Derick Omari

See a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings... Proverbs 22:9 The word of God is so true. Meeting Her Majesty the Queen is definitely the best experience I have had so far in my life. So grateful to everyone and to the team at @TechEra_Gh

@nanafosua_ @YawAntwiOwusu 😅🎉

@YawAntwiOwusu @DerickOmari over here🥳🥳🥳🥳

Ghanaian startups with solo founders 1. VDL Fulfilment - Vanessa Leonie-Mensah 2. Nylabank - Mubarak Sumaila 3. Sesi Technologies - Isaac Sesi 4. Kofa - Erik Nygard 5. SnooCODE - Sesinam FLYD These solo founders prove you can build big out of Ghana.

@eastsportsman Too happy for them. Come and see me jumping hahaha

The Champions of Europe lose to the champions of South America. A defensive masterclass from Botafogo and they celebrate like they've won the entire tournament

1. When I talk about the lack of "national learning" being Ghana's problem, I want my Ghanaian compatriots to be honest with themselves. 2. How many important areas of national life - electricity, health, education, transport etc - have you seen improve steadily over time because we studied national failures and adopted new strategies? 3. If you can't point to an area and describe how the nation learnt from previous policy mistakes and which new methods were applied to cause which improvement, then you must agree with me. 4. But I also acknowledge that most citizens are very busy. They don't have time for the complex details. This is the case worldwide. Citizens want RESULTS. Politics, worldwide, is thus about results. 5. But results don't pop out from thin air. Careful plans and actions in MULTIPLE contexts and areas lead to the aggregate results that citizens care about. In short, POLICIES lead to the POLITICAL results that voters vote for. 6. No policy is perfect. Policy mistakes will always happen. In every serious society, therefore, there are groups of citizens who scrutinise, debate, and contest over policies to ensure that the nation learns about and from policy mistakes and gets better at delivering results that citizens care about. 7. The problem in Ghana is that there is no real link between policy and politics. I call this KATANOMICS. There is zero accountability for policy mistakes and near-zero social understanding of policy success. At the same time, there is intense political competition over results. So, politicians constantly cut corners (like borrow recklessly) to deliver what LOOKS LIKE RESULTS. (Sometimes, this is done in a "state enchantment" manner that also lines the pockets of their friends and cronies. But that's another story.) 8. Let me give you an example of our inability to learn from policy in Ghana: Zipline. 9. In 2018, a Californian startup from Half Moon Bay (just outside San Francisco) showed up in Ghana with a tech concept it had piloted on a very small scale in Rwanda. Drones carrying medicines and blood products will be catapulted from a depot. The drone will hover over a clinic, drop the products, and return to base. 10. The justification for this program was that there are clinics in places with such bad roads that this was either the only way or the best way to get products to them. 11. The delivery will be based on a "Just in Time Demand-Driven" model. When the nurse needs to administer an injection, blood infusion, or snake venom, it will send a message (mostly via WhatsApp) to the depot. The depot will then respond within a few hours by shooting the product over. 12. When this concept first came up, some think tanks like IMANI examined the concept very closely. We argued that this concept cannot replace the main national medicines distribution network and must be confined to a very small segment that genuinely can't be helped in any other way. 13. We based our argument on the following: a) the main national distribution system based on Central & Regional Medical Stores is falling apart. Many regional medical stores have no vans. The reason why many clinics don't have medicines in stock is due to this problem and others (such as underfunding) and not necessarily because of bad roads. b) drone delivery is very expensive. At that time, based on the contract we saw, we calculated the cost of delivery to be around $18 per kilo. Our analysis showed that drone delivery would be 10x more expensive than the use of tricycles (where there are bad roads) or vans. c) The Just in Time model would disrupt standard inventory planning. Etc. 14. Naturally, in an environment, where policy is never really debated properly and the results of the debate factored into what politicians do, IMANI was totally ignored. Instead of a small program, a large initiative involving, at one point, about 6 depots was rolled out. Dozens of drones started zipping about, dropping stuff. 