Sidney Abugri Writes: Talk about puzzles

George Sidney Abugri

Every election year road infrastructure appears to suddenly become a silent bargaining chip in a secret conversation between voting constituencies and campaigning politicians. This season around, I fancy a rant about roads too!

There is more to road construction than the provision of wide earth surfaces between destinations for motorists to drive vehicles on.

Abu Sakara Writes: Ghana's "Choluteca" Democracy

A fine bridge that once served to cross the Choluteca river now stands beside it, because a water-filled hurricane diverted the river from under the bridge in Honduras, Central America.

Sakara Speaks.... is anyone listening?

The tumultuous quest for power and the privilege of sharing its spoils has occluded the purpose and capacity of our democracy to serve the many, so instead, it serves the few at the expense of the many. The rich get richer whilst the poor get poorer.

Building The Foundation; Ghana's Development Challenge

Ghana returned to democratic practice in 1992 having undergone several years of military rule. Several governments have come and gone with promises of radical economic transformation and improved standards of living, but the country has witnessed a minimal transformation in all these eighteen years of uninterrupted democratic governance.

'Galamsey': Trading life for a quid

Water is life because the human body consists of about 70% water. It must, however, be known that not any water is life. It is only clean and safe water that can give life. Polluted water does the opposite. Polluted water is not just water that looks physically dirty. It is also water that may contain strong chemicals such as arsenic, mercury, lead, DDT, cyanide and other chemicals substances that cannot be seen with the naked eye.

Ghana's 'crazy' democracy

Democracy seems to be Ghana's problem. Politicians are more concerned with winning elections than doing the right thing. This is why indiscipline is gradually taking over our society. People do all manner of things and go scot-free in the name of democracy. Corrupt officials get away with their booty because there is a ghost called "due process". Political party fanatics can intimidate people at will and are sure to go unpunished because their party is in power. These overzealous ones often forget that they can't win power alone. They forget that other people played a part in bringing their party to power.

Vigilante Groups: Breeding lawlessness for the future

Ghana has been hailed as a beacon of democracy in Africa. Having conducted several elections 'peacefully' and transitioned smoothly between governments, Ghana has really set a pace for the rest of West Africa in democracy. However, this pace may soon close and even be overtaken by other countries if the issue of vigilante groups is not addressed timely.

Vigilante groups in Ghana are creations of political parties. Political parties in opposition often

Appointments Committee or Assurances Committee?

Parliament's committee which scrutinizes political appointees before they can be sworn into an office seems to be losing focus. This committee is tasked to assess nominees for competencies based on the offices they are being designated and to approve or reject same if they do not meet the laid down criteria. But, over the years, it appears the relevance of the committee is waning. This must be a big worry to all concerned Ghanaians.

I believe some of you will agree with me that this noble committee is

Otiko Djaba's defiance and the politics of insults

Many Ghanaians who thought Ms Otiko Afisa Djaba, Minister - designate for the Gender, Children, and Social Protection ministry, would apologize to former president John Mahama and put matters to rest were left dumbfounded when she appeared defiant. I personally think those statements were "campaign talks" and should have been laid to rest when she was confronted by members of the opposition at her vetting by the Appointments Committee of Parliament. I have a firm belief that Ms Otiko wouldn't, on a normal day, describe the president as "wicked and evil" and refuse to apologize.

However, Ms Otiko had her own thoughts.

Desperate politicians!

Elections constitute a very integral aspect of democracy and are organized periodically to enable citizens of a country or organization to choose a leader who they think resonates with their aspirations as a people. The citizens are allowed to exercise their franchise freely without intimidation from any quarters. The question is, do some countries actually understand democracy at all?

Ghana is a democratic country with almost two decades of experience. Ghana's democracy is

Party manifestos in Ghanaian politics

The two major political parties in Ghana (NPP and NDC) are currently moving through every nook and cranny of this country, campaigning without manifestos. Each one thinks the other will plagiarize their ideas. Because of this perception, they're all holding their ideas to themselves while they go about begging and buying votes. Some civil society organizations have criticized political parties for deciding to play a hide and seek game with each other.

But do people make their choices based on manifestos? In Ghana, the illiteracy rate is high,

Types of clients who patronize healthcare facilities in Ghana

Nursing in most parts of Africa can be compared to one hell of work. Nurses are faced with everyday difficulties that make it impossible to offer the best form of care to clients; from the shortage or lack of logistics, motivation, appreciation from clients and bosses, to the huge workload on nurses.

While the celebration of the nurse's week comes to an end,

Living The Lie: Politics of deception

It is a politics of patronage. In a democracy where all manner of people claim they are qualified to lead, the masses become guinea pigs of governance. These are some of the things I have realized about politics in Ghana, a highly indebted middle-income country.

Ineptitude
Somebody once said politicians (and inept ones for that matter) are the problem of our nation.

The gloom of the Black Stars

I am not a big fan of football. I used to tell my friends that it was because of our national team, the Black Stars, that I watch football. I had no team apart from the Black Stars of Ghana. But recently, with the manner in which resources are wasted on the team, I have decided to withdraw my support for the team for the time being while I watch things unfold. I don't think it is wise to continue supporting the Black Stars of Ghana at this time.

Homosexuality in Ghana?

It is no longer the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, that we are discussing. It is now one of our own! It is Mrs. Nana Oye Lithur that is being discussed. And now that it is one of our own, we've begun seeing the double-standard behavior that is being exhibited by people who initially condemned Mr. Cameron to the wire for threatening to reduce aid to countries with less or no support for gay and lesbian rights.

Are we serious as a nation? Why were these double-standard

Bedwetting: A childhood dilemma

I am sure almost everyone would be familiar with the story of the girl [11years] who was forced to sit on hot water by her grandparents because she wets her bed when sleeping. The enormity of the burns is gore and bizarre. One would wonder what results they expected to achieve with such a cruel approach to a psychological problem as this.

Looking at the bigger picture, we know that a lot of parents are indeed frustrated by the problem of bed-wetting in older children who are expected to have good bladder control.

"Okada" in Ghana

There is a lot of debate ongoing as to whether "Okada", a Nigerian term referring to the commercial use of motorcycles, should be allowed in the country or not.

Motorcycles are very important in our daily lives, especially places good roads are only a dream. They come in handy when roads become impassable to cars and huge market trucks.