Story: Kofi Yeboah, Kitase
Residents of Kitase and its environs in the Akuapem South District of the Eastern Region have expressed concern over the indiscriminate installation of masts by mobile telecommunication, broadcasting and Internet operators in the area.
According to the residents, the closeness of masts to their houses was exposing them to direct radiation from the equipment, which they claimed could cause breast cancer, miscarriage, brain tumours and other diseases.
Furthermore, the residents expressed the fear that the masts posed the threat of physical harm to people nearby in the event of their collapse.
One of the masts at Ahwerease is located close to the local basic school.
The masts are scattered around residential areas at Kitase, Peduase, Ahwerease and other towns on the Akuapem Ridge. Some of them have developed visible signs of corrosion as a result of the high rate of humidity in the area but, according to the residents, the operators had not been undertaking maintenance works on them.
Among radio stations whose masts are located in the area are Peace FM, Channel R and Radio Gold.
The residents further alleged that the red warning lights on top of some of the towers had ceased functioning, posing a great worry to aircraft in view of the fact that the area was a major route for aircraft, particularly helicopters.
According to the residents, many of the masts had been installed without recourse to safety standards, such as guard wires to give them a firm balance and lightning arrestors to manage the impact of lightning whenever it struck.
Fearing the imminent danger that the closeness of the masts to their houses poses to their lives, some residents in the area are said to have abandoned their homes.
However, others, instead of abandoning their homes, have resolved to confront the menace, recognising that with the boom in the broadcast and telecommunication industry, they may soon be “ejected” from their homes.
“It’s important that we kill this bug as soon as possible before it becomes a monster,” the Chairman of the Kitase-Peduase Residents Association, Mr Kwadwo Ayisi-Okyere, told the Daily Graphic on Tuesday.
Mr Ayisi-Okyere was later joined by other residents, including Mr Hans Rudolf Roth, the Secretary of the association, Ambassador Kwame Adusei, a former Ambassador to Germany, and Dr John K. Boah, a metallurgical engineer, and they took turns to explain efforts made by the residents to draw the attention of the authorities to the problem, all to no avail.
They expressed disappointment over the inability of the Ministry of Communications, the National Communications Authority (NCA) and the Akuapem South District Assembly to address the problem.
According to the residents, it was not necessary for all the communication operators to install their individual masts, explaining that a number of them could install their transmitters on one mast, thereby reducing the danger posed by the plethora of masts in the area.
They indicated that the probable reason for the operators’ unwillingness to site their masts in non-residential areas was the fact that they wanted to avoid the cost of constructing access roads and extending electricity to such isolated locations. Instead, they took advantage of such facilities in established residential areas.
However, a Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Services Consultant, Dr E. Amamoo-Otchere, has dismissed the fears of the residents over the health effects of radiation from the masts.
According to him, there had not been any scientific proof to support the assertion that radiation from such installations could cause such health problems referred to and others like low sperm count.
Dr Amamoo-Otchere, who just retired as the Executive Director of the Centre for Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Services of the University of Ghana, said the level of radiation emissions from the masts was not beyond what could cause any health hazard, adding that there was a lot of equipment around, such as television sets, FM radio sets, dryers and microwave ovens which were sources of radiation emissions.
The Deputy Director (Aerodrome Safety and Standards) of the GCAA, Mr Paul Kontoh, said after receiving information that some of the red warning lights on the masts were not functioning, the authority requested the operators to rectify the problem, to which they obliged.
He confirmed that the GCAA gave approval to the operators to install the masts, after they had met the required standards for putting up high towers as mandated by law.
Recently, a military helicopter carrying the mortal remains of a former Air Force Commander, Air Marshal Otu, to Adukrom for burial crash-landed and went into flames after its propeller hit a mast nearby.
A few years ago, a mast belonging to a mobile telecommunications operator collapsed on a vehicle at Ashiaman, killing a little boy who was then in the vehicle.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
LARGE NUMBER OF CHILDREN DIE IN ROAD ACCIDENTS
Story: Kofi Yeboah
A survey commissioned by the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) in 2006 showed that a large number of children lose their lives in road accidents in the country.
It indicated that about 310 children died every year through road accidents, constituting 20 per cent of all road traffic fatalities in the country.
According to the survey, the Ashanti Region recorded the highest number of road accident fatalities involving children (23 per cent), followed by the Eastern Region (15 per cent) and the Central Region (14 per cent).
The survey noted that apart from the Greater Accra Region, a higher proportion (60-80 per cent) of children involved in road traffic accidents were associated with non-urban road environment.
For instance, about 54 per cent of children were killed on the highways passing through village settlements, while roads passing through built-up settlements accounted for 86 per cent of all traffic fatalities among children.
The NRSC, through Carl Bro a/s, contracted the Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to carry out the survey under the Transport Sector Programme Support II (TSPS II).
It was sponsored by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) with the aim of providing the needed information on road traffic fatalities involving children, trends, age, sex, regional distribution, among other data.
The NRSC found it necessary to undertake the survey in view of the limited and incoherent documentation on the magnitude and nature of road traffic accidents involving children in the country.
The commission believes that the availability of such documentation will pave the way for the development of strategies and measures to address the problem, considering the effects of road traffic accidents on the socio-economic development of countries.
Global statistics estimate that 1.2 million people die annually through road traffic accidents.
The data for the survey were taken from police accident reports for the period 2001-2005 with respect to road traffic accident fatalities involving children of 0-15 years.
The survey defines fatality as a child of that age group who died within 30 days from the time of his or her involvement in a road traffic accident.
According to the survey, generally more boys (55 per cent) died in road traffic accidents than girls (45 per cent), with children in the age groups of 7-9 and 4-6 being the most victims.
With respect to pedestrians killed in accidents, the survey revealed that children were the most vulnerable. That was because one out of every three pedestrians killed in traffic was a child.
It observed that child pedestrians accounted for 80 per cent of all road traffic fatalities among children in the country.
Most of them were killed by cars (40 per cent), mini buses (33 per cent) or vehicles carrying goods (15 per cent) while crossing the road.
“Studies (Lee, 1994; Tight, 1998; Afukaar, 2001), have alluded to the diminutive size of children and their level of understanding of traffic systems as the key contributory factors pre-disposing the child pedestrian to risk of death in traffic,” the survey pointed out.
Assessing the periods within which the accidents occurred, the survey noted that the months of November and December recorded the highest number of road traffic accidents in the country.
Furthermore, it indicated that majority of the accidents occurred on weekends (Saturday and Sunday).
The survey also noted that about 80 per cent of the accidents occurred during daytime (6.00 a.m. - 6.00 p.m.) with the period 4.00 p.m. - 6.00 p.m. being the most dangerous.
It observed that one factor accounting for the high rate of road traffic fatalities involving children was that many parents tended to overestimate their children’s ability to safely cross the street by themselves.
In order to reduce the spate of these accidents, the survey recommended that education on road safety should be focused more on children, especially those below 10 years.
In that respect, it urged parents, teachers, drivers and community leaders to educate children on safer use of roads.
The survey strongly suggested the teaching of road safety as a subject in schools, particularly at the primary level.
It further recommended the need to encourage engineers and planners to provide safe pedestrian facilities in the designing of new roads or when improving existing roads in order to make them child pedestrian friendly.
A survey commissioned by the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) in 2006 showed that a large number of children lose their lives in road accidents in the country.
It indicated that about 310 children died every year through road accidents, constituting 20 per cent of all road traffic fatalities in the country.
According to the survey, the Ashanti Region recorded the highest number of road accident fatalities involving children (23 per cent), followed by the Eastern Region (15 per cent) and the Central Region (14 per cent).
The survey noted that apart from the Greater Accra Region, a higher proportion (60-80 per cent) of children involved in road traffic accidents were associated with non-urban road environment.
For instance, about 54 per cent of children were killed on the highways passing through village settlements, while roads passing through built-up settlements accounted for 86 per cent of all traffic fatalities among children.
The NRSC, through Carl Bro a/s, contracted the Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to carry out the survey under the Transport Sector Programme Support II (TSPS II).
It was sponsored by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) with the aim of providing the needed information on road traffic fatalities involving children, trends, age, sex, regional distribution, among other data.
The NRSC found it necessary to undertake the survey in view of the limited and incoherent documentation on the magnitude and nature of road traffic accidents involving children in the country.
The commission believes that the availability of such documentation will pave the way for the development of strategies and measures to address the problem, considering the effects of road traffic accidents on the socio-economic development of countries.
Global statistics estimate that 1.2 million people die annually through road traffic accidents.
The data for the survey were taken from police accident reports for the period 2001-2005 with respect to road traffic accident fatalities involving children of 0-15 years.
The survey defines fatality as a child of that age group who died within 30 days from the time of his or her involvement in a road traffic accident.
According to the survey, generally more boys (55 per cent) died in road traffic accidents than girls (45 per cent), with children in the age groups of 7-9 and 4-6 being the most victims.
With respect to pedestrians killed in accidents, the survey revealed that children were the most vulnerable. That was because one out of every three pedestrians killed in traffic was a child.
It observed that child pedestrians accounted for 80 per cent of all road traffic fatalities among children in the country.
Most of them were killed by cars (40 per cent), mini buses (33 per cent) or vehicles carrying goods (15 per cent) while crossing the road.
“Studies (Lee, 1994; Tight, 1998; Afukaar, 2001), have alluded to the diminutive size of children and their level of understanding of traffic systems as the key contributory factors pre-disposing the child pedestrian to risk of death in traffic,” the survey pointed out.
