Policy think tank, IMANI Ghana, has criticised new forex rules by the Bank of Ghana (BOG), aimed at shoring up the cedi against major international currencies. According to IMANI, the BOG’s new rules, one of which prohibits over-the-counter cash withdrawals of more than US$10,000, will help boost a foreign exchange black market and cause the cost of doing business to shoot up. “…they just handed the US Dollar to the black market and almost quadrupled the costs of all businesses in the country in the short to medium term with effects that would last longer than the anticipated benefits”, IMANI President, Mr Franklin Cudjoe told Graphic.com.gh Thursday. This, he explained, is because Ghana’s economy is "largely an import-led one with a greater percentage of manufacturing resources imported".  Mr Cudjoe said the new forex rules will hurt business owners such as spare-part dealers who rely heavily on dollars for importation. He also suggested that smuggling of cocoa out of the country will increase on account of the new forex rules. “Payment for cocoa farmers will be affected, meaning the value of what they receive will be diminished. Some might just sell to Ivory Coast,” he said. The IMANI President called on the government to learn from the experiences of other countries which have had to deal with currency depreciation of their own in recent times. “Zimbabwe may be a farfetched example, but to deal with their almost worthless zim currency, they dollarized, to tame hyperinflation, restore stability enhance budget discipline and monetary credibility. All we should do in the interim is not to disturb the forex regime. "The effects of a growing or deepening belief that the 'regulatory environment is uncertain or unpredictable' show up more in the medium rather than the short-term, and are often more chronic than acute in nature," he stated. Mr Cudjoe underscored the need to be alert to "more insidious indicators" such as capital projects that get abandoned mid-way. The BOG, which imposed the new rules Wednesday, also banned commercial banks and other financial institutions from issuing cheques and cheque books on foreign exchange accounts (FEA) and  foreign currency accounts (FCA). The central bank went on to direct banks not to grant a foreign currency-denominated loan or foreign currency-linked facility to a customer who is not a foreign exchange earner.  Offshore foreign deals by resident companies, including exporters in the country, has also been prohibited. 

The Senior Pastor of the Charismatic Baptist Church at Taifa in Accra, Reverend Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, has been inducted into office as the First Executive President of the Ghana Baptist Convention. Rev. Enoch Nii Narh Thompson, the Head Pastor of Messiah Baptist Church, is his deputy. At the induction ceremony, the former President of the Ghana Baptist Convention, Rev. Dr Fred Deegbe, urged the two new leaders to live a ‘Christ-like life to help win souls for God. “Whenever a new structure is put in place, it can either lead to the growth or collapse of the organisation,” he said and prayed that their tenure would be successful. Rev. Dr Deegbe said the task, which had been handed over to them, was challenging but they would be successful if they were in constant fellowship with the Lord, who had called them to lead. He urged them to be focused in executing their tasks as executives of the convention; equip themselves to meet the challenges of their call and love the people they were going to work with. These values, he said, were the models God had given them to follow in the course of their duties and which, when ignored, would be to the detriment of the church.  Rev. Deegbe also advised the church to support them to make their tenure of office successful.   Solidarity Message  In a solidarity message, the General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, Rev. Kwabena Opuni Frimpong, indicated that the call to head the convention was divine and came with a divine mandate. He added that the two had come into office at a time that the impact of Christianity on the country had been questioned by many and prayed that they would be able to make meaningful contributions to people’s lives.   Rev. Adu-Gyamfi In his remarks, Rev. Adu-Gyamfi thanked the church for the confidence reposed in them and pledged that they would give off their best to build the convention and execute their mandate as new executives of the convention.  Rev. Adu Gyamfi said their goal was to work at achieving a rebranded convention in the areas of education, finance and general welfare of members, among others. An 11-member denominational board which would serve as an advisory body to the executive president and his vice was also inaugurated. It is chaired by Rev. Dr Deegbe.

