National Prayer, Thanksgiving Week launched

Tuesday February 23, 2010

By Edmund Mingle

The annual National Week of Prayer, Fasting and Thanksgiving, slated for March 7 to 14, 2010, was launched in Accra yesterday with a call on all Ghanaians to participate in the event aimed at seeking God’s guidance and blessing for the nation.
A Prayer Guide, detailing the topics and issues the prayers are required to focus on, was launched.

The national event, which was proposed by President Mills, is being organised by a team of religious leaders of the various church groupings across the country.

By the Guide, Ghanaians are expected to fast and pray daily from March 7 to 13, after which the week would be climaxed with thanksgiving services on March 14.

The national thanksgiving would be held at the Independence Square in Accra while local level events would be held at designated placed in the regional and district capitals.

The Muslim community is also expected to participate with the holding of national prayers in mosques around the country on Friday, March 12.

A communiqué issued by the organizing team and read by Right Rev. Dr. Yaw Frimpong-Manso, Chairman of the Christian Council of Ghana, proposed that the Week was additional declared a National Development Week, to increase awareness on development issues among Ghanaians.

They also proposed that the Presidency instituted an annual Presidential Breakfast as part of the nation’s spirituality in governance.

Most Rev. Charles Palmer-Buckle, Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra and acting President of the Catholic Bishops Conference, who chaired the launching, urged all to participate in the event, saying “a nation that prays together, stays together.”

According to the Prayer Guide, Sunday, March 7, would be used pray for a national revival after for development after 53years of gaining independence from colonial rule.

March 8 is a day for confession of sins, and Ghanaians would be expected to pray against the increasing greed, dishonesty and corruption in the Ghanaian society.

The following day would be used to pray for the President and his Vice, Ministers, DCEs and their staff, and the security services that they may enjoy good health and work with integrity.

On March 10, prayers would focus on the Legislature, Judiciary and Media that they may serve the nation with truthfulness and honesty.

Prayers for God’s guidance for an effective development and management of the nation’s natural resources such as oil, gold and water bodies would be held on March 11.

The growth of the economy, industries, the private sector, investments and job-creation initiatives would be the focus of prayers on March 12.

The youth and children and educational institutions would be prayed for on March 13 for divine guidance in addressing the menace of indiscipline, sexual immorality, occultism and drug abuse among young people.

On March 14, President Mills and leaders from various sections of the Ghanaian society are expected to attend the national event at the Independence Square in Accra where thousands of Ghanaians are expected to turn out to pray for the nation with one common voice.

The organizing team is made up of the leaders of the Christian Council of Ghana, National Catholic Secretariat, Ghana Pentecostal Council, National Association of Charismatic and Christian Churches and Council of Independent Churches, with representatives of government.

Bagbin, others sworn in

Tuesday February 23, 2010

By Edmund Mingle

President John Evans Atta Mills yesterday swore into office six newly appointed Ministers, with charge on them to support the government to achieve its development targets.

“This is a year of action,” he told the Ministers, a number of whom were drafted from the leadership of the majority in Parliament into the executive.

The new Ministers are Alban Kingsford Bagbin, Water Resources, Works and Housing; Enoch Teye Mensah, Employment and Social Welfare; John Akologu Tia, Information; Martin Amidu, the Interior; Inusah A.B. Fuseini, deputy Minister for Energy and Moses Mabengba, Northern regional Minister.
They were appointed following President Mills’ first ministerial reshuffle recently.

After administering the Oaths of Office, Allegiance and Secrecy to the new appointees, many of whom are old faces in the ruling NDC, having held ministerial positions in the previous NDC administration, President Mills reminded them that they were joining the government’s team at a crucial time of his administration.

According to President Mills, although a lot of gains have been achieved by the government in its first year, citing the stabilization of the economy, the increasing decline of inflation and the improvement in investments, there was more work to be done this year, and expressed optimism that with the contribution of his Ministers, “we will be able to perform to the satisfaction of Ghanaians.”

“We want to remain as a team,” he said and urged the new Ministers to uphold the interest of the nation in their work, towards improving the living conditions of Ghanaians.

He also congratulated them for the achievement, and encouraged them to bring their experience to bear on their respective ministries, saying he had no cause to doubt their experience in governance.

Mr. Alban Bagbin, who prior to the appointment was the Majority Leader in Parliament, speaking on behalf of his colleagues thanked God for making them worthy of the trust of the President.

“We are most grateful,” he told the President, and pledged that they would be committed to the better Ghana agenda, and the interest of all Ghanaians.

