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PNC To Set Up Bodies To Hire And Fire – Ayariga
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- Category: Elections & Governance
- Created on Tuesday, 12 June 2012 00:00
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PNC To Set Up Bodies To Hire And Fire – Ayariga
The flag bearer of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Mr Mahama Ayariga has stated that Ghanaian technocrats and experts from various fields will be in charge of the hiring and firing of board members and heads of state institutions.
{sidebar id=11 align=right}This innovation, which will be one of the means through which the PNC will offer transparent leadership if it gets the nod in this year’s elections, is to insulate such state agencies from unnecessary governmental control and ensure that they undertake their functions without fear or favour to engender the necessary development.
Mr Ayariga who was speaking to the Daily Graphic about some of the party’s policies in the PNC manifesto which would be unveiled soon explained that, “ we want to establish an era where the police can move in and arrest a minister of state for offending the law”.
He noted that although the Transition Law would deal with aspects of such appointments he believed that if the Ghanaian professional knew that he would not be sacked for taking appropriate decisions, he would not be looking over his shoulders after the transition of his government.
According to him institutions such as the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), Ghana Police Service, Ghana Revenue Authority, Public Utilities Regulating Commission (PURC), boards of various governmental institutions were being manned by well trained and professional personnel comparable to their colleagues in other parts of the developed world.
He said most of these state institutions were not performing well because either some of them were being manned by politically minded people or some were working under governmental interference.
Source: Daily Graphic/Ghana
No commentsIs National Security Spying On Nana Addo?
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- Category: Politics
- Created on Sunday, 10 June 2012 00:00
- Hits: 3522
10 June 2012
Is National Security Spying On Nana Addo?
A private meeting between flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and a delegation from the Danish Embassy on Thursday, was nearly marred when National Security officials invaded the venue demanding that they be allowed to join the meeting.
{sidebar id=11 align=right}About six (6) operatives from national security allegedly turned up at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra, – where the Danish Ambassador to Ghana, H. E Carsten Nilaus Pedersen and the Danish Foreign Minister, Villy Sovndal, were set to hold a meeting with Nana Addo, – hell bent on sitting in the discussion.
The meeting, which was at the instance of the Danish counterparts, centred on the 2012 general elections and Nana Addo’s commitment towards a peaceful, free and fair polls.
Mustapha Hamid, an Aide to the NPP flagbearer, confirmed this in an interview with Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM’s morning show ‘Kokrokoo’.
He disclosed that when the NPP presidential candidate arrived at the venue, the Danish delegation informed him that some government operatives had approached them and wanted to be part of the discussion.
“The Denmark embassy invited Nana Addo to a meeting at the Movenpick hotel but when Nana got to the venue, he was informed by the Danish Ambassador that national security officials have invaded the venue and wanted to be part of the deliberations. According to the diplomats, the security operatives said they do not understand why the Danes will want to confer with an opposition leader…” he narrated.
{sidebar id=10 align=right}Eventually, he said, the meeting which was originally scheduled to be held in a private conference room had to be re-located since no amount of protestation could compel the national security operatives from taking leave of them.
“Finally, Nana Addo and the Danish delegation decided to let them have their way by holding the meeting in the open at the pool side. So the security operatives hovered around the poolside whiles Nana Addo and the diplomats held the meeting in the full glare of everyone,” he added.
Mustapha Hamid described the action by the security agencies as a huge “embarrassment” to the government adding that he is alarmed an opposition leader can no longer hold a meeting with foreign dignitaries without the presence of the national security.
He accused the ruling party of having the penchant of invading people’s privacy and exhibiting paranoia tendencies when faced with the reality that defeat is staring them in the face.
“…prior to the 2000 elections, some Italian diplomats and businessmen who were about to hold a meeting with then candidate Kufuor, were arrested and detained by the national security for no apparent reason,” Mustapha Hamid said.
But in a sharp riposte, government says no such incident occurred claiming it is a figment of the NPPs imagination.
A Deputy Information Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa asserts in an interview with JoyFM that it is a fabricated story and called on the NPP to credit national security with some intelligence.
According to him, if government was really interested in listening to the supposed private conversation, the security agencies could easily have wired the place without resorting to this “kindergarten” way of gathering information.
“We are totally surprised about this new allegation which has been cooked and concocted by the NPP…It never happened; it is a figment of the imagination of Mustapha Hamid and those who are concocting this claim,” he charged.
But the NPP insists the party will for no reason concoct a story involving diplomats and has dared the media to conduct their own independent investigation to ascertain the veracity of their claims.
“…it is only a liar who will say his witness is dead,” Mustapha Hamid countered.
Source: Peacefmonline
Fuel prices go up next week
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- Category: Business & Finance
- Created on Friday, 08 June 2012 00:00
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Fuel prices go up next week
{sidebar id=11 align=right}Fuel and utility prices are going up next week, according to confidential documents sighted by the New Statesman.
The prices of petroleum products will go up between 5-10% this month and by similar margins every month for the rest of the year.
