Public Agenda articles from December 2009

Public Agenda archives from December 2009

Country Lags Behind in Community Radio.
December 21, 2009... Byline: Basiru Adam With a total number of 10 functioning community radio stations, Ghana is said to be far behind other African countries in utilising the potential of community radio to encourage the education and participation of rural...

Gov't Changes Plans for Oil.
December 21, 2009... Byline: Steve Manteaw and Alberta Dudome The policy objective for Ghana's oil and gas sector has changed from what the New Patriotic Party defined in its draft petroleum policy of October 2008, Public Agenda can confirm. The final draft of...

Transparency in Supply Chain Will Improve Access to Medicines.
December 21, 2009... Byline: Alberta Sitsofe Dudome The Minister of Health, Dr. Benjamin Kunbour has observed that that the only way to improve access to medicines is to ensure extreme transparency and accountability along the full length of the supply chain. ...

Water Shortage to Hit West Africa By 2020.
December 21, 2009... Byline: Gifty Mensah A threat of water shortage is looming over West Africa with experts predicting that its full gravity will be experienced in 10 countries by 2020. The countries are Benin, Chad, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, The Gambia,...

Wages Commission Demands CBAs From MDAs.
December 21, 2009... The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) has requested all Public Service institutions - Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to submit copies of their existing Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) or Conditions of Service to the...

Accra Caucus Flay Redd Deal.
December 21, 2009... Byline: Frederick Asiamah The Accra Caucus on Forests and Climate Change says the deal reached on Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) at the Fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP-15) of the United Nations Framework...

Don't Discriminate Against Albinos - GFD.
December 21, 2009... Byline: Roberta Naa A. Ollenu The General Administrator of the Ghana Federation of the Disabled (GFD), Mr. Isaac Tuggun, has urged the government to fully implement the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) to deter discrimination...

Upholding the Rights of Women And Children.
December 21, 2009... Byline: Ama Achiaa Amankwah Defilement is defined as the act of having sexual intercourse with a child below the age of 18 or a minor, as stated in the children's Act of Ghana. The UN CRC adopted 20 years ago stresses that the dignity and...

Kwabre-East Assembly Making Giant Developmental Strides.
December 21, 2009... Byline: Alhaji Bashiru Zakari The Kwabre-East District Assembly recognizes the indispensable role of education or human resource development in the total development of the any nation. Against this back drop, the Assembly has indicated that...

Diaspora Media Condemns Assault On Journalists.
December 21, 2009... Byline: Prince Osei-Bonsu The Ghanaian diaspora media in the U.S., have urged the Government of Ghana to check acts of impunity creeping back into the society before the wrong signals are sent to the international community that, Ghana was...

Government Should Make Tobacco Smoking Unattractive.
December 21, 2009... Anti-tobacco activists have expressed worry over how cheap tobacco is in abundance in Ghana to the extent that it is very easy for children to acquire the harmful product. Public Agenda's enquiries have for instance revealed that a stick of...

Country's Cheap Cigarettes.
December 21, 2009... Byline: Basiru Adam Anti-tobacco Activists are worried that cigarette, in spite of its well-known health hazards, is so cheap in Ghana that children can buy, especially because it is sold in single sticks instead of packs. At the Mallam...

Livelihood Security And Northern Youth Migration.
December 21, 2009... Byline: Martin R. Musa The usual migration of youth particularly young girls from the Upper East region to urban cities in search of often non-existent jobs appears to be getting out of control. It is estimated that up to about 350 girls are...

Desist From Inflaming Passions- Pelpuo.
December 11, 2009... Byline: Gifty Mensah The Minister for Youth and Sports, Hon Rashid Abdul Pelpuo, has appealed to the media to desist from inflaming passions of the public with inaccurate information on the 2010 FIFA World cup draw in South Africa. He also...

Winner-Takes-All Upheld Despite Weaknesses.
December 11, 2009... Byline: Basiru Adam Although it has been criticized for sidelining opposition parties and breeding deep seated division in the country, the existing electoral system of First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) or Winner-Takes-All has been upheld by a...

Gender Group at COP 15 Pushes for Gender-Responsive Document.
December 11, 2009... Byline: Ama Kudom-Agyemang It is five days now since the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dubbed "COP 15" begun in Copenhagen, Denmark, and institutions and groups are making their...

Death Penalty Violates Right to Life - AI.
December 11, 2009... Byline: Gifty Mensah Amnesty International (AI) Ghana says it is opposed to the death penalty in all cases without exception, regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender or the method used to kill the prisoner....

Shortage of Midwives Hits Bongo District.
December 11, 2009... Byline: Aberinga Milton The Community Health Planning and Services (CHPS) designed to bring health delivery to the door steps and among others improve maternal and child health of rural Ghana has no midwives. The Bongo District Director of...

Unification is Paramount.
December 11, 2009... Byline: Oteng-Agyei It was an absolute historic moment for Ghana, then known as Gold Coast, when Kwame Nkrumah joined the political struggles of that time unto the point where he split from the United Gold Coast Convention (the U.G.C.C) to...

Let Us Debate the Death Penalty.
December 11, 2009... Yesterday, December 10, was celebrated globally as the World Human Rights Day with a reminder to all of humanity on the need to defend fundamental human rights, civil liberties as well as uphold the rule of law and other democratic tenets. ...

