E-Government: The Singapore Experience(2)

SINGAPORE AT NIGHT
Mawutodzi K. Abissath

Another African proverb reminds us that, “If your tormentor who is running after you does not stop, you, too, must not stop running.” As long as Ghana remains a developing country, Ghanaians must not stop fighting to develop and progress.

In the first part of this article the definition of e-Government according to the United Nations was provided. Singapore government used the UN definition of e-Government as a guide, but simplified it for easy understanding by ordinary person in the street.

According to Singapore, e-Government is the use of technology to enhance the access to and delivery of government services to benefit citizens and businesses. It pointed out that the beneficiaries of e- Government include the government itself, businesses and the citizens of the country concerned.

How did the Singapore Government use technology to enhance access to and delivery of government information and services to the people? E-Government Action Plan II (2003-2006)In order to achieve its stated goals the Singapore government formulated an action plan known as e-Government Action Plan II for the year 2003 to 2006.The vision of the Government was to be a leading e- Government to better serve the nation in the digital economy.

The objective of this Plan was to ensure “a Networked Government that delivers accessible, integrated, value-added e-services to our customers; and helps bring citizens closer together”. A slogan was developed thus: e-Government- Delighting Customers, Connecting Citizens.

What are some of the services that the Singapore Government provides for its customers who are the citizens of the country? Even before we touch on some of the services provided online, shall we find out why Singapore government came to the realization that the beneficiaries of e-Government include Government, businesses and citizens?

It is important to note that within the scope of e-Government, there are several categories that fit into the broad definition of e-Government. For example, e-Government constitutes: A Government- to-Citizens (G2C) ; B- Government-to-Business (G2B); C- Government-to-Employees (G2E); and eventually D-Government to- Government (G2G).

G2C: Government-to-Citizens, according to experts, includes all the interactions between a government and its citizens that can take place electronically. The objective of G2C is to offer citizens faster, more responsive, more convenient and less complicated means to public services.

G2B: In the case of Government-to-Business, it refers to e-commerce in which government sells to businesses or provides them with services, as well as businesses selling products and services to government. Again the objective of G2B is to enable businesses to interact, transact and communicate with government online, with greater speed and convenience.

G2E: Government-to-Employees includes activities and services between government units and their employees. As the term implies, the objective of G2E is to develop and cultivate IT capabilities among government employees to deliver efficient and cost-effective services.

G2G: Interestingly, Government-to-Government seems to have dual significance. One, G2G is said to consist of activities between government and other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the same government.

The other meaning of G2G is a situation in which Governments have to deal with their other counterpart governments of different countries. This second G2G in the opinion of experts is anchored on trust and interdependence, which allows for information sharing among governments on regional, sub-regional and international issues.

For example, the control of terrorism; the management of cross border diseases like SARS, which occurred in Asia some time ago or even HIV/AIDS. This G2G also has to do with common economic challenges as well as ethnic wars and conflicts problems facing West African States for instance. For Singapore government to achieve the enviable e-Government status through effective online services delivery to its citizens, certain strategies were again adopted:

I) E-Government Infrastructure
The government put in place a National Information Infrastructure as backbone for e-government services delivery. This strategy was christened Public Service Infrastructure (PSI) in Singapore.

Physical Infrastructure
Government itself provided Internet access points in convenient places such as public libraries, shopping malls, government offices, hospitals, subway stations and clubs and relevant public places for the citizens to use free of charge.

Technology Infrastructure
Here, the Government provided computers, servers, networks (broadband and wireless), mobile devices, smart cards as well as technology standards that is open and scalable such as Java, XML, Web services.

Authentication Infrastructure
Under this the government provided E-Government ID and Password for all its citizens. It made it easier for very citizen to know how to log online and access Government information and services.

II) E-Government Legislation &Policy
Having put in place the necessary infrastructure for the e-government services to the citizens, the next strategy the Singapore government adopted was the enactment of relevant rules and regulations and policies that govern the implementation of the programme.

Some of the major regulations were meant to safeguard privacy and information security; data protection, data privacy, computer misuse, legal recognition of electronic transactions, official control of cryptography, security audits and well as standards and certification of security practices. Singapore’s legislation and code of practice include Computer Misuse Act; Electronic Transaction Act, which was enacted in 1998, tried to define the rights and obligations of transaction parties, and also provided legal status on the use of electronic records and signature. The Government also provided data Protection Code.

III) E-Government Services
After putting in place ICT infrastructure and legislation and policy the government then developed a website called E-Citizen Portal. This website was to enable citizens to ask questions and receive answers. Specific electronic services deliveries are provided on this site.

Some of the services on this website include payment of taxes and fines; Issuance and renewal of driver’s licenses; Helping citizens find employment; National campaigns and awareness creation on social services such health and education; Introduction of Internet and IT training courses; e-learning and smart card in schools. So computer literacy started right from the primary school in Singapore etc. In the poor and rural communities, the government provided free computers and Internet access points and posted officers who know how to operate the equipment to assist the illiterates to benefit from the online services.

