Legon Journal of the Humanities

Chinese Debt Trap Diplomacy in Africa: The Experience of Ghana

Kwame Asah-Asante , Abdul Hakim Ahmed — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 14:07:31 +0000

Following its so-called “Go Out” policy, The People’s Republic of China has in recent times come under international scrutiny for deliberately burdening the world’s most impoverished nations with excessive public debt. Using the conceptual lens of neo-colonialism espoused by Ghana’s first president Kwame Nkrumah, combined with relevant documentary data, we seek to scrutinise the experiences of Ghana in relation to this so-called Chinese debt diplomacy. Consequently, we conclude that while Nkrumah’s assumptions on neo-colonialism are in their entirety far-fetched relative to the Chinese investment capital in Ghana at the moment, disturbing phenomenon such as Chinese foray into Ghana’s retail market, collateralization of Chinese loans using Ghana’s natural resources and the Chinese citizens’ involvement in the illegal small-scale gold mining in southern parts of Ghana are some of the dangerous pitfalls that can be pointed out as the symptoms of this centre-periphery relations.

Character or Policy? Thematising Ghanaian Presidential Debates

Rexford Gyasi, Modestus Fosu — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 14:08:20 +0000

There is a growing interest in institutional presidential debates as a key pre-election campaign genre in Ghanaian politics. Since the early 2000s, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has organised debates for presidential candidates to advance their campaigns. Contrary to previous claims that Benoit’s (1999) Functional Theory of Political Campaign Discourse is only applicable to US presidential debates, this theory has been effectively applied to the Ghanaian context. This study applied Benoit’s theory to examine the themes of two Ghanaian Presidential Debates–the 2012 and 2016 IEA debates. The study revealed that the debates prioritised policy topics. From the sub-topics of policy (past deeds, future plans and general objectives), candidates used more future plans as campaign promises were preferred to ‘lauding past achievements. The study concludes that Ghanaian political discourse is issue-based and not image-focused. This study has implication for theorising Ghanaian presidential debates and adds to the growing literature.

Private Sector’s Initiatives and the creation of Employment Opportunities: A case of the selected Business Firms in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Thadeus Mmassy — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 14:10:22 +0000

Abstract

The initiatives of the private sector's endeavors via company growth, education, and training were the main topics of this research, as well as how these initiatives have improved the creation of job opportunities in Tanzania. The study used a cross-sectional design and a mixed strategy, which let it gather information from three chosen commercial enterprises in Dar es Salaam city at one point in time. There were 193 respondents. Content and descriptive approaches were used to evaluate both qualitative and quantitative data sets. According to the study findings, enterprises in the prospective city were grown by the private sector, which also occasionally used these possibilities to train employees by giving them real-world experience, which ultimately led to employment opportunities. It was discovered that improving the provision of job opportunities required cooperation between the public and private sectors as well as mutual assistance in socio-economic operations. Therefore, initiatives by the private sector to create jobs are essential and need the required backing from the government. With varied supports and engagement in the creation of employment opportunities, the private sector is expected to satisfy certain requirements and incentives to contribute to the growth of employment.

THE INTEGRATION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES (ICT) IN THE TEACHING OF FASHION AND FABRICS

Dumisa Mabuza — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 14:04:30 +0000

Fashion and Fabrics (FF) continue to employ traditional teaching methods in of education, there is significant potential for exploring use of ICT in this curriculum. This study investigated readiness, attitudes, and knowledge of FF teachers regarding ICT integration. Employing a pragmatist paradigm, a sequential exploratory design was adopted. The sample comprised all FF teachers (N = 54) in the Hhohho region while qualitative data was gathered through convenience sampling (N = 15). The study revealed that FF teachers are generally prepared to integrate ICT into their teaching (readiness). They hold positive attitudes towards this approach. However, a gap was identified in their skillset and knowledge, particularly regarding use of fashion-specific Computer Aided Design (CAD) software. Age emerged as a potential factor influencing readiness. It is recommended that government should consider allocating resources to schools for implementing such learning environments and that the effectiveness of integrating ICT be put to test.

“Of self-efficacy, overcoming Linguistic Barriers and gender: lessons from Female students on Study Abroad from the University of Ghana in Spain.”

SETOR DONNE NOVIETO — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 14:11:44 +0000

According to the literature on One-Year Study Abroad programme for Foreign Language learners, there are several advantages that learners derive from the year abroad experience. However, little evidence exists to point out specific cases of the female learner’s self-efficacy in terms of overcoming linguistic barriers and forging and embracing their humanism in the country of study. Using anonymous online surveys, and whatsapp messages, the study considers the case of female students of Spanish language at the university of Ghana on study abroad in Spain. Results indicate that many of these female students have over the years had challenges self-effacing and embracing their humanity in the first four months of their stay due to lack of ‘good’ orientation before the trip and linguistic barriers encountered in Spain on their arrival. The study recommends that female students, especially, should be ‘mentored’ before and during the study abroad process so that they can achieve the foreign language competence, socio-cultural development and intercultural awareness that comes with the experience.

Key words: self-efficacy, linguistic barriers, study abroad