The meaning of SMEs are differently explained from one country to another. This implies that, SMEs has no single or unique definition (Ackah & Vuvor, 2011). However, the meaning/definition of SMEs are grounded on three major condition, these are; the nature (size) of business, the number of people engaged in the day to day administration of the business and the capital used in the operation of the business set up. In the context of Ghana, SME can be explain as a business setup or firm that ha...
Decentralized Planning has been described as Ghana's third policy objective to its decentralization programme (Kumbour, 2010). This is referred mostly in literature as the "bottom up" Development Planning which is described as a departure from previous Planning methods also described as the "top down" approach. The main objective of the bottom up strategy to Development Planning is to involve communities in the plan preparation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. The essence of this p...
Chieftaincy is perhaps the only indigenous institution which has been able to stand the test of time in the advent of alien cultures. This research attempts to identify chiefs as the main agent of development among the Dagaaba in the Upper West and also to determine the challenges and prospects of the chieftaincy institution. Both primary and secondary data were collected and collated. Several data were gathered through face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions. The entire research ...
The effects of poor sanitation and hygiene seep into almost every sphere of life. Interventions to tackle this menace in the past have yielded very modest results as people in rural areas continue to engage in improper practices. Attempts to resolve this challenge will remain a mirage if people do not change their behavior. With CARE Ghana and APDO as implementing agents of behavior change interventions, some communities in the Nandom district which equally faces sanitation and hygiene challe...
Rapid urbanization coupled with the uncontrolled land use change is posing serious livelihood challenges to households in the developing world and the peri urban communities of the Wa Municipality in particular. This study explored the nature of the land tenure system in the peri urban areas of the Wa Municipality. It identified and discussed the factors responsible for the land use change, the kinds of livelihood strategies adopted in the face of the diminishing agricultural lands and the im...
The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has been designed to find a lasting, efficient, and acceptable solution to the nagging problem of health care financing. The introduction of the NHIS in 2003 sought to provide a clear way out and make quality health care not only affordable but also accessible. However six years down the lane after the introduction of the NHIS, health indicators still remains appalling in the Lawra District. The Study sought to find out whether the National Health I...
Poverty is one of the most captivating challenges facing most developing countries and Ghana is no exception. There seems to be a wide gap between the haves and the have not. To curb poverty, micro-finance has emerged as an antidote to the problem of poverty. Micro-finance encompasses micro-credit, micro-insurance and micro-savings. The SIF has therefore emerged as an institution that champions poverty reduction in its operation area and has adopted microfinance as one of the vehicles of pove...
Providing sanitation in rural communities in Ghana has become a huge challenge. Funds from the Government remains scarce while external or, for that matter, international donor support for sanitation in many instances have become ineffective. In today's world, where sanitation is on the high level of technology, it is sad to note that there is a silent crisis called poor sanitation which is affecting the health, well being, dignity and development of millions of people. This study explored th...
In 2005, the Government of Ghana started its own School Feeding Programme (SFP) along the lines of the Home Grown School Feeding concept. The Programme was different from other SFPs that had traditionally used imported processed foodstuffs. This study sought to examine how the programme is boosting local food production in the Nadowli /Kaleo district or the Upper West Region. Probability and non-probability sampling methods were employed to select one hundred and fifty (150) respondents from ...
Academic libraries are critical contributors to knowledge generation which serve a wide spectrum of knowledge seekers. The shift from print to digital information has a high impact on all components of the academic library system. Academic libraries in Ghana seem to be facing overwhelming challenges in the adoption of JCT academic in academic libraries. A total of eight (8) tertiary institutions were selected for the study, with ninety-six (96) respondents made up of librarians, academic staf...
This thesis examines internal revenue mobilisation by the Wa Municipal Assembly. The major research objective of the study was to assess the internally generated funds mobilisation by the Wa Municipality Assembly. A case study design was deployed in the study. Sixty-two respondents were selected using purposive sampling. The study collected primary data using interview and focus group discussions, while secondary data was obtained from reports of the Assembly. The analysis of data involved th...
The need for practising modern techniques in rice production has become increasingly important in Ghana as the per capita cultivable land continues to shrink. This study employed a multivariate probit model to estimate the determinants of adoption of improved agricultural technologies using household data collected from 543 rice farmers in the Upper East and Northern region of Ghana. There was complementarity among all the improved rice production technologies (i.e. nursery establishment, har...
Improving access to safe water, adequate sanitation and proper hygiene are on the frontline of eforts to combat related diseases and their accompanying efects. Using a household survey, focus group discussion and key informant interviews, the authors explored how rural livelihoods could be improved through water and sanitation interventions. The study revealed a complex web of configuration between water and sanitation interventions and rural livelihoods. The study found that the provision of...
This paper interrogates the question of using micro-enterprise development for meeting women's strategic interests. Using conceptual analysis and specific case studies, it examines paradigm shifts in development and their implications for gender equity and social justice questions. In the process, it reveals shifts in paradigms; namely, development for versus development with the people, efficiency versus equity, and welfarism versus empowerment. It then examines the implications of the shift...
Economic development has been advocated as vital to Africa's integration in the world economy. Using a Labour and Employment Relations perspective as well as institutional and cooperative theories, I propose a conceptual model that links institutional alliance for skill development (ASD) proximally to labour market systems, and distally to economic development of African countries. The nature, outcomes of ASD, and contributions to economic development are discussed. Finally, I offer propositi...