I’m under threat – Hawa Yakubu
Govt concerned over events in Zimbabwe
Minister orders crowd to beat up NDC man
No work no pay - says Works and Housing Minister
The under-fire Deputy Minister for Works and Housing and Member of Parliament for Ablekuma South, Madame Theresa Tagoe has apologised to Ghanaians for, by most accounts, her rather decent indulgence in asking her homeless widowed brother, Rev Dr Asante Antwi and his children to take up temporary lodgings at her relatively spacious official residence, near the State House Accra, instead of her two-bedroom house at her constituency.
The Deputy Minister, famous for her unique blend of fire and beneficence, speaking exclusively to the Statesman, tells Ghanaians, “I’m very sorry.” “Obviously my effort to help out a very close family member in need has badly tickled the sensibilities of many Ghanaians, especially, the thousands of families, which, like that of my brother, are struggling with the difficult problems of finding suitable and affordable place to lay their heads.” Sitting back and wiping her brow with a handkerchief, she adds, “It has been a very humbling experience.”
She however, refutes media reports that she has been given an ultimatum by the Chief of Staff, Kwadwo Mpiani, to either “occupy her official bungalow at Cantoments in Accra or forfeit it.” She dismisses the report, first published in the Evening News, but notably with no quotations from the Chief of Staff, as untrue because Kwadwo Mpiani “has not said any such thing to me”, and could not since she has not, “re-allocated” the house to her brother as reported.
“I was with the Chief of Staff on Tuesday from 9.00 am to 5-30pm at GIMPA (Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration) and he said no such thing” said she, adding, “In any case, I still spend my time between the official residence and my smaller house in my constituency.”
Oddly enough, Kwamena Bartels, her former boss, was on radio on Thursday asserting that Ministers are allocated official residence only if they are “desperately in need.” This has been refuted by his former deputy, who says, “It is the prerogative of ministers to take it or leave it. In my case I decided to exercise the privilege in August.”
The Minister who usually works until late hours, often after 9 pm, says she sometimes stays at the official residence nearby her office. But since she meets her constituents every Saturday and Sunday she decided to share time between the two houses. Her brother the retired Principal of Trinity College, Rev Dr Asante Antwi, who had lost his wife around the same time and had to vacate his official residence around the same time, was in desperate need of accommodation.
His sister, Theresa, a mother herself, had volunteered to share the responsibility of looking after his children, including 15-year-old Afua Antwi. The deputy Minister of Works and Housing therefore saw nothing absolutely wrong with offering some rooms in her official residence to her brother and his family on a temporary basis. Her brother and his family joined her in the early parts of October.
She says her brother who recently lost his wife of many years to an illness, is very distressed about “what is happening.” According to the MP for Ablekuma South, in the past two weeks her brother has inspected 3 houses and is in the process of negotiating for one, but the size of the deposit which the landlords are asking for is just too high,” she lamented. She confirms that she has re-allocated the house in the middle of the controversy to one of the Directors at her Ministry, Adjei Siaw, who is the Technical Advisor for works.
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The Minority Leader, Alban Bagbin, has waded into the raging battle over who should lead the NDC which has pitted the former President Rawlings against his one-time trusted buddy and former Attorney-General, Dr Obed Asamoah, with a declaration that the former President should take a back seat. “Rawlings is not going to determine who should become the chairman of the party at the congress,” Bagbin declared on Sunyani-based Sky FM radio.
The Minority Leader’s declaration depicts a tacit support for the former Attorney-General who have been subjected to barrage of attacks by the Rawlings’ faction, led by Ekwow Spio Garbrah, former Minister of Education and Victor Smith, an Aide to the former President.
Until the Sese Group, a newly formed power group in the party, declared its support for Dr Asamoah early this week, the former Attorney-General was put under pressure by the Rawlings faction using the Kumasi-based Action Forum, which party gurus say, it is not recognised. Bagbin said Rawlings would be conferred with eldership position after the party’s April congress, signalling an imminent striping of the former President’s title of founder and leader of the NDC, which has been the bone of contention of the acrimony tearing apart the party.
Describing the internal wranglings in the party as normal, the Minority Leader was quick to point out that nobody would be allowed to dictate to the party. “We are not going to be pressurised by anybody not even former President Rawlings, to do what is not right,” he said.
