ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
An assessment of the micro finance industry in Ghana (a survey of selected Savings and Loans Institutions in Kumasi)

Micro Finance Institutions are institutions having structures that provide access to credit for the poor, often with serious limitations in terms of cost, risk, and convenience which must be identified and resolved so that it can reach the vast majority of potential customers. The purpose of this study was to investigate into the major challenges affecting the sustainability of micro finance schemes and to identify the prospects of selected institutions in Kumasi, Ghana. The study was guided by the following research objectives: (1) To identify the client base characteristics and client focus of savings and loans institutions in Kumasi. (2) To identify the major challenges affecting customer patronage of savings and loans institutions. (3) To identify the major challenges affect the sustainability of savings and loans schemes in Kumasi. (4) To identify future opportunities and recommendations for savings and loans institutions in Kumasi. Primary data was collected from the customers and management of the selected savings and loans institutions in the Kumasi metropolis. These included Garden city, Opportunity international, First allied and Pacific savings and loans institutions. These Institutions are registered and operate micro finance mainstream services. The findings of the study revealed that majority of the customers were women who were deposit oriented,, however the institutions are gradually shifting from their original target of serving the very poor since customers who qualify for credit will have to make periodic deposits before warranting support, thus presupposing that clients must be in a stable form of business. (Formal or informal) Customers identified long loan processing, times, rigid repayment methods, training, monitoring and high interest rate as the major challenges. Furthermore management described default rates inadequate data on clients, poor credit methods, institutional management, high interest rates, and extending services to rural areas and institutional sustainability as challenges confronting the industry. In forecasting future opportunities for the industry it was realized that a vibrant regulatory authority, extending, services to rural areas, designing tailored services, collaborations within the micro finance industry and partnering with NGOs, will increase confidence and. trust between clients and MFIs. Moreover a nationwide awareness campaign will help reach the vast majority of potential customers in the country.

Source: KNUST
An Assessment of the Microbial Content of Water used for Irrigation and their Effects on the Postharvest Quality of Cabbage (Brassica Oleracea Var. Capitata) in the Tamale Metropolis

An assessment of the microbial content of water used for irrigation and their effects on the postharvest quality of cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) was carried out in the Tamale Metropolis from January to May, 2011. Fifty percent each of the total producers and consumers of cabbage in the metropolis were randomly selected and interviewed. The equipment used for irrigation were buckets, watering cans and rubber hose and the main source of water for irrigation in the metropolis was pipe water. Water samples were taken from all the five sites (Nobisco, Lamashegu, Gumani, Waterworks and Choggu) on a monthly basis for quality analysis. The Most Probable Number (MPN) method was used to estimate faecal and total coliforms present in the samples at the Ghana Water Company Limited Laboratory, Tamale. It was found that water used for irrigation in the area was heavily polluted with both total and faecal coliforms. The findings also revealed that both producers and consumers were aware of the effects of irrigation water on postharvest quality of cabbage. Therefore cabbage produced in the area should be thoroughly washed with brine and vinegar before use.

Source: KNUST
Assessment of the Nutrient Load and Selected Heavy Metals in the Owabi Reservoir and its Feeder Waters

The effects of anthropogenic activities on the water quality of the Owabi reservoir, a dam which provides drinking water to most parts of the Ashanti region of Ghana was assessed by monitoring physicochemical parameters, trace metals and nutrient levels of five feeder water sources. Trace metal levels (mg/L) were in the range of 0.67-3.20, 0.001-0.1, 0.001-0.06, 0.02 0.2, 0.05-0.15 and 0.002-0.019 for Iron, Zinc, Copper, Aluminum, Chromium, and Manganese respectively. Chromium and Iron exceeded USEPA maximum acceptable levels for drinking water. The nutrients content (mg/L) ranged from 5.00-28.00, 0.08-0.53, 0.82-4.20 and 0.03-0.53 for Sulphate, Nitrate, Phosphate and Ammonia respectively.

