Story: Kofi Yeboah
Organised labour has called on the Electoral Commission (EC) to be bold to ask the government for more funds if it needs additional resources to perform its duties efficiently.
It said the EC could not proclaim that it had been given all it needed and yet not have adequate logistics to carry out its functions when expected to do so.
The Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Mr Kofi Asamoah, said this at a news conference in Accra on Monday. The news conference followed a careful observation of the political atmosphere by the TUC — the biggest civil society and most representative labour organisation in the country — particularly in relation to pertinent issues raised at its recent Quadrennial Delegates Congress in Kumasi.
He also asked the EC to take urgent and necessary steps to clean the voters register before December to assure Ghanaians of free and fair elections.
He challenged the EC to, as a matter of national emergency, come clean of its preparedness in the run-up to the December polls to ensure credible, free and fair elections that would guarantee peace in the country.
“In this age of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), it should be possible for the EC to seek expert advice to assist it in carrying out the essential task of cleaning the voters register. This, we suggest, should be done without delay,” he said.
At that meeting, the TUC called on the government, political parties, the EC and other political actors to exhibit political soberness, maturity, fairness and transparency in the electoral process, while demanding of the competing political parties and candidates serious debate on critical issues of national development, instead of the politics of insult and personality attacks.
“Unfortunately, we cannot say that the political situation and the electoral process measure up anywhere near these standards,” the TUC observed, adding that since coming events cast their shadows, it was obliged to raise the alarm bell on the danger ahead, instead of waiting for the situation to degenerate.
The TUC cited the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the largest opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), as the key political parties that were behind the violence, while picking on the security agencies for their lapses in dealing effectively with the flash points.
Addressing his maiden news conference after his election as the chief TUC scribe a month ago, Mr Asamoah said the TUC expected that after the rather poor organisation of the recent limited voters registration exercise, the EC would have learnt its lessons and ensured that the supplementary exercise of taking photographs and providing ID cards for those left out in the original exercise would be efficient, but there were similar problems like the shortage of films and other materials.
“All these tend to suggest that there is a serious deficit of proper planning and execution by the EC,” he said.
Mr Asamoah observed that the recent flashes of violence leading to the destruction of life and property that had characterised the campaigning, especially by the NPP and the NDC, tended to cast a dark shadow over the December elections.
He, therefore, demanded total commitment from the political parties, the security agencies, the judiciary and the general public to ensure peaceful elections in December.
Mr Asamoah called on the Attorney-General’s Department to act swiftly in prosecuting cases emanating from political, ethnic and chieftaincy violence “so that all will know that there is a real price to pay for such misconduct”.
He urged political parties not only to pontificate on peace and condemn acts of violence by their opponents only but also be bold enough to publicly condemn their members who engaged in such acts and ostracise those persons.
Mr Asamoah urged the media to put the political actors on their toes and make them respond to tough questions about the deteriorating situation so that those who had no credible answers to the challenges ahead could quietly resign.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
ALLEGATIONS AGAINST MENSAH FALSE - NMC (P.25) 19-09-08
Story: Kofi Yeboah
THE National Media Commission (NMC) has dismissed allegations made by the New National Democrat in a publication in which the newspaper impugned acts of impropriety against the Director of Research at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr J. K. Mensah.
In a letter dated September 16, 2008, and signed by its chairman, Mr Paul Adu-Gyamfi, the commission dismissed the allegations levelled against Mr Mensah as false.
The Mr Mensah had made a complaint to the commission against the publications in the newspaper but the editor and publisher of the newspaper failed to respond to several invitations extended to them by the Settlement Committee to defend the publications.
“The commission has, therefore, concluded that the allegations of impropriety levelled against you by the said publications were false,” the NMC said in the letter addressed to Mr Mensah.
Meanwhile, the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service has arrested the Editor and Publisher of the New National Democrat, an Accra-based private newspaper, for violating the newspaper registration law.
Sources close to the CID headquarters in Accra told the Daily Graphic that the two, who were arrested last week, are currently on police enquiry bail while investigations continue.
The arrest of Messrs Michael Dokosi and Wisdom Yamenui, editor and publisher of the newspaper respectively, follows a complaint made by the National Media Commission (NMC) to the CID on their alleged breach of the newspaper registration law.
That was after the two had failed to respond to several invitations extended to them by the NMC to defend the allegations made against Mr Mensah in the newspaper, prompting the commission to investigate their background.
Mr Dokosi is alleged to have styled himself as Justice Ofori-Antwi in the declaration made by the publisher on the NMC’s Scheduled Form for the registration of newspapers.
“This makes the declaration regarding the identity of the editor false contrary to section 8(2) of the (Newspaper and Publications) (Registration) Instrument C.I. 39,” the commission indicated in its complaint to the CID.
The NMC also observed that the name of the publisher as contained in the imprint of the newspaper was WWM Publishers, making the declaration that Mr Yamenui was the proprietor false and, thus, breaching section 8(2) of the instrument.
