News
Poor roads: Enemy of development
The state of our roads has been on my mind for some time now. No doubt there had been a major improvement in the overall road network in Ghana over the years. Yet, after 64years of Independence what Ghana can show on for its major highways is a complete disgrace.
For instance, the road linking our two major cities Accra-Kumasi is nothing more than a single-lane death trap! A distance of only 250 Km, it takes over five hours and if you are not lucky, it will take your life as well. How much more with the road networks linking deprived communities?
Sufficient evidence abounds that, the media houses are awash with complaints about bad roads and the need for the central government or district assemblies to step in to fix them.
Reliable and dependable roads help to facilitate the smooth movement of goods and people, create employment, support economic growth, enhance access to education and healthcare services, and connect people to families and places of entertainment. This also goes a long way in aiding in the fight against poverty.
In Ghana, road transport is one of the major keys which enhance economic potential. It is estimated that road transport alone accounts for 96 per cent of passenger and freight traffic and about 97 per cent of passenger in the country.
That is why sustainable development of our road infrastructure cannot be downplayed. As a result, I believe that placing a lot more premium on developing our road infrastructure will definitely be a step in the right direction.
Nonetheless, lately, there have been concerns across the country over the poor conditions of our roads. The country’s roads have seen further deterioration as a result of the heavy rains experienced recently.
For example, the pothole-ridden roads in Accra and other parts of the country are increasingly becoming alarming and worrying, which make the cost of road transport high and very risky.
Fortunately, Ghana has consistently been one of the countries in the top ranks of the African Development Bank’s Africa Infrastructure Development Index (AIDI), attracting funding for roads infrastructure.
That notwithstanding, there is still more road infrastructure deficit requiring urgent attention from the government. Efforts should, therefore, be put in place to save the situation.
Truth is, among the many modes of transport, road transport is the commonest. However, poor road infrastructure hinders road transport and curtails development and mobility.
It may interest readers to know that rural areas are places for the production of primary goods and services worldwide.
It is for this reason that the government should be able to take the necessary steps to invest more in road infrastructure so that the citizens can gain access to the remotest parts of the country in order to unlock the vast and untapped reservoir of productive potential in those areas.
Although the link between roads and human development is not well established, data from low-income countries demonstrate that communities living furthest from good roads experience higher levels of poverty, lower levels of school attendance and worse health outcomes.
This has become one of the reasons there are frequent agitations by some community members for the government to fix their roads.
The problem of poor road network can be addressed when a routine monitoring and evaluation mechanism is built into the road infrastructure investment policies to ensure that road construction carried out by contractors are properly done.
Furthermore, the government must always follow up on reports to check whether projects being implemented are done properly. This will become feasible when standards assessments are given the number one priority.
That is why, it is imperative that adequate investment is made into the road sector with proper monitoring and evaluation. Such measures when fully instituted, will ensure that the issue of poor roads and potholes will be a thing of the past.
By Donatella Esinam Kudoto
The writer is a student of the Ghana Institute of Journalism
Email: Dona.esi.15@gmail.com
The 30th Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Media Awards has celebrated three decades of recognising excellence and contributions to journalism and national development, while highlighting the media’s role in Ghana’s democracy.
Marking the milestone, Philip Osei Bonsu of the Multimedia Group emerged as the GJA/P.A.V. Ansah Journalist of the Year.
The Ghanaian Times’ Benedicta Gyimah Foley won the Best Feature Reporting, Print category, alongside other journalists recognised across various media platforms.
Other winners included Nathaniel Attoh, Best in Sports Reporting; and Godwin Asediba of Media General, Best in TV Documentary; Doreen Ampofo of GBC, Best in Radio Documentary; and freelance journalist Nii Adjei Mensahfio, Best in Online Documentary.
Daniel Kwabena Mantey was adjudged Best in TV Feature, while Clinton Yeboah of Luv FM won Best in Radio Feature, with Gilbert Azeem Tiroog of GNA taking Best in Online Features.
For news reporting, Mohammed Fugu of the Daily Graphic won Best in Print News Reporting, Nabil Ahmed Rufai, a freelance journalist, Best in TV News Reporting; Ridwan Karim Dini-Osman of EIB Network, Best in Radio News Reporting; and Timothy Ngnenbe of the Daily Graphic, Best in Online News.
The ceremony, held in Accra last Saturday on the theme, “Celebrating Excellence, Advancing Media Freedom and Combating Hate Speech in the Digital Age”, was attended by President John Dramani Mahama as the special guest of honour.
Also in attendance were the Ga Mantse, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, and the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Christian Tetteh Yohuno, among others.
In his address, President Mahama announced a GH₵10 million allocation in the 2027 national budget as seed capital for the reactivated Media Development Fund to support journalists’ welfare, professional development, investigative reporting and safety training, with additional corporate contributions expected.
Mr Mahama, also urged media practitioners to uphold professionalism and accuracy by avoiding sensationalism, unsubstantiated allegations and the deliberate pursuit of scandals, while promptly correcting inaccurate reports and apologising when necessary to maintain public trust and professional standards.
On journalists’ safety, he assured that the government would continue to act against attacks on them.
By Stephanie Birikorang
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Today, I focus on the theme of Ghanaian/African migrants in Finland and economic empowerment, a move away from the topic of personalities or groups and their accomplishments within the Ghanaian community in Finland that I have been writing on.
In recent times, African migrant associations and Finnish institutions are organising meetings or forums and help people seeking employment to meet employers or build professional networks to achieve economic empowerment.
Such forums are usually open to their members and anyone of African descent.to get into the Finnish job market.
Competences
Researchers and experts say entrepreneurship or self-employment has great potential to offer a route for migrants, including highly-educated ones, to participate in and contribute to the local economy.
Competences, including knowledge and knowhow, opportunities, and social capital such as family support, language, etc., are necessary to boost the entrepreneurship endeavour.
Competence in the official Finnish or Swedish languages is undoubtedly a key quality to improve employment prospects, especially for migrants since the overall unemployment among migrants could be higher than in the mainstream Finnish population.
There could also be particular privileges which may be the provision of the right information for potential entrepreneurs or job seekers.
Barriers and stress factors
Although language has a huge potential to contribute positively to entrepreneurship possibilities, studies have shown that some of the major stress factors are language problems, finances or economic capital among African migrants.
Other barriers or challenges may be how to grow the business venture or its sustainability.
Thus, migrant communities can generally be highly vulnerable to language barrier, lack of information, the nature of the work of migrants in professions where working from home is not possible.
Migrant associations, social networks, and information
By their activities, migrant associations are doing much to educate and create awareness as well as enhance economic empowerment through migrants’ entrepreneurship or self-employment and enhance opportunities.
Such associations and institutions become networks that create an important social capital as well as outlets for sharing and gaining information or knowledge. Also, it will all be for societal good if such activities are able to help reduce stress and anxiety in the migrants’ entrepreneurship endeavours.
As I keep pointing out, Finland is committed to the integration of migrants into the Finnish society. A number of research studies from surveys and other in-depth enquiries have shown a trend of increasing efforts to integrate African and other migrants into the Finnish society.
Public agencies, migrant associations and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Finland have been publishing information to help educate people, which is also good for their wellbeing.
Generally, migrant associations formally create awareness among their members and other migrants usually in collaboration with some Finnish institutions, and are thus an important tool for several migrants to be positively active and to get their interests and claims heard.
As I wrote previously, the role of migrant associations acting as bridge-builders for the integration and inclusion of migrants through participation in the decision making process and by acting as a representative voice is highly appreciated in Finland. Thank you!
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