This news just in: Akwatia is pretty much dead. Not that anyone would have noticed anyway. Ghana’s once-vibrant epicenter of diamond production is now a shell of its former self. I thought that the Belgium Market, once a bustling centre for diamond sales and exchange, where people in well-dressed clothes from the streets of Accra and abroad met rag-tag bunches of miners, was in a deteriorated state last year. But this year, it is even worse.
Akwatia is a classic example of what happens when donors simply do not care. An injection of donor funds could do a lot for the town. It could reenergize quite quickly if provided with just a small amount of support. Give me US$300,000 and I will set up an equipment-sharing scheme, which will provide the miners with the pumps and excavation technologies needed to access the diamonds located at lower depths which they are currently unable to extract with their shovels and buckets.
But the IFC is not interested because, well, de Beers and BHP Billiton are not interested, so there is no quick money to be made. The UK government is too fixated on fortifying Koidu Holdings in Sierra Leone, whilst the Canadians are enjoying watching their mining companies pillage developing countries of their gold. The Danes, meanwhile, believe that the key to development is the borehole, so 95 percent of their development work in sub-Saharan Africa seems to lead to the construction of a borehole (I am convinced if asked to build a road in Ghana, that DANIDA would somehow find a way to build at least three boreholes instead). The Chinese? It is not controversial enough (i.e. it is not a dam), so there is no chance of assistance from them.
Is not development for Africa about providing for Africans? Well, as the case of Akwatia shows, when there is nothing in it for the donor, it will not attract funding.
Tuesday 9 June 2009
Saturday 6 June 2009
Why The Big Bully Could Not Keep Quiet…
It was only a matter of time before Jerry John Rawlings said something.
This week, the volatile ex-president of Ghana, who craves the spotlight and whose soul has failed to languish in the wake of numerous political changes, called upon the newly-elected NDC government to prosecute former ministers of the previous NPP regime. Screaming and foaming at the mouth whilst speaking to fanatical supporters at a rally in Kasoa in the Central Region of the country, ‘J.J.’ labeled all former NPP ministers ‘criminals’, and called upon President Atta Mills to act quickly. ‘Some of the crimes are obvious and yet, the government is saying, “we are investigating”,’ the founder of the NDC party cried. ‘NPP was almost collapsing the moral fibre of the country with corruption until Ghanaians threw them out.’
Whilst NPP and NDC propaganda always has good entertainment value, the matter to which Rawlings alludes is a serious issue indeed. Why? Because all eyes are now on Professor Mills, who did such a good job of divorcing himself from Rawlings during pre-election campaigns and shedding his image as a ‘Rawlings puppet’ – in the process, alienating some die-hard J.J. supporters and nearly costing himself the election. But it appears that he has finally caved into the demands of the former president. As if following instructions, Professor Mills scrambled this past week to appoint a three-member commission to investigate issues related to the Ghana@50 celebrations, which were under the control of the former Chief of Staff, Kwadwo Oyyere Mpiani.
Here is the problem, however. There is little doubt that NPP ministers embezzled funds during their grueling tenure; and, it is likely that the corruption could be traced back to the president’s office itself. A recent article published in the April 2009 issue of the New African condemns critics of the NPP regime, pointing out that under President Kufuor’s eight-year watch, Ghana’s GDP quadrupled and how when he left office, there was a national reserve of US$2 billion, compared to the US$230 million left by the previous NDC government. It of course fails to mention how much of this revenue came at the expense of large-scale privatization (principally in the mining and utilities sectors); that GDP is not a very good indicator of quality-of-life, and how, despite the increase in national GDP, the gap between the country’s rich and poor actually increased during the NPP’s rule; and how President Kufuor spent more time abroad delivering speeches from luxury hotels in the likes of America, Holland and the UK than in Ghana dealing with domestic issues. Also noteworthy, under his watch, Kufuor approved the spending of close to $20 million on Ghana@50 festivities, and even approved the construction of the Accra Mall, which contains expresso bars, a Shoprite and a Nike store – I repeat, a Nike store – on the other side of the Achimota Roundabout, directly across from his house and his son’s hotel. The article also praises the ex-president for ‘passing the torch’ to Atta Mills of the rival NDC party upon announcement of vote results, seemingly overlooking that these things are supposed to happen in a democracy.
