President Kufour given
rapturous welcome at Aflao
Sale of saloon cars to
ex-ministers legal - Chief of Staff
Cotton
farmers give ultimatum to Ghana Cotton Company
Daasebre
Oti Boateng refutes SFO allegations
Don't
wait to assist orphans only on festive occasions
Democratic stability should
emphasise social justice – Forum
NPP
will be transparent in sharing national cake
Ex-President
Rawlings yet to get decent accommodation
Child labour problems are
increasing - government statistician
Queen Elizabeth pays
tribute to Rawlings
Disabled
say should be helped to exercise franchise
Inauguration
Committee says it has leant its lessons
Chief reminds people of ban
on group hunting
71 die through accidents in
Tema
Dadekotopon NPP commends
elevation of Ala Adjetey
Nkrumah calls for strong
local government
President Kufour given
rapturous welcome at Aflao
Aflao (Volta Region) 15 January 2001
President John Agyekum Kufuor was given a rapturous welcome at Aflao on Saturday on his way to Accra, after attending the 34th anniversary of the assumption of office of President Gnassingbe Eyadema at Lome Togo.
A large crowd including chiefs chanted NPP slogans to greet President Kufour.
Business came to a halt for several hours as security personnel and the people waited anxiously for his arrival.
A ram was slaughtered as a welcome gesture from the Chiefs and the President was presented with a bouquet of flowers by six-year old Ethel Badu of the Ebenezer International School at Aflao on behalf of the Traditional Council.
Rebecca Fianu, 16 of Some Secondary School at Agbozume also presented one on behalf of the people of the Volta Region.
President Kufour then inspected a guard of honour mounted by a 35-member detachment of the Customs Excise And Preventive Service (CEPS) under the command of Mr Kofi Berfi-Boadu, Assistant Collector with the Armed Forces band, a brass band and an agbadza group in attendance.
Togbe Amenya Fiti V, Paramount Chief of Aflao, pledged his people's support for the government.
President Kufour expressed his appreciation for the warm welcome and assured the chiefs and people of his commitment to develop all parts of the country.
The entourage included Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Chief Of Staff, Ms Elizabeth Ohene, Public Affairs Advisor to the President and Mr Hackman Owusu Agyeman, Minister designate for Foreign Affairs.
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Sale of saloon cars to
ex-ministers legal - Chief of Staff
Accra (Greater Accra) 15 January 2001
The decision to sell saloon vehicles as part of the resettlement package for ex-ministers and other political office holders was within the existing Greenstreet provisions, Mr Jake
Obetsebi-Lamptey, Chief of Staff, office of the president, said on Friday.
However, government will scrutinise the present arrangement with the view to reconciling it with the previous process and correcting any wrongdoing, he said.
"Purchase of the vehicles by the ex-ministers is legal under the Greenstreet Convention. It will therefore be an undermining of the law to change the rules at this point," Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey told a press conference at the Castle.
"We will have to apply the due process of the law to check thoroughly what has been done. It is not our intention to commit any illegal act in these early stages," Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey said.
He was addressing speculations that ex-ministers and appointees of the former government were transferring ownership of official vehicles to themselves.
The Chief of Staff said his office has been inundated with calls urging government to seize the cars because they are state properties.
He said stopping the sale or seizing the cars will be illegal because it was a convention adopted by the transitional team.
Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey said the convention provides that outgoing ministers and other political appointees should purchase one of their existing official cars other than cross-country vehicles.
But he quickly added: "whether the right procedures are being adhered to is a different matter all together".
He said after the completion of the process, himself and the former Chief of Staff, Nana Ato Dadzie, will go through the records to settle any anomaly that would have occurred.
He said the main areas of immediate concern will be how the valuations were made on the vehicles and by whom.
His outfit will also publish in the media names of all ex-officials who purchased the vehicles, with reference to age, registration numbers and how much was paid.
Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey said so far his records indicated that a total of 153 vehicles have been purchased and re-licensed under the arrangement, which is still in progress.
He said his predecessor had informed him that 250 new cars were ordered in October last year. Out of this, 200 will be allocated to doctors while the remaining 50 are for government machinery.
"The cars might have just arrived or are yet to arrive," he said to a question on their whereabouts.
