• Local Government and Decentralisation in Ghana

    Developments since the publication of the First Edition of this book in 2010 have compelled the revision and publication of this Second Edition.

    In 2011, the Fifth Government of the Fourth Republic launched a new ‘National Decentralisation Policy Framework’ (NDPF 1) and an accompanying National Decentralisation Action Plan’ (NDAP 1). The Local Government Service was operationalised in the same year, resulting in the migration of over 30,000 civil servants from the Civil Service to the Local Government Service.

    Prior to these, the Local Government Departments of District Assemblies) (Commencement) Instrument, 2009, L.1. 1961, had been enacted, allowing for the conversion of the de concentrated Departments at the district level into devolved Departments of the District Assemblies. The Local Government (Urban, Zonal and Town Councils and Unit Committees) (Establishment) Instrument, L.1. 1967, was enacted in 2010. The long-awaited Composite Budget was introduced in 2012.

    With the expiry of the NDPF 1/NDAP I in 2014, a new NDPF 11/NDAP 11 was launched in 2015 for the period 2015-2019.

    A new Local Government (Sub-Metropolitan District Councils of Metropolitan Assemblies (SMDCs)) (Establishment, Composition and Functions) Instrument, 2015. 11. 2223, was enacted to provide for uniform composition and functions for the SMDCs in all the six Metropolitan Assemblies.

    A National Development Planning (System) Regulations, 2016, enacted to support the National Development Planning and Act, 1994, 148. A Land Use and Spatial Planning Act, 2016, Act 925, was passed to establish a Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority and to devolve the Department of Country Planning to the MMDAs.

    The disparate laws on local government were consolidated into one Local Governance Act, 2016, Act 936. A new Sports Act 2016, Act 934 and a new decentralised National Youth Authority Act 939 were also enacted.

    It is these reforms that the Second Edition of the book has sought to capture, in addition to some elaborations on some of the theoretical underpinnings of local government and decentralisation in Ghana. The sections of Acton Civil Society Organisations and Non-State Actors and Women in Local Governance have been improved. Some aspects of the proposals of the Constitutional Review Commission on local government and decentralisation have been used. Some textual changes have also been made.

  • A Friend In Need Is A Friend Indeed

    Age Range: 10 – 13 years

    Fiifi and his two friends, Kakra and Panyin are neighbours. In an Art and Craft class, Fiifi cannot mold his clay pot. He asks Panyin to help him complete his art work over the weekend, but Panyin gives a thousand and one reasons why he cannot help.

    With Kakra’s guide, Fiifi is able to mold a beautiful pot. This pot turns out to be the best among the lot. Fiifi is pleased with himself and thankful to Kakra who helped him. Mr. Kumah awards him the highest marks.

    Where is Panyin? He cannot share in Fiifi’s joy because he did not help when he was needed most. He sits under the tree all by himself, and away from the fun and cheers.

    Fiifi now knows who can indeed be called a friend.

    The stories in this series Idioms in Expression aim at giving children a better understanding of idiomatic expressions. Since these idioms form the main theme for the story, it becomes easy for the reader to understand the contexts within which such expressions should be used.

    Coupled with this learning experience are the exciting story lines which do not only portray the familiar African culture, but also provide a wide vocabulary for readers’ use.

  • Flashcards: Bible Verses – with Illustrative Pictures (70 cards)

    This is a special product for memorising and learning Bible verses. A pack of 70 Bible verses, with colourful pictures to further illustrate the meaning of the verses.

    Suitable for Sunday school classes, ministries, churches and anyone seeking to commit Scripture to memory.

  • The Black Heel (Peggy Oppong Novel)

    01

    Everything was going on smoothly for her and the future appeared secured until a shocking betrayal shatters everything Naomi had lived for. In the bleak darkness that follows she is forced to make a choice — to return to the past or wade towards the flickering light that beckoned her.

     

  • Abena and the Corn Seed (Hardcover)

    Age Range: 4 – 8 years

    An aging Ghanaian king is looking to find the perfect bride for his only son and gives an assignment to the 10 most eligible girls to determine who will receive this great honour.

