Yes, another great article. But they will swarm here in numbers to insult! The Northern elites can agree to feed akomfem in flight, not pupils!
Yes, another great article. But they will swarm here in numbers to insult! The Northern elites can agree to feed akomfem in flight, not pupils!
CARDINAL 10 years ago
Thanks but you and I know the truth. We cannot continue like this. The time has come to scrap this policy. Fifty something years of living on the sweat of our farmers, Miners and Fishermen is enough to catch up to whatever d ... read full comment
Thanks but you and I know the truth. We cannot continue like this. The time has come to scrap this policy. Fifty something years of living on the sweat of our farmers, Miners and Fishermen is enough to catch up to whatever discrimination they endured.
yag 10 years ago
Actually all the Northern beneficiary should be tax a special levy for this course. How can successful professional northerner have s/he children educated for free ?While poor salt weaner and kenkey seller have to pay fees ev ... read full comment
Actually all the Northern beneficiary should be tax a special levy for this course. How can successful professional northerner have s/he children educated for free ?While poor salt weaner and kenkey seller have to pay fees even if their child happened to be in the Northern school. Profs.Drs. Generals etc. U are cheating the system.
IT IS HIGH TIME 10 years ago
THE PEOPLE FROM THDE NORTH MUST STAND ON THEIR FEET TO PAY AS OTHER REGIONS ARE PAYING, AFTER ALL THEY HAVE STOLEN ENOUGH MONEY FROM THE TAX PAYER. LOOK AT MAHAMA, AYARIGA ATUGUBA & CO.
THE PEOPLE FROM THDE NORTH MUST STAND ON THEIR FEET TO PAY AS OTHER REGIONS ARE PAYING, AFTER ALL THEY HAVE STOLEN ENOUGH MONEY FROM THE TAX PAYER. LOOK AT MAHAMA, AYARIGA ATUGUBA & CO.
nubian 10 years ago
Educate yourselfs.these feeding fees are deducted from their share of the common funds.So indirectly residents in the north pay. Indeed SOUTHERNERS RESIDENT IN THE NORTH BENEFIT FROM THIS TOO. For lack of knowledge my pe ... read full comment
Educate yourselfs.these feeding fees are deducted from their share of the common funds.So indirectly residents in the north pay. Indeed SOUTHERNERS RESIDENT IN THE NORTH BENEFIT FROM THIS TOO. For lack of knowledge my people perish!!!
Kofi 10 years ago
Stop this nonsense. You people have become addicted to living free on other Ghanaians you will say anything to breed Like rats because you don't have to pay to educate the children you bring on this earth like everybody.
... read full comment
Stop this nonsense. You people have become addicted to living free on other Ghanaians you will say anything to breed Like rats because you don't have to pay to educate the children you bring on this earth like everybody.
The government will not call it a grant if it is deducted from your common fund. Where did you get your education? It's time to get off the government 'dough' and be responsible.
C.Y. ANDY-K 10 years ago
Justice,
I really don't think you have clarified and done justice to the topic but I am in agreement with you, as I believe that aspects of the school feeding programme in northern Ghana must change. I had been contemplati ... read full comment
Justice,
I really don't think you have clarified and done justice to the topic but I am in agreement with you, as I believe that aspects of the school feeding programme in northern Ghana must change. I had been contemplating writing on that myself sooner or later. It is rather counter-productive and detrimental to the devt of the area to be spoon-feeding them, thereby stunting their devt capabilities; not to mention the fact that it is now horribly unfair and unequitable to the poor of the south. It is simply gross to have the children of those super rich Northerners enjoying such freebies when the wretchedly poor of the south drop out of school in spite of how intelligent they are.
A reading of the colonial records reveals that the colonialists introduced certain taxes on the natives, not necessarily to raise revenue but to force them to produce more than they need for their subsistence [living]. So imagine what asking that each student bring ten tubers of yam, so, so qty of maize, etc. in lieu of money (if you don't have it) will do to enhance expanded agric in the north. That's why I didn't buy into Nana Akufo Addo's own bid to extend such freebies to the whole country even though I support compulsory free education to at least the SSS level.
BTW, the news item mentioned " govt. subsidy". That should sound the red alert that the parents are paying some money towards the feeding of their wards and govt is topping up. Such is the case all over the country.
When I went to 6th Form at Mawuli School in the mid-70s, thanks to the school farming Mawuli wsas famous for then, we even had surplus money left from what govt was giving per head which the school was supposed to give us but they found some excuses to sit on the refund to us!
We need more info on the subject to make cogent suggestions for a change.
Andy-K
Mohammed 10 years ago
I wish to thank Mr Sarpong for his article. I think you have done your best to chronicle your opinion as to what should be done to move the North forward and alleviate the suffering of Mother Ghana from its woes in these tryi ... read full comment
I wish to thank Mr Sarpong for his article. I think you have done your best to chronicle your opinion as to what should be done to move the North forward and alleviate the suffering of Mother Ghana from its woes in these trying time. What I rather find surprising and disgusting is the way you chose to present your views across. I believe as an intellectual you could have done this without necessarily insulting anybody.
This not withstanding, you have made your point. However, I think you and the readers on this platform needs education on the subject of government policy in general and the feeding grants for the northern regions. Government policies are thought through over time before its implementation. Policy makers do not just get up and put any policy in place just like that. So if you don't know the reason (s) behind a particular project you need to find out first before calling for it to be scrapped.
The fact that the government is faced with financial problems is no reason for you to call for the president to scrap the policy. Just because he is a notherner is not also a reason for the president tyo be asked to srap the policy. In any case there have been many presidents after Dr Kwame Nkruma, why haven't they scrap the policy.
Do you know that there are scholarships for children of cocoa farmers? Do you know how many of these cocoa farmers weed in them. Most of the farm labourers are northers. Would you then call such a policy discriminatory and should be scrapped?
Let us exercise some level of decency in our communication and write ups. Because our actions can act as a catalyst to trouble.
Do you think by scrapping the feeding grant for the schools in the 3 northern regions and parts of BA and Volta region would solve the financial problems of the country? Hell NO. Go check since 2009, whether the astronomical increases in the road toll has solved the problems of bad roads in the country. If for anything we have all seen the state of the motorway. Please, what you need is to hold your politicians, civil servants, and the headmasters accountable and all shall be well.
Long live Ghana and Long Live the 3 northern regions.
CARDINAL 10 years ago
Stop this nonsense about scholarship for cocoa farmers children if you really know what you are talking about. The scholarship for cocoa farmers children does not come automatically to every child of a cocoa farmer. When I wa ... read full comment
Stop this nonsense about scholarship for cocoa farmers children if you really know what you are talking about. The scholarship for cocoa farmers children does not come automatically to every child of a cocoa farmer. When I was in secondary school in mid seventies to early eighties, the only cocoa farmers children who got these scholarships were those who scored high on common entrance examination or were doing well academically in school. I knew about eight cocoa farmers children in my school who did not get what we used to call CMB scholarships and only two people in my class who were on Cocoa Marketing Board(CMB) scholarship so don't preach to me about cocoa scholarship.
Unlike cocoa scholarship where one has to have their parents as farmers and academically doing well, the Northern scholarship only stipulation is for one to be from one of the three regions regardless of academic performance. The cocoa scholarship was not available to everybody from the cocoa growing areas of Ghana but to cocoa farmers children doing academically well.
Now telling me I don't know the reason for the Northern scholarship is not very smart on your part because I do know why that scholarship was instituted but it has outlived its usefulness after more than fifty five years. The Northerners have caught up academically to their Southern counterparts and it is time for them to pay to feed their own children in boardimg school.
As a matter of fact, boarding school is a luxury and not a necessity and those who want that privilege needs to pay for it. I support free tuition and others for Northerners but not this free feeding nonsense. Poor people in the southern part of Ghana enrol their children as day students and the Northerners will not die to go to school as day students.
