K4or Centre for Leadership

Recent reports that Ghana's former President, John Agyekum Kufuor is “trying to set up a centre in Accra for the study of leadership, governance and development has attracted a number of reactions from both within and without the country. The proposed K4or Centre for Leadership will be a centre of study, research and of writing and inviting people with information and experience and track record to come and share views. Ex-president Kufuor told Capital FM in Kenya. He also hopes to be able to share my ideas and values by writing something on leadership, governance and development and put down his views on this matter.

Some of the comments can be said to be unsavory, sarcastic and connotes intense personal hatred for the person rather than the issues at stake. Take a moment  to read the content of one such comments. "Ex-President Kufuor to set up leadership centre? What sort of leadership? We don't want the kind of bad leadership we experienced during his tenure under the NPP.The saying is true that two heads are better than one so if he is genuinely trying to give good leadership to Ghanaians and Africans as a whole, then he should join Dr.Kofi Annan to expand the Kofi Annan centre in Accra or extend it to other regions. What he is trying to do is to attract money into his pocket since his taste for money knows no limits.The saying is also true that Africans are too self centred; every body wants my own, this is nonsense".

How sad to read such comments. They can best be described as myopic in scope and depth and smacks of pure animosity and intense hatred of the man as a person rather than any well-founded issues against the ex-president.

Coming to the substance of commentator's contention, I wonder if the commentator is aware that Ex-president Kufuor was indeed the very person who built the Kofi Annan International Peace-keeping and Training Centre (KAIPTC) and Kofi Annan Information and Communication Technology (KAICT) centres at Teshie and Ringway Estate respectively in honour of arguably Ghana's number one and most renowned diplomat. How then can anyone turn around to accuse him (ex-president Kufuor) of self-centredness in same matter?

In any case, what is wrong having many more leadership centres built and ran in Ghana? Is anyone thinking like this commentator thus also accusing former US President, Jimmy Carter of same charge because there already many such election monitoring centres before he set up the Carter Foundation in the USA?

I think such jealousies will only further the already bad situation of pull him down (PHD) syndrome existing in the country mostly fueled by ethnic hatred and such animistic tendencies. This has in no uncertain terms stalled the development of our motherland. Juxtaposing what we would have done if we had similar opportunity is not just evil but hypocrisy of the highest order. It also smacks of lack of ideas and defeats the very foundation and tenets of democracy. Democracy is about diversity and not narrow-mindedness. 

Look, despite all the attempts by President Attah Mills and his cronies to mudsling Kufuor, have you heard him (Kufuor) ever say any evil about President Mills like Rawlings did to Kufuor from June 4 2001? It must tell us that the man is a very mature politician and knows where all this will lead to. That the Al Qaeda and Taleban smear propaganda tactics will backfire and hit those engaging in it in the face.I believe Kufuor's silence is heaping tonnes of coal upon the heads of his detractors in government today. Only time will tell.   

I feel very happy that lately many Africans are trying to build institutions which seek to train generations coming up for leadership roles in the society in future. This augurs well for sustained development in our communities and countries. Take for instance the soccer academies which are set up to equip our young footballers help them to learn and view the game from its professional perspectives and gradually the continent is beginning to enjoy the fruits thereof. Hitherto, it would have been unthinkable to hear or read that European big soccer leagues and club giants like leaders Chelsea in the UK are feeling uneasy because in January and February 2010 they will lose the services of their African players (Essien, Drogba, Obi, Kanou, etc,). This has generated huge debate and interest about the timing of the CAF tourney. Personally, I think it is good for CAF not to shift its position on this issue and in no time i can confidently foresee that, 'if Mohammed does not go to the mountain, the mountain will move'. It tells you we are getting our recognition and due which African Footballers really deserve for their contribution to the development and growth of the industry.

Similarly, through such leadership institutions like the one proposed by Kufuor, we can blend our traditions and make more scientific deductions out of our practices which often condemned due to lack of proper appreciation and understanding of their roles. I have no doubt in my mind, that this will surely improve our parliament debates and enhance policy formulation. Recently, I took part in a course organised by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) based in Geneva, Switzerland, on financial negotiations. One of the key themes identified as the bane of many African nations when the engage in international negotiations is lack of requisite and qualified people. Thus there is no gainsaying that the need for leadership centres in Ghana and other African nations is long overdue and hence all must embrace and support the K4or Centre for Leadership wholeheartedly. Slavery and colonialism have already robbed us of so much knowledge and development ideas and we can not afford not to bridge the generational gap both in information and development paradigm suited to our cultural and traditional practices. The time to act is now.

OMG Only in Africa

Hundreds of people have attended a wedding in central Somalia between a man who says he is 112 years old, and his teenage wife.

Ahmed Muhamed Dore - who already has 18 children by five wives - said he would like to have more with his new wife, Safia Abdulleh, who is 17 years old.

"Today God helped me realise my dream," Mr Dore said, after the wedding in the region of Galguduud.

The bride's family said she was "happy with her new husband".

Mr Dore said he and his bride - who is young enough to be his great-great-grand-daughter - were from the same village in Somalia and that he had waited for her to grow up to propose.

"I didn't force her, but used my experience to convince her of my love; and then we agreed to marry," the groom said.

Report from Mogadishu, the Somali capital, says the marriage in the town of Guriceel is being described by Somalian historians as the first of its kind in the Horn of Africa nation for over a century.

Child marriage is most common in very poor households where it is often seen as the only means of providing a secure and safe future for daughters. However, young brides' futures are often bleak. Girls married at a young age lack the skills, confidence, and knowledge necessary to negotiate with their husbands and in-laws about their own bodies. This leaves hundreds of millions of young brides at higher risk for marital rape, gender-based violence, sexually transmitted diseases, and lethal reproductive health complications from giving
birth at an early age.

Ten Ways to Boost your self confidence

Writing the Story of Your Life

Developing a more positive, confident outlook on your life doesn’t necessarily mean you need to make sweeping changes. By choosing to incorporate some of the following activities into your everyday life, you will get a boost to your self-confidence and sense of well-being. Sadie Nardini, author of the Road Trip Guide to the Soul, states, “The most powerful tool for boosting confidence is to change your perspective into something that empowers, rather than disempowers you. They say ‘truth is relative,’ so practice changing the stories you tell yourself about how insecure, weak or not good enough you are to ones that focus on the best qualities of who you are.” Ready to get started?

Try a New Exercise or Activity

If you’re feeling stuck in a rut — or even if you aren’t — shaking up your usual routine can be a good way to increase your confidence. It can be something with a definite goal, such as taking a wine tasting class so you can feel more knowledgeable about wine pairings at nice dinners. Or it can be something just for fun, like lacing up a pair of Rollerblades and learning to skate. Bring a friend along, or if you’re going solo to a class, you could end up with a new friend. No matter what you decide to take on, learning a new skill is always a good thing, and boosts your confidence.

Set an Attainable Goal — and Reach It

Setting a goal and following through on it is an empowering way to make changes in your life. Unrealistic goals that are not quantifiable — “Some day I’ll be famous for something” — are likely to fail. But by meeting smaller goals, you can build up your confidence and abilities, which can lead up to bigger goals. Your goal does not need to be a major feat, either: it could be achieving a state of mind, such as feeling calmer. For example, you could set a goal to get up ten minutes earlier each day, so you’ll feel less rushed.

