This age old practice inhibits the girls’ educational development, employability and subsequently influences their world view.

The act takes the form of abduction, elopement and betrothal of these young girls who are mostly sold for a bride price.

In recent times of information age, due to the attention that it has received and since been made a crime, the perpetrators have developed new ways of practicing the act.

Some of the new ways are connivance of girls in the act and sending girls out to the cities to work during school holidays where the men follow up ostensibly to bring them back home.

In areas where the girls are complicit in the act, these girls drop out of school and travel to work as head porters in Accra.

The travel to Accra is sponsored by the lover of a girl so that upon her return from Accra, she gets married to him. These girls drop out usually from classes five and six as well as JHS forms one and two.

The ages of these girls are usually between thirteen and sixteen.

The other way is: parents who are aware that their daughters will not kowtow to their pressure deliberately send their daughters to the cities under the pretext of asking them to go and work when schools are on holidays.

The plan on the other hand is to avoid the intervention of teachers and other stakeholders.

Later, the would-be-husband is sent ostensibly to the city to bring the girl home. It’s at this point that the marriage is consummated since all arrangements have been completed with the parents.

In the matter of child marriage and its associated disadvantages to the girl child development, there have been global efforts to reduce to the barest minimum the canker of the phenomenon.

In line with this the first and third targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4 and 5 respectively states: “by 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes; eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilations.”

The above targets become difficult to achieve when the phenomenon of child marriage which comes along with the dropping out of school and teenage pregnancy still prevails in its new ways.

Communities where the act of school dropout, child marriage and consequently teenage pregnancy is prevalent there are efforts that are made to by Parents and Teachers Association (PTAs) as well as School Management Committees (SMCs)to nip the situation in the bud by instituting fines.

Sadly, due to the connivance of the girls and their lovers they have found a way to avoid the fine: the girls drop out of school and leave their homes for Accra to work and then upon their return they declare their intentions of not returning to school.

In some other cases, the indigenes of the communities threaten the lives of teachers who they believe stand in their way of luring girls into marriage.

The war against child or early marriage can’t be won when the girls don’t understand the consequences that come along with it. The focus must be on making girls understand that their future success is not in being wives; instead it’s in their skill and intellectual development.

Girls must be made to understand that they have a greater role to play in the development of their communities than yielding to pressure to marry.

All these start and end with how adequately the Ministry of Gender and Social Protection as well as the Girl Child Unit of the Ghana Education Service are resourced annually from national to district levels so as to ensure that the triple phenomenon of dropping out of school, child marriage and consequently teenage pregnancy which hinder the progress of the girl is brought to an end.

The power of the state institutions responsible for bringing to an end this phenomenon can only be realised if there’s adequate and available resources as well as consistent sensitisation programmes on the need to abstain from such vices and empower parents as well as guardians with acquisition of knowledge in order to invest their resources in their girl children.

When these girls and the communities are encouraged to know that there is a better alternative to becoming brides or marrying girls, this nation only loses the triple phenomenon that hinder the successful skill and intellectual development of the girl child.

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By: Alex Blege

The writer is a freelance journalist.

Writers emal: [email protected]/[email protected]     

The post Child marriage: New ways of perpetrating the act [Article] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Robbery attacks on students usually end up with the students receiving cutlass wounds from their assailants. These young men who perpetrate these crimes are well known indigenes of Wa.

On June 18, 2014 a male student was attacked on the Wa Polytechnic Street and left unconscious until he was found the following morning by a Good Samaritan who rushed him to the hospital for treatment. The student had his head smashed and still lives with the scar and periodic headaches.

On October 26, 2015 two students – a male and female – were attacked at the Shekafatu Islamic Primary and Junior School, at Mangu, in the Wa Municipality. The female student in an attempt to flee the scene came face to face with her assailant who inflicted cutlass wounds on her head, arm, thigh and fingers while she was defending herself. The male student who after a first hit on his waist which landed on his belt, fled before further harm could be done to him.

