Editorial
Virtual learning: A positive approach
Dear Editor,
The government in recent times continues to provide access to basic and secondary education and has taken steps to expand infrastructure so that more students could attain formal education.
But it appears those in our rural communities are still lagging behind in terms of infrastructure development and access to modern teaching and learning methods.
Computers, radio and television have now been turned into virtual learning classrooms but some rural folks are yet to tap these opportunities.
As efforts are made to bridge the gap between the educated and the uneducated in our society, I wish to encourage radio and television stations to air programmes which include lessons on basic phonetics, how to read and comprehend the Queen’s language, how to write business proposals, computer lessons, among others.
In the era of fast-paced technology, one does not necessarily need to enter a physical classroom to acquire knowledge or higher education.
We have started well but the more we introduce advanced forms of modern virtual learning systems — using television as an effective tool, the better it would serve our nation.
It is high time we brought an abrupt end to promoting and patronising television and radio programmes that did not add value in our effort to completely wipe out illiteracy.
Ebenezer K. N. Baiden-Amissah,
P O Box LG 1254,
Legon, Accra.
Let’s phase out ‘borla taxis’
Dear Editor,
I am impressed with the Greater Accra Regional Minister’s directive to ban tricycles (aboboyaas or ‘borla taxis’) from using the motorway and other express routes in Accra.
Indeed, we have always observed the inconvenience these tricycles cause as they convey refuse from one destination to the other and I must say the ban has been long overdue.
When I first settled in Accra, I used to observe how waste management companies collected garbage at residential areas at least twice every week and were paid for their services. I do not know how we came to leave waste collection in the hands of tricycle operators.
‘Aboboyaas’ are not designed for waste collection and we must put a stop to them. But just when I thought the ban was to take effect on November 1, 2021, I was told it had been extended to February 2022 so the operators could be educated on the new directive.
While I am somehow disappointed, I believe the three months grace period is in order. As we wait for the new deadline, I urge city authorities to provide a better alternative to the ‘aboboyaas’ and encourage private waste management companies to take over the collection and transportation of rubbish in the city.
Mavis Obeng,
North Kaneshie,
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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