The Unbearable Lightness of Blogging -- Back the week of 18 October!

As a blogger, there's definitely one thing you cannot escape -- your
private life. When you're blogging, the assumption is that a lot of
much of your life is put up for public scrutiny.

We all now know that this is rarely the case. The smarter blogger is
the one who is consistent with the themes he writes about. I have
fallen short on consistency at times, but the passion is clearly there
to continue blogging.

Some important and personal issues need to be attended to as I take a
break from full-throttle blogging.

It's only a hiatus...and one that will certainly recharge the batteries!

So here's to when I come back the week of 18 October!

Like British actor Daniel Hoffman-Gill, who I both follow on twitter
and his blog (http://danielhg.blogspot.com), I will also be available
on twitter.

I would be happy to receive and follow your tweets as well. I'm on
http://www.twitter.com/ekbensah.

See you!

Ghana's Experimentation with Bus Rapid Transit Shapes Up...

Ghana's experimentation with Bus Rapid Transit is a misnomer; it's fully on course, with ads on radio on some stations in full swing. Wikipedia describes it thus:

Bus rapid transit (BRT) is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling. The goal of these systems is to approach the service quality of rail transit while still enjoying the cost savings and flexibility of bus transit.^[1] The expression BRT is mainly used in North America; in Europe and Australia, it is often called a busway, while elsewhere, it may be called a quality bus.

The definition is all well and good--except that it excludes Africa. For all the chaos associated with Nigeria (celebrating its 50 years), it is one of the first African countries to have implemented BRT. A couple of months ago, Ghanaian policy-makers in the transport system had to go down to Lagos to take notes! Check out the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (http://www.lamata-ng.com/publictransport.htm) to see what I mean.


I took this picture of Mallam junction, en route to the Accra-Cape Coast highway. The above picture shows the beginning of the BRT. I write beginning specifically because there was a signboard on the road where you see the buses indicating that it is only for "dropping". Sadly, I saw private cars (including a diplomatic-licensed car) using that route--most likely to avoid traffic. Once it is in shape, this part of Accra is likely to reduce traffic considerably.

To be sure of Ghana's intentions on BRT, check out the Mass Metro Transit(MMT) website here: http://metromass.com/transit_system.htm.

All I have left to say is: bye-bye traffic!!!

Not Quite Ghana's Ambulance Service!

Ghana does have a National Ambulance Service (check here: http://www.grsproadsafety.org/page-ghana-21.html.) However, unlike our Nigerian counterparts that have a comparative service with a website (http://www.crinigeria.com/), Ghana has paid scant attention to obtaining a site that will proffer useful info about emergency medical services.

I am not particularly enthused that this second-hand ambulance (that looks like one from a US medical show) has landed on the shores of Ghana, and is being paraded with a view to being sold. For what, exactly??

At Long Last, Ghana's Census Has a Fixed Date!

Oh yes. We are all going to be counted the night of 26th September. Quite why it will be at night--and not daytime--is beyond me, but, hey, let us all rejoice and merry-make in  the knowledge that we shall be counted. Last time Ghanaians were counted was in 2000. Given that it is done every ten years, can we say we are fully on track?

I'm not too au fait with the technicalities associated with Ghana's census, but what I do know is that it will help Ghanaian ministries, departments and agencies(MDAs) obtain a better sense of the "state of the nation". You might also not know this, but there is a countdown on the Ghana Statistical Website, which can be found here: http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/.

Here's a snapshot of the website (see below):

Have yourself a good weekend, and keep it safe!

Who's Afraid of China? Ghana Certainly Isn't...

...as exemplified by this "celebration" here. China has been instrumental in building many of our roads--not just yesterday, but for no good than 5 decades.

It would seem common-sense to continue to nurture the relationship!

Accra Mall Telefonika, Edit your English, Please!

 This is the kind of English you get when you mix grammar-challenged Ghanaians with a Lebanese owner of a shop too keen to make a profit at the expense of everything else!

Tomorrow, Ghanaians celebrate a public holiday in honour of our Moslem friends and brothers who have just completed their fast.


Baraka de Sala? 


(looks like I'm not the only one grammatically-challenged!)

Welcome to CEDI House, Just Opposite British Council Ghana

It really is a delicious irony to see this rather-gargantuan building (ofcourse, not quite a skyscraper) towering over the British Council. If you're not quite sure of the link, I am referring to the fact that it is the British that colonized Ghana till 1957, when we obtained our independence.

The irony resides in the fact that this is the building that houses Ghana's only (indigenous) Agricultural Development Bank, Ghana's Stock Exchange, and a slew of other companies. I would like to think that it's a reflection of Ghana's rising status not just in West Africa, but the continent.

Ofcourse, the British can take comfort in the fact that they continue to offer substantial donor support to the country! I am still trying to work out why Ghana's stock exchange (http://www.gse.com.gh/), reputed many times to be one of the more buoyant on the continent, has a website, when CEDI House does not!!

Penguins and Hawkers in Accra--an Unearthly Combination?

No worries.

Nothing unearthly about plastic/rubber penguins being handled by our very own itinerant vendors! The hawkers are only plying their trade. I can assure you that no animals were harmed in the taking of this picture, and the creation of this scene!;-)

Welcome to Accra's Changing Landscape!

From left to right: Holiday Inn, which prices are not just downright hostile to the Ghanaian (what do you say about over 250 US$/night in Accra?!?!) pocket; a flashy-looking building that houses some financial institutions; and more glitzy-looking buildings that are bound to house more institutions that are close to the financial sector.

This trio is located in what will be known as "AIRPORT CITY". In fact, it is AIRPORT CITY. More buildings, including a mall, which will be known as "Marina Mall".

When Cometh Our 6th Mobile Operator, Globacom?

Ghanaians are waiting with baited breath! It's been a good two and a half years!