2010 New Year’s Resolution for Ghana?

By: Kwaku A. Danso

What is My (and maybe our) 2010 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION FOR GHANA?

Right from the top of my head I’d say this: An Improvement in the Living Conditions of the People of Ghana.

And How do you achieve these? Break it down into simple Terms:

1. Push Electricity Corporation and the Government of Ghana to provide STABLE DELIVERY OF ELECTRICITY, 99.99%, i.e. one hour interruption in 10,000 hours of operation per customer. A year has 8,760 hours, and that implies less than 1 hour interruption in the year! Most Western nations are able to achieve this, despite sometimes tumultuous weather conditions and we should aim for this in our nation of Ghana! The damage to electrical appliances such as refrigerators, computers and air conditioners perhaps exceeds $2 Billion in Ghana due to this electricity instability. It is time to PLAN and end this nightmare in Ghana! ECG must do ENGINEERING PLANNING and purchase the necessary equipment to ensure this delivery and stop giving excuses. If they are not able to figure this out, the Minister of energy and the President should simply hire somebody else who can deliver! Period!

2. Push GHANA WATER COMPANY Ltd.(GWCL) or its foreign Management Agency of Viten-Rands (?) company, to deliver WATER to 90% of all Customers in the city/metro areas and 85% to the rural areas in 2010, and by 2011 deliver to 100% of all customers who need water and pay for it. The country has received a grant of $103 million for water in 2005 and a loan of $500 million in 2006 and it is time to deliver! No more excuses!

GWCL/Viten-Rands must show a concrete PLAN to achieve this by March 31, 2010 and follow through with delivery schedules for different areas. FAILING that the President and His Minister of Water and Works should fire the Managing Director and sever the relationship with Viten-Rands.

3. Push for GT/VODAFONE to deliver 99.9% on-time delivery service of true Broadband Communication services 24/7 to paying customers who can afford and are charged. This is only 1 hour down time per 1,000 hours of use.

4. Meet and Push the ACCRA-TEMA METRO Chief Executive (Mayor) to start planning to PHASE OUT OPEN GUTTERS in the capital city (and eventually spread this to the rest of Ghana). We all know how malaria kills over 22,000 children and over 55,000 nation-wide, with an estimated $2 Billion or more in financial and economic productivity losses per year! There is no more need to pretend! Let’s work to phase out the ugly chapter of open gutters and open sewage in Ghana now!

My New Year Resolution is to push for these things to happen, and I wish many more of you who are in Ghana will join me to meet the appropriate Officials in Ghana for Creative Confrontation Meetings to help our elected and appointed officials, Directors, Chief executives to concretize their PLANS and SCHEDULES for delivery.

Whiles praying, let us also pray to wake up our President to be more sensitive to the people’s needs and help with the push also! In fact he should be leading this push and change effort!

Folks, I am not greedy and will only ask for these for the year 2010. Stay in touch and let us push for change!

Dr. Kwaku A. Danso k.danso@comcast.net