FRANCE RESCUED CAMPOARE

Ousted Burkina Faso President, Blaisse Campoare

By Duke Nii Amartey Tagoe

Mr Justice Henaku, Secretary of the Socialist Forum of Ghana has disclosed that France provided helicopters to whisk Blaise Campoare out of Ouagadougou to prevent him from being hanged by the Burkinabe people who had been subjected to many years of underdevelopment.

Speaking on the recent attempted coup d’état in Burkina Faso at the Freedom Centre in Accra, he described the Presidential Guards as an elite group of soldiers created to protect Blaise Campaore currently taking refuge in Morrocco.

 According to him, Campaore stayed in power for 27 years and had nothing to show for that because he had not brought about the development of Burkina Faso.

Describing how the crisis of under development had bedeviled that West African State he said that “Bourkina was once a leading producer of Cotton and one would have expected that in 27 years Campoare could have built a textile industry to create jobs for the growing numbers of unemployed youths  but rather he was interested in amassing wealth and meddling in the affairs of countries like Liberia where he supplied arms to the regime of Charles Taylor and in La Cote de I’voire where he sent mercenaries to fight against the government of President Laurent Gbagbo”

According to him, recent events in Burkina are testament to the fact that although Sankara had died some years ago, his footprints can be found all over adding that the  political programme of Thomas Sankara was aimed at building a new nation where its resources were channeled to advance the social and economic life of the Burkina people.

“The influence of Thomas Sankara who was murdered in 1987 in this recent popular uprising against Campoare and Diendere emanated from a potent slogan Sankara used and which had to be resurrected.

“The slogan was (Homeland or Death, We shall Overcome) which show that the love of country to improve the life of the ordinary people in society and to make sure that the social environment is conducive for the development of each one and for society hinged on the fact that you have to be courageous and to give your all for the realization of a just society” he explained.

Mr Henaku also said that Blaise Campoare was overthrow not by some courageous soldiers in a coup, but in a popular uprising by the people of Burkina Faso who took to the streets because Campoare was not working in their interest and had become a tool of imperialism where he had allowed the French and other imperialist countries to exploit the country.

He noted that for the first time in an African country ordinary people rose up and burnt parliament house and attempted to burn residences and offices of the elite sending shock waves across Africa and West Africa especially.

Recounting events after the recent coup he said that there was a power vaccum after Campaore had fled Ouagadougou and there was no plan in place to fill that vacuum with a progressive leader so the discussions took place around multi-party democracy fashioned by the West and which will bring another section of the elite who were ruling through Campaore back to power.

What accounted for this situation was that “27 years of Campaore’s leadership had a toll on the progressive movement in Burkina. Dr Kiz Zebo and other progressives were hounded out and Campoare had fought against the Trade Unions and made it very weak to represent ordinary workers especially after the overthrow of Sankara.”

He acknowledged the Balai Citizens Movenmet and Radio De La Resistant Citeon (Citizens Resistance Radio) that became the centre of mobilization, organization and resistance against the coupist who had wanted to take power.

According to him following the ouster of Campoare and apart from a coalition government of former ministers who were put in power with a programme midwifed by ECOWAS leaders drawn up with a time table for the return to civilian rule, all the institutions of State and the coercive elements remained and their leadership was not changed.

The SFG Secretary says “progressives ought to be careful and that despite the so called progress in democratic rule and multi partyism, the policies of African state and the regimes have not really changed. We are having structural adjustment, economic recovery programme during the 1980s and we now have HIPC , and all sort of economic paradigms being introduced which are the same, the problems of the 1980 are still with us and what are the problems. The problems of poverty, the problems of lack of water, the problems of lack of access to health, the problem of illiteracy, the problem of now the creation of a class based educational system”

2016 ELECTIONS; NO CHANGE WILL COME NO MATTER WHAT

President John Mahama

By Aidan Adongo Avugma

It would not be too long. I mean in about eighteen months time, and Ghanaians would be called upon to perform a ritual. They will be called upon to form long queues to vote. They will elect a new President- John Mahama, Nana Akuffo Addo,  Abu Sakara,  Samia Nkrumah, Ayariga or somebody else, we do not know. What we do know however is that the Ghanaian Presidency embodies the roles of chief executive legislator, head of the state commander-in-chief, and party leader. Beyond this however, and more importantly, the Ghanaian presidential office also embraces two other roles which the media either prefers to maintain a conspiracy of silence on, or is completely ignorant of. The first is as guardian of Ghanaian neo-colonial capitalism ie the role fulfilled by advancing of the wealth and power of giant corporations from Europe, America and Japan, and wealthy investors as well as their Ghanaian front men and women. The second is that of protector of the wider economic system based on individual ownership and the extraction of surplus value.