On July 2, 2017 two young men went to a private hostel to rob students of their belongings. They ended up inflicting severe cutlass wounds on a student who tried to defend himself. The student was referred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital when he was rushed to the Upper West Regional Hospital.

Although, in the  October 26, 2015 as well as July 2, 2017 cases the criminals were identified, arrested, prosecuted and sentenced to prison, the matter needs attention. It’s no pleasant experience that a guardian or a parent receives a call only to be told that armed robbers have inflicted cutlass wounds on his or her ward. The situation leaves much to be desired. Safety of human beings everywhere is critical to the development of our societies and no university can be attractive when there’s an unsafe environment for students.

These experiences will dissuade potential students from applying to the Wa Campus of the university. Again, it sends the signal that the Wa Municipality is not safe and as such the police must get their acts together in combating crime and its related activities in the Municipality. There’s a truth that no police officer would openly admit: that they are poorly resourced to fight crime. The Police are doing their best but, it’s high time they opened up and told the public the factors that hinder their work in no uncertain terms.

It’s true that the authorities of the university can’t go round choosing for students where to go or where to stay; but, there’re some efforts that can be made to create a safe environment for the students of the university. Without the students there will be no university as well as the authorities of the university, so if students are unsafe then there’s the need to address the recurrent robbery and the consequent cutlass wound inflicting attacks on students and create a safe environment for students of the University.

Also, the Students’ Representative Council of the University must address the safety of the students. The student population of the university are scattered all over the Wa Municipality so it’s difficult to properly know the welfare of every student, nevertheless the Students’ Representative Council must identify ways of ensuring that the students are safe.

Most of the landlords of the private hostels have no concern for the safety and security of their tenants. It’s sad that after paying huge sums of money for a room in a hostel one can’t be safe. On holidays, these hostels are broken into by criminals who steal the belongings of these students. The landlords of these hostels must be made to understand that as much as there’s the need to make money, there’s equally the need to ensure that tenants and their properties are safe.

Students must also become security conscious at every point in time. It’s important that every student remains alert. One can’t take for granted these unfortunate incidents. It’s said that when one hears of a neighbour’s burning beard, there’s the need to keep water by one’s own beard.

The robbery attack on students is rife. It beats the attack of the swarm of bees and stone pelting experience of Professor Kwesi Yankah and his friends when they travelled from Wa to Tamale to stage a play on the freedom of Nelson Mandela years ago.

The safety of UDS students on Wa Campus can’t be discounted. It can make the university unattractive to potential students. Who would want to learn in an unsafe environment?

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By: Alex Blege

The writer is a freelance journalist.

Email: [email protected]/[email protected]

The post The safety of UDS students of Wa Campus [Article] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

His Excellency George Ayisi Boateng, High Commissioner to South Africa is the butt of criticism after he made comments that presupposed that the interest of members of his party comes first. The rest of the matter is fit for the ears and not the eyes. The statement confirms the reality on the ground! It confirms the mentality of the Ghanaian politician since the coming into force of the Fourth Republic. It further exposes why every Tom, Dick and Harry see politics as an avenue of rising to the top.

The relationship between the governors and the governed in every civil society is based on legal as well as rational norms and rules that define the relationship. In reference to our case, it’s the 1992 Constitution and the various Acts of Parliament.

Ralph Miliband, the Belgian-British sociologist in one of his theories stated that African states practice patrimonialism. The theory states that African states have legal as well as rational norms and regulations but in practice operate on a patron-client relationship – a relationship that has nothing in common with the legal or constitutional systems of the state.

In the practice of patrimonialism, the head ofstate and other leading state officials behave as patrons who dispense favours and tangible material rewards to their friends, family members, class mates, party members as well as fellow tribesmen and women who are the clients. Consequently, this results in loyalty and political support from these clients. Is this not why party activists would go all the way to insult and deride those who they believe are their opponents?

One typical example is the ritual sending of party activists to football tournaments as supporters any time there’s a tournament outside the country.

