Mercury, the silent killer

By Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
It is said to be the only metal that presents itself in liquid form at room temperature. Perhaps its deceptive nature adds to it being one of the most dangerous but silent killers of our time.
In its raw state, it is used by small scale miners to extract gold, making it the worst pollutant in the world after the burning of fossil fuels.
It is also extracted from electronic-waste (e-waste) such as computers. E-waste burnt at dump sites in places such as Agbogbloshie, poses health hazards to humans and also contaminates foodstuffs sold at the market.
The Odaw River passes through Agbogbloshie carrying materials from burning sites into gutters and rivers from which water is collected for the numerous vegetable farms situated in the area while the air is also polluted and inhaled by thousands of people who live and work in the area known as Sodom and Gomorra, a densely populated slum.
Mercury is said to be the cause of more than 50 illnesses and diseases, notable among them being Addison's disease, Alzheimer's, asthma, attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder, autoimmune disease, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, candidiasis, chronic fatigue, colitis, depression, environmental illness, fibromyalgia, gastritis, infertility, insomnia and irritable bowel syndrome.
Others are juvenile arthritis, learning disabilities, lupus erythromatosus, manic depression, multiple chemical sensitivities, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic attacks, Parkinson's disease, pervasive developmental disorder, psychosis, rheumatoid arthritis, schizophrenia, sciatica, sleep disorders and yeast syndrome, among others.
Acute mercury exposure can affect gastrointestinal and respiratory systems. In some cases, mercury poisoning can lead to inflammation of the mouth, loose teeth, ulcerated and bleeding gums. It can also cause certain digestive tract problems such as diarrhoea, inflamed colon and stomach cramps, respiratory problems such as persistent coughing and emphysema and cardiovascular problems such as blood pressure changes, weak pulse and chest pain.

           * People involved in small-scale mining do not protect themselves from chemical pollution
At a national forum in Accra quite recently on the health problems caused by exposure to mercury, the Head of the Public Health Unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr  Philip K. Amoo, disclosed that many of the kidney recorded deaths among people between the ages of 35 and 45, were due to “heavy metal deposition in the kidney leading to kidney failure.
Mercury, according to health experts, is an extremely reactive toxic element, which can cause a number of hazardous effects on ones health. The severity of health effects of mercury poisoning depends upon the duration and dose of exposure, the chemical form of the mercury, route of exposure and the age and health of the person exposed. It can cause severe damage to the central nervous system.
According to the Ghana Health Service (GHSS), mercury is a known toxic substance that is harmful to especially pregnant women, nursing mothers, infants and young children with the most sensitive group being foetuses.
Foetuses exposed to mercury are prone to decreased birth weight and muscle tone, developmental delay, seizure disorders, deafness, blindness and spasticity.
Poisoning from mercury occurs when a person inhales or ingests or the skin or eye come into contact with mercury. Mercury is widely found in water, soil and air in various forms. Methylmercury is an extremely poisonous form of mercury. It is formed when mercury present in the air gets deposited onto land or into water and is seized upon by certain microorganisms.
Mercury poisoning can also be caused by the consumption of fish that has been contaminated with mercury or through direct exposure to some mercury-containing products. This exposure can affect the immune system and other organs, including the heart, lungs, brain and kidneys. It also travels thousands of miles in the atmosphere, settling in oceans and river beds.
According to the Executive Director of Ecological Restorations, Mr Emmanuel Odjam-Akumatey, the devastation caused by widespread mining is easy to spot, as areas where such activities are undertaken present huge swathes of the forest turned to barren desert, but the damage caused by the heavy use of mercury is more difficult  to detect.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a person who consumes two servings of mercury contaminated fish per week is getting seven-and-a-half times the safe limit of mercury into his or her body.
In Ghana thousands of people are involved in small scale mining, and according to Kwame Owusu, who 15 years ago was involved in the mining business in Hyediam, a mining community near Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region, he is still suffering from skin infections and has developed permanent red eyes as a result of the use of mercury to extract gold.
Similarly, tens of thousands of remote mining sites have sprung up mostly in communities where big mining firms are located, such as Obuasi, Tarkwa and Sunyani and the usage tons of mercury each year has ravaged the nervous system of miners and their families.
The use of mercury in gold mining is illegal in many countries because it is toxic to both human health and the environment but small scale miners continue to use the substance as it is the cheapest, quickest and easiest way of extracting this precious mineral whose price continue to soar on the world market.
In gold mines, as much as one to three grams of mercury are lost for every gram of gold produced. But mercury is a slow and silent killer, so miners scoff at health concerns. They breath mercury fumes and handle the toxic liquid for years with no problems.
Human-generated sources of mercury exposure are a major cause of mercury poisoning. Mercury exposure can occur from breathing contaminated air or due to inadequate use or disposal of mercury-containing products, such as computers, batteries, thermometers or fluorescent light bulbs.
Ghana is identified as a dumping ground for e-waste from developed countries  such as used computers, used mobile phones, old fridges and other electronic gadgets which are imported for a cheaper prize or are given as donations to schools and non-governmental organisations.

                 * Fumes from this burning site at Agbogbloshie in Accra end up in nearby water bodies
The Director of the Education Department of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Mr Emmanuel Salu, identifies that apart from e-waste coming from outside the country, e-waste is also generated locally as most Ghanaians have no idea what to do with their obsolete mobile phones, TV sets, sound systems, refrigerators, air conditioners, computers and CFL lamps and therefore dump them at repair shops and refuse dumps.
With the onset of globalisation, there is a sharp increase in e-waste in Ghana from developed countries which, according to Mr Salu, has neither been matched with policy and regulatory mechanisms nor with infrastructure. He disclosed that only 13 per cent of e-waste is recycled with or without safety procedures.
To him, the country is doing very little to control the situation because of the high demand for the use of such gadgets in the cities and rural areas.
Despite the hazards caused by exposure to mercury, local and international civil societies, including Ecological Restoration, are concerned that the importation and buying of mercury is as easy as doing any other business and that the international trade in mercury is largely unregulated.
 According to them, a total of 55 countries across the world where small-scale gold mining is rife, including Ghana, lack the political will or capacity to prevent the toxic metal from falling into the hands of small scale miners who use the substance indiscriminately.
Although mercury has beneficial uses in areas such as dentistry where it is used for repairing cavities, it is diverted and sold to the gold mines instead, where it can fetch prices 10 times higher its original price.
By the 20th century, mining companies had abandoned mercury in favour of chemicals like cyanide. But small-scale miners like it because according to them,  it is easy to use, fast, cheap and leaves the gold cleaner.
In Ghana the importation of the liquid metal is regulated by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and according to concerned civil society organisations, this shows the lack of seriousness attached to the importation and use of such a dangerous substance as it is treated as a commodity and not a dangerous substance which needs to be protected from getting into the wrong hands.

