When I moved out of Ghana to US and Canada, one thing that I have seen separate Ghana from those two countries is that the little things matter.

Sometimes we blame other people for the state of affairs of our country, but I think 99% of our problems are self-inflicted.

If you are a bank in Ghana, make no mistake you are competing with other countries for capital and interbank dealings, an investor & treasurer will most likely chose a bank that was on time to publish its Financial Statement.

March 29, 2018 was the deadline according to subsection 2b of section 90 of the Banks and Specialized-deposit taking Institutions, Act 2016 (Act 930) for all Banks in Ghana to publish their full financial statements (FS) and not the condensed FS on their websites.

At end of the day, only 2 banks had so far done the right thing: Societe General Ghana & CalBank.

What surprises me is that the head-office of 13 foreign controlled Banks have published their group annual FS.

With this attitude, how can a bank from Ghana raise bonds outside, I do hear Nigeria Banks raising Eurobonds etc. but I have not heard of such story about banks from Ghana raise any Eurobonds.

So my questions are as follows;

1. When will banks in Ghana start doing the right thing when it comes to timely publication of FS on website?
2. Same thing happened in 2016 and I am not aware of BoG penalty on Banks, so when will Bank of Ghana start doing the right thing by applying subsection 3 of section 90 of Act 930?
3. When will Securities and Exchange Commission of Ghana and Ghana stock exchange start doing the right thing by ensuring that  listed banks like Ecobank, Access, ADB, SCB, HFC and GCB publishes their full FS by deadline date?
4. Have BoG received all FS and long form reports of all banks?
5. When will some auditors in Ghana stop treating financial statements as if it is their financial statements and focus on ‘must have’ and instead of focusing on ‘Nice to have’.

Honestly, I don’t see the issue we have in Ghana, it is simple, you agree your FS notes and everything with auditors before December and auditors also audit 11 months up to December and come January, it is just the numbers.

Here in Canada, aside from other roles I play in Bank, I lead a reporting team as well, we have October year end, by November we are done with everything and December first week we then publish the FS.

Act 930

90. (1) A bank or specialised deposit-taking institution shall exhibit at each of its branches or agencies in a conspicuous place throughout the year, a copy of the last audited financial statement in respect of the operations of the bank or specialised deposit-taking  institution.

(2)          A bank or specialised deposit-taking institution shall

(a)          In the case of a bank not later than three months after the end of its financial  year; or

(b)          In the case of a specialised deposit-taking institution not later than four months after the end of each financial year,

furnish the Bank of Ghana with a copy of its audited financial statements together with the auditor’s statutory and long form audit reports; and cause the financial statements together with the auditors’ reports to be published on its website if any and in at least two daily newspapers of national circulation.

(3)          A bank or specialised deposit-taking institution which fails to comply with this section is liable to pay to the Bank of Ghana, an administrative penalty of not more than one thousand penalty units.

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Author: Emmanuel Akrong

Credit Consultant

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Introduction

The case of The Republic v. The High Court; Ex-Parte Dr. Zanetor A. Rawlings drew great attention and public interest, ostensibly due to the profile of the parties involved: one of whom was the daughter of former President Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings. It is also worthy of note that, it was an election related case, in an election year. The political stakes were understandably high; with the two major parties going toe to toe for the ultimate prize.

In addition, both parties were seeking to do something unprecedented: while the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) sought to avoid a third consecutive defeat, the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) endeavoured to retain power for a successive third term.

However, for legal scholars, practitioners and students whose interests in such matters were more academic than political, the case presented a unique opportunity to gain insight into the interpretative jurisprudence of the highest court of the land as it pertains to the 1992 Constitution.

This latter aspect concerning the Supreme Court’s interpretative jurisdiction will be the focus of this paper. I examine the reasoning of the Supreme Court (SC) and demonstrate how the judgment failed to do justice to the relevant provisions of the Constitution resulting in far-reaching consequences beyond those intended by the framers of the 1992 Constitution.

The facts of the case under review are briefly presented below, followed in subsequent parts, by an analysis of the legal bases for the court’s decision.

The discussion seeks to provide answers to lingering questions about the case including the following:

(a) whether the SC wrongly granted certiorari to quash the High Court’s ruling;

(b) whether the Supreme Court properly invoked its exclusive and original interpretative jurisdiction under the Constitution;

(c) and what is the effect of incorporating the Constitution into a private document?

The discussion will also look at whether the SC correctly answered the specific question which it referred to itself, and conclude with a critical analysis of the court’s interpretation of Article 94(1) (a)

Click the link below to read Mustapha A. Mahamah’s article

“Taming Archer’s Octopus”- Freedom of Contract vs. Judicial Review: A Critical Examination of Republic v High Court Ex parte Zanetor Rawlings

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Forests cover about one-third of Ghana’s total area.

The interdependency of forest and wildlife and the need to take appropriate measures to optimize resource utilization , to ensure future supplies of wood and non-wood products and to manage national forest and wildlife in order to maintain the ecological balance and the diversity of the natural environment is very critical to our survival (Forest and Wildlife Policy, September, 1995)

The forest is the home of wildlife, hence the absence of forest impact negatively on the existence of wildlife. Wildlife survives mostly in the forest.

We cannot talk about the basics of life –food, water and shelter without our forest resources. The forest and wildlife are therefore in a symbiotic relationship.

The present state of Ghana’s forest is a wakeup call for every well-meaning human being who values life as wealth. As of 2013, Ghana’s forests cover was 1.6million hectares from 8million hectares at the beginning of the 1990s.

This is as a result of high incidence of illegal chainsaw logging, legal harvest and illegal mining popularly known as “Galamsey” in Ghana.

Ghana’s REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) readiness proposal claims that drivers of deforestation can be mainly attributed to agricultural expansion (which contributes to 50%), harvesting of wood (35%), population and development pressures (10%) and mining (5%) (Forestry Commission, 2012).

There is a popular saying that “When the last tree dies, the last man dies”. Therefore continuous depletion or destruction of our forests will eventually affect life.Basically, human actions are the main causes of our forest depletion.

These include, though not limited to: Agriculture activities, Harvesting of wood (both legal and illegal), Mining (both legal and illegal) and Bush burning

Reafforestation is the surest way to recover our lost forests and wildlife as a country. The way forward is that we must deliberately renew our depleted forests by planting more and diverse trees especially indigenous species. To support the tree planting exercise, we must vigorously engage in environmental education, promoting tourism, recycling and law enforcement.

Environmental campaigns such as World Environment Day (an annual celebration on the world calendar earmarked to create awareness on the significance of trees in the environment), Global March on Elephants and Rhinos, World Wildlife Day, International Day of Forests, etc.

Education of the general public through the media, a curriculum of our basic and second cycle schools should include environmental education especially ecosystem sustainability.

Reforestation also promotes tourism. Tourists will love to pay to see wildlife such as mammals, primates, etc. living in their natural habitat.

Tourist sites such as Mole National park, Aburi Botanic Gardens, and Shai Hills generate a lot of foreign exchange to boost our economy.

Recycling

Recycling timber is another way of renewing or safeguarding our forests. Recycled timber is an environmentally friendly product and should be encouraged. The arrival of recycled timber as a construction product has been important in both raising industry and consumer awareness towards deforestation and promoting timber mills to adopt more environmentally friendly practices.

Law enforcement

Ghana has signed up to most international environmental laws and protocol. Ghana also has one of the best laws and legislation governing our natural resources especially our forests but the challenge is the proper enforcement of these laws.

So to be able to develop and sustain these natural resources, we should be able to enforce these laws or by-laws stringently and hard enough to deter people who perpetrate these evil acts of forest destruction.