On the other hand, the constitution makes it mandatory that the interests of the governed – not a section of the governed – becomes the priority of the governors. Under the Fundamental Human Rights of Chapter Five of the 1992 Constitution, Article 17(2): “a person shall not be discriminated against on grounds of gender, race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, creed or social or economic status”

The situation has existed for a long time. It’s the sad reality of the relationship that is supposed to work in the interest of all and sundry.

This sad reality is a reflection of the political satire, Animal Farm by George Orwell. The relationship of the governed and the governor is run on the basis  of “all animals are equal but some are more equal than others” and “four legs good, two legs better”.

Such discrimination is recipe for disaster because it allows marginalisation of the citizenry to fester. When people are marginalised it results in violence. Let’s learn from the mistakes of societies that have had a harsh and an unenviable experience where some young people felt marginalised.

In spite of the much eulogised and propagated Zine Ben Ali government’s “Tunisian Economic Miracle”, many young people were marginalised. In December, 2010 the actions of two young people in Tunisia sparked off the revolution – on December 17 of that year, Mohammed Bouazizi, a twenty six year old unemployed graduate lit himself on fire, and five days later, December 22, Houcine Falli a 22 year old committed suicide by electrocuting himself over unemployment in Sidi Bouzid after shouting out “no to misery, no to unemployment”.

The symbiotic relationship of the governors and the governed must be held in high esteem. The constitution should define this relationship. Any other form that seeks to favour a section of the governed is a breach of fundamental human rights of those who are discriminated against.

A word to the wise is enough!

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By: Alex Blege

The writer is a freelance journalist. [email protected]/[email protected]

The post Governors and the governed – ‘patrimonialism’ or constitutionalism? [Article] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The recent violent activity of vigilante groups of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Karaga and Gwollu in the Northern and Upper West Regions respectively is the latest. In Karaga, the vigilante groups freed a couple of their friends who were in police custody.

In Gwollu, members of the NPP locked up the office of the District Chief Executive, Mr. Mohammed Bako, because of an allegation that he was choosing some other person for a position other than the preferred choice of party members.

Right after this incident, the President, Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo Addo charged the police to deal with the matter. Later, the Minister of Interior, Mr. Ambrose Dery also gave directives that the culprits in the Gwollu as well as Karaga incidents are dealt with.

While this matter was dying off, another group believed to be Invincible Forces of the NPP had caused mayhem in Ada East during polls to endorse the President’s nominee for District Chief Executive, Madam Sarah Dugbakie Pobee. What level of impunity have we brought unto ourselves?

Even after the directives, the charge and the threat of sanctioning as well as the punishments that have been meted out to others, we’re still here. For how long will the President keep charging the police to deal with these thugs as well as promising the nation that he will deal with the problem?

How long will the Minister of Interior keep giving directives as well as threats of sanctioning police officers who are hesitant in dealing with these thugs?

The primary duty of the Ghana Police Service is to prevent and detect crime, to apprehend offenders, and to maintain public order and the safety of persons and properties. This duty is critical and it is on the basis of the above duties the whole Police Service hangs. They don’t need directives, threats of sanctions or a charge to perform this.

But, how did we get here?  The constitution gives so much power to the Executive that as a nation it’s having a negative effect on governance.

The whole matter begins and ends with the Executive. According to Article 202 (1), “The Inspector General of Police shall be appointed by the President in consultation with the Council of State”. If the Executive continues to appoint heads of the security agencies including the police, the loyalty of those who are appointed goes first to the President, as well as to the members of the political party.

It then presupposes that the lawlessness and disorderliness that accompany the activities of vigilante groups will be with us as long as the Executive wields the power to appoint and fire. The Police and all other security agencies must select their heads on the basis of their own criteria subject to the constitution and the best of standards practiced elsewhere.

The problem of the police in hesitating to do their work is not a consequence of the lack of directives or charges coming from the Presidency and the Interior Minister; instead, it is a matter of the lack of total independence to run its affairs without having to consider the political consequences of the powers  that be.

