100 DAYS OF CHANGE AS SEEN BY VICE PRESIDENT BAWUMIA

H.E Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President of Ghana

On 7th December 2016, Ghanaians overwhelmingly voted for change. And did so for a number of good reasons.

·         Real GDP with oil was down 3.6% in 2016 from 9.1% in 2008

·         Declining growth in agriculture and industry

·         Rising unemployment

·         High fiscal deficits

·         Rising public debts

·         Accumulating arrears on government obligations

·         Weakening of the banking system

·         Dumsor

·         Cancellation of teacher and nursing training allowances

·         Depreciation of the exchange rate

·         Return to cash and carry under NHIS

·         Freeze on the hiring of Extension Officers in agriculture

·         High and pervasive taxes

·         High electricity prices

·         Corruption

·         IMF bailout

Moving the Focus of Economic Policy from Taxation to Production

Ken Ofori Atta

FINANCE

AchievementsFinance

1.    Abolished excise duty on petroleum

2.    Abolished levies imposed on ‘kayayei’ by local authorities

3.    Abolished levies imposed on religious institutions by local authorities

4.    Abolished the 1% Special Import Levy

5.    Abolished the 17.5% VAT/NHIL on domestic airline tickets

6.    Abolished the 17.5% VAT/NHIL on financial services

7.    Abolished the 17.5% VAT/NHIL on selected imported medicines, that are not produced locally

8.    Abolished the 5% VAT/NHIL on Real Estate sales

9.    Initiated the process to abolish duty on the importation of spare parts

10. Reduced National Electrification Scheme Levy from 5% to 3%

11. Reduced Public Lighting Levy from 5% to 2%

12. Reduced special petroleum tax rate from 17.5% to 15%

Restoring Fiscal Discipline and Macrostability

13. Replaced the 17.5 VAT/NHIL rate with a flat rate of 3 % for traders

14. Granted Capital Gains Tax Exemption on stocks traded on the Ghana Stock Exchange or publicly held securities approved by the SEC

15. The 2017 Budget returned Ghana back on to the path of fiscal consolidation with a budget deficit target of 6.5% of GDP

16. Government created fiscal space by capping of earmarked funds to 25% of government revenue and realigning expenditures to government priorities

17. Re-profiling Ghana’s public debt: USD2.25 billion cedi sovereign bonds, up to 15 year tenor, at 19.75%.

18. Massive boost to our gross international reserves from $6 billion $8 billion

19. Reduced Inflation Rate from 15.4% to 12.8%

20. Allocated the cedi equivalent of $1million( GHs 4.1 million) to each constituency for economic development and  poverty reduction

21. Restored confidence in the macro-economy by anchoring fiscal policy on the pillars of credibility, clarity and transparency

22. Strengthening of the Cedi: The confidence in the macro-economy has resulted in an overall appreciation of the cedi for 2017 thus far

23. Established a new policy which requires all new contracts to have a unique number in the GIFMIS system

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING

24. Proposed amendments to the draft companies bill to allow for online registration of companies and charges in order to reduce the time from three weeks to a day

25. Completed first draft of the Coordinated Program of the Economic and Social Development Policies (CPESDP) in record time of three months. The Constitution requires that the documents be ready within the first two years after taking office

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

26. Ghana and Ivory Coast have agreed to collaborate to tackle the volatility of cocoa prices

27. 1200 agricultural extension officers have been hired and trained nationwide to support Planting for Food and Jobs

28. Reduced fertilizer prices by 50%

29. Imported 300,000 metric tonnes of fertilizers; this is higher than any annual import since 2007

CULTURE AND TOURISM

30. Established a Safety Audit Unit at the Ghana Tourism Authority to conduct safety audits across tourist sites

31. Established the Creative Arts Council

32. Launched the Presidential Museum at the Christiansborg Castle

FISHERIES

33. Spread the allocation of premix fuel to more OMCs. Previously only 2 OMCs were allowed to sell premix.  As part of government’s effort to ensure transparency and stamp out corruption, we have increased the number to 9

34. Halted the issuance of fishing licenses to stop overfishing

35. Trained Watch dog committees along the coast to fight the menace of light fishing

LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES

36. Stepped up national awareness in collaboration with the media and civil society on the negative impacts of illegal mining

