 |
| John Kofi Mensah, CEO First Capital Plus |
A
memorandum signed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Bank, Mr John Kofi
Mensah claims that it may not be able to meet its obligations to its clients.
The
memorandum addressed to the Board of the Bank spells out numerous cases of
mismanagement and corruption.
The
full text of the memorandum dated 11th August, 2014 is published below;
BOARD
MEMO
FROM: CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
TO: CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS,
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
DATE: AUGUST 11, 2014
URGENT ACTION TO SALVAGE THE REPUTATION AND
FORTUNES OF FIRST CAPITAL PLUS BANK
I
write to reiterate my earlier concerns and request for the Board to act with
expedition and take drastic and urgent steps to resolve the seemingly intractable
problems that have bedeviled and continue to dog the growth and our efforts to
stand the bank on its feet till date.
We
have discussed these Issues at length, but we do not seem to have made any
significant progress as exemplified by the fact, among others, that a recent 3
man committee we set up to come up with some solutions appear to have been
still born. We also appear to be perfecting the art of crafting long -winding
resolutions which are not backed by any serious follow-up action." I
perceive that we are very conversant with and know very well the problems that
confront, but lack the critical boldness and courage to tackle the bull by the
horns. With respect, we all appear to be guilty of fiddling while Rome burns.
As
the CEO, coupled with my interests as a shareholder of the Bank, I wish to set
the ball rolling by shaking myself out of the self-imposed slumber that we all
find ourselves. I think that I cannot do less than be in the forefront and
spearhead the efforts to grow the Bank and move it to the next level to the
path of joining the ranks of the foremost financial institutions in the
country. The clarion call has assumed some urgency due in part to the attempt
by the Government/Bank of Ghana to pass into law the Depositors Protection Bill
and the Deposit Taking Institutions Bill which would, among others, oblige
every Director of a Bank to report to the Bank of Ghana if he has reason to
believe that a Bank of which he is a director cannot meet its future
obligations on pain of criminal sanctions.
In
short, transparency, candour and diligence in prosecuting a bank's object of
incorporation is no longer a matter of personal ethics, but have been raised to
an obligatory statutory duty with
sanctions to boot. We can therefore not have the luxury of going on with our duties as 'business-as usual'. On the contrary, we are being compelled to move forward.
sanctions to boot. We can therefore not have the luxury of going on with our duties as 'business-as usual'. On the contrary, we are being compelled to move forward.
From
my perspective, the issues that require urgent action appear to be:
1.0 Our inability to
establish offshore counterparty relationships due to issues with shareholder's
credibility.
2.0 On top of this issue is
our continuing inability to establish offshore counterparty relationships with
other banks and financial institutions. As we are all undoubtedly aware, this
problem has arisen and persists as a direct consequence of outstanding and
unresolved issues hovering around shareholders of the bank. The Deutsche Bank
and others have, after conducting due diligence on the bank, rejected our
request for business relationship with them. We all know and agree that this
type of business relationship constitute one of the essential life lines for
the Bank. As long as this problem persists, we cannot reasonably expect to grow
outside the boundaries of this country. This will undoubtedly lead to stunted
growth and spell doom for the bank in the long run. Unfortunately as the issue
is, I am sorry to state that we have dithered for far too long on this matter and
require to act forthwith.
3.0 Unresolved TPF and
capitalization issues.
3.1 This is a long standing issue
and needs no further clarification.
4.0 Increasing interest
expense and general costs of doing business
4.1 This has been the bane
of the bank for some time now, that while management is embarking on a
desperate and aggressive deposit mobilization to shore up liquidity to cover
holes in the balance sheet, it is resulting in increased interest expense and
general costs to us. This is detrimental to our profitability drive and the
same is unsustainable.
5.0 Potential TPF and
Related Costs
Decisions on some emerging liabilities which are
potential TPF remain outstanding
6.0 For the above and other
reasons, I hereby outline the following as urgent steps that the Board ought to
ensure to save the Bank from any further casualties.
i.
On
the first issue above, I see the solution as a simple one: The shareholders
must accept to have their shares held in trust for them. The only other option,
as far as I can see, is that they remain and we get stuck in the tunnel, with
the inevitable consequence that this may explode in our faces sooner than
later.
ii.
Proper
capitalization of the Bank since deposits with other Banks is not backed by
actual liquidity.
iii.
Acceptance
of debt liability created through non-conventional practices and a delivery of
a re-imbursement plan that will not create any further liquidity strain for the
Bank.
iv.
Full
disclosure of any and all potential liability created by any shareholder to
avoid further surprises as has been the case lately.
v.
Concrete
steps to salvage the reputation of the Bank and prevent any further market and
reputational risks.
vi.
Decisions
Board must be implemented without further delay.
