Public Agenda articles from May 2009

Public Agenda archives from May 2009

UK Oil And Gas Investors Make Second Visit.
May 29, 2009... The UK West Africa Action Group (UK WAAG) is making its second visit to Ghana to coincide with the West Africa Business Association's (WABA) Oil and Gas Business Conference and Exhibition which will take place in Sekondi -Takoradi from June 2nd...

Government Must Come Clean On Duration of SHS.
May 29, 2009... Byline: From the Editor A the two-day national forum on the duration of Senior High School started in Accra on Wednesday and closed on Thursday. According to the organizers, the broad aim of the forum was to foster consensus for enhancing an...

Why Obama's Visit to Country is Not That Significant.
May 29, 2009... Byline: Dr. Kwame Osei There will be intense excitement when US president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle touchdown in Ghana in July for a two day official visit to the country. Much will be made about the significance of Obama's first...

CTO-Funded Study Sees Potential for ICT Park in Cape Coast.
May 29, 2009... A study conducted by a Cape Coast-based NGO, Youth Aid Foundation for Winners (YAFOW), on the prospects for an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Park in Cape Coast has concluded that the region has the necessary features and...

Celebrating 50 Years of Anlo Sec. School.
May 29, 2009... Anlo Secondary School (ANSECO) is celebrating 50 years. The School which is located at Anloga in the Volta Region was established on April 10, 1959 by three founding fathers - Torgbui Adeladza II, Mr. C. K. Fiagbe and Mr. J. W. K. Doe (the only...

New Form of Braindrain in the Health Sector Beacons.
May 29, 2009... Byline: Sylvester Senyo Ofori-Parku At a time when it seems the mass exit of nurses in Ghana to seek better opportunities elsewhere is being clogged, many nurses pursuing further education at the universities are threatening to leave the...

Veterinary And Epidemiologists Meet On.
May 29, 2009... Madam Salamatu Abdul-Salam, Chief Director of the Ministry of Health on Wednesday said the success in efforts to build capacity for African countries to deal with emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases depended on the political will of...

Police Play Hide & Seek With Women.
May 29, 2009... Byline: Ama Achiaa Amankwah & Melissa Campanella What was expected to be a peaceful demonstration by women's groups in protest at the apparent failure of President John Evans Atta Mills to honour his campaign promise to allot 40 percent...

A Critical Look At Dams And Poverty Reduction in the Upper East Region.
May 29, 2009... Byline: Mohammed Nurudeen Issahaq Traditionally, economic activity in the Upper East Region just as in the other two regions of the Northern Sector of the country, is centred on agriculture with about 80 per cent of the population engaged in...

Immigration And CEPS Snub Ecowas Protocol Forum.
May 29, 2009... Byline: Frederick Asiamah The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) on Wednesday snubbed a stakeholders press briefing on the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement to avoid questions from the media...

Concerns Raised Over World Bank's New Disclosure Policy.
May 29, 2009... Byline: Ebenezer Hanson The World Bank over the last 15 years has been moving towards a policy of greater transparency by making more information available to stakeholders. The Executive Directors and the Bank Management have periodically...

Public Listed Banks And Their Total Assets.
May 29, 2009... Byline: Omohakpor Enaye Total assets of banks are up. Total assets at Ecobank Transnational Incorporated rose from U$6.6 billion in 2007 to U$8.3 billion in 2008, up by U$1.8 billion (27%). At Ghana Commercial Bank, total assets rose from...

Foodspan Urges Gov't to Create Biofuel Policy Now.
May 29, 2009... Byline: Melissa Campanella & Ama Achiaa Amankwah Members of the Food Security Policy Advocacy Network (FoodSPAN) have called on government to develop a comprehensive policy on Biofuel production in light of the World Jatropha Summit to be...

Fake Drugs Kill Hundreds of Thousands.
May 22, 2009... A new report from the International Policy Network and sponsored by IMANI Center for Policy & Education details the shocking burden of fake drugs in less developed countries. Fake tuberculosis and malaria drugs alone are estimated to kill...

Defiler of Three-Year-Old Baby Busted.
May 15, 2009... Byline: Iddi Moro An unemployed, Isaac Boamah alias Aki Moses 26, has been arrested by the Kade Police for allegedly defiling a three-year-old girl at Akyem Bomso in the Kwaebibrem District of the Eastern Region. According to the...