Source: KNUST
An assessment of the nexus between youth livelihoods and urban poverty in slum communities: the case of aboabo and Ayigya Zongo in Kumasi

Currently, slum dwellers make up about 43 percent of Ghana’s urban population with a huge proportion being youth. With youth migrating to cities to live and work, the face of urbanisation is now a young one. Although existing literature on slum and their impacts on youth have largely focused on the negative effects of the dire economic conditions and inadequate basic services, there are recent empirical evidences in Ghana of positive social, economic and improved wellbeing of youth who find themselves in slums. This multi directional and mixed outcome of urban poverty on youth livelihoods provides a gap for investigation. Drawing on structured and semi-structured questionnaires completed by 388 slum youth in Aboabo and Ayigya Zongo communities located Kumasi (Ghana’s second largest urban city), the study examines whether or not there is a relationship between urban poverty and youth livelihoods in slum communities. The study reveals that, the livelihoods of youth as well as multidimensional poverty characteristics prevalent in these communities could be understood in the light of the Sustainable Livelihood Framework and the subculture of poverty theory (that poverty is transmitted generationally). This is important because of the extensive studies and debate over the extent to which slum youth livelihoods are influenced by the perpetuation of poverty in the slum environment. The study realised that 42.6 percent of respondents employed in the private informal sector were mainly business activities inherited from their parents whiles the highest education level of parents were positively correlated to the educational levels of youth and also influenced how much youth earned monthly. The findings of this study advance existing knowledge by not only linking non-monetary poverty to slum growth in Ghana but by also demonstrates that multiple forms of poverty takes place concurrently in the slum environment. In view of the findings, some recommendations were made. Firstly, the acknowledgement of the slum residents with a ‘right to the city’ is crucial to their participation in the urban economy. Secondly, adjustment in business registration procedures is vital to formalize the informal enterprises of youth in slums. Thirdly, the sustained pursuit of participatory slum upgrading programmes with inputs from all city governance stakeholders and finally collaboration of the Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies with other relevant institutions to provide basic services such as refuse bins, regular power supply and access routes/roads to slum dwellers

Source: KNUST
Assessment of the Obesogenic Environment in the Home and School and its Association with Adiposity Indices of School-aged Children in the Tamale Metropolis

Childhood overweight and obesity is rising in both developed and developing countries and has become a global public health concern. This study assessed the family, home, and school obesogenic environments and their associations with adiposity indices and status in school-aged children in the Tamale Metropolis. Participants of this cross-sectional study included children aged 6-12 years and their parents. The healthy home environment survey instrument (HEI) and the revised family eating and activity habits questionnaire (FEAHQ) were used to assess the obesogenic home environment (i.e. eating behaviours, activity habits, physical activity environment and sedentary lifestyles of the children). Anthropometric measurements of weight, height and waist circumference of the children were measured using standard tools and computed into adiposity indices of BMI-for-age zscores (BAZ), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and %body fat. Physical activity levels of the children were assessed using the physical activity questionnaire for children (PAQ-C). Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation percentages and graphs were used were used to describe and report the data. One way ANOVA Pearson correlation and multivariate linear regression where used to identify factors associated with the adiposity indices of the children. In all, 299 children (95% response rate) and 264 corresponding parents (84% response rate) had complete data and were included in the analysis. With a mean (SD) age 9.30 (2.14) years, 55.0% of the children were female and 50% each were in lower and upper primary schools. Forty-five percent of the children lived within a walking distance or short drive to parks or outdoor recreation centres and 50% of the children had useable bicycles/tricycles. Majority of the parents considered their neighbourhoods to be safe for children to engage in physical activity. Only 27% of the schools had a food and nutrition policy, none had a gymnasium but more than 70% of the schools had a field for outdoor activities. The prevalence of obesity based on BAZ classifications was 12.4% and 16.7% based on WHtR classifications. The mean and median physical activity scores of the children were 2.51 and 2.52 demonstrating moderate levels of physical activity. Significant associations were found between time spent watching TV/watching video games with three adiposity indices: BMI-for-age z-scores (r=0.51, p=0.043), BMI (r=0.62, p=0.005), and % body fat (r=0.63, p=0.005). In conclusion, the prevalence of overweight and obesity was relatively high. Aspects of the obesogenic home environment were conducive for the adoption of sedentary lifestyles such as increased television viewing and the presence of DVD/VCR players. Physical activity levels of the children were generally moderate.