Assessing the periods within which the accidents occurred, the survey noted that the months of November and December recorded the highest number of road traffic accidents in the country.
Furthermore, it indicated that majority of the accidents occurred on weekends (Saturday and Sunday).
The survey also noted that about 80 per cent of the accidents occurred during daytime (6.00 a.m. - 6.00 p.m.) with the period 4.00 p.m. - 6.00 p.m. being the most dangerous.
It observed that one factor accounting for the high rate of road traffic fatalities involving children was that many parents tended to overestimate their children’s ability to safely cross the street by themselves.
In order to reduce the spate of these accidents, the survey recommended that education on road safety should be focused more on children, especially those below 10 years.
In that respect, it urged parents, teachers, drivers and community leaders to educate children on safer use of roads.
The survey strongly suggested the teaching of road safety as a subject in schools, particularly at the primary level.
It further recommended the need to encourage engineers and planners to provide safe pedestrian facilities in the designing of new roads or when improving existing roads in order to make them child pedestrian friendly.
HORROR AT SAKAMAN - Man butchers cousin in bizarre incident (P.1)
Story: Kofi Yeboah
AN embittered plumber, George Awuku Dompreh, has executed a five-year-old threat by allegedly butchering his cousin in a brutal incident at Sakaman in Accra last Thursday.
Five years ago, Awuku, 41, threatened to visit mayhem on his aunt, Juliana Osew Dukwaa, and proceeded last Thursday to inflict many machete wounds on Enoch Sakyi Bampoe Bekoe, the aunt’s son, and fled into hiding.
The Crime Officer of Accra South West (Dansoman) of the Ghana Police Service, Chief Supt Stephen D. Anyan, confirmed the story to the Daily Graphic and said the police had mounted an intensive search for the suspect.
Awuku’s deadly act snuffed the life out of the 28-year-old BSc (Agriculture) degree holder from the University of Cape Coast and employee of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Accra, whom close associates described as a young man with bright prospects.
Enoch, 28, was due to get marry early next month to the daughter of a Presbyterian Reverend Minister whom he had courted for about three years.
“He was such a loving and caring guy. I haven’t seen his kind before. He speaks with so much wisdom. He loves kids,” Ms Mary Awo Sintim paid tribute to her departed fiancé.
Close associates of the family told the Daily Graphic that Awuku’s action was closely linked to a deep-seated dislike he harboured for his aunt for kicking against his marriage about five years ago and for his supposed predicaments in life.
He was said to have developed hatred for his aunt, with whom he lived for eight years, and openly threatened to kill her and her nuclear family.
In a statement to the police, Mr Edmund Kotey Djane, who was the closest witness to the incident, said around 9.00 p.m. on Thursday, he was with Enoch at his (Enoch’s) uncle’s residence when Awuku knocked at the door and asked to see Enoch.
He said Enoch then went outside, apparently to discuss something with his cousin. But after about 25 minutes, Djane said he heard Enoch screaming for help.
Djane said he immediately rushed out, only to find Awuku slashing Enoch with a machete. As soon as Awuku saw him, he bolted.
He said he rushed to attend to Enoch, who was bleeding profusely, and with the help of some residents around, Enoch was rushed to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. But their rescue mission did not yield positive results as Enoch was pronounced dead on arrival.
When the Daily Graphic visited Enoch’s residence at Sakaman, there were a number of sympathisers who had gone there to console his grief-stricken mother and other family relations.
According to Madam Dukwaa, she had lived with Awuku for eight years after the death of his parents, adding that during that period, there was no ill-feeling between them.
She said Awuku neither smoked nor drank alcohol but was an intensely private person who was always quiet. She said he assisted her in various ways, including even cooking and carrying out other household chores.
Madam Dukwaa said about five years ago, Awuku started paying frequent visits to their village at Oworam, near Asamankese, and she later found out that his frequent visits to the village were in connection with a woman he had impregnated there and whom he intended to marry.
She said when she found out that the woman hailed from Baasare, she advised Awuku against the marriage, explaining that the woman’s home town was too far and since his parents were dead, it would be difficult for the family to travel that far in case something happened and they needed to do so.
Madam Dukwaa said she later realised that Awuku was not pleased with her advice and even went ahead to have another baby with the woman.
She said Awuku kept telling some of their family members that he would kill her (Dukwaa) and her relations and commit suicide afterwards.
According to Madam Dukwaa, realising the seriousness of the threat, the elders of the family summoned a meeting to resolve the issue but Awuku did not turn up at the appointed time.
She said in spite of those developments, she related very well with Awuku and he did not display any evil intentions against her until one day when he visited her and started casting insinuations to the effect of asking whoever was causing his woes to desist from doing so.
When asked why she did not report Awuku’s threats to the police, Madam Dukwaa said she did not consider that option because she had him at heart, adding that her husband had wanted to take that course of action but some family members prevailed upon them not to go ahead.
At the residence of Enoch’s fiancee at Abeka, everyone seemed dumb-founded about the fate that had befallen their would-be in-law.
According to Mary, Enoch was a very principled, focused and determined person who endeavoured to achieve anything he set his mind on.
Her father, Rev Col E. B. B. Sintim (retd), said Enoch was a good man and that it was just unfortunate that such a terrible fate should befall him.
AN embittered plumber, George Awuku Dompreh, has executed a five-year-old threat by allegedly butchering his cousin in a brutal incident at Sakaman in Accra last Thursday.
Five years ago, Awuku, 41, threatened to visit mayhem on his aunt, Juliana Osew Dukwaa, and proceeded last Thursday to inflict many machete wounds on Enoch Sakyi Bampoe Bekoe, the aunt’s son, and fled into hiding.
The Crime Officer of Accra South West (Dansoman) of the Ghana Police Service, Chief Supt Stephen D. Anyan, confirmed the story to the Daily Graphic and said the police had mounted an intensive search for the suspect.
Awuku’s deadly act snuffed the life out of the 28-year-old BSc (Agriculture) degree holder from the University of Cape Coast and employee of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Accra, whom close associates described as a young man with bright prospects.
Enoch, 28, was due to get marry early next month to the daughter of a Presbyterian Reverend Minister whom he had courted for about three years.
“He was such a loving and caring guy. I haven’t seen his kind before. He speaks with so much wisdom. He loves kids,” Ms Mary Awo Sintim paid tribute to her departed fiancé.
Close associates of the family told the Daily Graphic that Awuku’s action was closely linked to a deep-seated dislike he harboured for his aunt for kicking against his marriage about five years ago and for his supposed predicaments in life.
He was said to have developed hatred for his aunt, with whom he lived for eight years, and openly threatened to kill her and her nuclear family.
In a statement to the police, Mr Edmund Kotey Djane, who was the closest witness to the incident, said around 9.00 p.m. on Thursday, he was with Enoch at his (Enoch’s) uncle’s residence when Awuku knocked at the door and asked to see Enoch.
He said Enoch then went outside, apparently to discuss something with his cousin. But after about 25 minutes, Djane said he heard Enoch screaming for help.
Djane said he immediately rushed out, only to find Awuku slashing Enoch with a machete. As soon as Awuku saw him, he bolted.
He said he rushed to attend to Enoch, who was bleeding profusely, and with the help of some residents around, Enoch was rushed to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. But their rescue mission did not yield positive results as Enoch was pronounced dead on arrival.
When the Daily Graphic visited Enoch’s residence at Sakaman, there were a number of sympathisers who had gone there to console his grief-stricken mother and other family relations.
According to Madam Dukwaa, she had lived with Awuku for eight years after the death of his parents, adding that during that period, there was no ill-feeling between them.
She said Awuku neither smoked nor drank alcohol but was an intensely private person who was always quiet. She said he assisted her in various ways, including even cooking and carrying out other household chores.
Madam Dukwaa said about five years ago, Awuku started paying frequent visits to their village at Oworam, near Asamankese, and she later found out that his frequent visits to the village were in connection with a woman he had impregnated there and whom he intended to marry.
She said when she found out that the woman hailed from Baasare, she advised Awuku against the marriage, explaining that the woman’s home town was too far and since his parents were dead, it would be difficult for the family to travel that far in case something happened and they needed to do so.
Madam Dukwaa said she later realised that Awuku was not pleased with her advice and even went ahead to have another baby with the woman.
She said Awuku kept telling some of their family members that he would kill her (Dukwaa) and her relations and commit suicide afterwards.
According to Madam Dukwaa, realising the seriousness of the threat, the elders of the family summoned a meeting to resolve the issue but Awuku did not turn up at the appointed time.
She said in spite of those developments, she related very well with Awuku and he did not display any evil intentions against her until one day when he visited her and started casting insinuations to the effect of asking whoever was causing his woes to desist from doing so.
When asked why she did not report Awuku’s threats to the police, Madam Dukwaa said she did not consider that option because she had him at heart, adding that her husband had wanted to take that course of action but some family members prevailed upon them not to go ahead.
At the residence of Enoch’s fiancee at Abeka, everyone seemed dumb-founded about the fate that had befallen their would-be in-law.
According to Mary, Enoch was a very principled, focused and determined person who endeavoured to achieve anything he set his mind on.