The Chief of Staff said the Convention allows the ex-ministers up to three months to leave state bungalows, adding that some of them have indicated that they would leave ahead of the stipulated time.
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Cotton
farmers give ultimatum to Ghana Cotton Company
Tumu (Northern Region)
15 January 2001
Sisala chiefs and the
Sissau Cotton Farmers Association, an umbrella organisation of cotton growers
in the Sissala District on Saturday tasked the Ghana Cotton Company Limited
(GCCL) to help regenerate degraded farmlands resulting from its activities or
pull out of the area this cropping season.
The decision was
arrived at after a meeting to review the effects of over 40 years of cotton
farming on the lives of the people, its animals and plants.
The farmers say some
animal species have gone extinct as a result of the excessive use of
fertilisers and pesticides.
"Earthworms,
viewed as a sign of fertile farmlands, no longer abound in the area,"
Kworu Buktie Limann, paramount chief of the Gwallu traditional area said.
Over the years, the
GCCL formerly Ghana Cotton Board, had sponsored individuals and groups to
cultivate cotton for sale to the company.
Kworu Limann, who is
also chairman of the association said Sissala lands cover 42 per cent of the
total landmass of the Upper West region, but its excessive use for cotton
production has damaged the soil and the environment.
Kworu Limman appealed
to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to despatch a team to the area to
assess the effects on the environment and recommend appropriate measures to
regenerate the degraded soil.
He asked the company to
negotiate with farmers on the fixing of prices for their produce instead of
imposing their own.
"The company has
no justification to sell fertilisers and other pesticides at its own prices and
also fix prices for the farmers' produce," he said.
Mr. Rockson Akazawie,
an official of GCCL said the company cultivated 13,000 acres of cotton in the
area last year.
The company currently
offers farmers 900 cedis per kilo.
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Daasebre
Oti Boateng refutes SFO allegations
Accra (Greater Accra)
15 January 2001
The former Government
Statistician, Daasebre Oti Boateng on Saturday refuted allegations of fraud,
levelled against him by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
A statement signed by
Daasebre Oti Boateng said the interim report of the SFO was not based on facts,
figures and relevant documentary evidence.
"With regards to
the specific allegations, I wish to state that I was not given an opportunity
to be heard by the SFO. Furthermore, I was not shown the findings to enable me
comment on them before the publication by the SFO."
The SFO, the statement
said, resorted to "miscalculations,
understatement of payments and the overstatement of amounts released to the
Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) for the project to arrive at an unsubstantiated
and non-existent shortfall of over 310 million Cedis."
The statement said
although the SFO confirmed 399,000 dollars as the total budgetary provision, it
however, found out that the two instalments of 99,424 and 260,000 dollars
making 359, 425 dollars, were received
by the GSS from the World Bank for the Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire Project
(CWIQ).
Daasebre's statement
said there was a shortfall of 39,936 dollars, yet the SFO in its Interim Report
assumed that the GSS operated with the full budget of 399,360 dollars, thereby
inflating the amount received by 39,936 dollars, which forms part of what he is
to refund.
He said the SFO's
purported actual payments of 317,320,000 cedis to field staff was "grossly
understated", whereas the total payments, supported by weekly payment
sheets and signed vouchers came to 518,086,000 cedis which amounts to a
difference of 200 million cedis that the SFO report wants him to also refund.
Daasebre Boateng said
the SFO's recommendation that the total provision of about 81 million cedis for
the hiring of vehicles be recovered from him as the then government
statistician is "without any justification whatsoever".
"It is true that
provision was made in the budget for 36,288 dollars for hiring three 4 x 4
vehicles but the total amount received for the project was short by 39,936 as
mentioned and this includes the provision for hiring the vehicles. The vehicles
were not hired and no claim was made for hiring the vehicles" he said.
Concerning SFO's
allegation that Mrs Hannah Adjei who is not a statistician but was engaged on
the project and paid for no work done, he said: "The truth is that the
CWIQ Project had a nutrition component that required the services of a
nutritionist".
Daasebre Boateng
explained that a formal request for a nutritionist was made to the Nutrition
Unit of the Ministry of Health (MOH), of which Mrs Hannah Adjei, a nutrition
officer of the MOH, was officially nominated by the Ministry to be engaged in
the project.