15. The strategy of how exactly to stock the depots was never thought through. A kind of take-and-pay contract was devised. The Californian startup raised hundreds of millions of dollars based mainly on the juicy contract signed with Ghana, which, mind you, relinquished all rights to the emergent intellectual property even though the country was being used as a testbed. 16. Due to the standard poor planning, it didn't take long before the millions of dollars in unpaid bills to Zipline started to mount. The Ministry of Health had never incorporated drone delivery into any of its medium-term policy strategies. It hadn't budgeted for them properly. Clinic staff started to over-use the system. Instead of emergency deliveries, routine products costing a few cents per box were being catapulted by drones in small quantities. 17. Zipline, naturally frustrated by the failure of Ghana to pay its bills, complained to the American government and various senators who started to pressure the government of Ghana to start paying up. 18. The usual murkiness and opacity in which most serious policies are executed in Ghana means that no one outside a small group in government knows exactly how much Zipline charges per kilo today. Or how much the take-or-pay component is. Or how much arrears have piled up. Or even the full cost-benefit implications of the contract. There has been no official independent monitoring and evaluation. What studies there have been were commissioned by Zipline itself and did not cover the full cost-benefit matrix. 19. Then the government of the day changes. Given that the new government when it was in opposition in 2018 was very critical of the Zipline program, one can be forgiven for thinking that some transparency would be forthcoming. Wrong assumption. KATANOMICS is not a problem with one party or the other. It describes the policy-politics dysfunction in Ghana regardless of who is in government. Thus, even though the current govt is better at consulting and more open to feedback, the fundamental issues remain. 20. A few days ago, the Minister of Communications and Digital Innovation visited Zipline. Besides himself with joy at seeing the drones zip in and out, he immediately made policy on the spot. He now wants drones to deliver pesticides and fertilisers! To farmers in remote corners. 21. If medicines, that have a very high value-to-volume ratio can't be drone-transported cost-effectively, just imagine the costs for doing drone delivery of pesticides and fertilisers. How sustainable would it be to be dropping 1-kg NPK fertiliser bags costing $2 each in the bush at, say, $15 per flight? The most important point here, though, is not whether this is a good idea or not. It is about whether we are ever interested in NATIONAL LEARNING. It is about whether we are capable of dispassionately analysing the results of what we do and building on the insights in an open, transparent, and rigorous manner. 22. Question is: what was the Minister grounding his policy proposal to extend Zipline to agro-inputs on? It clearly isn't a careful assessment of any policy lessons. Is it? It isn't based on any well-debated pros and cons. Is it? Cost-benefit analysis? Forget it. 24. Until policy begins to have high-stakes political implications because there is a policy community large enough to make politicians think twice before they launch programs, they will keep going for shiny trophies that LOOK LIKE RESULTS. Pseudo-results that would be politically rewarded. 25. Then they will bill citizens for these shiny trophies, and collect votes on top. PS:- Read more about IMANI's 2018 Zipline analysis here: imaniafrica.org/2018/12/imani-…

