This Blog Seeks To Highlight The Plight of Communities in Northern Ghana And Hold Leadership At Any Level Accountable To The People They Claim To Represent.
The National Regional Validation Workshop on the draft National Urban Policy for Ghana has ended in Tamale, the Northern Regional Capital with a call on government to reinforce security measures to check and control the influx of foreigners entering Ghana as a result of the oil find.
The statement noted that Ghanaians will continue to live in penury if the foreigners are allowed to exploit the oil wealth to the disadvantage of citizens.
Professor Paul Yankson made the call as a resource person at the workshop which was attended by heads of department, politicians and members of the academia.
He said the urbanization process has great promise for economic and social progress though confronted with many challenges, hence the need for a national policy framework as the engine of growth.
Professor Yankson underscored the need for a collaborative approach by the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to address difficulties and challenges associated with urbanization as a means of addressing the disparity between the Northern and Southern Ghana.
This in his estimation will reduce the duplication of government programmes at the local level to ensure the proper utilization of donor support to Ghana.
Northern Regional Minister, Moses Bukari Mabengba hinted that Ghana’s population was estimated at 25 million by the end of 2010 hence urbanization should be strategically managed to overcome its emerging challenges.
According to him, sustainable urban development is crucial for the achievement of Ghana’s socio-economic growth but that lack of proper coordination and funding for workable policies had affected that achievement.
Mr. Mabengba therefore expected that the workshop would help fashion out practical solutions to urban development challenges facing the nation.
DYSMENORRHOEA: ONE OF THE CAUSES OF DRUG ABUSE AMONG WOMEN
INTRODUCTION
It will not be out of place for me to say or assume that most Ghanaian female adults and adolescents are at risk of drug abuse. Women by our nature are shy people when it comes to matters concerning our health, and as a result of ignorance or illiteracy, depending on the circumstances, prefer managing our own problems without seeking assistance from people who are knowledgeable. Most of the time, we rely on hear say and what others (friends/peers) have done to resolve their personal health matters, and also try to apply those ideas or suggestions on our own. Indeed, that is very naïve. However, very few of us accept good advice from well-informed people after we’re educated very well on the issues regarding our health. Let’s face it; it’s a fact that most women, who visit the hospital/clinic when they’re sick, represent the category of women whom after several medications on their own did not succeed or had good solution to their problems, and then decided to seek proper medical care at recognized health centres. In fact, aside the ignorance and illiteracy I mentioned earlier, one will be right to attribute this behaviour of womenor young girls not going to hospital by themselves, to the way we are brought up in our society i.e. the cultural, religious and traditional believes or influences, etc.
For instance, in the Traditional Dagomba certain, a woman who gives birth in the house is being exalted but the one who delivers at the hospital is regarded as an infidel or in other words, she had the pregnancy outside her marriage and may want to make some confessions which the husband is not supposed to hear, hence the decision to give birth at the hospital. Thus, most Ghanaian women or young girls are drug abusers because; they resort to self-medication whenever they experience a medical condition known as dysmenorrhoea or painful menstruation, which is very common among adolescents and adults.
But the question is, how would you even know that you are suffering from dysmenorrhoea if you don’t visit the hospital or clinic for proper medical examination? Dysmenorrhoea is a common syndrome or disorder associated with women during menstruation.
WHAT IS DYSMENORRHEA?
The syndrome of painful menstruation is referred to as Dysmenorrhoea. Or, it is a painful menstruation with a cramping sensation in the lower abdomen often accompanied by other symptoms such as sweating, tachycardia, headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and tremulousness. These all occur just before or during the menses.
Studies have shown that, dysmenorrhoea is a common gynaecological disorder in women of reproductive age and in Ghana is responsible for a greater proportion of clinic attendance. It is a leading cause of school absenteeism and responsible for the use of painkillers (drugs used in subduing severe pains) in majority of women especially adolescents.
TYPES OF DYSMENORRHOEA
Dysmenorrhoeacan be divided into 2 broad categories: primary and secondary. Primary dysmenorrhoea occurs in the absence of pelvic pathology, whereas secondary dysmenorrhoea results from identifiable organic diseases.
Historical attitudes toward menstrual pain were often dismissive. Pain was often attributed to women's emotional or psychological states and misconceptions about sex and sexual behaviors. Research has now established concrete physiologic explanations for dysmenorrhoea, which discredit these prior theories.
