GRi in Parliament - Budget 2001 Ghana 09 - 03 - 2001
Government to ensure public accountability -
Osafo-Maafo
BAF debtors asked to pay up or...
Contract appointments now limited to medical
staff and lecturers
Government to focus attention on IT
Women's ministry allocated 6.99 billion
cedis
Govt to consider establishment of Tourism
Development Fund
Speaker rules in favour of President
Debate on state of the nation address ends
Women's Ministry will end oppression of
women - Mrs Kwofie
Minority criticises government on dismissals
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 March 2001
Ghana on Friday opted for the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, citing the huge debt trap in which the country finds itself.
"Debt sustainability analysis carried out on Ghana and our inability otherwise to raise enough revenue from our own resources, or attract external inflow beyond the presently committed levels, His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana, has decided that Ghana should take advantage of the HIPC initiative immediately."
The Minister of Finance, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, who was delivering the 2001 budget statement in Parliament, said the President has further directed him "to take all steps necessary to ensure that Ghana gets the full benefit under the HIPC initiative."
The Finance Minister said the country spent nine per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to service external debts. In addition, 5.3 per cent of Ghana's resources were spent on domestic interest payments.
In cedi terms 3.9 trillion cedis out of a total government expenditure of 9.9 trillion cedis was spent in debt servicing.
Mr Osafo-Maafo said, "the Ministry of Finance will organise a National Economic Dialogue involving all stakeholders and major players in the economy by the end of April 2001 to look at the way forward in respect of the economic management of the nation."
HIPC is a framework designed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) to provide special assistance for heavily indebted poor countries that pursue adjustment and reform programmes they support, but for whom traditional debt relief mechanisms are insufficient.
The HIPC entails a co-ordinated action by the international financial community, including multilateral institutions, to reduce to sustainable levels the external debt burden of these countries.
There has been a debate on whether the country should accept HIPC or otherwise.
Those against Ghana going HIPC argue that under HIPC, the IMF on behalf of all creditors, forces the beneficiary country to among other things remove all restraints on the movement of capital and subordinate domestic policy priorities to the interest of foreign capital.
The Ghana Trades Union Congress and the Ghana Bar Association are among organisations that have come out strongly against HIPC.
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Government to ensure public accountability
- Osafo-Maafo
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 March 2001
The Minister of Finance, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, said on Friday that the Ministry of Justice would collaborate with the Ministry of the Interior, Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice, the proposed Office of Accountability and other agencies to ensure public accountability in the utilisation of resources.
Mr Osafo-Maafo said in the 2001 budget statement presented to parliament that the ministry would undertake a thorough revision of laws where necessary.
"The Ministry of Justice will accelerate the pace of the implementation of the Legal Sector Reform Programme in its bid to create a credible, responsive and effective legal system to increase efficiency and minimise delay in the administration of justice," he said.
Mr. Osafo-Maafo said 23.07 billion cedis has been allocated to the Ministry of Justice for its activities.
He said government would continue with projects such as the Library Complex for the Ghana School of Law, head office building of the Serious Fraud Office and the 12 regional and 12 sub-regional offices of the Attorney General's Department in Accra, Sekondi, Kumasi, Sunyani and Ho.
Mr Osafo-Maafo also announced that a Law House would be constructed to accommodate the Attorney General's Department, Legal Aid Board and the Law Reform Commission and provide assistance in the mechanisation of court processes and activities.
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BAF debtors asked to pay up or...
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 March 2001
Government has made loan recovery from the Business Assistance Fund (BAF) one of the cardinal objectives for this year's budget to ensure that monies borrowed are not regarded as gifts.
Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Minister of Finance, said a large proportion of beneficiaries of such facilities consistently failed to repay the loans.
The minister said this in the first budget presentation by the government on Friday.
He said as a first step, government has directed that all defaulters of BAF make repayments of amounts outstanding against them by the end of May, this year.