Her father, Rev Col E. B. B. Sintim (retd), said Enoch was a good man and that it was just unfortunate that such a terrible fate should befall him.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
WEREKO-BROBBY PAYS INSURANCE PREMIUM FOR 1,000 (P.49)
Story: Kofi Yeboah
THE Chief Executive of the Ghana@50 Secretariat, Dr Charles Yves Wereko-Brobby, has made a personal donation of GH¢10,000 (¢100 million) to cover the health insurance premiums of 1,000 youth in the Efigya Sekyere District in the Ashanti Region.
Twenty youth from each of the 50 constituencies in the district are to benefit from the package which cheque was presented to the Presiding Member of the Efigya Sekyere District Assembly, Mr Kwasi Karikari Achamfuor, last Saturday.
The benevolence of Dr Wereko-Brobby, who is a native of Agona Asante in the Efigya Sekyere District, would enable the beneficiaries to sign up to the District Mutual Health Insurance Scheme (DMHIS) and consequently, enjoy free medical service for one year.
“There are many Ghanaians who have lots of resources and it is important for them to support those who don’t have to benefit from the health insurance scheme,” Dr Wereko-Brobby made a clarion call on the well-to-do in society through the Daily Graphic yesterday.
“The health insurance concept is a good initiative but there are many people who are not taking advantage of it because of financial difficulties. One way to help the scheme to grow and for all to accept the concept is for those who have to help the have-nots,” he added.
Dr Wereko-Brobby said it was a normal practice in the traditional setting for wealthy people to pay the medical bills of their relations.
He, however, noted that under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the bill paid for medical treatment was far cheaper than that paid under the old system.
Moreover, he said, with the NHIS, one could take care of the health bills of many family relations with the same amount of money that he or she would have spent on the bill of just one relative under the old policy of cash and carry.
Dr Wereko-Brobby said many people had not signed up to the scheme because they did not understand the concept, but pointed out that if those people were given the necessary support to experience its benefits they would be the best apostles of the concept.
He suggested a communal support approach in which benefactors would extend their financial support beyond their family relations to the entire community.
Dr Wereko-Brobby said the decision to support the youth was based on the fact that they were the productive force of the country and so it was important to offer them a basis to believe that they had a future in the country.
He observed that many of the youth who were unemployed were economically handicapped and as such that misfortune should not be allowed to be compounded by illness.
“It’s my belief that once they know what it means and its advantages, when it is time for renewal, they would find money to support themselves,” he said.
Dr Wereko-Brobby expressed the hope that the District Assembly would not discriminate in favour of relations of Assembly members in the selection of the beneficiaries for the package.
“We are trusting on the integrity of the assembly men and women to give it to those who really need it,” he remarked.
Dr Wereko-Brobby suggested the establishment of a resource and expert support unit in various communities to serve as the “grass roots beginning to economic independence”, by helping to manage development projects in the communities.
Such initiative, he said, would facilitate local training programmes, education and small enterprises, among other ventures, to build the economic foundation of the communities.
THE Chief Executive of the Ghana@50 Secretariat, Dr Charles Yves Wereko-Brobby, has made a personal donation of GH¢10,000 (¢100 million) to cover the health insurance premiums of 1,000 youth in the Efigya Sekyere District in the Ashanti Region.
Twenty youth from each of the 50 constituencies in the district are to benefit from the package which cheque was presented to the Presiding Member of the Efigya Sekyere District Assembly, Mr Kwasi Karikari Achamfuor, last Saturday.
The benevolence of Dr Wereko-Brobby, who is a native of Agona Asante in the Efigya Sekyere District, would enable the beneficiaries to sign up to the District Mutual Health Insurance Scheme (DMHIS) and consequently, enjoy free medical service for one year.
“There are many Ghanaians who have lots of resources and it is important for them to support those who don’t have to benefit from the health insurance scheme,” Dr Wereko-Brobby made a clarion call on the well-to-do in society through the Daily Graphic yesterday.
“The health insurance concept is a good initiative but there are many people who are not taking advantage of it because of financial difficulties. One way to help the scheme to grow and for all to accept the concept is for those who have to help the have-nots,” he added.
Dr Wereko-Brobby said it was a normal practice in the traditional setting for wealthy people to pay the medical bills of their relations.
He, however, noted that under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the bill paid for medical treatment was far cheaper than that paid under the old system.
Moreover, he said, with the NHIS, one could take care of the health bills of many family relations with the same amount of money that he or she would have spent on the bill of just one relative under the old policy of cash and carry.
Dr Wereko-Brobby said many people had not signed up to the scheme because they did not understand the concept, but pointed out that if those people were given the necessary support to experience its benefits they would be the best apostles of the concept.
He suggested a communal support approach in which benefactors would extend their financial support beyond their family relations to the entire community.
Dr Wereko-Brobby said the decision to support the youth was based on the fact that they were the productive force of the country and so it was important to offer them a basis to believe that they had a future in the country.
He observed that many of the youth who were unemployed were economically handicapped and as such that misfortune should not be allowed to be compounded by illness.
“It’s my belief that once they know what it means and its advantages, when it is time for renewal, they would find money to support themselves,” he said.
Dr Wereko-Brobby expressed the hope that the District Assembly would not discriminate in favour of relations of Assembly members in the selection of the beneficiaries for the package.
“We are trusting on the integrity of the assembly men and women to give it to those who really need it,” he remarked.
Dr Wereko-Brobby suggested the establishment of a resource and expert support unit in various communities to serve as the “grass roots beginning to economic independence”, by helping to manage development projects in the communities.
Such initiative, he said, would facilitate local training programmes, education and small enterprises, among other ventures, to build the economic foundation of the communities.
VICE CHANCELLORS NEED MANAGERIAL SKILLS
(P. 24/25) NOVEMBER 14, 2007
Story: Kofi Yeboah
THE Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Rev Prof. Emmanuel Adow-Obeng, has stated that the appointment of Vice Chancellors with no knowledge in management has been a drawback on the effective management of the universities.
He, therefore, stressed the need for persons appointed Vice Chancellors to acquire management skills to enable them to address the challenges in their universities.
Rev Prof Adow-Obeng made the comment when he delivered a lecture at the Great Hall of the University of Ghana, Legon, to mark African Universities Day.
The Day was instituted on November 12, 1994, by the African Union (AU), formerly known as the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), in pursuant to a resolution passed by the OAU Council of Ministers in June 1994.
This year, the Day, which coincided with the 40th anniversary of the Association of African Universities (AAU), was celebrated on the theme, “Forty years of championing African university leadership: Prospects and challenges for the near future”.
Delivering his lecture on the theme, Rev Prof Adow-Obeng assessed the development of higher institutions of learning in Africa, their challenges and prospects for the future.
On the need for Vice Chancellors to acquire management skills, he said the AAU had been organising workshops and seminars to update the managerial skills of Vice Chancellors.
Rev Prof Adow-Obeng urged young graduates to take up faculty appointments at the universities, assuring them that better prospects awaited them.
According to him, conditions of service at public universities in Ghana, for instance, had improved considerably over the past two years, adding that there were many opportunities at the universities that young graduates could benefit from.
He said over the past two decades, higher education had provided the needed human resource for many African countries.
He, however, observed that the growing demand for higher education had presented enormous challenges for many African universities, adding that poor economic development of African countries had deepened those challenges.
Rev Prof. Adow-Obeng noted that the AAU was making efforts to help African universities overcome some of the challenges they faced, and further lauded the innovation being embraced by some of the universities, which had led to their improvement.
He said the era of globalisation and information communication technology (ICT) was changing the environment within which African universities operated and that unfortunately, they were yet to take full advantage of the change.
On funding, he indicated that African governments had reduced the requirements of the universities by about 50 per cent over the years, and that was making it difficult for them to attract and retain academic staff.
The Head of Communications at the AAU Secretariat, Dr Hoba Pascal, said although there had been some improvement in higher education in Africa, it still faced many challenges.
He attributed the situation to the bad economic disposition of African countries, saying, “At a time when the rest of the world has experienced rapid economic growth, most of the people of Africa have been left behind with nearly half of its people living on less than $1 a day”.
Dr Pascal said in spite of the challenges, African universities, after diagnosing their problems, were in the process of finding solutions to them.
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof Clifford Nii Boi Tagoe, who chaired the event, expressed concern about the ageing faculty members and added his voice to the call on young graduates to take appointments at the universities.
Story: Kofi Yeboah
THE Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Rev Prof. Emmanuel Adow-Obeng, has stated that the appointment of Vice Chancellors with no knowledge in management has been a drawback on the effective management of the universities.
He, therefore, stressed the need for persons appointed Vice Chancellors to acquire management skills to enable them to address the challenges in their universities.
Rev Prof Adow-Obeng made the comment when he delivered a lecture at the Great Hall of the University of Ghana, Legon, to mark African Universities Day.
The Day was instituted on November 12, 1994, by the African Union (AU), formerly known as the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), in pursuant to a resolution passed by the OAU Council of Ministers in June 1994.
This year, the Day, which coincided with the 40th anniversary of the Association of African Universities (AAU), was celebrated on the theme, “Forty years of championing African university leadership: Prospects and challenges for the near future”.
Delivering his lecture on the theme, Rev Prof Adow-Obeng assessed the development of higher institutions of learning in Africa, their challenges and prospects for the future.
On the need for Vice Chancellors to acquire management skills, he said the AAU had been organising workshops and seminars to update the managerial skills of Vice Chancellors.
Rev Prof Adow-Obeng urged young graduates to take up faculty appointments at the universities, assuring them that better prospects awaited them.
According to him, conditions of service at public universities in Ghana, for instance, had improved considerably over the past two years, adding that there were many opportunities at the universities that young graduates could benefit from.
