GHANA COMMENTARIES, by Anna Esi Hanson

Mr President, for the past couple of weeks, my taps have seen no running water.  For a mother, that can be described as a nightmare. Water is supposed to be the cheapest, and most easily or readily accessible commodity; so they claim. In our part of the world, this is an illusion. Availability of water, and its accessibility, is only through floods.  Inconsistency in supply of water is a major concern.  This is a problem confronting several people in this country, and currently, on a frequency, in Sekondi-Takoradi.  My tap flows twice a month, one, of which has assuredly, been programmed to be a day before the water bill is sent. Like the few optimist, the recent improvement in power supply could be described as a glimpse of hope. Sadly however, we can attest to the fact that this hope has vanquished; a phenomenon associated with development in this country! A virtual development! That nothing is permanent. These are but the genesis of my lamentations, Mr. President, and have led

Like most years, and for most of us, the years past have all been virtually the same, except for the fact that we grow in age and draw closer to the end. We grow grey hairs, but do not reflect it; wisdom fails us. Our attitudes and behaviors remain the same. In actual fact, it gets worse! The thieves devise new strategies-petty thieves turn to armed-robbers, the poor gets poorer, diseases thrive, unsavory sanitary conditions worsen, lawlessness increase, the lazy gets lazier, children get rudder, corruption increasingly becomes a virtue! Yes, for most of us, our new year's resolution lasts only a week; the first week of the year. Positive change seems almost impossible! And so with each passing year, things only worsen around us. Lands are fast being eaten up by filth, our water bodies are becoming more polluted, our drains are continually being choked, the potholes on our roads are turning into manholes, buildings are becoming death traps, unemployment rates spinning out of contro