Public Agenda articles from May 2011

Public Agenda archives from May 2011

Review Petroleum and Mining Contracts.
May 30, 2011... Government has once more been called upon to review all mining and petroleum contracts regardless of the presence or absence of stability clauses in order to increase government equity or revenue and redirect investment. If for nothing at...

Industries Reel Under Taxes And More.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Basiru Adam Ghanaian industries have identified high cost of raw materials, high level of taxation, lack of access to credit and high utility prices respectively as the top four challenges they are faced with, according to the latest...

Country On Track to Mainstream Forest Investment Programme.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Ama A. Amankwah Baafi A forestry expert has said that Ghana is on track to mainstream the Forest Investment Programme (FIP) into her development activities. He, however, adds that there is need for consensus on Tree Tenure and Carbon...

NPP Counters NDC's Wooing of Christian Voters With Biblical Verses.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Administrator The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is clearly unhappy about the National Democratic Congress' (NDC) strategy to woo millions of Ghanaian Christian voters by presenting the incumbent President as a God-fearing, and a...

Canadian High Commission 'Sabotages' ISODEC.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Pa Intelligence Desk If you are a young Ghanaian professional and single, you might not want to bother yourself applying for a visa (even if it is a temporary visa) from the High Commission of Canada to Ghana and Togo located at 42...

Re-Open GWCL Retrenchment Case - NCAP.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Frederick Asiamah The National Coalition Against Privatisation of Water (NCAP) has called for a resolution of labour issues arising out of the engagement of Aqua Vitens Rand Limited in 2006 to manage urban water on behalf of the Ghana...

We Demand Unqualified Apology From Ethiopia.
May 30, 2011... Only last Wednesday, May 25, the entire African continent celebrated the 48th birthday of the African Union (AU) with poignant and inspirational messages on the need for African countries to harness their resources and work towards the ultimate...

Revenue Watch Envisages Greater Transparency.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Administrator The Revenue Watch Institute has welcomed new transparency rules adopted by the G8 on Friday, saying, "That is real progress toward allowing citizens to track how their governments use that money." Vanessa Herringshaw,...

Ecowas Undergoes Transition.
May 30, 2011... Byline: Mohammed Suleman The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional grouping of 15 West African countries. Founded on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, ECOWAS has as one of its objectives to...

Intensify Fight On Corruption.
May 27, 2011... A new report from Transparency International (TI), the anti-corruption organisation, shows no improvement in the enforcement of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention in the past year and warns that this could signal a dangerous loss of momentum in...

Nepad and Agriculture - Continent's Development Plan Bears Fruit.
May 27, 2011... Byline: Ernest Harsch For most of the 1990s Sierra Leone was best known for its diamonds -- and the devastating civil war they helped finance. But a decade after the end of that conflict, the West African nation is tapping a different kind of...

In Continent Hi-Tech is Taking Centre Stage.
May 27, 2011... Byline: Andre-Michel Essoungou In little more than a decade Africa's embrace of mobile phones and the Internet has revolutionized the ways Africans talk to each other. Now the technology is revolutionizing the ways Africans do business....

Mining Law Still Under Review.
May 27, 2011... Byline: Frederick Asiamah A committee set up by the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST) to review Ghana's Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) is yet to conclude its work, one year after it commenced the process. c...

Increase Banks Minimum Capital Requirement to Reduce Interest Rates.
May 27, 2011... Byline: George Amexo To reduce the high cost of borrowing, a proposal has been made to the Bank of Ghana to increase the minimum capital requirement for banking operations in the country. The Managing Director of Tropical Cable and...

In Nation, Fighting Climate Change Takes a Village.
May 27, 2011... In Kenya, the national government is teaming up with local communities and private charities to tackle climate change. Morton Saulo reports for Africa Renewal. It is still early on a hot and dusty Wednesday morning, but the temperature is...

Media Sensitised On Affirmative Action.
May 27, 2011... Byline: Mavis Otinkorang In all societies, power and influence on how political and economic processes have to be managed for development has continued to be exercised by and in favour of elite groups, majority of who are men. Many...