Opposition Leader, Nana Akufo Addo

So what fundamental difference would Nana Addo’s victory over John Mahama make to the common man on the street or the work places in Ghana? The answer should be simple and to the point. ZILCH. In practice the coming elections in 2016 is little more than a public relations gimmick, when Ghanaians would be given at least a few hours of democracy when they are on the long queues to elect an emissary of the owning class in Ghana and abroad to safeguard; and if possible to expand their class interest in another four years. Whether it is party A,B or C that wins the election or Mr X,Y,Z that becomes the president , their function would be one and only one-pursue policies that stimulates profit regardless of the hardships that this may visit upon the wider  population.

 At the same time they must put up a political garb that gives them the appearance of representing the interest and welfare of the broad masses. This profit imperative that drives them, seem to be a calling from an irresistible force ie the world‘s dominant economic system- capitalism. So any election to government in society as presently constituted must bow to the calling of this irresistible force by the choosing of one of the political parties or presidential candidates that embrace the ideology of capitalism. 

Akua Donkor, Founder of Ghana Freedom Party

Government has a class character. It is not the even handed arbiter between the business man and the ordinary workers as most of us think; but the champion of the owners of the means of production with its boundless constitutional right to exploit ordinary working people. The function of government is to defend the property right of this owning class- investors, giant corporations and front men, to perpetuate their dominance over society, and correspondingly increase the misery of the people and their impoverishment. Adam Smith was blunt about this. He said “this necessity of civil government grows up with the acquisition of valuable property…..Till there be property there can be no government, the very end of which is to secure wealth, and to defend the rich from the poor”

The owning class because of its monopolistic control over society’s means of production and distribution, has overwhelming dominance over ;politics in society; and because of this moulds all institutions customs and social behavior to give expression to its own interest. Under these circumstances the meaning of democracy has metamorphosed from what we understand to be the “rule of the people” to a device that elects “a safe pair of hands” to protect private property and control social and political life of the people. As a result they put up a pretence that government represents workers while actually pursuing an agenda that is anti-worker.

Abu Sakara Foster, Convention Peoples Party (CPP)

In order to maintain this pretence, control of public opinion is essential. The media therefore is used to peddle lies and distortions to blur reality to ensure the docility of workers and make them ineffective,. Their propaganda is awash with praises for the virtues of the free market system designed to perpetuate the falsehood that capitalism and democracy are synonymous. Whether the Ghanaian electorate in 2016 will vote for Mahama , Nana Akuffo Addo or Abu Sakara at this stage is difficult to see through the crystal ball. What is incontestable however is that the outcome will not benefit the Ghanaian wage and salary earning class.

In fact, all the signs are that things will get worse. Whoever takes power in 2016 is going to engage in the further dismantling of the welfare mechanisms for the poorest; and organized labour would be further weakened. The IMF and the World Bank which represents Western business interest will surely certainly demand the elimination of everything that interferes with the ruthless pursuit of profits.

Editorial

Eurobond and All

There is so much noise about the Eurobond for Ghana being oversubscribed that one would be tempted to think that an event of life changing proportions has taken place.

The truth of the matter is that once again Ghana has borrowed one billion Euros from the European Market.

 What is so special about borrowing that our media is awash with positions for and against the so-called Eurobond?

Should a country like Ghana with resources such as gold, diamond, gas, oil, forests, twenty five (25) or more million people, rivers and so on be borrowing all the time?

 Our view is that if national resources are properly harnessed and their theft by the giant corporations of the West prevented, Ghana would not have to borrow.

It is time for the people of Ghana to take their destiny into their own hands and exploit their own resources for their own benefit.

This is the way forward.

BITTERS CAN CAUSE BREAST CANCER

By Duke Nii Amartey Tagoe

Alex Segbefia, Minister of Health

A team of researchers have disclosed that alcoholic beverages popularly called “bitters” are harmful to human health and are now known to increase the risk of breast cancer in women.

