Friday, October 29, 2010

REVIVING RAIL TRANSPORT (OCT 29, 2010)

RAILWAY transport plays a significant role in the transport system of a country because the development of trade, industry and commerce largely depends on the efficiency of the rail road.
Other advantages of an effective rail transport in any economy include the facilitation of long distance travel and transporting of bulky goods that cannot easily be transported by motor vehicles; the transporting of goods with speed and certainty and the quick movement of goods from one place to another at a time of emergencies like famine and scarcity.
Additionally, the railway is believed to be one of the safest forms of transport. The chances of accidents and breakdown of railways are minimal as compared to other modes of transport. Moreover, it helps in the management of road traffic.
The carriage capacity of the railways is extremely large. Its capacity is elastic, which can easily be increased by adding more wagons.
Simply put, rail transport is a national necessity because in any national economy, it has its specific and irreplaceable position.
Over the years, however, we have watched in silence as this important national asset hit one crisis after another and virtually sank into oblivion.
Problems of mismanagement, the lack of a national development agenda and the hurry to undo the work of previous governments for political advantage all combined to derail the Seven-year Development Plan by our first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, under which extensions of the rail system from Awaso to Sunyani and from Shai Hills to Akosombo had been planned.
So today, about 53 years after Nkrumah boldly declared that “the black man is capable of managing his own affairs”, the reverse is our lot by way of a collapsed rail system, a collapsed airline, a collapsed Black Star Line and many other mismanaged institutions.
Thankfully, all that would soon change for the better. A ray of hope that emerged during the previous administration by way of work begun on the rehabilitation of the rail network was yesterday illuminated with the inauguration of a $23-million diesel engine train with the capacity to carry 600 passengers on an expanded Accra-Tema rail network.
President J. E. A. Mills, who performed the ceremony, used the occasion to assure Ghanaians that the railway sector would receive a major boost during the next two years to link various parts of the country, especially the rural communities, from where foodstuffs, mineral ore and cash crops could be transported to urban communities and the ports for export.
He said the complete overhaul of the country’s infrastructural network, especially the rail sector, was uppermost in the scheme of activities of the government during its tenure of office, adding that “we promise to work assiduously in actualising that objective".
The DAILY GRAPHIC shares the President’s vision and it must not die, no matter the circumstances. The fact is there are enormous challenges but the opportunities also exist in the railway system and we all have a duty to ensure that the dream is translated into reality.
Nations such as Germany, China, India, UK, USA, Switzerland and Spain saw remarkable improvements in the lives of their people, their economic development and the social reconstruction of their nations with the effective utilisation of the railway system as a major means of transport.
The Indian railway system, which today is the largest in Asia and ranks second in the world, had a modest beginning in April 1853, when the first train journeyed from Bombay to Thane — a total of 35 kilometres.
Let us be inspired by India’s laudable achievement by working assiduously to ensure improvement of the rail sector in no small measure, thereby reducing pressure on the country’s roads while boosting the economy.
All developed and stable economies have had to build very good railway systems and Ghana cannot be an exception. We dare not fail.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

STOP THESE MISCREANTS (OCT 28, 2010)

THE activities of illegal miners, popularly called galamsey operators, are destroying the environment across the length and breadth of the country.
Some years ago, mining, including the activities of galamsey operators, was confined to the traditional mining towns of Tarkwa, Prestea, Akwatia and Obuasi and their immediate environs. But, today, it seems Ghana, which used to be called the Gold Coast, is living up to its original name because gold can be mined in any part of the country.
Perhaps the problem of galamsey operations is on the ascendancy because of the collapse of state-owned mines in Tarkwa, Prestea and Akwatia, a development which has provided the illegal miners a field day to ply their dangerous trade.
There was a period when the government tried to wean off galamsey operators from their dangerous trade by initiating alternative livelihood ventures in the mining communities but the initiative lacked the incentives to motivate the illegal miners to abandon their business.
That initiative attracted the support of big-time mining operators who provided seed money and inputs to motivate the galamsey operators to venture into cash crop production.
The outlook in towns such as Prestea, Akwatia, Tarkwa and Obuasi gives the impression that those communities will be better off without the mining operations.
However, the mining companies are quick to point accusing fingers at galamsey operators for degrading the environment because it has become difficult for mining regulators to instil sanity into the activities of the illegal miners.
The question to ask, therefore, is: What has gone wrong with mining in Ghana?
In the first place, the laws of our country give advantage to the mining companies that repatriate their earnings and leave only a paltry percentage for the good people of the country.
That is why courageous citizens in the mining communities have adopted the illegal means to earn a living from their heritage.
The DAILY GRAPHIC, however, cautions the galamsey operators to desist from their activities because they undermine every effort at sustainable development.
The reckless abandon with which these illegal operators, with their foreign collaborators, are destroying the environment now can no longer be tolerated.
The DAILY GRAPHIC thinks that unless these illegal operators, who have extended their activities to all major water bodies in the country, are immediately stopped in their tracks, they will disturb the country’s development plan.
The Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin, has mounted a personal crusade to stop galamsey operations, especially in the Birim River, without success.
Now the Ankobra and Pra rivers have all been encroached upon by galamsey operators with heavy equipment to pollute the source of drinking water for many communities.
In all these negative activities, some foreigners, especially Chinese nationals, have been mentioned as accomplices and this does not augur well for the cordial relations between Ghana and China.
The DAILY GRAPHIC appeals to the Chinese Embassy in Ghana to impress upon its nationals who have come to Ghana to transact business to do so within the confines of our laws. The activities of these foreign nationals are very provocative and they can never be good ambassadors of their countries.
The patience of Ghanaians, especially law-abiding citizens, is being stretched by these miscreants who are bent on destroying our heritage. But they must not be allowed to have their way.
The axe must fall heavily on all galamsey operators, including the foreign nationals, as well as Ghanaian public officials who condone such dangerous endeavours.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

ENSURING LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT (OCT 27, 2010)

IN a matter of five days — just last Friday and then only yesterday — a negative aspect of African politics — which is very rife in our dear nation — has been brought to the fore.
First, it was former UN Secretary-General, Busumuru Kofi Annan, who slammed the way African governments took delight in undoing the work of their predecessors for political advantage.
He noted that instead of focusing on how to build on the good initiatives of their predecessors, governments sometimes spent half of their terms dismantling the work of their predecessors with the intention of making them unpopular.
The situation, he said, was a disincentive to development efforts and should be discarded, emphasising that regardless of which party was in power, efforts should be made to continue with viable projects and programmes inherited to help accelerate the development process.
Then, only yesterday, in a positive response to the concerns raised by Mr Annan, the Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Mr P. V. Obeng, advocated the inclusion of all political parties on the commission to ensure that long-term national development plans were sustained and not truncated by the pull-him-down syndrome which had permeated our political landscape.
Speaking on: “Perspective on Building a National Development Agenda”, as part of the debate organised by the Institute of Progressive Research Advocacy and Joy FM, a private radio station, Mr Obeng condemned the lack of continuity of national programmes and projects and said if all political parties were allowed to make inputs into the national agenda, even while outside office, those parties would readily continue from where others left.
It is important to state that the NDPC is a body created by the 1992 Constitution and established by Act 479 with the mandate to advise the President on development planning policy and strategy.
The commission, at the request of the President, Parliament or on its own initiative, is expected, among other issues, to: Study and make strategic analysis of macro-economic and structural reform options and also make proposals for the development of multi-year rolling plans, taking into consideration the resource potential and comparative advantage of the different districts of Ghana.
Given the strategic role of the NDPC, the DAILY GRAPHIC finds a lot of wisdom in the suggestion put forth by Mr Obeng that all political parties should be allowed to “co-author and own” the nation’s long-term plans that would emanate from the commission.
Happily, Mr Obeng has had a long association with the NDPC, having served as its first chairman in 1994 before being re-appointed this year, and we trust that he was propelled by his wealth of experience in his call for a framework that would ensure participation by all in national development.
Looking back, the DAILY GRAPHIC believes that every Tom, Dick and Harry must be saddened by the challenges that rock the nation after every change of government, with the post-Nkrumah era being the worst hit.
From locations across the country, about 300 factories intended for the production of a wide variety of products were abandoned. Among the industries that collapsed or became desolate were the Tema Food Complex, the State Housing Corporation (SHC), the State Construction Corporation (SCC), State Fisheries, the Takoradi Paper Mill, the Takoradi Flour Mill, the Tema Flour Mill, the Glass Factory at Aboso, just to mention a few.
Today, only a few of those early post-independence era projects remain, while our people cry for food, shelter and employment.
So let us shake off all the negative tendencies that hinder our progress and adopt a development agenda that transcends political and generational barriers, an agenda that embraces the entire spectrum of the population.
That is the surest way to kill the “PHD” syndrome and open the floodgates for true development on all frontiers.
It is also the way to achieve sustainable development that can lead to long and healthy lives, enlightenment and knowledge and access to resources needed for a decent standard of living and be able to participate fully in the decision-making process.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

