• Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America (Hardcover)

    From New York Times bestselling author of Lead From The Outside and political leader Stacey Abrams, a blueprint to end voter suppression, empower our citizens, and take back our country.

    “With each page, she inspires and empowers us to create systems that reflect a world in which all voices are heard and all people believe and feel that they matter.” Kerry Washington

    A recognized expert on fair voting and civic engagement, Abrams chronicles a chilling account of how the right to vote and the principle of democracy have been and continue to be under attack. Abrams would have been the first African American woman governor, but experienced these effects firsthand, despite running the most innovative race in modern politics as the Democratic nominee in Georgia. Abrams didn’t win, but she has not conceded. The book compellingly argues for the importance of robust voter protections, an elevation of identity politics, engagement in the census, and a return to moral international leadership.

    Our Time Is Now draws on extensive research from national organizations and renowned scholars, as well as anecdotes from her life and others’ who have fought throughout our country’s history for the power to be heard. The stakes could not be higher. Here are concrete solutions and inspiration to stand up for who we are now.

    “This is a narrative that describes the urgency that compels me and millions more to push for a different American story than the one being told today. It’s a story that is one part danger, one part action, and all true. It’s a story about how and why we fight for our democracy and win.” – Stacey Abrams

  • Justice Daniel Francis Annan: In the Service of Democracy

    Justice Annan’s public service in Ghana’s recent history embodies how an individual, acting in concert with compatriots, can direct the course of history using institutions which may prevail at a specific conjuncture in that history.

    The objective of producing this biography of Justice Annan is to extrapolate from his life as a public servant, especially during the critical period of 1982- 1992 when he was a key member of the PNDC, and the 1993 – 2000 when he was Speaker of the first and second Parliaments of the Fourth Republic, the lessons and insights that add value to the existing knowledge of how social and political dynamics are purposefully managed even in the most challenging times; and how key institutions like Parliament are nurtured in a nascent democracy to literally turn dust into gold. The weight of the biography therefore leans heavily on Justice Annan’s public service during the two periods indicated above.

    This biography was sponsored by the IDEG under its Senior Citizen Scholar in Residence Programme, which is non-partisan and open to all who have distinguished themselves in rendering service to our dear country Ghana. We hope that this publication will inspire institutions and individual philanthropists, both Ghanaian and foreign, to contribute generously to the funding of the programme. The programme aims at deepening our knowledge and understanding of the momentous conjunctures in our history that have shaped the content and trajectory of Ghana’s young democratic state.

  • Swimming Upstream: The Story of Southern Cross

    Kwame Donkoh Fordwor’s dream was realized due to the precision planning which was utilized to develop Southern Cross Mining Limited (SCML), as the company established itself as the first active gold mining operation to be brought to Ghana Since 1937. This came to pass by way of chance associations and the joint efforts of collaborators who possessed different backgrounds and motivations.
    Even with the assistance of numerous people along the way, the inception of Southern Cross was not easy. It required aggressive action and time to fend or larger corporations and fight government officials for the rights and freedoms they felt they deserved.
    Fordwor titles this book Swimming Upstream: The Story of Southern Cross because of the comparisons he draws between himself and the struggles of salmon attempting to reach their spawning grounds. Much like a salmon battling currents, fishermen, and other predators to reach its final destination, Fordwor had to struggle to make his own path and place in history, using keen instincts and good fortune to maintain the competitiveness and success of SCML.
    Swimming Upstream vividly details the rich history of Southern Cross and other gold mining venturers who strived to achieve historical recognition. It is an illuminating work-powerfully written and inspirational to all who are still seeking to make a lifetime dream come true.

  • The Boy from Boadua: One African’s Journey of Hunger and Sacrifice in Pursuit of a Dream

    *Available from 7 February 2023

    Patrick Asare was born and raised by illiterate parents in the remote Ghanaian village of Boadua. His family was so large and impoverished that not even the earnings from crushing hard work could buy enough food to fill their bellies. No one in the village aspired to be educated beyond middle school.

    Until Patrick.

    Numerous obstacles stood in the way of Patrick’s yearning for higher knowledge, including gnawing hunger, lack of sleep, and backbreaking daily chores. During school vacations, he toiled in a jungle farm teeming with poisonous snakes and insects.

    Dedicating every stolen moment to study, Patrick passed the common entrance exam with flying colors. Despite major setbacks, he kept his eye on the prize. He graduated from an elite secondary school and earned his engineering degree in the Soviet Union during the perestroika era. Finding his way to the United States, he taught Russian and math and eventually obtained a superb education from top American universities.

    Patrick’s travels and adventures taught him that, regardless of his hardscrabble childhood, he was a lucky man. He was raised by loving and supportive parents and lived in a society where race was not an issue. Teaching in inner-city high schools alerted him to the particular challenges faced by America’s urban Black youth.

    Patrick’s amazing story offers insights, hope, and inspiration to others who face astronomical odds.

  • Who Owns the Land and Who Rules the Land?

    Ghana is undergoing her fourth experiment in Constitutional Rule − the 4th Republic. She was the first Black African country south of the Sahara to gain her political independence in 1957 but economic independence has eluded her till now. Her development is at a snail-pace at best.