The Minister of the Interior, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, has stated that recruitment into the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) will remain frozen until a thorough staff deployment exercise has been undertaken to serve the real needs of the service. He said that the deployment of staff had been lopsided and that certain areas in the country appeared to be over-staffed while other places were under-staffed. Addressing the opening session of a special regional commanders’ conference of the GIS in Accra yesterday, Mr Ahwoi said, “There is a clear evidence of under-utilisation of human resource in the service.” The three-day event, being held on the theme, “Moving the GIS towards a new institutional direction”, is being attended by management and regional commanders of the service. It is meant to create a platform for them to undertake critical institutional stock-taking of the operational and administrative activities and address the challenges facing the GIS.   Strategic plan Mr Ahwoi stated that in 2011, the leadership of the service launched a four-year strategic plan from 2011 to 2015 that defined and spelt out the visionary strategies for the service, covering policy, personnel development and deployment, as well as facilities and equipment. He was happy that preliminary work had been carried out particularly in the areas of nationwide sensitisation of personnel and the recruitment of specialist professionals in information and communications technology, law, civil engineering, paramedics and psychologists.    Mr Ahwoi noted that currently, postings and transfer of staff had not been “scientifically” analysed and done to ensure that key regions, sectors, districts and border posts had adequate staff numbers with appropriate ranks to ensure effective command and control at all times. “Jobs, we must create, but we should not add to the over-burdening problem of ‘single spine salary management’ by paying staff salaries for no work done,” he stated. The minister said his outfit had already directed the GIS leadership to overhaul staff deployment to ensure that the GIS derived maximum benefit from staff. “I am informed but yet to verify that a total staff re-deployment exercise has been carried out in the Greater Accra Region and is being extended to Tema and other regional, sector and district commands across the country,” he said.   Challenges facing service On challenges facing the GIS, Mr Ahwoi stated that he was aware the service suffered from serious deficit in areas such as accommodation, means of transport, communication equipment, uniforms and other accoutrement. He,  however,  said the government was working relentlessly to ensure that the service was provided with its essential logistics and infrastructure to enable it to perform at its maximum best.   Non-release of subvention The acting Director of Immigration, Commissioner of Police, Dr Peter A. Wiredu, said the non-release of subventions adversely affected the operations of the service last year. “This dire financial constraints compelled some regional and sector commanders of the service to resort to some ingenious ways to run their areas...,” he stated. He said the service had reconstituted its Central Disciplinary Committee to review all cases of officers interdicted for various acts of indiscipline.  

The Accra Regional Police Command has intensified measures to apprehend the members of an armed robbery gang who are behind the threat on the lives of residents of Agape near Accra. Even though 27-year-old Samiru Salifu, suspected to be the ring leader of the gang which calls itself the Armed Robbers Association (ARA), has been arrested, the police believe there are remnants of the gang in the area who have to be brought to book. As part of efforts at stepping up police operational strategy, the police have deployed plain-clothes investigators into the community to gather intelligence and increased police patrols and snap checks. Emergency meeting  The Accra Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Mr Christian Tetteh Yohonu, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said the Odorkor District Police Command, which has jurisdiction over the area, had been directed to provide regular patrols to ensure that the lives of the residents were protected. To strengthen security in the various commands in the region, the Regional Commander met all senior officers and asked them to intensify patrols in their commands. “We consider it as a hoax and that the people behind the notice are cowards,” Mr Yohonu said. That, he said, was because “in many areas where robbery had occurred, the robbers never informed their victims in advance”. No money paid  He said even though the notice was seen late last year, “up to now nobody has paid any money to them and the people behind the notice have not been able to carry out their threats. It was a means that the suspected gang wanted to use to solicit money from the residents”. The police, he said, would continue to strengthen intelligence gathering and its security system to ensure that everybody in Accra “and not at Agape alone, lives in peace”. Mr Yohonu said as a result of the effective strategies put in place, the police had been able to stamp its authority on robbery in the country.  Background A gang which calls itself the ARA has been harassing residents of Agape near Accra to pay not less than GH¢500 per tenant in each household or risk facing its wrath.  The gang had given the residents of the community a deadline of December 30, 2013 to pay the amount but the residents failed to meet that deadline. One of the residents told the Daily Graphic that they lived in fear, since they did not know when the gang might strike. It all started in December, 2013 when the residents woke up to find notices posted on their walls, gates, electricity poles and other places, directing them to pay the said amount through MTN mobile money. Writer’s email: [email protected]