Radio Can Do More to Promote Local Governance.
May 27, 2011... Byline: Mohammed Suleman The Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Mr. Aquinas Quansah, has emphasized the need for the media, particularly radio stations to set the agenda for the promotion of local governance in the...

Working Collectively for Peace, Progress and Prosperity.
May 27, 2011... Milestone of the African Union. Among the objectives and goals designed for the continental body at birth, were working towards the breaking of the yoke of colonialism on the continent and the formation of a United States of Africa. Today, we...

Coalition Wants AVRL Sanctioned.
May 27, 2011... Byline: Frederick Asiamah The National Coalition Against Privatisation of Water (NCAP) has demanded that Aqua Vitens Rand Limited (AVRL), whose urban water management contract with the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) comes to an end next...

Time to Take Consumer Protection Serious.
May 23, 2011... Much too often have Ghanaian consumers been taken for granted by service providers. They are often courted with vain promises only to be treated shabbily after they sign up to the service. The absence of a Consumer Protection Act and an active...

Maternal Health Takes Spotlight During UN Chief's Four-Nation Trip.
May 23, 2011... Maternal health will be the focus over the next week when Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon begins a four-nation trip that will take the United Nations chief to Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Ethiopia and France, his spokesperson has disclosed....

Group Calls for Broader Consultations On the Northern Development Agenda.
May 23, 2011... Byline: Mathias Aboba-Bolgatanga A youth advocacy group with strong base in all three regions of the northern Ghana known as the Northern Patriots for Research and Advocacy (NORPRA) has called on the Board of Directors of the Savanna...

Unemployment in the Western Region to Reduce.
May 23, 2011... Byline: Administrator As part of its effortsã--to reduce unemployment in the country, the government has launched a special training and employment programme to provide decent and reliable jobs for the numerous unemployed Ghanaians...

Photo Exhibition to Mark End of Scale-Up Project.
May 23, 2011... Byline: Mavis Otinkorang As part of activities leading to the closure of the Scale-Up Project in Ghana, CHF International, Alliance Francaise d' Accra and partners recently organised a photo exhibition and a panel discussion for women and...

Vodafone Restores Min. Phone Lines At Last.
May 23, 2011... Without difficulty Ghanaians can now make telephone contact with the Ministries of Environment Science and Technology (MEST) and Tourism for their transactions via the two ministries' fixed telephone lines. This follows a publication by the...

Standard Board, Flow Meters And the Petrocash Conundrum.
May 23, 2011... Byline: Nana Poku Following the revelation that Ghana could be losing unspecified sums of oil revenue as a result of non-functional oil export meters fitted on the Floating Production and Storage and Off-loading (FPSO) vessel at the Jubilee...

Join War On Malaria - Minister Tells Sports Personalities.
May 23, 2011... The Minister for Youth and Sports, Hon. Clement Kofi Humado, has called on all sporting associations in the country to join the war on malaria to make the quest towards achieving the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) of near zero death by 2015 a success....

Abolish Death Penalty, Urges Amnesty.
May 23, 2011... Mr. Frank K. Doyi, the Growth and Activism Support Co-ordinator of the Ghana Branch of Amnesty International (AI) has urged the government of Ghana to do away with the Capital Punishment from the statute books of the country. He said so far,...

World Health Assembly Asked to Address Sanitation, Water Challenges.
May 20, 2011... Cholera outbreaks, such as those which have recently plagued Ghana, Haiti and Nigeria could be a thing of the past if leaders at this week's World Health Assembly focus on improving access to sanitation and water in the world's poorest...

Women Benefit From Free Breast Screening.
May 20, 2011... Approximately 4,000 women were taken through clinical breast screening in Kumasi on Mother's Day, many of whom were diagnosed of breast problems or abnormalities. The screening was jointly conducted by the Breast Care International (BCI)...

Change ECOWAS to ECOWAP, Says Civil Society.
May 20, 2011... Byline: Mohammed Suleman Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have made a proposal to the West African Heads of States to consider the revision of the name Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to the Economic Community of West...

BNI Investigates APS Boss.
May 20, 2011... The Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) has commenced investigations into the activities of the embattled Managing Director of Atlantic Port Services (APS) Ltd., Geoffrey Kojo Adebayo Biney, also known as G.K.A. Biney. According to...