                     * Activities of such miners expose them to the dangers of Mercury pollution
Solutions needed
According to Mr Odjam-Akumatey, the question in Ghana now is how to reconfigure public policy, businesses and infrastructure to ensure better returns from development choices in terms of natural, human and financial capital. This necessitates law and markets working together at national, regional and international levels to coherently align economic, environmental and human health goals.
To Mr Salu there is the need for a national collection point for items like used mobile phone batteries, disused CFC bulbs and TV circuit boards which contain mercury.
In his opinion, there is the need for a national policy on e-waste to deal with importation and dumping of old products into the country and the empowerment of national institutions to tackle the problem as a national priority.
According to him a project dubbed the 'E-waste Africa Project' which was developed as part of the Basel Convention aims at enhancing the capacity of African countries in Ghana, Benin, Egypt, Liberia, Nigeria, Tunisia to tackle e-waste imports from the developed world.
Activities under the project include surveys, development of tools for assessing e-waste management, addressing the sound management, testing and certification of second hand products.
To him, the project has a potential to contribute to poverty alleviation by developing market opportunities for trade and export of recovered materials.
The project will also help artisans improve on recycling of electrical and electronic equipment and assist the Ghana EPA to control transboundary movements of e-waste and prevent illegal traffic of such waste.
As part of the way forward, the EPA, he said, in close collaboration with Vodafone is to set up a system to collect used mobile phone batteries at designation centres in Ghana
This will create the needed education to take mobile phone batteries and spoilt phones from the system for recycling .
 Another project undertaken by the agency is to find best practices for people in the waste sector so as to recover useful materials from the e-waste through proper methods and training.
 Also he suggests the need for proper education so that residents, especially in Accra, do not throw e-waste into water bodies as the Korle Lagoon restoration project in Accra has found that most of the waste found in the lagoon are used computer parts

Christmas with flowers

By Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho

With a few days to the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, Christians the world over are making last minute shopping as they buy gifts for friends and families.
Currently, traders have pitched their tents along the shoulders of the roads, on the pavements and at any available space in an attempt to cash in on the season, which comes along with much shopping.
Items on display are children’s wear, clothing, shoes, ladies’ bags, jewellery, among other consumables, are on display in the commercial hub of the capital.
However, the first florist and horticulturalist in Ghana, Mrs Margaret Nunoo-Mensah, says there is no Christmas without the usual Christmas flowers.
 Christmas is the main Christian celebration event of the birth of Jesus and its celebration spreads happiness. The day of Christmas is an important day on the religious calendar. Christmas is one of six sacred feast days in the Roman Catholic calendar.
The day comes with visiting friends, arrangement of large amount of festive meals, masquerades in the streets, and the exchange of gifts.
To Mrs Nunoo-Mensah of Premier Florist, any occasion would be incomplete without flowers.
Flowers, she says, are integrally woven with Christmas, especially because the birth of Christ is associated with Christmas flowers.
It is on this occasion that the Director of Premier Florist, Ghana's first florist and horticulture shop, Mrs Margaret Nunoo-Mensah, says after a hectic year, it is ideal for loved ones to show their love with flowers.
Superiors can also show appreciation to their employers by sending them flowers.
Premier Florist, established in 1967, has in stock fresh flowers and artificial flowers depending on one's choice.
With an advanced diploma from KEW Botanical Gardens in London, Mrs Nunoo- Mensah says "our 100 per cent satisfaction guarantee is our personal commitment to creating long-term relationships with our customers".
Working together with her daughter, Amanda, who also holds an advanced diploma in floristry, and worked in a lot of florist shops in the United Kingdom, Mrs Nunoo-Mensah says her outfit works with only the best flowers.
Situated at the Danquah Circle, Premier Florist, she says, is committed to serving the general public who call on them with quality service.
In an interview with the florist at her plush floral shop near the Danquah Circle in Osu, Mrs Nunoo-Mensah said her outfit also gave lectures on floral arrangements to ladies clubs such as the Indian Ladies Association.
She says Premier Florist was the first to hold floral shows in Accra and Kumasi where different types of flowers were put on display to the admiration of all.
After training over 600 young ladies over the years who are now on their own, the Director of Premier Florist says the youth can find employment in floral work.
She, however, cautioned that one needed to have an eye for the best, adding that in her outfit, they chose only the freshest, highest quality flowers to satisfy their customers.
As the festive season inches closer, Mrs Nunoo-Mensah said her shop was ready to take up the pressure, saying that working with flowers was her life and she had therefore dedicated herself to serving people with fresh flowers from her floral farms located in Accra and the Central Region.

Governing Council for pharmacists inaugurated

Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE Deputy Minister for Health, Mr Robert Joseph Mettle-Nunoo, has inaugurated a nine-member Governing Council for the Ghana College of Pharmacists, with a call for better regulation of the activities of pharmacists in the country.
The inauguration of the council is in fulfilment of the Specialist Health Training and Plant Medicine Research Act, 2011 (Act 833), which aims at promoting specialist training in pharmacy and related disciplines.
The council is chaired by Mr Kwabena Akurang Ohene Manu, an entrepreneur, with Prof Emeritus Kwame Sarpong, the President of Foundation Fellows; Prof. Theophilus C. Fleischer, the Dean of Faculty of Pharmacy of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi; Prof Anna Lartery, a food scientist; Frederica Salla Illiasu of the Attorney-General’s Department, and Mrs Martha Gyansa Lutterodt, the Director of Pharmaceutical Services at the Ministry of Health, as members.
The rest are Mr Joseph Kodjo Nsiah Nyoagbe, the Registrar of the Pharmacy Council; Mr James Ohemeng Kyei of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana and Dr. Yaw Adu Gyamfi, an industrialist.
Mr Mettle-Nunoo called on the council to work closely with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) to stop the importation of fake and imitation drugs into the country.
He called on the members to also ensure that they helped in ensuring that pharmacists were posted to serve in the urban communities across the country.
He advised the council members to work at ensuring that the college produced only the best whose responsibility would be to improve health outcomes.
The deputy minister called on people to be more circumspect about the drugs they bought and where they bought them, saying that buying cheap drugs would mean buying fake or imitated drugs.
The Executive Secretary of the National Council for Tertiary Education, Prof. Mahama Duwiejua, who chaired the inauguration ceremony, said the College of Pharmacists would help promote specialist training in pharmacy and related disciplines, as well as promote continuous professional development in pharmacy and contribute to the formulation of policies on sound health, medicine and public health in general.
He gave an assurance that the council would ensure the responsible use of medicines to assure the sustainability of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
He called for support for the council from members and the public, saying that the council could achieve a lot with the needed support.

