The ''mystification''' of the cedi

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• Egghead 11 years ago

  It is good to see that Frantz Fanon's apt description of post-colonial politics is dogged by mystification of the populace by the political leadership, has found resonance in this article.
  
  The failures of said leadership ...
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  It is good to see that Frantz Fanon's apt description of post-colonial politics is dogged by mystification of the populace by the political leadership, has found resonance in this article.
  
  The failures of said leadership are beyond comprehension. They practise a culture of entitlement without producing the brain-work that should be the payback for entitlement. It's only in counties like Singapore that one finds the political leadership well clued-up in economic and business matters. Pity poor Ghana, with millions of Ph.Ds who only know how to regurgitate theories but caqnnot do any original thinking.

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• insight to the bone 11 years ago

  2000 years of Akan glorious history can not be replace by 50 just because ndc , nkrumah pepeni and ayigbe criminals say so or want it so. Today i listen to my psalms , hymns and war songs by bob marley and 2pac just like Davi ...
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  2000 years of Akan glorious history can not be replace by 50 just because ndc , nkrumah pepeni and ayigbe criminals say so or want it so. Today i listen to my psalms , hymns and war songs by bob marley and 2pac just like David who composed for the Isrealis so remain inspired. i look out of my window and count myself blessed that i have not fallen prey to these fake prophets and priests whose only aim is to collect collection more than 10 times during a service but have the clarity of mind to meditate alone and offer thanks to God. What ever they say i know its the opposite , if they say look right you better quickly closely observe whats happening on the left. the say the economy is grown then you must know its a disaster , they say they are working on fixing the economy , know for sure they are only stealing , infighting now they have marginalized all influence of the Akans the pepeni and ayigbe crminals are now looking to eliminate each other , they say they have found new investors know they have discovered new ways to exploit and channel our money away. they say our women are short and ugly but look at the stinking rats and vulture they can women in their tribes and you you will know ours are the most beautiful in the world . they say they want cooperation but they are only looking to rubbish or steal good projects . they say they want the well-being of the ordinary man but in reality they only want to line their pockets with money and push the Akan further into poverty . they say they want an all inclusive govt but know they just want cement northern and ayigbe domination with their slave tribes like the Gas and some foolish brainwashed brongs , ashantis , fantis assisting them. they say they are evaluating ministers and other appointees but it is now a battle between the ayigbe and the pepeni to reduce the number of ayigbe since the Akans are all already irrelevant in their govt although we are the majority in this land . everywhere you go you find pepeni vultures looking over the carcass of Ghana and tearing out the flesh of wealth for their own greedy selfish selves . they are comfortable now as the critical mass of the people still think things will get better little do they know its beyond repair and can only be remedied with an organized uprising of the Akan. the npp seems to be cleaning house and thanks to ken agyapong most likely true fighters will emerge who will not throw in the towel like nana addo did just before the true battle starts due to cowardice. yes we are ready and will never surrender to these thieves and criminals , long live the republic of Akan

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• YAW 11 years ago

  Propriety in public life is a dwindling resource in Ghana,when you have a vain man of Duncan Williams"s calibre as an Archbishop or Anita De whatever as a minister.

  Propriety in public life is a dwindling resource in Ghana,when you have a vain man of Duncan Williams"s calibre as an Archbishop or Anita De whatever as a minister.

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• Jojo Hammond, New Jersey 11 years ago

  No one could have said it better about the Prophet and the Minister.
  
  I however disagree " a little tiny bit" with good old Mr. Duodu on the VP's statement. Of course if you take what the VP said literally then one could ...
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  No one could have said it better about the Prophet and the Minister.
  
  I however disagree " a little tiny bit" with good old Mr. Duodu on the VP's statement. Of course if you take what the VP said literally then one could agree with Mr. Duodu's interpretation. The essence of what the VP was saying, as I understand it, is to assign some reasons for the potential/possible shortage of foreign currency thus causing the fall of the cedi. I am sure govts budget having in mind roughly what commodity prices (for exports) would be for the budget year. I assume what the VP was saying was that from that baseline of the budgeted projections from export receipts/revenue, there was a shortfall of 2 billion dollars as a direct result of prices coming in lowers than the projected one. Using the word "LOST" opened the VP up for the comments/observations made by Mr. Duodu.
  
  I have always admired this giant of a journalist and I hope the young ones will learn a lot from his writing: Funny, witty, instructive.
  
  All that coming from someone who disagrees with this legend, ideologically.

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• Kojo T 11 years ago

  You are spot on .

  You are spot on .

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• YAW 11 years ago

  Don"t forget Rapid Results College guys are set in their ways.He is still adorable.

  Don"t forget Rapid Results College guys are set in their ways.He is still adorable.

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• Aluta 11 years ago

  Booklong morons!

  Booklong morons!

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• CS 11 years ago

  Is YAW mocking those who by fickle circumstances got self-improved by Rapid Results courses?
  