MAKE HAJJ FRUITFUL (OCT 26, 2010)

MUSLIMS across the world have begun the journey to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam. About two million Muslims world-wide perform the Hajj every year.
In Ghana, the first batch of 266 Muslim pilgrims was expected to leave for Saudi Arabia yesterday.
Hajj organisation in Ghana in the past had been characterised by delays in departure, sleeping in the open in the vicinity of the airport by prospective pilgrims, poor accommodation in Saudi Arabia, late return journey and loss of luggage.
But last year's Hajj saw a significant improvement, as the pilgrims were, for the first time, made to sleep in air-conditioned tents at the Hajj Village, leave for the Hajj without delay, return home on time and had their luggage intact.
It is reassuring that for the second year running, the National Hajj Committee (NHC), with support from the government and Zoomlion, has constructed the Hajj Village near the El-Wak Stadium in Accra to cater for the about 2,500 pilgrims expected to perform this year's Hajj.
Facilities at the Hajj Village include 500-capacity air-conditioned tents for pilgrims, washrooms, places for the performance of ablution, a clinic and offices for the NHC and Immigration officials.
The Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, yesterday inaugurated the Hajj Village, with a declaration that this year's Hajj would be problem-free and far more successful than last year's.
The Chairman of the NHC, Alhaji Alhasan Bene, said pilgrims would be more comfortable in the tents this year, as the capacity had been increased from 300 to 500 this year.
The Hajj Village has several advantages: It saves the pilgrims from sleeping under dehumanising conditions in the open before departure, allows them some privacy, while only prospective pilgrims and accredited members of the NHC and the Hajj task force are allowed into the Hajj Village.
Besides, the pilgrims receive medical care at the clinic and enjoy maximum security as they are protected by the Military Police, while Immigration officials have mounted their equipment to screen the documents and the luggage of pilgrims. Immediately after the inspection, the pilgrims are transported directly to the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) to board their flights.
The annual construction of tents at the Hajj Village is good, but it would be better if permanent structures were put in place at a designated Hajj Village for pilgrims to observe this strong pillar of Islam.
That will ensure security, save cost and allow for effective planning and expansion of the facility.
The DAILY GRAPHIC commends Zoomlion for constructing the Village to eliminate the drudgery and hassle associated with the annual pilgrimage.
We wish the pilgrims a fruitful pilgrimage and hope that they will be good ambassadors of Ghana in Saudi Arabia.

Monday, October 25, 2010

KEEP SSSS DREAM ALIVE (OCT 25, 2010)

FOR some time now the government and its labour partners have been mapping out the necessary strategies to improve the wages and salaries of all public sector workers.
The migration process so far has not been smooth sailing, especially since it was announced that the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) has helped improve the salary structure of policemen in the country.
We recall the protest by personnel of the Ghana Prisons Service more than a month ago over delays in the implementation of the new pay policy in their organisation. At that time reports were rife that other security agencies and public sector workers were lacing their boots to also hit the streets to protest against what they perceived as the slow action on the part of the government to improve their conditions of service.
Notwithstanding various assurances from government officials, many public sector workers are still not sure when it will be their turn to benefit from the SSSS. Indeed, from all indications, the government is desirous of using the SSSS to address the distortions in public sector pay across the board.
Just when the government was grappling with labour agitation from the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) and the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG), presto, a section of the media went to town with information that the implementation of the SSSS had been deferred until next year.
That piece of news caused considerable concern and alarm among members of labour unions in the country who have been looking forward to the early implementation of the SSSS in their organisations in order to improve their living standards.
It is, however, reassuring that the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Kwabena Duffuor, has indicated that the implementation of the SSSS is on course and that the next organisation to migrate onto the structure is the Ghana Armed Forces.
There is a major lesson to be learnt from the information making the rounds in some sections of the media. It is necessary at this stage for the partners involved in the implementation of the SSSS to deepen the channels of communication so that information on the new pay structure can be obtained at all times.
The Daily Graphic is worried that anytime there is a break in communication among the parties, it sends the wrong signals to public sector workers yet to migrate onto the SSSS. We are just coming out of some weeks of industrial action by members of UTAG, while POTAG members are yet to return to the classroom.
The Daily Graphic cautions against any action that will further aggravate the concerns of other public sector workers and create additional turmoil on the labour scene. We are aware of the Herculean task ahead of the government in ensuring that all public sector workers migrate onto the SSSS.
Some of our development partners have already expressed concerns over the implementation of the new wage structure, saying it has the potential to widen the government’s fiscal deficit.
The Daily Graphic believes the new pay structure will impose an additional burden on the economy but it will, in equal measure, improve the salary structure of public sector workers and motivate them to improve productivity.
We urge public sector workers to reciprocate this gesture by the government by working extra hard to improve productivity and help create more opportunities for everybody in the economy.

LESSONS FROM UTAG STRIKE (OCT 23, 2010)

IT is great news that the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) has decided to call off its strike which kept them away from the lecture theatres in our public universities for nearly three weeks.
The UTAG decision to go back to the lecture theatres comes in the wake of the resolution of the impasse between the association and the government over UTAG’s unpaid arrears.
There had been a marathon meeting between the government and UTAG on Thursday to resolve the grievances, attended by the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Kwabena Duffour.
It is the wish of the DAILY GRAPHIC that whatever decisions were arrived at in connection with addressing UTAG’s grievances and demands would be implemented to the letter to forestall any future industrial action by the lecturers.
Already, our public university students have lost three weeks in the first semester of this academic year and we hope nothing will be done to make the situation any worse.
Now that the lecturers have been promised their arrears, leading to industrial peace on our campuses, we would like to appeal to them to make up for lost time, so that our students are not short-changed.
Snippets of information gathered from the campuses indicate that there are pockets of aggrieved students who feel cheated by the fact that while the strike was on, foreign students were attending lectures.
We call on the authorities of the various universities to devise the appropriate strategies to assuage the fears among the student body that the period lost to the strike will be recovered, one way or another.
While commending both UTAG and the government for seeing eye to eye with each other to bring the impasse to an end, we would like to single out President John Evans Atta Mills for greater commendation for his timely intervention which led to the softening of the stance taken by UTAG on the issue.
The President’s decision to set up a committee to examine the lecturers’ demands brought the elements of transparency and fairness into the resolution of the matter and we thank His Excellency for displaying such astuteness.
Having said so, let us now turn attention to the strike by the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG) which is still ongoing. Although we are aware of efforts to resolve that one too, we call on President Mills to step in quickly to end it sooner than later.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is of the belief that since education is the bedrock of development, the educational sector must not experience any turmoil that is likely to discourage our youth from pursuing education to the highest level possible.
While we are at it, we would like to say that the situation in most senior high schools (SHSs) is, to say the least, very regrettable.
The lack of both classrooms and dormitories has rendered first-year students and their parents uncomfortable. Scenes of freshers loitering or grouped under trees on the compounds of our SHSs are common, even when the students are supposed to be in class.
As for dormitory accommodation, the least said about it the better. The question is: If a fresher from Tamale who has gained admission to Achimota SHS cannot get boarding accommodation on the school compound, where should he or she stay?
The DAILY GRAPHIC suggests that if the government cannot provide the classrooms and dormitories in our SHSs, it could invite parents to help out. After all, the same parents help, in no small measure, in putting up magnificent edifices in private basic schools which, invariably, are privately owned.
All of us are stakeholders in the education of our youth and, in the view of the paper, no contribution will be too small in our collective bid to improve facilities in our public SHSs.

