RE: NPP-USA Calls on President Mills to Come Clean

Source: Sallar, Anthony Mawuli Ph.D

On Tuesday, September 20th 2011, I read a publication on Ghanaweb entitled “NPP-USA Calls on President Mills to Come Clean”. My immediate reaction was to ignore the said publication since it might have been written by someone who had an axe to grind with the President and has resorted to it in this inimical way and pretended to be NPP-USA. Typical of me, I laughed at them since the internet has provided all who can type, a forum to express their views, genuine, decent, or loaded with ignorance. However, I was shocked to read that it was coming from NPP-USA which I thought would have conducted basic research of the literature before speculating and spreading falsehoods, innuendoes, vituperations, and diatribe on such an important issue (sexual orientation, health of an individual and cost of treatment). I therefore waited for 3 days to read a denial from NPP-USA.

Since none is forthcoming, I am therefore compelled to write a rejoinder. It is the inaccuracies and attempts to discuss a critical health issue in a public forum that made me write. To me it is immaterial whether or not the President has throat cancer. First and foremost let us remember, politics aside, it is un African or Ghanaian to discuss somebody’s health issue with such callous impunity whether it is true or not. In this rejoinder, for purposes of clarity, I will enumerate some of the issue raised by the NPP-USA release and address them.

1. The insinuation that the President is a homosexual
Let me ask “So what?” Are homosexuals not human beings? I was appalled at NPP-USA’s homophobic and stigmatization stance even though the members have lived in the USA and probably worked with a homosexual, treated by a homosexual when sick, taught by a homosexual, and ate a meal prepared by a homosexual. The only thing missing is that they were not told that the person providing the above service is/was a homosexual. I only pray that that no NPP-USA member has a child who will come and tell him/her one day that he/she is a homosexual. I hope they will unconditionally love that child. Of course Ghanaians know that the President is not a homosexual.

2. That the President has throat cancer
The NPP release sought to give credence to a statement made by Mr. Baba Jamal to an American official that the President has throat cancer. I am really disappointed to say the least that a political party worth its mettle in USA would rely on Mr. Jamal’s petty gossip and draw conclusion. I state so because I am wondering whether the president had appointed Mr. Baba Jamal as his personal health spokesperson or his private medical doctor.

3. According to the NPP “If this revelation is true, then President Atta Mills owes Ghanaians sincere apology because he has lied to the nation. When campaigning for the presidency, then candidate Mills concealed a pre-existing medical condition he had to the electorate. Now this condition is costing Ghanaians a whopping $5 million annually to treat.”

I am wondering what NPP-USA means by the above statement. On one hand it used the conditional clause of “if” which indicates that it was not sure if Mr. Baba Jamal’s “revelation” was true. Then in the next breath it gave an outrageous figure of the treatment costing “whooping $5 million annually”. Throwing $5 million figure in the public domain is a clear cut manifestation of how lazy we have become as a nation. If I recall correctly the $5 million a year treatment cost was thrown about with reckless abandon by the so called NPP youth in Ghana. I just chuckled and ignored it. But to have the same repeated by NPP-USA which I am inclined to believe have individuals who can do simple research and find out how ridiculous the amount is do nothing is very disheartening. I will let readers note that in USA, of the top ten cancer deaths of men, throat cancer is the 8th affecting 16.1 out of 100,000 men.

In order to show how obscene the $5 million is I have checked and have costs of cancer treatments for males using figures provided by the USA National Cancer Institute as shown in the table below. The table is entitled “Cancer Prevalence and Cost of Care Projections, Average Annual Costs of Care”

Cancer type Initial year after diagnosis The period between Year of death

Brain $115,250 $9,434 $134,244
Esophagus (Throat) $79, 822 $6,450 $103, 742
Pancreas $94,092 $11,697 $113,115
Stomach $78,453 $4,282 $107,130
Head/Neck $39,179 $4,001 $83, 662

From the table above brain cancer is the most expensive from diagnosis to year of death. Assuming an individual has throat cancer and lived for 15 years he would have incurred a total cost of $79,822 + 14 (6,450) + $103,742 = $273, 330.
From the above the cost is prohibitive in the first year of diagnosis and the year of death as is common with most diseases. As with other cancers, treatment is either chemotherapy which is expensive and is the treatment of choice if the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Costs of chemotherapy may include how long the medication is given, dosage, type of drug where treatment is received (hospital, home, doctor’s clinic) etc. Other treatment is by radiation or surgery which is cheaper.