Primary dysmenorrhoea affects more than 50% of all women who have a menstrual period. Approximately 5 to 15% of these women have severe pain that interferes with daily activities. Only about one-fourth of all women with dysmenorrhoea have secondary dysmenorrhoea, meaning there is an underlying cause of their symptoms. Dysmenorrhoea usually begins during adolescence.
Primary Dysmenorrhoea: It occurs at the time of menarche (the first appearance of menstrual blood) or shortly after. It is characterised by severe pain which begins before or shortly after the onset of menstruation and continues for 43 to 72 hours.
On examination, pelvic findings are normal. Excessive prostaglandins production is thought to be the cause of dysmenorrhoea. The hormone prostaglandin acts on the uterus by making it contract resulting in the pain.
Psychological factors e.g, anxiety, tension etc can also contribute to dysmenorrhoea. This condition decreases as a lady gets older and resolves after child birth. Approximately 75% of all women complain of primary dysmenorrhoea, but roughly 15% have severe symptoms.
Secondary Dysmenorrhoea:
Secondary dysmenorrhea may present at any time after menarche, but it most commonly arises when a woman is in her 20s or 30s, after years of normal, relatively painless cycles. Elevated prostaglandins may also play a role in secondary dysmenorrhea, but, by definition, concomitant pelvic pathology must also be present. Common causes include endometriosis, leiomyomata (fibroids), adenomyosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, and intrauterine device (IUD) use.
Simply put, primary dysmenorrhoea occurs when the uterus contracts because the blood supply to the endometrium is reduced. This pain occurs only during a menstrual cycle where an egg is released. If the cervical canal is narrow, the pain may be worse as the endometrial tissue passes through the cervix. Pain can also be caused by a uterus that tilts backward instead of forward, low levels of physical activity, and emotional stress. Secondary dysmenorrhea can be caused by the growth of uterine tissue outside the uterus, called endometriosis; non-cancerous growths of muscle and fibrous tissue in the uterus, called fibroid tumors; the non-cancerous growth of the uterine lining in the muscular wall of the uterus, called adenomyosis; inflammation of the fallopian tubes; and the growth of scar tissue, or adhesions, between organs.
The prevalence of dysmenorrhoea is estimated at 25% of women and up to 90% of adolescents.No significant difference exists in prevalence or incidence between races, though the most common causes of dysmenorrhoea differ by age. Although it is not life-threatening, dysmenorrhoea can be debilitating and psychologically strenuous for many women. Some choose to self-medicate at home and never seek medical attention for their pain and this could lead to abuse of drugs (painkillers) such as Ibuprofen, aspirin, paracetamol, etc. Dysmenorrhoea is also responsible for too much absenteeism from work and it is the most common reason for school absence among adolescents.
WHAT DO I DO?
To establish whether you have dysmenorrhoea, you need to go to the hospital for a doctor to take a complete medical history and perform a physical examination, including a pelvic, or internal, examination. The doctor would most likely be your gynaecologist, a doctor who specializes in women's reproductive health. He or she will ask questions about your lifestyle, diet, sexual activity, and any medications you are taking. Fibroid tumors can usually be felt during a pelvic exam, but may need to be confirmed by an ultrasound scan of the abdomen. To make sure any growths are non-cancerous, your doctor may look inside the uterus using a hysteroscope, a small tube with a light that is inserted through the vagina and cervix and into the uterus. He or she may also look for abnormalities in the uterine tissue by removing a tiny sample of tissue from the inside of the uterus, called a biopsy, for examination under a microscope. Endometriosis is usually diagnosed through a combination of biopsy and laparoscopy. With laparoscopy, the doctor makes a small cut in the navel through which he or she inserts a small instrument called a laparoscope. With the laparoscope, the doctor can examine the uterus and other female organs, such as the fallopian tubes, in the pelvic area.
WHAT IS THE TREATMENT?
The treatment of dysmenorrhoea depends on the cause of the problem. In most cases, symptoms are relieved by non-prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, naproxen, and mefanamic acid. If you know you have a history of dysmenorrhoea, your doctor may recommend taking these medications up to two days before your menstrual period begins, and continuing them for one to two days after it begins. It's important to continue to get plenty of rest, follow a good diet, and exercise during your period.
