TAXI DIRVERS AND AMA UNIFORMS

ONCE again the issue of taxi drivers in Accra wearing uniforms has come to the fore. A press release issued 10 months ago by the Public Relations Unit of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and carried in the January 25, 2007 issue of the DAILY GRAPHIC said that with effect from February 1, 2007, all taxi drivers in the Accra metropolis were required to wear uniforms described as “sea blue shirts and dark blue trousers”.
The press release added that “at a meeting held at the AMA head office on Thursday, January 18, 2007, the executives and representatives of the GPRTU, PROTOA and Co-operative Transport Union came to the agreement with the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Stanley Nii Adjiri Blankson”.
One would have thought that since the AMA representatives came to an agreement with the “executives and representatives” of the major transport unions on the wearing of uniforms by taxi drivers in Accra, the issue was a fait accompli.
But this does not appear to be the case. information reaching us indicates that many taxi drivers are not prepared to wear the prescribed AMA uniforms, citing cost as one of the reasons.
The Ghana Police Service has entered the picture and the taxi drivers have been given up to December 15, 2007 to comply with the AMA directive or be prepared to pay a fine of GH¢200 (¢2 million) or serve a six-month’ prison sentence. Since the issue has now assumed a new dimension, we advise that all concerned should do everything possible to avoid a confrontation.
Actually the idea of taxi drivers wearing uniforms is not new. Back in 1965, in connection with the first Organisation of African Unity (OAU) summit in Accra, the office of President Nkrumah issued a directive that all commercial drivers wear uniforms. That, it was believed, would enhance their appearance, since they would be the first line of contact with visiting delegates to the summit.
The directive was implemented and the uniforms, indeed, enhanced the appearance of commercial drivers, including taxi drivers. However, the exercise was short-lived.
The Assistant Commissioner of Police, Daniel Avorga, in charge of the Motor Traffic and Transport Union (MTTU) is reported to have said: “When drivers are in uniform, it enhances cohesion, discipline, quick identification and makes their control very easy.”
As we see it, education is key to the successful implementation of the AMA directive. How, for example, is the wearing of uniforms related to ‘enhancing cohesion, discipline, quick identification’ and thus ‘making control very easy’?
The onus of education principally is on the AMA, for until the taxi drivers are convinced that the reasons being assigned by the AMA are cogent they may not see the need to spend money on uniforms.
The taxi drivers have but a fortnight to comply with the AMA directive or face the might of the police. The Accra metropolis has its own share of problems and a confrontation with the police is one we cannot afford. Besides we want visitors to Ghana 2008 to find Accra a city at peace with itself.
Since time for the expiration of the ultimatum is short, could a compromise be sought? The crux of the matter is that the taxi driver should be well dressed and looking smart, and thus make a good impression. Could this goal not be achieved if a taxi driver is allowed to choose what he wants to wear as long as it is decent?
We make this point on the strength of the report that the AMA Chief Executive had accepted the suggestion that “the drivers be allowed to put on ‘African wear’ on Fridays,” an admission that a uniform is not crucial to appearing smart.
After all, a taxi driver may be in the prescribed uniform, but it may be dirty, not well ironed, or he may even be in bathroom slippers (“Charlie Wote”). Would this scenario be accepted by the AMA and, by extension, the police?
Our appeal is that this matter be handled by all concerned in such a way that we do not create problems where, in fact, there are no problems. We need a disciplined corps of taxi drivers who will help in the efforts to re-brand Ghana as the gateway to Africa, particularly during Ghana 2008.

FIGHTING CHILD LABOUR

AT a time the whole world is up in arms against all forms of child labour, the discovery of a slave route between the fishing communities of Bortianor, Kokrobite and Oshiyie near Accra and Yeji in the Brong Ahafo Region, where children as young as five are recruited to work, must have come as a shock and a big shame to all right-thinking members of society.
According to the story (published in yesterday’s issue of our paper), the criminal activity was uncovered following the death of a five-year-old boy, Alfred Afedi Akpa, from Bortianor, who was smuggled to Yeji without the knowledge or consent of her mother. But what is even more chilling is the fact that consenting parents were said to have been paid between GH¢20 (¢200,000) and GH¢30 (¢300,000) for the release of their children into the modern-day slavery.
The question that immediately comes to mind is: What is it that drives parents to part with their beloved children, some as young as five, to provide labour for others for mere pittance?
For many, the answer must be poverty, illiteracy or both. And much as the Daily Graphic shares some of these concerns, we totally condemn the SHAMELESS people who are ready to employ such little ones for domestic labour. This is not only inhuman but also unconstitutional and we call on all and sundry to help put a stop to this dastardly act.
Given the facts of this particular case, we are inclined to believe that what has so far been uncovered is only a tip of the iceberg. We, therefore, call on the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service to conduct very thorough investigations into the matter, free all the children who have been lured into this dehumanising situation and also bring all the perpetrators to book.
Furthermore, we call on society to be forthcoming with information on any form of child labour and the people behind it so that the police can quickly flush them out. That is our moral duty and we cannot shy away from it. Indeed, we are of the strong view that this form of modern-day slavery has been in existence for quite some time now and that had it not been for the unfortunate death of Little Alfred Akpa, it would have been business as usual. Now is the time for all of us to help put a stop to this inhuman practice.
But, above all, the Daily Graphic thinks that the government and its social partners, as well as the relevant non-governmental organisations (NGOs), must demonstrate a willingness to go to the aid of the many children who will be rescued from child labour camps.
Since 2002, some non-governmental organisations have been using education to address all abusive forms of child labour. To reduce child labour, these NGOs and their partners are equipping children, aged eight to 14 and who are in labour situations, with basic and life skills. From vocational and practical skills training to basic literacy classes for children, these NGOs help girls and boys to learn about personal safety and opportunities to enter or re-enter the formal school system and as well equip them with practical vocational skills.
We think Ghana and its social partners can also do the same, and very quickly too, if we must bring this shameless and inhuman practice to its knees.

DIALOGUE, THE WAY FORWARD

TEACHERS and other workers are reportedly fleeing the Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo District of the Northern Region because of recurring communal violence that has rocked the district over the past three months.
A number of school buildings and property have been destroyed as a result of the violence and students and pupils have no option but to stay at home.
While these conflicts have usually been confined to the northern parts of the country, they have development implications not only for northern Ghana but the rest of the country as well.
Many Ghanaians have found cause to complain about the poor standard of living in the three northern regions and have urged the government to commit more resources to develop that part of the country and improve the lot of the people there.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is also concerned about the state of under-development in the three northern regions and so we are alarmed by the recurring violence, a situation which will only exacerbate the already poor living conditions of the people there.
Since the 1980s and 1990s, the northern part of the country has been plagued by such communal violence, sparked by causes that could have easily been resolved through dispassionate dialogue.
Gradually, the situation up north, with regard to these recurring communal violence, seems to be attaining cancerous proportions and it is time we found a permanent solution to it.
But, first, the people up north need to recognise that they bear the greater responsibility to improve their lot. They need to express a resilient resolve to pursue peace by burying their individual and ethnic differences so that they could carry their collective destiny in their own hands.
The government can provide all the funds and resources needed for the development of the northern regions but not much can be attained in an atmosphere of violence, acrimony and disunity.
Over the years, billions of cedis have been committed towards addressing those communal conflicts and violence from which precious lives have been lost. We need not lose sight of the fact that such resources could have been channelled into other development initiatives to improve on the standard of living of the people there.
The DAILY GRAPHIC also wishes to appeal to the government to devote more resources towards educating the people on the importance of being tolerant of one another’s views through peace education programmes.
The people must be told that in the circumstance where classrooms are deserted by both teachers and students and where civil servants and health workers are fleeing the region, the gulf between the north and the south can only deepen.
The benchmarks for any progressive society include a literate and healthy population. These can be achieved when all children of school age are enrolled and encouraged to remain in classrooms staffed with qualified teachers and health facilities manned by dedicated health workers. But these professionals will stay in the area to work on condition that their safety will be guaranteed.
While lauding the security agencies for helping to quell violent conflicts up north, we also wish to encourage them to intensify their patrols and intelligence operations to ensure that such conflicts do not erupt in the first place.

