2010-03-03
For many people Ghana is known as Kofi Annan's home country - and as one of the world's largest exporters of both gold and cocoa. Individuals who are interested in sports are also aware of the soccer star Essien who plays for British Chelsea.
As expected, there are more characteristics in the country where 24 million people live! The GDP growth has been between 4.7% and 7.3% during most of the 2000s and FDI tripled between 2004 and 2007.
The optimism has increased considerably as a result of the oil discovery off the coast of Ghana in 2007, but perhaps even more since Obama visited the country in 2009. The significance of the visit for the inhabitants of Ghana cannot be emphasized enough. Even 6 months later, many posters welcoming Obama are still up, both in the capital Accra and in the slave trading fort in the Cape Coast.
The fact that role models are important for Ghanaians is obvious, especially when visiting bookstores in the capital. Apart from a few narrow shelves with literature and a lot of fiction books, most of the shelves are filled with so-called "Motivational" books. The demand for books that will inspire and motivate the personal insight, social improvement and deeds seem to be endless. And of course there are some who suggest that the positive spirit is justifiable.
One of the country´s - and the continent´s - booming industries is, as many know, Telecom. There are already more mobile subscribers in Africa than in the U.S. and the market is still growing strongly. This fact is evident not only in Accra, but also in villages where no toilets or tap water exist.
As with other properties, mobile phones could be shared among family members if it turns out to be too expensive with one mobile phone for each member of the family. Pay as you go-cards have led to that virtually everyone can afford to use the cellular network. There are perhaps many who cannot afford to "make mischief calls" just for fun, but you may get far with very little money.
For example, it is very common to hang up before the other person answers the phone call, which means that the other party has to call back and pay for the phone call. Sometimes people also agree on what the signal ( "flash", as it is called) will mean for specific situations, for example that you will "flash" your friend when you have arrived at an agreed meeting point. In this way, a lot is communicated with small means.
Those who are better off instead often use multiple phones and SIM cards, and use various offerings by different operators. Mobile phones are used far more than computers, and services related to mobile technology are growing tremendously.
Personally, in the beginning of my first stay in Accra I found out how uninteresting my mobile phone was from a stealing perspective. I had just got lost in a taxi after a late work night, and since neither I nor my taxi driver knew where my hotel was,
I started to become somewhat uncomfortable with the situation. Since I had the number to the hotel, I could talk to the staff who tried to give me directions. When this failed (landmarks in Ghana is seldom obvious to others than the locals) the taxi driver asked to speak with the receptionist. Already here, I was a bit worried about my phone, but realized I did not have many options.
The culmination was reached when the taxi driver failed to understand the direction as well, and without reflection, I handed my mobile phone to a random person for help.
The teenager realized directly where we should go after having exchanged a few words with the hotel staff, and pointed us in the right direction. Relieved and ashamed of my suspicions, I thanked him while I noticed that he held his own (newer!) mobile phone in his other hand.
Since then, I always ask both people on the streets and taxi drivers to talk to the person whose office or home I am trying to find. Not only has it shortened my travels - it has made them much nicer too!