JUDGES MUST HEED CJ'S ADVICE

THE success of every democratic governance rests on a fair and firm justice system in which the rule of law is respected by both the government and the governed.
Article 125 of the 1992 Constitution says that “Justice emanated from the people and shall be administered in the name of the Republic by the Judiciary, which shall be independent and subject only to this Constitution.”
This is why one of the cardinal benchmarks of an effective justice system declares that nobody is declared guilty until a court of competent jurisdiction has found him or her to have committed the offence.
But the legal framework alone cannot guarantee law and order in society without members of the bench being prepared to dispense justice without fear or favour.
It is in this context that the admonition by the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, to judges not to turn themselves into “little tigers” in the course of discharging their duties is appropriate.
Over the years, well-meaning people have had cause to complain about the way the judicial system works, particularly concerning the delay in adjudicating cases and the numerous adjournments to confirm the axiom that “Justice delayed is justice denied”.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is in no doubt about the fact that the problems we have, as a country, with mob justice and people taking the law into their own hands are traceable to the ineffective justice system, even though we frown on those evil practices in no uncertain terms.
Though the Constitution states clearly that justice emanates from the people and, therefore, every legal system must promote the security of the individual, most people are afraid to take their cases to the courts.
The reasons for this state of affairs are not hard to find — justice has become expensive, time consuming and cumbersome. Sometimes members of the bench and the bar frustrate litigants with technicalities and unnecessary adjournment of cases. Moreover, the court setting itself and the processes are intimidating.
Add to these ignorance of the law, as well as basic rights, on the part of the majority of our people and you will understand why judges and magistrates can easily become “little tigers” in their courts.
That was why, at a certain stage in our judicial history, the idea of a panel system was introduced at the tribunal level so that some lay people could sit to determine the guilt or otherwise of their peers.
It is heartwarming, however, to note that the Chief Justice recognised some of the challenges in the judicial system when she reminded judges that “people in court are people in distress. Be firm with them but treat them with civility.”
The DAILY GRAPHIC is aware of the efforts being made by Mrs Justice Wood to purge and clean the system to make it workable, although we concede that any reform process is likely to come up against obstacles because of entrenched interests, conventions, usages and traditions in the system.
We remind our judiciary to be responsive to the needs of the time, since our desire to establish a just society rests on the effectiveness of the judiciary which will serve as a bulwark against dictatorship, injustice, corrupt practices by public office holders and arbitrariness.
This is why we plead with the Chief Justice to spare no effort to make the judiciary user-friendly, so that people in distress who want to seek redress at the courts, instead of applying self-help, will have confidence in the justice delivery system.
We also plead with members of the bench to live above reproach, since, as people who determine the fate of their fellow men, they must, like Caesar’s wife, be above suspicion.

LET US BOOST THE COCOA INDUSTRY

WITHOUT any fear of contradiction, we can say that cocoa is the backbone of the Ghanaian economy, not only in terms of the revenue it brings but also the employment avenues it provides, both directly and indirectly, as well as the wealth it puts into individual and family pockets.
Ever since Tetteh Quarshie brought the crop into the country for it to become an economic commodity, many good things have flowed from it, all to the well-being of the country and its people.
In the cocoa-growing regions of the country, one can easily see practical benefits of cocoa wherever one looks. Many buildings owe their existence to the cocoa industry, just as many educated persons from the rural areas owe their education to the crop.
Apart from these, the crop has indirectly produced national edifices which are benefiting every Ghanaian who gets to them. The Akuafo Hall of the University of Ghana, Legon, easily comes to mind, and we can also talk about the Cocoa Clinic at Bubiashie in Accra.
We can also add Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) scholarships awarded children and wards of cocoa farmers to enable them to access secondary school education.
In short, Ghanaians, wherever we find ourselves, owe a lot to cocoa and the Daily Graphic thinks it is time we all came together to put the industry on a high pedestal.
This is why we are very happy to learn that Cadbury International, the giant worldwide producers of confectioneries and non-alcoholic beverages, has announced a package which involves the setting up of a development fund to boost the cocoa industry in the country over a 10-year period.
The package, which is in partnership with the COCOBOD, will begin with the investment of £600,000 into the cocoa sector this year, the focus being on cocoa farmers, with the amount being increased to £3.5 million annually over the next 10 years.
From every indication, this is a welcome intervention from Cadbury which will go a long way to reverse the declining trends in the cocoa industry in the country, as per the research conducted by the University of Sussex in the UK and the University of Ghana.
The research revealed, for instance, that the average production of the cocoa farmer in the country had fallen to 40 per cent of the potential yield. It also established the fact that younger people found cocoa farming less attractive and that the average age of the cocoa farmer was 51.
These are frightening revelations which do not augur well for the sector which is the mainstay of our economy.
The Daily Graphic, while thanking Cadbury for its foresight and goodwill, would like to plead with the administrators of the fund to go about disbursing the money judiciously so that the target group — cocoa farmers — will benefit from it.
We also join President Kufuor in asking Cadbury to consider the possibility of venturing into the processing of the beans here in Ghana, so that we can add value to the produce to enhance our development. As it is, it is only when we add value to our primary produce that we can earn a lot from them and also create employment avenues for our teeming youth.
Since the government of President Kufuor came to power in 2001, it has done a lot for the cocoa industry. Not only has it increased the producer price for farmers and regularly paid bonuses to cushion the farmers during the off season; it has also sprayed their farms to get rid of the swollen shoot disease and replanted some devastated farms.
The cocoa industry will receive a further boost if Ghanaians are sensitised adequately to patronise cocoa and cocoa products such as choclate on the National Chocolate Day. The DAILY GRAPHIC urges the Ministry of Tourism and Diasporan Relations to do all in its power to make the observance of the day a memorable one this year.
Cocoa is Ghana and, therefore, let us support the industry to blossom to create wealth and jobs.

AND THE STARS CAME SHINNING

AFTER a moment of pessimism, following the Black Stars’ narrow 1-0 win over Namibia, Ghanaians, in their millions, yesterday roared to another feeling in football. It was the feeling of emphatic victory over Morocco, one of the established forces in African football.
The 2-0 victory over Morocco came after some bitter criticisms against the Black Stars, with Asamoah Gyan, one of the key players in the team, as the main target. With the heat too much on him, Asamoah Gyan was reported to have packed bag and baggage and threatened to leave the Black Stars camp.
In the heat of all the animosity generated against them after their first two matches, the Stars, their handlers, Asamoah Gyan and his brother, Baffour Gyan, all saw the need to remain calm and focus on their mission.
That need to remain calm was reinforced during the visit of President J. A. Kufuor to the Stars’ camp on Sunday where he used his own experience at the receiving end of mass criticisms to deepen the tolerance level of the players, especially Asamoah Gyan.
Having taken the presidential advice seriously and having raised their game to a higher level yesterday, the Stars must have learnt the additional lesson that the same fans who stirred anger in certain quarters by taking the criticism to extreme levels, were the same fans who danced with them at the stadium and in the streets to celebrate the great and well-deserved victory over Morocco.
It is our hope that the fans were also aware that the players they had vilified with extreme bitterness a few days earlier were the same players they hailed as heroes in the all-night parties that hit most streets in the country yesterday.
Such are the contradictions inherent in this ‘crazy’ game of football, which call for cool heads, whether among the playing body or among the fans. The three-dimensional result of a win, a draw or a defeat is so unpredictable that the only way to maintain the required cool nerves is to make room for any of those three possibilities.
Without making room for the absence of logic in football, how could anyone explain the scenario where Morocco beat Namibia 5-1, Namibia draw 1-1 with Guinea and Guinea beat Morocco 3-2?
The need for calmness, mutual respect and positive support is even more crucial now as the competition cruises into the knock-out stage. The DAILY GRAPHIC appeals to the fans to keep their criticisms within positive and acceptable bounds, while appealing to the players to keep the President’s earlier advice in mind.
That way, any sense of complacency would be held in check and the Stars will shine and shine and make our dream of “Host and Win” a realty.

