John Awuah

13/08/2024

At this rate I want a soothsayer to tell me what kind of Ghana we will have by 2050? E.g. Will there be rivers? Can you give it a try?

10/08/2024

What at all is the big deal about the ‘Big 6’ and who is Founder or Founders of Ghana?

I have struggled to restrain myself from participating in this unnecessary argument that has gained so much currency and taken over our public discourse in the past 2 weeks. There must be something fundamentally wrong with us as a people. Of all the difficulties and thought provoking developmental matters to discuss and seek solution together, the airwaves have been flooded with noises about who found Ghana.

Are we sure if Kwame Nkrumah and for that matter any of the so called big 6, were alive today, they will be proud to be associated with having found this Ghana? Are we sure this is the Ghana the so called independence fighter or fighters envisioned; with some spending time in jail while others lost their lives? While history is important, this debate does not put bread on the table. It only achieves one objective - further division and politicisation of our people.

We are so divided as a country that, we have not even been able to have a common name acceptable to all for the Seat of Government. Depending on which political party is in power, it is either called Jubilee House or Flag Staff House! If we can’t find a common name for the seat of government which was built less than 30 years ago, why are we wasting time debating who found Ghana almost 70 years ago? It is just crazy!

Even our educational system has not been spared, depending on which party is in power, secondary schools are either referred to as Senior High School (SHS) or Senior Secondary School (SSS). We seem not to agree on anything in this country.

Please spare us these unnecessary arguments and let’s debate life changing matters that will create jobs, improve livelihood and make our Nation Great and Strong.

29/07/2024

Good evening IGP Dr George Akuffo Dampare. You have achieved a lot in your tenure as IGP and the evidence is there for everyone to see. One particular issue that has seen little to no progress at all is the level of Police Extortion on our roads.

I just returned from a trip to Kumasi. On my way back, a group of Police men and women in full police regalia and armed to the teeth with bullet proof vests, ballistic helmets and wielding heavy weapons stopped me. As is usual with me, I reached for my wallet and took out my drivers licence thinking it will be the first thing they will ask. Rather unsurprisingly, the Police woman went direct and asked for money for lunch; I respectfully ignored her but she continued to demand that I give her something for the ‘boys and girls’. I kept calm and said there is nothing on me so unfortunately I couldn’t help. I had a virtual business call at 4pm to participate so I was mindful of the delays they were causing. When I asked whether that is the reason for their presence at the location, she said ‘’massa wobɛkɔ a kɔ”.

We sometimes experience traffic situations at night in our communities because police mount road blocks (which in itself is great) but they don’t check for anything yet they will stop every vehicle and make demands for mosquito coils, water, dinner etc etc etc. These tend to cause unnecessary heavy traffic in communities after 10pm.

Sir, I know you’re a listening Public Officer so kindly institute a mechanism to address this issue urgently. It’s not good for the reputation of the Police Service as an important security organisation in the country called Ghan.

23/07/2024

Join us at Rock City Hotel 24-26 July for the National Project Management Conference where I will be delivering the keynote address

22/07/2024

Uber, Yango, Bolt etc drivers refusing Bank Card settlement for rides in Ghana is unacceptable.

Ride hailing in Ghana rejecting use of Bank Cards should not be acceptable. Uber, Yango and the others have many of their drivers choosing to refuse to take the ride if you insist on paying with your bank card (Debit or Credit cards) as they insist on cash payment only.

As we transition to digital financial services and broadening e-commerce ecosystem, this practice by the drivers should be frowned upon by their Principals (Uber, Yango, Bolt etc). The worst case is that when they cancel that ride shortly after realising that it is not a cash payment after the journey may have started for a short distance, you get charged and the process for seeking refund from Uber becomes another complex procedure.

Uber must know that AI cannot answer every question or complaint a rider may have so after the automated responses there should be avenue to interact with human beings so matters can be better explained and actioned.

We cannot have a whole national strategy on digitalisation as a country and allow operators in our environment to choose not to embed the concept in their operations.

Such drivers must be reprimanded and refunds should be fast and without any complexities. In most cases, by taking cash, the money never get to the owner of the car and the driver gets to keep it. How will this corrupt practice by the drivers enable people who invest in ride hailing to scale their operations and make decent returns on their investments?

