Following the withdrawal of Mr. Moses Asaga, Member of Parliament (MP) for Nabdam Constituency, from his nomination as Minister designate for Water Resources, Works & Housing by President John Evans Atta Mills, The Chronicle has gathered that Mr. Albert Abongo, MP for Bongo constituency in the Upper West region has been named as a replacement.
He would thus appear before the Appointments Committee to undergo vetting for the Works & Housing Ministerial position.
When contacted about his view on his nomination to the position, he expressed his profound gratitude to the President for recognizing his ability and intelligence to serve the country.
He said, when given the nod, one of his main priorities would be to continue with the affordable housing project to help ordinary Ghanaians to afford and own houses.
Another area he touched was the need to expand free flow of water to all corners of the country. This he said, would enable Ghanaians enjoy good drinking water.
“There is the need to expand water to every corner of the country because water is very important to everybody”, he noted.
Touching on the controversy surrounding the alleged allocation of some houses from the Affordable Housing Project by the immediate past government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to its functionaries, he promised to probe into the matter when given the nod to find out the veracity of those allegations.
“I’ve read numerous publications about the issue, with some alleging that those houses have been sold to members of the NPP, whilst some claim that it is not the truth. Since those houses have not been completed, I don’t believe it have been sold in advance. So, it behooves on me to find out how true those allegations are when given the nod”, he noted.
Mr. Abongo is a Christian who hails from Gowrie-Bongo. He is a 49 year old Civil Servant and holds a degree in Civil Engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
It would be recalled that Mr. Moses Asaga became the first casualty to face President Mills’ wrath following his purported authorization of payment of emoluments to former President Kufuor and his Vice, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, and Members of Parliament as per the recommendations of the Chinnery-Hesse Committee.
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Thursday, February 19, 2009
'Mills' Minister' Damaged Goods
Details of an audit report commissioned by the Auditor General and obtained from the House of Parliament last week, contain a horrific account of the underbelly of a man who has just been nominated as the Foreign Minister by President Mills.
It is so loaded with bile that Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, who is expected to be representing Ghana as the embodiment of this proud and beautiful Republic, cannot hold himself out without legally extricating himself from any wrong doing.
The report was completed nearly five years ago, and there has been no valid exonerating counter report.
GA_googleFillSlot( "AllAfrica_Story_Inset" );
The forensic audit report into the activities and operations of the National Vocational and Training Institute (NVTI), between the period of January 1997 to December 2002, which has been the subject matter of a raging controversy over whether or not Parliament should approve the nomination of Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, makes damning findings against the President's nominee.
The audit, which was conducted by Messrs. Baffuor Awuah and Associates at the instance of the Auditor-General of the Republic, concluded that "the use of the NVTI as a conduit for siphoning an amount of over ¢19.6 billion (old cedis) of government funds to known and unknown persons, through huge and fraudulent payments to companies and enterprises as well as a number of individuals, is tantamount to 'money laundering' in some cases."
The report made specific findings against Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni, who was by then the Minister in Charge of Employment and Social Welfare, and his other colleagues including the late Victor Selormey, who was by then the Deputy Minister of Finance and the former Controller and Accountant-General, R.K Tuffuor.
It noted that the acts of omissions and commissions perpetrated by the former Minister and his colleagues in the release of an amount of ¢19 billion (old cedis) to the Director of NVTI "did not only result in a financial loss to the state of over ¢15 billion, being total amount fraudulently paid out of the sum of ¢19 billion to private companies and individuals for goods not supplied or services not rendered, but also constitutes misconduct and gross negligence under the provisions of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana."
These provisions were detailed in the Audit Service Decree, 1997 (N.C.R.D 49), the Audit Service Act 2000, Act 584 and the Financial Administration Regulations, 1997 LI 1234.
In the course of its investigations, the auditors uncovered that between the period of October 1999 and September 2000 alone, a total amount of ¢19 billion was released to NVTI outside their budgetary allocation from the Ministry of Finance.
The auditors said they could confirm that ¢13 billion out of the said ¢19 billion was at the request of Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni and authorised by Victor Selormey.
Out of this amount ¢11 billion was said to have been paid into NVTI's operating bank account at the Bank of Ghana, whilst the remaining "was fraudulently transferred into an undisclosed account, operated by Dr. Michael Yaw Boateng, the interdicted Director of NVTI and Emmanuel Jack Animi, former Chief Accountant at the NVTI."
Meanwhile, the ¢19 billion, which was allegedly meant for the purchase of equipment for NVTI centres, was released without Parliamentary approval or any other proper authority.
The auditors, therefore, noted that the action constituted what it described as 'ultra vires', stressing that "it is significant to note that for the two year period, the total approved annual budget for the institute was ¢6.629 billion." Out of this amount, only ¢225 million was said to have been approved for purchase of plant and equipment.
The report further indicated that at the request of Alhaji Mumuni, two identical letters, dated 20th March and 29th August 2000, ¢10.1 billion and ¢10.05 billion respectively were issued for the same purpose; to equip NVTI centres and addressed them to the then Minister of Finance.
As a result of these two letters, the auditors noted that "amounts of ¢5 billion and ¢8billion respectively were released under the authority of Victor Selormey, the then Deputy Minister of Finance to the Director of NVTI, although in 1999 ¢6 billion had been released for the same purpose.
Out of the ¢5 billion released in March 2000, the report noted that a total amount of over ¢2.12 billion was fraudulently paid to suppliers for goods they did not supply to the institute.
Further checks by the auditors revealed that about ¢7.86 billion out of the ¢8 billion in September 2000 was misappropriated.
"One would have expected that both releases should not have exceeded ¢10.1 billion as the request was for the same purpose. It is also intriguing why the Minister within a period of 4 months made request for over ¢20 billion towards the end of the financial year, especially when the NVTI"s total budget for the year was only ¢3.99 billion", the auditors emphasised.
Meanwhile, an amount of ¢6 billion had been released for the same purpose in 1999.
The auditors thus established that "none of the funds released went to support the programmes that the former Minister had mentioned in both letters", stressing that "it is also puzzling that the Minister would use the same reasons to request for funds and yet did not verify the use of the earlier releases of ¢6 billion and ¢5 billion to the NVTI."
That notwithstanding, the auditors found something unusual about the two letters since in both cases, the letters signed by Victor Selormey for the release of funds were done in a matter of 24 hours of request, saying "it is equally important to note that; the NVTI also disbursed the funds in a matter of weeks of all the releases for fraudulent purposes that did not meet the objectives of the request by the Minister."
