Serwaa Nee-Whang at: 1st Town hall meeting in Bern.

Ghana’s Ambassador to Switzerland, Mrs. Ellen Serwaa Nee-Whang, will be in the center of a quiz program on Ghana, at a town hall meeting, in Bern—1st of its kind here..

The town hall meeting in a character of a forum is being run at BANHOFSTRASSE 4,3073 GUMLIGEN near Bern, Swiss capital city on Saturday, September 19. Mrs. Ellen Serwaa Nee-Whang

A program released by the Embassy here today, indicates that the meeting is being jointly organized by the Embassy and some Ghanaian community associations in SWISS.

The Embassy has, therefore, asked the associations to encourage all their members and families, and also urged non members being Ghanaians not associated with associations to attend the first ever town hall meeting, which observes see as part of the Embassy’s ‘open –door’ program..

Mr. Fred Agyir-Croffet of the Asanteman Association in Zurich, was elected unopposed at a recent meeting by representatives of five associations at a planning committee’s meeting in Bern, as moderator for the forum.

Participants attending the meeting will be given the opportunity to participate in a “question and answer” sound-out, which will principally be based, among others, on Ghana’s Foreign Service policies, flexible investment opportunities private sector development with emphasis on entrepreneurship strategies in Ghana and the country’s cultural, social, and economic-political issues.

Security situation in Ghana:

The Ambassador will be expected to address some of the highly sensitive issues on current security situation in Ghana, especially in Accra., reportedly said to be ‘unsafe’ for Ghanaians in the Diaspora, traveling home and the complex issues inherent in the operations of Ghana Customs & Excise and Immigration operations at the Ghana’s’ ports.

Allegedly, some Ghanaians traveling home have reportedly been targeted by armed robbers and other tricksters, right from the Kotoka international airport, source to the Diaspora community has indicted

It’s also being claimed that Ghanaians were usually subjected to unnecessary customs harassment when clearing goods at harbor, and face the same fate at the Accra Kotoka International Airport, under unnecessary immigration pestering, at times by some exuberant officials playing the games of “Uncle Sam.”

“While the services have been improved of late, much is desired to weed-out other yawning bottlenecks and loopholes, adding it’s sad and the same time, a great pity that the harbor has no (rpt no) toilet facilities and ‘consignees’ are also subjected to ‘trial by fire’, under 30 degree scorching sun for hours, even if not for days, simply to clear their goods,

Community spokesman adding his voice to calls for modernization of services at the ports said: “Ghanaians officials traveling to Europe especially Switzerland, know the relaxed nature of European Immigration, even in this high risk period: we have to modernize our operations or perish.

“The services in Europe or USA are assisted by modern screening or ‘VDT’ technology: this is what we have to adopt, install and operate to help improve our system and to stop unnecessary harassment of Ghanaians and tourist alike”.

Shopping list of ill-fated programs

Another spokes-person of the community, talked about a long ‘shopping list’ of ill-fated programs, which needs a vision, foresight and political will for their effective implementation or reconstruction to advance the society.

She named some of them as, soaring population explosion, teen-age pregnancy, defective family planning programs, rise in delinquency and criminality, and questioned “how can we allow hawkers and buyers to turn our streets into a shopping mall and gangs to control the street?

(Recent attack and murder of Opoku Baah, popularly known as “BEPA” a long time member of the Diaspora community, in Taifa-Accra, by armed robbers shocked the entire community).

On aviation, she said a political wills is need to plan and construct a worthy modern international airport, which could accommodate large planes to help increase air traffic and also boost tourism in Ghana.

“The airport should be constructed in far outskirts of the city of Accra, just like for example London’s Heathrow, Gatwick, Stanstead and Luton, which helped to generate job creation and employment and also reduce accident hazards; planes flying overhead of buildings in highly populated residential areas in Accra are dangerous”.

Others programs she mentioned, which she said need urgent and critical attention include University and school curriculums, suspected to be producing only white collar job seekers and undermining training of needed qualified technicians and engineers, poor waste management plans and sanitation programs, resulting in deadly mosquitoes breeding and increasing malaria related diseases, and also lack of proper preventive health care programs.

She touched on the political bickering and antagonism now going on between the government and opposition and declared: “this is not the time for this: they must get down to business trough compromise resolutions and consensus”.

A dispatch received on my desk from Asanteman association in Zurich, indicates that the Asanteman Association is organizing transport “free-of-charge” for its members and families to attend the town hall meeting in Bern.

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From: Kwaku Boatin, Geneva Cell ph: +41.78.758.1433

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