The Bauxite, the Brother, and the Seven-Day Miracle
By A Concerned Ghanaian · 23 April 2026 · Politics
I hope this letter finds you resting well, though I suspect the news from the "Black Star" might be causing you to turn a bit in your sleep. I come to you today with a tale of bauxite, brothers, and the kind of "speed-running" that would make an Olympic sprinter blush.
We are currently witnessing a masterclass in ministerial gymnastics regarding the Damang bauxite deposits. It appears our government has discovered a new talent for time travel. They managed to complete a tender process in a mere seven days, citing a "tight deadline." Remarkably, they forgot to start this process three months earlier when the deadline first appeared on the horizon. It’s a classic case of state-sponsored procrastination followed by a miracle of efficiency.
It brings to mind those colorful days of your successor, President Kufuor, when his son acquired a hotel from a Lebanese businessman. The "Hotel Waa Waa" saga, as we fondly remember it, set the gold standard for optics-related headaches. Back then, the nation was in an uproar over the "waaa waa" nature of the deal. Fast forward to today, and the "waaa waa" has been replaced by the roar of private jets.
The optics are, shall we say, a bit "cloudy." We have a President who has been seen cruising the globe in his brother’s private jet, only for that same brother , the illustrious Ibrahim Mahama of Engineers and Planners , to be awarded the contract to mine the nation’s bauxite just months later. It seems "capacity" is the word of the day.
Those who once shouted themselves hoarse criticizing Nana Addo’s "family and friends" government are now singing hymns about Ibrahim Mahama’s unmatched capacity. Apparently, Engineers and Planners are the only company since the invention of sliced bread capable of moving earth. Meanwhile, the former defenders of "family and friends" have suddenly found their voices to cry "conflict of interest!" It’s a complete swap of the political script; the actors have changed costumes, but the play remains the same.
And then, there is the matter of the digital future. While some are wondering where their next meal is coming from, the government is busy dreaming of "one million coders." They plan to invest millions into AI, a technology that, quite frankly, is already sitting in the palms of our hands via the smartphones we use to check the price of kenkey.
To spend millions on "finding" AI when it’s already downloaded on every street corner feels like searching for your glasses while they’re sitting on your nose. One can’t help but wonder if those millions wouldn't be better spent on factories to give the young people actual jobs, rather than teaching them to code for a market that is already being automated by the very AI the government is "investing" in.It seems, Osagyefo, that in our rush to be "smart," we have forgotten how to be sensible.Hope is still not a strategy, but at this rate, it might be the only thing we have left.
In a move that truly defies the laws of political physics, the AG has joined hands with the plaintiff to scrap the Office of the Special Prosecutor. It is a spectacle of the highest order, the state’s chief lawyer assisting in the dismantling of the very anti-corruption house he was supposed to help build. It’s like the shepherd leading the wolves to the fold because the fence was "excessively entangling."
So long,
Ato_KD