THE BLACKMAN: THE AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE

In Ghana, Bibini blackman, is a popular comment that often pops out of people’s lips during conversations. It usually comes with a negative sting. Whenever Africans meet to share stories of their disappointment and betrayal by their families and friends of African descent, it usually ends with the statement, ‘Blackman’. When we encounter people who are unwilling to embrace any form of positive change, we usually say ‘Bibini Blackman’. And by and by, the word Blackman sounds so negative.

But in the Ghanaian Akan parlance, can ‘Bibini’ be exactly synonymous to ‘Blackman’?

I sometimes wonder what the definition of black has now become because when I examine the complexion of my African brothers and sisters, I do not see the black that we are labeled as. I see people of varied complexion, and not necessarily dark or black as we are all labeled as. A greater proportion of Africans in our various countries can attest to this. And yet, we are still referred to as black. I believe someone somewhere is colour-blind.

I believe the African was racially referred to as black in a bid to lower our self-esteem, and not really for our complexion. It is more for the usual stigma with which people identify the colour black; darkness, evil, shame, destitute, sickness, poverty, grief, hopelessness, to mention but a few.

Although an African and a proud one at that, I would prefer to be called an African than the usual word ‘Black’. Yes, we tell ourselves, that black is good, black is beautiful. Black is natural. Of course, that is only a consolation. In truth, we live in perpetual fear of darkness. Indeed, anything negative, we do, is done under the cover of darkness.

I am proudly an African. I might be referred to as black, although my complexion might not necessarily be so. But what is proud about the colour black itself?

Our world has made it so. When someone wears anything black, we first ask if they have been bereaved; yes, it is a colour of mourning. When we encounter bad days, we label them as black e.g. black Friday, black Tuesday, to mention but a few. When we picture hell, we picture darkness; at least, the good book tells us so. When we talk about shame and anything sad, terrible or evil, we only paint them in black. Most people are afraid of their own shadows; because it is dark and scary! We loathe darkness! Darkness is sinister, mysterious or gloomy; no one wants that.

How then can black be good? How then can black be anything worth being proud of when we continually make such remarks as ‘The black mentality’?

Is then surprising that some Africans these days prefer to bleach? Oh yes, they hate their complexion!

As Africans, whenever we talk about backstabbing friends, relations, betrayal, we only lament saying ‘Blackman’. And so, in our own ways, by our own actions and inactions, we further endorse the idea that anything black is negative. How then do I exclaim that black is beautiful?

Africa is known as the Dark Continent; the mention of her name, sends shivers down the spine of people and their imaginations, ablaze. Is there any positivity in that? Why is she dark? What was the rationale or criteria? Yes, Africa is known as the Dark Continent in the negative sense. We are presumably the poorest, suffer from disease infestations, war-torn, struck by hunger; it is all negative.

Who called the African ‘Black’? Was it more out of spite than complexion?

And somehow, Africans have been born to accept it. And so, we call ourselves black, together with anything negative. And for that, we keep attracting negative energies. We embrace all things negative. For that, the continent suffers from deprivation, underdevelopment, pandemics, poverty, to mention but a few. It has been embedded in our psychology, and for that, the continent suffers. We are told that Africa and for that matter, Africans cannot do well for ourselves, and so, we keep depending on foreign economies. Africa cannot fend for herself. We cannot even decide on our own. We cannot even feed ourselves! Oh you African, wise up!

This article is not to promote any form of hatred or racially motivated attacks. It is only meant to evoke our thoughts.

Anna Esi Hanson (nnhanson2@yahoo.com), Takoradi; esociocomm.blogspot.com

IN THE POT OF LIES: THE AFRICAN MEDIA AND GOVERNMENT

They are still at it o… I thought things would take a positive turn but rather sadly, it is only getting worse. I believe some people failed to make any positive new year’s resolutions. We are still being deceived. 

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article challenging us all to get involved in the things that concern us; ‘The Passive Ghanaian: The need for a focus group’. In this article, I admonished us all to show interest in all that goes on around us notably what our governments claim to be doing for us. I believe that most of us are not doing our homework, whiles our news media, our partners in ensuring accountability in governance, keep failing us. For this reason, the charade continues.

