CHAOS AND CONFUSION

It was a long wait after I purchased my ticket and boarded the minibus that would take me back to Berekum. Nevertheless I arrived in that small dusty town by 1:00 P.M. Tuesday afternoon April 13. I walked over to The Fidelity Bank and collected my blue sachet, from the teller who had called me earlier in the day. I went home and prepared for my journey the following Wednesday morning. I was up by 3:00 A.M., showered in cold water, shaved, dressed and was at the side of the carpenter’s shed by 4:45 A.M. My three wheeled taxi was punctual. We arrived at The Berekum Station by 4:55 A.M. I purchased my ticket, sat in my favorite place at the front and waited patiently. By 5:30 A.M., we were pulling out of the station and to my pleasant surprise it was the very same driver that had transported me to Kumasi the day before. On Tuesday I noticed that he was massaging his lower back with a white cream. On Wednesday morning, since I knew him a little better, I felt that I was at liberty to ask him why. He explained that he was experiencing some severe pain in that part of his anatomy. I asked him how he got it. He didn’t know and had no hypothetical explanations either. I asked him if he had a fan in his bedroom blowing on that part of his body and he replied in the affirmative. I said to him, “That’s how you got that pain in your lower back. You caught a cold from that fan blowing continuously on that part of your body.” I continued, “Sir, you have a very bad case of Arthritis.” Moreover, I stated, “I know exactly what I’m talking about because I experienced the same thing in my right arm. While sitting beneath the ceiling fan in my living room.” I concluded, “The short term remedy is a mixture of Moringa powder and Prekese tea, both of which are powerful anti-inflammatories. However, the permanent long term antidote is the Flekosteel Ointment. Which can be purchased on EBay for approximately US$20.00.” He thanked me for all of this information and suggested that when I visited America again. Maybe I would be kind enough to bring him a few packages of the Flekosteel. Eventually, we arrived at another transportation hub in Kumasi. Not as large as the one I visited the previous day. We both got out of the van and he located the taxi that was going to Ahodwo, told me to get on and instructed the driver to leave me at The Cal Bank in the Ahodwo suburb. I arrived in front of the said bank in about ten minutes, disembarked, and after proceeding through the gate I saw two security guards. I told them why I was there and they assured me that I was at the right place. I was instructed to take a seat at the front and wait. Other applicants gradually arrived and at 9:00 A.M. the doors of the bank were opened. After washing my hands, and having my temperature checked I was permitted to enter. In the first room I was asked a variety of questions after presenting my Passport. In the second room I collected a number, and waited to be called by the teller at the window. When called I paid 706.00 GHS and was given a receipt. Afterwards, I returned to the first room. There, I was finger printed, photographed, and issued with an attractive National Identification Card for Foreigners. I left the premises of Cal Bank and was back in Berekum by 3:00 P.M. I called the gentleman at The Ghana Revenue Authority who was assisting me and told him that I was on my way to his office. When I got there he entered the details from my newly obtained Ghana Card into his computer. Then issued me with a certificate containing my name, address, telephone number, and my new Tax Identification Number. I thanked him and the following morning I immediately went to The Agricultural Development Bank branch, in Berekum. I presented my newly obtained documents to the Operations Manager. She directed me to the assistant with whom I was working previously. He took my Certificate and Ghana Card, entered both numbers into his computer program alternatively. He did this several times. After about five minutes he announced to me that both documents were bogus. I was absolutely speechless for a period of time. My mouth went completely dry, words failed me and I couldn’t even think of what to say or do. I called the gentleman at The Revenue Authority from whom I obtained the Tax Identification Number. I said, “Sir, I need your help. Can you please come down to The ADB branch in Berekum? Because I don’t know what’s going on.” He arrived there in five minutes and was given the same information that I received. He replied, “Why would you use Ghana Card’s Program to verify a T.I.N. issued by The Ghana Revenue Authority?” They couldn’t give him any rational explanation. He continued, “The only way to verify a T.I.N. is to call The Ghana Revenue Authority.” They made the call and the number issued to me along with all of the accompanying details were authenticated. Immediately afterwards he called The Ghana National Identification Card Authority in Accra. To determine why the Ghana Card issued to me the previous day could not be verified. He was advised that the only Ghana Cards that could be verified were those issued to Ghanaian nationals. Those issued to expatriates could not be presently verified. Because the infrastructure was not in place to do so. Nor did they have any timeframe as to when such necessary changes would be effected. The Operations Manager asked the official from the Ghana Revenue Authority, who was assisting me, if he could write a letter stating that the Tax Identification Number issued to me was authentic. He would also need to sign such a letter and stamp it. He said he would ask his immediate supervisor. We left the bank, mounted his motor cycle and returned to his office on Continental Road. I accompanied him upstairs to the office of the head of his department. After he explained the request of the Operations Manager at The Berekum Branch of ADB. His boss replied, “The T.I.N. issued to Mr. James is standard protocol. That’s the document we give to everyone. It also bears the signature of the Tax Commissioner. What more do they want? I’m sorry we certainly wont give them any additional documentation.” I learned an important lesson from this entire experience. Ghanaians don’t trust each other. Nor do they trust Ghanaian institutions. Neither public nor private. Never in my life had I witnessed so much chaos and confusion. If I presented my Social Security Card to any American institution, it would be accepted at face value. No one would even think of asking me to get a signed and stamped letter from The Social Security Administration, verifying the authenticity of my card. Not so in Ghana, where every stranger was a potential fraudster. Behind every door was an invisible criminal. Around every corner was a lurking hostile phantom. As we read in scripture, “The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion.” Proverbs 28:1. (NKJV).