Mr. Obruni Rages Against the Machine

One of the things that I believe Africa will have to overcome if it is to develop is the bureaucracy. It's inefficient, disorganized and lackadaisical. Quite simply, it's horrible. Allow me to illustrate a prime example:

Wednesday:
For easy access to my funds, I decided to open up a bank account at the major bank in Ghana - Barclays. (There are a few main banks in Ghana, but this was simply the one I picked) I got the Scotiabank in Markham to write up a large bank draft (basically a cheque) so I could transfer the cash. To open an account, I needed tons of ID photocopied and stood in line for about half an hour just to speak with the lady in charge. So she gives me a form to fill out and bring back tomorrow.

Thursday:
Upon my return, I waited in line again for a considerable amount of time. When I arrived, I was scolded for not having filled out everything on the form. (Hell, I guessed half of my answers anyway) The lady told me to come back on Tuesday and the account would be opened. That's alright, I thought, I can just cash in a few traveller's cheques to get me through the weekend at Kakum and Cape Coast.

Tuesday:
I get back in the queue again and arrive at the lady's desk (by this point she may as well be sitting on a throne) and I am rewarded with a scrap of paper with a number on it. It may be my account number, but I really have no clue at this point. I get into another queue for the tellers who handle the large transactions. Here's what transpired:

Me: "I would like to put money into my account."
Teller: *blank stare*
Me: "I'm an international student and I have this bank draft right here."
Teller: *pause* "Would you like to make a deposit?"
Me: "Yes, can you take this and put it in my account?"
Teller: "Oh, okay. It will take six weeks to process."

What the hell is this tripe? Listen, lady. I need this money NOW. It's MY MONEY and I would like it deposited in MY ACCOUNT. I can't wait six weeks for you to send the draft back to Scotiabank and back to Barclays. In fact, I know that the two banks are partnered so that money can be transferred more easily across borders. So I may have to phone the bank in Markham (which is about $2 per minute on my cell phone - and the pay-as-you-go cards only come in $10 cards) and ask them why the hell they didn't tell me this in the first place when I asked the teller what the best way to transfer money to Africa would be!

Anyways, the point is I've been dealing with the bank for a week now and my money is trapped on a little piece of paper and I don't have much other money to spend. I have traveller's cheques, but I want to save them for when I travel. I have some Euros, but I'll need those when I go back through Amsterdam. The only other option is to dip into my account with my Scotiabank card (for a nominal fee with each withdrawl) until I can sort all of this out. Thus, I have been saving my money these days, which means that I've had to cut back on a number of things, most notably my internet time. It's re-damned-diculous is what it is. I may go to the bank downtown to get things straightened out.


The strangest thing about this episode is that it's by no means unique. When applying for classes at the university (a long and drawn out process in which you walk to each department, register in the department, sign up for each individual class, wait for a timetable to be released and hope your courses don't conflict), the guy in the school of administration gave me lip about not being a bona-fide administration student because I came from Canada. Luckily, I eventually got it sorted out and the prof likes me already.

So the next time you deal with "slow" online class registration or "snotty" bank tellers, remember... Everything is worse in Africa!