But for Jerry Rawlings and his wife to talk, publicly, about how the NPP government was corrupt is more than a bit of the pot calling the kettle black. Here is a man who has five mansions and countless cars, which he surely did not purchase on his airforce salary alone. He also financed several questionable development projects during his even more grueling 18-year rule, and, like Kufuor, shelled out millions on a celebration of his own: Ghana@40. In order to give some credibility to the accusations being made of the NPP, therefore, someone other than Jerry Rawlings needs to voice them.
The irony of the unnecessary, protracted verbal war between the NPP and NDC, which too often results in violence in the country, is that both parties are more similar than they are willing to admit: both have done a great job of selling the Ghanaian economy to Westerners, albeit under different circumstances; neither has managed to establish policies with donors capable of facilitating positive growth in Ghana for Ghanaians, the former forging highly-inequitable agreements and the latter, alienating support bodies altogether; and both have to date, identified the poor as the centerpiece of their agendas, yet have done next to nothing to alleviate their hardships.
One thing that is for sure, however, amid the J.J. rants and NPP chopping: that Nkrumah is turning in his grave, wondering ‘what happened?’…
This week, the volatile ex-president of Ghana, who craves the spotlight and whose soul has failed to languish in the wake of numerous political changes, called upon the newly-elected NDC government to prosecute former ministers of the previous NPP regime. Screaming and foaming at the mouth whilst speaking to fanatical supporters at a rally in Kasoa in the Central Region of the country, ‘J.J.’ labeled all former NPP ministers ‘criminals’, and called upon President Atta Mills to act quickly. ‘Some of the crimes are obvious and yet, the government is saying, “we are investigating”,’ the founder of the NDC party cried. ‘NPP was almost collapsing the moral fibre of the country with corruption until Ghanaians threw them out.’
Whilst NPP and NDC propaganda always has good entertainment value, the matter to which Rawlings alludes is a serious issue indeed. Why? Because all eyes are now on Professor Mills, who did such a good job of divorcing himself from Rawlings during pre-election campaigns and shedding his image as a ‘Rawlings puppet’ – in the process, alienating some die-hard J.J. supporters and nearly costing himself the election. But it appears that he has finally caved into the demands of the former president. As if following instructions, Professor Mills scrambled this past week to appoint a three-member commission to investigate issues related to the Ghana@50 celebrations, which were under the control of the former Chief of Staff, Kwadwo Oyyere Mpiani.
Here is the problem, however. There is little doubt that NPP ministers embezzled funds during their grueling tenure; and, it is likely that the corruption could be traced back to the president’s office itself. A recent article published in the April 2009 issue of the New African condemns critics of the NPP regime, pointing out that under President Kufuor’s eight-year watch, Ghana’s GDP quadrupled and how when he left office, there was a national reserve of US$2 billion, compared to the US$230 million left by the previous NDC government. It of course fails to mention how much of this revenue came at the expense of large-scale privatization (principally in the mining and utilities sectors); that GDP is not a very good indicator of quality-of-life, and how, despite the increase in national GDP, the gap between the country’s rich and poor actually increased during the NPP’s rule; and how President Kufuor spent more time abroad delivering speeches from luxury hotels in the likes of America, Holland and the UK than in Ghana dealing with domestic issues. Also noteworthy, under his watch, Kufuor approved the spending of close to $20 million on Ghana@50 festivities, and even approved the construction of the Accra Mall, which contains expresso bars, a Shoprite and a Nike store – I repeat, a Nike store – on the other side of the Achimota Roundabout, directly across from his house and his son’s hotel. The article also praises the ex-president for ‘passing the torch’ to Atta Mills of the rival NDC party upon announcement of vote results, seemingly overlooking that these things are supposed to happen in a democracy.
But for Jerry Rawlings and his wife to talk, publicly, about how the NPP government was corrupt is more than a bit of the pot calling the kettle black. Here is a man who has five mansions and countless cars, which he surely did not purchase on his airforce salary alone. He also financed several questionable development projects during his even more grueling 18-year rule, and, like Kufuor, shelled out millions on a celebration of his own: Ghana@40. In order to give some credibility to the accusations being made of the NPP, therefore, someone other than Jerry Rawlings needs to voice them.
