ARIWO !

EU expresses confidence in Ghana’s economy

By: Stephen Odoi-Larbi

The European Union (EU) has expressed the confidence that Ghana will take up her responsibilities, and put in place appropriate policies to cope with her budget deficits, and also ensure that the deficits do not go beyond a certain threshold.

Mr. Koos Richelle, a co-chair of the Working Party on aid effectiveness, currently meeting in Ghana, disclosed this on Friday September 24, in response to a question on his views on reports that the government was running the economy on deficits, at a joint press conference in Accra, prior to his departure.

He said the EU had no indication that Ghana was acting in an irresponsible way, stressing that in the face of world economic downturn, and the difficult times faced by all countries, including those in Europe and Africa, the government of Ghana cannot be blamed for running on a deficit.  “Being a global issue, it is necessary to see how government is reacting to the shocks.”

Mr. Richelle, who is also the Director-General .

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Opinion: Ghana must ensure oil benefits country

By Stephanie Hanson — Special to GlobalPost

Fishing is an important industry in Ghana and environmentalists worry that the deepwater oil drilling will harm the fishing waters. Here is a bustling fishing port in Sekondi, Ghana. (Stephanie Hanson/GlobalPost)

TAKORADI, Ghana — A digital sign in the lobby of Tullow Oil’s office here reads 61 days — a countdown to the country's first first oil.

In November, Ghana will begin producing from its estimated 1.6 billion barrels of oil reserves.

As oil workers prepare pipes for deepwater installation at the port of Takoradi, and the Ghanaian government passes legislation regulating the oil, Ghanaians are wondering whether the oil will benefit them.

To manage its oil industry responsibly, the Ghanaian government needs to slow down and make sure it has a strong regulatory framework in place. As Ghana comes close to becoming one of Africa's oil producers with the offshore Jubilee Field, what progress has been made to see that the petroleum is a boost to Ghanaians and not a curse? What steps are being taken to protect Ghana's environment?

Many of Ghana’s coastal communities are dependent on fishing. Regardless of any revenue-sharing agreement that is developed by the government, these communities need the ocean to remain clean and safe for their livelihoods.

With the recent Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the world is all too aware of the dangers of deepwater oil extraction. Ghana has made progress on legislation to regulate the petroleum industry and manage oil revenues (though this legislation has not yet been passed by parliament). However, environmental regulation still lags behind, and Ghana's Environmental Protection Agency lacks the technical expertise to adequately monitor the oil and gas sector…

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Scramble for PDP delegates continues

By Clifford Ndujihe
DESPITE the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC’s move to push the 2011 elections to April next year instead of January announced two weeks ago, leading presidential aspirants are upping their campaigns.

They are fighting on all fronts, using all tactics available to get the much-sought advantage and leverage.  They are waging the war in the media, deploying age and ethnic-cum regional sentiments, embarking on mudslinging as well as intense consultations and horse-trading.

Obviously, the presidential contest is panning out as President Goodluck Jonathan versus Northern aspirants affair.
The political atmosphere will be further electrified next week with a fresh flurry of activities, Saturday Vanguard gathered.

Aspirants woo Ndigbo
For a start, some of the aspirants, it was learnt will send emissaries on Monday to Owerri, the Imo State Capital. Their mission: To convince the Igbo to back their aspiration.

It will be recalled that President Goodluck Jonathan, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar sent their representatives to the United States recently to woo the Igbo during the World Igbo Congress, WIC

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Ife Sculpture : Ancient West African Treasures on a Journey round America

AFTER acclaim in Spain and Britain, “Dynasty and Divinity”, the first big exhibition devoted to sculpture from the Kingdom of Ife (in present-day Nigeria), begins an 18-month tour of America in Houston on September 19th. The show, which consists of works in stone, terracotta and metal made between the 9th and 15th centuries, is a revelation and a treat. Art from dramatically different cultures is often hard to connect with, but these sculptures are naturalistic and remarkably accessible. Whether the subject is an animal, a person or a mythical creature, each image is well observed and has tremendous presence.