NDP slams Election 2012

Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE National Democratic Party (NDP) has described the just-ended general election as the infamous “419 Election 2012”, saying there were numerous anomalies that characterised the exercise.
“We believe that the Electoral Commission (EC), on hindsight, will be humble enough to accept its problems of mismanagement and go ahead to carry out major reforms,” it said.
At a press conference to state its impressions on the elections, the Chairman of the NDP, Dr Nii Armah Josiah Aryeh, said although the party was not contemplating going to court to contest the results, it was of the belief that the outcome of the elections still hanged in the balance.
He said although it was painful to describe the elections as “daylight robbery and not democracy”, the outcome of the party’s own internal auditing of the results showed an unhealthy pattern in the collation of the figures in several constituencies across the country.
“This year’s elections had serious avoidable flaws, including the problem with the verification machines, the voting process itself, the delays and problems of collation of results in many constituencies across the country,” he added.
According to him, it was the belief of the NDP that in order for the nation to continue on the path of real peace, unity and stability, reports of malpractice must be investigated and the results used to strengthen the democratic dispensation.
Dr Aryeh, who was flanked by the Leader of the NDP, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, and other executives of the party, said, “We support the review of all disputed election results and wish to remind the EC that it is the people of Ghana who cast their vote and their will should prevail.”
Citing instances when NDP parliamentary candidates were ‘short-changed’ during the collation of results, Dr Aryeh said some NDP candidates in the Volta, Western, Eastern and Ashanti regions were given lower figures than they obtained.
He pointed out that the country’s democracy was gradually becoming one for monetary influence and the massive swindling of the conscience of the masses.
He said because of that trend in the country’s democracy, “some governments are impoverishing the people so that during elections the people are given some pittance for their votes”, adding that that had a negative influence on the direction of the country’s democratic growth.
Soon, he said, people would not vote based on the sanctity of the right of choice, conviction, the capacity of the person seeking their mandate or the ability of the individual to perform effectively to uplift them from poverty and undevelopment.
He commended the many gallant candidates of the NDP who, in the midst of influences from other political parties, still held on to their sense of morality.
Dr Aryeh called on the security agencies to work to uphold the core values of their calling, saying, “The nation’s peace and stability depends on their sense of neutrality and we know they have the men and women who can do just that.”

PPP restrategise for election 2016

Story: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE Progressive People’s Party (PPP) has organised a meeting between its parliamentary candidate and the executive of the party to chat the way forward after the 2012 general elections.
The meeting was aimed at having an introspection of how the party performed in the just-ended elections and to find better ways of presenting itself to the populace in future elections.
The National Chairman of the Party, Nii Allotey Brew-Hammond, said the meeting also offered the aspirants the opportunity to interact with the PPP’s Presidential Candidate, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, and also to encourage them to strive for greater heights in their future political persuit.
He said the just-ended elections gave the PPP a chance to present its ideals and agenda for change to the general populace and was therefore hopeful that people would accept it in the nearest future for an effective change in the country.
“To all Ghanaians who want an alternate to the NDC and NPP, PPP offers leadership that is credible and appeals for your support”, he said.
He, therefore, called on the parliamentary candidates to keep alive the goal of putting self-reliant members into parliament in future and also provide the party an opportunity to train future leaders in the acquisition of leadership skills.
He said “as a demonstration of our determination to participate fully in the debate of ideas, we have suggested reforms intended to strengthen our electoral processes to the Electoral Commission for their consideration”.
Among the recommendations made to the EC were to put steps in place for the verification, documentation and auditing of campaign funding.
Regarding voting, it suggested that the Commission move to a fully electronic voting system among others.
The National Women’s Co-ordinator of the PPP, Ms Berlinda Bulley, called for a collective effort from all members and supporters of the party to help move it forward.
A member of the PPP’s Advisory Council, Mr Ladi Nylander, called on Ghanaians to watch the current trend of the country’s political history saying that “absolute power corrupts absolutely”, and that there was the need to discard the notion of winner takes all from the country’s politics.
 None of the 211 PPP parliamentary candidates won any of the seats they contested for.
Adducing reasons, some of the candidates blamed their defeat on other parties using monetary influence to persuade the electorates.
According to one candidate, in one of her campaign rounds she was invited to talk to a church congregation  and after parting with some monies as offertory, she was asked to “do something” for the head pastor so that he would pray for her.
Another candidate said the electorates would first demand what you have for them before they would talk to you.
According to them, the situation had become so because the electorates over the years had been influenced with cash and other gifts so although they would be polite to listen to you, they also want candidates to give them gifts including cash before they vote for them.
One candidate said he was given all the assurances that he needed to hear but on the day of voting, he was disappointed about the outcome.
Candidates spoken to however, said they would not give up as this was the party’s first attempt but they would continue to forge on till the electorates buys into their ideas.

Women groups lobby president-For appointment of more women in next gov’t

Story: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
GENDER activists have petitioned President John Dramani Mahama to ensure that he fulfills the promise of ensuring that 40 per cent of women are appointed in the new government and in other public institutions.
They have also stressed the need for the NDC government to fulfill its Better Ghana Manifesto of having 40 per cent of women in public office by proposing names of women and supporting the President’s efforts.
In a petition to President Mahama and other members of the executive, the gender activists urged the Appointments Committee of Parliament to reject the Executive’s list of nominations for Ministerial, Deputy Ministerial and other public appointments if the list did not contain at least 40 per cent females.
The petition was put together by the Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF Ghana) and Partners of the “We Know Politics” Project, which include the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), The Hunger Project -Ghana and the Gender Studies and the Human Rights Documentation Centre.
The group also urged the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and the Attorney’s General’s Office to expedite the process of drafting an Affirmative Action bill, stressing that “The NDC-led Parliament must pass the Affirmation Law as soon as possible”.
According to the group, the petition was informed by the commitment the NDC and government attached to affirmative action as stated in the 2012 Better Ghana Manifesto, page 26 to attain 40 per cent women’s representation in all public appointments.
It said it had taken note of the improved performance of women in the 2012 Elections where 30 women won, 14 of whom are from the NDC, and was also encouraged by Cabinet’s endorsement of an Affirmative Action Law for 40 per cent women’s representation in public office, as proposed by the Constitution Review Commission.
The group said it had also taken note of the victory speech by the President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, stating that he would consider ethnic, regional and gender balance in the appointment of officials in the government.
It noted that current political appointments did not reflect the commitment Ghana had made at both the national and international levels and would shamefully miss  target three of the Millenium Development Goals of a minimum threshold of 30 per cent representation of women by 2015.
Attached to the petition was the list of 65 potential women who could be considered for appointments in the next government, and they include the names of all the 14 NDC elected MPs; all the current female ministers and deputy ministers as well as outgoing ones in the present government, some active presiding and assemblywomen from various metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies across the country; some regional women organiser’s in the NDC and some gender experts and activists.
Others are NDC female parliamentary aspirants in the just ended elections, former female ministers in the NDC; some female chief executive officers; some female human right activists, former female Council of State Members, a female vice chancellor as well as some female heads of institutions.