The question then becomes, NPP-USA where are you getting the $5 million a year treatment cost from !!!! Can you quote to the reading public an authentic source? It is also loaded with evil to put a price tag on the costs of caring for an individual especially if such costs are ridiculous to say the least.

4. [In the COOPERATE (emphasis mine) world, if a would-be employee conceals a preexisting condition in order to obtain a position, the employer reserves the right to fire the said employee who falsified his medical condition to be hired.]]

I am at a loss here. If the NPP-USA is referring to CORPORATE world then it is only left to Ghanaians who are now the “corporations” with the legitimate sovereign power that can elect or unelect the President and they will do so come December 2012. They have seen his performance, heard his policies, seen him on TV heard him or radio and seen him “filifili”. They will decide, end of story.
5. Even more damaging is the cause or throat cancer. From our research the throat cancer Baba Jamal revealed to the officer in the American Embassy is caused by excessive use of alcohol, excessive smoking or excessive male oral sex. But a study by Professor Maura Gillison of Ohio State University found that “oral sex is a bigger cause of throat cancer than tobacco.”

Which research in a peer reviewed journal are you quoting, NPP-USA. Another very disturbing thing I found from the newspaper article that you referenced the very last sentence in that article reads 'Yet most oral cancers diagnosed in people over 50 in the UK are still related to tobacco and alcohol use.' However, you deliberately copiously quoted from the paper but ignored the last sentence.
It is imperative to have some basic education first on what causes throat cancer. It has been established that the risk factors for throat cancer include smoking, drinking alcohol (especially when combined with chewing tobacco), exposure to the human papillomavirus (HPV), and exposure to asbestos. In the United States each year, 1,500 women and 5,600 men who get HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancers (cancers of the back of throat including base of tongue and tonsils). HPVs are a group of more than 150 related viruses, of which more than 40 can be sexually transmitted most often during vaginal and anal sex or during oral sex. The types of HPV that can cause genital warts are not the same as the types that can cause cancers. There is no way to know which people who get HPV will go on to develop cancer or other health problems.

Furthermore, HPV can be passed on between heterosexuals and same-sex partners. Since there are no symptoms most men and women can get HPV, spread it to their partners without knowing. Also, it is important to note that even people with only one lifetime sexual partner can get HPV, if their partner was infected with HPV. Thus you do not necessarily need to be promiscuous to get HPV even though the more sexual partners you have the more your risk of infection increases.
The HPV virus also causes genital warts and cervical cancer. Since the cause of throat cancer is multi factorial, the best scientific method to use to determine role played by any of the risk factors is computation of what is known as the Attributable Proportion among the total population (APt). The APt describes the proportion of the disease among the total population that would be eliminated if the exposure were eliminated. I do not know the APt for throat cancer relating to HPV, or smoking or asbestos. I will be glad if NPP-USA can provide us with that information before making that biased insinuation it did. After all, not everyone with throat cancer smokes or drink alcohol or engage in oral sex with men as the NPP-USA piece seeks to erroneously imply.

6. In an ignominious way of suggesting that the President acquired his throat cancer through homosexual activity, the NPP-USA stated that the President stopped drinking years ago. It added that he quit “smoking decades ago”. The press release went further to state that “if smoking was the main cause of throat cancer, the ailment would afflict many more Ghanaians than its current levels suggest.”