“With God’s gracious guidance and your assistance, we will definitely not fail you and Ghanaians,” he told the President.

Johnson Asiedu Nketia, General Secretary of the ruling NDC, in his remarks, also congratulated the appointees, and commended the President choosing them.

“We are putting forward some of our best people,” he said.

He said although the appointees, especially those from the leadership of Parliament, would be missed at the frontline of party’s work in Parliament, there was consolation in the fact that their appointment was for the good of the nation.

Pursue economic diplomacy--Prez tells envoys

Wednesday, February 24, 2010
By Edmund Mingle

President John Atta Mills yesterday invited all hands on deck to push the country’s industrialization drive, saying here is a there was a urgent need to change the nation’s economic paradigm for the benefit of Ghanaians.

“With our discovery of oil and gas, we want to change Ghana’s economic paradigm so that our over dependence primary raw materials such as cocoa, timber and gold would be a thing of the past.

“So that by the time we exploited these resources, we would have a prosperous 21st century nation whose economy is based on industry.

President Mills stated these when he swore into office Victor Smith and Peter Kwesi Ebo Yankey, Ghana’s new Ambassadors to Czech Republic and DR Congo respectively, at the Castle Osu in Accra.

The President, who reiterated his declaration of 2010 as a year of action, said the government would was pursing various initiatives to ensure that the country’s economy was effectively diversified to achieve the necessary growth.

He therefore reminded his appointees of the need to work in that direction.

Also, he reminded Ghana’s envoys of the need to pursue economic diplomacy in addition to efforts towards enhancing Ghana’s relations with other countries, with the aim of addressing socio-economic challenges facing the country.

President Mills congratulated the two envoys on their appointment, indicating that their appointment was based on their proven expertise.

Based on their vast expertise, President Mill therefore urged them to “do everything in our power to help us achieve this very important objective” of national development.

James Victor Gbeho, Presidential Advisor on Foreign Policy, addressing the envoys after they had been sworn in, advised them to guard against corruption, and uphold integrity in the performance of their duties.

“Knowing you as I do, I have no doubt that you will perform creditably,” he told them, reminding them that because they have been familiar to the corridors of power, “must is expected of you.”

Mr. Smith, speaking on behalf of his colleague, thanked the President for the opportunity to serve the country from outside Ghana, and gave assurance they would remain loyal to Ghana and committed to the task assigned to them.

Africa Needs Economic Emancipation

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

By Edmund Mingle

Africa is at the crossroads of economic development, and requires rigorous strategies to spur its rapid growth, says President John Evans Atta Mills.

“The era of political emancipation in Africa is over, and now is the time to lift the people out of the quagmire of poverty,” he said as he opened the Seventh Africa Investment Forum in Accra yesterday.

The three-day forum, on the theme, “Accelerating intra-African trade and investment,” is one of the high level investment gatherings in Africa, aimed at providing a platform for all stakeholders to dialogue for developing an effective action plan for the continent’s economic growth.

In attendance are high powered delegations from across Africa, including some African leaders, Ministers of State, policy-makers, private sector investors and renowned economists.

Calling for economic emancipation, President Mills said: “This is the time for Africa to look for policies that will enable us to take advantage of opportunities to accelerate economic growth.

“This is the time to focus on economic growth, and economic growth cannot be achieved without the requisite investment,” he said.

He told the delegates that it was not enough to ask for investment for Africa since African countries and governments had to create the congenial atmosphere for investments to flourish.Investors, he said, wanted a transparent regulatory regime, requisite labour, reliable judicial process, reasonable cost of doing business and political stability adding, “investment will go where it is most welcome.”

He reiterated the call for more intra-African trade saying, “we have for a long time paid lip service to economic integration of Africa.”

President Mills noted that, although some gains had been made on intra-African trade at the sub-regional level, more could be achieved at the regional level through greater commitment towards developing a common African market.

He said it was unfortunate that African countries had, over the years, been looking to outsiders for investments, when there was so much investment potential within the continent, stressing “we should begin to look within.”

He expressed Ghana’s commitment towards enhancing regional trade, and noted that the country’s doors were open to investments and mutual partnerships.

President Mills lauded the high patronage of the forum and particularly thanked the Commonwealth Business Council, the organisers, for acceding to Ghana’s request to play the host and called for a constructive outcome that would effectively shape the future of the continent.

President Faure Gnassingbe and his Namibian counterpart, Hifikepunye Pohamba, in separate speeches, supported the call for increased intra-African trade, indicating that it was critical to the continent’s sustainable progress.