After that period, the Ministry of Finance would compile the list of all such loan defaulters and institute all available measures to recover the amounts outstanding.
Only 10 per cent of the amount initially loaned out from the BAF has been repaid so far.
The minister said such funds, if recovered, could be re-channelled to assist other entrepreneurs in the private sector.
Other facilities that would be affected by the initiative include bilateral grants from Canada, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom for which huge amounts are outstanding.
The minister asked all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), which have obtained credit facilities from commercial banks and other sources to regularise the transaction by April 30.
He also reminded all MDAs, which have availed themselves of such credit facilities that they require prior approval of the Minister of Finance before they do so.
On private savings accounts by banks, the Minister said: "Government deplores the current procedure for operating savings in some of the commercial banks within the country.
"In some cases, initial amounts of not less than 500,000 cedis are required to enable people to open savings accounts.
"While appreciating the administrative difficulties in the maintenance of such accounts, government nonetheless feels this is a discouraging factor in the efforts to mop up excess liquidity in the system."
Mr Osafo-Maafo said Government would, therefore, request commercial banks to review the requirements for operating savings accounts with a view to minimising the burden on prospective clients.
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Contract appointments now limited to
medical staff and lecturers
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 March 2001
Henceforth, all contract appointments within the public services and state-owned enterprises would be limited to medical and para-medical staff as well as university lecturers, Finance Minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo said in the maiden budget of the government to Parliament on Friday.
According to him, such contracts would be given where it has been established that the services of such staff are required.
In view of this, all existing contracts for other Ministries, Departments and Agencies will not be renewed upon expiry.
The Minister recalled that the previous government declared its intention to stop the process whereby top public officials, upon reaching their retirement dates, are given contracts of one to three years, renewable to continue working in the same capacities.
"It now appears that this was never implemented," he said, adding, "there are still large numbers of such officials in the public service collecting pensions as well as salaries they currently earn."
The procedure, Mr Osafo-Maafo said, is not helpful as there is no future for the young talented individuals who aspire to reach those high positions in time.
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Government to focus attention on IT
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 March 2001
Mr. Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Minister of Finance, on Friday said government would focus attention on the development of Information Technology (IT) and its application to education, agriculture and industry.
He said software development would be pursued to enable "our strengths and capabilities to be amply demonstrated on the international market".
Presenting the 2001 budget to Parliament, the minister said government has allocated 37.01 billion cedis to the Ministry of Transport and Communications for the year.
On the telecom sector, Mr Osafo-Maafo said government "shall encourage operators to achieve targets set as provided for in their respective licenses".
"The Ministry of Transport and Communications shall follow up on the restructuring of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation and acquire satellite communications for its television and FM radio stations," he said.
Mr Osafo-Maafo said government would improve the equipment and infrastructure base of offices of the Meteorological Services Department throughout the country to be able to analyse and forecast as well as improve the human resource capacity to enhance increased productivity.
The ministry will formulate programmes that would enable a mass transport service to become operational by the year 2002.
In this regard, he said the ministry would encourage the private sector to import large occupancy buses for mass transportation.
"Prospective foreign investors will also be encouraged to team up with Ghanaians to operate mass transport service," he said.
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Women's ministry allocated 6.99 billion
cedis
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 March 2001
The Government has allocated 6.99 billion cedis to the Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) to champion the cause of women and children through the promotion of gender equity and child development.
Minister of Finance, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, said on Friday that this will also help achieve economic, social, cultural health and educational empowerment.
Highlighting on some of MOWA's programmes, Mr Osafo-Maafo said it would establish women and children centres in all the 10 regions at district and village levels at a cost of one billion cedis.
He said the ministry would renovate and refurbish the old American Embassy building at the ministries as its new office.
The MOWA will establish Micro Financing Fund with an initial estimated capital of three million dollars, which will be obtained from donor and development partners.
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Govt to consider establishment of Tourism
Development Fund
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 March 2001
Government will this year consider the establishment of a Tourism Development Fund to support both private and public sector investments, the Minister of Finance, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, announced on Friday.