Subsequent to the discovery that the registration of the newspaper was obtained by false declaration, the NMC withdrew the registration of the New National Democrat and informed the publisher thereafter per a letter dated August 28, 2008.
However, the commission noted, on September 1, 2008, the newspaper without any valid registration, continued publication contrary to section 8(1) (a) of the instrument.
It further indicated that the signature of the so-called Justice Ofori-Antwi on letters written to the NMC “are inconsistent and completely different on each occasion”, expressing the belief that they were done with intent to deceive the commission.
Following the withdrawal of the registration, the publisher of the newspaper has applied to the NMC for re-registration of the New National Democrat, submitting that while some of the reasons given by the NMC for the withdrawal of its registration were acceptable, others were factually incorrect.
In a letter dated September 17, 2008, and signed by Mr Yamenui, the management of the newspaper insisted that all the data provided on the publisher for the registration were correct.
“The management on the other hand accepts full responsibility for the lapses identified in respect of Mr Justice Ofori-Antwi, the Editor. His name is Michael Dokosi. Justice Ofori-Antwi is his pen name,” the letter admitted.
It explained that since pen names were a common feature in the journalism profession, the management did not find anything wrong with his using a pseudonym.
“Nonetheless, we wish to apologise unreservedly to the National Media Commission for any inconvenience caused and also resolve to straighten the records and rectify this aspect of the data about our registration,” it stated in a remorseful tone.
That apology notwithstanding, the Executive Secretary of the NMC, Mr George Sarpong, told the Daily Graphic on Thursday that the commission could not act on the letter now until the case at the CID had been determined.
He explained that even the issue of applying for re-registration did not arise in the first instance because once the registration of the newspaper was done with false data it was deemed not to have taken place at all.
THE National Media Commission (NMC) has dismissed allegations made by the New National Democrat in a publication in which the newspaper impugned acts of impropriety against the Director of Research at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr J. K. Mensah.
In a letter dated September 16, 2008, and signed by its chairman, Mr Paul Adu-Gyamfi, the commission dismissed the allegations levelled against Mr Mensah as false.
The Mr Mensah had made a complaint to the commission against the publications in the newspaper but the editor and publisher of the newspaper failed to respond to several invitations extended to them by the Settlement Committee to defend the publications.
“The commission has, therefore, concluded that the allegations of impropriety levelled against you by the said publications were false,” the NMC said in the letter addressed to Mr Mensah.
Meanwhile, the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service has arrested the Editor and Publisher of the New National Democrat, an Accra-based private newspaper, for violating the newspaper registration law.
Sources close to the CID headquarters in Accra told the Daily Graphic that the two, who were arrested last week, are currently on police enquiry bail while investigations continue.
The arrest of Messrs Michael Dokosi and Wisdom Yamenui, editor and publisher of the newspaper respectively, follows a complaint made by the National Media Commission (NMC) to the CID on their alleged breach of the newspaper registration law.
That was after the two had failed to respond to several invitations extended to them by the NMC to defend the allegations made against Mr Mensah in the newspaper, prompting the commission to investigate their background.
Mr Dokosi is alleged to have styled himself as Justice Ofori-Antwi in the declaration made by the publisher on the NMC’s Scheduled Form for the registration of newspapers.
“This makes the declaration regarding the identity of the editor false contrary to section 8(2) of the (Newspaper and Publications) (Registration) Instrument C.I. 39,” the commission indicated in its complaint to the CID.
The NMC also observed that the name of the publisher as contained in the imprint of the newspaper was WWM Publishers, making the declaration that Mr Yamenui was the proprietor false and, thus, breaching section 8(2) of the instrument.
Subsequent to the discovery that the registration of the newspaper was obtained by false declaration, the NMC withdrew the registration of the New National Democrat and informed the publisher thereafter per a letter dated August 28, 2008.
However, the commission noted, on September 1, 2008, the newspaper without any valid registration, continued publication contrary to section 8(1) (a) of the instrument.
It further indicated that the signature of the so-called Justice Ofori-Antwi on letters written to the NMC “are inconsistent and completely different on each occasion”, expressing the belief that they were done with intent to deceive the commission.
Following the withdrawal of the registration, the publisher of the newspaper has applied to the NMC for re-registration of the New National Democrat, submitting that while some of the reasons given by the NMC for the withdrawal of its registration were acceptable, others were factually incorrect.
In a letter dated September 17, 2008, and signed by Mr Yamenui, the management of the newspaper insisted that all the data provided on the publisher for the registration were correct.
“The management on the other hand accepts full responsibility for the lapses identified in respect of Mr Justice Ofori-Antwi, the Editor. His name is Michael Dokosi. Justice Ofori-Antwi is his pen name,” the letter admitted.
It explained that since pen names were a common feature in the journalism profession, the management did not find anything wrong with his using a pseudonym.