He said over the past two decades, higher education had provided the needed human resource for many African countries.
He, however, observed that the growing demand for higher education had presented enormous challenges for many African universities, adding that poor economic development of African countries had deepened those challenges.
Rev Prof. Adow-Obeng noted that the AAU was making efforts to help African universities overcome some of the challenges they faced, and further lauded the innovation being embraced by some of the universities, which had led to their improvement.
He said the era of globalisation and information communication technology (ICT) was changing the environment within which African universities operated and that unfortunately, they were yet to take full advantage of the change.
On funding, he indicated that African governments had reduced the requirements of the universities by about 50 per cent over the years, and that was making it difficult for them to attract and retain academic staff.
The Head of Communications at the AAU Secretariat, Dr Hoba Pascal, said although there had been some improvement in higher education in Africa, it still faced many challenges.
He attributed the situation to the bad economic disposition of African countries, saying, “At a time when the rest of the world has experienced rapid economic growth, most of the people of Africa have been left behind with nearly half of its people living on less than $1 a day”.
Dr Pascal said in spite of the challenges, African universities, after diagnosing their problems, were in the process of finding solutions to them.
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof Clifford Nii Boi Tagoe, who chaired the event, expressed concern about the ageing faculty members and added his voice to the call on young graduates to take appointments at the universities.
SMUGGLERS INTENSIFY ACTIVITIES AT ENTRY POINTS
(P. 22) NOVEMBER 10, 2007
Story: Kofi Yeboah, Dabala
ACTIVITIES of smugglers at various entry points in the country have intensified as Christmas approaches, thus depriving the nation of billions of cedis in revenue.
In response to that, officials of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) have vowed to crash the activities of the smugglers.
At Dabala in the South Tongu District in the Volta Region, the smugglers have adopted various modus operandi that CEPS officials are currently finding it extremely difficult to combat, as a result of the inadequate logistics and weak staff strength.
The Dabala CEPS Collection Point is a major entry and exit route for traders on the country’s eastern border, but it has only one Nissan pick-up vehicle and 24 officers, which the officer in-charge, Chief Collector of CEPS Ben Suuri, described as woefully inadequate to combat the increasing spate of smuggling.
What is more disturbing is the fact that the communities around the collection points have joined forces with the smugglers and in some cases, as Mr Suuri alleged, they attacked CEPS officials during operations to arrest the criminals.
Among the goods smuggled through that corridor are wax prints, cigarettes, mobile phones and liquor.
Briefing journalists on a familiarisation tour at Dabala on Thursday, Mr Suuri said in one instance, the smugglers used canoes at night to transport goods across the Volta Lake, outwitting CEPS officials in the process.
He said the smugglers had developed a very effective network and through the use of mobile phones, they quickly informed their accomplices to escape any time CEPS officials moved in to arrest them.
In another instance, Mr Suuri said, the smugglers used high-speed vehicles to escape arrest from CEPS officials whose only Nissan pick-up vehicle had proved highly incapable of chasing them.
Mr Suuri said CEPS officials had, however, managed to uncover a modus operandi of female smugglers, who packed wax prints in their dresses to make them look like pregnant women.
According to him, CEPS officials had been undertaking day and night patrols to check the activities of the smugglers, adding that they had made some arrests in the past, including couriers of narcotic drugs.
Mr Suuri, however, stressed the need for more officers and logistics for the CEPS officials to enable them to discharge their duties effectively.
He also appealed to the community to be allies of CEPS in the fight against smugglers, while advising traders to endeavour to pay duties on their goods in order to raise revenue for national development.
In another development, CEPS officials at Tema have arrested three clearing agents for using fake value assessment documents for the clearance of vehicles, resulting in the loss of about GH¢30,000 (¢300 million) to the state.
Through the use of the fake documents, the suspects were said to have either evaded the payment of duties or, in some instances, paid GH¢6,000 (¢60 million) instead of GH¢15,000 (¢150 million) as duty.
The Assistant Commissioner of CEPS in charge of Tema CEPS Collection Point, Alhaji M. M. Nasirudeen, told the Daily Graphic in Tema that the suspects were being processed for court.
On revenue, he said the collection point had, as of October 2007, collected ¢8 trillion out of its target of ¢11.5 trillion for the year.
At the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) Collection Point, CEPS has collected GH¢76.98 million as of October, this year, out of the annual target of GH¢90.33 million, an increase of 4.07 per cent over the third quarter target of GH¢73.96 million.
The Assistant Commissioner of CEPS in charge of the collection point, Mr John Kenneth Oklu, mentioned total commitment and dedication of staff to duty, high-level motivation and discipline among the staff, effective supervision, the adoption of effective revenue mobilisation strategies to prevent leakage, and proper classification of goods to ensure application of correct duty rates, as some of the factors contributing to the high revenue performance.
He said a total of 23 kilogrammes of marijuana were intercepted among packages being scanned at the British Airways Scanner prior to exportation, adding that the items had been handed over to the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB).
Mr Oklu further stated that 3,236 pieces of mobile phones with a total revenue of ¢736.9 million, as well as counterfeit notes of foreign currencies, cheques and money orders, had been intercepted and handed over to the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of CEPS, Mr Emmanuel N. Doku, has called on CEPS officials to remain vigilant and committed to their duties in the wake of increased activities of smugglers around this time.
“We have cautioned all our officers to live up to our core values of integrity, efficiency, customer-focus, commitment and innovation during this challenging period,” he said in a statement read on his behalf by the Deputy Commissioner of CEPS (Human Resource and Administration), Mr Paul Adubofuor, at a press briefing in Accra.
Mr Doku said considering the cordial working environment within the service and the high morale of officers across the country, the set target of ¢16.2 trillion was attainable.
As of October 2007, a total of ¢13.04 trillion has been collected.
“We are not going to relent in our collective determination to exceed this target,” Mr Doku assured the nation.
The Deputy Commissioner of CEPS (Preventive), Mr Africanus Owusu-Ansah, advised CEPS officials to eschew corruption, adding that members of the public should also desist from offering bribes to CEPS officials.
He cautioned that the management would not hesitate to prosecute any CEPS official or member of the public arrested for indulging in acts of corruption.
Story: Kofi Yeboah, Dabala
ACTIVITIES of smugglers at various entry points in the country have intensified as Christmas approaches, thus depriving the nation of billions of cedis in revenue.
In response to that, officials of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) have vowed to crash the activities of the smugglers.
At Dabala in the South Tongu District in the Volta Region, the smugglers have adopted various modus operandi that CEPS officials are currently finding it extremely difficult to combat, as a result of the inadequate logistics and weak staff strength.
The Dabala CEPS Collection Point is a major entry and exit route for traders on the country’s eastern border, but it has only one Nissan pick-up vehicle and 24 officers, which the officer in-charge, Chief Collector of CEPS Ben Suuri, described as woefully inadequate to combat the increasing spate of smuggling.
What is more disturbing is the fact that the communities around the collection points have joined forces with the smugglers and in some cases, as Mr Suuri alleged, they attacked CEPS officials during operations to arrest the criminals.
Among the goods smuggled through that corridor are wax prints, cigarettes, mobile phones and liquor.
Briefing journalists on a familiarisation tour at Dabala on Thursday, Mr Suuri said in one instance, the smugglers used canoes at night to transport goods across the Volta Lake, outwitting CEPS officials in the process.
He said the smugglers had developed a very effective network and through the use of mobile phones, they quickly informed their accomplices to escape any time CEPS officials moved in to arrest them.
In another instance, Mr Suuri said, the smugglers used high-speed vehicles to escape arrest from CEPS officials whose only Nissan pick-up vehicle had proved highly incapable of chasing them.
Mr Suuri said CEPS officials had, however, managed to uncover a modus operandi of female smugglers, who packed wax prints in their dresses to make them look like pregnant women.
According to him, CEPS officials had been undertaking day and night patrols to check the activities of the smugglers, adding that they had made some arrests in the past, including couriers of narcotic drugs.
Mr Suuri, however, stressed the need for more officers and logistics for the CEPS officials to enable them to discharge their duties effectively.
He also appealed to the community to be allies of CEPS in the fight against smugglers, while advising traders to endeavour to pay duties on their goods in order to raise revenue for national development.
In another development, CEPS officials at Tema have arrested three clearing agents for using fake value assessment documents for the clearance of vehicles, resulting in the loss of about GH¢30,000 (¢300 million) to the state.
Through the use of the fake documents, the suspects were said to have either evaded the payment of duties or, in some instances, paid GH¢6,000 (¢60 million) instead of GH¢15,000 (¢150 million) as duty.
The Assistant Commissioner of CEPS in charge of Tema CEPS Collection Point, Alhaji M. M. Nasirudeen, told the Daily Graphic in Tema that the suspects were being processed for court.
On revenue, he said the collection point had, as of October 2007, collected ¢8 trillion out of its target of ¢11.5 trillion for the year.
At the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) Collection Point, CEPS has collected GH¢76.98 million as of October, this year, out of the annual target of GH¢90.33 million, an increase of 4.07 per cent over the third quarter target of GH¢73.96 million.
The Assistant Commissioner of CEPS in charge of the collection point, Mr John Kenneth Oklu, mentioned total commitment and dedication of staff to duty, high-level motivation and discipline among the staff, effective supervision, the adoption of effective revenue mobilisation strategies to prevent leakage, and proper classification of goods to ensure application of correct duty rates, as some of the factors contributing to the high revenue performance.