The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament has expressed concern about the misappropriation of funds by officials of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) and urged the management  to recover with interest all misappropriated funds. It has also called for a restructuring of the operations of the NHIA to ensure efficient and effective claims management within the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). The committee’s recommendations were contained in a report it submitted to Parliament yesterday after studying the Performance Audit report of the Auditor-General on the management of claims by the NHIS. The report was adopted by the House. Presenting the report, the Chairman of the committee, Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, said the committee observed, after studying the details of investigations conducted by the Auditor-General in 2010, that GH¢ 6.4 million was misappropriated from 2005 to 2009. Overpayments for the same period totalled GH¢ 22million. He said the committee found out that the misappropriation occurred mostly through malpractices such as the insertion in the claims form of drugs not prescribed, creation of claims in respect of persons who did not attend hospital, overstatement of claims and prescriptions not serialised. According to him, the committee learnt that the NHIA had, through the Attorney-General, instituted 10 criminal prosecutions against culprits; out of which eight were ongoing and two discontinued. With regard to overpayment, he said officials of the NHIA informed the committee that measures had been put in place for the recovery of overpayments through retrospective vetting of all claims paid. To that end, he said the NHIA recovered GH¢ 8.4 million out of the GH¢ 22 million. The monies that were recovered, he added, were mostly from payments that arose out of pure errors and not fraudulent acts. Mr Agyeman-Manu said an officer of the NHIA who was found to be involved in the overpayment of claims had been convicted by the courts. Furthermore, about 100 hospitals were found wanting in the clinical audit and had had their accreditation withdrawn by the NHIA. In spite of the NHIA  putting in measures to recover the monies, he said the committee found the situation to be unacceptable. According to him, the committee found that officers in charge of vetting and paying claims at the District Mutual Health Insurance schemes did not have the requisite training and skills, a situation which brought their competence into disrepute. “The committee, therefore, urges the management of the NHIA to pursue the pending court cases with the seriousness they deserve,” he added.

Christian Sheriff Asem Darkei, the man at the centre of the shipment and disappearance of 77 parcels of cocaine, opened his defence Wednesday. Darkei, also known as the Limping Man, told the Fast Track High Court in Accra, presided over by Mr Justice Mustapha Habib Logo, that he was a fisherman and did not deal in narcotics. Consequently, he denied the charges of conspiracy to import, importation and exportation of narcotic drugs. Led in evidence by his lawyer, Mr Isaac Aidoo, Darkei told the court that a friend asked him to purchase the MV Benjamin for him for fishing but that transaction did not materialise. He gave the friend’s name only as Charwartey and said the friend provided him (Darkei) with $150,000 to be used to purchase the MV Benjamin. He said the money was given to him by Charwartey in February 2006, adding that Charwatey took back the $150,000 after the purchase agreement failed.  He said the MV Benjamin, to his knowledge, imported fish and not narcotics. Cross-examination  After his evidence, a Principal State Attorney, Ms Yvonne Obuobisa Attakora, in her cross-examination, asked Darkei of his whereabouts in the course of the missing cocaine saga. Darkei said at that time he was in his village at Kasseh receiving treatment for asthma and later moved to a village between Togo and Ghana for further treatment. He said while in Togo, he shuttled between Togo and Nigeria for treatment. Asked whether he was not aware that he had been declared wanted by the police in Ghana, he responded in the affirmative and said he was so ill at the time that his focus was on how to treat himself. Darkei said he owned two vessels that were used for fishing and that his friend intended to buy the MV Benjamin for the importation of fish. He mentioned the name of his company as Atiko Fisheries, while the two vessels were the MV Check One and the MV Alabanya. Asked by Ms Attakora the date on which he travelled, he told the court that he travelled to his village on April 26, 2006.  Asked what he had used a loan of GH¢25,000 he secured from the UT Bank for, Darkei said it was used to purchase parts to replace damaged ones in his ship.  However, the State Attorney suggested to him that on the loan form, he had stated that he was going to use the facility to buy marine fuel. Darkei said he finished paying for the loan on May 4, 2006. Darkei is alleged to have played a major role in the shipment of 2,310 kilogrammes of cocaine, with a face value of $138.6 million, into the country in April 2006.  The prosecution closed its case on April 23, 2013.   