Presenting the 2001 budget to Parliament, the minister said government would equally support investments in tourism infrastructure for the development, promotion and marketing of historical, cultural, recreational, conference and eco-tourism across the country.
He said for the sector to make adequate contributions to socio-economic development, there is the need to accelerate its development, promotion and marketing. This would enable it to achieve the eight per cent growth rate needed for it to contribute about 3.8 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by the end of the year.
In this direction, he said, a management information system for the tourism sector would be developed to make information available and accessible to investors and other end-users.
Government, the Finance Minister said, will also undertake site identification, documentation and preparation of related feasibility studies for the development of the Slave Route Project to support cultural and historical tourism.
There will also be institutional capacity building in both the public and private sectors to ensure quality service delivery to promote Ghana as a competitive and quality tourist destination.
The minister said community involvement in tourism development would be enhanced through public awareness to spread the benefits of tourism across the country.
For all this, an amount of 6.98 billion cedis has been allocated to the Ministry to carry out its activities.
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Speaker rules in favour of President
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 March 2001
The Speaker, Mr Peter Ala Adjetey on Thursday said it was right for the President not to have recognised the presence of non-members of Parliament in his message on the state of the nation delivered to the House on February 15, this year.
He said Mr John Agyekum Kufuor was addressing Parliament and that it was right for him to skip other dignitaries invited to the house because the address was meant for Parliament.
The Speaker said once the President recognised the Speaker and Honourable members of Parliament there was no need for him to salute "strangers" present at the function.
Mr Adjetey gave the ruling when Isaac Kwadwo Adjei-Mensah, Deputy Minority Leader and MP for Techiman North criticised the President for not recognising the presence of the Vice-President, traditional rulers, the diplomatic corps, the judiciary and top security officers invited to the inauguration of Parliament.
Mr. Adjei-Mensah said he was appalled by that serious omission in the President's address and wanted the situation corrected for posterity not to condemn Parliament in the future.
At that juncture Mr Joseph Dark-Mensah, NPP Okaikwei North rose on point of information to which Mr Adjei-Mensah objected, and declared that he would not yield to any information.
This prompted Mr Adjetey to say that what Mr Adjei-Mensah was saying had been addressed in the House and that there was no need referring to the issue.
When Mr Adjei-Mensah drew the Speaker's attention to the law that he is not to participate in debate the Speaker said he was giving the ruling on a matter of propriety.
"I am giving a ruling on the matter and if you challenge my ruling do it in a proper manner by way of a motion," the Speaker explained.
Mr Adjetey said although the Vice-President was the second most important citizen he was "technically a stranger to the House" and that it was not necessary for him to be recognised by the President in the protocol.
Mr Adjei-Mensah said it was right for the President to say that the expectations of Ghanaians were high and that he expected the President to have announced the abolition of school fees and the cancellation of the cash and carry system, in line with the positive change promised Ghanaians.
He regretted that one cannot mention the eradication of guinea worm without referring to potable water and yet the President chose to ignore the numerous water projects initiated by the NDC government.
Mr Adjei-Mensah said the over sung trillion cedis debts were incurred on the "Parliament where we are all sitting comfortably, the electricity we are enjoying in the villages, the roads we are using, the schools, the hospitals and the bullet proof Mercedes Benz and the motorcades".
Mr Akwasi Afrifa, NPP Fomena said landowners should use part of the proceeds from their land sales to buy shares in companies, which establish businesses on their lands.
In this way the land tenure system would have been under-going changes that would reduce litigation and activities of land guards.
He said the government should tackle security matters seriously because investors cannot carry on business in an atmosphere of serial killings and armed robberies.
Mr Afrifa said soldiers should learn a trade while serving and so that when they are on retirement they could earn additional income from such undertakings.
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Debate on state of the nation address ends
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 March 2001
The debate on the state of the nation address drew to a close on Thursday amid tension, motions, accusations, counter accusations and heckling.
