KEN GOES HOME

Ken Koku Klevor

Ken Koku Klevor, Circulation Manager of “The Insight” will be buried at his home town, Anyako in the Volta Region on Friday, January 27, 2017.

According to family sources, he will be laid in state at the Christ the Kings Catholic Church in Accra on the same day from 7:30am to 9:00am.

Burial service will be conducted in the same church at 9:00am from where the body will be taken to Anyako.

The funeral will be held on the grounds of the church till 6:00pm on the same day.

The head of the Klevor and allied families has announced that the thanksgiving service will be held at the same church on Sunday, January 29, 2017 between 10:30am and 12:30pm.

All well-wishers are respectfully invited.

Editorial

REALLY SMOOTH?

Ghana has once more witnessed a smooth transition of power from one administration to another amidst praises from all over the world.

The general disposition of President John Dramani Mahama which enabled him hand over without question is highly commendable.

It is striking that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is also doing all he can to assure the people of Ghana including his political opponents that he will be fair and just to all.

However beyond the niceties lie the real truth about the Ghanaian condition of inequality, crippling poverty and domination from the colonial metropolis.

It is our hope that the new administration will take steps to address the concrete problems facing the people of Ghana.

Increases in access to such social services as education, health and decent housing ought to be an imperative.

NABDAM: Outcry for Dams As Neglected Oldies Get Rare Party

By Kent Mensah

An outcry for irrigation dams from extremely frail old people, said to be wallowing in chronic hunger and protracted neglect in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region, has climaxed a rare party held in their honour by some natives of the area.

Among the vulnerable beneficiaries are widows, persons with disabilities and cured lepers.

The district is among the extremely deprived areas of the region with about 33, 826 people per the 2010 Population and Housing Census. Elderly people, as statistics also shows, constitute 6.8% of that figure. A number of the aged, particularly those with physical disabilities, suffer a great deal of neglect and hunger almost throughout the year.

An old man being led to the party ground

Although they engage in subsistence farming, the outcomes mostly are nothing but thankless harvests as they often are too little to carry them through the regular 8 months of dry season to the next 4 months of farming. This has been linked to extreme shortfall of irrigation dams- said to be as rare in the area as fertilisers are difficult to come by for several households or local farmworkers.

Community development organisations as well as public officers have said that many old people in the district hardly “see” a one-cedi note or a red coin throughout an entire month. The chronic hunger often reaches a level where families will have no choice but to turn to the forests to survive on wild fruits, risking unscheduled encounters with wild animals.

“Our situation here is very bad, especially for the vulnerable people in society. We are a farming community. We have only one raining season. After the raining season, our people find it difficult to feed, especially the vulnerable. What they resort to as feed would be to go to the forests to look for wild fruits,” the Assemblyman for Kongo East, Patrick Dinaa, told Starr News.

He added: “It is difficult for many of them to even see one cedi within a month. Some go gathering stones to crack for those doing construction. But you ask, for someone who cannot walk well, how many months is he going to use to gather stones for one trip?”

Hunger peaks when our ground dries- old folks

The hunger endured throughout 2016 amongst the helpless group ended somewhat on a happy note when a young man from the area, Paul Wooma, sourced support from some benevolent individuals and organisations to throw a party for about 700 vulnerable elderly people in the district.

More guests than what was expected thronged Yakote, venue for the all-day-long party towards which two bulls, bags of rice and drinks were donated.  For the feeble-looking beneficiaries, who were bussed on free vehicles provided by the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) from their various communities and widely led by either old walking sticks or needy great grandchildren to the party ground, it was an occasion capped with a mixture of excitement for the temporary relief and a painful reminder of what Nabdams probably need more than anything else- dams!

“Dams for us and for our young men to do dry-season farming, we don’t have. Even our animals compete over small streams that normally get dry for water. I’m from Daborin at Kongo. Hunger is so unbearable when the rainy period is over,” Paul Nangodnab, a native in his early 80s wearing a Barcelona FC winter cap, told Starr News.

Mabil Zuri, in her 60s and full of praise for Mr. Wooma for the relief, pointed at another dilemma tied to food insecurity in the district. “Our challenge is not just the lack of dams. Generally, we also do not have good roads for the transportation of our produce to the markets to sell. But I must add that those of advanced years like me cannot do thorough farming. We rely on random handouts in this area to survive,” she lamented in Nabt, the district’s dialect.

A dream for sustainable food aid

The deprived rural old folks certainly will continue to stagger in starvation until rare occasions like the Yakote party come their way another time.

And this could take a very long time to happen, prompting questions as to how sustainable support can reach that defenceless old bracket. Interacting with Starr News, Mr. Wooma, a popular Climate Change advocate who calls his relief initiative “Operation Blessing”, disclosed plans to put in place a more reliable measure of support for as many as were too weak to fend for themselves in the district.

 “I appeal to all that I will be writing letters again to them next year. They should readily support me to extend help to these people. This may be temporal. But I am ringing bells- humanitarian bells- that there is a need to help the vulnerable in society.

“I told the vulnerable people that my aim is to finally have farms dedicated to just farming food for them, storing it in these FASCOM (Farmers Services Company) buildings that were there in Acheampong’s days and distributing it at critical periods. They would just line up. I would distribute the food. And go away. That is the ultimate goal,” he stated amid adoring words for those who supported the feeding of the old men and women.

ANALYSIS OF NPP TAX PROPOSALS

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President of Ghana

By Evans Crentsil-Taylor

The New Patriotic Party, in its Manifesto for the 2016 Elections, highlighted as one of its main Economic Policy Direction for the country, is to “shift the focus of economic management from taxation to production”.

To achieve this objective, the party outlined numerous tax cuts measures as follows;

1. reduce the corporate tax rate from 25% to 20%
2. remove import duties on raw materials and machinery for production within the context of the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET) Protocol
3. abolish the Special Import Levy
4. abolish the 17.5% VAT on imported medicines not produced in the country
5. abolish the 17.5% VAT on Financial Services
6. abolish the 5% VAT on Real Estate sales
7. abolish the 17.5% VAT on domestic airline tickets
8. reduce VAT for micro and small enterprises from the current 17.5% to the 3% Flat Rate VAT introduced by the Kufuor-led NPP government
9. introduce tax credits and other incentives for businesses that hire young graduates from tertiary institutions, and

review withholding taxes imposed on various sectors (including the mining sector) that have constrained the liquidity of many businesses.

The New Patriotic Party clearly has an agenda to create a business friendly environment by reducing taxes. The Party believes that reducing these taxes will lead to increase in production and economic activity which will in the short run compensate for any temporary revenue shortfall.

The proposed tax cuts have been welcome news for many business owners, labour unions and the civil society. However, the question being asked by policy analyst and political opponent is how much the tax cuts will affect revenue generation, and how the NPP intends to finance it numerous campaign promises in lights of the tax cuts.

According to information from the GRA and Ministry of Finance, six of the proposed tax cuts will result in an estimated revenue loss of roughly GHȻ2.6 billion in 2017 alone as highlighted in the table below.

Snr	Tax Measure	Revenue losses
1	Reduction in corporate tax rate from 25% to 20%	1,403,852,000.0
2	Abolishing VAT on financial services	240,646,680.5
3	Abolishing VAT on local airfare	19,110,729.2
4	Abolishing special levy	688,134,980.4
5	Abolishing import VAT	56,951,685.6
6	Abolishing VAT on raw material	175,419,036.3
	Total	2,584,115,111.9

The question now is, how will the proposed tax cuts translate into viable economic growth as being purported by the New Patriotic Party.

Research has shown that there is a negative and elastic relationship between corporate tax rate and economic growth with elasticity of about 3.17, suggesting that a 1% reduction in corporate tax rate will increase economic growth by 3.17% at the margin.