37. Halted the issuance of special permits for timber logging

38. Banned Rosewood exports

39. Issued an Expression of Interest for the procurement and subsequent implementation of a Digital Property Addressing System for Ghana

40. Suspended the issuance of small-scale mining licenses to restructure the sector

41. Developed a 5-Year Multilateral Mining Integrated Project to improve the management of small scale mining to protect the environment and empower Ghanaians to mine in a regulated and sustainable manner

-Identified prospective areas for small scale mining

-Surveillance over water bodies using drones

-Establish a central processing plant for gold processing

-Introduce medium scale licenses where Ghanaians must own at least 51%

-Small scale mining banned in or near water bodies

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

42. Ghs 456 million allocated for One District One Factory

43. Stimulus package for industry: Government has allocated Ghs 220 million to support distressed but viable companies around the country

44. Government intervened to ensure the re-opening of Rider Steel Company which was closed since October 2016 over a dispute over electricity tariffs, saving about 400 jobs

AVIATION

45. Air France recommenced operations in Ghana after decades of absence. Seven airlines: Alitalia, Lufthansa, City Link, Fly540, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Air Namibia - left Ghana during the previous administration

COMMUNICATIONS

Ursula Owusu, Minister of Communications

46. The process of issuing National Identification cards has begun and a technical committee report has been submitted

47. Government has awarded a contract for the capacity building of 1,400 teachers/education leaders in ICT to be undertaken by Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT

48. Awarded contract for Information Management System for Ministry of Justice and Attorney General

49. Awarded contract for Case Management System for Judicial Service of Ghana. Software being installed now

50. Contract awarded for E-Procurement system for use by the Public Procurement Authority

ENERGY

51. Capped electricity power purchases at 10 cents per KwH

52. Established policy to separate VRA’s thermal operations from hydro

53. Established a policy to move all major government buildings, schools, hospitals, military, and police to solar energy

54. $300 million saved by reviewing and prioritizing Power Purchase Agreements

55. Secured financing for two major rural electrification projects (Hunan and China Water).

56. This project when implemented would extend electricity to over 800 communities

57. Transparent allocation of petroleum blocks: A team of experts has been constituted to work with the Petroleum Commission to develop regulations for the transparent allocation of petroleum blocks as provided by Act 919

58. Uninterrupted production of oil and gas in the Jubilee Field due to a temporary mooring solution. A long term permanent solution is being discussed. This solution has saved Government USD 5million per month

59. New policy on sulfur content introduced. Effective1st July, the sulfur content in our fuel will be reduced from the current 3,000pmm to 50pmm.  This will reduce respiratory diseases triggered by fuel toxins with high sulfur content.  Same level as western world and East African countries.

RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT

60. For new PPAs, Government is moving from thermal to renewable energy

61. Renewed focus on Railway: There was no allocation to the sector in the 2016 budget. However in 2017, Ghs518 million has been allocated to the sector

62. Ghana Railway Company is now generating enough revenue to pay their salaries

SPECIAL INITIATIVES

63. Funds allocated allocated to undertake the One-Village-One-Dam project

64. Completed draft bills for the establishment of the three Development Authorities

65. Desilting of major drains in Accra has started. Work had stalled due to arrears owed to contractors

EDUCATION

Matthew Opoku Prempeh Education Minister

66. Free SHS : Redefined Basic Education to include SHS and made allocation of Ghs 400 million in the budget to start free SHS for first year students in September 2017

67. Completed draft bill for the National Research Fund

68. Increased National Service Allowance effective April from Ghs 350 to Ghs 559

69. Allocated Ghs 43.9 million for the establishment of a National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Plan

70. Outstanding allowances for teachers in the last three years have been captured in the budget. Each of the arrears will be validated and then paid

71. Restored Teacher training allowance

GENDER AND SOCIAL PROTECTION

72. Established the first government adult shelter to support victims of human trafficking. There is one for victims of domestic abuse but this is the first ever shelter dedicated to victims of human trafficking

73. Established a revolving Ghs 500,000 human trafficking fund

74. Made budgetary allocation to expand LEAP to cover more beneficiaries, from 213,000 to 350,000 households who had been captured but not catered for