International Migration Day: Migrants count

By Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho

Today December 18, marks International Migration Day (IMD). Instituted by the United Nations' (UN), it is to recognise the efforts, contributions and rights of migrants worldwide.
A report by  the Global Commission on International Migration (2005), estimated that the number of international migrants increased from 75 million to about 200 million in the past 30 years and migrants could be found in every part of the world. The report also found that the migration could accelerate due to the growing developmental, demographic and democratic disparities that existed between different world regions. Moreover, migration is driven by powerful economic, social and political forces that governments need to acknowledge as a reality.
On December 4, 2000, the UN General Assembly, taking into account the large and increasing number of migrants in the world, proclaimed December 18 as IMD. A decade earlier on that day, the assembly adopted the international convention on the protection of the rights of all migrant workers and members of their families. Earlier celebrations of the day can be traced as far back as 1997 when some Asian migrant organisations marked December 18 as the day to recognise the rights, protection, and respect for migrants.
Each year, the UN invites governments, organisations and individuals to observe IMD by distributing information on the human rights and migrant’s fundamental freedoms. People are also invited to share their experiences and contribute to designing action plans to ensure their protection. Organisations actively involved in promoting the day include, Amnesty International, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the National Network for Immigrants and Refugee Rights.
For many people across the world, going away from their home town or region can be the best option or even the only to develop their standard of living. Migration can be an immensely contributing factor in improving the income, education and future prospects of children.But its value is somewhat even more: being able to opt where to stay as a key component of human freedom. Nurses, social workers, writers, political refugees, carpenters, construction workers, academics and computer professionals are all part of the around 1 billion people on their heels both within their native countries and abroad.
When people move out of their native country they embark on a journey of uncertainty, hope within or across the international fences. Most people migrate in the look out of better prospects, hoping to add to their own potential with infrastructures and resources in the destination nation. Local societies or regional organisations as a whole are also the beneficiaries both in native places and at destinations nations.
The multicultural background of these individuals and the policies that regulate their movement make human mobility one of the most perplexed issues that the world is facing today. IMD is celebrated with an objective to incorporate the key interest of migrants and their communities on the agenda, and highlight the threats they encounter and enjoy their achievements. The Day is envisioned initially as an opportunity to identify the contributions made by myriads of migrants to the flowing economies of their home and host nations, and to develop respect for their fundamental human rights.
Celebrating the day provides an opportunity to identify the contributions made by thousands of migrants to the progress and prosperity of number of nations around the world; to curb all kinds of violence and abuse faced by the migrants and their family members and advocate respect for their primary human rights; to request governments around the world to refine the UN Convention on Migrant Workers; to make the governments responsible for the fundamental rights of migrants.
According to the IOM, which is the world's largest agency dealing with migration, the evacuation of more than 200,000 migrant workers from Libya in 2011 focused world attention on the plight of tens of thousands of migrant workers, mainly from low-income, developing countries, who found themselves swept up by the political upheaval, without money, jobs, documentation or any means of getting home to their families.
The IOM observed that the marginal status in Libya and obvious vulnerability touched a chord with international donors who stepped in to help agencies including IOM and UNHCR to mount a massive repatriation operation. They included the World Bank, which funded a $10 million IOM airlift of 35,000 migrants to Bangladesh.
The crisis according to the IOM highlighted the fact that conflicts and man-made or natural disasters could impact already vulnerable migrants resulting in humanitarian crises. 
The evacuation of migrants from Libya was a remarkable humanitarian achievement but it was a job half done. While we recognised the reintegration needs of returning Bangladeshi and worked with the government and the World Bank to meet them, we failed to recognise the needs and well-being of other migrants who returned empty-handed to economically depressed and food insecure countries such as Chad and Niger, says IOM Director General, Mr  William Lacy Swing. 
“Crises can result in complex and often unpredictable short and long term population flows. These bring with them a raft of challenges that the international community needs to address comprehensively. They include the protection of vulnerable migrants from crisis-related violence and exploitation in their host country, and in transit, and their safe and sustainable reintegration once they get home,” he notes. 
The IOM’s Migration Crisis Operational Framework, which was officially endorsed by the Organisation’s governing Council on November 27, aims to institutionalise IOM’s capacity to respond to migration crises and to address some of the gaps that currently exist with regard to migration in international humanitarian systems.
It seeks to help states to fulfill their responsibility to assist and protect mobile populations, because migrants are more likely to be subject to hardship, human rights violations and discrimination in crisis situations. “Finding humane and effective solutions to the complex and multi-faceted challenges of crisis-related migration flows requires strong partnerships between international organisations, states and a variety of non-state actors, including NGOs, the media, the private sector, religious groups and transnational diaspora communities,” says Mr Swing.  “We all share a responsibility to protect the human rights of all people on the move,”  he added.
As the world celebrates IMD today, the IOM calls on the international community, and in particular migrant sending and receiving countries, to recognise the implications of crises for migrants and their families left behind and act to mitigate both the short and long term consequences.    

Eliminating child labour is key to development

Story: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE last Ghana Child Labour Survey (GCLS) 2001 conducted by the Statistical Service of Ghana and published in 2003, reveals that 39 per cent of an estimated population of 6.3 million Ghanaian children aged 5-17 years were engaged in economic activities classified as child labour.
According to the survey, 17 per cent of these child labourers (1,031,220) were below 13 years and more than 242,000 of them were engaged in hazardous child labour.
Ghana ratified the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Convention 182 at its 87th session in June 1999 with various interventions undertaken with support from the ILO- International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), by international and local NGOs.
International agencies such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and International Organisation for Migration have also made positive efforts to address the problem.
All these have resulted in the development of policies and legislations and the implementation of actions in identifying, withdrawing and rehabilitating children in various Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL).
However, these efforts have not yet resulted or met the set goals.
It is against this background that the Virginia State University and the Leadership Advocacy for Women’s Advancement (LAWA) in collaboration with the Ledzekuku Krowor Municipal Directorate of Education organised a day’s workshop for over 190 girls education facilitators and guidance and counselling coordinators in the municipality to help curb child labour in the municipality.
The workshop was on the theme: “Excessive child exploitation: Measures to increase school participation in the lives of children living with other families”.
A lecturer from the Virginia State University, Dr Nana Derby, said she was inspired to undertake the project of re-uniting children with their parents as a way of ensuring that they got better care in terms of educational and health needs.
According to her, the project has so far united 320 children in the Central and Eastern regions where their parents are also given start-up capitals to ensure that they become self sufficient.
Another 80 children, she said, were being prepared to be re-united with their parents as part of the project, saying that so far, assemblymen and social welfare officers in districts where the project was on-going have been trained to monitor parents to ensure that they do not give their children out again.
The children, she said, have also been given uniforms and other educational materials and their school fees have been paid in full to ensure that they stay in school.
She was of the view that more needed to be done to help children in such situations as people especially the affluent in society see the issue of housemaids as societal practice which needed not to be broken.
According to her, she was disappointed in some organisations which although are supposed to be humanitarian in nature, see her idea of eliminating child labour in homes as breaking the country’s culture.
The Chairperson of LAWA Ghana, Mrs Sheila Minkah Premo, said the constitutional requirement of ensuring that school aged children were put in school should be enforced in the country so that they can go through formal basic education.
Also she called for the enforcement of the provision in the Children’s Act which enjoins parents to send their children to school.
Mrs Minkah Premo whose address was delivered by Mrs Barbara Ayesu also called on teachers to monitor parents to ensure that they did the right thing by sending their children to school and give them the required environment to study.
She also called on parents to desist from using children in performing hazardous task, saying that although the labour laws allowed children to work at age 15, it prevented them from doing hazardous work.
The Director of Education of the Ledzekuku Krowor Municipal Assembly (LEKMA), Mrs Rosetta Addison Sackey, said child labour was an issue that needed to be eliminated from communities and pointed out that it hindered the progress of the child.
The LEKMA educational directorate has put in place measures that would ensure that child labour was eliminated from the municipality and that children were given the needed education that they required to excel in life.
The Guidance and Counselling Coordinator, LEKMA, Mr Roland Takyi, who spoke to the participants on skills needed to identify children in child labour and how they can help such children, called on them to ensure that they collaborated with relevant government agencies such as the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service and other non-governmental and child rights agencies such as the Ark Foundation and the Child’s Right International to help the children.
According to him, due to some cultural practices, children are used in homes as house helps with the intention that they would be sent to school but such children end up not going to school or being used for chores that does not promote their well-being.
Some children, he said, were abused sexually, physically, emotionally and psychologically which sometimes go undetected.
As counsellors, he called on them to be observant, caring, sensitive to the children that they handled, saying that it was only when they opened-up to the children that they could confine in them.
Mr Takyi however told them to be on the lookout at all times, saying that sometimes, a single indicator such as a cut on a childs finger could not be used as a pointer to abuse.
The Greater Accra Regional Girls Educational Officer, Ms Gertrude Simpi Amuzu, called on the teachers to help in the campaign against the use of children as street hawkers so that they can have time to study their books.
She also called on the teachers to also encourage parents so that they allow the children to study.

