Proud to be Ghanaian

A few weeks ago, I came across a media release in the Business and Financial Times by the National Communication Authority (NCA) on a new numbering plan for fixed line telephony operators in Ghana. According to the release which was also posted on the NCA’s website:

** The current 53 area codes (021, 022, 051, 061, 0742 etc) will be reduced to 10 regional codes

REGIONS (CURRENT AREA CODES) ➲ NEW CODES

GREATER-ACCRA (021, 022, 0968) ➲ 030

WESTERN (0342, 0345, 0362, 0392, 0394, 0394) ➲ 031

ASHANTI (051, 0531, 0561, 0565, 0572, 0582) ➲ 032

CENTRAL (041, 042, 0372, 0432) ➲ 033

EASTERN (081, 0832, 0842, 0846, 0848, 0858, 0863, 0872, 0876, 0882, 0251) ➲ 034

BRONG-AHAFO (061, 0632, 0648, 0652, 0653, 0567, 0568) ➲ 035

VOLTA (091, 0931, 0935, 0936, 0953, 0962, 0966) ➲ 036

NORTHERN (071, 0715, 0716, 0717, 0744, 0746, 0752) ➲ 037

UPPER-EAST (072, 0742, 0743) ➲ 038

UPPER-WEST (0756) ➲ 039

** The length of all regional codes will be the same as shown above.

** All user numbers will have  the same digit length by the addition of a digit  prefixed to user numbers in Accra and Tema and two digits prefixed to all other users in the country i.e Accra and Tema will now have an 8-digit phone numbers (However, Zain fixed lines will maintain 7-digit user numbers) & the other towns in Ghana will move from 5-digit numbers to 7 digits

Area Old                   Assignment             New Assignment

Accra & Tema             (021) 1234567           (031) X1234567

All Other Towns         (061) 12345               (035) XX12345

Accra & Tema (Zain)   (021) 70XXXXX           (030) 70XXXXX

Zain Ghana has already implemented the new numbering plan.

In the next month or two, Vodafone Ghana is expected to communicate the details to their costumers and the genral public.

I made a small map with the new regional codes. Every Ghanaian should be able to appreciate this one.

Podcast |pɒdkɑːst| An audio or video broadcast available as an MP3 or MP4 file that you download from the internet and you can play on a portable music or video player, such as an iPod, or on a computer.

I spent most of last week watching podcasts. I am a big fan of podcast though I haven’t been downloading much till recently. I find podcasts very educative and I wish a lot of people in Ghana would take time off downloading movies, tv series and music and try podcasts. The thing about podcasts is that they cover almost every interest. My favourite ones include TEDTalks (video), BBC World Service Africa Today, BBC Documentary Archives and Pray-As-You-Go.

Last week, I decided to catch up on TED podcasts and I came across some interesting ones as usual. I like sharing so permit me to share the three I really enjoyed.

* David Cameron: The next age of government - This is a really good TED Talk. Tory leader, David Cameron talks about the new age, which he calls the pre-bureaucratic age where genuine people power is possible through accountability, choice and transparency. Cameron also talks about how Tory will make all public spending available online if they win the elections citing the example of the Missouri Accountability Portal.  It would be so cool if government does the same in Ghana. This could be a real corruption stopper.

* Blaise Aguera y Arcas demos augmented-reality maps: Blaise, the architect of Bing Maps wowed the audience with a demo of Bing’s Augmented Reality Maps. It’s quite scary too. If you have an interest in mapping, this talk is for you.

* Jamie Oliver: Teach every child about food. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver talk was about obesity, the food we eat and how it’s killing us and our children. I found this one very interesting. I have watched it like 7 times already. It’s sad the food we are eating is killing us. Jamie’s talk is mostly centred on the USA and UK but it can be related to every country. I have been able to relate it to Ghana. I walk the streets of Accra and Sunyani and I see children under 10 years who weigh more than I do. Travel to any major towns in Ghana and you will see people queueing to buy junk food and you don’t even realise it’s killing us.

Jamie Oliver

I urge you my beloved reader to give podcasts a try if you haven’t. I bet you are asking where do I start from. Start from iTunes, start from the iTunes Store. There are tons of podcast in their podcast directing covering comedy, music, economics, politics, cooking, fashion, science etc. Like I said there is a podcast for almost every subject. The  good thing is that I haven’t come across a podcast you would have to pay to subscribe to. Even if you come across one, there is always the free alternative. And you don’t need an iTunes Store Account to get podcasts from the store.