This is stated in an internal Ministry of Finance document prepared after the agreement reached with the International Monetary Fund during their recent visit to the country.
The "Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies" drafted by Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning blames the increases on the 15% depreciation of the cedi to the dollar and the five percentage hike in the price of crude oil since late December when fuel prices last went up.
Government puts the cost of subsidies between January and May 2012 at GHC228 million.
The MOFEP document reads, "With the cedi now stabilising, the government will implement a policy of gradual (monthly) price adjustments -- starting with 15% increase in June while ensuring that total fuel price subsidies will not exceed GHC500 million for the year."
Also, government is threatening to stop subsidising utility companies. It has agreed with the IMF that government "support to utility providers will not exceed GHC180 million for the year."
It adds, "Going forward, the government will promote a gradual return to cost-recovery pricing, starting with a tariff adjustment in June."
Source: The Newstatesmanonline
President Mills sidelines Koku Anyidoho over gaffe
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- Category: Elections & Governance
- Created on Saturday, 09 June 2012 00:00
- Hits: 3247
09 June 2012
President Mills sidelines Koku Anyidoho over gaffe
Koku Anyidoho, Director of Communications at the Presidency has been sidelined for comments he made last week which he said was from the President.
In a statement issued by the Presidency, the media was directed to henceforth disregard any communications purporting to emanate from the President if it is not signed either by the secretary to the President or the Chief of Staff.
{sidebar id=11 align=right}The latest twist comes in the wake of Mr. Anyidoho’s supposed firing of the Ashanti Regional Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) after floodlights at the Baba Yara stadium went off for over an hour during the Ghana-Lesotho World cup qualifier.
Mr. Anyidoho claimed the ECG director had been sacked because the president was very upset with the incident.
As it turned out and later confirmed by a statement from the Information Ministry the president never took such a decision.
The latest statement from the Presidency, signed by the Chief of Staff, is emphatic that no directive including appointments can claim to emanate from the president unless signed by key individuals excluding Mr. Anyidoho.
Below is the full statement
PRESS RELEASE
The Office of the President wishes to state that all directives and decisions emanating from the Presidency including appointments, are communicated formally and signed by the Secretary to the President or in some instances by the Chief of Staff.
All other Government information is communicated through the Ministry of Information by Press Release or other means and in some cases where appropriate by the relevant sector Ministries, under the direction of the Minister-in-charge.
The Office of the President wishes the Media and General Public to be guided by these procedures and channels for communicating Government information.
Signed J. H.M. NEWMAN CHIEF OF STAFF
Source: Joy News
BOG to close all foreign accounts
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- Category: Business & Finance
- Created on Friday, 08 June 2012 00:00
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BOG to close all foreign accounts
{sidebar id=11 align=right}After serving notice of its intent to smoothen out fluctuations of the cedi against major international trading currencies, reports monitored indicate that the Bank of Ghana is considering the abolishing of foreign accounts held by individuals and companies in the country in a bid to halt the depreciation of the Cedi.
If carried out, this would mean individuals and companies would not hold bank accounts either in US Dollars, Pounds or Euros in Ghana. Existing foreign accounts would be converted into cedi accounts if this is implemented.
The Bank of Ghana has since the beginning of the year circulated more than US$800 million dollars, as part of efforts to stem the free fall of the local currency, but the cedi is yet to stabilise. The Bank has already ordered that not more than $2,000 can be transferred from Ghana by an individual or a corporation.
Meanwhile, there are mixed opinions by financial analysts and economists on the considerations by the Bank of Ghana to abolish the holding of forex accounts in the country.
The head of Gold Coast Securities, Samuel Ampah, arguing in favour of the Central Bank’s considerations said, “We have had an issue in this country where everything is dollarized and that is not helping the economy at all so we should be trading in the local currency but if we entertain the attitude of holding or dollarizing every activity it goes a long way to affect or put pressure on the Cedi.
“When people hold dollars in their accounts it puts them in a situation where they always want to do transactions in foreign currencies or dollars. But I believe the point the Bank of Ghana is trying to make is that if we live in a country that our local currency is the Cedi, all transactions should be in Cedi”.
But a lecturer in Economic Securities, Ali Abdallah thinks otherwise. “If it is for their business transactions, and other purposes, then I wouldn’t see why you would restrict anybody from holding such an account.
I think that before you open a forex account there are forms you fill and questions about the need for that particular account you answer, so all the banks should help the Bank of Ghana and ensure that all those who want to open such accounts... for the purposes of their business and not for the sake of holding a foreign denominated accounts”
According to Citi Business News sources at the Central bank, Managing Directors of eight of the top banks in Ghana were assembled yesterday by the Bank of Ghana to deliberate on the consequences of abolishing forex accounts in Ghana.
The move if implemented, according to sources at the Bank of Ghana, will augment processes of mitigating the high levels of dollarization in the country. Dollarization is when individuals and companies use foreign currencies like the dollar for financial transactions and quotations of goods and services.
Source: The Newstatesmanonline