Ghana Today Research Articles

THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AND ECOLOGICAL PROTECTION-RELATED LAWS AND POLICIES IN GHANA

This study sets out to examine the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Ghana. A key objective of the study was to understand how the country has attempted to achieve sustainable development while reducing the risk to biodiversity and environmental pollution given its abundant natural resources. In an effort to achieve this and other related objectives of the study, the researcher adopted a qualitative approach to research which enabled him to gather relevant information in non-numerical format. The study consequently finds that though the country has introduced several legislations and policies to ensure ecological protection, several challenges still remain. Indeed, in Ghana today, attempting to ensure the functionality, orderliness and the usefulness of ecological protection policies such as those aimed at the effective implementation of the CBD necessarily requires that such policies have firm legitimacy among the local norms; legality alone is not enough. It is in view of this that the study advocates for a balanced obligation.

Planting Islam in Ghana: A Critical Review of the Approaches

The unique features that a missionary religious tradition exhibits in the receiving land cannot be fully understood until the methods involved in its planting are critically scrutinized. This essay examines the various approaches which have played a crucial role in the planting of Islam in Ghana. Muslim agents during the 14th and 15th centuries started the dissemination of Islam with a largely effective accommodating, flexible approach and attitude to traditional culture and life. Later, certain Islamic elements introduced puritan, reformist approaches with the view of cleansing Islam of 'perceived' indigenous influences. By means of information derived from historico-theological methods, the essay concludes that indigenous Ghanaian life has played a significant role in molding and shaping Islamic beliefs and practices into their unique forms as they are in Ghana today.

Material History, Historied Materials and the Question of Epistemic Freedom in Ghana’s Medical Schools

Summary Medical schools rely on a wide range of tools, technologies and materials for their teaching, on books, and bodies, and on the buildings which house them. This article considers the histories of this material culture in the three oldest medical schools operating in Ghana today. Borrowing theoretical concepts from Science and Technology Studies, medical anthropology and postcolonial political economy, this article takes that the material culture of modern medical education often binds contemporary pedagogy to outdated ideas and faraway places. The agential, proselytising nature of these historied materials agitates against the localisation of biomedicine and contributes to a distracting scientific imaginary which remains centred around historical, often imperial centres of knowledge production in Europe and North America.

Religious market in Ghana today: Is there legal basis to tax the church?

This paper is a rehash of the existing debate on whether or not the church should be subject to tax. Unlike many others, the paper approaches the issue from a legal perspective and explores the relevant principles of taxation as established by statutes and case law in Ghana. In the main, this paper argues that given that majority of the churches in Ghana engage in transactions which may be properly classified as business, the Commissioner of Income Tax is empowered by law to demand tax from the church in respect of the income accruing therefrom. Thus, using the interpretive paradigm mainly through interviews, observation as well as reliance on statutes and case law, the paper concludes that transactions such as the taking of service fees, sale of anointing oil and other religious products constitute trade and the income arising thereto must be subject to tax.

The outbreak of artisanal and small-small gold mining (galamsey) operations in Ghana: Institutions, politics, winners and losers

This paper focuses on the outbreak of illegal mining (galamsey) operations in Ghana in recent times claiming that the outbreak is accompanied by massive environmental destruction including pollution of water bodies, degradation of farmlands and forest landscapes. Despite the efforts of governmental, non-governmental and civil society organisations to streamline the artisanal and small-scale (ASM) sector since 2017, illegal mining activities remain a livelihood strategy for several Ghanaians. Institutions, politics and local manoeuvrings have rejuvenated and shaped by illegal mining activities. This study employs the narrative review approach to theorize and analyse the pertinent issues influencing the outbreak of ASM activities in Ghana. We draw on the extant theoretical and empirical perspectives to argue that illegal mining activities persist in Ghana today because every stakeholder wants to be a winner–the state institutions are weakened by politics for political triumphs. The local authorities collaborate and embrace illegal mining activities for economic gains while the local communities perceived illegal mining as a last resort to circumventing dispossession by state institutions and foreign mining conglomerates of their share of the mineral wealth. We posited that until the local communities’ share of mineral wealth is duly served them including desirable compensation regimes, illegal mining activities would continue to flourish in Ghana. It is therefore, suggested that mineral resource decisions in the country must identify and incorporate the needs of the local communities. Further research into the needs of local communities, expectations and challenges regarding mineral resources extraction within their range is pertinent.