“Nonetheless, we wish to apologise unreservedly to the National Media Commission for any inconvenience caused and also resolve to straighten the records and rectify this aspect of the data about our registration,” it stated in a remorseful tone.
That apology notwithstanding, the Executive Secretary of the NMC, Mr George Sarpong, told the Daily Graphic on Thursday that the commission could not act on the letter now until the case at the CID had been determined.
He explained that even the issue of applying for re-registration did not arise in the first instance because once the registration of the newspaper was done with false data it was deemed not to have taken place at all.
ECG INCURS GH¢9M LOSS (P.31) 19-09-08
Story: Kofi Yeboah
THE Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is running at a huge loss by way of the consumption of electricity and the maintenance of streetlights, incurring more than a GH¢9 million loss last year.
The deficit is the result of low revenue collected from the insignificant street light levy of 50 pesewas (old currency) paid by electricity consumers.
The company collected only GH¢279,245 from the street light levy in 2007, out of a projected revenue of GH¢9,321,479.71, thus incurring a loss of GH¢9,097,683.71.
Although the figure was not as bad as the GH¢11,048,150.35 deficit incurred in 2006, it was nevertheless worse than the GH¢5,079,823.21 loss incurred in 2005.
The Director of Operations of the ECG, Mr A. T. Barfuor, told the Daily Graphic that the situation was posing immense financial difficulties to the company and, therefore, called for a review of the levy.
He said with the current expansion of street lights across the country, it was imperative to increase the levy, otherwise the company could no longer cope with their maintenance.
In 1994, the current street light levy was fixed at 50 pesewas, 80 per cent (40 pesewas) of which went into consumption, while the remaining 20 per cent (10 pesewas) went into maintenance.
Mr Barfuor said in 2007, a total of GH¢279,245 was collected from the street lights levy, out of which GH¢223,796 went into consumption, with GH¢55,949 going into maintenance.
He said although the total levy collected for the maintenance of streetlights throughout the country in 2007 was GH¢55,949, the cost of maintenance of the 26 ceremonial streets alone was GH¢69,974.26, leaving a deficit of GH¢14,025.26 for the ECG to bear.
Mr Barfuor said the only way to address the problem was to increase the levy either to 3Gp or put a percentage on the electricity tariff, such that anytime there was an increase in tariffs, the street light levy would also increase.
He said a review of the levy would require the passage of a Legislative Instrument (LI) by Parliament, adding that the ECG had presented a proposal to the Ministry of Energy on the issue but he could not tell how far the ministry had gone with it.
Mr Barfuor said owners of vehicles that knocked down poles for street lights were supposed to repair them but about 70 per cent of the culprits bolted, leaving the maintenance burden on the ECG.
THE Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is running at a huge loss by way of the consumption of electricity and the maintenance of streetlights, incurring more than a GH¢9 million loss last year.
The deficit is the result of low revenue collected from the insignificant street light levy of 50 pesewas (old currency) paid by electricity consumers.
The company collected only GH¢279,245 from the street light levy in 2007, out of a projected revenue of GH¢9,321,479.71, thus incurring a loss of GH¢9,097,683.71.
Although the figure was not as bad as the GH¢11,048,150.35 deficit incurred in 2006, it was nevertheless worse than the GH¢5,079,823.21 loss incurred in 2005.
The Director of Operations of the ECG, Mr A. T. Barfuor, told the Daily Graphic that the situation was posing immense financial difficulties to the company and, therefore, called for a review of the levy.
He said with the current expansion of street lights across the country, it was imperative to increase the levy, otherwise the company could no longer cope with their maintenance.
In 1994, the current street light levy was fixed at 50 pesewas, 80 per cent (40 pesewas) of which went into consumption, while the remaining 20 per cent (10 pesewas) went into maintenance.
Mr Barfuor said in 2007, a total of GH¢279,245 was collected from the street lights levy, out of which GH¢223,796 went into consumption, with GH¢55,949 going into maintenance.
He said although the total levy collected for the maintenance of streetlights throughout the country in 2007 was GH¢55,949, the cost of maintenance of the 26 ceremonial streets alone was GH¢69,974.26, leaving a deficit of GH¢14,025.26 for the ECG to bear.
Mr Barfuor said the only way to address the problem was to increase the levy either to 3Gp or put a percentage on the electricity tariff, such that anytime there was an increase in tariffs, the street light levy would also increase.
He said a review of the levy would require the passage of a Legislative Instrument (LI) by Parliament, adding that the ECG had presented a proposal to the Ministry of Energy on the issue but he could not tell how far the ministry had gone with it.
Mr Barfuor said owners of vehicles that knocked down poles for street lights were supposed to repair them but about 70 per cent of the culprits bolted, leaving the maintenance burden on the ECG.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
TWO IN TUSSLE OVER GNA BOSS SALARY (P.55) 16-09-08
Story: Kofi Yeboah
THE National Media Commission (NMC) and the Auditor-General are embroiled in a power struggle over the salary of the General Manager of the Ghana News Agency (GNA).
