THE Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, has given the assurance that the government will do everything possible to develop the tourism industry, since the sector has the potential to raise revenue for development.
He said infrastructural development was paramount to promoting tourism in the country, saying, “Tourism is an income earner for many countries and so we need to take steps to develop it properly because people will travel from abroad to patronise our tourist attractions”.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo gave the assurance when he addressed the Brong Ahafo Regional celebration of this year’s World Tourism Day held in Sunyani, which was on the broader theme, “Tourism- Celebrating Diversity”.
According to the regional minister, the other key parameters to boost the tourism potential of the country were the availability of decent hotel accommodation and the best catering services to attract tourists.
He pointed out that while striving to please tourists from outside through the provision of attractive and serene environment as well as dishes of their choice, there was the need to uphold the cultural values of the country by serving local meals alongside continental dishes.
The regional minister also advised that those employed by hotelliers and caterers to provide services to tourists should be clean, look smart and presentable, pointing out that some of the employees were an eye-sore because they did not observe personal hygiene, thereby discouraging their clients.
He also noted with concern that armed robbery had been a disincentive and a threat to tourism in the country but gave the assurance that the government was committed to stemming that menace and that with the collective responsibility of the security agencies as well as individuals, the problem could be overcome.
In his global message, Mr Taleb Rifai, the Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) emphasised that in addition to the role of globalisation in balancing tourism influx, environmental and cultural sustainability of nations, this year’s celebration was aimed at shedding light on the human side of the industry.
He noted that there was increasing awareness of tourism’s role as a productive activity and its undisputed potential to generate employment, government revenue and other benefits, whether directly or indirectly.
“Tourism is a global industry and as such has a responsibility to make positive contributions worldwide. The huge variety of local customers co-exist all over the world, be they in the languages, religions, architecture, food, politics and natural environments”. Mr Rifai observed.
That diverse environment, he said, had allowed the travel and tourism industry to thrive and become the largest force in the service sector, thus, the theme highlighted the varied environment which was central to tourism.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Sunyani, Mr Kwasi Oppong Ababio stressed that the tourism industry now needed people with business-like attitudes and positive customer care behaviour. “You should also know the history of your own locality and people very well to enable you to offer the best services to them”, he added.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
SPECIAL TRAINING SESSION FOR MMDCES (SEPT 21, PAGE 13)
A special training session on the Public Procurement Act 2003, Act 663 and Budgetary Processes has been held for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), Co-ordinating Directors and Finance Officers from the Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions.
The two-day programme, which was organised by the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning discussed “Procurement Planning — Its Significance in the Budget and Process”, “Administrative Reviews, Procedures and Appeals Complaints Panel Processes”, “Guidelines on Margin of Preference”, “Public Expenditure and Financial Management” and “Overview of Budget Guidelines”.
The special training session was designed to furnish the participants with the requisite knowledge on the provisions of the Public Procurement Act and equip them to deliver on their mandate in a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory manner as direct representatives of the Government at the local level.
In an opening address, delivered on his behalf, the Chairman of the PPA governing board, Commodore Steve Obimpeh (Retd), explained that the principle of fairness, accountability and transparency, which had for over a decade formed the bedrock of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party, actually resonated with the fundamental tenets and objectives of the Act.
The Act, he further explained, basically sought to provide both administrative and institutional arrangements for public procurement, with the overall objective of ensuring that state resources were harnessed in a judicious, economic and efficient manner to obtain value for every cedi spent.
Cdr Obimpeh admitted that public procurement, which accounted for over 70 per cent of government expenditure after personnel emoluments was under a critical component of government expenditure management structure, and, therefore, required efficient and prudent management to be able to administer the economy of the state.
“Thus, as key stakeholders and mangers of your respective assemblies, you are expected to attain a good appreciation of the law that governs its practice in order to effectively eliminate waste and rather make good savings for government as much as possible,” he stressed.