By-laws should also be formulated and enforced at the local governance level on compulsory tree planting in our various communities.

The importance of reforestation to wildlife in Ghana cannot be overemphasized. Forestry plays a major role in the growth and development of the Ghanaian economy and the maintenance of environmental quality.

Reforestation rebuilds natural habitats and ecosystem, improves the quality of wildlife in general, mitigates global warming, and sustains the hydrological cycle.

In conclusion, if we want to develop sustainably as a country, reforestation is a must!

By: Edem Kojo Doe,

Landscape Designer, Pan-Africanist, Environmental and Gender Activist, and a Kufuor Scholar.

Student (University of Education, Winneba)

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Human beings on this planet earth fight for survival just like plants and animals. Out of the effort in fighting for survival, some end up achieving nothing while others end up having something they can boast of. Such assets as jobs are vital issues that everyone fights for. With the eagerness in fighting for survival, many end up on various job sectors. One such job sector is gold mining which is regarded as one of the lucrative jobs according to human perception across the globe.

Entering into gold mining sector expects an individual to go all out by putting up much strength in such for gold. However, this sector attracts several health hazards and problems which need much attention by all. Such health hazards as chemical, physical and ergonomic are mostly seen in the mining sectors. Many individuals have lost their lives and many communities have also lost precious individuals all as a result of exposure to such health hazards and problems. Most homes are left broken due to the lost of bread winners due to mining. The search for gold in Ghana is on the rise as it attracts huge sums of money for the workers but they forget the health implications.

The rise in search for gold has led to the establishment of several illegal gold mining firms across the country. The worse of this is the invasion of hundreds of Chinese, Niger, Burkinabe, Nigerians and other citizens who are into the Ghanaian communities doing illegal mining and destroying the environment. One might ask how these nationals from other countries came into the country and even how they obtained their visas is a great question to be answered by the Ghana Migration Board and the various Ghana Embassies abroad. One most important issue that needs urgent attention is the fact that these nationals use various weapons to protect areas of operation on the Ghanaian community they operate. No wonder, that, there have recently been killings of Ghanaian citizens by the Chinese illegal miners in places like Konongo, Obuasi, Kubi-Kwanto, Esase Bontefufuo and Manso areas in Ashanti Region, Prestea, Bogoso and Dwira Benso areas in Western Region, and Dunkwa-On-Ofin areas in the Central Region. It is sad that even some deaths by some Ghanaian citizens are not even recorded or reported to the police for arrest of the culprit in the mining communities.

My own investigations show that, some of these illegal miners pay bribes to some Ghanaian citizens and they allowed them to operate under cover. Some illegal miners also operate under cover of areas where one will not even think mining operations can take place. Some of these are villages around Wa in the Upper West Region and Bolgatanga and its surroundings in the Upper East Regions all in the northern part of Ghana.

The current state of the nation (2013) is very terrible in mining communities. There is insecurity, increase in morbidities and mortalities in various mining communities across the country. These have been as a result of the scramble for gold just for survival and the aim of getting rich. Limited healthcare facilities to address the mining related health problems have also been a championing factor for the rise in morbidity and mortality in mining areas. Personal observation could be concluded that, there have been major health problems which are not attended to in such mining communities as Dunkwa-On-Ofin, Manso-Nkwanta and its surroundings, Tarkwa, Kibi, Bawku, Dwira Benso, Bibiani, Wa, Kanyasi N^o 2, Konongo and its surroundings, Esaasi Bontefufuo and other mining communities across the country. Majority of Ghanaians will be surprise to know that mining activities go in the northern part of the country in places like Wa and its surroundings, Bolgatanga and Bawku and its surroundings. This is because, mining activities is only noted in the middle and southern belts of Ghana according to majority of Ghanaians. The whole nation is at risk of mining related health hazards and problems not only on the environment but also most importantly on water bodies and human health.

The situation is so alarming that if care is not taken, by the year 2020, the situation could be worse and Ghana will have to pay a high price in addressing mining related health hazards and problems if the situation is not addressed from now. There could be serious crises in mining communities as community folks may also pick up weapons to retaliate of the actions of the illegal miners from other countries to fight for their rights and liberty. There could be shortage and higher rate of contamination of ‘’portable water’’ and food crops in mining areas. My third study explains into details mining effects on food crops. Life expectancy in mining areas may decrease which may be attributed to high exposure of chemical, ergonomic and physical mining health hazards.

In addition, there have also been major damages or destruction of properties like land and mostly water bodies. Land and water bodies suffer greatly from illegal mining operations in Ghana. Chemicals such as cyanide, lead and mercury which are used for gold purification are used with less knowledge by these illegal miners. After use, they allow the residue which also contains poisonous contents to run into water bodies thereby making the water unsafe for use. In my first paper, little was said about the real mining effect on water, but this paper describes in details the most important effects of illegal mining on water bodies in Ghana. Water as a basic necessity should be accessible and affordable in middle-income country like Ghana. But it is very sad that majority of water bodies are destroyed through illegal mining operations. Major water bodies like Offin, Tano, Ankobra, Pra, White Volta, Black Volta, Bia, Birim and Afram rivers have all been contaminated through mining activities in Ghana.

My personal enquiry showed that majority of hospital data in most mining communities in Ghana reveals that, most reported cases are associated to water health effects which may be attributed to mining operations. In 2001, mining communities in Ghana were seen to have high prevalence of malaria cases which was attributed to mining operations (Ghana Health Service Report, 2001).

Majority of residents in mining communities are facing lots of challenges with regards to seeking for medical care for mining related health problems. Some residents in mining communities live in far away villages where healthcare facilities are not readily accessible and affordable, others have no money to attend hospitals while others are afraid of screening and others are willing to be screened provided treatment is free after showing reactive to any health problem (Atakora, M.O., 2012).

It has been identified that majority of the health problems residents face are associated to mining impact on water bodies. Greatly, most residents also find it very cumbersome to have access to portable drinking water as the water have been contaminated by chemicals such as mercury, lead and cyanide which are used in gold processing. The entire environment is also affected as the vegetation also use contaminated water for photosynthesis.

It is due to this that this study is being taken to find out what could be done to address the situation. Lots of residents in mining communities suffer greatly from various kinds of cancer, skin infections and other related health problems as a result of the use of contaminated water for basic necessities. Therefore, the overall objective of this study is to investigate into the prevailing health problems of mining on water bodies in seven selected regions in Ghana which include; Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Upper East, Upper West and Western Regions.

1.1 Theoretical and conceptual framework of the study

The theoretical frame work for this study was based on the owned developed Conceptual Framework dubbed Water and Mining Health Assessment Diagram (Atakora, M.O., 2013) similar to the one used in paper I on mining. This was a community based developed frame work based on respondents opinion and views of how illegal mining operations release health hazards into water bodies.

The framework addresses issues about mining health hazards and problems, health status, cost for healthcare and decision making by the individual.

It is believed that mining operations releases health hazards and problem that determines the health status (good or poor), this also determines the healthcare cost (the higher the exposure to the health hazards and problem the longer or shorter the treatment period). The only way of preventing oneself from further exposure is by death or migration. However, those with no other option go back to the mining community to further be exposed to the health hazards and problems.

Those with strong financial standing are able go for better treatment compared to those in the lower financial standings. The framework was further tested among the population and it was proved positive in addressing mining health hazards and problems. It addresses issues of developing community interventions to addresses the health problems. Such interventions as offering assistance to neighbours and relatives were king. This was accepted because due to the inability of most victims to cater for themselves due to financial difficulties. The framework also suggested to mining companies to put up second level cluster healthcare centres in the communities to help treat mining related health problems immediately to prevent further complications. All these were addresses in my first paper (Atakora, M.O., 2012).