The irony of the unnecessary, protracted verbal war between the NPP and NDC, which too often results in violence in the country, is that both parties are more similar than they are willing to admit: both have done a great job of selling the Ghanaian economy to Westerners, albeit under different circumstances; neither has managed to establish policies with donors capable of facilitating positive growth in Ghana for Ghanaians, the former forging highly-inequitable agreements and the latter, alienating support bodies altogether; and both have to date, identified the poor as the centerpiece of their agendas, yet have done next to nothing to alleviate their hardships.
One thing that is for sure, however, amid the J.J. rants and NPP chopping: that Nkrumah is turning in his grave, wondering ‘what happened?’…
Thursday 4 June 2009
The Koidu Road: a UN Peacekeeping Corridor
I have been particularly hard on the UN in this space but just when you think it cannot get any worse, it does.
Yesterday, on our way back from Koidu, the diamondiferous epicenter of Kono District in Sierra Leone, our vehicle broke down. It was a potentially nightmarish scenario: we were in the middle of nowhere – literally – and most significantly, our jack was short of hydraulic fluid and therefore did not work. The only solution was to flag down a passing car and ask them for help.
The first vehicle to pass us was a UN land cruiser, speeding in the opposite direction, going towards Koidu. I did my best to stop the car to ask for help – after all, we were in the middle of nowhere – but it simply accelerated. It sped right by us, its passengers simply staring.
In the end, we managed to stop a TOTAL truck, stumbling along the road at about 30 miles an hour towards Freetown. The truck stopped, and the driver jumped out. He quickly diagnosed the situation and listened to our story, and within five minutes, he produced a jack, had our vehicle hoisted up, and had changed our tire.
But the UN vehicle, only five minutes earlier, had sped right past, its passengers staring. It was travelling at a ridiculous speed towards Koidu, and simply accelerated when its driver saw us trying to flag it down.
Because it was on an important mission, and could not stop.
Because the organization plays a vital role in this country.
Because there is civil violence all over the country, and it is needed here to preserve peace, which is why the vehicle could not stop.
Come to think of it, had the vehicle stopped, its passengers would have had to help us, uh, fix something. That is a result that the organization is not accustomed to achieving in this country, so why break a trend?
Yesterday, on our way back from Koidu, the diamondiferous epicenter of Kono District in Sierra Leone, our vehicle broke down. It was a potentially nightmarish scenario: we were in the middle of nowhere – literally – and most significantly, our jack was short of hydraulic fluid and therefore did not work. The only solution was to flag down a passing car and ask them for help.
The first vehicle to pass us was a UN land cruiser, speeding in the opposite direction, going towards Koidu. I did my best to stop the car to ask for help – after all, we were in the middle of nowhere – but it simply accelerated. It sped right by us, its passengers simply staring.
In the end, we managed to stop a TOTAL truck, stumbling along the road at about 30 miles an hour towards Freetown. The truck stopped, and the driver jumped out. He quickly diagnosed the situation and listened to our story, and within five minutes, he produced a jack, had our vehicle hoisted up, and had changed our tire.
But the UN vehicle, only five minutes earlier, had sped right past, its passengers staring. It was travelling at a ridiculous speed towards Koidu, and simply accelerated when its driver saw us trying to flag it down.
Because it was on an important mission, and could not stop.
Because the organization plays a vital role in this country.
Because there is civil violence all over the country, and it is needed here to preserve peace, which is why the vehicle could not stop.
Come to think of it, had the vehicle stopped, its passengers would have had to help us, uh, fix something. That is a result that the organization is not accustomed to achieving in this country, so why break a trend?
Monday 1 June 2009
Not Questioning Development
It is amazing how we do not question things in Africa – how truly routinized things have become. But why is this the case? And what are the implications of not questioning things?
It seems that fewer and fewer Africans are questioning daily life these days. Why is not doing so, so significant? Because – and apologies in advance for sounding like a broken record – for any significant economic improvement to be made on the continent, a groundswell for change must take place from within. Nothing is owned by Africans these days, and the policies put forward by the World Bank, other development agencies and ‘new arrivals’ such as China and India will not change this anytime soon. Specifically, none of the so-called development these actors are delivering will benefit Africans.
Let me put things into perspective by chronicling the events of my life over the past two days. It started in Ghana, where on Saturday, I went for lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Having grown tired of eating rice, I elected to pursue an attractive alternative; plus, I must confess, the place makes a great green tea and quite bizarrely, a delicious iced tea. My evening ended at a fairly-upscale restaurant owed by a New Zealander, where, for 15 quid a plate, you can get yourself some nice grilled chicken.