75. Increased the portion of District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) allocated to persons with disability from 2.0% to 3.0%

HEALTH

76. Approval has been given to employ 11,000 health trainees who graduated between 2012 and 2016

77. Dissolution of the Health Training Institute Secretariat

78. Reduced cost of nursing training admission forms from Ghs 160 to Ghs 100. This will cover all processes leading to admission

79. Restored nursing training allowance

80. Secured financial clearance to employ 181 Doctors who completed their housemanship 7 months ago

81. Terms of reference completed to enable selection of auditors on competitive basis to undertake forensic audit of the January 2016 Central Medical Stores fire outbreak

YOUTH AND SPORTS

82. Established a monthly national fitness and health walk day

83. Increased budgetary allocation to Youth Employment Agency to create 80,000 additional jobs

GOVERNMENT MACHINERY

84. Completed appointment of Ministers within 6 weeks of coming into office

85. All  ministers have declared their assets

86. Established a functional Delivery Unit at the Presidency

87. Established a functional Economic Management Team

88. Established a policy not to buy new cars for government machinery

89. Established a value for money unit within the Public Procurement Authority. This unit will review all contracts to ensure that value for money information is provided  on time.

90. Established policy not to sell official cars to government officials

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Aliama Mahama, Local Government Minister

91. Allocated Ghs150 million from the DACF to clear arrears owed to the school feeding programme

92. Direct transfer of funds to YEA, NADMO, and others: Traditionally, districts receive their funding and then allocate money to beneficiary agencies. Government has directed the Ministry of Finance to send allocations directly to the respective agencies

93. Increased the proportion of DACF that goes directly to assemblies from 33% to 50% as a result of fewer deductions from the center

ZONGO AND INNER CITY DEVELOPMENT

94. Completed the draft bill for the historic Zongo Development Fund and made an allocation of Ghs 219 million for the fund

95. Established Ministry of Zongo and Inner City Development: For the first time in the history of Ghana, Government has appointed a minister to focus on the needs and infrastructural demands of the Zongos around the country

CHIEFTAINCY AND RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS

96. Sword cut for the construction of a National Cathedral. Established a board of trustees to oversee the construction.

ATTORNEY GENERAL AND JUSTICE

97. Policy approval given to establish the Office of the Special Prosecutor. Work on draft bill is in progress.

98. State prosecutors had been on strike since November of 2016 which crippled the justice system. The AG office successfully negotiated with the state attorneys who have since resumed work

99. Successfully freed up AG's account that the courts had garnisheed

DEFENCE

100.             All allowances due soldiers at the various missions have been fully paid. $39 million in arrears have also been paid

101. Peacekeeping allowance increased and paid from $31 to $35

102. Successfully participated in ECOMIG Operations (GAMBIA): We moved away from "dzi wo fie asem" and actively participated in the restoration of democracy in Gambia while helping to ensure peace and stability in that country

103.Established the Office of Diaspora Affairs within the Office of the President

FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND REGIONAL INTEGRATION

104. Worked with international bodies to secure election of three Ghanaian nationals to high profile positions within the African Union System

-Hon. Kwesi Quartey (Deputy Chairperson of the African Union)

-Ms. Kathleen Quartey-Ayensu (Member of the AU Commission on International Law), Mr. Daniel Batidam (AU Anti-Corruption Board)

THE MINORITY’s SPEAKS OUT ON THE 15 YEAR BOND

Haruna Iddrisu, Minority leader

THE GREAT DEBT DECEPTION

To begin with, it has become apparent that the current government used deception and inflated promises to get to office. The most patent, which also compromises the professional integrity of the Vice President Dr Bawunia, in particular, is the NPP’s position on our country's public debt. We will be succinct on this matter because it is as shameful as it is obvious.

 “We will not borrow”: The NPP throughout the 2016 campaign claimed that it will not borrow when it comes to power. We noted that this claim was not possible because even when NPP in 2001 became the biggest beneficiary of debt forgiveness in our history by taking the country to HIPC, it went on a borrowing spree and before the NPP left office in January 2009, the debt-to-GDP ratio had gone up to nearly 40 percent as a result of excessive borrowing by the NPP. So we in the NDC new that the claim by the NPP that it will not borrow was a great deception which most people have failed to realise.