PROTECTING RIGHTS OF HOUSE-HELPS

ANY nation that wants to see progress should regard the welfare and well-being of its people as paramount for it would take the people to contribute ideas and make practical efforts to ensure that country's development.
And since countries, even when they are mono-cultural, would still have some groupings such as the rich, the poor, the handicapped and the marginalised, there is the need to identify all such groups so that their specific needs and interests could be met.
It is therefore refreshing to note that the Leading and Advocacy for Women in Africa (LAWA) Ghana Alumnae Incorporated, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has presented a document dealing with the services of domestic assistants or maid-servants to the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment for consideration and subsequent incorporation into the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651).
The document outlines the terms of contract, wages and benefits, maximum working hours, rest and leave periods, rights at work, enforcement and responsibilities of the domestic assistants.
The essence is to formalise the employment relationship between house-helps and their employers.
By the definition of the Children's Act 1998 (Act 560), most of the people working in most homes as house-helps or domestic assistants qualify to be classified as children because the act defines children as persons who are below the age of 18.
The Children's Act prevents the engagement of children in any form of exploitative work which deprives the child of his/her health, education or development, although the minimum age for admission to employment is 15.
In fact, most house-helps are working in the homes of knowledgeable people who deny them formal education, while they have their children, some the age of these maid-servants, in school to prepare them for a better future.
Of course, there are a few mistresses who support their house-helps to either go to school or learn some vocation, even though the house-helps continue to render their domestic services.
The DAILY GRAPHIC concedes that some house-helps, through this arrangement, have broken the vicious circle of poverty, disease and squalor into which they were born, but these cases are the exceptions rather than the rule.
It should be noted that the conditions under which most maid-servants work at homes are appalling.
Some of these domestic servants are subjected to all forms of abuse - rape, defilement, working long hours not only at home but providing extra support at such commercial joints as 'chop bars' (traditional food joints) and drinking spots.
Generally, most house-helps are treated as if they are sub-human, as their rights are abused and trampled upon, yet the country prides itself on having the most comprehensive legislation to protect the rights of children.
The DAILY GRAPHIC believes that the time has come for Ghana to follow the trend all over the world where governments are resorting to legislation to protect domestic servants from abuse, rape and defilement.
Interestingly, in all the cases in which the rights of domestic servants are abused or trampled on, women, who should be championing the advocacy for the rights of children, take centre stage to perpetuate these acts of inhumanity against the future leaders of the country.
The DAILY GRAPHIC, therefore, wishes to appeal to women to not only scream about abuse and discrimination by their male counterparts but also lead the advocacy to secure better conditions of service for domestic assistants, otherwise known as house-helps or maid-servants.

DON'T BREAK NATION'S HEART, STARS

THE ongoing 26th Africa Cup of Nations (Ghana 2008) tournament has, in a number of ways, brought the country into the limelight all over the world. Apart from the media glitz which the tournament has attracted, the country itself has benefited from being the host nation by way of the development of its infrastructure and utilities.
That is not all. Socially, the feeling of nationalism that the tournament has engendered among our compatriots surpasses what our participation in the 2006 World Cup in Germany brought up.
The national flag, as well as paraphernalia in the colours of the flag, is all over the place and people are rallying around it.
The euphoria generated has transcended ethnic, gender, age, political and social barriers, with almost every Ghanaian who wants to be counted getting involved. It is, indeed, a great feeling going for us and we wish we would all savour it for as long as possible.
But the DAILY GRAPHIC believes that this nationalistic feeling will last for as long as the Black Stars continue to win their matches and stay in the tournament. The moment they are out, we will lose that feeling and our hearts will be broken.
Last Thursday’s performance by the team against unsung Namibia has brought to the fore the possibility of our Stars not helping us to enjoy the good feeling that Ghana 2008 has brought us for as long as we would want to.
To say the least, their performance was abysmal and, even though they managed to win by that narrow margin of one nil, many were the hearts that were let down that night.
The DAILY GRAPHIC would like to admonish the players and their handlers to “kill” themselves for the nation, the way most people have done so for the national team. In these hard times, most Ghanaians have managed to acquire one paraphernalia or another to adorn himself or herself with, all in the name of support for the team.
We remind the players to consider the near capacity stadium in which they played and the singing that went on throughout the duration of the match. That is how massive the support is for them, not to talk about the sacrifices made by the fans.
It is this massive, all-out support that they must reciprocate by going all out in subsequent matches, especially the one against Morocco on Monday, so that people will continue to patronise their matches.
Since 1982 when we won the cup in far away Libya, the closest we have come was in 1992 in Senegal when we lost on penalties to Cote d’Ivoire at the finals.
We now have the opportunity on home soil to host and win and we plead with our Stars not to do anything that will make us break the trend that seems to have developed since Tunisia hosted and won the tournament in 2004, followed by Egypt in 2006.
Apart from the desire to win the cup and the prestige that will come along with it, the commercial and economic gains that come with every victory that the Black Stars chalk up cannot be quantified.
Companies have invested real money in producing paraphernalia and they can get their money back only if the Stars stay in the competition till the very end. Vendors of these products along our streets and roads, as well as traders who deal in them in their shops and stores, cannot afford to lose when, as a result of the Stars’ early exit, the goods are left unsold.
Above all, soccer is the passion of the nation and so we expect the Stars to deliver the goods for us to continue to enjoy the tournament.
We can be assured of their stay in the competition if they put up a superlative performance in the match against Morocco on Monday and we plead with them to do just that.
They should not let us down, for the cost of that in terms of money and psychological trauma would be colossal.

EC’S RECORD, GOOD TESTAMENT

CONCERNS over whether the 2008 elections will be free and fair have inundated our media landscape, with some opposition politicians, especially leading the cacophony of noises concerning the ability and preparedness of the body mandated by law to conduct elections in the country, the Electoral Commission (EC) to deliver its mandate.
It is against this rather ominous background that we find the assurance by the EC that its resolve to ensure clean and incident-free elections will not be impeded by financial constraints very heart-warming, indeed. We believe that every democratic-minded and peace-loving Ghanaian can heave a sigh of relief with this assurance.
The assurance by the EC comes in the wake of claims in certain quarters that the government is deliberately stifling the EC of financial resources to incapacitate it in its efforts to conduct free and fair elections this year.
More assuring is the pledge by the Deputy Executive Chairman of the EC in charge of Finance and Administration, Mr David Kanga, that the commission had not encountered any problems in accessing funds for the 2008 elections.
The DAILY GRAPHIC may not be alone in its belief that in spite of these firm and incontrovertible assurances, some individual cynics still doubt the ability of the EC to conduct free and fair elections, despite the fact that when it comes to elections in Ghana and elsewhere on the African continent, our EC has an impeccable track record.
Since the horrifying events in Kenya after the December 27, 2007, the doomsday prophets have not missed the least opportunity to remind us of terrible consequences if the December elections do not go their way.
To these doomsday prophets, we recall to their attention that if the 1992 elections could not bring us doom, then the 2008 elections could only be an improvement over previous elections. We say this because by every stretch of the imagination the 1992 elections were incident-free, what with the use of a bloated voters’ register, non-transparent ballot boxes, open intimidation by so-called organs of the revolution and a myriad other untoward practices before, during and after the presidential election of that year.
The worst that one of the four opposition parties which contested the election did was to document what it believed were the irregularities that occurred, culminating in the book, “The Stolen Verdict”.
It must be clear to every one of us that the EC, made up of responsible citizens of this country, is itself conscious of its reputation and so it will not do anything to create doubts in the minds of the electorate that it will rig the 2008 elections in favour of any one party.
The Executive Commissioner of the commission through the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC), has managed to resolve thorny issues such as the electoral roll, transparent ballot boxes, photo ID cards, ballot papers, as well as polling agents. Whenever any disagreements have come up over these issues, the EC has used dialogue to reach consensus, without compromising its mandate as a truly independent body charged with the conduct of elections in Ghana.
Since the EC has demonstrated enough capacity to fulfil this mandate without fear or favour, the DAILY GRAPHIC feels the best all of us can do is support it to do that in December 2008 to maintain Ghana as a peaceful and united entity.
We also remind the government to fulfil its obligation to the commission by providing it with all the funds and logistics it needs to conduct another credible elections. There may be financial constraints but elections are a sine qua non for nurturing true democracy so we must all find the wherewithal to make them clean and acceptable to all.