Friday, October 22, 2010

ACHIEVING THE MDGS (OCT 22, 2010)

AT the beginning of the 21st Century, the United Nations and its member states committed themselves to what has now been accepted as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
These are: Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; Achieving universal primary education; Promoting gender equality and empowering women; Reducing child mortality; Improving maternal health; Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; Ensuring environmental sustainability; and Developing a global partnership for development.
Recent reports issued by the United Nations have showed that most developing countries lag behind in the achievement of the eight goals set by the United Nations.
Ghana is touted as making progress in four out of the eight MGDs, and indications are that the country could do better.
While the challenges may be daunting, the real issues relating to achieving the MGDs have got to do with political commitment and the will to pursue pro-poor policies as rightly stated by the former United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan.
His call on African governments to sustain the political commitment and momentum towards achieving the MDGs could not have come at a better time.
It is a fact that the lack of political will and commitment to address issues of equity and fairness in favour of a large segment of our population who are vulnerable accounts for the situation where the African continent lags behind its development goals.
The DAILY GRAPHIC draws the attention to the implementation of social intervention policies such as the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP), the Free Maternal Care, the National Health Insurance Scheme, the Free School Feeding Programme and the Free School Uniforms initiative as examples of the policies likely to make an impact in the lives of the ordinary people.
However, we wish to state that in most cases, such policies do not go far enough to the vulnerable people in society, while in some cases those who can afford such services become the beneficiaries of these policies.
The gap between the rural poor and urban centres in the country calls for policies that address the social needs of people in rural Ghana.
That is not to say the DAILY GRAPHIC is oblivious of the scary urban poverty imposed on us by rural-urban migration.
But the reality of Ghana’s economy is that majority of Ghanaians reside in rural Ghana. The extension of social services and interventions that have the potential to lift the lives of people in these areas is enormously essential.
The DAILY GRAPHIC observes that even in capitalist societies in the western world, social safety nets abound because of the governments’ social contract with the people from whom they have the power to govern.
One would say the comparison is too far-fetched, but we hesitate to add that such comparison gives us the opportunity not to re-invent the wheel when it comes to adopting pro-poor policies.
The call by Kofi Annan, at a high-level session on the MDGs organised by the United Nations Foundation in Accra yesterday, therefore, gives an indication that there is more job to be done, for which the government needs to adopt other innovative policies to deal with our challenges.
After all, governments are voted into power on the basis of a social contract with the electorate to improve the lives of the people who gave them the opportunity to manage the affairs of state for the mutual good.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

BUDGET 2011 MUST ENSURE GROWTH (OCT 21, 2010)

THE government has indicated its readiness to present the 2011 Budget to Parliament by November 30, in line with Article 179 (1) of the 1992 Constitution that requires that the financial statement and economic policy of the government be presented to Parliament a month before the end of the fiscal year.
The year 2011 is an interesting one, as it ushers the country into the league of oil-producing countries and marks the start of the implementation of a new medium-term development agenda of the government — the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda.
The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) is at the same time rebasing the economy which, according to studies from many quarters, indicates the possibility of an enlarged Gross Domestic Product (GDP) that makes the economy larger, placing it into a middle-income status.
Although this year has been challenging, the government has managed to stabilise the economy, reducing inflation from the end-2008 figure of 18.1 per cent and 20.7 per cent in June 2009 to 9.38 per cent in September this year.
The exchange rate has experienced relative stability for the past 18 months and interest rates have fallen drastically from the region of 28 per cent at the end of 2008 to 21.2 per cent at the end of September, while gross international reserves have improved significantly from barely two months of import cover in June 2009 to over four months of import cover in September 2010.
The DAILY GRAPHIC believes that these commendable achievements should now be translated into tangible benefits for the expectant public. This is because for all this while that the stability has been pursued through austerity measures, growth, which creates employment and better standard of living, has been somewhat sacrificed, as the figures suggest. The economy achieved a 4.5 per cent growth rate in 2009, down from the 7.3 per cent at the end of 2008 when it was expected to achieve growth rates in the region of 6.5 per cent.
However, the paper takes a cue from assurances from the Minister of Finance, Dr Kwabena Duffuor, that the economy was ready for growth to be achieved through the implementation of the 2011 Budget.
The budget, he said, would focus on agriculture, human resource development, oil and gas, among other areas, to create jobs and employment for the youth.
It is the view of the DAILY GRAPHIC that the policy of modernising agriculture should be pursued with all seriousness and efficiency to lend credence to the refrain that agriculture is the backbone of the economy.
Over the years, agriculture has contributed an average of 30 per cent to the GDP, at an average growth rate of 6.2 per cent, powered by the cocoa sub-sector. This trend needs to be reversed. The other sub-sectors of agriculture should be strengthened to enable the entire sector to attain its potential as the backbone of the economy.
The 2011 Budget needs to promote and give incentives for large commercial farming and continue the irrigation policy introduced in the budgets of 2009 and 2010.
The need to emphasise and concretely develop the agricultural sector is of paramount importance because the sector employs the greater chunk of Ghanaians and so improving the lot of farmers will mean dealing with poverty head on. This will also attract many youth into the sector.
The DAILY GRAPHIC, therefore, calls on the government to use the 2011 Budget to drive agricultural growth to create jobs for the teaming youth in rural Ghana and stop their migration to the urban areas in search of non-existent jobs.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

LET'S PREPARE FOR DISASTERS (OCT 20, 2010)

IT is good news that we have enough water in the Volta Dam to help us meet our energy and other needs. However, it is equally distressing that communities downstream of the Volta River are in danger of being flooded when the Volta River Authority (VRA) begins spilling excess water from the dam within 10 days to avoid possible damage to the dam.
It will be the first time in 20 years that the VRA will be spilling water from the dam, which is the main source of hydroelectric power generation in the country. The maximum operating level of the dam is 278 feet, but the level as of Monday, October 18, 2010, was 274.80 feet.
A table from the Greater Accra Regional Disaster Management Team indicated that the water level, which had been 273.30 feet on Monday, October 11, 2010, had quickly risen to 274.80 feet by Monday, October 18, 2010, an indication that the dam was building up too fast and must be relieved of excess water.
From the emerging trends, the issues involved are very alarming and if the situation continues, the spillage cannot be avoided.
According to estimates by the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the floods are likely to affect more than 177,000 people nation-wide. The prudent remedy is for those living around the watercourse to relocate. Unfortunately, this has been the problem defying solution.
The six regions which have communities either close to the Volta Lake or lying along the path of the lake are the Northern, Greater Accra, Brong Ahafo, Ashanti, Eastern and Volta. Some of the specific areas at the lower course of the lake and most likely to be affected are the Dangme East and West districts in the Greater Accra Region and the Afram Plains, which covers areas within the Ashanti, Eastern, Brong Ahafo and Volta regions.
According to NADMO and VRA sources, the places likely to be affected are Kete Krachie, Nkwanta, Kpando, the North and South Tongu districts in the Volta Region; Atebubu, Yeji and Kwame Danso in the Brong Ahafo Region; Damongo, Salaga and Bimbila in the Northern Region, among other towns and villages.
This brings up the issue of our disaster preparedness plan. Regrettably, over the years our country’s disaster preparedness plan has not been the best.
For instance, when the rains are about to come, we give promises of clearing choked drains, only to wait till the last hour when the rains eventually come and destroy everything. Recent events concerning the Bagre Dam spillage which caused deaths and loss of property attest to this.
This time around, however, the DAILY GRAPHIC hopes that enough action will be taken to contain the challenges. What is good is that we have been informed of the spillage well in advance. This requires that we take all the necessary steps and checks to avoid any disaster. We should be adequately prepared to face the challenges.
It is in this vein that the DAILY GRAPHIC would like to call for intensified public education involving opinion leaders in the affected districts to let the inhabitants prepare for any eventuality. It is equally instructive for the district chief executives (DCEs) for Dangme East and West and all the other DCEs whose areas will be affected to ensure that the inhabitants close to the lake, as well as those living downstream, relocate to safer areas before the spillage occurs.
The people need to know about the possible disaster and the urgent need for them to leave the area for safety grounds.
In the past, we dreaded load shedding as a result of low levels of water in the dam. That is why now that we have more water in the dam, it should not be a curse. Now that it has come out that the water level keeps rising, there is no option left for the VRA but to get some of the water out of the dam to save that important national asset.
Our sincere prayer is that the exercise should be incident-free. Our dear nation should not lose lives and property anytime we have water spillage from our dams or heavy downpours. Such disasters must surely be things of the past.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

AFRICA NEEDS NEW IMAGE (OCT 19, 2010)

AFRICA is classified as the poorest continent in the world. Out of the 75 least developed countries, 52 are in Africa. Illiteracy, hunger and disease have become the bane of the majority of the people.
This sad situation is a direct reflection of several factors, including political instability, conflicts, wars and leadership failure. The continent has a sad record of dictatorship, tyranny, abuse of human rights, corruption and maladministration.
Briefly put, Africa’s problems could be attributed to poor governance. The question is, how can the continent extricate itself from poverty and poor governance?
It was in response to how Africa could lift itself out of its predicament that nine years ago the leaders on the continent took a bold initiative to come up with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), which captured the vision and strategic development framework for the continent.
A major component of NEPAD is the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), which enjoins member countries to adopt policies, standards and practices that lead to political stability, high economic growth and sustainable development through sharing of experiences and enforcement of best practices.
The APRM does not only underscore the new political will of African leaders but also challenges the citizenry and other stakeholders to act responsibly.
Ghana was the first African country to accede to the APRM and subject itself to be peer- reviewed by African leaders. Ever since, the country has continued to take steps to deepen the process of good governance and ensure best practices.
In spite of the modest successes achieved so far, there is still more room for improvement and nobody can run away from that.
Indeed, Vice-President John Mahama hit the nail right on the head when he told a two-day sub-regional conference on the APRM in Accra that “there cannot be accountability in Africa if there is a deliberate exclusion of the mass of the people from the governance process”.
The involvement of people in any endeavour is paramount to its success. Democracy, after all, is a system of government of the people by the people and for the people. The ultimate aim of any political system and good governance should be the benefit and welfare of the people.
Luckily, the government has made a conscious effort to involve citizens in the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the various processes to achieve good governance. No doubt, the nation’s credentials in governance have won the admiration of the world at large.
However, there is still room for improvement. The challenges confronting the decentralisation process, especially the malfunctioning of the unit committees are all issues that need to be critically examined to give true meaning to our quest for good governance and broaden the base of political participation.
Having said so, the DAILY GRAPHIC urges other African countries, particularly those still in the dark days, to borrow a leaf from the modest gains made by our dear country and other progressive nations on the continent to involve the people in governance from the very grass roots and turn things around for the better in their respective countries.
In this time and age, it is sad and regrettable that so many African countries are still engulfed in wars, chaos and utter confusion, mainly from political blunders. The situation is certainly not good for the image of the continent, for it stalls any attempt to make significant progress.
Therefore, African leaders must put their act together and prosecute their mandate of ensuring the political and socio-economic well-being of their people.

