One-Door Cars in the City of Accra

You only need to run your mental fingers over your own body parts to fathom fine specimens of things that come in twos. So I am as bewildered as an oily ‘bofrot’ as to how so many Ghanaians can conspire to call a car with only 1 door on each side a ‘one-door’. Fyi, the ‘culprits’ are not only taxi drivers but also people who ought to know better. Or is it that Accraians think in terms of pairs.

(Bofrot = a sugary, deep-fried flour ball)

Brand Spanking New in the City of Accra

For a long time, during the dark days of mean military machismo, everybody was too scared of unspeakable ‘horribles’ to own a car as fresh as a daisy. In any case, very few possessed the moolah to buy a brand new auto. These days are different – it’s sunny. Many people can, and do, buy ‘wheels’ wrapped in a box. Then, they cruise the city in it for at least 365 days with the seats still rubber-wrapped to prove it is new. Ridiculous!

Give Me A Break

Office mate picks up the phone vexed. It is his “little” cousin, he says. But his “little” cousin is 22, and she wants him to “sponsor” her birthday party. He does not know what put it in her coconut that he had “silly” money to splurge. He tells her to “give me a break” but confesses to me that he knows she would phone-molest him one thousand more times, anyway.

The Still-Vexed Question of 10%

There’s really no oil in the Western Region of Ghana, but the oceanic oilfields float off the western coast dragging damage over its terra firma. There being ten regions in Ghana, it sounds like a no-brainer that the Western Region should receive ten percent of Ghana’s oil revenue. But I’ve never been impressed by such ‘duh-rithmetic’.

Getting the News in the City of Accra

Most people in Accra are no longer served the news in a spreadsheet print on a plate. Just like their food, they like their news fast. Enter the radio and the internet. Although I learnt of Osama bin Laden’s death via twitter, I admit the surest we can hope for (for the internet folk) is myjoyonline or ghanaweb. So, how do you get your Ghana news?

The African Dream

I bumped into an old acquaintance at a public lecture tonight. Since he appeared to be doing super all right in his affairs, the topic of income was soon incoming. He boasted that he was living the Ghanaian Dream. I had never heard that phrase before.

Hmm. So the American Dream means you can start modest and work hard to achieve wealth or anything in America. What would be your 2-line version of the African [or substitute your particular African country] Dream?

Nice, Clean, No-Bribes Ghana?

Have you tried getting a passport in Ghana? Or registering a company at the Companies Registry? Or simply entering the country through the Airport? Or driving through a police checkpoint after 10 pm? Everyday things we do and have to pay more than the official amount for (mind you there is no official fee at all for driving through a police checkpoint on the way home). So do not tell me here that Ghana is the least bribe-taker in West Africa. Cold comfort that.