7.0 I regret to mention that
unless we act ourselves and so with all the promptitude that it deserves,
things may go out of hand, including the possibility that the Bank of Ghana may
step in, by which time it will be too late for us to make excuses, with all of
us risking sanctions (though I fervently hope that we act with expedition and
seriousness to avoid that possibility).
8.0Accordingly, I think that we are all sitting on
a time bomb and cannot afford to spend too much time in drawing a road map
based on the proposals outlined here. I would think that we should be able to
accomplish this assignment within three weeks from now.
9.0 Of course, the Board’s
acceptance or otherwise of my proposals would go a long way to assist my
interpretation of the Board’s willingness to share in my vision for the Bank
and its customers at large. I will certainly interpret that as a vote of no
confidence in my ability to steer the bank to its destination with your
respective backing and cooperation.
Submitted
for the board’s action.
Editorial
KYEI MENSAH BONSU
Some
of the spokespersons of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) do the party no good by
their engagement in mischief and one of such people is the Minority Leader in
Parliament Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu.
Over
the years, this gentleman has managed to acquire the reputation of an empty
barrel; making the most noise and not getting any favourable response.
Last
week at a press conference organised by the minority in Parliament, Kyei Mensah
Bonsu attempted to poke fun at the Committee for Joint Action (CJA) but only
ended up exposing the inconsistencies of his own party.
He
asked: “Where is the CJA when prices of petroleum products are going up?”
The
point however is that in percentage terms, the price of petroleum products rose
higher under the Kufuor administration than now.
When
the price of crude oil tumbled on the world market, the Kufuor administration
refused to reduce the price of ex-pump price of fuel in Ghana.
In
short the Kufuor administration did exactly what the Mahama government is doing
today.
What
is even worse is that under the NPP administration those who protested against
frequent fuel price increases were brutalized, abused and ridiculed.
Kyei
Mensah Bonsu’s press conference only exposes his own party’s hypocrisy when it
comes to fuel price increases.
ACHIMOTA ECO-TOURISM
PARK TO COMMENCE
By
Florence A. Anim
The
controversial Eco-Tourism Park at the Achimota forest will commence unabated
following the selection of a strategic partner and the approval of the project
by the cabinet of President John Dramani Mahama.
Leading
scientists and environmental advocates had argued that the Achimota Forest
provided a green belt necessary for providing the right climatic conditions for
many Ghanaians living in the Southern parts of Accra.
Mr
Samuel Afari Dartey, Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission hinted at the
start of the project during an awards ceremony held for 10 workers of the
Commission.
Each
worker was presented with citations, flat screen television sets and
unspecified amount of money to mark the annual Chief Executive’s End of Year
briefing and awards ceremony.
According
to Mr Afari Dartey, 30 workers from different department and divisions of the
Commission had undergone various training in various subject and skills in
order to enhance the human resource capacity of the commission.
During
the period, forty forest guards were given rapid response training to improve
upon their field of operation while the commission also paid about GHc3.5
million as educational grants to staff and workmen’s compensation, totaling
GHc92, 743.
The
commission also released special loans to deserving staffs under its loans
scheme which included staff funeral grants of about GHc74, 000 and a staff
terminal benefit scheme totaling GHc1.4 million.
In
an effort to maintain and enhance plantation development, the commission
maintained and developed 2,500 hectares of plantation stock of 188,000 hectares
whiles more than 5,000 seedlings covering an area of 5 hectares were planted by
media personnel’s and commission staff in Accra, Begoro and other parts of the
country during the forestry celebration
week.
Mr.
Dartey mentioned that, a Public Private Partnership agreement with form Ghana
last year saw the development of 640 hectares of plantation with 25 room lodges
constructed on the mole national park by Eco lodges Ghana Limited which had
improved tourism at the park.
“Je suis Ali Abbas”: The
Forgotten Victims of State Terrorism
Global
Research
Massive
terrorist attacks were hatched back soon after the pretext of cinematographic
‘terrorist’ attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania on September 11,
2001.
The
state broadcaster in the UK pumped out the propaganda for these with all vigour
and its usual guile. The people of Afghanistan were first in line, that
winter bombing and invasion had been planned for some months before smoke
billowed up from the Twin Towers.
Iraqi
humans were to be next. Perle, Wolfowitz, Edelman, Bolton and other
Zionists were sitting in our homes as bold as brass. People like Tom
Mangold frightened the old ladies with stories about the nerve gas attacks on
the Tokyo tube and how Sarin in a bursting light bulb could kill in seconds.
‘Free speech, fraternitė, and democracy’ were in the mix, but only a small part
of broadcasting time was given over to speakers who were against terrorism by
states. They naively thought the Nuremberg protocols and the Charter of
the UN had meaning in international law.
The
psychopathic cabal in No 10 got the cogs turning in the Ministry of Defence,
the Foreign Office and MI6. A ‘dossier’ was produced in September 2002
but it turned out to be a ridiculous cut and paste job of a PhD ‘thesis’ from
LA. To laugh in the faces of those with any power of analysis is
usual. And there were the anthrax attacks in the ‘land of the
free’. Those were surely false flags, and lo, Perle claimed that they
originated from Iraq.