30 Women MP aspirants sail through keenly contest

Article: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho

The anxiety and uncertain clouds that surrounded the gains of female aspirants in the polls can now be assuaged as 30 women from all the ten regions have so far successfully sailed through in the just ended keenly contested parliamentary election.
The regional breakdown is Eastern 3, Greater Accra 8, Central Region 4, Ashanti Region 4, Volta Region 4, Brong Ahafo Region 2, Western, Northern, Upper East and Upper West one each.
Subsequently Ghana’s next parliament is set to have more women since the beginning of the Fourth Republic which started in 1992.
Since independence, the 2012 parliament will go down in history as the one with the most women.
In the First Republic, which started from 1960 to February 14, 1966, Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, introduced an affirmative action which saw 10 women being elected into the 104 all-male parliament.
In 1965, a similar affirmative action by Dr Nkrumah sought to increase the number of women to 19 but his reign was truncated mid-way.
The Second Republic started from 1969 to 1972 and there was only one woman in the 140 seat parliament.
The Second Republic was overthrown by I.K. Acheampong who ruled from 1972 to 1979.
In the Third Republic, which was under Dr Hilla Limann from 1979 to December 31, 1981, there were five women in the 140 seat parliament.
The Fourth Republic started from 1992 and there were 16 women in its first Parliament of 200 members while the second parliament of the Fourth Republic with 200 members, started from 1996 with 18 women.
The third parliament of the Fourth Republic (2000-2004) had 19 women in the 200 seat parliament, and the Fourth Parliament of the Fourth Republic (2004-2008) with 230 members has had the highest number of women (25) in Parliament.
The 230 member House constituting the fifth parliament of the fourth republic in 2008 saw the number of women representative dropping to 20 and further dipping to 19 after one member, Mrs. Doris Asibi Seidu, former MP for the Chereponi Constituency died.
Female representative in the 275-member House which will be the sixth parliament will see a further increase to 29 representatives.
A total of 133 women who contested in this year’s parliamentary elections represent a 30 per cent increase in that of 2008 figure of 104 women contesting and it is the highest number of women who have contested parliamentary seats in Ghana’s political history.
Some MPs like NPP’s Catherine Afeku and Samia Yaaba Nkrumah of the CPP all from the Western Region were casualties while some veterans such as Mary Boforo and Gifty Klenam, managed to win their seats.
Out of the 133 women aspirants, Greater Accra region fielded the highest number of 34, followed by Ashanti 26, and Central 15. The rest are western and Eastern 12, Volta 10, Northern 7, Brong Ahafo 6, Upper East 6 and Upper West 5.
The Greater Accra produced the most female representatives of eight from the Ablekuma West Constituency, which was one of the 45 newly created constituencies and was won by Ms Ursula Owusu for the NPP, the Ledzokuku seat which is also new and was won by Mrs Benita Okity-Duah of the NDC, the newly created Weija constituency won by Ms Rosemund Comfort Abrah on the ticket of the NPP, the Dome/Kwabenya seat won by the NPP’s Ms Sarah Adwoa Safo, Ada was won by Ms Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe Ghansah of the NDC, Anyaa Sowutuom was won by Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey who the NPP’s incumbent MP for the area and Ms Irene Naa Torshie Addo retained the Tema West seat for the NPP.
The reason for the Greater Accra’s high number can be attributed to it being the capital, cosmopolitan in nature and also having relatively more educated people.
The Central, Ashanti and Volta regions produced four MPs each. In the Central Region Ms Queenstar Pokua Sawyerr of the NDC won the Agona East seat, Ms Hanna Serwaa Tetteh of the NDC won the Awutu Senya West seat, Ms Racheal Florence Appoh won the Gomoa Central seat for the NDC and Ms Georgina Nkrumah Aboah of the NDC also won the Asikuma Odoben Brakwa seat.
The Ashanti Region had Ms Patricia Appiagyei of the NPP winning the Asokwa seat, Ama Pomaa Andoh won the Juaben seat for the NPP, Ms Elizabeth Agyeman retained the Oforikrom seat for the NPP and the Manso Nkwanta seat was won by Ms Grace Addo of the NPP.
Those who won in the Volta Region are; Mrs Juliana Azumah-Mensah of the NDC who was re-elected but to the newly created Agotime Ziope seat, Hohoe constituency was won by Dr Mrs Bernice Adiku Heloo of the NDC, Ms Helen Ajoa Ntoso won for the NDC to represent the people of Krachi West and the Kpando Constituency was won by the NDC’s Dellah Sowah.
The Brong Ahafo Region is represented by Ms Freda Prempeh, Tano North and Dr. Hanna Louisa Bisiw, Tano South.

Freda Prempeh, new MP

The Eastern Region had three women winning from Abirem represented by the NPPs Esther Obeng Dapaah an incumbent, Ms Abena Osei Asare representing the newly created Atiwa East seat for NPP and incumbent Ms Gifty Klenam of the NPP representing Lower West Akim.
The Western, Northern, Upper East and Upper West had one female each who are incumbent MP for Tarkwa Nsuaem’s Gifty Eugenia Kusi of the NPP, Hajia Laadi Ayii Ayamba of the NDC won the Pusiga seat, Mary Salifu Boforo of the NDC won the Savelugu seat and Ms Sulamana Alijata won the Sisala East seat for the NDC by beaingt the PNC’s Moses Dani Baah who was the incumbent MP, and the NPP’s Sahaku Amidu Chinnia who was her closest contender.
It is expected that the new faces like former DCE of Sissala East, Ms Alijata Sulemana, Ms Hannah Bissiw, Works and Housing Deputy Minister, and Ms Ursula Owusu who have distinguished themselves in their respective careers together with the 'veterans’, would advance the cause of women in the House.

