May 8th, 2008
Host: Evans Mensah
Produced by Steven Anti and Alison Lang
World Press Freedom day was instituted by the United Nations in 1993 to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press when it comes to developing member-states. It is also to remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The theme for this year’s celebration is Freedom of the Press, empowerment and participation of the people. Ghana has experienced press controls in the past, particularly under the rule of former president - and military man - Jerry Rawlings. JOY NEWS reporter Steven Anti and JHR staffer Alison Lang went for a stroll around Accra’s media houses to ask some of the country’s top journalists about the obstacles Ghanaian reporters face in the post-Rawlings era.
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May 5th, 2008
“In a country with an unemployment rate of nearly 80% it is hard to take seriously the concerns of those lucky enough to have an income”. While the words of labour ministry spokesperson Edmond Y. Kamara sound blunt and insensitive, it’s hard to deny that they also make a fair deal of sense.
Still the fact that local stone breakers in Makeni work tedious, long hours for very little pay grants them a right to grievance.
A mere few hundred metres behind Radio Maria, my home base during my time in Makeni, sits an informal granite quarry that provides work for between fifty and a hundred men, women and children. Numbers fluctuate as workers are consistently unable to work due to chronic labour related injuries.
Leonard Massaquoi, Radio Maria reporter and journalism student, and I recently visited the job site located at the base of Makeni’s Marian Hill. Leonard had asked me to accompany him as he investigated claims of unfit working conditions.
The stone breakers indeed grumbled about the strains of physical labour and the need for government administered workers compensation. However, their most consistent complaint revolved around the lack of steady market prices for the granite stones.
Three-year veteran of the trade Abu Bangura was confident he would have a much easier time providing for his family if the government would take a role in setting a fair and consistent market rate for the commodity.
After our afternoon with the stone breakers Leonard and I visited the local office of Sierra Leone’s Labour Ministry. Spokesperson Edmond Y. Kamara admitted he was unaware of the specific group we were inquiring about, the informal job sector makes up more then half of Sierra Leone’s workforce. Kamara did say that all members of the self-employed workforce are encouraged to register with the worker’s insurance board, the body that provides compensation when registered labours become unable to work due to illness or injury.
The problem remains however, with unpredictable wages and the relentless risk of immobilizing injury, workers cannot afford to pay into anything other then the immediate needs of their dependents.
-Mackay Taggart
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May 5th, 2008
International Workers Day happened on May 1st. Historically it’s a time to celebrate the achievements of the labour movement all over the world. In Ghana this year, the Trades Union Congress planned to mark the day with the theme of “Deepening Democracy.” But many workers tell JOY NEWS that they’re more concerned with rising food, petrol and utility costs. JOY FM has been questioning officials of the TUC on whether this theme is important when most workers are struggling to fund their kids’ educations, food costs, rent, utilities and increasing transportation fees.
Acting General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress Kofi Asamoah says that the bread and butter issues are important. However, he says they shouldn’t be the sole focus during Labour Day events.
“I may not agree that if the cost of living is skyrocketing, it should be the only thing you think about,” he says. If we make our messages well rounded, the message will not be about deepening democracy alone. It will be talking about the economic and social well being of the workers in this country generally.”
JOY FM reporter Steven Anti and JHR trainer Alison Lang went to visit some members of the civil service to hear how they feel about scraping by month after month - and what they think should be done about it.
By Steven Anti
Produced by Alison Lang
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April 30th, 2008
As the rainy season slams into Accra, it brings overflowing drains, flooded homes and residents increasingly disenchanted with both government and the journalists who come to document their plight.
Host: Dzifa Bampoh
Produced by Peter Mensah and Alison Lang
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April 24th, 2008
JOY FM reporter Peter Korda recently took a trip to a dumping site to investigate a growing problem in Accra: e-waste.
