Ghana's move to digital migration is...smart TV!!

Ghana's move to digital migration is...smart TV!!

What is Accra Pictures by Day and Night?

Accra is the capital of the small, West African country of Ghana, which achieved its independence in 1957 from its colonial master, the United Kingdom. It celebrated 50 years in 2007, and is projecting itself fast and furiously as "gateway to West Africa".

It's an exciting city, with its unique problems, but with it close to the Atlantic ocean, and many beaches, who can resist coming here?




April 2006-April 2011:

5 years of bringing readers insights into life in Ghana! Thank you!



Ghana Ports & Harbours Authority, TEMA

Ghana Ports & Harbours Authority, TEMA

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Ordering Food in Accra was Never this much Fun!

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Downtown Accra: The ID Card is in the Offing...2007!


I know it's been a while. Work pressures, including periods away from office desk, have compounded the absence. Hope you're all well:-)

Incidentally, just to the left is a poster of a man holding an ID card. The "C" from the word "card" has been cut off by the greenery.

interested in reading more about Ghana's ID card in 2007? Click here
have a good weekend!

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Friday, November 24, 2006

Stakeout!...in East Legon


So there I was working some fifty minutes ago when I hear a sound in the distance. Minutes later, and the sound comes closer--it's of a man speaking through a megaphone "SHARP YOUR KNIFE!...SHARP YOUR KNIFE!". He's a picture of the average "working class" Ghanaian who is doing his utmost to do something for himself. (Far better tha resorting to armed robbery, if you ask me!)

He was walking with his sidekick--megaphone slung over his shoulder, and clad in a sun and dust-beaten t-shirt and trousers in an ironically determined manner.

I could have sworn I heard him earlier--just as I was about to leave the house, which is some twenty minutes drive, with little traffic, from the office. That was around 8.15am.

To think that around 11.05am, he had walked the equivalent of twenty minutes drive by car, some 8 km from the Estates to the busy Spintex Road through the East Legon tunnel to my workplace was not just amazing, but a feat of epic proportions, given the weather. And he must have had some customers along the way, too.

Regrettably, I took this picture to capture the "before he arrived" and "this is him" from the office--but no go!

Maybe next time!

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Thursday, November 23, 2006

Of Voice of America Billboards, and Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange Snaps


I was at Hotel Angelica, near the famed Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange for a Public Forum today on a work-related assignment, and decided to take a few snaps. (Can you see the traffic lights and the streetlights in the distance?) This is the front of the hotel, and the one below...

...is a billboard of Voice of America, which has been broadcasting in Accra since 2005. It is sitting right against the backdrop of some of the greenery in the capital I like to refer to, especially that of the Tetteh-Quarshie interchange.

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Wednesday, November 22, 2006

So Accra, So Platitudinously African!


When I run out of picture ideas, I refer to the platitudes that most cultures are used to of Africa;-) Except to say that this one is not as cliched...in the sense that I unwittingly captured three levels of activity:

1.the car going off to the extreme left of the picture is going somewhere

2. the "hawkers", ie the girls are selling "pure water", which in Accra--and much of the West African sub-region--is simply filtered (processed) water in sachet bags of 500ml, costing 300 cedis, or 300/9000 or $0.03! Yes, that cheap!! The girl with the blue top looks like she's putitng coins away...

3. the men walking on the pavement, most likely hawkers, are looking for prospective customers

...all against the backdrop of CEDI House,which houses the country's premier state-owned Agricultural Development Bank, and more importantly, the Bank of Ghana, as well as Ghana's Stock Exchange...



"The Cedi House, one of a handful of "story buildings," as high-rises are called here, in downtown Accra. The Stock Exchange is on the fifth floor, and trading happens three times per week, from around 9 a.m. to around noon, if there is enough activity to keep it running that long."...The Ghana Stock Exchange is reputed to be one of the best in Africa...


from: http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/photo.day.php?ID=80984

This picture was taken in the periphery of Ghana's inimitably-designed National Theatre; and the British Council which is to the left of the direction the young men are walking in. All located on one "Liberia Road".