It therefore noted that "the two former Ministers, Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni and Victor Selormey who facilitated the releases of these funds to NVTI in contravention of the Financial Administration Regulations (LI 1234) contributed to the perpetration of fraud."
In the final analysis, the auditors noted that Muhammed Mumuni and his colleagues be held jointly and severally accountable for the recovery of the total financial loss of ¢5,750,762,300 billion.
Mumuni was accused of apparently causing the release of an amount of ¢6 billion in 1999 to NVTI, out of which ¢5,750,762,300 billion was fraudulently paid to suppliers for goods they did not deliver to the institute.
The auditors also accused him of failing to ensure that the ¢6 billion released to NVTI under his authority was disbursed for the purpose for which it was intended for, and for causing the release of ¢6 billion to NVTI without the approval of Parliament nor any other proper authority, and for equipment for which the approved budget was only ¢100 million.
Meanwhile, the President's nominee, Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni has described the report in question as a dodgy instrument, which has been purely manufactured for the purposes of prosecuting political vendetta.
In an interview with The Chronicle, he noted that there was no way he could accept the document as an Auditor-General's report, since according to him, it has not been properly tabled before Parliament as an institution.
He quoted Article 187 of the 1992 Constitution and the Audit Service Act to support his claim, stressing "it is very clear, that when the Auditor-General does any audit inspection, his report is published when he transmits it to Parliament and the Speaker of Parliament."
When it is laid in the House, he noted that it is then referred to the Public Accounts Committee where any person whose adverse findings are made against is invited to defend himself.
At the end of it, he emphasised that the Committee will publish a report, which will also be laid in Parliament for a debate on the floor before it prescribes a solution, whether people should be prosecuted or made to refund whatever losses they might have caused the nation in the line of duty. For this reason, he noted that the document was a dodgy instrument.
Both the Minority leader, Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu and the First Deputy Speaker and chairman of the Appointments Committee, Hon. Doe Adjaho refused to comment on the report as to whether it could block the chances of the nominee. Adjaho, however, said that if a nominee does not breach any of the qualifications to enter parliament or public office, the Committee might approve him or her.
The Chronicle will soon start serialising the report. Stay tuned
It is so loaded with bile that Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, who is expected to be representing Ghana as the embodiment of this proud and beautiful Republic, cannot hold himself out without legally extricating himself from any wrong doing.
The report was completed nearly five years ago, and there has been no valid exonerating counter report.
GA_googleFillSlot( "AllAfrica_Story_Inset" );
The forensic audit report into the activities and operations of the National Vocational and Training Institute (NVTI), between the period of January 1997 to December 2002, which has been the subject matter of a raging controversy over whether or not Parliament should approve the nomination of Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, makes damning findings against the President's nominee.
The audit, which was conducted by Messrs. Baffuor Awuah and Associates at the instance of the Auditor-General of the Republic, concluded that "the use of the NVTI as a conduit for siphoning an amount of over ¢19.6 billion (old cedis) of government funds to known and unknown persons, through huge and fraudulent payments to companies and enterprises as well as a number of individuals, is tantamount to 'money laundering' in some cases."
The report made specific findings against Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni, who was by then the Minister in Charge of Employment and Social Welfare, and his other colleagues including the late Victor Selormey, who was by then the Deputy Minister of Finance and the former Controller and Accountant-General, R.K Tuffuor.
It noted that the acts of omissions and commissions perpetrated by the former Minister and his colleagues in the release of an amount of ¢19 billion (old cedis) to the Director of NVTI "did not only result in a financial loss to the state of over ¢15 billion, being total amount fraudulently paid out of the sum of ¢19 billion to private companies and individuals for goods not supplied or services not rendered, but also constitutes misconduct and gross negligence under the provisions of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana."
These provisions were detailed in the Audit Service Decree, 1997 (N.C.R.D 49), the Audit Service Act 2000, Act 584 and the Financial Administration Regulations, 1997 LI 1234.
In the course of its investigations, the auditors uncovered that between the period of October 1999 and September 2000 alone, a total amount of ¢19 billion was released to NVTI outside their budgetary allocation from the Ministry of Finance.
The auditors said they could confirm that ¢13 billion out of the said ¢19 billion was at the request of Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni and authorised by Victor Selormey.
Out of this amount ¢11 billion was said to have been paid into NVTI's operating bank account at the Bank of Ghana, whilst the remaining "was fraudulently transferred into an undisclosed account, operated by Dr. Michael Yaw Boateng, the interdicted Director of NVTI and Emmanuel Jack Animi, former Chief Accountant at the NVTI."
Meanwhile, the ¢19 billion, which was allegedly meant for the purchase of equipment for NVTI centres, was released without Parliamentary approval or any other proper authority.
The auditors, therefore, noted that the action constituted what it described as 'ultra vires', stressing that "it is significant to note that for the two year period, the total approved annual budget for the institute was ¢6.629 billion." Out of this amount, only ¢225 million was said to have been approved for purchase of plant and equipment.
The report further indicated that at the request of Alhaji Mumuni, two identical letters, dated 20th March and 29th August 2000, ¢10.1 billion and ¢10.05 billion respectively were issued for the same purpose; to equip NVTI centres and addressed them to the then Minister of Finance.
As a result of these two letters, the auditors noted that "amounts of ¢5 billion and ¢8billion respectively were released under the authority of Victor Selormey, the then Deputy Minister of Finance to the Director of NVTI, although in 1999 ¢6 billion had been released for the same purpose.
Out of the ¢5 billion released in March 2000, the report noted that a total amount of over ¢2.12 billion was fraudulently paid to suppliers for goods they did not supply to the institute.
Further checks by the auditors revealed that about ¢7.86 billion out of the ¢8 billion in September 2000 was misappropriated.
"One would have expected that both releases should not have exceeded ¢10.1 billion as the request was for the same purpose. It is also intriguing why the Minister within a period of 4 months made request for over ¢20 billion towards the end of the financial year, especially when the NVTI"s total budget for the year was only ¢3.99 billion", the auditors emphasised.
Meanwhile, an amount of ¢6 billion had been released for the same purpose in 1999.
The auditors thus established that "none of the funds released went to support the programmes that the former Minister had mentioned in both letters", stressing that "it is also puzzling that the Minister would use the same reasons to request for funds and yet did not verify the use of the earlier releases of ¢6 billion and ¢5 billion to the NVTI."