The
war machinery was gathering pace in spite of a majority of British citizens
which tried quite hard to throw a spanner in the works. The smiling,
paramount psychopath and war criminal Blair, was undeterred (image,
right). A second ‘dossier’ was washed many times through the MoD and No
10 computers. Another psychopath and ex-Mirror journalist Alistair
Campbell (image below) was the editor it seems. Saddam, the terrorist,
could hit UK forces in Cyprus after a 45 minute order to launch.
This
planned holocaust – the mass killing of humans by humans, as usual,
gained it own momentum. A Danish freighter, the MV Barbara, had cast off
1st February from Torquay, Devon, with four Britons aboard bound for Palestine.
(1) A symbolic fifty tonnes of food, medical supplies etc were in the
hold. The purpose was to share our common humanity with our sisters and
brothers in Gaza and to shout against the looming war upon the people of
Iraq. As we steamed eastwards in the Mediterranean, the war and supply
ships overtook us on their course for Suez. On one day the officer of the
watch on our ship was interrogated five times by ‘coalition’ terrorists. (2)
On
the 16th of March, brothers met to share blood. The trio who were flown
to the Azores consisted of Bush, the capo di tutti capo, Blair and Aznar.
(3) In fact, the attack had already started; Australian special
force terrorists were already in theatre – as they say.
On
the 22nd March, massed terrorists from 39 nations including Arab ones,
streamed from Kuwait by land and by air, and with cruise missiles, into Iraq.
They were not wielding AK47s but were tooled up with everything. They had
come to liberate the nineteen million humans in Babylon. This would
include liberation of their limbs from their bodies. The altruistic and
ultimate aim was to usher in a golden democracy, as experienced in those 39
nations like Saudi Arabia, the UK and the US, and in the ‘only democracy’ in
the Middle East, the Zionist entity. But the plan laid out by Oded Yinon
was central.
A
splinter of this terror came to Ali Abbas, then 12 years of age and formerly of
the village of Zafaraniya, near Baghdad about 10 days after the shocking and
‘aweing’ started. (4) His arms were incinerated and the front of
his trunk burned to a depth of an inch. His mother who was six months
pregnant, his father, brother and at least 10 other relatives were incinerated
by the coalition of willing terror. It had been reported that, just after
midnight on 30 March 2003 and 10 days into “Operation Iraqi Freedom”, a weapon
or two weapons exploded. The village lay directly alongside the Al
Rasheed camp. This had been an RAF base after 1922 from where, ironically
and probably, the British had terrorised the native people. It also lay
about 15 km from Baghdad airport. (5)
There
had been a big battle for the bridgehead of Baghdad airport, the Special
Republican
Guard
fighting the US 7th Infantry Division.
Three
images of Ali – view from the side, view from his feet and Ali pictured in
Kuwait after amputation of his arms and excision of the deep trunk burn.
If
one looks carefully one sees :-
- That his head and neck, groins and legs are unblemished. It would seem that he was irradiated through a rectangular window aperture.
- That it is appropriate to describe his arms as incinerated. The bones of some fingers are naked and white.
- That the burn over the front of his chest and abdomen tapers off down each side of his trunk. If massive thermal or nuclear radiation had been applied en face the ‘burning’ would be like this. Given the much higher thermal capacity of the trunk cf with the arms, the same energy would have required a longer time to incinerate the trunk.
- He had not moved, otherwise there would have been loss of this symmetry.
Imagine
his pain and the pain of then knowing that his mum and dad had been killed.
What was the agent of this terror?The energy was either thermal or
nuclear. A neutron shell was the most likely source. This weapon,
developed by Samuel T Cohen at Livermore (6 &7) has limited blast and
destroys living tissue as opposed to material like concrete or steel. It
does produce radioactive isotopes. This story, and others, which reports
the removal of ‘topsoil’ (8) from Baghdad airport ( and also from Fallujah in
other articles) lends support to the strong belief that ‘Enhanced Radiation’
was used on the inhabitants of Zafaraniya.
Conclusion
This
act of terrorism on this family went unreported. Ali’s terrible injuries
were presented as an accident of war. This was but a fragment of the
conjoined terrorism of Himalayan magnitude. It has sat easily on the
consciences of the Europeans and other nations from soon after Iraq was turned
from blood and loss, into chaos, blood and loss.
It
is noteworthy that although I have published these images several times, I have
received only one comment – ‘napalm’!
Je
suis Ali Abbas. We are humanity, trampled to death by the European, and
soaked in his hypocrisy.
I
am a Palestinian (9)
Notes
1.
The Voyage of The Dove and The Dolphin
2.
Video 20 mins Eyes Open Gaza
8.