Follow Friday or #followfriday is one of the biggest and hottest trends on twitter. Personally, I think follow friday has lost it’s relevance. People just play with it and the only followers you get on follow friday are spammers. Anyway, today being another friday, I want you to follow some Ghanaian blogs. These are blogs I follow and want to share with you. They are probably my favourite Ghanaian blogs. I have also added their RSS url’s for those of you want to add them to your RSS reader. If you don’t have an RSS reader, try NewsFire for mac. If you are a PC try FeedDemon. You can try or just use Google Reader.

source: www.blogs.worldbank.org

* Accra Concious Forever

A blog by a Mac-Jordan Holdbrookes-Degadjor. In the words of MJ; This blog is about my thoughts, ideas and ramblings a-loud. My experiences day-in, day-out in this city of Accra and wherever I go…!!!

http://accraconsciousforever.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

* Ramblings of a Procrastinator in Accra

This is a very interesting blog by Abena Serwaa, one of the coolest people I’ve met on twitter. Don’t just follow her blog, follow her on twitter too.

http://chardonas.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

* Why so serious? Blogs of a MIghTy African

This blog is indescribable. Let’s just say I’ll be thinking aloud on this thing, posting and sharing ideas, links and other things of interest - Mighty African

http://mightyafrican.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

* ANTI-RHYTHM

A Ghana Urban-Culture Blog

http://antirhythm.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

* Afro//Bourgeois

The personal blog of an Afro-Bourgeois, C. Franki Acolatse.

http://afroboujie.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

* Essynam.com

This a blog by Essynam. She just like me is still trying to find her feat in the blogging world.

Don’t forget to put my blog’s rss in your RSS reader too :)

http://kwabena.me/rss

Next week, I will put out some more blogs you ought to follow. Let me know if there are some cool blogs out there I need to check. Please do check back!!!

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Lent is the 40 days before Easter. During Lent, Christians fast and pray. Others give up something during this season. When people ask me what Ash Wednesday is and it’s significance to Christians, I recall what I was taught in primary school; Ash Wednesday means that we are from the dust and into the dust shall we go.

I went to church for the first time in a year and a half. I am very happy I was able to attend mass this morning. Being in church today means a lot to me and I hope this is the beginning. The priest in his sermon today said we are fighting satan and our best weapons against satan is fasting and prayers. And that is the message I give to you this Lenten season. Endeavour to fast and pray or at least give up a bad habit.

Alicia Keys’ The Element of Freedom has been my favourite since the album was released in December 2009. It is probabaly the best R&B/Soul album I have heard in a long time. I can’t even start to list my favourite tracks on the album. I love every single track on the album. It’s like I have a new favourite every week :)

FAVES: *Try Sleeping WIth A Broken Heart *Wait Till You See My Smile *Distance And Time *How It Feels To Fly *Through It All *That’s How Strong My Love Is *Doesn’t Mean Anything *Like The Sea

I am one of those who wrote Lil’ Wayne’s rock debut, Rebirth off. I was wrong. It’s a pretty good. Rock/Hip Hop album. Wayne did his best on the album but Shanell aka SNL and Kevin Rudolf killed it.

FAVES: *Runnin *Knockout *One Way Trip *I’m So Over You *Hot Revolver *American Star *Get A Life

The Hope for Haiti Now charity album is a favourite too

FAVES: *Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour) *Rivers of Babylon / Yele (Medley) *Lean On Me *Like a Prayer *Send Me an Angel

Sade’s comeback album Soldier of Love is good too. It grows on me everyday I listen to it.

FAVES: *Soldier Of Love *Bring Me Home

Corinne Bailey Rae’s sophomore, ‘The Sea’ matches up to her 2006 self-titled debut. It’s been a long time coming and the album doesn’t disappoint at all. If you love British Soul, that’s your album right there.

FAVES: *The Sea *Paris Nights/New York Mornings *Feels Like The First Time *I’d Do It All Again

I haven’t heard the entire Nneka album but the free single I grabbed off iTunes and the two I found somewhere. Concrete Jungle will be next album I will purchase. Can’t wait to soak it all :)

…I am all for taxes…

Over the past weeks, there has been a lot of public upheaval about the increase in road and bridge tolls and the proposed 20% ad valorem tax on the packaged water aka water tax.

Well, my position on these taxes is clear. I am all for taxes and I support the new tax and road tolls. I think it is one of the best ways we can use to eliminate our over reliance on donor support. The only thing I am against is how the money collected is spent. We are all witnesses to how the Value Addded Tax (VAT), Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) and National Health Insurance Levies have gone to help this country.

