By Helena Selby
It has always been of the notion that education and modernity have the capability of changing the perception of people about some uncivilized activities of the past, but that seems not to be the issue. It is the 21st Century, but violence against women has always been on the increase rather than decrease.
Decades have by, but yet still, despite the campaign on prevention of violence against women, people still turn deaf ears towards the issue of gender equality. Violence against women has been a problem which has been very hard to tackle by many governments, human rights organisations, and even the United Nations (UN).
The UN, seeing the increase of the plight of women on the issue of violence, thought it prudent to set aside November 25 as an international day for the elimination of violence against women. This date, as well is the date on which 16 days of activism against gender based violence is being observed worldwide. It has been almost 15 years since the Beijing conference on women, and 10 years since the UN’s formal recognition of November 25th as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, but still women face violations day in day out.
Violence against women
Violence has been a plague in the lives of every girl or woman. It has been a stumbling block, hindering their development in the world, even in the developed world where many laws are made to protect women. Women tend to be vulnerable to all kinds abuse at almost all stages of their, lives even before they are born. According to the UN estimate, through female infanticide, over 60 million girls are missing, due to the ‘son preference’. No day passes by in a community or a country without a woman being violated, either privately or publicly. Women face all kinds of violations some being physical, sexual, economic, emotional, and even verbal abuse.
Among these abuses, women tend to face mostly the trauma and psychological effect of sexual abuse. Violence against women, in terms of sexual abuse, is on the increase from time to time. Even in war zones, soldiers tend to rape women a lot, even before they are shot. Women, no matter the age group, are subjected to defilement and rape. Husbands subject their wives to marital rape, denying them a say in their sex lives. Violence against women can be associated to the way society is made up, that is the cultural beliefs of the society which makes the men more important.
This culture belief considers the woman’s role to be only in the kitchen and in child-bearing. They are denied the privilege of taking decisions for themselves, since their will is placed in the hands of their fathers and that of their husbands when they get married. Sometimes, the inability of women to take care of themselves economically, due to lack of education or the traditions of the community, makes them vulnerable to the dictatorship of men. As if women are born to be violated, some women overcome the above factors of violence, but yet still, in one way or the other, undergo abuse due to their feminine fragility.
Statistics of violence against women
In the United States, where culture is not is not of great concern, women are still abused, despite the numerous laws protecting their rights. According to the Anti-Violence Resource Guide, 17.6 % of women in the United States have survived a completed or attempted rape. 64% of women who reported being raped, physically assaulted, and/or stalked since age 18, were victimised by a current or former husband, cohabiting partner, boyfriend, or date. In Ghana, according to the Ghana National Study on Violence 1998, a survey of 2,069 women and girls, two out of three (67%) women who had experienced domestic violence, suffered injuries, and one in five of these injuries were severe - that is open wounds, broken bones and broken teeth. One in three (33%) women had been beaten, slapped or physically punished by a current or recent partner. This survey by the Ghana National Study has been long overdue, so probably the number and percentage of women violated has been on the increase, as reported incidences have been very frequent.
Violence against women in Ghana
In Ghana government has tried its best to protect women through the establishment of the Domestic Violence Victims Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service (DOVVSU) and the enactment of the Domestic Violence Act 2007, Act 732, but still, women fall victim to violence. Women still fall victim to their culprit men, who tend to have possess masculine strength. Apart from being underrated in the various aspects of their lives, they as well face numerous harassments and assaults in their relationships. Marriage to most people in society is a direct transfer of the woman’s will into the hands of the man. The woman has no say, even in sex, which as a result, always leads to marital rape, severe beatings, and sometimes spousal murder. Women are always scared of being divorced when they report any abuse of their partner to the police. Society has contributed to the violence against women, especially in the marital home.
In society a man beating his wife is considered a purely family affair, and that no third party needs to intrude. Women have been tamed psychologically, in a sense that one’s husband beating her up, is a sign of love and correction, so reporting him means one is stubborn and does not want to adhere to correction, but just wants to destroy the love the husband has for her.
Many pastors have also considered the bad attitude of husbands towards their wives, as a spell cast on the man, so the woman is advised to be fervent in prayers, and wait for God’s own appointed time. In this case, the woman reporting the case is considered a breach in the intervention of God in their marital homes.
What is the government doing?
Apart from the DOVVSU and the Domestic Act protecting women, Members of Parliament (MPs) of the country expressed their views and concerns on the way forward out of this pandemic during the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. According to these MPs, female teachers are mostly those who perpetuate violence against their fellow female pupils, and must make it a point to stop the barbaric act they sometimes put female pupils through. The plight of women was attributed to some weird religious beliefs and other influences from community leaders, who exhort women to stand by their husbands under all circumstances, while at the same time, fail to take a clear stand against wife battery and marital rape. It was noted that “widows and battered women remain very vulnerable, miserable, marginalised and often rejected by their families or in-laws. They remain traumatised in their various difficult conditions, or survive by chance.” If society really wants to help in the eradication of this issue, some cultural practices need to be looked into, and some blunders rectified.
Ghanaians were called upon to collaborate effectively in compelling the customary system to fully respect the rights of women and girls, as enshrined in the Constitution and laws of the land. They must help in the eradication of all forms of violence against women and girls, including marital rape, wife beating, child and other forced marriages, Trokosi, female genital mutilation (FGM) and humiliating widowhood rites.
The Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF), as their part of helping combat the problem of violence against women, has decided to dedicate the 16 days of activism against gender based violence to women in the Western, Central, Volta and Greater Accra regions. It will provide education on the domestic violence act, and on-site mobile legal aid service for those who will need advice.
Conclusion
The UN’s formal recognition of November 25th as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, should be a reminder of the government’s promise to represent 40% women in government, and as well, a reminder to promote gender equality in the country. The positive reaction of the government and MPs towards the eradication of this plague, should not be a nine day wonder, but a continuous activity, since their involvement in the campaign serves as a stronghold to its eradication.
Friday, December 11, 2009
The Bui Dam Project and Effects on the People
By: Helena Selby
The inability of the Akosombo dam to sustain the nation and other neighbouring countries has brought about the relevance of constructing another dam to supplement its supply. It is the hope of the nation that history does not repeat itself, where the water level of the Akosombo dam fell due to inadequate rainfall, compelling the electricity company to ration power for the whole nation, and the other neighbouring countries.
This situation brought about a lot of inconvenience to private and commercial businesses and even to domestic users. People made a lot of loss in their businesses. The Akosombo dam, being the sole supplier of hydroelectric power in the country, which is also one of the cheapest forms of power generation, always puts the nation in an inconvenient situation when a problem arises.
Even in the capital cities, power outages are the order of the day, with some suburbs experiencing outages which last sometimes up to a week.
Those who are fortunate not to obtain any power outages in turn experience power fluctuations, making it impossible to leave appliances like fridges on, when leaving home.
The government taking into consideration all these inconveniences embarked upon the construction of another dam to complement that of Akosombo.
That is the Bui Dam situated in the Brong-Ahafo Region of Ghana.
The Bui Dam
The Bui Dam is meant to supplement the supply of hydroelectric power in the country. This project is under the National Coordinating Committee of the Ghana Dams Dialogue (GDD). This committee provides the arena for constructive deliberations around contentious issues related to hydropower dams, and apart from its activities attracting representatives from governmental ministries, it has, as well, received support from the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ).
According to Mr. Richard Twum Koranteng from the secretariat of the GDD, the need for broadly agreed hydroelectric power sustainability assessment tools and standards, and avoidance of desperate approaches being used at the local, national and regional levels, necessitated the development of the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (HSAP) by the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Forum (HSAF). According to a report by Joy FM, an Accra-based radio station, the project would cover the construction of a new metropolis, a national park, and an irrigation system to provide constant supply of water for all-year farming activities in the area. The Bui Dam project itself, is expected to generate 400 megawatts on completion. The construction of the dam has the possibility of flooding some parts of the Bui National Park, and would affect a large number native wildlife species, and as well force people there to resettle elsewhere.
GDD plan for the communities The construction of the dam has brought about seven displaced communities, unlike during the construction of the Akosombo Dam, where about 52 communities were displaced, and government found difficulty in relocating them, that of the Bui dam is quite different, as the communities are not as many. Most times, a project which is meant to protect the interest of the country turns round to destroy the livelihoods of the people.
For instance, mining activities, which are meant to bring immense revenue to the country to help in raising the living standards of the people, rather makes the people a lot more destitute and needy.
This is because these mining companies do not pay adequate compensation, and the people whose lands are acquired fall into abject poverty with the acquisition.
Unlike the Bui Dam project, the affected people were well compensated, and their livelihoods still in progression. The third phase of the GDD was purposely aimed at building and providing tools for improved decision-making, leading to equitable, transparent, participatory and sustainable development of dams in Ghana.
However, its main objective is to provide recommendations and practical guidelines of primary use to the Bui Development Authority, for managing the impact on dam-affected communities, particularly those related to agriculture livelihoods and food security.
Additionally, to share information and increase awareness about resettlement and dam-related issues affecting local communities, and to bring together representatives of all dam affected communities, including Bui area, and other relevant stakeholders to deliberate on problems of the townships, and to come up with a common agenda for action towards the redress of the negative impact of dams on affected communities.
Communities and compensation process
According to Togbe Adom Drayi II from Tsyome Sabadu in the Kpondo District, and who is also the Chairman for the 52 Development Townships in Ghana, the people affected by the Bui dam project, so far are satisfied with the compensation process. The compensation of crops will be accessed by monetary value, those owning land will as well be compensated, and those whose houses were destroyed will have their houses replaced for them. He said out of the seven communities affected, about four have been relocated, however one of the communities was not satisfied with the nature of the houses, as they claim that they are smaller than their previous houses.
Indeed, when the GDD went around monitoring, they seconded the notion that the houses were small and too close to each other, and that they do not look like houses for a community, but rather camps. They therefore urged the builders to make the next houses a suitable place for the people to live in. According to Togbe Drayi II, it was sad that the farmers, after the compensation, will not have the chance to continue with their farming activities, as they might not get any land to farm. The GDD has therefore taken it upon themselves to educate them as to how they can make other livelihoods like aqua-farming or any other vocation with their compensations.
Outcome of the Bui dam construction
The construction of the dam will bring about the sustainability of power supply in the country, which will eventually help the businesses of people who depend on electrical power to sustain their industries. Households and companies will stop complaining about their appliances getting damaged, and to some extent, they will be able to save money, as they will not keep on buying and repairing damaged appliances. Moreover, the Bui dam construction will well provide employment. It will go a long way in sustaining the livelihood of many Ghanaians, especially people in the Bui township.
According to a statement made by former President John Agyekum Kufuor, about 3,000 people will be employed under the Bui Dam project. The offer of employment will decrease the government’s burden of unemployment in the country. The standard of living of the people will improve, and all kinds of social vices will be reduced.
Conclusion
The construction of the Bui dam has been a long term dream, which is soon to become a reality, as its benefits will rescue citizens of the nation from all kinds of inconveniences, both at the workplace and in the home. It is therefore the duty of all stakeholders involved in the project, to help study all subjects relating to the construction of the dam, and questions that are yet to surface, so as to help bring the dam to completion.