Play Your Favourite Music

Play music that you love for a boost of energy and creativity. Your music selection can be anything that puts you in a desired mind-set: Listen to music you enjoyed as a teenager to connect with your youthful self, or put on something soothing when you want to relax. In addition, if you play a musical instrument, you can play along to your favorite songs. But even if you don’t play a musical instrument, you can always sing along!

Treat Yourself to a Relaxing Ritual

 Whether it’s a massage, a bubble bath, or deep breathing, carve out time to relax without interruptions. You’ll send a message to yourself — and others — that you value your well-being. To create your own personal ritual, Nardini suggests: “Make a short list of the things you love to do, or the experiences that relax you. Essential oil baths, yoga class, time spent in a coffee shop writing down my thoughts, all these things Zen me out. I suggest that my clients make a Date-With-Self once a week, at least, set in stone, where they make some space for their own nourishment, inspiration, and peace.”

Volunteer

Not only will you help others by volunteering; you’ll feel better about yourself, as well. Find a cause and an organization you care about, and you’ll be more likely to stay motivated. When deciding how you’ll help, don’t just think of the skills you’ve gained over the years — think of what you’d really like to contribute to others. For example, teaching a children’s art class could be a way to express your creativity and help others nurture their own.

Exercise

You don’t need to spend hours at the gym every day to reap the benefits of exercise: A minimum of 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise five times a week is enough. Exercise boosts feel-good endorphins and your mood, and getting a more-toned body doesn’t hurt, either! As with volunteering, a key component of exercise is motivation. If you don’t like playing team sports, you may find your exercise bliss in a noncompetitive activity such as yoga. Try different types of exercise until you find one or several that you enjoy. 

Practice Gratitude

Our society often encourages us to focus on what we lack — material possessions or physical perfection, for example, which can make us feel insignificant. Reverse this by learning to be grateful for what you have, and you’ll realize you have plenty to be confident about. Make a list of what you’re thankful for (like the friend who always makes time to talk to you, despite her busy schedule), and add to the list whenever you think of something new. Nardini suggests taking “thank you” breaks throughout each day to remember what you have. “Gratitude helps expand your perspective,” she says.

Go Back to your Childhood Dreams

Take a trip down memory lane, and think of something you always wanted to do as a child. If you never got around to taking guitar lessons or learning to ride a horse, there’s no time like the present to realize your inner rock star or equestrian. You’ll connect with your younger self, and accomplish a long-standing goal too. “If you always dreamed of being an artist, for example, but you never put brush to paper, then you will remain an artist on the inside only,” says Nardini. “To move your dreams into reality, you must take action.” Even if it’s only a few minutes each day, spend time realizing your childhood dream by painting that watercolor — or whatever form your dreams take.

Organise Something

Clutter not only looks bad — it can cause stress too. According to feng shui principles, clutter in any area of your home is a sign of stuck, stagnant energy. If you feel overwhelmed, pick one small task at a time, such as organizing a junk drawer. Once it’s cleaned, you’ll feel better and be motivated to tackle other challenges, organizational or otherwise. Don’t forget that being organized is a way of life too — not a one-time feat. Set aside regular intervals to organize smaller projects in your home and your life, so you won’t need to tackle big piles in the future.

Don't Forget to Laugh, and Stay Positive. Nothing boosts confidence like an optimistic attitude. Listen to your self-talk, and make a conscious effort to change habitual negative thoughts — for example, if you’re prone to complain, look instead for a solution to a situation. Focus on what you can control, and less on what is out of your hands. Nardini adds, “Also, remember that no one's perfect — even supermodels get Photoshopped.” So indulge in a hearty laugh with friends, and celebrate imperfect, wonderful you!

Try these simple and fun ways to break out of your routine and find a more positive, confident you.

Mobile Phone subscription rate fastest in Africa but slower internet penetration

A new Information Economy Report has revealed that since 2003, mobile phone subscription has grown faster in Africa than in any other region of the world. The report, dubbed, "Trends and Outlook in Turbulent Times", released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Thursday October 22, 2009 indicated that there were now more than 10 times as many mobile subscriptions as fixed lines in Africa and more than 20 times as many in sub-Saharan Africa.
The report warned that "but most African nations are failing to keep up with global trends in the use of broadband internent, which is critical for meeting many economic and social development". The report noted that the past few years had witnessed a remarkable growth in mobile telecommunications in Africa.
"Between 2003 and 2005, the continent saw the number of mobile subscriptions surge from 54 million to almost 350 million, an increase of 550 per cent. In 2008, Gabon, Seychelles and South Africa boasted almost 100 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants.
"In North Africa the average penetration stood at almost two-thirds of the population, and for Africa as a whole, it was over one-third. Growth is expected to be robust," the reported added.
According to the report, for many small and medium-size enterprises in Africa, the mobile phone had taken the place of the computer as the most important information and communication technology tool with African countries pioneering mobile banking and electronic transaction services. The report, however, revealed that African countries were lagging behind other developing regions in internet use and even more so in broadband connectivity.
"This is partly due to the lack of fixed telecommunications infrastructure. Most other developing regions boast a broadband penetration 10 times higher than Africa's. Moreover, broadband use in Africa is highly concentrated, with five countries - Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa and Tunisia, accounting for 90 per cent of all broadband subscriptions. It said there was a huge gap in broadband speed and also a broadband price divide which called for urgent attention to address the situation to bring the continent more fully online.
It explained that of the 20 countries with the world's most expensive broadband access fees, 14 were in sub-Saharan Africa and even within Africa the price divide was huge.
The report recommended that measures targeting the rolling out of broadband to areas with low connectivity were required to help alleviate infrastructure bottlenecks.
The report concluded that "an important challenge is to explore new and innovative ways to finance new and more powerful fixed and mobile broadband networks. Making significant progress in Africa will require contributions from national governments, the donor community and the private sector".

Shame 'Boosts hand-washing Rate'

Poster promoting Global Hand-washing Day

People are more likely to wash their hands when they have been shamed into it, research suggests.

A London School of Hygiene And Tropical Medicine team used sensors to examine the reactions to hygiene messages displayed in service station toilets.

The message which produced the highest rate of hand-washing was "Is the person next to you washing with soap?".

The American Journal of Public Health study stresses hand washing is the best way to stop the spread of disease.

It can combat the transmission of major global killers such as diarrhoeal disease and flu, as well as hospital-acquired infections such as Clostridium difficile.

However, researcher Robert Aunger said: "It's difficult to know what kind of message is most effective at changing this everyday behaviour, so it's important to experimentally test what works best in a real setting.

"That way you can save money and make sure your programme will be effective prior to rolling out any public health campaign at great expense."

Gender split

In total, 250,000 people were counted using the toilets and their use of soap was monitored by on-line sensors.

Only 32% of men washed their hands with soap. For women, the figure was nearly twice as high, at 64%.

A variety of messages, ranging from "water doesn't kill germs, soap does" to "don't be a dirty soap dodger", were flashed onto LED screens at the entrance of the toilets.

The effects of the messages on behaviour were measured.

The message "Is the person next to you washing with soap?" boosted rates of hand-washing with soap by 11% in women and 12% in men.

The researchers suggested people were most sensitive to the idea that others were watching their behaviour.

Mrs Gaby Judah, who led the study, said: "What other people think - what is deemed to be acceptable behaviour - is probably a key determinant in shaping behaviour.

