Make good use of District Assemblies Common Fund

The Majority Leader in Parliament, Hon. Alban Sumani K. Bagbin, has warned all District Chief Executives (DCEs) to use the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) for its intended purposes to benefit the people, rather than using it for operational costs and other purposes, which do not have any impact in the lives of the people.
“The District Assemblies Common Fund is for development, but some of the assemblies use it for other purposes such as administrative costs, maintenance of vehicles, buying of fuels for vehicles, and other operational costs instead of development. That is not what the Common Fund is meant for,” he noted.
Hon. Bagbin was speaking in support of the adoption of the motion for the proposed formula for sharing the District Assemblies Common Fund in Parliament yesterday.
He tasked his colleague members in the discharge of their duties in the area of monitoring and evaluation, to look critically how the fund is used, since a lot of monies are channelled to operational costs, instead of development of the districts.
In seconding the motion, after it had been moved by the Second Deputy Speaker, Prof. Aaron Michael Oquaye, and reaffirming Hon. Bagbin’s claim, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Garu/Tempane, Hon Dominic Azimbe Azumah, urged members of the House to be circumspect in the disbursement of the Common Fund, so that it benefits the people, rather than using it for other purposes.
“Colleague members, we want to see that indeed the District Common Fund had benefited the people,” he stressed.
Hon. Enoch Teye Mensah, MP for Ningo Prampram, in his submission over the motion, noted that there was going to be a paradigm shift in the disbursement of the District Assemblies Common Fund, to make sure that the District Chief Executives utilise the fund based on the purpose of which it was intended for.
According to Article 252 (2) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, and the District Assemblies Common Fund Act, 1993, Act 455, Parliament is mandated to make provision for the allocation of not less than five per cent (5%) of the total revenue of Ghana to the District Assemblies’ Common Fund, for the implementation of development programmes in the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies.
Section 7 (a) of the District Assemblies’ Common Fund Act, 1993, Act 455 further requires the administrator of the District Assemblies’ Common Fund, to propose annually, for the approval of Parliament, a Formula for sharing the Common Fund to the District Assemblies.
The idea of the establishment of the District Assemblies Common Fund was to supplement local generating revenues, to broaden the scope of the funds available to District Assemblies, such that they can take major development programmes in the districts.
But, since then, most Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies have virtually depended on the District Assemblies Common Fund for development in their respective districts, to the neglect of the mobilisation of their local funds.
Five factors were taken into consideration in developing this year’s formula for the sharing of the District Assemblies Common Fund.
They are; the need factor which indicates that sharing take into consideration the level of development of each district, with the view to addressing imbalances in the level of development, the responsive factor which indicates that sharing should motivate the districts to generate more local revenue for their development, the equality factor, which demands that all Districts should have access to maximum level of funding.
The rest are; service pressure factor, which states that urban areas should be compensated for the over-utilisation of their facilities, and the reserved factor, which demands a reserve fund to cater for contingencies and bulk purchases for the districts.
In all, an amount of three hundred and forty-five million, six hundred and eighty-seven thousand, four hundred and eighty-three Ghana Cedis (GH 345,687,483.00) has been approved in the 2009 Budget estimates for the District Assemblies Common Fund by Parliament.
At the consideration stage of the proposed formula, the Committee, on the whole, observed that a total amount of ten million ($10m) dollars in its cedi equivalent from the Fund would be used as matching funds for the District Development Facility (DDF), and that in the 2009 formula 6 per cent of the reserved funds for Members of Parliament would be shard equally between monitoring, evaluation and development.
The Committee further observed that 2 per cent of the Reserved Fund would be set aside for the use of the Minister of Local G overnment, and would be subject to his discretion, and that the Ministry has directed all MMDAs to use a portion of their allocations of the Common Fund, for issues affecting Persons with Disabilities.
The Committee also noted that the formula does not fully make room for gender specific interventions.
It also observed that sanitation management has been a major problem for the country of late, the worse being that of the cities, regional and district capitals, as a result of population growth, plastics and other human activities. To this effect, the Committee has therefore introduced the sanitation indicator, which will help reduce filth and improve general cleanliness in the country.
Having made these observations, the Committee recommended that the sector Minister of Local Government and the Office of the District Assemblies Common Fund Administrator, collaborate to issue a directive to all MMDAs to use portions of their allocation for gender activities.
The Committee also recommended that the necessary steps be taken to ensure the speedy release of funds to the Districts and Parliamentarians, to ensure effective development.
It further recommended that the Public-Private Partnership engagement between the sanitation service providers and government, be strengthened to help improve the sanitation situation in the country, and that the sanitation module of the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), be increased from thirty per cent to thirty-five pre cent in the guidelines to be issued by the Administrator of the Fund, to enable the programme engage more youth in the country.

