This study investigates accountability and transparency issues in the management of oil and gas (O&G) revenues in Ghana through public discourse. It establishes the factors that influence accountability and investigates how accountability is discharged amongst stakeholders in the O&G industry in Ghana, with respect to contemporary accountability theories. The thesis develops a contextualised analytical framework drawing on Dhanani and Connolly’s (2012), and Gray et al.’s (1996) conceptualisations of accountability, in addition to other contemporary accountability concepts, mirrored through the ethical variant of stakeholder theory to classify, analyse and interpret the issues of transparency and accountability in revenue management in the O&G industry in Ghana. It uses this framework to analyse and interpret questionnaires and interviews of stakeholders in the O&G industry in Ghana; these include the government, civil society groups and upstream oil companies. The thesis establishes that the accountability relationships (strategic, financial, fiduciary and procedural) between accountees and accountors in the O&G industry in Ghana are hierarchical, bureaucratic and fussy, making the discharge of accountability unintelligent, ineffective and vulgate and only routinely given for cosmetic purposes. Consequently, the accountors in the O&G industry in Ghana employ the positive variant of the stakeholder theory, motivated by legitimisation practices to regularise their activities, contrary to the expected ethical variant of the theory. The outcome reflects the practices of for-profit organisations such as upstream O&G companies, but conflicts with the government’s fiduciary responsibilities towards citizens and the espoused communal values of the legal and regulatory framework of the industry. Current perspectives on positive stakeholder and legitimacy theory therefore appear to explain existing stakeholder relationships and how accountability is discharged in the O&G industry in Ghana. The thesis contributes to the public accountability and transparency literature in a number of ways: First, the study presents an empirical basis to advance discourse about accountability and transparency in natural resource management in developing countries, by developing a contextualised theoretical and analytical framework drawing on Dhanani and Connolly’s (2012) and Gray et al’s (1996) accountability concepts, and using the ethical stakeholder theory as a lens for interpretation. Second, it provides an empirical basis for rethinking the hierarchical managerialist approach to accountability suggested by the positive variant of the stakeholder theory and its legitimisation mechanisms between accountees and the accountors in the O&G industry in Ghana, and suggests the adoption of the ethical variant of the stakeholder theory with its moral imperatives. Third, the study provides significant insight into governance issues in Sub-Saharan Africa that could inform policy formulation for the region by international bodies, including the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), by critically reviewing accountability and transparency issues in the oil sectors in Angola, Nigeria and the DRC and juxtaposing this evidence with empirical findings for Ghana. Finally, it advances understanding of the public accountability practices and transparency issues in the O&G industry in Ghana, while pointing out significant governance implications for policy-makers, civil society and advocacy groups, think-tanks, the O&G companies and academics.

Protracted refugee situations are a world-wide problem,yetlittle research isavailable. Despite obvious practical obstacles,it is the individual that must decide whether to return, which is why it is interesting to examine if the choice is deliberate or involuntary. This thesis aims to specifically study why Liberian refugees, who fled from the civil wars in the 1990’s, still livesin the refugee camp Buduburam in Ghana, where they have stayed for more than two decades even though their living conditions are continuing toworsen.To understand their choice of not repatriating, the Rational Choice Theory and Social Identity Theory,which separately describeshow and why individuals make decisions, are being compared. The former claims that people always make choices based on selfish and rational assumptions after considering both positive and negative consequences, and then choose the most profitable option. In contrast, the Social Identity Theory implies that an individual’s decision-making is based on group belonging, norms and surroundings.To further achieve the purpose of the study, the theories are appliedto the empirical materialgathered from semi-structured interviews made with eight refugees that stays in the camp, who individually describestheir situation and reason for not repatriating. Lastly, the analysis discusses whyneither of the theories has a complete explanation forthe problematic situation,although interesting approaches are acknowledged.