"Mrs Adjei holds a
B.Sc. degree in Home Economics and a Masters degree in Population Studies from
the University of Ghana. She was paid in her capacity as a nutritionist on the
project and not in her capacity as the wife of Mr. Adjei. She wrote the portion
of the CWIQ Report dealing with children status."
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Don't
wait to assist orphans only on festive occasions
Kumasi (Ashanti Region)
15 January 2001
An appeal has been made
to charitable and social organisations not to wait until festivities before
making donations to children's homes and orphanages.
Nana Kwaku Siaw,
Nkosuohene of Anwomaso, suggested that instead, organisations and groups should
set aside a percentage of their resources to support needy institutions on a
more regular basis.
Nana Siaw who is also
the 1998 Kumasi metropolis Best Farmer, made the appeal when he presented food
items valued at one million cedis to the Kumasi Children's Home as part of his
support programme for orphans and the aged.
The items are produce
from his farms "Kumah Farms".
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Democratic stability
should emphasise social justice – Forum
Accra (Greater Accra) 15 January 2001
Social justice should be the central point of Ghana's march towards democratic stability, the Socialist Forum of Ghana (SFG) said on Friday.
It explained that democracy has the potential of generating or aggravating conflict if it is not an instrument of justice
It said in a statement that "when the political system does not give the vote to many and the economic system gives bread to the few, civil conflict is almost inevitable.
What is meant here is that, when the vote is a human right and the bread is a privilege of the few, democracy becomes a farce and conflict will continue to lurk in the background because peace is not necessarily the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice".
The statement signed by Kwesi Pratt Jnr, Gamal Nasser Adam, Alhassan Adam and Dr Osei Asibey said Ghanaians voted the NDC out of because of the harsh economic and social conditions.
The Forum said, this was the result of neo-liberal economic policies of the NDC under the direction of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), keenly supported by Western creditor nations
It said, "so much was Ghana's prostrate independence on the IMF and the World Bank that some aspects of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) were an affront to our national sovereignty to the extent our national budgets had to be approved in boardrooms in Washington, New York, London and Paris".
The Forum pointed out that the hallmark of SAP, directed by the IMF and the World Bank were the doctrine of privatisation of state-owned enterprises and the massive retrenchment of labour in the civil and public services as well as the private sector.
Other consequences are the withdrawal of subsidies on social services like education and health and the withdrawal of state support for co-operative and peasant agriculture.
The Forum said other characteristics are the unbridled liberalisation of both internal and external trade, massive devaluation of the national currency, high interest rates and spiralling inflation.
While congratulating Mr J A Kufuor on his election as President, the Forum stressed the need to change focus and abandon the "neo liberal approach to national economic revival".
"There is no way a government of an underdeveloped country such as Ghana can be faithful to the IMF and the World Bank's Structural Adjustment Program and simultaneously satisfy the legitimate aspirations of its national population".
It said the provision of jobs for the jobless, homes for the homeless, education and health for all based on need and not on social or economic status, is impossible.
The forum wished Mr Kufuor a successful tenure and expressed the hope that the massive and enthusiastic support he had from the electorate would be translated into improving the living condition of the people.
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NPP
will be transparent in sharing national cake
Suhum (Eastern Region)
15 January 2001
The Member of
Parliament (MP), for Ayesuano Constituency, Mr Godfred Okyere, has given the
assurance that the NPP government will be transparent in sharing the national
cake.
He therefore appealed
to the people especially those in the rural areas to co-operate with their MPs
to ensure development.
Mr. Okyere was speaking
at the inauguration of the Key of Money Society (a benevolent society), at
Tetenku a farming village near Suhum in the Eastern Region.
He said the NPP
government has the right calibre of persons to propel the country into
progress.
The MP said the
government will ensure that education becomes affordable to the people and
appealed to parents to send their children to school so that they could become
useful citizens in future.
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Ex-President
Rawlings yet to get decent accommodation
Accra (Greater Accra)
15 January 2001
Professor Fred T. Sai,
Head of the NPP side to the Joint Transitional Team, said on Friday that the
state is yet to provide permanent accommodation for Ex-President Jerry John
Rawlings and his family under the Greenstreet report approved by Parliament.