GRC to lay-off 1,000 workers... to save it from collapse

Investigations conducted by The Chronicle have revealed that the Ghana Railways Company (GRC) is considering a massive retrenchment exercise as a result of the poor performance of the company and the effect it is having on the economy.
One thousand workers, out of the current workforce of 3,500 are, therefore, expected to go home with the bulk of them coming from the Eastern railway line. Revenue generation of the company has dropped to its lowest ebb of 10% over the past years. As a result of this, management could not pay the End of Service Benefit to some of the workers who were laid off sometime ago.
Currently, the company derives the bulk of its income from the haulage of minerals on its Western line. The immediate past government was supporting them with GH¢326,000 a month, which was not enough.
There seem to be a growing level of instability on the employment market, and just last week, one of the local newspapers reported a move by Vodafone-Ghana Telecom to compel about 850 of its staff to go on an early voluntarily retirement. This, according to management, will enable the affected workers to benefit from a customized transition support programme instituted by the company. Already, some public and private institutions are feeling the heat of the global economic downturn.
One of the major interventions adopted by these public and private institutions is to scale down the size of their human resource capacity as a means of cutting down on expenditure.
According to the Minister of Finance, Dr. Kwabena Dufuor, in the 2009 budget, non performing State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) would be closed down whilst pragmatic measures would be adopted to save those in good standing. This he said would save the economy some money as it is already facing some challenges.
Recently, the former Minister of Ports, Harbours and Railways, Prof. Christopher Ameyaw Ekumfi appealed to President John Evans Atta Mills to urgently address issues affecting the railways sector in the areas of the workers conditions of service, payment of end of service benefit to redundant workers, as well as honouring its tax obligation.
The Ministry of Ports, Harbours and Railways together with the Aviation Ministry have now been merged with the Transport Ministry with the sole aim of cutting down government expenditure by President Mills. In an interview with the Minister of Transport, Mr. Mike Hammah recently in Accra , he confirmed the massive job cut
at the Ghana Railways Company considering the sector’s inability to generate enough funds to run its operations, thereby posing a challenge to the government.
“We are running a parallel programme to ensure that there is a cut off point so that workers who are not productive, workers who are receiving salaries for no work done, we will have a way of probably making them redundant”, he noted.
According to him, workers who would not be affected by the exercise would be re-trained and retooled to be more efficient as part of the company’s restructuring plans to inject life into its operations.
He said government in its short and medium term would find money elsewhere to immediately pay all outstanding salaries of the railways workers before it goes ahead to implement its plan.
He said, since the Western rail line was the only source of generating funds for the Ghana Railways Company, government would do everything possible to rehabilitate that corridor to improve on its internal generated funds. “For now, the line is moribund. It has to be rehabilitated to improve on its internal generated funds to pay salaries”, he said.
The Western rail line has for the past decade received much attention from government to revive that corridor, but no serious investor has come forward to partner with government to give it the needed facelift. A number of groups including Spoornet of South Africa and Kampac Oil ME, a Dubai-based oil firm had shown interest back in 2003 and 2007 respectively, but failed in their bid to secure funds for the project. Other institutions have also turned up but none seems to be in good financial position for the task.
This, according to Mr. Mike Hammah, has come about because the country was not having a Transaction Advisor to advice the government right from the onset to determine the capacity and capability level of these investors. “Once the Transaction Advisor was not in place, it was difficult for the Ministry to really assess the capacity and capabilities of the company. That is why so many years along the line, the investors that showed up could not meet the financial clause”, he said. He was, however, happy for the passage of the Railways Act which now separates the regulatory aspect from the commercial activities of the company. With the passage of the Railways Act, the Ghana Railways Development Authority now has the mandate to plan, develop and to manage the activities of the sector. It also has the mandate to look at security and safety aspects of the operations of the company. Hon. Mike Hammah however reiterated government’s commitment to continue its support to the sector to make it more vibrant than its current position

