The complexity of contemporary violent conflicts requires a shift from the traditional notion that preventing conflicts and building peace reside within governments to include the role of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). Using a qualitative research design with 20 in-depth interviews conducted with representatives of CSOs in northern Ghana, the study reveals three broad categories of CSOs namely Faith-Based Organisations (FBOs), Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) and Non-Governmental Organisations(NGOs) performing conflict prevention and peacebuilding roles. These CSOs respond constructively to conflict using dialogue and mediation in different ways by using multiple instruments such as early warning systems and peace education for conflict prevention and peacebuilding. The study shows that, unlike the state, CSOs worked towards conflict prevention and peacebuilding through local initiatives and partnership with communities. The dominant philosophy guiding CSOs’ work is the integrationist paradigm. One serious limitation identified in the conflict prevention and peacebuilding work of CSOs in northern Ghana is the lack of a common peacebuilding framework that can guide them to reduce the duplication of functions within the same space. The paper recommends that CSOs should forge a working partnership to roll out a comprehensive conflict prevention and peacebuilding activity to build sustainable peace for the development of the regions of northern Ghana.
{"title":"Civil society organisations, conflict prevention and peacebuilding in Northern Ghana","authors":"Patrick Osie-Kuffour, K. Bukari","doi":"10.47963/joss.v10i1.919","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47963/joss.v10i1.919","url":null,"abstract":"The complexity of contemporary violent conflicts requires a shift from the traditional notion that preventing conflicts and building peace reside within governments to include the role of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). Using a qualitative research design with 20 in-depth interviews conducted with representatives of CSOs in northern Ghana, the study reveals three broad categories of CSOs namely Faith-Based Organisations (FBOs), Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) and Non-Governmental Organisations(NGOs) performing conflict prevention and peacebuilding roles. These CSOs respond constructively to conflict using dialogue and mediation in different ways by using multiple instruments such as early warning systems and peace education for conflict prevention and peacebuilding. The study shows that, unlike the state, CSOs worked towards conflict prevention and peacebuilding through local initiatives and partnership with communities. The dominant philosophy guiding CSOs’ work is the integrationist paradigm. One serious limitation identified in the conflict prevention and peacebuilding work of CSOs in northern Ghana is the lack of a common peacebuilding framework that can guide them to reduce the duplication of functions within the same space. The paper recommends that CSOs should forge a working partnership to roll out a comprehensive conflict prevention and peacebuilding activity to build sustainable peace for the development of the regions of northern Ghana.","PeriodicalId":433603,"journal":{"name":"Oguaa Journal of Social Sciences","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130256255","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Using parliamentary questions as data and a corpus-assisted systemic functional approach through Wordsmith Tools, this paper, with specific reference to relational processes, explores yes/no interrogatives in order to establish how MPs encode in their questions issues of attitudes, commitments, personalities and ideas of (Prime) Ministers during Ghanaian Minister’s and UK Prime Minister’s Questions. The paper finds that MPs use yes/no interrogatives with relational processes to describe (Prime) Ministers as carriers of certain attributes relating to their positions and responsibilities, while some of the questions are issue- focused. To achieve this, MPs employ two main questioning strategies: person-targeted and idea-targeted pragmatic strategies, thereby raising issues of (Prime) Ministers’ credibility and commitment to duty. The paper has implications for parliamentary questions, party politics and MPs’ and (Prime) Ministers’ duties as representatives of their constituents.
