Story: Caroline Boateng
BY the year 2080, cocoa, which is Ghana’s main export crop, may cease to grow in the country as a result of climatic changes.
It is predicted that by that time, temperatures will witness increases of about 4.5 degrees Celsius, making the country too hot for the crop to grow.
The production of root crops such as cocoyam and cassava may also decrease in yields by 43 and 53 per cent, respectively.
These are some of the predictions by Messrs Jonathan Allotey and William Kojo Agyemang-Bonsu of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in their review of the Human Development Report (HDR), 2007/2008.
The report, launched in Accra last Tuesday, paints a very gloomy global picture for the next few years and beyond if immediate action is not taken.
Focusing on changing climatic conditions and the impact on development, the report has the theme, “Fighting Climate Change: Human Solidarity in a Divided World,” and predicts that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) may not be met, while gains made in development by developing countries may be eroded.
“Progress development is increasingly going to be hindered by climate change. This is a fact that has been established by our local studies on climate change and poverty linkages,” they pointed out.
Presenting the review that sought to relate the HDR 2007/2008 to Ghana’s situation, Mr Allotey said climate change was already affecting the poorest and most vulnerable communities globally.
The floods in the northern parts of Ghana, according to him, were some of the immediate costs of climate change.
Among other things, the reviewers called for a change in focus in the fight against poverty.
They proposed the mainstreaming of climate change initiatives into all development agendas to sustain gains and move ahead.
“This will be a challenge for democratic governance. Political systems will have to agree to pay the early costs to reap the long-term gains. Leadership will require looking beyond electoral cycles,” they said.
In a welcoming address, the United Nations Resident Co-ordinator, Mr Daouda Toure, said climate change posed “profoundly important questions about social justice, equity and human rights across countries and generations”.
He pointed out that although global warming, as it related to climate change, had several aspects, it was fundamentally a development issue that knew no national boundaries.
“Climate change should, therefore, be addressed in the context of our broader international development agenda and co-operation. What is at stake is the future and well being of our planet,” he said.
Mr Toure listed desertification, tidal waves eroding coastal towns, drought and floods as some of the effects of climate change that could not be ignored by countries like Ghana.
A Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Prof George Gyan-Bafuor, who launched the report on behalf of the Minister, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, said the government had shown its commitment by ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, the main framework for dealing with climate change.
He said implementation posed challenges that required collaboration from all.
The Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, Mr Kwabena Adjei-Darko, who chaired the function, asked Ghanaians to resort to the traditional methods of conserving the environment that had served Ghanaians well in the past.
DAILY GRAPHIC, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2007, PG 31
Friday, November 30, 2007
RESOURCE CHIEFTAINCY INSTITUTION
Story: Caroline Boateng
THE Omanhene of the Agogo Traditional Area, Nana Akuoko Sarpong, has thrown a challenge to politicians to resource the chieftaincy institution to operate a constitutional requirement that guarantees chieftaincy as an institution.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, Nana Sarpong, who is a lawyer, stressed the fact that the 1992 Constitution was the embodiment of the soul of the nation used to govern the affairs of the nation.
“The guarantee of the chieftaincy institution under the constitution is a major statement of policy, that is not made in a vacuum,” he stressed.
“It means that the country is prepared to finance the institution to the fullest and ensure that it is an equal partner in development,” he added.
Nana Akuoko Sarpong, a Minister of the Interior, Presidential Advisor on Chieftaincy Affairs and Chairman of the National Commission on Culture (NCC) under the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, was of the view that politicians, over the years, had helped to weaken the institution through draconian laws such as the State Lands and Stool Lands Act passed in the 1960s.
He explained that those laws that enabled the administrator of Stool Lands to take 10 per cent of revenue accruing from traditional lands with no mechanisms to make him accountable or innovatively make money for the upkeep of the secretariat was unacceptable.
Nana Sarpong said between 40 and 60 per cent of the revenue went to the government while district assemblies took two thirds of what was left, about 30 per cent.
He said chiefs retained only about 10 per cent of that, a situation he described as "oppressive, an institutional handicap and a means to strip chiefs of all means of income."
When asked about allegations of chiefs selling and reselling land, he said there were practices such as the traditional audit and distribution system that served as a regulatory mechanism on chiefs, and act as a check against some of the practices they were being accused of.
On chieftaincy conflicts, Nana Akuoko Sarpong emphasised the fact that the Constitution had provided an effective mechanism for the resolution of conflicts through the respective judicial committees of the traditional councils, regional and national houses of chiefs.
He said if these institutions were properly resourced, cases would not pile up for conflicts to get out of hand as it did in Anlo.
He said the Attorney General was supposed to appoint lawyers as members of the various judicial committees, but poor remuneration of members of the committee, including the lawyers, was derailing efforts at carrying out functionsof the houses of chiefs.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr Kwame Osei Prempeh, has said the lack of lawyers on most judicial committees in the various houses of chiefs could not be blamed on the government.
He said the AG’s Department did not appoint but only recommend while the various houses of chiefs were the appointing authorities.
He said lawyers appointed to the various houses of chiefs were taken on the rank of principal state attorneys with the same terms of remuneration as their counterparts in the public service.
He said all lawyers in the public service enjoyed the same service conditions that were complained of but said the government was open to suggestions in order to make things better for all.
DAILY GRAPHIC, Monday, November 26, 2007 PG 40
THE Omanhene of the Agogo Traditional Area, Nana Akuoko Sarpong, has thrown a challenge to politicians to resource the chieftaincy institution to operate a constitutional requirement that guarantees chieftaincy as an institution.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, Nana Sarpong, who is a lawyer, stressed the fact that the 1992 Constitution was the embodiment of the soul of the nation used to govern the affairs of the nation.
“The guarantee of the chieftaincy institution under the constitution is a major statement of policy, that is not made in a vacuum,” he stressed.
“It means that the country is prepared to finance the institution to the fullest and ensure that it is an equal partner in development,” he added.
Nana Akuoko Sarpong, a Minister of the Interior, Presidential Advisor on Chieftaincy Affairs and Chairman of the National Commission on Culture (NCC) under the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, was of the view that politicians, over the years, had helped to weaken the institution through draconian laws such as the State Lands and Stool Lands Act passed in the 1960s.
He explained that those laws that enabled the administrator of Stool Lands to take 10 per cent of revenue accruing from traditional lands with no mechanisms to make him accountable or innovatively make money for the upkeep of the secretariat was unacceptable.
Nana Sarpong said between 40 and 60 per cent of the revenue went to the government while district assemblies took two thirds of what was left, about 30 per cent.
He said chiefs retained only about 10 per cent of that, a situation he described as "oppressive, an institutional handicap and a means to strip chiefs of all means of income."
When asked about allegations of chiefs selling and reselling land, he said there were practices such as the traditional audit and distribution system that served as a regulatory mechanism on chiefs, and act as a check against some of the practices they were being accused of.
On chieftaincy conflicts, Nana Akuoko Sarpong emphasised the fact that the Constitution had provided an effective mechanism for the resolution of conflicts through the respective judicial committees of the traditional councils, regional and national houses of chiefs.
He said if these institutions were properly resourced, cases would not pile up for conflicts to get out of hand as it did in Anlo.
He said the Attorney General was supposed to appoint lawyers as members of the various judicial committees, but poor remuneration of members of the committee, including the lawyers, was derailing efforts at carrying out functionsof the houses of chiefs.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr Kwame Osei Prempeh, has said the lack of lawyers on most judicial committees in the various houses of chiefs could not be blamed on the government.
He said the AG’s Department did not appoint but only recommend while the various houses of chiefs were the appointing authorities.
He said lawyers appointed to the various houses of chiefs were taken on the rank of principal state attorneys with the same terms of remuneration as their counterparts in the public service.
He said all lawyers in the public service enjoyed the same service conditions that were complained of but said the government was open to suggestions in order to make things better for all.
DAILY GRAPHIC, Monday, November 26, 2007 PG 40
Thursday, November 29, 2007
EXCISE DUTY ON PHONE AIRTIME-ITS ONE PESEWA PER MINUTE, SAYS FINANCE MINISTER
Story: Caroline Boateng
Story: Caroline Boateng
ONE Ghana pesewa will be charged for a minute of airtime in line with the 2008 budget imposition of excise duty on airtime use of mobile phones, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, has disclosed.
The new excise duty replaces the import duties and import VAT currently imposed on imported mobile phones.
In an interview yesterday, Mr Baah-Wiredu said the revenue to be generated from the new tax would be used as “a dedicated source of funding” for the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP).
The announcement of the airtime tax in the 2008 budget has attracted strong opposition from sections of the Ghanaian society, including the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) and mobile service providers.
In a press statement jointly signed by the NUGS President, Kweku Tuoho Bombason, and its Press and Information Secretary, David S. Damoah, and issued in Accra, the union said it recognised the huge number of mobile phone users in the country, most of whom were students and non-income earners, and noted that the imposition of the tax would, therefore, worsen their financial plight.
The Finance Minister, however, held a more positive view of the new tax, saying its introduction would ensure a more prudent tax administration in the mobile phone import market that had been beset with massive tax evasion by importers.
According to Mr Baah-Wiredu, the government was mindful of the unsatisfactory services of mobile service providers and their high charges, saying that the excise tax would not be passed on to the end user.
He said discussions were still ongoing to finalise details of implementing the policy that might have to be backed with legislation.
He pointed out that the NYEP was an innovative programme that had already employed about 108,000 youth, with other more expectant youth waiting to be taken onto the programme.
He said a consistent source of funding was, therefore, needed, hence the excise tax on airtime as a source that would ensure the contribution of all for the benefit of all, that is, the employment of the youth of the country.
Mr Baah-Wiredu gave the assurance that the government was open to ideas and discussions on the matter, as “we will not do anything to the detriment of the user”.
On the agitation by NUGS to block the policy, Mr Baah-Wiredu said that was unfortunate, since the revenue would benefit them by way of employment opportunities after school.
He called for dispassionate dialogue on the matter to help in getting the best policy working for all.
He also denied that mobile service providers had not been consulted on the policy initiative, saying that staff of the Ministries of the Interior and Communications had held several meetings with stakeholders, including service providers, on the matter.
He gave the assurance, however, that discussions were not closed and reiterated that the government was open to dialogue.