I wish every rider will insist on only card payment to drive the right behaviour by these corrupt Uber, Yango, Bolt drivers.

19/07/2024

So why can’t GRA fix the exchange rate at one rate for each month at the ports of Customs Clearance to stem the tide of inflation driven by imported products?

The last I checked our currency remains the Ghana Cedi and customs duties are paid in Ghana Cedis. Not sure why this is difficult to achieve (agree port valuation rate for each moth and keep it for that month). If we need new legislation or support from Bank of Ghana to do this, let’s do it!

17/07/2024

Abrempong calling. Let’s all aim to be part of the this homecoming.

09/07/2024

Road Construction in Ghana

I have never understood why we have the Ministry of Roads and Highways, Urban Roads, Ghana Highway Authority etc yet GNPC and COCOBOD award road contracts for construction. What expertise do they have to manage road construction? Is it not duplication of responsibilities and a drain on our meagre national resources for GNPC and COCOBOD to be hiring Civil engineers for road construction?

These two State institutions should focus on their core mandates of providing adequate and reliable supply of petroleum products and ensuring Sustainable production of cocoa and the regulation of the internal marketing of cocoa respectively.

The Department of Feeder Roads can adequately handle Cocoa Roads. If GNPC has more money they want to use to construct roads, they should hand the funds over to the Roads Ministry and concentrate on their core mandate of getting the country affordable petroleum products.

08/07/2024

Banks not discontinuing foreign currency accounts – GAB assures | More here: https://tinyurl.com/2srmk2me

The Ghana Association of Banks (GAB) has dismissed claims that commercial banks in the country have begun processes to close the personal foreign currency

02/07/2024

Last Sunday, June 30, 2024, my wife and I accompanied a long time friend of mine to a funeral thanksgiving service at a Church in Klagon near Lashibi. It is a local Assembly of one of the mega churches in the country (name withheld for obvious reasons - they’re not the focus of this piece).

The sermon was led by a visiting Pastor as that Sunday was the birthday of the resident Pastor. The Pastor delivered a beautiful sermon with the thematic rendition being that God can lift you from the dungeon to the mountain top if you allow yourself. Strong biblical analogies were drawn to drum home the theme for the sermon.

After the preaching the Pastor made an alter call to those who’ve had dreams and in their dream they’re in another dream. About a quarter of the congregation responded to the call. He called for Annointing Oil and prayed for everyone who responded to the altercall. Of course it added about an hour to the overall allotted service time but that’s not the focus of this piece either. Leave that for another day.

Things turned southwards when after preaching he called the congregants to write down their specific prayer requests/needs on an envelope and sow a good ‘seed’ in the envelope and drop in a bowl that was going round the aisles. After the ‘paid for’ prayer requests, he delivered a strong prayer over the bowl containing the requests. Not much wrong here as well.

Since it was the birthday of the Resident Pastor, he decided that the church must honour the Pastor (which I fully support) but his approach is what I almost detested. He picked up envelopes from an Usher and asked that the congregants must pick an envelope and offer $1,000 for the Pastor as birthday gifts. Before this, he asked if the church was still streaming the service live on social media and the response was in the affirmative; then he said, He can’t say much of the things he wanted to say if the streaming is still going on. Within minutes, he was informed that the live streaming had been stopped. His testimony after cutting off the live streaming was that when he was growing in Christ, he never gave less than $2,000 to his Head Pastor on his birthdays and that there were times he gave his 3 months salary as gift to the Pastor and if he could not pay all, he would arrange and settle in instalments. At this point I had heard enough so I left the Church premises but my information is that there was good response to the call. My problem is this:

1. Why should there be specific mention of amount to be called to give as birthday gift to the Pastor?

2. Why US$? And why $1,000 to start with?

3. Does the church have exemption from Bank of Ghana to request offerings in dollars?

4. Should giving on birthdays, including honouring our Pastors not be from free will on how much one can give without looking over their shoulders? Once a certain amount is mentioned, the presumption is ‘that man/lady should respond to this’. Have we forgotten the widow Jesus referenced in the bible about giving in Mark 12:41-44?

