Nyaniba Park Renovation Project - Nyaniba Estates. Accra

It all started off with a group of Nyaniba folks living in the US, UK, Europe and in Accra deciding to put some funds together to renovate the park at Nyaniba. Actually as far as I can remember, nothing has ever been done in terms of renovating this park. I remember as a kid many years ago walking past the park on my way to school, which was then Saint Michael's International School. I do not recall actually playing on the park. I do remember stopping on many occasions just to watch other kids and adults playing on it. Football was always the main sport played on it.

Recently there has been a lot of action surrounding the park. As far as I understand, there have been several attempts by unknown parties to gain control of the park and use it for personal projects. By this I mean building of houses. Others have also tried to encroach on it for reasons best known to them. Anyway in all these illegal attempts, the residents of Nyaniba have stood up to any hostility and retained the park. Moving forward it was decided that the park should be renovated as a legacy for the kids in Nyaniba. Since returning to Ghana on a frequent basis, I have on several occasions seen the park being used as a football pitch or as an overflow area for anyone having a funeral.

The current plan layout for the project seeks to have a basketball court, a football field - one that can host five-a-side, a table tennis area, a kids playground area and a couple of sitting areas. I took my Parrot Drone out to the park a couple of days ago and did a short flight to make a video recording of the park. For those who are abroad and have not been back for quite a while, watching the video should give you an update of what the park currently looks like. If you have moved out of Nyaniba, please watch the video.

Finally if you are interested in helping out financially with the Nyaniba Project, I would encourage you to contact James "Fella" Azu. If you have any questions James will be more than willing to answer them for you. Send me a text message/whatsapp message on 0245241811 and I will get James to contact you. 

Now enjoy the video below

Back In Ghana - Lunch With James And Family - Nyaniba Estates

Yes that is right, I am back in Ghana. Last year around the end of August, I took a three break to travel to Ghana and get Project Laingoye kicked off. Despite being a gruelling three months with challenges, i managed to accomplish what I planned and get things started.

I am now back. Updates on the project can be found on the "Project Laingoye" section of this blog. Why dont you take a trip over there and update yourself with where I currently stand with the building project and what is next on the project timeline.

In between sorting things out with the project, I have been "enjoying" myself.

There is currently a Project, initiated by Nyaniba UK residents and those in Nyaniba to renovate the Nyaniba Park. I have injected myself into this project. I had the blessed opportunity of meeting James "Fella" Azu, who is the main man on the ground in Nyaniba coordinating things from his end. I had my personal donation for the project and also donations from the UK to give to him. James invited me over to his house one Saturday to enjoy some fufu and a variety of Ghanaian soups. The experience was finger licking good. With the assistance of his wife Sky, I enjoyed every moment of my two lunch with them. So this is how it all went down. I arrived at his crib around 11AM and was offered a bottles of chilled Star beer. Then I was asked if I would like to sample some Alomo Silver. Of course I said. I am never one to shy away from a little adventure. Next was the fufu. As they say, a picture tells a whole lot more than words. Check out some optics I took of dish before it got totally demolished by me

The meal was delicious and I enjoyed every "atom" of it. When I got home, I sat down hoping to just relax for a little while. I actually dozed off for a good two hours and more. Life is certainly blessed and good, in Ghana. Thanks James and Sky. Love you both.

2016 Living Word

"At the heart of this devotional is a desire to make God's eternal word real to our day to day experiences. The study format is easy to follow and the daily insights rich with meaning.
You can use this guide for your personal or family devotion, facilitate a Bible study or prepare a study lesson for a group you lead. Whether you are a student, parent, worker, busy executive or a senior citizen, you can develop a closer walk with God and study His word daily. Make time to draw on His wisdom from above and see the difference it will bring into your life."
 