REPAIR MRI MACHINE NOW

WHENEVER preparations are being made for events which involve masses of people engaged in strenuous activities, provision is made for emergency health and accident needs.
This is because planners and organisers of those events always take into consideration the fact that anything could happen which may need emergency medical attention.
Sad to say, though, that we seem to have forgotten about one basic medical need which would have come in handy in any emergency — a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine. It is a machine which is used in medical imaging to visualise the structure and function of the body. It provides detailed images of the body in any plane but does not use ionising radiation.
There was one at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital but it has been out of use since May last year. It went out of use as a result of power fluctuations which resulted in the burning of some key machinery and the corrosion of the MRI machine.
That is how come when Black Stars’ full back, John Paintsil, got injured and needed a scan to ascertain the extent of the damage to his tendon, he had to be flown out to Nigeria to undergo an examination which could have easily been undertaken here.
This, to the DAILY GRAPHIC, is an unfortunate development because we needed to have the MRI machine here before the tournament, since tournaments of this nature can come up with a lot of injuries.
We wonder if the cost involved in flying Paintsil to Nigeria and the medical examination to be carried out there could not have catered for the purchase or repair of the parts required to fix the broken down machine.
It also beats the imagination of this paper as to why a machine as vital as the MRI could be installed without a stabiliser to protect and regulate power to it.
That unfortunate omission is what has caused us this embarrassment, with its resultant waste of our scarce foreign exchange in having to send an injured player outside, not to talk about the cost of repairs.
The DAILY GRAPHIC finds it rather unfortunate that almost 51 years after independence we are still groping in the dark in our attempt at bringing ourselves in tune with best practices in the management of facilities in the country.
In other jurisdictions those put in charge of any responsibility are either rewarded for a good work done or sanctioned for being irresponsible. But here, when people, by their actions, cause pain to others or society, they are unwilling to accept responsibility by way of apologising for their lack of good judgement or take an honourable bow.
To consider that what happened at the Sekondi Sports Stadium last Monday could have been another result of the lack of judgement on the part of someone put in charge of the lighting system there makes the whole issue alarming.
We believe it is high time the government put in place a system that demands high standards in performance from all public office holders. That way, those who cannot cope with the demands on them to perform can find their way out, and not wait to stifle the system and clog the wheel of progress.
We concede that our resources are limited, but we believe if we prioritise our needs we can provide some of these pressing needs without disrupting budgetary projections.
The DAILY GRAPHIC calls on the government to take immediate steps to get the MRI machine issue addressed as soon as practicable.

WATCH THESE THINGS

THE power outage which occurred at the Essipon Stadium on Monday minutes before the commencement of the Mali-Benin encounter in the ongoing 26th MTN Africa Cup of Nations soccer fiesta was, to say the least, a national disgrace.
It was even more embarrassing when viewed against the backdrop that it occurred a little over 24 hours after the grand opening of the tournament at the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium in Accra amid the superlative display of Ghanaian culture.
Indeed, so grand was the opening ceremony that it elicited raving commendations from the Presidents of FIFA, CAF and UEFA, Sepp Blatter, Alhaji Issa Hayatou and Michel Platini, as well as the African Union Commission President, Dr Alpha Konare.
We had hoped that after the opening ceremony and the first match between Ghana and Guinea, the tonic had been provided for the greatest soccer fiesta in the history of the Nations Cup.
But that was not to be, as barely 24 hours later, and at the newly built Essipon Sports Stadium, we had to deal with a lighting problem which threatened to undo all the years of preparations that had gone on ahead of the tournament.
Apart from the inconvenience caused to the two teams on the field of play and the spectators in the stands, the Essipon power outage also posed difficulties for television rights because companies which had the right to beam the match live got delayed, a situation which might have caused them a fortune.
Short of calling for heads to roll, the DAILY GRAPHIC calls on the government to look seriously into the matter and deal with all those whose acts of omission and commission may have caused that national embarrassment.
In a statement, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has dissociated itself from the incident, saying that its supply through the grid had been stable throughout the period, “as evidenced by the lighting around the stadium”.
Though we are yet to hear what the Local Organising Committee has to say on the matter, we feel there had been a lack of co-ordination and a serious communication gap. Or was it a matter of the necessary skills not having been put in place to deal with the challenges of a major tournament like this one?
Whatever it is, even before the full facts are made known, the DAILY GRAPHIC demands an apology from those whose duty it was to have provided uninterrupted power supply for the facility.
At this juncture, we can only hope that last Monday’s power outage has not already given us a bad press in the international media, since, so far, the generality of Ghanaians have demonstrated the best aspects of the legendary Ghanaian hospitality and conduct to ensure that our august visitors enjoy their stay here.
It is recalled that during the 1978 Nations Cup in Ghana, a similar thing happened, but we still think last Monday’s occurrence is still unpardonable because we have come a long way in technological development to have this happen in 2008.
We also refuse to accept that this is Africa and so anything can happen here. We don’t want Africa to be associated with only negative occurrences because we know that the best of our brains are competing on an equal footing, if not above, in international circles.
What happened at Essipon last Monday was really an anti-climax to what had otherwise started well and we think it should never rear its head again as the tournament progresses and generates more passion and interest.
We also caution that since the interest to be generated in the days ahead is bound to put more pressure on facilities, contingency measures must be put in place to contain that pressure, so that we are not caught unawares.

LET'S CELEBRATE WITH CARE

TO say that Ghanaians in every nook and cranny of the country were thrown into a frenzy following the spectacular victory of the Black Stars over their Guinean counterparts is an understatement.
Indeed, the spontaneous manner in which people came out of their homes onto the streets in their numbers was indicative of what the victory meant for them as individuals and as a nation.
In the jubilation, political, religious and ethnic differences were all shelved and, with one accord, every Ghanaian showed that sometimes it was good to speak with one voice when the national interest is concerned.
However, there is a bad side to our celebrations, be they national, traditional, religious or personal, and this is what the DAILY GRAPHIC wants to draw people’s attention to.
The tendency among our people, especially the youth, to lose their heads when it is celebration time leaves much to be desired. While it is good to, once in a while, get into the celebration mood and let oneself go, it is also very proper to bear in mind that even as the celebrations go on, the laws of the land must still be obeyed, so that one does not fall foul of those laws and thus infringe on other people’s rights.
All over the country, our reporters have sent reports of wild jubilations in cities, towns and villages, some of them going beyond what is reasonable and acceptable.
Considering the suspenseful nature of last Sunday’s match, one cannot blame people for letting themselves go when Sulley Muntari fetched the match winner in the nick of time. But if, in the course of that celebration, we block roads, leading to traffic jams, burn tyres on the roads which have been constructed with the taxpayer’s money and generally become a nuisance to other members of the public, then we need to be cautioned.
The Police Administration thinks so, too, and that is why, in an interview with the DAILY GRAPHIC, the Director of the Police Public Affairs Directorate, DSP Kwesi Ofori, expressed concern over the manner in which Ghanaians celebrated last Sunday’s victory.
All of us must take DSP Ofori’s caution, when he said “what is wrong is wrong, irrespective of the occasion”, in good faith because the DAILY GRAPHIC does not think it is proper to leave a sour taste in our mouths after the celebrations because there have been broken limbs, damaged roads and vehicles and confrontations with the police resulting from irresponsible celebrations.
The 26th Africa Cup of Nations has brought with it a lot of goodwill, unity, nationalism, economic gains and, above all, a reason to feel Ghanaian and so we must relish those positive attributes of the tournament, instead of letting wild and outrageous celebrations get the better of us.
In the opinion of the DAILY GRAPHIC, by all means soccer fans must celebrate every victory of the Black Stars on their way to winning the ultimate, but it also cautions that we must be circumspect in our celebrations, so that none of us gets to be on the wrong side of the law. That will surely be an anti-climax we are not ready for.
While we are at it, we also call on the police to exhibit a great sense of maturity when they have to deal with any fallout from victory celebrations. This is because the mood of the times may sometimes be intoxicating, making people throw caution to the winds. Should the police decide to meet such celebrants boot for boot, the end result may be dysfunctional to the body politic.
We know there are many victories ahead of us in the course of the tournament but we plead with our compatriots to celebrate these victories with caution, for Mother Ghana deserves just that.