I particularly hate watching our local news, because embedded in its core, are scripts of falsehood. Yes, on the television, we are told that all kinds of projects are being initiated and executed. In our various offices, at our various workplaces, especially in the public sector however, we all know the truth. Nothing is being done! Most government workers receive information on what is happening at their workplaces, on the news! Yes, it is news, because we have never heard of it. It is news because they are fabrications! That is how deceit is built and propagated.

We are told that projects are on-going. We are shown pictures! We watch documentaries and other news feeds and get excited. We are even given brochures and then we tell ourselves; oh, the country is doing great! Only to realize later on that, they are all lies. Our talented video editors and graphic designers are testimonies to the world of deceit in the form of video or photo editing. Rather sadly, our various news media are partakers in this act of betrayal. We see projects being commissioned, and yet, they are not even close to completion. Most of these projects lay abandoned at the various sites. Of course, the pictures are usually subjected to editing or are taken elsewhere.

This is the story of Africa! That is the story of the African! We only believe what we read or see on our screens, but like movies, people are only acting based on powerfully written scripts and camera tricks! Yes, this world itself is a huge stage, and us all, actors. We only play our various roles, take the applause, and then, bow out! The realities however, are on the ground! They are in our towns and villages; in our localities. They stare us in the face all the time, and yet, we do nothing.

We know the minister is telling a blatant lie, by making claims to certain projects. In truth, they have not even been proposed. We are told that certain structures are near completion, but truth, they lie abandoned at the sites. We are told that some logistics have been distributed to our communities, when all is nonexistent.  We are told that jobs have been created, and yet in our localities, we are still unemployed. Where are those jobs? Each year, workers in this country go on strike, and yet each year, there is the usual talk of negotiations, promises of which are never kept. Disbursements of funds are often delayed because someone is profiting from the delay. We know the truth, and yet prefer to remain silent.

Who do we talk to, in trying to reveal such conspiracies? The best tool would be our news media but again, they are the very tool being used to propagate such fallacies. They have become the vehicles of propaganda! In our mundane politics, the opposition would have been the best tool, but of course, in their debates, it is the reign of trivialities. We trivialize everything through our cheap political debates. The one who seeks to uphold the truth falls prey to cheap propaganda. For these reasons, no one takes anything or anyone serious.

In making reportage, our media are most often dictated to, as to what is to be reported. This is common among governments. And so, our reporters keep lying to us. We are being fed with lies. Ghana needs frank or candid journalism, and journalists, who would give clear pictures or true images, and not necessarily what someone would conveniently want to be reported. Failure to do so is a betrayal of the trust of the people of this nation.

As Ghanaians, our taxes fund the national agenda. Rather sadly, these monies are being misused and mismanaged. As citizens, it is our responsibility to probe into such fictitious dealings. We have to keep our governments in check. Until we take charge of this nation and her affairs, our elected leaders would keep squandering our wealth and resources. Let us not sit in the comfort of our homes and listen to the deceit being concocted by our leadership, but rather take a keener interest in the affairs of this nation, by getting ourselves involved. Our politicians keep lying to us because Ghanaians endorse the lies each day; Ghanaians say or do nothing about it!

Anna Esi Hanson (nnhanson2@yahoo.com), esociocomm.blogspot.com

HOW HONOURABLE IS THE HONOURABLE?

It is said in our local adage that ‘The one who climbs the good tree, gets the push’. Encouragement or praise ought to be given to the one who merits it. Rather than a push, some people in this nation deserve to be pulled down. 

 Our leadership keeps failing us and yet, instead of hitting the nail on the head in telling them of their failures, we have rather coined a decent name for these people, as though they merit it. They are being addressed as ‘honourable! I have thought about this issue, and cannot seem to wrap my head around it. Even when they show us gross disrespect, even when their promises are not being fulfilled, even when their behaviour is far from honourable, we still call them honourable!

We keep calling them ‘honourable’, and yet, they are not honourable. How honourable is the honourable? Of course, they respond to it with feigned importance.

Honourable is an adjective of the word ‘honour’, which is to have a quality that commands great respect or esteem, or allegiance to moral principles. To be considered honourable therefore implies that you should be worthy of the calling. What do principled people do? Having a principle requires a code, standard, rule, law, attitude, belief, or an opinion that does not wane whatever the circumstance.

