Public Agenda articles from February 2010

Public Agenda archives from February 2010

Time to Get Serious With the GETFund.
February 26, 2010... The importance of education within our national development context can indeed not be over-emphasized. It is for this reason that Public Agenda finds the setting up of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) as a novel idea that can be borrowed...

2, 858 Workers Lose Jobs in 2009.
February 26, 2010... Byline: Ama A. A. Baafi Available statistics at the National Labour Department (NLD) show that a total of 79 companies nationwide filed for redundancy in 2009 as result of which 2, 858 workers were affected. Their reasons : That the cost...

Local Suppliers to Gain as Newmont Places New Emphasis on Local Content.
February 26, 2010... Byline: Basiru Adam Newmont Ghana, one of the global mining giants operating in the country, has announced plans to " progressively over a period of time " patronize more goods and services from companies with a higher level of Ghanaian...

Kite to Remove Bottlenecks in Solar Industry.
February 26, 2010... Byline: Frederick Asiamah The Kumasi Institute of Technology Energy and Environment (KITE) said on Tuesday that it will begin " a vibrant " campaign for the removal of bottlenecks hampering the development of the solar energy sub-sector in...

Life Guards to Ensure Safety At the Volta Lake.
February 26, 2010... Byline: Akwasi Fredua Zoil Services Limited in collaboration with the Ghana Maritime Authority and the Ministry of Transport has successfully completed the training of 130 life guards for the Volta Lake Transport Enhancement Project (VLTEP)...

Politics Not Avenue for Wealth and Prominence- K.B. Quantson.
February 26, 2010... Byline: Ama A.A. Baafi and Akwasi Fredua A former National Security Coordinator, Mr. Kofi Bentum Quantson, has affirmed that politics should not be the wide avenue for wealth and prominence. He has charged politicians to display positive...

AVRL Installs Meters for Efficiency, But NCAP Says It's Too Little Too Late.
February 26, 2010... Aqua Vitens Rand Limited (AVRL) has started the installation of the bulk and zonal meters in the company ' s treatment plants and communities throughout the country. This is to enable the company to measure and calculate efficiently the volumes...

MiDA Commits Sixty Seven Percent of MCA Funds.
February 26, 2010... The Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) has said it is on course to fully exhaust the entire programme budget within the five-year period that the Millennium Challenge Compact, Ghana Program is scheduled to run. At the close of 2009, the...

Prepaid Meters to Be Accessible to All.
February 26, 2010... Byline: Alberta Dudome The Deputy Minister of Energy Mr. Kofi Buah has said that all households in the country will soon have access to prepaid meters, a move that will greatly relieve the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) of the burden of...

Local Education Trust Fund's Finances in Dire Straits.
February 26, 2010... Byline: Steve Manteaw The Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), set up ten years ago to provide supplementary financing for primary, secondary and tertiary education in Ghana, is on its knees, with a debt overhang of GHC166.34 million. The...

Mills Directs Ministers to Submit Blue Prints On Job Creation.
February 26, 2010... Byline: Ebenezer Hanson President John Evans Atta Mills has, in what many political watchers consider as rather belated, directed his Ministers to come out with a plan of action as to how jobs will be created for the swelling numbers of the...

I Will Ensure Women Are Not Marginalized- Christine Churcher.
February 26, 2010... Byline: Akwasi Fredua An aspiring Women ' s Organizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Christine Churcher, has outlined her vision for the NPP as the party goes to congress tomorrow, Saturday, February 27, to elect its national executives....

Time to Get Serious with the GetFund.
February 26, 2010... The importance of education within our national development context can indeed not be over-emphasized. It is for this reason that Public Agenda finds the setting up of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) as a novel idea that can be borrowed...

Kite to Remove Bottlenecks in Solar Industry.
February 26, 2010... Byline: Frederick Asiamah The Kumasi Institute of Technology Energy and Environment (KITE) said on Tuesday that it will begin "a vibrant" campaign for the removal of bottlenecks hampering the development of the solar energy sub-sector in...

Local Suppliers to Gain.
February 26, 2010... Byline: Basiru Adam Newmont Ghana, one of the global mining giants operating in the country, has announced plans to "progressively over a period of time" patronize more goods and services from companies with a higher level of Ghanaian...

Politics Not Avenue for Wealth and Prominence - K.B. Quantson.
February 26, 2010... Byline: Ama A.a. Baafi and Akwasi Fredua A former National Security Coordinator, Mr. Kofi Bentum Quantson, has affirmed that politics should not be the wide avenue for wealth and prominence. He has charged politicians to display positive...

