Evaluation of Procurement Processes and its Operational Performance in the Public Sector of Ghana: A Case Study of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and Kumasi Polytechnic.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate purchasing processes on performance in the public sector in Ghana. It was to find out if public sector purchasing processes help in achieving high performance by purchasing function, the challenges faced by public institutions with regards to purchasing processes and the relationship that exists between purchasing processes and performance at Kumasi Polytechnic and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. The study obtained information from forty five respondents through the use of questionnaires and interviews. The results indicated that, purchasing processes play a vital role in the performance of organizations and that both institution rely or use the public procurement procedure in the purchase of materials. The study revealed that procurement processes are characterized with lots of challenges. Among the recommendations made were that the Public Procurement Act 200, (Act 663) of Ghana be reviewed as the current modes are rigid and allows no flexibility, more so institutions and government are encouraged to embrace e-procurement which if adopted would be faster, less costly and easier to purchase materials. Keywords: Procurement, Procurement Processes, Operational Performance, Public Secto

Empirical Modelling and Model Selection for Forecasting Monthly Inflation of Ghana

Inflation is the persistent increase in the level of consumer prices or a persistent decline in the purchasing power of money. Inflation is of global concerns because it can distort economic patterns and can result in the redistribution of wealth when not anticipated, thus there is a need to know the pattern of inflation in the country. In this study, we employed an empirical modeling and model selection for monthly inflation in Ghana from January 2009 to December 2013 using the Box-Jenkins approach. The results showed that ARIMA (1, 2, 1) model was appropriate for modelling the inflation rates with a maximum log likelihood value of -64.21, and least AIC value of 134,43, AICc value of 134.87 and BIC value of 140. 61. An ARCH-LM test and Ljung-Box test on the residuals of the models revealed that the residuals are free from heteroscedasticity and serial correlation respectively. Ghana is likely to experience a persistence increase in inflation rate with double digit hence the government should reconsider his monetary policies. Keywords: Inflation, Box-Jenkins, Empirical, Ghana

Africa’s Economy: Trends, Challenges, Prospects and Potentials

Africa has been considered as one of the fastest growing economies in recent times. The specific objectives of the study were; To identify the leading economies in Africa and the dynamics of their economies that is boosting growth, to identify the challenges of Africa’s development, and to identify prospects and opportunities in Africa. Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt were considered as the largest economies in Africa. The Service, Agriculture and Mining sectors supported the growth by these economies. Average unemployment rate in SSA from 1991-2014 was 8.4% whiles world rate was 6.1% and both unemployed female youth and adults were higher than their male counterparts. Some major challenges causing setbacks in economic developments were identified as Corruption, Poor Infrastructure, Political Instability, Capital flight and Tax evasion. Prospects were identified in energy, agriculture, and infrastructure sector which have enormous benefits to both investors and the people of Africa Keywords: Africa, Growth, HDI, Natural Resources, GDP JEL Code: N17, N47, N57, N77, O11, E2

Irrational use of antibiotics and the risk of diabetes in Ghana

Epidemiological studies show clearly that Caesarean birth, perinatal or neonatal irrational antibiotic use is strongly associated with increased risk of obesity and diabetes in later life. Irrational use of antibiotics is a great global public health concern especially in developing economies like Ghana due to poor regulation on medicines. Unfortunately, this concern has been reduced to the fear of development of resistant organisms and the destruction of the world’s limited range of antibiotics therapy at the expense of other insidious risks including the development of metabolic and atopic diseases. These risks however appear to have greater implications on public health systems of developing economies. Here, we review the ignored role of antibiotics in the global obesity pandemic and project the risk that it poses to the health system of a developing economy like Ghana.Funding: Department of Pharmacology, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah university of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaKeywords: Antibiotics, resistance, “thrifty gene”, diabetes, Ghan

Factors Influencing the Effects of Large-Scale Land Acquisition on The Livelihood of Smallholder Farmers in the Pru District of Ghana

This study is undertaken to find out the factors influencing the effects of large-scale land acquisition on the livelihood of smallholder farmers in the Pru district. An important driver for large-scale land acquisition in Ghana, and the rest of Africa, is the growing global demand for biofuels and other plantations. Methodologically, mixed method approach was adopted by applying both quantitative and qualitative research designs. Quantitative data was obtained through a cross-sectional survey from smallholder farming households in the study communities of the Pru District with the help of a multi-stage sampling technique and cluster sampling technique. Qualitative data was obtained through Focus Group Discussions (FGD) from farmerbased associations in the Pru district. The Pru district in the Bono East region was purposively selected based on the reason that it isthe most affected district with activities of land grabbing in Ghana. Based on the sample frame of 2,554 households in the communities, a sample size of 346 was used for the study out of which 332 were households and 14 were investors and traditional authorities. The study revealed that household heads’ level of education, sex of household heads, household engagement in off-farm activities, total farm land owned by a household, size of land lost by households to large-scale land investors, households’ participation in decision making, and training of households for other alternative jobs significantly influence large-scale land acquisition on the livelihood of smallholder farming households. The study found out that the higher the level of education of a household head, the lesser the household suffers the adverse effects of losing their farm land to largescale land investors hence their livelihoods. It was revealed that some major factors that influenced large-scale land acquisition in the Pru district were the availability of land for the cultivation of plantations by investors, the soil fertility of the land in the district and the freedom and peace enjoyed by investors to go about their businesses and enjoying good tax exemptions in such an environment thus Pru district

Improving Productivity at the Currency Processing Centre (Bank of Ghana) Through Six Sigma.