That notwithstanding, the PPA governing board chairman indicated that governance institutions which come under the scope of application of the Act were without doubt facing daunting implementation challenges, saying notable among those had been the identified capacity gaps leading to gross misunderstanding of its provisions.
He emphasised that it was in that view that the PPA had since its inception not relented in its efforts to build the capacities of its varied stakeholders.
Cdr Obimpeh disclosed that the PPA had over the past three years trained more than 8,000 public procurement functionaries and about 1,500 personnel in oversight institutions such as the Internal Audit Agency and the Auditor General’s Department, under its nationwide short-term training programme.
Again, he indicated that other capacity building programmes had been held for members of the Public Accounts Committee of the immediate past Parliament and other special constitutional bodies.
The Chairman further disclosed that so far over 150 sector Ministers, Ministers of State, key staff of the Office of the President, as well as Regional Ministers, their Deputies and Regional Co-ordinating Directors, had been trained since August this year.
He expressed the hope that the special training session and subsequent ones planned for heads of government departments and agencies and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) would go a long way to consolidate the gains of previous capacity building initiatives, and create the much needed awareness on the provisions of the Public Procurement Act.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the PPA, Mr A. B. Adjei, who gave an overview of the programme, pointed out that the Act applied to the procurement of goods, works and services, financed in whole or in part from public funds, and that it aimed at ensuring that public procurement was carried out in a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory manner, using state resources in a judicious, economic and efficient way.
Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, in a welcoming address, cautioned that “if you do not follow the Act, you will find yourself in trouble”, and reminded the participants of the startling revelations of the Auditor General’s report.
He noted that there had been tremendous value addition ever since the Act was enacted in 2003, adding that the law not only served as the main catalyst and framework which guided all procurement processes but also its effective application, promoted transparency, competitiveness and achieved value for money in the system.
The two-day programme, which was organised by the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning discussed “Procurement Planning — Its Significance in the Budget and Process”, “Administrative Reviews, Procedures and Appeals Complaints Panel Processes”, “Guidelines on Margin of Preference”, “Public Expenditure and Financial Management” and “Overview of Budget Guidelines”.
The special training session was designed to furnish the participants with the requisite knowledge on the provisions of the Public Procurement Act and equip them to deliver on their mandate in a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory manner as direct representatives of the Government at the local level.
In an opening address, delivered on his behalf, the Chairman of the PPA governing board, Commodore Steve Obimpeh (Retd), explained that the principle of fairness, accountability and transparency, which had for over a decade formed the bedrock of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party, actually resonated with the fundamental tenets and objectives of the Act.
The Act, he further explained, basically sought to provide both administrative and institutional arrangements for public procurement, with the overall objective of ensuring that state resources were harnessed in a judicious, economic and efficient manner to obtain value for every cedi spent.
Cdr Obimpeh admitted that public procurement, which accounted for over 70 per cent of government expenditure after personnel emoluments was under a critical component of government expenditure management structure, and, therefore, required efficient and prudent management to be able to administer the economy of the state.
“Thus, as key stakeholders and mangers of your respective assemblies, you are expected to attain a good appreciation of the law that governs its practice in order to effectively eliminate waste and rather make good savings for government as much as possible,” he stressed.
That notwithstanding, the PPA governing board chairman indicated that governance institutions which come under the scope of application of the Act were without doubt facing daunting implementation challenges, saying notable among those had been the identified capacity gaps leading to gross misunderstanding of its provisions.
He emphasised that it was in that view that the PPA had since its inception not relented in its efforts to build the capacities of its varied stakeholders.
Cdr Obimpeh disclosed that the PPA had over the past three years trained more than 8,000 public procurement functionaries and about 1,500 personnel in oversight institutions such as the Internal Audit Agency and the Auditor General’s Department, under its nationwide short-term training programme.
Again, he indicated that other capacity building programmes had been held for members of the Public Accounts Committee of the immediate past Parliament and other special constitutional bodies.
