THE THOUGHTS ROOM

Accounts emerge of Gaddafi's final moments - Africa - Al Jazeera English

Story: Jasmine Arku & Linden Morris THE Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Mike Hammah, has called on mining companies to give local entrepreneurs the opportunity to take part in the value chain in the private sector. He said although mining companies were not compelled to do so, there was the need for them to show interest and consider proposals submitted by local entrepreneurs. Mr Hammah made the call when the newly appointed Senior Vice-President of AngloGold Ashanti, Ghana, Mr Peter Anderton, paid a courtesy call to him at the ministry. He added that the government was considering a review of the mining policy which would define the responsibilities of mining companies to the communities in order to support their development. He congratulated AngloGold Ashanti on upholding policy guidelines and its responsibilities to the development and maintenance of mining communities. Mr Hammah said the mining sector played an important role in growing the country’s economy, addin...

Story: Jasmine Arku ONE thousand, three hundred and ten youth in the Greater Accra Region have been enrolled onto the Youth in Road Maintenance and Repairs Module of the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP). The module, which has already been launched in the Central, Northern, Ashanti, Volta and Eastern regions, is expected to create jobs for more than 10,000 youth in the areas of repairing and maintaining the country’s roads regularly and clearing bushes and other impediments along the roads. Launching the module in the Greater Accra Region, the Regional Minister, Nii Armah Ashietey, expressed the belief that the programme would go a long way to decrease the “unceasing road accidents and carnage that occur on our roads”. He said while the objective of the programme was to provide the youth with jobs, it would also ensure that they contributed significantly to the socio-economic development of the nation. Mr Ashietey, therefore, entreated the beneficiaries and other interested yo...

Story: Jasmine Arku & Evelyn Akagbo MORE than 90,000 workers in the informal sector have enrolled onto the Informal Sector Fund of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), three years after its introduction. The workers, including footballers, boxers, musicians, hairdressers, seamstresses, farmers and traders, will benefit from the SSNIT Pension Scheme on attaining their retirement ages. The Marketing Officer of the SSNIT Informal Sector Fund, Mr Prince Boakye, made this known to journalists during a float organised by the Ghana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) in Accra yesterday. Organised on the theme, “Join the third-tier pension scheme”, the float formed part of a campaign to get majority of informal economy operators to participate in saving towards their retirement. The participants, who were drawn from the vario

SRUCTURES of the Achimota Primary School are currently in a deplorable condition and pose a threat to the lives of pupils. Pupils of the school have been studying in the temporal wooden structures which were built in 1959. A visit to the school by the Daily Graphic revealed that for the past 52 years, the school had not seen any major rehabilitation work. This reporter visited the school when old students of the school made a presentation to the school’s sick bay. The presentation was made possible through the benevolence of Maxim Cosmetics and the items included disinfectants, liquid soap and paints. All the classrooms are without windows while some of the wood used in the construction work are worn out and at the verge of collapse. Most disheartening is the fact that the classrooms are packed with about 50 pupils being attended to by one teacher, whilst the pupils have no option than to write on broken desks. The Headmaster of the Basic Department, Mr Frank Armah, said he had written...

The Anglican Diocese of Accra has ordained the first three women deacons as priests of the Anglican Church of Ghana. The three are Rev Mrs Stella Bentsi-Enchil, Rev Mrs Alberta Kennies Addo and Rev Ms Susanna C. Naana Ackun. In a sermon, the Archbishop and Primate of the Church of the Province of West Africa and Bishop of Accra, the Most Rev Dr Justice O. Akrofi, reminded the new priests of their call to fulfil the vision of God for mankind. He said they had been called among many and, therefore, they should act as leaders with great respect, humility, patience and love for all. He reminded them of the various gifts which God had endowed them with and urged them to facilitate the different gifts within the church in order to promote its growth. The Most Rev Dr Akrofi also urged them to uphold holiness and make Christ the centre of their lives. "Have concern for modest life within your own priestly vocation. The development of your own spirituality should be paramount if you are to...

SQUATTERS have taken over the Museum of Science and Technology (MST) project in Accra which was abandoned decades ago. The project, estimated to cost GH¢52.10 when it was initiated in 1974, now requires thousands of Ghana cedis to complete. A visit to the project site revealed that squatters had turned the uncompleted building into dwelling places, while hawkers had used some portions as storage places for their goods. It was also observed that some monuments and artefacts also lay on the bare floor of the abandoned building. Other portions had also been left to decay, while window glasses had also broken. Being the brainchild of Alan M. May and Wright, then lecturers at the University of Ghana, Legon, the MST was established in August 1965 to preserve the cultural heritage and the monumental achievements in science and technology of the country. Briefing the Daily Graphic on the project, the Principal Curator of the MST, Mr Agyiri Sackey, attributed the unfinished state of the projec...