For his part, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayirebi-Ofoase, Mr David Oppon-Kusi, said competition in the mobile phone sector would witness increasing better services at competitive prices.
He said competition had recently seen a reduction in the price of mobile phone chips and competitive costs on airtime from the various service providers.
Mr Oppon-Kusi, who is also the Vice-Chairman of the Poverty Reduction Committee in Parliament, said with a base of about seven million users currently, an expansion to about 10 million would further see to the lowering of overheads for the service providers and better deals for users.
DAILY GRAPHIC, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2007, PG1
Story: Caroline Boateng
ONE Ghana pesewa will be charged for a minute of airtime in line with the 2008 budget imposition of excise duty on airtime use of mobile phones, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, has disclosed.
The new excise duty replaces the import duties and import VAT currently imposed on imported mobile phones.
In an interview yesterday, Mr Baah-Wiredu said the revenue to be generated from the new tax would be used as “a dedicated source of funding” for the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP).
The announcement of the airtime tax in the 2008 budget has attracted strong opposition from sections of the Ghanaian society, including the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) and mobile service providers.
In a press statement jointly signed by the NUGS President, Kweku Tuoho Bombason, and its Press and Information Secretary, David S. Damoah, and issued in Accra, the union said it recognised the huge number of mobile phone users in the country, most of whom were students and non-income earners, and noted that the imposition of the tax would, therefore, worsen their financial plight.
The Finance Minister, however, held a more positive view of the new tax, saying its introduction would ensure a more prudent tax administration in the mobile phone import market that had been beset with massive tax evasion by importers.
According to Mr Baah-Wiredu, the government was mindful of the unsatisfactory services of mobile service providers and their high charges, saying that the excise tax would not be passed on to the end user.
He said discussions were still ongoing to finalise details of implementing the policy that might have to be backed with legislation.
He pointed out that the NYEP was an innovative programme that had already employed about 108,000 youth, with other more expectant youth waiting to be taken onto the programme.
He said a consistent source of funding was, therefore, needed, hence the excise tax on airtime as a source that would ensure the contribution of all for the benefit of all, that is, the employment of the youth of the country.
Mr Baah-Wiredu gave the assurance that the government was open to ideas and discussions on the matter, as “we will not do anything to the detriment of the user”.
On the agitation by NUGS to block the policy, Mr Baah-Wiredu said that was unfortunate, since the revenue would benefit them by way of employment opportunities after school.
He called for dispassionate dialogue on the matter to help in getting the best policy working for all.
He also denied that mobile service providers had not been consulted on the policy initiative, saying that staff of the Ministries of the Interior and Communications had held several meetings with stakeholders, including service providers, on the matter.
He gave the assurance, however, that discussions were not closed and reiterated that the government was open to dialogue.
For his part, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayirebi-Ofoase, Mr David Oppon-Kusi, said competition in the mobile phone sector would witness increasing better services at competitive prices.
He said competition had recently seen a reduction in the price of mobile phone chips and competitive costs on airtime from the various service providers.
Mr Oppon-Kusi, who is also the Vice-Chairman of the Poverty Reduction Committee in Parliament, said with a base of about seven million users currently, an expansion to about 10 million would further see to the lowering of overheads for the service providers and better deals for users.
DAILY GRAPHIC, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2007, PG1
Sunday, November 25, 2007
GOVT DOESN'T FIX UTILITY TARIFFS - PIANIM
Increasing utility tariffs is the sole preserve of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), the Chairman of the commission, Mr Kwame Pianim, has stated.
“It is, therefore, sad that after 10 years of existence and setting tariffs, Ghanaians blame the government for any increases by the PURC,” he added.
He was speaking in Accra yesterday at a workshop organised by the Legal Resources Commission (LRC) and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), both non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as part of their good governance watchdog series which started about a year ago.
The workshop was on: “The role of the PURC in ensuring good governance in the public utility industry: Prospects and challenges,” while the good governance series is a forum for knowledge sharing and dialogue on governance issues.
“The PURC, in deciding tariffs, is not accountable to, controlled or managed by the government,” Mr Pianim stressed during his presentation.
He said the decision of the government about two years ago not to annul the PURC’s tariff increases but rather subsidise them showed “democratic maturity where the functions of the different entities are respected and accommodated”.
Prescribing a new dispensation of utility management and growth, Mr Pianim stressed that tariffs alone could not ensure good services for Ghanaian consumers.
He said a three-pronged approach, consisting of concerted efforts from government, consumers and utility service providers, was what would bring in the desired results of efficient utility services in the country.
From the government, Mr Pianim demanded “national discipline, with long-term planning to balance demand and supply, and consistent, long-term investments”.
From consumers, he demanded the payment of adequate tariffs to meet operational and maintenance costs and attract investors into the sector, while the utility service providers were charged to engage in sound management practices to deliver value for money.
Mr Pianim said the PURC, as an independent regulatory body which was not directly managed or controlled by institutions such as the Executive or the Legislature, posed a challenge to traditional concepts of democracy and good governance.
He added, however, that the contribution of such bodies to good governance lay in their ability to collect, analyse and present data objectively in support of their actions for public discussion.
He said it was imperative for all who participated in good governance to do so on the basis of a “creative listening” paradigm, which he said involved dialoguing and arriving at judgements based on facts.
An Economist, Dr Nii Moi Thompson, in an appraisal from a consumer’s perspective, said the inability of utility companies to manage basic structures of service delivery showed that increasing tariffs was not a solution to efficient services.
He said consumers expected three basic things from utility service providers — reliability in service, fairness in delivery and ease in dealings with service providers.
He pointed out, however, that the lack of innovation and managing change by the country’s utility organisations had entrenched a system of inefficient services that sometimes caused frustration for consumers who wanted to pay their bills.
Dr Thompson said with the current state of affairs, no increase in tariffs could guarantee any efficiency in the system, since the utility agencies needed a total overhaul of institutional systems, processes and attitudes.
The Director of Consumer Service of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), whose speech was read on his behalf by Mr M.F. Biney, said the greatest challenge of the ECG was getting consumers to help in delivering efficient service.
He said a customers’ charter was in the offing and call centres were soon going to be established to help respond to complaints from customers.
DAILY GRAPHIC, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2007, PG 34
“It is, therefore, sad that after 10 years of existence and setting tariffs, Ghanaians blame the government for any increases by the PURC,” he added.
He was speaking in Accra yesterday at a workshop organised by the Legal Resources Commission (LRC) and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), both non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as part of their good governance watchdog series which started about a year ago.
The workshop was on: “The role of the PURC in ensuring good governance in the public utility industry: Prospects and challenges,” while the good governance series is a forum for knowledge sharing and dialogue on governance issues.
“The PURC, in deciding tariffs, is not accountable to, controlled or managed by the government,” Mr Pianim stressed during his presentation.
He said the decision of the government about two years ago not to annul the PURC’s tariff increases but rather subsidise them showed “democratic maturity where the functions of the different entities are respected and accommodated”.
Prescribing a new dispensation of utility management and growth, Mr Pianim stressed that tariffs alone could not ensure good services for Ghanaian consumers.
He said a three-pronged approach, consisting of concerted efforts from government, consumers and utility service providers, was what would bring in the desired results of efficient utility services in the country.
From the government, Mr Pianim demanded “national discipline, with long-term planning to balance demand and supply, and consistent, long-term investments”.
From consumers, he demanded the payment of adequate tariffs to meet operational and maintenance costs and attract investors into the sector, while the utility service providers were charged to engage in sound management practices to deliver value for money.
Mr Pianim said the PURC, as an independent regulatory body which was not directly managed or controlled by institutions such as the Executive or the Legislature, posed a challenge to traditional concepts of democracy and good governance.
He added, however, that the contribution of such bodies to good governance lay in their ability to collect, analyse and present data objectively in support of their actions for public discussion.
He said it was imperative for all who participated in good governance to do so on the basis of a “creative listening” paradigm, which he said involved dialoguing and arriving at judgements based on facts.
An Economist, Dr Nii Moi Thompson, in an appraisal from a consumer’s perspective, said the inability of utility companies to manage basic structures of service delivery showed that increasing tariffs was not a solution to efficient services.
He said consumers expected three basic things from utility service providers — reliability in service, fairness in delivery and ease in dealings with service providers.
He pointed out, however, that the lack of innovation and managing change by the country’s utility organisations had entrenched a system of inefficient services that sometimes caused frustration for consumers who wanted to pay their bills.
Dr Thompson said with the current state of affairs, no increase in tariffs could guarantee any efficiency in the system, since the utility agencies needed a total overhaul of institutional systems, processes and attitudes.
The Director of Consumer Service of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), whose speech was read on his behalf by Mr M.F. Biney, said the greatest challenge of the ECG was getting consumers to help in delivering efficient service.
He said a customers’ charter was in the offing and call centres were soon going to be established to help respond to complaints from customers.
DAILY GRAPHIC, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2007, PG 34
WE NEED L.I. ON EDUCATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY-CLARKE
THE Programme Manager, Occupational and Environmental Health of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Edith Clarke, has called for the passage of a legislative instrument(LI) on occupational health and safety in support of the Labour Act 2003.
She said Section 118 of the law, which mandated the provision of safe and healthy work environment by employers for workers, needed operationalisation through an LI.
The LI, she said, would provide guidance, among others, on the means of protection from the effects of hazardous pollutants.
Delivering a lecture on the “The Effects of Air Pollution on Health” as part of a year long programme by the GHS, she also asked workers to show interest in the issue of occupational health issues and advocate the passage of right policies and regulations for their benefit.
Dr Clarke said air, domestic and industrial pollutants were the most important risks that workers had to take note of.
Examples of these pollutants, she said, were burning, fumes from vehicles, construction works and insecticide sprays.
She advocated the adoption of clean fossil fuels, the regular servicing of vehicles and environmentally friendly waste disposal methods.
She also asked policy makers to review the policy on the importation of over-aged vehicles that emitted pollutants and resulted in Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs).
According to Dr Clarke, occupational health and safety were important for health and development, pointing out that ARIs, irritation of the skin and eyes were some health conditions that impacted negatively on productivity and school attendance of children.
Mrs Esi Nerquaye-Tetteh of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), contributing, said the agency was still working with other stakehoders to develop Vehicular Emission Standards and Regulation policy for the country.