The Chairman further disclosed that so far over 150 sector Ministers, Ministers of State, key staff of the Office of the President, as well as Regional Ministers, their Deputies and Regional Co-ordinating Directors, had been trained since August this year.
He expressed the hope that the special training session and subsequent ones planned for heads of government departments and agencies and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) would go a long way to consolidate the gains of previous capacity building initiatives, and create the much needed awareness on the provisions of the Public Procurement Act.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the PPA, Mr A. B. Adjei, who gave an overview of the programme, pointed out that the Act applied to the procurement of goods, works and services, financed in whole or in part from public funds, and that it aimed at ensuring that public procurement was carried out in a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory manner, using state resources in a judicious, economic and efficient way.
Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, in a welcoming address, cautioned that “if you do not follow the Act, you will find yourself in trouble”, and reminded the participants of the startling revelations of the Auditor General’s report.
He noted that there had been tremendous value addition ever since the Act was enacted in 2003, adding that the law not only served as the main catalyst and framework which guided all procurement processes but also its effective application, promoted transparency, competitiveness and achieved value for money in the system.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
MINE WORKERS WORRIED ABOUT DISPARTIES IN SALARIES (SEPT 16, PAGE 21)
MEMBERS of the Ghana Mine Workers Union (GMWU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) have expressed concern about the wide salary disparities existing between the expatriate workers and their Ghanaian counterparts.
The union stated that analysis indicated that the remuneration of AngloGold Ashanti executive members was 289 times as high as the lowest mine worker who risks his life on the job and in the same vein. an executive of Gold Fields Ghana Limited, earns 201 times the income of the lowest paid mine worker.
According to the union, in AngloGold Ashanti, the minimum salary of a mine worker was US$262.00 per month which was about 340 times less the salary of the highest paid executive member in Ghana.
The National Executive Council (NEC) of the GMWU which made the observations at its meeting at the Eusbett Hotel in Sunyani, also noted that in AngloGold Ashanti, the average expatriate salary was US$19,586.00 per month compared with the Ghanaian senior officer who earned US$711 per month and doing the same or similar job.
In their resolution signed by Messrs Prince William Ankrah and John K. Brimpong, the General Secretary and National Chairman, respectively of the union, the NEC further observed that in AngloGold Ashanti, an average rent allowance of US$15,000 per annum was paid to top Ghanaian management staff at Gold House in Accra, stressing that “the Management of AngloGold Ashanti continued to drag its feet in our effort to negotiate a fair rent allowance for non-accommodated unionised members at its Obuasi and Iduapriem mine sites”.
Again, the union argued that between 2007 and now, some management staff in the industry, including those at Gold Fields and AngloGold Ashanti, had had their emoluments adjusted by 100 per cent while a 24.5 per cent increase demanded by unionised workers over a three year period to bring the minimum basic pay of the mine worker to US$500 was considered “outrageous, unrealistic and unsustainable”.
“The above picture is seriously untenable and cannot be tolerated by the GMWU of the TUC any longer. Accordingly, the GMWU will use every means at its disposal to ensure fairness and equity in the reward landscape of the mining industry in Ghana”, the NEC cautioned.
According to the resolution, the NEC noted the long and protracted 2009 wage/salary negotiations between the GMWU and the two South African-based mining companies namely, AngloGold Ashanti and Gold Fields due to their “insensitive, selfish, parochial interest and the lack of social equity conscience”.
“The NEC thereby mandates the leadership of the GMWU to use any means at its disposal, including nationwide miners’ strike action to press home its demands by the close of this month”.
According to the resolution, “The situation where expatriates occupy positions which can be competently occupied by Ghanaians can no longer be tolerated. The NEC, therefore endorses the efforts being made by the Government and the Minerals Commission to address the issue”.
The union called on the regulatory bodies concerned with expatriation to seriously monitor the influx of expatriates into the industry and that, “the GMWU shall resist any attempt to bring in any expatriate whose skills are available in the industry”.