SPECTACULAR PERFORMANCE

YESTERDAY, the Black Stars shone and Ghana brightened up as her people, both young and old, erupted into ecstasy following their 2-1 victory over Guinea in the opening match of Ghana 2008.
Our warriors met their match but they managed to show the foreigners that they know the terrain better.
Everybody accepts the fact that opening matches of all tournaments are tough and even tougher at tournaments of international stature such as the Africa Cup of Nations.
This is because, usually, the host nations are involved and they come under enormous pressure to sail through to the next stage and then work hard to get to the finals.
The pressure comes for various reasons such as the fact that the host team should endeavour to be in the competition to attract people in the country, and for that matter the supporters to patronise the tournament. This way the beauty of the tournament would not be undermined and also there would be some returns on the investment made in the tournament by the host country.
The pressure can therefore cause the host team to be on edge and over-react to the detriment of their own performance, in which case they could lose the game or secure just a draw.
Thankfully, the pressure could not put the Black Stars under heavy weight as they looked composed and ready to go for the onslaught.
Perhaps, the Stars might have been motivated by the massive national support for them and also the fact that the generality of Ghanaians are outgrowing their attitude of castigating their national team even before the players go into play.
The DAILY GRAPHIC wishes to appeal to all Ghanaians to sustain the massive support for we know that the Stars would acknowledge it and reciprocate with wins to brighten further the country.
We must be honest that the Black Stars did not have it easy. Therefore, we appeal to the playing body, as well as the technical and the management teams, to do everything possible to plug the loopholes for we demand nothing but the Cup.
“We host to win” is the slogan and it will take only the efforts of the afore-mentioned groups, coupled with the massive support, to make the slogan a reality.
Therefore, our piece of advice by way of showing our support is that the Stars should not under-rate any team. They should see all their opponents as teams that can potentially undermine their bid to win the Cup. We hope the Stars would employ all that it takes to keep the Africa Cup here by conquering the rest of Africa.
The DAILY GRAPHIC wishes to congratulate the Stars on their spectacular performance and urge them on tto greater exploits.
Our Stars, fight on, shine even brighter and give us more of the spectacular performance. Syli Nationale, the Guinean national team, were not a walk-over, they were gallant losers.
We also commend the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for showcasing the best of Ghanaian culture at the opening ceremony. If the opening ceremony was a foretaste of things to come, then Ghana 2008 will live up to its mission of “Sharing Passions at the Centre of the Earth”.

THEY ARE A MENACE

THE news that the police have arrested some people who used unlicensed motorbikes to steal must really be refreshing, coming just days before Africa’s greatest sports fiesta kicks off at the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium.
While commending the police for carrying out the arrests, we must add that, in our opinion, it has taken the police too long a time to bring these law breakers to book.
Only a newcomer to Accra, Kumasi and the other urban centres may be unaware of the havoc caused by riders of unlicensed motorbikes in those places. Apart from those motorbikes being used as a get-away means of transportation for many armed robbers, their riders also use them to snatch mobile phones, briefcases, ladies’ bags and what have you from unsuspecting pedestrians, particularly at bus stops, traffic intersections, etc.
Since the motorbikes can easily meander through the perennial traffic on some of our main roads and streets, those using them who have the intent to commit crime can easily get away, leaving their victims in the lurch.
To add to the nuisance, riders of unlicensed motorbikes disrupt traffic during festive occasions such as Eid-ul-Fitr and at political rallies. Again, the bikes are used to cause trouble when a funeral procession is taking a dead body to the cemetery for burial.
As if that is not enough, almost all the riders of these unlicensed motorbikes do not wear the statutory safety helmets, thereby putting their own lives in danger.
This, in short, is how menacing motorbikes have become in the country and drastic steps should be taken to eliminate this menace before something catastrophic happens from their use.
Of course, the DAILY GRAPHIC should be the first to acknowledge the fact that motorbikes, if they are used with good intentions, serve very useful purposes. In this period of high fuel prices and serious traffic jams, motorbikes can come in handy. Indeed, we are of the opinion that their use should be encouraged, so that the country’s high fuel import bill could be brought down.
We are, however, concerned about the use of this otherwise utilitarian means of transportation for nefarious activities.
The Akans say, “Nnipa bone foo nti na yeto din”, to wit, everybody is given a name because there are bad people around. In that wise, we suggest to the police to, henceforth, see every rider of an unlicensed motorbike as a criminal suspect and treat him or her as such. That should be the first step in getting rid of the danger posed by these motorbikes.
Moreover, the riders must be compelled to wear the safety helmets, so that in case of any accident, they will survive. We feel that Mother Ghana needs every single Ghanaian to help in nation building so nobody should be allowed to put his or her own life at risk.
The use of motorbikes to display at funerals, sporting and social events must also be curtailed if we want to bring sanity onto our roads, especially during the next three weeks or so when we are hosting the rest of Africa.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is of the considered opinion that in the days immediately before the commencement of the tournament and in the course of it, nothing untoward should be done to wreck all the meticulous preparations that have gone into hosting Ghana 2008.
We call on police patrol teams to keep an eye on users of unlicensed motorbikes right from today, so that their negative activities are not extended onto our visitors from other countries who are here for the tournament. We cannot, as a country, afford to allow a few bad lots to tarnish the hard-won reputation of our country.

LET THERE BE PEACE IN ANLO STATE

FOR many months now the Anlo State has been in the news because of a dispute over who should ascend the stool as Awoamefia. Lives have been lost, some people have fled Anloga for their dear lives and taken refuge in surrounding towns, economic activities have slowed down and a curfew has been imposed.
A heavy police presence maintained the uneasy calm, particularly when the curfew was imposed. Gradually, those who fled started returning to their homes and the dust started settling when assurances were given that no one would be molested for any reason.
During the heat of the chieftaincy dispute, factions developed. While some supported Torgbui Sir III, also known in private life as Mr Francis Nyonyo Agboada, as the legitimate heir to the Anlo Stool, others questioned his claim of legitimacy.
The Anlo State had become a house divided. Disintegration was in the offing.
Something concrete had to be done to defuse the mounting tension among a people who had hitherto been at peace with one another.
A measure proposed by the faction opposed to the installation of Mr Agboada demanded that he step down and a commission of enquiry set up to thoroughly examine the Anlo Stool issue with a view to finding amicable solutions.
The DAILY GRAPHIC added its voice and asked Mr Agboada not to place his personal ambition above the interest of the entire Anlo State. Mr Agboada “has finally renounced his claim to the Anlo Stool”, as we reported in our Monday issue. For that singular action, it is our considered opinion that Mr Agboada deserves glowing commendation, although we concede that if this gesture had come earlier, precious lives would not have been lost.
We submit that it takes courage to take this kind of decision in life. He did not say that he would lose face if he stepped down. Certainly his supporters would be disappointed, but Mr Agboada would rather risk disappointing his supporters than preside over a divided house.
Again, his singular action will avert any more loss of lives. We sincerely hope that the peace will now hold and that neither he nor any other person will overtly or covertly do anything whatsoever to mar the peace of the Anlo State.
There are vital lessons for all of us from what has transpired in Anlo in the recent past. We all need to ‘look before we leap’, as the saying goes, especially so if we are taking far-reaching decisions that may even touch the lives of fellow humans.
We also need to heed advice, as Mr Agboada has done. We commend him, once again, for the courage to step aside when he realised that his actions had caused pain and anguish to some people, as well as polarised the Anlo State.
Mr Agboada wants to devote his time to the pursuit of development projects. We sincerely hope that he will stick to his resolution and not get side-tracked.
There are useful lessons to be learnt from Mr Agboada’s gesture by people in areas where there are chieftaincy disputes.
Let’s give peace a chance, not only in the Anlo State but throughout the country — wherever there is conflict.