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Friday, November 17, 2006

Accra Morning Traffic...


...but do please check the pollution coming from that monstrous truck upfront!!;-)
This picture was taken near East Legon, some ten minutes drive from the University of Ghana, Legon.

Have a good weekend!

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Welcome to Ghana's Ministry of Interior


I was in the Ministries area yesterday on a work-related assignment, and took the opportunity to capture the front of the Ministry, which startled me a bit in the sense that the architecture is SO very different from the other Ministry buildings around. A colleague suggested that it probably has resonance from our colonial masters, the British.


For some strange reason, it reminds me of aspects of Western European architecture, possibly Germany, which has played its role in Ghana's history in unique ways as the British have done.

A view from some 10 feet.I couldn't help--bar the small distraction of the man crossing the view--but have my breath taken away that small bit, with the contrast of the tree, the leaves against the building.

let's face it: this is the picture that I LOVE best.

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Monday, November 13, 2006

The Substitute Becomes only a Complement, or I Love Gardening!


Remember The Substitute back in July, when the mower broke down? Well, the mower has been functioning for a month now, and transforming yours truly's face into a happy one--like this one here!:-))

Suffice-to-say I have a well-manicured lawn, thanks to the mower! This post also touches tangentially on the greenery in the capital.



How I dislike having to cut the greenery, but it doesn't help get rid of insects, which use it as their fief.

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Friday, November 10, 2006

Let there Be Light!


Streelamp in East Legon, taken in the evening, around 6.15pm GMT

Have a good weekend!

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Thursday, November 09, 2006

A Different Aerial View of East Legon, At A&C Shopping Mall

Can you see that taxi at the petrol station? This picture is less about that car, and more about the almost-picturesque view of East Legon, precisely where the A&C Shopping Mall is located. Isn't that sky beautiful?
To the left of this picture is the second building being erected for the A&C Mall.

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Thursday, November 02, 2006

So Accra, So Green

I truly do believe that greenery in the capital is something to be cherished, and something that many city-dwellers, and commuters might take for granted--irrespective of the culture you're coming from. I've been blessed and priviledged to be surrounded by greenery almost my whole life, and I often do forget how beneficial it can be to the soul, if yo're into all that esoteric stuff.

But back to Accra.

The picture above is a scene that is almost a constant on the Spintex Road, and throughout the capital: plants being sold left, right, centre and almost everywhere. They are literally littered on that road, and especially popular on roads leading outside the capital to the nine different regions of the country.


A man walks on a dirt road leading to a tarred road...in East Legon, where my office is, and where it's very very verdant...

...whilst here, also in East Legon, this greenery -- as exemplified by the tree -- is in front of someone's house.


Most amusing are the billy goats that feed on this greenery in the capital...for good measure! You can continue to fret or accept scenes like these...till tourists start pouring into the capital from February 2007 onwards for the celebration of 50 years of Ghana's independence:-))

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Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Sitting and Waiting in Downtown Accra Last Friday...

...for a meeting that ended up being an abortive one. The place was one a fast-food place owned by Nigerians and established since 1973, and which serves burgers comparable to MacDonalds and Burger King!



I was not amused...with a face looking like that, wouldn't I be advised to go visit the doctor?

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Wednesday, October 25, 2006

A Trip Down to Ghana's Central Region: Greenery, and More Greenery

Nothing gives me more joy than seeing this sign on the now-"famous" Tetteh-Quarshie interchange in the capital on a holiday, because I know I am some hours away from leaving the capital behind to go somewhere like Ghana's Central Region--as we did last Friday.