Fiifi Kwetey wins at committee level

The Deputy Minister of Finance designate, Mr. Fiifi Kwetey was yesterday approved by the Appointments Committee of Parliament.
His approval was as a result of a majority decision by Members of the Appointments Committee who voted on his nomination at the committee level.
The Minority Members on the Committee opposed the nomination of the Finance Minister designate, but their numerical disadvantage enabled Fiifi Kwetey to scale through.
By his approval at the Committee level, Members would then have the opportunity to debate his nomination on the floor of the House, scheduled for Friday, March 27th, 2009.
As happened during the nomination of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, the Minority is expected to argue against Fiifi Kwetey’s approval, having raised so many issues against him during his vetting which lasted for about an unprecedented four hours.

Minority members delay parliamentary work -Agbesi

The Majority group in Parliament has accused their Minority counterparts of delaying the sitting of the House. “I am raising the issue of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) holding Press conferences at the time when Parliament should be in session”, Hon Alfred Agbesi, MP for Ashaiman said on the floor of the house yesterday. He said press conferences and meetings being held by the Minority Members of the House always delay business.
Hon. Agbesi was surprised that the MP for Sekondi, Hon. Paapa Owusu-Ankomah was mute over the issue, since he made a lot of noise when his party was in the Majority. Hon. Agbesi’s comments did not go down well with Hon. Paapa Owusu-Ankomah who described the Ashiaman MP’s statement as most irresponsible since his submission at that time was not that of the Majority stand.
“Indeed, I respect my friend very much, he is my mate but I’m sorry to say that the statement that he has made is most irresponsible”, he noted.
Hon. Agbesi did not take kindly to the comments from his colleague MP and requested him to reframe the statement. “To say that my statement is irresponsible, Madam Speaker, I want to say that I take serious offense to that statement and it must be withdrawn with a big apology to me”, he said.
At this point, the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Justice Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo intervened and condemned the word “irresponsible” used by Hon. Paapa Owusu-Ankomah, since it was an unparliamentary word. She therefore asked Hon. Owusu-Ankomah to use another word.
Hon. Owusu-Ankomah therefore substituted his word “irresponsible” with “uncharitable”. After listening to both comments from Hon. Owusu-Ankomah and Alfred Agbesi, and considering the argument raised by the Minority Leader, Hon. Osei-Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, who called on Hon. Agbesi to kindly use the right words when on the floor of the House, the Majority Leader, Hon. Alban S.K. Bagbin demanded that both Members use the right words, which they obliged.
“Madam Speaker, I respect my honourable colleague opposite, the honourable Member for Ashaiman. I know he is a very responsible father, a very responsible husband, a very responsible lawyer and a very responsible Member of Parliament. If the statement was taken as a personal allusion to his behaviour, I’m sorry, I did not intend to mean that he is irresponsible, therefore, I withdraw my statement”, noted Hon. Owusu-Ankomah.
On the side of Hon. Agbesi, he said “Madam Speaker, I know the NPP has no intention of stalling the work of this House, I therefore humbly withdraw whatever I’ve said against them”.