PROTECT WEIJA DAM NOW

THIS week, a combined team of military and police personnel is expected to be deployed for a special operation to demolish illegal structures and flush out land guards and stone winners around the Weija Dam.
The move has become imperative because of the threat posed to the dam by the illegal structures and activities of the stone winners. The persistent use of dynamite by the stone winners to blast rocks near the dam, according to experts, has exposed the dam to imminent collapse.
This is, indeed, very disturbing news! The Weija Dam serves more than 2.8 million residents of the eastern and western parts of Accra as they rely on the dam for water. The collapse of the dam will spell doom for these residents.
Therefore, the DAILY GRAPHIC welcomes efforts being made to protect one of the most reliable sources of water supply that has served the needs of millions of Ghanaians over the years.
Additionally, the seemingly ceaseless pollution of the dam as a result of the activities of human settlers around it raises very serious concerns, as it increases the cost of treating the water and, to a very large extent, justifies any decision to demolish illegal residential and non-residential structures.
As noted by the Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Alhaji Abubakar Saddique Boniface, "This is a national emergency that requires immediate action. We don't need to waste time on this matter because the rate of destruction is serious.”
As we highlight the threat and express our commitment to halt the destruction of the dam, the DAILY GRAPHIC wishes to caution against the temptation to bow to pressure after the demolition exercise has commenced.
Quite recently, after the floods in the Ga West District which claimed the lives of six persons, the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment gave a directive that all houses on water courses around Mallam must be demolished. After the commencement of the exercise, the zeal was lost because of complaints from sections of the public that the exercise was inhuman.
There have been similar instances when local government agencies have been compelled to succumb to the will of illegal squatters who complain of “no place to lay our heads”.
While there is always the somewhat justified temptation to empathise with such squatters, it is even more justifiable that such structures are destroyed in the interest of the masses and the very lives of the squatters. Therefore, no effort must be spared in that regard.
There is so much indiscipline in our society and our failure to punish offenders only serves to provide an impetus for more indiscipline. When the Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, launched his campaign against indiscipline, there was the criticism that the problem rather had to do with the lack of resources and social amenities. Yet, the fallacy of that assertion is betrayed by the brazen flouting of simple traffic laws and bye-laws on sanitation.
On the issue of land guards, perhaps it is apt to remark that the country seems to have consistently addressed the issue with kid gloves. Land guards should never have any place in our society, as they always serve the interests of a few selfish individuals who do not believe in the tenets of a just, orderly and lawful society. They condemn all of us into the state of nature where confusion and violence hold sway.
Our security agencies must deal with the issue of land guards with utmost decisiveness to uproot this canker once and for all. It is depressing that for a national asset like the Weija Dam, the country has, for all these years, contended with the threat of land guards. We respect the right to property ownership, but where land guards masquerade with guns in defiance of the laws of public order and the right to ammunition, with the connivance developers, then no one needs to prompt our security agencies that it is a step too far.

A TIMELY WARNING

AS the country awaits the delivery of gas through the West African Gas Pipeline, experts have warned of the dangers associated with using dynamite and other illegal methods in fishing near the pipelines.
According to the experts, such illicit activities could result in great loss of lives, the sinking of ships and heavy explosions that could also lead to loss of revenue.
The DAILY GRAPHIC believes that this is a very timely warning that should be taken with all the seriousness it deserves. People should not lose sight of the huge cost involved in the West African Gas Pipeline Project and its enormous importance to beneficiary countries.
It is important to bear in mind that with our growing energy demand, the natural gas expected to flow from Nigeria will serve a very critical need to spur economic development.
The country therefore needs to commit itself to sound and ethical practices that would protect these pipes and enhance their lifespan to ensure regular gas supplies to meet the needs of the people.
There are very useful lessons from Nigeria that our policy makers need to bring into focus so that our country can learn from their mistakes. Time and again deliberate puncturing of fuel pipes in Nigeria has resulted in huge explosions leading to loss of human lives and property.
For instance, in May 1998, at least 500 Nigerians were killed in an explosion in the oil-rich Niger delta as they collected oil from a leaking pipeline. Another explosion in December 2006 killed more than 250 Nigerians who had gathered around another punctured pipeline to scavenge for oil.
With the knowledge of hindsight, the people need to tread cautiously and not recklessly, be well-informed about the characteristics of natural gas and its combustible nature.
As long as natural gas flows through a closed controlled system, it remains a safe product. Only when gas unexpectedly escapes from a pipeline does it have the potential to be a hazard to life, property and the environment.
That would require that people around communities where the pipes run are adequately educated and sensitised to the best practices to ensure that pipes are not tampered with in any way, because it has been established that delivering gas through pipelines is currently the safest mode of transportation.
Additionally, the DAILY GRAPHIC wishes to stress the need to provide an effective security system or network to ensure that these pipes are not disturbed by criminals and reckless individuals.
As pointed out by the General Manager in charge of operations of the West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAGPCo), Mr Aderemi Oladapo, the two major areas that need critical attention are the Tema and Takoradi destinations of the products.
These are harbour cities with a lot of commercial and human activities and providing effective security networks should not be an insurmountable task. To complement the efforts of security personnel, we wish to encourage the sensitisation of the general public to be vigilant and watch out for individuals or groups of individuals who may attempt to cause damage to these pipes.

RESOLVING THE CONTROVERSY OVER RME

THE Christian Council of Ghana has added its voice to the call made by the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference for the reintroduction of Religious and Moral Education (RME) in the curriculum for schools in the new educational reform.
The Catholic Bishops had, in a communiqué issued at the end of their conference, asked the educational authorities to reintroduce RME into the curriculum as a way of stemming the moral and behavioural decadence that has engulfed the country.
Explaining the position of the Catholic Church letter, the Archbishop of Accra, the Most Reverend Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, said the church was only asking for the reintroduction of RME in the curriculum to ensure the proper character formation of the youth.
Meanwhile, in its explanation as to why RME was taken off the school curriculum, the Ghana Education Service (GES) said one of the objectives of the educational review was to reduce the number of subjects studied at the basic education level. Consequently, it was thought prudent to take off RME and, instead, put aspects of the subject in other subjects such as Social Studies.
We must say that the issues raised by both the Catholic Bishops and the GES are relevant and so the issue as to whether RME should be reintroduced or not cannot be determined unilaterally.
Certainly the question of the proper moral training of our youth cannot be discounted in the present system of education when almost on a daily basis one infraction or another is committed by our youth.
But it would be wrong, without any scientific research to that effect, to put the upsurge in moral decadence at the doorstep of the educational system because pupils no longer study RME. If we do that, then we will be begging the question.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is of the view that the study of RME in all schools, while it may inculcate in the pupils moral uprightness, can itself engender controversy in some areas.
Let us all remember and bear in mind that Ghana, as a secular country, has not got a uniform religious policy. Therefore, if the mission schools arrogate it to themselves to teach the religions they profess to in those schools, it would seem as if only adherents of those religions would attend those schools.
Many instances abound in the country where strange doctrines have been rammed down the throats of innocent pupils and students for the crime of being in the ‘wrong’ schools.
While it is obvious, as the Most Rev Palmer-Buckle indicates, that the mission schools are noted for their discipline and proper training of the youth, we must not forget that the family is the most important unit of society where proper upbringing could begin and gradually permeate the rest of society.
Thus the DAILY GRAPHIC believes that even as this “great controversy” rages on, parents should ensure the proper upbringing of their children right from the home so that the children will grow up knowing what is good and bad.
The churches which are so concerned about moral decadence must also step up efforts to “train the children the way they should go”, so that they will complement the efforts of parents.
By all means the concerns raised by the Catholic Bishops should be looked at critically, but, as the Ghana Conference of Religions for Peace has noted, “... consultation and dialogue with the various stakeholders” is the way out of this impasse.
The DAILY GRAPHIC expects fruitful discussions leading to compromises and respect of one another’s views as all the interest groups sit down to resolve the issue.

LET'S TAME MALARIA

THE threat posed by malaria to the development aspirations of the country was again highlighted by the Minister of Health, Major Courage Quashigah (retd), on Tuesday when he addressed a health summit in Accra.
The minister stated that malaria was crippling the country’s health budget, as the cost of treating malaria alone for this year was equivalent to the entire budget of the Health Ministry.
Understandably, $772 million was spent this year to treat malaria. Add this to the revenue lost as a result of the loss of man hours from malaria morbidity and one easily reckons the enormity of the challenge that confronts us. The cost of treatment alone should, no doubt, serve as an irresistible motivating factor to intensify our crusade against the prevention of malaria.
The DAILY GRAPHIC, in recent times, has found cause to raise concerns over this issue and we still believe that it is a crusade that should be intensified. Just a few days ago, a renowned Ghanaian physician, Professor Joseph Orleans Mends Pobee, expressed worry that 50 years after independence, malaria was still a major cause of death in the country, especially among children.
We find it very reprehensible that in this time and age, one in every five childhood deaths in the country is attributed to malaria, a disease that can easily and effectively be prevented by adopting good sanitation habits.
Although we may still need to find more effective ways of treating malaria, we also have to focus on its prevention by keeping our environments clean in order to destroy mosquito breeding sites.
That requires an effective synergy between the relevant local government authorities and health officials in order to effectively address the challenge.
In this regard, the DAILY GRAPHIC wishes to throw some spotlight on the concept of “Saman Saman”, the local reference to sanitary inspectors, that was recently introduced on a pilot basis by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment.
We believe that it is a laudable concept which has the potential of helping to address our enormous sanitation problems that are threatening the lives of innocent Ghanaians.
In the past, the “Saman Saman” concept contributed tremendously towards keeping our communities clean and we need to know what has become of the pilot project in terms of challenges and prospects.
We also need to know whether it is possible to replicate this concept in a very practical sense across the length and breadth of the country, particularly in communities where sanitation remains a major challenge.
A few years ago, this concept was so effective that every Ghanaian played by what was wholesome because those who kept unsanitary surroundings were dealt with by law. Unfortunately, today bye-laws of local government authorities remain mere intentions.
In the face of their own logistical, human resource and financial constraints, local government authorities need to be supported by private organisations, as well as non-governmental organisations and community-based organisations, to help address these sanitation challenges.
While commending Zoomlion, a private sanitation company in the country, for its support in that regard, we wish to encourage it to do more, with special emphasis on the destruction of malaria breeding sites.
The DAILY GRAPHIC also wishes to stress the need for Ghanaians to be orientated to practise good sanitation habits and contribute in their own small ways to keeping our environment clean.

