Isaac Ato Mensah (Page 15)

By Isaac Ato Mensah Accra – 17 May, 2019 On Wednesday, Mrs Rebecca Okaikor Akufo-Addo, Ghana’s First Lady, cut a tape to commission a modern Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (PICU and NICU) for Korlebu Teaching Hospital. The centre will also take care of Highly Dependent Children. The Ga representation in terms of royals, political appointees, the First Lady herself, and display of culture was clear and excellent, except that my friend Jerry Adjorlolo, the MC, who is Ga-Adangbe, struggled to pronounce Naa Akuyea, a royal’s name. The Ga inflexion is unique in its complexity. A sketch led by a teenage girl from aRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 15 May, 2019 The open air brand new underwear traders in Tudu, Accra often engage in loud risqué banter and sexual innuendo; it is their stock in trade, literally. On Monday, I found myself under a lady’s umbrella as the rains poured down on Accra. Conversations got very personal and it became necessary to announce my journalistic credentials. Still she did not mind giving personal details except that once in a while she asked, “Are you Anas?”. Anas has become a pseudonym in Ghana for undercover journalism. She soon confirmed my details through a bank transaction I made, andRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 13 May, 2019 Tertiary institutions in Ghana are being lobbied by National Accreditation Board and National Council for Tertiary Education to agree to a centralized admissions system. Dr Kingsley Nyarko, Executive Secretary of National Accreditation Board, read a speech on behalf of the Minister of Education which announced the proposed policy. We reproduce below the main body of the speech. SPEECH BY DR MATTHEW OPOKU PREMPEH, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AND MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR MANHYIA SOUTH DELIVERED TO THE JOINT FIFTH MATRICULATION AND FIRST CONGREGATION OF ANGLICAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY AT THE NKORANZA CAMPUS IN NKORANZA ON 11THRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 10 May, 2019 On 25 April, the Law Faculty of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) celebrated its 15th anniversary. We say ayekoo to Professor Lydia Nkansah, Head of Faculty, all lectures and students. The theme you have chosen for your anniversary could not have been more appropriate; Law, Science and Technology in the 21st Century. Many of us remember the earlier public commentary about why KNUST will not concentrate on its supposedly core function of training technocrats in science and technology, and leave the study of Law to other institutions. After 15 years, I am impressedRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 8 May, 2019 Exam week is here. In reality, it goes beyond one week. A discussion on metacognition will prove that worries about exam week are inconsequential. At the tertiary level where the exam questions are set and marked internally, during the last two lectures before revision week, many lecturers usually give broad hints as to the topic areas on which the questions were set. So even though we are in exam mode, let us place less emphasis on the exam and think about thinking, learn about learning, and become aware about awareness. Such a contemplation, called metacognition, meaningRead More →

By Naeem Ahmed Abdul-Ghafaar Accra – 6 May, 2019 The Holy month of Ramadan begins today. For the non-Muslim, leaning about the Islamic world can seem so confounding, especially if one has no Muslim support to fall upon. All studies that have to do with Islam are based on the Qur’an and the Hadiths. The Hadiths have different authors or reporters who recorded the sayings and actions of the Holy Prophet (pbuh). The Holy Qur’an itself is also the subject of intense study. Once a subject of study has to do with Islam the curriculum has to cover the Qur’an and the Hadiths. Another fieldRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 3 May, 2019 On 15 March, 2019, the School of Information and Communication Studies (SICS), University of Ghana organised a seminar on digital media at Legon, Accra. The title was: US JOURNALISM’S DISRUPTION AND DEMOCRACY IN THE DIGITAL AGE. This was when fake news of mass killings by Maduro loyalists in Venezuela was gaining currency. The speaker was Prof Dorothy Bland from University of North Texas, USA. When she asked, “How many of you think Ghanaians have a favourable opinion of president Trump?”, none of 50 or so attendees raised a hand. Prof Dorothy Bland, presented data to showRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH/Lilly Adjorkor ADJEI Accra – 1 May, 2019 The Chief Cashier of the UK exchequer says in just eight years, cash use in UK will reduce to around 16 percent of total transactions. Sarah John, Chief Cashier of the Bank of England explained,“We therefore need to prepare for a world with less cash usage, without knowing exactly what path cash will follow, and be prepared to respond effectively and sensitively as society’s payment preferences change over the next few years.” On almost the same day here in Ghana, a press release from the BOG stated: “The Bank of Ghana will issue upgradedRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 29 April, 2019 Last Tuesday, Joy FM, an Accra based radio station featured a tourism story on its business news monitored between 1:10 and 1:14pm. After the news anchor had introduced the story the voice over was just about 60 seconds, describing tourism in Ghana, Morocco, South Africa…..it was too short with very little detail. But you cannot blame the reporter; it was not a feature story. The report stated that Ghana had a shoreline of about 560KM, compared that with Morocco’s and talked about Morocco focusing on two of its most important tourist departure nations and granting theirRead More →

By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra – 26 April, 2019 When she said, “I shall speak from the heart,” it became a poor speech delivery moment for Ursula Owusu Ekuful, Ghana’s minister for communications. What followed was a public relations disaster. This was when she inaugurated (“dedicated”) the Wisconsin University studios in Accra on Wednesday. In the end, she stated: “His Excellency President Akufo-Addo has told the nation he is in a hurry, so he has given all of us [appointees] the marching orders”. This is not a petty matter, for, I had to take time to explain to university students studying communications the import ofRead More →