Will America Make the Difference in Copenhagen?
December 11, 2009... Byline: Basiru Adam "We have only four years left for Obama to set an example to the rest of the world. America must take the lead," - Prof. James Hansen, Head of Nasa's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. The Copenhagen summit on Climate...

Country, China Enter Into Agreement on Oil and Gas.
December 11, 2009... Byline: Gifty Mensah The China Development Bank (CDB) has, in a financing agreement with the Ghana government and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), disclosed plans to support the development and the utilization of Ghana's oil...

'Don't Put the South on the Road to Permanent Poverty'.
December 11, 2009... Byline: Richard Tren and Franklin Cudjoe As diplomats and delegates from the around the world gather in Copenhagen for a global climate change summit, a major rift is developing between rich and poor countries. The question is whether or...

Developing Nations Resist Oppression at COP15.
December 11, 2009... Byline: Frederick Asiamah The heat is on in Copenhagen with smaller group demonstrations taking place several times daily inside and outside the 15,000 capacity Bella Centre, where the UN Climate Summit (COP15) is ongoing. The...

Churches Should Lead War on HIV and Aids, Says Compassion Ghana.
December 11, 2009... More than ever, the church in Ghana must begin to play a leading role in the fight against the spread of HIV and AIDS by providing for those living with the virus, especially children. This is because, the Church is the only institution...

Legon ICT-Based Distance Education Project Launched.
December 11, 2009... Byline: Roberta Ollenu The University Of Ghana, Legon on Tuesday launched an ICT- based distance education project to serve as an e-learning hub for distance education students within and outside Ghana who enroll at the University. Its...

COP 15 Opens in Copenhagen Today.
December 7, 2009... Byline: Ama Kudom-Agyemang The 15th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dubbed COP 15, opens today in Copenhagen, Denmark, amidst uncertainties of what the likely outcome will be. The...

Climate Change Adaptation to Cost U.S.$300-400 Million Annually.
December 7, 2009... Byline: Roberta Ollenu The Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Hon. Sherry Ayitey has said that a preliminary draft analysis yet to be reviewed by the World Bank suggests that annual cost of adaptation programmes under climate...

Kids Say No to Waste.
December 7, 2009... Byline: Gifty Mensah Life Bridge 68 Foundation, a Non- Governmental Organization (NGO) in partnership with the Ministry of Education has organized a 2009 Kids Against Waste Art contest Awards ceremony in Accra under the theme "KIDS AGAINST...

Former Health Minister Calls for More Support for Doctors.
December 7, 2009... Byline: Alberta Dudome Dr. Richard Winfred Anane, member of Parliament for Mhyiaeso constituency in the Ashanti Region and former Minister of Health in the NPP administration, has appealed passionately to the Government to help solve the...

More Support for Teachers in Rural Areas.
December 7, 2009... Byline: Alberta Sitsofe Dudome The Member of Parliament for Ayawaso West Wuogon, Hon. Akosua Frema Opare, has commended the Government for the continuous implementation of teachers in rural areas incentives and motivation packages as stated...

Public Agenda Decorated With Disability Award.
December 7, 2009... Public Agenda has added another laurel to its list of numerous awards, a phenomenon that has become the hallmark of the paper since its inception in 1994. In recognition of Public Agenda's significant contribution to the cause of the disabled,...

Farmer' Bank Bags Excess Profits.
December 7, 2009... Byline: Baba Kofi Yaro The Bawku East Small-Scale Farmers (BESSFA) Rural Bank bagged about 103, 800 Ghana cedis profit before tax last fiscal year. The figure represents 83.5 per cent increase on 2006 figures. The impressive returns were...

Country Awards Its Farmers.
December 7, 2009... Byline: Gifty Mensah The Government of the Republic of Ghana has accorded recognition to the most deserving of its farmers at the 25th Farmers' Day celebrations. 36-year-old Davis Naa Korbo from the Eastern Region emerged National Best...

Corruption in Country - Who is to Blame?
December 7, 2009... Byline: Kwame Osei In light of the ongoing Mabey and Johnson and Vodafone scandals where alleged acts of corruption have taken place, this special feature looks at the issue of corruption in Ghana and who or what is to blame for the instances...

What Are We Entitled to Under Free Basic Education? Disabled Ask.
December 7, 2009... Byline: Alberta Sitsofe Dudome "It was one hot afternoon, on the 26th September 2004, a day I wished I never went out of my house. I was on my way to Legon, I boarded a commercial vehicle. In the car I sat by a young woman who was complaining...

Why Neglect the Deaf?
December 7, 2009... Byline: Akwasi Fredua The deaf can do everything except hearing. People ignorantly refer to them as also dumb, an assertion they greatly oppose since they can express themselves. Their speech or articulatory organs are well functioning. The...

WB Questions Government Spending.
December 7, 2009... Byline: Steve Manteaw The World Bank Country Director to Ghana, Ishak Diwan has blamed the lack of consensus on spending decisions for some of the poor quality spending that took place under the NPP government, and cautioned that if clear...

Time to Move Beyond This Annual Ritual.
December 7, 2009... Agriculture, though has remained one of the priority areas of the development strategies of successive governments, is yet to make an impact in the overall national economic growth efforts. Given that over 60% of Ghanaians are engaged in this...

'Women Crises Centre', a Model Shelter for Battered Women.
December 7, 2009... Byline: Ama Achiaa Amankwah Violence against women is pervasive throughout the world and approximately one in three of the world's women will experience violence at some point in their lives, with rates reaching 70 per cent in some countries....