5. What happened to Matthew 6:3 - ‘when the right is giving the left should not see?’

7. If people are not prepared for this kind of extortion and they’re made to offer or pledge, would this not result in undue financial drain which could lead to corrupt practices? First there was seed for prayer request, then offering then Pastor’s appreciation in dollars - all in one service? Why would you do that in these difficult economic circumstances to your church members?

8. Why did the Pastor not want what he was saying to be streamed live just like the service? Because online audience could have contributed as well to the pastor. If you’re afraid of the potential social media trending, why load it on your unsuspecting church members?

From my own observation, the church itself is not a well endowed one. The structure is not in great shape but here they were, offering Dollars to the Pastor and paying for prayer request.

I fully support Honouring our Pastors, some of whom are either not paid or poorly paid and I have done that many times out of free will. In my childhood, I vividly remember what my aunt used to do - regular supply of plantain, kontomire, fruits to the Parish. I loved carrying them there!

Church, if you can’t afford the demands from the Pastor, don’t look at the faces around you and respond unwillingly - there is no blessing in this kind of giving.

Pastors, please be kind to the purse and wallets of your church members. They revere you so some will respond to whatever you say but they will redeem the pledge with corrupt money.

Let us all freely give to support the work of God ALWAYS!

21/06/2024

University Endowment Funds in Ghana

The University of Ghana is 76 years old; KNUST is about 72 years old; and UCC is over 60 years old. UCC launched its Endowment Fund in 2004; UG in 2018 and KNUST in 2021 (or there about). How much have these universities accumulated in their respective endowment funds?

The question is this: How many of the teeming numbers of members of alumni of these three main public universities have contributed to their respective endowment funds? And here, I will be quick to add that I’m also a culprit. I pledge to change my ways going forward.

Universities the world over use Endowment Funds to provide scholarships for needy but brilliant students, modern educational infrastructure and for retooling basic amenities and services.

If all who passed through these universities and are gainfully employed or running businesses and organisations make it a culture of donating regularly to their respective Uni’s Funds, the institutions will be better for it. The so called Ivy League Schools and other institutions of higher learning in the western world that everyone dream of sending their children to on full or partial scholarship are able to open their arms of welcome because of the contribution of the old students of these schools.

Just as example, below are some the Universities and the size of their endowment funds:

Harvard - $53 billion
Yale - $42 billion
Uni of Texas System Office - $40billion
Stanford - $38 billion
Princeton - $37 billion
MIT - $24 billion
Etc etc etc

These funds have been built up over the years by former graduates (Alumni) from these universities and other benevolent organisations.

It must be said that in Ghana, some University Alumni (organised as year groups) have done a lot for their schools but this call is a greater call for all to get involved and make it a regular habit of supporting the Schools and Universities that have made us who we are today.

Old student year groups should prioritise giving back to their schools on regular basis and not over prioritise funerals and merrymaking.

Have a great weekend

16/06/2024

So my 88 year old mother called me this morning around 9am to wish me Happy Father’s Day. I love talking to my mum, anytime; especially, on a special day like today.

Her telephone call on Father’s Day however brought into sharp focus a few things that fascinate me.
1. My mum is 88 years old
2. My mum never stepped foot in a school classroom
3. As a country, we have been able to make so much noise about Mother’s Day and Father’s Day to the extent that in spite of her illiteracy and advanced age, it is a matter of relevance to her. I’m told that she called all her sons

My deduction from the above 3 points is that, as a country, we are focused on drumming home and prioritising foreign cultures and not much on the weightier matters that can transform the fortunes of this country.

Can you imagine if the intensity and number of radio, TV and social media frequencies that were dedicated to popularising Father’s Day over the last one week had all been used to popularise the urgent need to fight Galamsey, Corruption or any of the pressing social cankers confronting us as a country.

It’s good to have fun and to recognise our mothers and fathers but it is even more good to dedicate time and energy on national crusade against the ills in our society. We need energy, drive and to name and shame corruption and galamsey (which is also an offshoot of corruption) much more than we have done as a people. We see, participate, and are affected by corrupt practices everywhere everyday. What are we doing about it?

Happy Father’s Day to all the lovely fathers out there.