Proponents of tax cuts point to the effects that lower taxes have on incentives to work, to save, and to invest, and argue that reducing tax rates boosts economic growth.

According to Ergete Ferede and Bev Dahlby, in a publication titled “The impact of tax cuts on economic growth: evidence from the Canadian Provinces”, they concluded as follows; “We find that a higher provincial statutory corporate income tax rate is associated with lower private investment and slower economic growth. Our empirical estimates suggest that a 1 percentage point cut in the corporate tax rate is related to a 0.1– 0.2 percentage point increase in the annual growth rate”.

Eric Engen and Jonathan Skinner, in a related publication titled, “Taxation and Economic Growth” used three approaches to consider the impact a major tax reform - a 5 percentage point cut in marginal tax rates in United States on long-term growth rates. They concluded as follow; “Our results suggest modest effects, on the order of 0.2 to 0.3 percentage point differences in growth rates in response to a major tax reform. Nevertheless, even such small effects can have a large cumulative impact on living standards”.

Research data shows that lower taxes can spur greater productive investment and thereby help generate economic growth, which in turn can expand government revenues.

Critiques of the NPP tax cuts have questioned lack of industry specific details in the proposal.  Currently, there are sectors that enjoy lower tax rates than the 25%. Hotels, financial institutions and companies listed on the stock exchange, for instance.

Does the proposed cut intend to remove the incentive differential and tax these companies at the flat rate of 20%? The same is true for non-traditional exporters who are taxed at only 8%.

Income derived by Financial Institutions from loans granted to farming enterprises and loans granted to leasing companies are currently taxed at 20%. Will these rates be reduced to 15% or the whole incentive will be removed.

President Akufo Addo

Will the NPP proposed tax cuts affects companies in the Mining and Petroleum sectors who are currently taxed at 35%? In 2010, the government revised the mining tax rate back to 35% after the NPP had brought it down to 25% in 2006.

What no one can dispute is that the current tax burden on business is interfering with private sector growth. The question is how the new administration will deal with the drop in revenue which is being estimated at GHȻ2.6 billion in 2017 alone.

Deputy Minister for Finance, Mr. Ato Forson, in a publication titled; “Would tax cuts induce growth in Ghana: An assessment of NPP’s manifesto promises”, made the following conclusions;

“The NPP [party] may not be able to pursue the proposed tax cut and expenditure programmes simultaneously. It may have to choose one of the two policies at a time. The possible options therefore, are as follows:

(1) borrow heavily on commercial terms to be able to implement both policies simultaneously,

(2) suspend the tax cuts in order to be able to admit expenditure programmes,

(3) suspend development projects in order implement the tax cuts”.

If the tax cuts are not financed by immediate spending cuts they will likely also result in an increased budget deficit, which in the long-term will reduce national saving and raise interest rates. Base-broadening measures can eliminate the effect of tax rate cuts on budget deficits, but at the same time they also reduce the impact on labour supply, saving, and investment and thus reduce the direct impact on growth.

In conclusion, empirical research has shown that tax cuts can induce growth, however, appropriate measures will have to be put in place to deal with potential budget deficits in the short run.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Evans Crentsil-Taylor is a Chartered Accountant and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation Ghana. Evans is the Founder of Tax Solutions Ghana, an online portal that provides tax information.  www.taxsolutionsgh.com

Ofosu-Kwakye Questions Nana Addo’s Appointment Of Young People  

Felix Ofosu Kwakye

By Godwin A. Allotey

The former Deputy Minister of Communications, Felix Ofosu-Kwakye, has questioned the rationale for the appointment of young persons in Nana Akufo-Addo’s government, considering that he and his young colleagues were heavily criticized  by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) then in opposition.

According to him, when President John Mahama and late President John Mills took the same decision, they were condemned by the NPP.

Ofosu Kwakye said although he is not against the appointment of young people in government, he found it hypocritical and unfair for the NPP to now turnaround and do same.

The Deputy Minister made the comment on the back of Nana Akufo-Addo’s announcement of some of his administrative staff, which has about four young people namely Francis Asenso-Boakye and Samuel Abu Jinapor, both Deputy Chiefs of Staff,  Eugene Arhin, Director of Communications at the Presidency and Clara Napaga Sulemana Tia, a Presidential Staffer.

President John Mahama and late President Mills were accused for bringing on board some young people to take leadership roles in their government who were referred to as “babies with sharp teeth” following their utterances which critics found disrespectful and arrogant.

Kwakye Ofosu, while speaking on Eyewitness News, said “it is unfortunate that when President Mills and President Mahama gave opportunities to young persons to contribute to national development persons in the opposition and some surrogates of theirs sought to bastardize them and did not allow them the opportunity to make that contribution.”

“Here we are the President-elect has appointed at least three people within their circles to serve in his government and the same people who derided others appointed by President Mills and President Mahama are now falling over themselves to uphold the image and integrity of these young men. Like I have said, I would on any day root for any young person who is able to land a position in government because I believe that the youth have a role to play; but let us be fair to all persons irrespective of their political creed,” he added.

Felix Kwakye Ofosu however in the interview wished the President-elect and his new appointees the best of luck.

President John Mahama is expected to hand over power to Nana Akufo-Addo on Saturday January 7, 2017.

STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS DELIVERED BY HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA

Former President John Dramani Mahama

Your Excellency the Vice President, Right Honourable Speaker, Your Ladyship the Chief Justice Honourable Members of Parliament Mr. Speaker, Allow me to begin by wishing everyone a Happy New Year. Afihyiapa. This hall that exists within these walls is a place where I have always felt at home. It was in this august house, as an MP for Bole-Bamboi, that I began my political career. Or, better said, it was when I first held public office. The residents of that community entrusted me with the privilege of representing their best interests in the national dialogue of policymaking and legislation. It seems fitting that I should find myself here in this same house delivering my final public address which will, in effect, bring to a close my tenure as President. I deliver this message on the State of the Nation in fulfillment of Article 67 of the 1992 constitution. It has been a rare honour and privilege for me to serve my country in the highest office as President. It has been a worthwhile journey. And let me seize the opportunity to thank God for his grace and to the good people of Ghana for the opportunity to serve. May I also respectfully thank My Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Her Ladyship the Chief Justice and Honourable Members of this House for the cooperation and solidarity I have enjoyed during my tenure as President.

Mr. Speaker, The purpose of this specific State of the Nation Address is to let the people of Ghana know where we stand as a country as the baton of leadership passed from one leader to another. Where are we in this race, so to speak? In so far as nation-building, how is Ghana faring when compared to other nations in Africa and of course, in the world? Our world has become increasingly complex and unpredictable. Majority of economies around the world are sailing against strong headwinds. The world economic crisis and the slow-down in the growth of the Chinese economy has affected the growth of emerging markets and has resulted in a fall in world demand for commodities. As the United States of America (USA) makes a slow but steady recovery, the recent increase in the USA interest rates means more money is leaving emerging markets and being reinvested in America. Coupled with the fall in commodity prices on the international markets, this is causing an adverse economic outlook for lower middle income economies like ours. Changing climate has made the world weather more unpredictable. In our part of the world deforestation, sea erosion and tidal waves, erratic rainfall, more severe harmattan is becoming the new normal. These are wreaking havoc on non-irrigated agriculture and power production from hydro sources. The rise of insurgency and failed states in North Africa and the middle-east and religious fundamentalism have resulted in a rise of many terrorist cells that have created a deadly cocktail across the whole world and increasingly in Africa, stretching from the Sahel, through West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa all the way to the Horn of Africa. Our sub-region has not been spared and attacks as close as Burkina Faso and Cote D’Ivoire have brought the reality of possible terrorist attacks closer to our doorstep. This is the global context in which our country has had to survive and make progress.