The framework just highlighted on issues on water pollution in the first paper but discussed further in this paper. Most water bodies are destroyed due to the used of cyanide, mercury and lead chemicals for gold purification. From personal observation, by 2020 between 60% to 80% of water bodies would have been destroyed in Ghana if illegal gold mining is not controlled. Major water bodies like Tano, Offin, Pra, Ayensu and others would be greatly affected by 2020. The framework is of the view that if there of rigid environmental regulations there would be a reduction on the devastating state of water bodies through mining activities.

The framework is also of the view that artificial dams should be created in areas of mining operations to be used for gold processing. The suggestion also is that, there should be a way of recycling these dams for further usage in gold processing. This will totally prevent miners from using natural water bodies for gold processing for them to be contaminated with mercury, cyanide and lead chemicals. Instead, these chemicals could be left to remain in the dams that would be created in mining environments purposely for gold processing.

Figure1: Cyclical Protection of Natural Water bodies and Human Health Diagram (Atakora, M.O., 2013)

1.2 Broad objective of the study

The main objective of this study is to investigate into the prevailing mining health hazards on water bodies and its impact on human health. The impact of illegal mining on the environment would also be assessed in five selected regions in Ghana.

1.2.1 Specific objectives of the study

1. To assess community awareness of mining hazards on water bodies and the environment.
2. To determine community knowledge on addressing mining health hazards on water bodies and the environment.
3. To identify common and most important health problems on the community associated to water and environmental population through mining operations.
4. To assess the impact of illegal mining on water bodies on the Ghanaian environment.

2.0 Methods

2.1 Study setting

The study was conducted in five principal regions of Ghana where mining activities is the major occupation per observation. The regions include, Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Central, Eastern and Western. Though very good that Ghana has five out of its 10 regions undertaken mining activities but very sad that precautions to address the health related problems are very low. Apart from mining, major farming activities take place Ashanti, Western and Brong Ahafo Regions. Due to mining activities, most of the farm lands in these regions have been destroyed as well as water bodies.

Figure 2: Geographical map of Ghana and study regions (Source: Ghana Political Map, 2010)

2.2 Study design

An observation study was done to identify some common and most important  health problem associated to water bodies through illegal gold mining activities and its impact on communities where the operations take place. Observation study was necessary as it paved the way to have access to observe the illegal gold mining situation and the people as it was not possible to conduct real interviews. But, of course, some interaction was held with the miners. The study also helped to have an in-depth understanding of the situation. Though one may argue that, it might be subjective, creates conflicts and time consuming but situations were reported as observed.

2.3 Sampling procedure and sampling size

The study was expected to included 1000 respondents residing in the five selected regions in Ghana. Overall, 200 each respondents above 18 years were expected to be selected from each of the five regions sampled for the study. Majority of the miners were from age 18 that is the reason for selecting from this age.

Selection methods were of two stages within each of the regions. The first stage included respondents from the urban areas and the second stage also focused on respondents form the rural areas of each of the sampled regions. This was done to have both urban and rural representation. Respondents who have lived in the mining areas of the five selected regions beyond 3 years were included in the study. This was because they were considered to have more experience in reporting health problems associated to mining as a result of mining operations.

2.4 Data collection techniques and study period

Data collection was basically on observation and some interactions with the illegal gold miners.

Data collection techniques used included observations and personal interactions with the miners. A pilot study was done in Konongo, a mining community in Ashanti Region to test the applicability and validity of the research in January, 2013. Overall, the research data was based on socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge on mining impact on water, history of health problems associated to water and environment and strategies of addressing the health problems associated to the water through mining activities. After getting informed consent, each participant was asked to give appropriate response to confirm their consent.

Samples of water were also taken from point sources for observation for the amount of chemicals like cyanide, lead and mercury contained in them. All the samples of water were taken from rivers like Birim, Offin, Bonsu, Ankobra, Tano and compared with treated water from the Ghana Water Company.

Above all, the study lasted for 21 months; that this from March, 2013 to November, 2013.

2.5 Data management, entry, monitoring and evaluation

All data collected were kept confidentially. Control of data quality was achieved through the review of data collection instruments on the field and at the end of collection activities on daily basis. Corrections of errors identified were made accordingly at the end of the daily collection processes throughout the study period.

Monitoring and evaluation was done right from the start of the research project. Regular and effective follow up and supervision was done to check authenticity of information given by respondents. Where necessary, less important responses from respondents were eliminated from the data collected because they were considered not to be important to the expected results of the study.

2.3 Data entry and analysis

Descriptive analysis and description. Data was presented on cross-tabulation. Pie chart were only used to show different in awareness of illegal gold mining health problem. Observations of water contamination and its health effects were described according to the situation.

2.4 Ethical considerations

Efforts were made to seek approvals and permissions from the community folks.  Informed consent was obtained from participants to meet the autonomy criteria. In order to allow participants to make informed choices, the aims and advantages of the study were explained to them but of course participants had the liberty to withdraw from the study at any point in time.

2.5 Dissemination of results and relevance of the study

The results is expected to be communicated to the communities the study was conducted. Again, it is expected that, the results is communicated to the general public to create awareness. I believed that, when this is done, it would create a platform that will call for more attention to address issues concerning illegal gold mining and its health problems it causes on water bodies and human health. The report will also be relevant to the municipalities to improve on the health promotion programs.

3.0 Results

3.1 Socio-demographic characteristics of respondents

The socio-demographics of the study participants are summarized here. The study was expected to include a total of 1000 participants with a response rate of 45% (1000/450). The mining sector though generates lots of employment for majority of residents in the mining areas in different age groups and educational levels. But, majority of such residents enter into the sector illegally. Most illegal miners interacted with were males 78.2% (352/450) and the rest being females 21.7% (98/450) falling between the ages of 18 and 45 years. Very few both males and females have high school educational qualification. Almost, all illegal miners resides in the communities their illegal mining operation take place.

Few of the population are ignorant of the health hazards and problems illegal gold mining causes. This study however reveals some of the great impact that illegal gold mining operations have been having on human and environmental health.

3.2 Assessment of community awareness of illegal mining hazards on water bodies and the environment

Response and observations showed a significant difference of proportion in reporting community’s awareness on effects on the use of contaminated water bodies which related to illegal mining operations. The awareness level may be associated to the experience in working or staying in a particular mining area for longer period of time. However, it was observed that most water bodies that have been destroyed contained lead, mercury and cyanide chemicals which are used for gold purification.

It can be observed that, very few respondents (about 12.4%) are not aware of the real health effects on illegal gold mining on human and water bodies. The chart below shows a complete awareness level of the respondents of this study. Although, they are aware of the health effects but they cannot stop due to economic hardships according to the respondents. They reported that, that is their only source of employment that helped them to cater for their families

3.3 Community knowledge on addressing mining health hazards and hazards on water bodies and the environment

Experiencing a particular health problem related to illegal golf mining was difficult addressing them through proper health care services. Majority of the workers do not visit the health care facility even though they are aware of the illegal gold mining health hazards. When interacted with regarding the reason for majority of them not visiting the health care facility, they reported that, they have their own medication – herbal. Very few of them who visited the hospital also said they were tired of attending review after first visit.

Regarding water bodies, almost all reported that they only wash the gold dust and the chemical is not poisonous to human use. Very few reported that the chemicals left in the in particular water body runs into another. They had no idea of the destruction of water bodies through illegal gold mining operations and modalities of preserving the water bodies from damaging. Let us also not forget of the damaging to farm lands and in the general the forest reserve.