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread597957/pg1
baghdad airport
 |
| GJA President Affail Monney |
Global
Research, January 10, 2015
In
the wake of the terrorist attack by self-proclaimed Al-Qaeda operatives killing
12 people including 8 journalists from the French satirical newspaper Charlie
Hebdo, the Western elite and mainstream media display of compassion and
indignation highlights their complaisance towards Western and Israeli state
terrorism.
Before
exploring the broader issue, it should be noted that while the Paris attacks
bear the hallmarks of a possible false flag, such as the ID card left in the
car by one terrorist, an examination of the false flag hypothesis is excluded
outright, completely ignored by the mainstream media. Moreover, one of the
alleged terrorists, Cherif Kouachi told a French news outlet he had been
financed by former Al Qaeda leader Anwar Al Awlaki, an American cleric who
dined at the Pentagon a few months after 9/11 and «worked as a triple agent and
an FBI asset well before 9/11», according to U.S. Lt.Col. Anthony Shaffer.
(Kurt Nimmo, FBI Admits Pentagon Dinner Guest Al-Awlaki Worked for Them
)
Since the deadly attacks on January 7 2015 the Western media especially the
French Canadian media claim in a very ethnocentric manner that “the planet is
mourning” the death of the French journalists. This tragic event which needs to
be condemned must be examined in an appropriate context. People in countries
where France has been bombing civilians through NATO and U.S.-led military
invasions and where Western-backed terrorists kill innocent civilians (Libya
Syria) are routinely mourning the death of their own people. These deaths
remain unreported. The Western world is not “the planet” and not “everyone is
Charlie” contrary to what the media leads us to believe.2 aug. 2012
Several newsrooms of the French Canadian public network
Radio-Canada took pictures holding signs saying “I am Charlie”.
During
the latest assault on Gaza, 13 Palestinian journalists were killed by the
Israeli army. These journalists were killed to suppress the truth pertaining to
Israeli atrocities. Western journalists holding signs of solidarity were
nowhere to be found.
Before
the James Foley and Steven Sotloff beheadings dozens of journalists were killed
in Syria by terrorists armed, trained and financed by NATO countries and their
antidemocratic allies such as Saudi Arabia. Hundreds of civilians had also been
beheaded long before them, around 200 in one single village, according to a
Human Rights Watch report. (See Julie Lévesque, The History of ISIS Beheadings: Part of the “Training Manual” of US
Sponsored Syria “Pro-Democracy” Terrorists, Global Research,
September 19, 2014)
The
outrage and indignation, however, was reserved for the Western beheaded
journalists. The war in Syria has been deadly for journalists, with 153 killed
according to some estimates, thanks to NATO-sponsored terrorism. No Western
journalist holding signs of compassion for Syrian journalists has been seen.
But
the deadliest country in the world for journalists has been Iraq during the US
occupation. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ):
The
U.S.-led war in Iraq claimed the lives of a record number of journalists and
challenged some commonly held perceptions about the risks of covering conflict.
Far more journalists, for example, were murdered in targeted killings in Iraq
than died in combat-related circumstances…
At
least 150 journalists and 54 media support workers were killed in Iraq from the U.S.-led invasion
in March 2003 to the declared end of the war in December 2011, according to CPJ
research.
Fatalities
in Iraq far surpass any other documented war-time death toll for the press.
CPJ, founded in 1981, recorded the deaths of 58 journalists during the Algerian
civil war from 1993 through 1996, another 54 fatalities in the undeclared civil
conflict in Colombia, which began in 1986; and 36 deaths in the conflict in the
Balkans from 1991 to 1995….
Insurgent
forces of one kind or another were responsible for the deaths of 110
journalists and 47 media workers. The actions of U.S. forces, including
checkpoint shootings and airstrikes, were responsible for the deaths of 16
journalists and six media workers. (Frank Smyth, Iraq war and news media: A look inside the death toll,
Committee to Protect Journalists, March 18 2013)
The
Brussells tribunal numbers for Iraq are much higher:
In
Iraq, at least 404 media professionals have been killed since the US invasion
in 2003, among them 374 Iraqis, according to The BRussells Tribunal statistics.
The impunity in Iraq is far worse than anywhere else in the world. (Dirk
Adriaensens, The Killing of Journalists in Iraq, January 4, 2014)
Among
the dead, two journalists – one Iraqi, Yasser Salihee, and one American, Steven
Vincent – who had been investigating the US-backed death squads in Iraq.
On
June 24, Yasser Salihee, an Iraqi special correspondent for the news agency
Knight Ridder, was killed by a single bullet to the head as he approached a
checkpoint that had been thrown up near his home in western Baghdad by US and
Iraqi troops. It is believed that the shot was fired by an American sniper.
According to eyewitnesses, no warning shots were fired.
The
US military has announced it is conducting an investigation into Salihee’s
killing. Knight Ridder has already declared, however, that “there’s no reason
to think that the shooting had anything to do with his reporting work”. In fact,
his last assignment gives reason to suspect that it was.