The nonsense about Northerners being the ones who weed the cocoa farms is really hollow because they do not weed these farms for free but get paid for their labour like anybody else, Doctors, lawyers, Teachers, Nurses, etc.
These cocoa labourers are not forced into any farm. They go in at their own free will like a factory worker who applies to work on the assemnly line so don't come at me with that shallow excuse.
Kofi Opoku Agyemang, CA 10 years ago
My father has a cocoa farm in Sankore in the Brong Ahafo region. Several Northers of Ghana and even some from Upper Volta, now Burkina Faso, worked for him and got paid.
So the notion that northers weeded cocoa farms don't ... read full comment
My father has a cocoa farm in Sankore in the Brong Ahafo region. Several Northers of Ghana and even some from Upper Volta, now Burkina Faso, worked for him and got paid.
So the notion that northers weeded cocoa farms don't have a place in this argument. Truth hurts but we have to say it.The system have over lived its time and needs to be scraped, period.
Like SARPONG said NONE OF MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS GOT ANY CMB SPONSORSHIP OR SCHOLARSHIP THROUGH OUR SCHOOLING.
Gandaa Ali 10 years ago
Any foolish party that plays with this policy will go to the thrash bin. Sarpong is piece of dog meat in a cocoa sack
The policy of helping the north to catch up with the south was put on paper by the colonial British before ... read full comment
Any foolish party that plays with this policy will go to the thrash bin. Sarpong is piece of dog meat in a cocoa sack
The policy of helping the north to catch up with the south was put on paper by the colonial British before granting the Gold Coast her independence. The colonial masters had a reason for that decree.
As at now how many qualified professionally experienced Doctors, medical professionals, Technicians and Engineers and educational professionals readily accept postage to the north? Apart from Asuma Banda how many wealthy northerners can you count. The south has two rainy seasons and the north has only one. When the rains fail the northerners are struggling to feed their stomachs.
The average northerner is poor and can not even afford to go to the low cost village clinics with low cost nurses and doctors when they are sick. No lucrative big business investment is stationed in the north because the people can not afford the service. They have no jobs and water to farm.Go to Accra Mall and walk around, have you seen one in Kumasi let alone Tamale?
Unless you are a typical northerner you can not understand what is going on in the north. Parts of the BA and Volta regions have these problems but their proximity to the seat of government is an advantage because they get quicker response when in need.
Any party that interferes with this colonial gift will never sniff the air of Parliament, the Castle or flag staff house. So NPP open your ears wide. This discriminatory pack of wolves!
Wofa Yaw 10 years ago
How the world turns. The Northerners during the debate about free education for all insisted that there is no free education in the North. Now that their schools are closed because the freebies have not arrived are singing a ... read full comment
How the world turns. The Northerners during the debate about free education for all insisted that there is no free education in the North. Now that their schools are closed because the freebies have not arrived are singing a different tune.
Actually it was the colonial masters who intentionally denied the Northerners education so that it can provide manual labour at the mines and farms. It was rather President Nkrumah who bought the Northern vote with free education. Free education end is here and the Northerners should get ready.
Sethoo 10 years ago
Stop the unnecessary wars over trivial issues,the money use for school feeding will be used for irrigation.We can't keep on wasting monies on ungrateful people other tribes also have their own problems.
Stop the unnecessary wars over trivial issues,the money use for school feeding will be used for irrigation.We can't keep on wasting monies on ungrateful people other tribes also have their own problems.
KOO DWOMO 10 years ago
THIS IS THE TRUTH, JOHN MAHAMA'S CHILDREN ARE IN BOARDING SCHOOLS FOR FREE ON MY MOTHER'S COCOA TAX. THIS NOTHING, BUT THE TRUTH.
THIS IS THE TRUTH, JOHN MAHAMA'S CHILDREN ARE IN BOARDING SCHOOLS FOR FREE ON MY MOTHER'S COCOA TAX. THIS NOTHING, BUT THE TRUTH.
O; Jo;bala 10 years ago
I am not a northerner, but blame the white man for not educating the Northerners for over donkey years, Isreal is a desert, but they are exporting citrus to the whole world, the white man could also have help to develop the a ... read full comment
I am not a northerner, but blame the white man for not educating the Northerners for over donkey years, Isreal is a desert, but they are exporting citrus to the whole world, the white man could also have help to develop the arable land in the north,then we will not be begging for alms,The whites also letft behind a lot of money for Dr Nkrumah to develop the North as a result of their mistakes,unfortunatetly majority of this money went fighting the Matemeho terorists which i believe your ancestor were among. The Northerners have contributed a lot to National development in the past by building the railway lines, working in the cocoaa farms and mines for free, .the Northerners were sent to fight in the first and Second world wars, the congo biafra, it was only when money started flowing during the middle east crises, then the kanboga(asante black dwarfs) enrol in the Army. more to follow.Naneimah.
CARDINAL 10 years ago
I
Now it is on. The sad part is that you Savannah coward lied about not being a Northerner when actually you are a toilet carrier with a railway tracks mark on your face.
Who told you smelly cracked heel cowpow that your ... read full comment
I
Now it is on. The sad part is that you Savannah coward lied about not being a Northerner when actually you are a toilet carrier with a railway tracks mark on your face.
Who told you smelly cracked heel cowpow that your ancestors worked at the mines and cocoa farms for free? You imbeciles got paid but spent it on apio, TANII ABOA.
I am surprised you failed to mention the toilet carrying duties your ancestors supposedly did for free. Are you ashamed of it?
You want to go on insulting match with me? Bring it on, you primitive cow who kill your own babies by poisoning them on mere suspicion of them being witches.
This is just the introduction, you armed robbers and rapist criminals. "TANII, YANSA BEN NA WO NIM"?
HolyGhost 10 years ago
You this 'aboa ba funu' can spew rotten mouthed non-sense, you stink
You this 'aboa ba funu' can spew rotten mouthed non-sense, you stink
jingoisis 10 years ago
Akadu, you are an embarrassment to all who want to engage in a healthy debate about the issue Sarpong has raised.....you claim to be an intellectual, wear that hat and put a screeching halt to your spigot of insults.....
Akadu, you are an embarrassment to all who want to engage in a healthy debate about the issue Sarpong has raised.....you claim to be an intellectual, wear that hat and put a screeching halt to your spigot of insults.....
kofi 10 years ago
GIVEN THE POVERTY OF GHANA IN RECENT TIMES, IT IS THE BEST POLICY TO SIMPLY TURN ALL BOARDING SCHOOLS INTO DAY SCHOOLS TO PREVENT THIS FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS....COMMON SENSE.
GIVEN THE POVERTY OF GHANA IN RECENT TIMES, IT IS THE BEST POLICY TO SIMPLY TURN ALL BOARDING SCHOOLS INTO DAY SCHOOLS TO PREVENT THIS FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS....COMMON SENSE.
CARDINAL 10 years ago
I guess it is you guys who are now awakening from your deep slumber and facing reality from your dreams. I have been saying the same thing for years but the delay in opening all secondary schools in the North has brought real ... read full comment
I guess it is you guys who are now awakening from your deep slumber and facing reality from your dreams. I have been saying the same thing for years but the delay in opening all secondary schools in the North has brought reality to grow roots in your brains that, the said policy is unsustainable due to the economic mess we are in.
CARDINAL 10 years ago
Kofi, sorry, the comment was meant for the guy called BOY KOFI.