That notwithstanding, the auditors found something unusual about the two letters since in both cases, the letters signed by Victor Selormey for the release of funds were done in a matter of 24 hours of request, saying "it is equally important to note that; the NVTI also disbursed the funds in a matter of weeks of all the releases for fraudulent purposes that did not meet the objectives of the request by the Minister."
It therefore noted that "the two former Ministers, Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni and Victor Selormey who facilitated the releases of these funds to NVTI in contravention of the Financial Administration Regulations (LI 1234) contributed to the perpetration of fraud."
In the final analysis, the auditors noted that Muhammed Mumuni and his colleagues be held jointly and severally accountable for the recovery of the total financial loss of ¢5,750,762,300 billion.
Mumuni was accused of apparently causing the release of an amount of ¢6 billion in 1999 to NVTI, out of which ¢5,750,762,300 billion was fraudulently paid to suppliers for goods they did not deliver to the institute.
The auditors also accused him of failing to ensure that the ¢6 billion released to NVTI under his authority was disbursed for the purpose for which it was intended for, and for causing the release of ¢6 billion to NVTI without the approval of Parliament nor any other proper authority, and for equipment for which the approved budget was only ¢100 million.
Meanwhile, the President's nominee, Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni has described the report in question as a dodgy instrument, which has been purely manufactured for the purposes of prosecuting political vendetta.
In an interview with The Chronicle, he noted that there was no way he could accept the document as an Auditor-General's report, since according to him, it has not been properly tabled before Parliament as an institution.
He quoted Article 187 of the 1992 Constitution and the Audit Service Act to support his claim, stressing "it is very clear, that when the Auditor-General does any audit inspection, his report is published when he transmits it to Parliament and the Speaker of Parliament."
When it is laid in the House, he noted that it is then referred to the Public Accounts Committee where any person whose adverse findings are made against is invited to defend himself.
At the end of it, he emphasised that the Committee will publish a report, which will also be laid in Parliament for a debate on the floor before it prescribes a solution, whether people should be prosecuted or made to refund whatever losses they might have caused the nation in the line of duty. For this reason, he noted that the document was a dodgy instrument.
Both the Minority leader, Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu and the First Deputy Speaker and chairman of the Appointments Committee, Hon. Doe Adjaho refused to comment on the report as to whether it could block the chances of the nominee. Adjaho, however, said that if a nominee does not breach any of the qualifications to enter parliament or public office, the Committee might approve him or her.
The Chronicle will soon start serialising the report. Stay tuned
Ama 'Chavez' Chokes Over Cocaine
The Minister designate for the Central Region, Madam Ama Benyiwa-Doe, was yesterday subjected to intensive interrogation by the Minority members serving on the Appointments Committee, for describing the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as a cocaine party in the heat of the electioneering campaign. Though she attempted to justify her pronouncement that a member of NPP was jailed for cocaine related offence, she back-tracked when she was pushed to the wall.
According to her, she was compelled to make those comments when former President Kufuor stated in public that the cocaine matter was a party matter.
When the Minority leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu asked her whether an offence committed by one person in a party could be linked to the remaining members of the party, she answered in the negative and pleaded with him to rest the case.
She admitted that it was a hasty generalization to incriminate a whole party, just because one or two of its members mis-conducted themselves.
The National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party have had one or two of their members involved in cocaine scandals sometime back.
"Autie Ama, do you want me to ask you more questions", the Minority leader asked her. "No, you have grilled me enough", she responded.
She said one of the acute problems of the central region was poverty, and the area could be rated as one of the poorest regions in the country. She promised to liaise with other Ministries, especially the Ministry of Trade and Industry, to find the possibilities of reviving and establishing some industries in the region.
Mad Benyiwa-Doe said the high poverty level in the central region was as a result of the high illiteracy level and demanded that the Universities should consider quota system for the people from the region, where a percentage of vacancies is reserved for them on concessionary basis.
She lamented the persistent water problem that has beset the region for a long time, and said the past NDC government started some projects to solve the problem, which the immediate past NPP government also continued with, adding that she would step up from where the NPP had left off.
Asked whether she had been paid her End of Service Benefit as a member of parliament, she hesitantly admitted that she received it last month, under the controversial Chinnery Hesse recommendations.
She said her prime project, if given the nod, would be the Twifopraso-Dunkwa road, which according to her was in a very terrible state. She said her initial stay in office would be used in fact finding to familiarise herself with the people she would work with.
On the deserted Kasoa market, Mad Benyiwa-Doe said as soon as she assumes office, she would find out the reasons why the market has been abandoned, and find solutions to them.
She concluded her submission by saying that "I will be a mother for all people of the Central region."
When it got to the turn of Mr. Nyamekye Marfo, the Minister designate for the Brong-Ahafo region, the first question thrown to him was about incidents regretted as a cadre of the Committee for the Defence of the Revolution (CDR), for which he mentioned as the excesses of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC).
However, on the insistence of Hon. E.T Mensah that the PNDC came with both curses and blessings, and that it would be unfair to leave the matter one-sided, Mr. Nyamakye said it was during the PNDC era that his community was connected to the National electricity grid.
He said he would revive the once forested Brong Ahafo region by embarking on a very aggressive afforestation programme and rigorously enforce forestry laws.
He said excessive spending on funerals in the region would be dealt with through consultation with the chiefs, because to him, that was a cultural problem.
Mr. Nyamekye said the Poverty Alleviation Fund given to the local people could be useful to them.
He said he would embark on job creation by liaising with other Ministries and Agencies and also help with the construction of bore holes for the communities that were facing water problems.
The Ashanti Regional Minister Designate, Mr. Kofi Opoku Manu on his part described politics as an "unfortunate endeavour."
Giving reasons for his definition, Mr. Manu said his people admired him when he was serving as a Civil Servant, but did not vote for him when he contested the parliamentary seat in the Ashanti Region on the ticket of the NDC.
Asked how he would unify the people since majority of them did not support his party, he said his advantage was that the whole of the region hold allegiance to the Asantehene and that he would work together with him, to solve the problems of the region.
He said the congestion in Suame Magazine area would be vigorously investigated and solutions found to it.
On the stadium disaster, he said the issue would be dealt with by prosecuting those who were found to be culpable.
