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Significance of ISO 9000 in global competition
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ISO 9000 STANDARDS AND QUALITY MANAGEMENT POLICIES IN GLOBAL COMPETITION

By Simon Amegashie-Viglo

Introduction

ISO is the International Organisation for Standardisation. It is also an acronym derived from the Greek word ‘isos’ which means ‘equal’. ISO was set up in 1947, and is located in Geneva, Switzerland. Its purpose is to develop common standards that facilitate international trade. Its members come from over 130 national standards bodies world wide.

The origin of ISO 9000 dates back to periods during the Second World War (WW II) when there were quality problems in many British high-tech industries such as munitions, where bombs were exploding in factories and killing many innocent people.

As a remedy to this calamity, factories were required to document their manufacturing procedures and to prove by record-keeping that the procedures for quality and safety standards were being observed. The name of the Standard was BS 5750, and it specified how to manage the manufacturing process rather than specify what to manufacture.

The British Government later persuaded the International Organisation for Standardisation to adopt BS 5750 as an international standard; hence BS 5750 became ISO 9000.

ISO 9000, is a family of standards for quality management systems. ISO 9000 is maintained by the International Organisation for Standards (ISO) and is administered by accreditation and certification bodies.

Some of the requirements in the ISO 9001, which is one of the standards in the ISO 9000 family include; a set of processes in the business, monitoring processes to ensure they are effective in keeping adequate records, checking out for defects for appropriate corrective action when necessary, regularly reviewing individual processes and quality systems to ensure compliance and facilitating continual improvement in quality standards. ISO 9000 is rapidly becoming the most important quality standard for facilitating and promoting international trade among thousand of companies in over 100 countries. This is because it controls quality of goods and services, saves money, protects consumers and sets the parameters for healthy international trade in the rapidly changing global environment.

The term ISO 9000, is a set of quality management standards. It currently includes three quality standards: namely; ISO 9000: 2005, ISO 9001:2000, and ISO 9004: 2000. ISO 9001: 2000 represents requirements, while ISO 9000: 2005 and ISO 9004: 2000 represent guidelines. All of these are process standards and not product standards.

The ISO 9000 Standards apply to all kinds of organisations in all areas. Some of these areas include manufacturing, processing, servicing, printing, forestry, electronics, steel, computing, legal services, accounting, banking, retailing, drilling, publishing, energy, telecommunication, health care, research, education, agriculture and transportation among a host of others.

ISO 9000 Standards are of significance in global competition because of their international orientation on recognition, respect for and protection of standards. The original twenty elements in the standards have been replaced by five clauses namely; quality management systems, management responsibility, resource management, production realization and measurement analysis and improvement.

Individual Requirements in the ISO Standards There are over 250 individual requirements in the ISO 9001 that require organisations party to it to;

• determine the needs and expectations of customers, • establish policies, objectives and a work environment necessary to motivate the organisation to satisfy these needs, • design resource and manage a system of interconnected processes necessary to implement the policy and attain the objectives, • measure and analyse the adequacy, efficiency and effectiveness of each process in fulfilling its purpose and objectives and, • pursue the continual improvement of the system from an objective evaluation of its performance.

ISO 9000 pertains to quality management and concerns itself with what an organisation should do to ensure that its production processes and product or services conform to customers’ requirements.

The ISO 9000 Standards are critical and significant for companies doing business internationally. They must go through a process of that involves documentation of quality procedures and on-site assessment. With certification comes registration in an ISO directory that companies seeking suppliers can consult for certified companies, who are given preference over unregistered companies.

Another significance of ISO 9000 is the requirement that companies seeking registration should review, refine and map out functions such as process control, inspection, purchasing, training, packaging and delivery. The review process involves considerable self-appraisal resulting in problem identification and improvement.

To achieve the ISO Standards, certain strategies, like monitoring and evaluation of quality policies, mechanism for feedback for policy review, strategic benchmarking for improvement quality and the Institutionalisation of awards schemes for rewarding performance need to be put in place.

Monitoring and Evaluation of Quality Policies Monitoring is the systematic collection and analysis of information as policy implementation progresses.

It is aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of an organisation. It is based on objectives set and activities earmarked during the planning phases of policy. It helps to keep the work on track, and can let management know when things are going wrong.

Monitoring enables organisations to determine whether the resources they have are sufficient and are being well used, whether the capacity they have is sufficient and appropriate, and whether they are doing what they planned to do.

Evaluation, on the other hand, is the comparison of actual policy impacts against the agreed strategic objectives. It looks at policy objectives, against what has been accomplished, and how it was accomplished.

Evaluation can be formative - taking place during the life of a project or organisation, with the intention of improving policy objectives. It can also be summative - drawing learning from a completed project or an organisation that is no longer functioning. Monitoring and evaluation are geared towards learning from what you are doing and how you are doing it, by focusing on, efficiency, effectiveness and impact.

Mechanism for Feedback for Policy Review A feedback mechanism should be clearly stated in quality policies as means of incorporating the views of customers and other stakeholders into the policy. This could be done through the use of formal surveys; comment cards; suggestion boxes; focus group discussions; personal contact with customers; analysis of complaints of customers and the monitoring of Internet group chats.

Strategic Benchmarking for Improvement Quality Benchmarking is the process of identifying best practice in relation to products and processes by which services or products are created and delivered. The search for best practice can take place within a particular industry or outside that industry. The objective of benchmarking is to understand and evaluate the current position of a business or organisation in relation to "best practice" and to identify areas and means of performance improvement.

Benchmarking involves looking outward to examine how others achieve their performance levels and to understand the processes they use. In this way benchmarking helps to explain the processes behind excellent performance. When the lessons learnt from a benchmarking exercise are applied appropriately, they facilitate improved performance in critical functions within an organisation or in key areas of the business environment.

Benchmarking becomes a compelling strategic option when a business needs to improve its overall performance, by examining long-term strategies and general approaches that have enabled high-performers, in or outside its industry, to succeed.

It involves considering high level aspects such as core competencies, developing new products and services and improving capabilities for dealing with changes in the external environment.

Application of benchmarking involves four key steps namely; an understanding of in detail existing business processes; an analysis of the business processes of others, a comparison of ones own business performance with that of others and an implementation of strategic steps necessary to close the performance gap.

Benchmarking should not be considered a one-off exercise. To be effective, it must become an ongoing, integral part of an ongoing improvement process with the goal of keeping abreast of ever-improving best practice. Benchmarking of industry best practices and outsourcing of less critical but expensive activities to reduce cost, improve efficiency and maximise profit for shareholders are imperative for gaining competitive advantage.

Institutionalisation of Awards Schemes for Rewarding Performance Commitment to quality is a function of motivation of hardworking and committed employees and recognition of loyal and trusted customers.

Motivation of hardworking and committed employees and recognition of loyal and trusted customers is crucial to business success. Institution of award schemes by Companies to recognise hardworking employees and reward loyal and trusted customers as part of its Quality Policy is important. This is because the success of any business depends on hardworking and committed employees, and loyal and trusted customers.

Conclusion

In an age of growing competition for comparative advantage in business it is imperative to incorporate of ISO Standards for Quality, monitoring and evaluation, mechanism for feedback, strategic benchmarking, communication and award schemes in quality management policies of organisations for competitive advantage. ISO 9000 is of tremendous significance in global competition because it sets the standards for competition through designing and controlling production processes, guaranteeing product quality, ensuring customer satisfaction, assuring continuous improvement in product quality, and certifying and registering companies in accordance with the cannons international quality standards.

PROFILE OF THE AUTHOR

Simon Amegashie-Viglo is a Senior Lecturer in African Studies, he was the  first Dean of International Programmes (2010 -2013),   the first  Dean of Faculty of Applied Social Sciences (2014 -2018),  a former Vice Rector  of the Ho Technical University (2001 - 2005) and the Head of the Department of Multidisciplinary Studies (1996 - 2007). He was appointed a Lecturer in April 1996 and he has served the institution with dedication and commitment for  twenty-two and half  years before proceeding on   retirement in August 2018. Simon Amegashie-Viglo had his primary and middle school  education at Obanda, (1965 - 1974),    and proceeded to Nkwanta Secondary School, Nkwanta (1974 - 1979), and Kadjebi Secondary School, Kadjebi (1979 - 1981)  all in the Oti Region of Ghana. He holds BA (Hons) Degree in Political Science  (1982 - 1986), and Master of Philosophy in African Studies (1990 -1993)  both from the University of Ghana, Legon. He also pursued  Executive Masters (EMBA) in Business Administration at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (2007 - 2009) and a  Certificate in Strategic Management (2003) from GIMPA, Accra. Simon Amegashie-Viglo is the author of "Political Economy of Colonial & Post-colonial Africa" (2009)  and co-authored two other books; "Triple Heritage of  Africa" (2004)  with Prof Noah Komla Dzobo and "Double Heritage of Africa" (2018), with Dr Rowland Baba Lambon. Simon Amegashie-Viglo has also published 27   articles in international and local  academic journals. Simon Amegashie-Viglo (talk) 11:39, 30 April 2024 (UTC)

Autobiography of Simon Amegashie-Viglo, a Ghanaian academic and politician.
APPOINTMENT WITH DESTINY AND THE SEARCH FOR IDENTITY: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIMON AMEGASHIE-VIGLO

By Simon Amegashie-Viglo

CHAPTER ONE

BIRTH, CHILDHOOD AND BASIC EDUCATION Simon Amegashie-Viglo was born on Friday 15th August 1958 in Ho. His father was Stephen Amegashie-Viglo, popularly known as Agbodzihu Kposu Akogolagba, an ex-serviceman and a Gun-Blacksmith with roots in Atiavi Glime in the Keta Municipality and Akatsi-Agbedrafor in Akatsi South District. His mother was Grace Atsufui Ekpesese Akpalu of Anyako and Asafotsi, with roots in Alakple and Gornukporkplorte. Simon was the first of 10 children born by his mother and the first of 21 children born to his father by five wives. The very first six years of his life were spent in a remote village called Agotime-Kposukope in the South Agotime Prefecture in the Republic of Togo. The village was founded by his great grandfather, Kposu Agbemetsi-Viglo of Atiavi-Glime and Akatsi-Agbedrafor, around 1875, on a 750 acre land he purchased from the Klutse Dzadzaglo Family of Agotime-Afegame.

Simon had a famous and an incredibly amazing childhood story. The narrative surrounding his birth is still well-known in Agotime-Kposukope. His grandfather was an esoteric engineer and a priest of the Yeweh fraternity at the time of his birth. In those days, it was customary for the husband of a pregnant woman to consult  the Afa Oracle  on whether the delivery of a child would be safe. In line with that tradition and philosophy of life, his father consulted the oracle of Afa. The oracle predicted that the child would be born safely and he would be a man of great destiny, who would bring a far-reaching changes and  transformation to his people. This prediction of the oracle of Afa materialised on Friday 15th August 1958, when Simon was safely born a boy. In an enormous appreciation of the fulfillment of the ‘prophecy’, Simon was named Afatsiawu, which means the oracle of Afa has spoken the truth.

In September 1964, a frantic attempt was made by his father to enroll him at a primary school at Agotime-Tamaklokope, some two kilometres from Agotime-Kposukope. This was due to the fact that there was no primary school at Agotime-Kposukope. He entered the records of the school with the name, Kposu Kofi Afatsiawu. If there was anything he hated then, it was the idea of leaving his ‘holy village’ of Agotime-Kposukope every morning to Agotime-Tamaklokope and back, to attend school. It was a very frustrating assignment for him because he was the only child from Agotime-Kposu who had the ordeal of undertaking that daily educational pilgrimage. On a few occasions, his father would ask one of his apprentices to drop him at school and pick him after school. The practice of occasionally dropping him off at school happened only when his father’s bicycle was free to be used.

The experiment of introducing Simon to primary school education, in an environment where all other children were free to go hunting birds and exploring nearby bushes for rodents was truncated by a political conspiracy against his father. His ex-serviceman father became a target of political persecution over allegations of providing guns to rebel groups in the Republic of Togo. The intensity of the persecution became so profound that his father was compelled to relocate to Agotime-Kpetoe. After a six-month temporary sojourn at Agotime-Kpetoe, his father left for Obanda, a town very famous for the production of cocoa in the Nkwanta South District of the Oti Region of Ghana.