The resolution said, the NEC was saddened by the deplorable road network and infrastructure deficit in the mining communities and, therefore, reiterates its earlier calls on the Government and the mining companies to tackle the problem, adding that the NEC was particularly concerned about the state of the Tarkwa-Ayanfuri, Tarkwa-Huni Valley, Prestea, Bogoso, Tarkwa and Obuasi urban roads, among others.
The NEC also expressed regrets that, employees of the Ghana Consolidated Diamonds (GCD) at Akwatia, had not been paid for the past two years and therefore, appealed to the Government to speed up the divestiture implementation programme and make available money from the consolidated fund to pay them their outstanding severance and entitlements to ameliorate the sufferings and pains that those employees and their families were going through.
The resolution emphasised that NEC was concerned about the situation where mines folded up without meeting their contractual obligations to their employees and so recommended to the Government to legislate the establishment of an escrow account similar to the reclamation bonds which mining companies were required to post as part of their legal requirement in operating a mine to cater for employees’ benefits in the want of unforeseen mine closures.
The union stated that analysis indicated that the remuneration of AngloGold Ashanti executive members was 289 times as high as the lowest mine worker who risks his life on the job and in the same vein. an executive of Gold Fields Ghana Limited, earns 201 times the income of the lowest paid mine worker.
According to the union, in AngloGold Ashanti, the minimum salary of a mine worker was US$262.00 per month which was about 340 times less the salary of the highest paid executive member in Ghana.
The National Executive Council (NEC) of the GMWU which made the observations at its meeting at the Eusbett Hotel in Sunyani, also noted that in AngloGold Ashanti, the average expatriate salary was US$19,586.00 per month compared with the Ghanaian senior officer who earned US$711 per month and doing the same or similar job.
In their resolution signed by Messrs Prince William Ankrah and John K. Brimpong, the General Secretary and National Chairman, respectively of the union, the NEC further observed that in AngloGold Ashanti, an average rent allowance of US$15,000 per annum was paid to top Ghanaian management staff at Gold House in Accra, stressing that “the Management of AngloGold Ashanti continued to drag its feet in our effort to negotiate a fair rent allowance for non-accommodated unionised members at its Obuasi and Iduapriem mine sites”.
Again, the union argued that between 2007 and now, some management staff in the industry, including those at Gold Fields and AngloGold Ashanti, had had their emoluments adjusted by 100 per cent while a 24.5 per cent increase demanded by unionised workers over a three year period to bring the minimum basic pay of the mine worker to US$500 was considered “outrageous, unrealistic and unsustainable”.
“The above picture is seriously untenable and cannot be tolerated by the GMWU of the TUC any longer. Accordingly, the GMWU will use every means at its disposal to ensure fairness and equity in the reward landscape of the mining industry in Ghana”, the NEC cautioned.
According to the resolution, the NEC noted the long and protracted 2009 wage/salary negotiations between the GMWU and the two South African-based mining companies namely, AngloGold Ashanti and Gold Fields due to their “insensitive, selfish, parochial interest and the lack of social equity conscience”.
“The NEC thereby mandates the leadership of the GMWU to use any means at its disposal, including nationwide miners’ strike action to press home its demands by the close of this month”.
According to the resolution, “The situation where expatriates occupy positions which can be competently occupied by Ghanaians can no longer be tolerated. The NEC, therefore endorses the efforts being made by the Government and the Minerals Commission to address the issue”.
The union called on the regulatory bodies concerned with expatriation to seriously monitor the influx of expatriates into the industry and that, “the GMWU shall resist any attempt to bring in any expatriate whose skills are available in the industry”.
The resolution said, the NEC was saddened by the deplorable road network and infrastructure deficit in the mining communities and, therefore, reiterates its earlier calls on the Government and the mining companies to tackle the problem, adding that the NEC was particularly concerned about the state of the Tarkwa-Ayanfuri, Tarkwa-Huni Valley, Prestea, Bogoso, Tarkwa and Obuasi urban roads, among others.