  • Crossing the Stream

    Ato hasn’t visited his grandmother’s house since he was seven. He’s heard the rumours that she’s a witch, and his mother has told him he must never sit on the old couch on her porch. Now here he is, on that exact couch, with a strange-looking drink his grandmother has given him, wondering if the rumours are true. What’s more, there’s a freshly dug hole in her yard that Ato suspects may be a grave meant for him.

    Meanwhile at school, Ato and his friends have entered a competition to win entry to Nnoma, the island bird sanctuary that Ato’s father helped create. But something is poisoning the community garden where their project is housed, and Ato sets out to track down the culprit. In doing so, he brings his estranged mother and grandmother back together, and begins healing the wounds left on the family by his father’s death years before.

    And that hole in the yard? It is a grave, but not for the purpose Ato feared, and its use brings a tender, celebratory ending to this deeply felt and universal story of healing and love from one of Ghana’s most admired children’s book authors.

  • Omanye Aba (Ga)

    Omanye Aba literally meaning success or goodness begotten, is Ga language. This book elaborates and explains the deep customs, cultural and traditions practices of the Ga people of Greater Accra Region in Ghana. It certainly revives the dying Ga cultural practices which is diminishing among the Ga people due to flush migration of other tribes from the hinterland to Accra – the homeland of the Ga people – and as result the overwhelming number of Gas are inundated by these other tribes with their languages and cultural practices.

    It is a must-read book, which unveils the rich culture of the Ga people and their history.

    Omanye Aba (Ga)

    ₵65.00
  • Genuinely Ghanaian: A History of the Methodist Church Ghana, 1961-2000

    Genuinely Ghanaian is the fascinating history of the Methodist Church Ghana, from the time of its autonomy, 1961, to the year 2000.  This book shows how missiological issues of contextualization and outreach have shaped the history of the Methodist Church Ghana since the independence of Ghana from colonial rule. Ghanaians have accepted Methodism on their own terms and have reworked it to fit their needs. The Methodist Church Ghana has its roots in a Bible study group of Ghanaians, formed in 1831. Aided by British Methodist missionaries, the group developed over the next 130 years, until, in 1961, it gained autonomy from the British Methodist Conference. Central elements in the contextualization of this church include Ghanaian identity, Akan culture, and Methodist missionary theology. This book examines the evolution and consolidation of Methodism in Ghana from 1961 to 2000, highlighting in particular the contributions of the Fante people.

    “This book brings to the fore the dynamic contribution of The Methodist Church Ghana in respect of the development of the nation and people of Ghana. This volume represents a significant milestone in the study of the history of Ghana Methodism and fills a void in the scholarly literature in the area of Methodism in Ghana.  The work represents a magnificent contribution to the history of The Methodist Movement in Africa.” – The Most Rev. Prof. Emmanuel K. Asante, Presiding Bishop, The Methodist Church Ghana

    “It was a pleasure to know that at long last the task of updating The Roots of Ghana Methodism is in good hands. More important, it is in the hands of an Old Boy of Mfantsipim and the son of the Manse.” – F. L. Bartels, Former Headmaster of Mfantsipim and Author of The Roots of Ghana Methodism

    “Though African Christians make up a high proportion of the Church as a whole, comprehensive studies of African churches are far too few in number. Dr. Essamuah’s learned and readable account of a significant and in many ways representative contemporary African church is thus immensely welcome. May it be widely read and much emulated.” – Andrew F. Walls, University of Edinburgh and Liverpool Hope University 

  • Rewards: An Autobiography

    Prof. Marian Ewurama Addy was a Professor of Biochemistry. In January 2008 she was appointed President of the Anglican University College of Technology, then a newly launched private initiative for higher technical education in Ghana. Professor Addy’s interest and extension activities were in bridging the gap between scientific and indigenous knowledge and in the popularisation of science.

    In her autobiography Ewurama Addy takes us through the various stages of her life, culminating in her rise up the academic ladder and an affirmation of her Christian faith.