AFRICA NEEDS NEW IMAGE (OCT 19, 2010)

AFRICA is classified as the poorest continent in the world. Out of the 75 least developed countries, 52 are in Africa. Illiteracy, hunger and disease have become the bane of the majority of the people.
This sad situation is a direct reflection of several factors, including political instability, conflicts, wars and leadership failure. The continent has a sad record of dictatorship, tyranny, abuse of human rights, corruption and maladministration.
Briefly put, Africa’s problems could be attributed to poor governance. The question is, how can the continent extricate itself from poverty and poor governance?
It was in response to how Africa could lift itself out of its predicament that nine years ago the leaders on the continent took a bold initiative to come up with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), which captured the vision and strategic development framework for the continent.
A major component of NEPAD is the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), which enjoins member countries to adopt policies, standards and practices that lead to political stability, high economic growth and sustainable development through sharing of experiences and enforcement of best practices.
The APRM does not only underscore the new political will of African leaders but also challenges the citizenry and other stakeholders to act responsibly.
Ghana was the first African country to accede to the APRM and subject itself to be peer- reviewed by African leaders. Ever since, the country has continued to take steps to deepen the process of good governance and ensure best practices.
In spite of the modest successes achieved so far, there is still more room for improvement and nobody can run away from that.
Indeed, Vice-President John Mahama hit the nail right on the head when he told a two-day sub-regional conference on the APRM in Accra that “there cannot be accountability in Africa if there is a deliberate exclusion of the mass of the people from the governance process”.
The involvement of people in any endeavour is paramount to its success. Democracy, after all, is a system of government of the people by the people and for the people. The ultimate aim of any political system and good governance should be the benefit and welfare of the people.
Luckily, the government has made a conscious effort to involve citizens in the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the various processes to achieve good governance. No doubt, the nation’s credentials in governance have won the admiration of the world at large.
However, there is still room for improvement. The challenges confronting the decentralisation process, especially the malfunctioning of the unit committees are all issues that need to be critically examined to give true meaning to our quest for good governance and broaden the base of political participation.
Having said so, the DAILY GRAPHIC urges other African countries, particularly those still in the dark days, to borrow a leaf from the modest gains made by our dear country and other progressive nations on the continent to involve the people in governance from the very grass roots and turn things around for the better in their respective countries.
In this time and age, it is sad and regrettable that so many African countries are still engulfed in wars, chaos and utter confusion, mainly from political blunders. The situation is certainly not good for the image of the continent, for it stalls any attempt to make significant progress.
Therefore, African leaders must put their act together and prosecute their mandate of ensuring the political and socio-economic well-being of their people.

Monday, October 18, 2010

LET'S ALL ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM (OCT 18, 2010)

REVERTING to the three-year senior high school programme, as promised by the government, has finally taken effect with its accompanying challenges.
Without going into the merits and demerits of the policy, all of us must acknowledge that any new programme or policy faces some teething challenges. In this particular case the main challenge has to do with classroom and dormitory accommodation.
That is why the DAILY GRAPHIC highly commends the various headmasters and their staff for putting into practice, one of the cardinal ingredients of teaching — improvisation.
Across the country, the headmasters and their staff are improvising to ensure that the students are accommodated for earnest work to begin.
Some schools have imposed heavy levies on freshers, which, according to these school authorities, are meant to be used to provide accommodation and other academic facilities.
Indeed, their attempt to improvise has brought in its wake certain developments that have elicited some criticisms. The loudest of the criticisms have perhaps come from the Ministry, the Ghana Education Service (GES) and some parents.
Is it not ironical that the very parents who paid huge sums of money to private school proprietors at the basic school level for infrastructure and maintenance tend to complain when they are to make similar payments at the senior high school level? In most cases, the payments they are asked to make are just a fraction of what they pay to private school proprietors at the basic level.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is tempted to ask whether it is because almost all the senior high schools are owned by the government. We think Ghanaians should be prepared to pay something little to provide or improve facilities in these schools, which are properties of the government, which we are all part of.
We also suggest that instead of the Ministry and the GES criticising and contemplating on applying sanctions against these schools, the schools should rather be encouraged for their initiative. What the Ministry of Education and the GES should do is to ensure that these additional payments are streamlined, controlled and monitored so that people do not take advantage of the situation to fill their pockets. The Mnistry and the GES should as well ensure that parents are not unnecessarily overburdened with financial commitments.
The DAILY GRAPHIC also thinks that all stakeholders — the senior high schools, the government through the Ministry of Education, the GES, parents, old students associations and teachers — should come together at this time and find innovative ways of addressing this challenge.
Having said so, we wish to remind the government to provide accommodation for teachers as well even as it is providing for students across the country. A number of educational policies have failed to yield the desired dividend because the most important stakeholder — the teacher — was not catered for.
Finally, we entreat Ghanaians, irrespective of political affiliation, to partake in addressing this temporary obstacle. Thereafter, we can give ourselves a pat on the back. After all, that is what nationalism is all about.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

LABOUR FRONT NEEDS PEACE (OCT 16, 2010)

THE labour front appears to be boiling these days as workers from various institutions are walking away from their jobs in protest against poor conditions of service.
Not too long ago, prison officers in some parts of the country surprised everyone when they embarked on a demonstration to register their dissatisfaction with the implementation of the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS).
Before the nation could recover from the shock of their action, the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTOG) and the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) abandoned the lecture theatres to demand better conditions of service.
We have had cause to draw attention to the fact that the implementation of the SSSS would not be without some hiccups because the number of workers on government payroll is quite monumental and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) will require some time to deal with the issues.
We are aware of efforts by the government to deal with the conditions of service of all public sector workers through the SSSS, but listening to the concerns of teachers in our tertiary institutions, it appears that the authorities were a bit slow in reacting to their demands.
So long as our needs are insatiable, working people will continue to demand better wages and salaries in order to maintain themselves and their families. However, the bottom line is whether government resources will be able to meet the demands of public sector workers.
The tendency for working people to demand their “pound of flesh”, no matter the state of the economy, is also not good enough because nation-building is a partnership between the government and the governed.
In circumstances like this, it is common for working people to point to certain government expenditures, but they forget that the salaries of workers form part of the recurrent expenditure of the government and that requires that money is available throughout the year to take care of wages.
Successive governments have called for a national debate on a national minimum wage for the country but this has not been successful so far. The SSSS was, therefore, conceived as a way of addressing the disparities and distortions in salary administration in the country, but recent agitation for improved salaries gives the impression that some working people do not think the SSSS holds the key to addressing their concerns.
We recall that on World Teachers’ Day on October 5, 2010, the Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, said although teachers had bargaining power to demand higher salaries, they should be mindful of budgetary constraints and limitations on the government.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is concerned about the plight of working people in this country and, therefore, calls on the government to step up efforts at bettering the lot of all working people.
All workers, especially members of UTAG and POTAG who have left their lecture theatres, should rescind their decision following the intervention of President J.E.A. Mills.
The DAILY GRAPHIC also appeals to all the parties involved in the current impasse over improved conditions of service to remain committed to the negotiating table and stay there until a solution is found. The parties must also bear in mind that the moment they decide to negotiate, they must be prepared for compromises so that the outcome will be to the mutual benefit of both parties.
The current turmoil on the labour front will not be to the advantage of any of the parties and, indeed, Ghanaians as a whole and we plead with all of them to let good judgement prevail for the sake of our children who are in the universities and the polytechnics, as well as Mother Ghana.