In fact, in Singapore today some services like the issuing of Passports and Birth Certificates, you have to sit in the comfort of your home and fill the necessary forms and e-mail them to the appropriate authorities. Government will reward you for obtaining the services on line. Interestingly if you go personally to those offices for the services, you will pay penalty for going there personally. And after paying the penalty you will be directed to go and use a computer in a corner there in the office still to apply for the documents you wanted.

In the case of Businesses, E-Tender was introduced in that any company that wanted to bid for government contracts can only do that through the Internet. Corporate taxes could only be filed electronically. Annual Reports and periodic business reports are all presented online. As in the case of E-Citizens Portal, there is also one-stop Portal for all government procurement opportunities with over 8,000 trading partners. It is on this Portal that all corporate bodies do business with the government in Singapore. This is known as integrated e- Services.

This is the level of E-Government Services in Singapore. Is it any wonder that they are the 2nd e-Nation after Canada in the e-World? Ghana, too, can do the same no matter how long it takes. What is important is for the Ghanaian IT experts to give the correct technological advice to the government of Ghana.

E-Government: The Singapore Experience(1)

BEAUTIFUL SINGAPORE

By Mawutodzi K. Abissath

An African proverb admonishes us that: “Whenever the rhythm of the drum beats changes, you must change the dance movement accordingly.”

It is no longer privileged knowledge that Information and Communication Technology has launched the entire globe into what is now known as the e-world-meaning electronic world. Today Governments the world over are somersaulting to reinvent and reengineer governance so as to be more effective, efficient and transparent in the provision of information, goods and services to their citizens electronically.

Fortunately Ghana has already started dancing to the tune of the technological music because government has laid the foundation for e-government by establishing the government of Ghana website popularly referred to as Ghana Portal www.ghana.gov.gh which is being managed by the Information Services Department of the Ministry of Information in Accra. Government has also established the Ghana-India Kofi Anan IT Centre of Excellence and above all, Ghana has formulated an Information Communication Technology framework for accelerated development, being spearheaded by the Ministry of Communications and Technology.

Nevertheless, when it comes to the practicability, accessibility and usability of e-government services by citizens, Ghana still has some mountains to climb and some rivers and lagoons to wade through. It is against this backdrop that this writer deems it relevant to share the Singapore e-government experience with fellow Ghanaians. But, even before shedding some light on e-government strategies and implementations in Singapore, it may be necessary to explain what e-government is in the first place.

On Saturday July 31 this year, at the Johannesburg Airport in South Africa, this writer came across a group of Ghanaians on their way to Zimbabwe to take part in a book fair in that country. Then in a chart with one of them, where it was revealed that I was on my way from Singapore where I underwent a short training course in e-government, my interlocutor exclaimed: ‘Eeeee-Government!’ “What is that animal, too?” he virtually shouted unconsciously.

As a matter of fact, my friend confessed that, he was hearing for the first time the term e-government. Later when we parted company and he went to Zimbabwe and I was airborne to Ghana, I started debating with my inner self: “If this man, well-educated, living in the capital city of Accra, participating in an international event such as a book fair, has not yet heard of the term e-government until then, then what happens to the majority of uneducated and less fortunate brothers and sisters dwelling in deprived rural communities of the country?

Because we are living in a world of Knowledge Management (KM) and Experience Sharing, I cannot claim to be an expert in this field, but the little I know about e-government must be shared with others for the benefit of all who care to know; for the advancement of mankind and to the glory of the Divine Intelligence or the First Giver of knowledge itself.

The question is: What is E-GOVERNMENT? The United Nations defines e-Government as “Permanent commitment by government to improve the relationship between the private citizen and the public sector through enhanced, cost-effective and efficient delivery of services, information and knowledge.” It went further to explain that there are five categories of measuring a country’s “e-gov” progress in terms of Web Presence. This includes: Emerging – Enhanced – Interactive – Transactional and Fully Integrated. All UN member states have been called upon and encouraged to embark on this e-government project and programme.

Accordingly the world body has a way of assessing the progress of each country in this regard. Significantly in the UN Report for this year on e-government globally, Singapore, a small Island City State of Land- Area of 697.1sq km with a population of 4.185 million souls, is sharing the 2nd position with the mighty United States of America with Canada comfortably sitting on top of all.

How did Singapore make it to the top of e-government league table of the world? What strategies and policies were put in place; when and how did that country achieve such a technological feat over and above the super powers of this planet of economic inequalities?

Computerisation
Singapore set off on its e-government journey as far back as about 25 years ago. In 1981, Singapore embarked upon a computerization programme of the government machinery. It first established a National Computer Board and National Computerisation Plan. The Plan was to ensure a systematic growth of local IT industry; Development of IT manpower pool; Civil Service Computerisation Plan and the production of 850 IT Professionals.

National IT Plan
After the Computerisation programme, the Singapore government embarked upon what was referred to as the National IT Plan. The National IT Plan initiated what was known as the Beginnings of Computing Communications Convergence. It also constituted what was dubbed Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), which was basically aimed at bridging Government and industry. This plan took place in 1986 that is five years or so after the Computerisation Programme.

