Ghana gets new air service agreement
Accra (Greater Accra) 28 July 2000
Parliament on Thursday commended the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for its efforts at combating economic and financial crimes in the public sector, and urged that the institution be adequately resourced to enhance its work.
The House was giving its approval to the SFO's 1999 annual report in which the Office has uncovered several instances of financial malfeasance, including misappropriation of state funds, procurement, bank contract and payroll frauds.
In its report on the SFO's document, the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs noted that, during the year under review, the Office was able to eliminate about 1,970 ghost names from the government payroll.
The exercise, the Committee noted, has saved the state 355 million cedis every month since January 1999.
The Committee was, however, of the view that there is the need to look seriously into the embezzlement of state funds by district and metropolitan assemblies, citing the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, which the SFO found to have embezzled seven million cedis and none of which has been recovered.
The Committee, in another instance, cited the Keta District Assembly, where monies voted for poverty alleviation and assembly revenue were embezzled, and said out of the 10.6 million cedis embezzled, 10.07 had been recovered.
It said in the case of the Cape Coast Municipal Assembly, out of the 49.1 million cedis embezzled, 31.03 million cedis had been recovered.
The Committee also expressed concern at the misappropriation of funds donated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to the Statistical Service for poverty reduction programmes.
It said out of the 155.89 million cedis misappropriated, only 18 million cedis had been retrieved, while in the Afram Plains District, where 136.29 million cedis was misappropriated, only 37.3 million cedis had been recovered.
On the banks, the Committee noted that the Bank of Ghana in 1994 alone gave out 3.4 billion cedis as loans to business folk to expand their businesses.
As at December 31, 1999, only 20 million cedis had been recovered, the Committee said, adding that inflation of prices of stationery to Barclays Bank alone amounted to 669 million cedis out of which 30 million cedis had been recovered.
The Committee said the SFO also discovered that individuals and private companies and organisations have either embezzled or misapplied funds whose value cannot be determined, adding that the Office is still investigating the matter.
The Committee observed that the main challenge facing the SFO is under-funding, which has hampered its function of monitoring economic activities to detect crimes likely to cause financial loss to the state.
It recognised the importance of the SFO to take a pro-active initiative through capacity-building programme for its staff, as well as deepen the knowledge base of stakeholders and the citizenry on the cause, types, sources and mode of economic crime and develop the needed skills to mitigate or possibly eliminate them.
The Committee, therefore, recommended that the government and the donor community should assist in the provision of the necessary support to enable the SFO to fulfill its vision of stopping the 'leakage' in the system and create an enabling environment for business to thrive and enhance economic growth.
In its view, the Committee felt that the SFO has performed creditably during the year under review and, therefore, the Office must be encouraged to improve upon its performance to enable the country's vision of combating corruption and attaining a middle-income status by the year 2020 to become a reality.
Supporting the report, Mr. Francis Buor, NPP-Offinso South, noted that financial malpractices were on the ascendancy and the problem was creeping into every facet of national life.
He described such malfeasance as "heinous" and suggested that perpetrators should be made to suffer heavy punishment when apprehended.
Squadron-Leader Clend Sowu (Rtd), NDC-Anlo, acknowledged the good work of the SFO and said it behoves all the three arms of government to strengthen the monitoring and evaluation system of the Office by providing it with the appropriate equipment.
Mr. Eugene Atta Agyepong, NPP-Abetifi, was of the view that people in high public positions have always facilitated the commission of these economic crimes.
Mr. Doe Adjaho, Majority Chief Whip, said the work the SFO is doing as evidenced in its report had justified the establishment of the Office.
The SFO, therefore, needs all the support to perform to meet the expectations of the citizenry.
Mr. Edward Osei-Kwaku, NPP-Asokwa West, added his voice to the commendation of the SFO for performing creditably.
He cautioned, however, that everything should be done to halt corruption and waste in the system in view of the serious economic problems facing the country.
Mr. Kosi Kedem, NDC-Hohoe South, suggested that the SFO and the Auditor-General's outfit should work in close collaboration to enhance accountability in public financial administration.
Mr. John Akologu Tia, NDC-Talensi, said the work of the SFO had shown that the government was really committed to combating corruption in the country.
Mr. Charles Omar Nyanor, NPP-Upper Denkyira, wondered why the Bank of Ghana, which is required to monitor the economy of the country, should be granting loans to businesses, a function, which, he said, should be performed by the commercial banks.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 28 July 2000
Parliament on Thursday enhanced the physical integration of the continent when it adopted the Statutes of belonging to the Trans-African Highway Bureau (TAHB), which seeks to improve road network and economic co-operation among African countries.