Chronic unemployment and decreased agricultural production over the last two decades have left an increasing number of men throughout Ghana’s historically under-developed North unable to meet the financial and moral expectations traditionally associated with masculinity. Paralleling the liberalization of Ghana’s political economy over this period, this “crisis of masculinity” has resulted in unprecedented transformations in traditional kinship structures, patriarchy, and channels for the transmission of traditional practices in Dagbamba communities. Driven by anxieties over these changes, Dagbamba “tradition” is being promoted as a prescription for problems stemming from poverty, environmental degradation, and political conflict, placing music and dance at the center of this discourse. Music, Masculinity, and Tradition, investigates the mobilization of traditional music as a site for the restoration of masculinity within the Dagbamba community of northern Ghana. Drawing on eleven months of participant-observation conducted with Dagbamba warriors in Ghana’s Northern Region, archival research, and ethnographic interviews, this dissertation explores the relationship between performances of traditional music, preservationist discourses, and the construction of masculinity in the first decades of the 21st century. Through analyses of the warriors’ ritual performances, including sounds, movements, and dramatized violence, I ask how traditional ideals and contemporary realities of Dagbamba masculinity are constructed, negotiated, and reinforced through performances of traditional music, suggesting links between the “iterative performativity” of the ritual and evolving constructions of gender. This dissertation offers insight into the musical construction of masculinity and the place of “tradition” in the 21st century. It also challenges over-determined notions of power/resistance through a critical evaluation of traditional musical performances as sites for the negotiation of ideas about gender, power, and history in contemporary Africa.

This paper critically evaluates guidelines concerning participatory development by the World Bank and USAID. It focuses on the different conceptual frameworks adopted in order to examine the differing ways of adopting participation in their development agenda. A literature –based method was adopted and the analysis included evaluation of five documented experiences including the Ghana Secondary Education Improvement Project and Ghana Water Sanitation and Hygiene Project from both the World Bank and USAID. Baum project cycle stages have been taken as activities for project participation. The findings are; the need for better planning; ensuring sustainability; and involving beneficiaries. / Article was sent as 4 word documents - I compiled into pdf version and let Farhad know 21/06/2016 - sm / The full text will be available at the end of the publisher's embargo, 31st July 2018.

In the current era of globalization, knowledge-based innovations are critical for socio-economic development. In most African countries, however, the level of African-based research and development is minuscule. In addition, there continues to be a considerable gender gap in higher education throughout Africa, where male enrolments far outweigh female enrolments, particularly in the science and technology (S&T) fields. This gender discrepancy has raised concerns about the factors that underlie reduced female enrolment in S&T programs in African universities. Equally intriguing, in view of the relative scarcity of women in the S&T fields, there is surprisingly little knowledge concerning the attributes and the experiences of those African women who do enrol and teach in S&T fields, and who thus can serve as role models for younger girls who have an interest or the potential for pursuing studies in these fields. In Ghana, although policy initiatives have been undertaken to increase women’s participation in higher education, women remain underrepresented in science and technology (S&T) fields, particularly, at the graduate education level. To gain a better understanding of how some women have overcome longstanding obstacles to gender equality in S&T, my dissertation focused on the evolving status of 24 African women in three S&T graduate education programs – Africa Centres of Excellence (ACE) – in two universities in Ghana. To shed light on the factors that facilitate or hinder women’s participation in S&T graduate programs, a qualitative inquiry, into the experiences and perceptions of these women was undertaken. The conceptual framework presents the sequence of three approaches: (a) advocacy to raise consciousness about underlying gender-disparity issues; (b) a gender-affirmative-action approach to recruit and train a critical mass of female scientists and researchers; and (c) promotion of gender mainstreaming as a way of bringing gender perspectives into the universities’ cultures. This framework has been complemented by the structuration theory that has been useful in illuminating the experiences and perceptions of the women in the S&T ACE graduate programs in Ghana. These conceptual and theoretical frameworks have helped elucidate how the development and effective implementation of gender policies and procedures can lead to the transformation of institutional, social and global structures. Structures in turn can impact women’s agency and help overcome gender disparity in S&T higher education. The analysis of the women’s stories provided insights into the intersection of gender, socio-cultural factors, organizational cultures, and how gendered challenges impacted the professional aspirations of the women academics in the two public universities studied in Ghana. Beyond a better understanding of women’s experiences, this study helps us understand gender inequalities and the societal norms and practices, as well as patriarchal forces that permeate societies and impose structural barriers to women’s advancement. The study also helps to address a major research gap concerning the forces that affect, for better or worse, women’s experiences and potential academic contributions in S&T in Ghana and elsewhere in the world and adds to the broader literature on women’s experiences in male-dominated fields.

