Couple Gets Caught At A Cinema

Official Name: Republic of Ghana
Capital: Accra
Area: 238,540 km ²
Population (2007): 22.5 million (source: World Bank)
Urban Population (2006): 47.8 % (source: Africa Economic Outlook 2007)
Tasso d'analfabetismo (2007): 42,1% (fonte: Africa Economic Outlook 2007)

Lingua: inglese (ufficiale), gha, akan, dagaare, twi, gonja, ewe, dagbani, dangme, fante, kasem, nzema, gurma, grusi, hausa…

Religione: Islamismo, Animismo, Cristianesimo

Gruppi etnici: Akan, Dagomba, Ewe, Ashanti, Akwapim, Krobo, Guan, Gurma, Gurunsi, Mande-Busanga, Fulani, Hausa…

PIL (2007): 14,9 miliardi USD (fonte: World Bank e IMF)

Indipendente dal Regno Unito dal 6 marzo 1957

Capo di Stato: John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor (in carica dalle elezioni del dicembre 2000)

Wikipedia Link: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana

Dove eravate il 3 febbraio 2008? Io me lo ricordo benissimo: ero al Ninar Café di Abu Dhabi con uno dei rappresentanti con cui lavoriamo, F., un ragazzo siriano molto simpatico, Sales Executive di una tipografia con cui abbiamo avuto una fruttuosa collaborazione per un annetto.

Davanti ad una bella tazza di the verde al gelsomino, F. cercava di spiegarmi che da parecchio tempo voleva dirmi di provare ad andare oltre l'amicizia perché felt that I was "the right girl" and ... well, that's ... well, he was "in love with me." All this while I was trying to watch TV in the final of the African Cup of Nations , the African Championship of Football (like our Europeans, in short, only held every two years), which this year was held in Ghana, the home of the Black Stars (winners of four Africa Cup of Nations) Egypt-Cameroon. And do not tell you that I quit screaming when Egypt scored, winning it the second African Championship in a row (yes, I also saw the end of 2006, won on penalties to Senegal). And do not even tell you what was pissed F. when I explained that I was with an Egyptian guy (actually I lied, because they were already a couple of months that the story had ended in a blaze of shouting, arguing and profanity): "I always hated the Egyptians, but now I hate them even more," he said with an expression of contempt.
I swear that at that time was from my regret F., a good guy, just as I was sorry for that Ghana had not arrived in the final, a country that takes its football seriously, as much as politics.
In fact, in this period of euphoria about the American election, who knows what other elections are held in the world in this end of 2008? Several, including Ghanaian elections to be held December 7 to elect a new president and a new parliament . The
Ghana has an undeniable economic dynamism and political stability envied by many countries of the region, a budget that President John Kufuor not fail to evoke the end of the year, when you leave his office at the end of his second and last term. Since his election in 2000, the successor to Jerry John Rawlings has progressively liberalized the policy areas of the old Gold Coast , thus attracting foreign investment and managing to maintain a sustained level of growth - a annual average of 6% from 2004 - despite the climatic instability and crisis experienced by the Volta River Authority, the state company responsible for producing and supplying electricity.
addition, during the past year, a series of good news has fueled the morale of the country, most notably the discovery in June 2007, an oil field off the west coast for a capacity of Ghana, according to the Tullow Oil UK, 400 million barrels (two months later, the same company has discovered another layer between the port of Takoradi and the Ivorian border, bringing the capacity of proven reserves at 1.2 billion barrels). Pending the exploitation of these deposits, mining, and in particular the gold-bearing, which sees the country in second place on the continent for production after South Africa, continues to support the trade balance. Another news which provide for a brighter economic future for the country is the boom in the cocoa sector, which in 2007, with 700,000 tons, stood at second in the world after the Ivory Coast.
Despite the good economic performance and although Ghana is above the African average in terms of road networks and power, it remains well behind in access to drinking water, toilet facilities and free internet and the World Bank admits that Ghana needs to spend on infrastructure around 12% more year for the next decade. Surely something with which the new President will face. Despite 9
parties have registered to participate in elections, it seems that the only contender with a good chance of victory are the National Patriotic Party (NPP) in power and National Democratic Party (NDC) founded by 'ex-President Jerry John Rawlings, a populist figure still hard to ignore. The fielding
NPP Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo -Addo, a luminary in the legal field and financially well endowed, the second son of President William Akufo-Addo of Ghana. With a large number of important donors on his side, the NPP is doing the best possible campaign and its PR are once again demonstrating the best in the country, but despite the less disposable income, the NDC is not completely cut out of the race.
Until a few years ago, the NDC was the brightest part of Ghana. Both said to his credit, Rawlings left the country in 2000 in a state much better as he found when he came to power through the coup of 1981 left the Ghana Armed Forces covered most of West Africa and institutions that work well as the Electoral Commission and the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHIRAJ) and, last but not least, ha passato il potere all'opposizione in modo pacifico in seguito alle elezioni libere e democratiche del 2000, in cui non aveva potuto presentarsi perché la Costituzione proibisce un terzo mandato presidenziale ed in cui il suo delfino Mills correva contro John Kufuor, risultato vincitore. Un'altra eredità lasciata da Rawlings è la pletora di media di cui il Ghana gode attualmente. Insomma, Rawlings rimane uno dei pochi ex-presidenti golpisti dell'Africa che può girare liberamente per la strada senza il rischio di venire linciato dalla popolazione.