We passed this sign, which I captured just to remind you about the illogicality of establishing a shopping mall, with cinema, restaurants, whatnot, in the corner of a heavy-traffic area! But there you have it: the South African and other foreign investors are keen to show Ghana as the "gateway" to the ECOWAS region, and the government is keen to follow suit, so any logic goes out the
window. Most odd, when the President of the country's residence is only minutes drive from this picture!!!...well minutes, barring any traffic, which he rarely faces as he is motorcaded--in the opposite direction of the traffic with some ten luxury cars to the safety of his home...(enough ranting, eh?:-))

This is the real reason why these pictures are here. After our brief visit to the central region of Ghana, and in particular, my maternal grandmother's home, we were stopped by police conducting random checks on the highway on a Sunday! It was a smooth affair, but what I found most enjoyable was the line of plam trees (they are actually coconut trees) lined on both right and left sides of the highway that leads to Accra.

Is that not relaxing to look at?

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Friday, October 13, 2006

New Developments at A&C Shopping Mall...

You remember the famous A&C Shopping mall, that I have posted on before here? Well I caught this picture enumerating Phase II, which would comprise the following:

  • Olympic-size swimming pool

  • Leisure and Fitness Centre

  • Beauty Therapy Clinic

  • Health Spa and Sauna

  • Restaurant

  • Night Club

  • Shops, and Offices


  • Most definitely a boon to Middle Class Ghana;-)

    Oh, what mischief!

    Can't wait!

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    Tuesday, October 10, 2006

    Here's Almost How Packed I was in Ghana's Mass Metro Transport Bus


    Very true. I was packed almost close to that of my maritime descendants Ghanaians so like to eat (fish!), but the real story is that if you check the speed with which darkness fell...from a relatively clear Friday late noon around 6.10pm to...6.12pm, when the darkness descended, we can definitely begin to think about contrasts!

    Once you check out the sky to the left of this picture, you'll see a turquoise-like colour. Location? Tetteh-Quarshie interchange, which I have posted about before here. Now, please check this picture:



    The sky is grumblimg. It's clearly getting darker...

    Meanwhile, Mass Metro Transport man had, some a minute or so earlier, checked to see how full the bus was, and whether people were ok, I guess. This was clearly against a backdrop of heavy Tetteh-Quarshie interchange traffic. That traffic behind him is going not just to Spintex road, but the University of Legon area, where there are suburbs beyond the campus, called Adenta, and Madina, to name but two areas.


    Here's how packed we were--for good measure;-)..picture for next time!:-)

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    Thursday, October 05, 2006

    Ghana Brown Bread: Welcome to East Legon's Bakery, TeaPal


    In Ghana, you have to accept that there are some buildings, like the one in this picture on the left, where entering might just cause some trepidation, on account of the rather insalubrious surroundings. BUt you get used to these things: that certain people seem to have an acute dislike of paint. This is the reason why certain buildings where they do great work, such as a bakery, isn't paying to much attention to painting the building where the bakery is located.


    All the better for me: 'cos I get to get fantastic, FRESH, hot, bread like this one on the right, when people are passing for fear that what comes out of there might not be the best.

    They couldn't be more wrong. Teapal bakery, located some five minutes walk from work in East Legon, produces the best and most fresh bread this side of Accra! Just check the steam from the brown bread I am holding.

    Too much!:-)

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    Wednesday, October 04, 2006

    This is (My) Accra Neighbourhood: Manetville, Spintex Road

    Tuesday, October 03, 2006

    Rush-Hour Traffic in Accra, near Airport


    If you look at the picture to the extreme right, you'll see a vestige, or trace, of the country's airport. Looks like everyone's in a rush to go...somewhere:-)

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    Friday, September 29, 2006

    A Quick Gastronomical "Journey" to See A Ghanaian Salad

    Come with me...

    ...anyone for a Ghanaian salad?;-) It includes boiled eggs, and baked beans...

