Ghanaians, Remain Disclipined on our Roads!

I have deliberately used this picture both here and on my sister blog on this link here: http://ekbensahinghana.blogspot.com/2011/09/what-i-told-daily-graphic-about.html. This is because for the past few days, there have been too many road crashes and attendant deaths that are totally unnecessary. My fellow citizens often fail to adhere to road safety rules--especially the commercial drivers -- who are too quick anad too keen to make as much sales as possible in a day they flout all kinds of road laws for the bottom line.

Simply put: KEEP SAFE! DRIVE SAFELY!

Danpong Clinic -- A Testament of Ghana Sweat, Blood and Tears in Ghana's Health Industry

Danpong Clinic is located on the infamous Spintex Road, and actually closer to Batsonaa.

It may not have a dedicated website for the clinic, but has one for detailing its parent group -- DANADAMS, which website can be found here: http://www.danadamsgh.com/?root=profile/

The interesting thing here is that DANADAMS in wholly Ghanaian. Here is what the corporate profile says on its website:

"Danadams Pharmaceuticals Industries Limited is a wholly-Ghanaian owned limited liability company incorporated in Ghana. Danadams was commissioned on 8th June, 2005 by His Excellency J.A. Kufour, with staff strength of fifty-two(52), which has now grown to over 200 employees.

The company is focusing on economically targeted areas in the pharmaceutical industry, which have much social implications in the country. Our core business is the production of Antiretroviral, Antimalarials, Anti-Tuberculosis and other quality generic pharmaceuticals used to fight opportunistic infections in HIV/AIDS patients.

Danadams seeks to address the problem of scarcity of Anti-retroviral drugs in Ghana and the rest of West Africa, by increasing its production of quality generic Antiretroviral drugs locally. Danadams Pharmaceuticals Industry Limited is among other West African Pharmaceutical companies selected to collectively act as catalysts to spearhead the building of the local capacity for production and distribution of Antiretroviral drugs and working in partnership with governmental initiatives like the Food and Drugs Board (FDB), Economic Regional Bodies such as West African Health Organization (WAHO) under ECOWAS, and international Organizations like United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and World Health Organization. (WHO)"

At a time when the WIKILEAKs cables reveal our Ghanaian elites and policymakers to be grossly out of touch with the Ghanaian, it bears reminding that things do and can work in Ghana, and for those that do work, they need encouragement to do better!!

Sneda or Melcom? CHINA** & INDIA's contribution to Ghana, or a Tale of How Ghanaians Love to Shop!

To the left is Sneda shopping centre; to the right is Melcom. Both are perhaps a by-word for retail shopping in Ghana. That they have been around for many years only adds up to the credibility they have built in Ghana as one place "to-shop".

Sneda's website is a non-starter; it's just a page, which you can find here: http://www.localyte.com/attraction/20656--sneda-shopping-centre--Ghana--Greater%2BAccra--Accra. Conversely, Melcom's site promises to be big, but has not gone to be big yet. Here is the link: http://www.melcomgroup.com/melcom/html/index.html

These stores can be found all over the country, but, interestingly, never have I found the  two so closely to each other. Sneda came first, but probably did not anticipate MELCOM's. Still the famed Spintex Road, from where I took this picture, offers significant potential for custom.

Four months after I took this picture, you should come and take a look at how they both have changed: SNEDA now has a clean, beige, minimalist look and feel at its entrance, whereas MELCOM is offering more competition by adding "MELCOM PLUS" to its regular store.

If you're ever in Ghana, or the capital--Accra--pass by and compare prices. If you don't like the quality, you know what you can do, don't you? Blog about it!!

Make your weekend nice and safe!

**correction: SNEDA is, in fact, Chinese. A facebook friend pointed it out to me. Don't get me started on the BRICs!;-)

The (Mobile Phone) Cameras behind AccraDailyPhoto.Com

Yesterday was a holiday in Ghana to celebrate the end of fasting of Moslems.

I thought I would follow suit and add a "light" post today by pointing you to one of the cameras that has brought me great pictures over the past couple of posts.

Since I created this blog in 2006, I have gone through a Canon, Polaroid and, now, Kodak camera.

All the while, though, I have interspersed it with my mobile phone camera, with the latest being the trusted NOKIA E63. While the shots could be a bit sharper, I want to today thank Nokia for creating such a snazzy phone that makes pictures that much different from a classic stand-alone camera of 10/12/14 megapixels!;-)

Never Mind Arsenal, Here's What Football Can Do in Ghana...

Given the debate going around among football enthusiasts worldwide and in Ghana about whether Arsene Wenger should be kicked out of his job at Arsenal or not, I thought a football post to be more than appropriate!

If you knew of the paucity of my football knowledge, then you would know this issue must be quite big, given the manner in which I seem to explain it away like I know the issues with a fine tooth-comb!



Coming back to the picture, I can safely say that the magic associated with football means that any "Tetteh, David or Harrison" can stand in the street--or at least is "permitted" to do so (at the risk of their own lives)--so as to catch a football game!