Ironicamente, la popolarità di Rawlings è una sorta di spada di Damocle che pende sulla testa del suo partito. Il candidato presidenziale del NDC, il Prof. John Atta Mills , was a prominent law professor and head of the Internal Revenue Service before Rawlings appointed him his deputy. This is the third attempt by Mills to the presidency after losing twice against Kufuor in 2000 and 2004. Unlike his engaging and talkative ex-boss, Mills is a man of good manners that speaks quietly, just like the professor he is, and that is why his opponents call him "the little dog to Rawlings," saying that a vote for him would be nothing but a vote for the ex-president.
Many are not digesting the interference of the former president a few years ago, some young leaders of the NDC that they could no longer stand the overbearing nature of Rawlings caused a split within the party, leaving him and form their new party, the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) .
Even the NPP seems devoid of internal contradictions: the risk of a split after the party during the last Congress, and after months of speculation, gossip and pressures on August 15, Nana Akufo-Addo has chosen Dr Mahamudu Bawumiah , vice-governor of the Bank of Ghana, as a vice. Before the announcement, several names had been taken as possible candidates: Hajia Alima Mahamati, Minister for Women and Children, Boniface Abubakar Saddique, Minister of Water Resources, Labour and Housing, and Alhaji Mohammed Nurudeen Jawula Dauda, \u200b\u200bformer Director General of the Ministry of Health. Although Dr. Bawumiah, 44, is virtually unknown in political circuit, his selection seems to serve to prevent a split within the party: he is considered to be a compromise candidate who can muster support for the party in northern part of the country. Moreover, for political commentators, the choice of Dr. Bawumiah should contain the impact of the NDC of his opponent, John Dramane Mahamati , which continues to attract many voters. At NPP, however, are convinced that the good performance of the Bank of Ghana Dr. Bawumiah have a card for his and the party.
A worrying trend of the current year is the introduction of ethnic violence. In years past, election periods were joyous occasions in Ghana, but the campaign this year has seen several clashes and the political language has often been uncivilized.
The violence took place mainly between supporters of the NPP and the NDC, the NDC's claim that the police are in cahoots with the ruling party. Many Ghanaians are so worried that they have started to organize collective public prayers to ask God that the elections were peaceful and a radio also broadcast programs in Accra to sensitize Ghanaians on the need for peaceful election.
Various strategies have been employed by the parties to attract voters, but what seems to have been more successful is that of the 4 teams adopted by the NPP, led by the President Kufuor, the Vice-President Aliu Mahamati, by Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr Bawumiah provides that they rotate different parts of the country at the same time that the leadership describes as "the multi-system to maintain power, while the team of three men of the NDC of Prof. Mills, the ex-president Jerry John Rawlings John Mahamati and has a similar mission. These elaborate electoral strategies have received an additional stimulus when the wives of presidential candidates are loaded in separate campaigns to solicit support and votes for their husbands. The only that has not been thrown into the fray is the former first lady Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, who, according to some analysts Ghanaians, would be protesting against the choice of Prof. John Mills as vice Mahamati instead of the favorite of Mrs. Rawlings, Betty Mould Iddrisu .
So who will win? Although there are nine political parties involved, the elections seem to be a two-horse race between the NPP Nana Akufo-Addo and Prof John Atta Mills of the NDC. The third wheel is the candidate of the Convention People's Party ( CPP, the party of the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah , who ruled the country from 1957 to 1966) the Dr. Pope Kwesi Nduom , che è stato ministro nel governo di Kufuor in entrambe le legislature. Eppure sembra comunque destinato ad arrivare terzo.


