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08.02.2005 Feature Article

Ghanaweb Should Not Use The Word Ghana-A Rejoinder

Ghanaweb Should Not Use The Word Ghana-A Rejoinder
08.02.2005 LISTEN

I could not believe my ears when I heard from a friend that honorable Minister designate and now the Minister of Works and Housing and former Minister of Interior Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyeman insinuated that it is wrong for Ghanaweb.com to use the name Ghana.

Initially, I laughed it off as a joke but on a second thought, it downed on me that the issue is “no laughable” matter. You see, Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyeman was the former interior minister of Ghana and for that matter should be knowledgeable enough not to display his ignorance and stupidity to the whole world as it casts doubt on the quality of officials who represent our beloved country.

Besides Ghanaian names like Ghana Palava, Ghananaian Times in Ghana, most Ghanaian organizations strewn across the globe are proud to associate their organizations with their beloved country Ghana. These organizations include Ghana National Council of New York,Ghana Nurses Association of London, Ghana Habobo of Toronto etc. The saying goes that one should not be shy of where he or she originates from and I am always delighted of Ghanaians who proudly display the name of their country no matter where they find themselves.

No American MINISTER, past or present would ever complain against US Airways or American Airlines using the name of their country because that would be gross stupidity and political suicide.

I am afraid to believe that officials like Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyeman has nothing to offer our beloved country and latch on unnecessary issues to divert our attention to their ill performance!

At a time when most organizations , even individuals have website or websites to among other reasons give out information about them, most Ghanaian ministries and institutions are still operating like they are still in the medieval times.

One cannot easily research and find information on ministries of the government or institutions such as Ghana Bar Association and other important Ghanaian institutions on the web because they are non existent or stale after the initial set up.

I tried to fathom why a man like Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyeman ,could “blur out” such ignorance against a website that has been the most consistent, fair and balanced in electronic news reporting, not only to the Ghanaians in the diaspora and in Ghana but to governments ,research organizations and institutions or universities around the world?

The only reason I found was that most people read about the same Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, on Ghanaweb.com,that he ordered his body guard to “hack” his own house help girl because he suspected that the poor girl has stolen his, Mr. Hackman's property. In that case Mr. Agyeman threw the law to the dogs and took matters into his own hands. If Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyeman were in any developed country, he would have been talking from the penitentiary with him making heavy payments to this poor girl for civil rights violation, physical and emotional damages.

You see, some officials in Ghana are in the habit of “buying” news reporters or in the Ghanaian parlance, “have them in their pocket” and could not stand an independent news media that could not be “pocketed”

I would like to advise Mr. Agyeman and people who think like him to be circumspect in their pronouncements and do enough research before displaying their ignorance to the world.

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