The April congress, he said, will determine the future of the party. “The NDC after the congress, will emerge as a formidable party which will gear up with new faces, new vision and new message that would appeal to the masses and enable the party to dislodge the NPP from power in 2004,” he said.
Bagbin described the NDC’s Action Forum, calling for the suspension of Dr Obed Asamoah, following the alleged loss of 100 million cedis entrusted to him, as a group not recognised by the party’s constitution. He said the youths who constitute the Forum are “misinformed about party accountability.” The former Attorney-General, he said, has already accounted for every cedi entrusted to him.
Bagbin, however, described the suspension of the leadership of the Action Forum, which will deprive them of the chance to contest positions in the party, as unfair. He said the issue needs to be looked into since it would be unfair to suspend them ad infinitum.
He disclosed that the NDC now faces financial difficulties. “That is a reality,” he said. The Minority Leader described the weak financial position of the NDC as one of the reasons behind putting off the December congress. Alban Bagbin accused his fellow politicians of being part of the nation’s problems, saying, “we don’t speak out the truth.”
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I’m under threat – Hawa Yakubu
Madam Hawa Yakubu, popularly called the “Iron Lady” in the contemporary Ghanaian political parlance, has expressed despondency over what she described as increasing threat on her life in the aftermath of the ethnic clashes that rocked Bawku township last year.
Hawa, who is the Minister of Tourism, said unlike her other colleagues, she moves with more security escorts and takes more precautions because she does not want to be taken by surprise. “I don’t know who at a particular time is approaching me for genuine support as a Member of Parliament…and who is probably approaching me in order to harm me,” she lamented.
Speaking about the current state of peace in the conflict-ravaged Bawku township in an interview with Chronicle in Accra on Thursday, she stated that her feeling of insecurity and trauma emanated from the neutral stand she has taken in the conflict that has caused loss of unspeakable magnitude in human and material resources.
“I believe that someone will want to harm my life, because at the moment, those who voted for me may feel that I am not helping them to get their way and those who did not vote for me also believe that, may be if I did not stand for NPP, they would not have won the seat,” she bemoaned.
She added that the situation is very precarious, noting that she is entrusted in a tangle of difficulties. However, she reaffirmed her desire to continue with the neutral stance that she has already taken, even though one group may want her to support them. Hawa, who is also the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central constituency, thanked God for giving her a resilient spirit to withstand such a difficult situation.
According to the MP, her election as a representative of the people of the area helped to stabilise the situation somewhat, in view of the fact that she is not from the two feuding tribes and therefore not seen to be taking sides. She quickly added that there are extremists within the two groups who will want to hurt her because of her neutrality.
Allaying the fears of increasing arms-trafficking along the entry points of the Ghana-Togo and Ghana-Burkina-Faso borders by the two warring factions, she said the police and the customs officers are on high alert to rectify the situation, noting that the military contingent deployed there will be stationed permanently to prevent anything that will result in catastrophe.
Madam Hawa alleged that some government officials in the past were working in cohorts with illegal arms’ traders, but added that there is no evidence yet to charge anyone. The government, according to her, will strive to disarm the combatants without fear or favour.
The military, she stated, is using reasonable force to disarm the recalcitrants. According to Madam Hawa, the proposed commission, which will be set up later this year will find the root causes of the problem. The commission’s aim, she explained, is not to find mischief-makers but curb the culture of impunity that has pervaded the Ghanaian society.
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Govt concerned over events in Zimbabwe
The Government of Ghana has expressed concern at the turn of political and social events in Zimbabwe and called on the fraternal government of President Robert Mugabe to take the necessary steps to reassure the international community that democratic values and tenets are still being upheld in the country.
The government indicated that it remains actively engaged with leaders of state within and outside the sub-region to help maintain peace and stability in Zimbabwean people will triumph and be respected. Foreign Minister, Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, made the call in an interview on Thursday in reaction to the situation in the Southern African state.
According to Mr Owusu-Agyeman, Ghana, like other member states of the international community, is duly concerned about developments on the Zimbabwean political front especially in the run-up to the March 9-10 general elections in the country. “The attempt to suppress the legitimate aspirations of the opposition, to muzzle the press and the refusal to accord recognition to international observers to monitor the polls, constitute, in our opinion, moves that could undermine the conduct of free and fair elections against the consolidation of democracy and human rights protection and promotion in the country,” he said.
The minister said, “the experience of our political history and orientation of the government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as one anchored on liberal democratic values and tenets make it imperative for us to take an interest in the unfolding events in Zimbabwe.”