New Senior Management Appointments At Unilever.
May 15, 2009... Mr. Sampson Aaron Dontoh has been appointed as the Human Resources Director of Unilever Ghana Limited with effect from April 1, 2009. Mr. Sam Dontoh joined Unilever Ghana in August of 2003 as the Management Training & Development Manager...

Promoting a Peaceful Political Transition.
May 15, 2009... It is five months now since power changed hands from the NPP to the NDC, but the issues bothering on the transition will remain very controversial and divisive in the days and years ahead. It all boils down to the manner past and present...

Takoradi to Host Oil And Gas Conference.
May 15, 2009... Byline: Frederick Asiamah The West Africa Business Association (WABA) Ghana has indicated strong interest in the fledgling oil and gas industry of Ghana. Chairman Mr Joseph Winful says the discovery of commercial quantities of oil is...

Whither the Oman Ghana Trust Fund?
May 15, 2009... It?s been five months now since Public Agenda started advocating on the need for the Mills-Administration to take a second look at the Oman Ghana Trust Fund; which is estimated to contain over $800 billion accruing from interests over five...

Separating the Justice Ministry And Attorney General - Much Ado About Nothing?
May 15, 2009... Byline: Ebenezer Hanson A fortnight ago the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) jointly organized a seminar to deliberate on the vexed issue of whether the separation of the Justice Ministry from the...

Another Approach to Waste Management in Ghana.
May 15, 2009... Byline: Abubakr-Sadiq Braimah His Excellency The President, Professor John Evans Atta-Mills has since his inauguration as President, being insisting on the reduction in Government expenditure. He has also pledged that to ensure that the...

Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited Profits Up By 35 Percent.
May 15, 2009... Byline: Omohakpor Enaye Profit Before Taxation at Stanbic Bank rose from GH?15 Million in 2007 to GH? 20 million in 2008, up by GH? 5 million (36%).Profit after tax rose by 35%. Net interest income rose by 71%.Total income rose by...

Expose Criminals - Interior Minister Tells People of Bawku.
May 15, 2009... Byline: Baba Kofi Yaro Mr. Cletus Avoka, Minister of Interior has urged the people of Bawku Municipality to expose criminals in their communities because they were becoming a hindrance to the peace process. Such criminals, he said...

Report On Murdered Ghanaians Out.
May 15, 2009... Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, returned home yesterday from Abuja, Nigeria, where he attended a meeting on the killings and disappearance of Ghanaians in the Gambia. Briefing journalists on...

Databank Boss Praises Regulatory Agencies.
May 15, 2009... Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, Chief Executive of the Databank Financial Services Ltd, has stated that financial regulatory agencies in Ghana should be credited with the muted impact of the global financial crises on Ghana. "Let us not for once...

UDS Holds Developmental Universities Seminar in Upper East.
May 15, 2009... Byline: Baba Kofi Yaro The University for Development Studies (UDS) at the weekend held a two day Developmental Universities seminar in Bolgatanga, Upper East Region on the theme, "University Research and People Centred Developmental...

Thirty Pregnant Girls in Mfantseman Wrote Bece.
May 15, 2009... Thirty pregnant girls and one nursing mother wrote the just ended Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in the Mfantseman Municipality. Ms. Vivian Etroo, the Municipal Director of Education, told the GNA in an interview that 13...

Elearning Conference Shows How ICTs Empower Education.
May 15, 2009... Using examples from 60 countries, the 4th eLearning Africa conference, Africa's largest event for learning technologies, will show how Information and Communication Technologies are helping African countries to reach the Millennium Goal of...

Retired Educationist Calls for Improved Educational System in the North.
May 15, 2009... Byline: Baba Kofi Yaro Mrs. Stella Yembila, a retired educationist, has observed that in spite of the enormous natural resources and a large land area, little has been done in the three Northern Regions to reduce poverty among the...

Country Escapes Cocoa Boycott.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Frederick Asiamah The International Cocoa Verification Board (ICVB) has endorsed Ghana's reports on the state of child labour which said there was no evidence of trafficked children and bonded children working on cocoa farms in...

Jubilee House Disrupts Water Supply.
May 11, 2009... Communities immediately surrounding the Golden Jubilee House have blamed "increasing irregular water supply" on the construction of the Golden Jubilee House. The affected communities - Kanda, Nima 441 and Mamobi - claim that an irregular...

