Incompetence characterises financial administration of assemblies
President Kufuor pledges to uphold human rights
Ward-Brew's exit, not a threat to NDC -Eddie Palmer
Anloga (Volta Region) 05 November 2001 - A magical display, during last Saturday's Hogbetsotso festival at Anloga, nearly turned tragic when a bottle of gunpowder exploded on coming into contact with fire, resulting in a deep cut on the right eyebrow of a magician, Issaka Awudu.
Pieces of bottle flew into the crowd of spectators and state dignitaries seated on the dais. The loud explosion sent spectators scurrying for cover in a moment of confusion and fright.
The show, however, resumed a little later when security personnel had ascertained the cause of the explosion and gave the go-ahead for the continuation of the show.
Mr Awudu, who was drenched in blood from his wound, afterwards uprooted a cassava stick bearing three tubers of cassava, which he had planted on the festival grounds a few minutes before the explosion.
The Police rushed him to the Keta Hospital. The Police have meanwhile collected pieces of the broken bottle for further investigation.
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Ho (Volta Region) 05 November 2001 - Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, has attributed financial mal-administration in local government institutions to incompetence and lack of qualified personnel.
He said, "whilst lots of funds are being transferred from the central government to the local level, there has not been any corresponding increase in the required number of qualified personnel to manage these funds."
Mr Baah-Wiredu was delivering a paper on: "Achieving Effective and Transparent Local Government in Ghana" at the end of four-day capacity building workshop for members of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament at Ho.
The workshop, which was under the theme: "Public Accounts Committee, Watchdog of the Public Purse", was sponsored by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and attended by 30 participants.
The Minister said most personnel of the local government institutions were often not adequately abreast with the regulations under which they operated.
"The desire to improve governance at the local level, it seems is not accompanied by support in terms of qualified personnel for the implementation.
As a result, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, face problems in translating policy frameworks into practice", Mr Baah-Wiredu said.
He said District Finance Officers (DFOs) were largely ignorant of legislative instruments, which were the working tools of every public officer entrusted with public funds.
Mr Baah-Wiredu said there were instances where storekeepers with no training in financial management or accounting were made to act as DFOs. "Thus, most of these officers either misapply the rules or they do not apply them at all", he stated.
"It is not surprising, therefore, that despite elaborate financial management control measures, the Auditor-General's reports usually reveal malpractice in the financial management system of assemblies."
He said corruption and poor accounting practices were, therefore, the core financial management problems in the assemblies. Mr Baah-Wiredu said the Ministry would continue to enforce laws and regulations and adopt additional measures to address such lapses.
A standard of behaviour would be set for District Chief Executives (DCEs) and District Co-ordinating Directors (DCDs) while public servants would be required to declare their interests to ensure propriety, integrity and honesty.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 November 2001 - The first batch of 200 Ghanaian troops left Accra on Monday for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on peacekeeping duties.
A statement from the Armed Forces Public Relations Directorate said a second detachment of 201 personnel would leave on Monday, November 12 to join the first batch to serve for six months.
Brigadier J.B. Danquah, Commanding Officer of the Southern Command, told the troops in a pre-departure talk to exhibit the highest level of dedication and professionalism in order to maintain the enviable heights that the Ghana Armed Forces had attained in international peacekeeping.
Lt Col Samuel Ayitor, Commanding Officer of the detachment, MONUC GHANBATT 1, promised that he and his men would conduct themselves as worthy ambassadors of Ghana while in the DRC.
GRi../
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Tamale (Northern Region) 05 November 2001-The Northern Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Alhaji Salifu Adbul-Rahaman has said that the government would not discriminate against contractors in the award of contracts.
Henceforth, award of contracts would be based purely on qualification and not on party affiliation or ethnic consideration, Alhaji Abdul-Rahaman said at the outdooring of three defected executive members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to the NPP in Tamale on Saturday.
The three defected members are Alhaji Tahiru Alimeyowu Mohammed, an Accountant and former NDC Regional Treasurer, Mr A.A. Bawa, Constituency Chairman for Choggu/Tishegu and Mba Luga, Ward Chairman for Kalipohim.