Here again I realize that my good friends in NPP-USA have grossly exhibited their ignorance about some demography concepts. First of all let us remember that the life expectancy of Ghanaians is about 56 years. Readers when you take your minds back will remember people dying off in their 40s and 50s in Ghana. When we discuss the epidemiology of throat cancer we are aware that it affects those aged 60-65 years plus. Thus in Ghana those heavy smokers or drinkers who could have developed lung cancer in their 60s have been dead long ago (15-20 years ago). They had died from what we call “competing causes” (motor vehicle accident, malaria, TB, HIVAIDS, typhoid fever, cholera, some chronic diseases, and other conditions which were not amenable to medical intervention). Those aged 60 and above are survivors and only few will develop throat cancer. That is why Ghanaians are not likely to see their counterparts die from diseases that afflict people in their 80s in the western world because the percentage of Ghanaians who live to age 80 may be less than 0.5% of the population. Thus to conclude that because we don’t have a battalion of previous heavy smokers and drinkers afflicted with throat cancer trooping to Korle Bu, 37 Military, or Komfo Anokye hospitals for treatment means the President’s alleged throat cancer is caused through homosexual activity is tantamount to rats coming out sewer. How debased can we go to score political points.

As to the threat of lawsuit by Mr. Ato Ahwoi when he was accused of homosexuality by an NPP youth activist, does the NPP-USA rather prefer the activist being arrested? Mr Ahwoi is a private citizen and can seek relief from the legal system. Is NPP-USA worried. If i were them I would be happy because it would give NPP the chance to cross examine Mr. Ahwoi and show evidence of his homosexuality with the President. You should rather be happy because Mr. Ato Ahwoi is opening himself up and you can show evidence of his homosexuality with the President. Why use Mr. Ahwoi’s rapid response threat of seeking legal redress as confirmation of his homosexuality.
In conclusion, political chicanery and sophistry should be confined to politics. However, in the realms of science, especially health-related matters we cannot play politics especially if we are not adept with the facts and hence resort to manipulate it to suit our whims and caprices. Thus people will read the distortions and think they are gospel. Any wonder my grandpa in Agbozume used to tell me that half education is dangerous and can blind people from seeking the truth. NPP-USA next time do some research before wading into deeper waters of issues you know little about or at best contact an expert.

The writer has a doctorate in Epidemiology and has interests in public health, political economy, and political strategy. He can be reached via email on masallar@hotmail.com


References
1. CDC, 2011 (www.cdc.gov)

2. D'Souza G, Kreimer AR, Viscidi R, et al. Case-control study of human papillomavirus and oropharyngeal cancer. New England Journal of Medicine 2007; 356(19):1944–1956.

3. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER) ©1998-2011
4. Parkin DM. The global health burden of infection-associated cancers in the year 2002. International Journal of Cancer 2006; 118(12):3030–3044.

Clever plan to throw dust into our eyes - Wake up folks !

Prof Nii Aryettey
Advocate General
Ghana Institute of Fairness and Awareness

As usual officials of the National Identification Agency have squandered the money meant for the workers. Why is the office of the Attorney General not protecting us by bringing these unscrupulous politicians and their corrupt contractual accomplices to justice ? A few weeks ago some wise artist approached Parliament for money to create biometric system for the upcoming elections. It should not take a rocket scientist to smell fishy deal in the air noting limited time left before election in proportion to abilities to cover the entire country for such a stupenduous amount of work involved in registration. Very often our leaders approve deals without thinking over how to implement them, cost involved and time frame for completion. They are ignorant and reckless in their perfomances of duty as they fail to monitor contracts awarded and departments involved. They spend our money lavishly over personal items and when all is gone they crave for another loan from China and some Easten remote areas where their folly has not yet come to light - an unbreakable cycle of wasteful spending and dependancy . The dreams of our young ones are being whisked away through thick smoke of deception and corruption. And the President - the captain, sits in silence as the ship sinks. Where are the National Identification Cards ? Shame unto us all for buying their crap of deception!! Do they deserve four more years ?