This follows the controversy stirred by the Auditor-General, who challenged the authority of the NMC in fixing the GH¢8,050 monthly salary of the GNA boss without consulting the Presidency.
Whereas the NMC is questioning the mandate of the Auditor-General to make pronouncement on whether or not the commission consulted the Presidency before fixing the salary for the GNA boss, the Auditor-General, Mr Edward Dua Agyeman, insists he has such authority as the watchdog of the national kitty and is, therefore, asking the NMC to do the right thing.
“I have the right to comment on it and to safeguard the purse of the nation. Otherwise, I can also set a big salary for myself because I oversee the national purse. But it doesn’t work that way,” he told the Daily Graphic in an interview yesterday.
However, responding to correspondents from the Auditor-General on the matter, the NMC said in a letter dated September 10, 2008, that the issue, being a constitutional and legal matter, should be left to the commission and the Presidency or other constitutional entities with the mandate to resolve interpretative conflicts.
“Any attempt, therefore, to create a wedge between the National Media Commission and the Presidency would be vigorously resisted,” the commission stated in the letter signed by its chairman, Mr Paul Adu-Gyamfi.
Mr Agyeman, however, told the Daily Graphic that his actions were not intended to create a wedge between the NMC and the Office of the President, but to ensure that the proper thing was done as far as state money was concerned.
He said enquiries made at the Office of the President confirmed that the NMC did not consult the Presidency before fixing the GH¢8,050 salary of the GNA General Manager.
Mr Agyeman said if the NMC had consulted the Presidency before fixing the salary and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP) had indicated its ability to pay the salary, he would not have raised any eyebrow.
Furthermore, he said, if the GNA was an income-generating institution whose salary was not charged on the Consolidated Fund, it could decide to fix the salary of the General Manager at any level and that would not pose any problem to him.
The NMC indicated in its letter that it was the right of the Office of the President, not the Auditor-General, to complain about the adequacy of consultations between the NMC and the Presidency in the appointment of Chief Executive Officers of the state-owned media.
“Your attempt to pronounce upon the procedures involved in the execution of the employment contract of the General Manager of the Ghana News Agency suffers from the same weakness of locus and mandate referred to above,” the NMC added.
However, Mr Agyeman insisted that so long as the GNA boss’ salary was charged to the Consolidated Fund, he had the right, as Auditor-General, to question the salary if it did not follow the right procedure, adding that even if the President was paid more than necessary, “I have the right to comment on it”.
Nana Appau Duah was appointed by the NMC as the General Manager of the GNA on October 1, 2006, per a letter dated September 18, 2006, having acted in that position previously.
However, on January 25, 2008, the NMC and the General Manager signed a service agreement that will keep Nana Appau Duah in employment for a six-year period, beginning October 1, 2006, without the option of renewal.
The service agreement set the salary of the General Manager at GH¢3,500 per month and a package of six monthly allowances, including responsibility - 50 per cent, risk - 10 per cent, entertainment - 10 per cent, general duty - 25 per cent, rent (accommodation) - 30 per cent, and Provident Fund - five per cent.
The salary (GH¢3,500) and allowances totalling 130 per cent of the basic salary or GH¢4,550, bring the total gross emolument to GH¢8,050 per month for the General Manager.
The amount seemed to have raised concerns at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, whose Director of Budget, Mr Kwabena Adjei-Mensah, in April this year requested the Auditor-General to verify and advise on the computation of the salary arrears and other allowances due Nana Appau Duah.
Responding to that request, the Auditor-General observed that the Greenstreet Committee, which determined salaries and conditions of service of Article 71 office holders, fixed the salary of Cabinet Ministers at GH¢3,120 per month with effect from January 1, 2006, and that with the recent increases, the monthly gross salary was below GH¢4,000.
He, therefore, found it very difficult to come to terms with how the salary of the GNA General Manager could be far more than the salary of Cabinet Ministers.
Mr Agyeman also indicated that having observed that prior to his appointment as General Manager, Nana Appau Duah was a serving officer of the GNA, “I do not see the basis for the new contract which seems to exclude him out of the SSNIT Pension Scheme.”
He, therefore, advised the NMC to submit the award of contract and terms and conditions to the President for his input in accordance with Article 168 of the constitution.
The Auditor-General observed that despite the lack of consultation with the Presidency, the General Manager was paid the new salary between February and June 2008, resulting in the payment of GH¢33,200 being the difference between the old and new salary and allowances.
“I find the payment of GH¢33,200 to be improper because there is no evidence that the appointment, including the terms and conditions, and the duration of the contract, was made in consultation with the President as prescribed in Article 168 of the 1992 Constitution,” he noted.
Mr Agyeman further indicated that the GNA wrongly interpreted clause 8 of the employment contract based on which it computed for the General Manager GH¢7,166.25 being a 15-per cent increase in salary and allowances awarded to staff of the agency by the government effective January 1, 2008.