Individuals, especially the affected communities, should as well show support, and give attention to the compensation process, in order for them to speed up the project.
Women demand more positions in government
By Helena Selby
The fight for the rights of women is not recent, but begun years ago. Society on realising the way women were always being under rated, brought about the fight for women to be heard, and allowed to partake in important decisions and proposals relevant for the development of society.
Even though the fight and plea of women to be heard in society has been going on for decades, the same society still underestimates their abilities and capabilities. Women all over the world, till date, have been fighting for their stand in society, and some have gone to the extent of gaining the position of presidents in their nations, but others keep on fighting, to no avail.
It didn’t just begin with the Beijing Conference in 1995, which brought about the slogan, “What a man can do, a woman can do, and even better,” but a conference held in Mexico. The first world conference on the status of women was convened in Mexico City to coincide with the 1975 International Women’s Year, observed to remind the international community that discrimination against women continues to be a persistent problem in much of the world. Even though these conferences have come and gone, women are still doubted about their ability and capabilities, due to one reason or the other.
Women in Ghana
The fight for women’s rights Ghana has never been a nine-day wonder, but a day to day activity. The aggressiveness of women gaining power compelled many political parties to make promises for women. One might not know the reason, but according to sources, these political parties made their promises due to way women outnumber men in the country.
These political parties are of the notion that if these promises are made, the possibility of women voting for them was high. Irrespective of what society might think, what are women doing for themselves as women? The campaign for women’s rights might go on everyday, but the question is, what is the perception of women about fellow women? The saying that “women are their own enemies,” in one way or the other, seems to be a truism. The majority of women in Ghana and many parts of the world, whether educated or not, shun the fact that their fellow women lead them. According to their reason, women are conceited when they are in power, are kind of too strict, never heed advice, and tend to be very disrespectful to society and their spouses as well, while some people also see a group as being unlucky when it is being led by a woman.
According to Mrs. Gladys Akins, she once decided to buy an item from a nearby store, to her dismay the shopkeeper refused to sell the item to her with the explanation that she is a woman.
According to the reason of the storekeeper, it is bad luck, if a woman is the first to buy from a shop early in the morning, and that she could only sell to her if she waited for a man to come and buy first, or she goes somewhere else. Looking at the scenario of Mrs. Akins and the storekeeper, what is the possibility that a woman will be voted into power during election time? Many political parties have the desire to allow a woman to stand for them in certain constituencies, but fear that they will not be voted for by their fellow women.
Women in the fight for their rights
Irrespective of what some women do to underrate their fellow women, others have thought of the need to allow women’s voices to be heard in society, and continue to fight for their rights. There are a lot of organisations fighting today for women’s rights, but so far ABANTU for Development, through the Women’s Manifesto Coalition and Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF) Ghana, are the two major women’s rights organisations.
They have been championing the cause for Affirmative Action Policy for Women’s Participation in Ghana. In April 2008, WiLDAF Ghana, ABANTU for Development, with sponsorship from Canadian Crossroads International (CCI), organised a roundtable discussion on the “Affirmative Action Now” Campaign.
The objective of this discussion was to enable participants ascertain the status of the Ghana government’s commitment to the implementation of Ghana’s affirmative action and development of an affirmative action policy. This was to enable participants discuss action plans and engage the government towards an affirmative action policy in all sectors, particularly political decision-making. In February 3, 2009, a courtesy call on President John Evans Atta Mills, among other demands, was for the Affirmative Action Policy.
These organisations had always thought that with the promise of the present government in power, their dreams of being represented greatly will be fulfilled, as they were promised 40% women representation in government. However, this dream has been a mirage, as the promise of this present government was not really backed by any documentation, but just a saying. Women in government in Ghana
During the 2008 presidential elections, all the presidential candidates promised to give women a chance to have their portion of percentage in government. The elected president, his Excellency John Evans Atta Mills, promised the women of Ghana of a 40% representation in his government. However, this promise of the President has not come to pass, as women are still being underestimated, when it comes to power in government. According to a research by WILDAF, after five months in power, though appointments for the various government positions have been done, the promise of 40% representation of women in governance has not come to pass.
So far, the Government Economic Advisory Council has a total membership of 10, which is composed of only men. Does this mean that there are no woman economists in Ghana? The Council of State, with a total membership of 25, has 22 men and only three women.
The total number of ambassadors is 32, with 25 men, and seven women. Cabinet Ministers total 19, with 15 as men and four women. Regional ministers are a total of 10, with 9 as men, and only one woman. Proposed way of representing women in government Many a time, there are complaints that women are not very interested in the politics and government appointments, so enough women are not gotten to take certain positions. In view of this, there has been a proposal as to how women will be trained to take an interest in governance. According to Madam Beatrix Allah Mensah, a member of WILDAF, there is the need to revise and implement existing affirmative action measures, including 40% representation of women in public appointive positions. It is as well very important to strengthen the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs and its agencies with technical, financial and logistical support, and adopt and implement Gender Budgeting.
Gender-specific provisions need to be incorporated in development strategies with monitorable indicators. Moreover, the government needs to designate special funds from public or state funds, to support programs to increase women’s representation.
Women are to be helped to adequately lobby for public positions, by supporting the development of a core training manual on women’s leadership, commitment to the implementation of political parties commitment to increase women’s presence in politics, re-organize women’s wings to be more integrated into the party structure and adequately resource the women’s wing financially and logistically. Additionally, commit to selecting women to contest a selected number of their safe seats, and support to the development of a training manual for women leadership.
Conclusion
The cry of women is to just to have some kind of say in government, and be given a voice to speak for themselves, and to some extent, for the nation as a whole. It will be a good thing if the present government gives women a chance to prove themselves, by giving them 40% in government. It will be a sign of good governance and democratic rule, if the government in power will give women that chance.
Bui Dam Resettlements - Livelihoods And Institutional Challenges
By Helena Selby
Accra — Every decision of every democratic nation is deemed to benefit the people and the nation as a whole, sometimes to gain favour before the people. Even though some economic decisions like mining projects tend to negatively affect the lives of the people, some economic projects like hydropower dam construction, taking into consideration the government and stakeholders involved, go a long way in helping the nation from generation to generation.
The Akosombo dam has been of service to the people of Ghana, and some of its neighbouring countries for some decades now, but just as anything which wears out in its productivity as times go by, or if it is subject too much pressure, so has the Akosombo dam reduced its productiveness to the people of Ghana and neighbouring countries. The Bui hydropower dam project is one of the hydropower dams meant to complement the supply of electricity to the people of Ghana. This project, despite its benefits, has rendered some of the residents of Bui homeless and jobless. Unlike the Volta River resettlement scheme, which 80,000 people were evacuated to 52 newly-created townships, and the Kpong Dam project, which affected about 6,000 people, however the Bui Dam Resettlements would have to relocate 900 people to various sites. From the look of things, compared to the other resettlement projects which entailed thousands of people, the Bui project entailed just about 900 people, which in a way, might make it easier to resettle them. Even though their number cannot be compared to other affected resettlement projects, according to the stakeholders and government agencies involved, they are facing some challenges in the resettlement project, which is preventing the convenience they need to resettle the people.
Bui Township
Bui is a small community, with a population of not up to a thousand, and can be found in the Eastern Region of Ghana. According to the Center for National Culture (CNC) website, the people of Bui are not native Kulanghos, but Nafaana within the Banda Traditional Area of the newly-created Tain District. One can imagine a high Kulangho influence in parts of the catchment area, as it is close to the Kulangho communities in Côte d'Ivoire, where the people can be described as a large and sociologically powerful group. The people of the Bui Gorge area, comprise the Ligbi, the Nafaana, Ntorre Awutu, Degha (Djamo or Mo), Bono, Gonja, Ewe (Tongu) and to a lesser degree Kulangho. The groups listed can be found in communities which they identify as their own within the Bole and Tain districts in the Northern and Brong Ahafo regions respectively. The people of the Bui Gorge catchment area are peasant farmers, and cultivate mainly yam, cassava, guinea corn, groundnuts and bottle gourds for their seeds, commonly known as Ain in Akan. They usually sell their produce at the Techiman Market. They also cultivate calabash plants, and generally keep livestock in communal kraals with common herdsmen who are paid through individuals contributions. Today, there are not many cattle in the area, especially at Jama village where there is not a single cow or goat.
The main foods relished in the area are yam fufu and abetie (Akan), cassava dough steamed in maize porridge, locally called kode and koo in Guan and Degh/Vagli respectively, eaten with soups, ranging from plain sauce through wet and dried vegetables. Until the establishment of the Bui national park, and the enforcement of the wildlife protection laws, the people of Bui depended on fish and game as one of their natural sources of protein. Since then, the people get their fish from seasonal communal fishing. Sometimes during the dry season, they as well go on group hunting on individual community basis for game.
Resettlement of the people of Bui and challenges
The issue of taking care of the affected communities of the Bui hydropower dam project has been one of the central ideas of government and stakeholders involved in the project, and have come to the realisation that there is the need to address the livelihood and institutional challenges for the sustainable development of dams in Ghana. Even though the people seem to be small in number, compared to that of the Akosombo hydropower dam and Kpong hydrodam projects, the stakeholders and people in charge of the resettlement project, as well as the natives, seem to be encountering certain challenges concerning their relocation. At the 3rd Ghana Dam Forum, which took place in Accra, under the theme "Address livelihood and institutional challenges for sustainable dam development in Ghana," it was realised that the Bui dam resettlement project had various challenges, which include a problem of access to farmland and farm size. According to them, there are only two acres of farmlands replacing five or more at previous sites. Additionally, the new farmlands are not as fertile as the previous ones. Considering the occupation of the people of Bui, where most of their livelihood depends on farming, therefore the reduction of the size of their farmland, compared to the previous one, is a direct deduction of their livelihood, income and standard of living. Moreover, the fertility of the land, at the verge of turning fallow, will be a big blow to the productivity of their crops. Moreover, there is a problem of housing facing the resettlement project, according to them, there is the issue of housing, as the houses available are either inadequate, of poor quality or inappropriate. It was reported recently that out of the seven communities affected, about four have been relocated, however one of the communities is not satisfied with the nature of the houses, as they claim that they are smaller than their previous houses. Indeed, when the Ghana Dam Dialogue (GDD) went round monitoring, they seconded the fact that the houses were small and too close to each other, and that it does not look like housing for communities, but rather camps.
For every community to survive, the presence of social amenities and basic infrastructure go to the extent to improving every aspect of its livelihood. In as much as these things are important, it is one of the major challenges facing the resettlement issue of the Bui hydropower dam project. According to them, there is the absence of portable drinking water at the places of relocation. As water is a very important asset to mankind, it would make the stay of the relocated people very difficult. Additionally, the absence of electricity will make it difficult for them to engage in activity that needs electrical power. Since they are about to get used to not having electricity, apart from them being in darkness and their activities stacked up at night, they will also have to go through the plight of they not getting abreast with information, especially that of television. Even though stakeholders have done their best, by providing electricity from solar energy for lighting, but the relocated cannot afford the cost of light bulbs, and solar is the most expensive source of energy.