He pointed out that Zimbabwe is not only a fraternal African state with whom Ghana has friendly ties dating over two decades, but also that it is a member of the Commonwealth and the international community of nations and as such events there, especially if they have a tendency of degenerating into destructive conflict, are of concern to Ghana and other nations.
Mr Owusu-Agyeman said Zimbabwe like Ghana, is enjoined to adhere to democratic and human rights values and provisions enshrined in agreements reached within the Commonwealth and even more recently on the Charter of African Union. “In this respect, the election of the representatives of the people should be conducted on the basis of universally accepted democratic principles.
Ghana, therefore, has a duty to act to help prevent developments in fraternal African nations from degenerating and creating situations in which the bid to consolidate and entrench democracy will be seriously undermined or even compromised altogether,” he added.
The forces, he said, should not only be non-partisan but also be under the political direction and control of the government legitimately constituted by the people and be loyal to the constitution of the country.
On Zimbabwe government’s land reform programme designed to reverse the unjust concentration of the best lands in the hands of a tiny minority of white people and to assuage the land hunger of millions of black people, Mr Owusu-Agyeman said the principle behind the move is a good one that deserves support. He was, however, quick to point out that this process of land acquisition and redistribution must be done through due process in order for it not to degenerate into lawlessness, undermine the rights of individuals and threaten the peace and stability of the state.
Mr Owusu-Agyeman observed that Zimbabwe has the capacity to resolve this crisis amicably and team up with opposition to move the country forward. “This should help us Africans not only to portray to the international community the positive sides of our nations, but also move our continent as a whole forward to confront and overcome the myriad of problems confronting us,” he said.
He said that Ghana was encouraged by the recent statement of the Zimbabwean government in which it pledged its commitment to the conduct of free and fair elections in the country and gave the assurance that whatever action Ghana would take in the matter will be informed by the true development in that country and exigencies of the situation.
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Ghanaians have been called upon to rally behind the national soccer team, the Black Stars to enable the team to win laurels for the country in the 23rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, which kicks off in Mali on Saturday. The call was made in a statement by Prince Oduro-Mensah (NPP-Techiman South) at Thursday’s sitting of Parliament.
Mr Oduro-Mensah said the country has the status of being the only one which is four times African champions but has not performed well in the last two decades. He said the Stars preparation for the competition has not been very impressive and encouraging due to late camping, administrative ineptitude, controversy over player invitation, qualification to don the national jersey and who should wear the captain’s band, which have undermined the confidence of the public in the team.
He said the unimpressiveness of the Stars in their recent outings, especially their loss to a select side of Spain and the Pharaohs of Egypt, who are not in the best of shapes, brought a lot of heat and criticism to the team and the technical handlers.
He, however, observed that the determination and enthusiasm in the camp of the Stars at the moment appear to be appreciably high. He said while some of the participating teams have been plagued by either financial crisis or player revolt, the Stars have not experienced any of these problems and this should put the team at an advantageous position to perform creditably. He called on all MPs and Ghanaians to show appreciation and encourage the Stars to revive the country’s football fortunes.
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Minister orders crowd to beat up NDC man
Participants of the regional public forum, held in Koforidua
as part of activities marking the first anniversary of the Kufuor
administration, have expressed surprise at the “news blackout” about a nasty
incident, which occurred at the “People’s Assembly” last Monday.
The ugly scene was created by the Eastern Regional Minister,
Dr Francis Osafo Mensah, in reaction to a question asked by Mr Baba Jamal, the
Deputy Eastern Regional Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The questioner had sought to know why a letter of invitation
to the forum had specifically mentioned only “members and admirers of the New
Patriotic Party (NPP) for their massive participation in the forum”. However,
Jamal’s last syllable had hardly dropped, when the minister flew into tantrums,
accusing the questioner as a liar.
But, to prove his case, Jamal produced a copy of the letter
for the “examination” of the panellists. There again, the Regional Minister
described the letter as a forgery, further accused Jamal as an impostor and
ordered party supporters present to beat up the questioner “for his
impertinence”.
And that was a signal for one Constable Opoku of Galloway
Barracks to exhibit the “animalistic spirit” in him and charge, like a bull on
Jamal. According to eye-witnesses, but for the intervention of some
well-wishers and other decent and well-mannered security present, Jamal could
have been lynched by the partisan “crowd”.
