Ghana’S Pension Reforms in Perspective: Can the Pension Benefits Provide a House a Real Need of the Retiree?

The Government of Ghana enacted another pension reform in 2008 to establish a three-tier Pension Scheme with the objective of enhancing pension payments, financial independence to the retired worker and also for capital mobilization for national development. The purpose of any policy reforms that seeks to protect vulnerability of people must be significant to address identified inadequacies in a previous one. This paper is very critical of the new pension reform (Act 716) of 2008 as it provides unrealistic benefit to the pensioner to meet vital needs (i. e A HOUSE), a cultural demand, the lack of it, is killing many retirees in Ghana. The significance of the concept of building a house in Ghanaian cultural setting and retirees is discussed extensively. The mortgage industry which the Act or Scheme relies on is also evaluated. The conclusions are very revealing that the mortgage industry in Ghana is very expensive, unaffordable and therefore unreliable to provide any low cost housing to low income earners and many civil servants in Ghana. The paper proposes that a holistic Pension Scheme that is focused and targeted to identified cultural needs must be established. Financial independence as emphasized in the pension reform act is good but myopic and cannot guarantee longevity. Keywords: Pension Reforms, Retirees, House Mortgage

A system thinking approach to addressing implementation challenges of local content policy in resource-rich countries.

The study espoused a multi-strategy approach-encompassing system thinking (ST) tool, which uses causal loop diagram (CLD) and mixed-method methodology to address local content policy (LCP) challenges of infrastructure, human resource capacity (HRC), technology and finance in the Ghanaian oil industry. ST considered the challenges as a 'system', thereby providing a comprehensive approach to identifying and analysing the interconnections among the variables affecting the challenges of LCP implementation. Underpinning ST and CLD is the concept of feedback, which allows complex issues to be viewed as an interconnected set of circular relationships. This therefore helps to provide a holistic understanding of an issue from different perspectives. The CLD was used to model the challenges of Local Content Development (and to provide sub-models of Infrastructure, HRC, Finance, and Technology with their attendant strategies). These models were then validated qualitatively. Additionally, a literature review and questionnaire were used to extract LCP lessons from two perspectives: developing and developed countries. The study of the comparator countries found that LCP implementation follows a worldwide trend: employment, procurement, training and technology transfer, and financial support to local firms. The Ghanaian LCP focuses on 'low hanging fruits', which are identified as being overly ambitious; they represent unachievable targets that are not suited to Ghana's developmental state, comparative advantage and lack of the prerequisite factors for effective implementation. These prerequisites include independent state institutions, adequate infrastructure, and credit facilities for local companies and suppliers. The lack of access to finance for local companies can be attributed to the lack of dedicated funding and the 'one-man company' syndrome, which is often not well structured, classifying them as high-risk for loans. The study uncovered two critical issues affecting local capacity building: policy coordination and harmonisation among stakeholders, and sustainable funding. The policy coordination should be threefold: the regulator (and related government agencies), academia and industry. These issues have been exacerbated by pervasive political interference in the administrative and operational functions of state oil and gas (O&G) institutions. This persistent interference has led to rent-seeking behaviour and the exploitation of the national oil company a 'cash cow' by the central government. An implementation strategy is developed based on political leadership, institutional strengthening, policy coordination and harmonisation, and a national development plan

Synthesis of lipase-catalyzed saccharide-fatty acid esters using a packed bed bioreactor system with continuous re-circulation of reaction medium: A continuation of batch-mode-related research

The purpose of this thesis study was to further study the batch synthesis of lipase- catalyzed saccharide-fatty acid esters and to introduce the fed-batch synthesis of saccharide-fatty acid esters as a preliminary design to the continuous synthesis of these esters in a packed bed bioreactor system. The batch reaction method is the conventional mode of synthesizing saccharide-fatty acid esters on a lab-scale basis and some conversion-related parameters of the reaction mode were investigated. These experiments included investigating the effect of water content on the equilibrium conversion of fructose oleates and exploring the activity retention of immobilized Rhizomucor miehei lipase (RML) in successive batch reactions. The batch synthesis of other saccharide-oleic acid esters was also a point of interest and was studied. Results from the batch-related experiments revealed the following results: that the there is no loss of activity after successive use of the immobilized RML in batch reactions, that the presence of water reduces the thermodynamic equilibrium-controlled conversion of the reaction, and that the product conversion and the reaction rate of each type of saccharide are different. Motivated by drawbacks associated with the batch mode of esterification, the fed- batch synthesis mode was proposed as a preliminary design towards the continuous synthesis mode, and was applied to the lipase-catalyzed esterification reaction between fructose and oleic acid in the lab. The study was approached by first designing and building a packed bed bioreactor system. Lipase-catalyzed synthesis of saccharide-fatty acid esters was then conducted by continuous re-circulation of the reaction medium through the packed-bed reactor. Success was achieved in designing and assembling the bioreactor system and it was employed for the fed-batch synthesis of saccharide-fatty acid esters. The results obtained demonstrated that the synthesis of saccharide-fatty acid esters in a packed bed bioreactor with continuous re-circulation of reaction medium did achieve a high product conversion without disadvantages such as the need for lipase recovery and replacement, large requirement for labor and frequent shutdown and start-up procedures. A kinetic mathematical model was created to predict the mass fraction of monoesters that were present in the re-circulation stream and that produced in the packed bed reactor. It was observed from the results that the derived kinetic model was reliable and correlated well with the experimental data