Over
the past month, Salihee had been gathering evidence that US-backed Iraqi forces
have been carrying out extra-judicial killings of alleged members and
supporters of the anti-occupation resistance. His investigation followed a
feature in the New York Times magazine in May, detailing how the US military
had modeled the Iraqi interior ministry police commandos, known as the Wolf
Brigade, on the death squads unleashed in the 1980s to crush the left-wing
insurgency in El Salvador. (James Cogan, Journalist killed after investigating US-backed death squads in Iraq,
World Socialist Web Site, July 1, 2005 )
American
journalist Steven Vincent was kidnapped and murdered August 2 in Basra, the
southern Iraqi city where he had been working as a freelance writer and
blogger. Suspicion for this killing, the first of an American reporter in Iraq,
focuses not on Al Qaeda or Sunni-based insurgents, but on the police of the
Shiite-based administration installed in Basra with the support of US and
British occupation forces.(Patrick Martin, US journalist who exposed Shiite death squads murdered in Basra,
August 5, 2005)
For
unknown reasons the Iraqi journalist Dr Yasser Salihee, was not included in the
CPJ list.
The
BRussels Tribunal further reports that numerous deaths go unreported by CPJ and
Reporters without Borders. The explanation reflects the opposite of what is
happening with the biased and emotional coverage of the Charlie Hebdo murders,
namely downplaying the Iraqi journalists deaths.
It
is a well-established fact that since the invasion of 2003 the corporate media
have consistently downplayed mortality figures. The killing of media
professionals is no exception. It’s obvious that the journalist advocacy groups
in the West are reluctant to give the real casualty figures of their colleagues
who lost their lives under the ruthless occupation of the US/UK, an occupation
that is still ongoing. So they narrow their criteria of who should be included
in their lists. This is an objectionable attitude, especially because it
concerns professional colleagues….
Iraq
was the deadliest country for media professionals in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006,
2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2013 (Adriaensens, op. cit.)
Almost
400 dead Iraqi journalists and yet our compassionate media professionals never
held signs of solidarity.
Copyright
© 2015 Global Research
Students raise alarm
over high school fees
 |
| Prof Opoku Agyemang, Education Minister |
The
second cohort of the Untrained Diplomate Teachers in Basic Education, are
crying foul over what they describe as 'exorbitant school fees' being charged
them by the Northern Colleges of Education.
The
students have paid 314 Ghana cedis for 21 days as school fees, and an
additional 100 Ghana cedis as examination fees, bringing the total to 414 Ghana
cedis for the three weeks' stay in school.
Master
Benjamin Tenga, President of the Tumu College of Education UTDBE Student
Representative Council (SRC), revealed this in an exclusive interview with the
Ghana News Agency, during their SRC Week celebration at Tumu.
He
said such exorbitant fees had resulted in some of their colleagues dropping out
of the programme, because they could not afford the fees to enable them stay
and complete the programme.
He
explained that they paid such exorbitant school fees without knowing exactly
what they were paying for, adding that several attempts on their part to know
the breakdown from their various college authorities had proofed futile, as
Principals of the Colleges had failed to listen to their concern.
The
Tumu College of Education UTDBE SRC President said because government refused
to be part of the programme, that was why they were being “taken advantage of,
by the Principles of the Colleges.”
Master
Tenga said, currently their future looked bleak, because some district
directors of education were unwilling to engage the UTDBE products, because of
government's failure to recognize the programme.
He
appealed to government to prevail upon the Ministry of Education to look into
the matter, in order to reduce the fees to a reasonable level for them, and
also give full recognition to the programme, to enhance their chances of being
engaged by the Ghana Education Services (GES).
Meanwhile,
Mr. Mumuni Yahaya, the 2014 National Best Teacher had underscored the
importance of the UTDBE programme, saying it would help address the about
50,000 teacher-deficit at the basic school level.
He
said about 80,000 of the teachers that were already in the system, were
untrained.
The
38 Colleges of Education in the country absorb and churn out a little over
9,000 teachers every year, out of which 20 percent of them normally refuse to
take up their appointments, he disclosed.
Mr.
Yahaya said about 18,000 people apply to further their education every year,
but only 5,000 are normally considered.
He,
therefore, appealed to government to absorb all the UTDBE holders who are not
yet on the payroll, and upgrade all those who are already there, to
professional teachers.
The
2014 National Best Teacher noted that completing school was not the panacea to
addressing the education challenges, saying there were still about 64 percent
of students at the basic school level who could not read.
This,
he noted, called for teachers to wake up and eschew negative tendencies, such
as lateness to school, non-preparation of lesson notes, and other immoral
behaviours, and rather embrace punctuality and discipline, in order to serve as
role models for their students.
Mr
William Safo, Sissala East District Deputy Co-ordinating Director,
commended authorities of the College and
the students, for using the SRC week to embark on a massive clean-up
exercise, and urged them to continue in
that spirit, in order to keep their
surroundings clean at all times.