Citizens Do Not Have to Be Hungry.
May 11, 2009... In last Friday's edition of Public Agenda we published the report of a survey conducted by the World Food Programme and the Ghana Statistical Service on food security. According to the survey, more than 1.2 million Ghanaians wake up each...

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated Profits Down By 20 Percent.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Omohakpor Enaye Profit for the year at Ecobank Transnational Incorporated went down by 20%. The profits went down from U$139 Million in 2007 to U$111Million in 2008,down by U$28 Million (20%). Net interest income rose by...

"Gov't Must Ban Aboakyir to Forestall Peace At Winneba".
May 11, 2009... Byline: Kwaku Baah-Acheamfour Alhaji Abubakr Hajj Issa, a security expert in Cape Coast, has called on government to intervene in the long standing chieftaincy dispute in Winneba as it is gradually escalating into an uncontrollable...

Education for All Initiative On Track.
May 11, 2009... Almost all countries endorsed by the Education for All Fast Track Initiative (EFA FTI) are on track to achieve a primary school completion rate of at least 80 percent by 2015 as stated in the latest EFA FTI publication entitled "Sounds from...

Journalists Still 'Wild Attack Dogs'.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Amos Safo During the celebration of the 2005 World Press Freedom Day on Tuesday, May 3rd, then President of the Ghana Bar Association, Mr. Paul Adu Gyamfi who delivered the key note address pointed out that instead of being...

On the Cusp of an Oil Boom.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Bright B. Simons Attempts to produce commercial quantities of oil in Ghana date from the late 19th Century, and at regular intervals between that time and the present the West African country has had its hopes dashed by...

Water-Ghana - Something Doesn't Add up.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Francis Kokutse It looks like someone is not telling it as it is as far as meeting the Ghana's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on water supply is concerned. Whilst officials of the country's Water and Sanitation...

Media Give Prez Mills 100-Day Negative Rating.
May 11, 2009... A research conducted by the Centre for Media Analysis (CMA) on president Mills' first 100 days in office has given the new government a 67% negative rating. "The government also scored 23% positive projection and 10% neutral, reflecting...

Mandate Darfur Forced to Cancel Civil Society Conference.
May 11, 2009... The Board of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation has disclosed that after many months of working with Darfurian civil society to build a mandate for peace, the Sudanese government is obstructing the safe passage of Darfurian delegates from Sudan ,...

Ofankor Tree Witches Crashed.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Iddi Moro Two persons who confessed to be among the witches and wizards, who operated on the famous Ofankor tree near Accra, have been arrested by the powerful Traditional healer, Prof. Aridu Sabo Azeez of Suhum-Kukua in the...

Judge Strikes Out Case Against Wacam Activists.
May 11, 2009... His Honour Kwame Ohene Essel, the Circuit Court Judge of Circuit Court 'A' in Sunyani on Monday 27th April 2009 struck out the over two- year case brought against five WACAM Activists and an official of Oxfam America for convening a community...

Fidelity Bank Profits Up By 500 Percent.
May 8, 2009... Byline: Omohakpor Enaye Profit before taxation at Fidelity Bank is up by 500%. It rose from GH?0.477 million in 2007 to GH?2.7 million in 2008, up by GH?2.2 million (500%). Net interest income went up by 72%. Operating income went up...

Use Media Freedom to Fight Hunger - Stratcomm CEO.
May 8, 2009... Byline: Ebenezer Hanson The CEO of Stratcomm Africa, Ms. Esther Cobbah, has advised Ghanaian journalists to use the media freedom they are enjoy to rid the country of poverty, hunger and disease. Media freedom, she believes, would not...

Why the Cedi is Losing Its Value.
May 8, 2009... Byline: Dr. Kwame Osei There have been many debates on radio and TV as to why the Cedi has fallen sharply over the last 7 months or so. Many of the commentators who have appeared have blamed everything under the sun from the...

Gynecologist Expresses Concern At the Spate of Rape And Defilement.
May 8, 2009... Byline: Baba Kofi Yaro Dr Peter Baffoe, a Gynecologist at the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital has expressed concern at the spate of rape and defilement cases in the country and said if pragmatic measures were not taken to deal with the...

Public Service Broadcasting Crucial for Consolidation of Democracy.
May 8, 2009... Mr Berifi Apenteng, a Broadcasting Consultant on Wednesday said effective Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) is crucial for the consolidation of democratic culture in the country. "PSB also holds the key to the country's overall...