The Ministry of Finance subsequently withheld the payment of that increase in salary and allowance pending further investigations on his condition of service granted by the NMC.
That decision seemed unacceptable to the NMC, which, in its letter, consequently asked the Auditor-General “to take immediate steps to remove the unauthorised embargo you have placed on the salary of the General Manager of the Ghana News Agency as your act is ultra vires”.
Giving further explanation on the issue, the Auditor-General said the decision to stop the payment of the new salary and allowances to Nana Appau Duah was to allow for vetting of his salary.
He said the vetting would look at a number of issues, including the legality of the salary, computation, financial regulation and the labour law.
THE National Media Commission (NMC) and the Auditor-General are embroiled in a power struggle over the salary of the General Manager of the Ghana News Agency (GNA).
This follows the controversy stirred by the Auditor-General, who challenged the authority of the NMC in fixing the GH¢8,050 monthly salary of the GNA boss without consulting the Presidency.
Whereas the NMC is questioning the mandate of the Auditor-General to make pronouncement on whether or not the commission consulted the Presidency before fixing the salary for the GNA boss, the Auditor-General, Mr Edward Dua Agyeman, insists he has such authority as the watchdog of the national kitty and is, therefore, asking the NMC to do the right thing.
“I have the right to comment on it and to safeguard the purse of the nation. Otherwise, I can also set a big salary for myself because I oversee the national purse. But it doesn’t work that way,” he told the Daily Graphic in an interview yesterday.
However, responding to correspondents from the Auditor-General on the matter, the NMC said in a letter dated September 10, 2008, that the issue, being a constitutional and legal matter, should be left to the commission and the Presidency or other constitutional entities with the mandate to resolve interpretative conflicts.
“Any attempt, therefore, to create a wedge between the National Media Commission and the Presidency would be vigorously resisted,” the commission stated in the letter signed by its chairman, Mr Paul Adu-Gyamfi.
Mr Agyeman, however, told the Daily Graphic that his actions were not intended to create a wedge between the NMC and the Office of the President, but to ensure that the proper thing was done as far as state money was concerned.
He said enquiries made at the Office of the President confirmed that the NMC did not consult the Presidency before fixing the GH¢8,050 salary of the GNA General Manager.
Mr Agyeman said if the NMC had consulted the Presidency before fixing the salary and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP) had indicated its ability to pay the salary, he would not have raised any eyebrow.
Furthermore, he said, if the GNA was an income-generating institution whose salary was not charged on the Consolidated Fund, it could decide to fix the salary of the General Manager at any level and that would not pose any problem to him.
The NMC indicated in its letter that it was the right of the Office of the President, not the Auditor-General, to complain about the adequacy of consultations between the NMC and the Presidency in the appointment of Chief Executive Officers of the state-owned media.
“Your attempt to pronounce upon the procedures involved in the execution of the employment contract of the General Manager of the Ghana News Agency suffers from the same weakness of locus and mandate referred to above,” the NMC added.
However, Mr Agyeman insisted that so long as the GNA boss’ salary was charged to the Consolidated Fund, he had the right, as Auditor-General, to question the salary if it did not follow the right procedure, adding that even if the President was paid more than necessary, “I have the right to comment on it”.
Nana Appau Duah was appointed by the NMC as the General Manager of the GNA on October 1, 2006, per a letter dated September 18, 2006, having acted in that position previously.
However, on January 25, 2008, the NMC and the General Manager signed a service agreement that will keep Nana Appau Duah in employment for a six-year period, beginning October 1, 2006, without the option of renewal.
The service agreement set the salary of the General Manager at GH¢3,500 per month and a package of six monthly allowances, including responsibility - 50 per cent, risk - 10 per cent, entertainment - 10 per cent, general duty - 25 per cent, rent (accommodation) - 30 per cent, and Provident Fund - five per cent.
The salary (GH¢3,500) and allowances totalling 130 per cent of the basic salary or GH¢4,550, bring the total gross emolument to GH¢8,050 per month for the General Manager.
The amount seemed to have raised concerns at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, whose Director of Budget, Mr Kwabena Adjei-Mensah, in April this year requested the Auditor-General to verify and advise on the computation of the salary arrears and other allowances due Nana Appau Duah.
Responding to that request, the Auditor-General observed that the Greenstreet Committee, which determined salaries and conditions of service of Article 71 office holders, fixed the salary of Cabinet Ministers at GH¢3,120 per month with effect from January 1, 2006, and that with the recent increases, the monthly gross salary was below GH¢4,000.
He, therefore, found it very difficult to come to terms with how the salary of the GNA General Manager could be far more than the salary of Cabinet Ministers.
Mr Agyeman also indicated that having observed that prior to his appointment as General Manager, Nana Appau Duah was a serving officer of the GNA, “I do not see the basis for the new contract which seems to exclude him out of the SSNIT Pension Scheme.”
