Sporadic Posts...

Sorry for the absence. This week will prove to be a difficult week time-wise, not just because I am turning thirty on the 26th April (hint, hint!), but other work-related factors...

B here sooner than you think!

Thanks for your understanding!

Ghanaian Shot in the Dark? (A Tale of Unlit Roads)

Not quite! Just a headlight on a dark -- and unlit -- road in Accra. This is not to say that our major roads and otherwise are unlit, but there seems to be a visceral dislike by our two past governments of well-lit roads, which probably explains why the streetlights that were erected on the Spintex Road remain, after four months, veritably unlit!

Apologies for a two-day absence.

I wish you all a Happy Friday and weekend!;-)

Ghana's Re-denomination Gains Speed

Two Fridays ago, Ghanaians woke up to the news that the Bank of Ghana had launched a new website on the re-denomination of the currency, scheduled for July 2007.

Getting to work, I checked Joy FM's website on the article, a story culled from the Ghana News Agency about the initiative. It was great to see the Bank of Ghana, in a manner reminiscent of the flyer it sent out in January with copies of the Daily Graphic.

By clicking http://www.ghanacedi.gov.gh, you are exposed to a fresh, rather hip webpage that is replete with funky graphics and bold colours that are pleasing to the eye. There is a download page, where you can download videos of the now-very-popular jingles all over radio and tv. The refrain is no longer recondite:

"There is no change in value, the value is the same"

The video can be downloaded on the page listed above, along with a few other less popular jingles.

Cars Stand Attention: Traffic Wardens in Sight!

See the man, wearing white uniform, to the right of the picture? He is one of many traffic wardens, from Ghana's MTTU, or Motor Traffic and Transport Unit of the Ghana Police Service.

Here, he is directing traffic exactly the lane down, where this picture was taken, near the airport.

Happy Easter!

There will be no posting from tomorrow up until Monday!

Happy Easter to all my lurkers and visitors!

May the good winds of April blow your way!:-)

A mardi!

Ghana Taxis -- Security Embossment Exercise A-Ok!

See that "912" embossment on the side of the picture of that taxi (which I didn't take)? Well, it's a security number provided by a private embossment company for taxi drivers in the metropolis by the capital of Ghana's metropolitan assembly, or Accra Metropolitan Assembly, also known as AMA.

A Ghana government document online outlines some of AMA's responsibiities:

While it cannot be denied that waste management is high on the agenda of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly under the new Mayor, other critical issues are also of serious concern.These include the resolution of chieftaincy disputes, the mobilization of revenue to tackle various development projects and the enforcement of discipline as regards conformity or otherwise to the bye – laws of the A.M.A.
from http://www.ghana.gov.gh/dexadd/feature/taatolai.pdf

Guess what? It has a website, that has some interesting pictures, but is under construction. You can click it here

"Sunday World" : Ghana's Sunday Paper

In fact, this is the edition of last two week's Sunday World--a not so original title for a Sunday paper, but, hey, what can you do?;-)

It's been running for a few months now, and judging by last week's edition, the pages are growing by the week! This past week's edition was a good 31 pages.

One big snag is that for a lot of Ghanaians -- irrespective of whether they go to church or not -- getting the paper on the day that it would be great to read is not always possible, on account of not so-well-planned areas that make delivering Sunday papers problematic. That is to say, it is only in well-established estates that delivery is less difficult, because the planning is far better.

Streetnames do exist, ofcourse, but our rather tumultuos past put paid to a more concerted and wiser way of organising how to get to particular places without homorously saying : pass the blind beggar on your left, and turn left at the green mansion. Make sure you pass the barking dogs, and turn right at the shoe-seller who squats behind the filling station;-)

oh, Ghana!

More new buildings in East Legon

Last year, this building was not erected in East Legon. A year later, follwing the trend of many other buildings being established by individuals for Ghana's Golden Jubilee celebrations, and the increasing number of tourists trouping into the country for those celebrations, as well as Ghana's hosting of CAN 2008, or the Africa Cup of Nations in Jan 2008, many buildings are set up to respond to the needs of consumers.

This one includes a bookshop (Christian), and an eaterie. That's to the right, where you can see the two red parasols;-)