Mills Directs Ministers to Submit Blue Prints on Job Creation.
February 26, 2010... Byline: Ebenezer Hanson President John Evans Atta Mills has, in what many political watchers consider as rather belated, directed his Ministers to come out with a plan of action as to how jobs will be created for the swelling numbers of the...

Mida Commits Sixty Seven Percent of MCA Funds.
February 26, 2010... The Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) has said it is on course to fully exhaust the entire programme budget within the five-year period that the Millennium Challenge Compact, Ghana Program is scheduled to run. At the close of 2009, the...

A Strong African Voice in Climate Talks.
February 26, 2010... Byline: Ernest Harsch Months before the Copenhagen conference on climate change, the African Union (AU) decided that the continent should participate in a more united, coherent manner than it often does at such international gatherings, by...

Mills Calls for More Jobs.
February 26, 2010... Byline: Ebenezer Hanson President John Evans Atta Mills has, in what many political watchers consider as rather belated, directed his Ministers to come out with a plan of action as to how jobs will be created for the swelling numbers of the...

Busac Fund - a Boost to Nation's Private Sector.
February 22, 2010... Byline: Gifty Mensah and Roberta Kodzitse Over 8.5 million US Dollars has been provided by the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) fund to boost private sector advocacy activity, with an estimated number of 4.8 million people in Ghana...

Tourism to Become Number One Foreign Exchange Earner-Minister.
February 22, 2010... Minister of Tourism, Mrs. Zita Okaikoi has indicated her vision to ensure that tourism becomes the number one major foreign exchange earner for the country. According to the new Minister the current position of the sector as the fourth major...

Structural Fiscal Reforms.
February 22, 2010... Byline: Ebenezer Hanson IMF connived with govt but Fund parries criticisms The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has come under a barrage of attacks from civil society organizations (CSOs) over the austere fiscal policies it has prescribed...

Child Prostitution Hits Kasoa.
February 22, 2010... Byline: Mohammed Suleman Months after the demolition of the famous Soja Bar at Kwame Nkrumah Circle, a new brothel has emerged at Kasoa in the Central Region where children prostitutes are offering " hot " services. It is located off the...

Rwanda is Still Fresh On Our Minds.
February 22, 2010... Public Agenda has observed with apprehension the brawl that surrounded the arrest and hasty incarceration of Nana Darkwa Baafi, a young activist of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), who is said to have accused former president Rawlings of setting...

Local Aids Commission Streamlines PLWHAS' Activities.
February 22, 2010... Byline: Ama A. A. Baafi The Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) is embarking on a coding system to, as it puts it, streamline activities of the various support groups of Persons Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHAS) in Ghana. Each PLWHAS in Ghana has been...

Contractor Dumps 3,000 'Shoddy' Desks On Assembly.
February 22, 2010... The Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC) has asked the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese District Assembly to reject over 3,000 pieces of poor quality school desks " abandoned " at the forecourt of the Assembly by RO-RENTAS Company Limited...

Aids Fight in Africa.
February 22, 2010... Byline: Chinua Akukwe The 2009 AIDS Update reconfirms Africa as the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS global epidemic. The continent represents 10 percent of the global population but accounts for 67 percent of all individuals living with HIV/AIDS,...

PWDs DACF Guidelines Launch Aborted.
February 22, 2010... As Minister declines invitation at 11th hour The programme for the launching of the Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) Guidelines on the two percent share of the District Assembly Common the Fund (DACF) last Thursday at the Ghana International...

CJA Condemns Nana Darkwa's Arrest.
February 22, 2010... The Committee for Joint (CJA), a pressure group, has condemned the hasty arrest and incarceration of Nana Darkwa Baafi, the NPP activist who was alleged to have impugned that former president J.J Rawlings set his own house ablaze. A statement...

Transport Systems Should Be Disability Friendly.
February 22, 2010... Byline: Akwasi Fredua The Executive Director of the Centre for the Employment of Persons with Disabilities (CEDPD), Mr. Alexander Tetteh, has expressed dismay at the various forms of discrimination that People With Disabilities (PWDs)...

Commodification of Water in Nation.
February 22, 2010... Byline: Frederick Asiamah Blame poor state investment in the sector Whether young or old, we all know that three things are basic to life: food (including water), clothing and shelter. These are essentials; and access to them should never...

Two NGOs in Favour of Water Tax.
February 22, 2010... Byline: Frederick Asiamah Two civil society groups have, in a perceived controversial manner, asked government to " focus the 20% ad valorem tax on water rather than the packaging material. " According to the Foundation for Grassroots...