Arrest Darkei was arrested by BNI officials at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital on February 2, 2012 upon a tip-off, after he had been pursued for years by the security agencies. He has, however, pleaded not guilty to three counts of conspiracy, importation and exportation of narcotic drugs. Facts of the case It is the case of the prosecution that around midnight on April 26, 2006, the MV Benjamin, reportedly carrying about 77 parcels of cocaine, with each parcel weighing 30 kilogrammes, docked at Kpone/Tema and discharged the parcels. The parcels were offloaded into a waiting vehicle which carried them away. According to the prosecution, in the course of investigations, Darkei’s name featured prominently as the importer and/or owner of the drug. He was said to be the person who had chartered the vessel at a cost of $150,000 to tow another vessel from Guinea to Ghana and, subsequently, carted the alleged 77 parcels. The disappearance of the cocaine led to the constitution of the Justice Georgina Wood Committee and the subsequent trial of persons alleged to have played various roles in the importation. Hearing continues on February 10, 2014. Writer’s Email: [email protected]

Ten houses were Wednesday demolished at Agya Herbal, a neighbourhood of Ofankor in Accra, on the orders of an Accra high court. The intervention of the Member of Parliament (MP) for Trobu, Mr Moses Anim, and the Municipal Chief Executive of the Ga Central Municipality, Mr Aristo Aryee, saved 20 other houses from demolition. The exercise, which was carried out by the Nii Nikoi Olai We, with the backing of an Accra high court, started at around 6 a.m., during which parts of a number of houses were pulled down. However, the intervention of the two political heads calmed the situation and owners of the targeted properties were given a two-week relief period to work out an agreement with the landowners. The lands on which the buildings were situated had been the subject of a protracted litigation between the Nikoi Olai family and one Emmanuel Fradey and others. Demolition site When the Daily Graphic team got to the site, quite a sizeable crowd had gathered there, some of them bemoaning their fate while others complained bitterly about the rate of demolitions in the country. More than 50 police officers from the Regional SWAT team were on hand to provide security for the court bailiffs and also to maintain law and order. While most of the houses in the hilly community, close to the Rev. John Teye Memorial School, were yet to be completed, others were occupied by caretakers, who watched on helplessly. Most of the houses earmarked for demolition had the notice, “Remove Nikoi Olai Family” posted on them, together with a telephone number. The houses marked for demolition, according to some sources, had been built on parcels of land that the family had not sold to the encroachers. “Some of us bought the land from the Nikoi Olai We in 2000, but another group came claiming ownership of the land around 2009 and threatened demolition. We had to pay again to them. Those of us who were lucky to have documents from the Nikoi Olai people are those whose property had been spared the demolition,” one source said. Landowners  Speaking to the Daily Graphic, Asafoatse Kotey Kortey, a member of the Nikoi Olai family, said after years of litigation that ended in 2012, the family had given enough notices to the affected property owners to no avail. “It is a legitimate demolition backed by the courts and law enforcement body. That means it is legitimate and we are not flouting the law.” He said the plea from the MP notwithstanding, the family would sit down and take a collective action on what to do. “Let tomorrow come, we’ll decide what to do. We are demolishing the houses of all those who don’t have documents from us,” he added. Member of Parliament Mr Anim said when he heard about the demolition, he called the DCE to find out if it was an order from the assembly and he said no. “So we had to rush here.” The MP said after the police had shown him the necessary documents, he pleaded with the family heads while the MCE also did same.   He said the way forward would be to meet the residents and let them know the truth and the facts, so that they could meet with the family and have the issues sorted out. Writer's email:[email protected]

The day is coming, when members of the public would be able to buy units from vendors for their electricity meters as they currently do for their mobile phones. Consumers of electricity would also be able to purchase electricity online if they are far away from home, or buy from handheld devices operated by accredited agents at public places. Not only that, electricity consumers would also be able to recharge their power at home or establishment through an SMS Server, by way of text messages from their phones wherever there is a telecommunication service. Power could also be bought without a card, provided a consumer is able to mention accurately his unique meter number and would be able to use his or her name if there are no similar ones in the system that would make it difficult to get the right meter on which to load credit. Disclosing this yesterday at a meeting with selected media in Accra, Mr Duke Nelson, Head, IT and Projects, Ghana Electrometer Company, said all these would become possible after the successful completion of a pre-pilot project involving a newly introduced electricity prepaid meter known as the SMART-G Prepayment System. Pre-pilot project The pre-pilot project currently ongoing at Danyame, a suburb in Kumasi, in partnership with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), began in October 4, 2013 and is expected to move to the actual pilot stage in April, this year. Explaining that the ‘G’ in SMART-G stood for green, Mr Nelson said the new prepaid meter was unique, because it did not only come in two components – outdoor and indoor units – but had other features that made its use convenient to the user and very beneficial to the service provider. According to him, the indoor or Customer Interface Unit (CIU) allows consumers to track their consumption, while simultaneously reducing the risk of tampering with the meter and can be used with dry cell batteries when there is no power.  “Consumers are provided with flexible and secure means of transferring credit to their meters, through the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) communication technology, as well as the user friendly keypad interface,” he added.  He said the SMART-G metering system could be used for single phase, three phase and transformers, and operated using a database server, SMS server, GPRS server, Fire Wall, which is the actual operating system, and vending system, among others. Guarantee against theft Another unique feature of the meter, Mr Nelson said, was its anti-tampering facility which informed the utility provider of an open cover, open terminal, high magnetic fields, reverse current and fault energy.  It also has an accuracy class of one. He cautioned that as distribution transformers from the utility provider were also going to have meters attached, it was going to be difficult to bypass the household and institutional meters to illegally tap electricity, as had been done in the past. Answering a question on proper billing of customers, Mr Nelson said the new metering system automatically generated receipts when power was bought but urged customers to always check their receipts. “In actual fact the customer would have been given the net, having had some deductions made such as an outstanding bill,” he said. Describing the new meter as a “living meter”, Mr Obed Solomon, Operations and Internal Relations Manager, Ghana Electrometer Company, said the company currently operated electronic cash meters in the Volta, Eastern, Western, Central and Greater Accra regions. He said the company, which is the only one in Ghana manufacturing meters, had its products in use at Tema, Adenta and Dodowa, among other places  in the Greater Accra Region, with none of them being on electricity poles. Writer’s email: [email protected]

For the first time in five years, the chiefs and people of Buipe in the Northern Region have celebrated their annual Damba festival in unity and fanfare. Damba, the most prominent festival among Gonjas, is celebrated to mark the birth of the founder of Islam and it is celebrated among many ethnic groups in northern Ghana in different forms. Despite its traditional and religious importance to the people of Buipe, Damba could not be celebrated for the past five years due to the acrimonious chieftaincy dispute that characterised the area. With the dispute now resolved, the chiefs and elders of the area came together to celebrate the festival in unity and to demonstrate to the world that they had settled their differences and were now united to chart a new path of development for themselves and the whole country. Clad in royal regalia and paraphernalia, the Paramount Chief of the Buipe Traditional Area, Buipe Wura Jinapor II, sat in state in a grand durbar and was assisted by his sub- chiefs and aides — some of whom were his opponents in the chieftaincy dispute,— to mark the occasion. In attendance were people of different ethnic and professional backgrounds including the Wangara Chief, who came from Kintampo with his elders; tourists and Fulanis. In a speech read on behalf of the Buipe Wura, his spokesperson, Dr Ahmed Jinapor, said the chiefs, queens, elders and people of the Buipe Traditional Area carefully settled on   “Peace and Reconciliation for Sustainable Development”,  for this year’s Damba  for good reasons. He described the occasion as a joyous one for him as it marked the first anniversary of a Damba during his reign where all the chiefs, stakeholders and people of Buipe were behind him and actively participated in the celebration of the festival. He said there was genuine peace, reconciliation and togetherness among all the people of Buipe and “I want to use this opportunity to reiterate my irrevocable and unflinching commitment to sustain the peace that exists in Buipe and to ask all and sundry to join me in this noble endeavour”. The Buipe Wura thanked President John Mahama and  Yagbonwura  Borenase for their contribution to the restoration of peace and tranquillity in Buipe. The Deputy Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji A.B.A Fuseini, thanked the people of Buipe for their sense of tolerance and maturity which had enabled them to peacefully resolve the chieftaincy dispute that characterised the area some time ago. He said their Dagomba counterparts also exhibited the same spirit of reconciliation and togetherness for the first time in many years during this year’s Damba festival by coming together to mark the occasion. He expressed delight that the decision of many traditional areas in the Northern Region to resolve their chieftaincy problems and come together would chart a new path for the rapid development of the region. The Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mr Bilijo Nayong, asked the people of Buipe to take advantage of its strategic location and attract investors to come and develop the huge aquaculture potential in the area. Such a move, he noted, would create a lot of employment opportunities for the youth and also create wealth for many people in the area.