Simon was admitted to Obanda E.P. Primary School in September 1965, at the age of seven years, after baptism into the E.P Church, Ghana, by Rev E.K. Nyarko Anipa of Dodi Papase, in June 1965. Madam Elizabeth Akpaley and Emmanuel Azamela of Obanda EP Church, were his godfathers on baptism day. He was given "Simon" as his Christian name and he became known as Afatsiawu Simon at Obanda. The Obanda E.P. Primary School pupils were  quite  uncomfortable with the name Afatsiawu. They dispatched the mystery associated with the name as ridiculous, superstitious and objectionable. They declared an open peer pressure war on Simon for using a name that they believed was  pagan. Even though Simon was an exceptionally brilliant pupil in primary school and was always the first in class, he was   nevertheless, psychologically affected by the stigmatization and vilification crusade against him. When the pressure became  unbearable for him, he had to persuade his father to endorse a change in his name. He became known as Simon Viglo. The change in name quickly and readily ended his persecution among his peers in the  school. He finished his primary school education in June 1971 and continued to the Obanda Local Authority Middle School in September 1971 when he again changed his name to Simon Staycool Viglo. The new name Staycool was adopted in honour of Gilbert Staycool Kwesi Nkansah, his middle School Form  Two teacher. Gilbert Staycool Nkansah was a very  handsome and an incredibly knowledgeable  teacher with a very excellent hand writing and a huge influence over his pupils at Obanda. He was a native of Boafre near Chinderi, in the Nchumuru District of the Oti Region with GCE Ordinary Level from Navrongo Seconadary School. He later left Obanda in September 1972 to further his studies at Mount Mary Training College Somanya.

The cocoa industry at  Obanda around this period, had been hit by the black pod disease. The black pod disease had intensified its attack on the cocoa industry in Obanda, with undiminished devastation, resulting in a sharp drop the production of cocoa and a depression in the local economy. This development affected the economic fortunes of his father who was compelled to relocate to Nkwanta in August 1972 to practise his trade in gun-blacksmithing;  leaving behind his 50 acre black pod ridden cocoa farm, a tailoring workshop and super market (Fofo Tsoekewo) under the care of Madam Suetoelor Adukpo,  his third wife. Simon remained at Obanda to enable him continue his middle school education. He finished his middle school education in June  1974 at Obanda Local Authority Middle School, which was then under the headship of the late Mr Geo Oliver Bansah, an Akropong trained teacher from Vane Dzogbefeme, near Amedzofe. Some of his class mates in Middle School form four were: Aziapkati Simon, Aboni Mark, Annang Wisdom, Adorboe Yesusvi, Agbenorza Stephen,  Amanpene Ben, Alidu Richard, Anyikwafre Ben, Dotse Paul, Morgan Isaac, Morgan Delado, Morgan Manasseh, Moshie Stephen, Ofori Newton, Oyeh Solomon, Tornu Joseph, Tornu William, Sikou Gershon, Yevuyibor Abednego, Yevuyibor Stephen, Aglago Beatrice, Ahiaxo Alice, Akpaka Victoria, Ayiroe Comfort, Moshie Grace, Kumedzina Mary, Tornu Cecilia and Tsevi Elizabeth.

In admiration of the tremendous effort his father was making to ensure that the centre of gravity of the family economy held together, Simon hurriedly moved to Nkwanta to support him in the gun-blacksmithing business as a bellow blower in his father’s workshop. He accomplished this task  jointly with two of his junior brothers, Paul Yaovi Amegashie-Viglo (aka Atsito Mensah) and John Korblavi Amegashie-Viglo (aka Kpakpakpui Ekpe) who were both then schooling at Middle ‘A’ in Nkwanta. Bellow blowing is a particularly difficult exercise and most youth scarcely undertook it as a hobby let alone practise it fully as a vocation. Blowing of the bellow was a critical success factor in Simon’s determination to assist his father to raise the requisite funds for his legitimate aspiration of getting secondary school education.

CHAPTER TWO

THE CHALLENGE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATION AT NKWANTA (NOVEMBER 1974 - JUNE 1979) An incredibly important desire of Simon was his determination and resolve to have secondary school education. In September 1974, he was offered admission to Bishop Herman College, in Kpando, through a common entrance examination he had written in April 1974. His father was however,  reluctant to give approval for Simon to go to Bishop Herman College. This was because father had a worryingly vague dislike for secondary school education. This dislike was primarily attributable to evidence of poor performance and misconduct by some guys who had the opportunity to attend secondary school in those days but only ended up squandering the fortunes of their parents.

In his overriding resolve to have secondary school education, Simon declared a three-day hunger strike to back his demand to be sent to secondary school. For three consecutive days, he neither ate nor talked to anybody in the house. He kept indoors until Mr Geo Oliver Bansah, his middle school head teacher, intervened. The intervention by Mr Geo Oliver Bansah, to prevail upon his father to accept the challenge and responsibility of sending Simon to secondary school, was on the prompting of his step mother, Madam Abra Ofori, his father's fifth  wife. Mr Geo Oliver Bansah, who had more than average confidence in the intellectual capability of Simon, assured his father that, given the chance, Simon would win a scholarship on academic merit. His father accepted the proposal but ruled out Bishop Herman College and opted for Nkwanta Secondary School with the reason that Simon needed to be effectively monitored. His father attached a condition to the decision to send him to secondary school. The condition was that he would be withdrawn from secondary school if at the ended of the first year, he did not win a scholarship as predicted by Mr Geo Oliver Bansah.

In November 1974, he was admitted to Nkwanta Secondary School and entered the records of the  school as Simon Staycool Viglo. He  was one of the 54 human-guinea pigs, volunteered by their parents to begin the experiment of establishing a government assisted secondary school at Nkwanta, under the headmastership of Mr Edward Ansah-Otu. The School had a motto, ‘Unity and High Aspiration”, crafted by Mr Mawuli Akoto, one of the very first teachers of the school. There was considerable skepticism about the prospects of the school because it was bedeviled with alarming levels of deprivation. The entire school had only three teaching staff; namely, Mr. Edward Ansah-Otu, the Headmaster, Mr Asare Konadu, the Housemaster and Mr. Mawuli Akoto, the French Master. Other tutors like Asante Ankwa ( Senior House Master), Joseph Atitso (Science Master) Robert Amuzu (Maths Master, Prophet Sewornuku (Bible Knowledge Master), Paul Kotobridjah (Economics Master) Asante Odame (French Master) and Mr Panou (Music Master) Mr Onai (Agric Master) came to join the teaching staff.

Nkwanta Secondary School started in an abandoned Kassardjan Road Construction yard in November 1974, without a single new physical structure, no accommodation for staff, no school car or vehicle, no portable water and no electricity among other levels of deprivation. The boys had a single wooden-structure for a dormitory that was christened ‘The Noah’s Ark’. The girls were packed into an improvised single room, which was designated ‘Girls’ Dormitory’. The headmaster’s residence, as if by design, was also a wooden-two-bedroom-structure that rested precariously on several two feet concrete-pillars. The students drew water from a river called Geetsebu. This was because there was no water beside and beyond the Geetsebu River in Nkwanta for the Secondary School.

School life was regimented like a military camp. Having come from different schools and backgrounds, the transformation in terms of discipline, eg. waking at 4.30 am every day, having morning devotion at 6.30 am, the obligation to study, observation of siesta every afternoon after lunch, drawing of water and the hewing of fuel-wood to the kitchen and compulsory evening studies were all new experiences. In those days the mode of our up-bringing was based on Plato’s philosophy of  ‘The unexamined life is not worth living’. Consequently all aspects of students’ daily lives were critically examined under the microscope by their teachers to ensure that their lives were worth living.

Some of the first batch students were:  Seadzi Emmanuel (School Prefect), Albert Asiedu (Assistant School Prefect) Georgina Sarpaty (Girls Prefect) Abasah Moses (House One Prefect), Joseph Agbo (House Two Prefect) Armson Odum (House Three Prefect) and Simon Staycool Viglo (House Four  Prefect & Entertainment Prefect, Atefa Nicholas (Dinning Hall Prefect), Annang Wisdom (who became the Headmaster of the School in 2019) Edmund Obido, James Boafo, Armah Muntaro, Joseph Coffie-Tetteh, John Ottoyo Seckley, Alfred Bonsi, Jimmy Pasco (who became Assistant Headmaster from 2012 to 2018), Joseph Aniewu, Alex Dodzi, Letsu Thomas, Edwin Asamani,  Michael Okai, Patrick Asiedu,  Harrison Otibu,  Alex Ateku, Juliana Parry, Juliana Okai, Nsanah Janet, Darkey Beatrice, Margaret Nkansah, Anku Favour, Judith Agbagbey, Kumah Agnes and Denteh Comfort among others. At Nkwanta Secondary School, he was popularly known as Staycool. He was the faviourite of most tutors because of his academic performance.

As a pioneer student of Nkwanta Secondary School, Simon left no stone unturned in pursuing his dreams of obtaining Division One at the GCE Ordinary Level and entering the Sixth Form. He and a few of his colleagues had a motto right from the first year: ‘Sixth Form or Suicide’. At the end of the first year examinations in June 1975, Simon emerged first among 54 students with an average of 88.5% in 10 subjects. In a letter dated September 22, 1975 and signed   by one Mr. A. Pobee-Orleans, the Chief Administrative Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Marketing Board (CMB) at that time, Simon Staycool Viglo was awarded a five-year scholarship on academic merit. The value of the scholarship was 180 cedis per year. Simon held several student leadership positions at Nkwanta Secondary School including being House Four Prefect (1975 -1979), Entertainment Prefect (1978–1979) and the Assistant School Prefect (1979). He completed his General Certificate of Education, Ordinary Level (GCE ‘O’ Level) in June 1979 with Division One, there accomplishing his Sixth Form or Suicide mission.

CHAPTER THREE

LEGON OR SUICIDE MISSION AT KADJEBI SECONDARY SCHOOL (NOVEMBER 1979 - JUNE 1981) In accordance with his uncompromising resolve to get Six Form education and proceed to the University of Ghana, Simon accepted go to Kadjebi Secondary School under the headmastership of Mr. Kosi Owusu of Likpe Matey, to pursue his Sixth Form education. He entered the records of Kadjebi Secondary School, one more time,  with a change in name. He entered the records of the School as Simon Amegashie-Viglo. His decision to continue to the Sixth Form without a break to support his father and family brought a little misunderstanding between him and his father, who felt that 15 years of schooling should have prepared any young man well enough to take up a meaningful job. Earlier in September 1978, his father had left Nkwanta to Agotime-Kpetoe because of the decision of the Acheampong regime to convert the forest along the Gyebobo Mountains in Nkwanta into a Game and Wildlife Forest Reserve, had resulted in a sharp drop in the demand for guns in Nkwanta area.

Simon’s aspiration and decision to proceed to the sixth form without a break or recourse to his father dwindling economic fortunes and the growing burden of caring for 21 children and five wives, created a particularly difficult situation between him and his father. There was a commitment on both sides to set out the protocols of engagement for managing their differences. It was agreed between him and his father that Simon would proceed to the sixth form on condition that he would cater for himself. Even though extremely demoralized by the deal, because of the uncertainty of the future, Simon then at 21 years believed strongly that he could continue his education without his father’s financial support. This was a resolve to begin the search for his personal and individual identity. Here was a pathetic and miserable Simon, with a father married to five wives and the responsibility of looking after 21 children in school. The 50 acre cocoa farm which his father had cultivated with his retirement benefits had become an innocent victim of the unstoppable spread the black pods disease. Rather than raising his hands in total despair and self-pity, Simon with the support of young brother, John Korblavi Amegashie-Viglo (aka Kpakpakpui Ekpe), undertook a variety of odd jobs to raise the needed funds for his sixth form education. His grandfather, Torgbui Tomko Nyadrogah Mihesso Kposu, had allocated a portion woodland to him to use for the production of charcoal for funding his sixth form project.

Due to the fairly high cost of the recommended books and other kits on the prospectus, Simon could not report in September  1979, with those admitted. On 14th November 1979, with the blessings of his father, who gave him one of his most expensive kente cloths, Simon left for Kadjebi Secondary School. Little did he know that, that was his last time of seeing his father alive. Death laid its icy hands on his father on Thursday 13th December 1979, barely 21 days after Simon had departed to Kadjebi Secondary School. The two years of sixth form education at Kadjebi (November 1979–June 1981) were by far the most traumatizing periods in his life. His holidays were ordeals in the accomplishment of odd jobs including; weeding of farms, production of charcoal, clearing of bushes, harvesting of coconuts for people, distillation of alcohol, hunting expeditions and petty trading. Eventually, Simon managed to complete sixth form, reading Literature in English, History and Government and writing his General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (GCE ‘A’ Level) in June 1981. Some of his Sixth Form mates were Wilberforce Appiah, Ernest Asare-Asiedu, Emmanuel Wayo, Wisdom Bleboo, Franklin Kufe, Samuel Tamakloe, Emmanuel Fekpe, Stephen Dzradosi, Francis Abiewu, Sule Shitu, George Tuekpe, Joe Tetteh-Coffie, Samuel Ametame, Rockson Osei, Johnnie Jesus Venyo, Obeng Ernest, Edna Asante, Rosemary Dey, Rosemary Sosoo and Petrina Etu-Mantey.