EDUCATION

Mr. Speaker, At the start of our term in office and for many years prior, there have been national dissatisfaction at the declining standards of education at the basic and secondary levels. Lack of access to both basic and secondary education meant that many children were being left behind. A shortage of professionally trained teachers, teacher absenteeism, shortage of core textbooks- resulting in a situation in which four (4) children shared one textbook-, dilapidated schools, lack of science laboratories and workshops, among others, manifested in declining results at the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) and West African Secondary School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE). Our vision under my administration has been to turn this situation around and not only improve access to education but also the quality of education. Mr. Speaker, We are witnessing a significant improvement in our educational outcomes. More children than ever before in our history are having access to education at the basic and secondary levels. With the distribution of free text books, children have access to all the four textbooks and no longer have to share. In excess of two thousand (2,000) dilapidated schools popularly referred to as “schools under trees” have been replaced. Teachers are more available and are more evenly distributed than in the past. Teacher absenteeism is down from 27% to below 9%. This has led to more engagement hours between teachers and students. The construction and population of forty-seven (47) newly built Community Day Senior High Schools means more students are able to continue their education beyond the basic level instead of dropping out. These investments we have made are yielding results and reflecting in the performance of our children. Performance at both the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) and the West African Secondary School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) have seen remarkable improvement. The very last batch of BECE students recorded the highest number of students obtaining a raw score of above 500 marks in the history of the examination. We are recording improved performance in many public schools in the WASSCE across the country. During the Best Schools Awards Ceremonies, many rural and public schools are outperforming some of the better known urban and private schools. Ghana has consistently, over the last three years, taken the three top spots in the WASCCE. The progressively free secondary education programme, under which we have absorbed the major fees paid by day students, has this year been extended to cover one hundred and forty thousand (140,000) boarding students. Mr. Speaker, At the tertiary education level, the construction of additional public universities in the Brong Ahafo and Volta Regions have improved access to university education. The sod cutting for start of work on the University of Environment and Sustainable Development in the Eastern Region, the conversion of the polytechnics into technical universities, the creation of three autonomous universities out of the University for Development Studies (UDS) are all creating additional opportunities for students to pursue courses at the tertiary level.

HEALTH

Mr. Speaker, In the area of healthcare, the situation was no different. Many Ghanaians were denied access to quality healthcare. Although in 2005, the Kufuor administration had commenced one of the most famous social intervention programmes in the health sector on a broader scale, after years of experimentation, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), utilization was low due to lack of access to health facilities. The sector was characterized by a severe shortage of trained health professionals. Our vision over the period of my administration has been to provide improved health facilities and trained health workers in all nooks and crannies of the country. Construction of new regional hospitals in Bolgatanga, Wa and Accra is dramatically improving the health outcomes for tens of thousands of people. New district hospitals in districts across the country, including the recent ones for which I cut sod in Wheta, Somanya, Buipe, Tolon and Sawla have and will advance even further our policy of providing every district with a first class health facility. Mr. Speaker, New Polyclinics, health centers and CHPS compounds have also helped to bring quality healthcare to the doorsteps of our people. This development has resulted in a phenomenal expansion of utilization of the NHIS. Out-patient utilization for 2015 stood at twenty-nine million up from nine million in 2008. Increased numbers of trained professional being churned out of our training institutions has solved the problem of lack of personnel to man our health facilities. Indeed, at the rate at which this category of personnel are being produced, Ghana may need to sign agreements with less endowed countries to officially deploy some of our health professionals to assist improve their health systems.

SOCIAL PROTECTION

Mr. Speaker, As a lower middle income country, income disparities widen the gap between the rich and poor. To cushion the poor and vulnerable, many social protection programmes have been introduced in Ghana. At the start of this administration, the number of people benefitting from these schemes were very few. Under the school feeding programme, less than five hundred thousand (500,000) children were being fed. Under the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme, less than sixty thousand (60,000) households were benefitting. Few children had access to books, school uniforms and school sandals. Mr. Speaker, Our effort under this administration has been to expand the coverage of these programmes to cover the majority of the poor and vulnerable population in Ghana. The school feeding programme is better managed today under the auspices of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social protection and covers more than 1.5 million children. The LEAP programme is benefitting almost one hundred and fifty (150,000) households. The percentage of the District Assembly Common Fund meant for persons with disability has been increased by 50%. School children in public schools are receiving all their core textbooks and exercise books. Tens of thousands of children have benefitted from the free school sandals and uniforms programme. The introduction of the Eban card also means that vulnerable ones among the elderly receive some privileges and protection.

WATER & SANITATION

Mr. Speaker, One of the essentials of life for which social exclusion was evident was in access to clean drinking water. Many rural and urban communities were water starved. Statistics indicate that by the year 2008, 56% of rural people and 58% of urban dwellers had access to potable water. This meant that water borne diseases were a major affliction and created a heavy incidence of disease on our healthcare system. The universal target is to achieve “water for all by the year 2025”. Our vision has been to achieve this target well in advance of the target date. We have under my administration continued to increase investment in the provision of clean drinking water for our people. Provision of bore holes, small town water systems, and major urban water treatment projects have significantly increased access to clean drinking water. Statistics at the end of 2015 show that in excess of 76% of both rural and urban residents have access to potable water. The Teshie desalination plant, the Kpong water expansion project and the ATMA project have expanded access to urban water supply in the capital, Accra. The Wa water supply project, the 3Ks project covering Kumawu, Konongo and Kwahu are all projects guaranteeing sustainable water supply to our people. We estimate that under this administration, we have lifted more than seven million people out of water deprivation.

POWER

Mr. Speaker, The early years of this government was characterized by a crippling power crisis. The shortage of power led to a very unpopular load management programme. This shortage of power hobbled the growth of the economy, and affected both business and residential customers. Many businesses had to resort to the use of generators to survive. Mr. Speaker, I stood on the floor of this very house and took full responsibility for the crisis and promised that I would do my utmost to fix the problem. It has taken a lot of hard work and effort. Fast tracking the deployment of emergency plants, and speeding up the completion of ongoing plants ensured that we added more than 800MW of power over an 18-month period. This increased generation, in addition to the Energy Sector Levy and ongoing works to restructure the legacy debt of the power utilities, has helped to stabilize the power situation. With the expectation of more domestic gas from the Ten and Sankofa Fields, Ghana is entering into an era of energy self-sufficiency. Indeed, the warning signals have started sounding about the danger of over- capacity and excess redundancy in the power sector. We have agreed to work with the World Bank to rationalize the addition of new plants and ensure that we achieve optimum utilization of existing capacity. Mr. Speaker, Access to power under my administration has continued to increase. Ghana has one of the highest access to electricity estimated to be above 80% currently. Additional pending electrification programmes like the China Water Company and the Hunan Energy projects will bring even more communities onto the national grid.

ECONOMY

Mr. Speaker We inherited an economy that was running a high deficit, with increasing inflation and interest rates. It was also characterized by a rapidly depreciating currency. This unstable macro environment created an unfavourable investment environment for both indigenous and foreign capital. Our forum at Senchi was an attempt to forge a consensus for a homegrown fiscal consolidation programme. The Senchi outcome eventually became the basis for the IMF Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme we are implementing. The ECF programme has resulted in an improved macro environment which is seeing a steady decline in inflation and interest rates. A new public debt management strategy is also seeing a steady decline in Public sector debt, estimated to have dropped from nearly 72% to below 65%. The currency has also enjoyed relative stability, depreciating at just above 4% this year. Mr. Speaker, While the deficit target will be missed this year on account of inability to meet revenue targets, it is important for us to continue to pursue fiscal consolidation in the 3rd and final year of the programme. Multiple causes are responsible for our inability to meet the target. Reduced lifting from the Jubilee field on account of the turret bearing problems, non-realization of some expected non-tax revenue such as the sale of electro-magnetic spectrum, reduced cocoa export revenue and higher than expected election-related expenditures. In spite of the breach of the fiscal deficit target, expenditure was lower than programmed and thus the approved appropriation for 2016 was not exceeded. Ghana’s economy is still the second largest in West Africa with a GDP of almost $39 billion. Ghana has also moved up thirteen (13) places in the ease of doing business index and is currently considered number one on the World Bank index.