NPP has added another record in borrowing: In less than 100 days of being in office, the NPP has exceeded this notorious feat and deception again. NPP now holds another new record in our history as the Party that has borrowed almost over three billion United States Dollars (US$3.0 billion) within its 100 days in office. This is equivalent to about Ghs 13.5 billion in 100 days (average Ghs 135 million a day) or in other words, every Ghanaians owes additional just in 100 days of NPP Ghs 500 (Ghs 13,500,000,000÷27,000,000=Ghs 500) 2 Indeed, now we know that the Party is “in a great hurry” for the wrong deceptive reasons: even Usain Bolt (with 100 meters global sprint record) and Lewis Hamilton (Formula One race champion) will be envious of such speed and record!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, You will recall that in 2015, the NPP criticised the NDC heavily for borrowing US $1 billion Eurobond at a coupon rate of 10.75 percent for 15 years (with World Bank Guarantee) to replace a portion of the 2007 (NPP) Sovereign Bond and some Domestic Bonds.

The key points about the recent US$2.25billion bond issued by the NPP government;

1. The bond was virtually participated by only two investors. The whole Bond transaction was shrouded in secrecy to the extent that Ghanaian investors were denied the opportunity to participate in the deal. In essence, the entire deal lack transparency.

2. One single investor by name Franklyn Templeton, which is a known non-resident investor that patronized both Domestic and Sovereign Bonds in the past, purchased almost 95% of the latest Government Domestic Bond. The size of this virtual “private placement” makes it akin to a sovereign bond or foreign loan. Some have argued that this bond purchase should not be compared with our Sovereign Bond rates. We should be reminded that our Domestic Bonds have a “Hybrid” (cedi/forex) feature and, therefore, when non-resident investors bring in foreign currency at the time of purchase, they hold the equivalent cedi bond in the same implicit foreign currency. Therefore, when eventually they sell, they expect to repatriate the proceeds in US Dollars or other convertible currency.

3. Hence, above 90 percent Bond holding is technically a dollar denominated bond and not a cedi bond. The Ministry of Finance and Bank of Ghana are alert to the risk of default in non-resident investor holdings and plan to support the commercial banks or agents with enough foreign exchange to honour any sales and repatriation obligations at maturity or on the secondary market. In essence, the opposite sales activity for a non-resident bond holding is the opposite of a purchase (forex inflows) and implies depletion of our foreign exchange reserves (outflows).

4. This is why the domestic bond issue must be efficient. On the contrary, the virtual “private placement” approach that was used in this Templeton case was not competitive: it was opened in the morning and closed in the evening of the same day, obviously cooked for one single investor. Hence our insistence that there was no transparency.

5. In the past “book-building” approach for issuance of bonds, initiated by the NDC government, the process was opened for a minimum of three days to ensure optimal participation. In the case of this historic US$ 2.25 billion bond issue, the process was limited to one day, denying other market players the opportunity to participate in the process.

We in NDC can promise the good people of Ghana that, we will continue to keep track of the country’s debt developments and hold the NPP accountable for its fake promises and deception that brought it to power.

MINISTRY OF FINANCE STATEMENT: UNMASKING THE SECRET OF THE SAID BOND ISSUE.

Ken Ofori Atta

On Monday, April 3, 2017, the Public Relations Unit of the Ministry of Finance issued a statement announcing that the Ministry under the aegis of Hon. Ken Ofori Atta has “successfully issued 15 and 7 year bonds with the same coupon rate of 19.75%, raising a total amount of USD1.13 billion. In addition, the Ministry of Finance raised the cedi equivalent USD1.12 billion in 5 and 10 year bonds via a tap arrangement.”

The Finance Ministry did not however name any companies or individuals that participated in the sale, except to say that “the issuance attracted a number of global portfolio investors including a very substantial investment in the 15-year bond by a very well respected global financial investor” Reuters subsequently reported that “a senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Franklin Templeton had participated in the sale.” According to the report “Franklin Templeton's high-profile bond fund manager, Dr Michael Hasenstab has taken a "substantial" position in Ghana's cedidenominated government bonds” Franklin Templeton Investment Limited is an American global investment management organization founded in 1947. In an unaudited semi-annual report of Franklyn Templeton Investment limited dated 31st December, 2016; Honourable Trevor G. Trefgarne was named as one of the five board of Directors of the firm. He was also described as the chairman of Enterprise Group Limited in the report.

