Speaker commends Ghana's political stability
Operations of Ministries fraught with fraud and irregularities - AG
Speaker commends Ghana's political stability
Accra (Greater Accra) 19 Oct. '99
The Speaker of Parliament, Mr Justice Daniel F. Annan, on Monday said Ghana's political stability and its attendant enabling environment continues to draw investors into the country.
"It is for this reason that the Danish government is sending investors into the country to explore investment opportunities in the agricultural and shipping sector", the Speaker told newsmen at the airport on his return home after leading an eight-member delegation to Copenhagen, Denmark, at the invitation of that country's parliament.
The delegation held bilateral discussions with the Danish Minister for Development and Co-operation on the need to strengthen economic co-operation between the two countries.
Mr Justice Annan said they also met with the Danish private sector and briefed them on the investment opportunities in Ghana.
Mr Justice Annan said after meeting the Danish Parliament, it was agreed that they establish a Ghana-Danish parliament group.
From Copenhagen, the delegation visited Berlin, Germany, to attend the Inter-Parliamentary Conference, which discussed and debated issues affecting political and economic development of Third World countries and the role of industrial nations in helping them.
The meeting, which brought together about 135 representatives, raised issues concerning the reviewing of the current programmes on the economic reform adjustment, poverty alleviation and sustainable development as well as negative effects of the policy of globalisation.
GRi../
Operations of Ministries fraught with fraud and irregularities - AG
Accra (Greater Accra) 19 Oct '99
The financial operations of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the government for 1998 were fraught with fraud, losses and irregularities, an Auditor-General's report said.
The report, which is on the public accounts of Ghana for the year ended 31st December, 1998, was laid before Parliament on Tuesday. It accordingly made a number of recommendations to improve the financial operations of the MDAs.
The report recommends that the internal control procedures should be strengthened while recoveries are pursued relentlessly to curtail the incidence of malfeasance in those establishments.
The controller and Accountant-General should ensure that commercial banks promptly transfer monies held on behalf of the government in collections and suspense accounts into the consolidated fund.
The report urged the Ministry of Lands and Forestry to make serious efforts to recover a total of 4.2 billion cedis owed in royalties and concession rents by timber firms.
It recommends that recoveries, in respect of misappropriated funds, loans, advances, overpayments and unauthorised salaries, should be aggressively pursued by managements of MDAs.
GRi../