All About U20

I wish it was a kind of UFO, but it is actual U20 that attracts all the attention now in Ghana.

The U20 stands for soccer world cup for Under 20 years old players, currently held in Egypt. If you meet someone on the street, especially a young men, he will tell you about the recent game in which Ghana's Black Satellites beat Uzbekistan by 2:1.

It could not be Ghana without talking about the national pastime, just like talking about the U.S. without baseball games. And when talking about soccer in Ghana, you will encounter street players around every corner of the city, much like pitchball to Americans and Ping-Pong to Chinese.

Speaking of soccer, Ghana's national team Black Star was beaten by Japanese team other day, and it was instant feeling of collective defeat. One local friend told me that before the game, the Japanese were beaten by Black Star every single time and they had been looking for revenge, and now they finally got it. He then clinched his teeth and I was feeling relieved for not being a Japanese.

Back to U20, as three time African Champion, Ghana team is heavily favored to take the World Cup. We will have to wait and see.

Ghana Cultural Lesson One

In Ghana, your family is not limited to your spouse and kids, but include your brothers or sisters and their children.

It has become a dilemma for doing business in Ghana, should you do American way of offering the health and other benefits to only the employee, and immediate family members, or would you follow the local rule of extending the benefits to both the employee families and his/her brother/sister's children?

In the World Bank's annual report of Doing Business in 2008-2009, Ghana is ranked 92 in ease of doing business, after China, which is ranked 89. Ghana is ranked 7 among sub-Sahara countries, after Mauritius, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Rwanda and Zambia.

Could the cultural factor have played a role in forming barriers of doing business in Ghana? As a matter of fact, most Chinese had hard time picturing the local Ghanaian enjoy a full public holidays and five day work week, since Chinese workers working on constructions or retails in Ghana seldom take any days off.

Today in New York City, Ghanaian president John E. Mills invited American business to invest in Ghana. At a Bank of America Merrill Luncheon, he told business and finance executives that Ghana won't disappoint U.S. investors.

Giant U.S. business players such as copper and gold mining firm Freeport has agreed to invest up to $1 billion in Ghana. The new discovery of oil field off the Gulf of Guinea has also fired up some interests from world energy players.

In the Wold Bank report, Ghana ranked poorly (153) in obtaining a construction permit and starting a business. The ease of doing business will be judged on the further improvement in these sectors.

The day I was called Oburoni

I wondered out for a quick grocery shopping, it was a relatively pedestrian friendly neighborhood and I was told there will be a small hut selling daily necessities two blocks away.

The trip itself was smooth, I found the store front and several Ghanaian were standing outside, I guessed they must be curious about my presence, and one lady said to me loudly, "Oburoni, Oburoni"

Oburoni is a "white man" in local language, and it is similar to "Lao Wai" (foreigner) in Chinese. Since late 1400, first the dutch settlers, then the German, the British, Ghana has seen oburoni influence coming in. Even the former president Jerry Rawlings has oburoni factor, he is half Scottish and half Ghanian. Oburoni is also a cultural factor in the sense that even many Ghanian returnees from overseas were called Oburoni, and that has made some feel uncofortable.

I was one of these at the store when the lady calling me "oburoni", I did pull up my sleeves and showed her that my skin color, which is yellow but not white, but she insisted, saying in local dilect Twi, I guess, something like you are still a Oburoni.

I think I will have identify self as a Oburoni, for now.

Journalists With Benefits

Last week, I came to a press briefing inside the Ministry of Information to get a feel of upcoming 2009 world tourism day celebrations, to be hosted by Ghana government this year. The Madam minister of tourism and several officers from the Ministry and subsidiary Ghana Tourist Board also presented.

The talks were long and eventless, the following Q&A was better. Several local journalists questioned a low or non-existent public awareness for the event inside the country, a female had to excuse herself after a emotional questioning session, the minister and her deputies recognized the problem but instisted that the efforts to address it were already put out.

After a nearly two hour monologue and heating Q&A, I was ready to head out of door but noticed a crowd jamming nearing the exit. In the center is a Minstry employee holding dozens of white envelops, and around him are journalsits eagerly looked at him. The staff then called names and gave out the envelopes.

That made me wondering what's going on. I stopped one and asked, and He looked at me like I was from outer space. "It is compensation for covering the event".

