Editorial
Let’s make Christmas meaningful, peaceful
The Christmas season is here with us again and as expected, many people will be feasting alongside other activities that may be organised to make themselves happy.
It is good to celebrate the occasion but care will have to be taken to observe all COVID-19 protocols. The protocols include social distancing, regular washing of hands, making use of alcohol-based sanitisers and wearing face masks. If all these observations are made, it will help to bring the pandemic under control.
It is equally important that activities are organised in the open and also in small groups, so that any possible infection can be reduced drastically.
There may be other people who may want to engage in drunkenness as part of the celebration. Here, we would want to caution them to be careful and also avoid drunk-driving.
Avoidance of drunk-driving will cut down accidents on our roads, so that the issue of death and needless injuries can be avoided.
The occasion calls for sober reflection on what can be done to make the birth of Christ meaningful. Here, the important message is that the birth of Christ should bring joy and happiness to every home and mankind. It should not bring about sadness or misery because of drunk-driving or some other misbehaviour in any form. The whole country must see the occasion as an opportunity to make life better for ourselves and also everyone in the country.
This is how Christmas can be made meaningful to everyone irrespective of whether the person is a Christian or not. It is important to bear this point in mind because the occasion is now celebrated not only by Christians but non-Christians as well.
Again, as a section of the population prepare themselves for church activities, they must bear in mind to take all precautionary measures to secure their homes before leaving for such church activities. This is the time unsuspecting individuals can be attacked by thieves or armed robbers at the least opportunity.
Security must be beefed up on this occasion so that people can go about their activities without any fear. Also, suspicious characters must be quickly reported to the security agencies, so that the right steps or measures can be taken to ensure law and order.
The Ghana Police Service under the leadership of the Inspector General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, has promised to protect Ghanaians during this season. This assurance is refreshing and good but individuals must be careful and avoid taking things for granted, especially when they get into areas that are not free from thieves.
The Spectator wishes all Ghanaians Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Dear Editor,
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and I wish to use your respected platform to appeal to the Cocobod to make enough cocoa products available and at reduced prices.
It might interest you to know that there are a lot of people like me who hardly take time to refresh ourselves with cocoa products like chocolate and so forth.
It is occasions like this that make us refresh ourselves with chocolate and other cocoa-related products.
Gladly, inflation has dropped significantly and for ordinary citizens like us, purchasing some of these products at reduced prices is the only way we can experience this reduction.
As usual, the market women would rush to buy and sell them at exorbitant prices, forcing a lot of people to stay away from showing love to friends and families.
I, therefore, appeal to the Cocobod to make the chocolates and other products available in large quantities at vantage points to make them accessible to all.
Maxwell Alabi,
Mamprobi
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Homelessness in Ghana, particularly in major cities like Accra, Kumasi, and Takoradi, is a growing crisis driven by severe housing shortages, economic hardship, and rapid urbanisation.
Thousands of people, including children, sleep on the streets, in front of stores, on pavements, or beneath footbridges at the mercy of the weather due to the lack of accessible, safe, and secure housing. Their situation is even worse when it rains since they have nowhere to hide.
In actual fact, housing infrastructure development is far behind the influx of migrants from rural areas to cities like Accra in search of better prospects, which leads to overcrowding and low-grade housing.
Although the homeless feel safe in their temporary shelters on streets and pavements, it is dangerous to their health. When they are sacked, they soon return to the streets again as they have no place of abode, so the situation becomes a cycle of ‘sacking and returning.’
This menace of homelessness comes as a result of poverty, migration, parental neglect, divorce, among others, which is affecting many women and children. In effect, children who should be in school find themselves on the streets, begging for alms.
Some of them pick whatever they can find, such as half-spoiled products from trash dumps, leftovers from the road, or food scraps. This puts their lives in jeopardy every day by exposing them to illnesses, abuse, drug usage, and human trafficking.
The homeless must be empowered with skills development and job creation opportunities such as vocational training to allow them to become economically self-sufficient and move off the streets.
Ghana cannot progress if she fails to address this menace; therefore, the government must find lasting solutions to the problem by investing in the construction of low-cost, affordable housing units, creating rent-to-own schemes to ensure low-income earners can secure shelter.
Additionally, the government should find ways to reduce the influx of people into cities by creating more jobs and investing in infrastructure in rural areas.
There is the urgent need to enhance support for victims of domestic violence and families in distress, which will go a long way to prevent them from becoming homeless, especially women who face barriers to property ownership.
It is necessary to have more shelters, feeding programmess, rehabilitation facilities, and mandatory school reintegration to address this challenge.
Addressing homelessness in Ghana requires a collaborative approach involving government action, private sector investment in low-cost housing, and support from Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) to ensure sustainable, long-term solutions.
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