Re-Introduce Body Inspection for Pupils.
May 20, 2011... Byline: Irene J. Mensah The Deputy Minister of Health, Rojo Mettle-Nunoo, has urged authorities of basic schools to re-introduce body inspection of their pupils, especially their finger and toe nails, teeth, breath and hair during morning...

Operators of Orphanages Receive Training in Bolga.
May 20, 2011... Byline: Mathias Aboba A two-day capacity building training workshop aimed at introducing participants to Ghana's Care Reform Initiative as well as improving their knowledge on Child Rights and Development has been held for Managers and...

Veep Tells Conflict-Resolution Students to Be Trail Blazers.
May 20, 2011... Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday advised students undertaking the Masters of Arts in Conflict Resolution at the Kofi Annan International Peace-keeping Centre (KAIPC) to set standards for the entire African Continent. He said they...

Country May Miss MDG If Less Than 80 Women Win.
May 17, 2011... Twenty-three out of the 64 women who contested the New Patriotic Party (NPP) primaries were elected as parliamentary candidates and would contest on the ticket of the NPP in the 2012 general elections. Some women's rights advocates who called...

CONIWAS Raises Doubts About 20,000 Boreholes.
May 17, 2011... The Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS) has questioned the commitment of government to deliver 20,000 boreholes over the next five years as promised in the 2011 Budget. In an analysis of the 2011 Budget Statement, the group...

Empowered Women, Youth Can Spur Economic Growth.
May 17, 2011... Women and youth have the capacity to spur economic growth and reduce poverty in the world's least develop countries if given access to education, employment and health, including family planning services, the United Nations Population Fund...

GAF Public Relations Forges Stronger Ties With Media.
May 17, 2011... Byline: Mohammed Suleman The Director of Public Relations (DPR) of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), Colonel Mba'Wine Atintande has paid a courtesy call on Public Agenda as part of efforts to foster a strong working relationship between the two...

Ministry's Phone Lines Down for Six Months.
May 17, 2011... Byline: Mavis Otinkorang Every Ghanaian, no matter where he or she lives, who needs to contact the Ministries of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST) and the Ministry of Tourism will have no option than to travel to the Ministry or use...

Barclays Boss Visits Ghana.
May 17, 2011... Byline: Administrator Mr. Antony Jenkins, Chief Executive Officer of Barclays Global Retail Banking (GRB), arrived in Ghana last Monday to pay a courtesy call on the President, His Excellency Professor Evans John Attah Mills, at the Castle,...

IDAY -International Promotes Education for Children.
May 17, 2011... Byline: Administrator The Country Coordinator of IDAY-International, Ms Noelle Garcin has said that Ghana's education system is making progress but there are gaps to be addressed. She said government needed to increase staff numbers to...

Fear Over GM Foods.
May 17, 2011... Byline: George Amexo Ghana risks compromising its food security if it should go ahead with plans to adopt Genetically Modified (GM) crops which is being largely touted by proponents as the best way to enhance agricultural modernisation and...

Who Cares for These Neglected Folks?
May 17, 2011... Byline: Kwesi Yirenkyi Boateng Naturally, every animal extends special care to its offspring irrespective of whether it was born with deformity. In the animal kingdom although the concept of survival of the fittest predominates, there is this...

One in Three on Continent Now Middle Class.
May 17, 2011... Byline: Patrick Bond How an AfDB Economist got it all wrong Apparently, "one in three Africans is middle class" and as a result Africa is ready for "take off", according to African Development Bank chief economist Mthuli Ncube speaking...

Oil Spills in the Country and Kosmos Energy's Snub - Matters Arising.
May 13, 2011... Byline: Cephas Egbefome The environmental catastrophe following the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico has been rated without doubt the worst of its kind in the history of oil and gas exploration and production....

The Revolution in the Continent - Education, the Youth, Employment and the Media.
May 13, 2011... Byline: Administrator While ADEA is currently preparing the Triennial that is scheduled to be held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in December 2011, there are many issues bordering on its goal which is to design and develop systems and measures...

