Fire hydrants are needed nationwide by the Ghanaian government

A fire hydrant


How easy is it to fight fire in Ghana? Most likely, there aren't enough fire hydrants in any of the towns or cities in Ghana. Like many African countries, Ghana faces the challenges of fighting fire and saving properties whenever there are outbreaks of fire.

People throughout their lives try to amass as much property as possible but usually forget that one day, within a few minutes, they could lose everything that they have struggled for through a fire disaster.  

During a fire, it spreads so fast that sometimes you do not have time to look back, as several buildings are engulfed in flames. For many centuries, humanity has been confronted with this problem, resulting in entire cities and villages being burnt out.


When extinguishing a fire, water is the main means of fighting the fire. Therefore, to make it easy to prevent the destruction of properties or the loss of lives, almost all public buildings, offices, and strategic points in the cities are provided with an external fire water supply (fire hydrant).

For example,  cities throughout Europe and the United States of America are provided with a network of fire hydrants used by fire brigades as a water source. The fire water supply system is designed to ensure the supply of the required volumes of water at the required pressure for a standard time to extinguish the fire.

There are two types of fire hydrants: ground and underground. Ground hydrants are installed on the surface of the earth, and underground hydrants are located in a closed hatch. The surface fire hydrants are located mainly along the roads at a distance of no more than two and a half meters from the edge of the carriageway. 

Upon arrival at the site of the fire, the fire brigade quickly connects the water hose on the vehicle to the stationary fire hydrant and starts extinguishing the fire. Depending on how fast the fire is spreading, two or three fire tankers can work on a fire. 



It will be recalled that in the middle of heavy floods, an explosion at a petrol station in Accra killed at least 150 people. Per the rules of fire, developing countries need fire hydrants, which the fire brigade can depend on whenever a fire occurs, because the absence or lack of water during a fire can turn into a tragedy. 



Why do Ghanaians always have to beg the government to be serious about certain life-saving projects when, after all, the result of the operational work of the fire departments is not only saving properties but also saving lives?

How Lumumba's Widow Protested Bare- Chested Against The Assassination Of Her Husband

Pauline, the wife of Lumumba, was walking through the streets with her bare chest, protesting against the brutal assassination of her husband.

If I interpret rightly, the colonial era was one of the most brutal historical times for Western European countries to unleash all kinds of cruelties and oppression on African countries just to sustain the European economy. Thus,. Many European countries, including Belgium, adopted a brutal reign in Congo, a country they took over as their personal property.

Congo, the Belgian colony, was under colonial rule from 1908 until independence on June 30, 1960. Fifty-two years of colonization weren't enough for the parasitic country in which the economy was run by the rich resources of Congo, thus, didn't take the independence likely. 

That's when the plot to assassinate the newly sworn Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba, began. The plan of reprisals against the disgraced politician was prepared at the highest levels of power; even the Belgian king, Baudouin I, knew about the preparation of the murder.

  

Earlier, in the course of previous investigations, it was found that the CIA was also engaged in preparing for the elimination of Lumumba, and US President Dwight Eisenhower allegedly gave the order to poison the ousted prime minister. 

 

After the assassination of Lumumba on January 17, 1961, together with the bodies of Okito and the Minister of Youth and Sports Maurice Mpolo, nobody had the idea that their bodies would be taken out of their new graves in Kasenga. A definitive solution was planned over the next two days.

 

Early in the afternoon of January 21, two Europeans in uniform and a few black assistants left for Kasenga in a lorry belonging to the public works department, containing road signs, geometrical instruments, two demijohns filled with sulphuric acid, an empty 200-liter petrol barrel, and a hacksaw.

 

According to Brassinne, all the equipment was provided by the public works department, and Verscheure and Belina also confirmed that the sulphuric acid came from the Union Miniere.

 

On their arrival, they unloaded the road signs and theodolite to make passers-by think that they were doing a land survey. But they couldn't find the grave and had to stop searching at nightfall.

 

Not until the evening of the next day did they find the grave and start their lugubrious task. The corpses were dug up, cut into pieces with knives and the hacksaw, then thrown into the barrel of sulphuric acid.

 

A group photo of the Lumumba family

The operation took hours and ended the next morning, on January 23. At first, the two Belgians dismembering the bodies wore masks over their mouths, but took them off when they became uncomfortable.