The Ghana Medical Association has given the National Labour Commission (NLC) a one-month ultimatum to enforce its ruling regarding the payment of conversion difference to members of the association in the public sector. It said failure to enforce the ruling would compel the GMA to embark on a series of measures it had put in place, including a possible industrial action, effective March 3, 2014 “to press home our demands, since the state institutions are clearly failing or working against our common good per their code”. This was contained in a February 3, 2014 letter signed by Dr Justice Yankson, Assistant General Secretary of the association, and addressed to the chairman of the NLC. It said the association was disappointed with the seeming lack of commitment on the part of the NLC to enforce its ruling in the matter of the GMA verses the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) regarding the payment of conversion difference to its members. “The GMA is highly disappointed at the conduct of both the NLC and the FWSC that had led to the striking out of the NLC’s motion on the subject matter for want of prosecution by an Accra high court on January 31, 2014,” it said. It said the GMA was of the opinion that the NLC and the FWSC “have evinced a clear intention through their acts of commission and omission to ensure that members of the GMA are denied their rights and/or the NLC has deliberately failed to ensure enforcement of its own ruling”. That, it explained, was because for almost nine months, a motion of enforcement of the said ruling was not moved by the NLC culminating in same dismissed by the high court at the instance of the FWSC when on January 31,2014, the NLC failed to appear in court to move the motion. According to the GMA, that situation was grossly “unfair/unacceptable to the GMA, especially when we are reliably informed that the legal teams of NLC and FWSC had earlier agreed to go to court on a later date instead of on January 31, 2014, at the request of the FWSC”. It said it was also not in tune with the letter and spirit of the Labour Act. “The GMA believes this conduct by both NLC and FWSC is a calculated attempt to frustrate and deny its members their rights by the two state institutions under the pretext of working through the courts,” it said. It said the GMA would not allow that to happen and, therefore, urged the NLC to, as a matter of urgency, ensure that the situation was corrected and the case relisted for hearing.

The Police Administration has made changes to some of its regional commands.  Western Regional Commander, DCOP Mr Kofi Boakye, is to take over as the Ashanti Regional Police Chief and he will be replaced in the Western Region by DCOP Mr Isaac Alex Quainoo, who is the Upper East Regional Commander. In line with those changes, the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Mr Augustine Kwabena Gyenning, has been moved to head the National Patrol Department as Director-General. A memo to that effect signed by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Mohammed A. Alhassan, said the Deputy Ashanti Regional Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mr Simon Yaw Afeku, would take over as Upper East Regional Commander. It said the Deputy Upper East Regional Commander, ACP Mr Peterkin Yentumi Gyinae, would take charge as the Volta Regional Police Commander, while ACP Mr John Owiredu-Nkansah, who is the Deputy Volta Regional Commander, would become the Upper East Regional Deputy Commander. It said ACP Mr Fred Agyapong Asare, who is the acting Volta Regional Commander, would take charge of Service/Workshop in Accra, while DCOP Osabarima Asare Pinkro II would move to the headquarters from the Workshop. Explaining the movements, the Director of the Police Public Affairs Directorate, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr Cephas Arthur, said they were in line with the Police Administration’s policy to undertake such administrative changes from time to time.

The Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC) has called on the government to significantly adjust wages upwards to cushion workers against the current economic hardships. It said workers had been stretched to the limit, adding, “We cannot contain any further burden imposed on workers due to economic mismanagement.” It, therefore, called on the government to consider its proposal for an upward adjustment of the national daily minimum wage without further delay. The TUC made the call in a statement on the economy signed by its Secretary General, Mr Kofi Asamoah, and issued in Accra yesterday. “Once consultation on the national minimum wage was concluded, then negotiations for a review of the base pay and relativity on the Single Spine Salary Structure would commence,” it said. Reviewing the economic situation, the TUC said  the economic framework over the past 30 years had been exacerbated by pervasive corruption, cronyism, incompetence and extreme partisanship.  The issues  “The economic indicators, as robust as we are told they are, have failed to make any significant impact in the lives of Ghanaians. Good jobs are disappearing faster than they are being created, even as the economy registers what is claimed to be ‘impressive’ growth rates,” the TUC said. It explained that incomes  were falling in real terms, as inflation was on the rise, while trade deficits were growing at an alarming rate, as imports saturated and Ghana continued to export its natural resources in raw form. Describing the national debt as “ballooned and continues to soar” and the cedi as being in a “slaughterhouse”, having fallen in value against the international currencies, the union indicated that the government, out of desperation, had resorted to increases in VAT and road tolls.  Notwithstanding the fact that the government had increased VAT, abolished fuel subsides and allowances to teacher and nursing trainees, the union said public services were still deteriorating, many schools were still operating at the margins and hospitals had been stretched to the limit. It said it was unfortunate that the dismal economic performance had occurred at a time when additional resources were coming from the commercial production of oil which had added about half a billion dollars annually to the national purse since 2011. Oil revenue The union said it was gravely concerned “that the government and its agencies are not efficiently managing oil resources for the benefit of Ghanaians”. For instance, it said, in 2012, GH¢232,403,269 out of the oil revenue was committed to road infrastructure but “we are yet to be told exactly which roads the funds were applied to improve”. Again, it said, in 2012, while GH¢72,471,824 (14%) was committed to agricultural modernisation, we used GH¢111,959,738 for so-called capacity building.  In its 2012 annual report, the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), the committee charged with monitoring compliance with the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, called on the government to indicate how the funding for capacity building was utilised.  “We still hold the view that the economic and social challenges that we face as a country are rooted in the nature of economic policies and the manner in which we have chosen to conduct national affairs.  “The economic woes we are facing can be attributed to the hands-off neo-liberal economic policies and failure on the part of the leadership to do the right things for the country.   “The policy of unbridled trade liberalisation or more appropriately import liberalisation has compelled us, as a nation, to live virtually on imports.  “We import practically everything, as the manufacturing sector gradually, but surely, grinds to a halt. Our increasing appetite for imports means that our demand for foreign currencies, particularly the US dollar, is growing exponentially.  “More than two-thirds of our export revenues are generated from gold, cocoa, oil and timber. And we continue to export these in their raw forms, earning very little.  “Policy makers have failed to address the monumental challenges that confront domestic industry, compelling many exporters to convert their factories into warehouses as they join the lucrative import trade,” the TUC declared.   Short-term solutions Admitting the fact that there were no easy solutions to the current situation, the union said the country needed immediate short-term remedial measures to ameliorate the plight of Ghanaians. Providing solutions to the problems confronting the nation, it said it was important that the government rolled back some of the many taxes it had imposed on the people, including the downward review of charges and fees.  It suggested to the government to consider re-introducing subsidies on utilities and fuel because the rate at which it was raising fuel prices and utilities was neither sustainable nor socially desirable for the country.  Furthermore, the union was of the view that  the government should check and rid itself of corruption and corrupt elements to ensure that its services and programmes reached their intended beneficiaries in a timely manner.  Long-term solutions  For a long-term solution, the TUC proposed a radical overhaul of the economic and social policies of the country. For instance, it said there was the need to strengthen the state and its agencies to allow for effective conduct of government and state policies and programmes. It said economic policies must emphasise the centrality of adding value to natural resources and being able, as a country, to produce some of the basic necessities of life.  “We cannot make any headway in reducing poverty and improving living conditions by living on imports. We need policies and programmes that reward domestic production and penalise imports,” it stated. It said it was also crucial for the country to offer unalloyed support to Ghanaian businesses. “State power must be leveraged to promote domestic industry. The fruitless attempt to destroy businesses perceived to be politically unfriendly must end,“ it said. The TUC also underscored the need for a review of our capital accounts and external payment system. “Ghana cannot afford to continue to allow foreigners and foreign-owned companies to transfer any amount of foreign currency out of the country. The Americans and the Chinese, with all their economic might, do not allow that,” it said.  It further suggested to the government to initiate a national dialogue on the economy to tap into the best brains and ideas on the way forward for our country.

