Who will be able to argue with you on your points, except the NDC hoodlums of spin doctors?
Perfectly laid out points. No one could have said them any better.
Good article, Kwamena.
The saddest part of t ... read full comment
Kwamina,
Who will be able to argue with you on your points, except the NDC hoodlums of spin doctors?
Perfectly laid out points. No one could have said them any better.
Good article, Kwamena.
The saddest part of this whole Ghana story is that the "YENTIE OBIA" group doesn't believe that there are caring Ghanaians like you who can write about things like that without having an association with an 'opposition elements'. They are so shallow-minded that as soon anyone raises a voice to let them know that they are failing Ghana miserably, that person ia automatically labelled as NPP, CPP or PNP member. They can't get it through their thick skulls that there are Ghanaians who genuinely care to see that our country needs to be looked after in a non-partisan political way.
Wo cares about politics when our country's economy is in dire straits?
NBTT 9 years ago
A COMBINATION OF THREATS AND INTIMIDATION WAS USED TO FORCE GHANA TO ACCEPT AN IMF LOAN IN ORDER TO ALLOW THE USA TO USE THESE LOANS AS LEVERAGE TO FORCE US TO DO WHAT THEY WANT.External enemies coupled by an incompetent and ... read full comment
A COMBINATION OF THREATS AND INTIMIDATION WAS USED TO FORCE GHANA TO ACCEPT AN IMF LOAN IN ORDER TO ALLOW THE USA TO USE THESE LOANS AS LEVERAGE TO FORCE US TO DO WHAT THEY WANT.External enemies coupled by an incompetent and corrupt Ghanaian government has made Ghana extremely vulnerable to foreign exploitation. When a country's government is riddled with corruption it is easy for foreign powers to support and encourage opposition against that government. Threats of exposure of corruption by individual government officials (foreign bank accounts etc) threats of sanctions and freezing of assets of individuals is usually enough to intimidate recalcitrant politicians and government officials into submission. Hence we see the Ghana government do a complete u-turn in its position regarding taking deadly IMF loans. THE SALUTARY LESSON HERE IS THIS: ANY GOVERNMENT RIDDLED WITH CORRUPTION IS VERY VULNERABLE TO COERCION AND MANIPULATION BY MALEVOLENT FOREIGN POWERS.CONVERSELY ONLY A GOVERNMENT MADE UP OF DEDICATED AND SCRUPULOUSLY HONEST INDIVIDUALS WITH A REAL LOVE FOR GHANA CAN WITHSTAND THESE DESTRUCTIVE MANIPULATIVE INTERVENTIONS FROM ABROAD
For those foolish enough to buy the IMF "stabilization" nonsense,including the "learned" Kwame Pianim I would recommend that they read the book by Perkins:
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man is a book written by John Perkins and published in 2004. It provides Perkins' account of his career with consulting firm Chas. T. Main in Boston. Before employment with the firm, he interviewed for a job with the National Security Agency (NSA). Perkins claims that this interview effectively constituted an independent screening which led to his subsequent hiring by Einar Greve,[1] a member of the firm (and alleged NSA liaison) to become a self-described "economic hit man".
According to Perkins, he began writing Confessions of an Economic Hit Man in the 1980s, but "threats or bribes always convinced [him] to stop."
According to his book, Perkins' function was to convince the political and financial leadership of underdeveloped countries to accept enormous development loans from institutions like the World Bank and USAID. Saddled with debts they could not hope to pay, those countries were forced to acquiesce to political pressure from the United States on a variety of issues. Perkins argues in his book that developing nations were effectively neutralized politically, had their wealth gaps driven wider and economies crippled in the long run. In this capacity Perkins recounts his meetings with some prominent individuals, including Graham Greene and Omar Torrijos. Perkins describes the role of an EHM as follows:
“
Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. They funnel money from the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other foreign "aid" organizations into the coffers of huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet's natural resources. Their tools included fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder. They play a game as old as empire, but one that has taken on new and terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization.
”
The epilogue to the 2006 edition provides a rebuttal to the current move by the G8 nations to forgive Third World debt. Perkins charges that the proposed conditions for this debt forgiveness require countries to privatise their health, education, electric, water and other public services. Those countries would also have to discontinue subsidies and trade restrictions that support local business, but accept the continued subsidization of certain G8 businesses by the US and other G8 countries, and the erection of trade barriers on imports that threaten G8 industries.
