WHERE IS OUR $14 BILLION, MR. PRESIDENT?

By Eric K. Edusei, USA

The NDC Administration has mismanaged this economy and will eventually paralyze it beyond repair if conscious people do not ensure a regime change, by voting them out of office. This Administration has recklessly contracted loans over US$14 billion for purposes that cannot be justified by any stretch of imagination when cost to value is factored in. Have Ghanaians so soon become economic entities without a dream that we should succumb so easily to gifts instead of questioning our leaders about their qualities, vision and capabilities, before relinquishing our sovereignty to them?

Beijing Exports Weigh On Africa’s Producers

By Xan Rice in Lagos, Katrina Manson in Nairobi and Andrew England in Johannesburg

From the edge of Lagos Island you have a clear view of the giant cargo ships coming in to dock. Walk a few blocks away from the water to Balogun market, and you’ll see where some containers’ contents end up.

In small, packed stalls spilling on to the streets of Nigeria’s commercial capital hang suits, fire extinguishers, shoes, radios, padlocks, shirts, clocks, generators and countless other items. The common link for many of the goods is the origin.

“All from China,” said Mustafa Adekule, 29, who sells suitcases and belts. “The quality is better than before and the prices are low. China is helping us by making these products we can afford.”

Ghana’s Poor Reap None of The New Riches:

By Ben Ofosu-Appiah. , Tokyo, Japan.

From Poverty to Middle Income Status A Boulevard of Broken Promises

Africa’s long suffering people are all too frequently caught in the crossfire of rampaging wars, millions afflicted with diseases, preyed upon by greedy despots and prevented by corrupt leaders and bureaucracies in a kleptocracy from obtaining basic schooling, medical attention, and any semblance of economic opportunities.

A look at the socio-political and economic environment in Ghana today reveals a horrifying picture. There is massive corruption, staggering poverty, unemployment, poor education, deteriorating infrastructure, and general degree of hopelessness among the youth who feel very disappointed and let down by their political leaders. According to the 2007 World Bank Human Development Index, almost half of the national population live below the poverty line surviving on less than a dollar per day. And as many as over 75% live on less than $2.oo a day. The economic conditions felt by the ordinary Ghanaian are poorer than ever.