Women with primary dysmenorrhoea that is so severe that it interferes with daily activities, may benefit from a low-dose birth control pill. Because birth control pills prevent an egg from being released each month, the menstrual period is generally lighter and lasts for a shorter time.
Secondary dysmenorrheoa is relieved by treating the cause. For example, fibroid tumors can be shrunk with hormone therapy, or may be surgically removed. Where fibroids are extremely large or cause severe pain, the entire uterus may need to be surgically removed. This procedure is called a hysterectomy, and is also used to treat severe endometriosis. A woman who has had a hysterectomy can no longer conceive a child. Inflammation of the fallopian tubes is treated with antibiotics.
CONCLUSION: As a potential nurse who has ever experienced dysmenorrhoea and know its implications, I thought I should give some form of advice or education to people who do not know or have little knowledge about this health condition. At least, if you are one of those who is fun of taking painkillers anytime you experience dysmenorrhoea or resort to unorthodox treatment, please visit the nearest hospital or clinic next time for proper examination in order to safeguard your future. Wrongful prescription of drugs such as ibuprofen, aspirin, paracetamol, naproxen, and mefanamic acid could jeopardize your health. PLEASE, SPREAD THE WORD AFTER READING THIS ARTICLE.
Bibir means “childhood” in Dagaare. Its initiative has been setup to offset the urgent needs identified in Ghana and to protect children and encourage them to study and grow as human beings, to become the major motors of change in their communities.
Currently, Bibir’s integral development-focused projects are running in Burkina Faso and Ghana where management have adapted their action plan to the specific characteristics of each area. Management believe in maintaining a long-term presence in areas so that they may help to create a better future.
THE IDENTITY OF BIBIR
Management of this Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) believe in the individual community’s capacity to bring about improvements in their own living conditions. Thus, all projects are local initiatives that focus on the development of the country and attend to the specifics of each population: culture, language, forms of behavior and ways of understanding the world. Management point of departure is respect.
In addition, project personnel come from the local community, something that facilitates projects execution and involves members of the community in the planning, performance and evaluation of each activity.
BIBIR’s PROJECTS IN GHANA
Five years ago, Bibir opened its Ghana office to provide social services to the largely poor society. As the name suggests, Bibir’s primary focus are children, and so its activities have always commence within the framework of education. Every girl and boy has the right to grow up happy and to have his or her basic needs provided for. Through the support the NGO provide to schools it oversee the child’s nutrition, monitor their health and ensure that they are learning in a safe, appropriate environment, equipped with the required resources.
The NGO works simultaneously in the production sector, too. Management implement sustainable projects in areas such as crop production, livestock, farming, fishing, artisan work or crafts, etc. Likewise they facilitate the construction of facilities such as wells, irrigation systems, classrooms, etc.
Thanks to these actions performed with the support of Bibir and the full participation of the local population, the entire community benefits from improved living conditions.
Some of Bibir’s Projects:
§Distribution of educational materials to schools
§Medical check-ups in schools
§Construction and renovation of classrooms
§Donation of school furniture
§Provision of library services to basic school pupils
§ICT or computer training and remedial classes
§Crop innovation, etc
VISION: In Ghana, Bibir exist to encourage sustainable socio-economic development of the disadvantaged people in Northern Ghana for “the best interest of the child”, by providing the platform for community participation, creating the enabling environment for the survival of growth and development of the child in their own communities.
MISSION: While it exist to strengthen the development initiatives of poor communities and provide the platform necessary for community participation and action for sustainable development, it is also to help the disadvantaged people towards identifying the path of realization of their rights and potential for sustainable grow.
SUMMARY REPORT FOR CROP FARMING PROJECT
The crop farming project has been in existence since 2005 with the aim of making food available at the household level. In the 2009 cropping season, 160 farmers were assisted in the areas of ploughing their farmlands and supply of fertilizers. The following districts benefited in the Northern Region of Ghana where we operate; Tamale Metropolis, East Gonja and Tolon-Kumbungu Districts. Between 2005 and 2009 an estimated amount of GH¢43,768.00 was spent on the crop farming project.
OBJECTIVES OF CROP FARMING PROJECT
To make food available at the household level hence food security.
To curtail the habit of parents taking their wards from schools to the farms especially during the farming season.
