THE THOUGHTS ROOM

Many people would agree that when it comes to sensitive body parts like the hips, you either have them or you don't. However, there seems to be a middle ground as people have now resorted to buying padded panties in an attempt to have what some people would describe a “coca cola” body shape. The phenomenon is gradually gaining roots in Ghana and it has become a big business for many. Urban women are now flocking beauty shops and markets, to purchase what you can only call fabulous fakes or simply put artificial hips. e.tv Ghana’s Beatrice Baiden reports that users of these padded panties have absolutely no apologies to buy them. (Play video to get full details of the story) So, the choice is left in your hands to decide; which would you prefer, a God-given natural hips and buttocks or a padded hip and buttocks? etvghana.com

The International Monitory Fund (IMF) has expressed concerns about the economic challenges in Ghana raising the red flag, especially over rising oil imports without corresponding increases in fuel prices domestically. An IMF mission is currently on a working visit to Ghana meeting all the top managers of Ghana’s economy including the Finance Minister, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana and President J.E.A Mills. The IMF Mission led by Christina Daseking expressed concerns about the high cost of living and continuous depreciation of the Ghana Cedi against the US dollar. The IMF is now asking government to be swift in arresting the situation. “Price of oil import is risen a lot and the domestic price, however, has not been adjusted,” Daseking pointed out at a meeting with President Mills on Tuesday. “This is now creating cost of about GhC60 million every month.” She added: “ Certainly, we want more people to support social programmes. The cost of living has increased b...

Mrs Doreen Owusu-Fianko, Managing Director of  Ghana Airport Company Limited Senior Meteorologist at the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMA), Muller Tsatsu Siameh has accused the Ghana Airport Company (GAC) for sitting on their allowances due them. According to him, staff of the GMA at the Kotoka International Airport are being faced with a myriad of challenges such as accommodation, lack of equipment needed to monitor the weather, transportation among others due to the refusal of the GAC to pay them their monies. He said, if the GAC fails to address the problem, staff of the GMA would have no option than to advise themselves and sit back. Mr Siameh who was speaking on e.tv Ghana’s morning show, Awake, said the work of meteorologists at the airport complimented the work of the airport authority since they are able to predict and advise on certain weather conditions which might affect flights at a particular point in time. He said their work mandated them to wor...

Member of Parliament (MP) for Akim Abuakwa South , Samuel Atta Akyea has called for a legislature that will prevent individuals, including public office holders from buying state property. According to him, a legislative instrument banning the National Lands Commission from offering state lands for sale to the public is the only way of preventing matters such as the law suit against NPP Chairman, Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, from reoccurring. The NPP Chairman was sued by Deputy Information Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and Deputy Sports Minister, Dr Omane Boamah  for allegedly attempting to buy a government bungalow he occupied as a Minister of Tourism. However, by a 6-3 majority decision, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled in favour of the accused, arguing that the plaintiffs failed to prove the conflict of interest allegation it leveled against Jake Obetsebi Lamptey. Speaking on e.tv Ghana’s morning show, Awake, Lawyer Atta Akyea said, “Let’s have a policy. If ...

“I will not imprison myself in an ideology that is not working and a party that cannot perform. I will rather support a right wing party which can address the basic needs of this country,” these were the words of Sekou Nkrumah, son of Ghana’s first president, when he took the seat in the studios of e.tv Ghana. Sekou Nkrumah who honoured an invitation to explain further his decision to exit the ruling NDC and join opposition NPP explained to Awake host, Rashida Nasamu and the viewing public that the leadership of the  NDC which is now in government is not performing the way it should. Sekou, who is known to support the left wing of the Ghanaian politics front joined the NDC sometime in 2008 but broke away because he claimed his continuous stay in the NDC was hampering his progress of the CPP of which his sister is Chairperson. Another reason he gave for his resignation in the NDC was that his role in the NDC had become somewhat insignificant. Contrary to what pe...

