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Economic hardship not justification for ‘galamsey’, other crimes – Rev Minister
● Rev Charles Adom Darkwa
The North Kaneshie District Minister of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rev Charles Adom Darkwa has said that it would be very unfair for people to justify wrong doing by using the current economic hardship as a yardstick.
He said, “a bad attitude is like a flat tyre, you can’t get far until you change it.”
In his opinion the current economic challenges should not compel the citizens to engage in acts which are detrimental to the society and the country as a whole.
The District Minister who spoke to The Spectator on Wednesday explained that negative activities such as galamsey wreaked havoc on society and that there was the need to collectively fight against it, because countries blessed with water bodies like Ghana guarded their resources and made judicious use of them but it is a pity that “we are destroying our beautiful natural reserves due to economic hardship”.
“We must rather find pragmatic ways of making good use of our forest reserves to our benefits not destroy them.”
Rev Adom Darkwa said, although Ghanaians were in hard times, like prophet Jeremiah admonished in Jeremiah 29:7 “we should seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile, pray to the Lord for it because if it prospers you too will prosper.”
It is a clarion call to action, for all citizens to manage in their respective trades and professions and work diligently for the betterment of their lives and society as a whole.
According to him, “praying for a country also involves supporting, having hope and working honestly, diligently and collectively for positive strides.”
The District Minister who is also the Minister-in-Charge of the Christ Family Congregation reiterated Maya Angelou’s quote that “We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated” to encourage Christians to say positive words about the nation not condemn or say negative things because there’s hope of glory in Christ Jesus.
By Portia Hutton-Mills
Madam Sandra Seyram Kpedor, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Anloga in the Volta Region, has emphasised the importance of parental involvement in children’s education, stating that education is free, but parents need to do more to support their children.
She said parents, teachers, and students must be involved in addressing the challenges facing the district’s education sector, particularly the poor Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results.
Madam Kpedor outlined some key roles parents should play to promote their children’s education, including providing a conducive learning environment, monitoring their children’s progress, and supporting teachers.
The DCE highlighted some challenges the district faced such as inadequate infrastructure and a shortage of teachers, which have also contributed to the poor BECE results and called on well-to-do parent to help solve the situation through and other supports.
To address the issues, she also announced that plans have been taken to utilise the district’s common fund to implement educational projects, such as constructing school blocks and teachers’ bungalows at Sodzi community, and 2-unit classroom blocks each at Akplorwutorkor and Tegbi-Afedome respectively, among others.
Madam Kpedor also noted that her office had earlier notified the Ministry of Education to deploy more teachers to the area to improve teaching and learning, and encouraged students to work hard and strive for excellence, and work beyond their limit to succeed.
“To my wonderful and beautiful girls, you have to know it clear that women and girls have equal opportunities to compete with men for greater achievements,” she indicated.
The DCE cited her own achievement as a testament to the fact that women can excel in leadership positions, alongside Vice President Nana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, and stressed that girls were no longer limited to domestic roles but can pursue their dreams and become leaders.
Additionally, she mentioned that a meeting was held earlier with assembly members, and other stakeholders to address the district’s educational challenges and improve academic performance.
She promised that the district’s education oversight committee and stakeholders would work together to address the challenges and improve the district’s BECE results and called for parental involvement and support to boost the district’s education sector for children to chase their dreams to become future leaders for the success of the district and the nation.
She urged parents not to leave everything to the government but rather help in the provision of some necessary materials such as textbooks, exercise books, pens, pencils, food, and guidance to children for the successes of young learners. –GNA
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The spokesperson for Dr. Bawumia, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, has criticised the implementation of the NDC government’s No Fee Stress policy, arguing that the programme has failed to deliver on its core promise.
According to him on Starr fm, the policy, which was introduced to ensure stress free payment of fees for level 100 tertiary students, has rather turned into what he described as post stress support.
He explained that students are required to pay their fees first before applying for reimbursement, a situation he believes defeats the purpose of the policy.
He questioned claims by government officials that the policy has been successful and that citizens are happy.
In his view, such claims do not reflect the lived realities of many Ghanaians. He stressed that while some people may appear satisfied, many others continue to struggle.
Dennis Miracles Aboagye pointed to the situation of trained teachers and nurses who have been picketing for nearly six months, demanding employment.
He noted that government responses suggesting it cannot accommodate all of them contradict claims of economic stability.
He further argued that economic indicators such as a stable currency mean little to people who are unable to secure jobs or access promised support.
He observed that telling an unemployed teacher or a struggling student that the cedi has strengthened does not address their immediate challenges.
On the issue of tertiary education, he maintained that no level 100 student benefited from stress free fees in 2025, despite the policy being announced.
He added that in 2026, students have already reported to school without receiving the promised support.
He insisted that asking students to pay fees first and seek reimbursement later amounts to support after hardship, not stress free education.
According to him, this approach goes against what was promised during the policy announcement.
Dennis Miracles Aboagye questioned why a government that presents the economy as strong is unable to fulfil what he described as simple and clear promises.
He added that there is a fundamental problem with the way the economy is being managed and indicated that he is prepared to explain his position further.
By: Jacob Aggrey