Whilst back in Ghana last year between the months of August and December, [yes I know,I spent several months there all in the name of relocation] I fellowshipped every Sunday morning attending Church Service at ICGC located at Abossey Okine. I was initially invited by a good friend Belinda Quarshie several years ago and since then, whenever I am in Ghana, I make it my mission to attend church service there. I am very skeptical about churches in Ghana. I feel many of them have deviated from the soul purpose of why a church is needed in a community, and have made it their aim to feed people with nonsense and device as many ways and means of extracting money from them based on absurd reasons. 
Anyway, ICGC sat well with me. I liked the church very much. I would not say I liked everything about the church, but on a scale of 1 - 10, I would give it a 9 based on the atmosphere, preaching, etc etc. 

So, "Living Word" is a yearly book written by the Senior Pastor and founder of ICGC - Pastor Mensa Otabil. My copy - Living Word 2016, was purchased as a present for me by Belinda in November last year when I was in Ghana. It is meant to be read on a daily bases, but hey, I found the content very inspiring and full of great value. I ended up reading more than one page at a time. I ended up finishing the book last week. There are several pages which I enjoyed. Others I had questions on. 

I am eagerly looking to next years Living Word 2017. I plan to be in Ghana in November for six week. Hopefully before I leave, Pastor Otabil would have the Living Word for 2017 published and out for sale.

When A Sale Becomes Confusing - Return Tickets Accra, Ghana

In around December 19th last year I received an email from British Airways announcing a sale. I took the opportunity to buy 3 return tickets to Ghana in April this year. After all we all like sales, and when it comes to sales in tickets, who would not take up the chance to save some money. Buying something on sale is meant to save you a considerable amount of money. 

Now here is when it becomes interesting. I was speaking to my niece last week and she said how she wished she had £450 to afford a return ticket to Ghana. He comment got me asking her a series of questions. What airline was she referring to I asked. She said British Airways. That cannot be right I suddenly said. I told her that I had received an email from British Airways announcing their sale in December last year and I had to pay around £650 for a return ticket. How can this be possible I kept asking myself. Just to confirm what my niece had told me, I went ont British Airways website and checked out the fair. Using the same travel dates I had used to purchase my tickets in December last year, I requested a price for the same trip and loo and behold, the price was pegged at £470. Well I knew British Airways have a presence on Twitter so I posed the question to them.

This is how the conversation went down on Twitter

Moving on, I asked BA twitter team to check their DM inbox for detailed information.  The response I got shocked me. 

Well I suppose it is a lesson learnt. One should not just jump head first into a sale. Waiting a few days or even weeks and you might get a better sale price on what you are buying. Still though, I feel British Airways need to refine their advertising on the sale they have on tickets.

ECG - Where art thou - Final update

Well I suppose persistence does pay. 

I got a phone call yesterday afternoon around 4pm. The person identified himself as an employee of ECG and wanted to know where I lived. Fortunately he was already positioned on Blogordo Road and all he had to do was drive down as I was waiting for him outside my crib. 

After we had done away with the pleasantries, I asked him if he had read the report I had initial logged with ECG Customer Service. He said "no". I was not surprised. I invited him into the house and went through with him what happened on the 10th. The faulty electric meter had been moved to another location. Due to the demolition going on in my property it had to be moved. Unfortunately it appears to be "dead". The electrician who moved the meter could not reconnect it. His attempt generated some sparks which resulted in his hand getting burnt. 

Anyway the chap from ECG asked the electrician to obtain a specific board which a new meter will be attached to. Once the board is in place, a call will be made to the chap from ECG and he will bring over a new meter as a replacement.

ECG - Where Art Thou

I took a stroll to Oxford High Street, Osu. My plan was to pop into the bank and withdraw some money for the weekend. On Friday, I was informed by my Business Relationship Manager that Barclays Bank in Osu would be open on a Saturday. I wasn't. However if I had an ATM card I could have withdrawn some money from the ATM machine. I did not have an ATM card, so I was out of luck. Anyway, the trip to the bank was not a wasted one. I had packed my Nikon D5500 into my backpack. I took it out and proceeded to make my way back home heading towards Danquah Circle and then doing a right towards Labone Junction. I managed to get some shots but was kicking myself because I had not packed my SIGMA 18-35mm lens.