  Tweaaaa!

  Is YAW mocking those who by fickle circumstances got self-improved by Rapid Results courses?
  
  Tweaaaa!

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• YAW 11 years ago

  You cannot imagine how much i adore Mr Duodu.

  You cannot imagine how much i adore Mr Duodu.

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• Ignoramus exemplus! 11 years ago

  This Yaw fellow must be very superficial. He does not know that it is those who "think in a box" -- created around their brains by classrooms and teachers -- who are "set in their ways!".
  
  Anyone who studies privately to p ...
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  This Yaw fellow must be very superficial. He does not know that it is those who "think in a box" -- created around their brains by classrooms and teachers -- who are "set in their ways!".
  
  Anyone who studies privately to pass exams set for the entire public -- those who are in school as well as those who are private candidates -- must be extraordinarily resourceful. Why? (1) Usually they work and study at the same time. This means they must cultivate powers of concentration, in order to make the best of the little time at their disposal, (2) They must have determination. Because distractions outside a disciplined school atmosphere are enormous. (3) They must love study. Otherwise they would not make the sacrifices implied in Reasons 1 & 2 above. (4) They must have tremendous brain power. Because they are taught how to seek information for themselves, sift what is useful from what is useless, and be able tpo assemble the information COHERENTLY, nevertheless, in order to pass exams structured from a rigid academic point of view.
  
  To pass the GCE at O and A levels under private study circumstances used to be, in the good old days, a way of separating the men from the boys. Many people proceeded from A Levels to University. Others continued private study and became BAs,LL.Bs and even LL.Ms. No spoon-feeding here!!
  
  Yaw, do you know the meaning of "autodidact"? Ignoramus exemplus!

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• magister 11 years ago

  Surely, the Latin masculine form of the adjective exemplar is exemplaris and not exemplus? The feminine form is exemplaris; and the neuter -- exemplare?
  
  Sorry but as an autodidact myself, I was so inspired by your pos ...
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  Surely, the Latin masculine form of the adjective exemplar is exemplaris and not exemplus? The feminine form is exemplaris; and the neuter -- exemplare?
  
  Sorry but as an autodidact myself, I was so inspired by your posting that I couldn't help correcting you!-- pour encourage les autres!!

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• Kalahariman 11 years ago

  The VP is right in his statement that Ghana lost 2 billion dollars in the drop in price of commodities.
  
  An example is say in 2012 Ghana produced 100,000 tons of cocoa at $1000 per ton and made 100 million dollars and in 20 ...
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  The VP is right in his statement that Ghana lost 2 billion dollars in the drop in price of commodities.
  
  An example is say in 2012 Ghana produced 100,000 tons of cocoa at $1000 per ton and made 100 million dollars and in 2013 Ghana produces the same amount of cocoa 100,000 at the current selling price of $700 per ton it is a lost of 30 million. Now, in the 2014 budget a correction or an adjustment can be made; also, whether to increase or decrease production. No one can accurately predict the price of commodities so you can only go by the known current prices.
  
  Also, remember cocoa is purchased from the farmers at a given price per the world market rate. The farmers loose when the prices drops.
  
  My question to Doudo is: Do you believe that the cocoa farmers loose when the prices of cocoa drops from say $1000/ton to $700/ton? if your answer is yes then the VP is right on his assessment.

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• Kalahariman 11 years ago

  The commodities business is a stock market and so you gamble that prices will be the same or go up and luckily you will have more shares when it goes up. No one gambles with the hope that prices will go down. You can forecast ...
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  The commodities business is a stock market and so you gamble that prices will be the same or go up and luckily you will have more shares when it goes up. No one gambles with the hope that prices will go down. You can forecast on an average price based on statistics but that doesn't mean it will always be accurate.

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• Kojo T 11 years ago

  Are you sure you are Kalahari or a fertile mind full of knowledge?

  Are you sure you are Kalahari or a fertile mind full of knowledge?

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• LEX 11 years ago

  Kalahari and others: you are carrying on the Ghanaian tendency to cut "any big man" some slack! Fine, but it won't wash in this instance.
  
  You see, guys, the commodity market is one which is operated by "speculators". The ...
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  Kalahari and others: you are carrying on the Ghanaian tendency to cut "any big man" some slack! Fine, but it won't wash in this instance.
  
  You see, guys, the commodity market is one which is operated by "speculators". The prices are artificially fixed/changed on a daily basis, as determined by factors present -- such as supply and demand, market "sentiment", and information from producing areas or "origins". Even movements in share prices of companies can divert money from shares into commodities, and thereby affect prices.
  
  Therefore, if you "forecast" the price, for your own budgetary purposes, especially in the foreign exchange expenditure sector, you can burn your hands, for you are never sure what you are ACTUALLY going to get. Statistical algorithms are not usually of much help, either!
  