RESOLVE THIS CONFUSION NOW

Polytechnics are generally expected to provide practical courses or hands-on education, a scope of education which is different from that of the university, which is expected to provide both practical and academic courses, and which awards its own certificates.
Thus in most cases, especially in Ghana, while the polytechnics as of now award the Higher National Diploma (HND) as the highest certificate, the universities can award the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), the ultimate in the string of certificates awarded by the university.
In the recent past polytechnic students agitated that the HND was also a tertiary certificate and so when it came to job placement, they expected that they would be placed on the same scale as the university products who hold degrees.
Even though the DAILY GRAPHIC would not want to be a judge in this case, it can only say it is obvious the course content of the HND, as well as its focus, and the content and focus of the degree courses are in different categories, in which case the two are not comparable.
However, we are of the firm belief that polytechnic education is such that it cannot be discounted in any economy because it is expected to push the technical activities in that economy.
This is why we would always want the problems of polytechnics in the country to be resolved with dispatch so that they can concentrate on their mission and prosecute it well, such that the products of these institutions would be content with the certificates awarded to them by their alma mater.
We were, therefore, happy when the Polytechnic Act (Act 745, 2007) was passed, but our happiness seems curtailed due to some confusion that a section of the stakeholders in polytechnic education is pointing to.
Hitherto, the National Board for Professional and Technician Examinations (NABPTEX) had been awarding polytechnic products with the HND, but Act 745 says in section 5 (a) that “a polytechnic may award HND accredited by the National Accreditation Board (NAB).
This has caused NABPTEX to describe that section of the Polytechnic Act as being ‘dangerous’. According to it, the “National” in the “Higher National Diploma clearly implies that a national body should award the HND to avoid a situation where the 10 polytechnics would award their own HNDs in addition to the one to be awarded by NABPTEX.
The NABPTEX Act (Act 492, 1994) subsection 2(b) says that the board (that is, NABPTEX) “shall in consultation with the relevant polytechnics and professional institutions, conduct examination and award national certificates and diplomas based on the results of the examinations”.
The DAILY GRAPHIC wishes to say that the polytechnics have various problems, some of which NABPTEX mentions as poor conditions of service and lack of equipment and facilities, and so it would be needless to create fresh ones such as the confusion over whether NABPTEX should award national HNDs or the polytechnics should award ‘institutional HNDs’.
The various stakeholders should study the concerns and, if possible, amend section 5 (a) of the Polytechnic Act or follow the line of action that would remove the confusion and at the same time enhance standards at our polytechnics.
The DAILY GRAPHIC hopes that the polytechnics in the country have not forgotten a piece of advice given in October 2001 by the Principal of the Takoradi Polytechnic, Dr Nicholas Aidoo-Taylor, that polytechnic administrators should assist academic and teaching staff to generate additional income to support the institutions and that there was the need to develop strategies to transform the polytechnics into institutions that could create wealth alongside their traditional roles.
We believe that when problems faced by the polytechnics are resolved, the country will benefit from their mission, which will greatly enhance our economy.

CONSIDER THIS SUGGESTION

LAST Friday, the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) suggested the revision of the voting time during general elections in the country. It said instead of the normal 7.00 a.m. to 5 p.m. voting time, the Electoral Commission (EC) should push the polling time to between 6.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. because, in the view of the NCCE, the incidence of the threat to peace resulting from problems created during the counting and collating of election results in the night could then be prevented.
This suggestion must have been made in good faith, in view of the violence resulting from the disputed elections in some of our neighbouring countries. Already, some political parties are beating the war drums concerning how free, fair and transparent this year’s elections will be. This is because they claim the 2004 elections were rigged.
Although the EC has tried to explain these matters time and time again, there are those who are bent on discrediting elections whenever they lose. Therefore, it is important for all interested groups — political parties, organisers of elections, the electorate and, indeed, all Ghanaians — to play an active role in any move that will leave no one in any doubt about the freeness, fairness and transparency of the December 2008 polls.
It is sad that some doomsday prophets do not miss any opportunity to make reference to what is happening in Kenya and hint of a similar fate befalling Ghana if their parties fail to win Election 2008.
Since 1992, Ghana has held elections, some of whose results some political parties disputed, but in most cases they decided to document the irregularities that occurred, go to court or call on the EC to do a recount. Indeed, in 2004, a recount of the ballot in the Pru Constituency led to the EC overturning its verdict and, whichever way one looks at it, the EC won a lot of public confidence by that action.
That the EC is a credible institution which has the track record of organising free and fair elections, to the envy of other electoral bodies on the continent and beyond, has never been in doubt. The Daily Graphic believes that the EC is capable of rising to the occasion at the December 2008 polls, provided the political parties do not inflame the passions of their supporters and incite them to violence if defeat stares them in the face.
We all know that victory is sweet, while defeat is painful. Therefore, no one goes into an election with the aim of losing. But the possibility exists and so as the political parties mount the platform to campaign, they must make sure not to make Election 2008 a “do-or-die” affair.
The elections could swing in favour of the opposition or the ruling party will retain power, depending on issues at stake, not personal attacks, smear campaign and the prediction of doom for the country if a particular political party does not win.
Ghana is bigger than any individual or group interest and the collective interest must be canvassed by all so that the country could continue to enjoy peace, stability and development.
The Daily Graphic, therefore, calls on the EC to give the suggestion from the NCCE a serious thought and lay the proposal before the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) for consideration. If it is found to be plausible, it should adopt it for this year’s elections.
We believe that while we call on all to be vigilant and protect the integrity of the December poll, and by extension safeguard national unity and stability, no shade of doubt should be left in anybody’s mind that there are plans to rig the elections in favour of any party.

THIS PROJECT MUST SUCCEED

MANY motorists in the country, particularly those who ply the roads in the urban centres and the national capital, Accra, are familiar with the maddening traffic jams on our roads and streets.
A recent study conducted by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) predicted a transportation crisis beyond Lagos and Beijing proportions in Ghana if the prevailing ratio of vehicles to motorable roads should continue.
The statistics showed that vehicular fleet increased from 382,261 to 624,783 from 2000 to 2005, an average growth of 6.9 per cent, a situation which can easily lead to saturation, considering the slow rate at which roads are provided.
This rather bleak picture has brought in its wake a huge cost to the state in terms of the man-hours wasted in traffic, even when one has to make a short trip to his or her destination, not to talk of the cost in terms of the fuel wasted, which has resulted in a skyrocketing oil import bill for the country.
Traffic jams also lead to excessive pollution and its resultant greenhouse effect on climatic conditions. There is also exhaustion on the part of motorists and passengers.
It is against this background that we must view the boost given the efforts by the government to address problems of urban transportation with the development of a concept design of a pilot Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system for Accra as Godsend.
The concept design of the pilot BRT forms part of a $95-million Urban Transport Project launched by the government in September 2007 with the view to reducing vehicular congestion and related environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
The pilot project will begin on the Mallam-Accra Central route and it will involve the creation of exclusive bus lanes and terminals for the system. If all goes well, the exclusive use of the bus lanes is expected to reduce travel time for bus passengers along the route from about one hour to an estimated 25 minutes.
From all indications, this reduction in time will augur well for commuters to the central business district of Accra, since they could get to their workplaces on time and also get home early after the day’s work.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is happy, not only with the pilot project but also the fact that six other areas have been earmarked to come on board. These are the Kumasi metropolis, the Tema municipality, the Ejisu-Juaben municipality, the Ga East and Ga West districts.
It is quite obvious that the Accra Central-Mallam route is not the only one prone to traffic jams in Accra. Indeed, all the major roads and streets face that problem, even with the expansion of the road network. This is why we expect the pilot project to succeed, so that it can be extended to the other traffic-prone routes such as Circle-Achimota, 37-Adenta, the Spintex Road, Accra Central-Teshie-Nungua-Tema Beach Road, etc.
The DAILY GRAPHIC pleads with the implementing agencies — the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment — to ensure that a good job is done, and promptly too, to justify the huge amount being pumped into the project. That is the only way that the sponsors, including the World Bank, the French Development Agency and the Global Environment Facility, could be convinced to extend the project to the other areas.
Given the projection by analysts that the population of Accra and its surrounding towns is expected to double by the next 15 to 20 years, it is imperative that the transportation bottlenecks in the city are dealt with in a holistic way to avoid the problems associated with transportation in mega cities like Lagos and Beijing here.
We wish the BRT project a success, knowing that it will go a long way to improve the government’s urban mass transport system.