{"title":"person or the issue? Relational process, person- and idea- targeted questions in UK and Ghanaian parliamentary questions","authors":"Kwabena Sarfo Sarfo-Kantankah","doi":"10.47963/joss.v10i1.906","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47963/joss.v10i1.906","url":null,"abstract":"Using parliamentary questions as data and a corpus-assisted systemic functional approach through Wordsmith Tools, this paper, with specific reference to relational processes, explores yes/no interrogatives in order to establish how MPs encode in their questions issues of attitudes, commitments, personalities and ideas of (Prime) Ministers during Ghanaian Minister’s and UK Prime Minister’s Questions. The paper finds that MPs use yes/no interrogatives with relational processes to describe (Prime) Ministers as carriers of certain attributes relating to their positions and responsibilities, while some of the questions are issue- focused. To achieve this, MPs employ two main questioning strategies: person-targeted and idea-targeted pragmatic strategies, thereby raising issues of (Prime) Ministers’ credibility and commitment to duty. The paper has implications for parliamentary questions, party politics and MPs’ and (Prime) Ministers’ duties as representatives of their constituents.","PeriodicalId":433603,"journal":{"name":"Oguaa Journal of Social Sciences","volume":"58 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115785384","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. A. Aning-Agyei, P. G. Aning-Agyei, S. Kendie, E. Y. Tenkorang
Community participation is central to the sustainable management of forest reserves. However, forest reserves in the Twifo-Hemang-Lower Denkyira District are disturbed by rural people even under collaborative forest management, which threatens forest sustainability. The study analysed the socio-economic importance of the reserves to the forest fringe communities, participation levels of the communities in reserve protection, and challenges stakeholders face in ensuring sustainable forest management (SFM). The study adopted a descriptive study design to assess community participation in SFM. Both simple random sampling and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the sample for the study. Questionnaire, interview schedule and focus group discussion guide were employed for the primary data collection. The main findings of the study were that forest fringe communities enjoyed some benefits from the forest but this was not enough. Their participation in SFM was only by upholding the forest by-laws. However, a major challenge was the farm raiding by elephants from the forest reserve. Community participation in SFM was at the 'lowest levels. Some of the challenges encountered by stakeholders in SFM were non-cooperation of community members and access restriction to forest resources. The study recommends that government should not only legally recognise forest ownership rights but also build the capacity of communities to allow higher community participation levels in SFM.
{"title":"Community participation and sustainable forest management in the Twifo-Hemang-Lower Denkyira District","authors":"M. A. Aning-Agyei, P. G. Aning-Agyei, S. Kendie, E. Y. Tenkorang","doi":"10.47963/joss.v7i1.587","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47963/joss.v7i1.587","url":null,"abstract":"Community participation is central to the sustainable management of forest reserves. However, forest reserves in the Twifo-Hemang-Lower Denkyira District are disturbed by rural people even under collaborative forest management, which threatens forest sustainability. The study analysed the socio-economic importance of the reserves to the forest fringe communities, participation levels of the communities in reserve protection, and challenges stakeholders face in ensuring sustainable forest management (SFM). The study adopted a descriptive study design to assess community participation in SFM. Both simple random sampling and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the sample for the study. Questionnaire, interview schedule and focus group discussion guide were employed for the primary data collection. The main findings of the study were that forest fringe communities enjoyed some benefits from the forest but this was not enough. Their participation in SFM was only by upholding the forest by-laws. However, a major challenge was the farm raiding by elephants from the forest reserve. Community participation in SFM was at the 'lowest levels. Some of the challenges encountered by stakeholders in SFM were non-cooperation of community members and access restriction to forest resources. The study recommends that government should not only legally recognise forest ownership rights but also build the capacity of communities to allow higher community participation levels in SFM.","PeriodicalId":433603,"journal":{"name":"Oguaa Journal of Social Sciences","volume":"15 2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132764806","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The literature shows that degrading water resources is partly due to the lack of stakeholder participation in its management. It also underscores that intensive stakeholder participation is vital for democracy, good governance, and sustainable development in water resources management. However, the gradation of stakeholder participation in water resources management has not been widely studied. I applied the extended ladder of participation in water resource management in the Densu Basin in Ghana. I collected data through 123 interviews and 26 focus group discussions in addition to an examination of policy and legal documents on water resource management. My findings show that the activities that affect the lives of the communities influence the intensity of their participation in the Densu Basin. I therefore recommend that for local people to manage their water resources sustainably and intensively, government and non-governmental agencies must link management activities with local livelihoods and create awareness of the importance of the ecosystem to community sustenance. My findings again show that inducing communities through economic incentives is only appropriate for short term water resource management needs as such incentives cannot be sustained. However, an approach that stimulates communities to participate through their own initiatives after being helped to identify their needs is likely to lead to intensive and sustainable participation in water resource management.