When the Greater Accra Regional Minister designate, Nii Armah Ashitey appeared before the Appointments Committee, he looked calm and well composed to face the grilling exercise. He looked focused and ready to answer questions thrown at him by the Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Doe Adjaho.
Outlining his vision for his potential portfolio, when given the nod, Hon. Nii Ashitey said he would collaborate with the District Chief Executives (DCEs) in the region to decongest the streets in the city, by removing hawkers and traders from the roads and pavement in order to make way for easy traffic flow. He said he would also help ease the cost in doing business in the city.
He earlier told these reporters that the hawkers and traders doing business on our various pavements and roads were a source of worry to him, and therefore, called for a collective effort in dealing with the situation.
"We need to take action to get the traders and hawkers off the streets. It behoves on all of us to move out the traders on our roads", he noted.
He was particularly concerned about the filth that has engulfed the capital city and noted that when given the nod, he would work harmoniously with the DCEs and Assemblies in ensuring that sanitation standards were improved.
According to him, he would make sure that all polluters, such as hawkers and producers of sachet water among others, would be made to pay some amount to the Assemblies to help in the disposal of waste in the city.
On the issue of sourcing fund for the activities of the assemblies, he said he would bring to bear his experiences garnered when he was at the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA).
"The assemblies have a duty to collect money from businesses that operate in the city. Generating of funds is one area that we have to look at very seriously," he noted.
To that effect, he said he would collaborate with all the relevant stake holders in the region to collect taxes from businesses that operate at night.
He said, he would do away with private tax collectors who work for the assemblies in order to save a lot of money, to which he said "a lot of monies go into the drains."
He said he would instill discipline, coupled with humility and transparency in the discharge of his duties to ensure that all DCEs perform their duties well.
According to her, she was compelled to make those comments when former President Kufuor stated in public that the cocaine matter was a party matter.
When the Minority leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu asked her whether an offence committed by one person in a party could be linked to the remaining members of the party, she answered in the negative and pleaded with him to rest the case.
She admitted that it was a hasty generalization to incriminate a whole party, just because one or two of its members mis-conducted themselves.
The National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party have had one or two of their members involved in cocaine scandals sometime back.
"Autie Ama, do you want me to ask you more questions", the Minority leader asked her. "No, you have grilled me enough", she responded.
She said one of the acute problems of the central region was poverty, and the area could be rated as one of the poorest regions in the country. She promised to liaise with other Ministries, especially the Ministry of Trade and Industry, to find the possibilities of reviving and establishing some industries in the region.
Mad Benyiwa-Doe said the high poverty level in the central region was as a result of the high illiteracy level and demanded that the Universities should consider quota system for the people from the region, where a percentage of vacancies is reserved for them on concessionary basis.
She lamented the persistent water problem that has beset the region for a long time, and said the past NDC government started some projects to solve the problem, which the immediate past NPP government also continued with, adding that she would step up from where the NPP had left off.
Asked whether she had been paid her End of Service Benefit as a member of parliament, she hesitantly admitted that she received it last month, under the controversial Chinnery Hesse recommendations.
She said her prime project, if given the nod, would be the Twifopraso-Dunkwa road, which according to her was in a very terrible state. She said her initial stay in office would be used in fact finding to familiarise herself with the people she would work with.
On the deserted Kasoa market, Mad Benyiwa-Doe said as soon as she assumes office, she would find out the reasons why the market has been abandoned, and find solutions to them.
She concluded her submission by saying that "I will be a mother for all people of the Central region."
When it got to the turn of Mr. Nyamekye Marfo, the Minister designate for the Brong-Ahafo region, the first question thrown to him was about incidents regretted as a cadre of the Committee for the Defence of the Revolution (CDR), for which he mentioned as the excesses of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC).
However, on the insistence of Hon. E.T Mensah that the PNDC came with both curses and blessings, and that it would be unfair to leave the matter one-sided, Mr. Nyamakye said it was during the PNDC era that his community was connected to the National electricity grid.
He said he would revive the once forested Brong Ahafo region by embarking on a very aggressive afforestation programme and rigorously enforce forestry laws.
He said excessive spending on funerals in the region would be dealt with through consultation with the chiefs, because to him, that was a cultural problem.
Mr. Nyamekye said the Poverty Alleviation Fund given to the local people could be useful to them.
He said he would embark on job creation by liaising with other Ministries and Agencies and also help with the construction of bore holes for the communities that were facing water problems.
The Ashanti Regional Minister Designate, Mr. Kofi Opoku Manu on his part described politics as an "unfortunate endeavour."
Giving reasons for his definition, Mr. Manu said his people admired him when he was serving as a Civil Servant, but did not vote for him when he contested the parliamentary seat in the Ashanti Region on the ticket of the NDC.
Asked how he would unify the people since majority of them did not support his party, he said his advantage was that the whole of the region hold allegiance to the Asantehene and that he would work together with him, to solve the problems of the region.
He said the congestion in Suame Magazine area would be vigorously investigated and solutions found to it.
On the stadium disaster, he said the issue would be dealt with by prosecuting those who were found to be culpable.
When the Greater Accra Regional Minister designate, Nii Armah Ashitey appeared before the Appointments Committee, he looked calm and well composed to face the grilling exercise. He looked focused and ready to answer questions thrown at him by the Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Doe Adjaho.
Outlining his vision for his potential portfolio, when given the nod, Hon. Nii Ashitey said he would collaborate with the District Chief Executives (DCEs) in the region to decongest the streets in the city, by removing hawkers and traders from the roads and pavement in order to make way for easy traffic flow. He said he would also help ease the cost in doing business in the city.
He earlier told these reporters that the hawkers and traders doing business on our various pavements and roads were a source of worry to him, and therefore, called for a collective effort in dealing with the situation.
"We need to take action to get the traders and hawkers off the streets. It behoves on all of us to move out the traders on our roads", he noted.
He was particularly concerned about the filth that has engulfed the capital city and noted that when given the nod, he would work harmoniously with the DCEs and Assemblies in ensuring that sanitation standards were improved.
According to him, he would make sure that all polluters, such as hawkers and producers of sachet water among others, would be made to pay some amount to the Assemblies to help in the disposal of waste in the city.
On the issue of sourcing fund for the activities of the assemblies, he said he would bring to bear his experiences garnered when he was at the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA).
"The assemblies have a duty to collect money from businesses that operate in the city. Generating of funds is one area that we have to look at very seriously," he noted.
To that effect, he said he would collaborate with all the relevant stake holders in the region to collect taxes from businesses that operate at night.
