Establish indicators for poverty reduction initiatives
Accra (Greater Accra)
04 October 2002- President John Agyekum Kufuor has said that the government had
not encountered any defects that would warrant her withdrawal from the
negotiations to contract one billion cedis from the International Finance
Consortium (IFC).
Addressing his second
news conference since he became Head of State, President Kufuor said in the
government's bid to contract the loan, which was earmarked for massive
infrastructure development, the government had acted cautiously in the interest
of the people of Ghana and eventually, it would be known that it did not
short-changed the nation.
"Within the
capacity of the government, due diligence was made to ensure that the
Consortium was made up of serious and reputable entities. And at every stage of
the negotiations, the government has taken extreme care to ensure that they
were fair and above reproach."
President Kufuor
stressed that the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Central Bank,
were aided by lawyers, consultants and experts in the negotiations for the loan
to ensure that the right thing was done, saying, "this government is very
meticulous in making decisions for the people of Ghana."
The IFC loan
agreement has been a regular subject of discussion in the media since the opposition
National Democratic Congress (NDC) held a news conference some months ago and
described it as a "419 scum," before it was approved by Parliament.
Recent media reports
have said the government was chasing a mirage in its pursuit of the loan and
even though the President sought to address the issue in his 40-minute speech,
which most of the questions at the news conference centred on it.
Apart from the
genuineness of the loan, Journalists asked questions about the International
Monetary Fund (IMF)'s position on the loan, the sovereign guarantee on the loan
and when it would be ready.
President Kufuor said
the government would at the appropriate time make public the details of the
loan and urged Journalists to let discretion and caution guide their comments
on the issue.
He said the IMF had
recently expressed satisfaction about the government's management of its
financial issues. On how soon the money would be released to Ghana, the
President said, "a syndication of this magnitude of the proposed loan takes
many months to put together, and to finalise it, it normally entails great
discretion on the part of the negotiators."
Explaining why the
government was pursuing the loan, President Kufuor said receipts from the
national budget or the traditional multilateral lending was unavailable to
develop Ghana's infrastructure to acceptable modern standards.
"We had to call
upon the vastly greater resources of the capital market," he said, adding
that..."it was with this background that when the government was
approached, it agreed to talk with the IFC about a billion-dollar loan
facility."
He underscored the
importance of upgrading infrastructure, saying it would encourage foreign
direct investments inflows and facilitate agriculture and industrial growth. Answering
a question on a reported statement he allegedly made about the loan becoming
ready in two weeks, Senior Minister J.H. Mensah who could not recall giving any
deadline, assured Ghanaians that, "the money would come, and you would be
glad."
"We are on
course, but we do not dictate the pace of proceedings," he said, adding
that a definite statement would soon be made on the issue. President Kufuor
addressed issues relating to the Economy, Social Services, Agriculture, Foreign
Relations, Governance and Infrastructure and what he termed Miscellaneous, in
his eight-paged speech and answered questions on his relationship with former
President Rawlings, the Gulf
Stream Presidential
Jet, the Dagbon Crisis, Work Ethics and Ghana Airways.
The two-hour news conference
held at the Castle, Osu was attended by several Journalists from both the
Private and the State-owned Media. Vice President Aliu Mahama and more than 25
Ministers of State and government officials were present. President Kufuor
announced that the news conference would now be held once every quarter.
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra)
04 October 2002- The Provident Insurance Company Limited (PIC), has presented a
cheque for 30 million cedis to 11 fire victims of the Makola Market near the
Tema Station who secured themselves under the Special Investment Plan (SIP).
The SIP is a policy
loan scheme for both low and high income earners to enable them receive some
sort of pension during their old age and also in time of disaster one can have
access to part of the contributions.
The eleven
beneficiaries were members of the Gents Wear Club (GWC), a club within the
Makola-Tema Station Traders Association. Mr Meneman Oppong-Ampomah, Life
Manager of PIC, said the gesture was to assist their clients to get back into
business and to enable them to continue to give support to their families.
He said although all
of them were not qualified to receive the claim, the organisation deemed it fit
to give them a helping hand in commemoration with the company's 20th
anniversary celebration.
He, therefore, urged
other members in the market to secure themselves with life assurance so that
they could be assisted in time of hardship. Mr George Noma, Financial Secretary
of the GWC, on behalf of his colleagues thanked the PIC for the assistance and
assured the management that they would go ahead to insure their family members
against future disaster.
Earlier, the
executive of the Makola-Tema Station Traders Association and few of their
members prevented the officials of the PIC from doing the presentation at the
burnt market.
They said that if the
presentation was done within the premises, government would no longer assist
them again. The officials had no choice than to move to under a nearby tree
behind the PWD office as no amount of explanation could convince the protesters
to soften their stand on the issue.
GRi…/
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Goaso (Brong Ahafo)
04 October 2002- Dr. K.E. Mensah-Abrampah, a lecturer at the
Department of
Planning of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has
called for the establishment of poverty indicators for the disbursement of
funds from poverty reduction initiatives.
He stated that most
people who receive the funds did not need such assistance and the indicators
would ensure a positive impact on the life of the real poor people. Dr
Mensah-Abrampah, a facilitator of Poverty Measurement and Monitoring Component
of the Community-based Poverty Reduction Project (PMM-CPRP), was speaking at a
workshop aimed at sensitising the public on the project for heads of
departments in the Asunafo District at Goaso.
The project, which is
under the World Bank Learning and Innovation Loan (LIL) programme, is being
implemented on pilot basis in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem in the Central
Region, Asunafo in the Brong-Ahafo and Bawku East in the Upper East Region.
It is aimed at
equipping the three district assemblies with a monitoring system to enhance
planning for poverty reduction, in addition to strengthening and enhancing
their capacities to measure and monitor poverty levels.
Dr. Mensah-Abrampah
expressed regret that data collected for certain economic indicators were
processed late, thus making them irrelevant. The 2000 Population Census and
details of the various towns and villages have still not been released after
two years, he said.
The facilitator
advised Heads of Departments in the Districts to make data that they collect
available to the District Assemblies before sending them to their headquarters.
He advised Unit Committees to collect basic information about their areas to
ensure proper planning for sustainable development and the eradication of
poverty.
Mr George Yaw Boakye,
Asunafo District Chief Executive (DCE), said government was committed to its
promise to enhance the living standards of the people through the institution
of a number of interventions.
He, therefore, called
on the Heads of Department to be abreast with the government's policies and
programmes to enable them to effectively play their roles towards the
achievement of set targets.
GRi…/
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