TASK FORCE REPORT 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

The Task Force Report covers the experiences of the Ghana Association, and expectations for the future. 

The Past:

The Association was created in the late 1970s with a Constitution defining its operations. It was patronised by majority of Ghanaians in Ottawa, however, by the late 1990's, it was a pale shadow of its former self. Reasons suggested for this trend of affairs include long meetings, dispensability of the Association; privacy issues; exorbitant membership fees; excessive gossiping; and myths/perceptions. 

The Present:

Many Ghanaians in Ottawa have had several informal meetings on how to revive the Association. These culminated in a community meeting on February 02, 2002. At that meeting, a Task Force was formed to work towards the Association’s revival. The eleven-member Task Force was given up to March 09, 2002 to present a report. Meetings, discussions, interviews and other means were utilized to solicit input on the revival process. 

A summary of the findings include:

  1. Constitutional Review
 

  1. Views from the Ghanaian Community
 

 

The Future

Many Ghanaians have realised that without fundamental changes in the past ways and operations of the Association, progress will be elusive.

The Task Force recommends these for the revival of the Association: 

  1. Establish clear transition plan to drive the process of change.
  2. Set up a sub-committee to review the Constitution.
  3. Attract more members to the Association by making all members, kids, youth, and adults, feel welcome and included in all activities.
  4. Create and maintain an Association website.
  5. Set up a special project to convert all our documents into an electronic form.
  6. Conduct periodic surveys to find out the satisfaction level of members.
  7. Make the Association more visible within Ottawa and the wider Canadian community.
 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

 

Chapter          Page

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY………………………………   i 

1. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………   1

i) Mandate of the Task Force……………………..   2

ii) Composition of the Task Force…………………    2

iii) Time Frame for the Task Force…………………   3 

2. GHANA ASSOCIAITION OF OTTAWA - A BACKGROUND   3

i) Formation of the Association…………………….   3

iv) Financial Assets…………………………………..    4

v) Our Current Situation……………………………    5

vi) What Went Wrong?……………………………...   7 

3. THE TASK FORCE……………………………………….    9

i) How the Task Force approached its work.…….    9 

4. FINDINGS OF THE TASK FORCE……………………….   10

I) Review of the Constitution………………………….   10

ii) What the Task Force Heard from Ghanaians……   11 

5. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHANGE………………….  12

i) Short-Term Recommendations……………………   12

ii) Long-Term Recommendations……………………   13 

6. CONSLUSION………………………………………………..   13

 

APPENDICES

Appendix          Page 

  1. THE ASSOCIATION’S CONSTITUTION……………………..  14
 

  1. REPORT OF THE “GROUP OF FOUR”………………………..  23

TASK FORCE REPORT 

1. INTRODUCTION:

After almost four years of inactivity, Ghanaians in the nation’s capital held a meeting on February 2nd, 2002 to discuss ways of reviving the Ghana Association in Ottawa. The meeting was made possible by a cross section of Ghanaians living in the community. Prior to the February 2nd 2002 meeting, there had been numerous informal meetings held by various groups within the community on the subject of revival or the formation of a new association to serve Ghanaians in Ottawa.

On Saturday February 2nd , 2002, over 40 Ghanaians living in Ottawa, met at the Sandy Hill Community Centre to discuss ways of reviving and maintaining an Association in the region. The meeting was chaired by Andy Kusi-Appiah, president of the Association. During the discussion that ensued, it was clear that Ghanaians in Ottawa wanted an Association that would stand the test of time, inclusive, caring, vibrant and meaningful to the vast majority of its members. It was agreed that this type of Association would require consistent participation by all the members. Consequently, activities of such an Association should have input from every member. Thus, all members, and not just a chosen few, should be included in the planning, implementation and evaluation stages of all programs and activities. 

 

i) Mandate of the Task Force

As the discussion continued, it became apparent that there is the need to find out what Ghanaians really want so that a revival process could be initiated. It was therefore decided by a majority of members at the meeting to form a Task Force with the following mandate:

 

 

 

 

ii) Composition of the Task Force;

After extensive deliberations at the February 2nd meeting, an eleven (11) member Task Force was selected to fulfil the above mandate.