30 Women go to Parliament

Article: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
The number of female representation in Parliament has increased from 19 to 30 in the just-ended parliamentary elections. This constitutes an increase from the current 8.7 per cent in the 230-member Parliament to 10.5 per cent in the yet-to be inaugurated sixth parliament of the Fourth Republic, January 2013.
The two major political parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have increased their female representations in parliament. While the ruling NDC increased its members by nine, the NPP, however, increased by just one.
In the 2008 Parliament, the NDC had five women but today the party is being represented by 14 women in the House, while the number of women in the 2008 Parliament was increased from 14 to 15 after this year’s December 7 elections.
Out of the five old parliamentarians, Mrs Juliana Azuma-Mensah formerly MP for Ho East who has been in the House since January 2005 was re-elected as MP for the newly created Agotime Ziope and Hajia Mary Salifu Boforo, MP for Savelugu who has been in the House since January 1997 also retained the seat for the fourth consecutive time.

Mary Boforo, MP

Hajia Rafatu Halutie Dubie Alhassan, MP Sissala East; Ms Akua Sena Dansua, MP North Dayi and Mrs Elizabeth Amoah-Tetteh, MP Twifo-Atii Morkwaa are not going back to the House as they lost their parties primaries.
The NDC is bringing into the House new faces such as Dr Hanna Louisa Bisiw, Deputy Minister for Water Resources Works and Housing; Ms Queenstar Pokua Sawyerr, Agona East; Ms Rachel Florence Appoh, Gomoa Central; Ms Helen Adjoa Ntoso, Krachi West and Ms Georgina Nkrumah Aboah, Asikuma Odoben Brakwa.
Others are Mrs Benita Sena Okity-Duah, Ledzokuku; Dr Mrs Bernice Adiku Heloo, Hohoe; Ms Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe Ghansah, Ada; Ms Hanna Tetteh one-time MP in the third parliament is coming back as MP for newly created Awutu Senya West and Hajia Laadi Ayii Ayamba, Pusiga.
The rest are Sulamana Alijata, Sissala East and Ms Dellah Sowah, Kpando.
The NPP also lost a number of its ‘old hands’ and will send to the House new faces including Ms Freda Prempeh, Tano North, Ms Ama Pomaa Andoh, Juaben, Ms Patricia Appiagyei, Asokwa; Ms Ursula Owusu, Ablekuma West and Ms Abena Osei Asare, Atiwa East.
Others are Ms Adwoa Safo, Dome/Kwabenya and Ms Rosemond Comfort Abrah, Weija.
The NPPs ‘old hands’ who are going back to the House are Ms Esther Obeng Dapaah who has been in the House since January 2005 as MP for Abirem; Ms Gifty Klenam, MP for Lower West Akim since January 2009; Ms Grace Addo, formerly MP for Amansie West but now MP for the newly created Manso Nkwanta Constituency; Gifty Eugenia Kusi, Tarkwa Nsuaem has been an MP since January 2001; Elizabeth Agyeman, Oforikrom MP since January 2005 and Ms Elizabeth Sackey, Okaikwei North who has been in the House since January 2005, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey is currently the MP for Anyaa Sowutuom but has been in the House as MP for Weija since January 2005 and Ms Irene Naa Torshie Addo, MP Tema West since January 2009.

Gifty Eugenia Kusi, MP

The MPs who are not returning to the House are Mrs Gifty Ohene-Konadu, MP for Asante-Akim South who lost in her party’s primaries, Ms Cecilia Abena Dapaah MP Bantama did not contest, Ms Beatrice Bernice Boateng, MP New Juabeng South also lost in her party’s primaries, Mrs Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, MP for Ayawaso West-Wuogon and Mrs Catherine Abelema Afeku, MP Evalue-Gwira.
The CPPs only MP, Ms Samia Yaba Christiana Nkrumah, MP for Jomoro, also lost her seat after serving for one term.

More women go to parliament- After 2012 elections in Ghana

Story: Salome Donkor & Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho

SOME female sitting MPs have retained their seats, while others have suffered defeats in the parliamentary elections, with some new female MPs elected.
Ghana's 230 seat parliament had only 19 women but after the 2012 general elections, the House which currently has 275 constituency seats has 29 female MPs.
Key among those who have lost their seats are the New Patriotic (NPP) Member of Parliament for Evalue-Gwira, Mrs Cathrine Afeku Abelema, who lost the seat to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Mr Kweku Tamekyi Kessie, who polled 14,096 votes to win the seat. Mrs Afeku had 11,651 votes.
The lone Convention People’s Party (CPP) Member of Parliament for Jomoro, Samia Yaba Nkrumah, lost her seat when Wing Commander Francis Anaman, a retired Officer of the Ghana Airforce, fought to re-capture the seat for the National Democratic Party. He polled 21,651 votes as against 18,110 by the incumbent MP, Madam Samiah Yaaba Nkrumah.

Samia Yaaba Nkrumah-OUT

 The Jomoro seat has been occupied by the National Democratic Party (NDC) since 1992 until Madam Yaaba Nkrumah captured it from the party after beating the NDC candidate, Mr Lee Ocran in 2008.
The people of Jomoro massively voted for Madam Yaaba Nkrumah in 2008. 
Ms Irene Naa Torshie Addo of the NPP retained her seat in the Tema West  Constituency, with 39,950 as against 39,005 votes obtained by the NDC candidate, Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development. Madam Elizabeth K. Tawiah Sackey polled 27,176 votes to retain the Okaikwei North seat by beating the NDC candidate Mr  Abdul Nasiru Abass, who polled 25,255 votes. 
Ms Hannah Tetteh also won the Awutu Senya West seat for the NDC by polling 23,032 as against her closest contender Mr Oppey Abbey of the NPP who polled 18,487. Ms Tetteh was the MP in 2004 but did not contest in 2008.
Ms Gifty Klenam of the NPP also retained her seat in the Lower West Akim constituency by polling 26,663 to beat her closest rival of the NDC who also polled 18,225.
Ms Esther Obeng Dapaah is also going back to parliament on the ticket of the NPP for the Abirem Constituency as she polled 17,347 votes as against her other female contender, Ms Mavis Ama Frimpong of the NDC who polled 14,515.
The Oforikrom seat was retained by the incumbent, Ms Elizabeth Agyeman, on the ticket of the NPP with 68,812 votes to beat Mr Amidu Gariba of the NDC who polled 29,393.
Ms Gifty Eugenia Kusi, a first Deputy Minority Whip, retained the Tarkwa Nsuaem seat for a third term with 37,816 votes in a close contest against another female contender from the NDC, Ms Christina Kobina, who pulled 33,130 votes.
The Minister for Women and Children’s Affairs, Mrs Juliana Azumah-Mensah of the NDC was also reelected as the MP for Agotime Ziope as she polled 14,485 votes to beat the NPP candidate Mr David Yaoga Sunu who had 1,935 votes.

