The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) has said despite the government's declared intention to pursue zero tolerance for corruption, not much was seen in terms of reaping the benefits that could accrue from systematic policies that are capable of delivering the dividends of good governance. It noted that based on its studies on corruption and good governance in the country, there was the need for more proactive and concrete action by all stakeholders to stem the growing tide of corruption, or perceived corruption.

With your help the Ghana National Coalition against the Privatisation of Water (NCAP) has successfully forced several water companies to withdraw their bids on the Ghana water privatization project and stalled the project for four years. Now, we are calling on you again to take one more action to stop the remaining bidding companies from taking over Ghana’s water.

Cocoa is Ghana's most important agricultural export commodity and the major source of income for nearly 700,000 small farmers. During the 1990s Ghana started to liberalise its economy by removing input subsidies and introducing licenses that allowed companies to buy produce directly from farmers. Generally, the increase in cocoa production over the last decade is seen as a result of these market reforms. But did poor farmers lose out in this process? Research from the Centre for the Study of African Economies at the University of Oxford, UK studied changes in the cocoa sector in Ghana since the early 1990s to identify who gained from the reforms. It found that the overall increase in production levels does not reflect the fact that poor farming households are not better off. While large farmers could improve production due to the use of pesticides or fertilisers, higher production costs constrained many poor farmers.

The Third World Network-Africa has conducted research on the environmental and socio-economic impacts of mining on Obuasi and its satellite communities. As part of the process of validating the findings of the research, TWN-Africa organised a two-day workshop for communities who participated in the workshop. The statement that follows is part of an outcome of the workshop. “We, 18 communities affected by mining from Obuasi, Kenyasi, Bibiani, Himan-Prestea, Hia, Anyinam, Tarkwa, Oseikrom/Twinsaaso, New Bidiem, Ankaako, Ntonsu, Ayankyerem, Kwaberefoso, Jimiso, Ewiase, Dokyiwaa, and Fenaso-Fawoman participating in a two-day workshop in Kumasi, Ghana, from August 24th to 25th, 2005 to validate a research conducted on the environmental and socio-economic impact of mining (Anglo-gold-Ashanti Obuasi Mines) in Obuasi and surrounding communities, and also the potential effects of the mining bill, have come to a number of conclusions.” Please follow the link to read the report in its entirety.

Thousands of people packed into Ghana's Independence Square in Accra on Saturday 3 September 2005 for the marathon 15 hour Africa Standing Tall Against Poverty Concert featuring Africa's leading musicians, leading civil society personalities and anti poverty campaigners. The concert was telecast live on Metro TV, attracting a television audience of over 700,000 within Ghana alone. "This is a great unifying event," said Mac Tontoh, one of the headline acts. "Africa is speaking with one voice and our leaders and the world must listen." Kumi Naidoo, chair of the GCAP Facilitation Group, the main sponsors of the concert, received great applause from the crowd when he spoke powerfully about the growing mass movement against poverty in Africa and the responsibilities of the Millennium Summit assembly in New York.

New patients are being refused treatment at state hospitals across Ghana where a strike by doctors demanding back payment for overtime work went into a fifth day on Wednesday. At Ghana's main Korle Bu hospital in the capital Accra, beds lay empty as nurses explained they were under "strict instructions" to turn people needing medical help away.

Mr.Abdulai Darimani, programme officer in the Environment Unit at TWN-Africa, has said that one of the reasons why money from mining has, contrary to popular belief, no benefit for domestic revenue is because companies are allowed by policy to retain as much as 40-90 per cent of their earnings in offshore accounts. Speaking as a panellist on an Accra-based private radio station CITI 97.3FM’s "Business Digest" programme, he argued that there are "high levels of offshore retention and low levels of royalty rates permitted by many national mining policies in Africa", adding that "Ghana’s shift to a HIPC status from a position of praise on its liberal mining policy best illustrates that the country does not benefit in any significant way from mining."

Ghana's Ministry of the Environment and Science issued draft biosafety legislation in August, intended to protect the country's citizens and environment from the potentially damaging effects of genetically modified (GM) organisms. The implication is that the government is open to allowing GM products in the country. Yet this is in direct contrast to comments made less than a month ago by the country's food and agriculture minister.