Source: KNUST
Assessment of the Operations and Performance of Activated Sludge Treatment a Juapong Textiles Limited (JTL), Juapong

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the performance of the Activated Sludge Treatment Plant at Juapong Textiles Limited (JTL): identify the causes of its current poor performance which is of major concern to the Company; and to determine how the problems associated with the Plant could be remedied, in order that treated effluent would meet EPA Guidelines for discharge into receiving water bodies. Conclusions and recommendations were based on a study of the activated sludge theory, consultations with wastewater treatment experts and field studies of raw sewage quality and quantity, treated effluent quality and quantity, mixed liquor and activated sludge quality, residence times and oxygen transfer. The main issue identified as contributing to the current performance of the plant, based on an input - output analysis of all the unit processes, was ineffective process control in the aeration unit, which was identified as the problem centre. Recommendations include training of personnel, provision of manuals and reference literature, proper process operation and control and future adoption of treatment technologies more suited for conditions in developing countries, for example, Waste Stabilisation Ponds.

Source: KNUST
An assessment of the operations of the exemption schemes and the effect on the revolving drug fund (Cash and Carry System): a Study in Cape Coast District, Ghana

There has been the expansion of free medical care including drugs to a category of people in the country to include paupers, health personnel excluding their dependants, aged above seventy years and pregnant women attending antenatal care in 1997. These exemptions obtain their drugs from the health institutions by means of the Revolving drug fund (RDF) or cash and carry system, with Government of Ghana providing funds periodically for reimbursement. It is therefore important that health managers ensure that the exempt get access to free medical care and also the mechanism of reimbursing the drug account of exempt drug bills is timely to make continuous funds available for the revolving drug fund. The main objective of the study was to assess the operations of the exemption schemes and the effect on the cash and carry system in health institutions in Cape Coast District. A cross-sectional retrospective study of the management of free drugs given to the category of exempt at the health facilities between January and June 1998 was investigated three weeks in the months of August and September 1998. The method of assessment involved qualitative and quantitative interviews for key informants especially head of units at the health institutions by means of questionnaires and an assessment guide routine data was collected from the outpatients department, maternity, pharmacy and accounts. Only health institutions operating the cash and carry system were assessed and the study was also limited to management of outpatients who were exempt. Results from the assessment showed difficulty in the identification of outpatient paupers and aged above 70 years for them to gain access to exemption, late allocation of funds for exempt and shortage of drugs for exempt at the health institutions. Moreover, there was delay in reimbursing the drug accounts of exempt drug bills, therefore locking up drug funds. Fortunately this did not affect the stocking of essential drugs at the health facilities. The District Hospital had a huge RDF capital and the locked up drug money was a small fraction. The other health institutions, Ewim Health centre and Adisadel health centres purchased drugs on credit from the Regional Medical Stores between January and June 1998, these institutions however had small revolving drug funds, for continues stocking of essential drugs. Recommendations were made to the health institutions to enable statutory category of exempt gain access to exemption and also a time frame given for the reimbursement of the drug account concerning exempt drug bills, because the credit from the regional medical stores ceased in September 1998. Consideration should also be given to recapitalization of RDFs of Ewim and Adisadel Health Centres.

Source: KNUST
Assessment of the performance of Ghana Post Company Limited 1999-2003

There is no gain saying the fact that the need to communicate is an essential part of human existence. The Postal Service was developed to satisfy this human need. Through the postal service people living in different parts of the globe can be and are linked. The Ghana Post was thus established to provide an efficient and effective means of communication both within and outside the country. However, in the discharge of its mandate, customers have levelled numerous complaints of malpractice and inefficiencies, against it. The main thrust of this research therefore was to assess the performance of Ghana Post since its conversion into a company in 1999 to 2003. The study demonstrated that the Postal Service was still relevant, but the transformation from a government corporation to a company has not made any significant impact in terms of performance. The old internal organizational culture has not changed. The bad attitudes and habits of the P&T Corporation era are still prevalent. Anti - social practices such as pilfering and mistreatment of mails are rife. In fact about 42% of recorded complaints relate to pilfering and loss of mails. Several factors such as insufficient address, inadequate mail vans, cumbersome mail procedures, poor supervision, apathy, inadequate security measures, to mention but a few have all contributed to the poor state of affairs. Generally, customers are not satisfied with the quality of service and this has cast a slur on the image of Ghana Post. The above notwithstanding, the company has been making modest profits and consistently paying dividend to government over the years. The Ghana Post recorded its first ever profit amounting to çt400million in 1996 and has since been doing so. It achieved its highest profit of 5. 5 billion in 2003. However, the company was unable to achieve its targeted 12% average annual returns an investment for the period 1999 - 2003, instead it recorded a 7.96% average. The company also suffered revenue leakages to the tune of ¢2.32billion, through under postage, postage stamp and postal orders duplication during the period 1999 - 2003. In the area of competition, the combined effects of the private courier companies, and improvement in telecommunication and Internet facilities among others have resulted in dwindling mail volumes. The volume of mails handled by Ghana Post fell from 89.8million in 1993 to 65.3million in 2003. Ghana Post response to these threats has been slow. The company is yet to fully exploit its wide infrastructure network, and advancement in information and communication technology to enhance its efficiency and competitiveness. Unfortunately the company relies heavily on Traditional Postal Services which contribute about 75% to total revenue. Given the over - reliance on Traditional Postal revenue the company needs to diversify and strengthen other sources of revenues, and adopt more efficient and sustainable strategies to improve the quality of service as well as put in place control measures to check revenues leakage.