"It was interesting to see that, for men, the more people there were in the toilet, the more likely they were to wash their hands with soap."

Dr Valerie Curtis, director of the London School's hygiene centre, said: "It is very embarrassing to be thought of as dirty by others, even by strangers.

"That's why we expected it to work, but not that it would be the best way of getting people to hand-wash."

There were differences in behaviour by gender, with women responding to reminders, while men tended to react best to messages that invoked disgust, for example "soap it off or eat it later".

The study is released on Global Hand-washing Day, designed to raise awareness of the fact that good hand hygiene can play a significant role in helping to cut disease.

Dr Curtis said: "Hand-washing is one of the most effective interventions in preventing disease, especially in developing countries where over 1.5m kids a year die from diarrhoeal disease.

"Hand-washing with soap could prevent half these deaths-saving a million lives a year."

Source: BBCNews.com/Health

Ghana conquers FIFA U-20 world of football

Ghana’s Black Satellites in one of the most difficult circumstances shocked Brazil to lift their first and Africa’s first gold in the history of the U20 championships. And it took 120 minutes of goalless nerve-racking football, with ten men and a 4-3 penalty victory to exorcise the Brazilian ghost which has long haunted the Satellites.

Agyemang Badu, with equally a man-of-the-match performance, converted the last kick to glory but the exploits of goal keeper Daniel Agyei cannot be overemphasized. The Brazilians were gunning for their fifth gold and it was all looking manifest in the opening 30 minutes of the game. Nearly a minute and half into the game, the Ghanaians had not kicked the ball.

The sweet playing South American side assaulted the goal area of the Satellites, and in the 3rd minute, Dalton, proved why he is a central defender, when he dug his head into a superb cross from Douglass in Ghana's final third. His efforts went flying high into the sky and to Ghana's relief. The Satellites were left off the hook in the ninth minute after a delectable free kick missed Henrique's head and the goalpost by inches. The Brazilians knocked the ball around in no hurry at all for a goal, and kept the Satellites chasing their shadows.

The underdogs lifted up their game but the only opportunity to punish goalkeeper Rafael was missed by serial goal scorer Dominic Adiyiah. Just when their confidence was soaring after a scrappy opening, the bombshell came with a straight red card flashed in a rather controversial circumstances to defender Daniel Addo in the 38th minute. Samuel Inkoom contributed to the woes of the defender, when he needlessly gave away the ball to the Brazilians and in a counter attack left Addo helpless, bringing his attacker down in the process and attracting a straight red card. But truth be told, the Belgian referee, Frank DE BLEECKERE, was harsh with his call.  Agyemang Badu was pulled back to assist Jonathan Mensah in the heart of defence and the two did a superb job albeit some desperate moments.

The South Americans had their tactics spot on, clipping the flying wings of wing backs, Samuel Inkoom and David Addy whose rampaging runs up-field could not be crowned with their usual incisive cross. From recess the strategy was unchanged. The Satellites defended as if their lives depended on it, whilst the Selacao poured in to unlock the tight defence. Goal poacher, Dominic Adiyiah was was usually overcrowded by Junior and Toloi after his strike partner Ransford Osei was pulled out for tactical reasons.

The Brazilians got edgy as the minutes wore on, displaying some erratic long range shots which forced second time saves from Agyei after he spilt it in the first attempt. Teixeira proved a slippery customer for Addy on the left and in one of his superb runs picked an unmarked Souza whose final shot in the 67th minute went wide. The resolute Ghanaian defence kept the South American attack at bay till the end of 90 minutes. 

In extra time the game was even more nervy. The Satellites caught the Brazilians on the break on few occasions, but an instinctive and heroic save from Daniel Agyei in the 96th minute kept the Satellites dream alive. Teixeira breached the Ghanaian defence set Maicon but the striker could not keep his nerve and shot into the path of Agyei. 

It always looked like the tussle will be settled by firing squad and the Belgian referee rightly pointed to the spot after 120 minutes of barren exchange. The South Americans again had the opportunity after Jonathan Mensah and Addae wasted their kicks, but a Teixeira and a Maicon miss turned the tables around.

Skipper Ayew, Adiyiah, Samuel Inkoom had earlier converted their kicks and needed the final kick of glory from Agyemang Badu to realise a long held ambition of winning Africa’s first U-20 trophy since 1977.

Ultra-cheap Laptops to hit markets

HP jump-starts the Compaq brand with laptops that it hopes will challenge cheap netbooks. Remember Compaq? Hewlett-Packard acquired the venerable computer company way back in 2002, but it's kept the name alive as a secondary brand ever since, mainly relegating Compaq to overseas markets (Compaq is particularly popular in Asia) and as second-tier PCs sold on the cheap at warehouse-style stores.

But now HP is looking to breathe a little new life into the Compaq brand, positioning it not just as a label for extremely cheap computer equipment but also as one with mainstream appeal in the U.S.

Today the company is announcing the rollout of a line of ultra-inexpensive PCs, both laptops and desktops, with extreme budgets in mind.

Consider first the Compaq CQ61z (pictured), a 15.6-inch laptop with an AMD Sempron CPU, 2GB of RAM, DVD burner, 160GB hard drive, and discrete graphics. Running Windows 7 Home Premium, the machine costs a nearly unfathomable $399. That price point probably sounds familiar -- it's the usual cost for your average netbook, which in comparison offers a tiny screen, minimal hard drive, and an ultra-low-power Atom CPU.

With the $400 laptop's arrival, Compaq wants potential buyers to ask: Why not jump up to a much larger and more capable system for exactly the same price? I'm having a hard time seeing any reason not to. Seriously, it even has a numeric keypad.

Even better bargains abound for desktop shoppers. The attractive Compaq Presario 4010f has similar specs (with a 250GB hard drive) and starts at just $309 after a $100 rebate.

Both systems are available on Windows 7 launch day, October 22.

Compaq's aggressively inexpensive hardware -- particularly the $399 laptop -- could have massive ramifications for the computer market. Will netbooks finally feel the pinch that they've been giving to standard laptops for two years now? And what kind of pressure will machines like this bring to bear on more expensive notebook PCs? Price war in 3... 2... 1...

NDC Government runs away from its own Committee's Report

The National Democratic Congress's (NDC) Government which set up an Inter-Ministerial Review Committee to examine and review the Vodafone Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) concluded with the previous Government and to make appropriate recommendations for consideration is now distancing itself from the recommendations.

The Review Committee has since submitted its report to the Ministry of Communications, which has forwarded the report to the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice for a legal opinion and advice.

A statement signed by the Communication’s Minister, Haruna Iddrisu says “Government is of the opinion that the Committee overstepped its remit in expressing an opinion on the constitutionality or otherwise of the transaction.” The Committee recommended that the whole transaction of the sale was 'unconstitutional and illegal' hence non and void. He was referring to portions of the report allegedly leaked to the media. Sections of the media had earlier ironically accused him of being behind the leakage.

It added that the neither the Executive nor Ministry of Communications has the powers to make such a pronouncement especially since there is a matter pending before the Supreme Court on the same subject.

The statement indicated the Government’s commitment to uphold the rule of law and respect the separation of powers principle under the 1992 Constitution since such a declaration or pronouncement on the constitutionality of International Agreements is the exclusive preserve of the Supreme Court of Ghana.

The Government, according to Haruna Iddrisu will formally state its official position on the Review Report within a fortnight and make relevant aspects of the report public after a careful examination of the Review Report and receipt of the advice of the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice.

