An assessment of the gold-for-oil program: a position paper

Playwright Latif Abubakar is set to bring President John Dramani Mahama's United Nations Reckoning to stage for his 21st Production.

“Your CV tells people where you have worked. Your reputation tells people who you are," with that distinction, Dr. Philip Oti-Mensah, Chief Executive Officer of Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), challenged graduates of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) to look beyond certificates and job titles and focus on the kind of people they become.

“He who teaches, learns.” – African proverb

In Ghana, organisations are always looking for good leaders. But playful people may not always be their first choice. Just look at job advertisements. Among the qualities employers seek in leaders, playfulness is rarely mentioned.

Walk through Makola, Circle, Kejetia or the shops lining Spintex on any weekday and you will pass hundreds of businesses that are, by any reasonable definition, good businesses.

Leadership begins the moment someone chooses to follow you. Not the moment you receive the title. Not the day you move into the ‘corner office’.

For many years, we have told young people leaving university to “follow their passion”.

Imagine two government hospitals in the same city. They are funded by the same ministry, operate under the same national health policy, draw staff from the same public-service system and serve populations with broadly similar needs.