The saying goes that you can choose your friends but you cannot choose your family. In Ghana, the family is not only the basis of Ghanaian social organizations, but is also the main source of social security in old age (emotionally and financially) and the primary or sole caretaker for the young. The Ghanaian family which mostly constitutes relatives from both maternal and paternal lineage is mostly the back bone for social security in the Ghanaian society. However, modern civilization that followed colonialism seems to have affected very greatly, the role and function of the traditional family system, the extended family, leading to the introduction of the nuclear family system; constituting mainly the mother, father and children. Pressure to make ends meet and loaded work schedules are also affecting the Ghanaian family system. Developing trends now show that the traditional family's role and function is being undermined or has completely lost its gr...

Ex-President Jerry John Rawlings yesterday drew the battle lines with the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC). The former president who has for some time now had a strained relationship with some members of the ruling government, called them traitors when he was delivering a speech at the 30th anniversary of the 31st December Women's Movement in Accra. According to him, the NDC has lost its enviable sense of political morality and moral high-ground. "This is why some are justified in saying that those in office are not genuinely minded, NDC spirited, NDC-hearted people and want to destroy the party in favour of something else. And so long as they hold onto power and with some of our supporters persistently refusing to see the truth and what should have been done, then it becomes difficult to take back our party," he noted. Below is the full statement. ADDRESS BY H.E. JERRY JOHN RAWLINGS AT THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY CEREMONY OF THE 31ST ...

Ghana’s education system is being threatened by a myriad of challenges such as the lack of trained and qualified teachers, lack of learning and teaching materials, lack of infrastructure, among other things. The result of the poor quality of education in the country is evident at the basic level, where on the average about 60 per cent of students who sit for the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) fail to gain entry into the Senior High Schools. Another issue which is affecting the education system is the lack of trained teachers, a problem, according to certain civil society organizations, is also very evident at the basic level. According to them, 74 per cent of teachers in kindergartens are untrained while 38 per cent and 22 per cent of teachers in the primary schools and junior high schools respectively are not trained to teach in these institutions. For these reasons and more, civil society groups in Ghana have drafted a twenty-two page...

Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative, Mr Vitus Azeem, has backed the call for an independent commission to combat corruption in Ghana. According to him, without political will, the fight against corruption would be futile, adding that; “past governments and parliaments have deliberately refused to pass regulations to ensure that some laws are effective in the country.” Mr Azeem made his sentiments known when he took a seat in the studios of e.tv Ghana during one of its morning shows, Awake. He said there was there was the need for such a body to be given a prosecutable mandate to tackle corruption in the country. The call for an independent body to tackle corruption in the country was made by former Commissioner of the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Justice Emile Short. According to the former CHRAJ boss, although there exists an anti-corruption department at the Commission, the lack of man power and resources ...

Pollster and Managing Editor of the Daily Dispatch Newspaper says the 2008 voters’ registration figures were really bloated. According to Mr Ben Ephson, figures tallied from the just ended biometric voters’ registration is an indication that there was something wrong with the figures from last four years’ registration. He said on an average about 300,000 people add on to the voters’ register. However, in this case a million plus have been added on. Speaking during a phone interview on e.tv Ghana’s morning show, Awake, Mr Ephson noted that, “if four years back we had almost 12.5 million voters registering, a million plus should take us to almost 13.7 million. So clearly it tells you the figures were blotted in 2008. “Also, provisional results from the Ghana Statistical Services indicated that Ghana was about 25 million as at 2010 meaning that half the population are above 18 years so we should be getting about 12.5 million voters. So the 13 million is even beyond wh...

The remains of the Dodi Princess The Volta River Authority (VRA) says it will take about six months to replace the burnt MV Dodi Princess. The 21-year old vessel was destroyed in a fire outbreak last Friday as it was being pr epa red for recreational service. Addressing the media after touring the site of the fire outbreak, the CEO of the VRA, Mr. Kwaku Awotwi noted that in the meantime alternative vessels will be procured to service tourists in the next two months. Government has also pledged its commitment in assisting operators of the vessel to replace it as soon as possible. The Ghana Tourist Authority also says it will assist the Volta River Authority to replace the MV Dodi Princess quickly. The Authority says getting a replacement or securing alternatives will be vital for the tourism sector in the coming months.   The Dodi Princess which was specially designed for outdoor entertainment, while cruising on the lake and touring the surrounding islan...