 

Their only protection against the stench was whiskey, so according to Brassinne, they got drunk. One of the black assistants spilled the acid on his foot and burned him badly.

 

After this gruesome task, they discovered that they didn't have enough acid and only the bodies weren't completely consumed. According to Verscheure, the skulls were ground up, and the bones and teeth (the body parts neither acid nor fire could destroy) were scattered on the way back.

 

The same occurred with the ashes. Nothing was left of the three nationalist leaders. From 1961 till now, their remains, even the most minute traces of them were found. In Congo, the widow of Lumumba protested against the brutal murder of her husband and walked bare-chested through the streets.

 

Part of Lumumba’s body was kept as a souvenir.

However, from an article published by the Daily Maverick, it is revealed that the Belgian magazine Humo published an interview with Godelieve Soete, one of the daughters of Gerard Soete, who died in 2000, who had claimed that he had disposed of his macabre “trophies” (the body parts of Patrice Lumumba) in the sea.

 

However, during the interview, his daughter presented the magazine's photographer and reporters with a small box that contained a gold-wrapped molar that had been ripped from Lumumba's jaw before his body was disposed of.

 

While the tooth was being photographed for the first time, the journalists, Jan Antonissen en Hanne Van Tendeloo, asked Soete's daughter whether seeing it affected her in any way.

 

“Mais non, ‘Ce n’était quand même pas un homme sérieux’, ” she replied. (Loosely translated: “But no, he was a man of no importance”). 

Just imagine how some people can be so cruel that they pass on their DNA to sons and daughters. An innocent man killed by Belgium because he fought for independence for his country was a man of no importance?

Her disturbing lack of empathy and understanding, and the insistence that her father and her family were actually the victims, speaks volumes about the perverse mindset of those who have never had to face or account for their role in a brutal history.

 

Shockingly, the sick woman retorted, “My father never received any recognition or thanks for the work he did,” Godelieve told Humo news magazine.

 

When the journalists ask who it was she expected would afford her father this “recognition”, Godelieve replies that after the 2001 parliamentary commission, Belgium's then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Louis Michel, had apologized to Lumumba's family on behalf of the country.

“Why did the family of Lumumba receive an apology, but we did not? They lost their brother and father, but we also lost someone, my father. Why doesn't Belgium apologize for the inhuman instruction they gave him?”

 

Arrested Patrice Lumumba and his colleagues for advocating for independence for his country

She said after De Witte exposed the assassination in 1999, she wondered why her father had “reopened the wounds.”

 

It’s hard to understand why the continent called Africa will have to pass through such horrible experiences, all because of the wealth the continent has. 

If Europe and America want to steal from Africa, they can do so, but they mustn’t kill the leaders and Africans. From slavery to colonial brutality, Apartheid, medical crimes, Aids, and Ebola. What comes next?

 

Further investigations after Lumumba's murder revealed that Brussels strongly contributed to the pro-Western forces in the African country who had attacked Lumumba and even allocated 250 million Belgian francs (about six million euros) to have Lumumba killed.

There are certain atrocities and crimes that no amount of apology or compensation can heal the wounds of the victims or their families. Africa has suffered a great deal in the past, yet it's not over because of the continent's rich resources.

Patrice Lumumba was more than a hero; naming a square after him in Brussels doesn't mean anything significant than putting Belgium before the International Criminal Court in The Hague, to face the law for the horrible crimes the Belgian government and the royal family committed in Congo.

AFRICAN COUNTRIES CONFIRMED OF COVID - 19, THE CORONAVIRUS

The Ghanaian leader, Akufo-Addo, has taken strict measures in the country to avoid the spread of the coronavirus.

More than 937,000 infections are confirmed in at least 180 countries and territories, including at least 47,000 deaths. However, in Africa, over 146 infections of the coronavirus have now been confirmed, which is very low compared to other continents. 

However, experts warn that an outbreak there could cause a medical disaster due to inadequate healthcare facilities and a fragile health system in Africa. 

In Africa, the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has hit, especially, the more touristic countries and countries that are further north or south of the equator. 

Egypt tops the list with 776 cases, with 52 deaths, while Algeria follows with 847 cases, with 58 deaths, and South Africa, 1,380 cases with 5 deaths.

Many patients are travelers arriving or returning from Europe, the US, the Middle East, or Asia. A first case surfaced in Kenya yesterday, a Kenyan who had been to the United States. 