The bureau, which is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is responsible for setting up unified standards for research, programming and maintenance of highway infrastructure and harmonisation of road traffic regulations and procedures.
Mr. Dominic A. Azumah, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Roads and Transport, moving for the adoption of the statutes, said when Ghana becomes a member of the TAHB, it will be fulfilling one of its dreams of continental unity.
With this, the Aflao-Elubo Highway that connects the Trans-West African Highway and Accra-Paga highway, which inter-connects the Sahelian highway, will be subjected to international standard.
He said Ghana stands to develop her economic potentials and trade relations with African countries as well as physical integration of the sub-region "which is a dream of our leaders".
"The committee noted that the government is pursuing a programme to uplift the country's portions of the highway to the required standards."
Mr. Azumah said that is why the Tema-Sogakope road is scheduled for reconstruction with funding from KFW whilst funding is still being sourced for the Sogakope-Aflao road.
"Reconstruction of the Accra-Yamoransa Junction road is to commence by the end of this year with funding from JBIC.
"Takoradi-Agona Junction is to be reconstructed into a dual-carriage way with the support of DANIDA whilst funding is being sourced for the Agona Junction-Elubo portion."
Mr. Azumah said the reconstruction of some portions of the Accra-Paga road had been completed while portions for which funding had been secured are the Kwame Nkrumah-Circle-Achimota and Achimota-Anyinam-Kumasi roads.
"Funding is being sourced for Kumasi-Techiman, Techiman-Kintampo and Navrongo-Tumu-Kupulima roads.
"Major portions of the Kintampo-Tamale road have been reconstructed with government of Ghana funds."
Mr. Solomon K. Sarfoh, NPP-Mampong, said the motion was in the right direction because transportation should not hinder "our progress".
He said the highway portions of other countries should also be in good condition to ensure easy travelling in the West African sub-region. Mr Sarfoh called for a mechanism of raising loans to maintain the road network.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 28 July 2000
Parliament on Thursday revoked one of Ghana's colonial legal legacies when it adopted a Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) between her and the United States of America (USA).
Until the adoption, Ghana had operated its airline under the agreement the United Kingdom, Ghana's colonial masters, signed with the USA in 1946.
The idea for the agreement was mooted during the historic visit of President Bill Clinton to Ghana on March 23, 1998.
Mr. Dominic A. Azumah, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Roads and Transport, moving for the adoption of the agreement, said "Ghana and U.S. registered airlines have the right to operate air transportation between the two countries".
The agreement is seen as an opportunity for Ghana to further her gateway project and for reopening similar bilateral agreements with other countries.
It is intended to promote an international aviation system based on competition among airlines in the marketplace with minimum government interference and regulations.
Mr. Azumah said, "in view of currently existing contractual arrangements between the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and AFGO on the one hand, and Ghana Airways on the other, the agreement provides for a transitional period of six years ending March 31, 2006, after which this provision shall be fully enforced"
He said Ghana Airways' fear that it would be "swallowed" by the huge resources of the U.S. carriers was allayed when it explained it would be able to brace up for the competition because it was systematically addressing its current deficiencies.
Ghana Airways has also begun code-sharing operations with partner airlines to ensure full capacity utilisation and cost-efficient operations and that regulation will be passed to insulate the local air transportation from unfair trade practices.
Mr. Azumah said, "an over-riding consideration that strengthened Ghana's hand at the negotiation was the award of category "A" status to the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority as a result of its operational safety and security record, among other things".
Seconding the motion, Mr. Solomon Kwabena Sarfoh, NPP-Mampong, said the Agreement would enforce Ghana Airways to improve its services.
He called for support for the airline to strengthen its position to face the challenges ahead. Alhaji Collins Dauda, NDC-Asutifi South, said security at the Kotoka International Airport should be tightened to prevent drug and arms trafficking to give the airline a favourable image.
Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, NPP-New Juaben North, whose contribution was met with several interruptions from the Majority side, urged Ghana Airways to improve upon its customer relations and ensure punctual flights.
Mr. Azumah said, "in view of currently existing contractual arrangements between the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and AFGO on the one hand, and Ghana Airways on the other, the agreement provides for a transitional period of six years ending March 31, 2006, after which this provision shall be fully enforced".
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