Such is Ghana, and some of the laxity thereof!

I took this picture of a crowd of fellow Ghanaians who on 8 May this year had surrounded the premises of a popular eaterie--Eden Tree--located on the famed Spintex Road.

At the best of times, Eden Tree regularly has a television on. Shame their food is not always so great; if it were, I would be plugging it here -- big time. Still, if you're in Ghana, and heading that way, give their jollof rice a try!

Waiting for Godot / Glo Mobile

Kindly check out that green structure with "Glo" emblazoned on it to the left of this caption. Seen it?

I don't quite think Ghanaians will resort to hara-kari--as per the characters in the classic "Waiting for Godot". You might remember Ghanaians are a happier bunch than the dyspeptic duo of Estragon and Vladimir.

But, like in this post in 2007, where we are wont to wait endlessly for tro-tros, we are also likely to get tired of waiting.

It's a good thing Ghana's Ministry of Communications--in its wisdom--has chosen 15 September for Glo Mobile, our putative sixth operator, to shape up or ship out.

That they will do the latter is a prospect close to zero. Hoping for the former is what we all hope for. As for hope, it springs eternal in this land!

Exeter Corned Beef Getting More Expensive in Ghana...

So there's a global recession -- but does it stretch to corned beef as well? I know for the past five years, sardines in this country have gone from under equivalent of $US0.50 to 1 solid US dollar now. In some retail stores in this country, it's just a little over 1USD.

But corned beef, too? This one is being retailed at GHS7.70, or USD5.13!

Is corned beef really retailing for that outside Ghana? Does anyone know?

Welcome to Koffee Lounge, East Legon, Where Your Fried Rice tastes Chinese!

This is uncharacteristic on my part to frequent a place for many months, and not feature it here! Wow...I believe this post is seeking to rectify that;-)

Koffee Lounge, located at A&C Plaza, serves some of the nicest Chinese food this side of Accra(being East Legon/Tetteh-Quarshie/airport area), and so far, the price is fairly decent, with egg fried rice going for something like 3GHC (US$1.5).

Naturally, Ghanaian foods are served there, and it also has free wireless.

Coincidentally, my fellow bloggers from the ghanablogging.com community will be in an adjacent coffee shop that overlooks this coffee shop on Saturday 13 August for a meeting.

If you're in town and happen to pass by, give them a big shout!

Make your weekend safe!

When 'Accra by Day&Night' Was Airborne

Back when we were in Belgium, I always looked forward to coming home to Accra. I always also knew when we were almost home.

After connecting to Amsterdam with KLM from Zaventem in Brussels, the contrast was magnificent. Whereas Zaventem by day was orderly from  the air, six/seven hours from Amsterdam to Accra was met with darkness...and serious patches of light throughout the capital.

Never mind that a gush of hot/humid Accra air would meet us every blessed time, what increasingly amused me many a time was just the above. And despite all that, I would not trade it for any other country.

This is a shot I took landing in to Accra back in March. It is of no less than the Tema motorway. From up high and during the day, one gets to appreciate the beauty a bit more.

Nothing Like Graphic Road Traffic in Accra!

Traffic anytime, anywhere, is bad enough, but in Accra, it has a singular distinction of being more than headache-inducing -- on account of the rising tempers and the foolish antics of taxi-drivers.

Graphic Road is so named because of the nation's 'premier' newspaper "Daily Graphic" located on that road.

If you're travelling this weekend, keep it safe--and temper-free!;-)

Thirteen Curves on the Accra-Cape Coast Highway

Every 1 July is Ghana's Republic Day. As such, it is celebrated as a holiday, affording many Ghanaians working in Accra to trek back to the village/town to see family.

Whatever the motive might be, the travel bug is always alive around this time--and this time it hit my family, prompting us to go to the lush, verdant Central Region--some two hours away from the capital--to attend to family matters.

Getting back--never mind going there--was hair-raising, on account of the so-called "13 curves" on the Accra Cape-Coast Highway. Never mind that many drivers driving like bats out of hell may be oblivious to the inconspicuous signboard of "13 curves", the notice is there!

In between hilly and undulating roads that can beat what I have seen of San Fransisco in TV shows anyday, these 13 curves are not to be sneezed at.

As to whether police are ensuring that drivers slow down before and after these curves is a moot point. They are stationed on the highway alright, but there are clearly not enough  to stop thirteen curves from leading to reckless driving which will lead to "thirteen ghosts"!

So, Ghana Has a Maintenance Culture After All?!

Offlate, the airwaves have made serious effort to reduce reporting of politics, focusing instead--as CITI97.3 fm did last week -- on discussion of bad roads, and how Ghana's Road Fund.

Needless-to-say that a pot-hole-free Accra is a reflection of a maintenance culture that has reached near-perfection.

It is therefore very encouraging to see--as I saw this afternoon while at A&C Plaza in East Legon -- that workmen were fixing the streetlight there.

Long may it continue!

Ghana's Precarious Record on Road Safety Needs Revision...Now!