A Deputy Director of Administration at the GHS, Mr Yaw Brobbey-Mpiani, said the lecture was part of a programme of action of the GHS to educate workers and implement, through knowledge sharing, clinical care and preventive health policies of the GHS.
He said it was also to impact public health policy by making information available to others and using feedback to enhance efforts.
DAILY GRAPHIC, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2007
She said Section 118 of the law, which mandated the provision of safe and healthy work environment by employers for workers, needed operationalisation through an LI.
The LI, she said, would provide guidance, among others, on the means of protection from the effects of hazardous pollutants.
Delivering a lecture on the “The Effects of Air Pollution on Health” as part of a year long programme by the GHS, she also asked workers to show interest in the issue of occupational health issues and advocate the passage of right policies and regulations for their benefit.
Dr Clarke said air, domestic and industrial pollutants were the most important risks that workers had to take note of.
Examples of these pollutants, she said, were burning, fumes from vehicles, construction works and insecticide sprays.
She advocated the adoption of clean fossil fuels, the regular servicing of vehicles and environmentally friendly waste disposal methods.
She also asked policy makers to review the policy on the importation of over-aged vehicles that emitted pollutants and resulted in Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs).
According to Dr Clarke, occupational health and safety were important for health and development, pointing out that ARIs, irritation of the skin and eyes were some health conditions that impacted negatively on productivity and school attendance of children.
Mrs Esi Nerquaye-Tetteh of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), contributing, said the agency was still working with other stakehoders to develop Vehicular Emission Standards and Regulation policy for the country.
A Deputy Director of Administration at the GHS, Mr Yaw Brobbey-Mpiani, said the lecture was part of a programme of action of the GHS to educate workers and implement, through knowledge sharing, clinical care and preventive health policies of the GHS.
He said it was also to impact public health policy by making information available to others and using feedback to enhance efforts.
DAILY GRAPHIC, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2007
C'TEE RECOMMENDED RME AS SUBJECT-ANAMUAH-MENSAH
THE Chairman of the Educational Reform Review Committee, Prof Jophus Anamuah-Mensah, has confirmed that the committee recommended the teaching of Religious and Moral Education (RME) as a subject.
He added that not only was the recommendation made; the committee went further to propose that RME permeate the teaching of all subjects at the primary and junior high schools.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, Prof Anamuah-Mensah said the moral and religious upbringing of children for them to become responsible adults was a basic tenet underlying that proposal.
He said a cursory reading of the Report of the President’s Committee on Review of Educational Reforms in Ghana, submitted in October 2002, was clear on the teaching RME not only as a subject but an integral part of other subjects such as Business and Mathematics.
He said the committee made the proposition based on falling moral standards, with a view on the need for a “more practical orientation” to the teaching of RME.
In apparent reference to the executive summary of the report, Prof Anamuah-Mensah noted that one of the first underlying principles in the report to guide education was the belief among most Ghanaians in a supreme being.
Prof Anamuah-Mensah said although the committee had made that and other proposals, the report was now in the implementation stage and a National Implementation Committee had been set up to implement it.
“The implementation aspect of the report is the issue now and the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service (GES) are the best agencies to ask why RME has been taken out and the reason for that,” he said.
He, however, discounted public assertions that RME might have been taken out as a donor conditionality, since many donors in Europe and the United States had, for some years now, taken from their curriculum similar subjects.
When asked how teachers were going to take up the challenge of teaching RME as elements in other subjects, Prof Anamuah-Mensah said the training and re-training of teachers was also recommended as being basic and integral to the reforms implementation programme.
The deletion of RME from the school curriculum has sparked off controversy, with the Catholic Bishops Conference issuing a strongly-worded pastoral letter calling for the re-introduction of the subject and a free hand to appoint Catholics as heads and assistant heads of Catholic institutions.
DAILY GRAPHIC, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2007, PG 22
He added that not only was the recommendation made; the committee went further to propose that RME permeate the teaching of all subjects at the primary and junior high schools.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, Prof Anamuah-Mensah said the moral and religious upbringing of children for them to become responsible adults was a basic tenet underlying that proposal.
He said a cursory reading of the Report of the President’s Committee on Review of Educational Reforms in Ghana, submitted in October 2002, was clear on the teaching RME not only as a subject but an integral part of other subjects such as Business and Mathematics.
He said the committee made the proposition based on falling moral standards, with a view on the need for a “more practical orientation” to the teaching of RME.
In apparent reference to the executive summary of the report, Prof Anamuah-Mensah noted that one of the first underlying principles in the report to guide education was the belief among most Ghanaians in a supreme being.
Prof Anamuah-Mensah said although the committee had made that and other proposals, the report was now in the implementation stage and a National Implementation Committee had been set up to implement it.
“The implementation aspect of the report is the issue now and the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service (GES) are the best agencies to ask why RME has been taken out and the reason for that,” he said.
He, however, discounted public assertions that RME might have been taken out as a donor conditionality, since many donors in Europe and the United States had, for some years now, taken from their curriculum similar subjects.
When asked how teachers were going to take up the challenge of teaching RME as elements in other subjects, Prof Anamuah-Mensah said the training and re-training of teachers was also recommended as being basic and integral to the reforms implementation programme.
The deletion of RME from the school curriculum has sparked off controversy, with the Catholic Bishops Conference issuing a strongly-worded pastoral letter calling for the re-introduction of the subject and a free hand to appoint Catholics as heads and assistant heads of Catholic institutions.
DAILY GRAPHIC, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2007, PG 22
Monday, November 19, 2007
DUTY ON MOBILE PHONE CALLS PRUDENT -SAYS DIRECTOR OF BUDGETS
THE Director of Budgets at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP), Mr Kwabena Adjei-Mensah, has explained that the government’s decision to waive duties and Value Added Tax on imported mobile phones and substitute them with excise duty on calls made by subscribers is for a prudent tax administration.
He said the policy would end the practice of mobile phone smuggling into the country, reduce the cost of handsets for consumers and ensure that every mobile phone was taxed appropriately through the excise duty.
Speaking at a dissemination workshop on the 2008 Budget in Accra over the weekend, Mr Adjei-Mensah noted that consumers would not be worse off as the prices of mobile phones would also go down.
He said with advancement in technology and the right policy initiatives, the country was gradually getting to the stage where mobile phones would be issued by service providers at no cost at all to consumers.
Indications picked from other officials of the ministry at the workshop were that government was in negotiations with mobile phone service providers not to pass on the tax to consumers while importers of the phones would be monitored to ensure that they did not put any costs on the phones they brought in.
Giving an overview of the budget, Mr Adjei-Mensah, among other things, pointed out that the country was the only one in the sub-region that had chalked up a GDP rate of 6.3 per cent against the 5.7 per cent set for the region.
He also pointed out that Ghana was the only country in the region that had halved poverty and was gearing for a middle-income status by the year 2015, a target that was far above the targets set in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
A Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP), Dr Akoto Osei, welcoming the participants made up of officials of the ministry and the Ministry of Information (MOI), regional and district budget directors and officers, as well as information service officials from all the districts in Accra, said no one could presume to understand the budget just a day after it was read to be able to meaningfully contribute intelligently to discussions on it.
He said for this reason, the workshop was organised for participants to study the document thoroughly to be able to explain government policies to the people.
“Your job is not to say that the budget is good or bad, but to let people understand what is in the document,” he told them.
The Deputy Minister of Information, Mr Frank Agyekum, in his statements, also underscored the importance of understanding the budget to be able to explain it to the people.
He said the 146 mobile cinema vans, new four wheel pickups brought in for all the 10 regional information departments, the newly recruited commentators and the drivers appointed were all to make the work of disseminating information on government policy much easier.
He said the policy would end the practice of mobile phone smuggling into the country, reduce the cost of handsets for consumers and ensure that every mobile phone was taxed appropriately through the excise duty.
Speaking at a dissemination workshop on the 2008 Budget in Accra over the weekend, Mr Adjei-Mensah noted that consumers would not be worse off as the prices of mobile phones would also go down.
He said with advancement in technology and the right policy initiatives, the country was gradually getting to the stage where mobile phones would be issued by service providers at no cost at all to consumers.
Indications picked from other officials of the ministry at the workshop were that government was in negotiations with mobile phone service providers not to pass on the tax to consumers while importers of the phones would be monitored to ensure that they did not put any costs on the phones they brought in.
Giving an overview of the budget, Mr Adjei-Mensah, among other things, pointed out that the country was the only one in the sub-region that had chalked up a GDP rate of 6.3 per cent against the 5.7 per cent set for the region.
He also pointed out that Ghana was the only country in the region that had halved poverty and was gearing for a middle-income status by the year 2015, a target that was far above the targets set in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
A Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP), Dr Akoto Osei, welcoming the participants made up of officials of the ministry and the Ministry of Information (MOI), regional and district budget directors and officers, as well as information service officials from all the districts in Accra, said no one could presume to understand the budget just a day after it was read to be able to meaningfully contribute intelligently to discussions on it.
He said for this reason, the workshop was organised for participants to study the document thoroughly to be able to explain government policies to the people.
“Your job is not to say that the budget is good or bad, but to let people understand what is in the document,” he told them.
The Deputy Minister of Information, Mr Frank Agyekum, in his statements, also underscored the importance of understanding the budget to be able to explain it to the people.
He said the 146 mobile cinema vans, new four wheel pickups brought in for all the 10 regional information departments, the newly recruited commentators and the drivers appointed were all to make the work of disseminating information on government policy much easier.
GOVERNMENT UPDATES CORRUPTION LAWS
THE government has begun a process to update laws on corruption in the country to conform with regional and international conventions and definitions.
The Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Kwame Osei-Prempeh, who spoke to the Daily Graphic on a wide range of topics, including issues raised at the hearings of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, said the effort was in line with the government’s commitment to fight the vice.
He noted that some regional and international definitions of corruption, such as the United Nation’s Anti-Corruption Convention and the African Union (AU) Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption and Related Offences, had not been domesticated to become part of the laws of the country.
Currently, Ghana’s anti-corruption laws are in the 1992 Constitution, the Criminal Code of 1960 (Act 29), among other laws, and they are considered limiting because they do not take into consideration other corrupt practices that may derail the economic and social development of a people.
The minister, however, disagreed with a suggestion that the former Minister of Transportation, Dr Richard Anane, could have been found guilty on the allegation of corruption if his case had been investigated under the dispensation when international laws had been factored into the country’s laws.