The Committee was set up in pursuant of a promise made in August 2008 by Professor JEA Mills to reverse the sale of the telecommunications network. In statement carried by the Ghana News Agency on August 11, 2008 and signed by Mr. Koku Anyidoho, Head of Communications of the Mills Campaign, Professor Mills in no uncertain terms vowed to reverse the transaction so some people are of the view that the Committee's report is nothing strange as it is in line with his campaign promise. "Professor Atta Mills wishes to put it on record that, if the NPP muscles its way through and sells-off GT under terms that don't sit well with the norms of openness and transparency, as President, he shall ensure that the sale is reversed and persons found culpable of short-changing Ghanaians, shall face the full rigours of the law", the statement warned.

Have you searched your own name on FB yet?

Has it ever occurred to you that someone totally unrelated to you could be bear the same name as you? Would you be surprise to know that an opposite sex is infact bearing your own name? Well, it looks that on the social network site, Facebook. The Associated Press (AP) has just reported such an incidence. Even more interesting is the probability of coincidence  and intention  of marriage this month (October 2009) in the USA. Sadly, they do not think it makes sense to call their children by their first name. I will strongly urge to search your own name and who knows you too could end up becoming "Facebook same name couple".

A couple with the same name who found each other through social networking website Facebook are to tie the knot.

Kelly Katrina Hildebrandt, 20, was bored one evening last year when she put her name into the site and came across Kelly Carl Hildebrandt, 24.

She sent the only other Kelly Hildebrandt, of Lubbock, Texas, a message and they became friends.

Ms Hildebrandt, a student from Miami, Florida, said she believed the chain of events was "all God's timing".

Her fiance described her first message to him, in April last year, as reading: "Hi. We had the same name. Thought it was cool," reports the Associated Press news agency.

He said: "I thought she was pretty cute."

Mr Hildebrandt admitted, however, that he had worried they might be related.

Nevertheless, the two were soon in daily contact by phone and e-mail and he "fell head over heels" after visiting her in Florida.

In December, she found a diamond engagement ring he had hidden in a treasure box on a beach.

"I thought it was fun. I had no idea it would lead to this," Mr Hildebrandt said.

The couple plan to tie the knot in October and have confirmed that they do not plan to pass their first names on to any future offspring.

Fraud Fugitive in Facebook Trap

A man on the run, wanted for fraud by US authorities, inadvertently revealed where he was hiding through a series of extravagant Facebook updates.

Cameroon-born Maxi Sopo's messages made it clear he was living the high life in the Mexican resort of Cancun.

He also added a former US justice department official to his friend list who ended up helping to track him down.

US officials say Mr Sopo and an associate falsely obtained more than $200,000 in credit from banks.

In recent status updates Mr Sopo said he was "loving it", described himself as "living in paradise" and said he was "just here to have fun".

"He was making posts about how beautiful life is and how he was having a good time with his buddies," said Assistant US Attorney Michael Scoville.

"He was definitely not living the way we wanted him to be living, given the charges he was facing," he added.

The 26-year-old, who is currently in custody in Mexico City, initially sold roses in Seattle nightclubs after arriving in the US in 2003. He then allegedly moved on to bank fraud.

The former justice department official whom Mr Sopo befriended on the social networking site said he had only met the fugitive a few times in the city's nightclubs and had no idea that he was on the run.

He was able to discover exactly where Mr Sopo was living and the information was passed to the Mexican authorities who arrested him last month.

Source: BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8306032.stm

Worst Cars of the 2000s

Even with the strides that cars have made in recent years, let's face it: There have been some real stinkers, too. Whether poorly executed, ill-conceived or downright dreadful to look at, these 10 stand out for all the wrong reasons. A car had to be sold at any point in the 2000s to be eligible for this list; some of these models were only on the market for a few years, while others are still being sold today.

1. Smart ForTwo (2008-present)

We don't have a problem with small cars in general (we're big fans of the Mini Cooper), just with ones that don't deliver on the benefits of going small. The pint-sized ForTwo sacrifices a lot of passenger space for a relatively unimpressive 41 mpg on the highway, has an SUV-like propensity to roll over, and is equipped with an aggravating sequential manual transmission. Sure, the ForTwo looks cute, but after you drive it you won't be smiling anymore.

2. Chrysler Sebring (1995-present) 

The previous-generation Sebring wasn't a bad car in its day, but Chrysler dropped the ball with the redesigned 2007 model. With a weak base powertrain, uncomfortable front seats, poor interior quality and haphazard styling, it never had a chance in the highly competitive midsize-sedan segment.

3. Jeep Compass (2007-present)

We could have easily chosen the Dodge Caliber for this list — a compact hatchback with unremarkable gas mileage, refinement and crash-test scores — but the hapless Compass edged it out. Why? Besides the fact that you shouldn't spread lackluster product around to more than one division (the Compass is related to the Caliber), it doesn't belong in the Jeep lineup, a brand known and respected for its off-road ability. The Compass is a soft-roading poseur, and not a good one at that.

4. Toyota Echo (2000-2005)

The Echo subcompact's high seating position and center-mounted instrument panel were two well-intentioned features that were summarily rejected by consumers (though they would find their proponents in later years and other models). Call the Echo ahead of its time if you must; mainly it just wasn't a very good car. In taking over for the Tercel — a boring but popular choice against offerings from Suzuki, Geo and pre- renaissance Kia and Hyundai — the Echo proved that sometimes bland is better than bold. The problem wasn't that the youth-targeted Echo appealed more to older buyers than to younger ones; it was that there weren't enough of either.

5. Cadillac Catera (1997-2001)

To think that Germany's Opel is now the source of many of GM's strongest new models...

In the late '90s, the Opel Omega begat a Cadillac that was sporty in theory but soft and underpowered in practice, rear-wheel-drive in design but front-wheel-drive in feel. And that's just the car. Cadillac didn't help its case with advertising that included the tagline "The Caddy That Zigs," supermodel Cindy Crawford, an animated duck, and the suggestion to "lease a Catera" with the response, "Who's Lisa Catera?" The geniuses responsible for the Catera should have been exiled, but we suspect they went on to develop something called the Pontiac Aztek. Upgrades and deep discounts in 2001 couldn't save the Catera; it went to the duck blind in the sky in 2002.

6. Pontiac Sunfire (1995-2005)

The Sunfire managed the rare feat of having a worse interior than its GM twin, the Chevy Cavalier. Cheap interior plastics run amok, a coarse four-cylinder engine and horrendous crash-test ratings sealed its fate. On the flip side, the Sunburn was probably responsible for untold thousands of rental-car upgrades: "Honey, remember Fort Lauderdale last summer? Trust me, we want the Grand Am."

7. Jaguar X-Type (2002-2008)

In the early 2000s, the class of entry-level luxury cars was growing. Most were sporty and started at $30,000 or less. Wanting in, Jaguar came out with the X-Type. From the get-go, critics warned that a cheap Jag would be bad for the brand and that Ford — which bought the company in 1989 — would probably cut corners and sacrifice quality. That was before they saw the product. Sharing its front-drive platform with a European Ford Mondeo, the X-Type was a too-small, not-so-sporty sedan with all-wheel drive that was hamstrung by some of the forewarned quality issues. The trap was clearly visible from miles away, and Ford walked right into it. A 2002 Jaguar X-Type can be had for up to $8,500. A 2002 Honda Civic goes for up to $9,275.