IT 2000 Blueprint for Intelligence Island
This Blueprint strategy that also started over five years after the National IT Plan in 1992 was to effect what was called Flagship Projects on the Singapore Island. It had the objectives to create an electronic network linking all libraries in that country; secure infrastructure for e-commerce; Expert system for checking all building plans in the country and above all to establish Singapore ONE, that is, to create one network for everyone in Singapore. It was this strategy that shot Singapore up to the position of the world’s first nationwide broadband infrastructure nation in the e-world.

Infocomm 2001
The next step Singapore took, after attaining a nationwide broadband infrastructure, was to launch what was dubbed Infocomm 2001. This project was launched in year 2000 and aimed at developing Singapore into a vibrant and dynamic global information communication capital, with a thriving and prosperous e-Economy, and a pervasive and “Infocomm-savvy” e-Society and full telecom liberalisation in that country.

Connected Singapore
In 2003, Singapore government launched the final onslaughts on its e-government programme by establishing what was simply known as Connected Singapore. This strategy was to unleash the potential for the total realisation of all e-government possibilities through the Infocomm project of the country.

Briefly, the preceding steps known in Singapore as the five (5) National Strategic ICT Plans give us an overview of the method Singapore adopted to become the 2nd e-Nation in the e-World today behind Canada. The Singapore government has a philosophy that: “Whatever services that can be delivered electronically must be delivered electronically” Period. More details and practical examples are in the next article. Stayed tuned!

Kofi Annan: The African Living Monument of the Century

BUSUMURU KOFI ANNAN, FORMER UN SECRETARY-GENERAL
By Mawutodzi K. Abissath

Shall we ever be guided by this African proverb? “If the palm fruit of your farm is not meaty or fleshy enough, it is you yourself who must munch it in such a fashion that others may even envy you!”

Ghanaian/African Media
If the Ghanaian Media and for that matter the African Media do not know what is good for Ghana and Africa, other foreign media will dictate to Ghana and Africa what is bad for Ghana and Africa.

On Tuesday, January 23, 2007, the icon of the black race, the torch-bearer of global diplomacy, Busumuru Dr Kofi Annan the Immediate-Past Secretary-General of the United Nations, safely landed on the soil of his mother land, Ghana after over 40 years of selfless and dedicated service to humanity abroad. One had expected that the following morning, almost all of the newspapers in Ghana, if not all at all, would have, for once, devoted their front page banner headlines for the arrival of this Living Monument of our time.

Sadly, however, it was only a few newspapers in his land of birth saw the triumphant return of this hero of international diplomacy as front page news. (I am just wondering what the Nigerian media scene would have been like, if Kofi Annan had been a Nigerian-born African citizen). This is why this writer wishes to doff his hat to the two leading public newspapers in Ghana, namely “the Daily Graphic” and “the Ghanaian Times”, for demonstrating why Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana, established the Ghana Institute of Journalism in 1958 for the benefit of African journalists.

My commendation of the Daily Graphic is even more profound because, apart from devoting the entire front page of the Wednesday, January 24,2007 edition to the arrival of Kofi Annan, the Paper also wrote an editorial on the matter under the heading “AKWAABA, BUSUMURU!”

Daily Graphic’s Editorial

In this write-up, I will dwell on the salient points of the twelve thought provoking paragraphs editorial of the Daily Graphic that welcomed Kofi Annan to Ghana. It is important to bear in mind that the traditional significance of the expression AKWAABA in Akan and WOEZOR in Ewe is deeper than the English term “Welcome!”

Before I review the Daily Graphic’s editorial in question, it is relevant to say a word of appreciation to the Government of Ghana for having staged what could be described as STATE WELCOMING CEREMONY OF BUSUMURU KOFI ANNAN, led by the President of the Republic, H.E.John Agyekum Kufuor himself on his arrival in Ghana.

Most Ghanaians are only familiar with “State Funerals.” We seem to be a people who place premium on dead bodies rather than eulogising living beings. So when the Ministry of Information and National Orientation officially announced the welcoming programme of the great son of the land and called on all patriotic citizens and well-wishers to be at the airport to give a hero’s welcome to H.E.Busumuru Dr. Kofi Annan to Ghana, it was clear that a national event was at stake. As a nation we should not only wait for our state men and women to die before we give them state funerals. There is a Chinese proverb which says: “If you want to honour a man, honour him while he is alive.” Kudos to Ghana Government.

Amazingly, the first paragraph of the Daily Graphic’s editorial for that day started with a quotation from a book written by a renowned Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe. The title was IN ANTHILLS OF THE SAVANNAH. The quote reads:

“The cock that crows in the morning belongs to one household but his voice is the property the whole neigbouhood.” The Paper continues that the famous Nigerian writer notes that, it is always a source of pride to own the cock which serves the needs of the community, saying, “You should be proud that this bright cockerel that wakes the whole village comes from your compound.” This point explains why Ghanaians should be the first citizens on this planet of heroism and dwellers of the African continent to be proud that Kofi Annan originates from Ghana.

When this writer happened to be in Singapore in November last year, he had to use the name of Kofi Annan, then UN Secretary-General to indicate Ghana on the African map. Apart from Kofi Annan, it was the National Football Team, the Black Stars that I was able to use to tell most people I came into contact with over there where I came from called Ghana. I told those who have never heard of Ghana that Ghana was the only country in Africa whose national team went beyond the preliminary stages in the just-ended world cup in Germany. Then people instantly started shaking my hands saying: “Your country is great!” This is why Ghanaians should not joke with Kofi Annan and the Black Stars at all. He is simply the Living Monument of the 21st Century.