Unilever Ghana Limited has re-launched the “GROW FM” campaign aimed at improving the health and well-being of children in Ghana. The campaign forms part of Unilever’s strategy to improve the health and well-being of one billion people in the world. Speaking at the launch of the programme in Accra, Mrs Sylvia Acquah of Unilever Ghana said GROW FM was part of the organisation’s behavioural change programmes designed to influence the behaviours of children using interactive music. “This year, the programme will be carried out in three regions in Ghana, namely Ashanti, Greater Accra and Western, and our target is to reach one million kids in the first year, which represents 25 per cent growth over what we achieved last year,” she said.  Mr Annang, the National Director of Physical Education of the Ghana Education Service (GES), on behalf of the Minister of Education, said the GROW FM campaign was linked to the government’s policy on child health care and child education and added that, “the goal is to inculcate healthy lifestyle practices into these young minds for them to grow in healthy and fulfilled adults for a vibrant national workforce”. He also said the government would continue to make primary education a priority in its better Ghana agenda by distributing free laptops, exercise books and school uniforms. Mr Annang commended Unilever for the initiative and appealed to teachers and schoolchildren to embrace the concept rolled out by the organisation.

The Somanya Ebenezer Congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana has presented various food items and a bale of second-hand clothing worth GH¢1,700.00 to the Blessed Bride Future Organisation, an orphanage at Asitey, near Odumase Krobo. The food items included five maxi-bags of rice, three cartons of soap, two gallons of cooking oil, five packets of toilet rolls, 15 crates of minerals, one carton of milo, a carton of milk, and seven packets of biscuits. The church also presented cash of GH¢500.00 in addition to the items.  At the presentation, held at the orphanage, the District Minister of the Somanya Ebenezer Congregation of the Presbyterian Church, Rev. E. T. Muno, noted that the only way to show love to the orphans as a church was to help feed and clothe them. He said taking care of orphans should be seen as the social responsibility of everybody including Christians. He explained that when proper care was taken of such orphans we might not have a lot of deviants who would be a worry to communities where they lived. Rev. Muno, together with his assistant, Rev. Tetteh Addey, and some of the members of the church who interacted with the orphans, advised them not to see the absence of their parents in this physical world as the end of their lives. “My dear young children, the fact that you have lost your biological parents does not mean the end of your lives. I am assuring you that we, as a church, shall always come to your aid as and when it becomes necessary,” Rev. Muno assured. Rev. Muno also urged the orphans to be more serious in their various schools so as to become useful citizens for themselves, their various communities and mother Ghana  and help those who might also be in need in future. He prayed for God’s love for the management of the home to enable them to take good care of the inmates. The founder of the orphanage, Mr. Philip Anim, who received the items, was very grateful to the church for its kind gesture. He said the orphans, numbering 47 were made up of 25 boys and 22 girls aged between three and 16. They were from various places such as Osudoku and Shai Hills in the Shai-Osudoku District of the Greater Accra Region and Yilo Krobo and Lower Manya Krobo municipalities. Mr Anim said in spite of scarce resources, he put the orphans in the basic and senior high schools so that they could have formal education. He was very grateful to the Krobo Chapter of Royal House Chapel, the Methodist Church, Ghana, the International Central Gospel Church, and volunteers from United Kingdom and Australia for occasionally supporting the home. He appealed to other well-wishers and organisations to contribute to the running of the home.