Rather unfortunately, in our part of the world, this word seems to have another meaning, or perhaps, no meaning at all. At least, hawkers use this word to lure people into purchasing their wares. The con-artists also love to use this word in their trade. It therefore has a cunning appeal or sting. It is more or less, a word or tool of seduction. When someone uses that word unwarrantably, it is because the person perhaps needs a favour or we are being conned. At such times, we watch out for what follows, and as always, a request follows.

The African loves to call all politicians honourable, who in truth do not deserve such appellations. The conducts of our ‘honourables’ are inappropriate and undeserving and yet, we keep calling them... I am most certain that at times, some of them actually have a great laugh at the irony behind their appellations, because they are very much aware of the fact that their conducts and misconducts, do not warrant such appellations.

We call them honourable, and yet, when we demand that they carry out their responsibilities, our requests are usually denied! Our demands must be accompanied by a bribe of one form or the other! In our society where bribery and corruption is killing us, our honourables are the usual perpetrators. They are the most corrupt people in our society! And yet, we call them honourable! We call them honourable, even as we watch them loot our nations, dry. We call them honourable, even as we watch them scramble among themselves, the best that this nation has to offer; even when we know that every decision taken by them, is for their own selfish interests. Let us look around us because around us are the results of a society being run by a principle of no principle.

The invasion of this nation by unlawful foreigners in the form of  illegal miners, thrift shops, black market operations, to mention but a few, can all be traced to our ‘honourables’. Viable lands and water bodies in this nation are being destroyed each day, all being endorsed by our ‘honourables.’ For these reasons, the call to rid this nation off these people has not gone far! They are the very brains behind these illegal operations.

In this dear nation of ours, the laws governing this land are non-functional. Simply because our laws are being disregarded! People receive various forms of law exemptions each day! On our roads, we usually encounter them over speeding; they break traffic regulations all the time, and of course, we usually excuse them. They are on national assignment! We have made people so powerful that the very laws by which they must rule, and therefore must be upheld, are being broken. The very people, who have given them the power and authority, are being trampled upon!

For most people, it is more of fear than respect. People live in fear of authority, and so, are forced to call them by such names, and not for the actual meanings. Of course, who would defend us should we fall prey to the monsters we have created in the form of these ‘honourables?’  How honourable is the honourable? 

Not so honourable, I would say!

Anna Esi Hanson (nnhanson2@yahoo.com), esociocomm.blogspot.com (Published 14/5/13)

FOR LACK OF WILL, GHANA SUFFERS!

"Ghana is our country. We have nowhere to go. This is where God has placed us and the earlier we realized this the better for all of us." Ako Adjei

Most Ghanaians live in oblivion! Selective oblivion perhaps! We are oblivious to the fact that Ghana is not moving! Ghana needs to rise above her presumptuous middle age development status! I am doubtful of our economic status, because whenever I look around me, and whenever I consider our economic predicaments and perhaps level of institutionalization and professionalism in this nation, one thing becomes clear, Ghana has a long way to go! We live in self-professed or self-acclaimed glory!

Our leaders tell us; oh, Ghana is doing great! All is well! The economy is growing! We are not doing badly at all! Inflation has been constant or stable, and then, the gullible Ghanaian believes! We take solace in their words!

What is your standard of living? How much can you comfortably spend a day in this country? Most salaried workers count each single day to the end of the month! It is a continuous struggle however the qualification! Should that be the case, considering the wealth of this nation?

I am tired of the frequent strike actions! Simply because our governments are always looking for ways of ripping us off! I am tired of the stories of youth unemployment! Simply because the country is failing to be self-sufficient! I am tired of the frequent shortages in basic amenities and utilities; power cuts, water shortages, fuel and gas shortages! I am tired of hearing stories about child mortality, maternal mortality, and the inadequacies in our health delivery! Again, I am tired of the usual stories of inadequate educational infrastructure, liaised with the unrealistic cut-off points by our institutions, a deliberate attempt to reduce the numbers of entrants into our various institutions! Access to basic goods and services in this beloved nation of ours, is still a nightmare! And yet, we get excited, whenever we are told the elusive stories of our progress! A snail pace! The works of mediocre minds!

It is quite clear that our democratically elected leaders have no will! The will to correct the canker, reeking in our society! The will to enforce the law and kill corruption! Our dictators however, exhibited much more will than they are credited for!