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I got home around 11.50 and switched the aircon on. Twenty minutes into enjoying the benefits of having an aircon, I could smell burning. I went outside and had a quick peek at the aircon. Nothing seemed to be wrong with it. Then I went back into the house. The smell of burning suddenly became stronger so I went back out again and this time I noticed that my electric meter was on fire. I was immediately transformed into a headless chicken and started running around in circles looking for something to put this fire out. Finally I found a heavily soaked rag and used that to put the flames out. I called ECG Customer Services and exactly 12 noon and gave an account of my issue. The agent - Pyke informed me that the systems was not responding and that he would have to log my issue on another platform. He went on to mention that he would not be able to give me a reference number until the system was up and running. To my amazement Pyke said I should make my way to the ECG offices at Makola to report my issue. I just could not believe what I was being told. I immediately told him that I was not going to Makola to report the issue and was expecting this to be handled by the ECG Complaints Call Centre. What if, I asked him, whilst on my way to ECG at Makola, the fire started again; who would be around to contain the fire.  

At 13.00, I called again and this time I spoke to another agent called Francis. Francis was able to locate my ticket and proceeded to give me a ticket number [91100]. He told me that the response Team at Makola had been informed and they would be dispatched to my location as soon as possible.

At 15.41, I call the ECG Call Centre again and was connected to Adobea. Adobe informed me that their system was down and hence could not pull up my ticket. I had to give a brief run down of what the issue was. I asked if a team would be dispatched to investigate the cause of the fire at the meter. She said they had been informed and would be out to my location ASAP.

At 16.51 I called ECG again asking for an update, my call was picked up by Abigail. I got the same "razzmatazz", but this time she added a "twist". She said she was doing her best to get the Team out to my property, but in the meantime, if I could call the Team at Makola on 0302664900, that would be a good idea. Guess what, I called the number three times and got no response. 

At 17.44, I was on the phone agin to ECG speaking to Erica. She was able to pull up my ticket but could not tell when the Team would be at my property. She even suggested that I go to the ECG Offices at Makola on Monday to report the issue. I decided to change the tone of my voice and demanded to speak to a supervisor. I was transferred to Evans who assured me that he was going to call the Team at Makola and find out what was going on. He also assured me that he would give me a call back.

20.40 - Still no word from Evans as promised. Called ECG again and requested to speak to Evans. I was told that Evans has left for the day. I was transferred to another supervisor called Patrick.

21.33 - Called ECG and demanded to speak to Patrick. Still no updates on when the Team will be at my property to investigate why my electric meter suddenly caught fire. Patrick assures me that the Response Team will be at my property and that the reason for the delay is due to other faults that are being looked at.

Updates to follow as and when they are available!

Flash Back - Funeral Of The Late Madam Elizabeth Laingoye Lartey

Memories are important, no matter how sad they are..

My Mum died in April 2000 after a short illness. Prior to her passing away, she worked for the Ghana Education Service as a Home Economist Teacher, holding this post in various secondary schools in the country. Her first posting as I recall was at Dormaa Secondary School. She then moved on to Sunyani Secondary Technical School, Aburi Grls Secondary School and Tamale Technical Institute. When she retired, she set up a Creche at her residence in Nyaniba Estates and called it Gye Nyame Creche.

Ghana department store collapses in Accra

A multi-storey department store has collapsed in Ghana's capital, Accra, with many people believed to be trapped inside.

Rescue efforts are under way, with police and fire personnel trying to pull people out of the rubble.

The BBC's Sammy Darko reports from the scene that he has seen one person rescued.

Other reports say three people died when the Melcom store collapsed before it was due to open.

Accra's mayor, Alfred Oko Vanderpuye, is reportedly at the scene with rescue workers who are trying to clear the rubble.

"I was very close to the mall because I was going to buy something only for me to see the building coming down," resident Ama Okyere told the AFP news agency.

"I had to run for my life. I was so terrified. I believe there are lots of people trapped under this because this is a heavily patronised shopping mall in the area."

Our reporter says it is feared that up to 200 staff could be trapped.

The building collapsed about 15 minutes before it was due to open for business, he adds.