{"title":"Gradation of stakeholder participation in water resources management in the Densu Basin in Ghana","authors":"N. Anokye","doi":"10.47963/joss.v9i1.323","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47963/joss.v9i1.323","url":null,"abstract":"The literature shows that degrading water resources is partly due to the lack of stakeholder participation in its management. It also underscores that intensive stakeholder participation is vital for democracy, good governance, and sustainable development in water resources management. However, the gradation of stakeholder participation in water resources management has not been widely studied. I applied the extended ladder of participation in water resource management in the Densu Basin in Ghana. I collected data through 123 interviews and 26 focus group discussions in addition to an examination of policy and legal documents on water resource management. My findings show that the activities that affect the lives of the communities influence the intensity of their participation in the Densu Basin. I therefore recommend that for local people to manage their water resources sustainably and intensively, government and non-governmental agencies must link management activities with local livelihoods and create awareness of the importance of the ecosystem to community sustenance. My findings again show that inducing communities through economic incentives is only appropriate for short term water resource management needs as such incentives cannot be sustained. However, an approach that stimulates communities to participate through their own initiatives after being helped to identify their needs is likely to lead to intensive and sustainable participation in water resource management.","PeriodicalId":433603,"journal":{"name":"Oguaa Journal of Social Sciences","volume":"181 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124559124","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Emmanuel Adjei-Danso, E. Y. Tenkorang, P. Osei-Kufuor
Reforms in the energy sector are expected to bring about essential efciency gains, which could result in energy diversifcation and welfare improvements among households. However, there are other unintended social and environmental consequences associated with the process. One signifcant social concern is the likely impact on how low-income families access new energy. The study used a cross-sectional design to undertake a comparative analysis of domestic energy choices. Data was collected from 405 households’ decision makers. An interview schedule and a guide were used for the data collection. The results showed that modern fuels are by far the most predominant source of energy for high and medium class residential households in Kumasi. However, residents in low-class areas preferred to use biomass fuel as their primary energy choice. Contextual variations revealed that general factors such as afordability and accessibility of energy source were exogenous determinants of energy choice. The fndings of the study also lend support to the energy ladder hypothesis that household income is a signifcant determinant of household energy choice. Further, social and demographic factors are critical determinants of cooking fuel type in residential zones. The study recommends the promotion of modern fuels through developing dependable energy distribution systems, and public education campaigns by the Energy Commission of Ghana.
{"title":"Factors influencing household energy choices in the Kumasi Metropolitan area of Ghana","authors":"Emmanuel Adjei-Danso, E. Y. Tenkorang, P. Osei-Kufuor","doi":"10.47963/joss.v9i1.319","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47963/joss.v9i1.319","url":null,"abstract":"Reforms in the energy sector are expected to bring about essential efciency gains, which could result in energy diversifcation and welfare improvements among households. However, there are other unintended social and environmental consequences associated with the process. One signifcant social concern is the likely impact on how low-income families access new energy. The study used a cross-sectional design to undertake a comparative analysis of domestic energy choices. Data was collected from 405 households’ decision makers. An interview schedule and a guide were used for the data collection. The results showed that modern fuels are by far the most predominant source of energy for high and medium class residential households in Kumasi. However, residents in low-class areas preferred to use biomass fuel as their primary energy choice. Contextual variations revealed that general factors such as afordability and accessibility of energy source were exogenous determinants of energy choice. The fndings of the study also lend support to the energy ladder hypothesis that household income is a signifcant determinant of household energy choice. Further, social and demographic factors are critical determinants of cooking fuel type in residential zones. The study recommends the promotion of modern fuels through developing dependable energy distribution systems, and public education campaigns by the Energy Commission of Ghana.","PeriodicalId":433603,"journal":{"name":"Oguaa Journal of Social Sciences","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130887703","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Informal waste collectors play an essentialrole in urban solid waste management; however,in many developing countries, they are neglectedin the waste management policy framework. Thispaper explored the policy regime of informal waste operators in waste management in Accra, Ghana.Drawing on qualitative data from in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with informal waste collectors, private waste companies and officials of Accra Metropolitan Assembly, the paper shows that formal waste contractors with concession rights underserve low-class areas due to operational difficulties. The informal waste collectors fill this gap by providing services to these underserved communities though they have no legal entitlement to the concessions. The formal waste contractors and the municipal authorities recognize this gap filling role of informal waste collectors in waste management in Accra yet fail to provide the official recognition to legitimise their participation in solid waste management. The lack of official recognition, even in formal policy documents, undermines the development of informal waste management services as a viable employment option. It also denies a substantial section of the residents in poorer neighbourhoods in the national capital access to affordable and efficient waste management services.