    Professor Mariama Ewurama Addy, the popular host of the Science and Maths quiz died at age 72 in 2014. Prof. Addy was the first woman professor of Science from the University of Ghana. She was also a resource person for science education programs in the country.

    As the Quiz Mistress of a national weekly science and mathematics quiz program on television, she contributed immensely to science education by making the subject interesting to Ghanaians of all ages. It is believed that her quiz mistress role inspired many female students to study science.

  • Nii and Me

    Age Range: 2 – 7 years

    Kitson-Mills Primary School students in Accra, Ghana, wrote about their grandfathers. Kathy Knowles created this story from their words.

    Nii and Me

    ₵42.00
  • Scars of Love (Peggy Oppong Novel)

    All her businesses go bust, she suffers physical assault from city officials and loses devoted husband Dwamena. She has only a dream and an unflinching determination to succeed as she grapples with abject poverty while supporting four children. Caught in a cold, heartless city which has no place for losers, Assor is on a losing spree.

    With her back to the wall Assor has to make the toughest decision yet of her life: Give up her last and most treasured possession, all her four children, permanently to a wealthy couple.

  • Yebo, Jamela!

    Age Range: 4 – 7 years

    The second book by Niki Daly about this spunky little heroine.

    Christmas is drawing near and Jamela’s mother decides to go and buy a chicken from Mrs Zibi. If they feed it well, it will be nice and fat by Christmas time. Jamela accompanies her mother on the chicken-buying expedition and suggests calling the chicken Christmas. But by the time Christmas-day comes, Jamela has made a pet of Christmas. And as the ladies at the hairdressers where Jamela and her mother and Mrs Zibi fetch up after the “wild-chicken chase” all agree: one does not eat one’s friends!

    Yebo, Jamela!

    ₵40.00
  • Kwajo and the Brassman's Secret - A Tale of Old Ashanti Wisdom and Gold

    Kwajo and the Brassman’s Secret – A Tale of Old Ashanti Wisdom and Gold

    Age Range: 7 – 12 years

    Kwajo’s father makes traditional small figures. One day, he makes him a little brass drummer who comes alive and transforms Kwajo into a land of proverbs and riddles. It is a land where the figures represent money, and the people are citizens in a powerful kingdom. Kwajo is tempted by riches but must first decode a series of riddles and symbols. He falls at the last test, but nonetheless learns an important lesson.

    The Brassman’s Secret won The Noma Award for Publishing in Africa 1982. It has become one of the most important children’s books in Africa, and has been translated into several foreign languages. This is a new edition appearing for the first time with full colour-illustrations.

    Price range: ₵30.00 through ₵55.00

    Kwajo and the Brassman’s Secret – A Tale of Old Ashanti Wisdom and Gold

    Price range: ₵30.00 through ₵55.00
  • No Sweetness Here and Other Stories (African Writers Series)

    In this collection, Ama Aita Aidoo explores postcolonial life in Ghana with her characteristic honesty and humor. Tradition wrestles with new urban influences as Africans try to sort out their identity in a changing culture. True to the tradition of African storytelling, the characters come to life through their distinct voices and speech. If there is no sweetness, there is the salt essential to life, even if it comes from tears, and the strength that comes from a history of endurance.

  • Beyond the Horizon (African Writers Series)

    Gazing at her naked body in the mirror, Mara reflects on her transformation from naive Ghanaian village girl into a prostitute in a German brothel. Mara has been deceived by her husband, Akobi, into coming to Europe to find a “paradise,” but, as the truth about Akobi and her new life unfolds, she realizes she is trapped. The expectations of her family in Africa force her to remain, living a lie. As she fights back, she finds the revenge she takes can in no way compensate for her loss of innocence and lifetime exile from her homeland.This is a natural storyteller’s compelling and sobering account of the ruthless exploitation of women in Africa and Europe.

    Amma Darko was born in Tamale, Ghana, and grew up in Accra. After living in Germany, she returned to Ghana. Beyond the Horizon, first published in German, is Amma Darko’s first novel.

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