The corruption laws of the country were an issue of concern for the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) when it investigated the former Minister of Transportation in September last year.
Although the commission did not find the allegation of corruption proven by evidence during its investigations, it stated in its ruling, “The commission recommends the necessary processes to be initiated to upgrade our laws to meet the AU minimum standards as contained in the AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption and Related Offences.”
Legal practitioners and advocates contacted by the Daily Graphic on the importance of such an exercise said the domestication of the laws would expand the reach of the laws on corruption and strengthen institutions and mechanisms in preventing corruption.
International conventions and laws on corruption take into account all acts that directly or indirectly benefit a person, to the detriment of the larger social good.
Acts of corruption, under international conventions and norms, might not only be criminal in nature but could be administrative to pass of as a corrupt practice, Mr Richard Quayson, a Deputy Commissioner of CHRAJ in charge of Anti-Corruption and Public Education, pointed out when contacted.
The World Bank definition of corruption encompasses patronage, nepotism and the theft of state assets, as well as the diversion of state revenues.
The definition also underscores the fact that the benefit gained from corruption does not necessary have to be financial or immediate and lists the promise or the giving of an undue payment or other advantage directly or through intermediaries to influence the committal or omission of acts for the personal benefit of public officials as corrupt practices.
Mr Quayson said the updating of the laws was in the right direction, but pointed out that for CHRAJ, updating laws on corruption, as it recommended in its ruling in the investigations concerning Dr Anane, was not to witch-hunt individuals but to improve the country’s processes, institutions and structures for dealing with corruption.
He said if the country’s laws on corruption were merged with international norms, CHRAJ would undertake a sensitisation programme for public officials to enhance compliance with the rules and regulations.
The Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Kwame Osei-Prempeh, who spoke to the Daily Graphic on a wide range of topics, including issues raised at the hearings of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, said the effort was in line with the government’s commitment to fight the vice.
He noted that some regional and international definitions of corruption, such as the United Nation’s Anti-Corruption Convention and the African Union (AU) Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption and Related Offences, had not been domesticated to become part of the laws of the country.
Currently, Ghana’s anti-corruption laws are in the 1992 Constitution, the Criminal Code of 1960 (Act 29), among other laws, and they are considered limiting because they do not take into consideration other corrupt practices that may derail the economic and social development of a people.
The minister, however, disagreed with a suggestion that the former Minister of Transportation, Dr Richard Anane, could have been found guilty on the allegation of corruption if his case had been investigated under the dispensation when international laws had been factored into the country’s laws.
The corruption laws of the country were an issue of concern for the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) when it investigated the former Minister of Transportation in September last year.
Although the commission did not find the allegation of corruption proven by evidence during its investigations, it stated in its ruling, “The commission recommends the necessary processes to be initiated to upgrade our laws to meet the AU minimum standards as contained in the AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption and Related Offences.”
Legal practitioners and advocates contacted by the Daily Graphic on the importance of such an exercise said the domestication of the laws would expand the reach of the laws on corruption and strengthen institutions and mechanisms in preventing corruption.
International conventions and laws on corruption take into account all acts that directly or indirectly benefit a person, to the detriment of the larger social good.
Acts of corruption, under international conventions and norms, might not only be criminal in nature but could be administrative to pass of as a corrupt practice, Mr Richard Quayson, a Deputy Commissioner of CHRAJ in charge of Anti-Corruption and Public Education, pointed out when contacted.
The World Bank definition of corruption encompasses patronage, nepotism and the theft of state assets, as well as the diversion of state revenues.
The definition also underscores the fact that the benefit gained from corruption does not necessary have to be financial or immediate and lists the promise or the giving of an undue payment or other advantage directly or through intermediaries to influence the committal or omission of acts for the personal benefit of public officials as corrupt practices.
Mr Quayson said the updating of the laws was in the right direction, but pointed out that for CHRAJ, updating laws on corruption, as it recommended in its ruling in the investigations concerning Dr Anane, was not to witch-hunt individuals but to improve the country’s processes, institutions and structures for dealing with corruption.
He said if the country’s laws on corruption were merged with international norms, CHRAJ would undertake a sensitisation programme for public officials to enhance compliance with the rules and regulations.
Friday, November 16, 2007
AKOSOMBO IS BACK, BUT ...
WEEKS after torrential rains hit the northern parts of the country, the Akosombo Hydroelectric Generation Station has been declared to be in good condition and operating efficiently but the threat of another energy crisis in the near future still lingers on.
All the six units of the dam, that comprises a turbine, a generator and a transformer are in perfect condition and operating at an optimal level of efficiency, after the major rehabilitation works were completed in 2005.
In the heat of the recent energy crisis, the station had operated only two of the six generation units even at peak hours because of the low level of the water in the dam. However, when the Daily Graphic visited the Station last Friday, three of the units were running, and at 256.40 feet, five of the units are operated at peak hours.
Yet, despite the marked improvement in the water level in the dam, officials of the station are threading cautiously, conscious of the fact that no major rains are expected in the next nine months.
“We have told the government that we must produce between 3200 - 3600 Giga watts hours of electricity to ensure that the water level in the dam will be around 248 feet by the time of the major inflows in June next year,” Mr Kwesi B. Amoako, plant manager of the Hydro Generation Department of Akosombo told the Daily Graphic.
He stated further that if the dam was ran at higher levels to produce, for instance, 4800 Giga watts hours of electricity then the level of the dam would run dangerously low before the rainy season next year, and that could result in another energy crisis in 2009 if the rain patterns were poor in 2008 as they had been last year.
Mr Amoako explained that the dam operated under the principle of potential energy that is dependent on the water level, hence the higher the water level the more electricity that can be generated.
He said that called for an efficient and careful management policy to keep the water level appreciably high and prevent a recurrence of the energy crisis.
“Over the years we have drawn a lot from the dam, there is now therefore the need for a careful management policy,” Mr Amoako emphasised.
Before the energy crisis in August last year, hydro electric generation met about 60 to 65 per cent of the country’s energy needs, while 35 per cent came from the Aboadze Thermal Plant, with about five per cent coming from exports from Ivory Coast.
But now the Volta River Authority (VRA) is advocating a change in the country’s energy generation policy to guarantee the optimum operation of the Akosombo Generation Station and prevent a recurrence of the energy crisis.
Under the new proposal, hydro-electric energy will complement electricity supply from thermal plants and generators, which will be the main sources of supplies.
Mr Amoako pointed out that, hydro generation, although renewable, was highly variable, depending on the pattern of rainfall and hence was not always reliable considering the country’s growing energy demands.
This is at a time of record high prices of crude oil, that has skyrocketed to alsmost $100 per barrel, and calls by some in the petroleum industry for an increased dependence on the dam for the country’s energy needs to reduce the cost of running the thermal plants brought in during the crisis by the government.
Mr Amoako conceded that although increased dependence on thermal plants and generators could mean significant increases in tariffs, that seemed to be the best way out.
He also called for the adoption of prudent conservation methods to get the country through a lean season to the next rainy season.
Now, the dam and its envirions lie serenely and idyllically beautiful in its plush greenery.
Some fishermen are back fishing on the river that hitherto had been so low that the spew gates, from where excess water from the dam could be let out, were opened widely and no water flowed out as the level lay way beneath the gates then.
“What you now see in the dam is God-sent,” Mr Amoako said with a beam on his face.
“Did you visit the station during the crisis?, he enquires.
Responding in the negative he says, “Oh, then you would have appreciated the level of water in the dam now.”
Taking advantage of the low level of water in the dam, rehabilitation works were carried on the gates, Mr Amoako added.
“Our success perhaps has been out ondoing,” Mr Amoako points out.
He said Ghanaians must now think seriously about paying real rates for the electricity they consume as managing the Station and investing to keep all equipment in shape has not been done pro bono.
For him, it is unwise for Akosombo to produce electricity and be paid rates that do not even cover their cost of production.
All the six units of the dam, that comprises a turbine, a generator and a transformer are in perfect condition and operating at an optimal level of efficiency, after the major rehabilitation works were completed in 2005.
In the heat of the recent energy crisis, the station had operated only two of the six generation units even at peak hours because of the low level of the water in the dam. However, when the Daily Graphic visited the Station last Friday, three of the units were running, and at 256.40 feet, five of the units are operated at peak hours.
Yet, despite the marked improvement in the water level in the dam, officials of the station are threading cautiously, conscious of the fact that no major rains are expected in the next nine months.
“We have told the government that we must produce between 3200 - 3600 Giga watts hours of electricity to ensure that the water level in the dam will be around 248 feet by the time of the major inflows in June next year,” Mr Kwesi B. Amoako, plant manager of the Hydro Generation Department of Akosombo told the Daily Graphic.
He stated further that if the dam was ran at higher levels to produce, for instance, 4800 Giga watts hours of electricity then the level of the dam would run dangerously low before the rainy season next year, and that could result in another energy crisis in 2009 if the rain patterns were poor in 2008 as they had been last year.
Mr Amoako explained that the dam operated under the principle of potential energy that is dependent on the water level, hence the higher the water level the more electricity that can be generated.
He said that called for an efficient and careful management policy to keep the water level appreciably high and prevent a recurrence of the energy crisis.
“Over the years we have drawn a lot from the dam, there is now therefore the need for a careful management policy,” Mr Amoako emphasised.
Before the energy crisis in August last year, hydro electric generation met about 60 to 65 per cent of the country’s energy needs, while 35 per cent came from the Aboadze Thermal Plant, with about five per cent coming from exports from Ivory Coast.
But now the Volta River Authority (VRA) is advocating a change in the country’s energy generation policy to guarantee the optimum operation of the Akosombo Generation Station and prevent a recurrence of the energy crisis.
Under the new proposal, hydro-electric energy will complement electricity supply from thermal plants and generators, which will be the main sources of supplies.
Mr Amoako pointed out that, hydro generation, although renewable, was highly variable, depending on the pattern of rainfall and hence was not always reliable considering the country’s growing energy demands.
This is at a time of record high prices of crude oil, that has skyrocketed to alsmost $100 per barrel, and calls by some in the petroleum industry for an increased dependence on the dam for the country’s energy needs to reduce the cost of running the thermal plants brought in during the crisis by the government.