Study On Efficacy of Malaria Vaccine Soon.
May 8, 2009... A study on how many mild and severe malaria cases could be prevented by the candidate malaria vaccine, known as RTSS, being tried, is to commence next month. Some 1,500 children aged between five to 17 months and six to 12 weeks are to...

Youth Unemployment a Major Challenge for African Countries.
May 8, 2009... A panel of experts on youth and employment from Ghana, Kenya, Mali, and Colombia met on Saturday, during the annual Spring Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, to discuss ways to alleviate the growing problem of youth...

NGO Provides Scholarships to Poor Students in Upper East.
May 8, 2009... Byline: Baba Kofi Yaro The Centre for Sustainable Development (CENSUDI), a grassroot Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in the Upper East Region has sponsored over 200 students under its Education and Improvement Programme (EPI). ...

UER Health Directorate Calls On Public to Report Symptoms of Cold Or Catarrh.
May 8, 2009... Byline: Baba Kofi Yaro The upper East Regional Health Directorate is urging the public, especially those who get in contact with foreigners to report any symptoms of cold or catarrh to health institutions for tests and treatment. ...

Stop Outright Sale of Lands.
May 8, 2009... Byline: Basiru Adam The paramount Chief of the Jomoro Traditional Area in the Western Region, Awulai Annor Adjei has said that it would better serve the interest of their people, especially future generations, if chiefs and families...

Ministry Provides Subsidies for the Provision of Household Toilets.
May 8, 2009... Byline: Selorm Amevor The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development says it has a subsidy facility reduce the cost of providing household toilet facilities in a bid to reduce pressure on neighbourhood and public toilets. ...

Noguchi Pioneers the Use of DNA Barcodes to Rid the World of Elephantiasis.
May 8, 2009... The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research at the University of Ghana, supported by the Philadelphia based JRS Biodiversity Foundation, is pioneering the use of DNA "barcodes" to map menacing mosquito species in West Africa that...

1.2 Million Ghanaians Have Limited Access to Good Food.
May 8, 2009... More than 1.2 million Ghanaians wake up each day with no surety of getting food to eat.This means they have limited access to sufficient and nutritious food throughout the year, says a study undertaken by the United Nations World Food...

100 Days of the Mills Administration - the Solid Waste Perspective (2).
May 8, 2009... Byline: John Baiden The negative developments observed during the first hundred days include the lack of a clear-cut policy, waste management strategies and action plans, the lack of coordination and planning of waste management...

Doctors And Gov't Must Smoke the Peace Pipe.
May 8, 2009... When junior doctors at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital embarked on a strike a week ago, it was certain that the country's health sector had once again started the annual rituals of kick-starting wage-related strikes. For the one week...

Findings of Major Study On Vitamin A Released.
May 8, 2009... A study conducted in Kintampo by a team of experts has shown beyond doubt that taking Vitamin A does not reduce the risk of death in pregnancy or childbirth. The study has answered a very important question for the survival of women and...

Kusasi Opinion Leaders Attribute Recent Violence in Bawku to Armed Robbers.
May 8, 2009... Byline: Baba Kofi Yaro Opinion leaders of the Kusasis in the Bawku Traditional Area have attributed the recent violence that broke out on April 30th at the cattle market to armed robbers who wanted to exploit the conflict in the area to...

Government Gets Tough On Truck Drivers.
May 8, 2009... Byline: Selorm Amevor The Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr. Joe Gidisu, says government will from the 1st June this year enforce the axle load policy to control loading at the ports of entry in accordance with the West African Economic...

Zenith Bank Profits Up By 1500 Percent.
May 8, 2009... Byline: Omohakpor Enaye Profit before taxation at Zenith Bank rose from GH?0.404 million in 2007 to GH?12.626 million in 2008, up by GH?12.222 million (3025%). Profit after tax went up by 1486%. Net interest income rose by 217%....

Uba Bank Ghana Lost Gh6 Million in 2008.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Omohakpor Enaye According to UBA financial statements, for the year ended 31 December 2008, it lost GH?6 Million. The loss went up by 305%. The loss rose from GH?1.5 Million in 2007 to GH?6 Million loss in 2008, up by GH?4.8...

