STATE OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS IN GHANA AFTER THE PASSAGE OF THE PERSONS WITH DISABILITY ACT (ACT 715): THE CASE OF TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS

Persons with disability Act (ACT 715) makes it mandatory to put up buildings that are disabled friendly but most designers and contractors in Ghana fail to factor the disabled people in the design and construction of infrastructure. In most cases where attention has been given, the provision of the person with disability has been misconstrued by some building industry players to mean provision of ramps to ground floors. After the passage of the persons with disability Act, in 2006, it has become necessary that all public buildings in Ghana have to be designed and built to incorporate the required features that will aid the disabled to have a comfortable access to all public places. This study is therefore carried out to investigate into the state of public buildings in Ghana after the passage of the persons with disability Act (ACT 715) with particular emphasis on public tertiary educational institution buildings in Ghana. To achieve the study objectives, the paper adopted research survey method which includes the use of questionnaire and interview conducted among Contractors and Clients representatives as well as officials from the Law Enforcing Agency who are directly involved in the construction of public buildings. The study considered four public tertiary institutions and the type of buildings considered under these institutions are lecture halls, students’ hostel, offices and residential flats for staff. The results showed that though the disability law has been passed, out of 31 buildings investigated, 9.68% of the buildings were fully factored with disability facilities, 67.74% partially factored and 22.58% not factored at all. The study concluded that law enforcing agency should ensure that construction professionals fully factor disabled people in their building designs and construction. Massive education should also be given to the general public and clients about the need to make buildings disabled friendly

Domestic Rainwater Harvesting in a Water-Stressed Community and Variation in Rainwater Quality from Source to Storage

The quality of rainwater, which is the main source of domestic water in Dzodze, a community in the Volta Region of Ghana, was unknown. Therefore, the possible utilization of contaminated domestic water and occurrence of health hazards could not be underestimated due to prevailing poor hygiene and a great lack of standard maintenance and treatment systems in the community. In this study, we assessed the quality of rainwater in the Dzodze Community community and how it varies along the DRWH chain from free-fall to storage. Rain samples were collected at three points along the domestic rainwater harvesting (DRWH) chain. Specifically, the three points from were free-fall, roof-catchmentroof catchment, and storage tank, and the two systems were "described as poorly-maintained" and "well-maintained" systems. The physico-chemical and bacteriological patterns of rainwater samples were analyzed for physico-chemical and bacteriological parameters and results were compared with World Health Organization (and Ghana Standards Board guideline values. The harvested rainwater was found to be of good physico-chemical quality, but not bacteriological, quality but not bacteriological, calling for treatment before utilization. Also, irrespective of the type of DRWH system (poorly-maintained or well-maintained), there were substantial changes in rainwater quality upon interaction with roof catchment, with an increase noticed in all parameters

Inoculum Concentration of Armillaria mellea in the Rhizosphere of Intercropped Teak Plantation: the case of the Opro Forest Reserve, Ghana

Teak (Tectona grandis Linn. F.) is the most planted timber tree species in Ghana, with over 73,916 hectares of plantation established at the end of 2008. Many of the teak plantations established in the semi-deciduous forest zones were done using the taungya system with various intercrops. Symptoms of Armillaria (Vahl: Fr.) root-rot of teak have been reported in the taungya plantations, especially in the semi-deciduous forest zones. The study aimed to determine inoculum concentrations of Armillaria mellea in the rhizosphere soil of intercropped teak and compare with sole teak plantation. Mycoflora were isolated from rhizosphere soil of teak intercropped with pepper, okra, maize, yam or cassava at year one to year three sapling stage. Dilution plate technique was used for mycoflora isolation and dilution factor of 10-3 was inoculated on potato dextrose agar amended with chloramphenicol (25mg/l) and incubated at 280C for 14 days after which A. mellea colonies were identified and counted. More A. mellea (Vahl: Fr.) colonies were isolated from rhizosphere soils of intercropped teak plantations than non-intercropped. Differences in A. mellea colonies were more significant amongst intercrops than amongst age of teak plantation at (P ≤ 0.05). There were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher numbers of A. mellea colonies in rhizosphere soils of teak intercropped with cassava compared with other intercrops. Number of A. mellea colonies in rhizosphere soils of intercropped teak did not have linear relation with age of teak plantation. Intercropping could promote Armillaria root rot of teak especially with cassava as intercrop

Optimisation of Operational Parameters of a Spiral Classifier Using Design of Experiment (DOE)