Kofi, sorry, the comment was meant for the guy called BOY KOFI.
kofi 10 years ago
GREAT
GREAT
James Kwaku Tia 10 years ago
If you are fighting for the poor in all of Ghana, then fight it out with political leaders in NPP and NDC who have ruled Ghana at different times since independence. I was born in the cocoa plantations of Ashanti and still ha ... read full comment
If you are fighting for the poor in all of Ghana, then fight it out with political leaders in NPP and NDC who have ruled Ghana at different times since independence. I was born in the cocoa plantations of Ashanti and still have family there today and I know the suffering of the poor there. I went through it all myself. I will like to see all farmers'(cocoa, corn, shea shuts etc.)children having free education. You have yelled about the Northern Scholarship thing for so long now that no one is hearing anymore, except perhaps me!
Factually Reliable 10 years ago
It is a discriminatory policy and must be scrapped. Why? don't we all faced the economic situations in Ghana. Some of us campaign against Akuffo Addo free Education cos of the unecessary cost it will bring to government and t ... read full comment
It is a discriminatory policy and must be scrapped. Why? don't we all faced the economic situations in Ghana. Some of us campaign against Akuffo Addo free Education cos of the unecessary cost it will bring to government and the probable dilution of quality Education. If they were a policy that those who schooled in the North and Enjoy such facility will have to be disrciminated a gainst you these same people will fight against that. Are you the only poor in Ghana. You guys are now enjoying and having top positions so why don't you go back and help your people. If it must be done then it should be for all and if not it should be cancelled Period. Aden?
Akadu Mensema 10 years ago
Am I the only person here who is getting tired of the victimhood mentalities of some ethnic groups! Sarpong's article is balanced and objective! Blame the Northern elites for "hatred"
of their own people. Instead focusing on ... read full comment
Am I the only person here who is getting tired of the victimhood mentalities of some ethnic groups! Sarpong's article is balanced and objective! Blame the Northern elites for "hatred"
of their own people. Instead focusing on people, they invest in akomfem in flight and dead trees planted in the dry season!
jingoisis 10 years ago
Akadu, define precisely what you mean by the 'northern elite,' a phrase coined by dimwitted southerners like you to spew hatred and pour scorn on a group that essentially still struggles with economic disparities. Get a grip ... read full comment
Akadu, define precisely what you mean by the 'northern elite,' a phrase coined by dimwitted southerners like you to spew hatred and pour scorn on a group that essentially still struggles with economic disparities. Get a grip on reality, you intellectual fraud
CARDINAL 10 years ago
I have yelled about it because the policy was not enacted to run for eternity and Ghana at the moment cannot finance free boarding, which is a luxury and not a necessity.
I don't hate Northerners but this policy and others ... read full comment
I have yelled about it because the policy was not enacted to run for eternity and Ghana at the moment cannot finance free boarding, which is a luxury and not a necessity.
I don't hate Northerners but this policy and others geared for the Northerners only is one of the reasons why people look down on Northerners because it makes them look like retards who cannot take care of themselves but looking at the success some Northerners have achieved, that is not the case.
I am not calling on the government to scrap the Northern scholarship completely but the boarding privilege is a luxury and not a necessity and the government cannot continue to do it any more and that is why those children are sitting home instead at the classroom. You are entitled to your opinion though.
Akadu Mensema 10 years ago
Whay is that whenever anyone writes about the North and the Volta, people think about hatred?
Whay is that whenever anyone writes about the North and the Volta, people think about hatred?
Hammond 10 years ago
It's really sad the dependency syndrome has dulled the thinking of these people.
It's really sad the dependency syndrome has dulled the thinking of these people.
shey-Gelege 10 years ago
Continue feeding them free of charge so that they, the Northerners can become your president. They are good at farming guinea fowl to feed the whole nation. Sarpong, if you don't like guinea fowl in your soup, what else do yo ... read full comment
Continue feeding them free of charge so that they, the Northerners can become your president. They are good at farming guinea fowl to feed the whole nation. Sarpong, if you don't like guinea fowl in your soup, what else do you want?
azanleriguyine adukomolga 10 years ago
Wat is good for de goose is good for the gander
if no free tins, then cancell de free feedin grants for the north wic de kayaye, fishmonger, mason in south pays for de north whiles he suffers to pay for his own children
Wat is good for de goose is good for the gander
if no free tins, then cancell de free feedin grants for the north wic de kayaye, fishmonger, mason in south pays for de north whiles he suffers to pay for his own children
OSO 10 years ago
This is a very good write-up, if the president thinks, things cannot be free then there is no need to subsidies boarding education in the north period. I hope John Mahama will read this article. When the NPP was touting free ... read full comment
This is a very good write-up, if the president thinks, things cannot be free then there is no need to subsidies boarding education in the north period. I hope John Mahama will read this article. When the NPP was touting free education you sat there and admonished quality education why are some paying and others are not...Remember what is for good for the goose is equally good for the ganda.....
Med 10 years ago
The north had been the economy back bone of this our dear country Ghana at the expense of the south. The northerns are also your
The north had been the economy back bone of this our dear country Ghana at the expense of the south. The northerns are also your
Akadu Mensema 10 years ago
Ha ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Ha ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Ghanavia 10 years ago
If the North has been the economic backbone of Ghana, then it is apparent that, they are not that poor to have free education whilst others pay for their children education.
If the North has been the economic backbone of Ghana, then it is apparent that, they are not that poor to have free education whilst others pay for their children education.
Kay 10 years ago
Economic backbone? For real? Then that justify the payment of fees! Isn't ?
Economic backbone? For real? Then that justify the payment of fees! Isn't ?
Zingibele 10 years ago
Turn urself into president mahamma and stop de feeding grand
Turn urself into president mahamma and stop de feeding grand
km agyin 10 years ago
It takes a brave man to say what you said. It is the sentiment of almost all Ghanaians even some of our enlightened brothers and sisters from the 3 northern regions that this policy should be scrapped. The policy has achieved ... read full comment
It takes a brave man to say what you said. It is the sentiment of almost all Ghanaians even some of our enlightened brothers and sisters from the 3 northern regions that this policy should be scrapped. The policy has achieved its goal of bridging the educational gap between the south and the north. It is either free SHS for all or pay SHS for all.
Hazel 10 years ago
Pls comment wit maturity and stop those childish 'akomfem' comments.
Pls comment wit maturity and stop those childish 'akomfem' comments.
IBRAHIM 10 years ago
IS ONLY A FOOL WHO WILL THINK IT IS HIS/HER MONEY THAT OTHERS USED TO FEED THEIR CHILDREN. DO YOU PEOPLE THINKS NORTHERNERS ARE LAZY PEOPLE OR WHAT.I THINK IS TIME YOU STOP SILLY AND CHILDISH COMMENTS YOU MAKE ON YOUR PLATFOR ... read full comment
IS ONLY A FOOL WHO WILL THINK IT IS HIS/HER MONEY THAT OTHERS USED TO FEED THEIR CHILDREN. DO YOU PEOPLE THINKS NORTHERNERS ARE LAZY PEOPLE OR WHAT.I THINK IS TIME YOU STOP SILLY AND CHILDISH COMMENTS YOU MAKE ON YOUR PLATFORMS. I DO NOT BLAME YOU BECAUSE I THINK IS GOOD TO FEED THE PEOPLE WHO THINK FOR YOU SINCE YOU DO NOT HAVE THAT CAPABILITIES YOURSELF.
Despiro 10 years ago
U can't even construct simple sentences and you claim you think for us? If I were you........
U can't even construct simple sentences and you claim you think for us? If I were you........
Blankson 10 years ago
The era of the free ride should be over. The primitive Northerners who marry five wives with ten to twenty children breeding like rats should zip their trousers.
The era of the free ride should be over. The primitive Northerners who marry five wives with ten to twenty children breeding like rats should zip their trousers.
Blankson 10 years ago
I meant breeding not bleeding.
I meant breeding not bleeding.
jahlove 10 years ago
HARD TRUTH IS BETTER THAN EVENTUAL COLLAPSE OF THE ECONOMY OR SOCIAL CHAOS!!