Having a will or willpower means having a spirit, force, motivation, strength of character, determination, resolve or self control! Can we therefore say that this beautiful country of ours, with a population of over 24million people, cannot boast of people with the above qualities? Are we then saying that none of our leaders have such qualities? If so, Ghanaians need to seriously reconsider the qualities by which we elect our leaders!  Because from all indications, most of us lack self control! That is why Ghana is beset by so many problems!

God gave us all a will! It is either you chose to be good, or you chose to be bad! It is either you are law-abiding, or lawless! Can we therefore not say no to corruption? Can we therefore not ensure that we carry out our individual national assignments or jobs as we might prefer to call it? Can Ghana ever boast of a democratically elected leader who is actually willing to fight corruption and preserve the rule of law? All we see are leaders, who are willing to compromise on the truth! We are willing to bend the rules! Why must we always veer off our course; can our leaders for once stay on course in securing the national agenda, if any?

The marks of a developed nation, or its secret, lies in the rule of law! It lies within their institutions! As a nation, Ghana is always quick to embrace new policies and other legal frameworks! Perhaps, only to keep herself abreast with the times; like fashion! When it comes to the implementation however, their lies the shame!

The rationale behind most policies and legal frameworks has been trivialized in this nation! I am sometimes surprised whenever I am told that certain clauses or legislative instruments or laws exist in our constitution! This is because they are not being used! They are all gathering dust in our constitution!

We know of the stories of the struggle for independence; as a nation, and as a people, what have we learnt from these stories? They are stories of great men and women, who fought for our liberation. They had a will to make a difference! Today in Ghana, Ghanaians are trading off their liberties! We are trading off our liberation! It is because we lack the will to do things for ourselves! We sit and watch as foreigners take over our industries because in truth, we are incapable! We have no will!

Ako Adjei once said; ‘Ghana is our country. We have nowhere to go. This is where God has placed us and the earlier we realized this, better for all of us.’ What do those words mean to you?

Anna Esi Hanson (nnhanson2@yahoo.com), Takoradi; esociocomm.blogspot.com

SCHOOL BUSES OR HEARSES?

Has anyone recently taken a critical look at the vehicles posing as school buses by our private institutions notably the primary and junior high schools? If you have not, kindly do so as a matter of urgency! Because by all standards, most of these buses can double as hearses! They are not fit to convey children to school! They can only be described as hearses! In fact, not all even qualify as hearses! Ironically, this country boasts of brand-new vehicles operating as hearses, whiles the actually dead vehicles are being used to transport healthy and hearty people! Only in Ghana!

I have on several mornings encountered these hideous vehicles on my way to work, with innocent victims, children, as passengers! Sometimes, the sitting arrangement of these children in such buses leaves a huge question mark on the issue of supervision. Each time I keep wondering how and why these vehicles are being allowed on our roads, especially in the transportation of children. Each time, I wonder how and why schools and parents would endanger their children!

A critical examination of these vehicles would reveal that most are unfit to roam on our roads. The external works only reveal scraps on the move! The tires, completely worn-out! Internally, everything is hazardous! Seats are usually unfit to be used! To make matters worse, these children are cramped up like packets of canned fish! As though they are charity cases! The schools usually prefer to cramp up children in these buses for a one-trip, rather than make provision for more transportation options. I sometimes wonder if parents actually consider the kinds of vehicles being used as transportations by schools before signing up their children; it is like signing their death certificates!

The Benz bus is the usual culprit for such crimes! Indeed, the Benz bus has been defaced in this country! The dream bus for most of our schools seem to be the thoroughly worn out or overused Benz buses! Ones that children are usually cramped up in! Whenever a Benz bus is mentioned, it usually comes with a sting.

Indeed, I was thrilled when a few weeks ago, the motor and traffic unit of the Ghana police service decided to embark on a campaign of ridding our roads off these hearses! Many people have various encounters, and stories to share when it comes to the scrap metals, posing as transportation on our roads! The cuts, scratches, bruises, stains, cramps, twists and fractures, to mention but a few! When it comes to accidents on our roads, they have higher fatalities! How then, and why then, should our children be conveyed in such vehicles?

Parents owe a greater responsibility of securing the future of their children. Parents should not only be interested in the terminal reports but should take a keener interest in ensuring that the school environment is safe, holistically! This can only be achieved by ensuring that the right standards are always maintained! If there are no standards, set standards! Schools should not be allowed to operate as they like! There is no point in a school securing a bus when the vehicle poses potential threats! There is no point in parents paying all sorts of monies to schools as bus fares, when those vehicles can get their children killed!