COMMENT HERE



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Tamale residents storm VRA offices for excessive electricity turn-offs

Twumasi Barima Kessie


In Ghana it is unfortunate that it takes similar action to wake sleeping minds up. From the President down to The ordinary meter reader it seems they are insensitive to citizen concerns. They sit in offices and collect loans meant to solve electricity and water problems but care less about how to spend the money effectively to solve those problems . We should take them to court to explain what they have done with all that money. It should have taken less than a year to solve these problems considering the numerous times loans have been granted for the same purpose. Something is wrong when so many things go wrong in a nation of reputable intellectuals. Roads are bad, water is being rationed at the heaviest downpour season, departmental workers have not been paid for seventeen months(National Identification Authority workers in Ashanti Region),Projects and contracts idle around incomplete all over the nation, prices of commodities hit the roof, homelessness is rampant, gutters and streets are filled with dirt and foul stench, dust pulverizes buildings and infrastructures, traffic stagnates on nameless streets - and more and more deplorable state of affairs.
Something must be wrong with all of us.

Twumasi Barima Kessie
Ghanatelescope.com
New York - Accra

Why Hon. Joe “Susudi” Gidisu MUST GO

By Kwame Dwamena Dakwa



It did not come as a complete surprise when Minister of Roads and Highways, Hon. Joe Gidisu was caught pants down with a BMW 740Li saloon car as his “official car”. Barely, one year into office, Hon minister embarked on a legendary “tro-tro ride” from Madina-Zongo to the Ministries on a hot sweltering morning. As he put it; to ascertain what “ordinary folks” endured. On October 28, 2009, he parked his newly registered Land Cruiser as did other high ranking officials in the Mills administration and joined public transport to their various offices. This was in commemoration of the World Transport Day.

After the harrowing experience, he commented that since leaving the Ghana Education Service 15 years ago he had never used public transport. Well, Honorable, this is what head teachers, teachers, nurses, and all other well-meaning Ghanaians have to endure every day. Morning and evening. We should note that Hon. Gidisu taught at the Bontibor Local Authority Primary School and also at the Dormaa Secondary School. So he is well versed with the plight of teachers. He was elected as Member of Parliament in the December 2000 parliamentary election and was appointed as Minister for Roads and Highways in February, 2009 by John Evans Atta Mills, President of the Republic of Ghana. AsomdweHene might have been of the opinion that with Hon Gidisu’s humble background as a teacher he might empathize with Ghanaians. Little did he know that this appointment was going to be one of the nails in his coffin. With this appointment, Hon Gidisu most likely danced to the Jamaican aphorism, “Never see; Come see” (When one chances upon an unexpected fortune).

What has been his impact?

After the legendary tro-tro encounter he told reporters that by the early part of 2010, his ministry would embark on a pilot project to create special bus lanes for high occupancy vehicles to reduce congestion on the roads. We are in September 2011, has this been done? He made other remarks such as broadening the road from Kasoa through Mallam to Accra by creating a special bus lane for high occupancy vehicles. Some would be express roads. Yes, this is September 2011. Has this been done? He even made reporters aware that he had been to the UK, Columbia and Brazil to see how their transportation system works and was sending a group of engineers to the Netherlands, Columbia and Ecuador to learn how those countries manage their transport systems in order to replicate them in Ghana. Has this been done?

This is what his own NDC party member said of him,"Our current (and failed) MP, Joe Gidisu, who hails from Devime and Akramador, has not done much to develop his constituency. Central Tongu and for that matter Devime, is a constituency among the least developed rural areas in the country. Roads are impassable, schools are neglected and there are no self-help projects to empower poor villagers. Our member of parliament has nothing to justify his presence in parliament.”, “Our youth are so despondent and frustrated and yet no one cares about them. If you doubt that Joe Gidisu has failed, just look at the scars of despondency, scars of disappointment and frustration on the faces of our party youth in the constituency. Look at how much the constituency has been flooded with gross neglect and hardship.”



Adding “salt” into our injuries.