{"title":"Informal operators in waste management in Accra, Ghana: From neglect to recognition?","authors":"Owusu Boampong, Akua O. Britwum, Angela D. Akorsu","doi":"10.47963/joss.v9i1.322","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47963/joss.v9i1.322","url":null,"abstract":"Informal waste collectors play an essentialrole in urban solid waste management; however,in many developing countries, they are neglectedin the waste management policy framework. Thispaper explored the policy regime of informal waste operators in waste management in Accra, Ghana.Drawing on qualitative data from in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with informal waste collectors, private waste companies and officials of Accra Metropolitan Assembly, the paper shows that formal waste contractors with concession rights underserve low-class areas due to operational difficulties. The informal waste collectors fill this gap by providing services to these underserved communities though they have no legal entitlement to the concessions. The formal waste contractors and the municipal authorities recognize this gap filling role of informal waste collectors in waste management in Accra yet fail to provide the official recognition to legitimise their participation in solid waste management. The lack of official recognition, even in formal policy documents, undermines the development of informal waste management services as a viable employment option. It also denies a substantial section of the residents in poorer neighbourhoods in the national capital access to affordable and efficient waste management services.","PeriodicalId":433603,"journal":{"name":"Oguaa Journal of Social Sciences","volume":"17 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117185389","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Since the last formal vestiges of colonial rule disappeared in 1994, the democratically elected governments on the African continent have been experimenting with developmental strategies and policies. These experiments come at the backdrop that Africa’s output per head is notoriously among the lowest in the world and has, on the average, expanded slowly and haltingly since 1960, albeit, with some critical changes, and variations over place, space and time. The structural adjustment programme (SAP) in the 1980s, for example, marked a watershed: a fundamental shift from administrative to market means of resource allocation. This opinion piece, appearing in this Special Issue of the Oguaa Journal of Social Sciences on the theme “Developmental issues in contemporary Ghana”, provides an overview of Africa’s development trajectories as presented by the collection of articles, using Ghana as a test-tube.
{"title":"Unpacking Africa as a dynamic continent: Insights from contemporary development issues in Ghana","authors":"M. Oteng-Ababio","doi":"10.47963/joss.v9i1.318","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47963/joss.v9i1.318","url":null,"abstract":"Since the last formal vestiges of colonial rule disappeared in 1994, the democratically elected governments on the African continent have been experimenting with developmental strategies and policies. These experiments come at the backdrop that Africa’s output per head is notoriously among the lowest in the world and has, on the average, expanded slowly and haltingly since 1960, albeit, with some critical changes, and variations over place, space and time. The structural adjustment programme (SAP) in the 1980s, for example, marked a watershed: a fundamental shift from administrative to market means of resource allocation. This opinion piece, appearing in this Special Issue of the Oguaa Journal of Social Sciences on the theme “Developmental issues in contemporary Ghana”, provides an overview of Africa’s development trajectories as presented by the collection of articles, using Ghana as a test-tube.","PeriodicalId":433603,"journal":{"name":"Oguaa Journal of Social Sciences","volume":"41 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115370810","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Recent policy debates point to public service privatisation as a solution to the problems of state indebtedness, non-performance, and inefciency of the public sector. This privatisation agenda has raised concerns about the implications for jobs and working conditions. In developing countries like Ghana, where markets are weak or exhibit signs of failure, state policy becomes a vital avenue for securing decent working conditions for workers. Using an appraisal of Ghana’s Environmental Sanitation Policy and through the lens of institutional theory, the paper argues that the extent to which employment rights are framed, even at the policy stage, signals how labour rights will be impacted within privatised employment spaces. The analysis shows that the environmental sanitation policy ignores the interests of labour. The paper, therefore, recommends the need for inputs of labour market institutions such as trade unions at the policy stage. This is because trade unions remain the most credible source of response to the unrestrained exploitative tendencies of capital at the expense of labour.
{"title":"Does labour matter in reforms? Indications from Ghana’s environmental sanitation policy","authors":"A. D. Akorsu, A. Britwum, Owusu Boampong","doi":"10.47963/joss.v9i1.321","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47963/joss.v9i1.321","url":null,"abstract":"Recent policy debates point to public service privatisation as a solution to the problems of state indebtedness, non-performance, and inefciency of the public sector. This privatisation agenda has raised concerns about the implications for jobs and working conditions. In developing countries like Ghana, where markets are weak or exhibit signs of failure, state policy becomes a vital avenue for securing decent working conditions for workers. Using an appraisal of Ghana’s Environmental Sanitation Policy and through the lens of institutional theory, the paper argues that the extent to which employment rights are framed, even at the policy stage, signals how labour rights will be impacted within privatised employment spaces. The analysis shows that the environmental sanitation policy ignores the interests of labour. The paper, therefore, recommends the need for inputs of labour market institutions such as trade unions at the policy stage. This is because trade unions remain the most credible source of response to the unrestrained exploitative tendencies of capital at the expense of labour.","PeriodicalId":433603,"journal":{"name":"Oguaa Journal of Social Sciences","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124706548","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Development practitioners in recent times have recognised that the general factors of production determine only partially the process of economic growth because they overlook the way in which economic actors interact and organise themselves to generate economic growth. In 2006, the World Bank publication cited developing countries as having the least amount of intangible capital compared to the developed nations. However, among the components of intangible capital, social capital has attracted considerable attention among social scientists in general and development economists in particular because there is growing evidence that social capital can have impacts on development outcomes. Using primarily desk studies, the paper examines current literature on social capital and how they provide some answers to the missing link in Ghana’s development. We conclude that while micro-level social capital is important and predominates in Ghana’s development, its success largely depends on macro-level social capital.This implies that an enabling socio-economic environment is very vital for all sectors to function properly. In essence, social capital – like natural, physical and human capital – has limited value if it is not combined with other forms of capital, because social capital makes the other types of capital and their productive combination more efficient.