He said, he would do away with private tax collectors who work for the assemblies in order to save a lot of money, to which he said "a lot of monies go into the drains."
He said he would instill discipline, coupled with humility and transparency in the discharge of his duties to ensure that all DCEs perform their duties well.
Malaria elimination is dear to my heart -Sipa Yankey
The Minister designate for Health, Dr. George Sipa Yankey has indicated that one of his priorities when given the nod to become a Minister would be the elimination of malaria in the country, which is weighing heavily on the economy.
“Mr. Chairman, malaria elimination is very dear to my heart since it constitutes a heavy burden on the economy”, he noted.
Mr. Yankey made this remark when he appeared before the Appointments Committee for public hearing in Accra, yesterday.
To this realisation, the Minister designate intends to develop a nationwide malaria elimination programme with the assistance from all stakeholders in the health sector to help address the issue.
He said after achieving his dream of eliminating malaria in the country, he would liaise with our neighbouring countries to eradicate the menace from the sub-region.
The issue of malaria has of late become a very topical since most parts of the country have been engulfed with filth, a situation many have craved for the re-introduction of sanitary health guards to help deal with the situation.
To that effect, Mr. Yankey solidly threw his weight behind the idea and called for all hands on deck in ensuring the good sanitary practice in our various localities.
He also promised a holistic approach to guinea worm eradication to enable the country be a better place to live. He commended the previous government for its achievements made in reducing the level of guinea worm in the country.
Touching on rural/urban health facilities in the country, Mr. Yankey promised to extend quality medical care to all deprived areas that lack the facility to ensure that every Ghanaian enjoy good health.
He promised Ghanaians about improving on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) by ensuring that the portability of the Scheme is proactive and also to ensure a universal premium for the payment of the Scheme.
This, he said would ensure that all card bearing members enjoy quality medical health care wherever one finds himself or herself.
Mr. Sepa Yankey also promised to build on the past government’s achievements in the health sector by extending medical health facilities to the newly created districts in the country.
He also promised to take inventory of all medical facilities in the country to acquaint himself with the situation on the ground, and where necessary renovate all decrepit facilities and structures to improve on health delivery.
The Minister designate, however, promised Ghanaians that he would look into the conditions of service of medical practitioners and avert the brain drain syndrome that the health sector was battling with.
“We are going to take a holistic approach covering salaries, accommodation and other benefits to make the environment very conducive to help them stay”, he added.
Touching on the issue of herbal/modern medicine in the country, Mr. Yankey promised to integrate the two, saying “herbal medicine is very good except that we need to introduce scientific approach into it, in order to benefit the people”.
When asked about his view on causing financial loss to the state, whether it should stay or not, Mr. Sepa Yankey declined to comment on it.
“Mr. Chairman, malaria elimination is very dear to my heart since it constitutes a heavy burden on the economy”, he noted.
Mr. Yankey made this remark when he appeared before the Appointments Committee for public hearing in Accra, yesterday.
To this realisation, the Minister designate intends to develop a nationwide malaria elimination programme with the assistance from all stakeholders in the health sector to help address the issue.
He said after achieving his dream of eliminating malaria in the country, he would liaise with our neighbouring countries to eradicate the menace from the sub-region.
The issue of malaria has of late become a very topical since most parts of the country have been engulfed with filth, a situation many have craved for the re-introduction of sanitary health guards to help deal with the situation.
To that effect, Mr. Yankey solidly threw his weight behind the idea and called for all hands on deck in ensuring the good sanitary practice in our various localities.
He also promised a holistic approach to guinea worm eradication to enable the country be a better place to live. He commended the previous government for its achievements made in reducing the level of guinea worm in the country.
Touching on rural/urban health facilities in the country, Mr. Yankey promised to extend quality medical care to all deprived areas that lack the facility to ensure that every Ghanaian enjoy good health.
He promised Ghanaians about improving on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) by ensuring that the portability of the Scheme is proactive and also to ensure a universal premium for the payment of the Scheme.
This, he said would ensure that all card bearing members enjoy quality medical health care wherever one finds himself or herself.
Mr. Sepa Yankey also promised to build on the past government’s achievements in the health sector by extending medical health facilities to the newly created districts in the country.
He also promised to take inventory of all medical facilities in the country to acquaint himself with the situation on the ground, and where necessary renovate all decrepit facilities and structures to improve on health delivery.
The Minister designate, however, promised Ghanaians that he would look into the conditions of service of medical practitioners and avert the brain drain syndrome that the health sector was battling with.
“We are going to take a holistic approach covering salaries, accommodation and other benefits to make the environment very conducive to help them stay”, he added.
Touching on the issue of herbal/modern medicine in the country, Mr. Yankey promised to integrate the two, saying “herbal medicine is very good except that we need to introduce scientific approach into it, in order to benefit the people”.
When asked about his view on causing financial loss to the state, whether it should stay or not, Mr. Sepa Yankey declined to comment on it.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Oh Betty! A little flutter, but Betty charms her way into history
It was a virtuoso performance by the first woman to ascend the office of Minister of Justice.
Oozing a charm offensive, Mrs. Betty Mould Iddrisu largely flirted with the members of Parliament (MPs), smiling for effect, taking compliments for her rich experience on law, 30 years, and then twitching uncomfortably with a visible drop in countenance, as she fielded an awkward campaign ‘contextualised’ speech question, which got the goat of Honourable Hackman Owusu Agyeman, and finally being waved off by Mr. Doe Adjaho, the Majority Leader.
Betty was advised to go to London, round up, and come and assume her position as Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
"In fact, I must say, if my colleagues may permit me, that I admire your courage and confidence. We want you to go and wind up your activities at the Commonwealth Secretariat," noted the Chairman of the Appointments Committee.
This followed her impressive performance, when she appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament for vetting.
Smile a minute. She confidently answered questions posed her by members of the Committee, to the admiration of the gathering seated in the Speakers Conference room, venue of the event.
Firmly brandishing her credentials, as an anti corruption crusader who gives no room for corruption, she strongly supported the law on causing financial loss to the state to stay.
According to her, the offence of causing financial loss to the state had not been properly defined under the criminal code, and called for its rectification.
"Personally, I do not think this is a law that should come off from our statute book. The law should remain.
If there are problems with the law, we need to look at it and resolve some of the issues," she noted.