This dissertation is the documentation of a participative learning project with the purpose of facilitating improvement in farming and agricultural development work in the Hohoe district of Ghana. This study was done in a context in which (a)agricultural production is carried out by small scale farmers who depend on social networking at the village level, for the distribution and management of agricultural resources, and on local knowledge for productive purposes; (b)government efforts at agricultural development is implemented through the activitiesof its agricultural development agencies - Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MIST).Participative learning, based on the logic and concepts of action research, experiential learning and critical systems learning, was used as a methodological framework. The conclusion drawn from this inquiry is that participative learning is a legitimate and an effective way of facilitating the development of food and other agricultual production. The challenge is therefore for individuals and organizations involved in the development of agricultural production to establish suitable processes and relationships to support participative learning. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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Road traffic accidents have become ‘hidden epidemics’ across the world and have posed a substantial health and economic burden to many developing nations. In 2006, Ghana spent US$ 165 million (1.6% of GDP) on accident management. On average, five (5) people die and several others are injured on the country’s roads daily. In about 95% of road traffic crashes in the country, human factors have been implicated. Available evidence indicates that the casualty rate is on the rise in many parts of the country. However, little attempts have been made to understand the individual and situational determinants of road traffic crashes among drivers and pedestrians. Employing a qualitative research methodology, this research investigated drivers and pedestrians’ opinions about their traffic risk perception, attitudes and behaviour and their relationship with motor vehicle crashes with the overall goal of identifying and describing the proximal and distal factors of accident causation in the Manya Krobo area. Two sub-studies make up the content of the present research: The first study explored the individual and situational determinants of aberrant driving and traffic crashes among commercial drivers of passenger-carrying minibuses. Challenging working conditions, road rage behaviours, inadequate driver training, bad road infrastructure and equipment, and passenger distractions were among the reasons described for dangerous driving. Other motivations were risk-taking propensity, fatalism, and ineffective traffic law enforcement. In the second study, pedestrian road use attitudes and behaviour as well as their travel experiences in relation to pedestrian-vehicular crash involvements were investigated. The major behaviours reported to be influencing pedestrian-vehicle crashes included pedestrian-unfriendly road infrastructure, nearness of stores and supermarkets to major roads, risky pedestrian road use behaviour, aberrant driving, street hawking, parental negligence, and general disinterest in pedestrian law enforcement. Given the importance these findings may have for central government, road planners, and safety officials; discussions have been made and recommendations for accident countermeasures have been put forward. Keywords: Ghana; Pedestrians; Commercial drivers; Risk perception; Attitude; Behaviour; Streethawking; Driving apprenticeship

The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze two factors contributing to child labor in Ghana, one of the world's largest producers of cocoa. These two factors are: poor countries economic and political dependency on the rich countries, political leader’s ambitions and decisions. We will also describe and analyze the UN's efforts and measures to combat child labor. The method we used was a case study of child labor in Ghana‘s cocoa industry together with interviews. Questions to be answered were: How is poor countries economic and political dependency towards rich countries a contributing factor to child labor? How do political leader’s ambitions and decisions affect child labor? Despite UN efforts to combat child labor it does not diminish in some parts of the world such as West-Africa, why? The theories used were the Dependency Theory and Political Leadership Theory. Our results show that dependency theory can contribute to child labor. It does that because of colonialisms effects still are showing in poorer countries. This in turn leads to that children need to work to help their family economically. UN broad actions and measures to combat child labor did not help to reduce child labor. UN must specify its policies and actions in each country depending on what kind of child labor it is. Political leadership was important to ensure that child labor should decrease. The political leader should have understood the issue and ensured the protection of children under 15 from hazardous work, this by ensuring that there were laws that protected them, but also by accepting the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

There have been multiple cases of drinking water related diseases in Ghana, particularly the cities. Kumasi, the second largest city is recording high figures of drinking water related diseases. The Ghana water and sewage company is supposed to provide adequate safe drinking water to the people. However, the company has failed to provide this service effectively. Various reasons have been given by the company on its inability to perform efficiently. Meanwhile the government decided lately to privatise water in the cities to facilitate access to quality water through what is called “FULL COST RECOVERY”. This attracted a lot of international companies to Ghana but this has also generated protest and demonstrations. The argument is that these foreign companies are basically profit oriented and considering the fact that most of the affected people are very poor, suggesting they cannot afford it. The study is aimed at finding out the relationship between water management and health in the study area and how effective water management through full community participation could help provide adequate safe drinking water. The study was a non-interventional descriptive type using both qualitative and quantitative methods. It was conducted in Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana. A total of 100 residents from the communities was selected through systematic sampling and interviewed. This includes 86 local residents and 14 key informer interviews. The study also relied on observation as well as some selected literature. The results confirmed that drinking water related diseases is on the increase with the most affected people being the poor living in shanty and informal areas of the city. It was also found that most people in the city are willing to render any services to provide safe drinking water. But in relative terms, most of these people are very poor with high percentage of illiterates and may only contribute if there is a good relation and trust among all. It however appears that community participation is a good option for the city provided that stakeholders are made to play effective roles.