A programme of working long hours was introduced by Bank of Ghana, in its Currency Processing Centers to increase output to meet growing demand for processed cash. Incidental problems with employee dissatisfaction and poor health of the programme raised questions about its sustainability. Analysis of productivity in the period before and during the extended hour programme indicated a 17% increase in productivity, suggesting some inefficiency in the bank’s currency processing operations. Six Sigma is a systematic data driven approach to reducing defects, improving efficiency and hence productivity. The study sought to investigate the application of Six Sigma as a tool for reducing defects and increasing productivity. A simplified version of Six Sigma was adopted and applied to improve productivity in the Currency Processing Centre, Kumasi. The results indicated a 75% increase in productivity in spite of the limitation of not having the full commitment of top level management. Keywords: Productivity, Currency Processing, Bank of Ghana, Six Sigm

Terminalia ivorensis A. Chev. ethanolic stem bark extract protects against gentamicin-induced renal and hepatic damage in rats.

The aim of present study was to investigate the possible protective effects of an ethanolic stem bark extract of Terminalia ivorensis on gentamicin – induced nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Groups of animals received either gentamicin alone or in combination with 100, 300 or 1000 mg/kg of extract for a period of 14 days. On the 15th day, the modulatory effect of Terminalia ivorensis was examined by assessing biochemical and renal markers of hepatic and renal damage. Markers of oxidative injury including reduced glutathione, superoxide dismutase, catalase and lipid peroxidation were assessed. Histology of the kidneys and the liver were also processed for analysis. The extract at a dose of 100-1000 mg/kg significantly reduced elevations in creatinine, urea and serum enzymes evoked by gentamicin. Additionally, the low levels of reduced glutathione and the antioxidant enzymes from the gentamicin treatment were significantly improved in the extract-treated animals. The results correlated well with the histopathological findings as the extract reversed the severe architectural distortions of the kidneys and liver caused by gentamicin. We conclude from the study that, the ethanolic stem bark extract of Terminalia ivorensis protects the liver and the kidneys against gentamicin-induced renal and hepatic damage

ETHANOL ROOT EXTRACT OF THE AFRICAN APHRODISIAC, MONDIA WHITIE (PERIPLOCACEAE), POSSESES ESTROGENIC ACTIVITY

Objective: To determine the effects of ethanol extract of the dried root Mondia whitie (mondia) on female reproductive system using the chick uterotrophic assay and the rodent estrous cycle studies.Methods: Phytochemical screening was done to detect the presence of secondary metabolites. Using the Chick Oviduct Uterotrophic assay, estrous cyclicity assay in Sprague Dawley rats and serum biochemical analysis, the effects of ethanol root extract of mondia on female reproduction was assessed.Results: Mondia (30-300) mg/kg or estradiol benzoate (0.1-0.8 ug/kg) caused dose dependent increases in chick oviduct of white leghorns. Treatment of rats with Mondia (30-300) mg/kg increased duration of estrous and altered the repeatability of the next cycles. The estrus index ranged between 41.67-49.21 at the doses of mondia used compared with 25 for controls. There were alterations in the lipid profile with reductions in HDL, but increases in VLDL, LDL and triglycerides.Conclusion: Ethanol extract of the dried root Mondia whitie possess estrogen-like activity on the female reproductive systemÂ

Staff Development Practices of Open and Distance Learning Institutions in Ghana: The Case of the Distance Education Programme of University of Education, Winneba, Ghana

Staff development plays a crucial role in Open and Distance learning programmes because most of the staff working on these programmes are products of the conventional face to face system. Lack of proper training of staff in ODL can lead to high dropout rate among distance learners. The purpose of this study was to investigate staff development practices of the Distance Education programme of the University of Education, Winneba. The study adopted the quantitative methodology which employed survey questionnaire to collect data from 39 administrators of the Distance Education study centres. The study found among others that, the University does not have a strong pre-service programme for the administrators at its study centres. It also found that, the administrators were satisfied with the first in-service training organised for them. Based on these findings, it was recommended that, the University should put in place strategic human resource development policies in relation to distance education for teaching, technical and administrative and part-time staff and institute regular in-service training programmes for its administrators at the distance Education study centres. Keywords: Staff development, Open and Distance learning, Distance Education, pre-service, in-service, study centre

Effects of Large-Scale Land Acquisition on Livelihood Assets in the Pru East District of Ghana

The activities of multi-national companies have affected the livelihood of smallholder farmer in the Pru East, though a lot of research work has been done on large scale land acquisition but this study focus on how it affects livelihood asset of smallholder farmers in the Pru East District. Over the past ten years, the Government of Ghana have leased out large tracts of land for investors, mainly foreign investors. Survey research approach was used for the study. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed and a sample size of 332 households was used for the study. The study used five indicators of the Livelihood Effect Index (LEI) espoused by Downing et al., (2001) to determine the effects of large-scale land acquisition on the livelihood of smallholder farming households. Large scale land acquisition has a significant positive moderate effect on the employment, healthcare and food security but, has a significant negative high effect on income levels of smallholder farming households. However, large scale land acquisition has no significant effect on the nutritional status of farming households in the Pru East district of the Bono East region. Kobre and Kadue communities with an LEI of 0.53 suggests that livelihoods of farming households in these two communities are the most effected with large scale land acquisition. The study also recommends that MMDAs must formulate by-laws to ensure that large scale land investors employ people from the host communities of the projects. Keywords: livelihood asset, large scale land acquisition, smallholder farmer, human capital asset, natural capital asset, financial capital asset, social capital asset. DOI: 10.7176/JEES/10-2-08 Publication date: February 29th 202