Enterprise Group has 10 Board of Directors. Principal among them are Mr Keli Gadzekpo, Group Chief Executive of Enterprise Group; Dr Angela Ofori Atta, wife of Finance Minister Hon. Ken Ofori Atta who doubles as Director of Enterprise Insurance, a subsidiary of Enterprise Group. Enterprise Group also has Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Hon. Gloria Akuffo and Dr Angela Ofori Atta as nonexecutive members of the firm. Hon Gloria Akuffo is/was Director of Enterprise Life, a subsidiary of Enterprise Group (it is not clear whether she has resigned or not). It is now emerging that a firm that Hon Trevor 5 G. Trefgarne works as a member of Board of Directors took substantial position in the April 3, 2017 bond issued by the Finance Minister.

THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST

As noted, information that is now available in the public domain appears to indicate that Hon. Trevor G. Trefgarne is not just Board Chairman of Enterprise insurance Limited, a company owned partially by the current Finance Minister’s company, Data Bank Limited. Hon. Trevor G. Trefgarne is also a Director of Franklyn Templeton which is the main participant in the recent Bond issuance.

Putting these apparent facts together, we have reason to believe that there is a relational interest between our Finance Minister and Trevor G. Trefgarne which creates a potential lack of transparency and conflict of interest. As we all know, the Constitution provides unequivocally that public officers shall not put themselves in a situation in which their private interest conflicts with their public obligations. There is no record available to us to the effect that the Finance Minister made known publicly this relational conflict of interest. In other words, he failed and/or neglected to declare his relationship with Trevor G. Trefgarne and the extent to which that relationship might have potentially affected the decision to sell majority of the bonds to Frankly Templeton.

Furthermore, there is no disclosure as to the extent to which the determination of the price of the bonds could also have been affected by this relationship between the Finance Minister and Franklyn Templeton. Now that a good link has been established between the finance minister and his friend Trevor, it is clear that the finance minister issued this bond in a way that will favour his friend, family and business partners. This situation is best described as cronyism and nepotism, cooked for his friend and associates, and not transparent.

6 Under these circumstances, we wish to call for a full-scale parliamentary inquiry into whether, and the extent to which, this situation of lack of transparency and conflict of interest has adversely affected the welfare of the people of Ghana. Failing such Parliamentary inquiry we the minority shall have no option but to resort to using the conflict of interest jurisdiction of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ). Furthermore, we also intend to exercise the option of filing a report/petition with the Financial Services Authority of the U.S.A to investigate Franklyn Templeton.

We also wish to point out that this Bond issue is clearly an international economic/business transaction within the meaning of article 181 (5) of the Constitution. Therefore, we expected that the bond issuance would have been brought to parliament for approval. This is because although the transaction appears as to be a domestic sale of bonds, it is in truth a “private placement” and an international economic transaction given the fact that Franklyn Templeton is a United States registered company and, therefore, qualifies as a foreign entity under article 181 (5) of the constitution. We therefore call on the Finance Minister to provide parliament with the full complement of documentation on this transaction for scrutiny and ratification.

Addison committee: another conflict of interest situation

Ameri Power Plants

The Minister of information, Honourable Mustapha Hamid has come to confirm to the public that the Addison committee that was tasked to investigate AMERI power purchase agreement travelled to Dubai under the sponsorship of AMERI. The information available to the Public now is that some members of the committee travelled to Dubai on a first class ticket via the Emirates Airline 787. They were hosted at a first class hotel, their per diem were paid by AMERI and their shopping fully paid. What comes to us as a shock is that a three day trip was extended to a week for reasons known to members of the committee. Strangely, the minister’s brother who is a Member of Parliament for Ayawaso West Wagon, who is not a member of the committee, joined the trip on the second day of their 7 visit, also under the sponsorship of AMERI. A situation that is embarrassing, unethical and shameful.