A new development magazine is seeking writers and contributors. The magazine is being launched by the Black Star Media Services, a new media company based in Accra, Ghana. The magazine, called the Ghanaian oracle will be launched in October 2005. The Ghanaian Oracle is a monthly magazine of news analysis, information, campaigning and culture. It provides a forum for people of progressive orientation and thinking to debate ideas, opinions and action relevant to the development and progress of Ghana and its people. Please click on the link provided for more details and a list of available jobs.

Children are often forced to work due to chronic poverty. Globally, work is the main occupation of almost 20 percent of all children aged under 15. This is considered a major obstacle to achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of universal primary education by 2015. Research from the University of Oxford in the UK suggests that child labour is often essential to household survival. Children who do household work release adults from domestic responsibilities to earn a wage; those employed outside the home contribute to family income.

A High Court in Accra on July 28, 2005 ordered the independent weekly, "National Democrat ", to pay Ghana's Minister of State for Defence, Kwame Addo- Kufuor, 400 million Cedis (approximately US$ 44,000) in damages for publishing an article that the minister considered to be defamatory. The court also awarded 10 million Cedis (approximately US$ 1,100) in cost against the D.D.D Publications, publishers of the "National Democrat" newspaper and Ebenezer Josiah, a former editor. The newspaper had in its October 4-6, 2004 edition of the paper published an article allegedly implicating Addo- Kufuor in a serial murder of over 30 Ghanaian women in 1999 and 2000.

Alex Agyei-Agyiri's first novel Unexpected Joy at Dawn has won Commendation in the 2005 Commonwealth Writers' Prize, Best First Book Africa Region. A Ghanaian poet, playwright and short story writer, he has previously won the BBC Arts and Africa poetry award, the Ghana Association of writers' Literary Prize and the Valco Award for Literature.

For the last few years the Ghanaian market has been flooded with cheap imported chicken from the European Union and the United States. The demand for local poultry has collapsed, threatening the livelihoods of over 400,000 poultry farmers in the small West African nation, reports CorpWatch.

Scholars and the general public have not paid much attention to non-rape forms of sex discrimination, such as sexual harassment. The concept is seen to suffer from ambiguity, and is often confused with courting or playful flirting. When it finally did receive attention sexual harassment was seen almost exclusively as a workplace phenomenon. The main objective of the study was to generate insight into Ghanaian perspectives on sexual harassment in relation to the definition, sites of harassment, experiences and perspectives on redress.

Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Minister of Education and Sports, on Tuesday expressed dissatisfaction about Ghana's position on the 2004 corruption index list despite Government's efforts to build a resilient economy. The Minister said Ghana's ranking of 65th in the 2004 corruption list provided by Transparency International, a worldwide anti-corruption organisation, was not good enough.

A new book 'The Role of Women in Ghana's Economy has found that that there are more women in informal economic activities than men in the three economic areas, namely, agriculture, industry and services. The author, Nora Judith Amu estimates that some 80% of women in Ghana are engaged in various economic activities and they predominate in the informal micro-small to medium scale agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors of the economy. While the informal sector gives women the flexibility they need to cope with their multiple roles as workers, wives and mothers, the remuneration is highly unstable and therefore their earnings vary from period to period.

The Central Regional Director of the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), Mr Frank Adoba last Thursday urged the media to do more to eradicate corruption, by exposing corrupt public officials. He observed that corruption was widespread and shrouded in various forms, from misappropriation, misapplication and embezzlement of funds.

Hundreds of poultry, rice and cotton farmers from all parts of Ghana marched through the capital, Accra, demanding fairer trade rules in April. Among the crowd was poultry farmer, Lawrence Agorsor. On leaving the National Parliament of Ghana he declared: "Ghanaian farmers have been too quiet for too long. But not anymore."

On Saturday April 9th 2005, Student World Assembly (SWA) members from the Ghana Region participated in a momentous Aids Walk which aimed to raise awareness about the epidemic and different prevention methods. The walk was organized by the Ghana Region of the SWA and brought together 300 members from numerous SWA chapters. Educational packages and 3000 free condoms were distributed to interested people along the way. For more information visit the website through the URL provided.

Several hundred refugees from the civil war in Sudan's western Dafur region have trekked west for 3,000 km, crossing five international borders, to seek asylum in Ghana. They came into the spotlight for the first time last week when a group of 180 refugees from Darfur briefly occupied an unfinished building on the outskirts of the capital Accra. Most of them had arrived in Ghana in small groups since January.