More than 100 works are on view. All are loans from Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments. Some have left Africa for the first time. Text and photo murals on the walls instruct visitors about the kingdom, an unbroken monarchy for more than 800 years. Today Ife is a city of 600,000 people. Its present ruler or Ooni is Alayeluwa Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse II; now aged 80, he studied in Britain, became a businessman and is enjoyably wealthy…

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Only internal democracy in parties will ensure credible polls, says Shata

Wednesday, 22 September 2010 00:00 Editor Features - Policy & Politics

 

FORMER Minister of Internal Affairs Dr. Mohammed Shata and senatorial aspirant in Taraba State told Charles AkpejI in Jalingo on the platform of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that only internal democracy in parties will guarantee credible elections.

AS former Minister of Internal Affairs, what would you say about ongoing prison reforms?

The current reform is a continuation of what we started in the areas of welfare of the prisoners and manpower training. It is a continuous issue and it is being improved upon from time to time. I understand that there would be injection of funds from outside to assist the ministry of Justice because of criminal justice system operation.

What are you bringing to the politics in Taraba after your years as an in administrator?

I have been in politics since 1979. Although I was a civil servant then, I have been part of political activities. I was in the National Republican Convention (NRC) in 1991 in then Gongola State. In 1991, I was the gubernatorial candidate for NRC in Taraba. I was in think tanks for the presidential ambition of Bamanga Tukur in 1992, Bashir Tofa in 1993.

Why are aspiring for the Taraba North Senate seat?

I want to now use my cumulative experience in legislative matters for the nation. I want to use my influence and network to bring development to Taraba. And I want to combat the unemployment among youths in Taraba. As a minister, I employed many of them; I want to get them employed again.

You left the PDP because of some contradictions at one time. What has made you return?

We left PDP because we were forced to live by the garrison approach to PDP activities then. Our names were removed from the register. We were de-registered by the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo that time. We were selected all over the nation and de-registered. Now that there is this Dr. Alex Ekwueme’s report, where they are appealed to us to return.  We feel that it is good for us to come back to the house we built. That was why we returned

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Ghana : Celebrates 101st birthday of Nkrumah

Accra, Ghana (PANA) Ghana on Tuesday celebrated the 101st birthday of the country's founding president, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, with a call on the citizens to work towards the realization of what he fought for but could not achieve in his life t ime.
Vice President, John Dramani Mahama President noted the relevance of Dr Nkrumaha’s ideas and said the validity of his vision for Ghana and Africa had gained more and more recognition and legitimacy as the years go by.
He urged Ghanaians to emulate his life and vision saying: “For most of us the celebration of the birth of Dr Kwame Nkrumah raises questions of patriotism, vision and loyalty to one’s country ideals and humanity on one hand and conspiracy and betrayal of one’s compatriot on the other'”
Dr Nkrumah, a fiery leftist who was close to the then socialist Soviet Union and its allies and constantly lashed out at the west as imperialist was ousted in a military coup instigated by the US Central Intelligence Agency on 24 February, 1966.
Nkrumah noted as a pan-Africanist died in exile in Romania in 1972. His body was later brought home for burial.
His birthday was declared the founder's day in Ghana last year and is observed as a public holiday. The centenary of his birthday was celebrated last year.

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Northern elders warn against fielding Jonathan, insist on Northern President

News Sep 18, 2010

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AS Saraki picks presidential form, declares on Monday
By Uduma Kalu
Some elders within the People Democratic Party, (PDP) have warned that fielding President Goodluck Jonathan as the party’s presidential candidate may affect the peace and unity of the country. It will also destroy the ruling party.

More so, the Kwara state governor, Dr.  Bukola Saraki, has picked the PDP presidential form for the 2011 election.