Blood Parasites of Squirrels from Coles and Lake Counties in Illinois

Hepatozoon and microfilariae are described from the blood of fox and gray squirrels captured in Coles and Lake Counties in Illinois during 1976 and 1977. The hepatozoon species is identified as Hepatozoon griseisciuri on the basis of parasite morphology and hosts. A higher rate of infection (35.7% : 11.1%) was observed in gray squirrels than in fox squirrels and more adults were infected than juveniles. No microfilariae were found in gray squirrels but fox squirrels had a 57.1% infection rate with no difference based on age. The observed microfilariae are similar to that described by Davidson from Maryland gray squirrels in 1975. They are presumed to be Dirofilariaeformia pulmoni. Chipmunks and thirteen-lined ground squirrels captured in Coles County, Illinois were negative for blood parasites

Effects of Junk Food Diet and High Fat Diet Manipulation on Working Memory of Sprague Dawley Rats

Obesity has become not only a nationwide problem, but a cause for worldwide concern as the prevalence of processed junk-food is currently on the rise. Along with numerous physical ailments induced by obesity, emerging evidence suggests that consumption of a high-fat diet has negative neurological implications. The prefrontal cortex (PFC), known to play an important role in mediating “executive” functions such as inhibitory control, working memory, and decision-making is one region that appears to be affected by consumption of a junk food diet. In this study, we explored the effects of a junk-food diet and a high fat diet on PFC function. Rats were fed either a junk-food diet (19.6% fat) intended to mimic a typical Western diet, a high fat diet (60% fat), or a standard chow diet. Behavioral testing were then conducted following a 4 week exposure to the diets and included the Egocentric Morris Water Maze, Spontaneous Alternation, Novel Object Recognition and Attentional Set Shift. These behavioral tests were performed in order to identify any differences in working memory or attention between groups

Development and Characterization of Fish-Based Superfoods

The importance of superfoods has been well recognized in connection with health promotion, disease risk reduction, and reduction in health care costs. Fish processing generates large quantities of the by-products which are usually discarded. However, these by-products contain nutritious protein and ω-3 rich oils. Isoelectric solubilization/precipitation (ISP) is a relatively new method that can be used to recover fish protein isolate (FPI) from fish processing by-products or other low-value meat materials. FPI can be used as a main ingredient in the development of superfoods with functional ingredients such as ω-3 rich oils, dietary fiber, and salt substitute. These functional ingredients have demonstrated health benefits especially for cardiovascular disease. Therefore, this book chapter focuses on the development of superfoods from ISP-recovered FPI by incorporating such ingredients as ω-3 oil, dietary fiber, and salt substitute

A comparative analysis of local content policies in the North Sea and the Gulf of Guinea regions.

Since their introduction in the North Sea, most resource-rich countries in Africa are introducing or reinforcing local content policies (LCPs) and regulations, to propel socio-economic development. Local content is now a prerequisite for granting an exploration licence to international oil companies (IOCs) and suppliers in the Gulf of Guinea region (GGR). This paper analyses and compares factors of success and impediments in LCPs from two perspectives: the North Sea (Norway, UK, and Denmark), and the Gulf of Guinea (Angola, Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Equatorial Guinea). Through this, we glean policy lessons for the Gulf of Guinea countries. The study finds that the policy implementation in the GGR is constrained by inadequate infrastructure, industrial base and supplier base, technical and financial capacity of domestic firms and weak regulatory institutions - among other things. Also, the LCP is overly ambitious and prescriptive, ignoring the GGR's actual state of industrial development. To engineer resource-based development in the GGR, these countries must move beyond their preoccupation with local content regulations and instead address the above challenges in order to facilitate the development of better linkages

Cocoa agroforestry a bridge for sustainable organic cocoa production

In Ghana cocoa constitute about 85 percent of the foreign export earnings from agriculture and also the main source of the wealth to over 800,000 people of the forest regions. Cocoa naturally requires shade which offers farmers agronomic, economic, cultural and ecological benefits. The promotion and adoption of hybrid cocoa varieties is causing a drift from shaded cocoa to the no shade. The study evaluated the impact shade levels had on the yield of cocoa under the different cocoa agroforestry systems in Ghana. Research data were collected from 200 cocoa farmers in the Sefwi Wiawso district by means of multistage sampling technique through household structured interviews and focus group discussions. Both descriptive statistics and yield curve model were used to analyse the data. Results showed that average yield per hectare of the no shade, low shade, medium shade and heavy shade were 794kg/Ha, 696kg/Ha, 735kg/Ha and 546kg/Ha respectively. The yield curve under the no shade system shows a sharp rise in the yield and followed by a very sharp fall in the yield after age 16. The medium shade has a gradual yield till it peaks at age 19 followed by a gradual fall in yield to age 80. Outreach focusing on medium shade cocoa agroforestry system may be the most effective way of building organic bridges in cocoa production

A system thinking approach to human resource development in the oil industry.

Prerequisite for the development of production linkages in the oil and gas (O&G) industry is the existence of a skilled and experienced workforce. Resource-rich countries, however, are either in short supply or lack of the requisite local capacity. This paper adopts system thinking (ST) methodology to provide a comprehensive approach in identifying, analysing and understanding the interconnections and interrelationship among the variables affecting the challenge of human resource development (HRD) in the oil industry. The concept of feedback embedded in ST allows complex issues to be viewed as an interconnected set of circular relationship rather than the linear cause-and-effect. Consequently, ST tool of causal loop diagram (CLD) aids in visualising the understanding of HRD factors, their relationships in the causal factors and the strategies for sustainable development of domestic skills, know-how and local capacity. Policies for developing human resource in the oil and gas industry are recommended to policymakers and stakeholders