$3.4m needed to qualify Black Stars for 2010

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Alhaji Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka has indicated that the annual budget estimates to his Ministry for the 2009 fiscal year was not adequate, considering the sector’s huge responsibilities.
According to him, since his Ministry was one of the newly re-created ones, a lot would have to be invested in it.
He argued that since the two wings of his Ministry (Youth & Sports) were drawn from the Ministries of Employment and Education respectively, it had little input in the preparation of the budget and that was posing a major challenge to the Ministry.
Alhaji Muntaka was speaking on the floor of Parliament yesterday when he moved the motion for the approval for the 2009 annual budget estimates of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
According to him, his Ministry has only two directors out of the four line directory that must be in place to ensure the smooth running of the operations of the Ministry, and this to him requires the recruitment of new personnel.
Another concern he raised was the renovation of the building housing the Ministry, which he said requires a lot of money.
He was disturbed about the inadequate budget allocation for the Ministry, considering the expenditure of the four agencies (National Sports Council, National Sports College, National Youth Council and the National Youth Employment Programme) under the Ministry.
He said the National Sports Council alone had thirty four associations under it. He noted that the Council’s annual budget estimate alone for the 2009 fiscal year stands at $3, 489,379million (GH¢ 8,424,025 million), a situation he said was not adequate looking at the various events the country would be participating in both at the continental level and at the global level.
Alhaji Muntaka, in accessing the money needed to qualify the Black Stars, the country’s senior national team, for the maiden world cup on African soil (South Africa 2010), said the team would need a total amount of US$3.4 million. In his statistics, he said the match which would be played against Benin on Sunday at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi would cost the Ministry $US 662, 000.00 and the match against Mali in Bamako would cost $US 531, 000.00, against Sudan in Khartoum would cost $US665, 000.00 with the return league in Accra costing the country $US537, 000.00.
According to him, the Black Stars match against Benin in Cotonou would again cost the country a total amount of US$498,000.00 whilst the match against Mali in Kumasi would cost US$541,000.00.
He said by qualification to the world cup, the Black Stars would be entitled to a whooping sum of US$6million from the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) and therefore called for the needed support to his Ministry in order to help the Blacks Stars qualify to get the amount at stake to finance other sporting discipline.
He was, however, of the hope that the House would consider his Ministry when looking at the supplementary budget for the 2009 fiscal year.
In all, a total amount of GH¢45, 77,162.07 was approved for the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
The House also approved the sum of GH¢ 147,681,167.00 for the Ministry of Finance, whilst GH¢4,206,832.00 was allocated for the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).
The National Commission for Civic Education approved the sum of GH¢ 5,044,605.00 with the Electoral Commission being approved the sum of GH¢7,091,990 for the 2009 fiscal year.

Nigerians are not criminals-Bemoans Nigerian Envoy

The Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana, His Excellency (H.E) Chief Muslim Obanikoro has expressed concern over how some Ghanaians perceive Nigerians to be criminals, as a result of the act of one person who might have mis-conducted himself. He attributed this to how some media houses have allowed themselves to be used by a section of the public, in using abusive words against some few miscreants, whenever there was an issue for discussion on their platform saying, “these are contrary to the ethics of the profession”. The High Commissioner was reacting to various media publications about how a section of the Ghanaian populace describes Nigerians as crooks and rogues, ever since the Amalgamated Bank story attracted media attention. According to him, he has followed with keen interest the various radio discussions, especially on Joy FM, on the Amalgamated Bank story and the extent to which some Ghanaians have described Nigerians whenever just one of his countrymen flouts the laws of the land (Ghana), which was disheartening. “The impression being created here is that all Nigerians are criminals. No, Nigerians are not crooks, we are hardworking, honest people and we have demonstrated that wherever we go. There is no institution in both America and Britain that you will not find a Nigerian doing extremely well. Some of our businessmen have distinguished themselves and can rub shoulders with any businessman anywhere around the globe. And this we have achieved through hard work”, he noted. He emphasized the friendship and cordial relationship that exists between the two countries which he described as “brother and sister”, and that he would not sit unconcerned for some people to jeopardize the relationship the two countries have built over the years. He gave accounts of how some Nigerians were expelled from Ghana in 1969 and 1981, Nigeria also repeated similar unpleasant act against Ghanaians, a situation he said he would never allow to happen again. “I can't sit down for God's sake, for such an incident to happen again. If there are issues, let us address them and don't let us generalize. I am here to smoothen and deepen the relations between the two countries and I can not sit back and allow people with ulterior motives to tarnish the image of my country and its citizens”, he said. The High Commissioner bemoaned the application of fallacy of hasty generalization against Nigerians, labeling them as criminals, which is gaining momentum and therefore called on responsible leadership to put an end to it. He said his outfit had designed a quarterly meeting with the Nigerian community in the country to help address these issues and to constantly remind them to abide by the laws of Ghana. He commended President Atta Mills for his stand in ensuring that justice is meted out to all inhabitants in the country, irrespective of nationality, gender, race or colour. H.E. Obanikoro tasked the media to be up and doing in their reportage by feeding the public with balanced information to enable them make informed decisions.

