The spectra of corruption and inequalities are very real in land allocation and management.

It is at this background that Good Governance Africa-West Africa organised a two-day workshop for selected land administrators and traditional rulers (who are deemed as the primary custodians of land) from the Western & Central Regions of Ghana, to sensitize and introduce them to current processes and procedures in land administration.

Topics treated included but not limited to accessing land information, organizational restructuring, and professional ethics, land registration procedures and processes among others.

The lead facilitator, Prof. S.O Asiama, a lecturer and land administration consultant, opined that, “poor land governance system gives birth to difficult access to land, ignorance of land policies and legal frameworks, lack of information on land transactions and prices, misallocation of land rights, incapacitation of women and vulnerable groups to participate in the land market.”

“On the other hand, should professional land administrators work diligently devoid of corruption, transparency can encourage civic engagement and stakeholders’ accountability by rendering the public decision making arena more accessible. This in turn strengthens confidence in government and public agencies, and has a positive economic impact” he noted.

In an interview, the Executive Director of GGA-West Africa, Mrs. Tina Asante-Apeatu, stressed the need for Ghana to institutionalize a professionally, tailor-made and home-designed land administrator system, which makes it easy to access credible land information.

She further stated that, good governance in land administration, pillared on transparency, will protect the property rights of individuals and enterprises, as well as of the state, by introducing principles as efficiency, effectiveness, civic engagement, fairness and impartiality, rule of law, among others in the land related public sector management.

According to her, high cost, inefficient land officers and prolonged procedures related to corrupt land registration practices, have discouraged people from registering their land and properties.

She said this further leads to under-collection of land related taxes.

GGA-West Africa is an independent and non-partisan research and advocacy organization, that works to improve government performance on the continent by strengthening institutions and building consensus through research, capacity building, sensitization programmes and orientation of the citizenry on best governance practices.
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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Speaking at the Heads of States Award Scheme, President John Mahama stated that various youth empowerment and skills development schemes had been put in place to reduce Ghana’s unemployment rate.

The President revealed that government through its various youth empowerment and skills development schemes has managed to create employment for over 200,000 youth nationwide since it assumed office in 2009.

The successes chalked by government, according to him, signifies government’s commitment to youth development.

He also revealed that government’s support to fund the youth enterprise will provide access to business financing.

“ For young people who wish to engage in entrepreneurship, this fund will provide seed capital to address funding frustrations.

“It is also aimed at easing the burden of job seekers and first time young business men and women,” the President stated.

According to him, government believes that investing in young people is the best investment the country can make.

“This is why government has continued to support the Heads awards scheme as well as other programmes aimed at awarding young people,” the President added.

By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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A study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, showed “suicides have risen markedly”.

The research group said some deaths may have been avoidable as some countries showed no increase in suicide rate.

Campaign groups said the findings showed how important good mental health services were.

The study by the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine analysed data from 24 EU countries, the US and Canada.

Unemployment, repossessions and debt

It said suicides had been declining in Europe until 2007. By 2009 there was a 6.5% increase, a level that was sustained until 2011.

It was the equivalent of 7,950 more suicides than would have been expected if previous trends continued, the research group said.

Deaths by suicide were also falling in Canada, but there was a marked increase when the recession took hold in 2008, leading to 240 more suicides.

The number of people taking their own life was already increasing in the US, but the rate “accelerated” with the economic crisis, leading to 4,750 additional deaths.

The report said losing a job, having a home repossessed and being in debt were the main risk factors.

However, some countries bucked the trend. Sweden, Finland and Austria all avoided increases in the suicide rate during the recession.

One of the researchers, Dr Aaron Reeves, of the University of Oxford, said: “A critical question for policy and psychiatric practice is whether suicide rises are inevitable.”

‘Policy potentially matters’

He told the BBC: “There’s a lot of good evidence showing recessions lead to rising suicides, but what is surprising is this hasn’t happened everywhere – Austria, Sweden and Finland.

“It shows policy potentially matters. One of the features of these countries is they invest in schemes that help people return to work, such as training, advice and even subsidised wages.

“There are always hard choices to make in a recession, but for me one of the things government does is provide support and protection for vulnerable groups – these services help people who are bearing the brunt of an economic crisis.”

Andy Bell, of the Centre for Mental Health, said: “The study says what we feared for some time: that unemployment, job insecurity and many other factors associated with the recession are associated with poor mental health and suicide.

“It reminds us how important it is to respond to that need and take preventative action where we can, and that primary care is properly resourced and able to identify people who are at risk.”

Beth Murphy, of the charity Mind, said: “Since 2008, we’ve seen an increasing number of people contact the Mind Infoline concerned about the impact of money and unemployment on their mental health.

“Redundancy and other life circumstances brought about by the recession can trigger depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts for anyone, whether they have previously experienced a mental health problem or not.

“For some people, these factors can become so difficult to cope with that suicide may feel like the only option.”

Source: BBC

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This follows widely-held perception that majority of university graduates are not trained to suit the job market; leading to rising levels of graduate unemployment in the country.

Speaking to Citi News however,  the Minister refuted this saying, “I don’t believe our graduates are useless, I take very strong exceptions to these comments,” she said.

She opined that graduates who are deemed useless may “need is a little push and a little help but we know they are not materials we cannot use.”

She also took the opportunity to encourage industries to disclose their preference to the Education Ministry to enable them include them in the curriculum.

The President, John Mahama on Monday called for greater collaboration between industry and academia to ensure graduates are trained for the needs.

According to him, the collaboration will reduce the rising figures of unemployed graduates in the country

He made this known during a two-day national conference on bridging gap between education, training and industry.

A communiqué issued at the end of the conference called for an urgent review of Ghana’s educational system to allow tertiary institutions produce all rounded students who will easily fit into the job market.

By: Benjamin Epton Owusu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Succour may soon come to unemployed graduates in Nigeria if the recommendation of one of the committees at the ongoing National Conference is accepted at the plenary and by the Federal Government.

Source: Punchng.com

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The President was speaking at the opening ceremony of a two-day national conference on bridging gap between education, training and industry.

This is to strengthen links between education and industry in the country.

Addressing the conference, President Mahama said his administration is ready to provide all necessary interventions to achieve this objective.

He noted that “there is a great deal at stake and we must redouble our efforts to ensure that we are producing graduates in the areas that the world of work is demanding them.”

The President urged industry and businesses to let government and the various educational institutions “to let us know the skills set they require and which areas of training they require.”

This, he said will allow educational institutions “to align their curricular to suit this demand.”

He admonished participants at the conference to address issues on employability by offering sustainable solutions.”

He implored them to make suggestions to improve internships and apprenticeship for skills training,  practical attachments and incentives which could encourage industry to recruit and train graduates.

Youth unemployment which is high in Ghana is considered a hindrance to the country’s development.

Thousands of graduates of tertiary institutions  are unable to find jobs after undertaking their national service.

In 2012, a group of unemployed graduates came together and formed the Unemployed Graduates association to demand jobs from the government.

Some industry players and organizations say though there may not be jobs for the high numbers of graduates who leave school every year, many are unable to meet the requirements for the few existing jobs.

Many blame the education system and the irrelevant courses being studied in schools.

This, according to them contributes to the production of students who do not fit the existing job market.

By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @osamidan

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