Simon has always had an enormous sense of  gratitude for all those who stood by him during those frustrating and  difficult days of sixth form education at Kadjebi, in particular: •	His grandfather, Torgbui Tomko Nyadrogah Mihesso Kposu (1894 - 1982), for giving him a piece of woodland for the production of charcoal to support of his education. •	His mother, Madam Grace Atsufui Ekpesese Apkalu (1935 - 2014)  for believing in his dreams and supporting him with proceeds from her fish mongering and farming business and for not getting discouraged when critics expressed skepticism about the prospects of Simon's  education. •	His junior brother, John Korblavi Amegashie-Viglo,  for supporting him in the charcoal production business and for swearing to disown Simon if he gave up on the mission of getting a university education. •	His two junior sisters, Afi and Ablewoo for cooking his food and washing his dirty labour cloths and for defending him whenever he was insulted for keeping too long in school. •	His late Tordia Dzotsi Viglo (1939 - 1982), for paying his Advanced Level Examination registration fees; and his uncle Agbottah Kwami Viglo for giving him one room   at Agotime-Kposukope and for supervising his alcohol distillery. •	His step mother Abra Ofori, his father’s fifth wife for hosting him at Obanda when the University of Ghana, Legon was closed down for ten months in 1983, and for giving him an interest free loan to undertake petty trading during the closure.

CHAPTER FOUR

THE REALITY AND ORDEAL OF FIRST DEGREE UNIVERSITY EDUCATION (1982 - 1986) The ‘Legon or Suicide’ mission materialised with a frightening line-up of amazing challenges. In November 1982, Simon gained admission to the University of Ghana, Legon to pursue B.A (Hons) in Political Science. His admission very nearly landed him in prison over accusation of breaking curfew in November 1982 in Ho. Those were days marked and marred by so many curfews to restrict to activities of dissidents and other criminals. One day in November 1982, Simon was arrested at around 5.00 am in Ho by the Police for breaking curfew when he was on his way to the Civic Centre in Ho to take a STC Bus to Accra to register at the University of Ghana as a freshman. He was put before the High Court in Ho at around 10. 00 am. Fortunately for him, he was defended by His Lordship Justice  Jones Dotsey, at the High Court in Ho, he was then a young Lawyer in Ho. Then Lawyer Jones Dotsey did not only defend him, but he also paid the fine imposed on him by the Court after taking a look at Simon’s admission letter to the University of Ghana. Simon later named his second son, Jones Dotsey Amegashie-Viglo, after His Lordship, Justice Jones Dotsey, in gratitude to him for saving him from going to prison.

Simon, who had always wanted to stay at the Commonwealth Hall, he was allocated Legon Hall Annex A, Room 313. For four years, he was at Legon Hall with his roommate Godwin Kaledzi, a very brilliant Geography student from Sogakope who attended the prestigious  Presbyterian Boys Secondary School (Presec) Legon. Simon and Godwin were such a pair of friends at University of Ghana, who did virtually everything together. Life at the  University of Ghana was such a defining moment that refined his philosophy of life. His orientation in life was tremendously affected by the Motto of the Legon Hall of the  University of Ghana: “To him that much has been given, of him will much be expected”. Simon and his mates came to appreciate that nation-building is a collaborative democratic engagement of selfless minds and the suppression narrow individual interests from taking a domineering centre stage in national development aspirations.

Before he could write his First University Examination (FUE), the University was closed down for ten months (February-November 1983), because of persistent student agitation against the then PNDC Government, under the chairmanship of Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, over a proposed withdrawal of feeding subsidies for students in public universities of Ghana in line with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) & World Bank loans conditionalities. Political and economic developments in 1983, very nearly shattered Simon’s resolve to have university education. The year witnessed the most terrible drought, widespread bushfires, acute food shortages and severe hunger, which were worsened by the unexpected expulsion of over one million Ghanaians from Nigeria. In the face of the general shortage of food and the resultant hunger of 1983, the cassava farm and maize reserve that he had kept at Agotime-Kposukope for sale to enable him go back to school were used to support his father’s numerous children.

Simon was forced by circumstances beyond his control to travel to Obanda and stay with his father’s fifth wife, Madam Abra Ofori. The demise of her husband in December 1979 necessitated her departure from her marital home to her hometown, Obanda. With a loan he took from Madam Abra Ofori, Simon engaged in   petty trading activities, buying children’s and ladies’ wears from Accra and selling them at Obanda, Abubruwa, Dodo Amanfrom and Brewaniase, Pusupu, Bontibor and Nkwanta markets. He later entered the then booming gari trade and pursued it with unrelenting zeal. This petty trading activity fetched him considerable income. When the University of Ghana was re-opened in November 1983, he paid off the loan and proceeded to campus with a feeling of great relief. Upon arrival on campus he quickly opened an account at the Legon Branch of the Ghana Commercial Bank and deposited the money he had saved there. Though the money was prudently managed, it ran out around the middle of his second year in the University.

No sooner did this money run out than the PNDC Government removed the subsidies for feeding students. This meant that the usual three free meals per day that every residential student enjoyed were completely withdrawn and students had to feed themselves in addition to other academic costs. The withdrawal of the feeding subsidies made Simon’s already bad financial situation worse. He was forced to move home every other week to prospect for money, which in most cases was very difficult to get. This financial nightmare seriously affected his concentration in the third and final years in the University. The cumulative effect of this financial predicament was that Simon who was by all standards a very brilliant student, graduated in June 1986, with BA (Hons) in Political Science, settling for Second Class Lower Division. Disappointed at his results, he boycotted his batch’s congregation in March 1987 at the University of Ghana.

CHAPTER FIVE

NATIONAL SERVICE AND FIRST WORKING EXPERIENCE AT MAWUKO GIRLS SECONDARY SCHOOL IN HO Simon was posted to the Ghana Education Service (GES) Volta Regional Office in Ho to undertake his two-year mandatory National Service from November 1986 to August 1988. During his National Service days in Ho, Simon was the General Secretary to the Ho Municipal National Service Personnel Association (November 1986 –August 1987) and the Volta Regional President of the Association (NASPA) from November 1987- August 1988. Simon is on record to have been part of the National Executive Committee that declared and led a nationwide strike of National Service Personnel Association over three months delay in the payment of national allowances in April 1988. In addition to his normal duties and responsibilities as personal assistant to the Director in charge of Administration at the Regional GES Office in Ho. Simon also had the opportunity to serve on three very important committees of investigation as member and secretary to Kadjebi Secondary School, Sogakope Secondary School and Akatsi Training College. No sooner had Simon completed his National Service in August 1988, than he got appointment as a graduate teacher on 1st September 1988, at the E.P. Church Mawuko Girls’ Secondary School under the headship of Madam Margaret Nutsugah. The Headmistress, Madam Margaret Nutsugah was initially reluctant to accept a young bachelor as a teacher in a purely girls school as Mawuko. Simon taught English and Government at Mawuko Girls’ for two years and also served as the PTA Secretary, when Togbe Adase IV of Ho-Ahoe, was the PTA Chairman of EP Mawuko Girls. The Headmistress had developed so much trust and confidence in Simon for his devotion and commitment to duty. She was therefore surprised when Simon decided to leave for further studies after only two years service.

CHAPTER SIX

MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA AND ACADEMIC CAREER AT   HO POLYTECHNIC/HO TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY Simon proceeded on study leave with pay in October 1990, to pursue Master of Philosophy (M. Phil) in African Studies at the University of Ghana, Legon. On his second occasion of going back to the University of Ghana, he had the privilege of being taught by eminent scholars like Prof George Hagan, Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan, who later became the Electoral Commissioner of Ghana from 1992 to 2012, Prof Atsu Ayee, who was his M. Phil Thesis Supervisor, and Prof Awedoba. Simon completed his M. Phil programme in September 1993, at was posted to Agotime Secondary School in November 1993, to teach Government during the headmastership of Rev Gawugah of Anyako. After staying at Agotime Secondary School for one year two months (November 1993 to December 1994) Simon was transferred to E.P. Church Mawuko Girls’ Secondary School in January 1995 again, upon the request of the Headmistress Madam Margaret Nutsugah, around the time she was preparing go on compulsory retirement from the Ghana Education Service (GES).

TWENTY-TWO AND HALF YEARS OF TEACHING  AND ADMINISTRATION AT HO POLYTECHNIC/HO TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY  (1996 - 2018) In March 1996, Simon resigned from the Ghana Education Service (GES) as a graduate Teacher, and left Mawuko Girls’ Secondary School during the headship of Madam Rosemond Keteku. His departure was from Mawuko Girls’ was due to the fact that he was appointed  a lecturer at Ho Polytechnic to lecture in African Studies in April 1996, by the Polytechnic Council under the chairmanship of Prof Frank Obed Kwami, a former Vice Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Kumasi. That was the time Dr George Afeti was the Principal of Ho Polytechnic.

In July 2003, Simon secured admission to the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) Accra, to pursue a post graduate certificate in Strategic Management to improve his knowledge, skills and attitude in Information Management and Decision Science at strategic levels. In September 2007, Simon further enrolled on the Commonwealth Executive Master of Business Administration (CEMBA) programme at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and technology (KNUST) Kumasi, through their Distance Programme. He graduated in June 2009 in Kumasi.

It is particularly gratifying to state that Simon, for many reasons and in many seasons, has had an incredibly distinguished academic career of selfless devotion and commitment to duty, demonstration of integrity, transparent leadership and profound mentorship for his peers, subordinates and students of Ho Polytechnic. For example; Simon held the following academic appointments at Ho Polytechnic and discharged his duties and responsibilities creditably:

•	Dean, Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, Ho Technical University (2007 - 2018) •	Dean of International Programmes, Ho Polytechnic (2010 – 2013) •	Senior Lecturer, Department of Multidisciplinary Studies (2007 -2018) •	Vice Rector, Ho Polytechnic (2001 – 2005) •	Head of Liberal Studies Department, Ho Polytechnic (1996 – 2007) •	Lecturer, Department of Liberal Studies, Ho Polytechnic (1996 – 2007). During his academic career at Ho Polytechnic and Ho Technical University, Simon Amegashie-Viglo published 27 articles in international academic journals and published three textbooks (one alone and one with the late Prof Noah Komla Dzobo, with whom he published “The Triple Heritage of Contemporary Africa” in 2004 and one with Dr Roland Lambon, with whom he published, “The Dual Heritage of Africa” in 2018.

Furthermore, Simon Amegashie-Viglo supervised 175 Higher National Diploma (HND) Students Project Works within 22 years five months stay at the Ho Polytechnic/Ho Technical University. He also supervised Dissertations of 12 students of the Commonwealth Executive Master of Business Administration (CEMBA) Programmes of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, as a part-time Lecturer at the Ho Technical University Campus of the Programme. In addition, Simon was also a part-time Lecturer in African Studies, Public Administration, Political Science and Research Methodology at the Tsito Campus of the University of Ghana Distance Programme from September 2009 to August 2013. He also taught Public Administration and Strategic Management at the Ho Polytechnic Campus of the University of Cape Coast Distance Programme from 2009 to 2013. In August 2012, Simon Amegashie-Viglo enrolled on a PhD Programme at the Open University of the Nethelands in Business Administrstion. He however had to discontinue the programme in the middle of the second year on account of lack of sponsorship. The programme was pretty expensive, €4,800.00,  per year excluding airplane tickets, accommodation, research cost, transportation, cost of books and journals.