8. Isuzu VehiCROSS (1999-2002)

The outrageous Isuzu VehiCROSS two-door SUV, whose extreme styling drew varied reactions, lasted from 1999 to 2001, and even that's surprising. The fanglike grille uprights made it look like it would eat you, which was scary mainly because inside the VehiCROSS was a place no one wanted to be. Headroom was minimal, and the low roof blocked even shorter drivers' view. If the noisy cabin didn't get to you, the punishing ride would. Isuzu deserved credit for taking a chance then on a design likely to find more admirers now, and it deserved scorn for a 2001 sticker price that would be just as preposterous in the current market. The VehiCROSS cost $30,350 by the time it fired up its interplanetary drive and went back where it belonged.

9. Daewoo Anything (1999-2002)

We had just tested a Suzuki Esteem and marveled at how competent even the cheapest little econoboxes had become when a leather-lined Leganza midsize sedan showed up — the best Daewoo had to offer. We mused over which would kill us first: the toxic gases from the cheap interior or the recalcitrant transmission and inconsistent acceleration. Three days into the loan, the first Daewoo crash tests in U.S. history came out, and we called Daewoo and told them to come pick up the car. We'd never done that before, and we haven't since.

10. Pontiac Aztek (2001-2005)

The Aztek was criticized for the duration of its life for its ghastly styling. Design is subjective, so what do you think of the Aztek shown here? Were the critics wrong? Yeah, we didn't think so.

What is a Trojan Horse?

A "Trojan Horse" has come to mean any trick that causes a target to invite a foe into a securely protected bastion or place.

The Trojan Horse was a tale from the Trojan War, as told in Virgil's Latin epic poem The Aeneid. The events in this story from the Bronze Age took place after Homer's Iliad, and before Homer's Odyssey. It was the stratagem that allowed the Greeks finally to enter the city of Troy and end the conflict. In the best-known version, after a fruitless 10-year siege of Troy the Greeks built a huge figure of a horse in which a select force of men hid. The Greeks pretended to sail away, and the Trojans pulled the Horse into their city as a victory trophy. That night the Greek force crept out of the Horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had sailed back under cover of night. The Greek army entered and destroyed the city, decisively ending the war. 

Business

In business, a trojan horse is an advertising offer made by a company that is designed to draw potential customers by offering them cash or something of value for acceptance, but following acceptance, the buyer is forced to spend a much larger amount of money, either by being signed into a lengthy contract, from which exit is difficult, or by having money automatically drawn in some other method. The harmful consequences faced by the customer may include spending far above market rate, large amount of debt, or identity theft.

The term, which originated in New England during the 2000s, and has spread to some other parts of the United States, is also sometimes misused in reference to an item offered seemingly at a bargain price. But through fine print and other hidden trick, the item is ultimately sold at above market rate.

Some of the items involved in trojan horse sales include cash, gift cards or merchandise viewed as a high-ticket item, but the item actually being given away is made cheaply, has a very low value, and does not satisfy the expectations of the recipient. Meanwhile, the victim of the trojan horse is likely end up spending far more money over time, either through continual withdrawals from the customer's bank account, charges to a debit or credit card, or add-ons to a bill that must be paid in order to avoid loss of an object or service of prime importance (such as a house, car, or phone line).

Victims of trojan horses include those who are searching for bargains or the best price on an item, or those who are financially strapped. Many of these victims end up with overdrawn accounts or over-the-limit on their credit cards due to fees that are automatically charged.

Some of the businesses using trojan horse marketing include banks, internet and Mobile Phone Service providers, record and book clubs, and other companies in which the customer will be expected to have a continuing relationship.

Banks often offer cash initially for opening an account, but later charge fees in much larger amounts to the account holder.

Auto-manufacturers and car dealerships will often advertise free or subsidized gas to car buyers for a certain amount of time, but increase the cost of the car in other ways.

Mobile Phone companies use trojan horse marketing by attempting to sell items like ringtones to customers, who unknowingly are sold many more ringtones over time.

Computing

 In Computing, a Trojan horse, or trojan for short, is a term used to describe malware that appears, to the user, to perform a desirable function but, in fact, facilitates unauthorized access to the user's computer system. The term comes from the Trojan Horse story in Greek mythology. Trojan horses are not self-replicating which distinguishes them from viruses and worms. Additionally, they require interaction with a hacker to fulfill their purpose. The hacker need not be the individual responsible for distributing the Trojan horse. It is possible for hackers to scan computers on a network using a port scanner in the hope of finding one with a Trojan horse installed.

 Purposes of Trojan Horses in computing

Trojan horses are designed to allow a hacker remote access to a target computer system. Once a Trojan horse has been installed on a target computer system it is possible for a hacker to access it remotely and perform various operations. The operations that a hacker can perform are limited by user privileges on the target computer system and the design of the Trojan horse.

Operations which could be performed by a hacker on a target computer system include:

• Use of the machine as part of a Botnet (e.g. to perform Distributed Denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks)
• Data Theft (e.g. passwords, security codes, credit card information)
• Installation of software (including other malware)
• Downloading of files
• Uploading of files
• Deletion of files
• Modification of files
• Keystroke logging
• Viewing the user's screen
• Wasting computer space

According to a survey conducted by BitDefender from January to June 2009, "Trojan-type malware is on the rise, accounting for 83-percent of the global malware detected in the wild".
Source: Wikipedia

M&J Bribery Scandal:THE GHANA CONTRACTS

107. M&J has conducted business with government departments in Ghana over a number of decades. From the mid 1980’s until approximately 1996, M&J’s interests in Ghana were represented by Kwame Ofori.

During the early 1990's Kwame Ofori acted as M&J's agent in Ghana. He controlled a Ghanaian bridge building company, and apparently had influence within the ruling circles of the then ruling party in the Ghanaian government - the National Democratic Congress (“NDC”).

108. To promote its business transactions with government departments of Ghana, M&J paid commissions to its agent or agents in relation to the business it won in Ghana. It is accepted by M&J that through the creation of the GDF (the notional fund created by M&J known as the “Ghana Development Fund”), its executives facilitated corruption on behalf of M&J and that its executives were in (or sought to create) a corrupt relationship with a variety of decision making Ghanaian public officials with responsibilities affecting M&J’s affairs. These funds were purportedly for the development of M&J business in Ghana but, in truth and reality, were capable of and were understood to be capable of, being used for corrupt purposes.

109. When appointing and permitting its agents in Ghana to act on its behalf or for it, M&J knew that there was a risk that unknown proportions of the agents' commission totalling £750,000 might be used for corrupt purposes.

110. The budget representing the GDF was managed by Director D, an executive who later became a director of M&J. Whilst Director D had responsibility for different territories during his career, in particular he had responsibility for Ghana. Consequently during the material period, the affairs of M&J in Ghana were heavily influenced by his direction and control.

111. On 3 April 1996 Mr. Ofori and a relative attended a meeting at Twyford with the Office Manager. It appears that Director B and other Directors made their excuses for not attending. The Office Manager' note of the meeting records that Mr Ofori did not have control over the "total 15% commission". Mr Ofori complained that he had problems as he did not believe Director D had distributed 5% to the "relevant personnel" or “local personalities”. The note records Mr Ofori saying that had he been involved in the payment of the total amount of the 15% commission the present difficulties would not have existed and said that this aspect had been dealt with ably by him in the past.