Juliana Azumah-Mensah- RETAINED

Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchway won the newly created Anyaa Sowutuom seat with 51,196 votes while the NDC’s Ms Sedina Tamakloe-Ationu had 29,536.
Hajia Mary Salifu Boforo, one of the long-serving females retained the NDC Savelugu seat by stretching her NPP contender when she polled 18,946 votes against 1,503 of the NPP’s Muhammed Abdul-Samed Gunu.
New entrants include Dr Hanna Louisa Bisiw, Deputy Minister for Water Resources Works and Housing,  who won the Tano South Constituency by polling 19,236 to snatch the seat from the incumbent Andrews Adjei Yeboah of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), who had17,856 votes.
Ms Freda Prempeh of the NPP also won the Tano North constituency, she polled 18,529 as against her closet contender Mr Apraku Lartey of the NDC who polled 14,789.
Madam Ama Pomaa Andoh, Juaben Constituency, also won the seat for the NPP with 22,323 votes by beating Ms Vida Addai of the NDC, who polled 7,064 votes.
Dr Mrs Bernice Heloo, polled 40,486 to win the Hohoe seat.
Former Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive, Ms Patricia Appiagyei won the Asokwa seat for the NPP when she won 64,904 votes against Mr Charles Kojo Obeng of the NDC who polled 12,647 votes.
Gender Activist Ms Ursula Owusu of the NPP polled 36,975 to beat NDC’s Ms Victoria Hammah of the NDC who had 26,153 votes in the Ablekuma West Constituency.
Former Deputy Minister for Health in the NPP government could not recapture her seat after she lost it in 2008, as the NDC’s Ms Benita Sena Okity-Duah, a former Miss Ghana, won with 52,554 votes with Dr Ashitey polling 42,038 votes.
The Atiwa East seat was won by Ms Abena Osei Asare of the NPP with 16,409 votes as against Mr Asante Foster of the NDC who had 6,480 votes.
Ms Queenstar Pokua Sawyerr won the Agona East seat for NDC by polling 22,654 as against the NPP’s John Agyabeng who polled 18,002.
The Gomoa Central seat was also won by a new entrant, Ms Rachel Florence Appoh of the NDC who polled 15,719 votes as against the NPP’s Dr Edward Nana Ketu Cudjoe who had 11,385.
The Krachi West also has a new NDC MP, Ms Helen Adjoa Ntoso, who won the seat with 14,049 votes as against the NPP’s  Douglas Osei-Nti who had 8,769 votes.
Ms Adwoa Safo won the Dome/Kwabenya seat for NPP by polling 63,373 as against her female counterpart, Ms Sophia Karen Ackuaku of the NDC who polled 35,366 votes.
Ms Georgina Nkrumah Aboah won the Asikuma Odoben Brakwa seat for the NDC by polling 23,705 votes against the NPP candidate who polled only 2,187.
Hajia Laadi Ayii Ayamba won the Pusiga seat for the NDC by polling 15,174 votes against the NPP’s Mohammed Imoro Asoko who had 7,749 votes.

Hajia Laadi Ayii Ayamba-NEW

Who's our next first lady?

Article: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
WHO becomes the next first lady of Ghana will depend on which of the eight presidential candidates contesting for tomorrow’s election wins the race.
On the ballot which will be cast by about 14 million voters are President John Dramani Mahama, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Dr Abu Sakara Foster, Mr Hassan Ayariga, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, Mr Jacob Osei-Yeboah, Mr Akwasi Addai Odike and Dr Henry Lartey.
At the end of voting, the potential first ladies will wait patiently for the outcome to determine whether Mrs Lordina Mahama would continue as the first lady or another person will take over from her.
Ghana’s democratic process which started in 1992 has seen first ladies in the likes of Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, Mrs Theresa Kufuor and Mrs Enerstina Naadu Mills who were the wives of Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, John Agyekum Kuffour and the Late John Evans Atta Mills respectively.
Nana Konadu was the first lady from 1992 to 2000 and during her reign the nation witnessed a vibrant 31st December Womens’ Movement which empowered women across the country to be self-reliant economically and socially.
Mrs Kufuor’s reign saw the establishment of the Mother and Child Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) which sought for assistance, especially in the form of medical and educational materials, to support mothers and their children.
Mrs Mills, whose reign was truncated with less than a year to its end due to the death of her husband, sourced for and made donations to especially children in need to help better their lives.
Mrs Lordina Mahama, wife of President Mahama, became the first lady on July 24, 2012 following the elevation of her husband, then Vice-President, to the position of President.
The fate of her husband in the elections would determine whether Lordina will become a full term first lady or go down in history as the first lady to have served for less than six months.
A member of the John Mahama Campaign 2012 team, the Lordina Mahama Fun Club, Youth For Mahama (YFM), among others, she works at galvanising support for her husband.
Her organisation, the Alternative Source of Income Programme (ASOIP), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), is committed to helping underprivileged children and women in the under-developed areas of Ghana.
She grew up in Tamale in the Northern Region and was born to Madam Abena Gyan and Mr Kwabena Effah, both deceased.
Her father hailed from Nkoranza Bodom while her mother was from Jema-Ampoma, both in the Brong Ahafo Region.
After an early primary education in Tamale, Lordina was admitted to the Bolga Girls Secondary School but after the second year, she moved to the Ghana Secondary School where she wrote her General Certificate Examination (GCE).
During her secondary school days, she took keen interest in Home Science and that led her to continue her training at the Flair Catering Training Centre in Accra.
She obtained a Bachelor (Hospitality Industry) degree at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) in 2008.
Mrs Sandra Addai, the wife of the United Front Party (UFP) presidential candidate, 44, married Mr Addai in 1984. She hails from Nkronza and lives in Kumasi with the UFP presidential candidate. They are blessed with four children.
A businesswoman, she is looking forward to being the First Lady on January 7, 2013.
The wife of Nana Akufo-Addo is Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo.
Mrs Akufo-Addo hails from Osu and Akuse in the Greater Accra Region.
She is the second daughter of the late Jacob Hackenburg Griffiths-Randolph, the Speaker of Parliament of the Third Republic of Ghana, and Mrs Frances Griffiths-Randolph.
She began her career as a pioneering staff of the Merchant Bank, Ghana. She later went to the United Kingdom to work as a legal secretary for two top law firms, Clifford Chance and Ashurst Morris Crisp.
She is a board member of the Infanta Malaria Prevention Foundation, a charity organisation dedicated to the support of children, with particular focus on fighting childhood killer disease, malaria.
From 2008, Mrs Akufo-Addo has not left the campaign trail, rallying for her husband.
Her role in the 2012 campaign has been extraordinary as she crisscrosses the length and breadth of the country talking to several women, organisations and groups.
She has been a regular guest at almost all major markets in the country where she explains her husband’s vision and dreams for Ghana.
Mrs Yvonne Nduom is the wife of Dr Papa Kwasi Nduom. She was born and bred in Elmina. She attended primary schools at the St John Bosco Catholic School in Winneba and Our Lady of Apostles in Elmina and continued to the Archbishop Porter's Girls Secondary School in Takoradi for her GCE Ordinary Level Certificate.
She continued to the St Louis Secondary School in Kumasi where she obtained a GCE Advanced Level certificate before continuing to the University of Cape Coast for a B A (ED) degree in English and Education.
She later taught at Kumasi Girls Secondary School for her National Service and also served as a part-time English tutor at the Kumasi Polytechnic.
She got engaged to Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom in 1976 and moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1977.
While in the United States of America, she studied at the University of Wisconsin and obtained MSc in Administration in Leadership and Adult Education in 1980.
From 1990, Mrs Nduom partnered her husband, Dr Nduom, to establish several companies, namely Gold Coast Securities, First National Savings And Loan, Qualtek, Ghana Media Group, Sterlin Management Services, Yorke Properties and Coconut Grove Hotels, of which she is the Executive Chairperson. She is a board member of the First National Savings and Loan and the chairperson of the Christian Mothers Association.
As Director of Sterlin Management Services, she developed and conducted Management Training Programmes for quite a number of Blue Chip Companies, notably Unilever, Merchant, Barclays, Standard Chartered banks, Total Ghana Ltd, Guinness Ghana Ltd and many others.
The wife of the CPP presidential aspirant, Mrs Mary Lily-Kafela Sakara, is an economist and business administrator by profession.
A native of Navrongo in the Upper East Region, Mrs Sakara had her GCE ordinary level certificate education at the St Roses Senior High School and obtained her advanced level certificate at the Ola Girls Senior High School.
Also a businesswoman, she was born at Yendi in the Northern Region into a family of four boys and six girls to the late Mr Alexander Adolba Tigenoah and Mrs Elizabeth Charity Tigenoah.
While studying at the Ealing College, now Thames Valley University, in the United Kingdom for her B.A degree in Economics, she met her husband, Mr Abu Sakara Foster, who was also studying in the UK.
Mrs Anita Ayariga is the wife of the PNC presidential candidate, Mr Hassan Ayariga. She attended Achimota Secondary School and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) where she studied Graphic Design. Mrs Ayariga is also a businesswoman.
Mrs Hilda Osei-Yeboah is the wife of the only independent candidate in the race. She hails from Elmina. She got married to Mr Jacob Osei-Yeboah in 1996 and they have four children.
She attended the St Monica’s Senior High School at Asante Mampong and continued to the Takoradi Polytechnic.
She works together with her husband at Vital Source Limited (VSL), a procurement and logistics company focused on gold mining and oil and gas industries within West Africa.
At the moment, she has taken full charge of the company founded by her husband so that he can have time to campaign.
The presidential candidate of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), Dr. Henry Lartey, is divorced and single.