MPs extol Otumfuo

Members of Parliament (MPs) last Friday complimented the work of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, King of the Ashanti Kingdom, for his contribution to the development of this country ever since he ascended the throne a decade ago.
The MPs contended that his ten year reign has not only transformed the image of the chieftaincy institution in the country but has also brought massive development into the lives of the people in health care, education and conflict resolution.
Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Member of Parliament (MP) for Kwadaso Constituency in his maiden statement on the floor of Parliament recounted how the leadership of the Otumfuo has brought dignity and respect to the chieftaincy institution through a number of policies and programmes that he has pursued since his ascension to the throne of the Golden Stool.
According to him, the introduction of the Otumfuo Education Fund as a major instrument of social change and progress has not only benefited those in the Ashanti Region but also those outside the Region who are brilliant but socially disadvantaged.
He said the Health oriented programmes implemented under the auspices of the Otumfuo Health Fund had also been of tremendous help to a substantial number of people throughout the country.
“Madam Speaker, Otumfuo has initiated these social interventions in the belief that Central Government alone cannot shoulder the full burden of the needs of the people and that all hands are required on deck. His efforts have been met with success, and also won him great admiration all around”, he noted.
Dr. Akoto also commended the works of other traditional rulers whose efforts have brought the country this far. He mentioned in particular the Okyehene Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Payin II in the area of the environment, Togbe Afede in energy generation and the Naayiri, King of the Mamprusis in conflict resolution in the Northern parts of the country.
He was also very grateful to the Otumfuo for his role in the area of conflict resolution in the country, which has earned the Ashanti king the accolade of “King Solomon”.
“Apart from the pace-setting role in the areas of education and health, the other important contribution which the reign of Otumfuo has brought to his Kingdom is in the area of conflict resolution. The countless Chieftaincy disputes and litigations that he has helped to resolve in the past ten years of his reign has manifested peace to the people of Asante within the jurisdiction and beyond the borders of the Ashanti Region”, he noted.
In contributing to the statement made by Dr. Akoto, Hon. Abukari Sumani, MP for Tamale North told the House how the Ashantis and the Dagombas have remained as one family from time immemorial, drawing into account a popular saying when relations of the two tribes meet “Asante Kotoko” and the other responds “Anyo Kotoko”.
He commended the Otumfuo for his numerous roles played in contributing to the development of the country especially in the areas of conflict resolution and education.
“Madam Speaker, the Otumfuo has made so much contribution to his Kingdom. His Educational Trust Fund is wonderful. He is concerned about development; he is concerned about the control of land use. Something that will set chaotic in many areas including my areas, he has set up regulations to guide them”, he said.
Mr. Sumani called on other chiefs to emulate his (Otumfuo) shinning example and wished him more years in his ruling. The former Ashanti Regional Minister who is also the Member of Parliament for Kwabre West Constituency, Mr. Emmanuel Asamoah Owusu-Ansah, also commended the Otumfuo for his contributions in improving the living conditions of Ghanaians.
According to him, one of the numerous projects initiated by the Otumfuo which was not popular to the public but making great strides was a secretariat he established, called Promoting Partnership with Traditional Authorities Project (PPTAP). The project, he said, had been of great help to the people of the Ashanti Region because of the numerous supports it has been receiving especially from the World Bank.
He also commended the Otumfuo for supporting the Agriculture sector by establishing a 400 acre palm plantation and a teak farm for Asanteman.
“Madam Speaker, the Otumfuo has shown the way in Agriculture. He has shown by example what a traditional ruler should show”, he noted. He described Otumfuo as a symbol of unity who uses the Akwasidae festival to unite the country.
Madam Catherine Abelema Afeku, MP for Evalue-Gwira, Jonathan Tackie-Komme, MP for Odododiodio, Kwaku Agyemang Manu, MP for Dormaa West, Inusa Fuseni, MP for Tamale Central and Haruna Iddrisu , MP for Tamale South and Minister of Communications all paid glowing tribute to the Otumfuo on his 10th anniversary as King of the Ashanti Kingdom. They lauded his various contributions made in the development of the country and urged other traditional rulers to do same.