The composition of the taskforce was as follows;

1. Samuel Laryea,

2. Samuel Effah (executive member),

3. Kwame Twum-Antwi,

4. Edna Gbortsu,

5. Akosua Benneh-Akuffo,

6. Ekua Cato,

7. Gyanewa Osei-Tutu Jalloh,

8. Kofi Danso-Manu,

9. Kwasi Appiah,

10. Joseph Richardson (executive member), and

11. Andy Kusi-Appiah (executive member). 

iii) Time Frame for the Task Force

The Task Force was given a month to deliberate and present its findings to the general membership on March 9th 2002 at the Sandy Hill Community Centre. 

2. GHANA ASSOCIAITION OF OTTAWA - A BACKGROUND:

i) Formation of the Association:

The Ghana Association of Ottawa was formed in the late 1970s as a response to the need to assist Ghanaians who had been deported from Nigeria at that time. It became clear to Ghanaians in Ottawa at that time that having an Association that caters to the needs of its members was a wonderful idea.  

ii) The Constitution:

In 1983, a constitutional sub-committee was set up to draft a Constitution for the Association. After two months of deliberations, the sub-committee presented a draft constitution to the membership for consideration. The draft constitution set out the aims and objectives, and the rules and regulations for the day to day administration of the Association. The draft Constitution was adopted with few changes at the end of 1983.

In 1995, the Association’s constitution came up for review by another sub- committee. This time, changes were made to reflect the times. 

  1. Programs and Activities of the Association:

Between 1983 and 1989, the Ghana Association was quite active, with over 98% participation rate from the Ghanaian community. Some of the activities planned and successfully executed included Annual Dinner Dances, Ghana Cultural Day (cultural dances, Ghanaian food and dishes, arts and crafts display, kids play based on Ananse stories etc), Picnic Day, Kids Night, Children’s Christmas Parties, Adult Christmas Parties, and sports activities.

The above activities were funded by the membership through dues collected and fees charged for various activities. 

iv) Financial Assets:

In the past, the financial health of the Association was sound, with the treasurer overseeing its finances. The main source of funds have been annual membership dues as well as profits made from activities organized by the Association (i.e., dinner dances, Christmas parties etc.). In 1988, a GIC was purchased in the name of the Ghana Association of Ottawa. Currently, the Association has about $200.00 in GIC funds.

Since May 2001, the Association’s bank account has been closed due to inactivity. The Task Force has had to rely on contributions from members to finance some of the activities of the Association. The Association now owes about $600.00 (meeting space rentals and other activities of the Association). 

 

v) Our Current Situation

By the early 1990s, the once active Ghanaian Association in Ottawa had become a shadow of its former (1980s) self. Meetings were few and far between and few activities were organized and patronized by the membership, indeed, the Association was “dying”. In 1990, Ms. Yvonne Appiah, the then president of the Association, called a meeting to find out how it could be revived. A series of meetings over a three-year period saw the Association coming back alive with an ‘injection’ of new ideas from a younger generation guided by the founding members. In 1995, an interim executive was elected and a sub-committee was put in place to review the constitution to reflect the ‘new age’. All Ghanaians in the Ottawa region were encouraged to join the Association.

The Association resumed its activities, with members input in determining the type of activities they would like to participate in. A plan was drawn by the Social Affairs Committee, with input from the general membership. Between 1995 and 1998, the Association was active again with regular meetings and a high participation rate from the membership at the Association’s programs and activities like Cultural programs held for kids, and sporting activities organized for all members of the Association. In addition, picnics were held during the summer months and members found time to relax and discuss matters that affect the community.

As time went on, fewer and fewer members participated in meetings of the Association although more people showed up when dances and parties were held by the Association. It was a very difficult time for the executives, some of whom resigned because of the mounting load of work. The remaining executives tried their best to keep the Association from total collapse, it was a very trying moment.