The second paragraph of that editorial made one vital point: “Those who lived in the rural areas appreciate and understand the importance of the cock, especially the one which crows at appropriate times to wake up people to begin their daily economic activities. It is only the lazy who ignores the cock crow.” Whoever wrote that particular Graphic’s editorial deserves a national award. I could not agree more with the Paper on this point.

Today, most people, especially city dwellers cannot appreciate the value of cock crow because of availability of communication technology tools such as radio, television and even hall clocks and watches. People will readily tune to radio stations at dawn to listen to the voices of radio Pastors than to wait for the cock to crow. The sound some people will expect at dawn is the “korkorkor -korkorkorr” beats of the shoe shine boys in most cities in Ghana today and not the crow of the cock.

Do you remember that when the Network Africa section of BBC wanted to change the cock crow for its signature tune last year or so, the entire continent kicked against it? Even in the Bible, when Apostle Peter proclaimed that he would follow Jesus to the grave, Jesus looked at him and said : “Peter, Peter, I say unto you that even today, before the cock crows once, you will deny me three times!” That was the value of cock crow in those good days.

The third paragraph of the editorial said: “Busumuru Kofi Annan has been Ghana’s gift to the world through the United Nations, which he served with distinction long before he assumed the mantle of Secretary-General.” It went on,” Indeed, he did us all proud when, as the Chief Executive of the UN, he did not feel intimidated and stood up against injustice and unilateralism, even to the extent of disowning the United States in its misguided crusading mission in Iraq.”

That was the humble Kofi Annan of Ghana. And if you are a Ghanaian and you are not proud of this man, then, you may have to go for check-up somewhere beyond this planet. Another wonderful point the editorial made was that : “Busumuru Annan carried to greater heights the image and integrity of Ghana which had been brought to bear on the UN system by our illustrious first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Alex Quayson Sackey, Dr Robert Gardiner, Kenneth Dadzie and E.Y.Amoako (Dr). This is an indication that before Kofi Annan, other sons and daughters of Ghana had played their parts at various stages in the global endeavour.

However, the editorial made it clear that: “He capped it all up when he led the UN to win the coveted Nobel Peace Prize.” The Paper then quotes a Ghanaian adage to the effect that: “A man came to play his part, not to do everything. Busumuru Annan has done his part and we are proud to receive him back home. In typical Ghanaian tradition, as when a cherished person returns home, we say heartily: Akwaaba, Busumuru Kofi Annan!!!”

Listen to this point in the said editorial: “We are mobbing Busumuru Annan today because when he was given responsibility, he discharged it with a conscience based on cherished and valued principles. We applaud him because he did not bow to pressure, nor did he condescend to any parochial interests.” As a matter of fact, it was this part of the editorial that motivated me to sort of review the entire view of the Daily Graphic of January 24 this year.

The simple question is: How many of us in Ghana or Africa and elsewhere, will be able to discharge our responsibilities with integrity and conscience? If Kofi Annan had not performed his duties as UN Secretary-General with conscience, he would have been devoured by the international media like a lion does to its prey. Do you remember what the international media did to him when his adult son, called Kojo was involved in some so-called oil-for-food saga?

The truth is that Kofi Annan is a human being and as such can err like any human being in the course of his duties. But for some one to work in the UN system for over 30 years or so and then served as Boss of UN for ten years without any concrete evidence of corruption against him, I can only characterise him as an angelic soul. I don’t want to say that he has attained perfection in this incarnation yet. But to paraphrase what God told Noah in the Christian Bible: “If I can find 10 of Kofi Annan’s type on this planet, there will be no more wars on earth.”

Graphic’s editorial therefore postulates that that unique leadership quality, gem, jewel, precious stone of character , demonstrated and exhibited by Busumuru Kofi Annan, “must be a great lesson to us all. Sometimes when people are given job to do, there are others who evaluate them positively only on the basis of the many favours they bestow upon certain interest groups, irrespective of whether such favours breach or give dignity to established principles.”

Graphic is of the opinion that it pays for public officials to be motivated and encouraged to discharge their duties with utmost commitment and dedication to the public interest. “More importantly,” it noted, “public officers must be unwavering in the discharge of their responsibilities in so far as they err on the path of the general good. Once they eschew selfishness, they are bound to succeed.”

In the concluding paragraph of that memorable editorial, the Paper wrote: “We are equally thankful to the government for acknowledging the worthy contributions of Busumuru Annan and also for its active participation in the welcoming process. That demonstrates that we recognise and appreciate our heroes. A Hearty welcome! Akwaaba, Busumuru Kofi Annan!!!” the Daily Graphic editorial ended.

Reconciliation
On Thursday, January 25,2007, a day after the Daily Graphic’s editorial on Kofi Annan, the Paper carried another front page banner headline , screaming with joy: “KOFI’S ,MAGIC AT WORK:-His iconic nature pulls Mills to Castle, first time in six years.” For that day, I must commend all the Ghanaian media for magnificent job done.