LET'S USE RECOMMENDATIONS

OVER the past 59 years, the Institute of Adult Education of the University of Ghana has organised annual New Year schools during which academics, technocrats, policy makers and ordinary citizens deliberate on issues of governance, the economy, education, etc which are of national significance.
At the end of each New Year School, recommendations are made for the perusal of policy makers and implementers.
The 59th Annual New Year School ended on Wednesday, January 9, 2008. It was on the theme, “Tertiary Education and National Development”, and many prominent personalities presented papers on the various sub-topics discussed in the course of the school.
At the end, many recommendations were made, including concerns over the use of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) for purposes outside the objectives of the fund, the role of distance learning, the emergence of wings of political parties on the campuses of our tertiary institutions, the allocation of portions of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) to Members of Parliament, among other issues.
We share in the sentiments expressed by the Chairman of the University of Ghana Council and President of the Association of Ghana Industries, Mr Tony Oteng-Gyasi, that policy makers should factor the recommendations made at annual New Year schools in their programmes and activities.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is not here to determine the merits or otherwise of the recommendations made by the various speakers at the 59th New Year School but we believe that they were all made for the good of the country.
The challenges facing this country are legion and in most cases it appears that the problems are known. What has eluded us are the solutions to those problems.
It is in this context that we must view the admission by the Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, while opening the school, that access to higher education was one of the greatest challenges faced by the country.
“Without going into the reasons at length, it is important to accept that over the years inadequate investment in infrastructure and learning facilities has been a significant factor,” he said.
Tertiary institutions, which are the centres for teaching, learning and research and which are to develop their students’ minds to better place them in the position to tackle specific problems of society, have benefited from governmental support and financing.
Unfortunately, over the years there has been a missing link between tertiary education and national development. This is because some of the people educated at the taxpayer’s expense have decided to seek greener pastures elsewhere, to the detriment of the well-being of the mass of the people.
The concomitant is that at particular times in our history, and even now, our classrooms have been without teachers, our hospitals without nurses and doctors, and other vital state institutions without the skilled manpower to man them.
The DAILY GRAPHIC believes that the country can overcome the problems of poverty, disease, hunger, ignorance and unemployment only if beneficiaries of higher education put their knowledge at the disposal of society.
It for this reason that we add our voice to the calls on the government to take the recommendation of this year’s New Year School seriously.
We further ask the government to put together a team to look at the recommendations of all the New Year schools and come up with a workable document which can be factored into the development blueprint that the government wants to come up with.

NEW ERA DAWNS WITH GHANA 2008

IF there was nothing to be gained from hosting sub-regional, regional and global tournaments, countries would not go to the extent of setting up committees to lobby sporting authorities for the right to host those tournaments.
Indeed, countries go all out to build new stadia, rehabilitate existing ones, put up new infrastructure and build roads, all at great cost, in order to win the right to host tournaments.
Ghana’s hosting of the 26th Africa Cup of Nations tournament (Ghana 2008) cannot be delinked from the benefits that accrue to hosting countries of sporting events.
It is in this regard that we agree with the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mrs Oboshie Sai-Cofie, that Ghana was already “the winner of the tournament” for the mere fact that it was hosting it.
“Ghanaians should recognise the fact that we have already won in prestige, revenue generation, in showcasing our beautiful country and its people, we have won because of the fact that our children will grow to acknowledge that their country is considered important in the global environment,” Mrs Sai-Cofie said in an interview.
These are fine sentiments which the DAILY GRAPHIC would want every Ghanaian, male and female, young and old, to share, since they capture the very essence of hosting an international tournament of this nature.
If for nothing at all, the tournament will bring with it commercial and economic gains which will permeate all sectors of the economy, not to talk about the exposure the country will get from TV screening of the matches worldwide, especially the opening and closing ceremonies, the re-branding of the country’s image abroad and the exposure of our tourist attractions and potential to the outside world.
We at the DAILY GRAPHIC can only advise our compatriots to put our best foot forward during the period of the tournament, so that our visitors will have a confirmation of the legendary Ghanaian hospitality, culture and tradition.
We should also do well to keep our immediate environs tidy, not only for the duration of the tournament but also after. This way, we will cut down expenses on health care and the need to clean our environment from time to time.
The DAILY GRAPHIC has never been comfortable with the refrain that not much excitement is being generated in the run up to the tournament. This is because it is the collective responsibility of all to generate that excitement in our individual and collective ways.
We recall that in the run up to the climax of the Ghana @ 50 celebrations on March 6, 2007, the same complaints were made about the lack of excitement, but we all witnessed the overwhelming euphoria which the D-day itself came up with.
We acknowledge the fact that the Local Organising Committee (LOC) is doing everything to make the tournament a resounding success and so all of us should contribute our quota by way of keeping our environment clean, decorating streets and vehicles in the national colours and generally helping to whip up enthusiasm for the event.
The government has done a lot in rehabilitating two stadia and constructing two new ones for the event. We are proud to say that the provision of those four facilities has put Ghana on the threshold of hosting bigger tournaments like the All-Africa Games, the Commonwealth Games and even the World Cup. All we need to do is maintain them and add to them.
In the meantime, we should remember that whether we win the cup or not, we have already ‘won’ by hosting the 26th Africa Cup of Nations (Ghana 2008).

POLICE MUST HEED THIS DIRECTIVE

THE clarification by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Joe Ghartey, that there is no law in Ghana which prevents women from standing as sureties in the execution of bail bonds must be one of the positive gender-sensitive declarations made by a government official.
As is obvious to everybody, suspected criminals have gone through harrowing experiences at the hands of certain policemen and even women, especially in the villages, because of this discrimination against women who, because of their connection with alleged suspects, go to the police stations to bail the suspects.
While it is difficult to fathom the genesis of this discriminatory practice, it may not be too far-fetched to trace it to our traditional and cultural practices and beliefs.
For a long time our women were considered subservient to men and not resourceful enough to stand surety, particularly when such bail bonds must be justified, which means those sureties must have money or landed property as guarantee. Women were considered not to have both money and landed property, hence the unilateral decision by some policemen to deny them the opportunity to stand surety for suspects.
It is also refreshing for the Attorney-General to set the records straight that “it is illegal for people to be made to pay for bail”, adding that bails are for free and it is, therefore, illegal for any police officer or court official to ask for payment before bail bonds are executed.
Equality before the law is one of the cardinal benchmarks of the rule of law. Indeed, Article 17, (1) of the Constitution says, “All persons shall be equal before the law,” while Article 17 (2), says, “A person shall not be discriminated against on grounds of gender, race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, creed or social or economic status.”
The DAILY GRAPHIC is of the firm belief that when it comes to issues of people’s legal rights and liabilities, they should be resolved by recourse to the law, not by the capricious exercise of discretion. Also, the laws of the land should apply equally to all.
It is particularly painful that, in the light of the Attorney-General’s declaration, many people have had their fundamental human rights abused by some ignorant and over-zealous policemen and court officials on account of these policemen and officials misrepresenting the laws of the land. To that extent, they overstepped their bounds and exercised the powers conferred on them in an unreasonable manner.
In the opinion of the DAILY GRAPHIC, such powers have been exercised in bad faith all these years and the policemen and court officials who did that exceeded their limits.
While commending the Attorney-General for coming out to clarify a situation which has been allowed to stand for so long, even though there is no legal basis for it, we call on him to go beyond the mere declaration and walk the talk by collaborating with his counterpart at the Ministry of the Interior to issue explicit directives to policemen and women throughout the country to respect the fundamental human rights of all persons, including suspected criminals.
While we are at it, we would also like to appeal to the Attorney-General and the Inspector-General of Police to make sure that policemen and women actually explain the offences suspects are supposed to have committed to them (suspects) in the languages they understand. For us, this is one particular grey area in our criminal justice system which must be addressed, so that suspects become aware of the charges levelled or brought against them.
We also appeal to the Chief Justice to continue with the fight to weed out corrupt officials from the courts in order to make the judiciary the bulwark against abuse of the law.

LET'S TREAD CAUTIOUSLY

THE West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has phased out the manual registration of candidates for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
Indeed, the candidates for this year’s BECE, to be written in April, were all registered via the electronic system throughout the country.
The Head of the National Examination Administration Department of WAEC, Mr Kweku Nyamekye-Aidoo, explaining the process of computer registration, which he also described as “batch registration”, indicated its advantages over the manual system of registration.
While the DAILY GRAPHIC welcomes this new development in the administration of examinations at the basic education level, it is of the opinion that WAEC must tread cautiously so that the new system does not create more problems than the system it has come to replace.
We agree with WAEC in trying to solve some of the problems associated with the manual system of registration, especially the errors that were associated with that system. We also welcome the new system inasmuch as it will reduce paper work and make the registration process more efficient.
It is also common knowledge that when the registration was done manually, candidates made errors in the way they shaded the forms, creating a myriad of problems later when selection of candidates for senior high schools came.
It is good that Ghana, as part of the global village which the world has now become, also swims with the current and does things the way they are done elsewhere, so that we do not become Rip Van Winkles.
However, even as we strive to move with the times, we must also take our circumstances into consideration, so that at the end of the day we do not put any sections of our people into disadvantage because they do not have what it takes to be part of the current trend.
In other words, even though the DAILY GRAPHIC appreciates the movement by WAEC towards modernity and technology, that movement must be such that it does not create any undue problem for schools which do not have what it takes to come on board.
There is no denying the fact that many of the schools in the rural areas do not have electricity, so they cannot use computers (that is, even if they have them) to carry out the registration on computer. If the arrangement is that schools without computers (and there should be many of them) should go to nearby senior high schools and district assembly offices to use the computers there, then the question we ask is: Who foots the transportation bills of those schools?
If one considers the endemic poverty in some of our rural communities, parents who are called upon to transport their children elsewhere to be registered would be burdened unnecessarily and we find this unacceptable.
We also entertain the fear that some unscrupulous heads of junior high schools in the rural areas may take advantage of ignorant parents and pupils to dupe them.
That is why the DAILY GRAPHIC would like to counsel WAEC to do the phasing out gradually, just the way the junior secondary school system started in the early 1980s at places like Kinbu, Winneba, Oda, etc.
There should also be a lot of sensitisation along with the phasing out, so that stakeholders at the basic level of education — parents, pupils, school management committees, heads of schools — will gradually imbibe what it takes and be prepared to go along with the process.
We also call on the government to use the introduction of the computer registration exercise as an impetus to speed up the computerisation of all schools, since the need for computers in basic schools now has become imperative. The policy of providing schools with computers and connecting them to the Internet should be hastened, now that the schools need the computers to register their BECE candidates.