The NEC also expressed regrets that, employees of the Ghana Consolidated Diamonds (GCD) at Akwatia, had not been paid for the past two years and therefore, appealed to the Government to speed up the divestiture implementation programme and make available money from the consolidated fund to pay them their outstanding severance and entitlements to ameliorate the sufferings and pains that those employees and their families were going through.
The resolution emphasised that NEC was concerned about the situation where mines folded up without meeting their contractual obligations to their employees and so recommended to the Government to legislate the establishment of an escrow account similar to the reclamation bonds which mining companies were required to post as part of their legal requirement in operating a mine to cater for employees’ benefits in the want of unforeseen mine closures.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
WILDLIFE PROTECTION PROJECT LAUNCHED (MIRROR, PAGE 35)
From Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah,
Sunyani
A project, designed to educate communities along protected wildlife parks in Ghana, Canada and Tanzania on the need to conserve the parks and help reduce poverty in the rural areas, has been launched in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The five-year project, dubbed “Protected Areas and Poverty Reduction: A Canada-Africa Research and Learning Alliance”, was initiated by the International Community-University Research Alliance (ICURA), a group of university researchers from over 102 countries around the world.
The project will provide alternative livelihood activities to the people in the protected areas to help reduce their poverty levels and also build staff capacity to generate new knowledge that will be of direct use to local communities, academics and government agencies in the participating countries.
It is being funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the International Development Research Corporation (IDRC) at the cost of US$1 million.
In Ghana, the Brong Ahafo Research and Extension Centre (BAREC) at the Sunyani Polytechnic (S-Poly) will oversee a 16-month research work to be conducted in three sites, namely the Mole and Bui National Parks in the Northern and Brong Ahafo Regions respectively and the Keta Lagoon Complex in the Volta Region.
Furthermore, scholarships would be offered to each person selected from the S-Poly, the Faculty of Forest Resources Technology (FFRT) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Sunyani campus and the Natural Conservation and Research Centre (NCRC) in Accra to pursue a PhD course at the University of Victoria in Canada.
A similar facility will be extended to the Tanzania programme, where research work would be conducted in the Serengeti National and Saadani National Parks.
Professor Kwasi Nsiah-Gyabaah, the Rector of S-Poly, who launched the project, observed that for many years, the government had developed several strategies to reduce poverty in the country but noted that, “One of the limitations of poverty reduction strategies is the wanton destruction of the natural resource base”.
“We have not recognised the importance of winning ways with wildlife and we still have not come to accept the role of wildlife and natural resources conservation in poverty reduction programme,” he declared.
Prof. Nsiah-Gyabaah pointed out that every year, large areas of Africa’s forests were illegally exploited for their valuable timber or cleared to make way for farmlands, while wildlife was hunted for meat or killed through indiscriminate bush burning.
Dr Grant Murray from the Vancouver Island University of Canada, a Director of the project, giving an overview of the project, mentioned four principal streams of the research to include benefits/cost of Eco-tourism and protected areas, human-wildlife interactions, governance structures and processes of decision-making and flows of information/knowledge mobilisation.
Sunyani
A project, designed to educate communities along protected wildlife parks in Ghana, Canada and Tanzania on the need to conserve the parks and help reduce poverty in the rural areas, has been launched in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The five-year project, dubbed “Protected Areas and Poverty Reduction: A Canada-Africa Research and Learning Alliance”, was initiated by the International Community-University Research Alliance (ICURA), a group of university researchers from over 102 countries around the world.
The project will provide alternative livelihood activities to the people in the protected areas to help reduce their poverty levels and also build staff capacity to generate new knowledge that will be of direct use to local communities, academics and government agencies in the participating countries.
It is being funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the International Development Research Corporation (IDRC) at the cost of US$1 million.