MEMBERSHIP OF BOARDS AND COMMITTEES Simon served on several Boards and Committees of Ho Polytechnic and Ho Technical University as member or Chairman. He was Chairman Statutes Review Committee, Chairman, Ho Polytechnic Ethics Policy Drafting Committee, Member of the Editorial Board of African Journal of Technical Education and Management of Ho Polytechnic, the Appointments and Promotions (Senior Members), Chairman, Search Committee, E.P. College of Education, Amedzofe for the appointment of Finance Officer, College Secretary, Internal Auditor and Librarian among many others. J

MERITORIOUS AWARDS & SCHOLARSHIP

Simon Amegashie-Viglo has won some prestigious Awards in his professional and academic life. He won the following: •	Distinguished Foundation Dean Award (20018) Ho Technical University. •	Leadership of Transparency and Integrity Award Ho Technical University (2018) •	Cash Award of $ 10,000 from the Working Group on Higher Education in Africa (ADEA) through the submission of a competitive proposal for crafting of an HIV/AIDS Policy for Ho Polytechnic, Ho (2005). •	“Certificate of Meritorious Performance” as General Secretary of the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG) from (1997–1999) by the Conference of Polytechnic Principals, Ghana. •	Best Staff and Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Secretary, E.P. Church Mawuko Girls’ Secondary School (1993). •	Best Volta Region Science Project Student, Secondary School Category,Project: ‘Distillation of Alcohol from maize and cassava’ Nkwanta Secondary School, Nkwanta (1978). •	Third Best National Science Project Student (1978) Kumasi. Representative of the Volta Region at the National Science Project in Kumasi. •	Cocoa Marketing Board Scholarship of Academic Excellence, Nkwanta Secondary School, Nkwanta (1975).

COMMUNITY SERVICE 1.	Moderator, Volta Regional Forum in Ho to Review the concept and practice of decentralisation in Ghana, organised by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development in collaboration with the Institute of Local Government Studies, Accra (October 2009). 2.	Volta Region Research Supervisor for Development Challenge Consultancy Group, Accra, in a nationwide survey on ‘Democratic Governance in Ghana through Free and Fair Elections.’ Recruited and trained research assistants who carried out the survey in the 22 constituencies in the Volta Region of Ghana (July-August 2008). 3.	 Co-ordinator Population and Family Life Education Project of Ho Polytechnic, Ho, under the Ministry of Education, Ghana (1999 - 2005). 4.	Co-ordinator, EZE of Germany-Ho   Polytechnic Regional Workshop on Effective Vocational Skills Training, At Ho Polytechnic, Ho, (Sponsored by EZE of Germany) (April 2000). 5.	Convocation Representative on Ho Polytechnic Council, Ho, Ghana (1996 –2000). 6.	Consultant to the Ho Branch of CERAD   International, an NGO with headquarters in Lome, Republic of Togo (1999 - 2001). 7.	Co-ordinator, Ho Polytechnic-EZE,    Germany Project: (The Baseline Study) (1996 – 2000). 8.	General Secretary, Polytechnic Teacher's      Association of Ghana (POTAG) (1997 – 1999).

CHAPTER SEVEN

LIFE OF INTEGRITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE By far the strongest and greatest attribute of Simon was his life of social justice and moral integrity. He was so principled in his dealings with others that he preferred to bear pain on behalf of those he dealt with rather than visit pain on them. It would be instructive to give a few examples of his life of social justice and moral integrity. In April 1996, when he was employed at Ho Polytechnic, he was not paid for three months. When his salary eventually came in Julyy 1996, Simon was paid six months instead of three months. Without any prompting, he returned three months of unearned salary to the Cashier of the Polytechnic, who issued him with a receipt for the refund. This singular act of honesty and integrity attracted the attention of the Principal of the Polytechnic, Dr George Afeti, who later appointed Simon as a head of Department in November 1996, just five months employment as a Lecturer.

Secondly, Simon on Monday 21st February 2005 sold his Opel Vectra car to one Rockson Edinam Dotsey of Dzolo-Gbogame, through one Ho Polytechnic driver called Joe Atabu. In less than one week, on Thursday 24th February 2005, the car had an accident and was completely destroyed, but no one died. Simon collected the full cost of the comprehensive insurance for the car and gave it to Rockson Dotsey through Joe Atabu, to enable him replace the car. Even though most people were of the opinion that the insurance money was for the owner of the policy, Simon insisted that the insurance money was for the owner of the car at the time of the accident. The third demonstration of Simon’s life of social justice and moral integrity was the return of an over payment of GHS 26,100.00 to a Bank in Ho, on Tuesday 12th January 2010, even though there was no way the Bank could have detected he was over paid. Finally, Simon declined to teach African Studies for HND I Marketing 2016/2017 Batch because his son Jones Dotsey Amegashie-Viglo was part of that group. He said he did so to avoid conflict of interest and to preserve the self-confidence of his son in the integrity of academic life. That son of his, later graduated in December 2019 with First Class in HND Marketing. Simon was nevertheless human, and had his own shortcomings and weakness as an individual.

POLITICAL ENGINEERING AND ENGAGEMENTS Our elders say, the identification of a most distinguished pot, takes place at the riverside. Simon Amegashie-Viglo, was one of the political pots of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Volta Region from December 2009 to September 2018, as Regional Secretary. He was identified as a distinguished political pot at the Hohoe Regional Conference of the NDC in December 2009, when he emerged victorious in a keenly contested regional election. This was during the regional chairmanship of H.E. Modestus Ahiable, with Hon Francis Komla Ganyaglo as Regional Secretary and the National chairmaship of Dr Kwabena Adjei, with Hon Johnson Asiedu-Nketia (aka General Mosquito as General Secretary.

Simon Amegashie-Viglo entered the Hohoe race as a Senior Lecturer of Ho Polytechnic, Ho, and as the TEIN Patron of  that institution. As Regional Secretary, his duties and responsibilities included, running the day to day administration of the Regional Secretariat, serving as a custodian of the documents of the party in the Region, oversight responsibility for the administration of the party in the constituencies, initiation of proposals in best  practices for the consideration of the Regional Executive Committee, enpaneling of Committees to undertake various assignments and projects, representation of the party at National Executive Committee level, supervision of constituencies and the organisation of constituency and regional conferences and the submission of reports to Regional Conferences and NEC.

Between 2009 and 2014, Simon served as Regional Secretary with Kwesi Aboagye as Regional Chairman, whose Executive Committee had Col Cyril Necku and Edwin Aklorbortu as Vice Chairmen, Henry Ametefee as Regional Organiser, Simon Bakah as Treasurer, Maxwell Owusu-Siaw as Youth Organiser,  Madam Mercy Kuada as Women Organiser and John Kwadwo Gyapong as Regional Director of Elections.

The Kwesi Aboagye Administration was a determined one,  which worked to retain all the 26 seats in Parliament for the Region and massively redeemed the Region to enable H.E. John Mahama win the 2012 presidential election.

In September 2014, the mandate of Simon Amegashie-Viglo as Regional Secretary, was renewed for four more years to September 2018. He defeated seven (7) contestants at the George Afeti Auditorium of Ho Technical University to the delight of his students are other admirers. John Kwadwo Gyapong, registered a  decisive win over five (5) other contestants to emerge as Regional Chairman in the 2014 Conference. This time round, the Regional Youth Organiser position was won by Egypt Kobla, with Mercy Kuada as Women Oraniser, Simon Bakah as Treasurer and Henry Ametefee as Regional  Organiser one more time.

Perhaps the John Kwadwo Gyapong Regional Executive Committee (2014 - 2018) was the most remarkable and the most challenging era in the political career of Simon Amegashie-Viglo as Regional Secretary. That period was  designated as the era of "The Three Wisemen" - John Kwadwo Gyapong, Simon Amegashie-Viglo and Henry Ametefee, as Regional Chairman, Regional Secretary and Regional Organiser respectively.

How they came to be designated "The Three Wisemen," (TTW) is directly linked with the ejection of the NDC from their rented premises near Goil in Ho. The landlord unilaterally increased the rent from GHS 600 to GHS 6,000 per month in June 2015. The Regional Chairman,  the Regional Secretary and the Regional Organiser firmly and clearly rejected the offer abd vacated the premises in July 2015. They resolved to build a new Regional Secretariat before the 2016 elections in December. Several people were skpetical about the decision and wondered how they were going to achieve the tall order of building a Regional Party Office in 18 months. By July 2016, exactly 12 months after their ejection, the  incredible three had succeeded in building and commissioning the new Regional Party Office with their own contributions and money mobilised for them by Hon Prosper Bani, a former Chief of Staff and Minister of the Interior. By their courage and determination of building the new Regional Secretariat, party faithfuls bestowed the accolade "The Three Wisemen" on them in recognition of their efforts in championing the building of the Regional Secretariat in such a short time.

The opportunity and privilege of serving as Regional Secretary, was both a blessing and a burden for Simon. It was a blessing because it gave him the chance to deepen his political engagements and work with seasoned and more experienced politicians in the region and the country, like the Founder of the NDC and former President John Jerry Rawlings, former President  Prof John Evans Atta Mills, former President John Dramani Mahama,  Capt Kojo Tsikata, Prof Kofi Awoonor,  Dr Obed Asamoah, Dr Kwabena Adjei, Johnson Asiedu Nketia (Gen Mosquito),  Dan Abodakpi, Edward Doe Adjahoe, Ken Dzirasah, Alfred Agbesi Woyome,  Sir Dr Kofi Portuphy, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, Prosper Bani, Col Gbevlo-Lartey, Kwesi Aboagye, Steve Akorlie, John Kwadwo Gyapong, Henry Ametefee, Joe Gidisu, Joe Amenowode, Dzifa Attivor,  Alex Segbefia, Sena Akua Dansua, Juliana Azumah Menash, Dr Bernice Heloo, Kofi Humado,  Elvis Ankrah, Stan Dogbey, Baba Kamara, Julius Debrah, Modestus Ahiable, Francis Sebedzi, Prof Norvor, John Nunyuie, Commodore Steve Obimpeh, Oscar Ameyedowo, Sylvester Mensah, Dr Kwame Ampofo, Capt Nfojoh,  Richard Quashigah, Mercy Kuada, Kofi Adams, Koku Anyidoho, Victor Smith, and our mother Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings among many others.

The position was also a burden, which often landed him in very difficult and embarrassing situations. He was frequently faced with having to get a precarious balance in very hostile and politically charged atmosphere of survival of fittest, blackmail, treachery, deliberate manipulation,  arm twisting, character assassination, petty conspiracies, rancour and acrimony.

Under all such trying circumstances, Simon stood his grounds firmly and insisted on what he thought was in the best interest of the party. Party politics is full of traps and betrayals because everyone guided his interest jeslously and ruthlessly. Insisting on the right thing in politics comes with the payment of a big price, as Simon later found out. His principled stand on sensitive political issues with vested interest,  pushed him to step on several big toes in the Volta Region and beyond. Some of the very big toes that supported him at the Hohoe Conference in 2009 with a triumphant welcome and those that gave him a messianic applause at the Ho Conference in 2014, as Regional Secretary, were the very big toes who conspired to cruxify him  in September 2018 at the Ho Delegates Conference.

Simon once made the comment that the loss of his third bid, taught him a great lesson and deepened his understanding of the dynamics of human nature. He came to understand that, politics was a competition for survival of the fittest,  a compelling search for concensus,  trading of compromises and the hatching of conspiracies to eliminate opponents. Finally realised that fortune and misfortune are opposite and equal. They trade blows on mankind. Your first blow from fortune is your birth and your last blow from  misfortune is your death. And indeed, your friends get to know you good time. You get to know your friends in bad times.

CHAPTER EIGHT RELIGIOUS LIFE AND AFFILIATION Simon was baptized into the E.P. Church at Obanda in June 1965 where he worshipped until the family moved to Nkwanta in 1974. He joined the Nkwanta E.P Church in 1974 and was confirmed into the E.P. Church Nkwanta in August 1977, by Rev Daniel Yao Agblubie of Nkonya Wurupong. On completion of first degree and settlement in Ho in November 1986, Simon joined the E.P. Church, Dela Cathedral, at Ho Kpodzi through Presbyter Edward Glalah of Ho- Ahoe. His Pastor was Rev Kwadade during the Moderator-ship of Prof Komla Dzobo, who later became Simon’s academic mentor. Prof Dzobo took a part-time lectureship appointment after his retirement and taught African Studies at Ho Polytechnic, with Simon as the Head of Department. With inspiration from Prof Dzobo, both of them published a book titled, ‘The Triple Heritage of Contemporary Africa’ in 2004. Simon later left the E.P Church, Ho Kpodzi after 10 years stay and joined the Ebenezer Chapel of the Global Evangelical Church in April 1996, through the influence of Rev Dr Seth Dzokoto, who he met at Ho Polytechnic. Some of the Pastors under whom Simon worshipped were Rev Joachim Agbevem, Rev F.M Agbo, Rev Kofi Bredzei, Rev Edem Ofori, Rev Francis Dovlo, Rev Edward Bekui and Rev Kwesi Samuel Misrowoda.