Small Scale Farmers Educated on Budget Process.
May 13, 2011... The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), with support from Trust Africa, an international donor organisation, has organised a two-day training workshop for leaders of small scale farmers from Northern, Greater Accra and the Volta Regions...

EU, Liberia Sign Timber Exports Accord.
May 13, 2011... The European Union and the Government of Liberia, which presides over half the remaining rainforest in West Africa, on Monday announced a landmark agreement to ensure that all Liberian timber products exported to the EU are derived from legal...

Pregnant Women Seek Clearance From Fetish Priest.
May 13, 2011... Byline: Kwesi Yirenkyi Boateng The assertion that religion is fundamental to the lives of many is not an overstatement, at least, to pregnant women in Adaklu-Anyigbe District. Pregnant women in some of the traditional areas in the District...

People of Gonjaland Urged to Unite for Development.
May 13, 2011... Byline: Anipu Fidelis The Northern Regional Minister, Hon. Moses Bukari Mabenga has said that a strong and vibrant kingdom can only be built and sustained when the people are united. He said it is only when we are able to bring all hands...

Renewable Sources Can Meet Most Global Energy Demands -Report.
May 13, 2011... Renewable energy sources such as solar power, wind, biomass and hydropower could meet nearly 80 per cent of the world's energy supplies by 2050 if governments pursue policies that harness their potential, a United Nations-backed report released...

Analysing Women's Land Tenure Interests in Relation to Men.
May 9, 2011... A recent survey on Ghana's land tenure system has shown that reliance on family sources of land is much higher for women than men but there are significant regional differences. Land holdings for men are much larger than women except in Brong...

ISODEC Takes ECOWAS Education to Brong Ahafo.
May 9, 2011... Byline: Mohammed Suleman The Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) has held a public forum on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional integration for Non-state Actors (NSAs) in the Brong Ahafo region as part of...

Private Sector Investment Saves Lives, Reduces Costs & Improves Returns - New Report.
May 9, 2011... Business Investing in Malaria Control: Economic Returns and a Healthy Workforce for Africa - authored and published by the Roll Back Malaria Partnership (RBM) and launched alongside the World Economic Forum Africa in Cape Town on May 5th -...

Privatization Not Solution to Urban Water Delivery - German MP.
May 9, 2011... Byline: George Amexo Whilst government continues to keep the public in the dark as to its decision on the Aqua Vitens-Rand water management contract which ends this month, a member of the national Parliament of the Federal Republic of German...

Good Times for Internal Party Democracy, But...
May 9, 2011... Without doubt recent happenings in the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) could count as a feather in the cap of Ghana's bourgeoning democracy. Indeed, the aspiration of former first lady Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings to unseat...

ISODEC Gives GH120, 000 in Scholarship.
May 9, 2011... The Integrated Social Development Center (ISODEC), a rights-based organization, has awarded scholarship valued at GH¢120,000 to 818 needy students consisting of 523 girls and 295 boys in 34 basic schools across four districts in the...

Transitional Arrangement Favoured After AVRL's Contract.
May 9, 2011... Byline: Ama Kudom-Agyemang In less than 60 days from today, technically on the 6th of June 2011, the current management contract for the delivery of urban water in Ghana will expire. In November 2005, the government of Ghana initiated a...

Minister Orders Disclosure of Oil Contracts.
May 9, 2011... Though it might appear an exercise of little relevance now, Ghana's Minister for Energy, Hon. Dr. Oteng Adjei says he has directed his Ministry to put up on the Ministry's website, the details of the Jubilee partners' exploration and production...

CEPA Calls for Debt Consolidation.
May 9, 2011... Byline: George Amexo As Ghana approaches another election year, the Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA) is asking that the nation's public sector debt bill be taken out of the political cycle and partisan politics. According to CEPA, often,...

Strip President of Powers.
May 9, 2011... Byline: Frederick Asiamah A governance expert, Prof. Kwamena Ahwoi, has recommended that a President of the Republic of Ghana must be stripped of the power to decide on: the abode of the presidency, the transition process from outgoing to an...

Midwives Are 'Unsung Heroes' of Maternal Health.
May 9, 2011... United Nations officials last Friday hailed the significant impact of midwives on the health of women and newborns, and called for greater investment to ensure their life-saving services are available to all who need them around the world. ...