As the present executives mandate came to a close, a meeting was planned for the Association with the intention of handing over to a new executive committee. In July 1998, the Association’s Annual General Meeting could not come off due to lack of a quorum for the meeting. Needless to say, no meeting was held on that day and therefore no handing over ceremony took place. The executives were stuck with running a dormant Association. The executives, in consultation with some members of the community, tried several times to get a meeting going so that the Association could be revived, however, all such attempts did not yield any positive results. As a direct consequence of the lack of interest, the Association became dormant for the following months and years. No membership dues have been paid since January 1998.

Meanwhile, many people had been enquiring about the Association and what was being done to revive it. Some concerned citizens have held meetings to find out what went wrong and how to bring this Association back to life. The remaining executives have over the years held many such meetings with many small groups on the above subject, and the result is the meeting on February 2nd 2002. Finally, we are on our way to reviving the Ghanaian Association in Ottawa. 

 

 

vi) What Went Wrong?

Many Ghanaians in the Ottawa region have been debating this issue since 1999. All such debates have been done in good faith, essentially to find ways of reviving the Association and making sure the same mistakes are not repeated in the future.

Many reasons have been put forth to explain why the Association collapsed in the late 1990s. Among them are the following: 

Long meetings - -Some members interviewed by the Task Force felt that meetings of the Association were too long and sometimes involved meaningless debates and arguments from people who only come apparently to argue. They cited limited socialization time in this environment for their lack of interest in the activities of the Association. Related to the above is the perception of some people that the Association belonged to only people who have higher educational backgrounds.

Dispensability of the Association: Some people could not be bothered by the activities of the Association because they did not see it as indispensable in their lives (i.e., they could live here without it). 

Privacy Issues -- - Some people did not participate in the activities of the Association because they felt that their privacy was interfered with, especially if they have to give out their mailing addresses and other coordinates to the Association. They did not feel that their private information was safe enough, especially considering the Association’s close relationship with the Ghana High Commission, a Ghana government institution. 

Exorbitant membership fees - - Other community members cited “exorbitant” membership fees charged by the Ghana Association as the main reason for non-participation. 

Gossip - - Some people also cited excessive gossip within the Association for their non-participation. Indeed, one person alleged that at some point in the life of the Association s/he stopped attending Association meetings because any time s/he attended people laughed at him/her for no apparent reason. 

Myths/Perceptions - - Other people who were interviewed also felt that people did not attend meetings or participated in the Association’s activities due to ‘hear-say’ or myths they have heard about how the affairs of the Association were conducted. Other people also have some unconfirmed perceptions about the Association ranging from its relationship with the High Commission, which relates to security issues. 

 

 

3. THE TASK FORCE

i) How the Task Force approached its work

The Task Force approached its work very seriously. Throughout their deliberations, they relied strictly on their mandate, and took the deadline for the submission of their report very seriously. In this regard therefore, the Task Force endeavoured to meet regularly for at least 2 hours every week. They decided on Saturday evenings as a convenient day for their deliberations. The Task Force’s meetings were democratic, open and very well planned.  

The Task Force welcomed all Ghanaians to visit them at their meeting place and drop in their comments or participate in their deliberations. This was done via emails, phone calls, face-to-face meetings and the Association’s web site, set up for this purpose. The responses were encouraging.

The Ghana Association web site was relied upon for input and feedback from the wider community. In all, over 50 people were consulted during the 35-day period when the Task Force was in existence.

In addition to the above, the Task Force invited interested parties to their meetings to discuss and offer recommendations for the revival of the Association.  

 

 

4. FINDINGS OF THE TASK FORCE

  1. Review of the Constitution:

About 30% of the task force’s time was devoted to reviewing the Constitution. This was done in order to find out if the provisions of the Constitution had anything to do with the demise of the Association and if so, find out some of the contentious issues it contains, and make recommendations to the general membership.

Generally, it was agreed that the Constitution was a workable one which could benefit from a slight review to reflect the changing times. The Task Force recommended that the following articles and sub sections of the Constitution be reviewed:

Article 1: contentious point

“ 3.1: “as many” should be removed.