He, therefore, advised the NMC to submit the award of contract and terms and conditions to the President for his input in accordance with Article 168 of the constitution.
The Auditor-General observed that despite the lack of consultation with the Presidency, the General Manager was paid the new salary between February and June 2008, resulting in the payment of GH¢33,200 being the difference between the old and new salary and allowances.
“I find the payment of GH¢33,200 to be improper because there is no evidence that the appointment, including the terms and conditions, and the duration of the contract, was made in consultation with the President as prescribed in Article 168 of the 1992 Constitution,” he noted.
Mr Agyeman further indicated that the GNA wrongly interpreted clause 8 of the employment contract based on which it computed for the General Manager GH¢7,166.25 being a 15-per cent increase in salary and allowances awarded to staff of the agency by the government effective January 1, 2008.
The Ministry of Finance subsequently withheld the payment of that increase in salary and allowance pending further investigations on his condition of service granted by the NMC.
That decision seemed unacceptable to the NMC, which, in its letter, consequently asked the Auditor-General “to take immediate steps to remove the unauthorised embargo you have placed on the salary of the General Manager of the Ghana News Agency as your act is ultra vires”.
Giving further explanation on the issue, the Auditor-General said the decision to stop the payment of the new salary and allowances to Nana Appau Duah was to allow for vetting of his salary.
He said the vetting would look at a number of issues, including the legality of the salary, computation, financial regulation and the labour law.
LET'S BRACE FOR CHALLENGES AHEAD (P.24) 17-09-08
Story: Kofi Yeboah
THE Chief of Staff and Minister for Presidential Affairs, Mr Kwadwo Mpiani, has called on the public sector to brace itself for the challenges ahead as the nation aspires to become an investment destination, a middle-income and an oil-producing country.
“It is only appropriate that the public sector braces itself with the appropriate principles, concepts, methodologies and tools required for effective risk management in the public sector,” he said.
Mr Mpiani made the call in Accra yesterday when he opened the third annual Internal Audit Forum on the theme, “Risk management in the public sector: The role of internal auditing”.
The two-day forum, which is under the auspices of the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), is being attended by chief directors, chief executives and heads of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), as well as metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs).
It is in pursuance of Section 3 (2) (f) of the Internal Audit Agency Act, 2003 (Act 658), which requires the IAA to ensure that risks are adequately managed in MDAs and MMDAs.
The participants are discussing practical ways of identifying, assessing, mitigating and monitoring risks in the public sector.
Mr Mpiani observed that events around the world, such as natural disasters, economic declines, unstable fuel and commodity supply and prices, food shortages and environmental pollution, posed challenges that ought to be addressed by “carefully crafted risk management strategies that are relevant to their contexts and rooted in internationally accepted best practices”.
Floods, fire, non-maintenance of state assets, poor record keeping and financial fraud were among the risk factors that the Chief of Staff believed starred the country at the moment.
He disagreed with the suggestion that risk was a natural phenomenon about which nothing could be done, contending that while some risks related to events that could not be determined, “structured foresight and insight can be brought to bear on carefully-designed and executed risk management procedures to minimise the consequences and impact of the occurrence of these undesirable events”.
Mr Mpiani said risk management was an integral component of good corporate governance and urged public sector institutions to manage risk continuously in all aspects of their institutions.
He charged chief executives in the public sector to ensure that their respective organisations developed and implemented a risk management framework, as well as provided risk implementation guide, by June 2009.
Furthermore, he said they must accelerate work on the Internal Audit Regulations in order to provide the necessary legislative framework for risk management in the public sector.
The Chairman of the Internal Audit Board, Mr Samuel Crabbe, said risk management was about getting the right balance between innovation and change, on the one hand, and the avoidance of shocks and crises, on the other.
He said risk was unavoidable and so every organisation needed to take action to manage risk in a way that it could justify.
“Risk management organises what cannot be organised because individuals, corporations and governments have little choice to do so,” he remarked.
Mr Crabbe stressed the need for all public sector institutions to appreciate risk management and organise themselves in the face of deepening uncertainties, adding, “We must formalise the management of risk and incorporate it into all our activities.”
The Director-General of the IAA, Mr Patrick Nomo, said there was an improvement in the practice and status of internal auditing in MDAs and MMDAs at the end of August 2008, compared with the situation in 2005.
At the moment, 201 out of 342 MDAs and MMDAs have established and staffed their Internal Audit Units (IAUs), compared to 58 in 2005.
Again, 207 of the institutions have now established their Audit Report Implementation Committees, as against 16 in 2005, while 126 of them have signed Internal Audit Charters to ensure that internal auditors get unrestricted access to records and information within their organisations, compared to seven in 2005.
Mr Nomo said although there was no such thing as a risk-free environment, many risks could be avoided, reduced or eliminated through effective risk management practice.
He, therefore, urged public sector organisations to integrate risk management into their operations.