Tema Oil Refinery Heads for Court of Appeal.
May 6, 2011... Byline: George Amexo Hearing in the case in which the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has been sued for allegedly polluting the Chemu Lagoon has been adjourned sine die pending the determination by the Court of Appeal of an application brought before...

Rawlings Told Some Home Truths.
May 6, 2011... Byline: George Amexo The battle for the ownership of the ruling National Democratic Congress is heading for a fever pitch as party faithfuls who thronged the party's campaign office at Kuku Hill, Osu yesterday to show their solidarity with...

EU Pledges Continuous Support for Nation.
May 6, 2011... Byline: Mavis Otinkorang The European Union (EU) has pledged its continuous investment in Ghana's economy especially in the private sector. It says it has adopted this stance in order to strengthen its cordial and working relationship with...

LESDEP to Provide 20,000 Youth With Business Skills.
May 6, 2011... Byline: Mohammed Suleman Local Enterprise and Skills Development Programme (LESDEP), a programme to provide the unemployed youth with basic training in business and entrepreneurial management skills, has been outdoored in Tamale. It is...

Isodec, Ecowas Engage Media On Regional Integration.
May 6, 2011... Byline: Mohammed Suleman Over the years, the media has been identified as a major stakeholder and continue to play a significant role in the developmental processes in most countries of the ECOWAS member states. However, the Ghanaian media...

Mandaris Celebrate Seidubele Yam Festival.
May 6, 2011... Byline: Anipu Fidelis Various NGOs operating in the Northern Region, especially Tamale, have been called upon to extend their services to Bole District to help develop the District. Mr. E.K. Yakubu, Chairman of the Water Yam Farmers...

FDB Denies Approval of Any Type of Water for Health Purposes.
May 6, 2011... Byline: Ama A. Amankwah Baafi About three weeks ago, the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) advised the general public not to patronize products from Cosmos Health Outfit Company as the safety of the products could not be guaranteed.The FDB went...

FDI in Poorest Nations Should Focus On Job Growth.
May 6, 2011... The United Nations trade and development body is calling for shifting foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world's poorest countries towards creating jobs and diversifying their economies, ahead of a major global conference next week on those...

Which Democracy?
May 6, 2011... Byline: Abena Pokuaa Atuahene Ackah As I sit in my home in these troubled times; I am plunged into deep thought about the challenges confronting Ghana and the African continent as a whole; the inability to provide informed and appropriate...

From Grief to Joy - Reflections of an AGSP Beneficiary.
May 6, 2011... Byline: Mathias Aboba-Bolgatanga Exactly 7 years ago, Adongo Georgina, from Nayorogo in Bongo District of the Upper East Region was a grade seven student at Goo Junior High School. Georgina, whose parents got separated when she was only two...

Infection Prevention Control At Hospitals Necessary.
May 6, 2011... The quality of healthcare delivery system of every nation is very fundamental to its fortunes: it imparts on its productivity, its wealth, Gross Domestic Product, among others. It thus stands to reason that any nation which wants to make...

New Initiative to Improve Agricultural Productivity Launched.
May 6, 2011... A new initiative aimed at developing a strong policy support system in Ghana to drive the country towards the attainment of a green revolution was launched recently in Accra by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, in collaboration with the...

It Skills to Boost Women's Participation in Crucial Sector.
May 6, 2011... Greater efforts to support girls and young women to acquire skills in information and communications technologies (ICTs) could help address projected shortages of manpower in those professions, the United Nations telecommunications agency said...

Infection Prevention Control Guidelines At Hospitals Launched.
May 6, 2011... Approximately one out of ten patients who visit various healthcare facilities in Ghana contracts Hospital Acquired Infection, particularly those who are admitted. Hospital Acquired Infections, are infection contracted in health facilities by...

Corruption, Violence, Security and Development.
May 6, 2011... Byline: Obiageli K. Ezekwesili, Mo Ibrahim and Jay Naidoo Corruption is a growing problem that hobbles development, and robs poor people of opportunities for economic and social advance. That much is well-known. Less well evident, however,...