ROAD AND TRANSPORT

Mr. Speaker, There was widespread dissatisfaction with the road network in the country. Complaints covered poor state of urban roads, feeder roads and highways. Many hours sitting in traffic caused frustration and discomfort for urban commuters. Poor feeder roads and pothole-riddled highways increased maintenance cost for drivers and in-turn led to increased fares and transport charges for goods. My tenure of office has seen some of the most massive investments in the road sector in the history of Ghana. My vision was to finish off road projects I inherited such as Achimota-Ofankor, Awoshie-Pokuase, Sofo line, Tetteh Quarshie- Adenta etc. We also commenced and completed the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, fast tracked the construction and opening of the Kasoa overhead bridge, completed the Airport hills/Burma Camp network of roads and completed the 37- El Wak-Trade fair road. We have also invested more resources in continuing the Eastern corridor road project, asphalt overlay of roads in Regional and District capitals and massive investments in cocoa roads across the country have opened up our country significantly. Many other projects are ongoing such as the Tema motorway roundabout decongestion project, and a new bridge from flower pot roundabout on the Spintex Road over the Accra- Tema motorway into East Legon. There are others ready to commence with financing arranged such as the Obetsebi Lamptey interchange, the Pokuase interchange, and Motorway expansion project among others. Mr. Speaker, The transport sector has also experienced marked improvement under this administration. Incentives such as reduction in cost of aviation fuel, improved airport infrastructure has seen a massive increase in both domestic and international travel. The Terminal 3 project at the Kotoka international Airport is progressing fast and would make Accra the most favoured aviation destination in West Africa. Already, the completed rehabilitation of the arrival hall in terminal 2 has created better comfort for passengers using Accra’s airport. Kumasi and Tamale Airport expansion will also see increased passenger movements. Wa and Ho are advancing steadily and would be open to commercial travel soon. Commencement of the Bus Rapid Transit with dedicated bus lanes, christened “Aayalolo” will create better comfort for urban commuters. Urban rail systems like the sekondi-Kojokrom-Takoradi line will ease the inconvenience of commuters in the twin city. The Tema-Akosombo line will soon start to maximixe the use of the Volta Lake Transport Company for moving cargo for land-locked Sahel countries, upriver to Buipe in the Northern Region. Work on the expansion of our two maritime ports at Takoradi and Tema are ongoing and would lead to faster turn-around times for ships and larger throughput cargo volumes. Bulk cargo handling will also be more efficient.

GOVERNANCE

Mr. Speaker, Our security forces were severely challenged when it came to logistics and equipment to fulfil their constitutional mandate. Today, I can report with pride that vehicles, APCs, riot control equipment, aircrafts, helicopters, fire tenders make up a few of the components of the investments we have made in our security services. Vehicles for judges and completion of the court complex has created a better atmosphere for the dispensation of justice. Implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP) unanimously adopted by this house remains on track. I wish to commend the house for the passage of numerous legislation including the recent Public Financial Management Act, which strengthens our hands in the fight against corruption. I must however say that the public and Civil Society Organisations are disappointed in our inability to pass the Right to Information bill and are still hopeful that before this Parliament is dissolved a consensus can be found to pass this bill into law. Mr. Speaker, The achievements outlined in this statement are accomplishments that my government and I proudly claim. But the state of our nation, at any given time–where we are in the race- is the result of more than the visible gains made by one individual during his tenure. Every President inherits the unfinished work of his predecessor. Every president benefits from the seeds planted by his predecessor, seeds that could not be sown during his predecessor’s tenure. Indeed, I believe if politics could be described as a sport, the one it would most closely resemble is a relay. It is a sport that relies as much on individual achievement as it does on teamwork and cooperative effort. The true test of that competition is in the passing of the baton. So, too, with politics. Mr. Speaker, President Jerry John Rawlings started the structural transformation of this economy under the Economic Recovery Programme. This programme restored Ghana to a path of growth which he handed over to President John Agyekum Kufuor. President Kufuor continued the economic adjustment programme and under the HIPC initiative achieved significant debt reduction. Implementing new social intervention programmes such as NHIS and LEAP, he passed it on to President John Evans Atta Mills. President Mills commenced the Eastern Corridor road project, University of Ghana Medical Centre, which I inaugurated yesterday, the Kotokoraba market, Cape Coast stadium and host of others which I inherited and completed. My administration commenced the construction of new community day senior high schools, a policy of progressively free secondary education, construction of the eastern university, investments in many infrastructure projects that are ongoing and many others that will actually commence under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. I am assured by his firm statements that he will continue these projects as enjoined by our constitution. I wish him all success in this regard. As I have said many times already, regardless of whose tenure in which these visions come to fruition, its success belongs to Ghana. They belong to all of us. Mr. Speaker, Political opposition and differences of opinion are vital to the health and growth of a democracy. Political parties are formed when people of similar ideology come together to move their agenda forward in a way that best serves their country. But the wellbeing of the nation and the will of the people must always come first. Partisanship for its own sake, in the end, is no better than dictatorship. If we look around the world, we can so clearly see the deep divide that blind partisanship is creating in nations with democracies far older than ours. We can see, too, the divide that it is threatening to create in ours if we are not careful. Already, it has taken a toll on our morale and our sense of optimism. It has given way to a cynicism that is as dangerous to the incoming political party as it was to ours. We cannot afford as a nation to wish or hope for the failure of any president and his or her government. Ensuring accountability is not the same as leveling insults or encouraging apathy. We have history as proof that we have been better and we have done better. And we will, we must, do better once again.

Mr. Speaker, I first entered this house as MP for Bole Bamboi in January 1997. It was, perhaps not coincidentally, the same year that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo entered as MP for Akyem Abuakwa. Taking breaks from the business of the house to grab something to eat at the snack bar, Nana Addo always stood at the end of the counter, his signature white handkerchief tucked into his sleeve. “Johnny” he would shout in greeting as he preferred to call me. Incidentally we both served three terms in this house, departing together in January 2009. This is how long I have known the president-elect and worked with him. I have the utmost respect for him. Given our history, especially that we have each had our turn on each side of a presidential election, it would seem only natural for us to be considered opponents- worthy opponents is the description generally used in the world of sports. In fact, Mr. Speaker, we are all on the same team. We worked together when I served as Ranking member on the Committee of Foreign Affairs at a time Nana Addo was the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration. One of the issues on which we crossed swords was the murder of some Ghanaian youth in the Gambia. It is instructive that as I leave office and he takes my place, Gambia once again is a nation that is engaging international attention. Mr. Speaker, It is my assertion that the information I’ve provided is a snapshot of the current state of our nation. As I have said before, I will allow history to be the judge of how I have served our nation, how well I have done my part in running my lap of the relay. What that verdict will ultimately be, I cannot say. I can only say that I have done my best, given my all and done so with the best intentions for my country, our country. This is why I stand here today, Mr. Speaker, holding the baton of leadership prepared to pass it on with pride, goodwill and determination, to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and ask all Ghanaians to cheer him on as he runs his portion of this relay for Ghana. Mr. Speaker, I thank you. I thank the members of this house. And I thank the citizens of Ghana. May God bless you and may God continue to bless our beloved homeland, Ghana.

RUSSIA PRAISES GHANA

Russian President Vladimir Putin

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has praised Ghanaian authorities for efforts at conducting another successful presidential and parliamentary elections, and hailed the electorate for showing maturity at the polls held on 7 December 2016.