HUMANITARIAN AND PHILANTHROPIC SUPPORT ACTIVITIES Simon Amegashie-Viglo had a background of relative deprivation in childhood which defined and refined his attitude towards the less privileged in society. He  therefore, had a primary concern for the under  privileged and made efforts to help improve their situation in life. He  was a beneficiary of a strong moral up bringing in integrity and social justice by his grandfather, who was a Priest of the Yeweh Fraternity and Awadada  of the Agbemetsi Royal Family of Atiavi Glime and Akatsi Agbedrafor. Having been touched by the love and moral integrity of his grandfather, who gave a him a piece of woodland for charcoal production in 1979, after his father's death to support his Sixth Form education, Simon decided to emulate that guesture for the benefit of people in similar situation. He purchased an eighty (80) acre piece of farmland at Agotime-Obemla from Togbe Attrah Family of Agotime Kpetoe  in 2012, and allowed landless parents in the area to cultivate it free of charge to support the education of their children.

Secondly, as show of gratitude and appreciation for the support  given him by his younger brother John Amegashie-Viglo (aka Kpakpakpui Ekpe) during his Sixth Form days, Simon built a four-bedroom house at Agotime Kpetoe, on a half acre piece of land he purchased from Togbe Korsorku. Simon also allocated part of his Obemla farmland to his brother Kpakpakpui Ekpe in support of his farming ventures.

Furthermore, Simon honoured his mother, Madam Grace Atsufui Ekpesese Akpalu, for her moral integrity and  determination and for  supporting him during his difficult Six Form days, by building a Two-Bedroom House in 2012 at Agotime Kposukope to mark her 75th birthday anniversary. A cow was used to celebrate the occasion which involved some 1,500 people from 21 Ghanaian settler  villages in Agotime South Prefecture in the Kloto Region of the Republic of Togo. In a speech to the gathering that day, Simon stated that the celebration was to show of gratitude to his mother for refusing to re-marry after the death of his father in December 1979 and for staying in her matrimonial home to care for her children as a widow for 35 years. His mother died five (5) years later on Saturday 4th April 2015 at the age of 79.

In a bid to improve standard of living for the youth in and around Agotime Kposukope, Simon purchased 10 motorbikes for 10 youths to operate as Okada on hire purchase basis. After each beneficiary had paid between 20 to 25% of the purchase cost, Simon cancelled their debts as part of financial capacity building for them.

Simon Amegashie- Viglo was very passionate about education and vocational skills training of the youth, family members and others,  to create opportunities for  employment among them. He sponsored the education of several people (including family members and friends)  through senior high school, nurses training college, teacher traning college, polytechnic and the university. He also initiated and sponsored the apprenticeship programmes of many family members and children of friends in dressmaking, capentry, masonary, electrical installation, driving and fitting. He did this by paying the agreement fees, accommodation and feeding, agreement fees, freeing ceremony charges, purchase of sewing machines, procurement of driving licenses, and other tools and equipment for them. Simon in addition, facilitated the acquisition of employment in the public and private sectors for several young men and women throughout his 30 years of his working life.

Simon often supported family members, friends  and other individuals financially to complete their building and other projects they were doing. Simon is on record to have bought a car for his auncle Kwami Agbotah's son called Wonder Kwaku Agbotah, to operate on hire purchase basis. After operating the car for six months, Wonder sold the car and used all the money to buy a house in Ho. Rather than arrest him for fraud, Simon stated that arresting him and sending him to prison would do more harm to the faimly than losing the  car. He therefore called a family meeting and informed the members that he had decided to drop the matter because if Wonder went to prison and died there, the same family would accuse him of being the cause.

Anytime time misfortunes like death, sickness, accidents, medical operations etc befell the family, Simon willingly and readily came round to support. This guesture often prevented family properties from being sold or making  individual contributions to  defray the costs. When the youth of Agotime Kposukope, Aglinakope and Dorfekope decided to buy a generator in 2000, Simon,  upon appeal from the group, sponsored the project with half the entire cost. That generator is still being used by the group.

Finally Simon constructed the feeder road from Agotime Kpave Junction to Agotime Kposukope and the one from Agotime Kposukope to Dorfekope in January 2011 at great cost to himself during the 75th birth day anniversary of his mother at Agotime Kposukope. When the Agotime South Prefecture in the Kloto Region of the Republic of Togo, decided to construct a solar-powered mechanised borehole at Agotime Kposukope in 2016,  Simon Amegashie-Viglo accepted responsibility for feeding and accommodating the workers. He also paid for the cement and granite chippings that were used for the project. When the overhead polytank of the water project got spoilt in 2019, he financially supported the purchase of a new one. Simon was clearly and certainly a man who lived his life for others.

FAMILY LIFE On the 31st May 1992, Simon got married to Miss Monica Akoeley Adjetey-Adjei; one of the twin daughters of Ho based Mr Paul Adjetey-Adjei of Anecho Agbedrafor. On the 31st may 1993, their first son, Joshua Elikem Amegashie-Viglo was born in Ho, attended Keta Senior High and proceeded to Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology to pursue Civil Engineering and graduated in July 2017 with Second Class Upper Division. In October 1997, their second son, Jones Senanu was born in Ho, he also  went Keta Senior High and proceeded to pursue HND in Marketing, Ho Technical University, Ho and graduated in December 2019 with First Class. Juliet Dzifa, their last child was born in July 2001 in Ho, she attended Mawuli School proceeded to Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology to read B.Sc. in Forest Resources Management and was still in school at the time of this publication.

Simon Amegashie-Viglo, in sum, was a man of many parts. He was born to a blacksmith father and a fishmonger mother who were both farmers and used fire as a tool and an input for accomplishing their economic activities. Simon was an educationist of integrity, a prolific researcher and writer, a political scientist, a social commentor, a farmer, a social democrat, a strategic management expert, a mentor of the youth, a motivational speaker, an acedemic counsellor, a poet, a philosopher, a Pan Africanist, a Historian, a family man and revolutionary Christian.

Dated 21st December 2021 44 Hogbetsotso Villa Ho Technical University Down Maryland Area Opposite Summer Light Hotel Ho, Volta Region, Ghana. Simon Amegashie-Viglo (talk) 11:45, 30 April 2024 (UTC)

Socrates Model of Academic Inquiry. By Simon Amegashie-Viglo
SOCRATIC MODEL OF ACADEMIC INQUIRY

Prof: Good afternoon pupilus Diego de Zapata.

Student: Good afternoon Professor Americano Gomez.

Prof: How long have you been in this University?

Student: Just long enough to know that you are one of the most celebrated melting pots of knowledge in this University.

Prof: That sounds veritably Shakespearean. Have you been dabbling in or grappling with Elizabethan Literature?

Student: Not really a paragon of Elizabethan Literature. I was only privileged to have read a few commentaries on Elizabethan Literature. I am really not a paragon of literature or do I have any  legitimate entitlement  to being a doyen of intellectual wordsmithing.

Prof: What is your area of academic inquiry if I may ask?

Student: I have, as you may say,  been  grappling  with the anatomy of Aeronautic Engineering Prof.

Prof: I presume you have some quantifiable appreciation of the intellectual debate on specialisation in a University?

Student: I am reluctantly beginning to adjust myself to the current  thinking on such classical philosophical concepts of the dying disciplines.

Prof: What have you discovered so far in your academic exploration of the disciplines you so quickly designate dying disciplines?

Student: I am beginning to get the understanding that, specialisation is the intellectual particularity and focus of  learning,  unlearning and relearning, resulting in knowing more and more about less and less, until you have known everything about nothing.

Prof: In your candid and independent intellectual opinion, who is a University Professor in a typical  specialisation equation?

Student: A University Professor, in my uninitiated intellectual opinion, is a distinguished academic, who is universally acclaimed, internationally respected authority in his area of academic  inquiry and globally recognised for his deep knowledge, expertise and skills in a given discipline.

Prof: Is that all you can recall  about the universality of a Professor in the knowledge acquisition,  dissemination and management trajectory?

Student: If you grant me further latitude, I can say, a Professor is also somebody who has studied more and more, about less and less, until he has known everything about nothing, just like all renowned specialists in the knowledge production,  dissemination and management industry.

Prof: Can you elucidate your point a little further for the practical benefit of our less lettered brethren in the knowledge management industry?

Student: I am referring to the classical  story of the three Ancient Greek philosophers, who thought  they were deeply  knowledgeable  and wise individuals, and proceeded to consult the Oracle of Delphi, to ascertain which of them was the wisest person in Athens. The Oracle proclaimed that none of them was a wise  person.

Prof: I presume you treasure the pleasure of making classical  references in intellectual discourse. What is the relevance of that classical reference to who a Professor is?

Student: You may wish to know, the Oracle of Delphi proceeded to proclaim that Socrates was the wisest person in Athens, despite the fact that Socrates was not part of the delegation that visited the Oracle of Delphi in Athens. According to the Oracle, Socrates was the only person in Athens who knew that he did not know anything. And that awareness of not knowing anything constituted his wisdom.

Prof: How does that apply to the universality of a Professor in your intellectual discretion?

Student: The relevance of that classical reference to our discourse is that, a Professor should be a Socratic model and should be capable of learning, unlearning and relearning to the point of discovering that he does not know anything, just like Socrates discovered about himself before he was acclaimed by the Oracle of Delphi as the wisest person in Athens.

Prof: What is the intellectual linkage between the Socratic model and the universality of a Professor in the knowledge industry?

Student: With your kind permission I am persuaded to say a Professor should primarily be someone who has written extensively and published so much in reputable international academic journals about people, places and problems and has made profound recommendations on how  problems of people and places can be solved without he himself solving any or undergoing any change like a catalyst. But a Professor must fundamentally be some one who is profoundly conscious of the fact that he does not know anything. That awareness constitutes his knowledge.

Prof: Why that conspiratorial interrogative assumption on professorial integrity?

Student: In the universality of professorial calling and mandate,  identification of the problem is half the problem solved. There is a climate of opinion that postulates that Professors assume the burden of meticulously identifying the problem and thereafter leave the solution to politicians and technocrats. They assume that once  problems  are  clearly  and firmly defined,  technocrats  and bureaucrats should be able to solve them in a disinterested  manner for benefit of  society. That is the tragedy of compliance theory.

Prof: You will become a Professor.

Student: I am absolutely certain about that Prof.

Prof: No one but a fool is absolutely certain.

Student: Are you sure of that Prof?

Prof: I am absolutely certain.

By Simon Amegashie-Viglo

PROFILE OF THE AUTHOR

Simon Amegashie-Viglo is a Senior Lecturer in African Studies, he was the  first Dean of International Programmes (2010 -2013),   the first  Dean of Faculty of Applied Social Sciences (2014 -2018),  a former Vice Rector  of the Ho Technical University (2001 - 2005) and the Head of the Department of Multidisciplinary Studies (1996 - 2007). He was appointed a Lecturer in April 1996 and he has served the institution with dedication and commitment for  twenty-two and half  years before proceeding on   retirement in August 2018. Simon Amegashie-Viglo had his primary and middle school  education at Obanda, (1965 - 1974),    and proceeded to Nkwanta Secondary School, Nkwanta (1974 - 1979), and Kadjebi Secondary School, Kadjebi (1979 - 1981)  all in the Oti Region of Ghana. He holds BA (Hons) Degree in Political Science  (1982 - 1986), and Master of Philosophy in African Studies (1990 -1993)  both from the University of Ghana, Legon. He also pursued  Executive Masters (EMBA) in Business Administration at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (2007 - 2009) and a  Certificate in Strategic Management (2003) from GIMPA, Accra. Simon Amegashie-Viglo is the author of "Political Economy of Colonial & Post-colonial Africa" (2009)  and co-authored two other books; "Triple Heritage of  Africa" (2004)  with Prof Noah Komla Dzobo and "Double Heritage of Africa" (2018), with Dr Rowland Baba Lambon. Simon Amegashie-Viglo has also published 27   articles in international and local  academic journals. Simon Amegashie-Viglo (talk) 11:49, 30 April 2024 (UTC)

This article discusses the tragedy of the African debt crisis and assesses its consequences. The article also offers approaches and strategies for confronting the primordial African debt problem.
THE DEBT CRISIS IN AFRICA-CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES

By Simon Amegashie-Viglo (Senior Lecturer) Ho Technical University, Ho, Ghana.

One of the major challenges facing African countries in their efforts to meet the development aspirations of their citizens is the debt problem. More than ever before, they are increasingly sinking into the disturbing phenomenon of unsustainable debt burden (Noah Komla Dzobo & Amegashie-Viglo 2004).