Betty-Mould strongly condemned acts of organisations or individuals that threaten judges in the execution of their duties at the law courts, and called on the law enforcement agencies to take appropriate action against such organisations or individuals, if their activities flouted the laws of the land.
When bombarded with issues captured in the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) manifesto, that deals with the manipulation of the judiciary by the Executive, she stated that the Judiciary should be manifestly seen to be independent and above manipulation by the Executive.
According to her, there was a problem with the number of Supreme Court Judges that the country has, since there is no limit, saying, "it can lead to accusations of executive packing the Supreme Court.
"When you have a situation where there is no upper limit on the Supreme Court, and when you have a situation where the President picks the Justices of the Superior Court, these Justices might be seen to be reflective of the political ideologies of a particular party. That is what gives rise to uncertainties," she noted.
Betty believed that should there be a limit on the upper number of the Supreme Court Judges, some of the uncertainties would be removed, adding, "if there is an upper limit to the judges in panel, it would give some sort of certainty within the government."
Mrs. Mould-Iddrisu noted that her immediate advice to the presidency would be in the area of reviewing the activities of the Ministry of Justice, operationalising the Disability Act, enacting the Whistle Blower Act, among many more.
She was, however, delighted that people were expressing interest in the Alternative Dispute Resolution, which according to her, was one of her main planks, since it recognised the customary systems for arbitration.
When asked her view on separating the Attorney General’s Department from the Ministry of Justice, confident Betty clamoured for its separation.
She argued that since the Minister of Justice was an appointee of the government of the day, it would be prudent to have an Attorney General’s Department, whose activities would be independent and free from any government interference.
She said when given the nod, she would restore confidence in the nation’s Attorney Generals, by improving upon their conditions of service, and give them incentives to carry on their job, since most of them, sometimes, abandon their job and seek for greener pastures elsewhere, simply because of low conditions of service.
COLLINS DAUDA
On the part of Mr. Collins Dauda, Minister-designate for Lands and Natural Resources, when he appeared before the sitting for public hearing, the Chairman wondered how he (Collins Dauda) was going to preach family planning, looking at the number of children that he has (ten).
In a swift response, he noted he would be the best person to preach family planning, since the number of children he has, was already breaking his neck.
According to him, the spate within which the environment was depleting needed critical attention, and he would put in place effective civil-culture practices and laws that would reduce pressure on the nation’s forest reserves, and the environment at large, since available records have shown that the country’s forest cover has deteriorated from 8.2 million hectares from the last century, to 1.6 million hectares as of today.
He noted that he would discourage chainsaw operators, since they posed a threat to our forest reserve, and encourage the use of small scale mobile mills, since it maximised yields.
"Chain saw operation is identified as one of the causes of forest depletion in this country. Indeed, it is said to be a menace in the sector," he noted.
He, however, said when given the nod, he would channel chainsaw operations to that of a productive venture, since the law of the country does not ban such practices.
On the issue of charcoal production, which is also a threat on the environment since operators have always turned on the environment for survival, Mr. Dauda noted that he would find means of providing them with raw materials, and link them up with some TUC holders so that access to raw materials becomes very easy for them.
On expansion of communities found in the forest reserves, he noted that when the communities expand, in terms of population, it would be prudent to allocate some portion in the forest reserve for them to feed on, since they cannot be ignored and starve to death.
When quizzed on what he would do on the activities of mining operations, since they also contribute in depleting the environment, Mr. Dauda admitted that mining in the forest reserve had always be a controversial issue, but he would be guided by policy in evaluating their operations.
He, however, noted to allow deep cast mining to help save the environment from further depletion.
Mr. Collins Dauda added that one of his main priorities, if given the nod, would be to delve deep into the operations of the Ghana Consolidated Diamonds (GCD), to breathe life into it, since it creates a lot of employment for the jobless.
On how he would turn the Savannah land into Sahel lands, Mr. Dauda noted that he would encourage more wood plantations in the area, especially, mango production, as a way of re-greening and providing food for the people in the north.
JOE GIDISU
When Mr. Joe Gidisu, Minister-designate for Roads and Highways appeared before the Appointments Committee, he noted that he would consider setting up a maintenance unit to repair the various roads in our localities.
According to him, the Mobile Maintenance Unit of the Roads and Highways would be brought back to life to be more responsive, since its non-functioning was causing a lot of problems for the sector.
He sounded a word of warning to contractors who do shoddy work on our roads, that they revise their notes, since they would be blacklisted in the books of the ministry, for non-performance.
He said his outfit would sanction any contractor who flouted his obligations in executing a contract awarded him or her.
He noted that when given the nod, together with other stakeholders in the sector, he would consider reviewing road and bridge tolls, to generate more funds for the nation, for developmental projects.
Oozing a charm offensive, Mrs. Betty Mould Iddrisu largely flirted with the members of Parliament (MPs), smiling for effect, taking compliments for her rich experience on law, 30 years, and then twitching uncomfortably with a visible drop in countenance, as she fielded an awkward campaign ‘contextualised’ speech question, which got the goat of Honourable Hackman Owusu Agyeman, and finally being waved off by Mr. Doe Adjaho, the Majority Leader.
Betty was advised to go to London, round up, and come and assume her position as Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
"In fact, I must say, if my colleagues may permit me, that I admire your courage and confidence. We want you to go and wind up your activities at the Commonwealth Secretariat," noted the Chairman of the Appointments Committee.
This followed her impressive performance, when she appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament for vetting.
Smile a minute. She confidently answered questions posed her by members of the Committee, to the admiration of the gathering seated in the Speakers Conference room, venue of the event.
Firmly brandishing her credentials, as an anti corruption crusader who gives no room for corruption, she strongly supported the law on causing financial loss to the state to stay.
According to her, the offence of causing financial loss to the state had not been properly defined under the criminal code, and called for its rectification.
"Personally, I do not think this is a law that should come off from our statute book. The law should remain.
If there are problems with the law, we need to look at it and resolve some of the issues," she noted.
Betty-Mould strongly condemned acts of organisations or individuals that threaten judges in the execution of their duties at the law courts, and called on the law enforcement agencies to take appropriate action against such organisations or individuals, if their activities flouted the laws of the land.
When bombarded with issues captured in the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) manifesto, that deals with the manipulation of the judiciary by the Executive, she stated that the Judiciary should be manifestly seen to be independent and above manipulation by the Executive.
According to her, there was a problem with the number of Supreme Court Judges that the country has, since there is no limit, saying, "it can lead to accusations of executive packing the Supreme Court.