In an official statement posted Tuesday, the Ministry noted that “observers from the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States have recognised the election results as credible, as no serious violations that could have affected the expression of the people’s will were reported.”

It concluded that “Moscow considers the national election in Ghana an important step by Ghana’s society on the path toward stable social and political development.”

The Electoral Commission has declared Nana Akufo-Addo as elected President whose New Patriotic Party (NPP) earned about 54 per cent of votes, while the National Democratic Congress (NDC) got 44 per cent. The NPP is a liberal democratic party and is one of the dominant parties in the national politics of the Republic of Ghana.

In the 7 December 2008 presidential election, Akufo-Addo received more votes than John Atta-Mills amassing 4,159,439 votes representing 49.13% of the total votes cast, placing him first, but not enough for the 50 per cent plus one needed for an outright victory.

It was the best-ever performance for a first-time presidential candidate since the beginning of Ghana's 4th republic in 1992. In the run-off elections however, Mills ultimately received 4,521,032 votes, representing 50.23%, thus beating Nana Akufo-Addo.

Russian authorities have known the NPP for about a decade and have interacted with leading party officials previously. John Kufuor, a leading NPP member and then President of the Republic of Ghana met with President Vladimir Putin at the 33rd Group of Eight (G8) summit held 6-8 June, 2007 at Kempinski Grand Hotel in Moscow.

That was followed by an official working visit to Moscow by the then Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, on 12 July 2007 on the invitation by Russian Foreign Affairs Minister, Sergey Lavrov.

During their diplomatic discussion, both Ministers reached an understanding to raise trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. They further agreed on developing direct business contacts between Russia and Ghana.

Towards realising this goal, Nana Akufo-Addo and Lavrov agreed to facilitate direct contacts between the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of both countries. Akufo-Addo said that the Ghanaian side was preparing proposals concerning new projects which may become the object of joint development by companies in Ghana.

Currently, the United Russia Party, Federation Council (Upper House) and State Duma (Lower Chamber) told GNA in separate interviews in Moscow that they were ready to establish political and parliamentary relations with the new government and the New Patriotic Party.

Russia and Ghana have accumulated a valuable experience of mutual respect and trust from nearly 60 years of cooperation in their diplomatic relations that have been described as very friendly and close.

The relations here refer to the bilateral relationship between the two countries. Russia has an embassy in Accra and Ghana has an embassy in Moscow. Russia and Ghana will celebrate 60 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2017.

GNA

ISRAELI SOLDIERS ‘SHOOT TO KILL’

Israeli Soldier, Elor Azaria

An Israeli soldier who shot and killed an immobilized Palestinian assailant was convicted of manslaughter, but chances are he won’t end up in jail, as many Israeli politicians support the soldier, experts say.

A guilty verdict was handed down on Wednesday to an Israeli soldier who shot and killed an injured Palestinian attacker. Elor Azaria, 20, a soldier of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF,) shot the injured man, Abdul Fatah al-Sharif, 21, in the West Bank city of Hebron in March 2016. 

The court stated that the Palestinian man posed no threat and there was no justification for the killing. 

Clashes broke out between police and supporters of the soldier while the hearing was taking place. The convicted soldier has a lot of support among Israelis; many say he is a hero. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged President Reuven Rivlin to pardon the soldier.

RT asked lawyer Rami Saleh, a director at the Legal Aid and Human Rights Center, what message this sends out to other Israeli soldiers.

“The problem is that the Israeli leadership is encouraging the policy of shoot to kill even in case an attacked [person] does not pose a threat,” he said, adding that this is a “violation of international law.” 

“The Prime Minister himself is encouraging the Israeli soldiers to conduct the same action,” Saleh said. 

He argues that Azaria committed a “coldblooded” murder and there are dozens of similar cases in which Israeli soldiers kill Palestinians even when they “don’t pose much threat.” 

“The case of al-Sharif had very good echo in the media only because it was recorded on a video and it was on YouTube,” Rami Saleh told RT. In his opinion, it would have been difficult to bring Azaria to “this stage at the court” if the incident had “not recorded and documented properly.” 

Sgt. Azaria is now facing 20 years in jail for manslaughter. Sentencing is expected to be announced in the next several weeks. Meanwhile, the defense team said they would appeal the verdict. 

“We are not talking about a final decision,” Saleh said, commenting on Wednesday’s verdict. “There is a very good opportunity to appeal against the decision... by the military court. Why? Because most of the Israeli politicians are supporting the soldier and are saying that it is inappropriate that he will be sent to jail.” 

According to Saleh, there have been “many cases” when “really harmless” Palestinian “children” were killed at checkpoints. He recalled an incident with Israeli forces allegedly killing a young Palestinian woman and her teenage brother at a military checkpoint between the cities of Ramallah and Jerusalem. 

“One of the cases that our organization has followed – was Maram and her brother [Ibrahim.]  He was a youngster – less than 18 years, and they were both shot [at] the Qalandiya checkpoint, because the soldiers considered them threatening to the soldiers,” the lawyer said.

In his view, the “Israeli legal system is not conducting justice” and “many Israeli soldiers” involved in similar cases in the past were only sentenced to “less than a year” of public service. 

Sahar Francis, director of Addameer human rights organization, also thinks that it’s unlikely that Sgt. Azaria could end up spending many years behind bars. 

“Even if the court sentences him, the maximum sentence in this case could be 20 years. Even if gets the maximum sentence, I don’t believe that he would spend all the sentence [in jail],” she said. 

RT spoke to people outside the court on Wednesday. One woman said that there were incidents in which wounded Palestinians went on to attack people, despite their injuries. 

According to Sahar, this does not serve as justification for the Israeli soldier’s actions. 

“The court decided that there was no justification: the guy, the Palestinian, Abdel-Fattah al-Sharif, was paralyzed and was shot. Actually opening the... standards – first they have to shoot in the air to warn, and then in the legs. In all of the cases that we documented in the last year it was shooting in the upper side of the body. It means there is an intention to kill,” she said.

AKUFO-ADDO: He Takes His First Step Towards Prosperity For All Ghanaians

By Ekow Mensah.

James Kofi Annor, an Accra Taxi driver is full of hope. He believes strongly that an Akufo- Addo administration will reduce the price of petroleum products and the cost of spare parts.

In addition to these, James says that utility tariffs will come down significantly and that his two children in Senior High School will not have to pay school fees.

His younger brother and a cousin who are in teacher training institutions will not have to come to him for assistance again because their allowances will be restored by the in-coming administration.

Asked when all of these dreams will become reality, James simply responds that “Nana has promised that in his very first budget he will provide the money for these and I know that he will keep his promise”.

James is not alone.

There are millions of Ghanaians who see the swearing in of President-Elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the first step to prosperity for all Ghanaians.

Interestingly, Nana Akufo is still insisting that he will keep all the promises he made to the electorate.

His spokespersons have tampered this by saying that some of the promises will be fulfilled immediately while others will have to wait.

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia

In the business community expectation is very high and it is believed that corporate taxes can and will be reduced by at least five per cent whiles the Value Added Tax (VAT) will drop from 17 ½ per cent to three per cent for some category of businesses.

In the three northern regions, famers are expecting to boost production and increase their earnings when the Akufo-Addo government makes good its promises of giving every village a dam.

People in the Zongos are also full of hope that sooner than later their communities would be transformed and that their access to social services would be greatly enhanced.

The unemployed are also full of hope for the future especially the near future.

Their immediate expectation is that the freeze on employment in the public sector would be lifted to enable them seek and obtain employment in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

If this expectation is met it will raise the issue of whether or not the Akufo –Addo government will keep commitments made to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the Mahama administration.