To help fight poverty amongst the inhabitants in the various communities.
To help educate beneficiaries on modern methods of farming so that they could discontinue from the outmoded ways of farming that involves the use of the hoe and cutlass.
ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE PROJECT
With the data collection system introduced, all beneficiary farmers now have their wards in school during the farming season instead of being used regularly as farm-helps. This is because the Field Coordinator visit schools from time to time to monitor the attendance and performance of these children.
The farm yields have also improved over the years and it is because of the education and workshops organized for the farmers.
The men are busy now with farming activities whiles their women are also given assistance to trade.
TAMALE METROPOLIS
An amount of GH¢3,584.00 was given to 50 beneficiary farmers in two farming communities under the Metropolis. The communities are Gunaayili and Young-Dakpemeyili. Apart from Young-Dakpemyili where the farmers were not given fertilizer because of the high fertility levels of their farmlands, Gunaayili farmers had 3 bags each of fertilizer and their farmlands also ploughed for them at a cost of GH¢40.00 for each of them.
TOLO-KUMBUNGU
In the Tolon-Kumbungu District, BIBIR-GHANA also assisted 110 farmers from seven communities in the area. The beneficiary communities are: Gbullung, Mbanaayili, Gingani, Bogunaayili Lower, Bogunaayili Upper and Gupanarigu. An amount of GH¢10,978.00 was spent on the above mentioned farmers in ploughing and procurement of fertilizers. Each farmer had his 2 acre farm ploughed for him and also given 3 bags of fertilizer.
A senior lecturer at the Faculty of Integrated Development Studies of the University for Development Studies (UDS) in the Northern Region of Ghana, has asked government to strengthen its laws regarding environmental management and corruption, else the petroleum find could spell the country doom.
Dr. Atingah Mba stressed that laws governing the nation’s environment and checking corrupt activities should be made in such a way that players in the oil industry would be guided of the serious consequences they could face in case they break the laws.
Considering what is currently happening in the USA with regards to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico by British Petroleum (BP) and destruction of Ghana’s environment by mining companies, he said the laws should empower government and its institutions to take bold and serious actions against multinationals that will cause any harm to the environment and its habitats.
Dr. Mba made these statements at an oil and gas forum organized by Dalun Simli Centre, a local Non-Governmental Organisation at Dalun in the Tolon-Kumbungu District of the Northern Region on Wednesday July 28th, 2010.
Speaking on the topic: “Government Proposal for Petroleum Revenue Management” he said the money expected from the oil and gas sales could bring enormous development opportunities to the country but on the other hand could also worsen the poverty situation of the populace if it is not managed very well.
If politicians who are the nation’s managers do not do things in the right way but begin to jealously guide their stomachs instead of distributing the proceeds of the oil in a wider range to reach the poor, poorer and poorest, corruption will be high and that will compel the formation of rebel and armed groups to fight the government and multinationals, he warned.
Dr. Atingah Mba urged government to seriously take into consideration the concerns raised by residents of the surrounding communities in the Western Cape Three Points area in the Western Region and solve their problems, because depriving the livelihoods of majority of them due to the oil extraction coupled with relocation of residents could spark violence one day if affected persons are not well compensated.
The UDS lecturer also cited the absence of long term development plan as that could lead to mismanagement and misappropriation of the oil revenue since they might not be specific areas to invest in.
Dr. Atingah Mba feared that the price of oil if volatile or high, could worsen the plight of the vulnerable group as certain goods from outside will find it difficult to come into the country due to the strength of the local currency. Adding, greedy political leaders will continue to stay far beyond their mandatory period of rule citing Libya, Cameroon, Uganda, Angola and Gabon where their Heads of State have ruled for so long, simply because their people think that they are doing extremely well and that is giving those leaders the chance to undertake a lot of constitutional reforms to their advantage.
He therefore called for the empowerment of institutions like the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to be able to management the oil money and not allow unscrupulous politicians to take advantage of the oil to enrich themselves at the expense of ordinary people in society.
Salifu Mahama, Coordinator of Dalun Simli Centre said the workshop was organized to inform Civil Society Groups of the current development in the country’s oil sector with regards to the petroleum revenue management bill in parliament and seek their inputs so that Ghana could have a well drafted law at the end of the day. Barring any mishaps, Ghana is expected to pump significant quantity of oil which experts have warned the nation’s managers not to let the natural resource be a curse on its people but a blessing.
