The debate in Ghana over the cultivation of genetically modified seeds provided by international aid agencies demonstrates that foreign aid often comes with an agenda determined by foreign financial and political backers, not by the end-users of the assistance.

Food Sovereignty Ghana organized a capacity building and skills sharing workshop on 27-28 February to discuss the Biosafety Law, the Plant Breeders Bill and the Plant and Fertilizer Act (seed law). Civil society organizations, smallholder farmers, the media, scientists and concerned members of the public attended the meeting. Here are the thoughts that came out of the meeting

Capitalism is at the root of corruption in Ghana. The desperation to make money at all costs is now the way of life. Everything thing depends on how much one can afford, as the state does not take its own social responsibility to its citizens seriously

The Insight newspaper is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Its contribution to the democratization of Ghana and its founder’s indefatigable spirit are outstanding

The US embassy in Accra has been heavily influencing Ghana’s Biosafety Committee. There is nothing safe in entrusting Ghana’s agriculture in the hands of a Committee that remains unknown to the public and who have vested interests in genetically modified colonialism

The only people who need genetically engineered crops are the foreign seed and agrochemical companies and their stockholders. They are the ones pushing this highly risky venture in Ghana. They should be resisted

The recent elections point to the increasing legitimation of liberal democracy and suggest a political culture that seems to reiterate Nkrumah’s belief that “the black man is capable of managing his own affairs”

Statement on Israeli aggression on Gaza read at a press conference in Accra on Tuesday, November 20, 2012

A significant increase in salaries for Ghana's president, ministers and other top officials has been criticised by anti-corruption campaigners. Parliament agreed to the pay rise earlier this week in a session that was not televised. Last month President John Dramani Mahama authorised an increase in MPs' pay.

There have been considerable efforts by women to have chance in Ghanaian politics. Ghana Decides, a non-partisan project which aims to foster a better-informed electorate for free, fair and safe 2012 elections using social media tools took a personality profile look on parliamentary candidate Agnes Chigabatia. Ghana Decides is an initiative under Blogging Ghana, a Ghanaian blogging community.

The United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (UNHCR) is currently reviewing Ghana's human rights record over the past four years mainly under late President John Evans Atta Mills' administration. Under its Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the UNHCR began the process on Tuesday October 22 with submissions from civil society groups such as the Human Rights Advocacy Centre (HRAC) and the Amnesty International, Ghana. Although the report highlighted a number of different human rights abuses in Ghana, it also acknowledges significant advancement made in the quest for abolition of the death penalty.

The wife of Ghana's ex-leader Jerry Rawlings is shocked after being barred from contesting the December election, her spokesman has told the BBC. Nana Konadu Rawlings was chosen last weekend as the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Party (NDP). She defected from the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) party, although Mr Rawlings has not done so. The election commission said her nomination papers had not been completed before the deadline.

Ghana's National Coalition on Mining (NCOM) held its annual forum on 3 October 2012 at New Abirim in the country's eastern region. It was attended by an estimated 600 representatives of communities, mainly in the catchment area of the mine but also across the entire length and breadth of mining areas in Ghana. The forum took place just after citizens and farmers in the Chirano mining area presented a protest note to the Minister of Lands And Natural Resources. They demanded immediate payment of delayed compensation by Canada's Kinross Gold Corp, for the destruction of their cocoa trees seven years earlier.

As part of its contribution to issues-based campaigns towards the December polls, the Economic Justice Network (EJN) has stated it is of the view that transforming agriculture and tackling the production and marketing constraints of small scale farmers, men and women, in rural Ghana, where all the problems of poverty are sharply experienced should be one of the topical issues as the country heads towards the December polls.

Ghana says it takes strong exception to the contents of the purported United Nations Group of Experts report on Cote d’Ivoire, which was prematurely leaked to the media. The state-owned Graphic on Saturday quoted a statement signed by Mr Chris Kpodo, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, as saying it was grossly abnormal for such a report to appear in the public domain before it was received by the Security Council Sanctions Committee, which was scheduled to meet to receive the report on 12 October. 'The Government of Ghana, therefore, takes strong exception to the contents and leakage as it sought to give credence to repeated allegations that Ghana is being used as a base by Ivorian refugees and exiles to destabilise the Ivorian Government.'

Ghana’s former first lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, was on Saturday endorsed as the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Party (NDP) as she continued pushing her ambition to lead the West African state where she was first lady for 19 years. Her breakaway party, formed in May following her humiliating defeat by the late President John Evans Atta Mills at the National Democratic Congress' (NDC) primaries last year, endorsed her by popular acclamation at its maiden national delegates’ congress Kumasi, central Ghana.

Exiles supporting Ivory Coast's former President Laurent Gbagbo have established a base in neighbouring Ghana from which they are working to destabilise the current Ivorian government, according to excerpts from a new report by a UN expert panel. The supporters of Gbagbo, who is awaiting trial in The Hague for crimes against humanity, have a 'military structure', have hired mercenaries in Ghana and Liberia and have established several training camps in eastern Liberia, the report said.

Oil and gas are likely to play an ever more prominent role in Ghana’s fast-growing economy following new discoveries both in the Jubilee field and the Tano Basin. Italian giant Eni, made a major discovery last month in the offshore Cape Three Points block, some 50 kilometres from the coast. Eni is continuing to drill other wells to confirm the feasibility of commercial development, but the production test revealed that this new well is capable of producing about 5,000 high quality barrels of oil per day (bpd).

Doris Appiah, 57, has bipolar disorder. In her early twenties, she was sent to an overcrowded psychiatric hospital followed by a 'prayer camp' to be treated. She stayed there for five years, at times tied to a wall or forced to fast. Her story is mirrored by thousands of mentally ill people across Ghana, according to a 2 October Human Rights Watch (HRW) report entitled Like a Death Sentence. The government is trying to update the country’s mental health care laws, starting with the passing of the 2012 Mental Health Act. The act is supposed to improve access to mental health services and prevent abuse. But HRW says the law does not go far enough as it only addresses the formal health sector rather than community-based mental healthcare needs.

Two years after oil began flowing in Ghana, ordinary Ghanaians are wondering where the oil money is going. The government says there has not been much oil revenue coming in thus far, and analysts say the money that is coming in is not reaching the poor. Vast reserves of oil were discovered in Ghana in 2007, and production began almost two years ago in the Jubilee Oil Field off Ghana’s western coast. In 2011, its first year of production, Ghana brought in about $444 million - which was half of expected revenue.