He
said government would continue to expand facilities in all 38 Colleges of
Education, to befit their new status as Tertiary Institutions, while assisting
them to increase their admission quotas of teacher-trainees.
Kuoro
Richard Babini Kanton the Sixth, Paramount Chief of the Tumu Traditional Area,
appealed to the students to stay in the district and teach after completing
their courses, because the district lacked teachers.
He
assured them that he would liaise with his sub-chiefs to ensure the welfare and
safety of teachers in all the communities.
GNA
Up the fight against the
massive corruption – Nana Akufo-Addo
 |
| Nana Akufo Addo |
Nana
Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party
(NPP), has appealed to the media to up the fight against massive corruption in
the country.
He
said the media should support and collaborate with the party to wage relentless
war on the rot and maladministration of the ruling National Democratic Congress
(NDC).
This
was contained in an address read for Nana Akufo-Addo at a media interaction
organized by the Ashanti Regional NPP parliamentary caucus in Kumasi.
He
blamed the current socio-economic mess Ghanaians find themselves on ineffective
leadership and mismanagement and said all must let their voices be heard.
Nana
Akufo-Addo said things were becoming extremely difficult for the ordinary
people because of inefficient
management of resources and graft.
He
said the media must be active in helping the people to have a better
understanding of the magnitude of the economic challenges, adding that they
needed to be told of the truth about the state of affairs so as to make the
right decisions and choices in 2016.
Nana
Akufo-Addo repeated the party’s belief in media pluralism and freedom of
speech, saying a more vibrant media was crucial for the sustenance of
democracy, good governance, transparency and accountability.
Madam
Elizabeth Agyeman, Chairperson of Ashanti MPs, praised the media for their
support and said they were determined to strengthen their collaboration, to
reach out to the population with their message.
GNA
Over 1,700 candidates to
contest D/A elections in W/R
 |
| Julius Debrah, Local Gov't Minister |
A
total of 1,720 candidates, comprising 1,658 males and 62 females, have filed
their nominations to contest this year’s District Assembly Elections in 544
electoral areas in the Western Region.
Mr
Stephen Opoku-Mensah, Western Regional Director of the Electoral Commission
(EC), told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Sekondi on Tuesday.
He
said the caliber of candidates that had filed their nominations could not be
compared with those that contested the last parliamentary elections in terms of
resources and level of education which often affected the euphoria during the
election.
He,
therefore, entreated well-to-do Ghanaians to sacrifice their time and resources
to contest district level elections to ensure that competent persons were
elected to the assembly to champion the development needs of the people.
“We need to focus more attention on assembly
elections because most of the development takes place at the grassroots level,”
he said.
Mr
Opoku-Mensah said the EC would mount campaign platforms on February 18 for all
the candidates to inform the electorate about their programmes for their
respective electoral areas.
The
breakdown of the district nominations are; Jomoro 112, Ellembelle 131, Nzema
East 83, Ahanta West 105, Takoradi Sub-Metro 49, Effia Sub-Metro 45, Sekondi
Sub-Metro 31, and Essikado Sub-Metro 33.
The
rest are Shama 47, Wassa East 58, Mpohor 41, Tarkwa-Nsuaem 86, Prestea
Huni-Valley 109, Wassa Amenfi East 91, Wassa Amenfi West 65, Wassa Amenfi
Central 66, Aown 82, Suaman 30, Bibiani-Anhwianso Bekwai 97, Sefwi-Wiawso 102,
Sefwi-Ankontombra 61, Juaboso 44, Bodie 29, Bia West 88 and Bia East 35.
Mr
Opoku-Mensah expressed disappointment with low female nomination and entreated
them to muster courage to participate in the process since their views are very
much needed in the governance of the nation.
He
said the EC would also organise balloting for the candidates and publish notice
of polls while capacity-building workshop would be organised to train officials
that would manage the various polling stations.
He
said the district level election is non-partisan and advised the nominees to
refrain from any act that would contravene the law regulating the election.
Meanwhile,
3,994 candidates, comprising 3,687 males and 307 females have filed their
nominations to contest the Unit Committee Elections in the region.
Act
473 that regulates district level elections allowed five candidates to be
elected for each electoral area in the event when more than five candidates
filed their nominations.
GNA
BAWUMIAH ON THE PATH OF
DECEPTION
 |
| Mahamudu Bawumia |
We
have been following Dr. Bawumiah very closely for some time now and he seems to
be carrying one particular message. He disclosed it in London at a fund raising
dinner, and he repeated the same message when speaking to members of the Bimoba
Students Union (BISU), according to Dr. Bawumia, “he is challenging the
government to point out any development project that oil revenue and an
estimated amount of 27 billion dollars borrowed had been used for.”