He said a total of 23 kilogrammes of marijuana were intercepted among packages being scanned at the British Airways Scanner prior to exportation, adding that the items had been handed over to the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB).
Mr Oklu further stated that 3,236 pieces of mobile phones with a total revenue of ¢736.9 million, as well as counterfeit notes of foreign currencies, cheques and money orders, had been intercepted and handed over to the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of CEPS, Mr Emmanuel N. Doku, has called on CEPS officials to remain vigilant and committed to their duties in the wake of increased activities of smugglers around this time.
“We have cautioned all our officers to live up to our core values of integrity, efficiency, customer-focus, commitment and innovation during this challenging period,” he said in a statement read on his behalf by the Deputy Commissioner of CEPS (Human Resource and Administration), Mr Paul Adubofuor, at a press briefing in Accra.
Mr Doku said considering the cordial working environment within the service and the high morale of officers across the country, the set target of ¢16.2 trillion was attainable.
As of October 2007, a total of ¢13.04 trillion has been collected.
“We are not going to relent in our collective determination to exceed this target,” Mr Doku assured the nation.
The Deputy Commissioner of CEPS (Preventive), Mr Africanus Owusu-Ansah, advised CEPS officials to eschew corruption, adding that members of the public should also desist from offering bribes to CEPS officials.
He cautioned that the management would not hesitate to prosecute any CEPS official or member of the public arrested for indulging in acts of corruption.
CPP WILL NOT DISINTEGRATE - DELLE
(P. 13) NOVEMBER 10, 2007
Story: Kofi Yeboah
THE Chairman of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Dr Edmund N. Delle, has dismissed assertions in some political circles that the party could break up if certain candidates are not elected in the November 24, 2007, national delegates congress.
He said on the contrary, the CPP was more united than ever and expressed the confidence that the party would come out stronger after the congress.
According to Dr Delle, the CPP was the fastest growing party in the country, adding that “We are definitely now a force to reckon with because many people feel that this is the time for the CPP”.
“So I think it will be suicidal for any member of the CPP to feel that because he did not win the election, he must let this euphoria die”, he told the Daily Graphic in an interview in response to some questions being raised on the unity of the party.
Dr Delle said all the candidates were prepared to lend their maximum support to whoever emerged as the winner in the election to ensure that the reactivation of the party continued and that Ghanaians who had been asking for a change in the country’s political leadership, would really have it this time around.
“We have been in the wilderness for far too long and I do not think that we will allow this timely opportunity pass again. This is the opportunity to strengthen ourselves, unite and to move as one body to ensure victory”, he said.
“I believe that no convinced member of the CPP would want us to go back again to our divided ways. We believe that when CPP is well mobilised, we’ll attract many sympathisers to the party”, he added.
Dr Delle said his confidence in the CPP emerging stronger after the congress was bolstered by the resilience of the foot soldiers and entire membership, who had kept faith with the party through all these difficult times.
He said a CPP government would endeavour to bridge the yawning gap between the south and the north with respect to the country’s development, adding that the welfare of Ghanaians would be the party’s supreme interest.
“I’m sure that we are going to rekindle that hope in those areas where development has eluded them for years. Our philosophy is that we go to those who need more - the disabled and the suffering masses”, he indicated.
Responding to suggestions that he might use his incumbency to advantage, Dr Delle said he had taken a low profile in his campaign, citing the fact that he was the last candidate to file his nomination for the chairmanship position.
He said to the contrary, incumbency had its own disadvantage because while his competitors devoted all their time to campaign, he had an additional responsibility as the chairman, to prepare the party for congress.
Nevertheless, Dr Delle did not waver in confidence that his re-election was a done deal, proclaiming that “history will be made on November 24 because for the first time, CPP will have a chairman running for two terms in office”.
He said there was a level playing field for all the aspirants and the rules of the game, such as non maligning of each other, had been spelt out to all of them.
According to the CPP chairman, so far, there was clear evidence that all the aspirants were doing their campaign with decorum.
Story: Kofi Yeboah
THE Chairman of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Dr Edmund N. Delle, has dismissed assertions in some political circles that the party could break up if certain candidates are not elected in the November 24, 2007, national delegates congress.
He said on the contrary, the CPP was more united than ever and expressed the confidence that the party would come out stronger after the congress.
According to Dr Delle, the CPP was the fastest growing party in the country, adding that “We are definitely now a force to reckon with because many people feel that this is the time for the CPP”.
“So I think it will be suicidal for any member of the CPP to feel that because he did not win the election, he must let this euphoria die”, he told the Daily Graphic in an interview in response to some questions being raised on the unity of the party.
Dr Delle said all the candidates were prepared to lend their maximum support to whoever emerged as the winner in the election to ensure that the reactivation of the party continued and that Ghanaians who had been asking for a change in the country’s political leadership, would really have it this time around.
“We have been in the wilderness for far too long and I do not think that we will allow this timely opportunity pass again. This is the opportunity to strengthen ourselves, unite and to move as one body to ensure victory”, he said.
“I believe that no convinced member of the CPP would want us to go back again to our divided ways. We believe that when CPP is well mobilised, we’ll attract many sympathisers to the party”, he added.
Dr Delle said his confidence in the CPP emerging stronger after the congress was bolstered by the resilience of the foot soldiers and entire membership, who had kept faith with the party through all these difficult times.
He said a CPP government would endeavour to bridge the yawning gap between the south and the north with respect to the country’s development, adding that the welfare of Ghanaians would be the party’s supreme interest.
“I’m sure that we are going to rekindle that hope in those areas where development has eluded them for years. Our philosophy is that we go to those who need more - the disabled and the suffering masses”, he indicated.
Responding to suggestions that he might use his incumbency to advantage, Dr Delle said he had taken a low profile in his campaign, citing the fact that he was the last candidate to file his nomination for the chairmanship position.
He said to the contrary, incumbency had its own disadvantage because while his competitors devoted all their time to campaign, he had an additional responsibility as the chairman, to prepare the party for congress.
Nevertheless, Dr Delle did not waver in confidence that his re-election was a done deal, proclaiming that “history will be made on November 24 because for the first time, CPP will have a chairman running for two terms in office”.
He said there was a level playing field for all the aspirants and the rules of the game, such as non maligning of each other, had been spelt out to all of them.
According to the CPP chairman, so far, there was clear evidence that all the aspirants were doing their campaign with decorum.
CASES OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, DIABETES GO UP - POBEE
(P. 43) NOVEMBER 12, 2007
Story: Kofi Yeboah
HIGH blood pressure and diabetes have reached epidemic proportions in Ghana, a renowned Ghanaian physician specialist and cardiologist, Prof Joseph Orleans Mends Pobee, has stated.
At least one in 10 - 15 Ghanaians has high blood pressure, while one in three Ghanaians above 40 years suffers from the same condition.
“By any definition, this is an epidemic in both urban and rural Ghana,” Prof Pobee stated on Thursday when he delivered the 12th in the series of the Golden Jubilee Lectures at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC).
The lecture, which was under the auspices of the Ghana@50 Secretariat as part of activities to commemorate Ghana’s Golden Jubilee, was on the topic, “The Health of the Nation: Fifty Years After Independence.”
Except for a few quotations and references, Prof Pobee delivered his 75-minute lecture extempore and brought the subject matter home, to the appreciation and admiration of his audience.
He said six per cent of urban dwellers who were 20 years and above and one in 11 Ghanaians above 45 years had diabetes, which he considered a risk factor for heart attack, hypertension, blindness and gangrene of the legs leading to amputation.
“Heart attacks are threatening to be epidemic. If we don’t take action now, by 2020 when we become a middle-income country the epidemic can happen that quickly. History tells us that!” Prof Pobee cautioned.
According to the retired Professor of Medicine and Therapeutics at the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS), medical research had shown that gum diseases could cause diabetes, hypertension and cancer.
He further indicated that the crave by many Ghanaians for Western dietary habits in recent times, as against prudent dietary habits of the past, had increased the risk of contracting such diseases.
Prof Pobee, who is also a former President of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), mentioned obesity, alcoholism, smoking and lack of exercise as some of the risk factors for hypertension.
He, therefore, advised Ghanaians to take oral health seriously and also adopt good dietary habits in order to avoid contracting those diseases.
Prof Pobee expressed concern about individual and social irresponsibility towards the maintenance of good sanitation and environmental cleanliness in the communities and cautioned with a Roman adage that, “Man doesn’t die; he kills himself”.
He blamed the lack of environmental consciousness on the failure of the local government system in the country to instil a sense of environmental cleanliness in the people.
On mental health, Prof Pobee described the neglect of mental health issues as most unfortunate and “a blot on our conscience”.
He did not understand why families whose relations underwent mental treatment normally refused to accept them back after treatment, pointing out that “we seem to have lost our social values”.
Turning attention to road traffic accidents, the 2006 recipient of the Companion of the Order of the Volta (Medicine and General Practice) award said the rate of death through accidents was too high.
He said sometimes many people were concerned about accidents that occurred on the highways but pointed out that the rate of road traffic accidents that occurred in the urban areas and within towns was equally alarming.
Prof Pobee said all those factors had contributed to the increase in the national health budget and called for increased education to make people more conscious of their health to reduce the health burden.
He said although health indicators in the country were improving, there was the need for the government to work harder to ensure further improvement in the country’s health status.