It is undoubtedly true that the Addison committee is a ministerial committee and, therefore, a public body. The committee was under constitutional obligation not to place itself in a situation of conflict of interest. However, as stated above, the committee brazingly breached this constitutional obligation when it accepted the above-mentioned “freebies” from a company it was tasked to investigate. Given the public embarrassment of allowing a private entity to bear the cost of the work of the committee or public body, this constitutional breach must be properly investigated and the guilty members of the committee should be appropriately sanctioned.

Social integration - a challenge to psychiatric patients

By Theresah Esson 

 “I cannot go home, I do not have any place to lay my head. Doctor, I’m homeless; please help me; please consider me,” 57-year-old Evelyn Ashiabor, a recovered patient, pleaded sorrowfully for mercy with a medical officer at the Pantang Psychiatric Hospital (PPH) in Accra.

Ever since she was brought to that health facility in 2004 by some family members after suffering Psychosis, a mental disorder, she has been left to her fate, her dreams and aspirations now shattered.

The room that provided shelter for her and her only daughter before her illness has been rented out, forcing her daughter with no option but to perch with friends.

It was a real struggle through thick and thin for her daughter to complete her Polytechnic education, but remains jobless and cannot take care of herself and mother. 

Popular hiplife artiste, Kwaw Kese, spent time with some patients at the PPH on Valentine’s Day, and had interactions with Ms Ashiabor who is healed. She, however, has no option but to remain in the hospital.

Ms Ashiabor is just one of such patients with similar tragic experiences in life, after they have recovered from mental ilnesses at the psychiatric hospital.

Challenge

The Director of the PPH, Dr Frank Baning, indicated that there were many patients who had recovered from mental conditions but were still under the care of the hospital because they were homeless.

“This issue has become a worry to the hospital because some people are homeless, others cannot go back to their families because they have been rejected by their own people,” he said.

Otiko Djaba, Minister of Gender and Social Protection

The stigmatisation of former mental health patients even after they are well, coupled with the rejection by familes, Dr Baning said, was a tall mountain to climb as far as socially conditioning such patients to live normal lives was concerned.

The issue of cost of caring for the cured but abandoned patients is another major hurdle for the hospital. The director said plans were far advanced, however, to launch an initiative, “Setting the Captive Free,” to solicit funds to support such people.

Psychosis

Psychosis is a disorder of thinking and perception, where typically, people do not ascribe the symptoms to a mental disorder. 

Most new cases, according to physicians, arise in men under 30 and women under 35, but a second peak occurs in people over 60 years.

People with a first or recurrent psychotic episode tend to present themselves late for medical attention, and many do not present at all. Presentation is often initiated by others, not by patients themselves.

Some people who become depressed (one in five persons over a lifetime) also develop hallucinations and delusions related to and “congruent with” their low mood. 

According to statistics by the World Health Organisation (WHO), bipolar affective disorder has a lifetime prevalence of 1.3 -- 1.6 per cent, and it is characterised by episodes of psychosis during both high (“manic”) and low (depressive) relapses.

Also, the misuse of substances, notably cannabis, raises the prevalence of psychotic symptoms and further substance misuse partly explains the 10 times higher prevalence of psychosis in prison populations.

Psychosis occurs frequently in all forms of dementia, including Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease affects the nerve cells in the brain that produce dopamine. 

Parkinson's disease symptoms include muscle rigidity, tremors, and changes in speech and gait. Treatments can help relieve symptoms, but there is no cure.

Other causes of organic psychoses are neurological disorders such as epilepsy, head injury, haemorrhage, infarction, infection and tumors. 

Taken together, therefore, acute psychosis is one of the most common psychiatric emergencies. 

The SDGs

Some questions remained unanswered. What becomes of the lives of patients who recover from psychiatric problems? How are rehabilitating centres preparing the patients to face the real challenges in the world after they are recovered from mental disorders?

Meanwhile, Goal Three of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasises the need to ensure healthy lives and promotes the well-being for all at all ages. Little attention has been given to such issues.

Similar encounters could also be said of the Goal Five and Eight of the SDGs. The Goal Five addresses the achievement of gender equality and empowerment of women and girls in the society while the Goal Eight seeks to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all.

Way forward

The solution to the social canker can best be approached through a multi-faceted effort where the family, as well as the society will play a crucial role of gradually fitting the recovered patients back into the society.

