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I am very much aware of the implications of these nursery rhymes. Yet I am a diehard optimist. So long as I have life in me I will keep wishing for the betterment of dear old Ghana. This mindset is also my salvation otherwise I would forever be miserable to the point of weeping non stop for Ghana. Our Country Ghana, with beautiful, peace loving, risk averse people. A Country endowed with amazing natural resources. Gold, diamond, bauxite, long pristine white sand beaches, cocoa, timber, endless sunlight and the mother of them all OIL. So how come we are considered in a "nice way" a DEVELOPING COUNTRY? Some countries start like that and then they become DEVELOPED. My question is when will it be our turn to move from developing to Developed? Please God, let it be in my life time. So here are my wishes and prayers for the second half of the year: That there will be uninterrupted electrical power. Of course we can have power outage through an "act go God " like a rainstorm every now and then. That there will be water flowing in the main pipes as it was in 1992. That we will not have to pay the equivalent of $60 for a trip of water, from where we do not know its source, three times a week. That the experts at Ghana Water Works would explore the possibility of having treated bore hole water systems in the urban areas, so dependency on the ailing Ghana Water Works would be minimized. That yes, we have been learning to develop, mistakes have been made, but is it possible to wish that all of us who work whether in the formal or informal sector would pay their taxes? The Bible doth admonish us to pay our taxes. "Give unto Caesar,what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's." I appreciate the fact that nobody really loves the tax man, but it is our duty to pay taxes. The tax holiday should be over. I sincerely wish that the taxes collected would be put to good use, in this order please: Education---so every child can go to school, because a mind is a terrible thing to waste. That a national service program would be instituted for graduates from Tertiary institutions to go teach in primary schools for one year. And that those who volunteer to go to deprived villages would be given priority at employment after their one year tenure. How about a name like TEACH FOR GHANA, just like the one in the USA--TEACH FOR AMERICA. Health ----good hospitals and clinics, so all of us would be reasonably healthy, strong and productive infrastructure, especially good roads worthy of our dear cars. Food---I wish for abundant supply of basic food. Especially free food for children in kindergarten. Transportation----mass transit system to curtail long hours spent in monster traffic jams. Every year I wish for a high speed train. Please God let it happen. That there will be less radio talk and more actions from countrymen endowed with the great wisdom to solve all our problems. That more national heroes would be celebrated, example: Tetteh Quarshie, I wish a Cocoa Museum would be built in Mampong in his honour and that in there would be a big shop with creamy delicious Ghana chocolate bars, and drinks made from 80% real cocoa and rich cocoa butter for our skin. I wish thousands of foreign visitors and local tourists would go to Mampong and just buy and buy and buy our cocoa products. I know for a fact that the life of one ordinary Ghanaian can have an impact on the entire nation, therefore I cannot but wish that the PRESIDENT would recognize the many entrepreneurs who are creating jobs for others, and collecting taxes in all its forms VAT, NHIL etc for Government. I wish that the president would institute an ANNUAL NATIONAL EXCELLENCE AWARD for businesses that significantly impact the economy. Ghanaians are not lazy, as some would want us to believe. The general system discourages people from doing their best. The same Ghanaian excels outside of Ghana. Why? Anyway, I wish that our Sector Ministers would be made to be really accountable for the actions and omissions of their Ministries. I wish they would be encouraged to be innovative and that their workers would be transported to the 21st century, I mean in terms of tools and equipment and also skills training. Ghana is older than Singapore and Malaysia. I wish we can leap frog, and be a bit just a little like them, so we too can help our neighbor like Togo, a bit. It is nice to be a DONOR country or a Developing partner, with Ghana being the dominant endowed one. I wish we will all be Ghanaians first, before NDC, or NPP or PPP or CPP, or Ashanti or Fanti or Ga et all. I wish everyone one will get equal access to Government contracts and jobs, so long as they are qualified. I wish to travel from Accra to Elmina, -which is 99 miles -in two hours, and not four or five, and also that my blood pressure would stay normal upon arrival. I wish malaria would be eradicated first and foremost through the covering of drains, open gutters, and cleaner environment, seconded by treated mosquito nets. I wish Doctors and other medical professionals would not have any reason to go on strike and Teachers too, please. And finally I wish you all the best for the second half of the year!! May your aspirations be fulfilled, may you be happy, healthy wise and oh I almost forgot and wealthy too. May God bless you all!