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    Wednesday, September 27, 2006

    A Snapshot of an "E-Media--Delivery & Gathering of Information with ICT" at West Africa's Landmark ICT Centre

    Yes. I do believe that if you're a regular visitor, you have already seen this picture, or something like it here. Trumpets blow, pls. It's the so-called "Ghana-India Kofi Annan ICT Centre of Excellence". A cumbersome title indeed, and a cumbersome URL, to boot!: http://www.aiti-kace.com.gh Truth be told, however, it is the sub-region of West Africa's quintessential ICT Centre, with state-of-the-art computers, and a place, where there is regular ICT hub-bub-ing, of sorts;-)

    Here is the entrance into the building. You first have to go through a narrow gate (I guess to register your presence, 'cos when you don't, a man hisses at you (classic call to strangers in Ghana) motioning you to pass through). I took this picture yesterday as I made the intrepid step to attend the open "seminar" on "e-media". On the panel were reputed journalists from Ghana's local scene (you can check out the names here) in radio, newspaper editting, including the Africa correspondent for the BBC Kwaku Sakyi-Addo, and former editor of Ghana's premier Saturday paper Daily Mirror...who is also my former boss at work!;-)

    Here's a snapshot of the audience who appeared to be listening intently to ideas on whether the new tools for the media (mini-disc; Cool-Edit software; video camera with laser backup discs(!); etc) will as much as hinder us as they will help journalists improve news-writing...and the journalist!! (given how blogging is threatening to take over the qualified jorunalists)

    To the right is Dorothy Gordon, DIrector-General of the ICT Centre, and to the left is Kwaku Sakyi-Addo. His brief profile is enviable: Kwaku Sakyi-Addo is a freelance journalist working part-time for BBC World service as a television correspondent. An experienced journalist and television presenter in Ghana, Sakyi-Addo has conducted many roundtables for the media in his country. Sakyi-Addo is interested in using journalism as a means for improving the lives of persons involved in the urban agriculture food production chain. from: http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-93818-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

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    Friday, September 22, 2006

    Ghana's Protocol Car Arrives at Accra's World Bank Office


    This would hardly be news had it not been for the fact that this ostensibly-odd-registered number plate (by Ghanaian number plate standards, where there are TWO letters indicating the region (AS/GR/GT/GE/BA, etc...), followed by four digits, and a single letter) is the number plate--so I am told--that the security services and protocol use [SPD=Security? Protocol Department?] to dispatch high officials and pleni-potentiaries. That's ambassadors and international civil servants to you and me;-) The "GV" at the end of the plate is a give-away. In Ghana, any car whose registration number begins with "GV" is short for "Government Vehicle".


    The serious-looking man is a protocol officer, holding the hand of a visibly-aged former Interim President of Liberia Her Excellency Ruth Sando-Perry who was in Accra for Africa's first-ever [three-day] "International Media Summit", which saw former CNN anchor Tumi Makagbo in Accra facilitating a session, as well as obtaining many photo-ops(see picture to the left).


    I managed, with my discerning camera technique[;-)], to capture her on Tuesday evening as she walked away from a photo-op. For some reason, Ghanaians are not that enamored about a former CNN anchor being in town...

    The outside of the World Bank office in Accra, in a rather plush compound, replete with the characteristic Ghanaian greenery of palm trees, coconut trees, et al.

    Finally, just to prove I was at the summit, here's a picture of yours truly...doing something;-)Stretching a cheesy grin, I do believe;-))

    In sum, a series of pictures to apologise, of sorts, and explain the absence the past few days...

    Have a good weekend!

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    Wednesday, September 13, 2006

    This is a Snapshot of Accra's Spintex Road at Night...