In a 15 paged report entitled “Quantitative Analysis of Chemical Contaminants in

Ghanaian Herbal Alcoholic Bitters,” the researchers revealed that “the production of these drinks is widespread and poorly regulated and are produced in what can best be described as bathrooms.”

The researchers have determined that the presence of phthalates in bitters responsible for causing cancer was from the materials used in manufacturing Polytank and Sintex used as water reservoir for cold percolation processes by the companies involved in the production of the bitters.

The drinks are most of the time kept for long periods in these water reservoirs until they are ready for bottling.

The report also reveals that chemical contaminants in bitters have shown reproductive and developmental toxicity in animal experiments and are known to affect semen production in men.

The researchers Kwaku Kyeremeh, Felix Worlanyo Agbemafo and Regina Appiah-Opong are acknowledged as some of the best in Africa and in the world and were drawn from the Marine and Plant Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry and the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research all of the University of Ghana.

The investigations were carried out on a collection of samples of bitters purchased directly from the manufacturers of the product at their premises in Accra.

Two different batches of the product were purchased in the months of May and November, 2012 respectively and each box of the herbal alcoholic drink purchased contained six 750ml bottles of the drinks.

The six bottles of each product in the same box were treated as the same batch samples allowing enough volumes for all the desired analysis to be performed for each batch.

All the ten selected drinks were also studied for trace metal content and anti-microbial activity.

According to the researchers five most patronized brands out of the ten were chosen to investigate for any isolable organic compounds.

Bitters have grown increasingly popular amongst many households in Ghana and are promoted with hilarious advertisements on Television and on Radio.

Bitters are also believed to aid sexual performance and are also ingested as an appetizer by many people.

The respected researchers have cautioned that, despite the perceived benefits, patrons of these alcoholic bitters may be ingesting contaminants which may have some health implications.

Editorial

Solidarity with workers of ECG

The workers of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) have a very valid point in their opposition to the privatization of the company.

 How can any reasonable person claim that the privatization of the ECG will help end the power shortage which has hit the country for more than three years?

The problem of power shortage is a function of insufficient generation and not the structure of ownership of the power distribution Company.

It is indeed a greet pity that some Ghanaian officials still believe that they cannot find competent people in a population of close to 27 million to manage state enterprises.

The inferiority complex of some of our leaders is sometimes shocking.

 The Insight is firmly opposed to the privatization of the ECG and declares its full solidarity with the workers of the Company.

AFRICA LOSSES US$50 BILLION YEARLY

Political Map of Africa

By kwasi Pratt,Jnr

Since 2000, foreign multi-national corporations and their associates have illicitly siphoned more than US$ 50billion out of Africa every year.

This adds up to more than US$750 Billion.

Dr Gamel Nasser Adam of the Modern languages Department of the University of Ghana made this disclosure in a Founder’s Day Lecture he delivered at the Accra International conference centre.

He gave his source as a United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Report.

According to him “the exploitation of our continent has continued to intensify over the decades through the criminal manipulation of the international trade and accounting systems.”

Dr Nasser said the amount of money or resources siphoned out of Africa is approximately double the so-called official development assistance that Africa supposedly receives.

 He said “Professor Akilagpa Sawyer’s work on renegotiation of some mining contracts in Ghana here is showing the extent of the rape of our natural resources.

“Therefore if African youth are moving to Europe in droves it is because they have legitimate claims to the wealth there because it is wealth largely stolen from Africa”.

Editorial

NASSER IS RIGHT

On the front page of this issue we carried the claim by Dr Gamel Nasser Adam, a lecturer at the University of Ghana that as much as US$750 billion has been siphoned out of Africa to the Colonial metropolis or the capitalist states.

According to h this was made possible through the criminal manipulation of International trade and accounting systems.

Another study has also revealed that France alone keeps as much as US$400 billion belonging to African countries it bits Central accounts.

From French African Colonies deposit an equivalent of 85% of their annual reserves in Franc to the detriments of their own development.

 After these disclosures do we need to look elsewhere for clues to why African states remain in their current state of under development?

Africa has enough resources to power its own development efforts without the so-called donor support from the Western countries.

The task ahead is about how to end the pillage of African resources by the predatory forces from the West and exploit our own resources for our own benefit