Mr Amoako conceded that although increased dependence on thermal plants and generators could mean significant increases in tariffs, that seemed to be the best way out.
He also called for the adoption of prudent conservation methods to get the country through a lean season to the next rainy season.
Now, the dam and its envirions lie serenely and idyllically beautiful in its plush greenery.
Some fishermen are back fishing on the river that hitherto had been so low that the spew gates, from where excess water from the dam could be let out, were opened widely and no water flowed out as the level lay way beneath the gates then.
“What you now see in the dam is God-sent,” Mr Amoako said with a beam on his face.
“Did you visit the station during the crisis?, he enquires.
Responding in the negative he says, “Oh, then you would have appreciated the level of water in the dam now.”
Taking advantage of the low level of water in the dam, rehabilitation works were carried on the gates, Mr Amoako added.
“Our success perhaps has been out ondoing,” Mr Amoako points out.
He said Ghanaians must now think seriously about paying real rates for the electricity they consume as managing the Station and investing to keep all equipment in shape has not been done pro bono.
For him, it is unwise for Akosombo to produce electricity and be paid rates that do not even cover their cost of production.
AYENSU STARCH FACTORY TO BOUNCE BACK DECEMBER
THE Ayensu Starch Factory is to re-start operations next month, Mr Kweku Agyeman Manu, a Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and President’s Special Initiative, has disclosed.
Though the minister would not go into details, he said the factory was going through re-organisation and re-modelling to better position it as the viable manufacturing concern that it was set up to be.
Mr Manu was responding to concerns raised by Nana Fredua Agyemang Panbuo, the Executive Chairman of the Invest Pro Limited and Benkumhene of the Akaase Traditional Area in Kwabre, Ashanti Region, concerning the Ayensu Starch Factory at the 47th Annual General Meeting (AGM) Lectures of the Ghana Employers Association (GEA) in Accra.
He said the factory had been built with the small holder cassava farmer in mind for the supply of cassava, its major raw material. He noted, however, that this led to the factory not being able to receive raw materials on a consistent basis to feed the factory, one of the major problems that led to its closure.
Mr Manu was confident that with the new modelling of the factory and the participation of some local and foreign investors in the new deal, the future was brighter.
The lectures are meant to create a forum for dialogue between the GEA and its partners and issues discussed form part of work plans of the association in the subsequent year.
This year’s lecture was on the theme “The promotion of sustainable enterprise: The role of the social partners”.
In his address, the Minister emphasised the need for Africa to step up its efforts in competitively engaging in global trade, as the continent’s exports just accounted for 2.6 per cent of total global trade in 2004.
He pointed out that this was in a year that the volume of world trade had expanded by about nine per cent.
Mr Manu noted that there were challenges in every enterprise and said in spite of these challenges, the government had initiated many programmes and projects for the business sector, notable among them being the President’s Special Initiatives.
Nana Fredua, who was the chairman for the AGM, thought otherwise.
Likening the setting up of industries to marriage, he pointed out that “anyone at all can have a wedding but sustaining the marriage is the challenge”.
“You can create all the Presidential Initiatives you want and give them whatever name you want, but at the end of the day, it is sustaining it that matters,” he added.
Nana Fredua also suggested the nurturing of enterprises through a legal framework and the right policies.
He said the Procurement Act could criminalise the public procurement of goods for public institutions from foreign sources, as a measure to nurture enterprises and give a boost to such initiatives as the “Made in Ghana” brand or the “Friday wear”.
The Managing Director of Unique Trust Financial Services, Mr. Kofi Amoabeng, and the Secretary-General of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), Mr Kwasi Adu- Amankwah, also identified the right attitudes and conducive industrial relations as key in sustaining enterprises.
Mr Amoabeng decried the foul attitudes of Ghanaians, nepotism and malfeasance in public service and noted that these corrupted programmes and projects embarked on by the government.
Mr Adu-Amankwah emphasised the government’s role in sustaining and nurturing enterprises, stressing that the paradigm of “Government has no business doing business” had to be changed.
The Managing Director of Nestle Ghana Limited, Mr Herve Duranton, in his contribution, presented Nestle as a model of economic and social sustainability.
He pointed out that at Nestle, sustainability of all productive ventures was part of the corporate strategy, while social responsibility was not just an end in itself but an integral part of the company’s economic sustainability.
Though the minister would not go into details, he said the factory was going through re-organisation and re-modelling to better position it as the viable manufacturing concern that it was set up to be.
Mr Manu was responding to concerns raised by Nana Fredua Agyemang Panbuo, the Executive Chairman of the Invest Pro Limited and Benkumhene of the Akaase Traditional Area in Kwabre, Ashanti Region, concerning the Ayensu Starch Factory at the 47th Annual General Meeting (AGM) Lectures of the Ghana Employers Association (GEA) in Accra.
He said the factory had been built with the small holder cassava farmer in mind for the supply of cassava, its major raw material. He noted, however, that this led to the factory not being able to receive raw materials on a consistent basis to feed the factory, one of the major problems that led to its closure.
Mr Manu was confident that with the new modelling of the factory and the participation of some local and foreign investors in the new deal, the future was brighter.
The lectures are meant to create a forum for dialogue between the GEA and its partners and issues discussed form part of work plans of the association in the subsequent year.
This year’s lecture was on the theme “The promotion of sustainable enterprise: The role of the social partners”.
In his address, the Minister emphasised the need for Africa to step up its efforts in competitively engaging in global trade, as the continent’s exports just accounted for 2.6 per cent of total global trade in 2004.
He pointed out that this was in a year that the volume of world trade had expanded by about nine per cent.
Mr Manu noted that there were challenges in every enterprise and said in spite of these challenges, the government had initiated many programmes and projects for the business sector, notable among them being the President’s Special Initiatives.
Nana Fredua, who was the chairman for the AGM, thought otherwise.
Likening the setting up of industries to marriage, he pointed out that “anyone at all can have a wedding but sustaining the marriage is the challenge”.
“You can create all the Presidential Initiatives you want and give them whatever name you want, but at the end of the day, it is sustaining it that matters,” he added.
Nana Fredua also suggested the nurturing of enterprises through a legal framework and the right policies.
He said the Procurement Act could criminalise the public procurement of goods for public institutions from foreign sources, as a measure to nurture enterprises and give a boost to such initiatives as the “Made in Ghana” brand or the “Friday wear”.
The Managing Director of Unique Trust Financial Services, Mr. Kofi Amoabeng, and the Secretary-General of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), Mr Kwasi Adu- Amankwah, also identified the right attitudes and conducive industrial relations as key in sustaining enterprises.
Mr Amoabeng decried the foul attitudes of Ghanaians, nepotism and malfeasance in public service and noted that these corrupted programmes and projects embarked on by the government.
Mr Adu-Amankwah emphasised the government’s role in sustaining and nurturing enterprises, stressing that the paradigm of “Government has no business doing business” had to be changed.
The Managing Director of Nestle Ghana Limited, Mr Herve Duranton, in his contribution, presented Nestle as a model of economic and social sustainability.
He pointed out that at Nestle, sustainability of all productive ventures was part of the corporate strategy, while social responsibility was not just an end in itself but an integral part of the company’s economic sustainability.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
I WILL MAINTAIN INTEGRITY OF THE JUDICIARY-CJ
THE appointment and promotion of judges will be based on their level of integrity, industry and independence and no other consideration, the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Wood, has declared.
Mrs Justice Wood was speaking to a group of judges, lawyers, anti-corruption advocates and a cross-section of the public in Accra yesterday.
She noted that integrity was not going to be the only key criterion for work and advancement in the Judicial Service but that her philosophy that “judicial integrity is key to an effective and efficient judicial system” would be brought to bear on the service.
In consonance with that philosophy, Mrs Justice Wood announced that the Judicial Service, in conjunction with other international institutions, would soon begin a training programme for all levels of judicial staff in judicial integrity and ethics.
Speaking at the launch of the findings of a study on the perception of corruption in the judiciary, titled, “Report on Judicial Corruption Monitoring Exercise in Ghana,” she said some lapses in the judicial system had been exploited by some for undeserved outcomes.
The study was conducted by the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the local chapter of Transparency International (TI), and sponsored by the German Technical Co-operation (GTZ),
“A typical example is where the courts are overcrowded and yet a disputant wants a speedy resolution. He or she may pay ‘speed money’ to have the case disposed of expeditiously. On the other hand, where the litigant’s earnest wish is that the case never, never sees the light of day, he or she does just the opposite — “delay money” is paid to get the docket to disappear — and really, which judge who is bogged down with a whole load of cases would not be too eager to grant an adjournment when he or she is told that the file cannot be traced,” she pointed out.
Mrs Justice Wood, however, affirmed her unflinching faith in the judiciary and said the Judicial Council was committed to using all available resources at its disposal to ensure that corruption was reduced to the minimum.
She pledged that she would continue with initiatives that had already been started by her predecessor, the late Mr Justice Acquah, in addition to other measures that were to be instituted to make corruption a high risk venture in the judiciary.
In line with that, Mrs Justice Wood said she had appointed some Court of Appeal judges to oversee work in the various regions of the country.
She said she would ensure that the appointed judges quickly brought to the attention of other judges and staff the report on the judiciary by the GII and ensure its wide dissemination so that pragmatic solutions would be found to minimise the perception of corruption in the judiciary.
An overview of the report, presented by the Executive Secretary of the GII, Mr Vitus Azeem, showed that corruption in the judiciary was real.
He pointed out that the data and information gathered for the report demonstrated convincingly that the issue of corruption was not merely one of perception but reality and that it occurred with frightening regularity within the judiciary.
He said key actors in the judicial process, such as judges, lawyers, litigants and staff of the Judicial Service, were keenly aware of the existence of the problem of corruption and had themselves experienced it one way or another or knew others who had.
Outlining the recommendations in the report, Mr Azeem proposed the establishment of a complaints desk at the Supreme Court as part of the office of the Chief Justice, the active involvement of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) in regulating the conduct of lawyers, among other things.
The Board Chairman of the GII, Dr Audrey Gadzekpo, who chaired the function, pointed out that the phenomenon of corruption in the country had been and would continue to be a controversial issue.
She said while most Ghanaians believed it existed, they were not sure about the dimensions, particularly with regard to its prevalence in governmental institutions.