"When you have a situation where there is no upper limit on the Supreme Court, and when you have a situation where the President picks the Justices of the Superior Court, these Justices might be seen to be reflective of the political ideologies of a particular party. That is what gives rise to uncertainties," she noted.
Betty believed that should there be a limit on the upper number of the Supreme Court Judges, some of the uncertainties would be removed, adding, "if there is an upper limit to the judges in panel, it would give some sort of certainty within the government."
Mrs. Mould-Iddrisu noted that her immediate advice to the presidency would be in the area of reviewing the activities of the Ministry of Justice, operationalising the Disability Act, enacting the Whistle Blower Act, among many more.
She was, however, delighted that people were expressing interest in the Alternative Dispute Resolution, which according to her, was one of her main planks, since it recognised the customary systems for arbitration.
When asked her view on separating the Attorney General’s Department from the Ministry of Justice, confident Betty clamoured for its separation.
She argued that since the Minister of Justice was an appointee of the government of the day, it would be prudent to have an Attorney General’s Department, whose activities would be independent and free from any government interference.
She said when given the nod, she would restore confidence in the nation’s Attorney Generals, by improving upon their conditions of service, and give them incentives to carry on their job, since most of them, sometimes, abandon their job and seek for greener pastures elsewhere, simply because of low conditions of service.
COLLINS DAUDA
On the part of Mr. Collins Dauda, Minister-designate for Lands and Natural Resources, when he appeared before the sitting for public hearing, the Chairman wondered how he (Collins Dauda) was going to preach family planning, looking at the number of children that he has (ten).
In a swift response, he noted he would be the best person to preach family planning, since the number of children he has, was already breaking his neck.
According to him, the spate within which the environment was depleting needed critical attention, and he would put in place effective civil-culture practices and laws that would reduce pressure on the nation’s forest reserves, and the environment at large, since available records have shown that the country’s forest cover has deteriorated from 8.2 million hectares from the last century, to 1.6 million hectares as of today.
He noted that he would discourage chainsaw operators, since they posed a threat to our forest reserve, and encourage the use of small scale mobile mills, since it maximised yields.
"Chain saw operation is identified as one of the causes of forest depletion in this country. Indeed, it is said to be a menace in the sector," he noted.
He, however, said when given the nod, he would channel chainsaw operations to that of a productive venture, since the law of the country does not ban such practices.
On the issue of charcoal production, which is also a threat on the environment since operators have always turned on the environment for survival, Mr. Dauda noted that he would find means of providing them with raw materials, and link them up with some TUC holders so that access to raw materials becomes very easy for them.
On expansion of communities found in the forest reserves, he noted that when the communities expand, in terms of population, it would be prudent to allocate some portion in the forest reserve for them to feed on, since they cannot be ignored and starve to death.
When quizzed on what he would do on the activities of mining operations, since they also contribute in depleting the environment, Mr. Dauda admitted that mining in the forest reserve had always be a controversial issue, but he would be guided by policy in evaluating their operations.
He, however, noted to allow deep cast mining to help save the environment from further depletion.
Mr. Collins Dauda added that one of his main priorities, if given the nod, would be to delve deep into the operations of the Ghana Consolidated Diamonds (GCD), to breathe life into it, since it creates a lot of employment for the jobless.
On how he would turn the Savannah land into Sahel lands, Mr. Dauda noted that he would encourage more wood plantations in the area, especially, mango production, as a way of re-greening and providing food for the people in the north.
JOE GIDISU
When Mr. Joe Gidisu, Minister-designate for Roads and Highways appeared before the Appointments Committee, he noted that he would consider setting up a maintenance unit to repair the various roads in our localities.
According to him, the Mobile Maintenance Unit of the Roads and Highways would be brought back to life to be more responsive, since its non-functioning was causing a lot of problems for the sector.
He sounded a word of warning to contractors who do shoddy work on our roads, that they revise their notes, since they would be blacklisted in the books of the ministry, for non-performance.
He said his outfit would sanction any contractor who flouted his obligations in executing a contract awarded him or her.
He noted that when given the nod, together with other stakeholders in the sector, he would consider reviewing road and bridge tolls, to generate more funds for the nation, for developmental projects.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Akumfi advises Prez MillsPay special attention to railway sector…before it collapses
The former Minister of Ports, Harbours and Railways, Professor Christopher Ameyaw Akumfi, has appealed to President John Atta Mills to urgently address issues affecting the railways sector, which is almost on the brink of collapse. According to the former Minister, a critical area, which needed the immediate attention of the President, was the workers' conditions of service, which has always been a problem to government of the day, considering the sector's unproductive operations. “The labour issue for railways workers is an area that the President would have to look at almost immediately. They are looking for a review of their conditions of service, and this is an area which needs urgent attention, aside from the development programmes,” he noted. Professor Akumfi made this passionate appeal to the President, in an exclusive interview with the paper at his residence in Accra recently. The railways sector has for the past three decades not witnessed any improvement in its operations. Since its assets were transferred from the Ghana Railway Corporation to that of Ghana Railway Company Limited, a public sector organisation, no serious investor has come forward to partner with government to give it a facelift. The company has always survived on its mineral freight from the mining companies that plies its Western Rail Line, with little support from government treasury for its budget. Spoornet of South Africa had shown interest back in 2003, but did not turn up at a proposed meeting with government officials, and nothing has since been heard from them. Since then, a number of other groups, including Kampac Oil ME, a Dubai-based oil firm, showed interest, but were not successful in securing funds from the various banks in the country, after an initial attempt at a Swiss bank failed. Their inability to source for funds for the Western Rail Line resulted in the termination of a US$1.6 billion concession agreement with the Ghana Railways Company. However, there are a few other companies on the sidelines, but all of them seemed to lack the financial backing to be able to make a firm proposal. A feasibility study contract has been awarded to a Chinese firm that is currently working on the Western Rail Line. The inability of the railways sector to function properly has left so many debts on the government, which are yet to be cleared. “The railways sector has always been in debt. It owes almost everybody; the banks, Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and many more,” Professor Akumfi stated. Prof. Akumfi said several attempts were made by his ministry to clear some arrears of the current workers, including some of the retrenched workers whose end of service benefits were not paid some several years ago, adding, “A lot is still outstanding.” Inspite of the progress made in the release of compensation to the retrenched workers and the current staff of the company, Christopher Ameyaw Akumfi expressed worry over the fragile state of the company, and therefore wondered how the company would be able to pay its staff for the month of January, this year. Prof. Akumfi reiterated that the major challenge faced by the railways sector was funding and partnership, and therefore encouraged investors to show an interest in the sector, since there were a lot of potentials to be realised. Published: 5th February,2009.