3.4 Common and most important health problems of illegal mining

From the table below, the most important and common health problem of illegal gold mining recorded was malaria (141 (31.3%)) across all regions selected for this study and followed by chronic body pains (71 (15.7%)). Relatively, some chronic unexplained conditions (35 (25.7)) were also recorded. These unexplained conditions reported by respondents was difficult to be understood due it how they explained the condition to call for the necessary medical treatment.

In general, these health conditions were not taken directly from any hospital records but as verbally reposted by respondents.

Table 1: Most important health problems reported by the respondents

3.5 Common and most important influential factors of illegal mining by regions

There are several influential factors that are encouraging the operations of illegal gold mining in all the regions selected for this study. The most important influential factors recorded verbally are shown on the table below. In general, unemployment and catering for family and other relatives were the highest recorded. Prestige and the edge to get rich have also contributed to lots of school drop-outs and increase in social vices like smoking, drinking, sexual abuse and teenage pregnancies in the various communities.

3.6 Major emerging illegal gold mining injuries in the various communities

The table below records of the common emerging injuries suffered by these illegal miners across all regions. The sad issue here is that, majority of them do not go for proper medical treatment but rely on cheap and self management processes when encountered any injury as a result of illegal mining. Within Ashanti, B/A, Western and Eastern Regions, some of these victims were visited just for the purpose of personal evidence. Spinal injuries, neck and head injuries and arm injuries were the most common and important injuries recorded. The cause of these injuries maybe associated to inadequate experience in mining and the lack of proper equipment used for mining gold. Additionally, there were no safety regulations guiding these illegal gold miners in their operations. Both males and females suffered greatly regarding the injuries experienced.

3.7 Assessment of the impact of illegal gold mining on water bodies on the Ghanaian environment

On the impact of illegal gold mining on water bodies, it was recorded based on observation that most water bodies have been destroyed. This might lead to hug sums of state money to bring these water bodies back to their original state. As a result, most farm lands too have been destroyed. This might lead to famine in the next few years ahead in Ghana. Poverty, morbidity and mortality are on the increase in such communities with its associated social vices. There is fear and panic living in such communities due to insecurity.

Discussion

Introduction

Though the study is at its premature stage but available data gathered so far is enough to justify the damage illegal gold mining is causing to water bodies, farm lands and specifically human health in Ghana.

The Rush for Gold through illegal gold mining has led to the destruction of majority of water bodies in Ghana leading to the increase in morbidity across all regions selected for this study. Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Upper East, Upper West and Western Regions have the highest illegal gold mining operation activities in Ghana. In all, a personal observation showed that about 96 water bodies combined in Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Central, Eastern and Western Regions have been contaminated with lead, mercury and cyanide chemicals which are being used for illegal gold mining operations in 2013/2014 periods. The effects on these water bodies have caused such health problems as lever, kidney, intestinal, eye infection and other injuries within the regions the study was done.

As at 2013 and 2014, a personal observation across the regions showed that River Offin, Tano, Ankobra, Pra, Oda, Bia, Birim and Afram have greatly been polluted by illegal mining operations. The heavy pollution of water bodies is made it too expensive for the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL, 2014) to operate water treatment plants in many mining communities across the nation. This has led to the increase in budget for purchasing chemicals and other equipment for the treatment of the water to make it safe for use.

Also, in 2013, most treatment plants have been shut down by the GWCL. For instance, treatment plant for Oda River in Obuasi area, Birim River in Kyebi and River Offin in Dunkwaw have one time been shut down to save it from permanent damage due to the high level of chemicals in the water which are extracted for treatment. The high level of chemicals in the polluted water bodies is far from the WHO’s limit. This also make way for the GWCL to also increase (exceeding the WHO’s limit) the amount of chemicals used in treatment the water for various uses. The issue now here is that, we are all at fault but we should find way of dealing with illegal gold mining to help save water bodies, farm lands and human health.

Currently (2013/2014) more than fifty (50) rivers and streams in Obusai area have been destroyed,  more than twenty (26) in Wassa area, more than eight( 8) in Bibiani, more than eleven (11) in Ahafo/Tepa area, more than 11 at Prestea-Tarkwa and more than five (5) in Yalei in the Upper East region due to illegal gold mining. A personal observation in 2013 shows that, Densu River in Atiwa forest which supplies about 65% of water to the population in Accra has been polluted with illegal gold mining chemicals. Though, there have been law enforcement to control illegal gold mining operations but the practice still go on. Whose fault?

I took a personal journey to these arease, during this study for personal observational operations as well as interacting with some community folks. It was observed that the concentration of lead, mercury, cyanide, silica, iron, manganese, zinc and nickel in the water which is higher than the WHO allowable limits according to some experts have caused lots of harm to health.

Based on this study, about 70% of most health problems identified in the regions the study was conducted may be attributed to illegal gold mining operations. Majority of farm lands have also been destroyed in these areas. Deep pits and holes created have been left uncovered leading to water stagnation and breeding mosquitoes to course malaria. These deep pits and holes also serve as death trap for innocent people. They fall into them unknowingly and die unrecorded.

Looking into the state of these illegal gold mining communities as at 2013/2014, one may conclude that, there is insecurity in these mining communities. As town folks protect their farm land from being destroyed, foreign nationals who are into the country purposely for illegal gold mining fight them with weapons resulting in the killing of some town folks. Sadly, some of these deaths are not even recoded or reported to the police. This has created fear and panic living in these communities.

Increase in morbidities and mortalities in various mining communities across the country is also on the rise. Due to unemployment and poverty, majority of those living the mining communities rely on cheap health services especially in place where there are no hospitals resulting in worsening their health conditions. This, I must say should be addressed as soon as possible to relief these people from their predicament by providing hospital with qualified health personnel to help alleviate their problems.

Contamination of water bodies and food crops are on the rise in mining areas leading to higher cost of food crops and other commodities. Farm lands and water bodies have been destroyed through illegal mining operations with lead, cyanide or mercury in majority of water bodies and farm land being destroyed with holes and deep pits leaving uncovered.

There have been repatriation of illegal miners from other countries but there are still other nationals from Burkina Faso, China, Niger, Nigeria operating in illegal gold mining. This study therefore recommends Ghana to strengthen the immigration regulations to make it uneasy for foreign nationals to enter the country. One may also ask, who issue the Ghana Visa to these nationals? Have there not been proper checks on the documents of these nationals documents submitted for the issuance of visas?

Illegal gold mining have lead to the killing of some Ghanaian nationals by other nationals due to illegal mining. Major sad observation recorded showed that most of such killings are  not reported to the police. Interactions on this subject revealed that previous killings reported have taken no effect. Therefore, the only way is self defence which have lead to insecurity in such communities leading to in fear and panic in such communities.

State of Ghana by 2020

I must say that, the under listed points are just a personal observation based on the study.

• About 60% to 80% water bodies are likely to be contaminated due to illegal gold mining operations
• Increase in mortality and morbidity due to the use of contaminated water for basic necessities in majority of homes due to illegal mining operations
• The closing down of AngloGold Ashanti by June, 2014 until 2017 and laying-off about 6,000 workers is likely to increase illegal gold mining operations. Newmont in Ahafo Kenyasi is also likely to lay off more than 500 workers by July, 2014
• There would be a major increase in unemployment across the country. This might lead to increase in social vices across the country.
• Increase in HIV/AIDS and other STDs within the Ghanaian population.
• Illegal migrants residing in the country might also lead to increase in crime rate across the country. This might create feat and panic among population

Strengths and Limitations

Strengths

• By personal observation, the eagerness of some of the participants have place the study on an important platform to be continued
• The study has provided a general overview about illegal gold mining impact on water bodies and its health effect on the population
• It has also created the awareness of addressing illegal gold mining

Limitations

• Small sample size 450/1,400 cannot be used for generalization of the existing problem
• Restrictions to enter into some mining sites and communities to take data have affected in have additional data that could be of major importance to this study.
• Limited resources (funding and means of transport) are a challenge for the study.
• Cessation and destruction of some items of the researcher put the study to a stand-still for almost a year.