“Corruption is difficult to measure. Unlike other crimes, both the giver and the receiver have an interest in keeping quiet,” she pointed out.
Dr Gadzekpo said although one could not claim with any amount of certitude that perceived corruption was real corruption, one could not also easily dismiss perception as the figment of the imagination, as “it may often turn out that the gap between perception and reality is either narrow or non existent”.
She said the GII, in keeping with its core business of monitoring and advocating and fighting corruption in the country, deemed it a duty to establish a possible link between widely held perception and the reality, hence the study to provide empirical evidence of corrupt practices in the judiciary.
She said the judiciary was chosen because it was the most important institution in the fight against corruption, saying the judicial power of the state remained a key resource in the development and enforcement of anti-corruption policies.
Dr Gadzekpo emphasised the fact that to be able to hold other public officials accountable, the judiciary itself had to possess the requisite moral and ethical integrity, as well as the financial, technical and human resource to do so.
“A corrupt judiciary cannot preside over the prosecution of other corrupt public officials,” she said.
The GTZ Programme Manager of the Good Governance Programme, Dr Mechthild Runger, noted that the prevention of corruption was not only a matter of prosecuting individual perpetrators but also involved strengthening institutions and processes.
“Structures must be strong, rules enforced, the code of conduct observed; all these require institutional strengths and systematic monitoring of the works in the judiciary,” she said.
The lead researcher of the study, Mr Dominic Ayine, explained that the study was conducted on a pilot basis in Accra, Tema and Kumasi.
Mrs Justice Wood was speaking to a group of judges, lawyers, anti-corruption advocates and a cross-section of the public in Accra yesterday.
She noted that integrity was not going to be the only key criterion for work and advancement in the Judicial Service but that her philosophy that “judicial integrity is key to an effective and efficient judicial system” would be brought to bear on the service.
In consonance with that philosophy, Mrs Justice Wood announced that the Judicial Service, in conjunction with other international institutions, would soon begin a training programme for all levels of judicial staff in judicial integrity and ethics.
Speaking at the launch of the findings of a study on the perception of corruption in the judiciary, titled, “Report on Judicial Corruption Monitoring Exercise in Ghana,” she said some lapses in the judicial system had been exploited by some for undeserved outcomes.
The study was conducted by the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the local chapter of Transparency International (TI), and sponsored by the German Technical Co-operation (GTZ),
“A typical example is where the courts are overcrowded and yet a disputant wants a speedy resolution. He or she may pay ‘speed money’ to have the case disposed of expeditiously. On the other hand, where the litigant’s earnest wish is that the case never, never sees the light of day, he or she does just the opposite — “delay money” is paid to get the docket to disappear — and really, which judge who is bogged down with a whole load of cases would not be too eager to grant an adjournment when he or she is told that the file cannot be traced,” she pointed out.
Mrs Justice Wood, however, affirmed her unflinching faith in the judiciary and said the Judicial Council was committed to using all available resources at its disposal to ensure that corruption was reduced to the minimum.
She pledged that she would continue with initiatives that had already been started by her predecessor, the late Mr Justice Acquah, in addition to other measures that were to be instituted to make corruption a high risk venture in the judiciary.
In line with that, Mrs Justice Wood said she had appointed some Court of Appeal judges to oversee work in the various regions of the country.
She said she would ensure that the appointed judges quickly brought to the attention of other judges and staff the report on the judiciary by the GII and ensure its wide dissemination so that pragmatic solutions would be found to minimise the perception of corruption in the judiciary.
An overview of the report, presented by the Executive Secretary of the GII, Mr Vitus Azeem, showed that corruption in the judiciary was real.
He pointed out that the data and information gathered for the report demonstrated convincingly that the issue of corruption was not merely one of perception but reality and that it occurred with frightening regularity within the judiciary.
He said key actors in the judicial process, such as judges, lawyers, litigants and staff of the Judicial Service, were keenly aware of the existence of the problem of corruption and had themselves experienced it one way or another or knew others who had.
Outlining the recommendations in the report, Mr Azeem proposed the establishment of a complaints desk at the Supreme Court as part of the office of the Chief Justice, the active involvement of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) in regulating the conduct of lawyers, among other things.
The Board Chairman of the GII, Dr Audrey Gadzekpo, who chaired the function, pointed out that the phenomenon of corruption in the country had been and would continue to be a controversial issue.
She said while most Ghanaians believed it existed, they were not sure about the dimensions, particularly with regard to its prevalence in governmental institutions.
“Corruption is difficult to measure. Unlike other crimes, both the giver and the receiver have an interest in keeping quiet,” she pointed out.
Dr Gadzekpo said although one could not claim with any amount of certitude that perceived corruption was real corruption, one could not also easily dismiss perception as the figment of the imagination, as “it may often turn out that the gap between perception and reality is either narrow or non existent”.
She said the GII, in keeping with its core business of monitoring and advocating and fighting corruption in the country, deemed it a duty to establish a possible link between widely held perception and the reality, hence the study to provide empirical evidence of corrupt practices in the judiciary.
She said the judiciary was chosen because it was the most important institution in the fight against corruption, saying the judicial power of the state remained a key resource in the development and enforcement of anti-corruption policies.
Dr Gadzekpo emphasised the fact that to be able to hold other public officials accountable, the judiciary itself had to possess the requisite moral and ethical integrity, as well as the financial, technical and human resource to do so.
“A corrupt judiciary cannot preside over the prosecution of other corrupt public officials,” she said.
The GTZ Programme Manager of the Good Governance Programme, Dr Mechthild Runger, noted that the prevention of corruption was not only a matter of prosecuting individual perpetrators but also involved strengthening institutions and processes.
“Structures must be strong, rules enforced, the code of conduct observed; all these require institutional strengths and systematic monitoring of the works in the judiciary,” she said.
The lead researcher of the study, Mr Dominic Ayine, explained that the study was conducted on a pilot basis in Accra, Tema and Kumasi.
‘STRENGTHEN HOUSES OF CHIEFS TO RESOLVE DISPUTES’
A Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Stephen Brobbey, has called for the strengthening of the Regional and National Houses of Chiefs for the expeditious resolution of potentially explosive chieftaincy issues.
He said that would prevent conflicts and help resolve protracted chieftaincy disputes.
He also proposed that chiefs needed to assert themselves and use their authority to strengthen the institution and make it better to serve the nation.
At a day’s seminar on “Knowledge Exchange on Customary Law Traditions in Ghana,” Justice Brobbey, who is finalising his drafts for a book on the chieftaincy institution, underscored the relevance of the institution to the development of laws and social cohesion in the country.
The seminar was organised by the Judicial Service of Ghana, the Canadian University Services Organisation (CUSA-Ghana) and the National Judicial Institute, Canada, with sponsorship from CIDA.
It forms part of a collaborative programme between the Judicial Service of Ghana and Canada, under which knowledge is shared through exchange programmes and seminars.
Justice Brobbey’s presentation was based on his research findings on chieftaincy and customary law. Speaking on the topic “The General Role of Traditional Authorities in the Development of Customary Law”, he noted that the customary law predated all laws.
Justice Brobbey said chiefs had played an important role in the development of customary laws, thereby making such laws part of the laws of the country recognised by the Constitution.
He said some progressive chiefs had gone further to shape some customs to conform to changes in the social set-up and cited cases in which while pouring libation, some chiefs, in order to embrace the concerns of others, made concessions and referred to deities others also believed in.
A former Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice and Executive Director of the National Judicial Institute, Justice Brian W. Lennox, in his remarks, said the partnership would enable participants from Canada to have a better understanding of customary law.
The country representative of CUSO-Ghana, Mr Lawrence Amesu, said an important outcome of the partnership of the institutions was the mutual sharing of information and ideas.
Prof Justice Modibo Ocran, another justice of the Supreme Court, Dr Josiah Ayeh of the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Legon and Dr Daanaa????????, a Principal Research Officer of the Chieftaincy Secretariat and National House of Chiefs, also presented papers, while the Juabenhene, Nana Oti Boateng and the Queen of the Tefle Traditional Area, Mama Asigble, made contributions.
He said that would prevent conflicts and help resolve protracted chieftaincy disputes.
He also proposed that chiefs needed to assert themselves and use their authority to strengthen the institution and make it better to serve the nation.
At a day’s seminar on “Knowledge Exchange on Customary Law Traditions in Ghana,” Justice Brobbey, who is finalising his drafts for a book on the chieftaincy institution, underscored the relevance of the institution to the development of laws and social cohesion in the country.
The seminar was organised by the Judicial Service of Ghana, the Canadian University Services Organisation (CUSA-Ghana) and the National Judicial Institute, Canada, with sponsorship from CIDA.
It forms part of a collaborative programme between the Judicial Service of Ghana and Canada, under which knowledge is shared through exchange programmes and seminars.
Justice Brobbey’s presentation was based on his research findings on chieftaincy and customary law. Speaking on the topic “The General Role of Traditional Authorities in the Development of Customary Law”, he noted that the customary law predated all laws.
Justice Brobbey said chiefs had played an important role in the development of customary laws, thereby making such laws part of the laws of the country recognised by the Constitution.
He said some progressive chiefs had gone further to shape some customs to conform to changes in the social set-up and cited cases in which while pouring libation, some chiefs, in order to embrace the concerns of others, made concessions and referred to deities others also believed in.
A former Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice and Executive Director of the National Judicial Institute, Justice Brian W. Lennox, in his remarks, said the partnership would enable participants from Canada to have a better understanding of customary law.
The country representative of CUSO-Ghana, Mr Lawrence Amesu, said an important outcome of the partnership of the institutions was the mutual sharing of information and ideas.
Prof Justice Modibo Ocran, another justice of the Supreme Court, Dr Josiah Ayeh of the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Legon and Dr Daanaa????????, a Principal Research Officer of the Chieftaincy Secretariat and National House of Chiefs, also presented papers, while the Juabenhene, Nana Oti Boateng and the Queen of the Tefle Traditional Area, Mama Asigble, made contributions.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
STRENGTHEN HOUSE OF CHIEFS TO RESOLVE DISPUTES
A Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Stephen Brobbey, has called for the strengthening of the Regional and National Houses of Chiefs for the expeditious resolution of potentially explosive chieftaincy issues.
He said that would prevent conflicts and help resolve protracted chieftaincy disputes.
He also proposed that chiefs needed to assert themselves and use their authority to strengthen the institution and make it better to serve the nation.