STUDENT STRIKES DUE TO INABILITY OF GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE THE INTENDED BOARDING SCHOOL SUBSIDIES.
IT IS HIGH TIME OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN TH ... read full comment
HARD TRUTH IS BETTER THAN EVENTUAL COLLAPSE OF THE ECONOMY OR SOCIAL CHAOS!!
STUDENT STRIKES DUE TO INABILITY OF GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE THE INTENDED BOARDING SCHOOL SUBSIDIES.
IT IS HIGH TIME OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN THE THREE NORTHERN REGIONS ARE MADE TO HOLD THEIR HEADS HIGH BY CHOOSING TO PAY FOR CHILDREN'S EDUCATION.
WE HAVE VERY RICH PEOPLE IN THE NORTH, IN THE SAME VAIN WE HAVE VERY POOR PEOPLE ON THE SOUTH!!!
IT IS HIGH TIME, THE POLICY STARTED BY PRESIDENT NKRUMAH IS REVIEWED JUST AS NURSING AND TRAINING SCHOOL ALLOWANCE POLICY STARTED BY NKRUMAH HAVE BEEN REVIEWED !!!
HARD TRUTH MAY BE HARD TO ASSIMILATE, BUT THEY ARE THE REALITY OF LIFE-- NOW OR NEVER, THE LONG TERM IMPACT WILL BE ECONOMIC DISASTER.
SUCH POLICY WILL NATURALLY MOTIVATE OUR BROTHERS IN THE NORTH TO MAKE FULL USE OF THE LAND AND SKILLS TO GENERATE INCOME TO CATER FOR THEORY WARDS!!
Nunkaawaah 10 years ago
I do not know if Justice really answers his name. If he has any knowledge about the HISTORY of Gold Coast/Ghana coupled with the geographical distribution of resources of this country, he will have another thinking to do. He ... read full comment
I do not know if Justice really answers his name. If he has any knowledge about the HISTORY of Gold Coast/Ghana coupled with the geographical distribution of resources of this country, he will have another thinking to do. He should check to see that Northeners in other parts of Ghana PAY their children's FEES.
Daniel 10 years ago
Ok, if Northerners in other parts of the country pay their children school fees, then those still living in the three Northern regions should do the same like the rest of Ghanaians. This is not too complex to grasp.
Ok, if Northerners in other parts of the country pay their children school fees, then those still living in the three Northern regions should do the same like the rest of Ghanaians. This is not too complex to grasp.
BOY KOFI 10 years ago
There must be more day secondary schools in all communities than the boarding schools.Actually,govt should run only day secondary schools and leave the boarding for private and religious institutions.It does not make any sen ... read full comment
There must be more day secondary schools in all communities than the boarding schools.Actually,govt should run only day secondary schools and leave the boarding for private and religious institutions.It does not make any sense for govt to cater for the only poor in the North without justification.We do have poor famùilies all over the country,therefore govt should extend this free secondary education to all the regions for the poor families only.WHen we are talking about poor families,there must be some kind of justification in terms of annual revenue or property.Unfortunately,Ghanaian administrators don't have a system for every adult to declare his annual revenue which could have been the yard stick for measuring the needy or those to qualify for social assistance.A very good debate though,keep it up.Thank you.
CARDINAL 10 years ago
It is rather you who have had the loose screws on your brains tightened or screwed tight you are now employing your brains.
It is rather you who have had the loose screws on your brains tightened or screwed tight you are now employing your brains.
BOY KOFI 10 years ago
Stay focus on your opinion.I did not support Nana Addo's Free SHS promise because there were lot of inconsistencies in it.Issues about boarding and day students,justification of revenue were all missing and no quota whatsoeve ... read full comment
Stay focus on your opinion.I did not support Nana Addo's Free SHS promise because there were lot of inconsistencies in it.Issues about boarding and day students,justification of revenue were all missing and no quota whatsoever.Keep growing boy.Thank you.
CARDINAL 10 years ago
Sorry, I did not intend to abuse a retard.
Sorry, I did not intend to abuse a retard.
NII LARTEY NARTEY 10 years ago
The northern back NDC with a northern led President and their tribal 80% political appointees and ministers all northern origin who unbelievably campaigned against the opposition's free SHS policy, must feel embarrassingly as ... read full comment
The northern back NDC with a northern led President and their tribal 80% political appointees and ministers all northern origin who unbelievably campaigned against the opposition's free SHS policy, must feel embarrassingly ashamed to retain free education up-north for their people whilst depriving the southern children the same.
It is just fair for the northern led government to be honest to all that, they scrap the northern free education and stop hiding behind political hypocrisy for transparency as all the other southern regions are suffering from the unbearable social economic hardship. Period!
No more free education for the people of the north as they have now have enough share of the national cake in terms of education whilst children from the regions which contribute hugely to the national economy are shockingly marginalized and denied from such national free education.
Today the same northern dominant government which has gained most from the Ashante, Western and Brong Ahafo cocoa farmers as result of their hard work on the farms to get us CMB, and other national scholarship source call to insult the Ashanti farmer as "nkroasifour" do you bite the figure that feeds you?
Can't believe when Mahama was exposed for his election of 300 students for the Cuban scholarship were all Volta and Northern origins, how?
It's time the traditional leaders from the other deprived regions speak out for fair balance in the national education system as what is good for the north is equally good for the south.
The current northern free education is absolutely an abuse of the national democratic freedoms and fairness and injustice and we must all call for it to stop now!!!
The northern led government can not even make funds available for its own kids up-north how can such government whose priority is even non-existing "akomfem" projects, how can such unscrupulous visionless government sort out the bigger national social economic and education problems? Just impossible!
ALHAJI AA 10 years ago
LETS THINK ABOUT THE ISSUE OF FREE EDUCATION IN THE NORTH BEFORE TALKING ABOUT IT. NORTHERS ARE STILL NOT OUT OF THE WOODS. YOU NEED TO STUDY THE VEGETATION UP NORTH WHEN EDUCATION BEGAN THERE AND THE NUMBER OF GIRLS AND BOYS ... read full comment
LETS THINK ABOUT THE ISSUE OF FREE EDUCATION IN THE NORTH BEFORE TALKING ABOUT IT. NORTHERS ARE STILL NOT OUT OF THE WOODS. YOU NEED TO STUDY THE VEGETATION UP NORTH WHEN EDUCATION BEGAN THERE AND THE NUMBER OF GIRLS AND BOYS COMING DOWN SOUTH IN DRONES TO WORK AS KAYA YEE, YAM RETAILERS AND SCRAP DEALERS. WE NEED TO CONTINUE HELPING THEM IF WE DON'T WANT TO RISK HAVING REBEL FORCES AND ARMED ROBBERS IN FUTURE TO TERRORIZE US.
Shanana 10 years ago
Burkina faso is further up north, and thus have a "worse" climate but they are feeding us now! Onions, tomatoes etc from Accra are from BF. No, the northern excuse of bad weather is dead, and the freebies should cease. It is ... read full comment
Burkina faso is further up north, and thus have a "worse" climate but they are feeding us now! Onions, tomatoes etc from Accra are from BF. No, the northern excuse of bad weather is dead, and the freebies should cease. It is the policy that could rather create Boko Harams because the south is also beginning to feel the pinch.
And don't forget that Mahama himself benefited from the policy EVEN THOUGH HIS FATHER WAS WEALTHY, and that is the problem. There ought to be a policy where poor kids are helped without recourse to region else a southern agitation could also start.