If Kofi Annan can use his mere physical presence in Ghana to attract all political opponents including Professor Atta Mills like magnet and drag them to the seat of Government for the first time in half a dozen of years, then you know the kind of soul we are talking about in the man. For that feat, the man must be rechristened as the Paramount King of Peace.

Suggestions
May I make two simple suggestions for the consideration of the nation?
1. The State Protocol must organise a Special Nation-wide tour for Dr. Kofi Annan to visit each of the 138 districts of Ghana. There he must be seen, touched and spoken to by all school children. The inspiration will be such that in the next 50 years time Ghana may produce more Kofi Annans for the world.

2. The Ministry of Tourism/Tourist Board must create a National Festival of Peace in commemoration of the Triumphant Return of Busumuru to the mother land and the bringing together of all political opponents at the seat of Government. The day Dr. Kofi Annan will land in the Ewe land, he shall be hailed: TOGBEGA BUSUMURU, WOEZOR LOOOO!!!!! WOEZOR KAKAKAKAKA!!!!!!!

VISIT MY OTHER BLOG

http://wisdom-abissat.blogspot.com/

The Agony of the Ghanaian Writer at the Feet of the Book Seller

By Mawutodzi K. Abissath

Do you remember this popular Ghanaian saying that: “Monkey ‘dey’ work Baboon ‘dey’chop?” It is a very painful experience indeed! You may not appreciate its psychological impact until you are baptised into it.

Philosophically, creativity goes hand in hand with inspiration while inspiration moves side by side with motivation. Thus, to a certain degree, a creative person may need some speck of inspiration in order to create. And to some extend, some spark of motivation may be needed to ignite the engine of inspiration. All this may depend on the person’s own inclinations anyway.

In Ghana, there is a general perception that Ghanaians don’t read. This perception may be real or otherwise. If it is real, then why? There is also a perception that Ghanaians don’t write. This may also be true or false. If it is true, then again why? Can a serious creative nation write and read text books only

To attempt to provide answers to the preceding rhetorical questions, this writer will like to share his personal experience with the reader about the agony, anguish, ordeal, pain, torture, stress, suffering and woes, a Ghanaian writer had to endure not only in the hands but also at the feet of some book sellers in Ghana.

In order not to jump the gun, it will be more prudent to assert that there are thousand and one reasons why Ghanaians don’t write. Socio-economic, political or even cultural factors as well as simple high cost of printing material can be cited. But to this writer, the certificate of humiliation and contempt some booksellers present to writers as their rewards for writing, tends to play a dominant role in the non-writing culture in the country.

In 1994, this author had his first work published after the manuscript had been in hibernation with the publisher for ten (10) years. Yes, ten years. It was a collection of poems for children. As a matter of fact the publisher gave me a very nice diplomatic explanation. “You see, as a rule we don’t normally publish poetry because Ghanaians don’t read poetry. But we decided to publish your poems because we find them unique”, he said. As to whether I gained anything for writing that book only Jesus knows.

As if by design, ten years later in 2004, another book, this time, of African proverbs which I co-authored with my late friend Albin Korem, (May his soul rest in peace) was published. The manuscript of this book, too, had had to journey from one publisher to another for over seven (7) years with promises to publish it. When we were frustrated and disappointed enough, we decided to publish it ourselves. This was how and why my friend had to finance the printing of that work.

It was only upon taking delivery of the books and sending them onto the market that we got to know the punishment awaiting a writer in the court of a book seller. First of all some book sellers will expect you the writer to give them the book on the “sale or return” basis commission of over 25% to 35% or even more. The implication is that, depending on the cover price of the book, you the writer will go hungry and hang yourself while the seller feeds fat on your sweat.

The truth is that the seller is totally oblivious of whatever energy, time, and money the writer might have spent in terms of research, let alone the sleepless nights he might have stayed on his bare buttocks burning the midnight candle to write the book. And while the writer is racking his brain in the night, the seller is snoring in the dream land – “hornnrrrr-hornnrrrrr- hornrrrrr!”

One bitter experience encountered was the cheating character of some book sellers in this country. While the writer, taking into account the non-reading culture of the Ghanaian, prices his book in such a way that ordinary readers can afford to buy it, some book sellers who are only interested in making undeserved profit will accept to sell the book at the approved discount percentage only to turn round to illegally inflate the price of the book in the absence of the writer. This selfish attitude on the part of some book vendors tends to drive away even the few prospective readers who may be desirous of buying the book.

A practical example is the situation where a book that was priced at Sixty-five-thousand cedis (¢65,000.00) was being sold for between ¢75,000.00 and ¢150,000.00 a copy by some bookshops in this land of our death. This makes it extremely difficult for humble Ghanaians to afford to buy the book. The result is that only a few foreigners and some tourists are able to buy the book. Apart from cheating the public, these book sellers are being unfair to the writer who may want to dispose of the first edition as quickly as possible so as to come out with the next one. In fact some of the book sellers are so insensitive to the plight of the writer that, they will laugh and jubilate if the writer goes to commit suicide. Why should this be so?