Female MP in Ghana's First Republic shares her experience -Calls forpeaceful elections

Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho

Madam Lucy Aninwaa Anin

IN the First Republic, Dr Kwame Nkrumah introduced an affirmative action during which 10 women were elected into Ghana’s Parliament.

This became possible when he introduced the Representation of People’s Amendment Bill after he realised that the country’s Parliament was made up of only men.

In that election, 10 women were elected in an all-female contest which was held in all the 10 regions of the country.

One of the women who was among the first women to enter the country’s Parliament in the First Republic is Madam Lucy Aninwaa Anin of the Convention People’s Party (CPP). She contested against 12 other women and won to represent the Brong Ahafo Region.

Currently in her 70s, she was in Parliament from 1960 to February 24, 1966 when the CPP government was overthrown.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra, Madam Anin recountered some of her fond memories in the First Republican Parliament, which she said heralded Ghana’s development processes.

According to her, together with the men in Parliament, gender sensitive bills were passed into laws and this included the Merit and Inheritance Law as well as the establishment of the National Council of Ghana Women, led by Lady Arku Korsah, wife of the first black Chief Justice of Ghana, Sir Kobina Arku Korsah, with Justice Annie Jiagge as the Council’s legal advisor.

The coming in of the Council saw the formation of a women’s movement which led to the introduction of more policies and programmes with an aim to support the welfare of women and children.

Through the movement, some of the policies that were introduced included the launch of an adult education programme which was placed under the Social Welfare Department and was held under trees, kindergarten for children, immunisation programmes, opening of vocational training schools and the admission of women to work in the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB), which was then the only government owned bank in the country.

Through Nkrumah’s initiative, all the 10 women were appointed as members of boards of state-owned companies.Madam Anin was with the Ghana Footwear Company in Kumasi. Another MP, Ms Comfort Asamoah, was with the Ghana Airways; Ms Mary Koranteng was placed at the Fisheries Corporation and Mrs Sussan Alhassan became the first Minister for Social Welfare.

According to Madam Anin, the women performed their tasks with happiness as that was the first time women were given the opportunity to rub shoulders with their male counterparts in decision-making.

They, therefore, performed their work as MPs and became social advocates as they embarked on campaigns to ensure cleanliness in the environment and educate women on how to carry themselves as wives and mothers.

This they did by visiting their regions with the regional women’s commissioners where they checked on the needs of the people and presented them in Parliament.

The female MPs, together with their male counterparts, also visited foreign countries, including Germany, Europe and Israel, to understudy them to replicate in the country some of the good policies and programmes that these countries had.

Today, Madam Anin says the achievements that were gained in the country during the Nkrumah era have retrogressed as people, especially politicians, are more concerned about themselves and not the country.

As law makers, she said, politicians were there to protect the interest of the country and not to build roads or schools, as that was the work of the district chief executives.

She called on MPs to be patriotic and not to see their work as an opportunity to amass wealth.

She commended the 133 women who were contesting on the ticket of the various political parties and advised them to love their country first before their parties.

She, however, expressed disappointment in the work of the few women MPs who were presently in the House, saying that as women they should be more concerned about the cleanliness of the country and pointing out that due to lack of proper supervision, “filth has engulfed the country.” She added that environmental cleanliness should be championed by women.

She called on female MPs to also champion discipline among the youth to ensure a violence-free election.

She also said as women, they had been given instincts, which men do not have, and therefore they should use these instincts to the advantage of the country. She urged the female MPs to be more concerned about national development.

On the upcoming elections, she called on the Electoral Commission to ensure that it put its house in order to ensure a peaceful elections, saying that the creation of additional districts were unnecessary, as developed countries which have bigger populations have smaller members in their Parliament.

She called on all to work towards ensuring that there was peaceful elections in the country on December 7, 2012.