The Ministry of Health ought to take pragmatic steps to ensure that Parliament approves the legislative Instrument (LI) on the Mental Health Act, 2012 (Act 846), to empower the Mental Health Authority (MHA) to raise funds to support mental health care.

Robot workers replace ‘blue collar’ workers, not managers – study

Blue collar workers are most at risk from robots according to a new study which claimed six jobs are lost for every one robot introduced per 1,000 employees. Managerial roles saw little or no change.

The study published this month by economists Daron Acemoglu and Pascual Restrepo from the National Bureau of Economic Research aims to put facts and figures in place of the myths surrounding the robot workforce, examining if the defense that it creates as many jobs as it destroys was credible.

“We estimate large and robust negative effects of robots on employment and wages across commuting zones,” the study, which examined US employment between 1990 and 2007, said. In such commuting zones between three and 5.6 jobs were lost for every one robot introduced per 1,000 employees, with wages seeing a decline of between 0.25 and 0.5 percent.

Allowing for variables, including the offshoring of roles and the impact of imports, the study used the International Organization for Standardization’s definition of an “industrial robot” for the study. This required the robot to be automatically controlled and programmable for multi-purpose tasks, as well as being able to move in three or more axes.

Under the definition robots like those used on a car assembly line were included, but a computer or a simple one-axis machine, such as a conveyor belt, were not.

“We see negative effects of robots on essentially all occupations, with the exception of managers for which we estimate a zero effect in our baseline specification,” the study found.

“Predictably, the major categories experiencing substantial declines are routine manual occupations, blue-collar workers, operators and assembly workers, and machinists and transport workers.”

The study warned the effect so far has been limited on jobs, which they claim have seen a decrease of between 360,000 and 670,000 during the period as a result of the introduction of robots. They warned in the next two decades the effects could be “much more sizeable” with the predicted expansion of a robot workforce.

The findings come in stark contrast to US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s words last week that AI replacing human jobs was not on his “radar screen.” Speaking to Axios he claimed the issue was “50-100 more years away.”

"I'm not worried at all. In fact, I’m optimistic," Mnuchin said.

In Britain, robo-bricklayers are due to arrive on building sites over the coming months. The robots require a human to set them up before they can pick up bricks, apply mortar and lay them. The news came after PricewaterhouseCoopers claimed up to 10 million jobs are at risk in the UK over the next 15 years as a result of robots.

Did Former National Security Adviser Rice Really Cross the 

Red Line?

© AP Photo/ Charles

Susan Rice

By Ekaterina Blinova

Former national security adviser Susan Rice has come under heavy criticism for reportedly seeking to "unmask" the identities of Donald Trump’s transition officials incidentally swept up by the intelligence community. Wall Street analyst Charles Ortel commented on the looming scandal in his interview with Sputnik.

Former Obama administration national security adviser Susan Rice has found herself in an awkward position after Eli Lake of Bloomberg disclosed that she had made multiple requests to "unmask" US persons in intelligence reports related to Trump transition activities.

Only two weeks ago Rice insisted in a PBS interview that she didn't know whether Trump transition officials could have been "swept up in surveillance of foreigners" in the last few months of the Obama administration.

On March 22, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes confirmed that the intelligence community "incidentally collected information about US citizens involved in the Trump transition."

Speaking Tuesday to MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell, Rice admitted that "it wasn't uncommon" to make such requests. Still, according to Rice, it was "absolutely not for any political purposes."

"There were occasions when I would receive a report in which a US person was referred to, name not provided, just a US person, and sometimes in that context in order to understand the importance of that report, and assess its significance, it was necessary to find out or request the information as to who that US official was," the former national security adviser said.

As Howard Kurtz of Fox News remarked on the matter, Rice has "now gone from professed ignorance to nothing improper."

However, Rice's actions raise a lot of questions, observers argue.

New York Post columnist Michael Goodwin calls attention to the fact that although Rice denied either leaking details about "unmasked" Trump transition officials to the media or using this information for political purposes, facts prove otherwise.

Goodwin noted that surveillance information involving at least three people related to Trump's team — Gen. Michael Flynn, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Jared Kushner — has been recently leaked to the media and used to rock Trump's boat.

Commenting on the issue, American pundit Tucker Carlson tweeted Tuesday: "Let's drop the euphemisms. Monitoring the conversations of your political opponents, isn't 'incidental collection.' It's spying."