Saturday Vanguard gathered that he will declare on Monday.. This makes the number so far to four with Jonathan, IBB, Atiku leading the pack. The form costs N10m

The People Democratic Party, (PDP) elders, warning contained in a petition to the PDP Chairman, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo and his members of the National Working Committee (NWC) was signed by  a group calling itself Concerned Members.

It is signed by Adamu Ciroma, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, Alhaji Lawal Kaita, Madakin Fika, Alhaji Bello Kirfi, Amb. Yahaya Kwande, Bashir Yusuf Ibrahim, Wazirin Bauchi.

Entitled  RE: REQUEST FOR DECLARATION TO RESERVE THE PDP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION FOR NORTHERN ASPIRANTS AND TO RESTRAIN PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN FROM PARTICIPATING IN THE 2010 PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY AS AN ASPIRANT, the group noted that Article7, section 7.2(c) of the party’s constitution prescribed the policy of rotation and zoning of public elective offices, enforced by the executive committee at all levels.

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African Green Revolution Forum Concludes With 'Green Revolution' Action Plan

Main Category: Water - Air Quality / Agriculture
Article Date: 14 Sep 2010

Participants at the first meeting of the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) - which wrapped up recently in Accra, Ghana - drew up a "Green Revolution" action plan aimed at ensuring food security in Africa, SciDev.Net reports. The forum is the result of a challenge, issued by former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, which calls on the private and public sectors to work together to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

"This is the first time we have laid out a very clear action plan on what needs to accelerate the pace of the Green Revolution in terms of technologies, policies, finance and infrastructure investments," said AGRF Executive Co-Producer Akin Adesina, who is also vice president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), according to the website. "You cannot have a [green] revolution if you don't have a larger constituency supporting the move. What we were able to achieve in Accra was to have a huge group of stakeholders saying yes, Africa can and should end its food crisis," he said.

In-country workshops that will review commitments with relevant partners have already been planned, Adesina said. In addition, AGRF has already set up a sub-committee charged with measuring progress. The forum also plans on working with the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) to monitor whether country level projects are contributing to a NEPAD initiative that aims to achieve a six percent growth rate in African agriculture by 2015, the news service writes.

"The good thing about the forum is [it shows] Africa is beginning to drive its own agenda," said Yvonne Pinto, director of the Agriculture Learning and Impact Network at the Institute of Development Studies. But she said that "[m]onitoring and evaluation and open publication of this data will be key - the main challenge here is turning the rhetoric into reality" (Antony, 9/10…

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A Beninois Priest Seeks New Respect, and New Practitioners, for Voodoo

Dah Aligbonon Akpochihala, a voodoo priest, outside the entrance of his temple in Cotonou.

By ADAM NOSSITER

COTONOU, Benin — This is not about secretive mutterings in the dead of night or freakish eccentrics, explained Dah Aligbonon Akpochihala, an eminent voodoo priest who has taken to the airwaves to preach the old messages of faith, fidelity and obedience integral to his religion. It is about bringing a younger generation on board.

Despite the stigma, voodoo has a wide following in Benin.

“Voodoo is sabotaged, demonized, as if there was nothing good in it,” Mr. Aligbonon said in his austere office — a bare, whitewashed room, with a cracked linoleum floor and disused fan.

A slight, mild-mannered aristocrat in a blue robe, Mr. Aligbonon maintains his modest cinder-block temple on a busy commercial street in this bustling commercial capital, one of the continent’s major ports. The temple sits between a beauty parlor and a hardware stall, and offers spiritual consultation and ceremonies to Mami Wata (a water divinity) — along with photocopying, binding services and CDs in the Fon language of Mr. Aligbonon’s broadcasts. Chickens peck in the courtyard — they have multiple uses, food and sacrifice — laundry hangs on the rack and a baby bawls from within…

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Histoire Africaine

#1. La Civilisation Nok

#2. Ilé Ifè

Copyright, Blaise APLOGAN, 2010,© Bienvenu sur Babilown

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