112. On 14 March 1996 Mr. Ofori had sent a fax on “Danielli Mabey Ltd” headed notepaper (a Ghanaian company which was wholly unrelated to M&J and which is understood to have been owned by Kwame Ofori). The fax was marked for the attention of Mrs Margaret Ofori in Accra and appears to have been then passed to M&J. The fax detailed how it was that “the situation in Ghana has been deteriorating gradually ever since Director D came in to Ghana.” There can be little doubt that the contents of the fax had become known at Twyford before Mr. Ofori visited M&J’s Head Office. This is because Director D had himself sent a “confidential memo” dated 25 March 1996 direct to Director B rebutting Mr. Ofori’s assertions, and detailing how it was that he had had a meeting recently with the only person who “can guarantee M&J’s position in this market”: Kwame Peprah. Mr. Peprah was at that time the acting Minister of Finance and the Chairman of the NDC Finance Committee.

113. In fact Director D had been introduced to Mr. Peprah through Baba Kamara (aka I. B. Ibraimah), who was the NDC Treasurer, and ‘political overseer’ for the Ministry for Roads and Highways.

114. The role of Baba Kamara and his value as an agent to M&J is made clear in a document authored by a M&J executive, probably prior to July 1996, and sent to Director A; Director B; Director C and Director E. The document is entitled “Ghana” “Review of existing Agent and introduction of alternative Agent”. Concerning the value of the proposed new agent, “Kamara Ltd is a small Ghanaian contractor owned by Baba Kamara. He is the NCE (sic) Treasurer and also the political overseer for the Ministry of Roads and Highways. He is a member of the all powerful NDC Finance Committee which includes Kwame Peprah (Minister of Finance and Minister of Mines and Energy), Obed Asamoah (Justice Minister and Foreign Minister) and Mrs Rawlings amongst others….[he] has considerable influence over Ato Quarshie, the Minister for Roads, the Deputy Minister and other top ranking civil servants and has been working with us since June 1994. This has been demonstrated over the allocation of the extra Stg 1.3 mil for the Tano bridge and the Stg 4.5 mil allocation for the Priority Bridge Programme.”5

115. Additionally, Mr. Kamara’s wife was secretary to the then President of Ghana - the former Flight Lieutenant ‘Jerry’ Rawlings, who had originally achieved power by means of a military coup in 1981. Unsurprisingly, a person in the position of influence of Mr. Kamara was an attractive prospect to M&J as agent for their business in Ghana, and the SFO contend, that M&J knew and intended that commission paid to Mr. Kamara would be deployed as and when required to corruptly promote M&J’s commercial interests. The SFO believe that because he had demonstrated his effectiveness to attract business corruptly, he was appointed by M&J. This is not accepted by M&J.

116. Allied to the decision to use Mr. Kamara as their agent from some time early in 1996, M&J had plainly also decided to “sideline” Mr. Ofori, and to impose more direct control over the payments made to “local personalities” by Director D supervising and control from 1994 and the creation of the notional GDF.

117. As will become apparent, whereas in Jamaica corrupt payments were directed towards a specific individual, payments allocated against the GDF were more general and numerous government ministers and officials were potentially in line for a bribe. Each such payment required the authorisation of two M&J directors.

118. Payments allocated against the GDF did not relate specifically to stages of contracts in progress. The SFO says that they were obviously made with the intention of securing and maintaining those contracts when it was deemed prudent to do so. It is accepted by M&J that in creating and making payments from this fund corrupt payments would be made to public officials in order to affect the decision making process in favour of M&J. Thus payments were made for a variety of purported purposes to a variety of ministers and officials. Some of those purposes were self-evidently unrelated to M&J’s legitimate business such that the payments can best - and, indeed, only - be described as bribes. Not only were the bribes overt, so too was the means of collection on the part of the Ghanaian ministers and officials, most of whom had UK bank accounts. Some, indeed, visited the UK in order to collect their payments in sterling.

119. During the 1990’s M&J entered into three principal contracts with the Ghanaian Ministry of Roads and Highways (“MRH”) for the provision of bridges: Priority Bridge Programme Number 1, worth £14.5 million, was agreed in 1994; Priority Bridge Programme Number 2, worth around £8 million, was agreed in 1996; and the Feeder Roads Project, worth £3.5 million, was agreed in 1998.

120. Throughout the relevant period, and until the general election in 2000, the NDC formed the Government of Ghana and many of the GDF payments were directed to its members. Thus the then Minister at the MRH, Dr. Ato Quarshie, received a cheque when he visited London in July 1995 in the sum of £55,000 for “contract consultancy”. The cheque was drawn on M&J’s Clydesdale Bank account at the Victoria branch in Buckingham Palace Road, and signed by Director A, and another M&J director at that time. Director A also faxed the bank instructions to enable Dr. Quarshie to cash the cheque.

121. The payment to Dr. Quarshie and the following payments are but examples of a wider-ranging series of bribes to various ministers and officials, which will be set out in a schedule. Even relatively junior officials were the willing recipients of bribes. In 1996 Saddique Bonniface was the ECGD desk officer in the Ministry of Finance (he was recently until the change of government a highly placed politician within the Ghanaian administration). He had a bank account at the National Westminster Bank in Rickmansworth. On 29 February 1996 Saddique Boniface received a transfer of £10,000 from M&J to an account at Barclays Bank Plc in Watford. On 29 October 1996 the same account received a transfer of £13,970 from M&J. On or about 29 October 1996 Amadu Seidu, the Deputy Minister at the MRH, received £5000 in his Woolwich account held in St. Peter Port, Guernsey and Dr. George Yankey the Director of Legal and International Affairs at the Ministry of Finance, received £10,000 in his Midland Bank account in Hill Street, London W1; and Edward Lord Attivor, the ex minister at the MRH, also received £10,000 in his London bank account. This was the same branch of the Clydesdale Bank which was used by M&J. Authorisation from M&J directors for each of these transfers was requested by Director D. Amadu Seidu received a further £5,000 on 7 March 1997, the same date on which Saddique Bonniface received a further £2,500. The latter two transfers were authorised by Director B.

122. Mr. Bonniface’s son was a student at Exeter University, where, on or about 26 March 1998, he received a cheque from M&J in the sum of £500. Although this is a relatively small sum it is indicative of the nature of the corruption M&J was then practising: it is a payment which could have no conceivable legitimate commercial purpose.

123. M&J's payments to Dr. Yankey were not confined to the payment on or about 24 October 1996, since his Hill Street account received £5,000 on 26 August 1998 from M&J. Dr. Yankey was subsequently convicted in Ghana of conspiring to wilfully cause losses to the state and served a prison sentence, along with Kwame Peprah. Their convictions cannot be directly related to payments from M&J, but reflect the culture of government corruption at the time, a culture with which M&J was only too willing to engage.

124. From December 1994 to 18 August 1999, M&J used the GDF and associated accounts to pay bribes directly to named Ghanaian public officials totalling £470,792.60.