They recognised that the level of intra-African trade remained low compared to other regions around the globe and advocated the redoubling of efforts towards regional integration.Dr. Pascal Dozie, Chairman of the Commonwealth Business Council and co-chair of the Forum, cited corruption as the “greatest bottleneck to Africa’s development.”

He called for more strategies to address the inadequacies in the development initiatives of the continent to create the requisite environment to attract investment.

Dr. Ishmael Yamson, Chairman of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre and co-chair of the Forum, said it was time for Africa to define its own development agenda to take advantage of opportunities in the aftermath of the global economic recession.

Achimota School Risks Closure

Friday January 29, 2010

By Edmund Mingle

Achimota School considered the pride of Ghana’s pre-tertiary education system faces imminent closure following the collapse of its sewerage system.

A number of the sewerage pipes have burst, resulting in the spillage of human excreta in the open and into gutters.

An Accra Metropolitan Assenbly (AMA) notice of summons dated January 19, 2010, is taking the management of the school to task for “discharging effluent with raw human excreta into open public drain which is likely to be injurious to health.”

The assembly is suing the management for exposing students and the public to health risks.

The AMA’s Environmental Health Department notice, gave the management two weeks to “abate the nuisance on your premises,” without which the school would have to be closed.

But the management of the school is blaming the situation on the activities of encroachers who have built on parts of the sewerage network thereby blocking the flow of liquid and solid waste from the school community.

Mrs. Beatrice Adom, the Headmistress told a group of journalists who visited the school yesterday, that the school does not have money to build a new sewerage system, saying a rehabilitation of the system “will cost millions of pounds.”

The school’s sewerage system is a large network of tunnels, connecting the various blocks of the Achimota Senior High School, Achimota basic school, Achimota Clinic, staff bungalows and golf club, converging at a terminal and treatment plant in the school’s farm, which has been currently encroached on by developers.

A closure of the school would mean that more than 3,000 primary pupils, 1,500 senior high students and 400 teaching staff would have to be sent home, while hundreds of dependants of teaching and non-teaching staff living in the bungalows would have to be relocated.

“If we close the school, it means we are failing the future,” the headmistress lamented.During the visit to the school on Wednesday, human waste from some of the blocked tunnels was gushing out onto the open ground, emitting foul stench over the area.I

t is said that the management of the school has not been able to deal with the encroachment problem because of a legal tussle between the school and the Owu family, the original owners of the land, over the ownership of the unused portions of the school’s land.

Although the Lands Court in Accra on Monday gave judgment restraining the school from carrying out a demolition exercise and the Owu family from further selling and developing parts of the land, brisk building activities were witnessed during the visit to the area.

The substantive suit challenging the school over the ownership of the unused land is expected to be heard by the court next month.

Many of the buildings on the encroached land are said to belong to some influential people, who are said to have hindered efforts to stop the encroachment.

Scholarship Secretariat Operations Under Scrutiny

Thursday February 11, 2010

By Edmund Mingle

The Audit Service has embarked on a special audit of the Scholarship Secretariat to determine the level of irregularities associated with the operations of the Secretariat.

It is especially to determine whether scholarships have been administered in accordance with the rules, regulations and directives governing them, as well as how efficient scholarship funds have been disbursed over the years.

John A. Y. Klinogo, Chairman of the Audit Service Board, made this known yesterday when he led executives of the Audit Service to call on President Mills at the Castle, Osu, said the auditing of the Secretariat was prompted by repeated “unrest among Ghanaian students abroad against delays in receiving their remittances.”

He explained that the auditing of the Scholarship Secretariat was part of special audits being carried out on various government agencies to effectively control the use of scare resources including the current auditing of all the 170 district assemblies in the country.

“The objective is to determine the total amount of liabilities or financial commitments which the District Assemblies have made,” he said.

Touching on some of the achievements by the Service, which is marking its centenary this year, he said the Service had been able to submit 12 Auditor-General’s Reports to Parliament between June 2009 and January 2010.

Those reports, he explained, included the Auditor-General’s Reports on the Consolidated Funds, and the Ministries, Departments and Agencies, which were tied to the Multi-Donor Budget Support to Ghana“We are happy to report that for the fourth year running, these reports have been submitted to Parliament in accordance with the statutory deadline of June 30 following the year ended on December 31 of the previous year,” he said.

He said some of their audits had resulted in huge savings to the nation, adding that the savings resulted from recoveries from misapplication of funds, errors in the financial statement, unauthorised payment and over-statement of expenditure among others.

Mr. Klinogo pledged the full commitment of the leadership of the Service to undertake its mandate of helping to promote efficient use of resources, and called for more support to enable the Service to enhance its operation.