Dancehall City: Zongo Identity and Jamaican Rude Performance in Ghanaian Popular Culture

AbstractThe explosion of Ghanaian Reggae-Dancehall reflects the influence of Jamaican-inspired popular culture in Ghana today. This subculture is championed by local Rastafarians and by youth from the zongos (internal migrant, largely Islamic, unplanned neighborhoods). Suffering social alienation, many zongo artists have adopted postures similar to their Jamaican counterparts—mirroring Rasta and rude identities as counter-hegemonic resistance. Alleyne explores several artists variously located between the zongo, the Reggae diaspora, and the Ghanaian state, examining how subjects rework Jamaican tropes and voice their aspirations within a globalizing Ghana and rethinking the zongo as space of rousing diasporic consciousness.

Women and Photography in Africa: Creative Practices and Feminist Challenges

Women and Photography in Africa: Creative Practices and Feminist Challenges

Homosexuality in Ghana Today: The Role of the Church in Mission

There has been growing evidence of rejection and condemnation of homosexuality by the church and society in Ghana. Homosexuality is one of the critical challenges facing the church in Ghana. Some of the reasons assigned for the rejection of homosexuality are deeply embedded in religio-cultural world views of Ghanaian communities. The church’s response to homosexuality is conservative and rejection. The attempts to have a mission approach to homosexuals have not been seriously considered. This paper examines the spade of homosexuality in Ghana and proposes a researched-based transformational urban mission to homosexuals. Narrative historical analysis is engaged for the study. The results are that Ghanaians are increasingly aware of the homosexual phenomenon in some spots in urban cities. Economic challenges are drawing the unemployed youth into the phenomenon. The church in Ghana needs to have trained pastors and laypeople for urban missions since urbanization is a global phenomenon and many of Ghana’s population live in urban cities. Keywords: Church, Culture, Globalization, Homosexuality, Mission, Urbanization.

Bible translators and the preservation of the vernacular language: The case of Avatime (Ghana) in the XXIst century

Christian missions in Avatime lands (Ghana today, Volta region) began in the late 19th century. Since then, the Avatime were involved in various social and educational projects: European-type schools began to be built, a Teacher Training College opened, and literacy courses gradually became popular. However, missionaries conducted their activities in the language of the ethnic majority in the Volta region - the Ewe, while the vernacular language of the Avatime - Sideme - was losing its importance. A historical retrospective of modern Ghana's linguistic policy toward ethnic minorities only confirms this. In 2006, a linguist from Russia began work on the codification of the language and writing of the Sideme: the Avatime soon had their own alphabet, various thematic pamphlets, and a New Testament. This article focuses on the work of the Christian Mission of Wycliffe Bible translators in the Avatime region in the early 2000s and is based on interviews, stories, and memories of a Russian family of Bible translators we met on our first expedition to Ghana (2011). Their work began with the blessing of Avatime Paramount Chief, who happened to study in Moscow in 1980s. The mission's work to translate the New Testament into Sideme appeared to encourage the Avatime to preserve their language and acquire the skills to write and read on it. The work continues to this day, extending to the school curriculum: for the first time, the vernacular language of the small-scale community began to be taught at Avatime schools, but still almost on the voluntary basis.

Development Implications of Chieftaincy Conflicts in Bawku Traditional Area, Ghana

Several decrees and laws by the new nationalist government have disrupted the customary processes of selecting chiefs from the original family lineage hence contributing to chieftaincy conflicts in Ghana today. This study explores the wide range of development implications of the protracted chieftaincy conflicts between Kusasis and Mamprusis in the Bawku Traditional Area. The study employed systematic sampling techniques to select 200 householders in five spatial locations in the Bawku Traditional Area which have had significant impacts on the conflicts. The data gathered were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The Bawku Inter-Ethnic Peace Committee, Belim Wusa Development Agency, and the Police were selected for in-depth face-to-face interviews to affirm the quantitative data. The Bawku conflict has created social mistrust and fear, economic, physical insecurity, and infrastructural destructions with undesirable consequences on socio-economic development. This has created a pang of severe hunger in Bawku and its environs. This can affect the realization of the sustainable development agenda. The study recommended that the Ghana government through the National Peace Council should embark on intensive media campaigns on the development implications of the conflicts in the Bawku Traditional Area. Besides, the Bawku East District Assembly should create employment opportunities for the youth and assist the victims to overcome the cost incurred on them through the conflict.