African countries are compelled to pay millions of dollars every month to wealthy western nations and their affiliated institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB) and the Paris Club among others, either as interest on old loans or part payment of loans taken several decades back (Simon Amegashie-Viglo 2009:117).

The exact amount of money Africa owes is not really known. The total debt is estimated to be around $550 billion (Alex Danso 1990). The continuous payment of these debts has become unsustainable and affecting the development of Africa.

The main causes of African indebtedness can be attributed to both internal and external factors, which may be cyclical and structural in nature. Cyclical causes are causes that are due to developments on the international market place and space that work to aggravate existing structural imbalances in trade, like seasonal demands and interest rate fluctuations. Structural causes are due the existence of imbalances in the international trade system and division of labour.

External structural causes are causes which cannot be influenced by individual African governments, but needed collective action of the international community. Internal causes are those peculiar to individual countries like level of corruption, nepotism, favoritisms, mismanagement of resources and capital flight. (Alex Danso 1990).

Causes of the Debt Problem

1.	Corruption and the mismanagement of resources by some African leaders. One of the most worrying causes of debt in Africa  has been corruption and mismanagement of resources. Never in the history of corruption in Africa had one man looted so much of his country’s resources in so short a time to satisfy the parochial interest of his family and friends as Mobutu Sese Seko did in the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly called Zaire. Mobutu embarked upon a self-enrichment mission on a scale unsurpassed anywhere else in Africa. In 1979, he ordered the seizure of some 2,000 foreign-owned enterprises, including farms, plantations, factories, wholesale firms, and retail shops. No provision was made for compensation of the original owners. Mobutu described his decree as a ‘radicalization of the revolution’. Instead of the state taking control, these enterprises were handed over to individuals as private property. The main beneficiaries were Mobutu and members of his family (Martin Meredith 2006:297).

Mobutu’s personal fortune grew in leaps and bounds. He spent much money assembling a portfolio of luxury houses and estates mostly in Europe. His favaurite residence was a huge palace complex costing $100 million which he built for himself in Gbadolite, a small village some 700 miles north-east of Kinshasa, which he regarded as his ancestral home. His main palace sprawled across 15,000 square meters amid a landscape of ornamental lakes and gardens, equipped with an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a discotheque, luxury guest houses, a hotel and an airport capable of handling supersonic Concorde which Mobutu often chartered from abroad to Gbadolite. (Martin Meredith 2006:299).

An official of the IMF observed: “If Mobutu decides to load a plane with cobalt to sell in Europe, nobody knows about it.”  By the end of the 1970s, Mobutu’s had become one of the richest men in the world with an estimated fortune of $ 5 billion (Martin Meredith 2006:299).

Whilst Mobutu was busy accumulating his riches, Zaire plunged head-long into crisis. Mobutu’s expropriation of foreign businesses proved disastrous. Many quickly went bankrupt; some were simply stripped of their assets and abandoned; others were ruined by incompetent management. The disruption caused to commerce, agriculture and trade in rural areas was severe. The steel mill constructed in 1975 by Mobutu at Maluku near Kinshasa at a cost of $250 million with a capacity to produce 250,000 tons of steel a year, four times the requirement of Zaire. The steel mill  produced 25,000 in 1975 and dropped to 10,000 tons, and exceeded 10,000 tons per year after 1978 and was shut down in 1986 (Martin Meredith 2006:300).

The plight of Zaire in the later part of Mobutu’s regime was pitiful. Hospitals were closed down for lack of medicine and equipment, deserted by staff unwilling to continue working without pay. Most of the roads remained usable to motor traffic and the river transport system was completely wrecked. Unemployment levels became much higher, poverty levels were increasing and inflation was so high that wages were only 10% their 1960 levels in 1978 (Martin Meredith 2006:303). Relief agencies estimated that 40% of Kinshasa’s population suffered from severe malnutrition. In the rural areas agricultural production dropped sharply because only one percent of the land was cultivated.

The state existed to serve only the interest of the ruling elite, whilst the ordinary people were left to fend for themselves (Martin Meredith 2006:303). Despite the fact the Mobutu regime had become worryingly repressive and corrupt; it nevertheless enjoyed the support of western governments. Mobutu’s pro-western and anti-Soviet stance earned him much political and diplomatic credit in western capitals notably in Washington, where he was regarded as a ‘friendly tyrant and a faithful ally’ by the US (Martin Meredith 2006:307).

Mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo is a big business. The country holds vast reserves of cobalt, copper, gold, diamonds and many other minerals estimated to be around US$ 24 trillion (Lewis Brooks 2012:66) the struggle for the control of these minerals has triggered civil wars and political instability that have claimed well over six million people since independence in 1960 (Mvemba Phezo Dizolele 2012:7).

When the Mobutu regime could no longer serve the interest of the western nations in looting the resources of the Democratic Republic of Congo, they actively supported Laurent Kabila’s rebellion against Mobutu (Africawatch: July 2010:53). During the rebellion, Kabila was signing multi-billion-dollar mining deals, in the rebel controlled Shaba Province, with American and other western multinational mining corporations to develop Zaire’s copper, cobalt, gold, zinc and diamond deposits, whilst Mobutu was still at post in Kinshasa as president. Eventually, the Mobutu regime was overthrown in May 1997 and Laurent Kabila became the darling boy of the west. Kabila was described by the western media as, ‘a messiah with enormous personal credibility’ (Africawatch: July 2010:55).

When Kabila fell out with the west because reviewed the mining contracts within a year and demanded payments upfront, he was described as ‘a petty tyrant who could not work with others…. for fear that the west wanted to re-colonise Congo and steal its vast mineral wealth’. ‘A thug and pimp who attained the presidency almost by accident’ ‘A man not noted for his intellect or leadership qualities; a lazy, incompetent oaf who ate two chickens for breakfast. Western diplomats and statesmen viewed him as a man impossible to do business with. The IMF and the World Bank found him so obstructive that talks on new aid were abandoned. (Africawatch: July 2010:55).

He was finally assassinated by one of his personal body guards, Rachidi Kasereka, on 16th January 2001 in Kinshasa, in what is believed to be a western sponsored conspiracy against Laurent Kabila (Africawatch: July 2010:55). Laurent Kabila was succeeded by his son; Joseph Kabila who the west believes is capable of providing stability to Congo (Mvemba Phezo Dizolele 2012:9).

Perhaps next to Mobutu Sese Seko, on the scale of corruption in Africa was General Sani Abacha who ruled for five years after a 1993 coup and shocked even Nigerians with his level of plundering state funds. The greed of Abacha, Abacha  He is believed to have stolen $4.3bn while in office. In one case, he was accused of gutting a $500m state-owned steel plant. The tradition has continued as Nigeria's oil wealth continues to be looted.

In April, James Ibori, an influential governor, was jailed in the UK for looting $250m over eight years (Monica Mark 2012). The Abacha family has largely lain low since the short, flamboyant general died of a heart attack while cavorting with Indian prostitutes. As his death sparked an outpouring of jubilation, his wife Maryam was caught trying to flee the country with 38 cash-stuffed suitcases (Monica Mark 2012).

A push to recover $4bn siphoned away into the family's private accounts in Switzerland forced the tax haven to relax banking secrecy regulations after landmark rulings. In 2006, the Swiss authorities returned $500m to Nigeria – the first time European banks had returned looted money to an African country. Nigeria's anti-corruption agency estimates about $400bn has been siphoned off from the oil-rich country into private pockets since 1960. Globally, developing countries lose up to $40bn a year through corruption, according to the World Bank (Monica Mark 2012).

Abacha and company also stole huge amounts of money through the debt buy-back fraud, with which they defrauded Nigeria of more than $282 million by causing the government of Nigeria to repurchase its own debt from one of their companies for more than double what Nigeria would have paid to repurchase the debt on the open market (David Enweremadu 2013). New audits in Nigeria suggest that Africa’s biggest oil producer is losing millions of dollars to corruption. Nigeria the world’s eighth-biggest and Africa’s biggest oil producer nation has attracted billions of dollars in investment from top oil companies in the world. It produces between 2 million to 2.6 million barrels per day of oil. Yet poverty in Nigeria, Africa’s second largest economy, is worryingly rising with almost 100 million people living on less than a dollar per day because of corruption and mismanagement its oil revenue (Joe Brock & Tim Cocks 2012:63).

In 2013, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi, claimed that the state oil company had failed to remit tens of billions of oil revenue it owed the Nigerian state. He attributed leakages of cash in the Nigerian oil industry to corruption, mismanagement and bad governance (Tim Cocks & Joe Brocks 2015).

Raymond Eyo (2012:28) stated that Nigeria is a country where greed and theft of public funds have almost become art forms and several recent scandals have revealed that corruption in Nigeria has reached ‘never-before-seen levels’. The Senate Appropriation Committee Chairman of Nigeria, Ahmed Maccido, admitted that projects worth One Trillion Nairas were smuggled into the 2012 Budget by some ministries and departments Raymond Eyo (2012:28). James Ibori, a former governor of Nigeria’s Delta State, pleaded guilty on 27th February 2012, in a British Court to stealing $ 250 million from Nigerian State Funds (Raymond Eyo 2012:29). Atiku Kigo, a former permanent secretary of the Police Pension Fund of Nigeria, admitted to investigators that public officials pilfered 32.8 Billion Nairas from the Fund under his watch (Raymond Eyo 2012:29). Commenting on corruption in Nigeria, Transparency International (TI) stated “that the political situation in Nigeria is more of criminality than governance”.

Transparency International decried the rate and scale of scam and corruption in Nigeria in 2011 as beyond anything they had ever dealt with (Raymond Eyo 2012:29).

2.	Borrowing at high interest rates to service debts Borrowing to pay debts is one of the most disturbing causes of debt in Africa. This business of borrowing to pay debt is known as the debt trap. Debt trap is indeed the vicious circle of taking international or domestic loans to service a county’s debts. For most African countries, the reality of high and rapidly increasing interest rates in the 1970s and 1980s had reached heights that were simply unsustainable for their comparatively weak economies.

This situation resulted in high levels of default which compelled most of them to resort to borrowing in order to service their loan payment obligations (Bouchet 1987).

3.	The oil price shocks and crisis of the 1970s and 1980s The Yom Kippur War of 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Egypt and Syria resulted in sharp increases in oil prices globally from $ 3.00 to $12.00 per barrel. The Overseas Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) exploited the dependency of the western nations on oil, to boost the political power on the international arena (Alex Danso 1990).

A second oil shock occurred in 1979, caused by the outbreak of the first Gulf War between Iran and Iraq. This war resulted in huge losses in the production, storage and distribution of oil that pushed the prices of oil from $ 12 in 1973 to $ 39 per barrel in 1979. This sharp and unanticipated increase pushed most non oil producing African countries into debt, because it forced them into the debt trap of borrowing to meet the oil consumption requirements (Alex Danso 1990).

4.	Declining revenue from the export of African primary commodities For African countries whose incomes depended largely on the export of raw materials, natural disaster, declining rainfall and unpredictability of prices worryingly increased their vulnerability to debt (Simon Amegashie-Viglo 2009:110). They have witnessed a worrying decline of about 50% in the prices for the export of their primary exports commodities in the last 25 years.

In the case of coffee and sugar, this was due to overproduction and saturation of the markets (Bouchet 1987). One should also bear in mind that because of the unequal status within the international trade system, African countries have suffered tremendous losses as a result of the ‘terms of trade’. The capitalist international system of division of labour has assigned African countries the role of producers and suppliers of raw materials (like cocoa, coffee, rubber, cotton, sugar cane, timber etc) whose prices have been falling steadily as compared to the prices of manufactured goods (Yuri Popov 1984:175).

In 1982, the prices of raw materials and farm produce of Africans fell to the lowest levels in the past thirty years.

5.	Aid Dependency syndrome The Aid dependency syndrome may well have contributed to the indebtedness of African countries and their growing poverty levels. Aid can be classified into three main types: i) Humanitarian or emergency aid; given in response to natural disasters like fire, flood or to earthquake victims;  ii) Charity-based aid, which normally comes from non-profit organisations and foundations countries hit by drought, famine, war, displaced people or refugees; iii) Systematic multi-lateral aid, which comes from the World Bank, Overseas Development Agency.

Unfortunately the systematic aid packages have often failed in achieving their goals of providing infrastructure, fighting poverty, disease, illiteracy and hunger, and building capacity for good governance in Africa (Tolu Ogunlesi 2013). Across the world, recipients of aid have become worse off. Aid has helped to make the poor poorer and made growth slower because of the dependency syndrome trap. Sixty years of three trillion dollars development aid to Third World countries, has little evidence of significant effect on recipients in fighting poverty, disease, hunger, illiteracy, unemployment and environmental degradation (Tolu Ogunlesi 2013).