The call is more of an appeal than anything. Lets face it: Ghanaians can sometimes be an indiscplined bunch--as exemplified by this picture here, where a "heavy duty" truck is parked on the first lane of a motorway...without hazard lights.

Apart from the fact that the Ghana police is nowhere to be found, other things are found wanting:

1. a number--preferrably toll-free--to call to report cases like these;

2. a number--perhaps a twitter account of a news outlet, or the National Road Safety Commission--to report such cases;

I don't have the statistics, but simply put: too many Ghanaians die on the road every year--and this can be avoided if we put some small steps into place.

Anyone for "Pure" Water? Maybe some "Standard Water"?

"Pure Water" is a typical name given to water that is not bottled in Ghana. They usually come in sachets, and are patronised by people from all walks of life.

"Standard Water" is but one of many of the Food and Drugs Board-approved producers of sachet water.

Happy Africa Liberation Day to all AU Citizens...on 25 May!

Every 25 May, Ghana, along with many African Union(AU) member states, celebrates what has now come to be known as Africa Liberation Day(ALD). It is erroneously celebrated as African Union day, which is actually celebrated on 9 September, when the Sirte Declaration was conceived to transform the-then Organisation of African Unity into the African Union.

In Ghana, Chelsea's Michael Essien (a Ghanaian) in his capacity as AU Peace Ambassador will lead a team of other international Chelsea superstars to play in a "Peace for Africa" match. This poster is merely to reflect this reality.

Wherever you may be on 25 May, have a fabulous Happy Africa Liberation Day!

Second-Hand Tyres? Almost Second Nature to Ghanaian drivers!

Offlate, there's been quite a bit of discussion about road safety in Ghana. Beyond driver error, the patronage of second-hand car tyres remains a serious bane to ensuring road safety.

Apart from the fact that the World Health Organisation has declared 2011 as the beginning of the "Road Safety decade" (and used 11 May to launch it), Ghana's National Road Safety Commission has launched its third National Road Safety Strategy (NRSSIII) in Accra.

Interestingly, the NRSC has caught up with Facebook, and can be found at this link here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Road-Safety-Commission-NRSC-Ghana/312888131523?sk=wall#!/pages/National-Road-Safety-Commission-NRSC-Ghana/312888131523?sk=info.

Safe driving...wherever you may be!

Accra Gears up its Urban Transport with Bus Rapid Transit system

In September 2010, I wrote a fairly lengthy piece about the impending Bus Rapid Transit system (BRT), which you can read here: http://accradailyphoto.blogspot.com/2010/09/ghanas-experimentation-with-bus-rapid.html.

Seeking not to repeat myself, I would also like to add that the picture I have here speaks volumes about what motives of the BRT. Just to add, finally, that I took this in the Central region of Kasoa, ...which is very close to the capital!

Vanity Plates of Nigerian Cars in Ghana!

I used to call vanity plates "personalised" plates -- till I was corrected a few years ago. I could not think of a more apt description for these number plates.

Needless to say that they're a common feature in Ghana--I have featured it on this blog before--but this picture just takes the West African solidarity of supporting and hating everything-Nigerian contemporaneously  to ridiculous proportions...

Honestly, this is a Nigerian vanity plate. A Ghanaian who has watched enough of Nigerian films would know, because the IGBOs are reported to be from south-eastern Nigeria.

At first sight, seeing "I G80" would not make anything sense, but I guess seeing it from this "perspective" makes the reality of vanity plates of Nigerians in Ghana a more acceptable...reality?

Welcome to the Kwame Nkrumah Circle!

If you have ever heard what sounds like "sec-sec-sec!...sec-sec-sec!" around Accra, I can assure you it is nothing mysterious, but the call by tro-tro mates for passengers to board the mini-bus (known as tro-tros) down to Accra's "Kwame Nkrumah Circle".

In other words: this place in the picture I took. This is the major roundabout, with a fairly new sign that exhorts Accra residents to keep the city "clean".

Now, with a number of illiterates among the informal sector, I continue to ask myself how they can understand the note--let alone live up to the principle!!

West African Corporates Leading the Way in Ghana?

When I took this random picture on Ghana's Ring Road, it was more of a serendipitous one, hoping to capture a snapshot of life there.

Instead, I unwittingly and fortuitously caught the logos of no less than two West-African-based corporate brands.

GLO, clad in green, is a 100% Nigerian mobile telecommunications company, which recently launched its broadband service--Glo 1--a few weeks ago in Ghana.

"ECOBANK"--a brand that is no stranger to this blog--is based in Togo, just next door to Ghana. Thankfully, this minimalist description belies its reach: it is represented in no less than 30 countries, and started off as a bank for West Africa, with support from the West African Chamber of Commerce. These days, it has expanded astronomically, diversifying into brokerage services; investments, etc.

It recently opened a China desk to take care of increasing Chinese investments in the country. It has an office in Dubai, and France!

Simply put: it's only a matter of time before the West African private sector goes global...watch this space!