"what?! you mean, the money to pay every one to get there today?"
"Yes."

I later found out that the amount is around Ghana 10 cedis ($8), which is sufficent to get two meals and a tax fare in capital Accra. One senior reporter from Ghana New Agency told me some private companies pay even more, sometime as much as 100-300, and in a busy day, journalists usually go to three to four such "functions", and the money is called "soli", as a solidarity.

I had to admit that I was in shock for a while, I read some articles explaining journalists get paid very little here. For a freelancer, a most profitable newspaper pays 10 cedis per article, barely enough to cover the cost. Even worse, some publications simply don't pay at all.

Does the fact that journalists work for the benefits reflect the less transparency and higer cost of doing business?

Traffic Tragedy

Almost everyday you will spot traffic incidents here in Accra streets, whether it is a just a fender binder or something more serious, traffic is certainly a big headache for both drivers and regulators.

At the country's upper East region, 36 death were reported in the first half of the year, and most of them involved motor bikes. Potholes littered roads, fast driving trotros (local public van bus) and taxis, drivers talking on mobile phones, and cars driving crossing lines to avoid potholes, all these ingredients are recipes for tragedies.

The officers are blamed for the situation. I will wonder next, when will the big trunk missing road in front of our house be repaired?

China To Buy 36,000 Tons of Plam Oil From Ghana

Chinese company signed a deal with Ghana to buy 36,000 tons of palm oil, and promise to purchase more if Ghana can produce. The quantity is one eighth of the nation's annul produce of 243,000 tons.

Most palm oil producers in Ghana are small, and the deal is promoted by both parties to create more jobs for the local communities.

The deal, however, also includes a provision that China will also export rice and sugar to complement what was produced locally.

Akwaaba Accra

It has been one full month before I finally have a feel of settling down in Africa.

The coldest month here is August, with daily temperature around 25C (85F)so I am grateful for the pleasant change from sizzling hot DC. Now is also the cigar butt end of a raining season, so the sky is mostly overcast with only one short rain fall during the whole month.

Due to limited manufacturing factors in Ghana, most stuff are imported from Europe, China, Mideast and the U.S., the prices are quiet high considering the national average income is around $510. However, local produce are very reasonable, for example, 1 cedi ($1=1.46 cedis) can buy you a big bunch of fresh bananas, and locally grown vegetables are also inexpensive.

Billed the friendliest people in Africa, Ghanaian I met are hardworking, warm and ready to help. According to a local media who did a study on how friendly the people really are, there is a price you pay for the friendliness. They found that when one person entered a supermarket and asked for something in a nice way, no immediate services were tended. However, when asked for the same thing in a more bitchy way, the service was fast and professional.

I certainly can relate that to getting my internet service installed. After three weeks of back and forth, almost daily telephone calls to many different people who all seemed to be in charge but couldn't answer my questions, one trip matching down to the phone company and paying the service upfront, I got a fully functional internet access Today.

I can't help but comparing China with Ghana, I wonder, are there more to the development models that put China ahead?

Akwaaba means Welcome in Ghaninian
More to come, stay tuned.

So much for Softpower

While jogging around Accra, I found a street soccer game. The game itself is ubiquitous as the fist nation in Africa to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Ghana lacks no soccer games around corner of the capital city the same meaning for table tennis is to Chinese. However, the bright yellow jersey shirts the players of one team wear attract my attention.

Every shirt has Korean characters on it, as I don’t read Korean, I can’t tell what each word means. From what I observed, it seems the team and each player’s name. Out of curiosity, I approached one player wearing the jersey and asked him. He looked at me, stretched out his arms and shrugged, “I don’t know”.

It is not the first time I spotted Korean presence in this Africa country, every week day night around 9pm, there is a popular Korean soap show showing on the local TV stations. There are total three free TV stations for everyone who can afford a TV to view without a cable, so the chance of people seeing the Korean show is fairly high.

Then you got Korean electronics makers such as LG or Samsung who establish their showrooms prominently in the main drag of the city, home appliance such as flat large screen TV sets and new mobile phones are promoted as better life.

Back to Soccer, in Asia, both Koreas are qualified for the finals next year in South Africa. Will there be any softpower showing from North Korea as well? At least they got a embassy here.