As if these challenges are not enough, the relocated have to face the situation of entering into new livelihood skills after relocation, that is to say the farmers have no choice than to change their farming occupation into fishing, and are not abreast with the skills needed. Others have no choice than to focus their attention to the acquisition of new skills and vocations.
Way forward
At the forum, it was made that clear that the challenges of Bui, were not the only challenges faced when resettling dam affected people, but the Volta River Resettlement Scheme had challenges such as the absence of access to farmlands and farm sizes. That is to say, these are small farms, compared to previous farms prior to relocation. The houses were inadequate, inappropriate, and lack technical know-how for the maintenance of such housing families. There were as well, absent or inadequate basic infrastructures such as roads, schools, clinics, electricity, water, etc. Stakeholders, as well as the government, have thought it wise that resettling the people of Bui to a location without or with inadequate basic infrastructure, could pose a threat to their living conditions.
Moreover, there was environmental degradation, that is to say the top soil was destroyed by the wind, serious erosion, and forest vegetation turned to savannah. The small farm sizes affected incomes. The change from forest crops to savannah crops and poor roads affected marketing, barter trade 25 years after construction of the dam. Furthermore, they encountered the issue of inadequate consultation - wide range of key stakeholders, governance, equity, participatory approach to the planning process. The authority as well faced institutional challenges such as inadequate funding for the Volta Basin Research Unit at the University of Ghana. Engaging international experts in resettlement projects - to what extent should they be involved as against local participation of local know-how?
t was therefore thought wise that in order for these challenges not to re-surface in the near dam resettlement project, there ought to be ample time for them to build houses for the relocated, as one of the challenges they faced was inadequate time for the constructions which could affect the quality of housing. Availability of time will give them ideas on rectifying a mistake in their construction, in case a mistake occurs. They as well attributed the rise of these challenges to the non-involvement of the people in the provision of housing. In avoiding this situation in the near future, there is the need for them to involve the people affected, in every decision making, right from the very onset.
Conclusion
The resettlement of people is a situation which greatly affects the way of life, and livelihood of the people involved. It would therefore be of importance if the project of resettlement is given a holistic approach, so as to make relocation not a difficult time for the affected people. Stakeholders should make planners aware that there was the need for them to involve the district assemblies in the projects, including ownership, more involvement of affected groups in resettlement decisions, and a continuous monitoring of resettlement schemes will help prevent future challenges. Likewise, there ought to be monitoring and evaluation of resettlement projects to improve approaches to resettlement, and strengthen the capacity for doing so, and all stakeholders should be brought on board at all times, as well as more coordination of the activities of the various stakeholders. If the planners make good use of their role in the project of resettlement, then the people affected and stakeholders of the project will not go through any kinds of inconvenience.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Spousal abuse: a threat to women`s
By: Helena Selby
Marriage is a sacred union that many people always love to enter, apart from being forced into, the happiness people have within them and some of their reasons for marriage is they getting the opportunity to live with someone they adore, respect and love. If that be the case, why do these virtues disappear in the middle of the marriage? Some couples claim to still have those virtues existing in their marriage, but act vice versa, with either one hurting the other or both hurting themselves. They hurt themselves emotionally, using abusive words and physical attacks, leading to spousal abuse. Spousal abuse is very common in many parts of the world, but the gender which really suffers it the most are women. The majority of women are always victims of spousal abuse because of their perceived weak nature. Even in the developed world, where women have rights to protect them, they still face abuses, how much more Africa where laws for the protection of women are limited.
What spousal abuse
According to World Health Organisation (WHO), spousal abuse occurs when a partner or ex-partner attempts to physically or psychologically dominate another. It encompasses a set of symptoms that involve both physical and/or emotional abuse. When it takes the form of emotional abuse, it is characterised by verbal ridicule and/or putdowns that demean, and patterns of neglect. Physical abuse involves the threat of physical violence, and may include slapping, shoving, and deliberate physical assault. Spousal abuse can also include cohabitants and non-married intimate partners. Domestic violence occurs in all cultures, people of all races, ethnicities, religions, sexes and classes. According to research, abusers are normally triggered off by the notion of them being powerless and insecure in their various homes, and end up behaving abusively.
Spousal abuse and society
Spousal abuse was mostly seen in the past, but very much of concern off late to society. In the past, incidences of spousal abuse against women were reported to the authorities and elders of the family, or the community. However, the law does not get involved. This was because society was of the opinion that the man was the head of his family, and that every action he takes, he has all the right to do, forgetting that the woman is as well entitled to some form of rights. However, the situation has changed. Society is vested with the principles of spousal abuse, since the law as well as human rights organisations are always prepared to take any incidence of spousal abuse up. Spousal abuse does not come all of a sudden. It comes step by step, but as it is always said that love is blind, a lot of women ignore the symptoms, even if it is right in front of them. In Ghana, women are the main victims of spousal abuse. Some women keep it a secret to portray a sign of a perfect marriage, and to prevent society from ridiculing them. Some also gather the courage to report such acts, but later on feel pity and just withdraw the case, with the explanation that she doesn't want the father of her children to be an ex-convict. Others also say marriage is a sacred union, and that one must take everything that goes on in it, and that is adherent to the oath they took in church “for better or for worse.” Spousal abuse normally begins with the man showing of extreme jealousy, and to the majority of women, jealousy exhibited by their spouse is a sign of love. It must be noted that when a man shows jealousy to the extent that he tries to control the life of the woman in terms of what she wears, whom she befriends, and talks to, it is a sign of future abuse. Most men try to exercise absolute control of the life of their wives, becoming over-protective and possessive, and closely monitoring every aspect of the woman's life. As time goes on and he is not able to control the woman to his satisfaction, he turns to abuse her physically over the slightest provocation or triviality. Sometimes the majority of women try to defend their partners, when they are caught by the law, by making all forms of excuses for their actions. However, it must be noted that abusers do not abuse because of loss of control of their behaviour, but do it with intent, sometimes under the cover of alcohol, which is no justification.
Situations of spousal abuse
Men, in one way or the other, as well face spousal abuse, and with the existence of the present economic hardships, obtaining a good job to feed one's family is very difficult. In this part of the world, where men are solely responsible for the up-keep of the home, providing for the home becomes hard. When this happens, a woman who is either a housewife or a working woman gets fed up with the situation, since she cannot bear all the responsibilities of the home. Obviously, as time passes by, the woman starts to act indifferently toward the man. The love, respect and adoration she had for the man begins to fade away, and she starts to offend him emotionally through abusive words. The orders and demands from the man are no more respected. The respect he gets from the home, by way of his wife serving him, immediately disappears. In most cases since the man is financially embarrassed, he becomes depressed and begins to have a sense of not being wanted or being useless, which eventually leads to drunkenness and sometimes suicide. However, for men who are scared of losing their ego, they turn to misbehave, even if the woman has not shown any signs of disrespect. As a way of making the woman know that he is still the man of the house, even though he doesn't provide, he turns to be abusive so as to put a sort of scare into the woman. According to one Madam Salomey Jumo, a trader, her husband is unemployed, and she has to take care of all the expenses in the home. To her, she is not worried at taking care of all the expenses, since he used to attend to the up-keep of the home. This, according to her, has compelled her to work extra hard to put food on the table, pay fees and all utility bills in the home. The pathetic thing is that the man gives her no helping hand, she sometimes does the washing of clothes and utensils, cooks and at the same time carry their little boy on her back, while the man sit idle and watches. She said on no single day has the man every helped her in the things of the house, even though he does nothing, and when she asks for his help, he tells her those activities are meant for women, and that he is the man of the house. It might not be physical abuse, but what Madam Jumo gets is another form of spousal abuse. One Gladys Ntumi, a student in one of the universities, narrated that her boyfriend was so jealous to the extent that he does not even allow her keep the phone numbers of her male friends on her phone. She said whenever she receives a phone call in his presence he compels her to put it on the loudspeaker in order to verify if it is a male she is talking to. According to her, he once smashed her phone on the floor, because of a conversation she was having on the phone, for which he later on apologised. She stressed that he sometimes make attempts at hitting her, but has never done it, however she is scared he might hit her one day, so she is planning to quit the relationship.
Conclusion
Spousal abuse is a dangerous aspect of abuse which has a vicious cycle in generations of society. It is about time abusers learn to empathise with their victims, since it develops some form of trauma in their lives. They also ought to know that their freedom is at risk if they continue to put other people's freedom at risk. Victims of abusers should learn to take courage and report it to authorities in order for the law to deal with these abusers. Government and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) will be of good help if they educate the public about the dangerous aspects of spousal abuse, people will then willingly report incidences, and as well know the symptoms of it.
Marriage is a sacred union that many people always love to enter, apart from being forced into, the happiness people have within them and some of their reasons for marriage is they getting the opportunity to live with someone they adore, respect and love. If that be the case, why do these virtues disappear in the middle of the marriage? Some couples claim to still have those virtues existing in their marriage, but act vice versa, with either one hurting the other or both hurting themselves. They hurt themselves emotionally, using abusive words and physical attacks, leading to spousal abuse. Spousal abuse is very common in many parts of the world, but the gender which really suffers it the most are women. The majority of women are always victims of spousal abuse because of their perceived weak nature. Even in the developed world, where women have rights to protect them, they still face abuses, how much more Africa where laws for the protection of women are limited.
What spousal abuse
According to World Health Organisation (WHO), spousal abuse occurs when a partner or ex-partner attempts to physically or psychologically dominate another. It encompasses a set of symptoms that involve both physical and/or emotional abuse. When it takes the form of emotional abuse, it is characterised by verbal ridicule and/or putdowns that demean, and patterns of neglect. Physical abuse involves the threat of physical violence, and may include slapping, shoving, and deliberate physical assault. Spousal abuse can also include cohabitants and non-married intimate partners. Domestic violence occurs in all cultures, people of all races, ethnicities, religions, sexes and classes. According to research, abusers are normally triggered off by the notion of them being powerless and insecure in their various homes, and end up behaving abusively.
Spousal abuse and society
Spousal abuse was mostly seen in the past, but very much of concern off late to society. In the past, incidences of spousal abuse against women were reported to the authorities and elders of the family, or the community. However, the law does not get involved. This was because society was of the opinion that the man was the head of his family, and that every action he takes, he has all the right to do, forgetting that the woman is as well entitled to some form of rights. However, the situation has changed. Society is vested with the principles of spousal abuse, since the law as well as human rights organisations are always prepared to take any incidence of spousal abuse up. Spousal abuse does not come all of a sudden. It comes step by step, but as it is always said that love is blind, a lot of women ignore the symptoms, even if it is right in front of them. In Ghana, women are the main victims of spousal abuse. Some women keep it a secret to portray a sign of a perfect marriage, and to prevent society from ridiculing them. Some also gather the courage to report such acts, but later on feel pity and just withdraw the case, with the explanation that she doesn't want the father of her children to be an ex-convict. Others also say marriage is a sacred union, and that one must take everything that goes on in it, and that is adherent to the oath they took in church “for better or for worse.” Spousal abuse normally begins with the man showing of extreme jealousy, and to the majority of women, jealousy exhibited by their spouse is a sign of love. It must be noted that when a man shows jealousy to the extent that he tries to control the life of the woman in terms of what she wears, whom she befriends, and talks to, it is a sign of future abuse. Most men try to exercise absolute control of the life of their wives, becoming over-protective and possessive, and closely monitoring every aspect of the woman's life. As time goes on and he is not able to control the woman to his satisfaction, he turns to abuse her physically over the slightest provocation or triviality. Sometimes the majority of women try to defend their partners, when they are caught by the law, by making all forms of excuses for their actions. However, it must be noted that abusers do not abuse because of loss of control of their behaviour, but do it with intent, sometimes under the cover of alcohol, which is no justification.