The situation whereby pupils sit under trees and huts to learn in some parts of the Northern Region of Ghana would soon be a thing of the past because of the passion the Ministry of Education has attached to the expansion of school infrastructure in deprived communities of the area.
The Ministry of Education as part of its plans to solve the problems has awarded on contract 2 unit six classroom blocks, KVIP and urinal facilities each to be built in eight Districts of the Northern Region for the first phase of a project.
The beneficiary districts include Chereponi, Saboba, Gushegu, Central Gonja and Damongo Districts where contractors have already moved to the site to start work.
The rest are East Gonja, Bole and Sawla-Tuna-Kalba Districts all being areas where the falling standard of education is on the increase due to inadequate school infrastructure and teachers.
Fuseini Alhassan, District Chief Executive (DCE) for Gushegu, one of the beneficiary districts commended the Minister for Education, Alex Tetteh-Enyo for exemplifying President Mills’ pledge to be a father for all with regards to the equal distribution of the national cake.
He noted that the speed at which educational infrastructure was springing up in the region would achieve government’s commitment to develop talents of the youth to make them productive citizens.
Mr. Alhassan also disclosed the Minister of Education’s pledge to provide enough dual desks for the beneficiary schools when completed.
The Gushegu DCE urged sector Ministers to emulate the shining example of Mr. Tetteh- Enyo by attaching importance to the developmental needs of deprived communities in the Northern Region
National Service Personnel Association (NASPA) in the Northern Region of Ghana say lack of accommodation facilities is forcing most of them to sleep on verandas and urged government and all stakeholders to find a permanent solution to the accommodation problem.
According to a statement read on behalf of NASPA members, about 7,249 service personnel were registered for the year 2010 and posted to all the 20 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in the Northern Region but that majority of them had been confronted with serious accommodation problems.
Ibrahim Abdul-Salam Mallam, Northern Regional President of the NASPA made the revelation at the launch of this year’s service week celebration marked in Tamale.
He noted that the extortion of huge sums of money from service personnel by Landlords/ladies in parts of the region had over the years hindered the wellbeing of particularly personnel from Southern Ghana posted to the area.
He therefore called for the early completion of the regional transit quarters project that had been abandoned due to lack of funds.
Mr. Abdul-Salam also mentioned countless problems associated with the online registration exercise, misplacement of priorities during postings and the undue delay in releasing forms for the National Voluntary Service Programme as other major constraints affecting service personnel and therefore called for remedial solutions.
“We propose that the nature of the online registration and manual processing of appointment letters should be streamlined starting from this year 2010/2011 service year, so that service personnel posted to the Northern Region would not be welcomed by verandas and corridors of departments,” he stressed.
Mr. Abdul-Salam further hinted that NASPA members had been denied their access to free medical care as enshrined in the National Service SchemeConstitution under article 15.
Speaking under the theme: “National Service In The Drive Towards A Better Ghana Agenda” Moses Bukari Mabengba, Northern Regional Minister urged the personnel to live exemplary lifestyles by avoiding alcoholism, absenteeism and lateness at work places.
He appealed to them not to be frightened by the level of deprivation caused by the numerous conflicts that had bedeviled the region and accept postings to the area.
Mr. Mabengba however condemned the regional service secretariat of abusing the National Voluntary Service Programme which he said had the tendency of affecting its sustainability.
Doing the right thing - as oil money spills out of Ghanaian banks
One can visualize the situation, in which insecurity prevails and trust is a scarce commodity.
Energy analysts report that Crude Oil and Natural Gas are both at important junctures in Ghana and are poised for exciting moves. Opportunity is calling. We've just thrown open the doors to some of the multinational, well-capitalized and too-big-to-ignore banks to again test commonsense among Ghanaian owned and managed banks.
Sadly, there is a local policy debate, really an ideological struggle between sometimes utopian idealists and mainly orthodox pragmatists. This is accompanied by much noise, where steely (if velvety) determination matters most. Other than this Big Theme staring us in the face, there are unknown future events capable of flooring us anew in our own backyard as far as the oil revenue is concerned.
