May 2012
2 posts
4 tags
NDC, NPP & the Ghana Statistical Service
Today’s headlines was all about the Ghana Statistical Service’s response to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s speech at the 5th Ferdinand Ayim Memorial Lecture. Every newspaper and headline I saw quoted Acting Government Statistician, Dr. Philomena Nyarko’s response to Dr. Bawumia. In the past week, Ministry of Finance & Economic Planning, Governor of Bank of Ghana among others...
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A Successful Biometric Voter Registration?
It has been a while since I wrote here. The Glo post doesn’t count. It was just a quick post to answer all the questions that were coming at me on twitter. I have been quite busy with a lot stuff, the best of which is an election project I am involved in.
For the past 40 days, we have all been involved and witnessed the biometric voter registration. I will cut the chase and say the...
April 2012
1 post
6 tags
Glo NetPro Hands On
Glo Mobile Ghana finally launched yesterday and today was their first big day.
I got a data modem from Glo this afternoon. It took about an hour to get the modem as I had to wait in line and everybody was buying at least two SIM cards or modem. Glo NetPro a ZTE MF110 USB modem which sells at GH¢60 with 6GB
Setup
Setup was easy and fast. Setting up on my MacBook Pro took just a few clicks and...
January 2012
1 post
6 tags
The President's Encounter With Senior Editors &...
Good morning Ghana! I guess some of you spent some time watching or listening to the President’s interaction/encounter with senior editors and journalists at the Castle yesterday. Even if you missed it on radio and tv, you probably saw a couple of tweets or Facebook updates on it.
Mills interacting with Media. Credit: Presidency of the Republic of Ghana
I did listen via radio in the...
December 2011
3 posts
8 tags
Why Aren't Our Nations Better Off?
African nations have had independence for so so many years: Why aren’t our nations better off? That is the question Nadia Zeine asked on twitter a couple of days ago. It is question I have often tried to answer. Off the top of my head, I can think of these five reasons; Leadership, Followership, Aid, Corruption, Neocolonialism and Religion.
We haven’t been too lucky with the leaders...
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In Loving Memory of Laud Affum Asamoah (1984 -...
This is the worst news I have heard all year. I was mentioned in a tweet by Nana Wireko this afternoon asking if it was indeed true that Laud Affum Asamoah had passed away. I couldn’t believe it. Was it a sick joke? I immediately reached for my phone and called Laud. I felt a sigh of relief when the I heard it ringing on the other side just to be told moments after that the number...
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One Year Away...
We are exactly a year away for the 2012 Presidential and Parliamentary elections. I bet I am not the only one excited about the 2012 elections. I had a couple of retweets when I tweeted it this morning. 2012 presents a new dimension in Ghana’s elections.
Apart from the much touted biometric voters’ register and ‘vote of confidence’ in the sitting John Evans Atta Mills, I...
November 2011
1 post
7 tags
How Many Times Can Vodafone Ghana Replace Stolen...
I have been on Vodafone Fixed Broadband since April 30, 2010 and I have little complains about the uptime. The uptime is actually great (for me).
My problem with Vodafone Ghana is the number of times the broadband/fixed line cables get stolen and replaced. It seems nothing is being done aside replacing them, absolutely nothing! It just keeps recurring.
In the past 4 months, the cables in my...
October 2011
2 posts
2 tags
Thank You, Steve Jobs!
I woke up to 5 missed calls, 3 offline messages, 1 facebook wall post and 5 twitter mentions. It was nothing but kind words and bad news about the death of my hero.
Rest in Peace, Steven Paul Jobs. I owe much of what I am today to you. Thank you!
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Apple Unveils iPhone 4S
October 4 came and as expected Apple Inc unveiled the next generation iPhone; iPhone 4S at the company’s media event, Let’s Talk iPhone.
The new iPhone has the same design as the iPhone 4 but it’s different on the inside.
So, what’s really new on the inside?
Well, the iPhone 4S features an A5 processor which delivers 2X the speed of the iPhone 4, has an 8-megapixel...
August 2011
4 posts
7 tags
Goodbye, Steve.
Today’s post is dedicated to my personal hero, Steven Paul Jobs, who thought me to believe in design and quality. As we all know by now, Steve Jobs has resigned as CEO of Apple Inc, the world’s biggest technology company and makers of the Mac, iPhone, iPad and other great products.
The news about Steve’s departure although saddens me was inevitable. Steve’s health has...
3 tags
Letter from Steve Jobs
To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community: I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come. I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee. As far as my successor...
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Watch The Throne!
The first thing I did this morning was to download Jay-Z & Kanye West’s ‘Watch The Throne’.
Grab it here
July 2011
4 posts
10 tags
App Store Now Available for Ghana!
Apple Inc. has added 33 additional countries to its Mac & iTunes App Store. New to the list are 5 African countries; Ghana, Nigeria, Angola, Algeria and Tanzania raises the number of African countries to 16.This means users in these countries can create an App Store Account with their Apple IDs, link it to their VISA, MasterCard or AMEX credit/debit cards and purchase apps. It also means...
14 tags
China!