{"title":"Social capital: The missing link in Ghana’s development","authors":"Frederick Koomson, F. Enu-kwesi","doi":"10.47963/joss.v9i1.324","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47963/joss.v9i1.324","url":null,"abstract":"Development practitioners in recent times have recognised that the general factors of production \u0000determine only partially the process of economic growth because they overlook the way in which \u0000economic actors interact and organise themselves to generate economic growth. In 2006, the World Bank publication cited developing countries as having the least amount of intangible capital compared to the developed nations. However, among the components of intangible capital, social capital has attracted considerable attention among social scientists in general and development economists in particular because there is growing evidence that social capital can have impacts on development outcomes. Using primarily desk studies, the paper examines current literature on social capital and how they provide some answers to the missing link in Ghana’s development. We conclude that while micro-level social capital is important and predominates in Ghana’s development, its success largely depends on macro-level social capital.This implies that an enabling socio-economic environment is very vital for all sectors to function properly. In essence, social capital – like natural, physical and human capital – has limited value if it is not combined with other forms of capital, because social capital makes the other types of capital and their productive combination more efficient.","PeriodicalId":433603,"journal":{"name":"Oguaa Journal of Social Sciences","volume":"119 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116187285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Since 1967 seven committees and commissions have been set up to review disparities, distortions and anomalies inherent in the pay policy and wages in the public sector in Ghana. The introduction of the Single Spine Pay Policy in the year 2010 was meant to address these anomalies but has been bedevilled with several unrests at the labour front. This has manifested itself in various ways such as strike actions, protests, petitions, legal actions, and appeals to the Labour Commission and other stakeholders. Several attempts at resolving these agitations since independence have not yielded the expected outcome which would have led to a more stable labour front. The literature on the various pay reforms in Ghana has not addressed the equity issues inherent in them. The aim of this article therefore, is to review the pay policies, in the light of equity principles and propose solutions to minimise the labour unrest associated with public sector wage reforms. The article uses Adams Equity theory of motivation to explain the frequency of labour unrest in Ghana and proposes the application of the tenets of equity theory as a solution. We use documentary analysis to examine the various reforms and propose a theoretical approach to resolve the canker within and among the labour groups. We conclude this article by arguing that the frequent labour unrest within the public service in Ghana is mainly as a result of perceived inequity in the implementations of the public sector wage reforms.
{"title":"Public sector wage reforms in the light of equity principles","authors":"Benjamin Yaw Tachie, H. Potakey","doi":"10.47963/joss.v9i1.325","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47963/joss.v9i1.325","url":null,"abstract":"Since 1967 seven committees and commissions have been set up to review disparities, distortions \u0000and anomalies inherent in the pay policy and wages in the public sector in Ghana. The introduction of the Single Spine Pay Policy in the year 2010 was meant to address these anomalies but has been bedevilled with several unrests at the labour front. This has manifested itself in various ways such as strike actions, protests, petitions, legal actions, and appeals to the Labour Commission and other stakeholders. Several attempts at resolving these agitations since independence have not yielded the expected outcome which would have led to a more stable labour front. The literature on the various pay reforms in Ghana has not addressed the equity issues inherent in them. The aim of this article therefore, is to review the pay policies, in the light of equity principles and propose solutions to minimise the labour unrest associated with public sector wage reforms. The article uses Adams Equity theory of motivation to explain the frequency of labour unrest in Ghana and proposes the application of the tenets of equity theory as a solution. We use documentary analysis to examine the various reforms and propose a theoretical approach to resolve the canker within and among the labour groups. We conclude this article by arguing that the frequent labour unrest within the public service in Ghana is mainly as a result of perceived inequity in the implementations of the public sector wage reforms.","PeriodicalId":433603,"journal":{"name":"Oguaa Journal of Social Sciences","volume":"155 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129176298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}