Though playfully engaging with all and sundry, the policy orthodoxy seems intend on regaining and preserving some measure of strength for local banks and restoring government finances to health, with parastatals and private local banks required to deliver key financial services to the oil and its related businesses.
Probably tied up with this is the ideological policy struggle playing out daily, in which some individuals within the financial services industry favour returning to failed past practices by reducing trade protection, under-subsidizing struggling sectors, picking industrial winners (irrespective of their origin), and reducing systemic support, besides yet higher government spending. This spectacle can be intimidating, raising unsound economic ownership risk perceptions, potentially influencing economic agents negatively.
On these many scores pragmatism seems daily engaged with wishful thinking in ‘robust’ debate and the outcome often in doubt. Yet noise levels won’t necessarily determine ultimate choices. Common sense apparently remains the main currency, as do accepted global policy norms in all successful oil producing countries especially in Africa.
This clash, though, may cause some growth sacrifice if it inhibits risk-taking and replacement decisions. However, if pursued in the best interest of the state, not even a single (both local and multinational) will lose out.
The oil business plays well into the hands of banks and insurance companies with healthy balance sheets and other great financial essentials. This is how the oil business sustains itself. It is not going to be different on our shores. We need to reform ourselves especially within and among Ghanaian financial institutions. It is up to us (specifically leaders of local banks and insurance companies) to act tactically and show some shrewdness to be in the right position to contain much of what is to flow out of the oil and gas production. Some spinners and speculators with links to well capitalized multinational banks continue to downplay the need for some serious merger moves among local financial institutions. They often sound as though a rural bank in Ghana can meaningfully engage in the oil and gas industry knowing very well that not even a single local commercial and investment bank can on its own get a real deal out of the oil business.
The point here is not about protectionism. It has nothing to do with providing unleveled playground for non-Ghanaian banks and Insurance companies. It only seeks to place Ghana, the land on which the oil will flow and Ghanaians, the people who will have to grapple with the concomitant effects of oil production at the centre of the oil revenue.
It is a great feeling to see Nigerian financial institutions doing so well in Africa. Some Energy and Financial Analyst contend that this should have happened to Nigeria several decades ago. It did not happen due to one very important factor. It is well documented that as at the time Nigeria started oil and gas production, most of its banks and insurance companies had no clue that they could not derive any real benefits from the industry. So for many decades, they lived and operated as tiny, ill-resourced and small-cap separate entities. Then came the moment. They merged and used their synergy to win significant deals. This really transformed them into international brands. Today, their dominance on the continent is visible and appears unmatched. Their operations stretch as far as Europe, and the Middle East. A lesson has been learnt.
Ghanaian owned banks and insurance companies must learn from the Nigerian experience. It is indeed a rich experience. Rich to such an extent that it will place them in the same position Nigerian financial institutions find themselves in Africa and beyond.
The Ghana Stock Exchange all-share Index rose by nearly five percent (5%) in the third quarter of 2009 when news filtered through that two of the local banks (Fidelity & The Trust Bank) were in a serious merger talks. Most analysts hailed that as a positive sign of Ghana’s readiness to start its oil production on the right track. Sadly, that did not happen. There were similar talk among others in the same category but failed to produce any real deal on the ground.
This development within the financial services sector is starting to worry me a little. History-derived economic models show that the oil and gas production starts to change the behaviour of nations as it fails to strength its economic base. If Ghana’s oil and gas production is going to crunch the local banks and insurance companies more than normally, the fragile economic growth may be about to be derailed.
Our Ghanaian banks must find a common ground to merge and transform themselves into big corporate players else we may be witnessing the sad spectacle of “All the oil leaving Ghana wells and the dipsticks stretching as long as from the far east and the west. This situation is only avoidable if we seek to think as strategists, eschew infantile corporate rivalry and get together.
By Rocky Obeng, (Richard Ebbah Obeng)
Chief Financial Analyst (Trust Consult Gh.) & Associate (JP Morgan Chase, South Africa)
Story from Myjoyonline.Com News:
http://news.myjoyonline.com/features/201007/49667.asp
Inside Africa: The new scramble for Afrika's minerals, the untold story
125 years ago the Western imperialists including America, Britain, France and Germany met at a round table to carve up Afrika into neo-political and neo-economic entities. This was known as the "Congress of Berlin" that became dubbed: "The Scramble for Afrika"
Today the same western powers but now including the Asians and the European Jews are now involved in another "Scramble for Afrika", this time for some very precious minerals of which could have just an impact as that first scramble for Afrika.
