SEPTEMBER 20

WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
05
IT IS trite knowledge that sycophants
are responsible for the collapse of
governments across the world, particularly
in Africa.
Mostly in Africa because many
people in our part of the world hate
to tell the truth because they don’t
want to offend their pay masters.
In Ghana today, the painful truth
is that times are hard - cost of living
is high, fuel prices are unbearable,
thousands are losing their jobs because
of so-called banking sector reforms,
cost of doing business is high,
utilities bills are choking among others.
It is, therefore, necessary that the
president is told this painful truth by
his own people so that efforts are
made to fix these challenges.
Editorial
Times are indeed hard
It is for this reason that the
DAILY HERITAGE commends
the Head of the Medical Laboratory
Department at the Kwame Nkrumah
University of Science and Technology
(KNUST), an avowed member
of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr
Otchere Addai Mensah for stating his
mind about the current state of the
country.
According to him, many Ghanaians
including himself are “very disappointed”
in President Nana
Akufo-Addo. “People didn’t expect
these things to happen.”
He, therefore, admonished the
Akufo-Addo led government to particularly
manage the expectations of
Ghanaians on his administration as
people are not happy at all.
Speaking on Kumasi-based Angel
FM on the seeming rising cost of living
in the country, the KNUST lecturer,
who last year declined an
appointment from President Akufo-
Addo to become the Chief Executive
Officer of the Ghana Standards Authority,
said he was not happy with
the output of the government, especially
when fuel and economic issues
come up.
“Kwame, this is not the expectation
of Ghanaians, people are not
happy, I am not happy. I am disappointed
and I’m saying it as it is. Our
expectations are from the kind of
things we were told before the elections.
“It will not augur well for the government
if things continue like this.
They need to fix the fuel price. They
need to find ways to manage our expectations.
If we don’t accept dissent
as a critical part of loyalty, leadership
will always hear what they want to
hear because people fear losing their
jobs or where they get their bread
and butter from. But the reality will
come to bear when the day of reckoning
dawns,” he stated.
Prof Ransford Gyampo of the
University of Ghana is also reported
to have said times are hard and urged
the government to do something
about it.
We share the sentiments of these
two academics and indeed those who
actually feel the pinch of the hardship
and urge the government to sit
up.
James Town Mantse
to establish varsity
BY PHILIP ANTOH
philip.antoh@dailyheritage.com.gh
THE NEWLY-INSTALLED
Paramount Chief of Ngleshie
Alata of James Town, Obrempong
Wetse Kojo II, has
promised to embark on a
number of development projects, including
establishing a university in the community
to improve education.
In his maiden address to the media on
Tuesday, Obrempong Kojo said as part of
his vision to educate his citizens, a James
Town basic school, a senior high school
(SHS), a university and a vocational training
centre would be established to ensure many
people in the area get access to education.
He said based on this, a scholarship
scheme would be established for citizens of
James Town to support students and pupils
willing to go to school, and a free compulsory
night classes organised to disengage
the teeming youth from indulging in immoral
activities.
The new Mantse commended the government
of the New Patriotic Party for the
smooth implementation of the free SHS
• Obrempong Wetse Kojo II, paramount chief of Ngleshie Alata with Daniel Nii Arde
Tagoe (R), family head of Nii Ardenkpa family and other kingmakers
programme.
Jobs
Obrempong Kojo said it was part of his
dream to establish a fishing school and a
fishing company to train the youth on
modern way of fishing, as well as construct
an ultramodern cold store to ensure that
the harvest of the fisher-folks would not
go to waste but would be accessible to the
general public.
“We will lead a team to organise a
weekly cleaning exercise at the beach where
working tools will be made available to
clean the community, develop it to a modern
recreational centre for tourists, as well
as develop the community in line with the
government’s vision of making Accra one
of the cleanest cities in Africa,” he stated.
The new chief pledged his support to
boast trade in the area by establishing a microfinance
company to offer low-interestrate
loans to traders and fishermen in the
community.
The Mantse added that as part of his vision,
a community centre would be built;
the existing abattoir would be developed
into a modern one with a restaurant, health
inspectorate department, a large meat marketing
shop and an ultramodern cold store
facility to boost the work of the abattoir.
He said as part of keeping the heritage
and the culture of the people of James
Town, a radio station would be established
to preach the rich culture of the people.
He added that a four-seater place of
convenience would be established in the
community freely for males and females
with additional four-shower bathhouses for
each of the seven divisions in the area that
make up the Ngleshie Alata to cater for residents
while a 48-seater place of convenience
to cater for tourists and other visitors
who tour the beach and the fishing community
would be built.
Obrempong Kojo used the occasion to
announce that the late James Town Mantse,
Obrempong Kojo Ababio V, would be
buried before the end of this year, adding
that preparations were ongoing.
The occasion was graced by the chiefs
and kingmakers of the Ngleshie Alata of
James Town and other supporters in the
area.