These commitments include what has been broadly described as fiscal discipline but which in crude terms means balancing the accounting books without regard to the social and political fallout.

Given the fact that the total national budget is about Gh₵50 billion with more than half of that going into the public sector wage bill, it is still unclear how the Akufo-Addo administration can keep all its promises without internal and external borrowing.

And if the new Government resorts to internal borrowing, how can it lower interest rates as it promised in the campaign for the 2016 election?

Indeed all the people of Ghana should be very happy if the Akufo-Addo administration manages to keep its promises and Ghana is turned into a prosperous nation.

The big question however is can it really be done?

Perhaps only time will tell!

Editorial

A RESPONSIBLE OPPOSITION?

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has a choice to make.

It can decide to become like the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in opposition which refused to acknowledge whatever good the Mahama administration did and continuously painted a picture of gloom and despair for four long years.

The NDC can also decide to be a responsible opposition accepting policies and actions of the new administration which are in the interest of the people and criticizing bad policies and actions strongly.

Whatever choice the NDC makes, it will have both immediate and future consequences.

Immediately, it will make it difficult for many Ghanaians to distinguish between the two main political parties.

The approach of seeing everything wrong with the new administration will also lead in the long run to making unrealistic electoral promises.

In our view, the NDC can only be taken seriously if it offers the new administration constructive and responsible opposition.

This means that it must be ready to give praise where that is due and to criticize severely when Government goes wrong.

This is our modest advice to the NDC.

1917 and its lessons for 2017: Learning from Lenin

Vladimir Lenin

By Neil Clark

If, as my fellow Op-Edger John Wight stated recently, ‘seismic’ was the only word to describe 2016 – what on earth can we say about 1917? This was the year of not one, but two, Russian Revolutions.

It also saw the US break with isolationism and enter the First World War – and the Balfour declaration – which eventually led to the establishment of the state of Israel.

The dramatic events of one hundred years ago still shape our world today. It’s important therefore that we relive the year and study it closely, as there’s much we can learn from it – and in particular from the year’s most influential personality. 

If Donald Trump was the Person of the Year in 2016, there’s no doubting who the key figure in 1917 was: Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known as Lenin. The bearded Marxist from Simbirsk began the year in exile, living with his wife in a bedsit at No 14 Spiegelgasse in Zurich, Switzerland, and ended it as the leader of the world’s first communist state.

After the February revolution, which saw Tsar Nicholas II abdicate and a Provisional Government take over in Petrograd, many who had been agitating for change thought it was a case of ‘Mission Accomplished’. But not Lenin. His return to his homeland in April was a historical game changer. “He called for immediate peace, immediate seizure of land by the peasantry, and immediate transfer of all power to the soviets,” records historian Christopher Hill, in his book ‘Lenin and the Russian Revolution.’

The bourgeois Provisional government, at first dominated by conservative and liberal members, broadened its base to include leftists, but fatally, it remained committed to participating in a capitalists’ war.

The Bolsheviks were proscribed in July and Lenin went into hiding once again. But when General Kornilov launched a counter-revolutionary coup attempt in August, the pro-war Prime Minister Kerensky was forced to rely on the support of the Bolshevik-dominated soviets to stay in power. The days of the Provisional Government were numbered, as popular support for the Bolsheviks surged. On October 25 (November 7 in the Gregorian calendar), Lenin and his comrades made their move.

Later, Lenin wrote about the significance of what had been achieved: “For hundreds of years states have been built on the bourgeois model, and now for the first time a non-bourgeois state has been discovered.”

It’s likely that much of the western left-infected by liberalism and obsessed with identity politics and political correctness will mark the centenary of the October revolution this year with a smirk and say ‘nothing to do with us, mate’ and get on with writing their love letters to Hillary Clinton. But there are, I believe, important lessons to be learnt from the strategy employed by Lenin in 1917 – and the left dismisses them at its peril.

As was the case one hundred years ago, a corrupt, arrogant, and hideously out-of-touch establishment lies teetering on the brink. As was the case one hundred years ago, the gap between rich and poor is truly staggering. Only last January, Oxfam revealed that half of the world’s wealth is owned by just 62 people. Yes, that‘s right – 62.

But unlike 100 years ago, it’s the populist right – and not the left – that’s making all the headway. Instead of embracing working-class populism and positioning themselves at the forefront of anti-establishment protests as Lenin and the Bolsheviks did in 1917, the liberal-dominated western left of today seems scared of proletarian rebelliousness, and has instead sided on issue after issue with the neo-liberal militarist establishment.

We see this in the liberal-left’s attachment to parliamentarianism, and the failure to promote more democratic ways of organizing society e.g. the greater use of referenda, the introduction of workers’ councils and peoples’ assemblies and elected people’s courts (interestingly the attachment to Parliamentarianism didn’t seem to apply to Ukraine in 2014 when many ‘liberal-leftists’ in the West supported the violent overthrow of the democratically-elected government).

We also see it in the way that ‘bread-and-butter issues’ which affect the everyday lives of ordinary people are largely ignored with the focus instead on fighting culture wars and promoting wars of ‘liberal intervention’ in the Middle East, which only benefit elite interests.

The fact is that the liberal-left is as detached from working-class concerns today as were the ‘reformist left’ opponents of the Bolsheviks in 1917 – who could only say: “Please wait for the Constituent Assembly elections” when millions of Russians were starving. Lenin was under no illusions about ‘liberal democracy’ and who it benefited. “Democracy for an insignificant minority, democracy for the rich – that is the democracy of capitalist society,” he wrote in 1917.

He knew that Russian involvement in the war had to end. That land had to be given to the peasants without delay. That Russia’s economy had to be radically restructured. His slogan of “Peace! Bread! Land!” resonated throughout the country.

You don’t have to be a Bolshevik, or even a socialist, to admire Lenin’s clarity and sense of purpose.

“In 1917 it was the Bolshevik mastery of the ‘fact’ that was decisive,” says Christopher Hill. “The party knew exactly what it wanted, what concrete concessions to make to different social groups at any given stage, how to convince the masses of population by ‘actions’, its own and their own.”

The centenary of the October revolution and the ‘Ten Days That Shook The World,’ should galvanize the genuine left into action. But if the liberal cuckoos-in-the-nest have their way, it will be the right who once again forge ahead, with working-class support, in 2017.

HONORING THE RIGHTS OF PRISONERS

Kan Dapaah, National Security Minister Designate

By Dora Addy

Incarceration in Ghana is an awful experience for many who are jailed and the few who manage to survive the encounter. Not many people finish their sentence; many are dying during their odysseus prison term, and many others leave the prisons more scarred than they were admitted.

There are psychological bearings on prison survivors; because what is meant to serve as a reformation center provides nothing less of a pit of flames where human rights are non-existent and human lives are simply a burden for the many grudging caretakers and wardens who are to look after the welfare of convicts.

Prisoners naturally have no rights and dignity, and to a very large extent, they are seldom accorded the right level of human consideration. Their plight is touching but only felt by a few individuals in society, and on occasions, civil society organizations who are touched to make some donations through gift items.

Apparently, private bodies and individuals are doing more to help than even the state. But the welfare of prisoners do not have to fall on private individuals alone; the state must provide a solid platform for the care and protection. Prisoners are state property and not some garbage of a burden to be disposed of, as they are treated.

Today, there are men and women who are clamoring for what is rightfully theirs. There are too many men and women in prisons today who are denied the most basic human freedoms; reformation for these people is becoming another different story altogether. It is a nightmare.

The prison system in Ghana is not one to write home about. ‘Deplorable’ is not enough to describe the prison scene in Ghana. It is such a sad state. Many of us have had the chance of catching a glimpse on the television, and the difficult life they have to endure in the prisons.

‘Sardines’, others might refer to them, describing the way they have been packed into the cells; huge numbers struggling for fresh air in a room too small to contain such huge numbers.