According
to him, the 2015 budget provides no hope for Ghanaians as real GDP growth is
declining from 15 percent in 2011 to a possible 3.9 percent in 2015. He also
alleges that 94% of amount borrowed is used on recurrent expenditure and his
view was also repeated by Mr. Kyei Mensah Bonsu in a press conference they held
yesterday.
We
believe Dr. Bawumiah knows that Ghana is not an island and what ever happens in
the Global economy affects Ghana, except that he chose to tread on the path of
deception which we believe he is doing.
According
to the economic intelligence unit (EIU) the world economy will grow by 2.9% in
2015, and barring any major geopolitical upheaval, global economic growth in
2015 will hold at a rate of 3.5%. (source: global economic outlook). This
projection shows that the possible projection of the growth of the Ghanaian
economy is higher than that of the global projections.
Let
us not forget the current fall in price of oil on the international market will
definitely have an adverse effect on Ghana, since Ghana is producing oil in
commercial quantities, it implies that the fall in price will lead to a fall in
revenue of the country hence a decline in economic growth.
Dr.
Bawumiah and Mr. Kyei Mensah Bonsu’s assertion that the government is spending
a lot of the loans on current expenditure is an issue of them forgetting their
own actions when they governed this country. The NPP government has gone for
loans both in the local and international market at an interest which needs to
be retired by the NDC government; the failure to repay the loans will have a
negative consequence on our country hence all loans due need to be retired on
scheduled.
Just
before the NPP leaves office they have tied the hands of the NDC government to
implement the single spine pay policy
which have shot up the wage bill, but despite all this the government
still engages in massive capital expenditure which is evident in the massive
infrastructure development going on in the education sector, the health sector,
transportation sector, agricultural sector etc.
Dr.
Bawumiah seems to portray the NPP as the saviors’ of Ghana but their tenure of
office was not all that glorious as they try to make Ghanaians believe because
at the end of their tenure in office, this is how far Ghana has been described.
Ghana was considered more vulnerable than it
has been in the recent past with the country’s current account deficits
deteriorating to worrisome levels. Moreover, inflation is high and rising, and
the government’s fiscal position has deteriorated. (source: Global financial
crises discussion series 2008). The economy was so weak that they have to sell
70% of government shares in voda fone to enable them pay the salaries of workers.
Kafui
Agbleze
Volta
regional communication officer NDC
This “ghost names” problem
 |
| Finance Minister, Seth Tekper |
By Dr. Michael J.K.
Bokor
Folks, the Controller
and Accountant-General's Department is warning workers that if they don't
update information on their employment status by a deadline to be given, their
salaries will be withheld. According to the Department, the directive is in
response to the problem being caused by the huge wage bill that is weighing
heavily on the government's management of public funds.
Once again, a directive
has been given, aimed at the wrong target. Workers don't employ themselves nor
do they impose themselves on institutions in the public sector. They are
employed after going through laid-down procedures, meaning that records on
their employment status should be available and that anybody not in active
service should be known. That is if the proper steps are being taken by the
management of the various institutions.
The payment of
wages/salaries to ghost workers can't be traced to the so-called "ghost
workers" but those managing affairs in the various institutions.
Withholding workers' salaries will spell more doom. Once again, a misplaced
priority in-the-offing to embarrass the government!!
For those of you who
haven't been to MyJoyOnline's Web site to read the news report, here is the
link for you to follow:
http://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/January-4th/no-ssnit-no-pay-accountant-generals-dept-to-public-workers.php#sthash.hJp0wGf0.dpuf).
Let us be honest upfront
to commend the SSNIT Management for attempting to be "proactive" in
this effort to streamline employment status and validate the social security
regime so that those who genuinely contribute to the Trust can be properly
identified and rewarded at the end of their service. I appreciate this
initiative and welcome it, even if I have some qualms about the nitty-gritty
regarding what has been going to date and why I consider this directive as
skewed.
Every country that seeks
the welfare of its workers ensures that the post-office (retirement) situation
for those workers is assured through stringent and beneficial social security
arrangements. Workers in active service have a future to look to in retirement,
which is why social security is imperative.
In sacrificing their
lot, the workers have the hope that part of their earnings being slashed off on
pay-day will be conserved in the Social Security Trust (Fund) for them to reap
the fruit when they retire. It means that they are securing their future with
such contributions, which is why they must be the first to defend whatever they
contribute periodically. That is why the role of the leadership of the Trades
Union Congress (TUC) in securing the future of workers is important; and that
is why one expects the TUC to liaise with the authorities on that score so
proper management is done and workers' contributions saved and not run down the
drainage under any guise. Are the TUC leaders really doing so or simply
politicizing issues and pitting themselves against the party in power that they
don't like (which invariably will detract from their own worth as workers'
leaders)?
 |
| Kofi Asamoah, TUC Secretary General |
I consider the directive
as inadequate for other reasons. The onus of validating employment status
doesn't lie—and shouldn't be pushed onto—workers unless enough paper work is
available to help the workers update information on their status. Those in
charge of the public sector (the various institutions supported by the Consolidated
Fund) should be responsible for this exercise.