Conclusion

Based on personal observation, this study have been very important to alert the population of the effect of illegal gold mining across the regions the study was done. There are some remarkable observations made which may be considered for further investigation.

It was observed that, inadequate education of environmental and mining regulations may have contributed to illegal gold mining operations across the country. There is therefore the need for strict enforcement of environmental and mining law across the country.

Again, the use of lead, mercury and cyanide chemicals in illegal gold mining processes may have potentially contributed to the contamination and destruction of majority of water bodies and farm lands leading to the increase in morbidities and mortalities. Malaria, chronic pains and skin infection are among the major health problems identified. It could also be added that, one major cause of the rush for gold have unemployment especially among the youth between the ages of 18 and 45 years.

Irrespective of these, this study therefore suggests that; the creation of other source of income other than illegal gold mining by government through district, municipal and metropolitan assemblies is important. This could be done by creating at least one major state factory in every district in Ghana. This would reduce the pressure on illegal gold mining.

Strengthening of the nation’s migration laws would be a powerful tool to control illegal migrants who come into the country purposely for illegal gold mining. But, one major observation made was that some migration officials even have links with such illegal gold miners. As a results they, manoeuvre to help issue visa to other nationals who come into the country illegally.

Finally, rregulating illegal gold mining companies into the formal sector is important. This will help to even collect taxes by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) for developments.

–

By: Michael O. Atakora (PhD Student, UiT, Norway)

Email: [email protected]

The post Gold Rush, Public Health and Water Bodies [Article] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

What happened?

Section 107 of Act 930 empowers the Bank of Ghana to appoint an Official Administrator to take official control of a bank when its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) has fallen below 50% of the required minimum of 10% (i.e. below 5%) which was the case with uniBank. The capital adequacy ratio (CAR) is a measure of a bank’s capital. It is expressed as a percentage of a bank’s risk weighted credit exposures (credit risk, market risk and operational risk). Most importantly, this measure is used as a basis to protect depositors and promote the stability and efficiency of the financial systems (Investopedia).

In the case of UT and Capital Bank’s collapse, the Governor of BoG, Dr. Ernest Addison, blamed it on lack of good corporate governance exhibited by the two banks. He said, “Corporate governance plays an important role in promoting a sound financial system, contributing significantly to improving overall performance not only in profits but in credibility.”

Without self-discipline exhibited towards the implementation of good corporate governance policies and practice, any corporate organization will be headed for doom.
From the BoG’s communique, it seems weak supervisory standards and lapses in operational procedural are what informed the decision to take over the Administration of the Bank. The question is whether BoG is reacting to the earlier communication of interest in adb by UniBank or its acting in its capacity as the regulator (due process).

1. Does the regulator in this case, referee, being reactive in its duties? 2. Is the banking sector adhering to proper Corporate Governance practice? 3. What are the punitive actions that will be meted out to Management of institutions, with issues such as creative accounting and non-compliance with directives from the central Bank? 4. Subsequently, was uniBank trying to increase its Capital Adequacy Ratio with the BELSTAR move in the form of financial engineering by the so-called claim of pledging of shares. What’s the endgame of BELSTAR; is it to merge the operations of uniBank and adb to hold majority stake? I think the Security and Exchange Commission should sit up and probe the operations and nature of dealings by BELSTAR in the financial Market.

5. Consequently, what’s the role of KPMG in the administration of uniBank for six (6) months? Is it limited to just its day to day management or complete restructuring? What will be the repercussion after the 6 (six) months, will the old management assume their respective positions or not? What should be the expectation of shareholders; will they lose their interest in uniBank after the 6 months? These are questions that need answers in the coming days.

It’s interesting times in the financial sector with quasi banking institution such as Microfinance institutions and Investment other institutions also committing even greater offences than the main stream Banks, with about 30 of them hurled before EOCO already.

Must the regulator sit and act only when there is distress in the sector; the agency theory which management has is the duty to act in the best interest of customers (depositors) since they hold their money in trust for operations, the question bothering minds is whether management are withholding information from stakeholders and using it to their advantage.

uniBank, BELSTAR CAPITAL LIMITED AND GOVT. OF GHANA LOVE AFFAIR

In a bid by Unibank to bring its CAR back to the required minimum, it invited Belstar, to help it raise GH¢600 million to shore up its capital to meet the new BoG minimum capital requirement. One would ask, why GH¢600 million when they needed GH¢400 million? This could be attributed to the fact that uniBank was highly illiquid and that it needed the extra ¢200 million to pay off its debts and get back to normal operations. As it is now, it looks like that may never happen.

It brings us back to the earlier question; If uniBank agreed for Belstar to raise GH¢600 million for them to shore up their capital, it only meant Unibank were not in the capacity to meet the new capital requirement, thus it needed the help of Belstar. So, how were they going to buy Belstar out of adb? Well, it now looks like uniBank was never going to buy Belstar out of ADB. In simple terms, uniBank was going to convert what it owed Belstar into shares after they had taken over ADB. After all, that is the agreement Belstar had with uniBank earlier on; we will raise the GH¢600 million for you in return for an equity stake in uniBank.

That brings us again to an earlier question; does government, the Bank of Ghana or the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have any leverage at the moment to block this deal? The most interested party among these three is the government of Ghana especially when the finance minister, Mr. Ken Ofori – Atta announced in his 2018 budget statement to Parliament in November 2017, that the government intended to merge adb and NIB, and rename it the National Development Bank. Thus the government must have been unhappy about Belstar and uniBank’s arrangement.

Well, it looked like BoG was government’s Holy Grail in a different way. I bet nobody saw the appointment of KPMG as administrators for uniBank coming. Since the BoG is always aligned to any sitting govt., the government of Ghana was fully armed with this approach to block such a deal from happening. uniBank had a lot of issues that were not privy to the public, but there were some speculations about them being in bad health in the public domain. Going head to head with the BoG and the government by making some public announcements must have been a bad idea after all.

The effect of efficient market hypothesis on the market will affect stakeholder’s decisions in the financial Sector i.e. citizenry losing confidence and trust in the banking sector with the happenings in the last 8 months.

Corporate communication should be the key in how such information is publicized to prevent negative behaviour reactions from key stakeholders. Deepening corporate governance and strict adherence to compliance of banking regulations by key players should be enforced strongly.
–
By: Joshua Asare Date & Yemoh Nii Mensah Benjamin

The post Bank of Ghana; the Gov’t of Ghana’s Holy Grail appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Kwaku had never considered the health implications of his smoking habit. Just like many teenagers today, he was exposed to onscreen smoking imagery and was made to believe that smoking signified maturity, making it easy to join the craze.

A troubling development about Kwaku’s experience has to do with the accessibility and cost of cigarettes in Ghana. When asked how and where he got his cigarettes from, Kwaku responded, “I go to a shop near my home, and with less than a Cedi, I get to buy a stick and I am good to go.” “Of course, I pretend to be buying for an adult,” he added.

Ghana has failed significantly when it comes to the excise tax on the retail price of cigarettes. The minimum World Health Organisation (WHO) benchmark for excise tax on the retail price of cigarette is 70 percent. Ghana currently imposes an excise tax of only 13.02 percent on the retail price of cigarettes which is about 56 percent below the WHO benchmark, contributing significantly to the low price of cigarettes in the country. A single cigarette stick is priced between 20 pesewas to 70 pesewas in Ghana making it very accessible to the youth.