At a day’s seminar on “Knowledge Exchange on Customary Law Traditions in Ghana,” Justice Brobbey, who is finalising his drafts for a book on the chieftaincy institution, underscored the relevance of the institution to the development of laws and social cohesion in the country.
The seminar was organised by the Judicial Service of Ghana, the Canadian University Services Organisation (CUSA-Ghana) and the National Judicial Institute, Canada, with sponsorship from CIDA.
It forms part of a collaborative programme between the Judicial Service of Ghana and Canada, under which knowledge is shared through exchange programmes and seminars.
Justice Brobbey’s presentation was based on his research findings on chieftaincy and customary law. Speaking on the topic “The General Role of Traditional Authorities in the Development of Customary Law”, he noted that the customary law predated all laws.
Justice Brobbey said chiefs had played an important role in the development of customary laws, thereby making such laws part of the laws of the country recognised by the Constitution.
He said some progressive chiefs had gone further to shape some customs to conform to changes in the social set-up and cited cases in which while pouring libation, some chiefs, in order to embrace the concerns of others, made concessions and referred to deities others also believed in.
A former Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice and Executive Director of the National Judicial Institute, Justice Brian W. Lennox, in his remarks, said the partnership would enable participants from Canada to have a better understanding of customary law.
The country representative of CUSO-Ghana, Mr Lawrence Amesu, said an important outcome of the partnership of the institutions was the mutual sharing of information and ideas.
Prof Justice Modibo Ocran, another justice of the Supreme Court, Dr Josiah Ayeh of the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Legon and Dr Daanaa????????, a Principal Research Officer of the Chieftaincy Secretariat and National House of Chiefs, also presented papers, while the Juabenhene, Nana Oti Boateng and the Queen of the Tefle Traditional Area, Mama Asigble, made contributions.
He said that would prevent conflicts and help resolve protracted chieftaincy disputes.
He also proposed that chiefs needed to assert themselves and use their authority to strengthen the institution and make it better to serve the nation.
At a day’s seminar on “Knowledge Exchange on Customary Law Traditions in Ghana,” Justice Brobbey, who is finalising his drafts for a book on the chieftaincy institution, underscored the relevance of the institution to the development of laws and social cohesion in the country.
The seminar was organised by the Judicial Service of Ghana, the Canadian University Services Organisation (CUSA-Ghana) and the National Judicial Institute, Canada, with sponsorship from CIDA.
It forms part of a collaborative programme between the Judicial Service of Ghana and Canada, under which knowledge is shared through exchange programmes and seminars.
Justice Brobbey’s presentation was based on his research findings on chieftaincy and customary law. Speaking on the topic “The General Role of Traditional Authorities in the Development of Customary Law”, he noted that the customary law predated all laws.
Justice Brobbey said chiefs had played an important role in the development of customary laws, thereby making such laws part of the laws of the country recognised by the Constitution.
He said some progressive chiefs had gone further to shape some customs to conform to changes in the social set-up and cited cases in which while pouring libation, some chiefs, in order to embrace the concerns of others, made concessions and referred to deities others also believed in.
A former Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice and Executive Director of the National Judicial Institute, Justice Brian W. Lennox, in his remarks, said the partnership would enable participants from Canada to have a better understanding of customary law.
The country representative of CUSO-Ghana, Mr Lawrence Amesu, said an important outcome of the partnership of the institutions was the mutual sharing of information and ideas.
Prof Justice Modibo Ocran, another justice of the Supreme Court, Dr Josiah Ayeh of the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Legon and Dr Daanaa????????, a Principal Research Officer of the Chieftaincy Secretariat and National House of Chiefs, also presented papers, while the Juabenhene, Nana Oti Boateng and the Queen of the Tefle Traditional Area, Mama Asigble, made contributions.
NIA RECEIVES REGISTRATION EQUIPMENT
THE National Identification Authority (NIA) yesterday received 100 Mobile Registration Work Stations (MRWSs) at a brief ceremony at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
The MRWSs are handy registration equipment that will capture the fingerprints, facial features and other information about the applicants when registration begins for the National Identification System (NIS).
They are able to record the data on 20,000 people daily and run verification and authentication checks to do away with duplication and multiple registration on the spot.
The 100 MRWSs are part of a total consignment of 1510 that will be used for the national exercise.
Receiving the freight documents on the MRWSs from customs officials and freight forwarders, Prof Ernest Dumor, the Executive Secretary of the NIA, said the first set would be used to train 60 ICT personnel who will then train 1600 mobile registration work station operators to be deployed for the national exercise.
SEGEM, the technical solution providers of the NIA, will train the 60 trainers, and according to him, a list of the 60 had already been made while training sites had already been identified.
The NIA, he said, was awaiting the arrival of SAGEM officials to begin training in about two weeks.
Prof Dumor said the MRWSs had been customised to the needs of the country, based on results from a pilot test.
However, he said what had arrived would be tested again to ensure they met all the requirements.
The second consignment of 1410 MRWSs are expected into the country by the end of the year.
The MRWSs are handy registration equipment that will capture the fingerprints, facial features and other information about the applicants when registration begins for the National Identification System (NIS).
They are able to record the data on 20,000 people daily and run verification and authentication checks to do away with duplication and multiple registration on the spot.
The 100 MRWSs are part of a total consignment of 1510 that will be used for the national exercise.
Receiving the freight documents on the MRWSs from customs officials and freight forwarders, Prof Ernest Dumor, the Executive Secretary of the NIA, said the first set would be used to train 60 ICT personnel who will then train 1600 mobile registration work station operators to be deployed for the national exercise.
SEGEM, the technical solution providers of the NIA, will train the 60 trainers, and according to him, a list of the 60 had already been made while training sites had already been identified.
The NIA, he said, was awaiting the arrival of SAGEM officials to begin training in about two weeks.
Prof Dumor said the MRWSs had been customised to the needs of the country, based on results from a pilot test.
However, he said what had arrived would be tested again to ensure they met all the requirements.
The second consignment of 1410 MRWSs are expected into the country by the end of the year.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
GHANA'S NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM IS AN ALL INCLUSIVE ONE-PROF DUMOR
Story: Caroline Boateng
The Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Professor Ernest Dumor, has emphasised the all–inclusiveness of the National Identification System (NIS).
“After reviewing other identification systems in Rwanda and Germany, we came to the full conclusion that this system is to unite rather than divide. We want to have a system that is more inclusive than exclusive,” he stressed, adding that for that matter, ethnic and religious data of Ghanaians would not be collected at the time of registration.
Prof Dumor was speaking at a day’s workshop on Data Capture (Registration) Protection of Personal Information and Privacy draft bill organised by the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) and the Parliamentary Research Department in Accra.
The workshop brought together drafters, parliamentarians, civil society groups, trade unions and other members of the public.
The government’s advisor on the Right of Information Legislation, Mr Justice V.C.R.C.A. Crabbe; the People’s National Convention (PNC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Zebilla and Member of the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament, Mr John Ndebugre; the MP for South Tongu, Mr Ken Dzirasah, and the MP for Evalue Gwira, Mr Kojo Armah, who also chaired the programme, shared views on the bill and how it could be made to better serve the country.
Prof Dumor, giving an overview of the draft bill, said in drafting it, the focus had been to maintain a balance between the national interest and the privacy of individuals.
He said although the bill, when passed into law, would made it compulsory for people to register, all Ghanaians had to bear in mind that the purpose of the bill was to locate every citizen for good governance initiatives.
He stressed that the information that would be collected on individuals was for civil purposes related to development, planning and administration of the resources of the country.
Prof Dumor, however, pointed out that other agencies, when faced with an identity problem, could be helped by comparing and authenticating their information with that of the database of the NIS.
A lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ghana, Legon, Prof Kofi Quashigah, presenting a legal appraisal of the bill, stressed the need for policy makers to resolve any misgiving on the part of the public by decriminalising aspects of the bill that made the non-possession of the identity card at any particular time an offence.
He said the NIA had to show the capacity to manage the information collected from individuals and ensure that other agencies that would rely on such information followed procedure.
He added that portions of the bill that allowed security institutions access to the information of individuals for the purposes of investigations and prosecution but prevented the individual from getting the same information were against the principle of mutuality and fairness.
A member of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Mr Charles Karla, contributing, said he had been a recipient of an identity card that was issued in the 1970s but said after receiving it, the programme fizzled out.
He, therefore, urged the speedy implementation of the NIS and the issuance of durable cards when implementation was fully rolled out.
Mr Ndebugre, in an interview later, said the programme had received the support of all in Parliament because of the belief that the NIS was in the interest of all Ghanaians.
The Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Professor Ernest Dumor, has emphasised the all–inclusiveness of the National Identification System (NIS).
“After reviewing other identification systems in Rwanda and Germany, we came to the full conclusion that this system is to unite rather than divide. We want to have a system that is more inclusive than exclusive,” he stressed, adding that for that matter, ethnic and religious data of Ghanaians would not be collected at the time of registration.
Prof Dumor was speaking at a day’s workshop on Data Capture (Registration) Protection of Personal Information and Privacy draft bill organised by the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) and the Parliamentary Research Department in Accra.
The workshop brought together drafters, parliamentarians, civil society groups, trade unions and other members of the public.
The government’s advisor on the Right of Information Legislation, Mr Justice V.C.R.C.A. Crabbe; the People’s National Convention (PNC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Zebilla and Member of the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament, Mr John Ndebugre; the MP for South Tongu, Mr Ken Dzirasah, and the MP for Evalue Gwira, Mr Kojo Armah, who also chaired the programme, shared views on the bill and how it could be made to better serve the country.
Prof Dumor, giving an overview of the draft bill, said in drafting it, the focus had been to maintain a balance between the national interest and the privacy of individuals.
He said although the bill, when passed into law, would made it compulsory for people to register, all Ghanaians had to bear in mind that the purpose of the bill was to locate every citizen for good governance initiatives.
He stressed that the information that would be collected on individuals was for civil purposes related to development, planning and administration of the resources of the country.
Prof Dumor, however, pointed out that other agencies, when faced with an identity problem, could be helped by comparing and authenticating their information with that of the database of the NIS.
A lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ghana, Legon, Prof Kofi Quashigah, presenting a legal appraisal of the bill, stressed the need for policy makers to resolve any misgiving on the part of the public by decriminalising aspects of the bill that made the non-possession of the identity card at any particular time an offence.