In Ghana, the Brong Ahafo Research and Extension Centre (BAREC) at the Sunyani Polytechnic (S-Poly) will oversee a 16-month research work to be conducted in three sites, namely the Mole and Bui National Parks in the Northern and Brong Ahafo Regions respectively and the Keta Lagoon Complex in the Volta Region.
Furthermore, scholarships would be offered to each person selected from the S-Poly, the Faculty of Forest Resources Technology (FFRT) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Sunyani campus and the Natural Conservation and Research Centre (NCRC) in Accra to pursue a PhD course at the University of Victoria in Canada.
A similar facility will be extended to the Tanzania programme, where research work would be conducted in the Serengeti National and Saadani National Parks.
Professor Kwasi Nsiah-Gyabaah, the Rector of S-Poly, who launched the project, observed that for many years, the government had developed several strategies to reduce poverty in the country but noted that, “One of the limitations of poverty reduction strategies is the wanton destruction of the natural resource base”.
“We have not recognised the importance of winning ways with wildlife and we still have not come to accept the role of wildlife and natural resources conservation in poverty reduction programme,” he declared.
Prof. Nsiah-Gyabaah pointed out that every year, large areas of Africa’s forests were illegally exploited for their valuable timber or cleared to make way for farmlands, while wildlife was hunted for meat or killed through indiscriminate bush burning.
Dr Grant Murray from the Vancouver Island University of Canada, a Director of the project, giving an overview of the project, mentioned four principal streams of the research to include benefits/cost of Eco-tourism and protected areas, human-wildlife interactions, governance structures and processes of decision-making and flows of information/knowledge mobilisation.
MINISTER INAUGURATES TASK FORCE (MIRROR, PAGE 35)
From Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah,
Sunyani
A Task force to check chainsaw operations in the Brong Ahafo Region has been inaugurated in Sunyani.
Dubbed “Operation Halt Illegal Chainsaw Activities”, the exercise will involve the military, police and other security agencies, as well as forestry guards and representatives of the Brong Ahafo Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC).
Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, in the inaugural address, expressed concern over the depletion of the once green forest reserves in the region.
He attributed the situation to bush fires, unscientific farming practices and operations of chainsaw operators, which had led to dramatic changes in the rainfall pattern and drying up of rivers.
”We need to check the activities of the people who are destroying our forest cover for the sake of posterity and if we do not act now, some few years to come all our forests will go and the impact will be disastrous for our children,” the regional minister cautioned.
He appealed to members of the task force to work diligently so as to stem the wanton destruction of the forest resources, and resist any attempts by some unscrupulous people to influence them to stop the checks.
The regional minister appealed to the judiciary to expedite action on cases of those who would be arrested and brought before the law courts, pointing out that if they were punished heavily, it would serve as a deterrent to others.
The Commanding Officer of the 3rd Battalion of Infantry (3BN), Lt Col Michael Amoah Ayisi, cautioned that members of the task force would apply minimum force to apprehend those operators who might want to resist arrest.
Mr William Baah, the Regional Forestry Officer, said an operation mounted by his outfit a couple of days ago had led to the seizure of 3,000 pieces of lumber at Goaso in the Asunafo Municipality.
Sunyani
A Task force to check chainsaw operations in the Brong Ahafo Region has been inaugurated in Sunyani.
Dubbed “Operation Halt Illegal Chainsaw Activities”, the exercise will involve the military, police and other security agencies, as well as forestry guards and representatives of the Brong Ahafo Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC).
Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, in the inaugural address, expressed concern over the depletion of the once green forest reserves in the region.
He attributed the situation to bush fires, unscientific farming practices and operations of chainsaw operators, which had led to dramatic changes in the rainfall pattern and drying up of rivers.
”We need to check the activities of the people who are destroying our forest cover for the sake of posterity and if we do not act now, some few years to come all our forests will go and the impact will be disastrous for our children,” the regional minister cautioned.