In the book, Perkins repeatedly denies the existence of a "conspiracy." Instead, Perkins carefully discusses the role of corporatocracy.[2] – November 4, 2004 interview
“
I was initially recruited while I was in business school back in the late sixties by the National Security Agency, the nation’s largest and least understood spy organization; but ultimately I worked for private corporations. The first real economic hit man was back in the early 1950s, Kermit Roosevelt, Jr., the grandson of Teddy, who overthrew the government of Iran, a democratically elected government, Mossadegh’s government who was Time‘s magazine person of the year; and he was so successful at doing this without any bloodshed—well, there was a little bloodshed, but no military intervention, just spending millions of dollars and replaced Mossadegh with the Shah of Iran. At that point, we understood that this idea of economic hit man was an extremely good one. We didn’t have to worry about the threat of war with Russia when we did it this way. The problem with that was that Roosevelt was a C.I.A. agent. He was a government employee. Had he been caught, we would have been in a lot of trouble. It would have been very embarrassing. So, at that point, the decision was made to use organizations like the C.I.A. and the N.S.A. to recruit potential economic hit men like me and then send us to work for private consulting companies, engineering firms, construction companies, so that if we were caught, there would be no connection with the government
THE TRAITORS IN OUR MIDST WHO ARE HAPPY TO SELL GHANA IN EXCHANGE FOR VARIOUS FAVOURS AND MONETARY GAIN OFFERED BY THOSE WHO WISH TO ENSLAVE US THIS TIME NOT PHYSICALLY BUT RATHER BY MEANS OF CRIPPLING DEBT I SAY TO THEM EXAMINE YOUR CONSCIENCES
GoatEater 9 years ago
As it is always emphasized by elders in my village - NOONE CAN RIDE ON YOUR BACK, IF YOU DO NOT BEND OVER. In other words, we are totally complicit in our own demise, through the shameful actions of our so-called leaders.
As it is always emphasized by elders in my village - NOONE CAN RIDE ON YOUR BACK, IF YOU DO NOT BEND OVER. In other words, we are totally complicit in our own demise, through the shameful actions of our so-called leaders.
GOLD COAST 9 years ago
Is there anybody within NDC to challenge Mahama? Did Egya Atta make a mistake in selecting him as his vice?
Mahama just talks - but talk is cheap.Instead of reducing the number of ministers,useless NDC apparatchiks at the ... read full comment
Is there anybody within NDC to challenge Mahama? Did Egya Atta make a mistake in selecting him as his vice?
Mahama just talks - but talk is cheap.Instead of reducing the number of ministers,useless NDC apparatchiks at the Flagstaff House,and cutting the bloated bureaucracy,he does the opposite. While people are suffering, he buys expensive SUVs for the useless and parasitic chiefs.Mahama is just another Kufuor or Rawlings.
The whole governmental aparatus is fXXXXX up and needs radical upending.That is,abolish the onerous priviledges given to government officials,the semi-literate MPs and other elites,and give power to the people.For instance,why should the government give $50,000 to each MP to purchase a car? Again,why should the government build houses for these folks?.Already,all have cars and houses in Accra.Then the EXTRAORDINARY EX-GRATIA payments given to the good-for-nothing MPs every four years.
American Congressmen(from the richest country on Earth) live in their own homes or rent in the DC area.Infact, President Obama when he was a Senator,rented an efficiency and had to go to a hotel to spend time with his wife and kids,when they visited from Chicago.Vice President Biden rode the train daily from his home in Delaware to DC - about five hours round trip - for more than twenty years.What makes these politicians in Ghana(a rich but "poor" country)think they can live like Saudi MPs - while majority of our countrymen/women cannot even afford one meal a day? No wonder the American Vice President blasted African leaders - including Mahama,yesterday - on the cancer of corruption that has rendered the richest continent the poorest in the world.
Kufuor said corruption has been with us since the beginning of time,and he and his NPP cronies went on a corruption binge(25% bribes from contracts,Ghana @50,$1million chains, Ghana Airways,Ghana Telecom, Government houses,EO's $1billion highway robbery,$100million Flagstaff House,drill ship's missing $3million,and on and on).
Rawlings also corrupted the whole governmental apparatus,and deposited $millions in foreign banks - some of which he used to educate all his children abroad.One thought Mahama,after succeeding Egya Atta, would continue attacking the cancerous corruption that's destroying the economy and the moral fiber of our society.But he has not made concrete efforts to root out this cancer. Rather,he has become part of the problem.
The President needs to be challenged from within his own party for the flagbeareship.Perhaps,that would wake him up from his slumber. The ailing Akufu-Addo(heart and prostate problems)and NPP,will even be worse for the economy and Ghana.These folks are professional thieves in suits - aside from being unrepentant tribalists.
The best person to stop the ailing economy and move Ghana into middle income status is Paa Kwesi Nduom. Unfortunately,as a competent and experienced professional as he is - and with excellent leadership skills -he has no core supporters nationwide. AND THE THIEVES AND USELESS POLITICIANS - BOTH NDC AND NPP - continue to go on a venal rampage.
Any Ataturk,Jawaharlal Nehru or Nkrumah out there - to clean up the mess?
Kwamina,
Who will be able to argue with you on your points, except the NDC hoodlums of spin doctors?
Perfectly laid out points. No one could have said them any better.
Good article, Kwamena.
The saddest part of t ...
read full comment
A COMBINATION OF THREATS AND INTIMIDATION WAS USED TO FORCE GHANA TO ACCEPT AN IMF LOAN IN ORDER TO ALLOW THE USA TO USE THESE LOANS AS LEVERAGE TO FORCE US TO DO WHAT THEY WANT.External enemies coupled by an incompetent and ...
read full comment
As it is always emphasized by elders in my village - NOONE CAN RIDE ON YOUR BACK, IF YOU DO NOT BEND OVER. In other words, we are totally complicit in our own demise, through the shameful actions of our so-called leaders.
Is there anybody within NDC to challenge Mahama? Did Egya Atta make a mistake in selecting him as his vice?
Mahama just talks - but talk is cheap.Instead of reducing the number of ministers,useless NDC apparatchiks at the ...
read full comment