The minority had dismissed the President's address as empty and without vision while the majority stood firmly behind the country's chief executive promising a better Ghana.
In his concluding remarks, Mr J.H. Mensah, Majority Leader, said the address had given a new vision that would be translated into cost-effective and sustainable programmes to better the lot of Ghanaians.
He described the former government's Vision 2020 as "blind, a meaningless collection of platitudes that we did not support".
The Leader of Government Business said a typical state of the nation address is not a
programmatic speech but a concise and accurate presentation of the problems and solutions of the nation.
On the reconciliation committee idea proposed by the President, he said such an entity would not be guided by the normal rules of a traditional court of law but by procedures that would end the persistent accusations and denials of abuse of human rights.
"We want to make it possible for the accused and the victim to find a way of reaching a settlement that would erase the sour memories of our recent past." This, he said, would help channel the energies of Ghanaians into more productive ventures.
Mr Mensah re-echoed his support for the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and asked that Ghana should join.
He said Ghanaians are poor and heavily indebted to the extent that "the problem of debt is oppressing the economy".
He argued that the nation spends 14.4 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on the serving of external and domestic debts annually.
"The average Ghanaian worker earns 60 US cents a day. The average condition of the people shows that we are poor."
Mr. Alban Bagbin, Minority Leader, dwelt more on grammar of the address than its substance.
He scolded that Presidency for not paying attention to the grammar of the President's address, saying that future generations would be amused and sad by the grammatical flaws in it.
Mr Bagbin said apart from the fact that it was prepared in "indecent haste, its uncharitable nature did not set the tone for national reconciliation".
He accused members of the majority of sycophancy, saying that the minority would continue to put government on its toes.
"I know the roles have changed and now they have become elephant stumps for the President."
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Women's Ministry will end oppression of
women - Mrs Kwofie
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 March 2001
Mrs. Gifty Eugenia Kwofie, Member of Parliament for Tarkwa Nsuaem, on Thursday said the establishment of the Ministry of Women's Affairs has precipitated the final phase of the battle for women's liberation.
"Women of Ghana now have an official and effective channel of addressing their problems and making their voices heard."
Mrs. Edith Haizel, NDC-Evalue Gwira, had whipped up sentiments with a statement to commemorate the International Year of the Woman, which falls this year.
Mrs. Kwofie said problems of motherhood, the girl-child, wife and the working woman are still with the Ghanaian society and called for sustainable solutions to them.
Ms Akua Dansoa, NDC- North Dayi, said the "liberation of the woman would only be possible if men march alongside their female compatriots".
The member said the Ghanaian woman has come to the realisation that her empowerment and liberation depend on her own attitude towards life.
Mrs. Haizel praised women leaders like Mrs Esther Ocloo, an industrialist, and Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, former first lady, for their beliefs and deeds toward the empowerment of the woman.
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Minority criticises government on
dismissals
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 March 2001
Mr Alban Bagbin, Minority Leader in Parliament on Wednesday criticised the government for revisiting the infamous "Apollo 568" in the Busia regime by directing some chief executives to proceed on leave without any reason.
"If there were any reasons at all the whole exercise smacks of political vindictiveness," Mr Bagbin told the Ghana News Agency in an interview over the recent spate of dismissals that have affected about 60 top executives of public companies, financial institutions, departments and agencies.
He said the "proceed-on-leave" syndrome is tantamount to witch-hunting, which will do the country no good.
Mr Bagbin cited the case of Mr Charles Adjei, Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company Limited, who was asked to proceed on leave by a letter signed by the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Kwamena Bartels.
Mr Bagbin said the company is governed by the companies' code and the right authority to have sent him on leave was the board of directors, the appointing body.
He criticised the language in which the letter was written and said no where in that letter was the name of the officer mentioned except that it was addressed to him as the managing director.
Mr Bagbin said those being dismissed should have the moral courage to go to court, or to the Commission on Human Rights Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to seek redress.
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