Browsing by Author "Alidu, S."
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Item Natural resource governance in Ghana: bridging the theory and practice gap(University of Ghana, 2015-04-17) Alidu, S.; Armah, R."Yen a ra Asaase Ni ", a popular patriotic song from Ephraim Amu celebrates the great wealth bestowed on the country by nature. Like this song, the national colours of Ghana (specifically the yellow in between the Red and Green) celebrate the mineral wealth of the country. Indeed, the name "Ghana", given after independence, is borrowed from an old empire thought to be rich in gold. Contemporary Ghana is endowed with mineral deposits such as gold, diamond, manganese and bauxite. There are also unexploited economic deposits of iron ore, limestone, kaolin, feldspar and silica sands. Despite the blessing, lack of capacity, legal policies and institutions has impeded Ghana's effort to maximize benefits from these resources. Recognizing the potential of Small Scale Mining (SSM) to national development, the Government of Ghana initiated the regularization of Small Scale Gold Mining in 1989 with the promulgation of the Small Scale Gold Mining Law, PNDCL218. This decision aimed to provide technical support to SSM, capturing all the minerals produced into official channels; generating employment and regulating the industry in such a way that the miners operate in an environmentally friendly manner. However, the existence of these legal frameworks mismatches the ongoing practice, especially the activities of "galamsey" operators. This paper seeks to interrogate the gap between theory and practice and its causes. Using focus group discussions and in-depth interviews of experts, it will argue that until theory matches practice it will be difficult to benefit from our natural resources without heavy losses on the environment and humans.Item Politics, Public Policy and Social Protection in Africa(Routledge, 2017) De-Graft Aikins, A.; Alidu, S.; Bortei-Doku Aryeetey, E.; Domfe, G.; Armah, R.Africa is now in a much-improved position to support its poor and vulnerable people. It has more money, more policy commitment and abundant intervention programmes. Yet the number of citizens living lives of desperation, or at risk of destitution, is at an all-time high, and still rising. What is turning such positive prospects into such a disappointing result? Politics, Public Policy and Social Protection in Africa reveals key answers, drawing on empirical studies of cash transfer programmes in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda. Social cash transfer might be the most effective "safety net" formula to emerge so far. The country chapters in this book explore why it works and how it might be harnessed for poverty alleviation. The studies uncover the very different motives of donors, politicians and the poor themselves for making it their preferred choice; why governments are not expanding the donor-driven pilot programmes as expected, and why ruling elites are not trying to help or hinder a concept which, on the face of it, could derail one of their most lucrative gravy trains. This book will be of value and interest to researchers and students of African politics, African social policy and sociology, as well as policy maker and donors.Item Rational voting in Ghana’s 2012 and 2016 national elections in perspective(Ghana Social Science Journal, 2018-06) Alidu, S.; Aggrey-Darkoh, E.The dominant narrative explaining the electoral victory of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2012 and 2016 national elections in Ghana respectively emphasized coherence and realistic nature of campaign messages; appeal of presidential candidates, campaign strategies and symbolic politics as being instrumental in determining the outcomes. This paper argues that beyond these factors, voter rationality also played a role. The Ghanaian voter is increasingly becoming rational in several respects: in the manner they demand instantaneous rewards for the choices that they make, and also the sophistication of the pattern of votes. Increasingly, the traditional assumption of the dominant party model, ideological and sociological variables are gradually been muscled out and opening Ghana’s democratic process towards consolidation. Political candidates are gradually becoming cognisant of the fact that the voter can no longer be taken for granted. The danger of the rational choice model is the fact that instantaneous rewards have moved the Ghanaian political space to ostentatious spending. This has strangled smaller political parties out of electoral competition and has further tilted electoral fortunes to the two dominant political parties; the NDC and the NPP.Item Security Sector Reform in Post-Conflict States in Africa: The Case of Liberia(University of Ghana, 2012-07) Harrison-Cudjoe, S.; Alidu, S.; Ansah-Koi, K.The study analyses post-conflict Security Sector Reform (SSR) in post-conflict states in Africa with particular reference to Liberia. It posits that a robust and comprehensive SSR can be a tool for peacebuilding, and promote sustainable peace in postconflict environments. The importance of local ownership to any attempt at carrying out an SSR is also discussed in the study. This helps to make meaningful generalisations about, and contribute to post-conflict SSR as a whole. The study finds that effective and sustainable SSR in postconflict societies is possible within the context of a multi-sectoral approach. This will involve the combined efforts of all the management and oversight bodies such as the Legislature, Judiciary and the Executive to achieve result. The role of civil society in ensuring the sustainability of any SSR program is also highlighted. The study makes the recommendation, among others, that in future the ECOWAS Mechanism should be applied as an SSR tool for sub-regional transformation to prevent a recurrence of violence.Item Women's Participation In Ghanaian Politics: An Assessment Of The Opportunities And Limitations(University of Ghana, 2015-07) Hamah, V.; Alidu, S.; University of Ghana, College of Humanities, Centre for Social Policy StudiesThe historical subordination of women especially in public life has been widely discussed and efforts are being made globally to reverse this trend. Ghana is not insulated from this global trend. Thus, this study selectively focused on examining women’s participation in national politics in Ghana, an attempt to find out factors accounting for their low participation and the opportunities that exist to promote their effective involvement. The methodology was qualitative in design and involved interviews with women parliamentarians, ministers, council of state members, national executive members of political parties and heads of corporate institutions. Apart from relying on primary data from these respondents, the study also used secondary data from available literature to reinforce the findings. This study found that despite the incessant discussions on women’s underrepresentation in national politics and the global call to support women’s increased participation, their numbers in national politics are still considerably low. In the national parliament for instance, the proportion of women since 1992 has not gone beyond eleven per cent although they constitute over fifty percent of the national population. The study realized that in part, factors such as male dominance in institutions of authority, systematic discrimination against females on the basis of age, public vilification and attacks on women’s personalities, lack of commitment in implementing affirmative action promises as well as the increasing monetization in politics contribute to the low participation of women in politics. These factors, however, are not insurmountable. It is a wakeup call on government, civil society, women groups and political parties to engineer the adoption of a national affirmation action policy which will have the endorsement of all political parties. Political parties should also abolish unfair and very high nomination fees for women. It is believed that the adoption of these strategies including the establishment of a special fund to support women in politics will help to reverse the trend.