He said Ex-President
Rawlings is currently putting up at Ridge with his family, but would be resettled and provided with other
facilities such as an office.
Prof. Sai was reacting
to speculations that the former President was to occupy a multi billion-cedi
mansion at Cantonments in Accra.
"As far as I know
as leader of the NPP on the Joint Transitional Team, no permanent residence has
yet been allocated for the resettlement of the ex-President," he told a
news conference at the Castle, Osu.
A special committee
would implement details of the package in consultation with the President, he
said.
Prof. Sai said,
however, that the Greenstreet Report was silent on the resettlement of the
former Vice President, but gave the assurance that an acceptable package would
be worked out for him.
Mr. Jake
Obetsebi-Lamptey, Chief of Staff, said President Kufuor and Vice President Aliu
Mahama would also have to be relocated, adding that the President's private
residence is not well secured.
He also said a place
has been found and is being renovated for Alhaji Mahama.
The Chief of Staff said
the President's office at the State House would be moved to the Castle after
refurbishment.
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Child labour problems are
increasing - government statistician
Accra (Greater Accra) 15 January 2001
Dr Kwaku Twum-Baah, Acting Government Statistician, on Friday noted that the problem of school-age children who are working is on the increase, saying this is a reflection of poverty levels.
Addressing the closing session of the training of field officers for the Ghana Child Labour Survey in Accra, he said most working children are either combining it with schooling or dropping out of the school system completely.
"It is common knowledge that in spite of statutory provisions designed to protect the rights of the child against work that is injurious to their health, education and development, child labour in Ghana is now widespread," he said.
It is for this reason, Dr Twum-Baah said, that the Ghana Statistical Services (GSS) is collaborating with the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare to undertake a comprehensive four-week survey on child labour.
The survey, starting from Monday January 15, is to provide information on children aged between five and 17 years engaged in both economic and non-economic activities. It will cover 500 selected areas and involve about 10,000 households.
Dr Twum-Baah, who is also the project director for the survey, said it would provide information on characteristics of parents and guardians and the perception of the use of children's time.
He said government has demonstrated concern about the problem of working children by being among the first countries to ratify the convention on the rights of the child and subsequently enacting the Children's Act.
Dr Twum-Baah said in order to monitor and evaluate the success of the policies and programmes initiated in the country on child labour since ratifying all the necessary conventions, current and reliable statistical indicators on all facets of the phenomenon of working children are required.
"The long-term objective of the survey is to provide the database that would permit the enactment of legislation and programmes over time to eventually eliminate child labour in line with international labour standards," he said.
Dr. Twum-Baah called for collaboration and active involvement of both public and private sector agencies that are concerned with the use of children's time, particularly in work-related activities that may be harmful to the wellbeing of children.
Mr John Yaw Amankran, project manager, appealed to parliament to approve a five million-dollar loan from the World Bank earmarked for addressing street children issues.
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Queen Elizabeth pays
tribute to Rawlings
Accra (Greater Accra) 15 January 2001
Queen Elizabeth II of England has paid tribute to Ex-President Jerry John Rawlings for creating a system of government that is truly representative of the Ghanaian people and which acts in the interest of all Ghanaians.
A message from the Queen on Friday said: "As you step down as President, may I pay tribute to the vital role you have played in creating Ghana as a model for much of Africa, and an example to more troubled countries elsewhere".
She applauded the progress Ghana has made under the leadership of Ex-President Rawlings, saying "I send you and your wife my warmest wishes for the future".
A similar message sent by Mr. Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, congratulated the Ex-President for his statesmanlike role in transforming Ghana into a model of African democracy.
"Your part in guiding this process most recently during the election period has been of historic importance. It has underlined your contribution to Ghana's present and future success."
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Disabled
say should be helped to exercise franchise
Accra (Greater Accra)
15 January 2001
The Ghana Federation of
Disabled Associations (FODA) and Action on Disability in Development (ADD) on
Friday asked the Electoral Commission to make available tactile ballot papers
in all future elections to enable the visually impaired to exercise their vote
in secret.