In a tweet moments after the building collapsed, Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama said: "My prayers are with the workers, shoppers and others who are trapped in the rubble of the Achimota Melcom building."

Source: BBC
YouTube Video Link >>here<<

Update: 17/11/2012

I yanked the below uploaded Radio Show from Youtube. Watch it >>here<<

Fast forward to 13.48 [minutes ] into the talk..

This is the dialogue that took place. Coordinator: ...the Chinese ...they donated the mobile...the mobile...ow do you call that one Presenter:...escavator? coordinator:...no..no ermm ...ermm ermm ...the thing that lifts Presenter: crane? Coordinator: yes

wow! Now this is The Deputy National Coordinator for Disaster relief

Ghana Rent Control Offices - A Bloody Joke Or What?

There seems to be something seriously wrong with the way things are being run at Ghana's Rent Control Offices in Accra. Talk about Piss-taking! I have been trying to get rid of a tenant from my property for the best part of five months now [ tis excludes the three months grace period given to her on paper]. I have blogged the events leading to her eviction on this blog, so if you are interested, you are welcome to read and acquaint yourself with the details. So this officer at the Rent Control Offices has been asking my representative in Accra [ and the tenant] to turn up at his office and on each occasion, he has had a story to tell as to why he hasn't come to a conclusion on what action needs to be taken. As of this Monday, the 17th, my representative has been to his office 4 times, and on each occasion, he has given her another date to return to his office. On her last trip, when she got there, he told her that he had not finished writing out the judgement. What the hell. Is this guy for real?

So I did a quick search on the internet and below is what I came up with regarding the Rent Control Offices in Accra, Ghana

Department Flooded with Complaints, Unable to Address Renter’s Needs

In Ghana, the Rent Control Department is mandated to settle disputes between landlords, tenants, and other interested parties. Long delays and inconsistent practices have marred the department’s reputation in recent years.

Madam Comfort, a tenant at Buashie in Accra who lodged a complaint against her landlord for unlawfully trying to evict her.  But after multiple visits where no progress was made, Comfort says she eventually stopped going back. “I went there several times and waited several hours. I stopped going there because I was wasting money and time at the place,” she says.

A visit to the Rent Control Department in Accra revealed a flood of unhappy landlords and angry tenants with a variety of complaints. Fred Tawiah of the Accra office of Rent Control Department says he hears complaints of “nuisance” and “unpaid rents” everyday. With a pile of documented rent cases on his desk, Tawiah admits that the office is understaffed and unable to adequately hear all of the cases. With a long sigh Tawiah says there is a strong need to build more houses in Accra and says he encourages government leaders to invest in housing construction.

The above was sourced from www.globalpressinstitute.org. There are several key points to this snipet

1. The Rent Control Department is mandated to settle disputes between Landlords and Tenants - this is obviously not the case. Interestedly enough, the person who has been tossing my representative up and down is the same person named in this article: Fred Tawiah. With a cut and dry case like this, why has he resorted to changing dates so many times? ]

2. Madam Comfort has been to the offices several times, only to be disappointed on each visit because nothing could be done to assist her. Just imagine the amount of money this poor lady had to spend on each trip. With the people placed in charge to resolve issues dragging their feet, how are things supposed to progress in a positive manner there?

3. Of course Mr Tawiah will have a "truck load" of cases pending on his desk, because he is dragging his feet on the ones he can easily resolve. Is this what the tax payers money is being used for?

Another link I found on the web is on MC Modern Ghana webpage. Check it out. This article was written in June this year!!

I am simply pissed off with this guy and intend to do something about this.

Nightmare On Blogodo Road - 23/08/2011

Who said God doesn't answer prayers?

So since my last update, a few things have been happening here and there regarding the saga I have with Ms Florence Massoud. There have been a few more visits to the Rent Control Offices, and also the guy handling the case at the Rent Control Offfice has taken a trip to my property to have a look around. Why, only God knows, however my agent did inform me that Ms Florence was seeking repayment of money she has invested in the renovation of the main building, but I doubt that was his reason for taking the trip there - Lord help us.