After, his own party members from his constituency chastised him, this same man purchased a saloon car allegedly, and it is a very common practice for vehicles to be included in project procurement by agencies and departments for the use of project teams and the sector ministry. This is supposed to be traditional in the public service. (What a rip off) The purchased vehicles which are supposed to be public assets and appear in the register of the agencies and or the sector ministry to the best of my knowledge are later auctioned off to these ministers at ridiculous prices when they leave office. Any wonder he wanted the top of the line vehicle? But even the question that begs to be asked is, “Where will he be driving this car?” As his own constituency members claim, “Joe Gidisu had not only neglected the constituency, but also failed to fulfill his promise to construct the road that link Mepe and Sogakope. He only tends to pay too much lip service to the youth and forgetting that his integrity and personal brand must be non-negotiable. There has not been any significant development in the communities within the constituency under his reign.”

The gesture of Asomdwehene “seizing” the car is not enough. It does not heal the wounds that Ghanaians are living with daily while sector ministries acquire luxurious vehicles for each and every project under the guise of “project vehicles” or “contract vehicles” and later selling it to themselves.



How could Joe Gidisu attempt to insult the intelligence of Ghanaians by explaining that, “I mean that car was never a gift to me as Joe Gidisu in office as Minister for Roads and Highways. It was a car bought by an agency under the ministry, that is, the Ghana Highways Authority where we have documents covering the request and the delivery of the vehicle to the Ghana Highways Authority on behalf of the ministry.” “The car is for the office use of the ministry for the state minister and it is not peculiar to the Ghana Highways Authority nor the Ministry of Roads and Highways,”

Mr. Gidisu had the temerity to tell Ghanaians that he is conferring with his legal team to decide legal action. If Ghana Highways Authority can afford a $170,000 saloon car, why can’t they afford to fix our roads? Greedy bastards INDEED!!! (Thanks to Ex-Pres. Rawlings for identifying and labeling them). The contract in question has not even been completed and is on pace to equal the slow progress of all road contracts in the country. Yet, this minister feels he has arrived. Therefore needs to ride in a top of the line BMW 740Li. The Achimota-Ofankor road has still not been completed because of lack of funds. Yet Ghana Highways Authority can find the funds to purchase luxury cars and trucks. It is this same Joe Gidisu who reported that the 7.9 kilometer Aflao- Denu segment of the highway, would cost more than GH¢10 million and that was too much !!!

Joe Gidisu, your dream of riding a $170,000 state-of-the-art BMW 7 series, 2010 model has been dashed. We join the descent people of Central Tongu in demanding a replacement of the minister for roads and Highways and MP for Central Tongu. It is my hope that the people of Tongu will reject this charlatan come 2012 elections. It will be a great service to the nation if HE President Atta Mills finds a replacement soon. This will definitely let Ghanaians know that his pledge to stamp out corrupt from his administration is just not lip service.



Kwame Dwamena Dakwa

Indiana, USA



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Why President Mills will be a one-term President

GhanaWeb

S. Kwaku Asare

President John Evans Atta Mills has already made history by being the first president to face a primary challenge. It is becoming increasingly likely that he will also become the first one-term president. When he finally becomes a one-term president, the political historians will propound various theories to explain his defeat. I want to go on record as one of those who not only saw the president’s imminent defeat but also put forth seven (7) drivers of the prognosis.

First, the president misunderstood or overestimated his mandate. He lost the first round of the 2008 election by almost 2 points and managed to win the second round by a hair. Such an electoral outcome calls for governing by consensus and from the center. Although the President’s pledge of “being a father of all the nation,” suggested that he appreciated the importance of not overreaching, his actions have been overly divisive, effectively undermining his pledge. His early years focused on confiscating cars, passports, toilets, etc., in most cases, without following due process, which predictably were reversed by the judiciary. The insults from the Castle directed at former President Kuffuor, the botched attempts to silence Dakwa and Kumah, the incompetent and partisan attempt to prosecute Kwadwo Mpiani and Wereko Brobbey, the prosecution of Mrs. Asamoah Boateng for “intimidating” a BNI officer, who had illegally taken her passport, etc. are examples of actions that should have been avoided if the President understood that the other side won half of the votes. In so doing, the President not alienated independent voters but united the opposition.