There is an African proverb which says that: “You must not bite the finger that feeds you.” If there were no writers on this planet of interdependence, what will the bookshop owners be selling? Books all over the world are written by writers. Therefore, book sellers must not wish the down fall or the demise of writers. The day the last writer will die the last book seller will also go to hell.

Another unthinkable experience this writer has gone through and continues to go through is the fact that, after some bookshops have actually finished selling the entire stock supplied to them and have taken their legitimate commissions plus their “illegal/immoral profits”, they feel reluctant giving the author’s little share to him. Rather, they adopt a “go-come; go-come” strategy to humiliate the writer as if he was a vagabond in the kingdom of street beggars. This is mind boggling and not a laughing matter at all, reader!

This author can place his left hand over his heart and the right hand over the left and vouch that Ghanaians are not lazy writers at all. There are gifted writers in Ghana who can write from January to December non-stop. Just take a glance at the magnificent way some Ghanaian journalists write and you will concur with me that there are brilliant writers in Ghana. But nobody has the appetite to write a book because they dread the verdict awaiting them at the end of the rainbow. It is like writing a book is not only a misdemeanor but a first degree felony in Ghana.

My late co-author Albin Korem went to his grave with this kind of notion in his heart. When he was alive, he would sometimes rush to my office after going round the bookshops, begging them to pay him in vain. Then he would weep like a child. And I would be consoling him. He could not understand why some bookshop owners would finish selling our books, took their profits whether legitimate or otherwise but refused to pay him his due. Now he is gone and I am dancing to the tune of this uncharitable behaviour of some bookshops in Ghana. Is it fair?

On the other hand, some bookshop owners are not only honest, but kind and loving indeed! They will motivate and encourage you to write more books and supply them to their shops so that they can sell them and get their commission. God bless such booksellers. But for those who take delight in cheating and frustrating writers they must go and wash their shame in the Atlantic Ocean.

One cardinal truth is that writers will always need sellers to market their products for them. But book sellers can never get books to sell if there are no writers. In fact they can sell anything under the sun but not books. While writers can decide to sell their own books the same cannot be said of sellers unless they are writers themselves as well.

In some countries, writers do not go round begging for payment of their works. The beauty of the book industry is that if book sellers can focus on selling books and pay writers correctly, fairly and promptly, instead of writers hobbling from shop to shop begging for their own payment, they will have time to sit down and relax. They will then take three deep breaths, visualise, concentrate, contemplate, meditate and receive inspirations from the Supreme Creator so as to create more works for all to enjoy.

If Ghanaian book sellers frustrate writers to their graves there will be no Ghanaian writers in Ghana. Ghana will remain a nation of consumers of everything including foreign books. When will Ghana also start exporting Ghanaian books in drove? Shall we ever be guided by this principle that: “The black hen that lays the white egg must not have its neck squeezed out of the existence?”

ICT: The Gold Mine Of The Mind

By Mawutodzi K. Abissath
There is this interesting Ghanaian proverb, which says that, “If your friend is more handsome than you are, you must admit it and praise him.”

In this article, I shall attempt to find out why Ghana is naturally rich but economically poor; and why Singapore is naturally poor but economically rich. It seems to me that there is a missing link somewhere.

Perhaps, my arguments or analyses may sound rather simplistic. The reason is that I am neither an economist nor an Information Communications Technology (ICT) expert. But as a Ghanaian journalist who has lived all his life in Ghana with a brief stay in Singapore, it should not be out of place to put my observations on paper for the experts to pass their judgment.

In the first place, it is important to underscore the fact that both Ghana and Singapore had been colonized by Britain. Ghana obtained her independence in 1957; Singapore in 1960. Ghana has a land area of 238,540sq km; Singapore is an Island of 697.1sq km. Ghana has a population of 20 million; Singapore about five million. Ghana’s literacy rate is about 74.8%; Singapore’s is 94.2%.

Ghana is endowed with natural mineral resources such gold, diamond, bauxite, timber etc.; Singapore has none of them at all. Ghana’s GDP per head is about USD 1,400; Singapore’s is USD 22,033(2003). Ghana has arable land capable of producing any food crop under the sun all year round, but most Ghanaians can hardily afford three square meals a day; Singapore has no land at all for food cultivation. As a matter of fact, they are compelled to plant tomatoes in the air. Yet, Singaporeans eat eight (8) times a day.

In Singapore, there is nothing like “breakfast”, “lunch”, or “supper/dinner”. The food is there; so anytime at all you feel like eating, you go and eat. Period. Their equivalent of restaurants or canteens or chop bars in Ghana is known as Food Centres or Food Junctions. These Food Centres and Food Junctions abound in all shopping centers and street corners. And food is very, very cheap, too, my brother!

The question is: Why is Ghana so rich but so poor? Not only is Ghana poor, but a heavily indebted poor country (HIPC) on top. Why and why again? My layman’s answer to this question is that, something basic is missing in Ghana’s economic strategy. And that which is missing, in my simplistic opinion is ICT, which is the gold mine of the mind.

If Ghana has the physical gold sitting in the belly of her earth but cannot develop the technology, which is sleeping in the minds of her citizens, the gold will be there and the people will starve to death. The 21st century economy is knowledge-based economy. It depends more on creativity and creation, acquisition, distribution and the use knowledge.