Situations of spousal abuse
Men, in one way or the other, as well face spousal abuse, and with the existence of the present economic hardships, obtaining a good job to feed one's family is very difficult. In this part of the world, where men are solely responsible for the up-keep of the home, providing for the home becomes hard. When this happens, a woman who is either a housewife or a working woman gets fed up with the situation, since she cannot bear all the responsibilities of the home. Obviously, as time passes by, the woman starts to act indifferently toward the man. The love, respect and adoration she had for the man begins to fade away, and she starts to offend him emotionally through abusive words. The orders and demands from the man are no more respected. The respect he gets from the home, by way of his wife serving him, immediately disappears. In most cases since the man is financially embarrassed, he becomes depressed and begins to have a sense of not being wanted or being useless, which eventually leads to drunkenness and sometimes suicide. However, for men who are scared of losing their ego, they turn to misbehave, even if the woman has not shown any signs of disrespect. As a way of making the woman know that he is still the man of the house, even though he doesn't provide, he turns to be abusive so as to put a sort of scare into the woman. According to one Madam Salomey Jumo, a trader, her husband is unemployed, and she has to take care of all the expenses in the home. To her, she is not worried at taking care of all the expenses, since he used to attend to the up-keep of the home. This, according to her, has compelled her to work extra hard to put food on the table, pay fees and all utility bills in the home. The pathetic thing is that the man gives her no helping hand, she sometimes does the washing of clothes and utensils, cooks and at the same time carry their little boy on her back, while the man sit idle and watches. She said on no single day has the man every helped her in the things of the house, even though he does nothing, and when she asks for his help, he tells her those activities are meant for women, and that he is the man of the house. It might not be physical abuse, but what Madam Jumo gets is another form of spousal abuse. One Gladys Ntumi, a student in one of the universities, narrated that her boyfriend was so jealous to the extent that he does not even allow her keep the phone numbers of her male friends on her phone. She said whenever she receives a phone call in his presence he compels her to put it on the loudspeaker in order to verify if it is a male she is talking to. According to her, he once smashed her phone on the floor, because of a conversation she was having on the phone, for which he later on apologised. She stressed that he sometimes make attempts at hitting her, but has never done it, however she is scared he might hit her one day, so she is planning to quit the relationship.
Conclusion
Spousal abuse is a dangerous aspect of abuse which has a vicious cycle in generations of society. It is about time abusers learn to empathise with their victims, since it develops some form of trauma in their lives. They also ought to know that their freedom is at risk if they continue to put other people's freedom at risk. Victims of abusers should learn to take courage and report it to authorities in order for the law to deal with these abusers. Government and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) will be of good help if they educate the public about the dangerous aspects of spousal abuse, people will then willingly report incidences, and as well know the symptoms of it.
Women Demand That Their Rights Be Implemented
by helena selby
In Ghana, and many parts of the world, women see marriage as the ultimate achievement in their lives. When a woman gains the love and respect of a man, and marriage is proposed, it serves as the greatest pride and dignity of the woman, since a man has found some sought of virtue in her. However, when the woman reaches her prime, and sees no signs of appreciation of her looks and virtue from any man, it turns to be a disappointment and a form of disgrace, since society will have a negative perception about her.In Ghana, when a woman is not married and is past her prime, society has the perception that men don't see her as being attractive and good for marriage, or she has a bad character. At times society concludes it is due to an evil omen/curse, thereby preventing any man from being attracted to her. A woman, who does not get married in her prime, loses all forms of respect that she has in society, is ridiculed and called all forms of names. A woman who is able to marry and have children is considered lucky and virtuous. Marriage is a good thing, but looking at how the idea of marriage is cherished by women, do they get the full benefit of it, especially in times of divorce or bigamy on the side of the man.
Marriage in Ghana
There are three types of marriage in Ghana, namely marriage by Ordinance, Customary and Religious, however, each tribe, when it comes to customary marriage, have their own ways of doing it. In the Akan way of marriage, the family of the woman decides what the man should present in order to take the woman as his wife - usually a bottle of schnapps and some amount of money does it all. When these items are accepted by the woman's family, then the woman becomes the wife of the man. A woman getting married is a sort of relief from some of her responsibilities, as the man has the responsibility of taking care of all her needs. The joy of every woman in a marriage is how loving a husband is, and how well the husband is able to take care of her.
Even though society assumes that a husband and wife are one flesh, when it comes to asset owning in the matrimonial home, surely, they say, it belongs to the man. It is a fact that property acquired by the man before marriage is his, however those acquired during the years of marriage is for both the man and woman. Even though this is the issue most times, women tend to get no share of the property acquired during the marriage, even though the law makes provision for this. This is because the man is the one who takes the woman from her parental home to his own, which becomes their matrimonial home.
In Ghana, it is the sole responsibility of the man to take care of every financial responsibility in the home, while the woman handles the domestic responsibilities. The woman can choose to help when there are financial crises out of her own free will. In this case, every property the man has before and during the marriage is considered his alone. The explanation being that the man was solely responsible for the finances in the home, and the woman, only the domestic responsibility, forgetting that the domestic responsibility of the woman, which is non-monetary, is counted as an occupation.
Divorce in Ghana
It very unfair that while marriage can be annulled in the case of marital unfaithfulness, in Ghana a woman can be divorced under customary law, on grounds of witchcraft, stealing and adultery, yet these are not grounds for a woman to divorce a man. If a man wants to divorce his wife, he demands from the family of the woman the dowry or items he presented to them for her hand in marriage. If the woman decides to divorce the man, the only thing she has to do is to send a bottle of schnapps to the family of the husband. The acceptance of the schnapps from the family of the woman, by the husband's family, is recognition of the divorce. The return of the schnapps by the woman's family, and the acceptance by the man's family, is considered a formal agreement to the divorce.
Laws protecting women
It is a good thing that the government has the interest of women at heart, even the passage of the Domestic Violence Act is a sign of true commitment to the protection of women. . In relation to women, laws have been passed over the years to improve their situation. These include marriage laws, intestate succession laws PNDC Law 111(1985), customary marriage, and divorce law PNDC law 112(1985).
Amendments of the criminal code now contain consolidated criminal codes which have provisions to protect women from harmful traditional practices such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and these provisions have also broadened protection against sexual violence. The Children's Act also protects children from early marriage.
Women and the law
According to the Women's Manifesto for 2008, in spite of the laws which are meant to protect women, they still continue to suffer bias and discrimination in Ghana. International human right instruments are not fully integrated and enforced within our national laws. In addition, the laws do not go far enough and fail to address the requirements of a comprehensive review of all national laws to ensure the repeal of discriminatory laws. Certain bills, such as the bill on property right, are yet to become law, although thirteen years have passed since the 1992 Constitution called for their passage. As a result, women continue to contend with discriminatory laws and practices in employment, marriage, divorce, and in access to resources such as land labour, capital and technology.
Furthermore, women continue to live with discrimination in relation to their rights and obligations in marriage, and the grounds for divorce. Practice such as polygamy, though lawful under customary and religious laws, are discriminatory and unconstitutional, and increases women's insecurity and vulnerability in married life. Men who are involved in the act of bigamy are not made to account for their actions, even though the criminal code makes such acts unlawful. Court decisions show that the laws governing the distribution of marital property during divorce do not sufficiently take account of women's non-monetary contribution to the acquisition of such property. There are limited or no access to legal processes, as a result of problems of cost and availability of service. The few women who are able to access the legal system find themselves dealing with an unduly formal and alienating environment.
Conclusion
Women are demanding that laws governing their rights be implemented, since it is meant for them and they as well need more rights to feel safe and accepted in the society they live in. If discrimination against women is not stopped, then campaigns about the rights women automatically will be of no use. It is about time certain laws such as the bill on property rights become law, just like the government has brought about the domestic violence act, it is the demand of women that this bill be passed.
In Ghana, and many parts of the world, women see marriage as the ultimate achievement in their lives. When a woman gains the love and respect of a man, and marriage is proposed, it serves as the greatest pride and dignity of the woman, since a man has found some sought of virtue in her. However, when the woman reaches her prime, and sees no signs of appreciation of her looks and virtue from any man, it turns to be a disappointment and a form of disgrace, since society will have a negative perception about her.In Ghana, when a woman is not married and is past her prime, society has the perception that men don't see her as being attractive and good for marriage, or she has a bad character. At times society concludes it is due to an evil omen/curse, thereby preventing any man from being attracted to her. A woman, who does not get married in her prime, loses all forms of respect that she has in society, is ridiculed and called all forms of names. A woman who is able to marry and have children is considered lucky and virtuous. Marriage is a good thing, but looking at how the idea of marriage is cherished by women, do they get the full benefit of it, especially in times of divorce or bigamy on the side of the man.
Marriage in Ghana
There are three types of marriage in Ghana, namely marriage by Ordinance, Customary and Religious, however, each tribe, when it comes to customary marriage, have their own ways of doing it. In the Akan way of marriage, the family of the woman decides what the man should present in order to take the woman as his wife - usually a bottle of schnapps and some amount of money does it all. When these items are accepted by the woman's family, then the woman becomes the wife of the man. A woman getting married is a sort of relief from some of her responsibilities, as the man has the responsibility of taking care of all her needs. The joy of every woman in a marriage is how loving a husband is, and how well the husband is able to take care of her.
Even though society assumes that a husband and wife are one flesh, when it comes to asset owning in the matrimonial home, surely, they say, it belongs to the man. It is a fact that property acquired by the man before marriage is his, however those acquired during the years of marriage is for both the man and woman. Even though this is the issue most times, women tend to get no share of the property acquired during the marriage, even though the law makes provision for this. This is because the man is the one who takes the woman from her parental home to his own, which becomes their matrimonial home.
In Ghana, it is the sole responsibility of the man to take care of every financial responsibility in the home, while the woman handles the domestic responsibilities. The woman can choose to help when there are financial crises out of her own free will. In this case, every property the man has before and during the marriage is considered his alone. The explanation being that the man was solely responsible for the finances in the home, and the woman, only the domestic responsibility, forgetting that the domestic responsibility of the woman, which is non-monetary, is counted as an occupation.