Ni hao! I returned from China a week ago and it was so much fun. Unfortunately, I have had so much to do at work that I haven’t been able to blog about the People’s Republic of China. Four words; Beautiful country, Nice people!
I was in China for a 2-week Chinese Government Seminar for Officials from Developing Countries on Development Zone Policies. It was was exciting and presented...
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“We often make product decisions based on strategic alignment, partner requests...”
– From an open letter reportedly written by a Senior Executive at Research in Motion
BGR
June 2011
2 posts
9 tags
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Have You Registered Your SIM Card?
With 5 days to go, I ask, have you registered your SIM card yet? Don’t forget per the National Communication Authority’s directive, all SIM cards which have not been registered by close of day, June 30 2011 will be deactivated. This means that from July 1st 2011, only SIM cards that have been registered will be able to make and receive calls. This applies to data sim cards...
May 2011
1 post
5 tags
April 2011
4 posts
11 tags
Technology & Social Media: Lessons From The...
It’s a wrap and as expected Goodluck Ebele Azikwe Jonathan has been elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the next 4 years. I closely followed the Nigerian Polls way before it begun. Nigeria was on everybody’s radar when Umar Yar’Adua, the former president was elected in 2007 after his demise last year.
My interest in the Nigerian Elections was in the use of...
9 tags
How The iPad Is Changing My Reading Habits
Growing up, I used to read a lot. My favourite author was Enid Blyton and not a week passed without reading an Enid Blyton book. I read a lot of comics too; The Adventures of Tintin and The Adventures of Asterix & Obelix. Somewhere along the line between Junior High and Senior High, I completely lost it.
I don’t know why I developed a dislike and a lazy attitude towards reading. I was...
3 tags
It's Been A Year Already?
It is exactly a year since I started working in the Public Service. I bet none of my colleagues remember. Well, Administration & Human Resource doesn’t either so it’s no big deal.
It has been one short year. It has come faster than I expected. It has been a good learning experience. I have one of the best bosses in the Ghana’s public service and she is teaching me fast and...
4 tags
April - The Month for Change
‘Be the change you want to see in the world’ - Mahatma Ghandi
Welcome to April!
It is the month for change for me. I am fired up by my desire to change the way I do and treat certain aspects/things in my life and the things around me. On top of that, my organisation just participated in the Public Sector Reform Secretariat’s Culture Change programme. A lot of my colleagues...
March 2011
7 posts
4 tags
The Day After...
I will cut the chase. I wasn’t impressed with the Black Stars performance yesterday! I was expecting a win. I was so sure of a win. I think we could have far better. I told my colleagues I didn’t see the point of all the jubilation. It was only a draw… against a B team.
It is okay we walked away with a draw. Asamoah Gyan was again the hero for Ghana and I heard I couple of...
6 tags
England v. Ghana
Today is a historic day for Ghanaian football. Today, the Black Stars play the Three Lions for the first time. This is a game Ghanaians and a lot of football enthusiasts have been anticipating for long time. We have always wanted to play England. The reasons are quite simple; Ghana has matured in football and it’s about time we play England and other ‘big’ teams and show the...
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Today is Ash Wednesday and I kick it off with one...
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Visionary Vistas - Reflections on a Brighter...
I just finished reading Baafo Ahenkora’s book; Visionary Vista - Reflections on a Brighter Future for Ghana and I am really impressed and inspired and I would like to recommend it to all readers of my blog. The author, the writer of GhanaBiased does a good job on sharing his reflection on things that need to be done for a brighter future for the motherland.
At certain points, it was as if I...
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Constitution Review: The 25 Questions Every...
This is the third and final post on my the Constitution Review. These are my thoughts and I think most Ghanaians share the my opinion.
CHIEFTAINCY 21. What do you think of the provision in the Constitution that a chief shall not take part in active party politics?
I would have loved for Chieftaincy to be scrapped. If a chief wants to take part in active party politics, he/she should abdicate...
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Constitution Review: The 25 Questions Every...
Today, I continue my 3-part post on the constitution review. Let’s dive straight into the questions.
PARLIAMENT 10. Should any MP be allowed to propose a Bill with cost implications to Parliament for passage into law? Or should only the President have this right?
This is a difficult one. Let’s continue to test the constitution on this one. 11. The Constitution provides for a...
February 2011
1 post
7 tags
Constitution Review: The 25 Questions Every...
The Constitution Review Commission (CRC) in December 2010 posted the top 25 issues that arose from it’s sittings. The CRC is collating the views of Ghanaians on these issues via SMS, twitter, etc. As a proud Ghanaian, I have decided to put out my take on the 25 issues here. I thought about SMS submissions but I am not doing that because SMS’ are charged at premium rate (GH¢0.50...
January 2011
3 posts
3 tags
“Stay where you are. Look at my face and listen to my voice. Do I look and sound...”
– John Evans Atta Mills
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New Year in Kumasi
On the 364th day of the year 2010, I felt the edge to go to Kumasi to see a special someone. I skipped work on the 31st which was a half-day anyway, got a couple of things done (which included combing Accra for Golden Tree pebbles) and got on a bus to Kumasi.
The first hours were less eventful. Sonny had just bought a new car and we went on a driving spree. I ended up in church (can’t...