The groups also urged
the National Commission for Civic Education and civil society organisations
involved in work on the disabled to develop programmes to educate them on their
civic rights and responsibilities to promote the full involvement of the
disabled in the political life of the country.
These recommendations
are contained in a statement issued by the groups on the conduct of the
December 7 elections and the presidential run-off held on December 28.
The FODA/ADD sent
observers to some polling stations in Accra and the three northern regions to
demonstrate and create awareness of the role the disabled can play in national
development.
The group said while
many of the polling stations were accessible to persons with disabilities,
others were situated in areas far from the homes of some disabled persons,
making it difficult for them to vote.
It expressed
disappointment with the low number of disabled who voted on election day but
praised the free, fair and transparent manner the vote was held.
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Inauguration
Committee says it has leant its lessons
Accra (Greater Accra)
15 January 2001
The Inauguration
Committee of the swearing-in of President John Agyekum Kufuor said on Friday
that it has learnt its lessons on what went wrong at the functions and these
would help them better deal with similar situations in future.
In a statement issued
in Accra, the committee said it has taken note of all the concerns raised by
the media and general public about lapses at all the functions during the inauguration
last Sunday.
The committee said it
had only five days to organise and implement "these very complex
events" instead of about four weeks under normal circumstances.
It said the short
period, late response of foreign heads of state, some of which did not give the
size of their delegations, and the euphoria and excitement worked against them.
"A lot of
uninvited people turned up for all the events. In the course of the
swearing-in, a lot of seats that were meant for our foreign dignitaries and
party executives were taken up by others."
The statement said at
the Independence Square when police realised how excited and aggressive the
massive crowd was, it became clear that an aggressive control of the situation
would have resulted in injuries and possible death.
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Chief reminds people of
ban on group hunting
Atabuasu (Brong Ahafo) 15 January 2001
Nana Kwadwo Acherson, Odikro of Atabuasu in the Techiman District, has reiterated that the ban on group hunting in the area is still in force.
Nana Acherson, who made the call through the GNA at Atabuasu, stressed that the approach of the dry season calls for vigilance on the part of members of the unit committees and fire volunteer squads to prevent bushfires.
He warned that any group of hunters who would be caught in the area would not be spared.
Nana Acherson advised the people to construct fire belts around their houses and farms to protect them against fires.
He pledged that he and his elders would continue to support fire volunteer squads in the area for the effective discharge of their duties.
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71 die through accidents
in Tema
Tema (Greater Accra) 15 January 2001
Mr John K. Agboado, Deputy Superintendent of Police in charge of Tema Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) has described the number of death through accident in the municipality as alarming.
The MTTU officer called on drivers to abide by traffic regulations and suggested that the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) should organise refresher courses for drivers to update their knowledge.
He told the GNA that 71 people died through accidents involving 1,188 vehicles last year, adding that 1,055 accidents including 60 fatal ones were recorded in Tema Central and Ashaiman.
Four hundred and thirty people were injured and admitted, while 667 were treated and discharged.
DSP Agboado said most of the accidents occurred through excessive speeding, over loading, drunkenness, defective vehicles as well as disregard for traffic regulations and road signs.
A total of 132 drivers were prosecuted attracting fines to the tune 14.1 million cedis during the period.
He said 763 cases involving unauthorised parking and causing traffic jams among others offences yielded 195.5 million cedis.
The MTTU would intensify road checks to track down drivers, who do not take the safety of other road users into consideration.
In 1999, a total of 254 accidents cases with 51 deaths were recorded while 98.2 million cedis were paid as fine.
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Dadekotopon NPP commends
elevation of Ala Adjetey
Accra (Greater Accra) 15 January 2001
The Dadekotopon branch of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), on Friday commended the party for the selection of Mr Peter Ala Adjetey, as Speaker of Parliament and the appointment of Mr Jake O. Obetsebi-Lamptey, as the Chief of Staff, Office of the President.
A statement in Accra signed by Mr Moses Addo, Constituency Assistant Secretary, said the honour done to the "eminent sons of Ga" should encourage the people of the area to support the NPP, which is open to all Ghanaians "irrespective of tribe, religion or creed".
The statement praised the efforts of ward co-ordinators and cell leaders in the constituency for putting in place an effective machinery, which ensured victory for the NPP in the area, which had been a CPP and NDC stronghold.
