No description available.

The slow rate of development in some of the regions of Ghana, and in fact of the developing countries, is partly-due to the lack of adequate and efficient transportation services. The provision of such services is greatly hindered by the excessive competition between transportation modes and the inexpedient allocation of capital resources for transport development. The utilization of the Volta Lake for the purposes of transportation will probably constitute a source of competition to existing modes of transportation, particularly roads. In order to make possible the use of this economical means of transport, ways must be found to integrate lake transport with existing systems, since water transport cannot function efficiently as a separate system. It is hypothesized that an integrated system of road, rail and lake transport can be used as a means of achieving the economic, physical and social objectives for the balanced regional development of the Volta Basin. In order to evaluate the potential development of transport integration and the possibilities of utilizing integrated transport facilities as a tool for achieving regional development, the concepts of transport integration and transport coordination are defined and reviewed. It is demonstrated that transport integration is concerned with the employment of each mode of transportation in the economic circumstances best suited to its characteristics. The concept of the region and the process of regional planning and development are also reviewed. The regional unit appropriate to planning in the developing countries is the 'uniform region', which is described in terms of its similar problem characteristics. Regional planning and development have evolved as a means of solving these problems and of ordering the natural and human resources in order to ensure balanced growth. The Volta Basin regional planning unit is determined to be viable for the purposes of development; however, for this study, the region is extended to include the Tamale Area in the north and the Accra-Tema Area in the southeast, because of the tremendous flow of traffic between the two areas. In order to investigate how Volta Lake transport could be integrated with road and railway systems, the case study approach is used. The principles of integrated transport development utilized in the U.S.S.R., and in the Tennessee Valley Region and the New York-New Jersey Metropolitan Area of the U.S.A. are reviewed. It is observed that an efficient transportation system is considered to be a means of achieving economic, physical and social development in these countries. The principles of transport integration in the U.S.S.R. include joint traffic scheduling, distribution of traffic among the various modes of transportation, rate structuring and a centralized system of control. A major limitation is the high-cost of transshipment. In the Tennessee Valley Region and in the New York-New Jersey Metropolitan Area of the U.S.A., transport integration is based on the principles of joint rate structuring and containership operations respectively. The use of containers eliminates the problem of transshipment; however, the basence of a coordinating body is a major drawback to transport integration in the Tennessee Valley Region. On the basis of these principles, a method for integrating Volta Lake transport with road and railway systems is proposed. The sources of potential traffic for Volta Lake transport are examined and it is concluded that there is a demand for a Volta Lake transportation system. The principles of integrated transport development employed in the U.S.S.R., the Tennessee Valley Region and the New York-New Jersey Metropolitan Area of the U.S.A. are considered to be relevant for application in the Volta Basin. The establishment of a Lake Transport Authority to implement integrated transport policies is recommended. It is concluded that an integrated transportation system will contribute both directly and indirectly to the regional objectives of economic development, the provision of better employment opportunities, a higher level of living, provision of community facilities and services and the rational distribution of settlements. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

<p> The Volta River Authority (VRA) is responsible for the generation and transmission of power in Ghana. For this purpose, VRA owns and operates two hydroelectric generating stations (at Akosombo and Kpong) with a combined installed capacity of 1060 Kw. The Akosombo plant is served by the Lake Volta Reservoir. Prediction of inflows into the Volta Lake is one of the important functions of the reservoir management group.</p> <p>For this project, some of the more recent methods of mathematical modelling are investigated with a view to building a simple stochastic model which adequately represents and forecasts the Volta river average monthly flow. The Box-Jenkins family of models are employed in this exercise. A parsimonious model in the form of a seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) model is arrived at which adequately models and forecasts the available data.</p> <p>The selected model is reasonably easy to set up, has few parameters to estimate and therefore making the updating of these parameters a relatively simple task.</p> / Thesis / Master of Engineering (MEngr)

Population Resettlement forms the general subject area of this study. This topic is described in general terms to establish the fact that population resettlement is a problem common to many developing countries. Since the importance which a nation attaches to population resettlement depends on national circumstances, the significance of the problem of population resettlement in Ghana is reviewed as a case study. Ghana is a developing country which is currently implementing a multi-purpose river basin development scheme, called the Volta River Project. Basically, it is a hydroelectric power project. The Volta Lake has displaced some 80,000 riparian settlers in the Volta Basin. The displaced people should be resettled in new settlements, and they should be provided with satisfactory housing, employment, and social facilities and amenities. All these aspects of population resettlement call for the formulation of major governmental policies. It is hypothesized that the Volta Basin Population Resettlement Scheme must contribute towards the attainment of Ghana's social, economic, and physical planning objectives. The method of investigation is based on the premise that population resettlement is not an isolated problem, and that it should be examined within a national framework. Consequently, the highlights of the national objectives and policies of Ghana, as defined in the Ghana Seven-Year Development Plan, 1963/64 to 1969/70, are stated. To put the population resettlement scheme in perspective, the Volta River Project is analyzed to show its national importance and its compatibility with the national objectives of Ghana. Multi-purpose river basin development projects, carried out in India and the United States of America, involved the relocation of families in potential reservoir areas. A review of the Damodar Valley Project in India and the Tennessee Valley Project in the United States of America indicate that population resettlement is a national problem, the solution of which requires the formulation of policies by the highest level of government in a country. On the basis of experience in India and the United States of America, the following criteria for evaluating Ghana's population resettlement scheme are evolved: (1) Declared National Objectives; (2) Regional Development Project as part of a National Plan; (3) Education for Population Resettlement; (4) Planned Settlements; (5) Consistency of Project Administration with National Policies; and (6) Devolution of Functions. The criteria are applied to the Volta Basin Population Resettlement Scheme. The findings of this application tend to substantiate the hypothesis, that the Volta Basin Population Resettlement Scheme must contribute towards the attainment of Ghana's social, economic, and physical planning objectives. Nevertheless, the method of investigation is evaluated. Its shortcomings stem from the lack of sufficient data for detailed regional analysis of the population resettlement scheme. Other ways of implementing a population resettlement scheme are evaluated. It is concluded from this evaluation that Ghana's approach to population resettlement will most probably contribute to the attainment of her national objectives. It is, however, recommended that education for population resettlement should be a continuing process. It is further recommended that the Volta River Development Act should be amended to enable the Volta River Authority to transfer some of its functions to the Urban and Local Councils in the Volta Basin Planning Region. In the final analysis, it is the people in the new settlements who will ensure the success of the population resettlement scheme. It is therefore recommended that there should be permanent machinery for carrying out continuing evaluations of the people's reactions to changes to be brought about by the Volta River Project. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Louisville, 1989. / Typescript (Xerox copy). Department of History. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-108).