MPS HAVE NO ROLE IN DISTRIC ASSEMBLIES

THE 1992 Constitution provides elaborate provision on the devolution of economic and political power to the people at the grass roots level.
Almost four years before the adoption of the Constitution with a broad framework for local government administration, the then Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) increased the number of the administrative districts of the country from 65 to 110 by creating new districts from the existing ones. Today, Ghana has 138 administrative districts.
Then the framers of our Constitution decided to make decentralisation an important element of participatory democracy, which represents a substantial reduction in the authority of the Central Government over the needs of the people at the grass-roots level.
Article 241(3) of the Constitution states that: Subject to this Constitution, a District Assembly shall be the highest political authority in the district and shall have deliberative, legislative and executive powers.
Effective decentralisation and democratic local governance require authority, resources and skills to enable the people to make responsive choices and to act effectively in a transparent and accountable way.
For this to be successful, it is incumbent on the Central Government to recognise the need to improve the capacity of District Assemblies and individual citizens to take responsibilities for their communities by way of local priority setting, assisting in the implementation of such priorities and evaluating them to ensure that they are successful.
We know the Central Government is doing all it can to improve the capacity of the District Assemblies and individuals in various ways.
However, concerns raised at a symposium on “Resourcing District Assemblies for Effective Local Governance”, which was part of the 59th New Year School held in Accra, indicate that all is not well with our decentralisation system or process.
A senior lecturer of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and former Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Kwamena Ahwoi, has proposed the scrapping of the Members of Parliament (MPs) share of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) for a separate fund captured in the annual budget.
He cited the power struggle between District Chief Executives (DCEs) and MPs concerning the DACF and the constitutionality of its disbursement as some of the problems associated with the DACF.
The Chairman of the Local Government Council, Nana Boakye-Danquah, also said parliamentarians were not development agents, hence the development of the districts was not part of their jurisdiction.
Since MPs are legislators and not development agents, it will be in their interest to remain legislators and leave the development of the districts to the District Assemblies.
This way, the persistent conflicts between DCEs and MPs as a result of the struggle for the control over the DACF and by extension the development of the district would cease.
The guidelines regulating the disbursement and especially use of the Common Fund by the Assemblies constitute another sore point.
The guidelines have restricted the District Assemblies in their use of the Common Fund such that they cannot use any part of it to meet the needs of the people once these particular needs fall outside the guidelines.
The Daily Graphic believes this affects effective decentralisation and so some concessions could be made so that the Assemblies, particularly the less endowed ones, could meet some peculiar needs.
The Daily Graphic again believes that the time has come for a review of our decentralisation process to achieve the spirit and letter of the Constitution by way of ensuring total devolution of power and resources to the people through the District Assemblies.
It would be worthwhile if the review considers the need to re-visit the idea of electing DCEs so that they would be accountable to the people rather than the President.
In the meantime, MPs should look at the Constitutional provision on the decentralisation process vis-à-vis their role as legislators and legislate themselves out of the District Assemblies.

GETFUND MUST STAY FOCUSSED

WHILE delivering the keynote address at the opening of the 59th Annual New Year School at the University of Ghana, Legon, yesterday, Professor Emmanuel Adow-Obeng, expressed concern over the financial demands being made on the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund).
He said the fund was under intense pressure from demands which the fund was originally not supposed to support and called for a preservation of its original purpose.
Another concern of Prof. Adow-Obeng was that the GETFund was gradually becoming the only source of funding tertiary education in Ghana, when in reality it was supposed to supplement government funding.
The vice-chancellor couldn’t have been more succinct in his concerns over the gradual diversification of the GETFund from its original objective. It is common knowledge that Members of Parliament (MPs) are allocated some funds from the GETFund to support education (not tertiary) in their constituencies. There is also a proposal to use part of it to support youth employment under the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP).
These demands on the fund were never part of the original objective for the setting it up and, if things continue this way, the fund’s support to its original benefactors will dwindle.
Since the establishment of our universities, successive governments have not given them the needed support to help them to expand. This state of affairs could be partly due to the frequent downturns in our economy over the years.
This has resulted in the deterioration of the original infrastructure in our universities, while facilities are bursting at the seams.
It is this rather pathetic situation of our public universities that the GETFund came to save, even though the fund itself was not initially welcomed by all.
A visit to the campuses of all our public tertiary institutions confirms that the GETFund is really our saviour. There are structures being put up all over the place to enhance teaching and learning in those institutions.
For us, the challenge now is for the government to play a lead role in getting the support of all stakeholders — parents, communities, corporate bodies, and all who are interested in quality manpower — for our tertiary institutions.
Elsewhere, university authorities do not concern themselves with residential facilities on their campuses. Indeed, the statutes of our universities indicate that they are centres of teaching, learning and research.
Those of our compatriots who advocate free education, even up to the tertiary level, must re-examine their stance, because it is something the state will find difficult to attain.
The 1992 Constitution says among other things, in Article 38, (3) that: “The state shall, subject to the availability of resources, provide — (a) equal and balanced access to secondary and other appropriate pre-university education, equal access to university or equivalent education, with emphasis on science and technology.”
The DAILY GRAPHIC believes that whatever the present challenges facing the GETFund, it has been able to ease pressure on the university authorities for both residential and academic facilities.
We, therefore, counsel the government, the Administrator of the GETFund and the beneficiaries of the fund to get together and take steps to prevent the deviation of the fund from its original purpose, if really that is the case.

A WICKED DISTORTION

IT is rather unfortunate that a circular making the rounds in the United States alleges that “Children are tied to trees and subjected to inhuman treatment on cocoa farms” in Ghana.
For that reason, two US Senators, Messrs Thomas Harkin and Eliot Engel, are to visit the country to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of the allegations.
This development, in the opinion of the DAILY GRAPHIC, portends ill for the country and its cocoa industry, on which depends the sustenance of the economy.
Apart from the allegation denting the reputation of the country, the sale of its cocoa on the international market is also bound to be affected.
The situation calls for urgent and immediate steps to be taken to correct the negative impression created by outsiders that, to a large extent, the cocoa industry in the country is fuelled by child labour.
The DAILY GRAPHIC feels that this impression is far from the truth, and that is why we agree with the Communications Officer of the National Programme for the Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour in Cocoa (NPCLC), Ms Patience Dapaah, when she categorically denied the existence of child slavery in the cocoa-growing areas of the country.
We also agree with the Chief Director of the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment, Mr Emmanuel A. Akuffo, when he called on researchers on the issue of child labour in the country’s cocoa industry to let their research findings reflect the true situation on the ground.
The DAILY GRAPHIC strongly believes that any such research, whether by Ghanaians or foreigners, must take the social, cultural and historical milieu into consideration because what outsiders consider as “child labour” is different from what Ghanaians perceive as a child preparing himself or herself for the future.
In the social and cultural context, cocoa farms are family property passed on from father to son, mother to daughter or uncle to nephew. In that wise, family labour is one of the means by which the cocoa farms are maintained, since the family income is not big enough to hire labourers.
We find it difficult to comprehend the allegation that “children are tied to trees”, since the greater number of children who work on cocoa farms live with their parents.
It is common knowledge in Ghana, especially for adults who grew up in cocoa-growing areas, that during weeding and harvesting time, all hands are needed on deck to make the work lighter and to bring in the money that will sustain the family and cater for the very needs of the children — school fees, clothes, health care, etc.
In any case, the children carry out only part-time work on the cocoa farms, since most go to farm only once a week, during holidays and after school hours. This, in no way, can be classified under “the worst forms of child labour” which, under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, comprises, among other issues: “Work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children”.
While the DAILY GRAPHIC is wholeheartedly against the exploitation of children, especially those of school age, it believes that using foreign standards to measure what is purely a practical way of making children appreciate the value of the family heirloom, as it were, is not fair.
We shall be the first to condemn any attempts by cocoa farmers to jeopardise the future of Ghanaian children, but when so much noise is made about a practice which, in our social set up, is meant to prepare children for the future, then we must fight it in no uncertain terms.
Our researchers must tell our story from our own perspective, using our own standards and social context, so that the outside world does not use what is so harmless against us.