Abstract Classifying Mn Ore to improve upon the grade and the properties has become a crucial activity for the Mn industry since it increases the market value of the ore. Ghana Manganese Company (GMC) has renovated their oxide washing plant by integrating it with a spiral classifier to make a batch system operating process. Particle size of <3.35mm (Mn grade of 43-47%) obtained from the primary section of the plant served as feed to the classifier and with the plant condition (i.e. at 60 min washing time, 30 rev/min speed of spirals and feed tonnage of 6 t), Mn grade of 49% was achieved. This paper focused on the optimisation of some selected operational parameters of the classifier to obtain a Mn grade >50% using Design of Experiment (DOE). Series of test works were designed using the DOE for the classifier using the constraints of washing time (30-90 min), speed of spirals (20-40 rev/min) and feed tonnage (6-9 t). The outcome of the test work after simulation showed that all the selected parameters had a great influence on Mn grade. The spiral speed and feed tonnage correlated negatively to the Mn grade with washing time correlating positively. Operating the spiral classifier at a feed rate, spiral speed and washing time of 6 t, 25 rev/min, and 30 min, respectively, yielded Mn grade of 53%. A Confirmatory test using the established conditions gave a Mn grade of 53%, which is a 4% increment in the previous Mn grade which was 47%. The outcome of the studies is the new established operational conditions which is adhered to by the plant, producing a manganese concentrate grade ranging between 52-54%.   Keywords: Design of Experiment (DOE), Spiral Classifier, Grade, Manganes

An Economic Evaluation of the Loye Quarry of Atiwa Quarries Limited

Atiwa Quarries Limited (AQL) is one of the large operating granite quarries in the Central Region of Ghana. AQL’s current production of 24 000 m3 of aggregates per month cannot meet current demand let alone support a new contract to supply 25 000 m3 of aggregates per month for a major road infrastructure project. Fortunately, AQL has another granite concession at Loye, about 3 km from the first concession, with estimated granite reserves of 6 286 208 m3, which can be developed as a new quarry to meet the demand of the new contract. This will require capital to build infrastructure, purchase equipment, recruit labour and provide working capital. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the economic viability of the new quarry, considering it as a stand-alone project. The yearly revenue was estimated based on projected production of 25 000 m3/month and average price of US$15.63/m3.  Capital and operating costs were estimated using detailed cost estimation method based on quotations from equipment suppliers and operational unit costs of AQL. It turns out that AQL can generate yearly gross revenue of US 4.69 million but requires total capital of US$ 3.67 million; the yearly operating cost is US$1.72 million.  Cash flow and sensitivity analyses using Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) as criteria, and risk analysis using Monte Carlo simulation method were carried out. The economic analysis indicates that based on AQL’s preferred capital structure of 80$ 5.17 million and the IRR is 53.01%, showing the new quarry is profitable; the sensitivity analysis indicates that the project can withstand up to 40% drop in revenue, or over 60% increase in capital or operating cost. The risk profile indicates a probability of success of 98.2%. The study therefore recommends that AQL invests in the new quarry as it is economically viable. Keywords: Granite Quarry, Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, Sensitivity Analysis, Risk Analysi

Macroeconomic Variables and Stock Market Returns: Full Information Maximum Likelihood Estimation

This study examines the relationship between macroeconomic variables and stock market returns using monthly data over period January 1992 to December, 2008. Macroeconomic variables used in this study are consumer price index (as a proxy for inflation), crude oil price, exchange rate and 91 day Treasury bill rate (as a proxy for interest rate). Full Information Maximum Likelihood Estimation procedure was used in establishing the relationship between macroeconomic variables and stock market returns in Ghana. The empirical results reveal that there is a significant relationship between stock market returns and three macroeconomic variables; consumer price index (inflation rate), exchange rate and Treasury bill rate seem to affect stock market returns. Consumer price index (Inflation rate) had a positive significant effect, while exchange rate and Treasury bill rate had negative significant influence on stock market returns. On the other hand, crude oil prices do not appear to have any significant effect on stock returns. The results may provide some insight to corporate managers, investors and policy makers. Key words: stock market returns, inflation rate, crude oil price, exchange rate, interest rate, Ghan

Gendered patterns of IMT adoption and use: Learning from action research

This paper illustrates the value of using an action research methodology to improve understanding of gendered patterns of adoption and non-adoption of Intermediate Means of Transport (IMTs) and similar gender-related transport issues. It presents results from a novel action research project undertaken in five farming villages in southern Ghana, a region where IMT usage is currently low. The participatory action research study not only revealed important issues around differences between stated preferences and actual gendered patterns of adoption and non-adoption in the particular context of southern Ghana, but offers a methodology which may have value in many other gender and transport contexts across sub-Saharan Africa and beyond