A former member of the Council of State and Minister of Health, Dr (Mrs) Mary Grant, who was the guest of honour, said before the advent of colonialism, West Africa was referred to as the white man’s grave because many of the white settlers died of malaria when they came to settle in the sub-region.
She said it was unfortunate that many decades afterwards, the sub-region “has become our own grave because malaria is killing us, especially our children”.
According to Dr Grant, the change in the rainfall pattern this year could lead to an increase in malaria cases and, therefore, called on the media, religious bodies and traditional authorities to educate the people on the need to embrace good sanitation and environmental cleanliness to avoid the disease.
The President of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, Prof Samuel Ofosu-Amaah, who chaired the event, said the rate of maternal deaths in Africa was 40 times more than that of developed countries.
He said in Ghana, with a population of more than 20 million, at least 10 women died each day through pregnancy-related diseases, while in Sweden, with a population of eight million, two women died each year through pregnancy- related diseases.
Story: Kofi Yeboah
HIGH blood pressure and diabetes have reached epidemic proportions in Ghana, a renowned Ghanaian physician specialist and cardiologist, Prof Joseph Orleans Mends Pobee, has stated.
At least one in 10 - 15 Ghanaians has high blood pressure, while one in three Ghanaians above 40 years suffers from the same condition.
“By any definition, this is an epidemic in both urban and rural Ghana,” Prof Pobee stated on Thursday when he delivered the 12th in the series of the Golden Jubilee Lectures at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC).
The lecture, which was under the auspices of the Ghana@50 Secretariat as part of activities to commemorate Ghana’s Golden Jubilee, was on the topic, “The Health of the Nation: Fifty Years After Independence.”
Except for a few quotations and references, Prof Pobee delivered his 75-minute lecture extempore and brought the subject matter home, to the appreciation and admiration of his audience.
He said six per cent of urban dwellers who were 20 years and above and one in 11 Ghanaians above 45 years had diabetes, which he considered a risk factor for heart attack, hypertension, blindness and gangrene of the legs leading to amputation.
“Heart attacks are threatening to be epidemic. If we don’t take action now, by 2020 when we become a middle-income country the epidemic can happen that quickly. History tells us that!” Prof Pobee cautioned.
According to the retired Professor of Medicine and Therapeutics at the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS), medical research had shown that gum diseases could cause diabetes, hypertension and cancer.
He further indicated that the crave by many Ghanaians for Western dietary habits in recent times, as against prudent dietary habits of the past, had increased the risk of contracting such diseases.
Prof Pobee, who is also a former President of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), mentioned obesity, alcoholism, smoking and lack of exercise as some of the risk factors for hypertension.
He, therefore, advised Ghanaians to take oral health seriously and also adopt good dietary habits in order to avoid contracting those diseases.
Prof Pobee expressed concern about individual and social irresponsibility towards the maintenance of good sanitation and environmental cleanliness in the communities and cautioned with a Roman adage that, “Man doesn’t die; he kills himself”.
He blamed the lack of environmental consciousness on the failure of the local government system in the country to instil a sense of environmental cleanliness in the people.
On mental health, Prof Pobee described the neglect of mental health issues as most unfortunate and “a blot on our conscience”.
He did not understand why families whose relations underwent mental treatment normally refused to accept them back after treatment, pointing out that “we seem to have lost our social values”.
Turning attention to road traffic accidents, the 2006 recipient of the Companion of the Order of the Volta (Medicine and General Practice) award said the rate of death through accidents was too high.
He said sometimes many people were concerned about accidents that occurred on the highways but pointed out that the rate of road traffic accidents that occurred in the urban areas and within towns was equally alarming.
Prof Pobee said all those factors had contributed to the increase in the national health budget and called for increased education to make people more conscious of their health to reduce the health burden.
He said although health indicators in the country were improving, there was the need for the government to work harder to ensure further improvement in the country’s health status.
A former member of the Council of State and Minister of Health, Dr (Mrs) Mary Grant, who was the guest of honour, said before the advent of colonialism, West Africa was referred to as the white man’s grave because many of the white settlers died of malaria when they came to settle in the sub-region.
She said it was unfortunate that many decades afterwards, the sub-region “has become our own grave because malaria is killing us, especially our children”.
According to Dr Grant, the change in the rainfall pattern this year could lead to an increase in malaria cases and, therefore, called on the media, religious bodies and traditional authorities to educate the people on the need to embrace good sanitation and environmental cleanliness to avoid the disease.
The President of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, Prof Samuel Ofosu-Amaah, who chaired the event, said the rate of maternal deaths in Africa was 40 times more than that of developed countries.
He said in Ghana, with a population of more than 20 million, at least 10 women died each day through pregnancy-related diseases, while in Sweden, with a population of eight million, two women died each year through pregnancy- related diseases.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
'LET'S DEAL WITH MALARIA, GUINEA WORM MENACE' (Page 48)
Story: Kofi Yeboah
A renowned Ghanaian physician specialist and cardiologist, Prof. Joseph Orleans Mends Pobee, says the rate of malaria and guinea worm infection in the country is a blot on the state of the nation’s health.
He said it was unfortunate that 50 years after independence, Ghana was ranked as the second worst country in the world after Pakistan in terms of guinea worm infection, while malaria was the major cause of death in the country, especially among children.
Prof. Pobee, therefore, called for a concerted effort by the government and all individuals to maintain good sanitation, environmental cleanliness and personal hygiene, to deal with the menace of guinea worm and malaria.
“It’s not only the responsibility of the government. It’s also the responsibility of society and individuals to look for good health. Our health is in our own two hands,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Daily Graphic yesterday to share his thoughts on the state of the nation’s health over the past 50 years.
Prof. Pobee, who is also a Professor of Medicine and Therapeutics at the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS), will address the subject comprehensively when he delivers the 12th Golden Jubilee Lecture at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) on Thursday.
The lecture is under the auspices of the Ghana@50 Secretariat and forms part of activities marking Ghana’s Golden Jubilee.
As a Fellow of many distinguished national and international academic institutions, such as the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal College of Physicians of London, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, the West African College of Physicians and the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, Prof. Pobee is expected to bring his rich experience to bear on the lecture.
According to the 2006 recipient of the Companion of the Order of the Volta (Medicine and General Practice), malaria, for instance, was causing huge financial loss to the state in view of the fact that it supped the energy of adults who got infected and thus, undermine productivity.
He said many Ghanaians had lost their sense of good sanitation and environmental cleanliness as a result of which there was indiscriminate defecating and throwing of garbage around the community by unscrupulous people he described as “Mr and Mrs Anonymous”.
Prof. Pobee said in order to address the sanitation menace there was the need to improve the delivery of potable water and provision of places of convenience.
He also suggested the re-introduction of sanitary inspectors who, he said, should be given more powers to instil a sense of environmental cleanliness in the people.
Prof. Pobee lauded interventions such as the introduction of insecticide treated nets (ITNs) to combat malaria, adding that figures from the Western Region indicated that the rate of malaria infection was reducing.
A renowned Ghanaian physician specialist and cardiologist, Prof. Joseph Orleans Mends Pobee, says the rate of malaria and guinea worm infection in the country is a blot on the state of the nation’s health.
He said it was unfortunate that 50 years after independence, Ghana was ranked as the second worst country in the world after Pakistan in terms of guinea worm infection, while malaria was the major cause of death in the country, especially among children.
Prof. Pobee, therefore, called for a concerted effort by the government and all individuals to maintain good sanitation, environmental cleanliness and personal hygiene, to deal with the menace of guinea worm and malaria.
“It’s not only the responsibility of the government. It’s also the responsibility of society and individuals to look for good health. Our health is in our own two hands,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Daily Graphic yesterday to share his thoughts on the state of the nation’s health over the past 50 years.
Prof. Pobee, who is also a Professor of Medicine and Therapeutics at the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS), will address the subject comprehensively when he delivers the 12th Golden Jubilee Lecture at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) on Thursday.
The lecture is under the auspices of the Ghana@50 Secretariat and forms part of activities marking Ghana’s Golden Jubilee.
As a Fellow of many distinguished national and international academic institutions, such as the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal College of Physicians of London, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, the West African College of Physicians and the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, Prof. Pobee is expected to bring his rich experience to bear on the lecture.
According to the 2006 recipient of the Companion of the Order of the Volta (Medicine and General Practice), malaria, for instance, was causing huge financial loss to the state in view of the fact that it supped the energy of adults who got infected and thus, undermine productivity.
He said many Ghanaians had lost their sense of good sanitation and environmental cleanliness as a result of which there was indiscriminate defecating and throwing of garbage around the community by unscrupulous people he described as “Mr and Mrs Anonymous”.
Prof. Pobee said in order to address the sanitation menace there was the need to improve the delivery of potable water and provision of places of convenience.
He also suggested the re-introduction of sanitary inspectors who, he said, should be given more powers to instil a sense of environmental cleanliness in the people.
Prof. Pobee lauded interventions such as the introduction of insecticide treated nets (ITNs) to combat malaria, adding that figures from the Western Region indicated that the rate of malaria infection was reducing.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
TAKE ORAL TRADITIONS SERIOUSLY — PROF NKETIA (P.21)
Story: Kofi Yeboah
A RENOWNED Ghanaian Musicologist of international repute, Emeritus Professor J. H. Kwabena Nketia, has advised Ghanaians to take oral traditions, such as languages, poems and drumming seriously in order to sustain and enlarge their ancestral legacy.
While suggesting the collection and examination of existing oral traditions for use as models, he insisted on the injection of creativity into such oral traditions to refine them.