West Africa has become the scene of intense competition between international mining companies as the price of minerals has risen after the recession of 2009.
This has become known in certain circles as the "New Scramble for Afrika" based on the rich untapped deposits of minerals crucial for lap tops, computers, cars, mobile phone components, micro-chips and many other household and industrial good that the West and China needs.
"This latest scramble for Afrika is part of the New World Order that I have been referring to in which the sole objective is to loot Afrika and keep Afrika a basket case and is proof of the neo-colonialism and neo-imperialism that Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah warned us about more than 50 years ago and in the centenary of his birth, these prophecies have come true in the light of this development and other sinister developments on the Afrikan continent.
At the centre of this disturbing development is a region that covers parts of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. It is cited as the largest of the world's remaining undeveloped minerals deposits. Guinean Mines Minister Mahmoud Thiam recently approved a joint venture between the Brazilian giant Vale and General Resources, run by Israel-based Beny Steinmetz. The northern part of the Simandou Mountains (the region of Guinea being explored by this joint venture) is disputed territory-Rio Tinto still disputes the Guinean government's decision to remove half of its Simandou exploration rights.
Towards the end of General Lansana Conte's regime, after Rio Tinto's rights had been revoked, Steinmetz took control of the northern Simandou block. Vale then paid the Beny Steinmetz Group (BSG) $2.5 billion to take part in the venture.
These two companies intend to spend $8 billion on building mines, ports, and railways in Guinea and Liberia by 2020 and to extract the iron ore from the region. The ore is to be transported out by railway through Liberia - finding its way back to the West to enrich the west and is a further part of the economic enslavement that I have been trying to impart into the minds of the readership.
Rio Tinto is collaborating with Chinalco, described by the Financial Times as "China's state champion", in a joint venture to develop the Simandou southern block.
Hyperdynamics Corporation, based in Texas, is prospecting for oil in West Afrika. In March it renounced its claim to 70 percent of its offshore sites, in order to concentrate on onshore deposits in Guinea.
In May, Hyperdynamics confirmed that it had signed a revised production-sharing agreement with the Guinean government to extract oil deposits. Dana Petroleum, a Scottish oil and gas explorer, announced in December 2009 that it had agreed to buy a 23 percent interest of the Hyperdynamics concession.
Bellzone, a British mining firm, declared in May that they had secured a promise of funding by China International Fund (CIF) for new iron ore mining in return for access to the iron ore produced. CIF is funding all the required infrastructure development required for the project (at an estimated cost of $3 billion) including a 286 km railway, as well as port and power development.
The iron ore must be transported along a Trans-Guinea railway to be built in collaboration with Rio Tinto. The railway will link what is left of the Rio Tinto's Simandou concession to Bellzone's Kalia concession, and then go on to a new port.
CIF is a Hong Kong-based company with connections to the Chinese government, which last year pledged to invest $7 billion in Guinea in exchange for access to mining and oil rights.
The deal was officially made public in the aftermath of the military coup in Guinea, after the junta of Captain Moussa Dadis Camara had murdered over 150 opposition protesters in (the capital) Conakry's stadium in September 2009. China is willing to enter such costly arrangements because its industry requires increasing amounts of many raw materials, but especially iron ore ALL found in Afrika. China has gone from being a net steel importer to a net steel exporter. Its steel industry has dramatically increased its output volumes.
Domestic steel prices have reduced as a result, and the leading steel producers are boosting their exports to increase profits. Presidential elections are due in Guinea soon, with some of the parties saying that no new contracts should be signed before the elections, and that they will renegotiate the contracts if the elections bring them to power.
Such claims are mainly for public consumption-the giant corporations exert huge influence over national politicians - i.e. that these multi-national Western and Asian mining companies have already bribed both sides meaning that whoever wins the Guinean election, their interests are already safeguarded. Other companies involved in the scramble for West Afrika's rich vast mineral deposits worth tens of billions of dollars are BHP Billiton, the UK steel company ArcelorMittal, the Russian company Severstal, Jersey-based AmLib Holdings plc and the state-owned Chinese mining company, Chinalco. Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are British-Australian transnational mining and resources groups with headquarters in London and Melbourne. On 14 June, it was reported that BHP Billiton had signed a $3 billion deal with the Liberian government to develop a large-scale iron ore project. In January, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf announced the government was granting a 25-year license for its Western Cluster to Elenilto, part of the Engelinvest Group, controlled by Israeli businessman Jacob Engel.