Friday, October 15, 2010

TH CARNAGE MUST STOP (OCT 15, 2010)

RECENT developments on our roads have become a cause for concern, especially among the motoring and travelling public. Though it appears that the spate of accidents has reduced, the level of fatalities and injuries is on the ascendancy.
The statistics from January to September this year indicate that 9,997 accidents were recorded nation-wide, out of which 1,333 deaths were recorded, while 9,628 people were seriously injured.
Speaking at the National Police Command Conference in Accra yesterday, the Minister of the Interior, Mr Martin Amidu, hit the nail right on the head when he said the country was increasingly gaining notoriety for the upsurge in the figures of road accidents, pointing out that “the earlier we push harder in finding a lasting solution to the problem, the better it will be for all of us”.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is happy that stakeholders at the National Police Command Conference decided to dedicate part of their time to deliberate on the menace of road accidents and how to control or eliminate them.
We cannot agree more with the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, that the provision of requisite resources and equipment, the allocation of realistic budget for road safety activities and improvement in road safety service delivery mechanisms must be given national priority.
It is no secret that the police and the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) are ill-equipped to deal with the challenges that hamper safety on our roads. Although these institutions are hampered in the performance of their duties, some road accidents occur because officials of these institutions fail to act or encourage drivers to continue to infringe on road traffic regulations.
It is also no secret that personnel of these institutions extort money from the motoring public, instead of enforcing the regulations and making sure that those who breach the regulations are punished to serve as a deterrent to others.
However, since it is on record that many of the accidents on our roads are due to human error, it is imperative that the authorities target their campaign towards behavioural change. For instance, public education on a regular basis should help to discourage drivers from unnecessary speeding, unnecessary overtaking and parking at unauthorised places.
Some fatal accidents occur on our roads because certain drivers decide to leave their faulty vehicles on the roads without the necessary signs to warn other motorists of the danger ahead of them.
Other drivers too are fond of driving under the influence of alcohol, thereby putting their own lives and those of their passengers at risk. The crusade to rid the road of carnage must be a collective one because some passengers also contribute to accidents by encouraging drivers to over speed in order to get to their destinations early, forgetting the popular axiom, “IT IS BETTER TO BE LATE THAN BECOME THE LATE MR/MADAM X”.
We recall that when road accidents became common occurrences last year, the authorities put in place highway patrol teams to instil order on the roads, but it appears that intervention has not made any meaningful impact.
The DAILY GRAPHIC, therefore, calls on the police, the NRSC, the Ministry of Road and Highways to go back to the drawing board to devise means of halting the carnage on our roads. But this cannot be achieved without the active support of all road transport operators, especially the Ghana Road Transport Union (GPRTU), the Progressive Transport Owners Association (PROTOA), the Co-operative Transport Society and other transport organisations.
What we must all realise is that the carnage on our roads affects productivity and is also a huge drain on the national economy and we will be better off if we pool our resources to fight it.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

AGRIC DESERVES EVERY PUSH (OCT 14, 2010)

GHANA’S economy is largely agrarian, accounting for about 60 per cent of the workforce, especially in rural Ghana. From all indications, the agricultural sector will continue to play a key role in the economy for some time to come.
Over the past years, however, the growth of the agricultural sector in terms of its contribution to the economy has not been very encouraging.
However, year in and year out, our political leaders profess that that sector is the pivot around which our economy revolves, without providing the necessary logistics to leap-frog the sector to its proper place in the national economic scheme.
Happily, Vice-President John Mahama has attributed the country’s current economic successes to the government’s prudent policies and investments in agriculture which have, to a large extent, helped in bringing down inflation and stabilising other economic indicators.
For the DAILY GRAPHIC, the Veep’s comments only go to buttress the point we have had cause to elaborate time without number that a comprehensive strategy in the agricultural sector has the potential to lift the economy from its dependence syndrome.
By a comprehensive policy, we mean a programme that addresses the challenges from the land tenure system through planting to the value chain processes that deliver value for money. This is exactly what our dear nation needs.
The example of the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) which is to address the challenges in the agricultural sector and also serve as a model for dealing with this sector cannot be lost on us.
Certainly, the challenges in this sector are enormous, but they can be surmounted. The DAILY GRAPHIC believes that it takes more than political will and passion to support the agricultural sector to be at the forefront of our economic recovery programme.
It is not that the politicians and policy makers do not know the answers to these challenges; it is the enormity of the challenges that seems to defy solution.
But the solution lies in pragmatic policies that can change the status quo, so that the challenges can be seen as opportunities to promote growth in the agricultural sector.
The linkages of the agricultural sector to industrialisation, employment generation, economic development and sustainable growth are such that any government committed to the development of its people will fully commit itself to pursuing the right policies to overcome our dependence on donors.
It is also important to establish a fund that supports the agricultural sector to deliver on its mandate of providing food at all times for Ghanaians.
The DAILY GRAPHIC appeals to the government to put a ring around some of the donor funds which can be channelled through specific banks for on-lending to those interested in farming.
Our continuous dependence on the hoe and the cutlass, which in our context is euphemistic for peasant farming, cannot hold the key to increased agricultural production.
The youth of the country are drifting to the cities in droves because there are no attractions in the countryside to motivate them to take over from our ageing farmers. The courageous ones who brave the odds are regularly confronted by an unfriendly land tenure system, lack of credit and late delivery of inputs, resulting in poor yields from their toils.
The Daily Graphic is convinced that until these challenges are addressed, our country will continue to beg for food handouts from even countries that don’t have arable lands.
We should bear in mind that our esteem is reduced in the comity of nations so long as we continue to beg others to feed us. We have the capacity to produce to feed ourselves and even export the surplus and so it is about time the necessary interventions were put in place to change the impression that we cannot feed ourselves.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

PINEAPPLE TRADE MUST NOT DIE (OCT 13, 2010)

The Non-Traditional Exports (NTEs) sector has seen increases in revenue in recent times. From a mere US$400 million in 1999, it rose to about US$1.4 billion at the end of 2009.
The sector’s growing significance has boosted the economy, especially in terms of foreign exchange earnings.
Pineapple was a key feature of the NTEs until 2005, when the MD2 variety from Costa Rica, which is yellowish in colour and also has a longer shelf life, nearly wiped away Ghana’s smooth Cayenne, especially from the European market.
The DAILY GRAPHIC recollects efforts in the past that led to a support of US$ 2 million to the Ghana Export Promotion Council (GEPC) and the Sea Freight Pineapple Exporters of Ghana (SPEG).
This support was to buy the suckers, which were then sent to South Africa to test the authenticity of the products. The efforts by the government yielded some positive results, which the exporters praised highly.
At a point, our research institutions developed the suckers for the country to support the sector to enable it to compete favourably on the world market.
The question then is: What has happened thereafter? The news that pineapple export has witnessed a decline of about 60 per cent in export volumes at the end of last year (as reported elsewhere) is very worrying indeed.
But the problems of the horticultural sector of the NTEs go far beyond the change in taste and preferences of our main markets. The problem, the DAILY GRAPHIC believes, has got to do with structures, procedures and regulatory requirements covering this very important sector of the economy.
Today, any Tom, Dick and Harry with a small briefcase of Ghana cedis can just plant, harvest and export most NTE products without being controlled by any regulatory framework.
The nature of smallholding farming in the country and the unwillingness of such smallholders to co-ordinate their activities in this crucial sector to give value for money have contributed, rather immensely, to the mess in which the country currently finds itself.
Today, yam exports have overtaken pineapple as the leader in the horticultural exports, but the DAILY GRAPHIC can predict that the yam exports will suffer the same fate as the pineapple sector, if the same lackadaisical attitude to business is pursued.
Indeed, the DAILY GRAPHIC is worried that the government’s projection of US$5 billion worth of exports in the next five years will be a mirage if steps are not taken to address the challenges facing the NTEs sector.
We, therefore, suggest and very strongly too that the government, through the Ministry of Trade and Industry and sector agencies, must quickly draw up the legal requirements that must govern all exports under the NTEs.
Again, every exporter must be made to register with the GEPC and their licence renewed every year to ensure that the wheat is separated from the chaff.
In this global village, where businesses strive on information and timely delivery of services, individuals must not be allowed to do things anyhow, especially when it comes to exports.
The government has an active role to play in this sector. The potential of the NTEs to bring about the hard-earned foreign exchange to shore up the government’s external reserves, as well as improve the economic well-being of the rural folks, in particular, is tremendous.
Let the GEPC take the bull by the horns and crack the whip to make all exporters fall in line. However, in doing that we must not create the impression that Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises are not welcomed. Rather, they should be supported to grow and contribute their quota to the Better Ghana agenda.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

LET'S GO BEYOND THIS LAND GRAB (OCT 12, 2010)