Divorce in Ghana
It very unfair that while marriage can be annulled in the case of marital unfaithfulness, in Ghana a woman can be divorced under customary law, on grounds of witchcraft, stealing and adultery, yet these are not grounds for a woman to divorce a man. If a man wants to divorce his wife, he demands from the family of the woman the dowry or items he presented to them for her hand in marriage. If the woman decides to divorce the man, the only thing she has to do is to send a bottle of schnapps to the family of the husband. The acceptance of the schnapps from the family of the woman, by the husband's family, is recognition of the divorce. The return of the schnapps by the woman's family, and the acceptance by the man's family, is considered a formal agreement to the divorce.
Laws protecting women
It is a good thing that the government has the interest of women at heart, even the passage of the Domestic Violence Act is a sign of true commitment to the protection of women. . In relation to women, laws have been passed over the years to improve their situation. These include marriage laws, intestate succession laws PNDC Law 111(1985), customary marriage, and divorce law PNDC law 112(1985).
Amendments of the criminal code now contain consolidated criminal codes which have provisions to protect women from harmful traditional practices such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and these provisions have also broadened protection against sexual violence. The Children's Act also protects children from early marriage.
Women and the law
According to the Women's Manifesto for 2008, in spite of the laws which are meant to protect women, they still continue to suffer bias and discrimination in Ghana. International human right instruments are not fully integrated and enforced within our national laws. In addition, the laws do not go far enough and fail to address the requirements of a comprehensive review of all national laws to ensure the repeal of discriminatory laws. Certain bills, such as the bill on property right, are yet to become law, although thirteen years have passed since the 1992 Constitution called for their passage. As a result, women continue to contend with discriminatory laws and practices in employment, marriage, divorce, and in access to resources such as land labour, capital and technology.
Furthermore, women continue to live with discrimination in relation to their rights and obligations in marriage, and the grounds for divorce. Practice such as polygamy, though lawful under customary and religious laws, are discriminatory and unconstitutional, and increases women's insecurity and vulnerability in married life. Men who are involved in the act of bigamy are not made to account for their actions, even though the criminal code makes such acts unlawful. Court decisions show that the laws governing the distribution of marital property during divorce do not sufficiently take account of women's non-monetary contribution to the acquisition of such property. There are limited or no access to legal processes, as a result of problems of cost and availability of service. The few women who are able to access the legal system find themselves dealing with an unduly formal and alienating environment.
Conclusion
Women are demanding that laws governing their rights be implemented, since it is meant for them and they as well need more rights to feel safe and accepted in the society they live in. If discrimination against women is not stopped, then campaigns about the rights women automatically will be of no use. It is about time certain laws such as the bill on property rights become law, just like the government has brought about the domestic violence act, it is the demand of women that this bill be passed.
Let’s have compassion on People with Disabilities
By Helena Selby
Physical disability is not the destiny of any human being. It as well not the criteria for measuring one’s prospects in life. If people with disability (PWD) are given the right opportunity by society, to be like any other human in society, then the dreams of PWD will be a reality. Everyday PWDs, apart from going through the pain associated with their physical being have to contend with heavy hearts full of pain, depression, anguish and oppression over the way they are treated by society. Society ought to put in mind that being physically challenged was not the idea of the victims, and that it came by accident. The same can happen to anyone, besides, sometimes no matter how careful one is, accidents are bound to occur. It is true some of these PWDs take advantage of their situation and beg for alms on the streets, but society must try its possible best to be of help to those who have decided not to be a burden, but rather make themselves useful. If society would only have a little bit of compassion, consideration and patience for people in this state, not only will it help the people but the society and the nation as a whole.
The Ghanaian society and people with disability
Ghana, one of the countries which is considered worldwide to have the virtue of hospitality, is not so when it comes to being hospitable to PWDs. One might associate it with the level of superstition that the people have about PWDs. The majority of the population, literates or illiterates, have the notion that physical disability is as a result of being unlucky in life or being cursed, and are scared that the curse might be passed on to them, or might affect their prospects in life. However, Madam Doris Ekuba, a teacher who does not associate physical disability with wizardry or a curse, sees helping PWDs as a sign of mockery. She said she used to have extreme pity for them until she heard in the news about a cripple raping a little girl, or a fellow cripple, sometime stabbing someone with a knife over some trivialities, and doing other unimaginable things.
As if that was not enough, she once witnessed two cripples in a wheelchair fighting in a such bloody way, just because one was owing the other some few coins. According to her, the manner of the fight put fright into the people around, so much that no one ventured to separate them, with the fear that they might be hurt. Looking at the whole scenario, if PWDs are able to kill, steal, and above all rape, then they need no compassion, she added. Nevertheless, in as much as these attitudes are found in a minority of PWDs, it should not prevent society from giving a helping hand to the majority who earnestly need help. Society should note that disability is either a result of an accident, disease, or even old age which could cause loss of sight. Blindness through old age should not give society the opportunity to trample on the right of the victim.
A true story
Nana O. Akowuah is an 87 year old blind man who was a veteran of the second World War. He is a resident of a flat at Number 32 Mukose Street Tesano. According to him, he has been a resident of the house for the past 25 years, however, during the course of his stay, the owner of the house, Mr. B. K. Asare, passed away, willing the house to one Mr. Yaw Addo Asare.
According to Nana, there have been several instances where he pleaded with Mr. Addo Asare, the present landlord, to sell the house to him, but Mr. Asare refused. Not long ago, one Mr. Yaw Tawiah Bio introduced himself as the new owner of the other half of the twin house. As time went on, Mr. Tawiah made a fence wall which took away his manhole and part of the land he is occupying, with the consent of the land lord, without consulting him. However, when he confronted them, they did not take him serious but rather ignored him. When Nana took the case to the police, he was told he had no right whatsoever over the house or land, as the landlord, Mr. Addo Asare, had the absolute right to do whatever pleases him. To Nana, all that he is interested in is for the land lord to grant him the same chance like he did for Mr. Tawiah, so that he could also buy the house, and renovate it. Nana does not understand why the land lord has deprived him of his right to be the rightful owner of the manhole and the land, which the new tenant has forcibly taken away.In a petition to a Police Commander, he made it clear that what
Mr. Yaw Addo Asare and Mr. Tawiah Bio were into was definitely in breach of natural justice, and as a breach of the provision under the rent control act concerning an inducement to eject a tenant, and that this matter was a clear case of conspiracy and abetment of inducement to eject him from the house.
PWDs and the law
PWDs have been discriminated against for too long a time, and it is a good thing that the United Nations (UN), governments and organisational bodies have come to empathize with PWDs to free them from their plight. The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 aims to end the discrimination that many disabled people face. This Act has been significantly extended, including the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. It now gives disabled people rights in the areas of employment, education, access to goods, facilities and services, including larger private clubs, and land-based transport services, buying or renting land or property, including making it easier for disabled people to rent property, and for tenants to make disability-related adaptations, functions of public bodies, for example issuing of licenses.
The Act requires public bodies to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people. It also allows the government to set minimum standards, so that disabled people can use public transport easily. Furthermore, it prevents any form of harassment in employment, education, and in terms of goods and services. In Ghana, this act has been in existence, but its implementation has always been the issue. According to the President of the Ghana Federation of Disabled (GFD), Mr. Samuel Kwesi Asare, three years after the promulgation of this act, its implementation is yet to be effected. He made this known at the celebration of this year’s National Disability Day, with its theme, “Call to action: implementation of the National Disability Act,” which he believes is a reflection of the state of affairs. According to him, what the GFD requires most is the political willingness on the part of the state to ensure the implementation of the National Disability Act. The GFD has the conviction that further delay in the implementation of the act, would serve as an obstacle to the agenda of mainstreaming disability concerns to national development.
Conclusion
There is the need for society to know that PWDs are entitled to the same laws and rights they are entitled to. Equal rights and the rule of law is what society always cry for, why then does society not try to implement the human rights laws the country has now for PWDs. The cry of the PWDs to implement the long time act is not in the hands of the government only, but mostly in the hands of the society. The society should try and give PWDs the same chances given to other people in life, so that they will as well be proud of their existence in life, and also be able to reach their dreams and aspirations. If society is not willing to help PWDs, what would be the essence of the implementation of the act?
Physical disability is not the destiny of any human being. It as well not the criteria for measuring one’s prospects in life. If people with disability (PWD) are given the right opportunity by society, to be like any other human in society, then the dreams of PWD will be a reality. Everyday PWDs, apart from going through the pain associated with their physical being have to contend with heavy hearts full of pain, depression, anguish and oppression over the way they are treated by society. Society ought to put in mind that being physically challenged was not the idea of the victims, and that it came by accident. The same can happen to anyone, besides, sometimes no matter how careful one is, accidents are bound to occur. It is true some of these PWDs take advantage of their situation and beg for alms on the streets, but society must try its possible best to be of help to those who have decided not to be a burden, but rather make themselves useful. If society would only have a little bit of compassion, consideration and patience for people in this state, not only will it help the people but the society and the nation as a whole.
The Ghanaian society and people with disability
Ghana, one of the countries which is considered worldwide to have the virtue of hospitality, is not so when it comes to being hospitable to PWDs. One might associate it with the level of superstition that the people have about PWDs. The majority of the population, literates or illiterates, have the notion that physical disability is as a result of being unlucky in life or being cursed, and are scared that the curse might be passed on to them, or might affect their prospects in life. However, Madam Doris Ekuba, a teacher who does not associate physical disability with wizardry or a curse, sees helping PWDs as a sign of mockery. She said she used to have extreme pity for them until she heard in the news about a cripple raping a little girl, or a fellow cripple, sometime stabbing someone with a knife over some trivialities, and doing other unimaginable things.
As if that was not enough, she once witnessed two cripples in a wheelchair fighting in a such bloody way, just because one was owing the other some few coins. According to her, the manner of the fight put fright into the people around, so much that no one ventured to separate them, with the fear that they might be hurt. Looking at the whole scenario, if PWDs are able to kill, steal, and above all rape, then they need no compassion, she added. Nevertheless, in as much as these attitudes are found in a minority of PWDs, it should not prevent society from giving a helping hand to the majority who earnestly need help. Society should note that disability is either a result of an accident, disease, or even old age which could cause loss of sight. Blindness through old age should not give society the opportunity to trample on the right of the victim.
A true story
Nana O. Akowuah is an 87 year old blind man who was a veteran of the second World War. He is a resident of a flat at Number 32 Mukose Street Tesano. According to him, he has been a resident of the house for the past 25 years, however, during the course of his stay, the owner of the house, Mr. B. K. Asare, passed away, willing the house to one Mr. Yaw Addo Asare.
According to Nana, there have been several instances where he pleaded with Mr. Addo Asare, the present landlord, to sell the house to him, but Mr. Asare refused. Not long ago, one Mr. Yaw Tawiah Bio introduced himself as the new owner of the other half of the twin house. As time went on, Mr. Tawiah made a fence wall which took away his manhole and part of the land he is occupying, with the consent of the land lord, without consulting him. However, when he confronted them, they did not take him serious but rather ignored him. When Nana took the case to the police, he was told he had no right whatsoever over the house or land, as the landlord, Mr. Addo Asare, had the absolute right to do whatever pleases him. To Nana, all that he is interested in is for the land lord to grant him the same chance like he did for Mr. Tawiah, so that he could also buy the house, and renovate it. Nana does not understand why the land lord has deprived him of his right to be the rightful owner of the manhole and the land, which the new tenant has forcibly taken away.In a petition to a Police Commander, he made it clear that what
Mr. Yaw Addo Asare and Mr. Tawiah Bio were into was definitely in breach of natural justice, and as a breach of the provision under the rent control act concerning an inducement to eject a tenant, and that this matter was a clear case of conspiracy and abetment of inducement to eject him from the house.