Seen, heard and protected in their best interest: childhood construction within the worldview of the Fantse of Ghana

Children in Africa are generally construed to be marginalised due to their minimal involvement in family decision-making processes. This article, which provides a worldview of childhood construction among the Fantse of Ghana, draws on the PhD dissertation and other research studies by the author and uses the social constructivist theory by Vygotsky and Meyer Fortes� stages in the developmental cycle in domestic groups to explore children�s social standing. The expectation in the academy is that many of the worldviews in African societies should be waning. However, they prevail in some rural and urban communities in Ghana today. Significantly, the larger context of Fantse social systems promotes peer-learning and acculturation among children. Therefore, even though some children may be marginalised, the emphasis placed on children�s voices ensures their participation in decision-making in matters affecting them. This article recommends that Fantse social systems should be considered for ensuring compliance with child rights policies in Ghana.

Same-Sex Marriage in Ghana: Scripture, Health Law and Bioethics

Same-sex relationship is not a recent phenomenon. In the Christian scripture (Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13) are traces of sexual prohibitions which have guided the morality of Christian marriage for years. Also, early colonial regulations in the Gold Coast (and perhaps other British colonies) contained strict prohibitions against homosexuality. In Ghana today, same-sex marriage is an illegal and ethical subject attracting diverse opinions. Whilst some Western countries recognize same-sex marriage and provide free movement as well as residency permits for same-sex couple, the marriage is repressed, criminalized and forbidden in most parts of Africa (if not entirely). The paper is to examine same-sex marriage and the extent to which scripture, health law and bioethics have shaped and informed attitudes toward homosexual activities in Ghana today. The paper examines Christian scriptural and bioethical responses which can serve as a means for co-existence. Keywords: Same-sex marriage, Scripture, Health law, Bioethics, Co-existence DOI: 10.7176/DCS/11-4-04 Publication date: April 30 th 2021

Postmodernism and Faith: An Evaluation of the Auto-Positioning of Pentecostalism and its Sacred Boundaries in Ghana

The past 30-40 years have seen a growth in Pentecostalism in Ghana. It has been good news for the growth of Christianity, but it has also not eluded the postmodernist influences on faith, belief, and theology. Part of this influence which is redefining the precincts of Christianity can be attributed to the concepts of ‘narrativism’ and ‘postsecularism’, which are described as ramifications of postmodernism. This work examines the current religious atmosphere in Ghana and other influences which expound the dynamisms that are changing the basis of Chrisitian faith, religion, and socio-cultural practices. The foremost interest is to analytically use the postmodern concept to explain the new phase of religion and other influences of Pentecostalism in Ghana today. And how the determinants of postmodern tendencies have influence local and microscopic forms of religious undercurrents in society. It brings to light the new theological and philosophical grounds on which new philosophies can enhance new directives and conjectures for the understanding and growth of religion and culture in the African context. Keywords: Pentecostalism, Narrativism, Christianity, Postmodernism, Postsecularism, Religion.

Beading as a therapeutic activity in Ghana

ABSTRACT Africa’s fascinating bead history pre-dates the African Trade Bead era by over 82,000 years. Beads, thought to be over 12,000 years old have been found within Libya, Sudan and Kenya where the Turkana people once recognised beads for their value as currency. Cowrie shell beads and bone beads are thought to be among the first types of beads until glass beads were introduced from Western Europe. The Krobo land is among notable bead manufacturing and beading areas in Ghana today. The article discusses the cultural importance of beading in Ghana and how the occupation is used therapeutically in a regional mental health hospital, based on the argument that activities of making intrinsic to traditional, user-centred design practices might impact well-being. In addition to well-being and their connection to making, the concepts of recycling and income generation are explored in relation to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

BRASS BAND MUSIC IN GHANA: THE INDIGENISATION OF EUROPEAN MILITARY MUSIC

Local brass bands have become an indispensable factor in weddings, processions, rituals of birth or death, at Christmas and New Year festivities in many parts of the globe. Remains of European brass bands are widely distributed throughout Africa, India, Indonesia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. )ese bands are of both military and missionary origin. They are an important component of the nineteenth and early twentieth-century colonial expressive culture. Despite their uniqueness and widespread presence across the world, brass bands have received limited attention in Ghana. )is paper aims to address this lack by offering a comprehensive account of the contemporary situation of brass band music in Ghana. I trace the history of this musical world and explore the diverse ways military and missionary activities have shaped amateur brass band musical activities in Ghana. I discuss the distribution and band formations across Ghana, viewing it in five sections that detail different types of brass bands; church, town, service, school and “sharbo” bands. I continue by looking at the beginning, development, workings and indigenisation of European military music in local popular culture and provide an account of brass band music as observed in Ghana today. I argue that indigenisation is not a straightforward process of adaptation, rather, indigenisation is a process of ongoing aesthetic tensions and differences resulting in new musical forms and new forms of socialisation organised around musical performance.