16 tags
Top 10 Albums of 2010
On the first #musicmonday of 2011, I want to share my favourite albums of 2010. Usually I rely on iTunes’ play count to get my favourite tracks and albums of the year. You will realise the list is dominated by hip hop. I listen to that a lot.
1. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West
2. B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray - B.o.B
Bobby Ray’s debut is my number 2...
December 2010
5 posts
12 tags
Dropbox: Best App of 2010
Dropbox is my 2010 best app hands down! I am so in love with this app.
What is Dropbox? You remember when we used to attach files and save them as drafts in our emails so we don’t lose them? Well, those days belong to the last decade. Dropbox is an online backup/sync service/software offering 2GB for free. Bigger space is available for a monthly fee.
Dropbox is like your hard disk in the...
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Christmas in Sunyani
I just got back from spending christmas in Sunyani. It was great! I hadn’t been in Sunyani since April 2010. Nothing has really changed there… well, except the a Zenith Bank branch and Sahel-Sahara Bank Branch which are opening soon.
I got to spend time with family and friends. The best part is probably seeing Ethan, my nephew. That kid is just adorable. I played pool whilst I was...
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Afehyia Pa!
Me ma obiaa Afehyia Pa! Afe sesei na bibiara da din, na Ghana so akɔ na nim. Yɛ kae sɛ ɛyɛ Yesu awoda na yɛ di na yɛ ma obiaa ɛhunu Kristo wo bibiara a yɛ yɛ mu.
Afehyia Pa o!
5 tags
CliQ powered by Expresso
I have always wanted to post a review of Expresso’s EVDO modem, CliQ. I have gotten a lot of great messages from people I suggested it to and I keep suggesting it to anyone looking at getting a USB modem.
What is CliQ?
CliQ is the new the new mobile broadband service Ghana’s sole CDMA operator, Expresso.
How To Get A CliQ Modem
CliQ can be purchased from any Expresso Shop or...
2 tags
Back to Mac
After 4 months of being on Windows and Ubuntu, I am happy to announce that I am back on a Mac. I have acquired a 13” MacBook Pro and It really feels good to be back. Absolutely nothing like a Mac. Haters will never understand. Thanks to Owusu & Patrick! Good looking guys!
November 2010
1 post
4 tags
2011 Budget Statement & Economic Policy of the...
On Thursday, November 18, 2010, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, Minister of Finance & Economic Planning presented the 2011 Budget Statement & Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana to Parliament. It has the theme; Stimulation Growth for Development & Job Creation. The budget is available for download here:
http://mofep.gov.gh/budget2011.cfm
October 2010
3 posts
6 tags
Quotes From Apple's Q4 Earnings
Anybody who knows me knows how crazy i am about Apple and Steve Jobs [no homo!]. I am sure a lot of you woke up this morning (on my side of the world) to figures you have not seen Apple posting before.
Apple announced it’s Q4 earnings and it was great. Apple recorded an unprecedented revenue of $20.34 billion and a profit after tax of $4.31 billion. 14.1 million iPhones sold in the quarter. Did...
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Kasapa Rebranding To Expresso Telecom
Kasapa Telecom is rebranding to Expresso Telecom, two years after Hutchison Whampoa Group, its previous owners sold its interest to Expresso Telecom Limited, the Dubai Investment of Sudan’s Sudatel Telecom Group.
This is the second time Kasapa is re-branding. Kasapa, which was established in 1996 as Celltel re-branded to Kasapa in 2003. Kasapa currently has an estimated 400,000...
4 tags
The SHS Crises
It’s been a while since I wrote for my blog or any other blog. I have been very busy with work and other stuff plus being my lazy self but I just had to write something today.
We have allowed the politicians to play politics with other education system and now our younger brothers, sisters and kids are going to pay the price for it. If you are not familiar with happenings in Ghana’s...
September 2010
3 posts
2 tags
25
This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it - Psalm 118:24
This week has been one of reflections. Back and forth thoughts about how my life has turned out; what I have become and what I could have become.
The past year has been one of deferred dreams, but I remember reading a tweet fromEthel D. Cofie; Why grieve because all your dreams have not come true? Neither have...
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National Identity Summit
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to participate in the National Identity Summit organised by the Brand Ghana Office. I acknowledge this post is long overdue but honestly, I didn’t know how to write this one plus I have been very busy. I have put together bits of my report to my boss and my thoughts on the summit in this one.
It was an interesting and insightful summit, which brought...
August 2010
5 posts
4 tags
The 2010 Population & Housing Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population - Wikipedia
A month from today, the 2010 Housing and Population Census will begin. The census, which was expected to have been conducted in March had to be pushed to September because several reasons. The theme for this year’s census is ‘Quality Data; A Tool for...
7 tags
The Petroleum Revenue Management Bill 2010
Everybody knows that Ghana is on schedule to produce first oil in the fourth quarter of the year. A lot of people have been asking where the Petroleum Revenue Management Bill is.
I got a copy of the bill from Parliament’s website. I haven’t had time to read it but I am hoping to do that this week.
Anyone interested in reading the bill can get it here. The Petroleum (Exploration &...