Akufo-Addo è oltremodo sicuro della sua vittoria e la sua sicurezza è stata rinforzata negli ultimi mesi delle grandi folle presenti ai raduni del partito. Ma gli osservatori indipendenti dicono che sarà un testa a testa, che il NDC non è una forza esaurita e che il Prof. Atta Mills potrebbe essere "third-time lucky": di certo, trattandosi della terza volta in cui guida il partito alle presidenziali, l'affabile Atta Mills deve vincere oppure scordarsi di condurre di nuovo il NDC in battaglia.

La posta in gioco è alta, ma i giochi sono ancora aperti. Play your game then
.*

For the Mind (Books):
The Beautiful Ones are not yet born (Avi Kwei Armah)
Two Thousand Seasons (Avi Kwei Armah - an epic about the history of Africa and the trafficking of slaves from many critics called trite and wordy, which is appreciated by the Nobel laureate Wole Soninke. Who do we believe?)
The Healers (Avi Kwei Armah);
Why are we so Blest? (Avi Kwei Armah)
Fragments (Avi Kwei Armah)
Anowa (Ama Ata Aido)
An Angry Letter in January (Ama Ata Aido - poems);
In My Father's House (Kwame Anthony Appiah)
Cutting the Rose (Efua Doorkenoo - book on the subject of female genital mutilation. Doorkenoo This is one of the founders of FORWARD - Foundation for Women's Health, Research and Development )
Ghana: The Authobiography of Kwame Nkrumah (Kwame Nkrumah)
Sosua's Call (Meshack Asare - for children);
Faceless (Amma Darko)
Beyond the Horizon (Amma Darko)

ear (Music): George Darko
Selasee
Reggie Rockstone

Obrafour
Daniel Amponsah
Akyeame
Okukuseku
Ashanti Brothers
Hi-Life International

For Eyes (Cinema):
Heritage Africa (Kwa Ansah)

For the Heart (Art):
Momodou Ceesay

the mouth (food):
Jollof Rice (rice served with chicken and tomato sauce);
Fufu (a kind of porridge made with cassava and plantain and served with soup);
Kenkey (mixture of fermented corn meal wrapped in banana leaves and steamed)
Akara (fried bean);
Kontomire (cocoyam leaves, pureed, often served with a little ' Tuna and flavored with pumpkin seeds and palm oil);
Kelewele (spicy fried plantains);
Gari Biscuits (cookies to cassava)

Blogs:
... My heart's in Accra ;
Accra by Day & Night ;
abocco's blog at GhanaConscious

* I saw the pictures of the candidates as well, to skin, I prefer to Mills. But I bet wins Akufo-Addo.