THERE is no doubt about the fact that land, which is listed as one of the factors of production, is an indispensable asset necessary for human existence.
Indeed, such is its overwhelming importance that without it no productive activity, on the strength of which any wealth can be generated to sustain society, can be undertaken.
Ethnic and regional groupings and nations acting individually and collectively have waged war on account of disputes over land and what is contained in it.
This is why any nation and people who aspire to become a developed, independent, sovereign and prosperous nation would not only hold land dear to its heart but also consciously craft a progressive policy for its acquisition and use.
It is no secret that this was the philosophy behind the decision of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the Founder of this Republic, to acquire large tracts of land across the length and breadth of the country in the early days of the life of the nation and later.
Regrettably, in the recent past we have, under various guises, witnessed the subversion of this good intent and the massive expropriation of the state of these lands and their appropriation by state officials, their relatives, friends, acquaintances and cronies.
Indeed, this has ignited what many label as ‘land grab’ via officialdom or the scramble for state lands with official blessing and support.
We find it ironic that in the face of this development, the government has had to contend with a huge land deficit to prosecute its development agenda and has many a time had to resort to other means to obtain land for developmental purposes at a prohibitive cost.
It is worthy of note to point out that many political appointees, top civil and public servants and workers whose labour, toil and sacrifice have kept the nation going cannot be housed by the state largely on account of this retrogressive action.
In areas in Accra such as Ridge, Cantonments, Airport Residential Area, La, etc, public servants who have had to contend with low salaries and conditions of service over the years have had to be ejected to make way for these beneficiaries, some of who are reported to have already sold these lands they bought so cheaply at between 40 and 50 times what they paid to the state, if, indeed, they paid at all.
We are aware that there are regulations in this country which enjoin the state to return lands no longer needed for the purposes for which they were acquired to their original owners, at least as a matter of first instance.
This accords with equity, the principles of justice and fairness in a democratic system worth its salt.
Already, in areas such as Accra, this ‘land grab’ has ignited tension and conflict and given birth to indigenous groupings such as the Ga Dangme Association vowing to wage a relentless struggle for the repossession of their lands and thus posing a serious threat to the peace, order and stability of the nation.
It is on account of this and other unhealthy developments arising from this ‘land grab’ that we applaud the government for halting this unhealthy measure in the name of the redevelopment of the capital.
According to the Deputy Minister of Information, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the system had been so massively abused that the government had to intervene to remedy the situation (see fronts page).
We find it unacceptable that those who have made all the name and money on the back of public service and are in positions to buy land outside the domain of the state are the very ones grabbing these lands which could be developed for the benefit of millions of public servants and other working people.
Given that the government had made this a campaign promise, we urge that this net be expanded as wide as possible to ensure that all those who have abused the measure are made to return the lands and measures put in place to prevent its recurrence in the future.

Monday, October 11, 2010

RESTRUCTURE POLICE SERVICE (OCT 11, 2010)

With the beginning of the drilling of oil in this country, possibly in November or December, there is going to be a lot of people coming into the country.
We should anticipate that all manner of people — the good and the bad — will be coming.
It is in line with this that we must now start thinking and taking adequate measures to strengthen or restructure our police service to cope with the maintenance of law and order in the country.
There is the perception that the nature and the psychology of our constabulary are not to the level that can cope with the criminal activities that would come with the booming oil industry and economy.
The functions of our police service as stated in the Police Service Act 1970 (Act 350) are as follows:
Crime detection and prevention;
Arrest and prosecution of offenders;
Maintenance of law and order; and
Due enforcement of the law.
But we know for a fact that the police are not adequately performing these functions.
From their functions the police are entrusted with the responsibility for the maintenance of public order and prevention and detection of crimes.
They are empowered to enforce the law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in the country.
Even though their motto is Service with Integrity, we do not often see them performing their service with integrity.
Our policemen and women do not exude the confidence that they have the law backing them, and as such people do not recognise them.
It is about time we did something about our police service.
We should start looking at the calibre of people we enlist into the Service.
The entry point into the service should be changed to allow people with tertiary education or qualification to be enlisted as constables.
Of course, the training programme should lay more emphasis on subjects like Human Psychology, Rudiments of Law, Management, Social Sciences, Physical Training and Martial Arts.
The police uniform itself must be changed to give our policemen and women a look that would exude confidence and elicit respect from the citizenry.
The conditions of service of the police should be looked into to reflect modern policing.
These changes must start as soon as practicable because the reality is that in a few months the social life of this country is going to change and we will need a modern police service to deal with its attendant social problems.
We should not forget what happened in Nigeria during her oil boom in the mid-1970s when all sorts of criminal activities reared their ugly heads in that country.
The country had to form a para-military police – the Mobile Police – to deal with the criminal gangs that sprang there.
We should not wait for that to happen but start to restructure our police service to meet whatever comes up when we start drilling the oil in commercial quantities.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

THIS POLICY MUST WORK (OCT 9, 2010)

THE successful participation of every country in international trade is dependent, to a large extent, on the ability of its policy advisers to negotiate favourable terms of trade with its development partners within the context of the country’s priorities.
Every country wants the best for its people, and so at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and regional groupings, the capacity to negotiate would go a long way to influence a country’s development agenda.
As a result, every country has put together its trade policy. For a developing country such as Ghana, the priority of such a trade policy will obviously hinge on industrialisation.
The reason for this is not far-fetched. Industrialisation is the surest way for a third world country like Ghana, wishing to break the back of poverty, to pursue because of its linkages to poverty reduction, employment generation, higher standard of living, revenue generation, savings and investments, among other interventions.
Therefore, the news of Cabinet approval of a new industrialisation policy must be one that groups such as the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Association of Ghanaian Industries, in particular, will be interested in and desirous of taking advantage of.
The DAILY GRAPHIC notes that this is not the first time an industrial policy has been approved by the Cabinet and, certainly, it would not be the last of.
Considering, however, the evolution of world trade, the challenges of technology and our oil find, a new industrialisation policy that takes stock of the challenges of the industrial sector and provides some concrete relief to ensure the rapid development of the country is the ideal.
The DAILY GRAPHIC has on numerous occasions reported the distress call by the textile and garment industry, in particular, and many other sectors concerning unfair trade practices that have nearly crippled the once vibrant industrial sector of this country.
Much too often, it is only when the situation has worsened that action seems to be taken, albeit piecemeal solutions instead of resolute ones.
If, as announced by the Trade Minister, the key development objectives of the industrialisation policy are to expand productive employment and technological capacity in the manufacturing sector and promote agro-based industrial development, among other issues, then the new policy must be radical in thinking, and innovative in implementation.
Currently, industry is reeling under intense pressure from cheap foreign products imported under very unscrupulous circumstances.
The DAILY GRAPHIC therefore, believes that if the proposal of moving the country to a middle-income status in the shortest possible time is to be achieved, then the country needs an industrial policy that will provide some reprieve for industry with all the seriousness one could imagine.
We are convinced that the industrialisation policy is comprehensive enough and tackles issues of planning very seriously. This is with regard to government policy, such as the recent increases in utility tariffs without the proper consultations with industry, which nearly brought some industries to their knees.
An industrialisation policy that has short, medium and long-term objectives and which would not be the subject of political “football” when there is a change of government is what this country needs.
After all, industry and the government have a common goal; that is, to provide jobs and steady incomes for the people, while creating value for shareholder funds, the returns on which are re-invested in the economy.
It is about time the industrial sector was put in its rightful position in the national economic scheme to develop the Better Ghana Agenda. Anything short of that could be disastrous for our dear nation.