DEEPENING THE DECENTRALISATION PROCESS

SECTIONS of the public have raised their voices against the siting of some capitals of newly-created municipalities and districts in the country. The ‘red flag’ has been raised very high at Ashaiman where the people are up in arms against the government for siting the municipal capital of Ashaiman/Adenta at Adenta. They have even taken to the streets and threatened to remain on the streets for as long as their voices go unheeded.
The Electoral Commission (EC), which has a major role to play in the creation of the districts, says, “We have not been contacted. We have nothing to do with it.” A former Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Kwamena Ahwoi, has also called on the government to, with immediate effect, withdraw the new Legislative Instrument (LI) intended to set up the 28 new district assemblies that are awaiting parliamentary approval because they are illegal.
According to Mr Ahwoi, the EC, which was mandated by law to demarcate the boundaries, had not done so and, therefore, the instrument, when passed, would violate the Local Government Act.
It appears that lessons are not being learnt from the creation of new districts since 1988 when the district assemblies were increased from 65 to 110 in a major leap to bring governance to the doorstep of the people. At that time, the issue was thrown to the people to provide the infrastructure if they so desired that their areas should be considered for upgrading to the status of districts.
The protracted dispute between the people of Agotime Kpetoe and Adaklu following the siting of the capital of the Adaklu-Anyigbe District at Agotime Kpetoe is too fresh to recall.
The issues being raised by sections of the communities indicate that as a people, we have not learnt lessons from the concerns raised in the past. It is also imperative to emphasise that in exercises like the creation of districts, where many interest groups are at stake, it would be difficult to satisfy all those interest groups.
The people see the location of a district capital in their towns as a privilege, since it comes with additional infrastructure and other facilities. In order to avoid the litigation over the siting of district capitals and bring the people together to develop their communities, the government, in future, should exhaust the consultation processes before making the district capitals public. Dialogue can lead to compromises.
The time and resources being spent now on explaining or rationalising the decisions of the government could have been used to advance the process. Broad consultations will bring about peace and set the new districts on the path of development, instead of the present situation where some peole refuse to be part of the new districts. A functional decentralised systrem will give every citizen a lasting stake in the future of his/her community.
The Daily Graphic finds it difficult to determine whether the voices being raised against the new district capitals are representative enough or they are coming from the vociferous minority. But the success of the decentralised system of governance depends on the active involvement of all. The will of the people must be the authority of our political leaders where the views of the minority and the most vulnerable are also factored into the decision-making process.
The issues at stake in selecting a town as a district capital are not matters of passion and emotions. They are based on rational considerations because goverance at all levels must have legitimacy in the eyes of the governed.
Let the authorities act quickly to get everybody to support this major national policy of deepening democratic governance in the country, for, as Edmund Burke puts it, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

THE POLICE REQUIRE OUR SUPPORT

REPORTS that four policemen have been killed in quite bizarre circumstances over the last 10 days must be condemned by all peace-loving Ghanaians. This development tends to send the signals, rightly or wrongly, that members of the public are losing confidence in the police and have taken their frustrations on the peace officers.
It is the expectation of the DAILY GRAPHIC that the killings are isolated cases and not the trend in police-public relations.
Modern policing is a shared responsibility between police personnel and members of the public, without whose collaboration crime prevention or detection will achieve little result. This collaboration is about working with people to deliver the services that will secure society from the activities of criminals. It is an undeniable fact that image and rapport are difficult to build but just a slip can bring down the reputation that has been put together over the years.
Technological innovations and advancement, particularly the advent of the Internet, have turned criminal activities into a very sophisticated business. Cross-border crimes and cyber fraud are on the ascendancy because of the rapid development of communication technology. Thus geographical distances are practically no longer felt but free flow of information regarding any organisation and its policies is one of the basic conditions for the long-term success of any human endeavour, especially for institutions like the police, which are constantly under the critical eyes of the public.
The Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Frank Adu-Poku, has bemoaned the increasing attack on policemen performing their legitimate duties and appealed to the public to support the police to flush out the criminals bent on making the work of security agencies very difficult.
Receiving a cheque for ¢10 million from the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) in Accra yesterday in fulfilment of the pledge the GJA made to reward whoever would provide information that would lead to the arrest of the killers of Samuel Best Ennin, the former Ashanti Regional Chairman of the GJA, in January this year, Mr Adu-Poku decried the impunity with which some miscreants had killed the four policemen.
Sometimes the actions of a few policemen bring the name of the Ghana Police Service into disrepute, but in many instances the police have performed their duties to the admiration of all. It is understandable when members of the public raise their voices against the unprofessional attitude of the police. Of course, the people must talk about the limitations of the police, but they must also commend the police when praise is due.
The DAILY GRAPHIC believes that all Ghanaians have a shared responsibility to fight crime to secure our shared future. The challenges of crime combat and the negative attitude of some policemen notwithstanding, the country has a great opportunity to inspire the Police Service to discharge its duties with expertise. This requires that the resourcing of the service, which began in earnest when the Kufuor administration took office, is updated to ensure that all police stations and personnel have the logistics to fight crime.
We are of the opinion that the people can rise above the shadow of gloom that appears to have taken over the country as a result of the increasing crime rate through improved police-public partnership to take the fight to the criminals. Working together for the common good is the best way to create a new and inspiring sense of national security and unity.

RESPECTING THE CANONS OF JOURNALISM

THE constitutional guarantees of freedom and independence of the media have insulated the press against governmental and other sectarian interests. The onus now is on media practitioners to uphold media ethics as the core value of journalism practice in the country. A free media is an essential source of information for the people to make informed decisions in a democratic society. Instances abound where the irresponsible use of the power of the media has threatened the security of society.
Media reportage of the trial of the driver who rammed his car into the vehicle carrying the President has compelled sections of society to accuse journalists of indulging in “trial by media”. The media have been warned that their reportage will prejudice the trial of Mr Osei who allegedly ignored police siren and rammed his car into that of the President at the Silver Star/Opeibea House traffic intersection near the Kotoka International Airport last Wednesday. But one may ask whether all these stories being churned out about the presidential accident are motivated by the media’s determination to seek justice for the parties involved or they are trying to make increased sales.
It is for this reason that the appeal by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to journalists to refrain from engaging in the trial of Osei must be heeded by all.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is not oblivious of the fact that the wall of silence is increasingly difficult to maintain in the age of the Internet, which all interest groups, including politicians and even judges, cannot control in a democracy. Let journalists not take the caution by the GJA as an attempt to gag the media from reporting anything about Osei’s trial.
We concede that there is an overarching public interest in the accident involving the President’s car and the media have a responsibility to let the public know so that those who shirked their responsibilities and obligations will be punished to serve as a deterrent to others. Nonetheless, journalists must manage the challenge posed by the people’s right to know by upholding the principles of truthfulness, accuracy, impartiality, fairness and public accountability such that their practice will satisfy the principle of Tony Burman, the editor-in-chief of CBC News, that “every news organisation has only its credibility and reputation to rely on”.
The DAILY GRAPHIC adds its voice to calls on the media to exercise circumspection in their reportage of Osei’s trial to avoid the danger of obstructing justice for the accused person and thus defeat one of the cardinal principles in the justice system, which says that “a suspect is deemed innocent until proven otherwise by a competent court of law”.
Ghana has come a long way in promoting the freedom and independence of the media. Consequently, journalists should not give opportunity to any authority to take on the primary role of regulating the media. The freedoms enshrined in the Constitution are not absolute; they come with responsibilities.
From now on the guiding principle of all media practitioners should be respect for the canons or ethics of journalism such that the media will have the moral authority to provide a healthy check on all centres of power to achieve a free and enlightened society. It is only when journalists serve their society within the framework of the ethical standards that the media can discharge their duties to the public in a responsible and constructive manner.

BRIDGING THE NORTH-SOUTH DIVIDE

LAST September, intellectuals from northern Ghana came together to launch an appeal to raise resources, both in cash and in kind, to assist flood victims in the area. Moved by the plight of the victims, citizens of the north in Accra came together to complement the efforts of the government to rebuild the ruins of the flood disaster.
Prior to that, some concerned citizens of the area had taken to the streets in Bolgatanga, Tamale and Wa to draw attention to the widening gap in living conditions between the north and the south. The agitation by the youth cannot be faulted because several surveys have listed the three northern regions as the poorest in the country. The demonstrations were only a legitimate weapon to get public office holders to appreciate the deteriorating living conditions in the north and take steps to address them.
It is against this backdrop that the Daily Graphic welcomes the establishment of the Northern Development Fund, with ¢250 billion as seed money, and urges all citizens of the area to monitor its disbursement to redefine the development process in the area. In addition, the people should feel free to add to whatever programmes and plans that the Tamale Polytechnic will provide to determine the development priorities of the three regions as suggested by the Metropolitan Chief Executive of Tamale, Mr Mohammed Amin Adam Anta, at the 15th matriculation ceremony of the polytechnic.
Every visitor to northern Ghana will agree that the area should be supported with more funds in order to give it a new purpose. The challenges of development stare all Ghanaians in the face, but the stark truth is that the situation appears more alarming in the north, hence the need to redirect financial support from the south to the north. The south has a moral duty to support this endeavour.
Of course, the seed money for the fund will not be enough to transform the north overnight, but it marks a good beginning.
The Daily Graphic believes that the Northern Development Fund initiative announced by Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu in the 2008 Budget Statement last Thursday is to enable the people of the north to satisfy their basic needs and enjoy better quality of life. Without compromising national development agenda, what needs to be done now is for the government to balance the development processes according to the priorities and circumstances of the southern and northern sectors of the country.
The development challenges of the north are complex and so to go around them the government needs to engage experts from all disciplines, such as engineers, economists, public health specialists, educationists and politicians, in an exploration of matters of great urgency in order to make breakthroughs towards ending extreme poverty there.
The pangs of poverty can only be satisfied in the midst of peace and tranquillity. Many communities in northern Ghana are conflict prone. The time has come for the people to desist from chieftaincy and land conflicts which have claimed lives and led to the destruction of property.
The Daily Graphic is of the belief that the way forward in bridging the development gap between the north and the south calls for new thinking and planning by the government, as well as all well-meaning citizens of the north. The challenges of illiteracy and the inadequate spending on health and education, which stand in the way of sustainable development, must be addressed in the interest of national cohesion and integration.
For more than two decades now Ghana has set out to end economic stagnation, attain a middle-income status by 2015 and reduce the number of people below the poverty line to half. The country has every prospect of success in these areas if it makes social investments to end extreme poverty. The people from the north, for their part, must continue to raise their voices against all development.
The national cake must benefit all.