“We should not trivialise poems but be creative in their usage. We can do this by studying those tradition, he said, when he delivered the second Asante-Opoku-Reindorf Memorial Lecture at the British Council Hall in Accra.
It was on the topic: “Referential modes of meaning as strategies of communication in oral tradition.”
The lecture was instituted last year by the Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture (ACITMC), in conjunction with the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS), to celebrate the lives of David Asante (183 -1892), Theophilus Opoku (1842-1913) and Carl Christian Reindorf (1834-1917), all of whom were renowned repositories of Ghanaian oral tradition.
Emeritus Prof. Nketia, who is the Chancellor of ACITMC with more than 200 publications in Akan and English under his sleeve, spiced his 67-minute lecture with many poems and drum languages to establish the richness in their modes of reference as strategies of communication in oral tradition.
His recital of some of the poems and drum appellations, normally associated with the chieftaincy institution, thrilled the audience and kept them alive throughout the lecture.
According to Emeritus Prof. Nketia, there were many ways by which creativity could be injected into oral traditions, pointing out that even the singing of dirges ought to be spiced with innovation.
He said the referential modes in such oral traditions were strategies that created relationships between units of experience and units of expression.
The President of the GAAS, Dr Leticia Obeng, who chaired the ceremony, expressed concern that although Ghanaians had rich languages, many people did not pay much attention to them as they did to the English language.
“Our languages are very beautiful. We need to do something about them,” she stressed.
A RENOWNED Ghanaian Musicologist of international repute, Emeritus Professor J. H. Kwabena Nketia, has advised Ghanaians to take oral traditions, such as languages, poems and drumming seriously in order to sustain and enlarge their ancestral legacy.
While suggesting the collection and examination of existing oral traditions for use as models, he insisted on the injection of creativity into such oral traditions to refine them.
“We should not trivialise poems but be creative in their usage. We can do this by studying those tradition, he said, when he delivered the second Asante-Opoku-Reindorf Memorial Lecture at the British Council Hall in Accra.
It was on the topic: “Referential modes of meaning as strategies of communication in oral tradition.”
The lecture was instituted last year by the Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture (ACITMC), in conjunction with the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS), to celebrate the lives of David Asante (183 -1892), Theophilus Opoku (1842-1913) and Carl Christian Reindorf (1834-1917), all of whom were renowned repositories of Ghanaian oral tradition.
Emeritus Prof. Nketia, who is the Chancellor of ACITMC with more than 200 publications in Akan and English under his sleeve, spiced his 67-minute lecture with many poems and drum languages to establish the richness in their modes of reference as strategies of communication in oral tradition.
His recital of some of the poems and drum appellations, normally associated with the chieftaincy institution, thrilled the audience and kept them alive throughout the lecture.
According to Emeritus Prof. Nketia, there were many ways by which creativity could be injected into oral traditions, pointing out that even the singing of dirges ought to be spiced with innovation.
He said the referential modes in such oral traditions were strategies that created relationships between units of experience and units of expression.
The President of the GAAS, Dr Leticia Obeng, who chaired the ceremony, expressed concern that although Ghanaians had rich languages, many people did not pay much attention to them as they did to the English language.
“Our languages are very beautiful. We need to do something about them,” she stressed.
PEACE ARCHITECTURE KEY — BOMBANDE (P.3)
Story: Kofi Yeboah
THE Executive Director of the West African Network for Peace-building (WANEP), Mr Emmanuel Bombande, has advocated a “peace architecture”, such as a National Peace Council, to resolve all chieftaincy disputes through dialogue and mediation.
Such a paradigm shift, he said, would ensure a pro-active approach to resolving the conflicts instead of the present re-active approach in which the conflicts were allowed to escalate only for the government to send in security reinforcement at huge cost to the life of the security personnel and the national kitty.
According to Mr Bombande, failure to adopt pro-active measures to deal with chieftaincy disputes would undermine the social harmony, peace, stability and economic growth that the nation was enjoying, as well as its positive international image.
“We cannot claim to be the gateway to West Africa if we have conflicts”, he told the Daily Graphic yesterday as he shared his thoughts on the security implications of the Anlo chieftaincy dispute.
Six persons, including a police constable, lost their lives, while many others sustained various degrees of injury following the escalation of the chieftaincy dispute last Thursday.
In a move to restore peace and order, a reinforcement of police and military personnel is currently stationed in Anloga, and a dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed on the town since last Friday.
Furthermore, a high-powered government delegation has undertaken a fact-finding mission to Anloga to assess the situation on the ground.
Mr Bombande said although all the interventions by the government were good to help restore calm to the town and ensure a proper analysis of what went wrong, he pointed out that those interventions did not provide a solution to the problem.
What was needed to address the situation was a mutual engagement that would meet the satisfaction of all the parties in the conflict.
At the moment, there are about 300 chieftaincy disputes scattered across the country, many of which have resulted in the loss of lives and property, while others have ended up in the law courts.
Mr Bombande said it was also not appropriate to use the law courts for resolving chieftaincy disputes because in the court process, there ought to be a winner and a loser, which ruling sometimes worsened the conflicts.
He said under the auspices of WANEP, a National Peace Council had been established with Peter Cardinal Appiah Turkson, the Archbishop of Cape Coast, as the chairman. The members of the council are made up of prominent Ghanaians, including the Chief Imam, Sheikh Osmanu Nuhu Sharabutu and the General Overseer of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), Pastor Mensa Otabil.
Mr Bombande said the council needed a legal mandate to enable it to function effectively. Unfortunately, a bill to that effect had not been passed.
He said with a legal backing, the peace council could move into potential conflict areas to engage litigants in dialogue and mediation to resolve their differences instead of waiting until they escalated.
Giving an overview of conflicts in West African countries arising out of chieftaincy disputes, Mr Bombande said although chieftaincy institutions were established in Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Liberia, disputes mostly occurred in Ghana and Nigeria in view of their strong chieftaincy institutions.
He said between Ghana and Nigeria, the former experienced more volatility as far as chieftaincy was concerned because the institution in Ghana went beyond tradition to the recognition given to it even by the presidency.
Contributing to the subject, the President of the National House of Chiefs, Odeneho Gyapong Ababio, said it was unfortunate that people did not follow the Chieftaincy Code, which clearly spelt out the processes of enstoolment and enskinment of chiefs.
THE Executive Director of the West African Network for Peace-building (WANEP), Mr Emmanuel Bombande, has advocated a “peace architecture”, such as a National Peace Council, to resolve all chieftaincy disputes through dialogue and mediation.
Such a paradigm shift, he said, would ensure a pro-active approach to resolving the conflicts instead of the present re-active approach in which the conflicts were allowed to escalate only for the government to send in security reinforcement at huge cost to the life of the security personnel and the national kitty.
According to Mr Bombande, failure to adopt pro-active measures to deal with chieftaincy disputes would undermine the social harmony, peace, stability and economic growth that the nation was enjoying, as well as its positive international image.
“We cannot claim to be the gateway to West Africa if we have conflicts”, he told the Daily Graphic yesterday as he shared his thoughts on the security implications of the Anlo chieftaincy dispute.
Six persons, including a police constable, lost their lives, while many others sustained various degrees of injury following the escalation of the chieftaincy dispute last Thursday.
In a move to restore peace and order, a reinforcement of police and military personnel is currently stationed in Anloga, and a dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed on the town since last Friday.
Furthermore, a high-powered government delegation has undertaken a fact-finding mission to Anloga to assess the situation on the ground.
Mr Bombande said although all the interventions by the government were good to help restore calm to the town and ensure a proper analysis of what went wrong, he pointed out that those interventions did not provide a solution to the problem.
What was needed to address the situation was a mutual engagement that would meet the satisfaction of all the parties in the conflict.
At the moment, there are about 300 chieftaincy disputes scattered across the country, many of which have resulted in the loss of lives and property, while others have ended up in the law courts.
Mr Bombande said it was also not appropriate to use the law courts for resolving chieftaincy disputes because in the court process, there ought to be a winner and a loser, which ruling sometimes worsened the conflicts.
He said under the auspices of WANEP, a National Peace Council had been established with Peter Cardinal Appiah Turkson, the Archbishop of Cape Coast, as the chairman. The members of the council are made up of prominent Ghanaians, including the Chief Imam, Sheikh Osmanu Nuhu Sharabutu and the General Overseer of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), Pastor Mensa Otabil.
Mr Bombande said the council needed a legal mandate to enable it to function effectively. Unfortunately, a bill to that effect had not been passed.
He said with a legal backing, the peace council could move into potential conflict areas to engage litigants in dialogue and mediation to resolve their differences instead of waiting until they escalated.
Giving an overview of conflicts in West African countries arising out of chieftaincy disputes, Mr Bombande said although chieftaincy institutions were established in Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Liberia, disputes mostly occurred in Ghana and Nigeria in view of their strong chieftaincy institutions.
He said between Ghana and Nigeria, the former experienced more volatility as far as chieftaincy was concerned because the institution in Ghana went beyond tradition to the recognition given to it even by the presidency.
Contributing to the subject, the President of the National House of Chiefs, Odeneho Gyapong Ababio, said it was unfortunate that people did not follow the Chieftaincy Code, which clearly spelt out the processes of enstoolment and enskinment of chiefs.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
'PROVIDE AUDIT SERVICE ADEQUATE FUNDING'
Story: Kofi Yeboah & Lucy Adoma Yeboah
THE Auditor-General, Mr Edward Dua Agyeman, has thrown a challenge to the government to provide adequate funding for the Audit Service and reap 15-fold in respect of saving state funds that would have gone down the drain.