Friday, October 8, 2010

LET'S SUSTAIN PEACE IN BAWKU (OCT 8, 2010)

THOUGH Bawku has enjoyed relative peace over the past five months, the shooting incident that rocked the municipality last Sunday leaves much to be desired.
Many organisations, including the Bawku Inter-Ethnic Peace Committee (BIEPC), have already condemned the incident and described it as the work of isolated individuals bent on disrupting the prevailing peace in the area.
Though this latest incident is not related to the protracted ethnic conflict in the area but a criminal act whose motive is yet to be established, it is still worrying and calls for national concern.
The Daily Graphic would like to remind the people of Bawku that nobody can bring peace to the area except they the good people of Bawku themselves.
While the Bawku conflict generally needs a concerted national solution, it primarily requires the people of Bawku to be prepared not to condone crime but expose the criminals living in their midst and fomenting trouble.
Undoubtedly, the activities of those who do not want the area to develop in peace are very detrimental when weighed against the huge chunk of revenue and resources the government spends on conflicts.
Working relentlessly to restore permanent peace in the area will not come easy, but with a united front, the guns can fall permanently silent.
Since the youth constitute the bulk of the country's workforce, they must show concern for the challenges facing Bawku which are impeding development efforts there. The youth of Bawku must, therefore, galvanise their energies towards productive ventures that will promote peace and facilitate the socio-economic development of the area.
Since the escalation of the conflict in December 2007, it has been very difficult for many pupils and students in the area to carry on with their academic activities which have frequently been interrupted by a resurgence in the conflict.
In a situation of conflict, it is not easy for children to study in an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty, even when teachers agree to risk their lives to go to school to teach.
It is, therefore, imperative for the residents of Bawku and its environs to let the peace being enjoyed be an everlasting one.
In this regard, the Daily Graphic would like to appeal to all and sundry to help maintain and sustain peace in Bawku
Following last Sunday’s shooting incident, three persons have been arrested and four deadly weapons — two AK 47 assault rifles, two G3 assault rifles, six empty AK 47 magazines and three G3 empty magazines — as well as half a gallon of Rangoon oil for servicing the weapons, have been retrieved. The three — a Frafra and two Bissas — are currently assisting the police in their investigations.
While the Daily Graphic would like to commend the security personnel for the prompt action they took that led to the arrest of the suspects when the shooting started last Sunday, it is our hope that those who were arrested will be quickly arraigned to serve as a deterrent to others.
The peace currently prevailing in Bawku must be maintained at all cost and this requires the police to be on the alert at all times. They must also guard against the misuse of their weapons. While it is good to establish a good relationship with the people of Bawku, the police should be wary of taking sides or being seen to be taking sides, as that could mar the peace efforts.
The security forces must do everything possible to ensure that last Sunday’s incident does not throw the area into any more chaos. Indeed, they must ensure that calm and peace in Bawku are maintained, in spite of the sporadic shooting in the area last Sunday.
Peace is an essential ingredient that is required to preserve humanity. Peace-building also calls for consistent and co-ordinated efforts from all stakeholders. There is, therefore, the need for everyone to think, speak and teach peace.

MAKE ASSEMBLY POLLS SUCCESSFUL (OCT 7, 2010)

AT long last the Electoral Commission (EC) has fixed December 28 as the date for the election of assembly members at the district level.
Though belated, the delay has presented an opportunity for all stakeholders to reflect on the need to re-examine elections at the local level and also reform the decentralisation process.
Local level representation and Ghana’s decentralisation process have been hailed as two of the best concepts and they have attracted other African countries to come and study them.
Interesting, however, is the issue of the vacuum to be created as a result of the delay in the holding of the district assembly elections, as current assembly members’ term of office ends this month.
This, obviously, will pose a challenge for the assemblies all over the country. This is because Article 241 Clause 3 of the 1992 Constitution stipulates: “Subject to this Constitution, the district assemblies shall be the highest political authority at the district level and shall have deliberative, legislative and executive powers.”
Thus the work of the assemblies, as per the performance of their legislative and deliberative functions, will be hampered.
The DAILY GRAPHIC thinks that while this development will pose some administrative challenges for the assemblies, it provides this country an opportunity to re-examine the executive powers of metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs), especially within the context of the election of MMDCEs.
It is the hope of the DAILY GRAPHIC that this challenge does not provide opportunities for MMDCEs to award contracts during the brief period of the absence of assembly members.
Again, the DAILY GRAPHIC revisits the pledges made by the government to make the position of MMDCEs elective. We believe the time is ripe, as the Constitutional Review Committee undertakes the exercise of collating views in the hope of amending the Constitution.
If the country aims at entrenching its democracy, especially at the district and unit levels, one sure way of achieving that feat is to give the citizenry the opportunity to have a say in who becomes their representative.
The DAILY GRAPHIC again calls for a conscious effort to attract more women to contest this year’s assembly elections.
We also hasten to call on the security agencies to be alive to their responsibilities. Although the assembly elections are meant to be non-partisan, word on the ground is contrary to that view.
The DAILY GRAPHIC takes the opportunity to wish all aspirants well in the coming elections. We pray that their electioneering would be devoid of pettiness.
We also remind them that the call to duty to serve the nation is a noble one for which anyone granted that rare opportunity must be thankful and dedicate himself or herself to the work at hand.
Much too often, people go into public office only to amass wealth. We urge the electorate to shun such people whose sole aim of standing for elections is to fill their pockets, at the expense of national service.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

TEACHERS, 'AYEKOO' (OCT 6, 2010)

YESTERDAY, 84 teachers were presented awards in 17 categories under the National Best Teacher Awards scheme instituted by the government in 1994.
Two things are worthy of note here — the magnitude of the awards and the theme for this year’s awards, which is: “Recovery Begins with Teachers”.
Generally, awards recognise best performance and spur on both the awardees and others in a certain profession or any other group to do more.
On this score, we commend the government for improving on the Best Teacher Awards scheme to the point of giving the overall best teacher, since 2005, a handsome amount of money to put up a house at a place of his or her choice. It started from GH¢30,000 and within a relatively short period it has been raised to GH¢60,000. This is really significant and a worthy gesture from the government.
Looking at the theme, it is obvious that the “driving” word is “recovery”. Dictionaries will give you more than one definition for “recovery”, but the one which will fit any debate or discussion on the theme is “retrieve or make up for a loss, setback, etc”. (The Concise Oxford Dictionary)
If those who adopted the theme agree with us, then we can say that “recovery” implies formal education which can take place only when teachers are available, willing and ready to teach.
Every society depends on education for progress because in today’s global village where knowledge explodes or increases every now and then, many of us would lose track of most of the things happening around us. This way, we lose a lot that must be retrieved or made up for.
We cannot help losing some of the things happening now to retrieve them later. Our ability to read and write and to make meaning out of figures is the only skill that helps us to retrieve.
And the ability to retrieve calls for an educational system that has all the basic facilities that stand teachers in a good stead to do the “recovery”.
The DAILY GRAPHIC, therefore, wishes to appeal to the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service, the two main government bodies which are in charge of education in the country, teacher organisations such as GNAT, NAGRAT and CHASS, student bodies, churches and parents, as well as individual teachers and students, to play their respective roles to improve education in the country.
The current situation where a greater percentage of the products of basic education, particularly those from the public schools, can neither read nor construct even single sentences, whether in speech or writing, should prick the conscience of teachers to assess their own performance.
A good, dedicated and caring teacher must be the one who helps his students to acquire the skills with which they can also recover and even go beyond to discover. We should remember that the untrained mind is a great disaster to any nation and most of the blame for the inability of school leavers to express knowledge should be borne by teachers.
But it is only when all stakeholders in education play their roles as is expected of them that we can say with all the confidence that, indeed, “recovery begins with teachers”.
That, we dare say, is the bottom line and we must all be ready and willing to play our respective roles with distinction to move education in the country forward.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

SAVE ODAW PROJECT (OCT 5, 2010)

THE beauty of every city in the world is measured not only in terms of the number of high-rise buildings and the provision of street lights but also how water bodies are utilised to derive the most benefit in terms of health and sanitation.
It was with this in mind that over a decade ago our development partners supported us with huge resources to carry out the Odaw development project.
Characteristic of our inertia, the drain, completed over a decade ago, has been left to go waste, with silted sand, garbage and weeds.
It is, therefore, no wonder that (as reported elsewhere) our development partners are unwilling to support the country in constructing further drains in the capital to ease the perennial floods in the city.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is saddened that the Odaw project that has the potential to create a serene atmosphere for residents of the capital city is yet to be fully realised.
The challenge involving squatters along the drain is a major one which cannot be wished away. This is because of the United Nations’ position on the status of squatters and the enforcement of laws that will be to the disadvantage of the vulnerable in society.
Thankfully, the situation is not a totally bad case. The DAILY GRAPHIC expects state authorities whose mandate it is to oversee this project to do whatever it takes to revive this project to assure our development partners that it can be done.
The quantum of funds sunk into this project cannot be allowed to go down the drain just because people tasked with this work have thrown up their hands in despair.
The potential of the project to create job opportunities, provide healthy surroundings and recreational edifice for many residents of Accra should spur the authorities on to pursue this project with all the vigour it deserves.
The construction of a 7.2km canal from Abossey Okai to the Tema Motorway will not only be a befitting monument for the status of Accra as a Millennium City but also, more important, position the country as one of the eco-friendly places on earth and thereby attract tourists.
The DAILY GRAPHIC, however, cautions that should we fail to undertake this project with the zeal that it deserves, the Odaw River will slowly die as a result of the heavy pollution it has seen in recent times.
We acknowledge that dealing with the squatters will be a difficult endeavour. However, with tact and careful planning, that problem can be overcome to pave the way for work to resume on the project.
This project cannot be left for the government alone to handle; civil society groups and the entire citizenry must be part of the solution to the problem.
It is crucial. Let us save the Odaw project now.