Such buses often leave children stranded, and exposed on our highways, at the peril of their lives! Such buses are moving time bombs! Parents must sit up! Our schools must be held accountable! The Parent Teacher Association in our schools must take up the issue as a matter of urgency before it is too late! If owning a school bus means purchasing a potential hearse, it is far better not to own any!

I believe that the MTTU of the Ghana Police Service should start this cleanup exercise from our schools. Our children deserve better! The Ghana Education Service and other relevant agencies have a key role to play as stakeholders in ensuring that the right standards are set and maintained by our schools, especially private. They should not be allowed to operate on their own terms! Although transportation is a key consideration in running a school, the sorry excuse of a bus is no useful alternative either!

How long would it take for this nation and its institutions to establish standards, and live up to it? Development can only be built through a system of well established institutions, backed by functional policies and legal frameworks! Our schools need school buses, and not hearses!

Anna Esi Hanson (nnhanson2@yahoo.com), Takoradi, esociocomm.blogspot.com

GHANAIANS DESERVE EQUAL MEASURE; MONKEY DEY WORK, BABOON DEY CHOP!

Is Ghana a socialist or perhaps a capitalist nation? I need to know because at the moment, the happenings in this nation, has left me confused!

It is the ‘Monkey dey work, Baboon dey chop’ syndrome! It is the uneven distribution of national wealth and resources! It is the reign of unequal opportunities! From all indications, this country belongs to specific people, rather than all! The communal spirit has long been lost!

Ghanaian workers are generally dissatisfied! This is simply because workers, especially in the government institutions, have to fight daily for their entitlement! Several meetings have been held by stakeholders over the years in relation to the demands of workers in the sector, but till date, nothing conclusive has been done! It is the same palaver each year! One strike action after another! It has become a yearly affair particularly among teachers and health workers!

The strikes would persist because from all indications, some people are enjoying, whiles others suffer! The case of monkey dey work, baboon dey chop! Some people work for others to enjoy! Any different from slavery?

Quite recently, it was disappointing when we heard fifty thousand Ghana cedis was to be paid to our parliamentarians as rent allowances! The issue was debated but in the end, our honourables had their way, as usual! Unity in corruption! Only a few months afterwards, we have been told that millions of Ghana cedis are being handed over to our honourables again, as ex-gracia! One thing becomes clear, the national coffers is being spent on these particular group of people! Yes, Ghana seems only interested in squandering her scare resources on the honourables! Better still, our politicians only seem interested in squandering our money! What of the average Ghanaian? What of the ordinary tax-payer? Do we have a share? When will we also enjoy our fair share?

Rather interestingly, and quite unfortunately, the amounts usually owed our striking workers, are relatively negligible! Our honourables, on the other hand, receive their so-called entitlements in a timely fashion!

Is Ghana indeed for all Ghanaians? I am yet to realize the truth in this assertion! From my desk however, it is clear that not all are enjoying the same measure! Some are getting more, and others, none! Is that the fruit of democracy? Is that the fruit of independence? Is that the fruit of freedom and justice? Ghanaians deserve the same measure!

I always thought of Ghana as a socialist nation, one in which there was even allocation of resources, and opportunities! Rather sadly, it is a fallacy! This is a country where scholarships, meant for the brilliant but needy, are handed over to the rich, but dull! Accessibility to useful information is usually a hurdle for the masses but made readily available to the elite! This is a country where monies meant for the execution of contracts, are usually shared and squandered! This is a country where the leadership only seems interested in themselves, rather than meeting the needs of its citizenry! This is a country where the people who award contracts, are the very ones who execute them! The reign of monopoly! Are those the marks of a socialist nation?

Nations have failed and keep failing because their growth and development has always been virtual; unrealistic! Ghana keeps accessing the economy’s performance based on inflation! Well, for the ordinary man, inflation is meaningless! It must reflect in the pocket! People have to cater for themselves and their families! If an economy seems to favour the elite, how then does it attain sustainable growth when the vast majority is average or perhaps impoverished? This country keeps electing selfish leaders into power! Leaders, who are only interested in themselves, rather than their subordinates!

Local workers in this nation, and therefore Ghanaians, are generally dissatisfied! The dissatisfaction stems from the unsatisfactory conditions of work! Workers in Ghana are not asking for the impossible! The request is that they receive what is due them!