Mining Companies Owe VRA Gh 9.7 Million.
February 19, 2010... Byline: Alberta Dudome Three State-owned mining companies are among a group of debtors which have brought the Volta River Authority (VRA) to its feet. Prestea Resources, Ghana Consolidated Diamond and Dunkwa Gold fields collectively owe...

Nation Needs Paediatric Cancer Treatment Units Nationwide.
February 19, 2010... Byline: Ama Achiaa A. Baafi A Consultant Paediatrician at the korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), Dr. Lorna Awo Renner, has proposed the setting up of well equipped paediatric cancer treatment centres in all regions to provide rapid diagnosis...

DV Coalition Unhappy With President Mills.
February 19, 2010... Byline: Aberinga Milton The National Coordinator of Domestic Violence (DV) Coalition, Mr.Adolf Awuku Bekoe has described as very disappointing and unfortunate President John Evans Atta Mills' statement that the provision of shelter for...

Newmont Lays Library Foundation for Blind School.
February 19, 2010... Byline: Alberta Dudome One of the biggest challenges confronting the Akropong School for the Blind is the absence of a modern library. This is adversely affecting the academic work in the school. In line with its vision to provide students...

AVRL Contract Must Not Be Renewed.
February 19, 2010... It is very unfortunate that the acting Board Chairman of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Arnold Seshi, said his team has called for documents on the Aqua Vitens Rand (AVRL) management contract for review, stating that AVRL is performing...

Tullow Responds to Public Agenda's Story.
February 19, 2010... Says City Link did not meet standards Tullow Ghana Limited has explained that a requirement of Offshore Gas and Petroleum (OGP) standards dictated its decision to contract the Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen (NHV) of Belgium for the...

Old Vandals Told to Educate Bawku On Cost of Conflict.
February 19, 2010... Byline: Mohammed Bello Sanda District Chief Executive of the Garu-Tempane District, Mr. David Adakurugu, has called on members of the Upper East Regional Branch of the Old Vandals Association and other identifiable groups to educate the...

Achimota's Public Health Crisis - an Open Letter to Ghana's Leaders.
February 19, 2010... An intolerable situation has developed at Achimota School. The school ' s antiquated sewer system has collapsed. Raw sewage including human excreta can be seen leaking from cracks in the main pipes. This is especially true around the sewage...

Ashaiman Police Cell Violates Inmates Rights - CHRAJ.
February 19, 2010... Byline: Emile Francis Short Following reports that two inmates of the Ashaiman Police station cell had died due to suffocation at the station, the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) visited the station and...

Govt Urged to Look At Life After Avrl.
February 19, 2010... The failure of the World Bank-sponsored urban water reforms in Ghana brings country back to the drawing table and presents an urgent challenge for all Ghanaians to contribute to the search for a viable solution to potable water delivery in...

British Double Standards?
February 19, 2010... Byline: Dr. Kwame Osei In a recent development by the British government, the Home Secretary, Alan Johnson has put in place new legislation that will result in students from developing countries like Ghana facing tougher criteria just to...

To Conserve Or Not to Conserve - Nation's Forests snd Climate Change.
February 19, 2010... Byline: Ama Kudom-Agyemang As the debate on how best to address climate change advances, experts have identified the role of forests as one of the solutions that has the potential to combat the phenomenon. According to the Forests Dialogue...

The Uniqueness of the Relationship Between Culture and Society.
February 19, 2010... Byline: Ebenezer Hanson Discussions on the concepts of " culture " and " society " as gleaned from sociological and anthropological literature of both old and contemporary times leave one with an inescapable conclusion, to wit, the...

Bole Senior High Cleans Bole District Hospital.
February 15, 2010... The Human Rights Club of the Bole Senior High School has embarked organized a clean up exercise at the Bole District Hospital and its environs. The exercise which lasted for six hours involved a massive clean up of the hospital, washing of...

Tullow Drops Citylink for Foreign Airline.
February 15, 2010... Byline: Frederick Asiamah Tullow Oil Plc, operators of the jubilee oil field in Ghana, has dropped the Ghanaian-owned Citylink airline company in favour of Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen (NHV) of Belgium for the transportation of personnel...

Women Seek Space in Post Conflict Discourses.
February 15, 2010... Byline: Ama Achiaa A. Baafi An expert on gender studies, Prof. Amina Mama, has said that militarism in the sub region ; a high level of influence by military personnel and ideals on the government or policies of a country or state in West...

Nation Meets One-Third of Horticultural Export.
February 15, 2010... Byline: Frederick Asiamah Ghana currently meets only one-third of its horticultural export potential, according to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the World Bank Group ' s Managing Director. The former Nigerian Foreign Minister estimates that Ghana...

