When ‘Ogyakrom’ Bears Its Fangs

K1 – Koo, the electricity is off!

K2 – But you paid them over GH¢300 only a fortnight ago!?

• Yes!
• For a person who lives alone; who doesn't use any electrical appliances apart from a fridge, an oven and a TV set; who treats air-conditioning as a sacred blessing to be used only when you feel hot when you are in your underpants.
• There's no beating the system, is there? I didn't think much of the complaints I had been hearing from people who were saying that the ECG had obtained electricity metres that were wrongly “calibrated” or something…
• They may well have been right to complain! I just can't believe the charges. Another thing is that they used to send me a notice on my mobile phone indicating my “balance”; very useful when it got low. But this time, there was no warning whatsoever. The thing just “dum-ed” and won't “sor” again until the voracious metre has been fed! So we have moved from “dumsor”to “ennsorkoraaa!”
• Charlie, the situation is serious. A neighbour of mine with whom I discussed the issue said: “One way or the other, ECG will screw your life in Ghana. My electricity bill is GH¢1,400 a month, and I practically live alone. Complete madness – I am hardly ever at home!”
• It's outrageous! Who can believe this is happening when a regulatory body exists that's supposed to ensure that electricity and other utility charges are not too much out of line with wages and other living costs?
• Regulatorybody? Do me a favour! I think that most of those “regulatory bodies” close their eyes to the practices of the organisations whose prices they are supposed to monitor. They exist mostly to provide hefty allowances and other ancillary benefits to their members. For instance, doesn't a communications regulatory body exist? And yet when you phone someone, you get an execrable voice saying “Yer-low”, followed by an even more crappy call-tune, instead of giving you the normal “”krrrng!—krrrng!” ring? You may even be paying the company whilst it unleashes these abominations on you! I am also always being invited to call the messaging service – at a price!
• Back to the electricity people: do you think they may be over-reacting to the criticism they've undergone for allowing so many institutions and private consumers to run them to the ground by not paying their bills?
• I think you're on to something there! Don't forget also that they've been saddled with many inflated contracts, as exemplified by the “Ameri” deal (which is now being revised!) How many such “deals” have passed into the system without notice? Surely, there are other much corruption-created, unnecessary, “over-expenditures” that they think they must claw back by screwing the unsuspecting public in plain daylight (or is it noisome darkness!?)

– Koo, no wonder some people tried to intimidate the new Minister of Power with unfounded bribery allegations when he was being vetted. They knew there were skeletons in the “power cupboard” that he might want to uncover, so they wanted to fire some shots over his bows so that when he eventually got to the ministry, he would not carry out a “witch-hunt”!

• Koo, if the “Ameri” deal alone was inflated by about 100%, just imagine what might have gone on before “Ameri?”
• Koo, they'll say you're advocating a “witch-hunt” oh!
• As if there could be a “witch-hunt” if there no “witches” in existence!
• Don't mind them! They're trying to give the Public Prosecutor a bad name so that they can frustrate his efforts even before he takes office!
• Yieee! Some people are playing wondrous politics here, huh? Fill your pockets and force the public to pay for services you haven't rendered to them?
• Hey, do you think it's only the politicians doing that? What about the “super-public-servants” in suits who man all sorts of parastatal institutions and corporations? They can sell state assets at a cut price….
• They can undercharge for services rendered by publicly-owned bodies… – No wonder everything the public has to pay for, costs so much. Income must come from somewhere else other than its genuine source!
• “Ameri”!
• Branding of buses!
• “GYEEDA”!
• “SADA”!
• “NRA”!
• “DUBAI!”
• “KASOA!”……

• KOO, did you see the news item reporting that fruits from Ghana were being banned from certain export markets?
  • Yes, I did. What's behind that?

  – It's an indictment against our Ministry of Agriculture, isn't it? Formerly, Ghanaian agricultural products were among the most sought-after in the world. But I think the Ministry of Agriculture has taken its eyes off the ball. Have you bought some oranges recently? They all look green on the outside, and they've got very hard skin! They do taste good, admittedly. But they feel tough on the teeth! And not at all as juicy as Ghanaian oranges used to be!

  • My guess is that new varieties of fruits have been stealthily introduced to Ghana, which do not rot, as before. But in solving the 'spoilage' problem, the natural softness and succulence of the fruits have been sacrificed.
  • Have you bought some pineapples of late?
    • Yes! All those on sale these days look green-coloured – as if they're not ripe! But in the past, you could tell when a pineapple was ripe from its beautiful, yellowish colour.

    But do you know something? The green ones do taste sweet now!You know, I think some genetic manipulation must have gone on without our being told!

    What sort of country do we live in at all? You don't get any information about anything! You just wake up one day to find that something unexpected has happened to familiar things!

    Ho, they don't care about the public. They just decide that something is good for the pubic and the public must take it or lump it!

    Always a faitaccompli!

    HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! Our not-so-new government has so much to do!

    Say that again” Some things must change!

    If it's not too late to do so!

    – www.cameronduodu.com
    By Cameron Duodu