let's pick up hoes and cutlasses. Let's dig deeper and deeper. Let's mine our remaining minerals and hide it away from the thieves. For in some years to come, we may need a treasure to hold on to and to pass on to the next generation. Let us go back and rewrite the story of Africa for in so doing we shall possess our birthright as Ghanaians. Let us not yet sell it for a box of pizza when our delicious banku and okro stew lie in wait.

Long live Osagyefo's Ghana. Best regards to the great men and women of old and present who sweat it out for the nation. Your efforts will remain in the records of workmanship and sacrifice. Now back to the issue, tell me about 59 years old Ghana because stories of old are best told by the grey-haired.

switstica@gmail.com