In prison, there is no opportunity of peaceful rest, and people do sleep in turns. Resources are so much under pressure that facilities are only reachable in turns. Even such common items as beds are not accessible to all persons.

It is said that out of Ghana’s 45 prison facilities, only 3 were purposely built for incarceration purposes. The rest are castles and forts that have been transformed into prisons. Forget about maintenance works. Prisoners have to endure living in bad conditions. Prisons in the country merely see maintenance works and so many facilities today are slowly depleting; unlivable conditions are forced down on prisoners who cannot complain but adjust to their new settings.

While Section 35(1) of the Prisons Decree grants the Director General of Prisons the duty to ensure that every prisoner is regularly supplied with wholesome and nourshing food in quantities sufficient to maintain him in good health, among other necessities, feeding time calls for no excitement. Prisoners feed on just GHC 1.80 per day. Forget about relishing your meals. In prison, you would feel sad having your meals. It is worth not having it at all, except that, one has to eat ‘something’ to survive.

Hard work is synonymous with prison sentence in Ghana. Forget about relaxing; you are in the fields working till you are asked to stop. There is no stopping to relax. Stone quarrying and other hazardous jobs are on offer for everyone.

There is no time to make friends or walk about. In prison, one sleeps early so he can be up early enough to do more work. During one interview on television, one inmate described the ordeal they had to go through. He mentioned that they all slept around 3:00-4:00pm! That is the allotted time to go to bed, because it is believed that when they are allowed to loiter about, they might cause trouble which can be uncontrollable.

Sexual exploitation is rife in the prisons. Men are sexually harassed by other men. Homosexuality is present in the cells, where ‘leaders’ tend to bully weaker ones into submission. Many inmates who entered prison today have become homosexuals. Their complaints of rape cannot be heard. They are too far from the right helps.

Poor access to health facilities and quality drugs is sending a lot of prisoners to their early grave. Proper health care is often denied inmates. The most available panacea for all health problems would be paracetamol, to kill the pain. Inmates who find themselves seriously injured, would have to wait a long time for treatment. Death can soon occur, if not attended to early enough.

There is no substitute for the proper treatment of prisoners; they have been begging for it, and they need their rights now. Their rights cannot be forgotten as has been happening. It is possible.

WAILING PRISONS

Currently, there are 45 prison facilities all around the country.

In its 2015 reports, the Ghana Prisons Service say that the country’s prisons are overcrowded by 45.5%.

This reflects on the bursting numbers of 14,368 inmates in the prisons, instead of the 9,875 figure.

Sometimes some people do lament that they would wish to spend their lives in prison abroad than live difficult lives. This just tells you how other inmates in developed countries are really having a good experience of reformation.

Many individuals come out of prisons in developed countries, even better than they were before. There are many today who go into prison and come back as graduates! That is full reformation, though they might have endured some hardship.

In Ghana, it looks like the structures were put up and forgotten about, or that people are admitted and neglected to fend for themselves.

Prisons in the country have not undergone any major changes in structures and administration. Prisons need some refreshing appeal, and considering the world is developing fast, inmates also should be counted worthy to develop with the rest of the world.

Aside having depleted resources, inmates on many levels are cut off from the rest of civilian life. On many levels they do have information about what goes on in the country. There has not been provided any measure to educate them or provide them with access to the right tools to grow with the rest of the ‘free’ world. They are left to themselves, not caring a bit about what their future.

JUSTICE DENIED

The Ghana Prisons Service say that of the current population of 11,684 inmates who have been convicted, the remaining 2,684 are on remand.

Some inmates on remand have spent over a decade in prison! They have not been helped with some legal aid and so have been left to fend for themselves. Such cases must be revisited. Article 15(3)   provides that ‘A person who has not been convicted of a criminal offence shall not be treated as a convicted person and shall be kept separately from convicted persons.’

WHY HUMAN RIGHTS

Human rights should not be denied prisoners although they may not play any active role towards national development during their term.

Prisoners are also state’s property and should be entitled to the same rights as everyone else.

Article 15 (2) of the 1992 Constitution provides that no person shall, whether or not he is arrested, restricted or detained, be subjected to

(a)                Torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;

(b)                Any other condition that detracts or is likely to detract from his dignity and worth as a human being.

So, the Constitution affords the rights of even prisoners. These rights cannot be overlooked, but should be respected, especially where inmates have been put on remand.

The Prison Decree makes a useful supplement to the existing 1992 Constitution to provide the rights of prisoners. Article 43(2) of the Decree states that power shall not be delegated to impose punishment on an offender for an offense against prison discipline.

Sections 44-46 of the Decree also disallows the use of corporal punishment, mechanical restraints and the use of force respectively. It only provides such methods of punishments under rigid conditions.

Chief Justice Georgina Wood

The Prison Decree provides many rights, including education, in Article 41, where the Director General of Prisons is to establish in every prison, courses of training and instruction designed to teach trades, skills and crafts to prisoners who may wish to learn.

Ghana, being a member of the United Nations, has ratified the conventions of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR), and has incorporated many of these rights into the 1992 Constitution where human rights needs are called for.

Ghana also assents to the  Africa Charter on Human and People’s Rights (1981), Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the establishment of an African Court on Human and People’s Rights (1998), and Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (2003).

Their human rights must be respected because when those rights are given, prisoners can have access to some of the fundamental provisions as education and healthcare even while in the prison. It has observed that there is a wealth of talent at the prisons, but being underutilized if used at all. Because prisoners are not given some of these opportunities during their term, they come out hardened because they have not had the chance to improve on themselves. They soon become a more dangerous threat to society than before.

Also prison rights through legal aid should be made accessible to all prisoners. There ought to be legal help championing the cause of prisoners who cannot afford the due legal process. By all means, these people should be helped, because many of them are coming from poor backgrounds and cannot afford to pay a lawyer. Providing them with lawyers enables them to have their freedoms back.

GRADUAL HELPS

Currently the chair for the Ghana Prisons Service Council, Reverend Dr. Stephen Wengam, is working together with the Prisons Service to draw out useful solutions to the difficult problems.

Civil society organizations are also working alongside to help provide solutions to the inmate problems at the prison facilities.

At the moment, it looks like the Prison Decree which comes with so many rights of prisoners, has been ignored. The document must be revisited and respected.

Legal Aid must continue to work for prisoners, and detention cases that have remained in the prisons for so long have to be documented and revisited.

While we live as free beings, we also ought to consider what these individuals are suffering, even the stigma they might face when released.

Laws may have been abandoned, but in the meantime, we can also lend a helping hand in any of the aspects that would help make their lives a bit comfortable.

It will be worth it in the long run.

ELECTION 2016: GHANA IS THE WINNER!

By ASP James Annan

The December 7, 2016, general elections have ended successfully and the good people of Ghana have accepted the outcome of the polls. It is worth mentioning that Ghana has maintained its enviable reputation as the beacon of democracy in Africa and beyond.

 

The 2016 polls is the seventh presidential and parliamentary elections in Ghana, since the promulgation of the 1992 Constitution. The just ended elections cannot be said to be flawless. But I daresay that the overall voting process was very peaceful and transparent.

 

The keen contest between President John Dramani Mahama of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), demonstrates a true reflection of multiparty democracy.

Barely two hours before the election results were declared, President Mahama took a bold decision by congratulating the President-elect, Nana Akufo-Addo. In fact, His Excellency did the honourable thing, as the final presidential candidate to concede defeat. That is the beauty of democracy!

This doesn’t happen in other African countries. In Gambia for example, President Yahya Jammeh is reported to have rejected the outcome of the recent elections which he lost to opposition leader Adama Barrow.

After conceding defeat following his 22-year reign, the Gambian President annulled the results of the general election and called for another election.  