Western countries engaged with African countries depending on what benefits are at stake. Western donor countries often turned a blink eye on corruption and gross human rights abuses in countries they depended on for their much needed raw materials. Systematic aid was used as bait in dealing with and winning the friendship of corrupt leaders in Africa, whose dealings with donors have further worsened the debt profile of African countries.

For example, despite the fact that Mobutu’s regime was repressive and corrupt, he still enjoyed the support of western governments (Martin Meredith 2006:307).

At the 54th Member African Union 23rd Summit in June 2014, in the Equatorial Guinea, a country that is an spoken critic of Western interference in African politics, the host President, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, urged African leaders to free their countries from dependency on the western nations and take control of their own politics, security, agriculture and the management of their resources (Tolu Ogunlesi 2013).

6.	Rising cost of imports for African countries The rising cost of imports is another disturbing cause of debt to African countries. The rising cost of imports like medicine, machinery, equipment, arms and ammunitions and other consumables coupled with the decreasing export earnings of African countries has worsened the level of indebtedness resulting in what has become known as the triangle of disaster – youth unemployment, rural poverty and environmental degradation (Bouchet 1987).

Edouard Saouma, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), said in 1983 that, ‘ten years ago, a country exporting a ton of tea received an income which enabled it to import 17 tons of fertilizers; today this will bring it only eight tons. Ten years ago a ton of bananas paid for a ton of steel; today it takes two tons of bananas’ (Yuri Popov 1984:175). Kondojoulou Dogo, Togo’s Minister of Planning, Industrial Development and Administrative Reform, stated in 1983 that, “We are chained to the world market and it dictates its terms to us. Twenty years ago, we could buy a bicycle by selling 10 kg of cocoa. Today, we need to sell 100 kg of cocoa to buy one”. The Minister stated that same thing was happening to their phosphates and other raw materials (Yuri Popov 1984:175).

7.	Changes in the International Capital Market A major cause of the African debt problem was the oil boom and the changes it provoked on the international capital market. The sharp and steady increase in the price of oil resulted in OPEC amassing ‘petrol-dollars’ in private banks in search of investment opportunities. Most African countries took advantage of these ‘petrol-dollars’ by taking more loans to undertake heavy infrastructural projects (Noah Komla Dzobo & Simon Amegashie-Viglo 2004:116).

These loans which they did not have the capacity to service, eventually increased their levels of indebtedness to the lending institutions. Furthermore, the existence of the ‘petrol-dollars’ weakened the power of the industrialized western countries to match the flow of funds to Africa with the capacity to pay; a function that was traditionally played by the World Bank and the IMF. This lack of control provided African countries the freedom of taking loans they were not in the position to service (Bouchet 1987:40).

Finally, the deterioration of the Soviet-Union, the structure of development assistance to Africa also changed. Industrialized countries diversified their aid to meet new demands from the former Soviet-Union Bloc states in Africa (Alex Danso 1990).

8.	Rises in Interest Rates The extensive and excessive armament activities of the Ronald Reagan Administration couple with a tax-reduction policy in the US, induced investment recovery and change in the operating procedures of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy with tighter restraints that led to a sharp increase in real interest rates and the value of the dollar. This development had a very devastating effect on African countries interest payment and import bills (Bouchet 1987).

Effects of the Debt Problem

A debt crisis occurs when a debtor proves unable to service its debt or when creditors refuse to lend to the debtor because it appears likely the debtor cannot honor its debt obligations. Generally, when investors discuss debt crises they are talking about international debts involving countries that are unwilling or unable to settle debts.

The effects of a debt crisis are numerous in both the country owing the debt and other nations. Rev Jesse Jackson has described Africa’s debt as ‘a new form of slavery as vicious as the slave trade’ Julius Nyerere, commenting on the effects of the debt problem in Africa, stated; “Must we starve our children to pay our debts” (Simon Amegashie-Viglo 2009:112).

Everyday people in Africa die from curable disease, poverty and hunger. The government cannot put money into helping these people because it must pay 15 Billion dollars a year in debt repayment to places like the World Bank and IMF.

African economic advances cannot be made when it must pay a shocking 1 billion dollars a day interest fee. These loans from organizations such as the World Bank are meant to aid the country during this economic crisis. These loans actually sabotage these African countries. Nigeria has borrowed 5 billion dollars from the World Bank. To date they have repaid 16 billion dollars. Shocking they still owe the bank 32 billion dollars in interest (Simon Amegashie-Viglo 2009:112).

Growing interference of the IMF and the World Bank in the affairs Africa By far the most disturbing effect of the debt problem is the growing interference of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in the affairs of African countries. African countries are compelled to accept structural adjustment programmes as a condition for qualifying for loans. This situation further compelled them to meet their debt obligations at the expense of their development. The debt crisis has made African countries dependent on external support in the form of loans, aid and grants to enable them service their debts.

African countries borrow money to pay their loans (Noah Komla Dzobo & Simon Amegashie-Viglo 2004:117). As a result of the debt trap, African economies have become vulnerable to manipulation by international financial institutions especially the IMF and World Bank that tend to impose conditions like; massive retrenchment of labour, trade liberalisation, cumulative devaluation, privatisation of public enterprises, free entry for multi-national corporations, abolition of exchange, price and wage control, withdrawal of subsidies across board (even for health, education and agriculture), adoption of multi-party systems, credit squeeze and decentralisation of political power among others (Noah Komla Dzobo & Simon Amegashie-Viglo 2004:90).

Shortage of foreign exchange to meet the cost of imports The debt servicing obligation has come to take away large portions of the scarce foreign exchange earned by African countries. This has resulted in the perpetual shortage of foreign exchange in Africa. Essential imports are foregone because of lack of foreign exchange. For example, medical supplies, spare-parts and machinery among others become difficult to obtain in the face of foreign exchange shortages. This may result in under capacity utilization since the necessary inputs cannot be imported because of foreign exchange constraints. Hence the rising levels of unemployment, poverty and environmental degradation.

Foreign exchange shortage has led to a reduction in per capita income, consumption and investment as well as lowering the standard of living of the citizens.

Lower Credit Rating Countries grappling with debts they are unable to sustainably service, are pruned to lower credit rating among donor nations and agencies. This means creditor nations are reluctant to extend funding packages to such countries. When they decide to lend money to such debtor countries, they do so at much higher interest rates because such countries are considered high risk countries by creditors (Simon Amegashie-Viglo 2009:112).

According to UNCTAD, Africa received some $540 billion in loans between 1970 and 2002. Despite paying back close to $550 billion in principal and interest, it still had a debt stock of $295 billion to pay by the end of 2002. This situation affected the credit rating of most African countries (Simon Amegashie-Viglo 2009:119).

Cuts in critical social intervention expenditure Creditors put pressure on debtor African countries to cut expenditure on critical social intervention and poverty reduction programmes like health, education, agriculture, unemployment benefits and pension payments. Such cuts in government expenditure often resulted in heightened social unrest and political instability like what happened in Nigeria when fuel subsidies were withdrawn (Tim Cocks & Joe Brock 2015).

For example, while more than 80 million Nigerians lived on less than one dollar per day in 2005, the country agreed to pay over $12 billion to the Paris Club of creditors in exchange for partial debt cancellation. In 2003, Zambia spent twice as much on debt repayments as on health care delivery (Simon Amegashie-Viglo 2009:120).

The G-8 and the Paris Club in 2004, failed to recognise the illegitimate nature of African debt. African governments are compelled to accept responsibility for paying billions of dollars of old illegitimate debts contracted under dubious conditions. There is overwhelming evidence that African countries have had to finance their debts through the imposition of austerity policies and measures directed at their social intervention services and subsidies for essential goods (Simon Amegashie-Viglo 2009:113).

Borrowing in order to service debts As pointed out under causes, the incidence of borrowing to service debt is both a cause of debt as well as an effect of the debt crisis in Africa. Debt trap is indeed the vicious circle of taking international or domestic loans to service a county’s debts. For most African countries, the reality of high and rapidly increasing interest rates in the 1970s and 1980s had reached heights that were simply unsustainable for their comparatively weak economies. Debtor countries are also compelled to use disproportionately percentage of their export earning to pay their debts. Foreign aid and new loan from multilateral agencies are deployed to service their indebtedness. For example, Ethiopia had to use 45% of the country’s $783 export earning in 1996, on debt payment (Simon Amegashie-Viglo 2009:111).

Proposed African Solutions to the Debt Problem

1)	A wide range of solutions have been proposed as a remedy to the debt problem of Africa. For example: The African Union (AU) Finance Ministers, under the authority of the African Heads of States and Governments, have suggested a stoppage of debt servicing to concentrate on the payment of principal of the loans, because debt servicing alone takes about 50% of all the foreign exchange earned by indebted African countries.

2)	The AU Finance Ministers also proposed longer periods of moratorium of between five (5) to 10 years instead of the present two (2) to three (3) years.

3)	Some of the debts due for payment should be rescheduled for longer periods.  This will give African countries the chance to pay the debts one after the other instead of spreading the same amount over several debts. This would give African countries some breathing space in the business of paying their ever growing debts.

4)	The African Union Finance Ministers also proposed the total cancellation of the debts owed by African countries or conversion of such loans to grants.

5)	Another proposal is that there should be fair trade practices towards African countries and their Western trade partners. Africa’s trade partners should offer better and higher prices for the primary commodities from Africa.  This would increase the foreign exchange earned by Africans and make them better able to meet their debt payment obligations.  The Finance Ministers also proposed the steps should be taken to reduce the interest rates on loans, as well as increase the flow of resources to African countries (Noah Komla Dzobo & Simon Amegashie-Viglo 2004:117).

International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Proposed Solutions to the African Debt Problem

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have also proposed some solutions to the African debt problem which are stated below:

1)	Reduction in their budget deficits by cutting public expenditure.  This according to the IMF can be done by abolishing all subsidies on food, medicine, education, shelter and petroleum products.

2)	Pursuit realistic foreign exchange rate policies. For instance, African currencies are over-valued and that they should be devalued to make their exports cheaper on the world market so that demand for them will rise. Imports will then reduce because their prices of their commodities will increase and the demands for domestic goods will rise.  This proposal, in the opinion of the IMF will conserve foreign exchange for African countries.

3)	Trade liberalisation as a remedy to debt, so that the burden of producing these goods would shift from government to individuals and private organisations and government expenditure would reduce considerably.

4)	Granting of price incentives to traditional export producers to increase their production to earn more foreign exchange for their countries.

5)	Higher interest rates to squeeze domestic credit facilities to encourage savings for development.

6)	Privatisation of state owned enterprises, corporations, industries and government parastatals.  According to the IMF and the World Bank, government participation in these areas has proved ineffective and costly because of the dependence on government for subvention in order to operate.

The IMF and the World Bank proposal for economic recovery for Africa is referred to as the “Structural Adjustment Programme  (SAP)” whilst the African alternative proposal is called the African Alternative Framework for Economic Recovery and Development (AAFERD) (Noah Komla Dzobo & Simon Amegashie-Viglo 2004:118).

References 1.	Adekeye Adebajo (2011) “The Curse of Berlin: Africa after the Cold War:” in  Africawatch: The Pan African Magazine of Choice.

2.	Alex Danso (1990) “The causes and impact of the African debt crisis”: The Review of Black Political Economy. (June 1990, vol. 19, Issue 1: pp 5-21).

3.	Anatoly Gromyko (1983) Africa: Progress, Problem and Prospects. Progress Publishers. Moscow.

4.	David Enweremadu (2013) Nigeria’s quest to recover looted assets: The Abacha affair; in African Spectrum (48, 2: pp 51-70). ISSN: 1868:6869 (online) 0002-0397 (print).

5.	Joe Brocks & Tim Cocks (2012) “Oil Wealth Slipping Away” Africawatch: The Pan-African Magazine of Choice (April 2012).

6.	Joe Brocks & Tim Cocks (2015) “Where is the $ 20 Billion” Africawatch: The Pan-African Magazine of Choice (Feb 2015).

7.	Kwame Nkrumah (1963) Africa Must Unite. Panaf Books Limited, London.

8.	Kwame Nkrumah (1965) Neo-colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism. Panaf Books Limited London.

9.	Lewis Brooks (2012) “Mining: A Secretive Industry”: Africawatch: Pan-African Magazine of Choice (March 2012).

10.	Martin Meredith (2006) The State of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence. Free Press, Simon & Schuster UK Ltd.