“Tobacco tax increases that result in higher tobacco-product prices are among the most effective tobacco control measures available,” according to the Tobacco Atlas. The Atlas also notes that higher prices are especially effective in reducing tobacco use in more vulnerable populations, like youth and people with lower incomes, because those groups are particularly sensitive to price increases.

Over 5,800 children (10-14 years old) smoke cigarettes every day in Ghana. “The number is expected to increase significantly as large tobacco firms turn their attention to Africa,” according to Dr. Steven V. Shongwe, the acting Director of the Non-communicable diseases (NCD) cluster at the WHO Regional Office for Africa.

This Principal Research Officer at the Ghana Health Service, Divine Darlington Logo revealed on the sidelines of the World Conference on Health or Tobacco in Cape Town that, there was no budgetary allocation in 2018 for the enforcement of the tobacco control law in Ghana.

“For the last five years, there has not been any money specifically allotted to tobacco control in Ghana. That has been part of the challenge in the effort to discourage young children from smoking. There are concerns of smuggling when it comes to increasing taxes on tobacco products,” he disclosed.

Kwaku, who began smoking at the age of 14 is now determined to quit the habit, but has no access to cessation counseling and has to rely on sheer willpower to quit the deadly habit. He tells me, “It has been a struggle for me to quit for the past six months. I tried a few times but gave up eventually because the urge was too strong. Moreover, my closest friend also smokes so it makes it difficult to quit, even though I want to.”

The economic cost of smoking in Ghana amounts to 97 million cedis in direct costs related to healthcare expenditures and indirect costs related to early mortality and morbidity according to the Tobacco Atlas. Increased tobacco tax revenues would strengthen domestic resource mobilization to help offset the costs to the Ghanaian economy as well as help government invest in tobacco control programs that can benefit the likes of Kwaku Addo.

Ghana can still do more to make the proven tobacco control tools work for its citizens’ well-being.

–

By: Gideon Sarpong | iwatchafrica.org

The post Teenage smoking: How Ghana’s low taxes on cigarettes encourage deadly habit appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Various kinds of abuses, especially sexual harassment in all its forms, are prevalent in many societies across the world—principally against women. The situation enkindled the #metoo campaign/movement that was launched in 2017.

By the end of 2017, the Me Too (#Metoo) movement had more than half a million tweets and hundreds talking about it on Facebook. The teeming female proponents who joined the campaign through tweets and Facebook comments are only a fraction of the many women offline who may have gone through similar experiences.

A baseline study on Women’s Right Online in Ghana by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), for instance, found that about 40% of the women respondents reported experience in different forms of harassment online with almost 7 out of 10 of those women experiencing the abuses more than once.

A snapshot from Milano’s twitter page

As the online world is largely a reflection of offline realities, a lot of the forms of sexual harassment reported offline are being perpetrated online globally—and Ghana is no exception.

Source: MFWA field data, 2017

As though to corroborate the findings of the study, 2017 recorded a number of online abuses against a number of Ghanaian females which trended on social media for a while. A few of them are detailed below:

Attacks/Abuses against Rashida Black

In July 2017, a nude video of a young woman who was barely an adult (18-years-old) trended. The woman, Rashida Black, had gained popularity in 2016 for another video in which she hurled insults at her boyfriend. This nude video inflamed comments that sought to attack her.

Sampled Facebook comments

While the publisher of the video was unknown, a considerable section of the public seemed to assume that the girl whose privacy had been abused was the one who put the video out. The general public sentiment on the internet over the nude video was against the girl. She was “dirty” “stinking” and “rustic” they claimed. In the end, the poor woman was arrested by the Police to answer questions on why her nude video had gone viral on the internet/social media.

 Revenge Porn against Afia Schwarzenegger

In September, a video of a popular radio and TV personality, Valentina Nana Agyeiwaa (referred to as Afia Schwarzenegger in media spaces) known to be a firebrand and an outspoken person, had been caught in bed with another man trended. The man who took the video, reported to be her husband, threatened to empty the contents of a bottle he claimed was acid on the naked body of the lady in the video. The “revenge” video generated a lot of comments on the Ghanaian cyberspace. Below is a section of comments beneath a post of a local online website which published the story.

Source www.myjoyonline.com

Whilst a few posts sympathized with the victim and chastised her husband for videoing the nakedness of her former wife, many others lambasted her for being a ‘prostitute’ whose cup had run full.  For some, the “loud” TV personality had been silenced.

 Sexist Discrimination against Pepper Dem Ministries

Also in September 2017, Pepper Dem Ministries, an online feminist group launched their activities on Facebook.  They had charged themselves with “unlearning and learning the toxic narratives” against women and establishing a better approach to socialisation in society. Perhaps superannuating the old mantra of “women must only be seen and not heard”, the group caused a lot of ‘traffic’ on the internet.  The internet was awash with many reactions under the hashtag #PepperDem—maybe—owing to their swift, unconventional and radical response to issues which came off as abrasive to many.

The activities of the Pepper Dem group also received a lot of flak on the social media, some of which were complete insults and ad hominem attacks. A London-based Ghanaian blogger called them a bunch of “sex-starved” women who are “unkempt, unintelligent with smelly hair”. https://think.com.gh/pepper-dem-ministries-ladies-unkempt-unintelligent-with-smelly-hair-blogger-chris-vincent/

From the commentator’s Facebook page

Hate Speech against Yvonne Nelson

Then in December 2017, news of Ghanaian actress, Yvonne Nelson, trended. She had kept her pregnancy from the media only to release photos (of her pregnancy and father of her child) after she had given birth. Reactions to the pictures were varied. Some people tagged her as a “husband snatcher” who must be punished by God whilst her child was called an “ugly bastard”.

From the commentator’s Facebook page

A snapshot from the celebrity’s Instagram page

But what do women do when they are abused online? Or from whom do they take refuge when they are harassed?

According to the baseline report by the MFWA, while some of the victims block their harassers, others take caution in what they do online which could actually lead to self-censorship.  However, none of the study respondents reported the online abuses to any security agency. The few who reported did so to some friends and family members. Whereas the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police have received training on online violence against women, they are unable to respond adequately because they lack resources.

The growing phenomenon of transferring abuses and other sexual harassment of women to the online world need to be addressed urgently. Unfortunately, there are no clear guidelines as to the process of reporting online abuses to state security agencies and getting perpetrators duly punished.

Also, as the MFWA’s baseline study shows, a number of the women rights advocacy groups or organisations do not work on women’s rights in online spaces. Maybe, going forward, advocacy against harassment online against women can be intensified by these groups and even the media to help curb/curtail the menace/phenomenon.

More education /sensitization by the media and the National Commission on Civic Education may help in making women conscious of these online threats so they can take precautions. The security agencies may also need to make available information on how these challenges can be reported to them and process with dealing with the perpetrators.

By: Kwaku Krobea Asante

Email: [email protected]

The post Following the trends: Abuse against women in Ghanaian online space [Article] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

For me, there is nothing more appealing than the wonderful memories of a great road trip of a lifetime.

It was therefore not surprising to learn that as far back as 1888, the inventor Karl and her wife Bertha Benz would take frequent road trips even in the then phase of global road development.

Today, around the world, the statistics of road trips are increasingly thrilling.

Presently in Ghana, one cannot mention the thrills of road trips and obliterate the stories from the ‘Citi FM’s Heritage Caravan’.