Biblical, Traditional, and Theological Framework for Understanding Christian Prophetism in Ghana Today, by Daniel Nii Aboagye Aryeh

Biblical, Traditional, and Theological Framework for Understanding Christian Prophetism in Ghana Today, by Daniel Nii Aboagye Aryeh

A Discussion on the Religious Response to the Problem of Evil in Ghana Today

The existence of God is taken for granted by many believers. God is described as all good and all loving. The Bible tells believers that everything that God created was good and that God was so satisfied with the work of creation that God rested on the seventh day – cf. Gen. 1:31. This statement raises the question of the existence of Evil. Evil is a reality. The existence of Evil raises a lot of philosophical as well as theological questions such as: how can a benevolent God allow God’s people to suffer? Why should an omnipotent God allow Evil to exist?. This article discusses the problem of Evil. It takes a critical look at the different forms of Evil and the havoc that Evil causes. Finally, it examines how the believer in God can respond to the prevalence of Evil in Ghana today.

A Qualitative Study of the Perception of the People of Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area on the Usefulness of the Chieftaincy Institution in Ghana

This paper seeks to create awareness on the perception of the people of Akyem Abuakwa about the usefulness of chieftaincy Institution in Ghana today. In pre-colonial Ghana, the chieftaincy institution was the main system of governance and adjudication of justice. It is the oldest form of government in Ghana. The institution equally in present times is ripped with a number of violent conflicts. With this development, some people are of the opinion that the institution has outlived its usefulness in contemporary Ghanaian society. There is the argument on the issue of chieftaincy institution and its usefulness in the Ghanaian society. Probing the situation, 200 indigenes from the Akyem Abuakwa state in the Eastern Region of Ghana were selected through quota and purposive sampling techniques in a cross-sectional study. The article found that few people in the traditional area believed that the institution is a potential source of conflict and violence while the majority of the people believed the institution is a blessing to the society because it brings about peace, stability and development in Ghana.

Following the footsteps: Urbanisation of Wa Municipality and its synergism in risk accumulation, uncertainties and complexities in urban Ghana.

Global demographic characteristics have witnessed a significant shift with more than half of the world’s population crossing the rural–urban threshold in 2008. In Ghana, the 2010 census report revealed 50.9% urban population. While the many benefits of organised and efficient cities are well understood, it must be recognised that rapid, often unplanned urbanisation brings risk of profound social instability, risk to critical infrastructure, potential water crises and the potential for devastating spread of disease. These risks can only be further exacerbated as this unprecedented transition from rural to urban areas continues. This also means stakes are high for public and private interventions to ensure that urbanisation reinforces rather than retards prosperity. In spite of these past experiences, urban governance policies in emerging smaller cities are frequently ambivalent and piecemeal, exhibiting similar negative tendencies, a development that has received less academic attention. This study adopted multiple research techniques and the data were generated through a structured questionnaire survey, personal interviews and discussions. Based on our conviction that the development trajectory of any city hinges on the quality of its physical foundation, we seek to fill the knowledge gap using the Wa Municipality, the least urbanised but one of the fastest urbanising cities in Ghana today, as a case study. The results reveal emerging tendencies that indicate that Wa appears to be following in the footsteps of its predecessors – experiencing an inefficient potable water supply system and chronic sanitation situation, making diarrhoea one of many challenges for residents. It is ultimately suggested that a collaborative partnership with all key stakeholders is a better option to reap the potential for urbanisation to strengthen economic growth and development.

Six decades after independence: the enduring influence of missionary activities on regional wealth inequalities in Ghana

What forces drive regional economic divergence? This study identifies colonial-era missions as an institutional force in shaping economic relations in Ghana. We conceptualize Christian missions as an institution, in its solid form, as the educational infrastructure and trade networks developed, and in its formal form, as advancing new rules that governed cultural and trade development. We use survey data, a map of mission stations, data on colonial-era urbanization and calculations of geographic endowments in each region of the country to examine the impacts of missionary activities on wealth, schooling and population clustering, and how these are reflected in wealth differences across regions of Ghana today. Results show that regional disparities in household wealth are large and significantly associated with intensity of colonial missionary activities, even after accounting for other important structural factors.