He appealed to members of the task force to work diligently so as to stem the wanton destruction of the forest resources, and resist any attempts by some unscrupulous people to influence them to stop the checks.
The regional minister appealed to the judiciary to expedite action on cases of those who would be arrested and brought before the law courts, pointing out that if they were punished heavily, it would serve as a deterrent to others.
The Commanding Officer of the 3rd Battalion of Infantry (3BN), Lt Col Michael Amoah Ayisi, cautioned that members of the task force would apply minimum force to apprehend those operators who might want to resist arrest.
Mr William Baah, the Regional Forestry Officer, said an operation mounted by his outfit a couple of days ago had led to the seizure of 3,000 pieces of lumber at Goaso in the Asunafo Municipality.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
ASSEMBLIES LACK QUALIFIED PROCUREMENT OFFICERS (PAGE 13)
A Number of district assemblies in the Brong Ahafo Region do not have qualified procurement officers who are to oversee the legal procurement processes in the assemblies.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, who made this known in Sunyani, noted that trained procurement officers could help streamline procedures regarding the day-to-day purchases and other transactions by adhering to the Procurement Act.
Addressing a day’s Regional Financial Management workshop, organised by the Ghana Audit Service, the Regional Minister, therefore, charged the appropriate authorities to ensure that all the assemblies were provided with procurement officers who could interpret the law properly.
The workshop was attended by accountants in the various ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and those from the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs), District Finance Officers, District Co-ordinating Directors and staff of the Ghana Audit Service.
The workshop was aimed at addressing findings of an audit conducted last year across the country by Messrs Ernst and Young Chartered Accountants to bring a third-party review to the handling of the various transactions underlying receipts and disbursements of the Consolidated Fund.
The audit focused on transactions related to the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing and selected departments under it, as well as 20 MMDAs drawn from each region in the country.
The workshop centred on budget preparation and reporting cycle, consolidated fund inflows, budget and public expenditure management systems, financial reporting formats, receipts and payments concerns, consolidated fund reporting issues, internal audit issues and internal controls.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo stressed the need for the assemblies to register all their fixed assets, so that at any given time they could account for them without any difficulty, pointing out that the accurate preparation of trial balances of the assemblies would also provide the basis for their income and expenditure accounts.
According to the minister, the startling revelations at the ongoing Ghana@50 probe in Accra should be an eye-opener to all those in positions of trust, since one day they would be called to account for their stewardship.
He said following what was currently going on at the probe, it was not far-fetched to conclude that, “Some of the politicians did not listen to the bureaucrats during the Ghana@50 celebration, regarding procurement and other activities, adding, “Politicians should listen to the bureaucrats to learn a lot from them as to what to do next.”
In his welcoming address, the Brong Ahafo Regional Auditor, Mr Charles Segre, noted that the findings of the wide-scope audit required additional attention alongside the immediate requirement to submit findings for the attention of Parliament.
According to him, the objectives of the audit were to provide an independent opinion on the financial statements and to review and report on the effectiveness of the system of internal controls of the audited organisations.
He pointed out that recommendations had been made, where appropriate, on how systems could be improved, but the key task was to examine whether existing systems were being followed and where necessary, “We have made practical recommendations on how enforcement could be tightened.”
Mr Segre noted that financial management in government agencies was largely decentralised, and that, in order to keep the extent of the work within reasonable limits and to ensure a timely completion, “We were required within each of the organisations to undertake a detailed audit of a proportion of the spending units or budget management centres.”
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, who made this known in Sunyani, noted that trained procurement officers could help streamline procedures regarding the day-to-day purchases and other transactions by adhering to the Procurement Act.
Addressing a day’s Regional Financial Management workshop, organised by the Ghana Audit Service, the Regional Minister, therefore, charged the appropriate authorities to ensure that all the assemblies were provided with procurement officers who could interpret the law properly.