Total independence is not what we’re seeing now. Total independence is when the Police and the Security agencies select their heads according to their own criteria in accordance with the constitution and best international standards.

This will ensure that their loyalty is first to the citizenry and not any other power. This will ensure an effective and efficient chain of command in their line of their duties without looking over their shoulders.

The President’s call as well as Mr. Ambrose Dery’s directive and threats of sanctions are synonymous to Fela Kuti’s song: “zombie”. It will be no wonder that when elections are near, the steam of the directives and sanctions will run out.

Let’s give the police and all other security agencies the total independence of selecting their own heads and they will not have to wait for politicians to give charges or directives before there’s an action against lawlessness wrapped in political colours.

Let’s change our way of doing things and we will have different results!

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By: Alex Blege

The writer is a freelance journalist. [email protected]/[email protected]

The post Of political vigilantism and the police [Article] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Sadly, political parties – especially National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have set up vigilante groups that go on the rampage at one time or the other – a phenomenon that betrays the constitution that gives the right and responsibilities of political parties in Ghana.

Chapter Seven of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana: “Representation of the People”, Article 55 (1), “the right to form political parties is hereby guaranteed”.  Article 55 (5), adds: “the internal organisation of a political party shall conform to democratic principles and its actions and purposes shall not contravene or be inconsistent with this Constitution or any other law”

The constitution defines the internal organisation of all political parties – its organisation must conform to democratic principles – the raising of vigilante groups for the purposes of personal security may look harmless; however, it shows the distrust political parties have in  state security services whether in opposition or in power  – a phenomenon borne out of political polarisation of state security services

Vigilantism in the Ghanaian body politic is a scar on the political conscience of our state. The NDC and the NPP defend actions of vigilante groups of their political parties; instead of bowing their heads in shame because they have created monsters who are out of control and the ripple effects is staring them in the face.

Beyond the distrust that political parties have in state security, it shows that the state is ineffective in protecting them; thus the same mindset is handed down to these vigilante groups – thus monsters are created and set loose. If at any point in time a group of young men in a political party take the laws into their hands so as to get the attention of their paymasters,  it says one thing – that there’s break down of law and order.

Law and order is important to the holistic development of every nation. No nation has ever developed in an atmosphere of lawlessness, disorderliness and chaos. Current activities of vigilante groups in Ashanti and Eastern Regions respectively needs much to be desired – an attack on the Regional Security Coordinator, locking of the NHIA offices and latest is the obstruction of the course of justice as they attacked a Kumasi Circuit Court to set free their members who were supposed to be remanded in custody – what impudence? Media reports suggest that the culprits have been arrested, but, should we get to the point where groups of this nature attack state institutions like there’re no laws in this country? These acts of disrespect for law and order confirm the monsters that have been created out of these young men whose actions haunt their paymasters. The matter is a threat to national security – “a source of worry” as the President puts it succinctly. The police are powerless in dealing with these young men due to the political strings tied to the phenomenon.

Frankly, as long as vigilante groups are created by political parties it will be an impossible task for the police to clamp down on these young men. The political parties have created monsters in the name of vigilante groups and it will take only these political parties to disband them.

The only way to deal with this matter is to use the legal system to compel the political parties to disband these monsters of vigilante groups – for in civil societies where all actions of the citizenry are ordered by the constitution, political parties don’t raise vigilante groups, they exercise their rights as citizens by depending on the state to protect them.

It’s for the purposes of law and order that we chose to have a constitution – let’s show the whole world that our society is not one where political parties betray the very constitution that gives them their very existence.

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By: Alex Blege

Author’s note: Some members of the vigilante group, Delta Force attacked a Kumasi Circuit Court to free their members who were standing trial for their previous action on the Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator.   

The writer is a freelance journalist.

[email protected]/[email protected]

The post Vigilante groups in political parties – a betrayal of constitutionalism [Article] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.