Innovating With Integrity
Posted on October 25, 2015 Leave a Comment
INNOVATING WITH INTEGRITY
KOW ESSUMAN
SPEECH AT THE NEW NATION SCHOOL SPEECH AND PRIZE GIVING DAY CEREMONY
ACCRA, GHANA
24TH OCTOBER 2015
Good morning ladies and gentlemen.
It is a great honour to be here this morning to be a part of the Speech and Prize Giving day of New Nation School, and an even greater honour to be called upon to share a few words with you as the guest speaker. I will aim to keep my speech short, as I am sure many of you are looking forward to celebrating your academic success.
There are two topics I would want to speak about – innovation and integrity.
Our world is changing very fast. The challenge for us is to keep up with the change and if possible, try and stay ahead of the changes as they happen. This requires a new set of skills to meet this challenge. It requires creativity and innovation. It requires critical thinking and solution-oriented criticisms.
The word innovate means to make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas or products. The interesting thing about innovation is the ability to think, and not only think, but also think critically. The innovator has an open mind, looks at his or her environment and thinks of how things can be changed or made better. The innovator asks critical questions and does not necessarily accept the status quo. Read More
COMPLYING WITH THE BUILDING LAWS OF GHANA
Posted on July 30, 2015 Leave a Comment
By: Emmanuel Mate-Kole, Esq. and Kow Essuman, Esq.
INTRODUCTION
This short article focuses on the legal framework regarding unauthorized buildings in Ghana. The laws that we will consider in our discussion include the Towns Act, 1892 (Cap 86), Local Government Act, 1993 (Act 462) and National Building Regulations, 1996 (LI 1630). We do not intend to delve into the engineering aspect of putting up a safe and sound building, or the processes involved in obtaining the requisite permit for building. There is a widely held perception that once you obtain a building permit, you are licensed to put up whatever property you want on your land. In other words, all you need is a building permit to build – end of story. This widely held perception is wrong and we shall seek to correct it in this article.
The issue of unauthorized buildings is nothing new; however, it seems to be discussed only when there is a tragedy. After the June 3 floods, the issue of unauthorized buildings was heavily discussed as one of the main causes of the flooding. Indeed, the city authorities commenced a series of building inspection and destruction. Read More
My Journey To The World Economic Forum On Africa 2015
Posted on July 27, 2015 Leave a Comment
Better late than never, right? I should have written this blog immediately I got back from Cape Town but I have not had the chance to do so. Plus, I wanted to ensure that I put some effort in putting together an interesting story so that you could enjoy reading it, just as I enjoyed the journey. This is a short summary, or you may call it a report, of how I ended up at the World Economic Forum on Africa 2015, and how I spent my time there. It is meant to encourage young and ambitious persons to strive to attend such events as the exposure from such events is priceless.
I am a member of the Global Shapers Community of the World Economic Forum, and I belong to Accra Hub. In January 2015, a call for applications was sent out to all members of the Global Shapers Community in Africa, and I submitted an application before the deadline. The application included a video and answers to some questions about yourself. I engaged the services of a videographer and early one Saturday morning, I met up with him at the African Regent Hotel in Accra. Read More
Prempeh College – The Greatest School In Ghana
Posted on July 11, 2015 10 Comments
Everyone wants to be part of the best. Everyone wants to be part of the winning team. When I was a child, I watched the first edition of the National Science and Maths Quiz, which was won by Prempeh College. This was 1994. I had no idea which secondary school I intended to attend at that time. In 1996, Prempeh College was back in the finals, and won again. My interest in this outstanding school grew stronger. I did a little bit of research and discovered that my father and his brother (my uncle) attended Prempeh College. I vowed to attend Prempeh College when I reached the secondary school age. Then in 1997, Prempeh College ended up in the final of the National Science and Maths Quiz. At this point, I was overly convinced. Prempeh College was the best school in Ghana. Read More
Smart Suits, Fine Legal Brain
Posted on July 10, 2015 Leave a Comment
By Anny OSABUTEY
Kow Essuman loves to dress smart for work, and he has an excellent work ethic to reflect that. On the day we met for a chat, he talked passionately about Ghana and the forces that got him out of a rather comfortable life in England and the United States of America, where he was practicing law.
“I believe this country (Ghana) has enormous potential and especially as a young person, there is so much I can do here, and that is why I came back,” he said.
Though he had a return ticket to go back to England, he decided to stay on. The West, especially England and the United States, was going through difficult economic times while “Ghana was picking up”, and he embraced the idea of “homecoming” without looking over his shoulders. Read More
Official Website of Kow Essuman 