It is an undeniable fact that this nation spends huge sums of monies on leadership, rather than the ordinary citizen; the ones who actually contribute to the economy! Whiles the average man struggles each day to make a living, our governments only seem interested in fueling their lavished lifestyles! The masses are homeless, jobless, and hungry! How then must we sit down and watch as governments continually spend huge sums of the nation’s wealth on politicians?

Is that a fare measure of the national cup? Indeed, we all deserve the same measure! For now, it is only monkey dey work, Baboon, dey chop!

Anna Esi Hanson (nnhanson2@yahoo.com), Takoradi.

GHANAIANS ARE SABOTAGING GHANA!

The National Health Insurance Scheme is failing!! The rationale behind the scheme has been trivialized! It is an open secret that the scheme has been abused! Drugs meant for patients, are being hoarded! This is a trend in most public hospitals in this country! Yes, such are the crimes being committed at our hospital pharmacies! Patients are usually referred to other pharmacies to purchase their own drugs since the prescriptions, we are told, are unavailable!

Unknown to us, the records later indicate that those drugs have been administered to us for the National Health Insurance Scheme to be charged, whiles the wicked perpetrators later sell those drugs to the cash and carry patients or drug distributors! And the cycle begins! People are dying, as a result of this practice because we are always told that drugs are unavailable, especially when costly!

This is not a cooked up story! It is the story of a recent encounter! What is the government doing about such operations? What measures have been put in place to check the activities of our health workers? Do we have auditors in this country? An investigation ought to be conducted, as a matter of urgency! This is happening across the nation!

The sabotage is not only in our hospitals, it is also happening at our work places! What is happening at the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation? I smell a conspiracy! I smell sabotage! Each day, Ghanaians are told stories! The government usually tells us of the receipt of huge volumes of fuel and gas. These items however, do not seem to find their way to our markets! It is evident in our frequent shortages! A large volume of these items seem to get lost in transit! It does not add up! What is the real story? We need to hear it!

I suspect foul play! I believe that the commodities are being hoarded for a much higher price in the lean season! The actual volumes that we are told about, never reach the Ghanaian market! People are bunkering these commodities! We have been told of how our fuel is being smuggled across our borders! How are they smuggled? Who does the smuggling? We need to hear the true story! The losses in our distribution system need to be thoroughly investigated! This is an issue that must not be dealt with lightly! Where are the auditors?

Ghanaians are sabotaging Ghana! Yes, quite recently, our media covered stories of how generators which had been imported into this country to boost power had been sitting idle! Those machines were idle despite the power crisis! Instead of distributing the generators to the various regions to boost power supply, someone seemed to have a different plan; the generators could be sold to boost his or her pocket! I am even told that in some places, the actual number that had been requested for never found their way to their destinations, although the record showed that! Yes, a whole generator seems to have been lost in transit!

It is the same in several governmental institutions! Several vehicles and machines lie abandoned! All they require is a simple repair! But somehow, someone sees it wise to allow them to spoil; to go waste! By going waste, they can be sold as scraps! Accordingly, this country has lost huge revenue and resources, and still does! Vehicles and machines, that are repairable are written off as irreparable, and then sold off as scraps! Such people ought to be brought to book! Where are our auditors?

Fuel to be used to run our plants, vehicles, and equipment are sold off each day in Ghana! Drugs to be given out to patients are hoarded and sold off each day in our hospitals! Machines in good shape are written off and sold as scrap! Office equipment in our governmental and at times, private institutions, is sold off! Educational materials to be supplied to our schools are hoarded and sold off! Equipment for our hospitals and other institutions are sold off! Items to be given out to charity are sold! Items to be distributed to the public are usually taken home! And of course, the usual ghost names! These ghosts exist in all institutions, both public and private! I am very positive that soon, we would all be sold off!

Have we no shame? Have we lost all shame and dignity? Has the Ghanaian lost all sense of humanity?

Ghana needs serious investigations into the affairs of local workers, especially in the public institutions! The activities of workers in the sector, leaves much more to be desired! We need no longer close our eyes to these issues because in the end, we all suffer! This country needs to conduct a serious audit into all sectors and institutions because the activities in these places, is a huge disgrace to this nation! Are the auditors in this country functional?

Anna Esi Hanson (nnhanson2@yahoo.com), Takoradi.