“The Audit Service intends to continue to break new grounds by expanding the scope of its audit to include forensic and environmental auditing,” he said.

As part of the visit, Mr. Klinogo informed the President of planned activities for the centenary celebration, and invited the President to a grand durbar in August to climax of the event.

President Mills for his part, commended the Service for the contribution towards ensuring transparency, accountability and efficient use of national financial resources, and encouraged the Service to do more.

“Do not relent in your effort,” he said, adding that there was a need for all public officials to be made to account for their stewardship.

That, he said, was necessary because “there are people who think they can occupy public positions and not account for their stewardship.”

The President was particularly interested in the audit of the District Assemblies, which are currently said to be engulfed in huge debts, saying “we are looking forward to the reports with keen interest.”

He assured the Service of the necessary support from the government, stressing, “we have to beefup your capacity so that you can be better positioned to perform the task entrusted to you.”

Constitutional Review Commission Sets Off Well

Thursday February 11, 2010

By Edmund Mingle

The Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) has set off to a promising start, says Mrs. Bettt Mould-Iddrisu, Minister of Justice and Attorney-General.

The Minister, who informed President Mills of the progress of the CRC’s work yesterday, said that a lot of contributions were being received by the Commission from many stakeholders including the political parties, academia and other groups.

Speaking after the President had sworn Naa Alhaji Iddrisu, Kumbun-Na Yiri II, as the last member of the commission at the Castle, Osu, the Minister noted that the CRC had put in place measures to ensure the success of its work.

The Commission, she said, among other things, would hold a national retreat next week to inform Ghanaians of the various processes it would be using for its work to ensure fair opportunity for all to contribute to the process.

In addition, she said, the modalities for the review process would be announced to enable the public to follow the process more effectively.“With the swearing in of the Kumbun-Na, the Commission is prepared and set to take off with its work,” she said.

President Mills administered the Oaths of Office and Secrecy to the Kumbun Na, who was not present for the general swearing in of the members of the Commission last month.

He thanked the chief for accepting to serve on the commission and urged him to bring his expertise to bear on its work given the enormity of the Commission’s task.

He reiterated his call on the Commission to ensure fairness in the review process, saying “this is a national affair.”

The President also called for recommendations that would galvanise national unity and democratic progress in the country, since the constitution formed the foundation of the nation.

For his part, the Kumbun-Na, thanked the President for the confidence reposed in him and pledged to serve the country to the best of his ability and knowledge.

Independent body to manage oil money

Monday, 8 February 2010,

By Edmund Mingle

President John Evans Atta Mills says the government intends to establish an independent body to manage the revenue expected from the country’s oil resource to ensure transparency and effective management.

“This is to enable Ghanaians to know how the revenue is utilized,” he said on Saturday during an interaction with former American President Jimmy Carter who called on him at the Castle, Osu.

Although the President did not give details, he indicated that the formation of such an independent body was part of a comprehensive framework being developed by his administration for the proper monitoring and utilisation of oil resources for the benefit of Ghanaians.

Reiterating his administration’s determination to fight corruption, President Mills said the government was instituting measures, including the introduction of legislation, “to enhance our ability to fight corruption."

The President explained to Mr Carter, who is in the country to attend the African Regional Conference on the Right of Access to Information in Accra from February 7 to 9, that a number of anti-corruption initiatives, such as the Right to Information Bill, which the government had taken were expected to ensure transparency in governance.

“We are optimistic that all these pieces of legislation will help to strengthen our democracy,” he said.President Mills lauded the Carter Centre, under whose auspices the conference is being organised, for its immense contribution towards the progress of developing countries in Africa, and assured it of government’s continued cooperation.

Mr Carter, for his part, commended Ghana for the steady socio-economic gains over the years, saying Ghana remained a beacon of hope on the continent.

He encouraged the government to continue in the pursuit of sustainable growth and the improvement of the welfare of the citizenry, adding that there was the need for the country to safeguard its democracy.

Mr Carter, whose Carter Centre was set up to provide humanitarian and developmental assistance to poor countries, called for more collaboration between the government and the centre towards improving the lot of underprivileged Ghanaians.

The conference, to be opened this morning by President Mills, is bringing together more than 100 participants, representing regional and international institutions, government, civil society, media, academia and the private sector from at least 15 countries in Africa, to deliberate on issues on access to information.

“We are bringing stakeholders together to consider the issues in a meaningful way and will come up with a concrete action plan to move forward the right of access to information in Africa,” a statement from the Carter Centre quoted Laura Neuman, Project Manager of the Access to Information Initiative, as saying.