STONER KOBYLYNTON 10 years ago
Shanana, you've said it all to this Alhaji AA who don't want to use his brains. Burkina Faso is feeding not only Ghana with tomatoes, onions, garden eggs and other produce at this lean season but most of the West African cou ... read full comment
Shanana, you've said it all to this Alhaji AA who don't want to use his brains. Burkina Faso is feeding not only Ghana with tomatoes, onions, garden eggs and other produce at this lean season but most of the West African countries because of good agricultural planning and inputs.
Enough is enough to this stupid freebies the Northern sectors are enjoying at the expense of the Southern sector which the Atopahene enjoyed even though his father could have paid for his kids schooling. It is time to tell them to stop breeding like rabbits and think about how many they could afford to raise and not depending on other regions to assist them.
Mahama should set a good example than what he is practicing now, breeding like an Egyptian peasant which his northern people are doing. This stupid Northern freebies should be stopped because it is discrimination against the other regional kids.
CARDINAL 10 years ago
You, Shanana and those calling to end this discriminatory policy are gems. The Politicians are afraid to talk about this and other freebies and the only person who can initiate a policy to end this is Mahama Who has cut allow ... read full comment
You, Shanana and those calling to end this discriminatory policy are gems. The Politicians are afraid to talk about this and other freebies and the only person who can initiate a policy to end this is Mahama Who has cut allowances to teacher training and Nursing students. Time to end this freebies to the Northerners. It was not intended to last eternity.
Kalahariman 10 years ago
It is sad to read an article calling for a stop in Government assistance in educating Northerners. The writer of this article does not know the history of his own country. No disrespect here. When the British were in control ... read full comment
It is sad to read an article calling for a stop in Government assistance in educating Northerners. The writer of this article does not know the history of his own country. No disrespect here. When the British were in control of the Gold Coast, all they saw was the Gold in the south. They developed there with schools, railroads, roads and infrastructure that made development easier. When Dr Kwame Nkrumah became president of Ghana, he laid out plans to help the North catch up educationally and economically. Unfortunately, he did not have enough time to complete it...most of his plans were reversed by the coup doers.
The North has always been a labour market to feed the south industries.. Makes me wonder what really happened during the slavery days.
It is 2014, the North does not have a railway linking to it. Thanks to the Catholic Mission for introducing schools in the North when the Government wont. The population of the North has been so much dispersed from most secondary school graduates moving to the south in seek of employment. In short, there is an economic imbalance between North and South. One of the tools to correct the imbalance set forth by our great leader with vision : Dr Nkrumah was to provide assistance to the North by providing free education. Remember, the north just recently, got electricity and good roads from Accra to Bolga - Paga - Wa. There are still alot to be done. A railroad linking the North will a good economy tool to help develop the area: they can move their cattle, goats, guinea fowls and food items easily to the south for sale. Remember, the North is unexplored. The North is blessed with natural resources like Gold, diamond, oil, iron, lime and sheanuts just to mention a few. The Wa-Lawra plains is sitting on 3 million oz of gold. With the right investors that can transform that area into a developed area...then you can talk about pulling off government assistance. Till then, please stop the nonsense.
CARDINAL 10 years ago
You think it is nonsense? The railway system does not go to B/A and Volta regions so if you are using the railway system to continue your dependency system, then those two regions too should get free education. I am really s ... read full comment
You think it is nonsense? The railway system does not go to B/A and Volta regions so if you are using the railway system to continue your dependency system, then those two regions too should get free education. I am really surprised the Northerners who denied of enjoying free education including Presidential Advisor, Dr Apaak are now quiet about this.
Now coming back to your nonsense. It has been more than fifty five years of this welfare which has produced two Northern Presidents, two Northern Vice Presidents and numerous Ministers so tell me when will be the right time to kick you out from this freebie.
The problem of Northern poverty for the past fifty years is not because of discrimination against the Northerners by the Southerners but rather it has been a discrimination by the Northern Elites against the Northern Proletariats. Just look at the Northerner supposed to help his kinsmen and instead pocketed more than $50 million in the Akomfem and tree planting projects.
Blame the Northern businessmen like Banda, Agambire of RLG, Ibrahim Mahama and others who are moguls in Ghanaian standard who all have abandoned the North and operating their businesses in the South.
Even in the south, apart from Accra and Tema, the little development you see in Kumasi, Sunyani, Takoradi and other cities were undertaken by the indigenes of these places and not the government so why can't the Northerners do the same instead of using the little bit of money they have in marrying multiple wives? The culture of the Northerners got something to do with the Northern poverty. A culture where the worth of a man is measured by how many wives and children one have will not help in developing the destitution of the North.
Even trained Northern professionals like Doctors, Nurses, lawyers and others refuse posting to Northern towns and instead choose to live in Accra, Kumasi and Tema.
The Northerners should blame themselves.
Chief Justice Kofi 10 years ago
Mischievous Justice, You can go to hell it wont be scrapped.
Mischievous Justice, You can go to hell it wont be scrapped.
TEE 10 years ago
AND SO WHAT IF THEY HAVE TO PAY TO FEED THEIR CHILDREN.
AND SO WHAT IF THEY HAVE TO PAY TO FEED THEIR CHILDREN.
Osei Yao 10 years ago
MAHAMA'S DRIVER, A SOUTHERNER HAS TO PAY FEES FOR HIS WARD IN BOARDING SCHOOL. WHERE IS THE FAIRNESS WHEN THE WARDS OF THE PRESIDENT AND HIS MINISTERS RECEIVE FREE FOOD IN BOARDING SCHOOLS? TIME WAS WHEN THERE WAS NO SHS IN ... read full comment
MAHAMA'S DRIVER, A SOUTHERNER HAS TO PAY FEES FOR HIS WARD IN BOARDING SCHOOL. WHERE IS THE FAIRNESS WHEN THE WARDS OF THE PRESIDENT AND HIS MINISTERS RECEIVE FREE FOOD IN BOARDING SCHOOLS? TIME WAS WHEN THERE WAS NO SHS IN THE 3 REGIONS OF THE NORTH. NOW THERE ARE 83 WITH A PRESIDENT IN THE FLAGSTAFF HOUSE. ITS TIME TO END OUTDATED POLICY.
nubian 10 years ago
Foool. you dont even know that once you move out of the north. its your district assembly that takes charge just as you are on cocobod scholarship even though you have never seen a cocoa tree . Cocao tilled by northern labo ... read full comment
Foool. you dont even know that once you move out of the north. its your district assembly that takes charge just as you are on cocobod scholarship even though you have never seen a cocoa tree . Cocao tilled by northern labour
CARDINAL 10 years ago
Can you fuck off with your cow brain? Cocoa scholarship is not even available to all children of cocoa farmers but only to those who excel academically. In my graduating class in 1983, out of the ten children who parents were ... read full comment
Can you fuck off with your cow brain? Cocoa scholarship is not even available to all children of cocoa farmers but only to those who excel academically. In my graduating class in 1983, out of the ten children who parents were cocoa farmers, only two were on CMB scholarship unlike this Northern scholarship where one only has to be a Northerner to qualify.
As long as you people believe you can't take care of yourselves and continue to be on welfare, others will look down on you like people look down on welfare receiptiens in USA.
Nana Yaw 10 years ago
You hit the nail right on the head. Day secondary schools is what we need to make secondary school education affordable to all and get a lot of our children educated. Keep it coming, Mr Sarpong.
You hit the nail right on the head. Day secondary schools is what we need to make secondary school education affordable to all and get a lot of our children educated. Keep it coming, Mr Sarpong.
AKWELE 10 years ago
There should be more day secondary schools. It costs less in the long run.