The term e-waste refers to old electronics - computers, tv sets, fridges - that have stopped working and are dumped at various waste sites. The problem with e-waste is that it contains carcinogenic chemicals like lead, cadmium, and others that are poisonous to the human body and the environment. The “e-waste” buzzword has been floating around in North American lexicons for some time now, mirroring the rising trendiness - and urgency - of climate change awareness. The issue of e-waste is coming to the fore in Ghana because there’s a huge market in used electronics here. When the goods inevitably fizzle out, they are trashed at mass dumping grounds. But the story doesn’t end there – young men living in the dumping areas take the parts, burn them down and take them apart to re-sell them to investors within the city. As a result, these boys are directly inhaling toxins produced by burning the electronics and sending them into the atmosphere.
We visited an area near the Korle lagoon in the Agogbloshie area of the city to talk to some kids who work and live amongst this refuse every day. The boys range in age from 12 to 18. Some are exposed to these chemicals all day long. Some of them go to school and some of them have stopped. They all work on the abandoned electronics as a source of livelihood. Some are aware of the health risks but most seem unconcerned. For them, it’s a consistent form of income in a country where jobs are in short supply.
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April 21st, 2008
Vendors are disgusted with the filth at their market and say they will stop paying their dues unless city council cleans up its act.
The following radio news story was put together by Fatmata Kuwatteh of Radio Mankneh. As a trainer, it was my first opportunity to work with a female reporter. Despite Kuwatteh’s obligations to her home, husband and children, she was determined to research, write and produce this story.
What would have taken me one day of work in Canada, took us two weeks to complete in Sierra Leone. Nevertheless, the piece was aired on Radio Mankneh and Fatmata Kuwatteh has been jubilating ever since
Rachael Borlase
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April 14th, 2008
By Mackay Taggart with files from Joseph B. Bangura
The modern library goes beyond simply books and bookcases. It has become, thanks to the proliferation of the internet and electronic media, a way to connect and interact with the world at large.
Unfortunately the Makeni City Library is not yet a modern library, for it, like most buildings in the city, has no access to electricity. However, a private donation, a hot Saturday morning and a sheet of solar panels the size a beach towel is about to change that.
Last weekend townspeople gathered and watched as volunteer Simon Willans from the Environmental Foundation for Africa mounted brackets, cables and the panels themselves onto the roof of the city’s only municipal library.
At a one time cost of approximately $2000 CDN the library will soon hold the capacity to run a laptop computer, a handful of energy efficient light bulbs and have enough energy remaining for limited cell phone charging.
A faulty inverter stalled the inaugural flipping of the switch, but the projects organizers are confident that, following the arrival of the new part, the system will be up and running in the coming days.
The addition of solar electricity has sparked plans for computer training programs and talk of possible public internet access. The installation of the panels also provided an opportunity for me and Radio Maria reporter Joseph B. Bangura to cover a great local story. It aired on the Monday April 7th edition of Radio Maria’s English language “Day Break Salone”.
Category: Sierra Leone | 0 Comments |
April 3rd, 2008
It’s been nearly a year since the new educational reforms were launched by government. JOY NEWS has done some checks in Accra to see how the changes are working out, particularly with the new curriculum. But how has the programme fared in the resource-starved schools in the northern region? I paid a visit to a school outside of Tamale and discovered that the teachers have not yet received the new curriculum that was promised to them, and are struggling to help students remember what they’ve taught.
Bernard Saibu Reports
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April 1st, 2008
A Halifax doctor and two of his Dalhousie medical students spent most of March saving lives in the world’s poorest country.
They were touring Sierra Leone with ‘Rapid Test Kits’ – an HIV screening test that gives patients their results in just three minutes.
Rachael Borlase met up with the doctors while they were working in Makeni.
Reporter: Rachael Borlase
With help from: Prof Marco Sessay
Category: Sierra Leone | 0 Comments |
April 1st, 2008
As the United Nations marks World Water Day on March 20th, millions of people across the globe are thirsting for the world’s most important resurce. In Ghana, shortages have reached crisis levels. In some areas, it’s been years since water flowed from the taps. The situation is impacting negatively on everything from health, to the economy, and even seemingly unrelated sectors, such as education. Some people say the problem has worsened since Ghana contracted a private firm to manage the system. Muftawu Mohammed reports.
Category: Ghana | 0 Comments |