In other words, the
workers didn't employ themselves. They went through the hoop to be what they
are and those responsible for recruiting them should be the first to help
identify who is genuinely in service and must be retained or disposed of. What
I am saying is that Management should play the frontline role.
Withholding workers'
wage/salary as threatened won't solve the problem; it will worsen it. Those in
charge of "paperwork" may themselves be perpetrators of this
"ghost names" problem and will quickly outsmart the authorities by
frustrating this updating of information exercise so workers not paid would see
the government as the cause of their woes. The matter could easily assume a
different complexion and be politicized to the government's disadvantage.
On a broader scale,
though, there should be a serious effort to monitor how this
"head-count" thing is done, apparently because the problem of
"ghost names" cannot be said to be limited to the specific workplaces
alone. The Controller and Accountant-General's Department is itself complicit
in the stealing of public funds through payment of salaries and wages to ghost
workers. Over the years, syndicates operating therein have been exposed. What
is in place for the Controller and Accountant-General's Department itself to
rid itself of ghost names and to stamp out those perpetrating the payment of
salaries and wages to g host workers elsewhere in the public sector?
Government's persistent
cry over huge wage bills through such fraudulent payments should be stopped now
and action taken to rigidly enforce measures. For far too long, our various
governments have done politics with this issue of ghost workers without doing
anything concrete to solve the problem. Is it because even within government
circles there are some criminal elements connected to this ghost payment
syndrome? I won't rule it out, knowing very well how unconscionable some
walking the corridors of power can be in their search for financial gains from
the system.
I want the Controller
and Accountant-General's Department to know that it cannot succeed in ridding
the system of crooks cashing in on this ghost worker syndrome without any
blueprint to be fashioned out with the government. From the news report, I see
this Department as trying to go it alone, which will make its move a
non-starter.
The government must be
responsible for anything involving social security. That is why it is important
for a national identification mechanism so every Ghanaian will have a specific
unchangeable social security number for life!!!
The management of SSNIT
itself should be poked in the ribs so it does the right thing instead of
scheming and putting in place strategies to live fat on workers' contributions.
Let someone take a good look at the conditions of service for those people. Why
should they enjoy the fruit of what they haven't sown while the sowers
themselves languish in excruciating poverty? Only in a sick country!!
In the United States,
for example, everything revolves around "social security number". No
one without it can do anything within the public sector, especially where funds
are involved. If you doubt it, find out from many why they do all they can to
weave their way through so they can be recognized on the basis of “social
security number”.
In our part of the
world, we have become so satisfied with our conditions of wretchedness and
mediocrity that we only take a keen delight in complaining about problems and
not doing anything to solve them. Countries don't develop this way.
I want to encourage the
authorities to work together so this social security issue can be tackled to
prove to workers that their contributions will be stored and invested to yield
profits for their good when they retire. Otherwise, all this noise from the
Controller and Accountant-General's Department will remain what it is—an
irritating noise!!
Why are public officials
so lazy? Who is in charge of what? I strongly suspect that some in positions of
trust as far as the disbursement of public funds is concerned are themselves in
collusion with the miscreants manipulating the system and paying ghost workers.
Let the Accountant-General's Department set the pace.
If it cannot, then, let
the government engage the services of qualified technocrats to create a data
base for public sector workers to be managed efficiently as a way of weeding
out ghost names.
Parliament has step in
to enact a law on social security numbers for the entire country and the law
enforcement agencies empowered to enforce such laws. Those who attempt to
manipulate the system must be quickly identified and punished. I am more than
convinced that if a proper database system is created to oversee efforts, no
one can manipulate the system to give us hiccups. The institutions of state
must join hands to solve this problem. How can ghost workers exist in such
institutions if no one in authority there creates room for them?
Finally, there must be
some serious regulatory measures on employment into the public sector. The irresistible
urge to employ people into the public sector (in our time, mostly because of
political connections or other considerations bordering on frivolity—relatives
of girlfriends, “old boyism”, political activism, “errand boyism” must be
curbed. We recall Rawlings’ retrenchment and redeployment exercises and wonder
why the governments after Rawlings won’t take any cue from what forced him to
go that way. There is too much rot in our public sector when it comes to
employment, which explains why there is so much for the government to worry
about in terms of the huge wage bill. Unarguably, we aren’t getting value for
our money as far as the public sector employment situation is concerned. That
is why the government is crying itself hoarse. Infinitesimal productivity, zero
dividends. More woes for Ghana!!
The government must
demonstrate more commitment than it has done so far if it wants to solve the
problems that payment of high wage bills continue to cause. In this age of the
Internet and advanced data storage mechanisms, why should it be difficult to create
a genuine data base of public sector workers so that only those in service will
be paid?
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