“ 3.4: more clarification is required

“ 3.5: should be reviewed

“ 9.2 should refer to Article 10.2

“ 12.0 numbering should be revised 

The following were also recommended:

 

  1. What the Task Force heard from Ghanaians

During the 35 day period that the Task Force was in session, it was apparent that Ghanaians were very interested in having an Association in Ottawa. Members of the Task Force, collectively and individually, heard from members of the Ghanaian community, with both questions and suggestions for the revival of the Association.

Some of the things that Ghanaians in the community had to say about the Association is summarised below:

 

5. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHANGE

Many Ghanaians have suggested - and the Task Force agrees - that without fundamental changes in the ways in which the Ghana Association has operated in the past, we will not make any progress from where we are now. The following are The Task Force’s recommendations for the revival of the Association: 

i) Short-term Recommendations:

  1. Establish a clear transition plan to drive the process of change
  2. Hold a general election as soon as possible to put the Association on a more stable footing
  3. Set up a sub-committee to review the Constitution
 

  1. Attract more members to the Association by planning and implementing activities that includes everybody
  2. Set up a special project to convert all our documents into an electronic form
  3. Create and maintain a permanent Association web site
  4. Create a multicultural liaison officer within the Association’s executive ranks assigned to applicable educational institutions
  5. Create a special students’ corner on the proposed web site to provide relevant information to students before they even leave Ghana
 

ii) Long-term Recommendations

  1. The Association should be sustainable and durable
  2. Make all members feel welcome and included.
  3. Put equal emphasis on all facets of the community, namely kids, youth, and adults.
  4. Conduct periodic surveys to find out the satisfaction level of all members
  5. Make the Association more visible within the wider Ottawa community
  6. Proposed Association Resource Centre to provide basic computer training for students.
 

6. CONCLUSION

The recommendations of the Task Force are a culmination of more than a month of consultations, discussions and reviews. We trust that these ideas and suggestions would stimulate discussion and debate, and help guide decisions about the future of the Ghana Association of Ottawa. There are many positive features in our community, including the strengths in our people. We have a tremendous opportunity to build on and use these strengths to enable the Ghana Association of Ottawa to play a meaningful and effective role in Canadian society.

 

 

APPENDIX 1: 

GHANA ASSOCIATION OF OTTAWA
(1995)



 

APPENDIX 2: 

REPORT OF THE “GROUP OF FOUR” 

 

Views of the Group on the Revival of Ghana’s Association

Delivered to the “Task Force”

On February 16, 2002 at Andy Kusi-Appiah’s Residence 

The Group, prior to February 2, had held a number of meetings with the aim of putting together an association that will, among other things, cater to the development and welfare of people of Ghanaian descent in Ottawa. The Group holds that the association should be founded on the following philosophy and ideas: 

Sustainability and Durability

It is the Group’s objective that whatever association is put together should be sustainable and durable so that we do not see it dissolve after a few years in existence. 

Indispensability of the Association

For the association to be durable and sustainable, members and prospective members must see the association and its activities as relevant to, and highly necessary for, their well-being and progress.  

Guiding Documents

The association should have two types of central documents namely, a constitution and a vision document. The constitution should embody the usual rules and regulations that guide the day-to-day running of an association whilst the vision document should deal with the vision and long-term objective of the association. Some of the ideas to be captured in the vision document are: a) what is our goal; b) how do we intend getting there; and c) which structures to put in place in facilitation of getting to our destination. 

Governing Bodies

The association should have two executive bodies: an executive committee and a governing council. The executive committee will comprise only members of the association and be responsible for the day-to-day running of the organization whilst the governing council will serve like a board of directors drawing members (of influence) from both within and outside of the association.  

Inclusiveness

The association should have an objective of inclusiveness and its name should also sound and be inclusive. The philosophy and activities of the association should be such that all strands of people of Ghanaian descent and their friends should feel comfortable and accommodated within it. 

Vision Statement

There should be a vision statement that will be enshrined in both the constitution or charter and the vision document. 

Submitted by:

Solomon A. Mensah

Nana N. Nuama-Mensah

A. Rasheed Draman

Kwaku T. Agyei