Unlike their Western counterparts, Africans take elections very seriously — rising up early to queue patiently in line for hours under the hot sun and cast their ballots. Any misguided attempt to nullify or steal their votes will evoke (more…)
The challenge to democracy in Africa is not the prevalence of ethnic diversity, but the use of identity politics to (more…)
We are in the midst of furious campaigning ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections on 7 December. Every available space is covered with billboards, posters and flags.
As there are eight presidential candidates, the number of posters that can be squeezed around one light pole on a street is best left to the imagination. The decibel level around the country generally has gone up and we cannot hear each other talk or, if truth be told, we do not want to hear each other because, to quote a friend, our minds are made up and we do not want to be confused with facts. Political campaigning in Ghana has its own rules and quirks. (more…)
The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) will sweep approximately 52 per cent of the total votes in the December 7 presidential polls, while its rival, the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) will get 46.9 per cent of the votes, a local research group, Marketing Social Research International (MSRI), has said.
The findings show that the other smaller parties would barely make one per cent of the collective votes.
The research was conducted between September and October 2012 across all the 230 constituencies in Ghana. (more…)
He is the most badly burned survivor of the King’s Cross fire after his face melted away and his fingers fused together when he was hit by a 600C fireball.
But survivor Kwasi Afari Minta, a Ghanaian – whose face became the enduring image of the disaster – has said: ‘I feel lucky’.
The fire on November 18, 1987, killed 31 people and injured more than 60 others. The King’s Cross fire victim had to wear a medical mask to help skin grafts and treatment of his melted face after he was severely burnt
Bravery behind the mask: Kwasi Afari Minta, who was the most badly burned of the King’s Cross survivors, says he feels lucky
Hundreds were trapped underground as black smoke poured through the tunnels as panicking crowds, screaming in terror, hammered on trains which rushed past platforms without stopping.
Those that managed to survive from the furnace-like heat and smoke have since spoken of their horror 100ft below ground.
Kwasi was one of the survivors, but he has felt the pain ever since. (more…)
Three presidential candidates have resumed rigorous campaigning in the regions, as they approach the homestretch of the December polls, after suspending their political campaign to commiserate with victims of the Achimota Melcom supermarket disaster. President John Mahama of the National Democratic Congress ((NDC),Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party(NPP)and Dr.Michael Abu Sakara of the Covention People’s Party (CPP) all abandoned their campaign tours in various parts of the country and rushed to Accra to witness rescue operations at the Melcom supermarket disaster spot and console families of victims. (more…)
The world’s wealthy countries often criticise African nations for corruption – especially that perpetrated by those among the continent’s government and business leaders who abuse their positions by looting tens of billions of dollars in national assets or the profits from state-owned enterprises that could otherwise be used to relieve the plight of some of the world’s poorest peoples. (more…)
“What we need in Africa is balanced development. Economic success cannot be a replacement for human rights or participation, or democracy … it (more…)
A significant increase in salaries for Ghana’s president, ministers and other top officials has been criticised by anti-corruption campaigners.
Parliament agreed to the pay rise earlier this week in a session that was not televised.
Last month President John Dramani Mahama authorised an increase in MPs’ pay.
The BBC’s Sammy Darko in Ghana says both rises will be backdated to 2009 – which has caused a public outcry.
Our reporter says news of the pay increase, agreed by MPs for the (more…)
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