To ascertain the identity of the questioner, as well as
verify the truth or falsehood of Jamal’s case, the man was first whisked to the
local BNI office, where the culprit promised to produce the original letter. A
Ghanaian Chronicle reporter who was present assisted by offering his car to
bring the original letter.
Upon reading the text, the BNI officials rushed to the forum and informed the “big men” about their findings, which had obviously proved the culprit right and also established his identity as the Deputy Eastern Regional Secretary of the NDC. Drenched in shame, the Minister then told the gathering that a mistake had been committed somewhere, which might have caused the “misinformation”.
What now amazes the participants, who witnessed the uncouth
behaviour of the Minister, is the fact that the whole press could exercise a
‘black’ silence over the incident, which actually made news. For on stage at
the time of the incident, were a line up of Ministers and top Government
officials, including Miss Elizabeth Ohene, the one time garrulous Minister of
Media Relations, Mr Osei Kwaku, Sports Minister, Dr Agambila, Deputy Finance
Minister and the Municipal Chief Executive.
Also present was the Methodist Bishop of Koforidua, who
chaired the forum. If the findings of the event, the kind which created the
nasty scene before all the array of “big men”, had “gone the other way”, it
might have attracted banner headlines.
Meanwhile, the national secretariat of the NDC is to file a
protest with the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), against an obvious
disservice to the public. Other measures are being taken to seek redress and
ask that the Minister’s nose is pulled for his ill-manners and the havoc he
nearly caused to the life of an innocent and law abiding citizen.
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Drama unfurled in Parliament on December 21, last year when the Minority walked out of the House during the third consideration stage of the National Reconciliation Bill, leaving the Majority to pass the bill and even went further to approve a resolution on a loan agreement which was earlier defeated in the day when the Minority was present in the Chamber.
By 98 votes for and 38 against, the resolution could not be passed because it needed 100 plus one votes for the loan of $41,350,000 to be contracted between Ghana and Hycoprojek Brastilavia A.S. of Slovakia for the financing of housing project.
The Speaker, Mr Peter Ala Adjetey in allowing the defeated resolution to be reintroduced in the chamber for approval said he was doing so because of “national interest” since the nation was faced with acute accommodation problems. He then allowed the lonely Majority to move the defeated resolution which was carried by 103 votes for, with none against it and with no abstention.
The puzzle was that on December 13, the same year, the Speaker ruled that the private member motion introduced by Mr Kofi Asante, NDC Amenfi that government should take steps to revise the price of petroleum products following the fall in world market price of the commodity was inconsistent with the standing order 93 (3) of the House.
It states; “It shall be out of order to attempt to consider any specific question upon which the House has come to a conclusion during the current Session, except upon a substantive motion for rescission”.
Mr Adjetey in that ruling said once the petroleum price issue was captured at paragraph 47 in the Mid-year Budget review and which the House had voted on, it would be wrong to revisit it in the current session. Quoting authorities, the Speaker said, “therefore, on a totality of the authorities, I am of the view that this motion is out of order”.
The question is, if the standing order 93 (3) should be stretched to its logical conclusion why did the Speaker then allow the defeated resolution on the loan agreement to be reintroduced and voted for when it was the same session that dealt with the resolution on the same day when it was defeated? Was this done on a substantive motion and how?
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No work no pay - says Works and Housing Minister
The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Yaw Barimah, has said that the government cannot continue to pay people who are doing nothing except to project and pursue the political agenda of a particular political party. He said the NPP administration was determined to create sustainable “work for pay” jobs and not “paying people for no work done”.
Mr Barimah was speaking at separate ‘People’s Assemblies at Tumu and Jirapa respectively on Tuesday. Apparently referring to the closure of the National Mobilization Programme (NMP), the restructuring of the Non-Formal Education Division of the Ministry of Education and the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), the Minister said the decision taken by the government on those institutions were just, fair and a step in the right direction”.
He said the decision was aimed at halting frivolous and unjustifiable government expenditure on those institutions. Mr Barimah said “it would interest you to know that the salary of a Regional Liaison Officer of the NMP was far over and above that of a regional co-ordinating director.”
On the NFED, he regretted that while the formal sector of education was in dire need of teachers, the NFED was choked with qualified teachers whose talents and expertise were being under-utilised. He said the restructuring was to inject a new image and focus of mass education into the system with the Department of Community Development in charge.