MAKE LPG AFFORDABLE

PARTICIPANTS at a workshop organised by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment on sustainable energy use and conservation at Dodowa have called for a reduction in the prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to enable more households to move away from the use of fuel wood to LPG.
This call on the government is very timely because of the threat that the uncontrolled reliance on fuel wood is causing to the country’s forest resources.
A Deputy Minister of the ministry, Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah, while addressing the participants, hit the nail right on the head when he said, “The massive depletion of forest resources is due to the dependence of squatter settlements on fuel wood as a major source of energy.”
Unless something is done to get Ghanaians to rely on alternative energy sources, particularly low income earners, majority of the people will continue to rely on fuel wood which abounds in the country. But the consequences can be grave for the future.
Already, desertification is catching up with the northern sector of the country at a very alarming rate as a result of many factors, such as bush burning, uncontrolled felling of trees for fuel wood and other purposes, as well as unscientific agro practices.
Although it is an undeniable fact that sustainable development can be achieved through the judicious use of our natural resources, sometimes governmental and individual actions tend to suggest that we are oblivious of the benefits of green belts. The indiscriminate exploitation of the world’s resources, including the forest cover, has led to the phenomenon known as global warming, whose consequences have led to prolonged droughts, famine, heavy rainfall accompanied by floods, very cold weather and heat waves in all temperature zones, causing extensive damage to lives and property.
In the 1980s, the government launched an ambitious programme for energy efficiency in the country, with the focus on the use of LPG. The urban poor and rural dwellers who heavily depended on fuel wood and charcoal for both domestic chores and commercial ventures, such as ‘chop bar’ operations, were targeted to switch over to LPG to ensure mass use of the product. Industrialists were also encouraged to produce stoves of all kinds for use by the people. A complete unit was set up to propagate LPG use.
However, subsequent developments, including rising prices of crude oil on the world market and the government’s desire to maximise revenue from petroleum products, led to the pricing of LPG beyond the pockets of many average Ghanaians.
But while government officials and functionaries lost no opportunity to drum home the benefits of LPG, they did very little to encourage mass use because of the high prices, despite protestations from members of the public.
The high demand for LPG has also been compounded by the uncontrolled conversion of vehicles using premium and diesel to the use of LPG. A recent disclosure by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) that the conversion of petroleum cars to LPG had not been authorised has not deterred those involved in that trade.
The benefits of energy conservation and efficiency, although well-known and recognised, are yet to impact positively on the management of the forest resources as a result of a variety of barriers, including the high prices of LPG and the lack of accessibility. The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) must also do more investment in the production of LPG to prevent the frequent shortage of the product on the market, a development which forces users to turn to fuel wood.
The Daily Graphic calls on agencies such as the NPA and the Energy Commission to intensify public education on the use of LPG and advises the government to make LPG affordable to both the urban and rural poor.
The government would have to factor revenue loss in an exercise for the mass use of LPG at affordable prices into a comprehensive and multi-sectoral approach towards energy conservation and sustainable development.
The short-term net gain from such an initiative will not be high at the initial stage but the long-term benefit will be substantial. The danger posed by desertification and depletion of the forest must be halted through conservation and energy-saving methods. If the forests must be conserved for future generations, then it behoves the government to make it easier for all to use LPG by making the product available at all times at affordable prices.
Let this generation not be accused of endangering life through the depletion of the country’s forests.

MEETING OBJECTIVES OF BUDGET '08

THE Finance and Economic Planning Minister, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, yesterday presented the 2008 Budget and Financial Statement of the government to Parliament, with an assurance that far-reaching measures had been outlined in the budget to accelerate growth and secure the stability of the economy.
The 2008 economic policy, dubbed, “Budget for a Brighter Future”, aims at enhancing agricultural financing and a national transportation policy, the promotion of alternative energy sources, improving regulatory structures for doing business and the establishment of the School Feeding Fund.
The economic policy, which is the last for the Kufuor administration, intends to facilitate wide ranging reforms to deepen the stability of the economy which has been going on since 2001 and leave a lasting legacy for successive governments to build on.
While Members of Parliament (MPs) on the government side commended the Finance Minister after the delivery of the almost two-hour budget statement, their colleagues on the other side of the House described it as “a pile-up document aimed at deceiving the people”. No matter the label that is given to the budget by MPs, the concerns should include how the government will be able to harness the resources of this country such that the ordinary man on the street can lead a more fulfilling life.
It must be stressed that budget statements are mere economic projections. Their objectives can only be attained through self-discipline, transparency in the management of public resources and hard work. Ghana and most Third World countries find themselves in more challenging situations because of globalisation where countries that attempt to adopt the self-reliance model of development face possible boycott of their products.
Faced with this dilemma, some schools of thought call for local solutions to the economic challenges, instead of relying on the donor communities to prescribe harsh conditionalities which, in most cases, do not work.
Last year, the Ministry of Finance described the economic policy of the government as a Good News Budget. Whether at the end of this year the 2007 budget would have attained the objectives of the government will be difficult to determine because the country is still battling with a high unemployment rate, budget deficits, unattractive lending rates and a high cost of living. But no matter the hardships, the economy under this regime has admittedly chalked up a lot of successes, but there is still more to be done.
But, if all Ghanaians commit themselves to the task of attaining the objectives in the 2008 budget, the seeming despair in some Ghanaians can be changed to smiles and hope. What is necessary now is for all the economic gurus, particularly in Parliament, to make inputs into the economic policies, with the view to attaining the best for the country. The people expect an economic turn around for the future betterment of generations.
The Daily Graphic, therefore, calls on our Honourable MPs to desist from the usual polemics and seek consensus on the 2008 economic blueprint of the government so that when the implementation process begins next year, the goals will be achievable. We are, however, not oblivious of the fact that politics is a contest of ideas and Parliament offers the conducive platform for the trading of ideologies to gain the favour of the electorate.
However, we are also of the opinion that since all MPs have the interest of their constituents at heart, they will support the government’s economic policies. Parliament must not shirk the responsibility to interrogate the basis of the economic policy, but it must do so in the spirit of holding the purse string of the government with the sole objective of promoting transparency and accountability in the use of public funds.

THANK GOD FOR PRESIDENT'S LIFE

GHANAIANS yesterday received the disturbing news of the accident involving the President’s vehicle while on his way to the Castle for the day’s official duties. Thankfully, the President escaped unhurt when the Mercedes Benz saloon car rammed through his convoy on the Liberation Road in Accra and crashed into his Limousine, forcing it to somersault three times.
The impact of the crash was said to be so heavy that the President’s vehicle grazed over another VW Golf car on the opposite lane of the dual carriage road. Though investigations have just begun, initial police reports say this near national disaster could have been avoided if the driver of the Mercedes Benz that rammed into the President’s convoy had obeyed simple road traffic regulations. There is also the case of the alcohol level of that same driver at the time of the accident. The argument is not about the special privileges of his Excellency President Kufuor that require that everything must come to a standstill while on his way to work at the Castle.
It is important that all road users, particularly drivers, are educated to appreciate the essence of all emergency situations. In other jurisdictions that everybody tries to play by the rules, simple regulations are adhered to because the consequences can be unpleasant.
It is sad to note that in our country, the culture of impunity has eaten so deep into our fabric that respect for the rules has gone to the dogs. If that is not the case, traffic would come to a standstill and make way for a presidential convoys or ambulances that perform emergency services in our country.
Accidents involving presidential motorcades have become quite alarming. During the tenure of President Kufuor alone about six accidents, some fatal, have occurred. In some of these cases too, it was the utter disregard for signals from dispatch riders that resulted in these accidents. Bread winners have died through these tragedies while in other cases, limbs have been lost.
In 2000 former President Jerry John Rawlings’s convoy was involved in an accident in which three of his security details died while the former president and his wife escaped narrowly. Similar accidents involving other notable personalities such as the sitting Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, presidential candidates, top business executives and even ordinary passengers which were caused by human error are very painful to recount.
The Daily Graphic reminds all road users that every life counts and is crucial for the efforts at social transformation. For this reason, road users are reminded to observe simple traffic regulations in order to reduce the carnage on our roads.
It is against this background that the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) and the Motor Transport and Traffic Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service must, as of necessity, collaborate with the road transport organisations to educate all road users to comply with traffic regulations. It is sad that as the state spends more of its scarce resources to make our roads motorable carnage on the road is on the ascendancy. The irony is that when the roads are in deplorable conditions motorists tend to be careful.
The Daily Graphic is of the view that yesterday’s accident involving the President is a wake-up call to all to accord the President’s motorcade and all emergency service providers including ambulances and fire fighting vehicles the needed priority. Motorists should not stand in their way, in order to prevent avoidable accidents. Also, the security agencies must beef up security in the President’s convoy to avoid a recurrence of yesterday’s near fatal accident. We wish the President, as well as his driver, and Mr Thomas Osei, who caused the accident, a speedy recovery.
We call on all Ghanaians of goodwill to say prayers for the President and to the other accident victims so that the good Lord will heal and strengthen them.