​Sputnik asked Charles Ortel, a Wall Street analyst who exposed financial fraud at General Electric ahead of the 2008 financial crisis, to comment on the issue.

Did Susan Rice really cross the red line?

"The first issue is what was the nature of the inquiry that led to identifying US persons as having been in contact with foreign nationals…. Specifically by what authority were branches of our government surveilling foreign nationals, and what national security interests were at stake? We have heard one story, that Russia and Russian interests were suspected of interfering in the 2016 election. And we have recently heard a conflicting story that the national security inquiry that led to identifying US persons had nothing to do with Russia. What is the truth?" Ortel asked referring to Nunes' March 22 press conference.

Indeed, during the conference Nunes highlighted that "none of this surveillance [incidentally collected on Trump's associates] was related to Russia or the investigation of Russian activities or of the Trump team."

"If there was a valid National Security investigation (not a politically inspired witch hunt), then Rice had every right to know the names of US persons who may have been caught up in surveillance. However, she also had legal duties to protect the identities of US persons," Ortel told Sputnik.

The Wall Street analyst remarked that the Obama administration "played loose with laws from the beginning."

"Walking illegal guns into Mexico ('Fast and Furious'), then lying about dread consequences. Investigating Fox News anchor James Rosen and his family under false pretenses, then lying about it. Sticking the IRS on conservative charities but letting the Clinton charity frauds escalate, and lying about it. Entering Libya and other unstable nations to foment regime change, and lying about it. I could go on," he said.

According to Ortel, the prospect of Hillary Clinton losing in the presidential race "likely terrified" Team Obama.

"First, elements did all they could to rob maverick Bernie of the nomination, then they did all they could to tip the general to Hillary," the Wall Street analyst noted.

"In these efforts, Team Obama was aided by like-minded interests in other nations allied with globalist leaders including the UK, Germany, and France. Doubtless, security services of these and other nations worked towards the ends of keeping the EU together, stopping Trump, and demonizing Russia," Ortel suggested.

Interestingly enough, a similar thought was voiced by Willy Wimmer, former vice president of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and ex-state secretary of the German Defense Ministry, back in November 2016.

"We are dealing with a sort of international 'collective policy' pursued by Democrats together with the 'war establishment' of Democrats and Republicans in Washington," Wimmer told Sputnik Germany following Trump's victory.

Ortel assumed that new evidence of Obama-era transgressions may start emerging soon.

"After spending months claiming that Russian interests interfered with the 2016 election, what if the truth is that mainstream media, and the Obama/Clinton/Bush 'uniparty' is the true culprit?" the Wall Street analyst asked rhetorically.

"If this is true, then Watergate will seem a mere sideshow by comparison," Ortel added.

If the Trump team manages to prove that the information on the presidents associates was obtained and disseminated illegally, will it deal a blow to FBI Director James Comey's inquiry into non-existent "collusion" between Trump's team and Russia?

"I am told that the FBI and other security agencies (as well as portions of the military) have been infected with political partisans. In essence, there are at least three camps: objective law and order types who ignore politics, Obama/Clinton operatives, and Bush operatives," Ortel responded.

"For many reasons, I believe Comey is on shaky ground virtually with all camps and likely with the Trump Administration. For the sake of public integrity, and so that we do examine the record fairly, he and his deputy McCabe should both resign, and replacements should get appointed who are drawn, in proven ways, from the apolitical, law and order camp," the Wall Street analyst said.

"Then, ideally using existing wheels of Justice, Congress, and the global (not American or western alone) media, let's find out what really happened, including whether elected US officials attempted to interfere in the 2016 US election," he highlighted.

Meanwhile, citing two officials familiar with the matter, the Wall Street

Journal reported Tuesday that the House Intelligence Committee wants Susan Rice to testify in an inquiry of alleged Russian election interference, "as the investigation widens to include allegations that Obama officials improperly used intelligence information involving President Donald Trump or his associates."

For its part, the Senate Intelligence Committee signaled on the same day that it is not ruling out interviewing Rice over reports that she sought to have the identities of Trump's transition team unmasked, The Washington Post wrote.

"If the reports are right, then she will be of interest to us," Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) said.

Business Development and Planning