LET'S PASS ELECTION 2008 TEST

ON the map, Kenya is thousands of miles away from Ghana, but what is happening there should remind all Ghanaians to continuously guard our fledgling democracy. Events in that country should prompt all of us to be eternally vigilant, including constitutional bodies charged with ensuring transparency in governance.
Kenya, until the violence that erupted there after the elections of last week Thursday, was touted as one of the most stable countries in Africa. While it may not be anybody’s perfect example of a true democracy, it has been stable over the years, demonstrating the people’s willingness to be tolerant of one another’s views.
That stability, in great measure, accounted for the thriving economy of Kenya and the large number of tourists who visited that country annually.
Needless to say, this time round the people of Kenya failed the test, an indication that democratic societies must collectively resolve to maintain peace and stability at all times.
It is in the context of what is happening in Kenya that the admonition by President J. A. Kufuor in his New Year message to all political parties in the country must be taken seriously.
In his message, the President spoke about preparations being made by all the parties towards the December elections and advised that “as the contending parties engage one another in their various campaigns, they must be mindful of the progress made thus far and do nothing to undermine further progress”.
As we all know, Ghana has chalked up many firsts — first to gain independence in sub-Saharan African, first to sign onto the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), etc. Fortunately, too, the four successful elections we have conducted since 1992 have become the benchmarks on the African continent.
What all these mean is that nothing should be done to disturb this enviable record so that we can continue to set the pace in Pan-African unity, progress and development.
As we have noted in a previous editorial, if our politicians avoid insulting language and chicanery in their electioneering, Ghana can avoid the pitfalls that will lead to a Kenya-like situation here.
While Ghana has become a show piece all over the world and is cited as a growing democracy and an emerging economy, there are certain things we must continue to do right in order to attain our goals.
This is why the DAILY GRAPHIC finds it worrying that the people of Bawku decided to welcome the New Year with factional fighting which has so far claimed six lives.
Every Ghanaian, no matter his or her ethnic, religious or political persuasion, looked forward to 2008 with great hope, yet our brothers and sisters in Bawku forced us to enter the New Year on a note of despondency.
The DAILY GRAPHIC only hopes that all Ghanaians will demonstrate good faith this year and resort to the appropriate procedures for resolving conflicts and we urge the factions in the Bawku conflict to do the same.
The examples of failed states in Africa must be a wake-up call for us to keep our nation united and stable in order to attain our cherished goals.
We should also seek God’s guidance in our preparations towards Election 2008, so that the country can come out of it unscathed to continue its development agenda in peace and unity.

NO CAUSE FOR ALARM

ANY moment from now the rest of Africa and, indeed, the football world will be heading for Ghana for the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations.
It will be an opportunity for Ghanaians to host the most prestigious football festival in Africa and put at the pleasure of thousands of visitors what is unique about Ghanaian hospitality and tourism.
But beyond the side shows of tourism and hospitality, there is also the Ghanaian desire to win the ultimate prize at stake.
Among other things, that desire is rooted in the fact that since 1982, the Africa Cup, the symbol of supremacy in continental football, has proved an elusive treasure for Ghana.
Added to that is the notion of “host-to-win”, a slogan couched out of the tournament’s recent trend and Ghana’s own history of hosting and winning in 1963 and 1978.
Over the past few days, however, pieces of disturbing news have come from the international network to the effect that Stephen Appiah, the inspirational captain of the Ghanaian team, the Black Stars, and his colleague midfielder, Laryea Kingston, have been ruled out of the tournament due to injuries.
The local reaction to the injury of the two key players has been that of disappointment.
How else would Ghanaians have reacted to such unfortunate news, since Appiah’s skills and commitment have made him stand out as the soul of the Black Stars, with Laryea as one of the team’s most talented and hardworking members?
Understandably, the local media have also joined in the mass grief over the fate of Kingston and Appiah, but we need to caution against over-exaggerating the blow which the absence of the two could deal to the Stars.
The impression gaining ground now seems to suggest that without the two, the Stars could not aspire to anything and the team doomed even before the tournament kicks off.
Any such suggestion has the potential of weakening team morale and undermining the collective spirit upon which football is founded.
As we regret the absence of the two key players in the squad, the Daily Graphic wishes to look at the more positive side of things and affirm our belief in the ability of the other members of the squad to take up the fight.
The essence of teamwork is to create conditions where in the absence of any player, another would be inspired and encouraged to take up the role and deliver for the collective good.
Let us all have the hope that with determination, the Stars shall triumph. President J. A. Kufuor demonstrated that expectation when he said in his New Year message to the nation on Monday that “the whole nation is looking up to the Stars to be victorious and lift the trophy once again. We count on the privileged players to conduct themselves in the true spirit of sportsmanship and high patriotism”.
It is this spirit we salute the Black Stars and urge them on with the feeling of “we can do it.”

WELCOME, PROMISING 2008

TODAY, humankind has ushered in the New Year, 2008, an event which comes with both high hopes and uncertainty over what the year holds for us.
As should be expected, all and sundry look forward to good things happening all over the world. We also expect that the New Year will mark a drastic reduction in all the troubles in the world — natural disasters, wars, terrorism, famine, pestilence, etc.
For us in Ghana, 2008 is bound to go down as one of the most momentous years in the post-colonial history of the country, probably surpassed only by March 6, 1957, the year in which the country won its independence.
From all indications, 2008 is going to be as exciting as possible and we at the DAILY GRAPHIC call on Ghanaians of all social hue, all religious persuasions and political affiliations to share in the excitement in a positive way.
In less than three weeks, Ghana will host the rest of Africa and the world in the Ghana 2008 soccer fiesta, during which 16 top African soccer nations will vie for the ultimate prize in football on the continent. Apart from the attention that the tournament will bring on the country, we also stand the chance of boosting our tourism, since everybody who comes here for the tournament — supporters, officials, media men and women, players — would want to savour the famed Ghanaian hospitality and culture.
Certainly the hospitality industry stands to be the greatest beneficiary of the good things that will come with the hosting of the Ghana 2008 tournament, but the ripple effect will be felt in other sectors.
In April, there will be the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) meeting in Accra, where Presidents and heads of government of United Nations member countries will determine the future of world trade, development and co-operation.
Obviously, the most significant event of the year 2008 will be the elections in December. We expect the parties to put up one of the most competitive struggles for the leadership of the country.
If the congresses of the various parties to elect their flag bearers for the elections are anything to go by, then the electioneering will not be child’s play.
What we pray for is that our political leaders will raise issues and relegate personal attacks and smear campaigning to the background.
It is the belief of the DAILY GRAPHIC that the Ghanaian electorate are very discerning and so they cannot be taken for granted.
Consequently, any political party which makes insults, dirty tricks and chicanery its stock in trade will find, rather too late, that the electorate will vote against it, meaning it is not fit to lead the country.
We expect good quality leadership for the country, particularly leadership that will look for the solutions to the problems of unemployment, sanitation, the springing up of squatters quarters in our cities and towns and improved living conditions for our people through the payment of better wages and salaries to workers.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is sure of one thing — that it will demand from the parties how they are going to solve those problems, how they are going to raise the money to fund development activities through taxation, how they are going to create jobs, and how they are going to address the dichotomy between rural and urban Ghana.
We shall not accept empty promises; practical and pragmatic policies capable of transforming the macro-economic indices into improved living conditions for the people are what we expect from those who will come and solicit for our votes.
May the new year bring us peace, unity and progress.
A very Happy New Year to you all!