Former Ministers Challenge Mills
Two former Ministers in the Kufuor led administration have challenged President John Evans Atta Mills to come out and explain to Ghanaians how much his decision to downsize the Ministries would save the country some money.
The former Ministers contended that even though President Mills' decision was a laudable one, it would be prudent for him to tell Ghanaians the exact amount it would save for the country.
In separate interviews with the former Ministers of Aviation; and Ports and Harbours, Mr. Joe Baidoe-Ansah and Professor Christopher Ameyaw Akumfi, both wondered if the pruning down of he Ministries was going to save the country any money.
"The President is the only one who has powers to create Ministries and to abolish Ministries. So if former President Kufuor, in his own wisdom found it necessary to create some Ministries, and a new President has come and he thinks that the job can be done by shutting down and realigning some of the Ministries, I think we should go by it.
But President Mills should be in a position to tell Ghanaians how much money the trimming down the Ministries would save the country", Professor Ameyaw Akumfi said "I don't know why the President did that. He should have a reason, but sometimes this is how it is at the Civil Service It is being decided on the President's own agenda of either to cut down the size of Ministries or to merge some of them. If it was the issue of cutting down expenditure, then they have failed", noted Mr. Baidoe-Ansah.
The former NPP Ministers believed that the creation of the Aviation and Ports and Harbours Ministries was former President Kufuor's agenda to re-focus his attention in rehabilitating those sectors to make the country the gateway to Africa.
Mr. Baidoe-Ansah averred that the Aviation Ministry has for a long time operated as a different sector, with the able assistance of heads being appointed by the government of the day for its management.
According to him, the Aviation Ministry, upon its creation by the previous Kufuor administration maintained its crop of staff without employing new hands, likewise the Ministry's operations without a Deputy Minister.
He therefore wondered if realigning it to the Transportation Ministry would mean that a Deputy Minister would be appointed to run its affairs.
"Everybody at the Aviation Ministry has been at post for long, and nobody was employed as a result of the creation of the new Ministry. The idea was to put somebody in charge to have oversight responsibility over that sector. But let's see the Transportation Ministry would have Deputy Ministers to oversee those sectors?" he queried.
Mr. Baidoe Ansah believed that the President's directive was just to satisfy his political campaign gimmick, and therefore, debunked the notion that the aviation Ministry, including that of the Ports and Harbours, were a burden on the economy.
Both Ministers believed that once the Ministry of Transportation gets Deputies to handle specific jobs, the country would be on track to achieve its dream of becoming the gateway to Africa, since the workload on the sector Minister would be minimized.
It would be recalled that on January 23rd, 2009, President John Evans Atta Mills took a bold step towards fulfilling his campaign promise of reducing the size of government to a reasonable number. In pursuant to this, he reduced the number of government Ministries in the Civil Service from a previous 27 to 23, and realigned others.
As a result of this, the Ministries of Presidential, Parliamentary Affairs, Public Sector Reforms and that of National Security were abolished.
The Ministries of Aviation, Ports, Harbours and Railways -including that of Fisheries were merged with the Transportation Ministry and the Agriculture Ministry respectively.
The rest of the Ministries, however, remained intact. Published 4th February, 2009.
The former Ministers contended that even though President Mills' decision was a laudable one, it would be prudent for him to tell Ghanaians the exact amount it would save for the country.
In separate interviews with the former Ministers of Aviation; and Ports and Harbours, Mr. Joe Baidoe-Ansah and Professor Christopher Ameyaw Akumfi, both wondered if the pruning down of he Ministries was going to save the country any money.
"The President is the only one who has powers to create Ministries and to abolish Ministries. So if former President Kufuor, in his own wisdom found it necessary to create some Ministries, and a new President has come and he thinks that the job can be done by shutting down and realigning some of the Ministries, I think we should go by it.
But President Mills should be in a position to tell Ghanaians how much money the trimming down the Ministries would save the country", Professor Ameyaw Akumfi said "I don't know why the President did that. He should have a reason, but sometimes this is how it is at the Civil Service It is being decided on the President's own agenda of either to cut down the size of Ministries or to merge some of them. If it was the issue of cutting down expenditure, then they have failed", noted Mr. Baidoe-Ansah.
The former NPP Ministers believed that the creation of the Aviation and Ports and Harbours Ministries was former President Kufuor's agenda to re-focus his attention in rehabilitating those sectors to make the country the gateway to Africa.
Mr. Baidoe-Ansah averred that the Aviation Ministry has for a long time operated as a different sector, with the able assistance of heads being appointed by the government of the day for its management.
According to him, the Aviation Ministry, upon its creation by the previous Kufuor administration maintained its crop of staff without employing new hands, likewise the Ministry's operations without a Deputy Minister.
He therefore wondered if realigning it to the Transportation Ministry would mean that a Deputy Minister would be appointed to run its affairs.
"Everybody at the Aviation Ministry has been at post for long, and nobody was employed as a result of the creation of the new Ministry. The idea was to put somebody in charge to have oversight responsibility over that sector. But let's see the Transportation Ministry would have Deputy Ministers to oversee those sectors?" he queried.
Mr. Baidoe Ansah believed that the President's directive was just to satisfy his political campaign gimmick, and therefore, debunked the notion that the aviation Ministry, including that of the Ports and Harbours, were a burden on the economy.
Both Ministers believed that once the Ministry of Transportation gets Deputies to handle specific jobs, the country would be on track to achieve its dream of becoming the gateway to Africa, since the workload on the sector Minister would be minimized.
It would be recalled that on January 23rd, 2009, President John Evans Atta Mills took a bold step towards fulfilling his campaign promise of reducing the size of government to a reasonable number. In pursuant to this, he reduced the number of government Ministries in the Civil Service from a previous 27 to 23, and realigned others.
As a result of this, the Ministries of Presidential, Parliamentary Affairs, Public Sector Reforms and that of National Security were abolished.
The Ministries of Aviation, Ports, Harbours and Railways -including that of Fisheries were merged with the Transportation Ministry and the Agriculture Ministry respectively.
The rest of the Ministries, however, remained intact. Published 4th February, 2009.
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