And another development has arisen - a good and positive one I should say. , My current tenants have decided to vacate the main building. According to my tenant, he has been offered a contract in another part of Ghana, hence renting the property will no longer be required - fair enough. I do have my suspicions though and I am certain that Ms Florence Massoud has been pestering  them. Well they have gone now, which I personally think is a blessing in disguise because Ms Florence Massoud can now take her stuff out of the main building and I can replace them together with any other work that needs to be done.

So, why my first statement "Who said God doesn't answer prayers"; I got a text message from my agent 2 days ago informing that Ms Florence Massoud was packing her stuff from the out house she is currently occupying. You can imagine my joy sandwiched between the surprises . I seriously thought I would have to purposely go back to Ghana to personally throw this woman out of my house.

My agent says she will still have to make that final trip to the Rent Control Offices as requested by the Officer the for his verdict. One thing though, I am not lowering my guard regarding Ms Florence Massoud all because I do not trust her. People of her nature always seem to have something up their sleeves.

My lessons learnt so far? 
1. Get someone to make regular visits to your property on your behalf on a regular basis. Stick the money into a high earning account. At the end of the day, if you don't have to use the money, at least you can earn some interest out of it.
2. Demand a deposit from any potential tenant. The will used to offset any cost you the Landlord might incur if the tenant damages your property.
3.  Never lease your property out for more than two years in a row. For example, if you someone wants to lease your property for 6 years and you are comfortable with that, then just renew the lease every 2 years with the option to cancel the lease after a period of the agreed by both of you.
4. Do not lease to individuals, unless they are filthy rich. Lease out to companies and even then, they must be bloody rich. Do an intensive investigation on the company or person. All this is in aid of giving yourself some piece of mind.

Nightmare On Blogodo Road - 27/06/2011 Update

It has been several weeks since Ms Akosua was, yet again , at the Rent Control Office with Ms Florence Massoud. I am slowly beginning to think that all these trips to the Rent Control Office is becoming a waste of time. Here is why: for the past 2 - 3 visits, the feedback I have had from my representative has been to do with Ms Florence Massoud expressing her concerns about the her belongings in the main building, and other irrelevant issues. There has been no mention of why she has overstayed her welcome even though the contract her business partner signed clearly states that they had to vacate after ten years. I thought that the Rent Control Office was there to make sure that tenants or landlords didn't take undue advantage over each other. Do not get me wrong I have not lost faith, i just feel that time is being wasted. Maybe I could be wrong. I am yet to learn something new.

So, at the last visit, this is what went down.
1. Ms Florence Massoud wants to charge $40 USD per day for her furniture being used in the main building. This would cover a period from January 2011 up to when she retrieved her stuff from the main building. When my agent told me this, I nearly fainted. What a load of rubbish. I was certainly not happy with this. More worrying was that all these deliberations are  being held in the presence of a qualified lawyer for the Rent Control Office. Anyway, I received a call from Ms Akosua and she has consulted a lawyer regarding this.
2. When Ms Florence was asked when she can remove her stuff from the main building, her response was "I do not know". Can you imagine this? At this point the lawyer for the Rent Control Office stepped and she said that she had to do better than that. So she finally caved in and agreed to an immediate date.

Another meeting is scheduled for the  12th of next month. Hopefully this will be the final one. My advice to those of you who wish to rent out your properties; perform an exhaustive research on the person/people you wish to rent the property out to. Get a reference - this is certainly important. Make sure that the reference is from a respected person/organisation. Yes, a rent advance is the way forward. You MUST make sure that you get this paid to you. No one knows what is round the corner. if for any reason your tenants suddenly turn out to be from hell, then you will have something to fall onto asa way of compensation. Contracts - be very meticulous in the word and write up. Personally, I would go for renewable 6 month contracts.

Mouth Watering Ghanaian Food For Thought

I came across this picture on a friend of a friends picture page and I just had to "nick" it and post it here.

Just looking at this picture got my mouth watering. I cannot remember the last time I enjoyed food like this laid before me.

Picture Credits To Phillip Owusu-Gyamfi (FB)