As a country, we have made headway in our democratic dispensation. And we cannot afford to gamble with the future of our motherland, Ghana. Since we have chosen the path of multiparty democracy, let’s forge ahead in unity.

Of course, only one of the seven presidential candidates can be elected to steer the affairs of the country for the next four years. The people of Ghana have expressed their will through the ballot, so it behooves every citizen to respect that decision.

The ‘Accra Declaration’

As part of the pre-election activities, the seven aspirants of the various political parties contesting the 2016 Presidential Election signed a peace declaration in Accra to pledge their commitment to a peaceful elections.

The ‘Accra Declaration’ was an initiative of the National Peace Council (NPC) and the National House of Chiefs (NHC) with support from international organisations, including the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) aimed at promoting peace in the 2016 Election.

The declaration sent positive signals to the rest of the world that Ghana was keen on sustaining its credentials as a bastion of peace and democracy on the African continent.  

After pledging his vow to peace, President John Mahama described himself as a peace-loving politician whose commitment to peace was unquestionable. And of course, the President has demonstrated to the world that he is a man of peace, as we await a smooth transition on January 7, 2017. 

It is gratifying that the ‘Accra Declaration’ which attracted some dignitaries such as the President of Liberia and the Chair of ECOWAS, Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf; and former South African President and leader of the AU Observer Mission, Mr. Thabo Mbeki; was not an exercise in futility. 

Report of Election Observer Missions

The report of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and other observer missions including the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) lauded the people of Ghana for the largely peaceful conduct of the elections.

The leader of the AU delegation spoke highly of Ghana’s 2016 Election and its processes. The AU observers also praised the professional conduct of the Electoral Commission (EC) in ensuring transparency, accountability and credibility of the electoral procedures.

Furthermore, the observer missions commended the country’s vibrant press, particularly the role of private media and the state-owned broadcaster in promoting a transparent and peaceful elections.

Admittedly, the success story of Ghana’s outstanding democracy is incomplete without commending the tireless effort and sacrifice of the media.

Finally, the preliminary report of the foreign observer mission praised the cooperation of Ghanaians, including the electorate, party agents, candidates, the security agencies and civic activists.  

COLLAPSING: Local Textile Industry Sends SOS to Government

Alan Kyeremateng, Trade and Industry Minister Designate

By Caroline Pomeyie

Mr Samuel Hemans-Arday, Deputy Marketing Manager Akosombo Textiles Limited (ATL), has called on the in-coming government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to create an enabling environment for local industries especially the textile industries to grow.

Mr Hemans-Arday said: “The in-coming government should take some measures to revive conditions crippling the local textile industries, citing the 17.5 per cent VAT rate as an example”.

He also noted that, smuggled goods into the country, unstable exchange rates, influx of Chinese products, high utility tariffs as other conditions that were hindering business growth.

Mr. Hemans-Arday who said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, cautioned that if the current economic situation continues, ATL would be pushed to lay workers off.

He said in order to prevent fabrics smuggling into the country, the government should consider allowing only one border for importing fabrics, preferably the Tema Harbor.

He added that this would help curb the problem of smuggled goods and the government could earn some revenue from the tax or import duty paid.

"Besides avoiding duty payments, these smuggled goods usually copy our logo, design and brand and they sell it cheaper on the market. So we have fake ATL fabrics smuggled into the country.

"The custom officers and authorities at the various borders should be able to identify these fake goods and take the appropriate action against smugglers," he added.

He said, “If the conditions persist ATL will eventually have to lay off some workers or close down the spinning and weaving sector which employs about 500 people and resort to importing gray cloths for production.

“We have moved from employing about 3,000 people to 1,100 currently.”

He also said that because of the challenges, the local textiles industries such as Printex, GTP and ATL inclusive run their machines three times a week instead of five times a week.

“For you to achieve 50 per cent production capacity a textile company must run five times in a week on three shifts: morning, afternoon and night,” he said.

Mr. Hemans-Arday recommended a reconsideration of the VAT rate for the local industries. “The government can decide that the Textile industries pay VAT rate of 5 per cent to help the local industries compete with the Asia Products.

“Because Asian textile companies, for instance China, get 13 per cent export incentive on any export they do. So they can decide to sell their products at the cost price and then keep the rebate as their profit.

Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia

“The cost of production has been very high for local industries. Besides paying high duties for the importation of raw material, high utility tariff, paying Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) contribution for each staff and high cost of raw materials has made production very expensive.

“We use black oil for our production, which is a petroleum by product but it is more expensive than even petrol which should not be the case. Chinese companies use steam which is free to run their machines. Energy cost is also crippling the textile industry,” he said.

He iterated: "The local textile industry do dread competition, but it is the unfair competition we detest."

He suggested that the government should give a concessionary tariff for local industries in terms of energy and water for all industries, reduce interest rates and also ensure the cedi stability.

“The interest rate is too high for companies. 30-32 per cent is too high for companies. It makes it difficult for companies to invest, reap profits and pay back loans. Some bank even has a rate as high as 40 per cent. The exchange rate is also not too stable.

“For instance; you import raw materials at a particular price, then you produce and fix prices based on the cost of production. After less than three months we get to the market only to find that the currency has devalued by a certain percentage.

“The company needs to either increase the products price or absorb the costs. Most often, the company absorbs the cost.”

Despite all these challenges, Mr. Hemans-Arday says ATL remains the only vertically integrated manufacturing company and noted for its quality cotton fabrics.

It is part of the “CHA Textile Group of companies, a leading textile multinational conglomerate.

GNA

Editorial

A TASK FOR NANA

We fully agree with Mr Samuel Hermans –Arday, Deputy Marketing Manager of Akosombo Textiles limited that the Akufo-Addo administration needs to take urgent measures to save Ghana’s textile industries from total collapse.

Over the last 30 years, the textile industry in Ghana has been reduced to producing at less than 10 per cent of its capacity and thousands of workers have lost their jobs as a result.

Local textile designers have also lost substantial revenue and the state is suffering revenue losses largely as a result of the smuggling of textiles.

The problems of the textile industry in Ghana are the direct result of the country’s embrace with neo-liberalism which insists that everything including healthcare should be left to greed of so-called market forces.

If the Akufo-Addo administration is to keep its promise of creating jobs and safeguarding existing ones then it ought to take steps to protect local industries from the vampires of neo-liberalism.

This is a task which must be carried out and it can be done.

Bravo, Electoral Commission

Charlotte Osei

The Electoral Commission (EC) deserves commendation for conducting one of the most credible elections, since the last 24 years of our democratic journey in the history of Ghana. 

Initially, most Ghanaians doubted the capacity of the EC in organising a successful elections because of the few challenges that characterised the early (special) voting exercise.

Since the last two decades of Ghana’s democracy, opposition parties have constantly doubted the integrity of the EC. For some strange reason, there have always been the fear that the EC will favour the ruling governments.

In spite of the mounting pressure on the EC to announce the election results, the Chairperson of the Commission, Mrs. Charlotte Osei, stood her grounds as a leader. “The duty we owe Ghanaians is not to declare results quickly, but to declare results accurately”, she emphasised. 

So far, so good, Ghana has been able to stand the test of time after another successful general elections. The victory of the 2016 Election is not the reserve of the NPP, but for the entire country.

According to a former US President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1965), ‘the ballot is stronger than the bullet’, so let’s uphold our commitment to multiparty democracy in high esteem.

Meanwhile, let’s appreciate the stewardship of President John Dramani Mahama for contributing his quota towards the development Ghana in diverse ways and, especially, the peace that the country is enjoying. 

As we usher in another government under the presidency of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, I implore fellow compatriots to stand in unity and accord the new administration the needed support to build a more prosperous nation.

ASP James Annan

Cantonments, Accra

jamesannan2006@gmail.com