  With this pre-determined situation, to imagine that you have a potential gain of such and such an amount, and that if you don't get that, you have made a "loss", is to engage in self-delusion. If you had chosen a smaller amount as your potential gain, you would have made a "GAIN", not a "loss", wouldn't you? That is what the writer, Cameron Doudu, is saying.
  
  Remember that The VEEP was talking as a politician with an agenda, i.e. explain away the depreciation of the Cedi. But as a former Governor of the Bank of Ghana, who knows the true technical position, he shouldn't have done that, especially before knowledgeable chamber of commerce people. They would have seen him as an unrealistic individual, which is dangerous for Ghana's investment prospects, for who wants to deal with unrealistic people at such a very high level?
  
  Commodity producers are PRICE-TAKERS, as everyone in commerce and industry should know. The prices that are on the market are what they go by, not what might have been. They only make a gain/loss in relation to their production costs, not their anticipated, disappointed or even fulfilled expectations.
  
  If their price expectations had been LOW, they would have made a GAIN; and similarly, if they are HIGH, then they have theoretically made a loss. But only theoretically. As Doudu pointed out, "you can't lose what you haven't ALREADY got"!!
  
  Now, this is too complicated a scenario to use glibly in explaining the depreciation of a currency.
  
  A far more valid explanation, especially from someone who is assumed to get regular briefings from the Bank of Ghana, would have been to admit that the budget deficit had been allowed, by Government pressure, to become too large; that the Government had deliberately pumped too much liquidity into the system, by recklessly giving organisations like GYEEDA a blank cheque (as it were); and that once the Cedis had enterd the system, there was no way some of it wouldn't chase after dollars, given the free foreign exchange mnarket Ghana was operating. Cause and effect, in short.
  
  Isn't it the classic way of explaining inflation this: that there is "too much money chasing too few goods"? Therefore a situation in which too many Cedis are chasing too few dollars inevitably also leads to depreciation in the value of
  of the Cedi. Doesn't the VEEP understand this, from Economics 101?
  
  Yet there are sycophants who want to defend such a preposterous and disingenuous presentation by him, made for political propaganda purposes?

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• Ned Netterville 11 years ago

  Goodness, what a cast of characters you have running, or is it dismembering, your country? Without offering any cover to the arrogant Churchman who you justly excoriate for calling upon God in the name of Jesus to save the ce ...
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  Goodness, what a cast of characters you have running, or is it dismembering, your country? Without offering any cover to the arrogant Churchman who you justly excoriate for calling upon God in the name of Jesus to save the cedi, allow me to suggest you have misunderstood the meaning of Jesus' words, "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, but render unto God what is God's. By no means did Jesus mean to say that money or, more to the point taxes, was Caesar's business, not God's. I'm sure your misunderstanding of this is indirectly the responsibity of churchmen like you Archbishop misreading Jesus' words to their flocks to help tax revenues flow into the coffers of the state, which the church and its hierarchy inevitably have a stake in, either directly or indirectly through the elixir of tax deductible church donations. That is how the christian church in my country, the USA, sees its relationship to tax revenues and the state--it loves them both.
  
  It does not diminish your critique of the archbishop to correctly understand that what Jesus meant by his famous statement was exactly what the words of his statement say. You are to give to Caesar (or the state) whatever you happen to have belonging to Caesar or the state. That is how one is to treat the property of others withing the commandments of the decalognue not to steal nor envy. Since almost nobody has anything belonging to Caesar or the state, including one's money, which may be created by the state but does not belong to the state when it is in the hands of others. If it belonged to the state, it would not circulate; it would not be money and no one would use it. Would you sell your goat cedi if the goat became the buyers but the money you received in payment remained the property of a third party (viz., the state) subject to recall at the whim of the state? Jesus was no fool. Nor would he ever tell anhone to support with their taxes Tiberius Caesar, who was about to murder Jesus (through his agent, Pilate), and who had stolen by one means or another virtually everything he "owned." I doubt if there was a person in the entire Empire who possessed anything lawfully belonging to Caesar since Caesar got his wealth from plundering, stealing, enslaving, murdering and taxing subjugated people. Jesus was a defender of the oppressed, not a supporter of the evil oppressor--the state through its taxes. Not only this, but Jesus was intimately familiar with Sacred Jewish Scripture, which says at least five times, as in Psalm 24!, The earth is the Lords, and everything in it. That leaves nothing for poor old Caesar, and nothing is exactly what Jesus would have his followers pay to the violent state in the form of taxes.
  
  I hope you will continue to ridicule your archbishop when he makes such foolish statements and prayers, but you needn't misinterpret his famous words in order to do so. There are plenty of other words of Jesus you could recommend to the archbishop, but forget the idea that Jesus wasn't interested in taxes. He was, because taxation was probably then as it was now the largest criminal enterprise in the world. Taxation is extortion, and nothing the state can do to justify extortion can change its nature, nor fool Jesus.

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