KUMASI, Ghana—Those of you who read last week's column will recall that I have been investigating the lives of the rich here in Kumasi. I decided to step out of character and do a tiny bit of, oh, I do not know, journalism. Just kidding, it's all gossip, as usual.
Tulip Too Lippy
I began by visiting the newly built Golden Tulip Hotel, inaugurated by President Kuffour in January. The Tulip is jointly owned by the governments of Ghana and Libya, just like the Tulip in the capital, Accra. It, like the glitteringly renovated Baba Yara Stadium, was built to accommodate the African Cup of Nations, which Ghana hosted earlier this year.
The contract for the Tulip was given to a Chinese construction firm who are still there working around the hotel in true Ghanaian style, four months behind schedule. That's nothing. Ghana just celebrated its fifty-first year of independence. They are still working on the "Ghana at 50" statue at the base of the new Accra road interchange. No one sees the irony but me.
Anyhow, I went to snoop around the hotel and asked if I could take some pictures. I was given the run around by the sales manager and asked to return with a letter of intent. Needless to say, I didn't bother. I did stop at the restaurant though.
Don't Hail This Caesar
Just last week I sat down to another plate of jolof rice and thought, "I wish this was Caesar salad." Low and behold, there on the Tulip menu was my desired item, and so I ordered one and an Americano (the first taste of non-instant coffee in 11 months). What I got was some romaine with olives and what seemed a combination of mayonnaise and ketchup for dressing, along with a teeny, tiny cup of drip coffee (which tasted really good anyway because of the 11 months of instant).
Since the management had already declined an interview, I didn't bother to complain. In fact the waitress, who was a lovely girl (name I will omit to spare her job) admitted that the espresso machine hadn't arrived yet and there was and anchovy shortage. I just smiled and tipped her. I didn't have the heart.
The food and beverage manager did chat with me (before I ate or the conversation might have gone differently). He carefully asserted that this hotel was not just for the rich, but for those who wanted "quality" and "a nice place without a crowd."
It is true the place was not packed but there was a large group of Ghanaians there for a conference. They were taking pictures of themselves by the pool, but not swimming. Why? It was a business lunch after all, plus it costs $15 a person to swim—about three days wages for a working Joe. Still, a country club type membership will be available soon. I'm sure they will have little trouble selling subscriptions. What a place to show off your riches!
Bingo With a Capital NGO
I wondered what high-class company in Ghana could afford a business luncheon and hotel rooms at the Kumasi Tulip. I got my answer in the parking lot. A few scattered sport utilities and two pristine UNICEF SUVs. Apparently there were some poor children who needed four-star hotel rooms and Caesar salad, hold the coddled egg and anchovies.
I went to check out the casino, which is privately owned and rents from the Tulip. All were friendly when I asked questions, but not when I mentioned the words, "media" and "photo." The mostly Lebanese clientele need their privacy I was told.
It may interest you to know there is a sizable Lebanese population born and raised here. They are wealthy business people, and as soon as you go to the finer restaurants, country clubs, and hotels, you'll see them.
I met the proprietor of a local Lebanese restaurant who told me she visits Lebanon occasionally but Ghana is her home. She was born here and has no plans to ever leave. She also had great hair. I thought good hair for an obroni (white person) in Ghana was an impossible dream due to the humidity. She sent me to Evelyn.
Evelyn is a British trained hairdresser whose family owns the Sanbra Hotel. Sanbra means "to come back," and if you visit either the hair salon or the restaurant you surely will return. After disappointment at the Tulip, I was rewarded with an excellent cut and colour, and a perfect $5 cheeseburger and side salad at the Sanbra. It seems I was the only obroni in town not in on the Sanbra—so many were already there getting their haircut and eating.
Coiffeur/ Finance Connoisseur
It seems I had arrived at the perfect place to gather information about Kumasi's well-to-do—the hair salon. I asked Evelyn if all the royalty in Kumasi were rich. She said no, but they all live comfortably. She ought to know, as there are pictures of her with the King and Queen Mother on the walls of the salon.
Small business owners make up an active middle class. According to my hair salon informant, the best off are in business for themselves. Some have little if any education, but have a head for business like Kumasi's first lady of sika (money) Georgia. Georgia—a woman so well known that she can drop her last name like Cher or Madonna—started with a single store selling frozen meat. She's now said to be Kumasi's richest woman.
I asked Evelyn what the rich but non-literate people do with their money. "They keep it in the bank," she said. "They don't invest?" I asked. "I don't think they've heard of investment."
Besides, my neighbour has a one-year term deposit paying 19 per cent interest—why bother?
Stephen Boateng, the youthful owner of the Kessben group of companies, also started out humbly, but he seems to have gotten the hang of investment. He now owns a travel agency, an airline, a soccer club, a bank, an FM radio station, even a driving school, and a computer training school—really he is an over-achiever. He told me he is working on his MBA right now. My question was "why?"
COOL TO FUEL: The place to be for the young, well-heeled Kumasi crowd is On the Run.
Yes—it is a Total filling station with a tiny strip mall including a lousy pizza place, chicken and fries a burger joint.
Unlike in Canada, it has a giant sound system and a DJ. I went there on a Sunday and saw a society photographer snapping photos of the Assistant Regional Minister's family.
The irony? You pay a fortune to eat third-rate fast food junk here in Ghana, just as Ghanaians pay through the nose to eat okra stew with banku in Canada. And just like here, the "taste of home" is never quite done right. (Zoe Ackah, The Epoch Times)
Besides the four-star hotel and the line up of BMW X5s in Adum, there are a number of other indicators that Kumasi is full of ready cash. I have never seen so much construction anywhere. There is literally something being built on every block. Even in the suburbs where I live two student hostels and three houses have gone up in a two-block radius from my house in the past year.
It really is a paradise for the rich here. The price of labour, food, and real estate is so low. Banks here pay real interest. There are taxes, but I'm told they favour the rich and are crushing the middle class—status quo for the North American observer.
But there are a couple of factors that seem to be giving some people a leg up that we may have slightly less of in North America (cough, cough, Enron). Corruption and bribery—a great topic for next week … or maybe the week before I leave town would be better.
Canadian Epoch Times correspondent Zoë Ackah is spending a year in rural Ghana. This story is part of a series in which Zoe shares her culture shock and her thoughts on life in one of West Africa's more prosperous nations. See the "Related Stories" links above for more articles in this series.
Feeds