RECONSTRUCTING MAKOLA MARKET

MAKOLA recorded its second fire outbreak in five years last week and it was another sad spectacle as scores of market women wailed helplessly at the scenes of debris and ashes.
Days after the fire outbreak, the market women appear to be lifting themselves up from the gloom and warming themselves into serious business. As expected, some of the women who lost their wares in the fire outbreak have begun clearing the debris in preparation for reconstruction works on their shops and stalls.
Anybody familiar with the architecture of Makola can easily imagine the extent of damage that any fire outbreak would wreak. It appears that very little or virtually no consideration is given to safety guidelines when structures are put up at the market.
Stalls and shops are constructed in a way that fester congestion, making it very difficult for buyers and sellers to move around with ease. In the wake of the recent disaster, the DAILY GRAPHIC is alarmed by reports that some of the women have set it upon themselves to reconstruct the place.
While we appreciate the economic challenges these women may be facing, hence their desire to quickly return to serious business, we need to highlight the need to build well-designed stalls and shops, with safety precautions very much in mind.
We wish to call on the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and other relevant government departments and agencies to intervene to ensure that the reconstruction is done in a way that will ensure that any future disaster does not cause considerably damage.
For a market with the stature of Makola, it is unacceptable to allow individuals to put up structures with any material and without due regard to their safety and the safety of others.
The Daily Graphic wishes to echo suggestions that wooden structures must be changed to concrete during the reconstruction to check the uncontrolled spread of fires during any fire outbreak.
The market women need to be educated on the need to observe safety practices at the market, including the importance of decongesting the market to facilitate the easy movement of goods and people. There is also the need to educate the women on the importance of insuring their wares, stalls and stores against such disasters.
And while we place the spotlight on Makola, we also wish to draw the attention to conditions in other markets all over the country, since similar disasters may just be lurking.
The Daily Graphic believes that the recent fire outbreak in Makola should serve as a wake-up call to the relevant parties and stir them into action to institute appropriate measures that will help prevent such disasters in future.

OUR CRIME PROBLEMS

MEDICAL doctors at public hospitals in the Volta Region are said to have threatened to seek mass transfer from the region, citing insecurity and increased threats to their lives and property as the reasons.
According to reports, their threats follow mayhem visited on five doctors in the region in five separate incidents within one month. In one particular incident, one of the doctors was said to have been called at midnight to attend to an emergency but while he was operating on the pregnant woman, another ‘operation’ was taking place in his home, which led to the theft of two laptops that contained very valuable medical and personal data and other belongings. But what has really traumatised them is an attempt to kidnap a nurse who works at the Volta Regional Hospital in Ho.
Looked at from any angle, this is a very worrying situation and the Daily Graphic deeply sympathises with the doctors for the ordeal they have been through in the discharge of their duties, especially in the past one month. But horrifying as the whole affair seems to be, we do not subscribe to the idea of a mass transfer, as is being threatened by the doctors. We think issues of this nature need to handled with a lot of tact and diplomacy and we do not think this is beyond the capabilities of the Volta Regional Security Council (VRCC).
Indeed, the Daily Graphic is happy to learn that the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) and the Office of the Regional Security Co-ordinator are not taking the issue lightly. Not only have steps been taken to get to the bottom of the matter but also measures have been put in place to forestall any further attacks on the doctors.
Having said so, we wish to emphasise that although doctors in the Volta Region may have a peculiar case, the rising spate of robberies nation-wide is becoming rather alarming and damaging and the security personnel would have to redouble their efforts to fight the menace.
Indeed, what has come to be known as ‘contract killing’ is becoming the order of the day. It happened in Kumasi with the killing of Samuel Ennin, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA). Then it moved to Tema with the gunning down of Roko Frimpong and Quartey in separate incidents. As if all those dastardly acts were not enough, the nation was again rocked only last week with the shocking murder of two lovers — Awal Osumanu and Irene Emefa Agbemenyo — at Gbawe, an Accra suburb.
We know our security services have serious challenges — challenges that border on logistics, as well as human resource. But the absence of sufficient policing should be no excuse in the bid to rid society of the undesirables.
We cannot allow the peace and freedom of majority of law-abiding Ghanaians to be trampled upon by the murderous acts of a few reckless and irresponsible people. This is the time to stand up and be counted. And we know our men and women in uniform will rise up to the occasion.
The Daily Graphic also wishes to advise the public to volunteer information that will help the police to effectively deal with crime. We should all recognise that the police need the support of the public to execute their duties to perfection. We must not succumb to the crime wave and that is why we all need to be vigilant and contribute effectively towards making our society very peaceful.

AVERTING ANOTHER ENERGY CRISIS

IT is gratifying to note that the Akosombo Hydro-electric Generation Station has recovered tremendously well from its recent crisis and is now operating very efficiently.
That notwithstanding, the Daily Graphic believes that many Ghanaians will prefer displaying cautious optimism, if the past is anything to go by. We have emerged from a similar energy crises brimming with so much excitement and confidence as we proffered the options that would snuff out any future energy crisis.
But we have always ended up being caught pants down, slumping into another era of stark dark and sweaty nights. Indeed, the Plant Manager of the Hydro Generation Department of Akosombo, Mr Kwesi B. Amoako, sounded the alarm bells loud enough when he explained that the Akosombo Hydro-electric Generation Station could not really go full throttle, although it had the capacity to do so.
He said that was critical to forestall another energy crisis in the near future as the rains could be easily disappointing again. For many years, the Akosombo Hydro-electric Generation Station had been the major source of electricity for Ghanaians and its success and popularity, even in the sub-region, had been quite legendary.
After successive energy crises resulting from poor rainfall levels and the resultant low water level in the dam, the Daily Graphic wishes to emphasise the need to work towards exploring other more reliable sources of electricity. And we are, indeed, happy that the government has taken the necessary steps to get a second hydro-electric project — the Bui Dam — underway.
But as Mr Amoako pointed out, the policy being advocated by the Volta River Authority (VRA) was that hydro-electricity should complement electricity from thermal plants and generators, and not the other way round. Definitely that is a comparatively expensive choice that we must make, considering the surging price of crude oil, which is needed to drive thermal plants and generators, on the world market.
However, that appears to be the most prudent way out if we want to carry our destiny in our own hands and not leave it to a failing rainfall pattern, distorted with the help of global warming and climate change.
The dependence on thermal plants and generators will invariably mean that we would have to pay higher tariffs for electricity, as the price of crude oil soars. That may come as a challenge to many consumers and that is why we still need to commit a lot more resources into developing other sources of electricity like wind and solar energy.
These are options we have consistently discussed and found to be viable but it appears the will to pursue those options is agonisingly very limited. The Daily Graphic again wishes to highlight these options and challenge both the government and the private sector to do more to make wind and solar energy real options for Ghanaians.
For now, we may have to critically examine the tariff regime for electricity and find out how best the issues can be addressed in order to make electricity more accessible and affordable to Ghanaians.
The paper also wishes to advise consumers to adopt effective energy conservation methods in order to reduce the consumption rate and save costs. This is crucial and no one must sit on the bench.

ENSURING THE INTEGRITY OF THE JUDICIARY (NOVEMBER 10, 2007)

THE Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Wood, reiterated her resolve to fight corruption in the judiciary when she declared that “the appointment and promotion of judges will be based on their level of integrity, industry and independence and no other consideration”.
At the launch of findings on a study on the perception of corruption in the judiciary, Mrs Justice Wood also noted that even though integrity was not going to be the only key criterion for work and advancement in the judiciary, “judicial integrity is key to an effective and efficient judicial system”.
In consonance with that philosophy, the Chief Justice announced that the Judicial Service, in conjunction with other international institutions, would soon begin a training programme in judicial integrity and ethics for all levels of judicial staff.
An overview of the report itself showed that corruption in the judiciary was real. Data and information gathered for the report demonstrated convincingly that the issue of corruption was not merely a perception but a reality and that it occurred with frightening regularity within the judiciary.
Key actors in the judicial process — judges, lawyers, litigants and staff of the judicial service — were all said to be keenly aware of the existence of the problem of corruption in the judiciary and had themselves experienced it in one way or another and knew others who had.
Judicial corruption appears to be a global problem — it is not restricted to a specific country or region. Yet manifestations of corruption seem to be at their worst in developing countries and countries in transition.
Indicators of corruption, as perceived by the public, include delay in the execution of court orders, unjustifiable issuance of summons and granting of bails, prisoners not being brought to court, the lack of public access to records of court proceedings, the disappearance of files, unusual variations in sentencing, delay in the delivery of judgements, high acquittal rates, conflict of interest, etc.
One of the key anti-corruption measures put forward by the Judicial Anti-Corruption Programme (JACP) published by the Centre for the Study of Democracy recently is the establishment of the office of a public official — outside the prosecution — who should be endowed with prosecutorial functions by the law (similar to the independent counsel in the US). Such officials should be elected by the National Assembly to investigate corruption within the judiciary and they should enjoy the immunity of magistrates.
The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the local chapter of Transparency International (TI), which conducted the study on Ghana’s judiciary, has also recommended the establishment of a complaints desk at the Supreme Court, as part of the office of the Chief Justice, and the active involvement of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) in regulating the conduct of lawyers, among other things — all in the bid to fight judicial corruption.
The Daily Graphic thinks both suggestions are laudable and urges the Chief Justice to give them a deep thought in her determination to make corruption a high risk venture in the judiciary.
The image of the judiciary has been severely battered and shattered through the unbecoming conduct and questionable behaviour of some unethical judges. They have insidiously and brazenly destroyed an institution that was in the past viewed with admiration and awe for its high standards of ethics and sound judgements. There is now an urgent need to restore and maintain the dignity, integrity, independence and impartiality of the judiciary.
The eradication of corruption from the justice system is a joint task involving not only judges and members of the legal profession but literally all stakeholders, including all arms of government, the media and civil society.