THE Chief of Staff and Minister for Presidential Affairs, Mr Kwadwo Mpiani, has called on the public sector to brace itself for the challenges ahead as the nation aspires to become an investment destination, a middle-income and an oil-producing country.
“It is only appropriate that the public sector braces itself with the appropriate principles, concepts, methodologies and tools required for effective risk management in the public sector,” he said.
Mr Mpiani made the call in Accra yesterday when he opened the third annual Internal Audit Forum on the theme, “Risk management in the public sector: The role of internal auditing”.
The two-day forum, which is under the auspices of the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), is being attended by chief directors, chief executives and heads of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), as well as metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs).
It is in pursuance of Section 3 (2) (f) of the Internal Audit Agency Act, 2003 (Act 658), which requires the IAA to ensure that risks are adequately managed in MDAs and MMDAs.
The participants are discussing practical ways of identifying, assessing, mitigating and monitoring risks in the public sector.
Mr Mpiani observed that events around the world, such as natural disasters, economic declines, unstable fuel and commodity supply and prices, food shortages and environmental pollution, posed challenges that ought to be addressed by “carefully crafted risk management strategies that are relevant to their contexts and rooted in internationally accepted best practices”.
Floods, fire, non-maintenance of state assets, poor record keeping and financial fraud were among the risk factors that the Chief of Staff believed starred the country at the moment.
He disagreed with the suggestion that risk was a natural phenomenon about which nothing could be done, contending that while some risks related to events that could not be determined, “structured foresight and insight can be brought to bear on carefully-designed and executed risk management procedures to minimise the consequences and impact of the occurrence of these undesirable events”.
Mr Mpiani said risk management was an integral component of good corporate governance and urged public sector institutions to manage risk continuously in all aspects of their institutions.
He charged chief executives in the public sector to ensure that their respective organisations developed and implemented a risk management framework, as well as provided risk implementation guide, by June 2009.
Furthermore, he said they must accelerate work on the Internal Audit Regulations in order to provide the necessary legislative framework for risk management in the public sector.
The Chairman of the Internal Audit Board, Mr Samuel Crabbe, said risk management was about getting the right balance between innovation and change, on the one hand, and the avoidance of shocks and crises, on the other.
He said risk was unavoidable and so every organisation needed to take action to manage risk in a way that it could justify.
“Risk management organises what cannot be organised because individuals, corporations and governments have little choice to do so,” he remarked.
Mr Crabbe stressed the need for all public sector institutions to appreciate risk management and organise themselves in the face of deepening uncertainties, adding, “We must formalise the management of risk and incorporate it into all our activities.”
The Director-General of the IAA, Mr Patrick Nomo, said there was an improvement in the practice and status of internal auditing in MDAs and MMDAs at the end of August 2008, compared with the situation in 2005.
At the moment, 201 out of 342 MDAs and MMDAs have established and staffed their Internal Audit Units (IAUs), compared to 58 in 2005.
Again, 207 of the institutions have now established their Audit Report Implementation Committees, as against 16 in 2005, while 126 of them have signed Internal Audit Charters to ensure that internal auditors get unrestricted access to records and information within their organisations, compared to seven in 2005.
Mr Nomo said although there was no such thing as a risk-free environment, many risks could be avoided, reduced or eliminated through effective risk management practice.
He, therefore, urged public sector organisations to integrate risk management into their operations.
GNA WORKERS FIGHT FOR SALARY INCREASE (P.55) 18-09-08
Story: Kofi Yeboah
WORKERS of the Ghana News Agency (GNA) are agitating for salary increase.
The workers expressed disappointment at the failure of the management to act on a proposal for salary increase they submitted to it a couple of months ago, but instead, it was asking them to wait for the implementation of the Single-Spine Salary Structure in January, 2009.
In a letter submitted to the management on Tuesday, September 16, 2008, the local union of the Communications Workers Union requested a meeting between the workers and management to discuss the issue.
The latest agitation for salary increase follows a circular issued by the management informing the workers that the implementation of the Single-Spine Salary Structure would take effect in January, next year.
The circular, which is pasted on the notice boards at the GNA offices in Accra, made reference to the Director in charge of Public Sector Salary, Mr Oku-Asare, as having given the assurance that the Single-Spine Salary Structure would be implemented in January 2009.
But the workers are taking that assurance with a pinch of salt, expressing the fear that a new government might either not implement the proposed salary structure at all or at the scheduled time.
Therefore, they did not see why they should rely on the proposed salary structure while they continued to reel under poor salary.
The workers said the internally proposed salary review was similar to that of the Single-Spine Salary Structure, explaining that if the former was implemented now, it would only be a matter of switching over to the latter when its implementation was due.
The proposal seeks to correct anomalies in the salaries of the workers, which came about after a previous review of the salary structure, and also to stem the high staff turnover as a result of low salary.