Monday, October 4, 2010

STOP MALIGNING GRAPHIC (OCT 4, 2010)

TODAY, we have decided to devote this column to an issue that many of our readers will consider as very unusual of the DAILY GRAPHIC.
For some time now, our newspapers and their management and staff have been subjected to public ridicule and opprobrium just because certain people disagree with our position on a number of issues.
A story on the front page of today’s paper and other publications in recent times are cases in point.
Those who engage us in this polemics do so out of context and without due regard for the basic tenets of good journalism of being fair, accurate and balanced. For all we know, journalism, no matter what position or cause one decides to support, must serve the public good.
The moment journalism decides to serve parochial interest, it loses its power to provide the voice for the voiceless, and hold public office holders accountable for their actions.
The very ordinary people in the society can hardly contest that the DAILY GRAPHIC and its sister papers represent the best in journalism practice in the country.
In serving our society with a diverse background, including the Executive, the Legislature, Judiciary, minority parties, civil society groups and, indeed, ordinary people on the street, we may not be able to satisfy everybody even as we do our best to discharge our duties with a clear conscience in the service of our motherland.
Unfortunately, some of our media colleagues and other personalities in the society want to draw the Graphic into conflict with the powers that be, especially the Executive, claiming that the newspaper has taken a position against the Government's Better Ghana Agenda.
From our humble point of view, the content analysis of the DAILY GRAPHIC and its sister papers indicates strongly that the papers are in the forefront of telling the government's good stories to the public.
But since the media's role also includes providing the feedback to policy makers, the DAILY GRAPHIC, as mandated by the Constitution, also strives to provide alternative views on issues concerning the governance of the state.
Anybody who frowns on the basic functions of the media may not be doing the government any good, because the impression is then created that nobody else has anything to offer towards nation-building although we know that “the path maker does not know where he has gone crooked”.
We have kept our distance from this subject because we do not want to engage in a media war which we find counter-productive. This deviates from the norms of journalism and places media practitioners in front of cameras and microphones instead of creating the space for our leaders to take such a platform to tell the electorate how they are managing the resources of state to improve their well-being.
We want to restate our position as we did last Saturday to mark our 60th anniversary that we will continue to use the columns of our national newspapers to build national consensus and unity so that together, the dividends of democracy, which includes peace, stability and security, which we have enjoyed over the last 18 years, will benefit all of us.
We are open to criticism; indeed as a policy, we do not discount the opinions of those we disagree with but we certainly detest those who descend into the gutters, practise yellow journalism to smear us.
On this occasion, we make one solemn pledge to the government and the people of Ghana: That we shall never use the power at our disposal to rock the ship of state. We will support the government in all its endeavours, praise where praise is due and encourage it to stay focused on its Better Ghana Agenda. We will, however, not hesitate to draw the attention of the government when it deviates from the national goal.
This is our pledge. And we promise to uphold it within the confines of our mandate.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

HURRAY, WE ARE 60 TODAY (OCT 2, 2010)

SIXTY years in the life of an individual or an institution is worth celebrating for many reasons. If for nothing at all, it showcases the attainment of Senior Citizenship and all the honour that goes with it.
So today, October 2, 2010, as we of the DAILY GRAPHIC take that final step of distinction to join the senior citizens society, we do so with great excitement and pride.
From a humble beginning of one newspaper in 1950, we are content that we have grown by leaps and bounds and now have as many as seven other newspapers — The Mirror, Graphic Sports, Graphic Showbiz, Graphic Business, Junior Graphic, Graphic Nsempa and Graphic Advertiser — in our stable.
Not only have we been able to grow these newspapers into successful market leaders in their various segments of the market, but we have also developed a consistent strategy that maintains them atop the competition.
Today, as we look back with nostalgia at the past, we think it is only proper and fitting to salute our founding fathers for their vision and forbearance which gave birth and sustenance to the DAILY GRAPHIC.
We also pay tribute to all managing directors, editors and indeed board members, other management staff and workers (past and present) who, through thick and thin, have managed to make the DAILY GRAPHIC not only a household word but also a thriving business entity and, indeed, the flagship newspaper of the nation.
We know it has not all been rosy. There have been many mountains to climb on our way to becoming the market leaders. Indeed, as Cecil King, founder publisher, said in his memoirs, “WHEN WE STARTED UP, THERE WERE 13 NEWSPAPERS WHICH WE ULTIMATELY PUT OUT OF BUSINESS, PARTLY BY PUBLISHING MORE NEWS, AND NO POLITICAL ABUSE, AND PARTLY BECAUSE OF OUR DELIVERY ARRANGEMENTS”.
Thankfully, we have managed to keep the dream and tradition of our founders very much alive all these years. No doubt, our credibility and professionalism have become the yardstick for journalism practice in the country.
Regarding national income, we are proud that our company has contributed immensely in taxes and dividends that go to improve the Consolidated Fund for the development of the country.
That apart, we have been consistently spending our resources, both in kind and cash, to improve communities and society in general. This is manifested in the company’s social responsibility programme.
An American actor, George Burns, once wrote that: “You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old”. The DAILY GRAPHIC finds a lot of wisdom in this saying and it has been one of the cardinal principles in its life.
We, therefore, pledge to our numerous patrons that we shall not grow weary and obsolete as we advance in years. Rather, your authoritative DAILY GRAPHIC and its sister newspapers will strive to be the market leaders at all times, no matter the circumstance.
We know it is easy to get to the top, but it is not easy to stay there. But we are ready and willing to keep abreast of the times in terms of technology and professionalism.
Having acquired a new ultra-modern printing machine, which, by God’s grace, will be inaugurated soon, we look forward to the future with great optimism as we toast our successes over the past 60 years.
Certainly, we must have stepped on some toes in our operations over the past six decades but whatever it was, we raised those issues for the good of society but not for any other consideration.
As we open another chapter in our history, our prayer is that God grants us the senility to forget the people we never liked, the good fortune to run into the ones we do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.
But more important, we pledge to keep the company’s core values of professionalism, teamwork, balance and fairness. We shall strive, at all times, not to be footnotes for any interest group but work hard to promote national unity and development.

Friday, October 1, 2010

MAINTAINING THE CEDI'S STABILITY (OCT 1, 2010)

THE key elements that disturb economic stability are high inflation and the depreciation of a currency. For any economy to register the needed growth, there is the need to manage inflation and the depreciation of one’s currency against major international currencies.
With Ghana becoming an oil-producing country, concerns have been expressed as to the effects this will have on the monetary and fiscal policies, particularly inflation.
But the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Mr Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, has given assurance that the central bank is adequately prepared to avert the depreciation of the cedi, which might arise from the two perceived phenomena.
According to him, there was the likelihood that as a result of the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) and the sale of crude oil, more money would be put into circulation, thereby threatening the stability of the cedi and the current single-digit inflationary rate that has been chalked up.
The basic theoretical cause of inflation, it has been said, depends on the forces of demand and supply and this cannot be in doubt. And if there is high supply of money as is expected to happen in our case and a low demand for it, then there is bound to be a problem.
This will obviously shoot up the prices of goods and services, which, in turn, will lead to a drop or fall in the value of the cedi.
But the good news, according to Mr Amissah-Arthur, is that the BoG had budgeted adequate resources to mop up the excess liquidity in the economy, which might come about as a result of the SSSS, oil and cocoa purchases in the country.
All the same, the DAILY GRAPHIC would wish to caution that we should not lose sight of the myriad of causes of inflation.
The BoG should, therefore, be upbeat in its credit role as explained by the central bank governor, employing certain fiscal tools such as the open market operations, the issuance, buying and selling of bonds and bills to avoid the free fall of the cedi and runaway rate of inflation resulting from the upsurge in money supply in the economy.
One way of doing this is to set the interest rate at a favourable level at which it will lend money to the other banks because if the rate is high, then the people and the business community would be less inclined to borrow, which will affect overall production and, for that matter, our development.
It is obvious that the increase in money supply, if not matched with a corresponding appreciation in the demand of goods and services, would have a concomitant and devastating effect on the stability of the cedi and the rate of inflation.
The BoG governor said the reduction in the base rate had led to a positive response by other commercial banks in the country, which, as a result, have reduced their lending rates to ensure that the manufacturing, industrial and commercial sectors contract loans at favourable rates to expand their operations.
But the truth is that the base rates of some of the banks are still high and something ought to be done to reduce it to an appreciable level.
The DAILY GRAPHIC, therefore, implores the central bank to strike a balance as it tries to react to the monetary and fiscal issues of the country.
We appreciate the fact that the reduction in the base rate, coupled with the stabilisation of the cedi and the reduction in the inflationary rate, are positive incentives for investment in the country.
It is thus incumbent on the commercial banks to immediately adjust their lending rates to levels that will support the government’s efforts at bringing down inflation further down to promote the growth of the economy to attract the needed investment for the development of the country.