WELCOME MOVE (NOVEMBER 9. 2007)

THE recent dispute in Anlo over the instalment of Torgbui Sri as Awoemefia has taken another twist, with some chiefs and clan heads from the area accusing the police of open bias and unprofessionalism.
The chiefs and clan heads also implicated political heads in the Volta Region, the Attorney-General and even the President in the conflict. They called for the withdrawal of the police from the area and the lifting of the curfew that had been imposed in Anlo.
It is easy to discern that this conflict will not go away without any effort to address some of these accusations and perceptions of police bias and political complicity. That is why the DAILY GRAPHIC welcomes the swift response by the Ministry of the Interior to investigate the allegations made against the police.
Conscious of the fact that the police are responsible for securing the peace and security of the people, we believe that every effort must be made to protect their credibility and also put them in check if they act unprofessionally.
While it may not be advisable to subscribe to the withdrawal of the police from the area, given the tense atmosphere there now, we wish to caution the police and the military to act in a manner that will ensure that their presence is not seen as a threat to peace-loving people in Anlo.
We believe that the government, through the Ministry of the Interior, will establish a very objective committee to investigate the complaints against the police for perceived bias and institute measures that will restore the confidence of the people in the police.
It is quite disheartening that anybody would like to draw the offices of the Attorney-General and the President into a chieftaincy conflict and the DAILY GRAPHIC wishes to advise politicians not to feast on these allegations and deliberately create the impression that this conflict is politically motivated.
As explained by the Deputy Attorney-General, the AG’s Department had made a very conscious effort to provide the Judicial Committee of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs with a lawyer but those efforts had only been stalled by some internal wrangling in the Volta Regional House of Chiefs.
The DAILY GRAPHIC wishes to emphasise the key role the House of Chiefs must play in addressing chieftaincy conflicts. That calls for the need to ensure that the regional house of chiefs are adequately empowered to deal decisively and authoritatively with such conflicts.
Definitely the best way to resolve chieftaincy conflicts is to use the appropriate channels, and in this regard we wish to aver our faith in the ability of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs to address the issue amicably.
The chieftaincy institution has been established over centuries on time-tested traditions that should not be profaned by the unacceptable sophistication imposed by our modern society.
As we work towards addressing this issue, we wish to caution against unnecessarily personalising the conflict in a manner that will only produce more villains and deepen the enmity and division among the different factions.
Emotions may have been sent to fever pitch, but it is now time to calm tempers and address the issue dispassionately and objectively.

CHIEFTAINCY PROBLEMS AND SECURITY (NOVEMBER 9, 2007)

THE Chief of Army Staff, Major-General Samuel Odotei, hit the nail right on the head when he observed that chieftaincy-related problems in the country were becoming a hindrance to the effective execution of the military’s peace and security agenda.
He noted that there was an upsurge in chieftaincy problems, which needed to be checked and halted immediately if the nation must move forward and no right-thinking member of society can deny these assertions.
The fact is that peace-keeping or the maintenance of law and order in crisis-stricken areas is not only a huge drain on the national economy but also a burden on our human and material resources and no one can take these things lightly. The Dagbon crisis — perhaps the worse in the nation’s history — comes in handy. Raging for a period of four years — March 27, 2002 to April 10, 2006 — it took a very heavy toll on the nation and the sincere prayer of every true Ghanaian is that no such calamity should befall us again.
But while still counting the cost of the Dagbon mayhem, the nation woke up last week to another chieftaincy crisis. This time it was in Anloga and was triggered by the search for a new Awoamefia for the Anlo Traditional Area. It left five people dead, including a policeman, and scores of others injured in the process.
The gloom, however, is not restricted to only Dagbon and Anlo. The nation’s capital itself has not been spared this agony. Indeed, it is not only the installation of the Ga Mantse, King Tackie Tawiah III, which is a subject of litigation but also all the coastal towns in the country — from Ga Mashie through Nungua to Tema — are all embroiled in serious chieftaincy problems.
It does not end there. The latest statistics clearly show that there are as many as 300 chieftaincy cases lined up before the various Houses of Chiefs and the situation is not too healthy for our nation. It is generally believed that the noble institution is reeling under the weight of interminable succession disputes because non-royals are using their wealth and connections to influence kingmakers to nominate them as chiefs. There are yet others who, though not royals, have appointed themselves kingmakers.
By trying to circumvent tradition and custom which have prescribed who has authority to nominate and install chiefs, as well as who qualifies to be a chief, a lot of tension has been created in some communities. As such, a precious heritage of the country appears to be threatened by the misuse of wealth and influence. A solution is yet to be found to this canker by the National House of Chiefs.
The numerous chieftaincy disputes have tarnished the image of the age-old chieftaincy institution and brought it into disrepute. Chiefs would, therefore, have to put their houses in order to be of lasting benefit to the national cause of a search for lasting democracy.
The role played by our chiefs in the agitation against colonial rule must not be lost on us. The Daily Graphic, therefore, hopes that the fearlessness of our forefathers, whose sweat and blood assured the survival of chieftancy, would inspire the present generation to preserve the institution. It is by so doing that our Chiefs could be a positive force in the struggle for the consolidation of democracy.

THE GUINEA WORM, MALARIA MENACE (NOVMBER 8, 2007)

A RENOWNED Ghanaian physician, Professor Joseph Orleans Mends Pobee, recently highlighted the threat posed by guinea worm and malaria in the country. In his view, it was unfortunate that 50 years after independence, Ghana was ranked the second worst country in the world in terms of guinea worm infection and malaria continued to be a major cause of death in the country, especially among children.
Professor Pobee stated the painful truth in the most charitable manner. It is not only unfortunate, but also very much unacceptable and unthinkable that we are in such dire straits as far as the two diseases are concerned.
For many years, we have talked and drawn policies that would eradicate guinea worm and decisively deal with the malaria challenge; for many years the talk has remained talk and the policies have virtually made no impact.
It is, indeed, sad that despite being consistently hailed as one of Africa’s miracle economies, Ghana has the worst infection rate of guinea worm on the continent.
It is estimated that there are close to 7,000 guinea worm cases in Ghana with northern Ghana accounting for more than 90 per cent of such cases. Former US President Jimmy Carter, during a visit to the country early in the year, reportedly complained about the fact that Ghana was the only country in the world that was not making any progress in the eradication of guinea worm.
After visiting Savelugu and horrified by the sight of little children screaming with pain as guinea worm came out from different parts of their bodies, Mr Carter is said to have challenged Ghanaians to “do more to raise public awareness and ensure a sense of urgency to finally put an end to the social injustice of guinea worm, an unnecessary and preventable disease”.
The Daily Graphic absolutely wish to identify with the concerns expressed by the former American President and challenge the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service to move beyond the rhetoric and bring action to their words.
For so long we have been saddled with policies that are expected to eradicate guinea worm but which have failed to bring relief to the thousands of Ghanaians suffering as a result of the disease.
Indeed, the country has the capacity to eradicate the disease and there should be a greater commitment by the government to ensure that Ghanaians have safe sources of drinking water as contaminated water and poor sanitation account for the high rate of guinea worm infection in the country.
Similarly, we need to aggressively deal with the malaria challenge that for so long has created financial and social problems. While we recognise that the treatment of malaria can be highly successful if the right drugs are used, we definitely need to remind ourselves of the ever useful idiom that ‘prevention is better than cure’.
Quite recently the Minister of Health, Major Courage Quashigah, disclosed that the country spent $77 million to treat malaria annually. The Daily Graphic believes that if the appropriate steps are taken to prevent malaria we may not have to spend such huge amounts of money to treat the disease.
Thus, while we still work towards getting effective drugs to ensure that malarial patients get the best treatment, there is the need to intensify education on prevention of the disease by improving sanitation to destroy mosquito breeding places. That is an option we must vigorously pursue.

EVICT THESE SQUATTERS (NOVEMBER 6, 2007)

THE Tema Municipal Assembly (TMA) is said to have issued an ultimatum to squatters on a parcel of land in front of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to quit the place immediately or be evicted.
The move, we are told, follows the refusal of the squatters to quit the area, despite several warnings by both TMA and TOR. Our information also is that the problem dates as far back as 2003 — four solid years now — and that it was part of the recommendations of the committee that investigated the fire outbreak that hit the refinery.
Even though the management of TOR is reported to have gone to great lengths to provide new facilities under more hygienic conditions — all free of charge — for the female traders among the squatters, they have still refused to move, claiming that the new place cannot accommodate all of them and also that they do not make enough sales there.
Chief among the reasons that motivated the committee to order the eviction is the fact that the activities of the squatters are said to be a threat to the plant in particular and the economy of the country in general.
Indeed, it is common knowledge that some saboteurs have found the place a safe haven to carry out all kinds of nefarious activities, including the siphoning of fuel into containers and waiting vehicles. These dastardly acts cannot continue forever and we cannot look on unconcerned.
The Daily Graphic thinks the TMA and TOR have been tolerant enough with the squatters all these years. We, therefore, hasten to suggest that if the current ultimatum elapses, there should be no excuses whatsoever in dealing with the problem on our hands.
We have always advocated that issues of this nature should be handled with a human face, but on this occasion, we think the TMA and TOR have reached their wits end in the handling of the matter.
Four years of dialogue and clemency must certainly give way to some very concrete action and nothing should stop them from carrying out this very important national exercise.
When the squatters are virtually evicted, we hope the two organisations would not go to sleep. They must monitor the area on regular basis to ensure that the people never return to cause further havoc.
TOR uses the state-of-the-art technology in the refinery’s operations. And we cannot allow a few bad lots to destroy such an important national asset.