11.	Monica Mark (2012) “Switzerland to return Sani Abacha loot money” Guardian News and Media Limited. Oct).

12.	Mvemba Phezo Dizolele (2012) “Crisis in Congo: Why is the West so willing to look the other way when it comes to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s clearly flawed election results?” Africawatch: Pan-African Magazine of Choice (Jan 2012).

13.	Noah Komla Dzobo & Simon Amegashie-Viglo (2004) The Triple Heritage of Contemporary Africa. Studio Seven Kat Publishers, Accra, Ghana.

14.	Raymond Eyo (2012) “Corruption Incorporated” in Africawatch: The Pan African Magazine of Choice, (June 2012).

15.	Simon Amegashie-Viglo (2009) Political Economy of Colonial and Post-Colonial Africa (New Edition) Juku Publications, Accra.

16.	Tolu Ogunlesi (2013) “Breaking the Foreign Aid Habit’ in Africawatch: The Pan African Magazine of Choice, (June, 2013).

17.	Yuri Popov (1984) Essays in Political Economy of Imperialism and the Developing Countries. Progress Publishers, Moscow.

PROFILE OF THE AUTHOR

Simon Amegashie-Viglo is a Senior Lecturer in African Studies, he was the  first Dean of International Programmes (2010 -2013),   the first  Dean of Faculty of Applied Social Sciences (2014 -2018),  a former Vice Rector  of the Ho Technical University (2001 - 2005) and the Head of the Department of Multidisciplinary Studies (1996 - 2007). He was appointed a Lecturer in April 1996 and he has served the institution with dedication and commitment for  twenty-two and half  years before proceeding on   retirement in August 2018. Simon Amegashie-Viglo had his primary and middle school  education at Obanda, (1965 - 1974),    and proceeded to Nkwanta Secondary School, Nkwanta (1974 - 1979), and Kadjebi Secondary School, Kadjebi (1979 - 1981)  all in the Oti Region of Ghana. He holds BA (Hons) Degree in Political Science  (1982 - 1986), and Master of Philosophy in African Studies (1990 -1993)  both from the University of Ghana, Legon. He also pursued  Executive Masters (EMBA) in Business Administration at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (2007 - 2009) and a  Certificate in Strategic Management (2003) from GIMPA, Accra. Simon Amegashie-Viglo is the author of "Political Economy of Colonial & Post-colonial Africa" (2009)  and co-authored two other books; "Triple Heritage of  Africa" (2004)  with Prof Noah Komla Dzobo and "Double Heritage of Africa" (2018), with Dr Rowland Baba Lambon. Simon Amegashie-Viglo has also published 27   articles in international and local  academic journals. Simon Amegashie-Viglo (talk) 12:01, 30 April 2024 (UTC)

A proposal submitted to the Speaker of Ghana's Parliament for amendments to the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
PROPOSALS FOR AMENDMENT OF THE 1992  CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA - AN  OPEN LETTER TO THE SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT

By Simon Amegashie-Viglo (CEO, Integrity Star Consult)

Dear Rt Hon Speaker of the Parliament  of the Republic of Ghana. I extend to you and all our honourable MPs,  greetings of goodwill and peace, for the work you are doing in Parliament on behalf of Ghanaians. May God continue to guide and protect you in your work. I am becoming increasingly worried about some provisions in the 1992 Constitution. I have therefore decided to draw the attention of Parliament to those provisions and the compelling need for their  amendment.

The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana has been in use for about 30 years now (1992 - 2022). The First Republic Constitution started in 1960 under the first President Dr Kwame Nkrumah and was abolished on 24th February 1966 in a military coup d'etat led by Lt General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka and Brigadier Akwesi Amankwah Afrifa. The National Liberation  Council (NLC)  military  regime which was  established as a replacement  for the CPP regime, accused  the CPP regime of dictatorship,  tyranny,  bribery and corruption, nepotism,  mismanagement of the  economy,  waste of the  resources of Ghana on African Unity agenda, establishment  of Special  Presdential Guard,  neglect of the regular  army and the turning of Ghana into a single party state in 1964. The Second Republic Constitution started on 1st October 1969 under Prime Minister  Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia but it  was also abolished on 13th January 1972, in a military coup d'etat led by Colonel Ignatus Kutu Acheampong. The National Redemption Council (NRC) regime under Colonel Ignatus Kutu Acheampong, accused the Progress Party (PP)  regime  under Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia of devaluation of the cedi, the Aliens  Compliance Order, dismissal of the Chief Justice  over the Sallah versus Attorney General case, bribery and corruption,  nepotism and mismanagement  of the economy. Third Republic Constitution started in September 1979 under President Dr Hilla Limann,  but it was one more time,  abolished in a military coup d'etat led by Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings on 31st December 1981. The People’s National Party (PNP) regime was accused of incompetence in managing the economy, power struggle, persecution of members of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), bribery and corruption.

Three constitutional experiments were truncated because of perception and reality of corruption, mismanagement of the economy, financial recklessness, abuse of power and human  rights, political incompetence  and insensitivity to the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian by officials of state.

The Fouth Republic of Ghana was established by  the 1992 Constitution, with the late Flt Jerry John Rawlings as first President (1993 - 2000) and it remains the longest  constitutional dispensation Ghana has ever had. It produced the following other Presidents: John Agyekum Kufuor (2001 - 2008), John Evans Atta Mills (2009 - 2012), John Dramani Mahama  (2012 - 2016) and Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo (2017 - 2024). We can celebrate this enviable political achievement as a country with a collective pride and messianic optimism for the future.

Rt Hon Speaker, despite this messianic optimism for expanding the frontiers of our democratic experiment in collaborative participation in decision making processes, there are compelling  reasons  for the  1992 Constitution to be  re-engineered to reflect the true wishes and aspirations of our people. Some of the provisions of the 1992 Constitution have become a  huge burden to our democratic dispensation. A few of such provisions, which I believe need amendment are listed below for your kind attention and consideration of Parliament. Kindly pardon me if the legal thinking does not add up, because I am presenting this position paper as a layman, not as a legal luminary.

1. Article 71. The existence of the provisions  of Article 71 in our Constitution in the 21st Century, is an act of discrimination against  Ghanaians, except the   beneficiaries of that Article. It is ironical and paradoxical that the framers of the 1992 Constitution crafted such a juicy and discriminatory Article. Most Article 71 office holders in Ghana, virtually earn in one month, what other professionals like medical doctors,  engineers,  lawyers,  accountants, lecturers, headmasters etc do not earn in six months. Article 71 officials pay no electricity bills, they  pay no water bills, they enjoy  free health care, free accommodation, free transportation, they enjoy numerous and fat allowances from sweat of the ordinary  tax payer and go home after every four years with what other professionals  do not get  in 30 years of service to the nation. This is absolutely incredible and unacceptable. Article 71 is a veritable  personification of  what happens in "Animal Farm", where the animals began their revolutionary  transformation with a constitutional provision of  "Four legs good, two legs bad", only for  the pigs to later amend  it to "Four legs good, two legs better", because the pigs had cultivated a domineering  appetite  for using two legs like the human beings the animals had overthrown. Article 71 should be amended because it typifies animal farm with its  discriminatory provisions.

2. Need for a ceiling on the appointment of Supreme Court judges. There is currently no ceiling on the number of justices the President can appoint to the Supreme Court. This lack of ceiling constitutes a threat to the administration of justice in the country. There is empirical evidence of the manipulation of this void  by former President John Agyekum Kufuor in the case of causing  financial loss against Tsatsu Tsikata. Former President John  Agyekum  Kufuor, after  losing the case against  Tsatsu Tsikata,  appointed an additional  judge  to the Supreme  Court in 2008 and called for the reopening of the case. Tsatsu Tsikata eventually  lost that case because  of the vote of the additional judge appointed by former President John Agyekum Kufuor. This is a clear case of manipulation of the judiciary for personal  interest. For want of a ceiling on the number of justices  to be appointed to the Supreme Court, President Nana Addo, appointed 11 additional justices to the Supreme Court between 2018 and 2020. If there were a constitutional ceiling on the number of justices to be appointed,  such an act could never have taken  place. There is therefore the need for a constitutional ceiling on the number of justices to be appointed to the Supreme Court at any given  time,  to prevent such  manipulative  and discretionary  appointments. In Australia, the Supreme Court has only seven justices whilst the United States of America has only nine justices in their Supreme Court.

3. Rt Hon Speaker, I think the MPs Common Fund should be abolished. The Assemblies under our decentralisation policy have responsibility for development in their respective jurisdictions. The MPs are members of their various Assemblies and they take part in the formulation and implementation of Assembly development projects. It is therefore unnecessary to  allocate separate funds to individual MPs  from what comes to the Assemblies. I understand the MPs take 10% of the Common Fund. I believe this practice  puts too much pressure on our MPs,  because  their constituents  think because  of the  Common Fund, their  MPs should take responsibility  for virtually everything  that takes place in their Constituencies. Most MPs use their share of the Common Fund to pay school fees for needy students, execute  community projects, and other forms of social interventions. These things can be done by the Assemblies, with inputs from the MPs. Such an amendment will reduce pressure on our MPs and allow them concentrate on their  work  as legislators. Rt Hon Speaker, I hope I will not be summoned to the Privileges Committee of Parliament after the publication of this open letter to you by our MPs who might be offended by my proposal. I mean no harm. I am sincere about it.

4. There used to be ex-gratia for workers in Ghana. The practice of paying ex-gratia to workers  from public funds was abolished under the PNDC by the late former President Flt Lt  Jerry John Rawlings. Unfortunately, the very group that  abolished the payment of ex-gratia to  public workers,  reintroduced it for a special category of political office holders in    Article 71. This is the paradox and irony of abolition and nichodemus  resurrection of ex-gratia in Ghana. This is cruel and unjustifiable because it has the potential of fueling popular unrest  and agitation     against the Constitution as happened in Guinea in September 2021.

It took the moral courage and authority of one man (Togbe Afede XIV) who rejected his ex-gratia, for Ghanaians to realise the degree of looting of the  state coffers we had institutionalised in our Fourth Republic Constitution as ex-gratia.

5. The 1992 Constitution makes provision for the appointment of 50% of ministers of state from Parliament. After nearly three decades of practice, it has become pretty clear that this provision is dysfunctional and problematic. MPs who are ministers hardly have time to perform their functions as Ministers of state and as MPs simultaneously. They perform one at the expense of the other. The practice of appointing ministers from parliament should be abolished to ensure effective separation of powers and checks and balances in the work of the three organs of government.

6. Referendum on the creation of new regions. Referendum on the creation of new regions should not be limited to only the traditional areas that made the request for the creation of a new region. Such a referendum should involve the entire population of the region to be divided or altered.

Signed Simon Amegashie-Viglo (CEO, Integrity Star Consult) 1st July 2022

The Speaker of Parliament Parliament House Accra

cc.

1. The President of Ghana, Jubilee House, Accra.

2. The Vice President of Ghana.

3. The Chairman, Council of State,  Accra.

4. The Chief Justice of Ghana, Accra.

All Media Houses.

PROFILE OF THE AUTHOR

Simon Amegashie-Viglo is a Senior Lecturer in African Studies, he was the  first Dean of International Programmes (2010 -2013),   the first  Dean of Faculty of Applied Social Sciences (2014 -2018),  a former Vice Rector  of the Ho Technical University (2001 - 2005) and the Head of the Department of Multidisciplinary Studies (1996 - 2007). He was appointed a Lecturer in April 1996 and he has served the institution with dedication and commitment for  twenty-two and half  years before proceeding on   retirement in August 2018. Simon Amegashie-Viglo had his primary and middle school  education at Obanda, (1965 - 1974),    and proceeded to Nkwanta Secondary School, Nkwanta (1974 - 1979), and Kadjebi Secondary School, Kadjebi (1979 - 1981)  all in the Oti Region of Ghana. He holds BA (Hons) Degree in Political Science  (1982 - 1986), and Master of Philosophy in African Studies (1990 -1993)  both from the University of Ghana, Legon. He also pursued  Executive Masters (EMBA) in Business Administration at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (2007 - 2009) and a  Certificate in Strategic Management (2003) from GIMPA, Accra. Simon Amegashie-Viglo is the author of "Political Economy of Colonial & Post-colonial Africa" (2009)  and co-authored two other books; "Triple Heritage of  Africa" (2004)  with Prof Noah Komla Dzobo and "Double Heritage of Africa" (2018), with Dr Rowland Baba Lambon. Simon Amegashie-Viglo has also published 27   articles in international and local  academic journals. Simon Amegashie-Viglo (talk) 12:11, 30 April 2024 (UTC)