Alhaji Adbul-Rahaman said Ghana is for all Ghanaians and not for a particular party or group of people and so the practice where some contractors were denied jobs because of their political leanings would not be encouraged by the NPP administration.
The Regional Chairman asked members of the NPP to always use decent language to win new members into the party. He also advised them to tolerate the views of the opposition parties to promote peace and unity.
Speaking at the function, one of the defectors, Alhaji Mohammed said he was impressed about the politics of the NPP administration hence his defection.
He said the adoption of Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative, the stability of the cedi and the policy on education were commendable and called on all progressive Ghanaians to assist the government to successfully implement these policies.
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Anloga (Luanda) 05 November 2001-President John Agyekum Kufuor has said his administration would uphold the human rights of all Ghanaians by ensuring the protection of personal freedoms and liberty as enshrined in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Manifesto.
He said lessons from tyrannical rules attest to the fact that wherever peoples' freedoms are suppressed, revolt, anarchy and destruction become the end result.
President Kufuor said this in a speech read for him by Alhaji Malik Yakubu, Minister of Interior at the 39 annual Hogbetsotso Festival of the Chiefs and People of Anlo Traditional Area on Saturday on the theme: "Assessing the economic development of Anlo."
The annual festival recalls the flight of the Anlos like other Ewes from the tyrannical rule of King Agokorli of Nortsie in the republic of Togo in 1600.
"Where human dignity is trampled upon and tyranny and suppression become the order of the day, there surely would be a revolt", he said.
He said the government's policy of reconciliation, good governance, transparency and zero tolerance for corruption are not mere slogans but attainable goals.
"If in the course of duty to the nation you committed crimes such as corruption then our zero tolerance would catch up with you no matter who you are, and this is not witch hunting," he said.
President Kufuor said the adoption of the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative is an unavoidable measure to give the economy a breather from debt servicing and redirect its resources towards poverty reduction.
"Ghana was poor and indebted and therefore eligible for the HIPC initiative and there is no shame accepting that we are poor," he stated.
President Kufuor said several donor countries including Canada, Britain and the United States of America have cancelled several debts Ghana owed them.
He said Keta is strategic to the development of the country for which reason the government would tackle its Sea defence project and related socio-economic activities with all seriousness.
President Kufuor urged king makers in the area to reciprocate the government's commitment to tackling the socio-economic decline of the area by resolving the chieftaincy conflict which has delayed the installation of a new Awomefia.
Referring to the theme of the celebration, Mr Kwasi Owusu-Yeboa, Volta Regional Minister said vegetable farming, mango and sugarcane cultivation wet lands tourism and salt production constitute huge economic potentials for the area.
He advised the citizens especially the youth to take the message against the HIV/AIDS menace seriously to prevent the looming catastrophe in the country.
Togbe Agbesi Awusu II, Awadada of Anlo and the acting Awomefia urged the government to tackle the economic components of the Keta Sea Defence Project such as the expansion of the dredged area of the lagoon for increased fishing grounds and the expansion of the land for economic activities.
Togbe Awusu said discussions are underway between the traditional area and the Coastal Geomorphic Engineering Company of USA for the establishment of a salt industry in the area.
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Tema (Greater Accra) 05 November 2001-The break-away of the Democratic People's Party (DPP) from the Progress Alliance is not a threat to the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Eddie Palmer, Acting Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the NDC told newsmen on Saturday at Tema.
He explained that Mr. N. Ward-Brew, Chairman of the DPP has never been loyal to the NDC, rather it was Dan Markins who has associated himself through the DPP with the NDC.
Mr. Palmer spoke to the press in an interview after the inauguration of a 13-member executive of the Tema East Constituency of the party, claimed there has been a division between Mr. Markins and Mr. Brew, "so if, Mr Brew has come out to say that the DPP is no more with the NDC, he is talking for himself and not the totality of the DPP."
The re-constituted executive has Mr. Eddie Doku as the chairman, Mr. Theophilus Addo Mills, Secretary, Mr. E. A. Sowah, Organiser and Madam Gladys Adwoa Tamakloe as the Women's Organiser.
He was sure that Mr. Markins would also counter-act Mr.Ward Brew's break-away move. Mr. Palmer said victory for the NDC in the 2004 presidential and parliamentary elections could be achieved through hard work and perseverance.
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