Comments on: A divided government in Ghana? http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2008/12/10/a-divided-government-in-ghana/ EthanZ's musings on Africa, media and international development Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:45:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: kwasi http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2008/12/10/a-divided-government-in-ghana/comment-page-1/#comment-1343314 kwasi Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:41:59 +0000 http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/?p=2448#comment-1343314 I'm actually very happy with the split. While I had issues with the way Kuffuor's government has handled some things in the last 4 years, I still think they are the most competent bunch in Ghana with a realistic chance of winning. The closeness of the race and the loss of parliamentary seats should make them realize that they can't assume the electorate will stay theirs. I’m actually very happy with the split. While I had issues with the way Kuffuor’s government has handled some things in the last 4 years, I still think they are the most competent bunch in Ghana with a realistic chance of winning.

The closeness of the race and the loss of parliamentary seats should make them realize that they can’t assume the electorate will stay theirs.

]]> By: BRE http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2008/12/10/a-divided-government-in-ghana/comment-page-1/#comment-1342978 BRE Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:03:28 +0000 http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/?p=2448#comment-1342978 It is great to see that these elections in Ghana have been conducted in a 'free and fair manner without violence' when one thinks about the problems faced by the electorates in the DR Congo (ref: the recent HRW report on Kabila's brutal repression of the opposition), Zimbabwe (Bob the Beast feeding upon the nation), and Kenya (a 'political misunderstanding' that was eventually resolved through international mediation, successful negotiations and a power-sharing deal). It was also interesting today to read the article titled 'Peaceful elections just ain't news...' over at Journalism.co.uk where journalists and bloggers have been complaining about the lack of coverage in the "Western media"___ as if the press and media in other parts of the world (Asia, South America, the Middle East) have been all over the Ghana Elections 2008 with wall-to-wall coverage. In my neck of the woods (northern Germany) there has not been a heck-of-a-lot of interest in the Ghana national elections amongst the West African diaspora in my neighborhood. As a matter of fact I have been running around since Sunday asking "Who won, who is the next President of Ghana?" and none of my African friends and acquaintances could answer that question until this morning. Their trusted news source: CNN International. Imagine that! So I asked, "Why is that, why are these elections not important to you as a West African? Hasn't President John Kufuor been a good leader for Ghana and Africa?". The answer: "Because no matter who wins, it will be more of the same in Ghana. The ruling party will favor their people (read tribe and cronies) with appointments to government ministries and other important positions while the losers (read the opposition and the rest of the nation) walk away with nothing." This young man went on to explain how appointments in the government of President Kufuor were made not based upon a person's qualifications to do the job well but based upon political cronyism and yes, tribalism as we have seen practiced elsewhere in some African democracies over the years. I couldn't debate him on his views as I know far too little about the administration of Ghana's president John Kufuor. I had the impression that Kufuor was doing a very good job in Ghana, relatively speaking. What do you think? Will we see marked improvements in the livelihoods of average Ghanaians under a new administration___ or more of the same? It is great to see that these elections in Ghana have been conducted in a ‘free and fair manner without violence’ when one thinks about the problems faced by the electorates in the DR Congo (ref: the recent HRW report on Kabila’s brutal repression of the opposition), Zimbabwe (Bob the Beast feeding upon the nation), and Kenya (a ‘political misunderstanding’ that was eventually resolved through international mediation, successful negotiations and a power-sharing deal).

It was also interesting today to read the article titled ‘Peaceful elections just ain’t news…’ over at Journalism.co.uk where journalists and bloggers have been complaining about the lack of coverage in the “Western media”___ as if the press and media in other parts of the world (Asia, South America, the Middle East) have been all over the Ghana Elections 2008 with wall-to-wall coverage.

In my neck of the woods (northern Germany) there has not been a heck-of-a-lot of interest in the Ghana national elections amongst the West African diaspora in my neighborhood. As a matter of fact I have been running around since Sunday asking “Who won, who is the next President of Ghana?” and none of my African friends and acquaintances could answer that question until this morning. Their trusted news source: CNN International. Imagine that!

So I asked, “Why is that, why are these elections not important to you as a West African? Hasn’t President John Kufuor been a good leader for Ghana and Africa?”.

The answer: “Because no matter who wins, it will be more of the same in Ghana. The ruling party will favor their people (read tribe and cronies) with appointments to government ministries and other important positions while the losers (read the opposition and the rest of the nation) walk away with nothing.” This young man went on to explain how appointments in the government of President Kufuor were made not based upon a person’s qualifications to do the job well but based upon political cronyism and yes, tribalism as we have seen practiced elsewhere in some African democracies over the years.

I couldn’t debate him on his views as I know far too little about the administration of Ghana’s president John Kufuor. I had the impression that Kufuor was doing a very good job in Ghana, relatively speaking. What do you think? Will we see marked improvements in the livelihoods of average Ghanaians under a new administration___ or more of the same?

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