Mr Barimah said NADMO was noted to be pregnant with unqualified political party functionaries, and the change of name from NADMO to National Emergency Relief Agency was to give it a new direction and to instil discipline and competence into the organization to meet the challenges of disasters.
The Minister of Lands and Forestry, Professor Kassim Kasanga, identified land and chieftaincy disputes as major factors retarding the rapid growth and development of the people and called on them to bury their differences and rally behind the government to move the nation forward.
He noted that without peace, there could be no development, and urged the people to use dialogue for the amicable settlement of disputes.
The Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Mogtari Sahanun, said since its assumption of office, the NPP had demonstrated that it was committed to making life more meaningful to the ordinary Ghanaian, and urged the people to give the government the needed co-operation and support to deliver on its promises.
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In blatant violation of the 1992 Constitution, defiance of a directive from the Ministry of Education, and ignoring the fatherly advice of the National Council for Tertiary Education, to abandon its controversial full-fee paying admission policy, under which rich students could pay their way to university education even when they have failed to hit the cut-off point, the University of Ghana is steam-rolling the policy through. This time round it is in the open.
In an advertisement in last weekend’s edition of the national dailies, Legon brazenly opened its doors for prospective students who would otherwise not qualify for admission due to their inability to meet the competitive grade cut-off point to pay their way through.
According to the advertisement, applications would be admitted if they could pay for the full cost of their education. “Applicants to Bachelor’s degree who are unable to meet the competitive cut-off points determined by the Admissions Board for admission to prefer programmes of study may subscribe for admission under a fee-paying scheme. Such candidates shall be required to meet the University’s minimum requirement for admission,” the advertisement said.
An exasperated Deputy Executive Secretary of the National Council Tertiary Education (NCTE), Alhaji Salifu Seidu, said that following the unearthing of implementation of the obnoxious policy by the Public Agenda last year, the educational authorities ordered the University to suspend the policy until a final decision had been taken on it. As far as the Deputy Executive was concerned, the decision had not been revoked.
The Minister of Education, Professor Ameyaw-Ekumfi hinted to the Agenda quite recently that the Ministry was worried by Legon’s decision to go ahead with policy without seeking approval. The Minister agreed with Agenda that the policy was in contravention of Provisions on tertiary education in the 1992 constitution.
Article 25 of the constitution makes education a right and states that tertiary education should be made progressively free. “Higher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means, and in particular, by progressive introduction of free education”, the constitution declares.
Public Agenda reported last October that about 195 Ghanaian students had been admitted on the full-free paying scheme. Those reading medicine under the scheme were paying a whooping sum of 14.5 million cedis as academic user fees while those reading humanities and science under the scheme were required to pay 10.5 million cedis and 8.1 million cedis respectively.
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Addae-Mensah, told the Agenda that the scheme was meant to generate funds for the running of the University. Asked why they didn’t advertise it then, the Pro-Vice Chancellor, Josef Amuzu, retorted that the University was under no obligation to advertise its programmes.
The story prompted the Educational Minister to invite the NCTE to probe into the affair to establish the truth of the matter and how widespread it was. According to the Deputy Executive Secretary of NCTE, the probe established that the scheme was being implemented at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) as well. KNUST started it all two years ago, he said. As at Wednesday night, the Minister of Education had not been reached to know what kind of action would be taken against the University of Ghana.
Student leadership has, however, posted notice that they would resist the continue implementation of the full-fee paying scheme. The Weekend Agenda learnt that the National Union of Ghana Students is preparing an appropriate response to what it sees as an affront to the Constitution by the Authorities of the University of Ghana.
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The Auditor-General’s Department will, on Monday, begin a special headcount of all pensioners’ on Government payroll as part of measures to expunge “ghost” names from it. All pensioners who are not members of the Ghana Pensioners Association in the Greater Accra Region are, therefore, requested to report to the Audit Service Office at the Central Treasury, Kinbu, with pension letters from their previous places of employment.
A statement issued in Accra signed by Mr John Lartey, Deputy Auditor-General, said that the exercise would enable the pensioners to fill necessary pension headcount forms. It said that members of the Ghana Government Pensioners’ Association in the Greater Accra Region would be provided with the forms on their meeting days at their respective zones on the production of their pension identity cards.
