Ghana Broadcasting Corporation

Fellow Ghanaians, no offence to those who oppose to the proposed payment of TV license fees but we have to pay it for the good of our country. I present a few reasons I hope will be convincing to us as to why we need to support the state broadcaster even if we disagree. I share in the frustration of many Ghanaians who are ardently opposed to the idea of paying monies to a channel we consider “boring”, “not providing good content” etc. However, for these same reasons or criticisms, albeit right, we need to fund the national media outfit to be as relevant as we might expect within the media space. In my observation of the unsparing arguments in opposition to the fees, I realized two fundamental flaws: first the inconsistency and insincerity of some proponents of the idea and then there is unfortunately the nearsightedness of some opposing views. As I recall from 2016, the payment of the TV license was argued as premised on the possession of a TV set regardless of the channel(s) one watch...

Noise pollution has been part of man since creation. By our own activities and attitudes, we become the source of noise almost all the time; we make noise through talking, laughing, working and even when we sleep through snoring. However, with the advent and abuse of technology, our normal noise making has developed into unbearable noise pollution. The culprits of the noise pollution are many but for the want of time and for the purpose of this write up, I will restrict myself to just two of them that are loudest during the yuletide, namely; the churches and the drinking bars. Any one who has ever lived in an environment where a cluster of Pentecostal and Charismatic churches are located will appreciate this phenomenon better. An impression is sometimes created that they are competing for God's attention through the power of their sounds systems. In such frenzy mood, one wonders whether the sounds being made are meant for the consumption of the inmates or for the disturbance of tho...

At least eight students have died in five Senior High Schools in less than four weeks across the country. Though the number of deaths reported can easily be quantified mathematically, the social, economic and psychological impacts of the loss of these lives are enormous and priceless. The deaths have been confirmed to be due to Influenza Type A H1N1 and Meningitis. H1N1 and Meningitis are among the diseases classified as having the potential to spread fast leading to epidemics. These diseases spread mainly via droplets infection and contact with respiratory secretions of infected persons. As a result of this mode of transmission, congestion and overcrowding are some of the necessary factors for these diseases. It is important to note that overcrowding and congestion in the Senior High schools are not new. The situation seems to have worsened after the roll out of the government’s flagship Free Senior High School policy. Though the policy has given relief to most parents and lauded by m...

Human rights activists have described Trafficking of Persons as ''the heinous crime against humanity''. An ILO study conducted in 2015 puts the figure at 21 million people as victims of forced labour globally. Human trafficking is considered a crime that exploits women, children and men for multiple purposes especially labour and sex. Today, it is considered the World's second most lucrative form of employment, besides illicit drugs. Ironically, this is what makes the fight against the menace a very difficult one. Some have argued that victims come from poor homes and are often promised better conditions by their so called employers. Unfortunately, this may not be entirely true because there are agents, middle persons and pimps who sponsor and negotiate prices of these victims. Stories have been told where women and children have been engaged in inhuman activities and very disturbing situations, in countries such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Often, the victims...

In the last quarter of this year, Ghana has recorded four incidents of outbreaks and strange health occurrences. Three of these incidents occurred in the Eastern region and one in the Ashanti region of Ghana. The first was in October when the Ghana Secondary School in Koforidua recorded an outbreak of foodborne disease. Although the exact source and causative agent of the outbreak could not be established, it affected more than 100 students with over 50 of them hospitalized. Fortunately there were no deaths. In the second week of this month, there was a report of the death of a student in the Koforidua Secondary & Technical Institute where preliminary findings suggested the death could be due to meningitis. In St. Martin’s High School in Nsawam about five students were reported to have suddenly collapsed under strange circumstances and were rushed to the hospital for treatment. Arguably, of the four outbreaks the one that has raised huge public uproar and attention is the H1N1, oth...

Hardly a day passes in Ghana, without a conversation or two about the canker corruption. It is therefore commendable for the National Commission For Civic Education, NCCE to produce guidelines through research on how corruption can be fought in Ghana. NCCE's survey on ''Public Perception on the State of Corruption, Public Accountability and Environmental Governance in Ghana comes at critical time, that government and its partners have decided to ensure that corruption is fought to the latter. Systemic, institutional and political corruption and a perceived culture of tolerance as well as the lack of accountability and poor environmental management have become all been recognized as a drawback to Ghana's socio-economic development. That is why eliminating corruption in this nation is key and must be a concern to all. NCCE's nationwide survey on corruption made some startling revelations. Ghanaians say men are more corrupt than women. Furthermore, more than ninety per...

Homosexuality, otherwise known as same sex union, is not only an affront to human dignity, but a practice abhorred by the Church, other religious bodies, as well as the traditional and customary values of the Ghanaian society. President Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s response to an Aljazeera TV interview recently; that although homosexuality is not an issue on his government’s agenda, it is “bound to happen” has sparked simmering controversy in certain circles. The President made reference to England where homosexuality was not an issue until a coalition of pressure groups pushed for its laws to be changed to favor same sex marriages. Thankfully, the President concedes that his response above does not negate the fact that the cultural values of our country abhor the gay and lesbian practices. Historically, obnoxious practices that once were frowned upon and detested by majority of people, got a few people to spark a debate; followed by lobbying and mounting pressure on their governments...