According to Professor Marleen Temmerman, who works at the Nairobi University Hospital in Kenya, it is striking that the virus has not yet spread around Africa. 

"That could be a matter of time," she says, but virologists also point to climatic conditions. The flu virus may not thrive in tropical countries."

Most African countries now have a health plan in place. Some countries have stepped up border controls. For example, in Mali, people coming from risk areas must be kept in isolation for 14 days. Everyone who arrives in the capital, Bamako, is checked for fever. 

Thousands of passengers from China have already been screened in Ethiopia. Addis Abeba is an important hub for international air traffic. 

This morning, Morocco has banned all incoming flights from, among others, Belgium. Sudan has stopped bus traffic with neighboring Egypt after the first death. 

In Rwanda, residents have been banned from shaking hands for a week. In that central African country, however, this is an important ritual, and people often walk hand in hand on the street. 

That is currently not possible, says the government. 

In the Rwandan capital Kigali, there are washbasins with soap at bus stops, restaurants, banks, and shops. The Rwandan newspaper New Times made an informative video about it. (see below and continue reading under video) 

Somalia - 5 cases, Botswana - 4 cases, Gambia - 4 cases, 1 death, Central African Republic - 3 cases

Burundi - 2 cases, Sierra Leone - 1 case, Zimbabwe - 8 cases, 1 death, Angola - 7 cases, 2 deaths

Chad - 7 cases, Sudan - 7 cases, 2 deaths, Cape Verde - 6 cases, 1 death, Liberia - 6 cases

Mauritania - 6 cases, 1 death, Mali - 31 cases, 3 deaths, Guinea - 30 cases, Ethiopia - 29 cases

Tanzania - 20 cases, 1 death, Republic of the Congo - 19 cases, Gabon - 18 cases, 1 death

Equatorial Guinea - 15 cases, Eritrea - 15 cases, Namibia - 14 cases, Libya - 10 cases

Mozambique - 10 cases, Seychelles - 10 cases, Syria - 10 cases, 2 deaths, Benin - 9 cases

Eswatini - 9 cases, Guinea-Bissau - 8 cases, The Democratic Republic of the Congo - 109 cases, 9 deaths

Rwanda - 82 cases,  Kenya - 81 cases, 1 death,  Madagascar - 57 cases,  Uganda - 44 cases

Togo - 36 cases, 2 deaths, Zambia - 36 cases, Niger - 34 cases, 3 deaths, Djibouti - 33 cases

Burkina Faso - 282 cases, 16 deaths, Cameroon - 233 cases, 6 deaths, Ghana - 195 cases, 5 deaths

Senegal - 190 cases, 1 death, Malta - 188 cases, Ivory Coast - 179 cases, 1 death

Nigeria - 174 cases, 2 deaths, Egypt - 779 cases, 52 deaths, Algeria - 847 cases, 58 deaths

South Africa - 1,380 cases, 5 deaths

At the end of December 2019, Chinese authorities reported an outbreak of pneumonia of unknown origin in Wuhan, Hubei Province. Experts previously established that the causative agent of the disease was a new type of coronavirus, 2019-nCoV. 

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization announced the pandemic of the coronavirus COVID-19, which by this time had affected 118 thousand people in 114 countries.

LIFE IN EUROPE IS NOT LIVING IN PARADISE

Family Savage: At home with my wife and little Joel Savage, the last of my three sons

There are many people in Ghana, like most African countries, who know that Europe is a paradise, which is the reason many Ghanaians prefer to leave the shores of Ghana in search of greener pastures. 

Not at all; Europe is not a paradise, but politicians who care about the citizens have created a system that a common citizen will equally enjoy, like a high-level professional or individual.

There is corruption in Europe, too, but wise politicians know what the people want, and without asking, they provide all the necessary amenities. 

Since they think about tomorrow, quality projects are built to last for years; thus, the money that goes into the pockets is often not detected. Unlike in Africa, shoddy works are done, and the greater part of the money goes into their pockets.

You don’t need to be rich before buying a house to pay your mortgage or buy the car of your dreams. If you earn 1600 euros, you can go for a brand-new car and pay about 300 euros monthly. 

A bank can pay for your house at a cost of about 80,000 euros, while you pay monthly for the years stipulated in the contract to finish the payment. This can be between 20 and 30 years.