Maximize Opportunities for Achieving MDGs - Charles Abugri.
February 15, 2010... Byline: Akwasi Fredua Dr. Charles Abugri, Deputy Director, African Office of the United Nations Millennium Campaign (UNMC), has outlined his office ' s operational plan for the year which seeks to maximize opportunities in terms of...

Zoil Trains Life Guards.
February 15, 2010... Zoil Services Limited, a subsidiary of Zoomlion Ghana Limited, has launched a one week training programme at Tema to train Life Guards on the Volta Lake. The training which is being held at the Eastern Naval Command, Tema, is under the theme...

Nation's Constitutional Review.
February 15, 2010... Byline: Ebenezer Hanson Prof.Kofi Quashigah, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, has argued that judging by the number of proposed constitutional amendments by the Attorney-General (A-G), a constituent assembly rather than a...

Coniwas Calls for Release of Water and Sanitation Budget.
February 15, 2010... Byline: Frederick Asiamah The Coalition of Non-governmental Organizations in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS) has called on government to release all national budgetary commitments and appropriations made to water and sanitation agencies for...

Local Students Urged to Take Advantage of UK Education.
February 15, 2010... Byline: Roberta Kodzitse and Gifty Mensah Over 2000 Ghanaians out of 340 000 international students are currently studying in the United Kingdom, according to the Deputy High Commissioner of UK, Matthew Johnson. The numbers could go up as...

Indigenization Won't Just Happen By Itself.
February 15, 2010... Indigenization, local content, and increased local participation in Ghana's oil and gas sector are fine phrases, denoting progressive thinking. They convey a sense of wanting to do things differently in the country's emerging hydrocarbon...

CSIR Helps Find Solutions to Local Problems.
February 15, 2010... Byline: Akwasi Fredua The Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Sherry Ayittey, has at a " Meet the Press " briefing said the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has developed Pozzolana cement, made from local...

Nation Introduces Degree Courses in Procurement.
February 15, 2010... Byline: Frederick Asiamah Procurement practice in Ghana is set to improve following the development of medium and long term training curricula and modules which will be used for teaching and learning procurement in universities and...

United Way Ghana Shows Love And Care.
February 15, 2010... Byline: Alberta Dudome United Way Ghana (UWG), a non-profit organization, in collaboration with Newmont Ghana, has visited some social facilities and offered assistance to inmates. The facilities are the Bawjiase orphanage in the Central...

Did Tullow Oil Short-Change Uganda?
February 15, 2010... Byline: Steve Manteaw Public Agenda has stumbled on a report which suggests that Tullow must have short-changed Uganda in the negotiation of its oil contract in that country. The report affirms that, Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs)...

Isodec, Partners Explore HIV/Aids Impact On Local Governance.
February 15, 2010... Byline: Ama Achiaa A. Baafi & Alberta Dudome The Integrated Social Development Center (ISODEC), in collaboration with the African Democracy Institute (Idasa) of South Africa and the Centre for the Development of People (CEDEP), is...

Revoke Newmont's Licence, Govt Told.
February 15, 2010... Byline: Mohammed Suleman and Roberta Kodzitse A group, calling itself Youth for Action Ghana [YAG] has urged Ghanaians from all walks of life to join in a campaign to compel government to revoke the mining lease granted to Newmont to mine in...

Shai State to Benefit from Lion Project.
February 15, 2010... The Shai State in the Greater Accra Region is to benefit from a Ministry of Tourism ?Lion Project? which seeks to bring in tourists to have a real experience with lions living in their natural habitat. At a consultative meeting in Dodowa ,the...

Locals Must Take Lead in Oil Sector- Ato Ahwoi.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Akwasi Fredua Mr. Ato Ahwoi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), has urged Ghanaians and Ghanaian financial institutions to take the lead in financing the growth of the oil sector....

All Motorists Will Pay Road Tax.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Gifty Mensah There is no free lunch in Ghana today. I am sure you will ask since when there was free lunch in Ghana? In fact, what used to be free for motor cycles is no longer so. All motorists, including motor cyclists are equally...

Free Cleft Lip Screening Begins.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Gifty Mensah Alliance for Smiles, an international organization of surgeons based in the United States of America, in collaboration with the Rotary club of Accra West is organizing a free medical screening for persons with cleft...

Angola 2010 - the Black Stars' Highs, Lows And Way Forward.
February 12, 2010... Byline: John Kumi Until the final whistle was blown I couldn't believe the Richard Kingson-led Black Stars could only be gallant losers in their final match against the Pharaohs of Egypt. I was anxiously waiting to see the Skipper of the...