125. None of the payments set out above, obviously, could be said to have anything remotely resembling a legitimate commercial purpose. Thus M&J was able to engage in wholly corrupt business practices without any effective level of external scrutiny being applied. Plainly, those who governed and directed the affairs of M&J were responsible for arranging and authorising payments which, no matter they were eagerly sought and accepted, were considered vital in securing M&J’s business in a developing nation – at the expense of those least able to avoid the expenditure that is inevitably involved in the making of corrupt payments: the people of Ghana.
 Overseas politicians and officials named as recipients of bribes from Mabey and Johnson
Ghana
Ato Qarshie (former roads minister) £55,000
Saddique Bonniface (minister of works) £25,500
Amadu Seidu (former deputy roads minister) £10,000
Edward Lord-Attivor (chairman inter-city transport corp) £10,000
Dr George Sepah-Yankey (health minister) £15,000

SOURCE: http://www.sfo.gov.uk/mabeyjohnsonltd/SFO-Annex2-Statement-01-250909.pdf

Trial HIV Vaccine 'reduces infection'

Researchers say an experimental HIV vaccine has for the first time cut the risk of infection.

The vaccine - a combination of two earlier experimental vaccines - was given to 16,000 people in Thailand, in the largest ever such vaccine trial.

Researchers found that it reduced by nearly a third the risk of contracting HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS. It has been hailed as a significant, scientific breakthrough, but a global vaccine is still some way off.

The study was carried out by the US army and the Thai government over seven years on volunteers - all HIV-negative men and women aged between 18 and 30 - in parts of Thailand.

The vaccine was a combination of two older vaccines that on their own had not cut infection rates.

Half of the volunteers were given the vaccine, while the other half were given a placebo - and all were given counselling on HIV/Aids prevention.

Participants were tested for HIV infection every six months for three years.

The results found that the chances of contracting HIV were 31.2% less for those who had taken the vaccine - with 74 people who did not get the vaccine infected and 51 of the vaccinated group infected.

The vaccine is based on B and E strains of HIV that most commonly circulate in Thailand not the C strain which predominates in Africa.

'Encouraging'

"This result is tantalisingly encouraging. The numbers are small and the difference may have been due to chance, but this finding is the first positive news in the Aids vaccine field for a decade," said Dr Richard Horton, editor of the Lancet medical journal.

"We should be cautious, but hopeful. The discovery needs urgent replication and investigation."

Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said: "For the first time, an investigational HIV vaccine has demonstrated some ability to prevent HIV infection among vaccinated individuals.

"Additional research is needed to better understand how this vaccine regimen reduced the risk of HIV infection, but this is certainly an encouraging advance for the HIV vaccine field."

The findings were hailed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UN/AIDS).

They said while the results were "characterised as modestly protective... [they] have instilled new hope in the HIV vaccine research field".

Some 33 million people around the world have HIV.

Q&A: HIV vaccine

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8272532.stm 

NDC to dispose of Tema Oil Refinery?

The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), the only refinery in Ghana, may be slipping through the fingers very soon following advanced plans by the government for its divestiture.

Even though government officials had for several months denied the allegation of plans to offload TOR, documents chanced upon by DAILY GUIDE reveal that the state-owned property is at the verge of losing that status.

This intention was made known by the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Kwabena Dufuor, recently in a document sent to the President.

According to the document, dated 7th September, 2009, and which was copied to the Chief of Staff, the Office of the President, and other stakeholders, the ministry has exclusively mandated Ecobank Development Corporation and Ecobank Ghana Limited (acting as transaction advisors) to prepare the way for what it called ‘the eventual privatization’ of the refinery.

The Mills Administration is struggling to recapitalise TOR, as it has not been able to import a drop of petrol for the company since it came to power, over-exposing its main creditors, Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB).

TOR owes GCB over GH¢900million, in addition to other liabilities to some other banks.

Attempts to import crude from Nigeria and Libya have hit brick wall, with President Atta Mills now turning his attention to Venezuela in South America.

The President, who is currently attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York, is expected to visit the oil-rich South American country, with cup in hand to beg for crude oil from President Hugo Chavez.

Kwesi Pratt, a friend of Hugo Chavez, has taken the lead to prepare the ground for President Mills in Caracas, DAILY GUIDE has learnt.

The ‘sale’ comes at a time when the country is gearing up to become an oil exporter in the next couple of years.

“Pursuant to Government’s decision to restructure and capitalize the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning hereby grants Ecobank Development Corporation and Ecobank Ghana Limited (together referred to as ‘Transaction Advisors) the exclusive mandate to assist MOFEP, Ministry of Energy (MOE) and TOR (the client) to undertake the assignment on the following terms and conditions and in accordance with the agreed timetable outlined in the Technical Assistance Proposal,” the letter said.

The scope of the mandate, given by the minister, include establishing and confirming the state of TOR, arrangement and syndication of $300 million to re-finance the refinery’s debt, arranging for additional funds to make up for any financial gaps identified, as well as leading and managing the eventual privatization of TOR.

As part of the remuneration terms, TOR will pay Ecobank a total of $1 million in two installments, plus a success fee of 2 percent of the total amount raised.

A non-disclosure clause in the mandate letter further permits the transaction advisors not to publicly disclose whatever service or advise it provides, unless compelled by law.

TOR had been entangled in series of financial crises since 2007, for which reason the previous government reportedly contemplated privatizing it, but was shelved after the country discovered large volumes of crude oil later that year.

When the sale issue leaked into the media a couple of weeks ago, it was vehemently denied by politicians in the current administration, in spite of glaring indications that negotiations were far advanced to that effect.

The move was condemned by a number of politicians, including the NPP Member of Parliament (MP) for Asikuma Odoben Brakwa, P.C Appiah Ofori.

“TOR is the only refinery in the country, and as at now, the only legacy Ghanaians can claim to possess as the legacy of Osagefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s dream of establishing Ghana as an industrial giant in Africa, besides the Akosombo hydro electric dam,” he wrote to Parliament.

Currently, only the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) are keeping the wheels of the economy running by importing refined oil into the country.

Ecobank Development Corporation is the investment branch of a Lome-based lending company, and was co-adviser on Ghana’s $750 million sovereign bond, and the lead adviser in the sale of Ghana Telecom (GT) to Vodafone.

By Bennett Akuaku - Daily Guide Newspaper of   Thursday, 24 September 2009 on story titled "TOR For Sale"

Re: Spio-Garbrah Accuses Prez of poor team but Ahwoi Blows him

An intra-party squabble between top members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has hit the roof as the public is drawn into the boxing arena to witness the battle between pro-Mills and pro-Rawlings supporters of the ruling party.

 Ato Ahwoi, the influential pro-Mills fighter on the one hand yesterday grabbed the political jugular of the equally influential pro-Rawlings communications expert, Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, as Ghanaians listened to the unfolding drama with shock.

“My NDC brother, if President Mills does not appoint you as a minister, please continue to piss in as many times as you want!” Ahwoi fired a missile to Spio who refused to comment on the attack on him.

Spio fought an abrasive battle with Mills for the nod to lead the NDC to the elections of 2008 but in the end the latter won the day.

Many of Spio’s supporters who were expecting juicy appointments in the government have been sidelined, much to their astonishment.

The ‘sins’ leading to his exclusion from government is that he had commented on the sickness of President Atta Mills.

Ato Ahwoi, a key member of the close-knit ‘Fante Confederacy’ in the Mills Administration, literally slammed the government door on Spio, swearing, “The door will never be opened to him.”

Ahwoi, one of three brothers in the Mills camp of the ruling NDC, was responding to a Spio-Garbrah-authored newspaper article in which the former Communications Minister in Rawlings’ administration pointed at a litany of shortcomings in the President Mills Administration.