He said for every GH¢1 that the government would give to the Audit Service, the service would be able to save GH¢15 for the nation.
Mr Agyeman told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the revelations at the just-ended Public Accounts Committee (PAC) sittings on the Auditor-General’s Report for 2004 and 2005, even in the face of financial and human resource constraints, were ample evidence of the greater job the service could do if it were given the needed resources.
“For the first time let’s give the Audit Service the budget it requires and see what the PAC will bring out next year,” he challenged the government.
According to Mr Agyeman, the result of the poor resourcing of the Audit Service was the huge depletion of the national kitty, as detected in the Auditor-General’s Reports.
The Audit Service has been working under extreme difficulties over the years, with very weak financial, logistic and staff strength.
Currently, the service has offices in only 65 out of the 138 districts, and with the recent creation of 25 new districts, the representation of the service in the districts will worsen.
With respect to logistics, most offices of the service in the north, for instance, have been damaged by the recent floods, while many roads leading to the offices have also become impassable.
In view of the service’s inadequate human resource, it relies heavily on personnel from the National Service Scheme (NSS) and the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) to discharge its mandate.
The Auditor-General strongly believes that all these challenges can be effectively addressed if the service is given adequate budget. But that has not been the case over the years.
Between 1995 and 2004, for instance, budget requests made by the Audit Service were slashed, sometimes by 40 per cent, and in some cases the actual amount disbursed fell far short of the allocated budget.
The Audit Service is requesting for GH¢27,406,121.02 (¢274.06 billion) for its operations next year, covering personnel emoluments, administration, services and investments.
Making a strong case for an increased budget, the Auditor-General promised that “if they give us more money, we can save large sums of money for the nation”.
He said in view of the scarce resources given to the service, the government tended to overlook the huge amount of money that went down the drain.
Mr Agyeman said the service was unable to audit the accounts of all the district assemblies and the country’s foreign missions every year as a result of inadequate funds and that made the nation lose huge amounts of money.
He suggested that a percentage from the HIPC Fund, the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), the Road Fund and other public funds whose accounts were audited by the service for free could be set aside to address its financial difficulties.
He said there were plans to open 25 district offices at the beginning of next year “and so the government should really consider our budget because we cannot do it without the money”.
In another development, the Auditor-General has stated that individuals cited for wrongdoing during the public hearing of the PAC should be held directly responsible and not ministers and heads of departments.
“I would like to emphasise here that the proceedings were not an indictment on the ministers of the various ministries for any criminal doings. It is a wake up call for the ministers,” he stressed.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic after the opening of a one-day validation workshop on guidelines on the roles and responsibilities of audit report implementation committees (ARICs) in Accra yesterday, Mr Agyeman said since the report was specific on who did what, it would be wrong for the sector ministers to be held directly accountable for the misdeeds.
The workshop was to discuss the revised terms of reference of the ARICs so that participants’ views, comments and suggestions could be factored into them to enhance the quality of the document for implementation.
The ARICs are established to ensure that internal audit units in MDAs function effectively and that recommendations made in audit reports are appropriately implemented to ensure the efficient and effective utilisation of public funds.
He explained that the day-to-day mechanism of disbursement was the responsibility of the chief directors of the MDAs and their desk officers, adding, “They should be mindful of their duties as the operating officers of public funds and they should be accountable for any of their misdeeds”.
He commended members of the PAC for a good work done.
On the ARICs, Mr Agyeman said there had been an amendment to remove the representative of the Auditor-General from serving on the ARICs in order to avoid a conflict of interest.
The Chairman of the PAC, Mr Samuel Sallas-Mensah, expressed regret that almost seven years after the passage of the Audit Service Act, some public institutions had not established ARICs, while those which had been established were not functioning.
He said Parliament, represented by the PAC, relied greatly on audit reports, especially the Auditor-General’s report, in forming opinion and also assuring itself of whether approved funds had been used for the intended purposes, public assets had been safeguarded or value had been received for funds expended.
He called on the Chief Justice to “empanel the members of the Financial Administration Tribunal as required by Section 66 of the Financial Administration Act (Act 654) of 2003 to complete the accountability cycle of the public financial management of our dear country”.
The Advisor, Public Expenditure Management of the Governance and Institutional Development Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Mr Kaifala Marah, commended Ghana for putting in place measures to ensure effective auditing.
The Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), Mr Patrick Nomo, said the workshop was important to solicit views, comments and suggestions to enhance the final document.
He described the amendment in the current guidelines on the ARICs to ensure the deletion of the representative of the Auditor-General as very appropriate because “one cannot be a prosecutor and judge on the same case”.
THE Auditor-General, Mr Edward Dua Agyeman, has thrown a challenge to the government to provide adequate funding for the Audit Service and reap 15-fold in respect of saving state funds that would have gone down the drain.
He said for every GH¢1 that the government would give to the Audit Service, the service would be able to save GH¢15 for the nation.
Mr Agyeman told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the revelations at the just-ended Public Accounts Committee (PAC) sittings on the Auditor-General’s Report for 2004 and 2005, even in the face of financial and human resource constraints, were ample evidence of the greater job the service could do if it were given the needed resources.
“For the first time let’s give the Audit Service the budget it requires and see what the PAC will bring out next year,” he challenged the government.
According to Mr Agyeman, the result of the poor resourcing of the Audit Service was the huge depletion of the national kitty, as detected in the Auditor-General’s Reports.
The Audit Service has been working under extreme difficulties over the years, with very weak financial, logistic and staff strength.
Currently, the service has offices in only 65 out of the 138 districts, and with the recent creation of 25 new districts, the representation of the service in the districts will worsen.
With respect to logistics, most offices of the service in the north, for instance, have been damaged by the recent floods, while many roads leading to the offices have also become impassable.
In view of the service’s inadequate human resource, it relies heavily on personnel from the National Service Scheme (NSS) and the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) to discharge its mandate.
The Auditor-General strongly believes that all these challenges can be effectively addressed if the service is given adequate budget. But that has not been the case over the years.
Between 1995 and 2004, for instance, budget requests made by the Audit Service were slashed, sometimes by 40 per cent, and in some cases the actual amount disbursed fell far short of the allocated budget.
The Audit Service is requesting for GH¢27,406,121.02 (¢274.06 billion) for its operations next year, covering personnel emoluments, administration, services and investments.
Making a strong case for an increased budget, the Auditor-General promised that “if they give us more money, we can save large sums of money for the nation”.
He said in view of the scarce resources given to the service, the government tended to overlook the huge amount of money that went down the drain.
Mr Agyeman said the service was unable to audit the accounts of all the district assemblies and the country’s foreign missions every year as a result of inadequate funds and that made the nation lose huge amounts of money.
He suggested that a percentage from the HIPC Fund, the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), the Road Fund and other public funds whose accounts were audited by the service for free could be set aside to address its financial difficulties.
He said there were plans to open 25 district offices at the beginning of next year “and so the government should really consider our budget because we cannot do it without the money”.
In another development, the Auditor-General has stated that individuals cited for wrongdoing during the public hearing of the PAC should be held directly responsible and not ministers and heads of departments.
“I would like to emphasise here that the proceedings were not an indictment on the ministers of the various ministries for any criminal doings. It is a wake up call for the ministers,” he stressed.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic after the opening of a one-day validation workshop on guidelines on the roles and responsibilities of audit report implementation committees (ARICs) in Accra yesterday, Mr Agyeman said since the report was specific on who did what, it would be wrong for the sector ministers to be held directly accountable for the misdeeds.
The workshop was to discuss the revised terms of reference of the ARICs so that participants’ views, comments and suggestions could be factored into them to enhance the quality of the document for implementation.
The ARICs are established to ensure that internal audit units in MDAs function effectively and that recommendations made in audit reports are appropriately implemented to ensure the efficient and effective utilisation of public funds.
He explained that the day-to-day mechanism of disbursement was the responsibility of the chief directors of the MDAs and their desk officers, adding, “They should be mindful of their duties as the operating officers of public funds and they should be accountable for any of their misdeeds”.
He commended members of the PAC for a good work done.
On the ARICs, Mr Agyeman said there had been an amendment to remove the representative of the Auditor-General from serving on the ARICs in order to avoid a conflict of interest.
The Chairman of the PAC, Mr Samuel Sallas-Mensah, expressed regret that almost seven years after the passage of the Audit Service Act, some public institutions had not established ARICs, while those which had been established were not functioning.
He said Parliament, represented by the PAC, relied greatly on audit reports, especially the Auditor-General’s report, in forming opinion and also assuring itself of whether approved funds had been used for the intended purposes, public assets had been safeguarded or value had been received for funds expended.
He called on the Chief Justice to “empanel the members of the Financial Administration Tribunal as required by Section 66 of the Financial Administration Act (Act 654) of 2003 to complete the accountability cycle of the public financial management of our dear country”.
The Advisor, Public Expenditure Management of the Governance and Institutional Development Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Mr Kaifala Marah, commended Ghana for putting in place measures to ensure effective auditing.
The Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), Mr Patrick Nomo, said the workshop was important to solicit views, comments and suggestions to enhance the final document.
He described the amendment in the current guidelines on the ARICs to ensure the deletion of the representative of the Auditor-General as very appropriate because “one cannot be a prosecutor and judge on the same case”.