Happy Birthday @PatrickAwuahJr we celebrate you. You are a legend

@_owurakuampofo No twist biaaa 🤣

Haaland scores. 2-1 Man City But there is that slight feeling that there is one last twist in the game

Watch the full Episode here: youtu.be/UzZCALyDy7k

“YOU DON’T HAVE AS MUCH TIME AS THE MAN.” On today’s episode of The Peswa Podcast, I sit down with Vanessa Omari—Founder, CEO, and the visionary force behind VDL Fulfillment, the company building Africa’s next ‘Amazon.’

🚨WATCH🇬🇭🎙️🗣️: Are Angel Investors truly angel investors in Africa’s business landscape? - Steven Adom, founder of Agatex Paints, shared his painful experience on @ThePeswa podcast, accusing Quick Angels Ltd.’s CEO of “hijacking” his business. He likened his ordeal to systemic corruption, stating, “300 armed robbers are better than one corrupt judge,” reflecting his disillusionment with the justice system and business practices in Ghana. 🦅🇬🇭

@jayanaman Same o bro

Less than 2 months in and the contributions I’m having in my org?! C-suite saying excellent work and clapping 🤩🤩🤩 Tonight is our Heritage won for us. If you understand the code, 9pm GMT 😂

@papasamo_gh Would love to have a chat with you. Kindly dm. Check out vdlfulfilment.com

We will kill the cancer called “pay on delivery”.

#StopGalamseyNow #FreetheCitizens #StopGalamsey

@Manasseh_Azure twitter.com/derickomari/st…

CHAPTER 10 ************* 1. When Akufo-Addo took over as president, Ghana’s public debt, since independence, stood at GHS122.2 billion. 2. As of June 2024, Ghana's public debt stood at GHS 742 billion. 3. The Akufo-Addo government, led by his cousin and Finance Minister, borrowed heavily, and Ghana could not pay its debt, so the government embarked on debt restructuring programmes, in which some Ghanaians suffered haircuts and "headcuts". 3. The Finance Minister for seven years, who was supposed to ensure the judicious use of the money we borrowed so our borrowing would reduce, actually owns a company that made money any time we borrowed. And there's evidence, at least from the SML scandal, that the Finance Minister was involved in the wasteful expenditures that contributed to our borrowing and economic woes. 4. When allegations of conflict of interest emerged amidst the murky arrangements, Ghanaians were told that Ken Ofori-Atta's Databank had always provided those services and that it wasn't anything new. 5. "The President Ghana Never Got" provides detailed revelations on Databank's involvement that you probably did not know. 6. For instance, did you know that when Ken Ofori-Atta became Minister of Finance in 2017, Databank was not among the companies providing book-runner and bond market specialist services to the Ministry of Finance and the Government of Ghana? Three financial institutions, Barclays Bank Ghana Limited (now Absa Bank Ghana Limited), Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited, and Strategic Africa Securities Limited, provided those services. 7. Did you know that before Ken Ofori-Atta became Finance Minister, Databank had been used only twice for Eurobond transactions—once in 2007 and again in 2014? 8. Did you know that on each of those two previous occasions, Databank had shared $150,000 fees with two other companies and earned about $100,000 from Eurobonds in the 27 years before its founder and shareholder became Finance Minister? 9. Do you know the millions of dollars Databank made between 2018 (when Databank came on board again as a service provider for domestic and foreign borrowings) and 2021? 10. A search I conducted in August 2022 at the Office of the Registrar of Companies showed that Ken Ofori-Atta was still a shareholder of Databank. His wife, Professor Angela Ofori-Atta, was also a director of the company. 11. For these and other revealing details I obtained through an RTI request to the Finance Ministry and information from other sources, get your copy of "The President Ghana Never Got." The book gives a detailed breakdown of the borrowing transactions and the fees financial companies, including Ken Ofori-Atta's Databank, received when Ken Ofori-Atta led us to borrow from domestic and foreign markets.

@Manasseh_Azure x.com/derickomari/st…

@Manasseh_Azure Get your copy of The President Ghana Never Got, by Manasseh Azure Awuni Order online and receive your copy delivered to your doorstep across 10 regions in Ghana (Payment on Delivery) Order here: bit.ly/ordermanassehb… Delivery across Ghana. Pay on delivery

Get your copy for the inside story of how Ghana got here. It tells you the untold perspectives, from J.B. Danquah to Nana Akufo-Addo, and projects into the future.

