Technology innovator and Vice President of policy think tank the Imani Centre for Policy and Education (Imani Africa), Bright Simons has stated that it is possible to authoritatively establish whether or not Nana Kwame Bediako alias Cheddar made a million Pounds Sterling back in 2001 by selling scrap metals in the UK, lamenting, however, the unwillingness of most Ghanaians to engage in such enterprises beyond surface level debates.

In an article, titled ‘What Cheddar’s “Scraps to Riches” story says about Ghana’, Mr Simons, a much-respected public policy activist, noted that the scrap metals industry in the UK is so regulated that it won’t be impossible to verify the claims of Cheddar that he made a million Pounds from scrap metals aged 21 in the UK.

Technology innovator and Vice President of policy think tank the Imani Centre for Policy and Education (Imani Africa), Bright Simons has stated that it is possible to authoritatively establish whether or not Nana Kwame Bediako alias Cheddar made a million Pounds Sterling back in 2001 by selling scrap metals in the UK, lamenting, however, the unwillingness of most Ghanaians to engage in such enterprises beyond surface level debates.

In an article, titled ‘What Cheddar’s “Scraps to Riches” story says about Ghana’, Mr Simons, a much-respected public policy activist, noted that the scrap metals industry in the UK is so regulated that it won’t be impossible to verify the claims of Cheddar that he made a million Pounds from scrap metals aged 21 in the UK.

“Scrap-dealing is such a regulated industry that the government amended the law [Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964] in 2013 to further tighten various provisions:

One cannot legally deal in scrap metal without a license or a permit in the UK. It has been so for a considerable length of time. And the licensing is not cheap. Fees are set by local authorities with some guidance from the central government. Each local authority also maintains a register of both applicants and licensees. During the design of the latest regulations, preparatory work involved an economic assessment of the impact of regulatory compliance on scrap dealers in the UK. It was found that the cost of compliance for each subject entity exceeds £4 million,” Mr Simons wrote.

He nonetheless lamented the refusal of the Ghanaian elite sacrifice to probe into such claims, especially when Cheddar is seeking to be President, for the benefit of the public.

“The raw and stomach-churning reality that elites in Ghana refuse to confront is that the country has spawned a low-information society where the middle classes simply do not play the role they do elsewhere.

"They do not sacrifice their time, energy, leisure and intellect for civic causes. They will do so for business, ethnic/chieftaincy, religion, alumni groups, hobby groups, and even sports, endurance, and adventure clubs, but never for civic causes.

"Things related to public policy, environmental activism, ideological movements and the like simply don’t fall within the range of consciousness of the Ghanaian middle class. Yes, there are the occasional sparks, but they never light a fire bright enough or for long enough to attract enough people to build any durable civic movements.

"Some will say that these are just the products of a low-income environment, but that won’t be very accurate. India, parts of Latin America, and pre-Erdogan Turkey are examples of “low income” societies that nevertheless experienced civic consciousness blooms and intense, as well as penetrating, public square cultures well before attaining middle-income economic status,” he argued.

Nana Kwame Bediako ( Cheddar), who is aspiring to be President of Ghana on the wings of his political movement, The New Force, had claimed that he made a million-pound fortune in 2001 in the UK selling scrap metals. His claim has generated much debate among Ghanaians, especially on social media.