There should be more day secondary schools. It costs less in the long run.
nana 10 years ago
do we really call this better gh agenda? Mahama's government dey bore ghanaians esp students
do we really call this better gh agenda? Mahama's government dey bore ghanaians esp students
Dia 10 years ago
Why the North Matters
Fahamu (Oxford)
19 June 2008
By Samuel Zan Akologo and Rinus van Klinken
Unequal and uneven development inherited from British colonialism by present day Ghana continues to divide the No ... read full comment
Why the North Matters
Fahamu (Oxford)
19 June 2008
By Samuel Zan Akologo and Rinus van Klinken
Unequal and uneven development inherited from British colonialism by present day Ghana continues to divide the North from the South. For Samuel Zan Akologo and Rinus van Klinken "Sierra Leone, Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia and Togo are gory reminders" should serve as warning to the Ghanian leadership that it must change course.
The floods have gone. In September last year Northern Ghana briefly hit the head-lines with washed away bridges and destitute communities. Concerned citizens, benevolent donors and an opportunistic government responded with welcome relief. But now the situation has gone back to 'normal' and attention can go back to issues of national importance. As if the North is not part of the national agenda.
There is a natural reluctance to raise 'the North' as an issue. After all, is northern Ghana really so much disadvantaged compared to the rest of the country? Are the northerners the only poor people in Ghana? And is it not so that people from Northern Ghana are always complaining? Even if there is acceptance of a disadvantaged situation, this is then often accompanied by the thought that this is all rather inevitable. Considering the ecological conditions, the human resource base and the land-locked position, what is the economic potential of northern Ghana really?
In this article we argue, that there is a 'special position' of the North within Ghana. This has many and deep-rooted reasons. We think that to address this issue requires a deliberate effort. Not so much from international donors or civil society, but first and foremost from the government. What we have seen so far is not sufficient. There is a strong imperative for the national leadership to take note of the northern challenge. It is preposterous to think that middle income status can be achieved for Ghana by 2015 with the current pace of development in the North - more than one third of Ghana's land mass and 20 per cent of the population!
The North - South divide in Ghana has gradually developed over time, and has become more marked and significant, even after Independence. If the slave trade affected all parts of present-day Ghana, northern Ghana was attacked from two sides by slave traders from the coast (trans-Atlantic) as well as from the hinterland (trans-Sahara) for export of slaves to America and the Arab world respectively. The Gate of No Return may create a vivid and strong symbolic image in the castles on the Coast, but for the Northerners there were so many more (and equally tortuous) slave routes to be whisked away on. The abolition of the slave trade did alleviate the situation, but did not stop the flow of human resources from the North.
Within the colonial administrative arrangements, the southern parts of Ghana became the Gold Coast Colony while the northern parts were administered separately as the Northern Territory. Granted that the developmental agenda of the British Empire in its formal colonies was rather limited, but for the Northern Territory it was entirely non-existent. The colonial government focused purely on 'maintaining law and order' and did not initiate any meaningful education in the North, even actively discouraging missionary efforts as from the White Fathers in Navrongo. Some secondary schools in the south are celebrating a 100 years of existence, and the University of the Gold Coast started in 1948, yet by the mid 1950s the entire North had six students in secondary school and one attending university. It is just a bit over 50 years ago that the first secondary school was established in Northern Region!
This educational discrimination served to preserve the status of the north as labour reserve for the mines and the plantations in the south. The only effective opportunities for economic advancement during the first half of the 20th Century for people from the North was migration. With no schooling and strong trading barriers, employment on the cocoa farms was often the only choice available.
The historical neglect is reinforced by ecological differences. Southern Ghana is humid and hot as part of the West African rainforest. Northern Ghana, in contrast, is part of the guinea zone, with less favourable conditions for agriculture. Not only does rainfall decrease the further north one travels in Ghana, but the rain is also concentrated in shorter periods with characteristic torrential rains. This leads to higher run-off, and coupled with soils poor in organic matter, crop production can only take place in one, often erratic, season. Yet, despite these more difficult conditions, many more households in northern Ghana are dependent on agriculture than in southern Ghana (72 % compared to 44 %). The land-locked nature of northern Ghana, linked to the Coast by one single road passing through the Kumasi metropole, severely limits alternative economic opportunities.
Independence did bring a change in the picture, but the differences between north and south in Ghana were not systematically addressed. To correct the historical imbalance and the ecological differences requires more than nation-wide policies and demands specific policy choices. The strong social policies of the Nkrumah era did boost education in the North, while the economic policies of the Acheampong regime brought some industrialisation (meat factory in Zuarungu, tomato factory in Pwalugu, groundnut factory in Bawku) and boosted commercial agriculture (rice and cotton). It was at that time that rice farms were so big that planes had to be used for spraying. Though these state-led policies did little to address the structural north-south divide, it did give Northern Ghana a chance to make a step ahead.
With the introduction of structural adjustment, projects and activities depending on the government were scaled down. While the idea of privatisation could somehow work in the South, as there was an elite and foreign companies to take over these activities, such conditions did not apply in the North. The factories ground one by one to a halt. Commercial farms went into receivership. Employment and income collapsed. The market players, who were to exploit the opportunities afforded by the withdrawal of the government, simply were not ready for it. Whatever economic elite had started to develop either sank back into obscurity or joined their brethren in the south.
Economic power goes hand in hand with political power. While the cocoa industry and the gold mines have traditionally been the basis for economic development in Ghana, it is no co-incidence that both are located in the south and that both have received favourable treatment, no matter the party or president in power. Mining may possibly have less potential in the North than in the South, but even that cannot be fully ascertained, as geological explorations in northern Ghana do not achieve the level of detail as the southern equivalents.
Even clearer is the discrimination when comparing the cocoa industry in the South to the shea industry in the North. The government since colonial time has heavily invested in the cocoa sector through research, extension, support to co-operatives and other farmer groups and investment in supporting infrastructure. Even in the market-driven environment of today the government retains a heavy regulatory hand in the cocoa industry.
Yet the shea industry, with similar economic potential, has been systematically neglected. No research, no extension, no investment in infrastructure, no regulation. The industry is left to the poverty-stricken women to collect a meagre income during lean times. Market agents then buy it opportunistically from the women at the time that they are looking for small cash in the 'hunger season' and hoard it till prices have risen. It ends up in the hands of a few multi-national companies. The fact that Ghana garnered over USD 1 billion in export from cocoa in 2006, compared to USD 30 million in export from shea is not just due to different economic potentials. It also demonstrates the effect of systematic policy neglect.
While economic policies have not favoured the North, government social interventions have done little to alleviate the situation. With 38 out of the 101 opposition members of Parliament coming from the North and the overall majority of northern MPs being in the opposition (38 out of 49), the government is not inclined to give the North favourable treatment in the allocation of resources. The paradox here is that continued neglect of 'the Northern problem' comes in the guise of 'national policies', not discriminating between Regions.
Economic policies are characterised by liberalisation and giving free reign to private actors. The private sector is the engine of growth. But the private sector will invest where conditions are most favourable. In the South the harbour is near; in the North it is at least one days' drive away. In the South skilled and unskilled labour is available; in the North educational achievements are low. Infrastructure and climatic conditions are much better in the South than in the North. Probably the only advantage much of the North has (apart from the upper Regions) is abundance of land, but given the land tenure situation in Ghana and climatic conditions, that is difficult to translate in an economic gain. So, given the choice to invest in the South or in the North, which investor would indeed choose the North?
A similar logic bedevils social policies. National policies, ostensibly designed so as not to favour specific parts of the country, end up disadvantaging the North. The Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) was originally conceived as a programme focusing on 'Hunger Hotspots', and was therefore targeted at the North. For obvious political reasons, the government decided instead to make it a national policy benefiting all districts equally. But with programme management using its discretionary powers, individual districts were able to lobby for additional schools. Inevitably, such districts were politically well connected and close to the physical and political centre. With as end result that Greater Accra, Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions receive a whopping 70 % of the total funding for school feeding (leaving the other 7 Regions to fight over the remaining 30 % of the funds). The three northern Regions, home to 30 % of the total poor in Ghana, receive a paltry 7 % of the funding! Just two districts in Brong Ahafo Region (Nkoranza and Atebubu) have an equal number of schools in the programme than the entire North (consisting of 34 districts)! One of those districts was the site of a parliamentary bye-election in 2006. In the struggle between political expedience and pro-poor policies, the former reigns supreme. With no political muscle to speak of, the North systematically looses out.
