Ghana Broadcasting Corporation

At the ongoing round table organized by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD in Geneva, Switzerland, Ghana has been highly praised for rolling out of the free Senior High School education Policy. It is indeed a matter for all Ghanaians to be proud of and equally be responsible for its ultimate success. African Union Commission made the commendation, which was hailed by all present. The Commission said Ghana's introduction of a free senior high school programme is a true indication and a sure way of ensuring the growth of the country and Africa as a whole. As if by design or coincidence, this major achievement by Ghana is in tune with the theme of the meeting, which is “Accelerating Progress in Building Productive Capacities in Least Developing Countries and Other Vulnerable Developing Economies.” Ambassador Thomas Kwesi Quartey, Deputy Chairperson, African Union Commission, who gave the commendation on behalf of the AU noted with delight that the beginning ...

The free SHS Policy was a critical campaign promise in the 2008 and 2016 general elections. The announcement of the policy which derives inspiration from the Constitution, received both praises and criticisms from a wide range of people. Politically, those on the other side of the divide said it was only a campaign gimmick and the policy cannot be implemented in view of the socio-economic challenges of the country. All the negative presumptions must give way to reality. The unveiling of the logo for the initiative was a great pointer to the fact that all is set for its roll out. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in February 2017, officially announced the intention of his government to fully implement the Free SHS. The President said by free SHS, the government is saying in addition to tuition, which is already free, there will be no admission fees, no library and science centre fees, no computer lab fees, and no examination fees. Also no utility fees will be charged. There will be ...

Good governance as a tenet in a democratic dispensation has been widely recognized as a key ingredient for development. Multi-Party Democracy gained root in most parts of Africa in the early 1990s replacing dictatorial regimes. Evidence seems to confirm that African countries where multi-party democracy has been established perform better as compared to non-democratic states. This notwithstanding, one of the challenges that confront multiparty democracy is consensus building for prudent sustainable long term development. Time and Time again governments formulate good and credible laws, policies and strategies to propel socio-economic development. The daunting task however is the capacity to implement these policies and strategies effectively and sustainably. It is important to emphasize that the implementations of some of these plans are sometimes truncated mid-way through the plan period sometimes as a result of change in government. It is therefore heart-warming that in recent times ...

Over the past few years, operations at the country’s ports of entry have been characterised by unbearable delays, frustrations and allegations of bribery and corruption as well as loss of revenue to the State. To overcome these problems and sanitize the system, government has decided to make operations at the ports paperless. This is meant to reduce or eliminate human intervention as much as possible from the system and, thereby, eliminate any possible payment of money to influence operations. New measures which effectively come into full operations today are aimed at expediting the clearance of imported goods within a maximum of four hours and also help to eliminate revenue losses to the State, promote transparency, increase revenue, reduce cost of doing business for importers and, ultimately, bring about efficiency at the ports. Port efficiency is needed for rapid trade facilitation for importers, eliminate frustrations and make it easy for business men and women to go about their du...

Religion has played and continues to play a critical role in shaping the lives of individuals. These individuals in turn determine the development of societies. In the course of shaping the destiny of society people must be ready to surprising forgo what is dear to their lives. It is therefore not surprising that Prophet Ibrahim obeyed the command of his Creator to sacrifice his one and only son, Ismael. This act by Prophet Ibrahim was a clear exhibition of a high level of faith in Allah. This courageous and submissive deed is what is being re-enacted by Muslims in Ghana and beyond. To Muslims, Ibrahim is the father of all prophets and respected for submitting himself to the will of Allah. Allah tells us in the Quran the essence of sacrifice is to portray our closeness to Him. Quran Chapter 22 verse 37 clearly states this: “It is not their meat nor their blood, that reaches Allah: it is your piety that reaches Him.” Muslims are therefore commanded Allah to follow the footsteps of Proph...

The “One District One Factory, one of the flagship initiatives of the NPP Government is a key component of the industrial transformation agenda. The initiative is designed to set up at least one medium to large scale industrial enterprise in each of the 216 Districts. The goal of the policy is to ensure that Ghana’s industrialisation drive spreads to every part of the country, a departure from the situation where most of the nation's manufacturing facilities are located in the largest urban areas; Accra, Tema, Tamale, Kumasi and Takoradi. A key component of the policy is to add value to the various raw materials grown at the various districts. The project is geared toward creating jobs for the youth and reducing the developmental disparities across the country as well as curb rural-urban migration. Even though the programme is emanating from the Presidency, it is being coordinated by the One District One Factory Secretariat. The Secretariat is to serve as an interface between the p...

The private sector has often been described as the engine for socio-economic development in Africa. This places huge burdens on the sector. Governments for that matter the States are supposed to create enabling environments for the sector to engender the needed growth. To this end, some governments on the continent have been encouraging their citizens both home and abroad to take advantage of investment opportunities available in their countries to make contributions to national development. The question is, to what extent has the enabling environment been expanded for the sector to propel economic growth? A number of Businesses have collapsed for one reason or the other. Business development in Africa is saddled with a number of challenges. Ever-changing government regulations, use of multiple currencies, protectionist policies and the absence of scientific market research data make the assessment of the retail environment, consumer behaviour and consumer needs difficult. In addition,...