The acquisition of what is now referred to as intangible capital such as ideas, information, skills and competencies in the field of Information Communication Technology is more important than having diamond growing bigger and bigger under the ground without your knowing. In fact you even need the technological knowledge to determine that you have crude oil flowing under your sea. This is where Singapore has beaten Ghana. Shifting emphasis from material capital to human capital. Developing the minds of the people and the nation shall develop.

The type of education Singapore is giving to her citizens to exploit the gold of the mind is missing in Ghana. For instance, in Singapore, engineers, technologists, scientists, nurses, and all types of professionals who are making the economy of that country buoyant are being trained in the polytechnics. What is the situation in Ghana?

About 25 years ago, the leadership of Singapore took note of the trends of global economy and paused for self-examination. They posed the following questions to themselves: “Singapore has no natural resources whatsoever; it depends entirely on other nations for its livelihood through importations. ‘What will happen to us if there is a war one day and our development partners decide to block our imports?’ “What must we do to become economical self-dependent?”

Apparently, it was this paradoxical situation that prompted Singapore to adopt ICT as the best solution to their survival. A senior lecturer at Nanyang Polytechnic in that country, who spoke to this writer in an exclusive interview in July this year, stated that the Singapore authorities after their critical self-examination resolved to invest in their people as the only resources available for national development and prosperity.

Thanks to the Information Communications Technology, Singapore is now ahead of most Asian Tigers in digital economy. In fact some so called advanced industrialized nations are today consulting Singapore to help them in some ICT software security development and management.

Is there any earthly reason why Ghana cannot use ICT to achieve digital economy for the benefit of its citizens like Singapore? It is the considered view of this writer that Ghanaians are very intelligent people and if they set their priorities right, they can achieve what Singaporeans are doing; even more in a shorter period.

The vision of the leadership is critical in this regard. It is gratifying to note that a national ICT policy framework has already been put in place by the government and Ghana’s Parliament has taken a favourable view of it. Ghanaian economists and ICT gurus must not work at cross-purposes. They must think, build and operate as a team.

ICT must be introduced to schools right from the primary level. And it must begin with computer literacy, which must be made part and parcel of the nation’s educational system. This must begin from day one. When this is done, discipline must become a national password. Singaporeans do not wait for their Vice-President to beg them to be

disciplined; their market women do not wait for the Mayor of the City to plead with them to clean the market; their commercial drivers do not wait for the Inspector-General of Police to direct traffic when there is black-out; students of tertiary institutions do not wait for their Vice-chancellors or Principals to plead with them not to brutalise their fellow students to death; and above all, second cycle students do not wait for the Minister of Education to beg them not to destroy school properties.

Having said that ICT is the gold mine of the mind, undisciplined minds cannot concentrate, contemplate, meditate, visualize, create and invent anything. Singapore is making a digital economic progress because the people are self-disciplined. Therefore, if the government provides computers to schools only for indiscipline, stubborn, disobedient, wayward and recalcitrant students to vandalise and set them ablaze, how can ICT mine the gold in the minds of Ghanaians for the nation to enter the knowledge economic kingdom?

Re-Engineering The Ghanaian Mentality For 2057

THE GHANAIAN

By Mawutodzi K. Abissath

An African proverb prompts us that: “If Sunday will be magnificent and glorious, it is Saturday that will send the signal.” The year 2007 seems to be poised to be “butubutu paaa.” Ghana will be 50 years old. The golden jubilee fiver is already being felt in the year 2006. But this writer is thinking of the year 2057 when Ghana will be celebrating her 100 years of independence.

Well, there is nothing wrong with celebrating a golden jubilee of one’s country in grand style. But if you take Ghana as your personal loving mother who is celebrating her 50^th birthday on sick bed, suffering from, say, a stroke. How will you feel? This is why this writer will like to caution that we should not over jubilate while our mother Ghana has one side of her brain not functioning properly.

The truth is that it is we Ghanaians who made Ghana what it is today; whether good or bad. There might be some external forces that might have contributed to our forwardness or backwardness, depending on your own philosophy of life. Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Whichever you are, let’s remember this African proverb which says that:

When you spit on the ground, you don’t collect it back with your tongue.” In other words, in this context, it will not serve us any purpose to engage in blame game. Shall we look ahead and make Ghana a better place to live in in the next 50 years than we have had it in the last half a century?

Wealth
Ghana, by all standards is not a pour country at all. Ghana has been endowed with unimaginable natural resources, such as gold, diamond, bauxite, manganese, even there is some oil somewhere, only we don’t seem to know where and how to extract that oil. Is it in the Keta lagoon or in the lake Bosomtwi? We are not too sure which is which.

Where are the Ghanaian geologists and other relevant scientists? Ghana has cocoa, coffee, cotton and even cashew. Ghana has ground-nut, palm-nut, coco-nut, shed-nut, cola-nut, tiger-nut, and what not? Ghana has arable lands lying fallow from Ningo in the Greater Accra Region to Bongo in the Upper East Region that can grow any food crop under the sun, such as maize, rice, millet, sorghum, Soya beans and other beans.