According to them, when the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, visited the GNA offices sometime in July this year, he requested for the salary review proposal made by the workers to enable him to study and facilitate its implementation.
They, however, accused the management of not acting on the minister’s good gesture.
WORKERS of the Ghana News Agency (GNA) are agitating for salary increase.
The workers expressed disappointment at the failure of the management to act on a proposal for salary increase they submitted to it a couple of months ago, but instead, it was asking them to wait for the implementation of the Single-Spine Salary Structure in January, 2009.
In a letter submitted to the management on Tuesday, September 16, 2008, the local union of the Communications Workers Union requested a meeting between the workers and management to discuss the issue.
The latest agitation for salary increase follows a circular issued by the management informing the workers that the implementation of the Single-Spine Salary Structure would take effect in January, next year.
The circular, which is pasted on the notice boards at the GNA offices in Accra, made reference to the Director in charge of Public Sector Salary, Mr Oku-Asare, as having given the assurance that the Single-Spine Salary Structure would be implemented in January 2009.
But the workers are taking that assurance with a pinch of salt, expressing the fear that a new government might either not implement the proposed salary structure at all or at the scheduled time.
Therefore, they did not see why they should rely on the proposed salary structure while they continued to reel under poor salary.
The workers said the internally proposed salary review was similar to that of the Single-Spine Salary Structure, explaining that if the former was implemented now, it would only be a matter of switching over to the latter when its implementation was due.
The proposal seeks to correct anomalies in the salaries of the workers, which came about after a previous review of the salary structure, and also to stem the high staff turnover as a result of low salary.
According to them, when the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, visited the GNA offices sometime in July this year, he requested for the salary review proposal made by the workers to enable him to study and facilitate its implementation.
They, however, accused the management of not acting on the minister’s good gesture.
TOYOTA GHANA MOUNTS ROAD SAFETY CAMPAIGN (Back page) 18-09-08
Story: Kofi Yeboah
TOYOTA Ghana Limited has initiated a road safety campaign to help reduce road accidents and fatalities on the western corridor.
Dubbed: “The road safety memorial”, the campaign involves the mounting of warning signposts along the Mallam-Winneba stretch of the corridor, which has been identified as one of the black spots in terms of road accidents in the country.
Areas targeted for the intervention include Tetegu, Budumburam, Awutu, Akoti Junction and Okyereko, which have witnessed some of the most tragic accidents in the country in recent times.
The signposts dotted along the stretch carry simple and visible road safety messages to caution drivers and pedestrians on the need to be extra careful so as to avoid accidents.
The concept, which is said to have proved successful in advanced countries like the United Kingdom and the United States of America, was designed on behalf of Toyota by Taurus Emporium Company Limited, a transportation engineering firm.
According to officials of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), as well as some road users, the campaign was having a positive impact, two weeks after the signposts were mounted.
Drivers are reported to be slowing down on reaching the areas that the signposts have been mounted.
Launching the campaign in Accra yesterday, the Managing Director of Toyota Ghana Limited, Mr Masato Kimata, expressed the hope that the campaign would make road users more conscious of maintaining their vehicle properly, use genuine spare parts and observe road traffic regulations in order to save lives.
He said the road safety campaign formed part of the social corporate responsibility of the company and underlined its commitment to do more.
An official of Taurus Emporium Company Limited, Mr Michael Bortsie, said the initiative was being implemented on a pilot basis and, based on its success, it would be replicated in other parts of the country.
TOYOTA Ghana Limited has initiated a road safety campaign to help reduce road accidents and fatalities on the western corridor.
Dubbed: “The road safety memorial”, the campaign involves the mounting of warning signposts along the Mallam-Winneba stretch of the corridor, which has been identified as one of the black spots in terms of road accidents in the country.
Areas targeted for the intervention include Tetegu, Budumburam, Awutu, Akoti Junction and Okyereko, which have witnessed some of the most tragic accidents in the country in recent times.
The signposts dotted along the stretch carry simple and visible road safety messages to caution drivers and pedestrians on the need to be extra careful so as to avoid accidents.
The concept, which is said to have proved successful in advanced countries like the United Kingdom and the United States of America, was designed on behalf of Toyota by Taurus Emporium Company Limited, a transportation engineering firm.
According to officials of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), as well as some road users, the campaign was having a positive impact, two weeks after the signposts were mounted.
Drivers are reported to be slowing down on reaching the areas that the signposts have been mounted.
Launching the campaign in Accra yesterday, the Managing Director of Toyota Ghana Limited, Mr Masato Kimata, expressed the hope that the campaign would make road users more conscious of maintaining their vehicle properly, use genuine spare parts and observe road traffic regulations in order to save lives.
He said the road safety campaign formed part of the social corporate responsibility of the company and underlined its commitment to do more.
An official of Taurus Emporium Company Limited, Mr Michael Bortsie, said the initiative was being implemented on a pilot basis and, based on its success, it would be replicated in other parts of the country.
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