Seth J. Bokpe's Ghana Newsreel

The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has described the 2012 Budget as a development-oriented budget that will help address the country’s infrastructural deficit if implemented to the letter. “The theme for the budget is appropriate. We all know that Ghana suffers a large infrastructural deficit; talk about roads, railways, water and energy supply systems, health, education and agricultural facilities. Therefore, if the budget focuses on infrastructure, it is in the right direction,” it said. A Senior Economist at the IEA, Dr John Kwabena Kwakye, made the observation at a budget review organised by the institute to state its views on the budget and also make its recommendations towards its implementation. The 2012 Budget is designed to address infrastructural deficit in order to sustain growth, create more employment opportunities and improve incomes and the standard of living of the populace and thereby reduce poverty. The IEA, however, cautioned the government against exce...

The Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) has maintained its dominance of the media landscape by sweeping eight awards announced by the Ghana Journalists Association Monday. While the Daily Graphic was nominated for an institutional award, seven journalists within the fold of the GCGL were also selected for the awards ceremony slated for September 9, 2011 at the Banquet Hall of the State House in Accra. The nominees from the GCGL are as follows: Lucy Adoma Yeboah/Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho for a joint award, Kofi Yeboah, Charles Benoni Okine, Naa Lamiley Bentil, William Asiedu ( The Mirror ) and Vicky Wereko-Andoh, a columnist of the Daily Graphic. Another award won by journalists of the GCGL was labelled as Team Graphic because the article was written by five journalists. They are Kofi Yeboah, Emmanuel Bonney, Victor Kwawukume, Vincent Amenueveve and Nana Konadu Agyeman. Other award winners from the various media houses include: last year’s Journalist of the Year...

The Supreme Court yesterday overruled a preliminary objection raised by Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey that it had no mandate to hear a case brought before it by Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and Dr Omane Boamah in respect of his right to purchase a government bungalow. The nine-member court, in a unanimous decision, argued that although the case passed for a land case, which falls within the domain of the High Court, the plaintiffs were not laying claim to the property in question but rather seeking an interpretation of several provisions of the Constitution regarding the ownership of state property, including Articles 20 (5) and 20 (6) of the 1992 Constitution. Presided over by Mr Justice William Atuguba, the court agreed that it had jurisdiction by law and precedents to hear the case which bordered both on constitutionality and public interest. Other members of the court were Ms Justice Sophia Akuffo, Mr Justice S. A. Brobbey, Mrs Justice Sophia Adinyira, Mrs Justice Rose Ow...

GLO Mobuile Ghana Limited has so far invested $600 million in infrastructure and technical support services to enhance quality mobile service delivery in Ghana and says it is technically ready to launch its operations in Ghana.   However, anxious Ghanaians waiting to have a feel of the much-talked-about Glo network will now have to wait   as Globacom Ghana Limited has rescheduled its launch in Ghana. The company announced today as its launching date but has called it off. The postponement, according to the company, was as a result of logistics constraints beyond its control. Speaking to the media in Accra Wednesday, Mr Bode Opeseitan, the Director of Events and Special Promotions of Globacom, stated that the delay was not deliberate. “Ghanaians have been waiting for us and we are doing a great job, it is not a joke to build one thousand six hundred base stations because we don’t intend to be a regional network but a national telecom operator from day one.” He, ...

  Authorities of private universities in the country have called on the government to include their institutions in the allocations of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) in order to increase access to university education in the country. “We are part owners of the Fund and it is only fair that it is opened to us to expand infrastructure and improve access to university education to the youth.” The Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Private University of Ghana (CHPUG), Prof. James Hawkins Ephraim, made the call at the fourth congregation of the Wisconsin International University College, Ghana at Agbogba in Accra. Prof. Ephraim noted that the contribution of private universities to the development of the country could not be underrated hence the need to support them to lubricate the development of human resource in the country and ultimately, the country’s growth. In all, 804 students were awarded with first degrees in programmes including Computer Sc...

The life expectancy of Ghanaians, an indicator of how long a person can expect to live on the average, given the prevailing mortality rate, has appreciated by 11 years from 53.1 years in 1980 to 64.2 years in 2011. According to the latest United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Report (Human Development Index (HDI) launched in Accra, the country has also made giant strides in education, increasing its mean years of schooling, the average number of years people spend in school, from 3.4 years in 1980 to 7.1 years in 2011. According to the UNDP, Ghana was chosen to host the formal launch of the report on behalf of Anglophone Africa because of its achievements and commitment to sustainable development. The document ranked Ghana 135 out of 187 countries assessed globally in a report which is a summary measure for assessing long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development — long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent sta...