Source: KNUST
Assessment of the Performance of Public and Private Municipal Solid Waste Collection Institutions in the Tamale Metropolis

The increasing quantities of solid waste generated in the Tamale metropolis have not been accompanied with an equally increasing public and private sector engagement in the collection and the subsequent disposal of solid waste. There exist two private waste collecting institutions operating within the Tamale Metropolis (Zoom lion and Digital Cleaners) in collaboration with the Solid Waste Management Department of the Metropolitan Assembly. Digital Cleaners is into only house-to-house solid waste collection whiles Zoom lion‘s activities cover street sweeping, house-to-house waste collection and skip collection. The public sector institution on the other hand, is into only skip collection. The operation of the private sector cover 67% of the metropolis whiles the public sector covers 33%. Solid wastes collected are transported through the city uncovered. The solid waste collecting institutions have no specific route through which they transport solid waste to the land fill. Segregation and recycling of solid waste that reduces the volume of it before dumping is not effective. Notable among the waste management problems within the metropolis is inadequate operational funding from the metropolitan budget allocation for the collection and disposal processes. The public sector solid waste collecting institution faces problems such as irregular release of funds from the Metropolitan Assembly, inadequate and old skip trucks, inadequate staff, accidental fires in skips and lack of cooperation from the society and indiscriminate dumping of solid waste around skips and in unauthorized places. The private sector is more efficient than the public sector in terms of collecting and disposing off solid waste. The private sector operatives are able to lift all the skips within their operational area at least once every week. With those under the public sector operational area, 50% of the skips were lifted within 7 days and 50% were lifted after 7 days. None of the solid waste collecting institutions practiced daily collection of solid waste within the Metropolis. The major source of funding for Zoom lion is the Metropolitan Assembly‘s Common Fund whiles Digital Cleaners is self financing. The public sector solid waste management department of the Metropolitan Assembly gets its funding through the sanitation fund. It was also realised that on an average 86tons of solid waste are disposed off daily at the landfill site. A critical look at the distances of skips to the nearest household revealed that 55% of the skips were placed less than 40m to the nearest house hold, 25% placed between 40m-60m whiles 20% were found within 60m-120m to the nearest household.

Source: KNUST
Assessment of the performance of the management of the Nkoranza Community Health Financing Scheme

Recent economic events in most sub-Saharan African countries have made it impossible for governments to provide adequate resources for the effective running of the health sector. Health economists, WHO and some NGO’s, have advocated health insurance as an alternative form of financing health care. Communities are being encouraged to set up community financing schemes to improve the health status of its members. Such a type of scheme has been established at Nkoranza District in the Brong Ahafo region since 1992. This study assessed the performance of the management of the scheme and the perception of the community on the scheme. The assessment focused on the variable concepts of planning and decision-making, organizing, leading and control. Apart from obtaining data through questionnaires and discussions, interviews were held with community members and all stakeholders of the scheme. Findings and analysis indicate, amongst others, that the Nkoranza community-financing scheme was popular amongst the people of Nkoranza and seems to have reduced to some extent their financial barrier to health care. A significant recommendation (based on the findings of this study) is that the communities should be involved in the management of the scheme, particularly in the setting of the insurance premium. This would lead to, inter alia, improved management and generally to maximum positive consequences of the financing scheme. A participatory management style would ensure efficiency and yield effective results which would help sustain the scheme.

Source: KNUST