The Citi FM Heritage Caravan is an annual road trip that gives a rare opportunity to tourism enthusiasts to experience and discover Ghana.

Personally, this year’s road-trip makes for me the second count of a super exciting journey across Ghana, and in the company of amazing patrons who were bent-on touring Ghana in a seven (7) – day “See Ghana” road trip.

Indeed, “Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter.” —Izaak Walton

I had signed up, and was getting all set-to-go, with tickling emotions! Packing became the unloved part. As a traveller, travelling light is my thing.

I became my own mum, I ordered myself around, got a few items for my trip, packed and unpacked a few more, and like the Spanish proverb “on a long journey even a straw weighs heavy” it becomes funny when the thought of all the “Just-in-case” essentials translates into a heavy load (only travellers would understand this).

I just couldn’t wait for a day to break, in fact, I had returned from the pre-trip concert at the Alisa Hotel and up, ready to “See Ghana!” Sunday, 4th March 2018 was the starting line for the 2018 trip, and in the words of Charles Warner “There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like its beginning.”

It is said that “a traveller without observation is a bird without wings.”

Ghana, as I observe, has an incredible countryside topography and an appealing aesthetic outlook which is best explored through inland travels, and that is exactly what I experienced on the Heritage Caravan! The many breathtaking sights across Ghana. I said to myself, this Country is really resourcefully big, lots to see, and more miles unseen.

“Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.” – Benjamin Disraeli.

Covering 2,620 kilometres by road is sure an adventure for me!

My goal apart from making travel buddies was to better understand the culture of natives at each destination and their unique way of life, and the special stories as I visit as many attraction sights and explore the unknown.

For me, road trips are just perfect opportunities to forget about all my worlds’ worries, escape from the small busy capital city to see the sun rise and set in different regions of Ghana.

It was day one; our journey began in Accra at 10am. We had two Intercity Coaches STC buses for the trip, they were tagged bus A and B.

I made myself comfortable in Bus B in my little one corner as we rode towards Colonial Accra, driving along the Coast through Accra central all the way to Sesemi Museum within Accra’s Abokobi township.

Sesemi is a very religious town with notable Presbyterian Church buildings and that of no other denominations or churches are seen here. This is said to be so because the township was founded by the Basil Missionary in the mid centuries. It was also said that, before one becomes a chief in Abokobi, he must be a Christian priest.

Thus, the Chief of Abokobi does not pour traditional libation and once a while he must preach at the main Presbyterian Church. Interestingly, certain habits and attitudes such as drinking or operating a drinking bar are also said to be highly prohibited in the town.

On arrival at Sesemi Museum, close to Abokobi, I saw an overview of the site that shows Fredericksgave plantation settlements, the slaves’ village of Djabina and fines from the olden days that were used to trade and housing for the slaves.

From Sesemi museum and along the Akuapem mountains, we headed straight to the land of  Agotime, in the Volta Region. On reaching Agotime, we stopped at one of the towns called “wodome” which means middle in the Ewe language. The “Wodome” town is divided between Ghana and Togo.

Part of the town is in Ghana and the other part is in Togo. The division of the town is narrated to be done by the “white men” of the olden days, but regardless of the physical boundaries, the natives of the town believe that they are inseparably one people. The bus then continued to Agotime Kpetoe, welcomed by a Durbur of Chiefs, traditional elders and people of Agotime Kpetoe.

Here, many of the patrons had their feets washed before greeting the Durbar of Chiefs in a traditional practice called the “Asialotome” – rite, a practice performed whenever visitors are to be received. The maidens will go to the riverside to fetch water and wash the feet of visitors as a way of welcoming them.

I was very happy to be in the midst of such royal entourage, in what can be best described as a majestic atmosphere with the traditional Chiefs and their Elders clad in royal regalia, displaying the richness of the Ewe tradition with their colourful Ewe woven kente adorned with glittering real gold ornaments! It was indeed a magnificent sight to behold to “See Ghana” and enjoy Ghana!

Indeed, “No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” — Lin Yutang

Having enjoyed the thrilling Kente Weaving Festival intertwined with a showcase of the magnificent Borbor dance, the wheels of the Heritage Caravan emotionally left the fascinating thrills and exceptional people of Agotime Kpetoe behind us, as we drove on, listening to a playlist of fine popular tunes of good music, fun-blasting it in the bus as if we had no worries about nothing in the world aside locating the next gas station. Truly “a journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” — Tim Cahill

Upon refuelling, our next stop would be the sights of the impressively famous Kingdom of Gold and the incredible Menhyia Palace within the Ashanti region!

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm, and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”     — Jawaharlal Nehru

Heritage Caravan Day 1 @ Frederiksgave Plantation

Patrons Look Forward to Next Heritage Caravan

To be continued…

–

Author: Makafui Seshie

Writer’s blog: makafuiseshie.wordpress.com

Photos by Nii Darku

The post #HeritageCaravan: Who doesn’t love a good road trip? [Article] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

One such case of misfiring, which has led to a massive dent of his credibility and his ability to be a man of his own and be true to facts, was in a speech delivered at a dialogue series held by the Chevening Alumni Association of Ghana on the theme, ’’Corruption and its impact on Ghana, 61 years on’’ held on the 17th day of March, 2018.

On the day, he made some allegations against the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, which, unfortunately, are not back by the facts.

Manasseh had this to say: “President Akufo-Addo has to stop acting like a clearing agent. We know what a clearing agent does, he needs to allow due process to be followed in dealing with corrupt allegations. If that is not done, people will not trust him.’’

The investigative journalist went on to enumerate a couple of alleged corrupt cases which have been reported under this administration, to back his claim that the President is acting like a “clearing agent” and has not allowed investigations to be carried out on alleged cases of corruption against members of his administration.

Manasseh cited the allegation against the Minister for Energy, to the effect that the latter bribed Parliament’s Appointment Committee to have him passed through vetting without any restrictions or hinderances.

It is baffling how Manasseh Azure would make the claim that President Akufo-Addo ‘cleared’ the Energy Minister, Mr. Boakye Agyarko, when Parliament itself set up a bi-partisan committee which delved into the allegations of bribery against him. Mahama Ayariga and his partners in crime, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and Alhassan Suhuyini woefully failed to produce any iota of evidence to substantiate their claims.

Even Muntaka Mubarak, the Minority Chief Whip, ferociously denied that monies had changed hands.

Parliament, by its own means, determined that the allegation by some members of the Minority was a figment of someone’s own imagination. The culprit, Mahama Ayariga, issued a public apology in this instance (https://www.myjoyonline.com/politics/2017/april-7th/ayariga-formally-apologises-for-false-bribery-claim.php).

Where is the interference Manasseh is highlighting? Where, in this case, did President Akufo-Addo act like a “clearing agent”? Manasseh, the Ghanaian people want to know. We don’t want to believe that you peddled a falsehood.

Again, Manasseh, for tendentious reasons, alleged that the President acted as a “clearing agent” when the two Deputy Chiefs of Staff were accused of having indulged in corrupt acts by musician, A Plus. Has Manasseh forgotten that it was President Akufo-Addo who asked the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service to take up the case and investigate it thoroughly? Were the findings of the investigation not made public?

The accuser, A Plus, on his own came out and apologized to the two Deputy Chiefs of Staff for making those baseless accusations (https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/A-Plus-apologizes-to-Asenso-and-Jinapor-586655). Manasseh, where, in this case, did President Akufo-Addo act like a “clearing agent”? It is incomprehensible how a seasoned journalist like Manasseh Azure Awuni would walk on a path that dents his credibility!

It is paradoxical, to say the least, why Manasseh could rope President Akufo-Addo into a matter completely worlds apart from his jurisdiction, as regards the NDC-invented ‘cash for seat’ saga.