Western Cluster is one of the largest iron ore mining sites in the world, with reserves of over 1.1 billion tons of iron ore.
Earlier this year, ArcelorMittal resumed work on its $1.5 billion MountNimba project in Liberia that had been suspended since May 2009. Production is expected to start up in the middle of 2011.
In Sierra Leone, the London-listed African Minerals plans to begin commercial production at its Tonkolili project in early 2011. The company says the reserves are amongst the biggest in the world. Also in Sierra Leone, London Mining is to spend $300 million over four years on its Marampa project, expected to achieve primary ore production of 5 to 8 million tonnes a year by 2013.
Liberia and Sierra Leone have recently been mired in civil wars, started by the West namely America and Britain using stooges like Charles Taylor to carry out their dirty work, whilst they present themselves as being the saviours of these two countries whilst demonizing the likes of Taylor who they were willing to sponsor and support to deliver their agenda while Guinea with the French pulling insidious strings has been close to civil war since the military coup in 2008. In the Liberian civil war, more than a quarter of a million people died, half of them civilians.
British and US troops were "sent" into Liberia and Sierra Leone to suppress the rebel groups. Both the civil wars themselves and the incursions by western backed and financed troops were mainly driven by greedy western ambitions to dominate the countries' mineral resources. Between 1997 and 2001, Sierra Leone was subject to interventions by Ecomog (the West African force dominated by Nigeria), Britain and the United Nations.
Since the end of the conflicts, no substantial aid has been sent in to help with rebuilding or easing the plight of those whose livelihoods were destroyed by the conflicts that were started by the West and yet it was the same west who stated that they would send aid to re-build what in essence THEY helped to destroy - see the nature and double talk of western geo-politics!!!
All three countries suffer from grinding poverty, very low life expectancy and high infant mortality rates. Sierra Leone and Liberia are close to the bottom of the table of the United Nations Development Programme Human Development Index. The yearly gross domestic product of Liberia is around $1.5 billion, while that of Sierra Leone is no more than $4.5 billion. This shows the glaring disparity between the billions of dollars of profits made from these countries vast mineral deposits and the chronic poverty and underdevelopment suffered by the local population - all for the sake of Western and Asian economic domination whilst the masses of Afrikans go hungry, go to bed without adequate water and electricity supplies and lack adequate healthcare - something that people in the West and the developed parts of Asia take for granted at the Afrikans expense.
The major effect of the expansion of mining in this region will be to widen this disparity still further. In addition to this is scramble for Zimbabwe's rich mineral resources like chrome, hence the political instability in the country and the big one the scramble for D R Congo's vast mineral resources like cobalt, colthan, platinum, steel and diamonds.
Therefore what the above article highlights is what I have said so often is that there is a New World Order in which the prime agenda is to loot Afrika's resources, keep the continent and people of Afrika forever impoverished and enslaved whilst others namely Europeans, Americans and Asians enrich themselves and their people at our expense.
The above article should also inform the wise of us the REAL reasons behind the wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone and the instability in Guinea.
Background: Joseph Ziem (pix left), is a practicing journalist with 11yrs experience.Began career at Fiila FM in Tamale as Reporter, Producer and became News Editor before quitting in June 2010. He previously also reported for Otec FM, Happy FM, Fox FM, Kess Radio, ghanadistricts.com, Free Press, The Chronicle and Daily Dispatch Newspapers.
Honours: Overall Best Journalist For Natural Resources and Environmental Governance (Newspaper Category) at the 2010 Kasa Media Awards in Accra. Call: +2330553597289 for Enquiries.
Background: Edmond Gyebi ( pix right) practicing journalism with 15 years experience.Former N/R Correspondent for Television Africa and The Chronicle Newspaper. Previously worked with Fiila FM as News Editor as well as Angel FM, Kessben FM, Kessewaa FM and Luv FM and among others.
Honours: Overall Best Investigative Journalist for 2010 at the Northern Ghana Journalists Awards in Tamale.