As for cassava, yam, coco-yam and plantain, even if we plant them on top of the Kwahu Mountains they will yield. Fruits? Ghana has mangoes, oranges, pineapples, guava, avocado pea, bananas, black berets and many more. Livestock? Ghana has one of the most conducive tropical climates on this planet of free air that can breed any livestock from the kingdom of animals. Is it cattle, poultry, piggery or what? Ghana can produce tortoises, ostriches and even crocodiles for export. As for snails, they are roaming in our forests free of charge. We only have to pick them and have sumptuous palm-nut cum “kontomire” soups. “Wo mpe wo yi a – wo pe dien?” To wit: If you don’t like this – what do you want in life?

Rivers, you mean? Ghana has some of the most magnificent rivers in Africa. We have Pra River, Densu River, Ankobra River, and others that are yet to be discovered by Mongo Park? As for the Volta River, it is flowing from the belly of land-locked Burkina Faso. When it reached Ghana, nature ordered it to spread its octopus-like tentacles on our soil before heading to the Gulf of Guinea into the Atlantic Ocean. And it has been flowing all year-round non-stop since the day the Creator instructed it to do so.

But we are still sleeping in darkness because we cannot develop the appropriate technology to convert the running waters into dams for any productive purposes, be it for irrigation of legumes or hydro-electric power for our universities, where engineers are being produced. In Singapore, it took a teenage girl engineer to solve the human waste problem by inventing a machine that converts rubbish into electric power.

Look at Libya; they have no such natural rivers any where. Yet they have been able to create an artificial river from under the ground and they are turning their deserts into virgin forests. Even ordinary carrots we have to import them from Burkina Faso for our “wakye” sellers to use. Where are the Ghanaian agricultural specialists? Is something fundamentally wrong with us Ghanaians? Can we take a second look at our educational system again? Ghanaians are capable people by nature. Just take the out-going UN Secretary-General, Busuburum Kofi Annan, as an epitome the Ghanaian.

Now, it appears we cannot solve any simple socio-economic problems on our own. Rather, when the seemingly natural death of the expression “culture of silence” occurred in the Ghanaian vocabulary, everybody was plunged and baptised in the sea of free talks. As a result, almost every Ghanaian has become a “born-again-talking consultant”, working as experts in the talking industry of the country.

Things to watch
As long as we respond to the accolade of the Heavily Poor Indebted Country (HIPC), we must take it that Ghana, our beloved mother land, has one part of its body paralysed. The question we must ask ourselves is: Why do we have so much, yet we are so poor? And the majority of our people are taking slave salaries that cannot take them from the bank to their homes? You don’t have to go to Jerusalem to look for the answers. The answers are our mind-set, attitude, behaviours, conducts, actions, deeds, comportments and life style. What do I mean? If one person will like to fill his belly to the brim of his mouth while others can starve to hell, is it the best philosophy of life? Greed and selfishness. Corruption, bribery, dishonesty, malfeasance, fraud and narcotic ventures. We must watch these little, little things as we embark on the celebration of our golden jubilee as a nation.

Political corruption, where one person will want to carry the entire national revenue for the year into a canoe and paddle it across the high seas and dump it into a corrupt bank in Europe and elsewhere, so that when he or she is no longer in power, he or she can go and “chop” it alone.

Cultural corruption, where one traditional ruler who has the custody of the land in trust for his people, will want to sell all the lands without thinking of the third generation. Even after selling the lands, instead of investing the proceeds into productive ventures for the unborn youth, he or she will use the money to marry 177 wives and spend the rest on “homeboy” or “kill me quick” or “agban”, popularly known as apketeshie. Why?

Religious corruption, where one so-called “man of God” will use all modern marketing strategies in the name of Jesus, to extort the last GH Cedi from the orphan among the congregation. Then he will buy a private jet for himself and his “Osofomami” and be junketing the globe, preaching prosperity minus salvation, while the poor souls resign themselves to a corner in the kingdom of poverty. All this, my brother, makes Ghana what it is today. Do we have to blame somebody for our woes?

It is against this backdrop that I say we Ghanaians need mental re-engineering for the coming 50 years. Re-engineering, according to Dr.Colin Quek of the National University of Singapore, means: “The fundamental rethinking and radical re-design of an entire business system.” In this context, let’s take Ghana as a business entity. To re-engineer, you must re-focus. And to re-focus you must change. When changing, you must know where you are coming from, where you are and where you want to be. The goal of reengineering is quality rather than quantity.

Therefore, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of our nationhood in 2007, we should not over-dose ourselves with jubilation and self aggrandisements. We must not plunge ourselves into the sea of champagne and whisky, imported with the scare foreign exchange we must use to develop our agric sector to produce enough food to feed ourselves and our industries.

Every Ghanaian citizen has a responsibility to help the Government of the day to make life a bit more meaningful for all of us. We must change our approach to duty. Our work ethics must change for the better. A situation where we treat Government or public property as none of our business must change. That is what I mean by re-engineering of the Ghanaian mentality. That is all.

As we jubilate, we must not forget the fact that some other Ghanaians sacrificed their lives to make it possible for us to celebrate a golden jubilee of nationhood in 2007. We must be grateful to them for their efforts. What legacy shall we also leave for those who will celebrate the centenary of our mother Ghana in 2057?