PWDs and the law
PWDs have been discriminated against for too long a time, and it is a good thing that the United Nations (UN), governments and organisational bodies have come to empathize with PWDs to free them from their plight. The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 aims to end the discrimination that many disabled people face. This Act has been significantly extended, including the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. It now gives disabled people rights in the areas of employment, education, access to goods, facilities and services, including larger private clubs, and land-based transport services, buying or renting land or property, including making it easier for disabled people to rent property, and for tenants to make disability-related adaptations, functions of public bodies, for example issuing of licenses.
The Act requires public bodies to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people. It also allows the government to set minimum standards, so that disabled people can use public transport easily. Furthermore, it prevents any form of harassment in employment, education, and in terms of goods and services. In Ghana, this act has been in existence, but its implementation has always been the issue. According to the President of the Ghana Federation of Disabled (GFD), Mr. Samuel Kwesi Asare, three years after the promulgation of this act, its implementation is yet to be effected. He made this known at the celebration of this year’s National Disability Day, with its theme, “Call to action: implementation of the National Disability Act,” which he believes is a reflection of the state of affairs. According to him, what the GFD requires most is the political willingness on the part of the state to ensure the implementation of the National Disability Act. The GFD has the conviction that further delay in the implementation of the act, would serve as an obstacle to the agenda of mainstreaming disability concerns to national development.
Conclusion
There is the need for society to know that PWDs are entitled to the same laws and rights they are entitled to. Equal rights and the rule of law is what society always cry for, why then does society not try to implement the human rights laws the country has now for PWDs. The cry of the PWDs to implement the long time act is not in the hands of the government only, but mostly in the hands of the society. The society should try and give PWDs the same chances given to other people in life, so that they will as well be proud of their existence in life, and also be able to reach their dreams and aspirations. If society is not willing to help PWDs, what would be the essence of the implementation of the act?
Friday, October 9, 2009
Gov`t and citizens` attitudes towards poverty alleviation
By Helena Selby
Poverty has always being the plight of many people in the world. In Ghana, many people face poverty such that getting even three square meals a day is a problem. Homelessness and hunger are always the order of the day. In Ghana the effect of poverty has compelled people in the rural to move to the cities, and those in the cities to move to the western world, all in the name of searching for greener pastures. If only poverty will be reduced, and state resources properly utilised, with the people and the government being dedicated, then poverty can in way be reduced. It is about time the theory of poverty eradication was put into real practice as people are gradually perishing.
Poverty in Ghana
At a seminar for poverty reduction in Accra, it was noted that by the last count, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) estimated that some 28.5% of compatriots, representing 6 million Ghanaians were living in poverty. In the rural areas, four out of every ten Ghanaians are living in poverty. In the Northern part of the country, about 60% of the inhabitants are considered as being poor by the estimate of the GSS. According to the GSS, 18% of the Ghanaian population is considered to be extremely poor.
An individual is classified as extremely poor if his standard of living is insufficient to meet the basic needs, and if he devotes the entire consumption budget to food. The incidence of extreme poverty declined from about 36% in 1991/92, to a little below 27% in 1998/99, and further in 2005/06.
According to the GSS, the incidence of poverty is highest in the rural savannah, where 60% of the people were poor in 2005/06. This level of incidence was an improvement on the rate of 70% in 1998/99. The portion of the country’s rural population living below the poverty line on the other hand, increased slightly from 82% in 1998/99 to 85% in 2005/06.
Poverty and unemployment
Unemployment in Ghana has always been a very big problem which many governments have found it difficult to conquer. A lot of people in Ghana find it difficult to find a job, or even to get capital to be self-employed. For those who find jobs, the per capita income, which is very, low is not able to satisfy the individual, let alone his entire family. The economy of Ghana has turned in such a way that the prices of items and commodities increase every now and then. However, the painful aspect is that while these items increase in prices, the wages and salaries of workers are not increased at all, or by just a tiny margin. This makes people spend either their entire income on basic needs, or with the little amount left, find it difficult to cater for themselves and their families, in terms of other needs.
If only the government and private employers will make it a point to increase the wages and salaries of workers as prices of items and commodities increase, then people’s standard of living will not be reduced. For those who are self-employed, the frequent increase in items and commodities most times, makes them to work at a loss.
In one way or the other, the poverty level of a country can as well be determined by the educational level of the people. The more the people are educated, the more they will be legible to fill certain job positions. However, in Ghana, the uneducated always seem to outnumber the educated.
According to the latest Ghana Living Standards report, the GSS estimates that about 31% of all adults in Ghana have never been to school, less than one-fifth (17.1%) attended school but did not obtain any qualification; 39% have only MSLC/ BECE/VOC certificates as their highest qualification. Looking at the percentage of adults who are uneducated, apart from him being self-employed, it would be very difficult for him or her to get a job, and even if he does get a good job, his or her salary will be extremely unable to support himself or his family. As every one thing leads to another, the low income of this employee will not be enough to take his children to school, hence they also being uneducated, resulting in the vicious cycle of poverty
Poverty can be reduced to a greater extent if jobs are created for the people. As poverty in a way blames itself on the people not being educated, it as well blames the economy for not being able to provide jobs for the educated. It is evident that jobs do not exist, however it is sad to note that the little vacancy available, is never given to people not only with the qualification, but with experience as well.
In Ghana, many workplaces seek to work with the experienced, making new graduates find it very difficult securing jobs after school, all in the name of lack of experience. According to the Secretary General of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), Mr. Kofi Asamoah, the only way to end poverty, is to place people in employment that pays decent wages and gives them the opportunity to be part of generating and sharing the benefits of economic growth. If that be the case, creating jobs should be the priority of the government, so as prevent the learned minds of these graduates from staying idle.
The way forward
The only way of reducing poverty, so far, has been through the creation of job opportunities, and increasing the per capita income of worker in the country. Recently, it was announced that President John Evans Atta Mills was on the verge of creating about 10,000 jobs for the people of Ghana. However, the already existing ones ought to make way for the youth to get employed, and if companies love to work with experienced personals, they can employ these youth under probation, or even train them to occupy certain positions in the company. For public companies those at their retirement age ought to go on retirement and make way for the youth to occupy the positions. Companies must make it a point to make good pension plans for their employees, so as to make them willing to leave for the youth to occupy their positions. If there is a good pension plan, it will prevent worker from falling into poverty upon retirement.
Women and poverty alleviation
It is apparent that the consequence of poverty affects all nations however, those greatly affected are women and children. In Africa, women, most of the times, are in charge of all domestic activities in the home. This compels them to go the extra mile to secure food for the table, especially when the husband is jobless. Single mothers also go through even the extra mile of taking care of the home, since they do not have a helping hand. The Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC) on realising this, is embarking on activities for women, which will go a long way in reducing poverty.
According to the Minister of the Ministry, Madam Akua Sena Dansua, women are the key resources to poverty alleviation. There is therefore the need to encourage gender equality and women empowerment. According to the Minister, if women are given financial knowledge, business will boom for them and reduce the rate of poverty in their various homes. She said, as part of the MOWAC’s plan to reduce poverty, it provided women in the rural areas with loans and capital to start their own business. Poverty being a contributor to child mortality in the country, the MOWAC has as well, through the Ministry of Health, set up certain activities which are helping to reduce the rate of child mortality in Ghana.
Conclusion
The government ought to act fast to help alleviate poverty in the country, even though it is impossible to meet the world’s target of eradicating poverty from the world by 2015, it can still put things in place to help reduce it, if not totally alleviated. The reduction of poverty can go along way in reducing all kind of social vices like armed robbery, mobile phone snatching, internet fraud, and drug trafficking by the youth. In is not only up to the government to alleviate poverty, but the people as the whole. It is about time people work with their whole heart, for there is the need for Ghanaians to eradicate the mentality that the government work can be done anyhow, since one will be paid at the end of the month.
Moreover the phrase “this work is not for my family, so I can’t kill myself for it,” needs to be eradicated from people’s minds. Many people tend to forget that their wages and salaries will be increased when there is an increase in productivity at the workplace, and as well have their incentives increased.
The prospects of a nation depends on the government and the people themselves, so there is the need to stop fighting, as the same people are the direct victims of poverty in the country.
GBC Soon to go Digital
By Helena Selby
The Director of Technical Programmes (DTP) of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) Mr. Oscar Nchor, has noted that the migration of the analogue transmission to the digital transmission was a good decision, as it was a stepping stone to national television development
He noted that the shortcomings of the analogue, as susceptibility to noise, interference and reflections, inefficient use of radio spectrum, and unreliable performance in mobile reception conditions.
However the benefits of moving from the use of analogue are that it was resistant to noise and interference, uses compression techniques to allow more information to be transmitted, was more flexible, more efficient bandwidth utilisation, more channels, more programming, improved quality of service, clearer pictures, better quality sound, new media services, electronic programme guide, interactive services, high definition television (HDTV), has mobile reception, while individuals will not go through the stress of using too much electrical power, and moreover it bridges the digital divide
Explaining the difference between digital and analogue, he indicated that the digital sound and pictures are transmitted as bit stream, and reconverted by appropriate receivers, or set-top boxes, into sound or TV programs
Analogue broadcasting sound and pictures are transmitted as continuously varying electric signals, which after transmission, are reconverted to sound and pictures by television receivers.
Comparing the performances of the analogue and the digital, he noted that the analogue has inefficient use of radio spectrum, unreliable mobile reception, susceptibility to noise and interference, inefficient for editing, quality ranges from good, fair and bad.
However, digital has efficient spectrum, good mobile reception, resistant to noise and interference, efficient for editing and quality is between very good or no signal
Mr. Nchor mentioned that there was every reason for the country to go to digital, as the world was going digital. Moreover, by 2015, analogue terrestrial television would be completely replaced by digital globally.
Women Demand More Positions in Government
by: Helena Selby
The fight for the rights of women is not recent, but begun years ago. Society on realising the way women were always being under rated, brought about the fight for women to be heard, and allowed to partake in important decisions and proposals relevant for the development of society.
Even though the fight and plea of women to be heard in society has been going on for decades, the same society still underestimates their abilities and capabilities. Women all over the world, till date, have been fighting for their stand in society, and some have gone to the extent of gaining the position of presidents in their nations, but others keep on fighting, to no avail.
It didn’t just begin with the Beijing Conference in 1995, which brought about the slogan, “What a man can do, a woman can do, and even better,” but a conference held in Mexico. The first world conference on the status of women was convened in Mexico City to coincide with the 1975 International Women’s Year, observed to remind the international community that discrimination against women continues to be a persistent problem in much of the world. Even though these conferences have come and gone, women are still doubted about their ability and capabilities, due to one reason or the other.