ANLO NEEDS PEACE (NOVEMBER 3, 2007)

WE wish to register our utmost disgust over the bloody clashes that have characterised the Anlo chieftaincy dispute, which has elicited the concern of all Ghanaians.
The killings and beatings being visited on the people constitute not only a stain on the conscience of the people whose unrestrained pursuit of power has led to “the bloodbath at Anloga,” but are also a shame for the whole institution of chieftaincy in Ghana.
Even more disturbing is the knowledge that this is happening to the land and people of Togbui Adeladza II, one of the most revered chiefs of his time. Until his death in 1997, Togbui Adeladza enjoyed a long reign of peace, tranquillity and development and the annual Hogbetsotso festival of the chiefs and people of Anlo became a must-see for Ghanaians and tourists alike.
Considering the stature he earned in Ghanaian history and chieftaincy, it is regrettable that the process to find a suitable successor to the venerable Adeladza should be marred by the shedding of the blood of his own people. What a way to honour the memory of a man of peace!
Be that as it may, the Anlo tragedy is not one of those misfortunes that strike without notice. The signs of it happening began showing many years ago and loomed large a few days before it erupted last Thursday. It is difficult to understand why those signals, including media warnings, were not picked by the appropriate security and intelligence agencies for counter-measures to be taken.
Also difficult to understand is the insensitivity being displayed by those king makers who are bent on seeing the process through, no matter how bloody the path turns out to be. This must stop somewhere. What type of rulers would ‘love’ their people so much that they are willing to kill them in order to rule them?
Given the nature of the conflict and its demands on national security resources, the Daily Graphic is opposed to the view that matters of chieftaincy must be left to the exclusive whims of the ringleaders without any say from the state.
What is involved here is the lives of Ghanaians to whom the state owes the right to life and safety and on that basis, the state can intervene and say that enough is enough. However, the decision to restrain the leaders in Anlo from installing the new Awoamefia must have come as a welcome relief to peace-loving people of Anlo although this step could have been taken earlier to avoid the spilling of the blood of innocent people.

THE JUSTICE FOR ALL PROGRAMME (NOVEMBER 2, 2007)

THE Minister of the Interior, Mr Kwamena Bartels, on Wednesday provided Ghanaians some insight into the amount of money that went into maintaining prisoners in the country’s prisons.
He told Parliament that ¢16 million would be spent on each of the 13,087 prisoners, both Ghanaians and foreigners, in all prisons across the country this year. In 2006, ¢10.4 million was spent on each prisoner.
The announcement initially came as an intriguing piece of news, considering the usual complaints that prisoners in the country were poorly catered for. However, any such shock is quickly dispelled by the explanation that the amount includes every cedi spent on the operations of the service, including salaries of prison officers, running cost of vehicles and ration.
Immediately, one begins to ask whether it is worth spending that much on prisoners some of whom may come out not in the least reformed but more hardened to pose greater threat to society because our penal system is retributive. What this means is that if the country decides to cater properly for prisoners to ensure that they come out as reformed citizens, then the country’s scarce resources will be spent on an unproductive sector of society.
The DAILY GRAPHIC believes that something drastic must be done to our justice delivery system to improve the conditions in the prisons and also reduce the number of prisoners who are virtually wasting away.
One first observation that strikes us is the belief that there may be many criminals in our prisons who may be better off without the prisons. For some criminals who may have indulged in petty thefts and squabbles, jail terms in prisons that are best described as terror sanctuaries may not be the best remedies.
The DAILY GRAPHIC believes that for such criminals, the option of providing community service or suspended sentences may turn out to be more effective and also help address the issue of the congestion in our prisons.
Essentially, punishment should not only serve as a deterrent but also work towards reforming offenders. Thus, it is important that in meting out punishment we do not opt for the easy way out rather than the most effective form of punishment for the various crimes, considering the psychological disposition of the offender.
When Daasebre Dwamena returned from jail in the UK, he had benefited from a short course in computer science and was awarded a certificate for his efforts. Truly, that is the standard we should be aiming at and that should start by ensuring that our prisons are not choked with first offenders who do not need to be there.
That is why the DAILY GRAPHIC welcomes with relief the ‘Justice for All’ programme that has been launched by the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General’s Department. The programme, which is aimed at decongesting our prisons, has already resulted in the release of two prisoners.
It is refreshing that there are plans to replicate the programme throughout the country. We, however, wish to caution that the programme should not be a nine days’ wonder and those plans must be pursued to achieve the desired results.
The DAILY GRAPHIC urges the Ghana Prisons Service and the Ministry of the Interior to intensify their efforts and diversify the sources of funding to ensure that the ‘Justice for All’ programme and other noble initiatives are introduced in all our prisons to make them places of reformation.

THIS ACT IS COMMENDABLE (NOVEMBER 1, 2007)

THE exceptional bravery displayed by a police corporal in Kumasi who repelled an attack by six gunmen, killing one in the process, is commendable. In the process of protecting the cold store and its workers, the policeman sustained injuries in one hand.
Time and again, some personnel of the Ghana Police Service have demonstrated commitment to their job of maintaining law and order even at the peril of their lives. Some others, and it is believed that they must be in the minority, have dragged the image of the police in the mud by getting involved in criminal activities such as armed robbery, arms trafficking, and extortion of money from motorists and complainants.
Majority of our police personnel have, by their conduct, protected the integrity of the Ghana Police Service while a few bad ones create image problems for it. Thus law-abiding Ghanaians think the police cannot be relied upon to safeguard law and order and protect them against criminals.
In some cases, police response time to distress calls is so slow that they are unable to apprehend criminals, compelling some people to conclude that the police had limited response.
Despite the negative perception members of the public have of the police, they feel that the police are needed to maintain law and order and so support them. A healthy police-public relations is key in reducing crime, disorder and fear of crime to create the right environment for all daily activities.
Corporate bodies and philanthropists such as Alhaji Asuma Banda have in their small ways assisted the police to deliver on their mandate of making it unattractive for people to commit crime.
But individuals and corporate bodies cannot solve the problems which are legion; the Ghana Police Service is a state institution and the State must fund it to all its problems including the lack of adequate residential accommodation and poor logistics.
Even paper to work with at some charge offices is non-existent, let alone vehicles to go on patrols or communication gadgets to put the personnel a step ahead of the criminals who have been very sophisticated. It is pathetic that in the Kumasi robbery case, the robber absconded in a Daewoo Tico vehicle.
In this computer age, even police stations in Accra are not networked so that they can easily share information in combating crime.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is aware that all sectors of the economy require more resources to achieve their targets but when the ends are competing for scarce resource, the country has to set priorities.
The country has enjoyed stability, peace and tranquillity over the last 14 years or so, but the relative peace can only be sustained through constant vigilance and a deliberate policy to nip the activities of the criminals in the bud.
Respect for rule of law is a sine qua non for the development of any country. Investor confidence in Ghana cannot be sustained if the investors have no trust in our legal framework to the extent that those who are aggrieved are not motivated to seek redress through laid-down procedures but by arbitrariness or "self-help". The phenomenon of mob justice is a wake-up call to all of us to protect the justice system because any apparent loss of trust in the police to deal with the spate of criminal activities in the country can spell doom for the people, particularly the vulnerable in the society.
Whatever the public perception of the police, some of them are still demonstrating attitudes of professionalism which must be commended. It must be clear to all of us by now that the lack of the reward and punishment system does not provide enough motivation for our public officers to work hard.
The DAILY GRAPHIC, therefore, calls on the government to institutionalise the "naming and shaming' process to deter the lazy and motivate patriotic citizens. That opportunity offers itself now for the Police Administration to honour Corporal Ebenezer Obeng for standing up against the robbers at the peril of his life. Bravo, Corporal Obeng.