The statement urged pensioners to comply with the directive to avoid their names being struck out of the payroll. It noted that “ghost names” on government pension payrolls have become a major financial drain to the country, especially in the three northern regions due to the high level of illiteracy.
“Most often, a pensioner dies and his next of kin takes over to collect pensions due to the fact that these are only thumbprinted.” The statement said that about 100,000 people were on the government’s pension payroll.
The government said that some 300 billion cedis was siphoned from the state coffers every year through “ghost names” and therefore, embarked on an exercise to plug the holes that created avenues for some officials to insert “ghost names” on payrolls.
Meanwhile, Parliament has suggested that the Ministry of Finance should direct all Ministries, Departments and Agencies to support their personnel emolument budgets with lists of their personnel. That would ensure that amounts voted for personnel emoluments cover the actual number of people in employment of the state.
Parliament made these suggestions when Mr P.C. Appiah-Ofori (NPP, Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa) made a statement on what should be done to eliminate the ghost names from the government payrolls. Mr Appiah-Ofori said the Heads of the MDAs should certify and sign their lists so that in the event that any of the names turns out to be ghosts, the Heads of affected MDAs shall be made to suffer for fraud. “This will contribute to a large extent, to the elimination of the ghost names from the payrolls”, he added.
He said in a democracy the assumption in the budgetary process was that the government did not have the last words, but that belong to the ordinary citizen who expresses it through the representative in Parliament. “Let us religiously exercise this power to assist the government to curb this menace so that the 300 billion cedis lost annually could be retained to improve the quality of life of those who have made us representatives,” he added.
Mr Edward Salia (NDC Jirapa) noted that the issues of ghost names in the salary administration has been a long standing one and could be attributed to the administration of salaries being far removed from the place of payment. He hoped that government would take a close look at the payment and salary administration system and find a solution to the problem.
Mr S.P. Adamu (NDC Bibiani) said the Heads of various institutions under which the 10,000 ghosts were working should be held responsible and that if the Heads were brought to book, it will go a long way to help in solving the problem.
Mr Kwamena Safo (NPP, Offinso South) asked that salaries be released at least 10 days before “Pay day” to enable the Heads of Departments to go through the lists and give slips to employees to cash their salaries. That would help ensure that no “ghost” name receives salaries, he added.
Mr E.T. Mensah (NDC Ningo Prampram) said the issue of the elimination of ghost names from the payroll should be a constant process before payment of salaries are effected. He asked that the Auditor-General should expose those who have ghost names in their departments, and that if those people were exposed, it would serve as deterrent to others.
Mr Eugene Atta Agyapong (NPP, Abertifi), asked for periodic checks of payrolls, stressing that a head count would ensure that everyone given a salary exists. Mr Emmanuel Zumkpeh (NDC Nadowli South) asked that the Whistle Blowers Appeal Act be speeded up as a step to arrest this canker. Mr C. S. Buor-Karikari (NPP Amansie West) said efforts should be made to remove the names of retired officers, those who left to seek greener pastures and those on study leave who would not draw salaries from their departments. He said a task force should be set-up to assist the
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Cabinet has approved a set of proposals to abolish private participation in lottery in the country, Mrs Grace Coleman, Deputy Minister of Finance said on Wednesday.
“The Department of National Lotteries (DNL) was drifting from a provider status to a dependent one so we have to salvage it from collapse.” Mrs Coleman said in an interview with the Ghana News Agency that the DNL would assume its former monopoly status since private participation did not prove helpful to the economy.
“From My own perspective, private lottery operators largely enriched themselves rather than creating wealth in the districts and even supporting sports development in the country.”
Meanwhile, Mr Emmanuel Kermah, Director General of DNL, has commended government for taking that position. “The best deal the DNL could ever have is its monopoly status since it has the capacity and the goodwill to serve the public and government properly.” He said the Department plays a vital role in national development as every community in the country benefits economically from it.
Mr Kermah said, “In fact, we all felt the drop in revenue in DNL’s kitty would reflect in the economy of district assemblies but that did not happen so where did the money go?” He said the Department is undergoing restructuring to make its staff strength fewer and stronger. “We have found out that certain staff members have Lotto Officer numbers, which made them a referee and player in the game. We are withdrawing all those numbers and make it an offence for staff to apply for numbers”.
“So encourage them to go underground.” “We are aware of the confidence Ghanaians have in us. We shall spring back with vigour very soon. History will tell you that no winner has ever been denied his or her prize by the Department.
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