Women in Ghana
The fight for women’s rights Ghana has never been a nine-day wonder, but a day to day activity. The aggressiveness of women gaining power compelled many political parties to make promises for women. One might not know the reason, but according to sources, these political parties made their promises due to way women outnumber men in the country. These political parties are of the notion that if these promises are made, the possibility of women voting for them was high. Irrespective of what society might think, what are women doing for themselves as women? The campaign for women’s rights might go on everyday, but the question is, what is the perception of women about fellow women? The saying that “women are their own enemies,” in one way or the other, seems to be a truism. The majority of women in Ghana and many parts of the world, whether educated or not, shun the fact that their fellow women lead them.
According to their reason, women are conceited when they are in power, are kind of too strict, never heed advice, and tend to be very disrespectful to society and their spouses as well, while some people also see a group as being unlucky when it is being led by a woman. According to Mrs. Gladys Akins, she once decided to buy an item from a nearby store, to her dismay the shopkeeper refused to sell the item to her with the explanation that she is a woman.
According to the reason of the storekeeper, it is bad luck, if a woman is the first to buy from a shop early in the morning, and that she could only sell to her if she waited for a man to come and buy first, or she goes somewhere else. Looking at the scenario of Mrs. Akins and the storekeeper, what is the possibility that a woman will be voted into power during election time? Many political parties have the desire to allow a woman to stand for them in certain constituencies, but fear that they will not be voted for by their fellow women.
Women in the fight for their rights
Irrespective of what some women do to underrate their fellow women, others have thought of the need to allow women’s voices to be heard in society, and continue to fight for their rights. There are a lot of organisations fighting today for women’s rights, but so far ABANTU for Development, through the Women’s Manifesto Coalition and Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF) Ghana, are the two major women’s rights organisations.
They have been championing the cause for Affirmative Action Policy for Women’s Participation in Ghana. In April 2008, WiLDAF Ghana, ABANTU for Development, with sponsorship from Canadian Crossroads International (CCI), organised a roundtable discussion on the “Affirmative Action Now” Campaign. The objective of this discussion was to enable participants ascertain the status of the Ghana government’s commitment to the implementation of Ghana’s affirmative action and development of an affirmative action policy.
This was to enable participants discuss action plans and engage the government towards an affirmative action policy in all sectors, particularly political decision-making. In February 3, 2009, a courtesy call on President John Evans Atta Mills, among other demands, was for the Affirmative Action Policy. These organisations had always thought that with the promise of the present government in power, their dreams of being represented greatly will be fulfilled, as they were promised 40% women representation in government. However, this dream has been a mirage, as the promise of this present government was not really backed by any documentation, but just a saying.
Women in government in Ghana
During the 2008 presidential elections, all the presidential candidates promised to give women a chance to have their portion of percentage in government. The elected president, his Excellency John Evans Atta Mills, promised the women of Ghana of a 40% representation in his government. However, this promise of the President has not come to pass, as women are still being underestimated, when it comes to power in government. According to a research by WILDAF, after five months in power, though appointments for the various government positions have been done, the promise of 40% representation of women in governance has not come to pass. So far, the Government Economic Advisory Council has a total membership of 10, which is composed of only men. Does this mean that there are no woman economists in Ghana? The Council of State, with a total membership of 25, has 22 men and only three women. The total number of ambassadors is 32, with 25 men, and seven women. Cabinet Ministers total 19, with 15 as men and four women. Regional ministers are a total of 10, with 9 as men, and only one woman.
Proposed way of representing women in government
Many a time, there are complaints that women are not very interested in the politics and government appointments, so enough women are not gotten to take certain positions. In view of this, there has been a proposal as to how women will be trained to take an interest in governance. According to Madam Beatrix Allah Mensah, a member of WILDAF, there is the need to revise and implement existing affirmative action measures, including 40% representation of women in public appointive positions. It is as well very important to strengthen the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs and its agencies with technical, financial and logistical support, and adopt and implement Gender Budgeting.
Gender-specific provisions need to be incorporated in development strategies with monitorable indicators. Moreover, the government needs to designate special funds from public or state funds, to support programs to increase women’s representation. Women are to be helped to adequately lobby for public positions, by supporting the development of a core training manual on women’s leadership, commitment to the implementation of political parties commitment to increase women’s presence in politics, re-organize women’s wings to be more integrated into the party structure and adequately resource the women’s wing financially and logistically.
Additionally, commit to selecting women to contest a selected number of their safe seats, and support to the development of a training manual for women leadership.
Conclusion
The cry of women is to just to have some kind of say in government, and be given a voice to speak for themselves, and to some extent, for the nation as a whole. It will be a good thing if the present government gives women a chance to prove themselves, by giving them 40% in government. It will be a sign of good governance and democratic rule, if the government in power will give women that chance.
Adjei-Kojo Suncity Community plead with gov`t…to prevent TDC demolition exercise
By Helena Selby
Some residents of the Adjei-Kojo Suncity community are pleading with the government to come to their aid and prevent the Tema Development Corporation (TDC) from demolishing their various houses.
According them, they were victims of circumstance, and had no idea that the land had been taken over by the government, and that it was meant for the TDC.
The residences claim that the land was originally sold to them by the Santoe Chief and elders, and that the only document they had concerning the land was the indenture that was provided to them when they bought the land.
According to the residents, the houses were built with their entire lives sweat, and with others their retirement/pensions benefits.
They have therefore come out with the suggestion that if there were any penalties to be paid they would gladly do so, so that they could keep their homes, instead of the intended demolition exercise which would render them homeless.
According to Rev. Mannford, Principal of the Redeemed International School Ajdei Kojo Suncity, three years ago his school was marked for demolition, but he later on went to the TDC to obtain a permit, and so does not understand why the TDC should still insist on demolishing building after three years.
According to him, if the land is meant to be given to a private estate developer, what would be the fate of the residents, as they would not receive any compensation?
To him, it would be very unfair of the TDC and the government, if they make the citizens of the country homeless, all in the name of a foreign private estate developer.
Moreover, as far as they were aware, there was no way any civil service worker would be able to buy or even rent a house from a private estate developer.
He said that if the government has not been able to rescue the homeless on the streets, it would be very insensitive of it to create more homeless people.
He mentioned that demolishing buildings and giving the land to a foreign private estate developer, would not only cause people to be homeless, but also create unemployment, which the government has never been able to solve.
He noted that apart from all the consequences of demolishing houses, the possibility of the incident leading to violence is there.
To Mr. Alfred Doe, who is also a resident, he does not understand why the TDC considers buildings in the community as just a handful and not decent enough.
According to him, the TDC was using this description in order to get approval quickly from the government.
He mentioned that there were many decent houses in the community, including bungalows, storey buildings, guest houses, a police station, and even schools.
He said with the presence of these houses in the community, the TDC could make the community an estate, by demarcating and planning the land to suit the situation of the already well-built houses, and as well provide social amenities.
He stressed that the people, as well, want to make the community look like an estate, and as a result have been able to bring electricity to the community, and as well contributed some seed money for the grading of the roads.
According to him, he sees the residents of the community as good citizens, and that all they a need from the TDC and the government, was to make their dream of turning the community into an estate, a reality, rather than just demolishing and destroying all that they had toiled for, these long years.
According to Mr. Joe Abbey, Managing Director of the TDC, the proposed place for demolition was bought by the government of the first President of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, with the chiefs being compensated, for the purpose of turning it into an estate - that is Communities 23 and 24. The chiefs in this case do not have any legal right over any land there, and cannot sell them.
According to him, since the habitants over there did not seek permission from the TDC, but relied on an indenture given to them by the chiefs, it makes their houses liable to the demolition exercise.He noted that the only way some houses would be spared from the exercise, is through regularisation.
This, he said, would be possible if the house falls within the demarcation lines and plan of the TDC, but with houses which don't fall within it, they will be demolished.
However, for those who have a permit, and still eligible for demolition, they would be compensated by the TDC.
He blamed the inhabitants for not making the right enquiries from the TDC before purchasing the land, and building there.
Some residents of the Adjei-Kojo Suncity community are pleading with the government to come to their aid and prevent the Tema Development Corporation (TDC) from demolishing their various houses.
According them, they were victims of circumstance, and had no idea that the land had been taken over by the government, and that it was meant for the TDC.
The residences claim that the land was originally sold to them by the Santoe Chief and elders, and that the only document they had concerning the land was the indenture that was provided to them when they bought the land.
According to the residents, the houses were built with their entire lives sweat, and with others their retirement/pensions benefits.
They have therefore come out with the suggestion that if there were any penalties to be paid they would gladly do so, so that they could keep their homes, instead of the intended demolition exercise which would render them homeless.
According to Rev. Mannford, Principal of the Redeemed International School Ajdei Kojo Suncity, three years ago his school was marked for demolition, but he later on went to the TDC to obtain a permit, and so does not understand why the TDC should still insist on demolishing building after three years.
According to him, if the land is meant to be given to a private estate developer, what would be the fate of the residents, as they would not receive any compensation?
To him, it would be very unfair of the TDC and the government, if they make the citizens of the country homeless, all in the name of a foreign private estate developer.
Moreover, as far as they were aware, there was no way any civil service worker would be able to buy or even rent a house from a private estate developer.
He said that if the government has not been able to rescue the homeless on the streets, it would be very insensitive of it to create more homeless people.
He mentioned that demolishing buildings and giving the land to a foreign private estate developer, would not only cause people to be homeless, but also create unemployment, which the government has never been able to solve.
He noted that apart from all the consequences of demolishing houses, the possibility of the incident leading to violence is there.
To Mr. Alfred Doe, who is also a resident, he does not understand why the TDC considers buildings in the community as just a handful and not decent enough.
According to him, the TDC was using this description in order to get approval quickly from the government.
He mentioned that there were many decent houses in the community, including bungalows, storey buildings, guest houses, a police station, and even schools.
He said with the presence of these houses in the community, the TDC could make the community an estate, by demarcating and planning the land to suit the situation of the already well-built houses, and as well provide social amenities.
He stressed that the people, as well, want to make the community look like an estate, and as a result have been able to bring electricity to the community, and as well contributed some seed money for the grading of the roads.
According to him, he sees the residents of the community as good citizens, and that all they a need from the TDC and the government, was to make their dream of turning the community into an estate, a reality, rather than just demolishing and destroying all that they had toiled for, these long years.
According to Mr. Joe Abbey, Managing Director of the TDC, the proposed place for demolition was bought by the government of the first President of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, with the chiefs being compensated, for the purpose of turning it into an estate - that is Communities 23 and 24. The chiefs in this case do not have any legal right over any land there, and cannot sell them.
According to him, since the habitants over there did not seek permission from the TDC, but relied on an indenture given to them by the chiefs, it makes their houses liable to the demolition exercise.He noted that the only way some houses would be spared from the exercise, is through regularisation.
This, he said, would be possible if the house falls within the demarcation lines and plan of the TDC, but with houses which don't fall within it, they will be demolished.
However, for those who have a permit, and still eligible for demolition, they would be compensated by the TDC.
He blamed the inhabitants for not making the right enquiries from the TDC before purchasing the land, and building there.