It expressed the hope that Ghana would develop in peace and stability under the leadership of the party and the President, Mr J. A. Kufuor.
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Nkrumah calls for strong
local government
Accra (Greater Accra) 15 January 2001
A professor at the University of Ghana on Friday made a case for the strengthening of local government so as to give meaning to decentralisation and effective administration from the grassroots to the national level.
He suggested that administration at the local government level should be on the basis of party politics and district assemblies should be given at least 10 per cent of revenue collected by central government, increasing gradually to 50 per cent. The assemblies now receive five per cent.
Professor Stephen Acheampong Nkrumah, Director of the School of Administration, speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Accra, said decentralisation means sharing of functions, resources and capacity.
He said the new government should consider amending the constitution to introduce party politics into local government administration so that all District Chief Executives (DCEs) and assembly members would be elected on the tickets of political parties.
The president currently appoints DCEs and 30 per cent of members of district assemblies.
"We cannot pretend that there is no party politics at the local government level," he said.
"If you are good and have something to offer, you must be elected. That way, they are told that they owe their power to the people who can change them when they do not perform."
Prof. Nkrumah said: "I think it will be a good idea if one of the earliest constitutional amendments by the NPP is to make local government work on a party political basis.
"President (John Agyekum) Kufuor may not be able to do it for now, (but) he will then spearhead a constitutional amendment, which will lead to the election of DCEs (and assembly members)."
Prof. Nkrumah said if DCEs are elected, the people will feel that they are part of the office holder who would then have a stronger mandate.
The DCE would know the party's agenda and implement them accordingly, he said, adding that political parties allow people to be recruited into government from the local level to the national level.
Prof. Nkrumah said if, however, the situation stays the same, the person at the centre who makes the appointment remains the powerhouse.
He said President Kufuor should be a statesman and not a politician in strengthening the local government system.
A politician, Prof. Nkrumah said, is always thinking about the next election but a statesman thinks of the future and what to do for his country.
"If he (President Kufuor) commits himself to being a statesman, he will balance the short-term exigencies that will be good for his re-election with the broader long-term perspectives."
Prof. Nkrumah said one should be cautious in expecting change, pointing out that a new administration does not necessarily have to lead to change.
"I think the operative words should be building on the work that has been done during the previous administrations. Under both the PNDC and NDC, reforms have taken place in the civil and public services and local government."
He mentioned the Civil Service Performance Improvement, the National Institutional Renewal and decentralisation programmes as some of several reforms that have been implemented by the former government.
"These are the broad areas of reforms. The incoming administration will want to study the reforms in all these areas and generally carry them on because the ideas and principles underlying them are good.
"You cannot fault decentralisation. Maybe it has not been implemented to the extent that was expected...The NPP should, as much as possible, build on what has already been done by the NDC in local government and improve upon it," Prof. Nkrumah said.
Noting that the difficulties in implementing the decentralisation programme and reforms were lack of funds, human resources and commitment, he said adequate resources should be made available to needy assemblies and areas.
"The reason we do not have competent and effective administration at the local government level is that there is nothing attractive at that level," Prof. Nkrumah said.
"If you want people to go there, you must improve the capacity of local government and make it attractive. Give them power to take local decisions without interference from central control and give local government enough resources."
Prof. Nkrumah said if the district assemblies are given 50 per cent of revenue, they would have responsibility for things like roads, schools at the primary and secondary level and medical care at the local level. Central government would then take care of defence, foreign affairs and tertiary education, among others.
"The NPP is aware of these problems. I am hopeful that they will set in motion a process to amend the constitution to solve them", he said.
On the position of Chief Directors, Prof. Nkrumah said it would be unfair to ask them to leave office only because a new government is in power.
He said Chief Directors should be politically committed and good technocrats, but those occupying the position now are regular civil servants that were induced to apply for the posts and not necessarily party cardholders.
Prof. Nkrumah said the Chief Director position should be another level of promotion and only good directors should rise to that level after going through a rigorous interview and examination.
He said once appointed, they should sign performance contacts and they should be evaluated annually.
The first cabinet nomination that was made by President Kufuor was for the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, which could signal his determination to solve the problems in that sector.
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