The distribution of HIPC funding tells a similar story. The Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative was an attempt by the World Bank and IMF to reduce the debt burden of the world poorest countries. One of the first major policy initiatives of the new NPP government when it attained power in 2001 was to apply for HIPC status. A special account was opened, whereby the money which otherwise would have been used for debt re-payment would be channelled to special spending targeted at the poor. But once again the reality was different. While the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy 2003-2005 planned that almost half of the HIPC funds would be used in northern Ghana, in reality this was only 17 %, just about one third of what was planned! The remaining 83 % of the projects went to southern Ghana, for which only 52 % had been planned.
It cannot be denied that northern Ghana has recorded considerable progress since independence. But the North on most of the social and economic indicators is still far behind the South. Only in a few instances is the gap narrowing. In terms of social indicators, school enrolment in the three northern Regions is still the lowest in the country, even though the gap is narrowing. Yet, while over half of the population in the South is literate (54 %), in the North this is still less than one third (32 %)!
More worrying is that particularly in the economic field, the gap between North and South is widening. In the whole of Ghana in 1992 some 52 % of the population were living below the poverty line. By 1999 it was down to 40 %,. However, for the same period in three regions the poverty actually increased, of which two were located in the North. In Upper East Region the increase was by 32 %, and by 1999 almost 90 % of the people there were considered living in poverty. Out of every 10 people, 9 are poor! Take away the people with access to some income, e.g. teachers, civil servants, some traders and households benefiting from remittances, and just about everybody else is poor.
Some projections have been done on what could happen to poverty in Ghana by 2015, if policies and international conditions do not change. The prediction is that in 2015 the poverty head count will be down to 23 % for Ghana, a further decrease of 40 % since 1999. But the same projections indicate poverty figures in the three northern Regions between 60 and 70 %, hence without 'the burden of the North' poverty in Ghana would be down to 10 % in 2015. While the Northern Region in 1992 was 11 % behind the national average, by 2015 this will be 33 %, so the gap is widening. Similarly for Upper East (from 15 % behind the national average in 1999 to 47 % in 2015) and Upper West Regions (from 36 % to 44 %).
Colonial policies for the North were characterised by brazen neglect and systematic discrimination. Policies and attitudes need to change, if the North is to catch up with the South and fully integrate into the glorious nation of Ghana. There is no alternative. The evidence is there for all to see what happens if discontent over regional differences erupts into serious national conflicts. Sierra Leone, Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia and Togo are gory reminders of that sordid reality. Fortunately, there are no indications that such is likely to happen now in Ghana. The northern elite is divided, and there is still an economic safety valve through migration, though intra- and inter-ethnic conflicts are far too prevalent. But it does also not need to happen.
The personal route out of poverty for northerners has almost invariably consisted of migration to the south and beyond. And the favoured role for the elite, be it modern or traditional, has been pleading for special government projects or the lobbying for special attention from donors. The political elite, consisting of all the District Chief Executives and Regional Ministers from the three northern Regions, has regularly met over the past few years in what has come to be known as the Mole series. But the Mole series are dominated by the discussion of government and donor projects, rather than in lobbying government for policies, addressing key concerns of the North. The northern elite needs to catch up with the reality that projects, distributed like peanuts to favoured sites, does not bring social and economic development.
Likewise, the role of donors has shifted in northern Ghana, as elsewhere in the world. The era of the 1980s and particularly the 1990s was for northern Ghana dominated by bilateral and multi-lateral agencies, implementing projects either through government or more recently through NGOs. This almost gave the impression as if the government was taking care of the southern part of Ghana, leaving the northern part to international partners. The myriad of signboards for local NGOs in northern Ghana, particularly in Tamale, is a visible remnant of that time. But times and tides have changed. Led by the World Bank, national ownership of development policies is now seen as the only way to bring home-grown development, and many donor agencies are situating their policies within the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy. For some this leads to the pooling of resources, either through Multi-Donor Budget Support or through Sector Wide Approaches (SWAp) for specific sectors. For others, it is more the situating of their projects within larger processes. As GPRS 1 and now 2 do not give specific and systematic attention to the North, donors cannot be expected to do so.
There is no alternative to the government taking leadership in breaking down the barriers blocking social and economic progress in northern Ghana. That is not only in the interest of northern Ghana, but also in the interest of southern Ghana.
*Samuel Zan Akologo is the Ghana country director of SEND Foundation while Rinus van Klinken is affiliated with SNV Ghana.
Yes, another great article. But they will swarm here in numbers to insult! The Northern elites can agree to feed akomfem in flight, not pupils!
Thanks but you and I know the truth. We cannot continue like this. The time has come to scrap this policy. Fifty something years of living on the sweat of our farmers, Miners and Fishermen is enough to catch up to whatever d ...
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Actually all the Northern beneficiary should be tax a special levy for this course. How can successful professional northerner have s/he children educated for free ?While poor salt weaner and kenkey seller have to pay fees ev ...
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THE PEOPLE FROM THDE NORTH MUST STAND ON THEIR FEET TO PAY AS OTHER REGIONS ARE PAYING, AFTER ALL THEY HAVE STOLEN ENOUGH MONEY FROM THE TAX PAYER. LOOK AT MAHAMA, AYARIGA ATUGUBA & CO.
Educate yourselfs.these feeding fees are deducted from their share of the common funds.So indirectly residents in the north pay. Indeed SOUTHERNERS RESIDENT IN THE NORTH BENEFIT FROM THIS TOO. For lack of knowledge my pe ...
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Stop this nonsense. You people have become addicted to living free on other Ghanaians you will say anything to breed Like rats because you don't have to pay to educate the children you bring on this earth like everybody.
...
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Justice,
I really don't think you have clarified and done justice to the topic but I am in agreement with you, as I believe that aspects of the school feeding programme in northern Ghana must change. I had been contemplati ...
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I wish to thank Mr Sarpong for his article. I think you have done your best to chronicle your opinion as to what should be done to move the North forward and alleviate the suffering of Mother Ghana from its woes in these tryi ...
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Stop this nonsense about scholarship for cocoa farmers children if you really know what you are talking about. The scholarship for cocoa farmers children does not come automatically to every child of a cocoa farmer. When I wa ...
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My father has a cocoa farm in Sankore in the Brong Ahafo region. Several Northers of Ghana and even some from Upper Volta, now Burkina Faso, worked for him and got paid.
So the notion that northers weeded cocoa farms don't ...
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Any foolish party that plays with this policy will go to the thrash bin. Sarpong is piece of dog meat in a cocoa sack
The policy of helping the north to catch up with the south was put on paper by the colonial British before ...
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How the world turns. The Northerners during the debate about free education for all insisted that there is no free education in the North. Now that their schools are closed because the freebies have not arrived are singing a ...
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Stop the unnecessary wars over trivial issues,the money use for school feeding will be used for irrigation.We can't keep on wasting monies on ungrateful people other tribes also have their own problems.
THIS IS THE TRUTH, JOHN MAHAMA'S CHILDREN ARE IN BOARDING SCHOOLS FOR FREE ON MY MOTHER'S COCOA TAX. THIS NOTHING, BUT THE TRUTH.
I am not a northerner, but blame the white man for not educating the Northerners for over donkey years, Isreal is a desert, but they are exporting citrus to the whole world, the white man could also have help to develop the a ...
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I
Now it is on. The sad part is that you Savannah coward lied about not being a Northerner when actually you are a toilet carrier with a railway tracks mark on your face.