The Police Service and the gradual fall in esteem
By Helena Selby
A country will definitely have no law breakers when it has no existing laws governing it. The differences in the nature of people and the presence of social vices in society have compelled leaders to set up laws to prevent people from stepping on other people's toes. Though everyone is capable of taking care of his or her own self, there are people purposely trained professionally to be extra vigilant about what happens in and around society. Despite the fact that they are in categories, namely the Military and the Police, they have different responsibilities.
The Police Service is for keeping the peace and upholding the law in society. The nature and the reason behind the police force makes the public trust them for their safety, especially when they are present at a particular time and place. However the trust the society has for them is gradually decliing, as the police is in a way tarnishing its reputation.
The police service, which has the responsibility of prevent risk or threat to the peace of the citizens, sometimes rather pose a great threat to them. Some bad nuts in the police service, instead of arresting and preventing an offense or crime from taking place, rather commit or join/assist others in committing crimes.
The community and the police
The Ghanaian society always makes it a point to give respect to the police, but not to the maximum. People are scared of the police in cases such as murder, rape robbery and other crimes, however, they give the police no respect when they are misbehaving in public. People do not care about the presence of the police when there is a misunderstanding that could lead to a fight, people fight right in front of a police station or before a policeman. According to Ibrahim Mutala, a truck pusher at Ashaiman, he once witnessed two of his friends fighting right in front of a policeman, when the policeman was informed, all he said, was that they should kill themselves, since they knew what is right from wrong.
The majority of people, looking at the how the police becoming less vigilant, commit any offense they like, as far it is not considered a serious felony.
Some bad attitudes of the police
Apart from the May 9th stadium disaster, which responsibility was put squarely on the police, was one fatal incident that discredited the service greatly. According to one Madam Teresa Osei, a trader in Ashaiman, her handbag was snatched right in front a policeman, she, thinking the policeman would do her a favour by running after the thief, realised that was way out of the question.
When she begged him to get the bag for her, he told her he had closed for the day. If one may ask, does the duty of the police to protect the citizen cease when their official working hours are over? A policeman will fail to recognise a faulty vehicle simply because he or she needs just a cedi.
It is very pitiful that the police service, which is supposed to be one of the respectable professions, off late, has become a profession of ridicule. Even drivers take the opportunity or their weakness for money to ridicule them.
According to one driver, Ishmael Yakubu, policemen are the least people he is afraid of on the street. He said, whenever he is wrong on the road and is asked to pull over, he puts GH¢1 in his license, gives it to them, and immediately he is set free. At certain points also when they find no fault on the vehicle, they beg for money, and drivers have no choice than to give in to them.
In the early part of this year, one Tuesday morning Joy FM, an Accra-based radio station, reported news about the Ashaiman police shooting at a crowd with live ammunition, killing two people on the spot and injuring 10.
The trouble started when some irate drivers were said to have stormed the Ashaiman Police Station to demand the release of their colleagues, who had been arrested the previous day and were being kept at the station. The drivers blocked access roads in the town as they converged on the police station. The police panicked and shot into the crowd, resulting in loss of two lives. Afterwards, a police officer defended the shooting on the grounds of self-defense, and explained that the police only had live ammunition for crowd control.
This is amazing and frightening, and must thus call into question what exactly is the content of police training in the area of crowd control. This is important, because almost every crowd trouble has resulted in serious incidents, involving fatal shots by the police.
Though the police knew that with Ashaiman being such dense urban environment, it was inappropriate to shoot into the crowd, they went ahead and did it. Does this mean there is no right equipment, in this case rubber ammo, water cannons, etc. for crowd control? If live ammunition must be used, is there no procedure for frightening the crowd, such as shooting into the air? The death of the young boy indicates that surely the police was shooting at eye-level, which was not good enough on the part of the people who need to render protection to the public.
Imagine a policeman shooting in the open during a chase to arrest a thief, ending up killing a young lady, as if there was no shooting practices or procedures during their recruit.
Duties of the police
It is assumed by the public that the police are taught very well how to go about their duties and to professionally protect the public, however, the police seem to forget their duty as peace makers. Since the police hold the responsibility of anchoring the internal security of the state to keep the peace, the Cheshire Police Website pointed out that, “Then there is the need for the police to uphold the law fairly and firmly to prevent crime. They have to pursue and bring to justice those who break the law, to protect, help and measure the community, and to be seen to do all this with integrity, common and sound judgment.
“The police must be compassionate, courteous and patient, act without fear, favour or prejudice to the rights of others. They need to be professional, calm and restrained in the face of violence, apply only force which is necessary to accomplish their lawful duty, and strive to reduce the fear of the public.”
It is a good thing to know what the responsibilities of the police are, but the question is, do they act according to their responsibilities or act anyhow they want to? Do they even know their responsibilities as police personnel? It is very unfortunate that people who are responsible for safeguarding the law, most often turn round to break the law, and in the end become criminals themselves.
Not long ago, a policeman in Tamale was convicted for defiling two sisters. A Member of Parliament was allegedly suspected of dealing in illicit drugs outside the country. A bank manager was allegedly suspected of being an accomplice in a robbery case that occurred in the bank. All these are incidences of crime, but does it really matter who commits the crime?
Conclusion
The duty of police personnel is evident; it is about time the police take their profession seriously, and not complain about low salaries, as the result of their attitudes.
The swearing of the oath to work diligently is deemed important, since the lives of the citizens are in their hands. It is up to them to set a good example to attract people to join the force, rather than always allowing themselves to be ridiculed by the public.
The ability depends on them, but partially on the government, if the government gives them good incentives and attractive salaries, they will take pains to protect the people and work diligently.
A country will definitely have no law breakers when it has no existing laws governing it. The differences in the nature of people and the presence of social vices in society have compelled leaders to set up laws to prevent people from stepping on other people's toes. Though everyone is capable of taking care of his or her own self, there are people purposely trained professionally to be extra vigilant about what happens in and around society. Despite the fact that they are in categories, namely the Military and the Police, they have different responsibilities.
The Police Service is for keeping the peace and upholding the law in society. The nature and the reason behind the police force makes the public trust them for their safety, especially when they are present at a particular time and place. However the trust the society has for them is gradually decliing, as the police is in a way tarnishing its reputation.
The police service, which has the responsibility of prevent risk or threat to the peace of the citizens, sometimes rather pose a great threat to them. Some bad nuts in the police service, instead of arresting and preventing an offense or crime from taking place, rather commit or join/assist others in committing crimes.
The community and the police
The Ghanaian society always makes it a point to give respect to the police, but not to the maximum. People are scared of the police in cases such as murder, rape robbery and other crimes, however, they give the police no respect when they are misbehaving in public. People do not care about the presence of the police when there is a misunderstanding that could lead to a fight, people fight right in front of a police station or before a policeman. According to Ibrahim Mutala, a truck pusher at Ashaiman, he once witnessed two of his friends fighting right in front of a policeman, when the policeman was informed, all he said, was that they should kill themselves, since they knew what is right from wrong.
The majority of people, looking at the how the police becoming less vigilant, commit any offense they like, as far it is not considered a serious felony.
Some bad attitudes of the police
Apart from the May 9th stadium disaster, which responsibility was put squarely on the police, was one fatal incident that discredited the service greatly. According to one Madam Teresa Osei, a trader in Ashaiman, her handbag was snatched right in front a policeman, she, thinking the policeman would do her a favour by running after the thief, realised that was way out of the question.
When she begged him to get the bag for her, he told her he had closed for the day. If one may ask, does the duty of the police to protect the citizen cease when their official working hours are over? A policeman will fail to recognise a faulty vehicle simply because he or she needs just a cedi.
It is very pitiful that the police service, which is supposed to be one of the respectable professions, off late, has become a profession of ridicule. Even drivers take the opportunity or their weakness for money to ridicule them.
According to one driver, Ishmael Yakubu, policemen are the least people he is afraid of on the street. He said, whenever he is wrong on the road and is asked to pull over, he puts GH¢1 in his license, gives it to them, and immediately he is set free. At certain points also when they find no fault on the vehicle, they beg for money, and drivers have no choice than to give in to them.
In the early part of this year, one Tuesday morning Joy FM, an Accra-based radio station, reported news about the Ashaiman police shooting at a crowd with live ammunition, killing two people on the spot and injuring 10.
The trouble started when some irate drivers were said to have stormed the Ashaiman Police Station to demand the release of their colleagues, who had been arrested the previous day and were being kept at the station. The drivers blocked access roads in the town as they converged on the police station. The police panicked and shot into the crowd, resulting in loss of two lives. Afterwards, a police officer defended the shooting on the grounds of self-defense, and explained that the police only had live ammunition for crowd control.
This is amazing and frightening, and must thus call into question what exactly is the content of police training in the area of crowd control. This is important, because almost every crowd trouble has resulted in serious incidents, involving fatal shots by the police.
Though the police knew that with Ashaiman being such dense urban environment, it was inappropriate to shoot into the crowd, they went ahead and did it. Does this mean there is no right equipment, in this case rubber ammo, water cannons, etc. for crowd control? If live ammunition must be used, is there no procedure for frightening the crowd, such as shooting into the air? The death of the young boy indicates that surely the police was shooting at eye-level, which was not good enough on the part of the people who need to render protection to the public.
Imagine a policeman shooting in the open during a chase to arrest a thief, ending up killing a young lady, as if there was no shooting practices or procedures during their recruit.
Duties of the police
It is assumed by the public that the police are taught very well how to go about their duties and to professionally protect the public, however, the police seem to forget their duty as peace makers. Since the police hold the responsibility of anchoring the internal security of the state to keep the peace, the Cheshire Police Website pointed out that, “Then there is the need for the police to uphold the law fairly and firmly to prevent crime. They have to pursue and bring to justice those who break the law, to protect, help and measure the community, and to be seen to do all this with integrity, common and sound judgment.
“The police must be compassionate, courteous and patient, act without fear, favour or prejudice to the rights of others. They need to be professional, calm and restrained in the face of violence, apply only force which is necessary to accomplish their lawful duty, and strive to reduce the fear of the public.”
It is a good thing to know what the responsibilities of the police are, but the question is, do they act according to their responsibilities or act anyhow they want to? Do they even know their responsibilities as police personnel? It is very unfortunate that people who are responsible for safeguarding the law, most often turn round to break the law, and in the end become criminals themselves.
Not long ago, a policeman in Tamale was convicted for defiling two sisters. A Member of Parliament was allegedly suspected of dealing in illicit drugs outside the country. A bank manager was allegedly suspected of being an accomplice in a robbery case that occurred in the bank. All these are incidences of crime, but does it really matter who commits the crime?
Conclusion
The duty of police personnel is evident; it is about time the police take their profession seriously, and not complain about low salaries, as the result of their attitudes.
The swearing of the oath to work diligently is deemed important, since the lives of the citizens are in their hands. It is up to them to set a good example to attract people to join the force, rather than always allowing themselves to be ridiculed by the public.
The ability depends on them, but partially on the government, if the government gives them good incentives and attractive salaries, they will take pains to protect the people and work diligently.
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