The workshop was attended by accountants in the various ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and those from the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs), District Finance Officers, District Co-ordinating Directors and staff of the Ghana Audit Service.
The workshop was aimed at addressing findings of an audit conducted last year across the country by Messrs Ernst and Young Chartered Accountants to bring a third-party review to the handling of the various transactions underlying receipts and disbursements of the Consolidated Fund.
The audit focused on transactions related to the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing and selected departments under it, as well as 20 MMDAs drawn from each region in the country.
The workshop centred on budget preparation and reporting cycle, consolidated fund inflows, budget and public expenditure management systems, financial reporting formats, receipts and payments concerns, consolidated fund reporting issues, internal audit issues and internal controls.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo stressed the need for the assemblies to register all their fixed assets, so that at any given time they could account for them without any difficulty, pointing out that the accurate preparation of trial balances of the assemblies would also provide the basis for their income and expenditure accounts.
According to the minister, the startling revelations at the ongoing Ghana@50 probe in Accra should be an eye-opener to all those in positions of trust, since one day they would be called to account for their stewardship.
He said following what was currently going on at the probe, it was not far-fetched to conclude that, “Some of the politicians did not listen to the bureaucrats during the Ghana@50 celebration, regarding procurement and other activities, adding, “Politicians should listen to the bureaucrats to learn a lot from them as to what to do next.”
In his welcoming address, the Brong Ahafo Regional Auditor, Mr Charles Segre, noted that the findings of the wide-scope audit required additional attention alongside the immediate requirement to submit findings for the attention of Parliament.
According to him, the objectives of the audit were to provide an independent opinion on the financial statements and to review and report on the effectiveness of the system of internal controls of the audited organisations.
He pointed out that recommendations had been made, where appropriate, on how systems could be improved, but the key task was to examine whether existing systems were being followed and where necessary, “We have made practical recommendations on how enforcement could be tightened.”
Mr Segre noted that financial management in government agencies was largely decentralised, and that, in order to keep the extent of the work within reasonable limits and to ensure a timely completion, “We were required within each of the organisations to undertake a detailed audit of a proportion of the spending units or budget management centres.”
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
PLANTPOOL DONATES GRADERS TO TWO ASSEMBLIES (PAGE 21)
THE management of J.A. Plant Pool (Ghana) Limited has handed over two motor-graders to the Sunyani West and Nkoranza North District assemblies in the Brong Ahafo Region, to facilitate development projects being undertaken in the two areas.
The equipment was provided under a special pre-financed support package introduced by the company for Metropolitan, Municipal and District assemblies (MMDAs) in the country for their capacity building.
A representative of the company in its Sunyani office, Miss Aileen Koomson, who handed over the keys to the machines at a brief ceremony, stated that the provision of basic infrastructure such as feeder roads to link up the hinterland in the districts and the urban centres would enhance economic opportunities for the people, thereby improving their living conditions.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, who received the keys to the machines on behalf of the assemblies, expressed his appreciation to the company for its commitment to partnering the government in its development programme.
He expressed the hope that the machines would go a long way to help the assemblies in their development moves.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, therefore, urged the assemblies to ensure that they maintained the equipment regularly to prolong its lifespan.
The equipment was provided under a special pre-financed support package introduced by the company for Metropolitan, Municipal and District assemblies (MMDAs) in the country for their capacity building.
A representative of the company in its Sunyani office, Miss Aileen Koomson, who handed over the keys to the machines at a brief ceremony, stated that the provision of basic infrastructure such as feeder roads to link up the hinterland in the districts and the urban centres would enhance economic opportunities for the people, thereby improving their living conditions.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, who received the keys to the machines on behalf of the assemblies, expressed his appreciation to the company for its commitment to partnering the government in its development programme.
He expressed the hope that the machines would go a long way to help the assemblies in their development moves.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, therefore, urged the assemblies to ensure that they maintained the equipment regularly to prolong its lifespan.
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