HEED CHALLENGE OF AUDITOR-GENERAL (OCTOBER 31, 2007)

RTICLE 187 of the 1992 Constitution mandates the Auditor-General to audit the public accounts of Ghana and of all public offices, including the courts, central and local government administrations, the universities and similar public institutions and any other corporation, organisation or body established by an Act of Parliament.
The Constitution further provides, in the same article, that within six months of such audit, the Auditor-General is required to submit his report to Parliament and he shall, in the report, draw attention to irregularities in the audited accounts and any other matter which, in his opinion, should be brought to the attention of Parliament.
However, this important constitutional provision has not been a regular feature in our 15-year old democratic experiment. That is because the auditing, compilation and presentation of the Auditor-General’s Report to Parliament have often been outstanding, in some instances for as long as eight years.
The difficulty has mainly been attributed to inadequate funding, logistics and staff for the Audit Service to enable it to deliver this enormous responsibility to the letter. Nonetheless, in the face of all the difficulties, the Auditor-General has, in recent years, demonstrated zeal and tenacity of purpose to address the problem by trying to bring the auditing, compilation and presentation of his report up to date.
The recent revelations at the hearings of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament on the Auditor-General’s Report for 2004 and 2005, in which more than ¢600 billion of state funds is reported to have gone down the drain, bear ample testimony to the commitment of the Auditor-General to save the nation from losing such colossal amounts of money.
Nonetheless, the fact that not all the districts and the country’s foreign missions are audited every year, as a result of inadequate funding and resources, and the realisation that the service could do better than what it is presently doing, given the necessary resources, do not give reason for anyone to rejoice over whatever amount would be retrieved following the exposure at the hearings.
It is with this understanding that the Daily Graphic welcomes the challenge thrown to the government yesterday by the Auditor-General, Mr Edward Dua Agyeman, to provide adequate funding for the Audit Service and reap enormous benefits in terms of savings of billions of cedis that would have been lost to the state.
There is a lot more waste in the management of public accounts simply because the auditing net has not been cast wide enough. Moreover, the constraints being faced by the service may not permit it to do a thorough and comprehensive job that will expose all the rot in the system.
Again, increasing funding for the service will enable it to employ and train more staff, as well as acquire the necessary logistics to carry out its functions more effectively. At the moment, the Audit Service has only 65 offices in the 138 districts in the country and that makes it extremely difficult for the staff to cover the entire nation.
The Daily Graphic wishes to urge the government to accept the Auditor-General’s challenge by providing the service with adequate funding and resources to facilitate its work. After all, the Good Book says to whom much is given, much is required.
In the same manner, it is imperative that the government gives serious attention to the adequate resourcing of institutions established under the Constitution, such as Parliament, to enable them to rigidly hold on to the purse string of the government.

CHEATING IN EXAMS (OCTOBER 30, 2007)

ECHOES from two important sources at the weekend painted quite a gloomy picture of the health of education in the country. A former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Ivan Addae-Mensah, was quoted in yesterday’s DAILY GRAPHIC as lamenting that “the growing phenomenon of cheating in examination is fast eroding the high reputation and international recognition that the country’s educational system has enjoyed for so many years”.
In a similar vein, the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) expressed concern over the poor performance of candidates of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) organised recently by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
The ultimate objective of every student is to come out of any examination with flying colours. Therefore, some students sacrifice everything, including burning the proverbial midnight oil, in order to excel in examinations. Parents and school authorities also go the extra mile to adequately prepare their students for the “coup de grace”.
In the “good old days” when students from the remotest parts of the country could compete for admission to the so-called first-class secondary schools, teachers took pride in the number of pupils who passed the Common Entrance Examination for admission to secondary schools. The teachers did so without asking for monetary rewards.
It is an undeniable fact that increases in population have put pressure on the resources of the state to such an extent that the outcome of all human endeavours, including education, falls short of the desired expectations. Although many interventions have been made in the educational sector in order to address the falling standards, the performance of some of the students is appalling. Suddenly, basic schools scoring zero at the BECE is no longer news because the situation has become the rule, rather than the exception.
All interest groups, such as the government, teachers, parents and the communities, must go back to the age-old value of making sure that all children submit to strict discipline and dedicate themselves to their books. Unless steps are taken to instil in the youth the values of hard work and let them understand that shortcuts can jeopardise their future, the problem of cheating at examinations will continue to worrisome and disturbing degrees.
Prior to any examinations, WAEC, in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service and the schools, embark on public education on the dangers involved in cheating. These efforts by the interests groups have not yielded the desired results. This menace will destroy all the efforts being made to improve the quality of education in the country if decisive steps are not taken to checkmate the phenomenon that has destroyed the public esteem of some schools and the future of their students.
Parents must discourage their children from getting involved in examination malpractice by encouraging them to study harder. Since examination malpractice occurs with the active connivance of examination officials, WAEC and the police should make it unattractive for people to indulge in that crime. Anyone caught cheating should be made to face the full rigours of the law, irrespective of his or her status or connection in society.
The DAILY GRAPHIC calls on the educational authorities, religious groups and parents to effect changes in the attitude of students to education so that our schools do not become places where ill-baked graduates are turned out.

NEW DISTRICTS, MUNICIPALITIES MUST WORK (OCTOBER 27, 2007)

BY an Executive Instrument, the President last week created 25 new districts and three municipalities and upgraded 26 existing districts into municipalities. Additionally, the Tema and Cape Coast municipalities were raised to the status of metropolitan assemblies.
This is a move that must be lauded, since it aims at bringing governance closer to the people. Arguably, an effective governance structure is hinged on an effective devolution of power to adequately empower the masses to be captains of their destiny.
The move by the government goes to enforce its determination to ensure that the decentralisation process is pursued to its logical end, even as the emerging lapses are addressed.
But while the Daily Graphic hails the creation of the new district, municipal and metropolitan assemblies, the paper wishes to caution against what may be described as “disturbing noises” emerging as a result of the merger of Adenta and Ashaiman as one district, with the capital at Adenta.
This sounds like a familiar tune, if one recalls the creation of the Adaklu-Anyigbe District and the resulting ripples that nearly threatened to defeat the very purpose for which the district was created.
The people of Adaklu protested against the siting of the district capital at Kpetoe and refused to attend assembly meetings there.
In a similar fashion, the people of Ashaiman have raised their voice against the siting of the district capital at Adenta. They are reported to have argued that because Adenta was more developed than Ashaiman, siting the district capital at Ashaiman would help develop it. Indeed, there have even been suggestions to the effect that the granting of Ashaiman a full district status was the only solution to the enormous development challenges in that community, whose population is said to be more than that of Tema.
Days after the announcement, some Ghanaians have been startled by reports that assembly members from Ashaiman have threatened to boycott assembly meetings that will be held at Adenta because of what they describe as the high cost of transportation from Ashaiman to Adenta.
These are concerns that should not be dismissed with just a wave of the hand. Although it may be utterly preposterous to succumb to the will of the revolts from Ashaiman, it may also be self-destructive to move ahead with activities in the new district without ensuring that there is peace and unity in the district.
The Daily Graphic wishes to advise the relevant authority to bring the parties involved together to find an amicable solution to the impasse to ensure that the new district takes off smoothly with a united vision and purpose.
We also wish to advise incoming local heads to be wary of their obligations under the 1992 Constitution. Indeed, the Constitution states that “as far as practicable, persons in the service of local government shall be subject to the effective control of local authorities”.
The Constitution further adds that to ensure the accountability of local government authorities, people in particular local government areas shall, as far as practicable, be afforded the opportunity to participate effectively in their governance. 
The Daily Graphic wishes to remind local government heads of their responsibility in that regard and challenge them to actively engage their people in the governing process to ensure a true decentralisation of power.
Furthermore, we expect the various heads to serve the people and not to lord it over them, as some egoistic heads of district and municipal assemblies have demonstrated in the past. This country must move forward and it will take our collective effort to ensure that the decentralisation process remains on course.

THAT’S THE SPIRIT, JOE GHARTEY (OCTOBER 26, 2007)

THE drama that unfolded at the sitting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament on Tuesday and Thursday between the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Joe Ghartey, on one side, and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), on the other, has many useful lessons for all of us which we cannot gloss over.
We recall that on Tuesday when the Attorney-General appeared before the committee to respond to queries about the delay of his outfit in prosecuting Nicholas Sakyi for allegedly embezzling ¢4.3 billion, he absolved his outfit of any wrongdoing and laid the blame squarely at the doorstep of the BNI. Indeed, he blamed the BNI for conducting inconclusive investigations into the matter.
Forty-eight hours later, however, the Attorney-General capitulated when he stated categorically that the “missing” docket had been found and that it had been with his department since September 2006.
He did not stop there; he proceeded to render an unqualified apology to the BNI for misinforming the PAC that his ministry was not in possession of the docket.
The minister noted that he had been misled by his officers who were in charge and, therefore, he had not known that the BNI had returned the said docket to his office. Mr Ghartey also apologised to the PAC and assured the committee that he would take over the prosecution of the case from the police because of its serious nature.
The Daily Graphic is happy that the embarrassment and controversy between the A-G’s Department and the BNI has finally been put to rest. We are also equally gratified that the integrity of the BNI which had been impugned in the heat of the exchanges has been restored.
But, above all, we are really impressed with the way the Attorney-General discharged himself when he realised that he was wrong. It is said that the mark of true humility lies in the ability of a person to say “sorry” when he/she is wrong and we think, on this occasion, Mr Joe Ghartey scored full marks.
One difficulty we have as Ghanaians and Africans, for that matter, is our inability to apologise whenever we are caught on the wrong foot. We resort to passing the buck when a simple “sorry” would resolve the matter.
But we can change our world. We can make our world a much better place if we insist on doing things the lawful way instead of the hurtful way. And this must start with the individual.
Having said that, the Daily Graphic would like to join the call on the Attorney-General to prosecute all those found by the PAC to have embezzled state funds to demonstrate that our laws can, indeed, bite.
We strongly believe that moving the proceedings of the PAC from hearings in camera to public sittings is a clear demonstration of the resolve of all governance institutions to improve financial management practices in the public sector and this is the time to concretise it.
It is unfortunate that some politicians are, as usual, making a feast of the revelations from the PAC, but we can only make progress if we purge the exercise of witch-hunt and partisan politics.
After all, the rot in the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) did not start only yesterday. Successive governments tried to deal with it, albeit unsuccessfully. It is our collective responsibility now to find a lasting solution to the challenges and everybody must get involved.