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Showing posts from March, 2013

Labour Unrest In Ghana

The recent reported cases of labour unrest in the country must be a source of worry to all Ghanaians as it has the potential to undermine the peace and stability the nation has and continues to enjoy. Anytime a group of workers decide to lay down their tools, in demand for enhanced conditions of service, it becomes difficult to quantify the financial and economic cost to the nation. Reference point is the just ended industrial action by teachers. The cost of the strike to the nation, students and pupils as well as parents cannot be quantified. The timing for the strike which was well calculated by the teachers to coincide with the WASSCE and the Easter Holidays has reduced the number of weeks to be covered for the term to almost three weeks which can never be recovered. TEWU also gave a strong signal to withdraw its services. Meanwhile, the

The Proposed Sponsporship for Pilgrimage to Israel

The Good Book, the Bible enjoins Christians not to remove the ancient landmark. One of the ancient landmarks of Christendom is the holy land, Israel where we have historical sites of our cherished Christian faith. The visit of Christians to the holy land is not mandatory like other religions, but then the bible indirectly encourages us to do so. Those who have ever visited the holy land have testified that they experienced spiritual renewal and the strengthening of their Christian faith. Again, such pilgrimage makes the Bible come alive to the child of God. For that matter Christians and pastors have for many  years advocated a sponsorship package for believers of the Christian faith to enable them to pay fora pilgrimage Jerusalem, Israel.  On the average it cost about $5,000 per person to visit the holy land. This includes plane fare, accommodation and other miscellaneous expenses. But how many Ghanaians can afford this cost? Additionally, the acquisition of visa on

The Galamsey Menace

The spate at which lands in the country are being defiled in the name of small scale mining leaves much to be desired. It is unfortunate the previous and current governments have not had the political will to stamp authority on fraudulent gold trade which has been on the upsurge these days. Not only do these illegal gold dealers destroy the environment through illegal mining popularly called galamsey, they also make huge returns from their operations. So lucrative in the galamsey business that, foreign nationals including Chinese have ventured into it and are destroying the environment with reckless abandon. The Daily Graphic in its Monday edition reported that illegal Chinese miners have invaded the concession of Anglogold Ashanti at Kwanwire near Obuasi and established perhaps the biggest galamsey mine in the Ashanti Region. According to the report during a visit to the site last Friday, four bull dozers were seen cutting th

Bribery And Corruption

Bribery and Corruption together is a social problem that has come to stay with us. It is a negative phenomenon and impinges on the conscience of many because of its debilitating effects on development. Bribery and corruption have been cited as the major reason for the overthrow of governments both military and civilian since independence. The Anin Commission appointed by the Kutu Achaempong led National Liberation Council in 1975 defined bribery and corruption as the giving and receiving of a gift or attempts to extort a gift or a valuation consideration whether cash or kind with the object of influencing a person in a position of trust to act in a way favorable to the interest of the giver. Persons in positions of trust act according to set of rules either explicitly stated or understood, so if in the course of exercising such powers any person attempts to influence their conduct with gifts either in cash or kind such a person is ind

Need To Avoid Air Pollution

Air pollution is any harmful material that is present in the earth’s atmosphere. The causes of air pollution are many and highly varied. These include natural sources like volcanic eruption, forest and bush fires as well as the burning of fossil fuels. Experts in air pollution posit that while the earth does have built-in mechanisms for getting rid of air pollution, it is usually better for all human beings to reduce the amount of pollutants released into the air to begin with. Unfortunately most well-known and pervasive causes of air pollution are man-made. One can talk about the burning of petroleum products especially in the cities as a very common cause of air pollution. The experts also note that while man-made air pollution does present health hazards, natural causes of air pollution can be equally dangerous at times. These sources include dust picked up by wind erosion, the emission of me

International Women's Day And Efforts to Reduce Maternal Mortality

While global community observes International Women’s Day today, it is important to take another look at how to create a conducive environment for our mothers to have safe deliveries and also ensure the survival of new born babies. There is the need for attitudinal change regarding cultural practices which tend to affect the dignity of women. In looking at maternal health issues, two vital questions can be asked: whose relative should be among the maternal mortality figure of 185 women per 100 thousand live births.? Who would wish that a wife or sister dies due to complications related to pregnancy and child birth? The fact is “Every life counts.” Former First Lady Mrs. Naadu Mills, got on the maternal health campaign trail to draw attention to the fact that all have to take keen interest in saving the lives of our mothers. The Campaign for Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA) acted as a cat

Victory of Uhuru Kenyatta

There is no doubt that there were clouds of uncertainty hanging over Kenya in the period leading to the election of the fourth President of that country since independence in 1963. The fear justifiably stemmed from the violence that erupted after the 2007 elections which led to the loss of over one thousand precious lives, and some 500 thousand people displaced. The ethnic polarization of the Kenyan politics and the interference of the west through the so called indictment of one of the President-elect, Uhuru Kenyatta, of the Jubilee Alliance Party, and his running mate, William Ruto whose charges have just been dropped are not issues that should be swept under the carpet. The elections are over and the son of Kenya’s first President Jomo Kenyatta, 51 year old Uhuru has been declared winner. The call by the main opposition challenger, Raila Odinga, on his supporters not to engage in violent acts is highly commendable.His decis