After about ten years, you can sell the house and make a profit, and the bank will give you the difference, probably between 15,000 and 30,000 euros. 

This is how life goes on in Europe, and since there aren’t such opportunities, or if they exist, only rich people in Africa could enjoy them, poor people or refugees leave Africa in large numbers to Europe to seek a better life.

No matter how good life is, there is no Ghanaian who likes to live in Europe forever. There is a joke that African women don’t like to marry a Fantse because when they travel, they don’t like to go back to Ghana. 

I am a pure Fantse, born in Cape Coast, but it’s not my wish to die in Europe. Since 1986, I have made many attempts to settle at home, but the unfriendly atmosphere in Ghana has driven me back to Europe.

My last attempt was when I bought a plot and invested 10,000 Euros in a small project. I lost both the land and the money because the chief was a fraudulent person preying on Africans in the Diaspora. 

The same plot is sold to multiple people. This is the reason I have never trusted the Ghana judiciary system and will never trust it until I go down into my grave.

If the judiciary system in Ghana is powerful and efficient, something like that will never take place in Ghana. The chiefs behind such frauds in Ghana know how corrupt the judiciary system is; therefore, they don’t care. 

Surprisingly, the Ghanaian government is happy about that without doing anything significant about it because birds of the same feather flock together.

Despite how flexible Europe’s economy is, with food as the cheapest commodity, life in Europe has been very tough for both citizens and foreigners. 

There are many Ghanaians in Europe who can’t handle things, either driving them to commit suicide or developing mental problems. Sometimes, it’s even better to be in Africa than in Europe because there is no loneliness in Africa, but there is in Europe.

You share a common door with your neighbor, yet for about three to four months, you have never seen his or her face. That sounds strange, but it’s a normal thing in Europe. 

The Ghanaian government mustn’t consider its posts as an opportunity to amass wealth and ignore the needs of Ghanaians and those in the Diaspora.

I am really tired of Europe and want to come home to settle in Ghana, but I will only do so if I hear one day that a chief or Nyantakyi-type of criminal has been sent to jail for either fraud or corruption, or the Ghana police have arrested the assailants of journalist Hussein-Suale.

That will convince me that Ghana is now a serious country with an improved judiciary system and an efficient police service.

Holland Prime Minister, Mark Rutte Shuns VIP Protocol To Use Bicycle To Work

The Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte

Cycling is the fastest mode of travel in town. On proximity journeys, the bicycle is, therefore, as fast as a car in an urban environment and even more efficient door to door, and the bike goes everywhere, which reveals all its virtues.

Even though in many African countries, including Ghana, governments are concerned about heavy traffic in the cities, when constructing roads, bicycle routes are never taken into consideration. 

Unlike Europe, cycling is a great way to get to work or a mode of transport that facilitates social ties and reduces traffic congestion.

Among Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Finland, and Germany, the Netherlands may probably be the country that uses bicycles the most in the world. Even in the heart of Amsterdam is the Bicycle Hotel, where parking spaces are reserved for cyclists who lodge at the hotel.

Traveling by bike is great when the weather is nice, but as soon as it rains, it quickly becomes a hassle, despite that thousands of people, including famous politicians, use bicycles to work each morning. One of them is the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte.

 “I didn't cycle a lot for 10 years. But for the past two years, I’ve had my own bike again and, when the weather allows, I travel into the office that way,” he told the World Economic Forum.

Utrecht, a city in Holland, seems to understand how to mix necessity with headlines, something that Amsterdam is still figuring out. The world's largest bike parking facility, with space for 12,500 bikes, is brilliantly under construction.  

The Netherlands is known as the favourite spot for cyclists, as the city has more than 500 km of bicycle lanes, and 50% of the total commuting is done on bicycles.

To decrease air pollution responsible for climate change, heavy traffic in the cities, towns, and other high-density areas, European countries have made the construction of bicycle routes throughout the cities a priority.

Holland citizens going to work on bicycles is something common.

It has long been such a phenomenon; “The Dutch love cycling because we are a small country. We have to get from A to B, and of course, taking a car, yes, is an option, but you have congestion plus the environmental impact."

"From the old days, almost from the late 19th century, we're used to taking a bicycle, ” the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte explains.

HOMOSEXUALITY: WHY AFRICA CAN NOT ACCEPT

The cultural values in Africa can't accept homosexuality.