GDP Grew 7.3 Percent in 2008.
May 4, 2009... The economy grew by 7.3 per cent in 2008 buoyed by strong growth in agriculture, industry and services, the Ghana Statistical Service announced on Thursday. The GDP growth is based on about 70 per cent of data gathered so far from the...

TOR Workers Warn of Fuel Shortage.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Frederick Asiamah & Ama Achiaa Amankwah Widespread fuel shortages could hit the nation soon if the Tema Oil Refinery's crude oil stock is not replenished. Workers of the refinery displayed placards during the march past at...

GWCL Workers Want ACRL Boss to Go.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Selorm Amevor Workers of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) seconded to work with Aqua Vitans Rand Limited (AVRL) have called on government to sack the Managing Director of the company, Mr. Andrew Barber, for exploitation and...

Give NCCE a New Lease of Life.
May 4, 2009... Since the inception of the Fourth Republican Constitution, a constitutional body like the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has been time and again deprived of the needed funds and logistics to discharge its duty of educating...

Govt & the Millennium Development Goals.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Franklin Cudjoe, Bright B. Simons & Kofi Bentil The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), founded on the 2000 Millennium Declaration, itself a document endorsed by nearly every government on Earth, have found their way into almost...

Hotcatt is Now Gimpa -But Can We Pay the Fees?
May 4, 2009... Byline: Jean Lukaz Mih In a short and accusatory handing over ceremony 22nd April 2009, the Hotel Catering and Tourism Training Institute (HOTCATT) was fully taken over by GIMPA Greenhill College, a Center of Excellence. The Acting...

100 Days of the Mills Administration - the Solid Waste Perspective (1).
May 4, 2009... Byline: John Baiden In the United States, the Democrats are widely perceived as being better managers of the economy whereas the Republicans are the better option for national security. Down south, I believe that of the two major...

Growing Inequality is a Threat to Our Democracy, TUC Warns.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Ebenezer Hanson The Trades Union Congress (TUC) of Ghana has called on the government to take immediate steps to address the ever growing inequality between the rich minority and the poor majority, warning that the imbalance...

2009 National Child Promotion Week Launched.
May 4, 2009... Dr Benjamin Kumbuor, Deputy Minister of Health, has launched this year's National Child Health Promotion Week and the revised Child Health Records at Takoradi. The week which is under the theme: "Follow Your Child's Growth - Use Your Child...

Major Quashigah Urges Other Chiefs to Emulate Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
May 4, 2009... The Board Chairman of the Country Awards Council - Ghana, His Awardship Major Courage E. K. Quashigah (Rtd.) has lauded the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, for his dynamism, innovation and modernization of the chieftaincy institution to...

A Look At the Challenges Facing DVVSU.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Melissa Campanella It was a typical day at the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DVVSU) in the Ministries Police Station at Accra last Thursday as people seeking to take advantage of the division's many services flooded...

Book On the Murder of Ya Na Launched.
May 4, 2009... A book on the murder of Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II and 40 of his elders written by Mr Ibrahim Mahama, a prominent Tamale lawyer and politician, has been launched in Tamale. The 338-page book, "Murder of an African King- Ya-Na Yakubu Andani...

No Salary for NCCE Boss Since February.
May 4, 2009... Mr Larry Bimi, Chairman of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has not received his salary since February this year; in addition the organization's budget for services has not been paid, making the organization handicapped in...

Festivals Must Not Be Avenues for Promoting Immorality.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Kwaku Baah- Acheamfour Naayin Ghartey VII, Omanhene of the Effutu Traditional Area, has charged Ghanaians to refrain from the immoral connotations been attached to festivals in the country. He stressed that such immoral acts...

Unilever Registers Gh29.2 Million Net Profit.
May 4, 2009... Unilever Ghana Limited registered a net profit after tax of GH?29.2 million in the financial year ended 2008, against GH?12.4 million in the previous year. The company's operating profit also rose by 56.7 per cent from GH?18.2 million in...

CSOs Urged to Take Interest in Oil Regulatory Framework.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Ebenezer Hanson Ghana is on the threshold of increasing its national kitty by about 50% from 2011 if the oil begins to flow from the Jubilee Fields in the Jomoro District of the Western Region, according to a World Bank Report...

AGI President Urges Government to 'Bite the Bullet'.
May 4, 2009... Mr Tony Oteng-Gyasi, President of Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), has challenged the government to discipline itself and implement its policies despite some foreseeable undesirable consequence to its future political fortunes. ...