He said the NIA had to show the capacity to manage the information collected from individuals and ensure that other agencies that would rely on such information followed procedure.
He added that portions of the bill that allowed security institutions access to the information of individuals for the purposes of investigations and prosecution but prevented the individual from getting the same information were against the principle of mutuality and fairness.
A member of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Mr Charles Karla, contributing, said he had been a recipient of an identity card that was issued in the 1970s but said after receiving it, the programme fizzled out.
He, therefore, urged the speedy implementation of the NIS and the issuance of durable cards when implementation was fully rolled out.
Mr Ndebugre, in an interview later, said the programme had received the support of all in Parliament because of the belief that the NIS was in the interest of all Ghanaians.
OFFICE OF ACCOUNTABILITY TO CONDUCT CORRUPTION SURVEY
Story: Caroline Boateng
THE Office of Accountability (OA) has said it is going ahead with its plans to conduct a nation-wide survey on a corruption index.
The Daily Graphic issue of Friday, August 24, 2007, reported that the office was embarking on a corruption survey, which would reveal in reality corruption and not its perception as other studies tended to publish.
The revelations at the public hearings of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament on widespread corruption and malfeasance in the public service, have confirmed the hunch of Prof Kwabena Konadu Oduro, the Chairman of the OA, who told the Daily Graphic that he was going ahead with the study.
He said he felt only a slight vindication at the revelations, adding that the AO’s announced intention of undertaking a corruption index was borne out of its observations and studies that showed that corruption was prevalent in the public service rather than among political leaders as the perception was.
He said the study, which would give a corruption index rather than a perception of it, was far advanced and would be administered nation-wide.
According to him, when completed, it would present the country with facts on the prevalence of corruption for the its own confidence, instead of relying on studies of international bodies who documented only indicators on the perception of corruption they were not conversant with.
He said it would also be used to monitor and help in formulating strategies to prevent malfeasance in public service, all in line with ensuring good governance that was a key function of the OA.
Prof Oduro mentioned prosecution as one solution to stem the widespread malfeasance in the public service but emphasised monitoring and supervision of public service business as a key measure and more permanent answer.
He said in line with the office’s mandate as an in-house corruption preventive mechanism, it was currently strategising on institutions to ensure thorough monitoring of the resources of Ghanaians.
He explained that that might include the setting up of monitoring teams who would supervise to ensure that resources were used for what they were intended for.
Thus, through spot checks, these working groups, he said, would visit ministries and districts to verify if, for instance, a road tendered for was what had been constructed and if the money put in the construction was what was budgeted for.
On the law on causing financial loss to the state, Prof Oduro said he did not mind whether the law was amended or scrapped for, according to him, there were other laws in the statute books to ensure that those who were found doing wrong were held responsible.
Contributing, the head of Communications of the OA, Mr Kwamena Longdon, drew attention to the fact that most revelations at the PAC were primarily on financial administration and not on procurement, where ministers had a real stake and where lots of money were involved.
He said that was evidence of the sharpness of the monitoring of the OA, as it would make sure that all the provisions stipulated under the procurement act were adhered to.
Meanwhile other views solicited from the civil society organisations show that everybody is eager to see the measures that the government would institute to ensure an accountable public service.
Mr Steve Manteaw of the Centre for Budget Advocacy of the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) proposed two immediate remedial actions that the government had to come out with.
The first was the recovery of money lost and the second, the need for the due processes of law to apply to those who were found to be part of the corrupt acts.
Mr Manteaw said the Attorney General, Mr Joe Ghartey, needed to evoke the law on “causing financial loss to the state” in so far as it had not been expunged from the law books.
Mr Manteaw said he was not surprised by the findings of the committee because corruption in the public service had been touted yearly in reports such as the Transparency International reports.
He, however, expressed his disappointed about the lack of will on the part of the government to pursue vigorously its motto of zero tolerance for corruption.
“When we spoke about corruption, they often said we had to provide evidence. Now this is the evidence they have,” he added.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP), Mr Haruna Iddrissu, agreed that anyone found to be guilty had to face the full rigours of the law.
He said corruption had to be made “a high risk” crime by meting out punishment in a manner to deter others.
Mr Iddrissu added that there was the need for the application of wide ranging measures, such as the enforcement of rules and regulations in the public sector.
The Executive Director of the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), Ms Florence Denise, for her part, said institutional procedures in the public service had to be strengthened and monitored properly.
THE Office of Accountability (OA) has said it is going ahead with its plans to conduct a nation-wide survey on a corruption index.
The Daily Graphic issue of Friday, August 24, 2007, reported that the office was embarking on a corruption survey, which would reveal in reality corruption and not its perception as other studies tended to publish.
The revelations at the public hearings of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament on widespread corruption and malfeasance in the public service, have confirmed the hunch of Prof Kwabena Konadu Oduro, the Chairman of the OA, who told the Daily Graphic that he was going ahead with the study.
He said he felt only a slight vindication at the revelations, adding that the AO’s announced intention of undertaking a corruption index was borne out of its observations and studies that showed that corruption was prevalent in the public service rather than among political leaders as the perception was.
He said the study, which would give a corruption index rather than a perception of it, was far advanced and would be administered nation-wide.
According to him, when completed, it would present the country with facts on the prevalence of corruption for the its own confidence, instead of relying on studies of international bodies who documented only indicators on the perception of corruption they were not conversant with.
He said it would also be used to monitor and help in formulating strategies to prevent malfeasance in public service, all in line with ensuring good governance that was a key function of the OA.
Prof Oduro mentioned prosecution as one solution to stem the widespread malfeasance in the public service but emphasised monitoring and supervision of public service business as a key measure and more permanent answer.
He said in line with the office’s mandate as an in-house corruption preventive mechanism, it was currently strategising on institutions to ensure thorough monitoring of the resources of Ghanaians.
He explained that that might include the setting up of monitoring teams who would supervise to ensure that resources were used for what they were intended for.
Thus, through spot checks, these working groups, he said, would visit ministries and districts to verify if, for instance, a road tendered for was what had been constructed and if the money put in the construction was what was budgeted for.
On the law on causing financial loss to the state, Prof Oduro said he did not mind whether the law was amended or scrapped for, according to him, there were other laws in the statute books to ensure that those who were found doing wrong were held responsible.
Contributing, the head of Communications of the OA, Mr Kwamena Longdon, drew attention to the fact that most revelations at the PAC were primarily on financial administration and not on procurement, where ministers had a real stake and where lots of money were involved.
He said that was evidence of the sharpness of the monitoring of the OA, as it would make sure that all the provisions stipulated under the procurement act were adhered to.
Meanwhile other views solicited from the civil society organisations show that everybody is eager to see the measures that the government would institute to ensure an accountable public service.
Mr Steve Manteaw of the Centre for Budget Advocacy of the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) proposed two immediate remedial actions that the government had to come out with.
The first was the recovery of money lost and the second, the need for the due processes of law to apply to those who were found to be part of the corrupt acts.
Mr Manteaw said the Attorney General, Mr Joe Ghartey, needed to evoke the law on “causing financial loss to the state” in so far as it had not been expunged from the law books.
Mr Manteaw said he was not surprised by the findings of the committee because corruption in the public service had been touted yearly in reports such as the Transparency International reports.
He, however, expressed his disappointed about the lack of will on the part of the government to pursue vigorously its motto of zero tolerance for corruption.
“When we spoke about corruption, they often said we had to provide evidence. Now this is the evidence they have,” he added.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP), Mr Haruna Iddrissu, agreed that anyone found to be guilty had to face the full rigours of the law.
He said corruption had to be made “a high risk” crime by meting out punishment in a manner to deter others.
Mr Iddrissu added that there was the need for the application of wide ranging measures, such as the enforcement of rules and regulations in the public sector.
The Executive Director of the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), Ms Florence Denise, for her part, said institutional procedures in the public service had to be strengthened and monitored properly.
GHANA'S NATIONAL DATA CENTRE NEARS COMPLETION
Story: Caroline Boateng
A six story national data centre, that will be the nerve centre of the National Identification System (NIS) is nearing completion.
The building, described by the Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Prof Ernest Dumor, as “a security driven facility,” will be the head quarters of the NIA from where all operations, including, data management and storage and issuance of identity cards would be done.
The six storey facility has a pent house at the top where water tanks and other utility equipment would be kept.
It has a basement, where delivery vans would off-load and on-load materials for the operations of the NIA, eliminating the possibility of any security risks in the transportation of the NIA’s materials.
Apart from that, the facility has a cafeteria and a gym for workers, and according to Prof Dumor, workers of the NIA had to be physically and mentally fit for the job, hence the facility.
The building is designed by architects, Design Networks, who are also managing the construction.
It can withstand any outward and inward threats and intrusions, and it is the expectation of the NIA that the building would be completed by the first quarter of next year.
On a tour of the facility with Prof Dumor and the Site Representative, Togbi Baku IV, workers were seen installing cables and pipes air-conditioning equipment and water tanks.
Taking the Daily Graphic round the facility, Prof Dumor said expectation was that the facility would be ready by the first quarter of next for operations to begin there.
A six story national data centre, that will be the nerve centre of the National Identification System (NIS) is nearing completion.
The building, described by the Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Prof Ernest Dumor, as “a security driven facility,” will be the head quarters of the NIA from where all operations, including, data management and storage and issuance of identity cards would be done.
The six storey facility has a pent house at the top where water tanks and other utility equipment would be kept.
It has a basement, where delivery vans would off-load and on-load materials for the operations of the NIA, eliminating the possibility of any security risks in the transportation of the NIA’s materials.
Apart from that, the facility has a cafeteria and a gym for workers, and according to Prof Dumor, workers of the NIA had to be physically and mentally fit for the job, hence the facility.
The building is designed by architects, Design Networks, who are also managing the construction.
It can withstand any outward and inward threats and intrusions, and it is the expectation of the NIA that the building would be completed by the first quarter of next year.
On a tour of the facility with Prof Dumor and the Site Representative, Togbi Baku IV, workers were seen installing cables and pipes air-conditioning equipment and water tanks.
Taking the Daily Graphic round the facility, Prof Dumor said expectation was that the facility would be ready by the first quarter of next for operations to begin there.
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