After requesting details of the matter from the Trade Minster, and having satisfied himself that Alan Kyerematen had done no wrong, the matter was still referred to a bi-partisan probe of Parliament.

The Speaker admitted the demands from the Minority to set up a bi-partisan committee to sit on the case when Parliament was on recess. The Committee came out with its report to the effect that the Trade Minister had done wrong. Myjoyonline carried the story.

If Manasseh cared to find out, he would know (https://www.myjoyonline.com/politics/2018/February-6th/cash-for-seat-probe-exonerates-alan-cash.php). Manasseh, again, where, in this case, did President Akufo-Addo act like a “clearing agent”?

Indeed, all allegations of corruption leveled against appointees of this government have been thoroughly investigated by independent bodies and the results made public.

That is the more reason President Akufo-Addo said this when he met the press one year into office:

“So far, every single act of alleged corruption labeled against any member of my administration has been or is in the process of being investigated by independent bodies and the findings so far made public. From the allegations against the Minister for Energy designate and his parliamentary confirmation hearings to that against the CEO of BOST, there is those against the two deputies of Chief of Staff to the claims of extortion against the Trade Minister, and those against the Minister for Special Development Initiatives, they have all been investigated and no evidence has been adduced to suggest imaginary any act of corruption”.

There’s no President eager and willing to fight corruption than President Akufo-Addo. In his first year of office, two separate by-partisan probes in Parliament were established to inquire into allegations of corruption as against zero in the Mahama years, despite the persistent calls by the then Minority.

As the President said, “I have a great interest in my appointees not been corrupt and any critic could possibly have. Produce the evidence to back the allegations and see what the reaction would be”, he stressed.

Manasseh’s description of the President as a “clearing agent” is an invention from his warped imagination as the facts on the ground make nonsense of his claims against the President. Certainly, a “clearing agent” would not have appointed Martin Amidu to be the country’s first Special Prosecutor.

Manasseh Azure’s works would fade into oblivion if he continues to just throw his weight about in this manner. This devil-may-care attitude he has adopted cannot in any way help him in advancing his career. He will fall from grace with this posturing. This propaganda-induced phrase he is running wild with is below a person of his calibre. He should not allow himself to be consumed by the vile and fabricated lies opposition elements throw out there. His description of the President as a clearing agent is reprehensible, ignobly contemptible and pitiably pathetic.

–

By: P.K Sarpong, from the corridors of the Thinking Place

The post Manasseh’s ‘clearing agent’ tag of Nana Addo pitiful and baseless [Article] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

It is the fourth poorest region in the country despite its agriculture, fishing and the high level of brisk business which goes on in one of its towns, which is arguably the most expanding urban area in West Africa, Kasoa.

The Central Region prides itself in its educational institutions, but a recent finding that left the Regional Minister, Kwamena Duncan, and other very concerned inhabitants of the Region fuming was that indigenes of the Region hardly access the best senior high schools here. The reason: poor performance in the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE).

A 2017 news report revealed how poverty and low level of education are worsening teenage pregnancy numbers coupled with significant levels of teenage prostitution. A total of 5,106 cases of teenage pregnancies were recorded between July and December 2016 alone.

Due to this inglorious picture, the Region has unfortunately assumed that any project, national or local, sited in it should be with the intent of alleviating its chief enemy, poverty.

It is thus heart-breaking to find diverse projects carried out in the region wasting away, despite the sweet talk from politicians who claim to have the interest of the region at heart.

The CEDECOM irony

The Central Region Development Commission (CEDECOM), was specifically established to spearhead the reduction of poverty and to facilitate the development of the Region. In fact, as a means of ultimately deleting the poverty tag.

It is of great relevance to the Region that every Regional Minister who heads the Region is the default Board Chairman of the Commission.

A lot of funds have been injected into CEDECOM by governments over the years with the aim of alleviation aim of alleviating poverty in the Central Region. In 2009 for example, the late President Atta Mills promised it GHC 5.2 million, and the Commission later admitted receiving “some chunk of money”.

That was good news! But what did the Region witness? Several mind-boggling decisions have been taken by CEDECOM that makes every follower of the Commission wonder what is wrong with its handlers. Let me feed you with only three of them.

CEDECOM spent GHC 612,000 to construct a rest stop for commercial purposes on a marshy piece of land at Ekumfi Eyisam on the Accra-Cape Coast highway. The rest stop currently wastes away overgrown with weeds, years after its construction. The only time the facility saw some life was a one-day programme on the premises, where the current President, Akufo-Addo, launched the first of the factories under the One District-One Factory Policy, that is to produce pineapple juice in the Ekumfi area.

Another CEDECOM irony is the use of GHC 220,000 by the Commission to construct a fence wall around the Agona Swedru cemetery. Yes, around a public cemetery! That was a decision.

There is also the CEDECOM piggery project drama. The project that was recorded in the Commission’s 2011 projects records as having swallowed GHC100,000 was initially claimed to be at Assin Manso, but was never seen there, only for the people of the Region to be later told it had been moved to Assin Ando – and the piggery drama goes on.

All the above and other CEDECOM decisions have been taken in the Central Region where the youths are craving jobs that could simply minimize the poverty it is plagued with.

Central Region continues to be Ghana’s fourth poorest Region, years after CEDCOM’s creation, while no serious probe has been carried out to let people answer why those decisions were taken.

The Komenda Sugar Factory show

At a colourful event at the historical town of Komenda in 2016, ex-President John Mahama inaugurated the $35 million Indian EXIM Bank loan project meant to produce sugar to save the country the hundreds of millions of dollars it spends on sugar importation.

The factory was also projected to create over 7,300 jobs, most of which would have probably been for people in the Central Region.

That was visionary, wasn’t it? Yet those who established the magnificent factory, whose construction began in 2014, failed to realise that the raw materials needed for sugar production, sugarcane, had to be available for the factory to run.

The factory is also wasting away now, but the other side of the vision that requires providing the factory with 225,000 metric tonnes of sugarcane for the factory to operate at optimum capacity is yet to be realized by the nation.

That is pathetically another embellishment of the Central Region with no proper planning, killing hopes of the natives and Ghanaians at large, and the Region appears shortchanged again!

The John Evans Atta Mills Presidential Library

It is a project the current Regional Minister, Kwamena Duncan, has publicly described as a purely private facility meant to honour the late Atta Mills, but the digital library is yet to be fully used as it is now under lock and key.

Ghanaians were made to understand the Library was going to be in the hands of the University of Cape Coast, but a recent explanation by the institution has revealed no official documentation exists to that effect.

The contractor for the project has reportedly shut down the facility because of a failure to pay him some monies owed him since 2016.

The monument shares a neighbourhood with the Cape Coast Castle, and has a 100-capacity auditorium, a 45-seater multimedia centre, seminar rooms and a museum meant for keeping historical materials and works by or on the late President.

By all standards, it is a good centre for the research purposes attached to it; however, it appears to be the next major project in the Region to go defunct.

The shock of those who are passionate about the Central Region, is the flamboyance and pageantry that surround many sod-cutting and inauguration of projects here, only for such projects to get abandoned or fail to impact lives.

Moving around the Region and observing the people as well as communicating with residents on issues, show how they yearn to see their lives improved by those who profess love to them, but it is apparent their hopes may continue to be unattainable as Ghana as a whole continues to battle for proper planning and policy implementation.

It is also clear the people of the Central Region would want to have answers to the numerous questions on their minds, on why some particular decisions were taken on their behalf, most of which are a clear slap in the face.

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By: Joseph Ackon-Mensah

Email: [email protected]

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