On Sunday, I flew to Sierra Leone. I sat beside a senior government official who was ecstatic about how the IFC is financing a new boat connection from the country’s island airport to mainland Freetown. The company that it is assisting is British. I rather elected to take the helicopter for 50 pounds – all of which are manned by Russian pilots. In the evening, I decided to eat at a restaurant owned by a guy named ‘Faisal’ , who, I believe, is French. I sat within earshot of a couple of UN workers who still think there is war going on in this country. That is when I started thinking about this entry.
Because at the Chinese restaurant, I was surrounded by Westerners and affluent Ghanaians; likewise at the upscale restaurant, which had, on the day, played host to pretty much every one of Ghana’s mining expats. That British company that is setting up shop as a transporter, will, in all likelihood, command Western prices and service primarily the scores of NGO officers, contractors and development workers ‘developing’ Sierra Leone – a service currently being provided by the Russian helicopters. Then there is Faisal. I mean, there are a million Faisals in this country, and every one of them sells food that only we in the West can afford.
All of these industries service a small group of people in sub-Saharan Africa, operating in isolation of a burgeoning group of poor people. These industries contribute very little to African economies, and do even less to raise poor peoples’ standard of living. We in the West are not going to change this arrangement, however. Most of us are fully content with going to Accra, Freetown, Bamako and Dakar and lodging in first class accommodation, eating Chinese or Indian food in plush surroundings with fellow expats, and chilling with Faisal in the evenings. The change must come from within. Because unless Africans begin questioning why fortified buildings in the form of plush restaurants and bars, as well as services that they cannot, and likely will not, ever use, keep appearing in their cities, and lobby their leaders, this brand of development will continue to be implemented indefinitely.
It seems that fewer and fewer Africans are questioning daily life these days. Why is not doing so, so significant? Because – and apologies in advance for sounding like a broken record – for any significant economic improvement to be made on the continent, a groundswell for change must take place from within. Nothing is owned by Africans these days, and the policies put forward by the World Bank, other development agencies and ‘new arrivals’ such as China and India will not change this anytime soon. Specifically, none of the so-called development these actors are delivering will benefit Africans.
Let me put things into perspective by chronicling the events of my life over the past two days. It started in Ghana, where on Saturday, I went for lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Having grown tired of eating rice, I elected to pursue an attractive alternative; plus, I must confess, the place makes a great green tea and quite bizarrely, a delicious iced tea. My evening ended at a fairly-upscale restaurant owed by a New Zealander, where, for 15 quid a plate, you can get yourself some nice grilled chicken.
On Sunday, I flew to Sierra Leone. I sat beside a senior government official who was ecstatic about how the IFC is financing a new boat connection from the country’s island airport to mainland Freetown. The company that it is assisting is British. I rather elected to take the helicopter for 50 pounds – all of which are manned by Russian pilots. In the evening, I decided to eat at a restaurant owned by a guy named ‘Faisal’ , who, I believe, is French. I sat within earshot of a couple of UN workers who still think there is war going on in this country. That is when I started thinking about this entry.
Because at the Chinese restaurant, I was surrounded by Westerners and affluent Ghanaians; likewise at the upscale restaurant, which had, on the day, played host to pretty much every one of Ghana’s mining expats. That British company that is setting up shop as a transporter, will, in all likelihood, command Western prices and service primarily the scores of NGO officers, contractors and development workers ‘developing’ Sierra Leone – a service currently being provided by the Russian helicopters. Then there is Faisal. I mean, there are a million Faisals in this country, and every one of them sells food that only we in the West can afford.
All of these industries service a small group of people in sub-Saharan Africa, operating in isolation of a burgeoning group of poor people. These industries contribute very little to African economies, and do even less to raise poor peoples’ standard of living. We in the West are not going to change this arrangement, however. Most of us are fully content with going to Accra, Freetown, Bamako and Dakar and lodging in first class accommodation, eating Chinese or Indian food in plush surroundings with fellow expats, and chilling with Faisal in the evenings. The change must come from within. Because unless Africans begin questioning why fortified buildings in the form of plush restaurants and bars, as well as services that they cannot, and likely will not, ever use, keep appearing in their cities, and lobby their leaders, this brand of development will continue to be implemented indefinitely.
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