Who told you smelly cracked heel cowpow that your ...
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You this 'aboa ba funu' can spew rotten mouthed non-sense, you stink
Akadu, you are an embarrassment to all who want to engage in a healthy debate about the issue Sarpong has raised.....you claim to be an intellectual, wear that hat and put a screeching halt to your spigot of insults.....
GIVEN THE POVERTY OF GHANA IN RECENT TIMES, IT IS THE BEST POLICY TO SIMPLY TURN ALL BOARDING SCHOOLS INTO DAY SCHOOLS TO PREVENT THIS FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS....COMMON SENSE.
I guess it is you guys who are now awakening from your deep slumber and facing reality from your dreams. I have been saying the same thing for years but the delay in opening all secondary schools in the North has brought real ...
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Kofi, sorry, the comment was meant for the guy called BOY KOFI.
GREAT
If you are fighting for the poor in all of Ghana, then fight it out with political leaders in NPP and NDC who have ruled Ghana at different times since independence. I was born in the cocoa plantations of Ashanti and still ha ...
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It is a discriminatory policy and must be scrapped. Why? don't we all faced the economic situations in Ghana. Some of us campaign against Akuffo Addo free Education cos of the unecessary cost it will bring to government and t ...
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Am I the only person here who is getting tired of the victimhood mentalities of some ethnic groups! Sarpong's article is balanced and objective! Blame the Northern elites for "hatred"
of their own people. Instead focusing on ...
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Akadu, define precisely what you mean by the 'northern elite,' a phrase coined by dimwitted southerners like you to spew hatred and pour scorn on a group that essentially still struggles with economic disparities. Get a grip ...
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I have yelled about it because the policy was not enacted to run for eternity and Ghana at the moment cannot finance free boarding, which is a luxury and not a necessity.
I don't hate Northerners but this policy and others ...
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Whay is that whenever anyone writes about the North and the Volta, people think about hatred?
It's really sad the dependency syndrome has dulled the thinking of these people.
Continue feeding them free of charge so that they, the Northerners can become your president. They are good at farming guinea fowl to feed the whole nation. Sarpong, if you don't like guinea fowl in your soup, what else do yo ...
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Wat is good for de goose is good for the gander
if no free tins, then cancell de free feedin grants for the north wic de kayaye, fishmonger, mason in south pays for de north whiles he suffers to pay for his own children
This is a very good write-up, if the president thinks, things cannot be free then there is no need to subsidies boarding education in the north period. I hope John Mahama will read this article. When the NPP was touting free ...
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The north had been the economy back bone of this our dear country Ghana at the expense of the south. The northerns are also your
Ha ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
If the North has been the economic backbone of Ghana, then it is apparent that, they are not that poor to have free education whilst others pay for their children education.
Economic backbone? For real? Then that justify the payment of fees! Isn't ?
Turn urself into president mahamma and stop de feeding grand
It takes a brave man to say what you said. It is the sentiment of almost all Ghanaians even some of our enlightened brothers and sisters from the 3 northern regions that this policy should be scrapped. The policy has achieved ...
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Pls comment wit maturity and stop those childish 'akomfem' comments.
IS ONLY A FOOL WHO WILL THINK IT IS HIS/HER MONEY THAT OTHERS USED TO FEED THEIR CHILDREN. DO YOU PEOPLE THINKS NORTHERNERS ARE LAZY PEOPLE OR WHAT.I THINK IS TIME YOU STOP SILLY AND CHILDISH COMMENTS YOU MAKE ON YOUR PLATFOR ...
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U can't even construct simple sentences and you claim you think for us? If I were you........
The era of the free ride should be over. The primitive Northerners who marry five wives with ten to twenty children breeding like rats should zip their trousers.
I meant breeding not bleeding.
HARD TRUTH IS BETTER THAN EVENTUAL COLLAPSE OF THE ECONOMY OR SOCIAL CHAOS!!
STUDENT STRIKES DUE TO INABILITY OF GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE THE INTENDED BOARDING SCHOOL SUBSIDIES.
IT IS HIGH TIME OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN TH ...
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I do not know if Justice really answers his name. If he has any knowledge about the HISTORY of Gold Coast/Ghana coupled with the geographical distribution of resources of this country, he will have another thinking to do. He ...
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Ok, if Northerners in other parts of the country pay their children school fees, then those still living in the three Northern regions should do the same like the rest of Ghanaians. This is not too complex to grasp.
There must be more day secondary schools in all communities than the boarding schools.Actually,govt should run only day secondary schools and leave the boarding for private and religious institutions.It does not make any sen ...
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It is rather you who have had the loose screws on your brains tightened or screwed tight you are now employing your brains.
Stay focus on your opinion.I did not support Nana Addo's Free SHS promise because there were lot of inconsistencies in it.Issues about boarding and day students,justification of revenue were all missing and no quota whatsoeve ...
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Sorry, I did not intend to abuse a retard.
The northern back NDC with a northern led President and their tribal 80% political appointees and ministers all northern origin who unbelievably campaigned against the opposition's free SHS policy, must feel embarrassingly as ...
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LETS THINK ABOUT THE ISSUE OF FREE EDUCATION IN THE NORTH BEFORE TALKING ABOUT IT. NORTHERS ARE STILL NOT OUT OF THE WOODS. YOU NEED TO STUDY THE VEGETATION UP NORTH WHEN EDUCATION BEGAN THERE AND THE NUMBER OF GIRLS AND BOYS ...
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Burkina faso is further up north, and thus have a "worse" climate but they are feeding us now! Onions, tomatoes etc from Accra are from BF. No, the northern excuse of bad weather is dead, and the freebies should cease. It is ...
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Shanana, you've said it all to this Alhaji AA who don't want to use his brains. Burkina Faso is feeding not only Ghana with tomatoes, onions, garden eggs and other produce at this lean season but most of the West African cou ...
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You, Shanana and those calling to end this discriminatory policy are gems. The Politicians are afraid to talk about this and other freebies and the only person who can initiate a policy to end this is Mahama Who has cut allow ...
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It is sad to read an article calling for a stop in Government assistance in educating Northerners. The writer of this article does not know the history of his own country. No disrespect here. When the British were in control ...
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You think it is nonsense? The railway system does not go to B/A and Volta regions so if you are using the railway system to continue your dependency system, then those two regions too should get free education. I am really s ...
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Mischievous Justice, You can go to hell it wont be scrapped.
AND SO WHAT IF THEY HAVE TO PAY TO FEED THEIR CHILDREN.
MAHAMA'S DRIVER, A SOUTHERNER HAS TO PAY FEES FOR HIS WARD IN BOARDING SCHOOL. WHERE IS THE FAIRNESS WHEN THE WARDS OF THE PRESIDENT AND HIS MINISTERS RECEIVE FREE FOOD IN BOARDING SCHOOLS? TIME WAS WHEN THERE WAS NO SHS IN ...
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Foool. you dont even know that once you move out of the north. its your district assembly that takes charge just as you are on cocobod scholarship even though you have never seen a cocoa tree . Cocao tilled by northern labo ...
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Can you fuck off with your cow brain? Cocoa scholarship is not even available to all children of cocoa farmers but only to those who excel academically. In my graduating class in 1983, out of the ten children who parents were ...
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You hit the nail right on the head. Day secondary schools is what we need to make secondary school education affordable to all and get a lot of our children educated. Keep it coming, Mr Sarpong.
There should be more day secondary schools. It costs less in the long run.
do we really call this better gh agenda? Mahama's government dey bore ghanaians esp students
Why the North Matters
Fahamu (Oxford)
19 June 2008
By Samuel Zan Akologo and Rinus van Klinken
Unequal and uneven development inherited from British colonialism by present day Ghana continues to divide the No ...
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