20 Percent Tax On Water to Be Abolished.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Steve Manteaw Indications are that the 20% ad valorem tax on packaged water which together with the increases in road tolls have attracted a great deal of criticism from the general public will not stay after all. The tax which has...

A Case for Consensual Taxation.
February 12, 2010... The past week has seen a great deal of public discourse on government's recent tax initiatives aimed at enhancing domestic revenue mobilization. A lot of energy has particularly gone into the merit and de-merit of imposing a 20% ad valorem tax...

Netright Calls for Equal Representation on Constitutional Committee.
February 8, 2010... The Network for Women's Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT) has called on the government to increase the representation of women on the Constitution Review Committee to enable them to actively participate in the process and bring out issues concerning...

The Silent Observer - Will a National Driving Academy Be the Answer?
February 8, 2010... Byline: Ebenezer Nana Wilson The causes of road accidents are well known to us yet we seem helpless in finding lasting solutions that could stem the tide of these accidents and their accompanying fatalities. Media reports indicate that by...

No Tax Incentives for Spare Parts Imports.
February 8, 2010... Byline: Alberta Dudome The Minister of Trade, Ms. Hannah Tetteh, has stated that the spare parts dealers at Abossey Okai, who are mostly importers of spare parts, especially used ones cannot access tax incentives. This is because...

The Standards Board Must Read This.
February 8, 2010... Byline: Samuel Asampana Atarah A Chinese made extension cord, widely distributed in Ghana, has a 3-pin plug at one end which then connects to the circuit board by only two unsuitably tiny wires and a dummy plastic tube disguised as a third...

Black Stars - You Did Us Proud.
February 8, 2010... Byline: Kwame Osei Like many Ghanaians I was disappointed to see the Black Stars fail in their bid to become Afrikan champions at the recently ended tournament in Angola. The Black Stars more than held their own against the Egyptians and...

Ecowas, Media Devise Media Standards for Peace and Security.
February 8, 2010... Byline: Ama Achiaa A. Baafi The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is collaborating with the media in West Africa to establish minimum standards for media practice in conflict prevention, deepening democracy and good...

Free Surgery for People With Deformed Lips.
February 8, 2010... Rotary Club of Accra West, a Social and Voluntary organization is, in collaboration with Alliance for Smiles, an International organization, which specializes in correcting cleft palate deformities, organizing a free medical screening and...

Disabled Receive More Support for Capacity Building.
February 8, 2010... Byline: Frederick Asiamah Persons with disability (PWDs) from eight districts in five regions, will in the next two years receive capacity building in strategic advocacy, organizational development, and communication and coordination under a...

One Year On - Why Obama Has Failed Africa Vol. 3.
February 8, 2010... Byline: Kwame Osei Today we see Zimbabwe being attacked by United States (US) and British media terrorism. Their attack is under the guise of bringing "democracy" to Zimbabwe, led by US imperialist fronts like, the National Endowment for...

Reflections On the Mental Health Situation in Ghana.
February 8, 2010... Byline: Badimak Peter Yaro Ever since the findings of the undercover investigation recently carried out at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital - Ghana's leading mental hospital were made public, discourse on mental health, which has long been...

Strengthening Women's Activism in Post-Conflict Africa.
February 8, 2010... ABANTU for Development with support from the Global Fund for Women (GFW) and the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is organizing a four-day methodology workshop under the theme "Strengthening Women's Activism in Post-Conflict Africa" in...

Netright Calls for Equal Representation On Constitutional Committee.
February 8, 2010... The Network for Women's Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT) has called on the government to increase the representation of women on the Constitution Review Committee to enable them to actively participate in the process and bring out issues concerning...

No Tax Incentives for Spare Parts Imports.
February 8, 2010... Byline: Alberta Dudome The Minister of Trade, Ms. Hannah Tetteh, has stated that the spare parts dealers at Abossey Okai, who are mostly importers of spare parts, especially used ones cannot access tax incentives. This is because...

Nation Under-Invests in Agriculture.
February 8, 2010... Byline: Basiru Adam Increased budgetary allocations, since 2003, to the agricultural sector have not resulted in a corresponding rise in the sector's expected growth rate of 6 percent per annum, a study on government spending in agriculture...

The Silent Observer.
February 8, 2010... Byline: Ebenezer Nana Wilson The causes of road accidents are well known to us yet we seem helpless in finding lasting solutions that could stem the tide of these accidents and their accompanying fatalities. Media reports indicate that by...