Rubbishing the contents of the article, Ato Ahwoi taunted his Fante brother  and accused him of sulking because he could not make it to the Mills Cabinet, and ruled out any such possibility in the event of a reshuffle.

As if praying for an opportunity to vent his umbrage over Spio, he recalled that since 1993 the Chief Executive of Commonwealth Telecommunication Organisation in London has always insulted President Mills.

He accused Spio of spreading the “Mills is sick” campaign through a text message to Jerry Rawlings which quickly spread like a ‘California wild fire’ and wondered whether he (Spio) would now like to work in a sick man’s team.

Spio, he said, is not a team player “and therefore the door will never be opened to him” adding that being an egocentric he would be a bad influence on the Mills team and so it would be better to keep him out.

He said the former Communications Minister has been making churlish arguments, posing as the most intelligent member of the ruling party.

“I am telling Spio-Gabrah that he is not the only intelligent man in the world. Spio-Garbrah is not the only intelligent man in the NDC,” Mr Ahwoi told Joyfm.

Ato Ahwoi’s attack on Spio was not limited to the airwaves but in an open letter in which he took a swipe at the Rawlings man who authored an article in the Daily Graphic titled, “Honouring Nkrumah’s Legacy: A Challenge To The NDC”.

Describing the article as deceptive, he said it launched an unnecessary attack on President Mills to ostensibly eulogise the late first President of the country.

Spio’s action, he noted, is intended to intimidate President Mills into giving him a ministerial appointment.

Another reason which he said is evidence that Spio is longing for a ministerial appointment lies in his reference to President Obama’s offer to US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, after a grueling campaign to lead the Democrats during the last general elections.

Mrs. Clinton, he claimed, “never said Mr. Obama was a sick man and will never win an election. Now why are you desperate to serve in the government headed by someone who will win an election?”

He asked further: “Are you implying that because you  lost miserably to the President in the NDC primaries, he should invite you into an important position in his government?”

Spio, he noted, in the open letter, is dying to be a minister in Mills’ government “yet you are insulting your potential colleagues that they have not been appointed on the basis of merit but by virtue of proximity to power, feigned loyalty, financial considerations and other factors.”

Continuing, he asked rhetorically, “Are you implying that you were appointed a Minister in the 90s by some of these reasons like fake loyalty and financial considerations?”

Taunting his party colleague further, Ato Ahwoi said, “If you want to be a presidential candidate of the NDC and become the President of the Republic of Ghana as a true party man why don’t you do a private memo on the shortcomings and possible solutions, other than publishing them?”

A few days before the centenary celebrations for Ghana’s first president, Dr. Spio-Garbrah who conducted an abrasive contest for the NDC flagbearership race in the last elections but lost out, wrote a scathing article in which he pointed at the appointment of unfit persons in the government.

He particularly noted that the communications machinery of government is unable to speak with one voice, a development which has not been helpful to governance.

There are persons in government whose loyalty to the party cannot be vouched for, he opined, stressing that a number of shortcomings have chipped at the popularity of the party. Spio noted that the present composition of the cabinet is not the best having been made up of a Team B membership with Team A sitting on the bench.

The qualified ones, he stated, have been marginalized for the non-performers which is affecting the fortunes of the party.

Although the title of the scathing article centred on honouring the late Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Dr. Spio-Garbrah weaved it to encompass the shortcomings of the Mills government as he sees them.

Having campaigned feverishly against then Prof Mills till the fires died out on the pre-NDC presidential primaries, Spio’s concerns at this time could easily be interpreted as the case of the monkey and the sour grapes.xxxxxxxxxx
Leading NDC member and former minister under Jerry John Rawlings Ekwow Spio-Garbrah has accused the man who beat him to the NDC flagbearership in 2006, President John Evans Atta Mills, of frittering away the government's goodwill and thereby derailing the NDC's political fortunes in the 2012 elections by woefully failing to meet the expectations of Ghanaians and most importantly, ordinary members of the party.

In a scathing article in the Friday, September 18, 2009 edition of the Daily Graphic, Dr Spio-Garbrah appears to have pitched camp with former president Rawlings in breaking ranks and publicly calling for a faster pace of delivery by the Mills administration. He also appears to have made the first moves towards vying for the party's 2012 ticket, warning that leading NDC members would not sit by and watch Prof John Atta Mills return the NDC to opposition through his actions and/or inactions.

"Should leading NDC members stay quietly on the sidelines even if we can see that if matters continue as they are we [NDC] would lose power in 2012? Are we the kind of passengers who sit passively in a bus until we die in an accident even when we realise that the bus is not being driven well?", he wonders.

In the article, entitled Honouring Nkrumah's legacy: A Challenge to NDC, Dr Spio-Garbrah dismissed attempts by some members of the Mills administration to sweep under the carpet, adverse comments made by former President J J Rawlings about the calibre of persons appointed as Ministers by President John Atta Mills and the pace of work of the Mills administration, maintaining that Mr. Rawlings "is the only one who has ever supervised President Mills as a Vice President, and therefore the only one who can pronounce fairly on whether President Mills can do better or not."

Drawing parallels from the different approaches adopted during Ghana’s independence struggle, Dr Garbrah insisted that calls by the Mills administration for more time to deliver on its electoral promises were unacceptable, especially in the wake of the attacks it launched on the erstwhile NPP administration in the areas of job creation, general national development (roads, electricity, water, hospitals, etc) and the promises it made to the electorate before narrowly winning the 2008 general elections. “The NDC rank and file who fought to bring the Mills-Mahama administration into power are asking for “Jobs and Empowerment NOW”, NOT “Jobs and Empowerment in the shortest possible time”, he stated.

Citing several instances of a lack of vision and initiative in the Mills administration, including the inability to capitalise on the historic first African visit by US President Barack Obama to market Ghana’s tourism potentials and failing to unite Ghanaians in the quest for national development, Ghana’s former ambassador to the US from 1994-1997 is adamant the Mills administration cannot be accused of putting its best foot forward.

“Currently, if by the generally agreed slow pace of the government, some Ghanaians who need jobs or good health are dying very quietly and invisibly in remote parts of the country, should patriotic Ghanaians remain quiet simply because they are NDC members and because they fully support this government”?

He also took a swipe at the quality of persons appointed into public office by the administration, accusing it of making appointments “not on the basis of merit but by virtue of proximity to power, feigned loyalty, financial considerations and other factors”. 

 “There is a general measureable view around the country that the NDC government can indeed achieve more results faster if it simply ensured that the right NDC people (emphasis ours) are in the right positions‚ a large segments of the public have been asking why the government may have chosen to field some players from its Team B when many Team A players are available. Can the government really move quickly if it appoints people who may mean well but who lack the requisite qualifications, experience and therefore confidence to take quick and correct decisions in their new positions? Of the more than 70 experienced Ministers and Deputies from the Rawlings era, only two are in the current line-up of Ministers and Deputies.
While commending the Mills administration for honouring the legacy of Ghana’s first President, perhaps premised on their admiration of Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s contribution to Ghana’s development, he said many Ghanaians believed the current government had failed to emulate the sense of urgency and speed that characterised the life and times of the man voted Africa’s man of the millennium in the year 2000.

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Source: Statesman and posted on

www.ghanaweb.com: General News of Wednesday, 23 September 2009  with the title : "Spio Attacks Mills"