It is funny how everything in Ghana is politicized. You remember the ‘Kumi Prɛko’ demonstration against Value Added Tax (VAT) and the proposed 17%? And there was the Committee for Joint Action (CJA) demonstartion againt the Consumer Service Tax (CST) and now the Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) is threathen to hit the streets if the government does not rescinds it’s decision on the ad valorem tax on the packaging of water. I think all these demonstrations are all politically motivated with very little of the populace’s interest at heart. In all this, I fault the Nation Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) which is mandated by the 1992 4th Republican Constitution to educate the public on issues lke this. Talk about another failed state institution and it’s the NCCE.

The only tax I was against at the initial stage was the CST, a tax on phone calls and internet usage. My problem with the tax was that it could slow down internet penetration in Ghana but most importatly, I was against how the government was going to spend the tax. The CST if I am right is to pay people employed under the National Youth Employment (NYEP) Scheme. In my opinion, it was more like fishing for people rather than teaching them how to fish. I would have prefered that the revenue would be used to empower the youth rather put it in their pockets. We have moved past that and we have all embraced the tax. After all, it had a good side. I didn’t have to pay costum duty on my first iPhone since the government was going to generate more from my voice and data usage.

Back in 2007, mayor of Accra, Stanley Agyiri-Blankson intoduce a levy of GHp1 on sachet water which sold at GHp3 then. The levy was to be used to clean the city of Accra. I doubt the levy was ever collected. The funniest thing about this AMA levy was that the new price of GHp4 spread across the country. Now, it looks like a satchet of water is going to be sold at GHp7. I don’t have a problem with it and I am sure many Ghanaians don’t. I just hope this time around, the government will collect the tax and spend it where it is meant to be spent.

On the issue of the increase in the road tolls, I can’t say how happy I am. I don’t  find the new rates to be expensive. I think paying GHp50 for using a road is just a fair price. Stop making noise about it and pay. How long did people think they would be paying GHp5 (a rate which was introduced in 2001)? I think we actually need more toll booths. I have made this complaint over and over again everytime I travel from Sunyani to Accra. There’re two toll booths between  Sunyani and Kumasi whereas there is only one toll booth on the Accra-Kumasi road. Why is this so? Accra-Kumasi is the most busiest intercity highway in Ghana. Should there be two toll booths at least?

The government seems to be committed to the tax-and-spend philosophy. In the coming months, I expect the government and revenue agaencies to widen the tax net considering the fact that about 70% of Ghanaians in the informal sector excape the tax net.

I hope people come to terms that we need to raise money somehow and support the taxes.

It’s also National Chocolate Day in Ghana. I hope people go for local (Made in Ghana) chocolate today. Last year, shops sold less local chocolates. Cocoa Processing Company should know that the chocolates won’t sell if they don’t make effort to sell them. I wonder why they don’t make special packaging for Val’s day. Why would I buy the same chocolate we are used to for Val’s day?

Anyway, I bought a bar of Golden Tree Kingsbite Chocolate. I looked like a dummy when I went to the counter to pay. I didn’t know chocolate now sells at GH¢2. I thought it was GH¢1.50. What happened? Did government impose taxes on them too? I don’t know. I find GH¢2 for a bar of chocolate expensive considering the fact that we produce cocoa and the bars are made right here.

Oh and today is also the beginning of the Chinese New Year. This is the year of the Tiger. Last year, the year of the Ox (which is my year), wasn’t so good. Let’s see if there will be abundance of prosperity this year. I’m

That said, a lot of people will be having fun tonight. I just hope I don’t see anyone in red today. Red on Val’s day is so 1980! I’ll be online with chatting with a couple of friends and reading all those love tweets :)

Happy Valentine’s Day! Happy Chinese New Year! Happy Chocolate Day!

This has been a quiet week. It has actually been a happy week.

I switched my television on for the first time since Ghana lost to Egypt in the African Cup of Nations finals. I also started listening to radio (Joy99.7 FM) again. I really enjoy their news. I wish I could have Joy99.7 FM here (Sunyani) 24 hours. I listen to Radio Ghana sometimes. I like their news too. Wednesday, I tuned in to the 8pm news on Radio Ghana and I heard ‘.. The news read by Mercy Sowah’. My jaw dropped. If you grew up in the 90’s you, you know Mercy Sowah and she’s still going strong on the airwaves. Shouldn’t she be in production, management or something by now? In the words of my in-law, I hope she’s not earning the same salary as she did in the 90’s. lol.

I saw my nephew Ethan for the first time this week. You should see him. He is the most beautiful baby in the world. He’s going to be in Ghana for some time. His parents decided this is the best place for him to grow up. I hope he starts blogging at 5 :)

Next week starts with Valentine’s Day/National Chocolate Day. I will just just get some chocolate and join my online family. I know some people who will be locked up in their rooms crying because they don’t have dates :) It will be fun reading all those valentine tweets too.

And if you’re in Ghana, make sure you buy ‘Made in Ghana’ chocolates on February 14.