    According to the author, there are certain fundamental bottlenecks in the country’s governance system which make it difficult for her to realize her economic potential. The author compares Ghana’s governance system to Singapore which gained political independence around the same time as Ghana but has successfully transformed from Third World to First World economic status in 30 years and asks why the difference. The author calls for a national debate on the country’s governance system that will lead to a total review of the 1992 Constitution. The following are some of the key issues he calls the nation’s attention to:

     

    • A Feudal Land Tenure System whereby more than 90% of the land mass of Ghana is vested in the Chieftaincy institution as Stool Lands and the remaining 10% vested in the President on behalf of the people of Ghana as Public Lands. A system which greatly impedes development and benefits only a privileged few and yet there are no Land Reforms
    • The Legacy of the Colonial Indirect Rule leading to a “bifurcated state” in which traditional authority runs parallel to civilian political authority
    • An Ineffective Decentralization System which excludes the traditional leaders and refuses to allow the people to elect their own District Chief Executives whom they can hold accountable
    • An Adversarial Political System in which the two main political parties have indulged in violence since independence and thus refuse to reach consensus for national development
    • The Short Tenure of the Executive and Legislature which does not promote long term planning and execution for meaningful development
    • An expensive electoral system which engenders corruption and prevents well-meaning and qualified candidates from offering themselves for governance
    • The Lack of a National Agenda for development and dependence on party manifestoes thus ignoring the Directive Principles of State Policy. Development is thus not progressive but disjointed and depends on which party is in power
    • A Council of State which is merely advisory and has no power to serve as a check on the Executive
    • A National Mindset of Dependency Syndrome and Entitlement Mentality which has resulted in lack of effective mobilization of the populace by the political and traditional leadership. A national psyche that does not promote self-reliance and the can-do spirit
    • A Governance System which tries to copy Westminster and American systems instead of a home-grown system which suits our situation and promotes development
    • An Educational System that fails to build problem-solving abilities and patriotism into the youth and fails to make them proud of being Africans
    • A Very Strong Religious Atmosphere which feeds on superstition and does not enable the teeming members to transform their mindset and focus on teachings which promote hard work, wealth creation and prosperity
  • The First Vice President: A Biography of JWS de Graft-Johnson (Hardcover)

    In the late 1970s, Joe de Graft-Johnson appeared on the national political scene as an Association of Recognized Professional Bodies executive, overlapping with his tenure as president of the Ghana Institution of Engineers. During this time, Joe actively demonstrated against the socioeconomic decline and lack of regard for professional guidance by the military regime. Joe subsequently won the People’s National Party’s nomination and became the Republic’s Vice President in 1979. Before this, he had transformed the Building and Road Research Institute into a prominent voice in using natural resources to address developmental needs, imbued as he was, with nation-building.

    Joe grew up within a family tradition of service to the country, instructed by lessons such as his grandfather’s contributions through the Aborigines’ Rights Protection Society. The Mfantsipim School and the historical significance of Cape Coast had also left their mark on him.

    Later, in exile, still focused on national development, he fought for the transition to democracy.
    The First Vice President chronicles the extraordinary life of Joe, spent in dedication to his country.

  • Book Set: Red Oak Heroes Series (6 Books)

    *Available from 15 August 2023

    Age Range: 10 – 14 years

    This is a bookset of all six titles in the Red Oak Heroes Series:

    • Theodosia Okoh
    • The Big Six
    • Abedi Ayew Pele
    • John Agyekum Kufour
    • Kofi Annan
    • Dr. J. B. Danquah
    Introduce your children and adolescents to these Ghanaian Heroes.
  • Africa in Search of Prosperity

    Africa is a major player in global economic engineering. It is also a great development partner, a vital player in the economies of Asian nations who are eager to explore long awaited market possibilities that it presents by forging alliances with hi-growth emerging economies in Africa.

    This new economic order is shifting the developmental narratives as Africa’s rich potential market has become more attractive with a population of nearly one billion.

    The author of this book is a long time transnational business executive. Although he indicates a level of despair at times, he is quite hopeful of Africa’s prospects. His lived experience as an economist and policy advisor to Presidents, is reflected in these essays that address developmental issues from the colonial economy with those of the new states.

    In this, the author uses the experience of Ghana as an example and a site for an analytical perspective. He examines and writes about the issues of natural resource exploration, the oil economy, human skills and also looks at the vital factors of education, religion and the attendant attitudes to development.

  • Forward Ever: The Life of Kwame Nkrumah

    A short biography of Kwame Nkrumah providing an introduction to his life and work. Set within the context of PanAfricanism the book covers the whole period of Nkrumah’s life from childhood through to his death in Bucharest on 27th April 1972.

  • A Country to Love and to Serve: Memoirs of a Ghanaian Diplomat

    This epic memoir chronicling the author’s diplomatic journey is a superb and enticing story, richly told. The narration provides great insights into the personal life and professional travails of a quintessential diplomat who rose from humble beginnings to be one of the eminent Ambassadors of the nation. Most fascinating is how adeptly the author combines the demands of motherhood and family with her tasks in the complex world of diplomacy.

    The memoir provides great insights, important lessons and best practices in diplomatic practice that should be invaluable for the nation’s policy makers and diplomats. The story told through A COUNTRY TO LOVE AND TO SERVE should be a real inspiration for young diplomats and a must read for any student of diplomacy.

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