Homosexuality is seen as an abominable act in Africa. However, this social vice, which is less popular on the continent, is now becoming famous in many African countries, turning the countries into an unnerving place to live in, because church leaders and many organizations against this practice wouldn't like to embrace this type of culture to add to their own culture.

At times, I do ask myself time and time again, do Europeans think Africa will accept whatever they are interested in? Africa had nothing to do with Christianity before the white missionaries ever went there. 

They thought Africans to follow the Bible teachings. Well, later the truth was discovered. The reason was not to let Africans know about Christ but to loot.

Fortunately, many parts of Africa derived interest in the Bible and studied it thoroughly, therefore living by its teachings. An African Christian explaining his point to defend his hate against homosexuality would take one deep step into the Bible to give you a reference.  

Two of such scriptures confirming that homosexuality is an evil act can be read in 1st Timothy, chapter 10, and 1st Corinthians, chapter 6, verse 9. 

The question is, "Why are Europeans and other Gay Rights Organizations now fighting for the practice of homosexuality to be recognized in Africa when they have already been there with the Holy Bible, a book telling Christians how evil the practice of homosexuality is?" 

The teachings of the Holy Bible can't be reversed, so I am afraid to say that Africa can never change its mind or opinion on the negative aspects of homosexuality.

Africa is already overwhelmed by many diseases, such as AIDS, Ebola, and malaria; therefore, it makes sense that they don't want that practice. Europeans, Americans, and some organizations are the first people whose voices are heard whenever there is a bad situation in Africa. But whenever there is an epidemic, the response to contain the situation never comes or comes very slowly.

Africa has learned a lot from their misfortunes, which is the reason it is fighting against homosexuality today. Unfortunately, the path Uganda has taken to deal with this issue is totally out of course, and the death penalty for homosexuals is sheer madness. Violence against homosexuals is not an option or a solution.

ROBERT MUGABE, THE BLACK ADOLF HITLER?

Robert Mugabe's fist and mustache are identical to Hitler's



Although Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe is a Blackman, he and the late Adolf Hitler of Germany have something in common. The small vertical patch of mustache right under the nose and the thirst for power. 


The power of greed and selfishness that almost destroyed the world and mankind. But with Mugabe, the impact is affecting the Zimbabweans and neighboring South Africa, Zambia, and Mozambique.

Previously known as Rhodesia, after gaining independence in 1980, the country became Zimbabwe under the new leader, Robert Mugabe. 

Then a country once with vast mineral resources and a successful economy gradually started declining to be one of the poorest economies and chaotic political conditions in the world.

From the history of Zimbabwe's politics, Robert Mugabe has been a man who has ruled and is ruling with an iron fist as a dictator. He regards any opposition as a threat and an enemy. 

His adamant heart wouldn't allow him to take any advice on how to save the country. He couldn't stand Joshua Nkomo, until finally sending him to his early grave.

No one actually knows the plan of Mugabe for hanging on to power since 1980. His rule has caused so much unrest among the Zimbabweans, using food as a political weapon against those who do not support his party. 

The country is afflicted by 70 percent unemployment and hard-biting inflation. Every advice from world leaders has fallen on deaf ears. Mugabe's wicked and greedy actions are destroying the country and causing violent clashes between clans.

Who can save Zimbabwe when such a man is in power? Already, the healthcare system has collapsed with the economy. 

The United Nations effectively became responsible for providing the necessary aid to save the emerging health crisis. It is like most of the African leaders are not capable of talking to Mugabe, instead of supporting his criminal regime.

What I have observed so far as an African is, it is nice for any African country to have a leader or head of state to represent his or her country, but the duties of a head of state, that they don't know. Corruption inspires many of them to be in politics, but not to help the poor people. 

Most African leaders are lazy, always expecting miracles from heaven or from the West or America. Instead of wasting taxpayers' money and state funds on attending poverty alleviation conferences, they must stay at home to use the money to alleviate their own poverty.

Libya is an African country, but Gaddafi's successful rule of the country has yielded the best results for the people. They are rich, and the economy is even better than so many European countries. The Libyans have confidence in him. 

The same way that should be in Zimbabwe and other African countries. One day, Mugabe should sit down alone and ask himself these questions: where are Idi Amin, Bokassa, Mobutu, etc? Then, to listen to the voice of the suffering masses of Zimbabweans to step down.