    ...and, sure, it looks dark. That is because for despite all the so-called wisdom of our government, none of the members of the administration have seen it fit to have STREETLIGHTS set up on this road that spans some 10kilometres, plus. As I am not seeking to re-invent the wheel, let me just point to a quote I made in my other blog, in April, here:



    The Spintex Road in Accra is one of the fastest-growing, traffic-inducing roads just outside the Accra Metropolis. It leads to Teshie-Nungua, and onto Tema. From that road, you reach the famous (or should that be infamous?) Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange, where you either get confused by the structure or follow the automobile crowd.

    from: http://ekbensahinghana.blogspot.com/2006/04/accras-spintex-road-makes-eponymous.html


    You can watch the video -- just to see how it feels to drive there -- here: http://ekbensahinghana.blogspot.com/2006/04/video-clip-driving-on-accras-spintex.html

    Suffice to say, I am far from proud of this obscurity, but I am one of the breed of people who believe sincerely that a constant reminder, and explicit and irreverent reminder of these things...does get results. There is a "Spintex Brief" magazine, set up earlier this year, which is being used to advocate many issues of pertinence to the Spintex Road area, which also happens to be an area of increasing "middle class-ness".

    Tuesday, September 12, 2006

    If you're Ever in East Legon, You Might as Well Try It's Internet Cafe


    You could alternatively go and buy a ticket to New York, Nairobi, or London? Check those prices out! Are these 'standard' prices elsewhere? In any event, these two doors constitute part of the shops at 'Anum Yemoh Plaza'.


    I should probably remind you that you can go check Kalss Inn website here

    Friday, September 08, 2006

    On the Thumbnails and Pictures

     

    Esteemed readers and visitors, many thanks for visiting my blog. I also truly appreciate the comments.

     

    As regards the pictures, I agree that the thumbnails are too small, but you can click on them to view the picture a bit better through flickr.com.

     

    When I signed up, I accidentally selected thumbnails in flickr.com, and now do not know where to go to change the selection. Anyone who knos how to do that would be doing me a great favour by providing instructions!

     

    Many thanks;-)

    emmanuel

    Thursday, September 07, 2006

    Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road in Accra?

    fruit-eastlegon
    fruit-eastlegon,
    originally uploaded by ekbensah.
    ...because it wanted to stay healthy by buying some fruit!:-)

    You might re-call that during the World Cup febrility, I posted a picture of two young men looking at newspapers trumpetting how Ghana had beaten the USA (you can re-visit here) ?

    Well, just across the road, only a few months later, are these stalls established--you might say--by the hard-working and enterprising Ghanaian women, who chose to sell whatever they can on any stall...anywhere!

    This time, it's fruit: oranges, pineapples; bananas, which you can get a bunch of four for just 2,000 Ghanaian cedis. Divide that by 9000, and you get "0.21634368357572842". That's $0.21 cents.

    Is that cheap by any stretch of the imagination? If so, roll on! buy some fruit!:-))

    Monday, September 04, 2006

    If so, Why is Ghana on a National (electricity) Load Shedding Programme...

    ...for the "first fifteen days", suggesting that it may be longer?

    This question and post has great resonance with this precious post here.

    Good news, though! It rained last night; I understand the level of the dam has increased!! Each working day, the Daily Graphic (Ghana's flagship newspaper (even if full of ads!!) ) has been publishing the minimum level the dam should be at, the maximum level, and where we are at currently.

    I expect to see a slight increase on condition of the rain we had last night...

    fingers crossed!

    thankyou to all you insightful visitors for your comments:-)

    tags:ghana rain

    Friday, September 01, 2006

    Hotels are Always Superficially Attractive...

    ...because what always counts in the end are many things, including quality of service; response-to-request-speed; inter alia--not to mention the food.

    I haven't stayed at M-Plaza Hotel before, which is a a rather plush hotel located in the greener part of Accra in a place called Roman Ridge, just some ten minutes away from the Kotoka International Airport (Ghana's national airport) [and this link on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotoka_International_Airport, but it sure looks like a nice ambience--even if the smell of that anti-mosquitoe spray the man is spraying had far from a welcoming one!;-)

    have a good weekend!:-)

    you can check out the hotel's site here:http://www.mplaza-hotel.com/

    tags:accra; mplaza hotel; accra hotels; ghana hotels; roman ridge; roman ridge ghana

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