Second, the President abused the appointment power. A President sends the nation a signal from the people that he surrounds himself with. The old adage, “show me your friends and I will tell you your character” is relevant here. Many, if not most, observers were surprised by the quality of the team chosen by the President. The team comprised ex-convicts, employees dismissed for using foul language on the air, and several others who could not even put together a proper resume. The parliamentary vetting proved to be an embarrassment, not only for the appointees, but also for supporters of the president. Even senior members of the President’s own party were disappointed by the team, which they described as Team B. It has since emerged that Asiedu Nketiah and Bagbin were so frustrated and disappointed that they took their complaints to the USA embassy, an action that is probably unlawful, although one could not count on the President to enforce the laws.

Third, the President comes across as not being in charge of his team. Every minister appears to be a free agent, pursuing her own policies. Hannah Tetteh tells US officials that the Speaker was chosen because of her malleability. Mahama Ayariga complains to US officials that there is in-fighting at the Castle. Al Bagbin complains to US officials about the quality of the President’s team. These are public officials who have taken an oath of secrecy. While violation of the oath of secrecy is a very serious crime, these public officers continue to be on public payroll and continue to advice the President. The President’s failure to act swiftly and decisively in the face of such gross insubordination and high crimes cements the perception that he is either very weak or not aware of what is going on.

Fourth, subsequent events have cast the President as a hypocrite who says one thing while doing something else. When the President preaches against the politics of insults, he unleashes his ministers to insult nurses, rural folks, former presidents, other presidential candidates, etc. When the President preaches about equality of all before the law, he sends his security service to go after Darkwa, Kumah and Amina while cuddling his ministers who have arguably committed treason, by leaking high- level government discussions to foreign agents. It turns out that the President knew or should have known that his campaign was deliberately and dangerously using religion to drive a wedge between Ghanaians (see Fiifi Kwetey’s revelation of the party’s anti-muslim propaganda). And more shockingly, the President apparently had expressed his fear of “the great ashanti project,” an incendiary remark that has not received the attention that it deserves.

The President’s hypocrisy is also evident in his policies. While he led his party to oppose the acquisition of 2 planes for the military, on grounds that the country had other priorities, he recently acquired 5 planes for the same purpose at a time that the country’s economic circumstances had not changed or even worsened. While he led his party to accuse President Kuffuor of nepotism, the President’s brother, Cadman Mills, and closest friends, Ato Ahwoi and Sipa Yankey, seem to be in the middle of every lucrative gas contract.

Fifth, the President has failed to chalk a major policy victory, something that can become a signature issue. Kuffuor got creditors to forgive $6 billion in debt. In addition, he had NHIS, capitation grants, repeal of criminal libel. Dr. Nkrumah had the Akosombo Dam and numerous projects to his credit. Dr. Busia had his sewage plan and rural development. Acheampong had operation feed yourself, etc. But President Mills has no big project to his credit. A traffic light commissioned at Pankesese; sod cut to build a 2-classroom unit, etc. These are minor accomplishments that, under normal circumstances, are best left for the DCE.

Sixth, the numbers do not favor the President. All our presidents, without exception, get a smaller percentage of the votes when they are up for re-election than they did when they won. This is not too surprising. Our Presidents over-promise and end up disappointing. But while Kuffuor lost several points in his re-election bid, he was not tied when he first won in 2000. President Mills got a hair over 50 percent when he won in 2008. His numbers will go down, probably at a higher rate than Kuffuor’s numbers. That spells doom.

Seventh, the President, unlike his predecessors, will face an opponent who won about 50 percent of the votes in 2008. This is a very formidable opposition, even if the President had an “A” team and was on top of his game. Here, however, we have a president with a “B” Team, who is not charge of his Team, who has alienated many independent voters with his hypocrisy, excessive partisan and pettiness.

When you couple all the above with gigantic failures, such as the STX, hard to understand transactions, such as the President’s transaction with Regimanuel, and the affluence and opulence being displayed by friends of the President (Giddisu’s $160,000 BMW, Asiedu Nketsia’s Bui projects, etc.), one cannot but come to the prognosis that the President will make history in 2012, by becoming the first one-term President of the 4th Republic of Ghana.



"The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of ghanatelescope.com." To also have your views published, please submit them to editor@ghanatelescope.com