@m_rahamann @Manasseh_Azure Get your copy of The President Ghana Never Got, by Manasseh Azure Awuni Order online and receive your copy delivered to your doorstep across 10 regions in Ghana (Payment on Delivery) Order here: bit.ly/ordermanassehb… Delivery across Ghana. Pay on delivery

@Manasseh_Azure Will get this book soon I'm making me contributions

@Manasseh_Azure Get your copy of The President Ghana Never Got, by Manasseh Azure Awuni Order online and receive your copy delivered to your doorstep across 10 regions in Ghana (Payment on Delivery) Order here: bit.ly/ordermanassehb… Delivery across Ghana. Pay on delivery

The "Ugly" legacy of Akufo-Addo in the book begins with Galamsey. That section of the chapter starts with my meeting in 2023 with a sitting cabinet minister in the Akufo-Addo administration, who made a startling revelation. “Between 2018 and 2020, the Forestry Commission under Sir John granted over a hundred such permits to companies to mine in forest reserves,” the minister said. This minister did not just make a claim. He showed me evidence, as captured in the book. In one of the permits in the booklet of photocopied material the minister showed me, a company was given access to a forest reserve the same day it applied to the Forestry Commission for a permit. Read the full details in "The President Ghana Never Got". ************************************************************* Where to Get Copies of "The President Ghana Never Got" ********************************************************** It's GHS 300 for the hardcover and GHS 270 for the paperback. For deliveries in Accra, call 0551751499, 0543191932 or 0261687881 We also have "The Fourth John: Reign Rejection and Rebound" by Manasseh Azure Awuni). For distribution, call Gamel on 0245130342. You can also get copies of the book at the following outlets: 1. Joy FM 2. EPP Books, Legon 3. Kingdom Books at Legon and Osu 4. Favour Restaurant in Tamale 5. Luv FM in Kumasi 6. Airport Shell in Accra 7. Booknook (Delivers nationwide) 8. Citi FM, Adabraka 9. Blue Night Books (Spintex, Kumasi Airport, Tema, East Legon and Kotoka Airport Terminal 2) 10. Bolgatanga: Gafaru at Dreamz FM (0508673593) 11. Wa: Call Cletus on 0249610077 12. Cape Coast: Call Emma on 0249665260 13. Koforidua: Call Betty on 0247421176 13. Ehanom Books (Delivers nationwide) 14. Vidya Books, Osu 15. Takoradi (Hotel Messiah front desk) 16. More bookshops are being stocked. 17. Sunyani: Call Precious (0202546744 or 0244888115) 18. Ho Torchbearers Books (0242601203) 19. Ho: Sedem 0544142777

@AddaeDaniel19 @Manasseh_Azure Get your copy of The President Ghana Never Got, by Manasseh Azure Awuni Order online and receive your copy delivered to your doorstep across 10 regions in Ghana (Payment on Delivery) Order here: bit.ly/ordermanassehb… Delivery across Ghana. Pay on delivery

@Manasseh_Azure Good afternoon, please I am in Chinderi how can I get a copy of your book? Please how much is a copy?

A cabinet Minister told me that between 2018 and 2020, the Forestry Commission issued over 100 permits for companies to enter Ghana's forest reserves. Once they entered, they were left to do whatever they liked. The details are in Chapter 8 of my book, "The President Ghana Never Got." Get your copies for more on this and other happenings within the Akufo-Addo administration.

@emmahal58 @Manasseh_Azure Get your copy of The President Ghana Never Got, by Manasseh Azure Awuni Order online and receive your copy delivered to your doorstep across 10 regions in Ghana (Payment on Delivery) Order here: bit.ly/ordermanassehb… Delivery across Ghana. Pay on delivery

@Manasseh_Azure How and where do we get a copy

@sungnuma @Manasseh_Azure Get your copy of The President Ghana Never Got, by Manasseh Azure Awuni Order online and receive your copy delivered to your doorstep across 10 regions in Ghana (Payment on Delivery) Order here: bit.ly/ordermanassehb… Delivery across Ghana. Pay on delivery

@Manasseh_Azure Where can I get a copy at Wa

@BraQwam @Manasseh_Azure Get your copy of The President Ghana Never Got, by Manasseh Azure Awuni Order online and receive your copy delivered to your doorstep across 10 regions in Ghana (Payment on Delivery) Order here: bit.ly/ordermanassehb… Delivery across Ghana. Pay on delivery

@Manasseh_Azure Where in Kumasi can one get some to buy