Government has admitted that Ghanaians are increasingly becoming impatient with the seeming delay in prosecuting suspected corrupt officials.

[contextly_sidebar id=”mazZ2Hra3L3tjfbZNUBky7fyUnxiryMs”]Speaking at the launch of the National Anti-corruption and Transparency Week in Accra on Monday, Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo, said government is thoroughly investigating to inform the prosecution officials believed to have engaged in acts of corruption.

He said no corrupt person will be spared, but will be dealt with according to the laws of the land.

“We are certainly going to make people who have wronged this country through corruption suffer for their deeds, but we don’t want to do this in a hurry. We must do a thorough investigation. We should not do things in such a way to seem as if we are after our political opponents,” the Senior Minister said.

“We must do it in such a way that people who have wronged the system are identified through thorough investigation, and made to answer for their crimes. We have the laws of this land, and we must use it not to punish anybody because of being an opponent, but to punish people because they have been corrupt in the system. So investigations are still going on, very soon, the results will be out for every Ghanaian to hear and see,” he assured.

Office of Special Prosecutor approved by Parliament

Parliament on November 4, 2017, passed the Office of the Special Prosecutor Bill to help government fight corruption.

The setting up of the office was one of the key campaign promises made by President Nana Akufo-Addo ahead of his election victory in 2016, and it is aimed at tackling corruption.

When operational, the Special Prosecutor’s office will be independent of the Executive, which observers believe will allow it to adequately deal with corruption-related issues which have plagued past governments.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey & Sixtus Dong-Ullo/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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According to him, contractors take advantage of that to bloat contract sums when such processes are used for awarding contracts because it does not create competition.

Mr. Hewton made the remark in a Citi News interview in response to some comments by Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Marfo against road contractors in the country.

[contextly_sidebar id=”NVu1k3qmYJlGmIV23mznCCZiqNLy8a3x”]The Senior Minister on Monday accused some road contractors of inflating prices of road projects, saying such practices have adverse effects on the country, and does not conform to international standards.

But speaking to Citi News, Joseph Hewton also argued that, the basic material used in road projects is also to blame for the high cost in Ghana.

“What Osafo Maafo is saying could be true in situations of selected tender, where a few contractors are selected to bid for a particular project [hence] there could be inflation of figures. When there is open tender, I can tell you, most contractors go 20 percent below the engineer’s estimate.”

“But you see, when it comes to the issue of road contracts in Ghana being too expensive, I can tell you it is because the raw material that we use in Ghana are far more expensive than what you will even find at the international level – take chippings, bitumen, iron rods, and cement,” he added.

90% of road projects awarded through restricted tendering 

The  New Patriotic Party (NPP) government had earlier accused the former administration of awarding about 90% of road contracts through restricted tendering.

A Deputy Minister for Roads, and Chairman of a committee set up to rationalize the number of roads under construction, Kwabena Owusu Aduomi, who made claim, said over 540 road projects were opened to just a selected number of contractors for bidding.

“What we realized was that, more than 90% of road projects were restricted tendering. Restricted tendering is more of sole sourcing or few contractors being selected to bid for a project,” he said in a Citi News interview.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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He said the government’s incessant complaints over the matter were reckless and a face-saving tactic for poor performance.

[contextly_sidebar id=”2XAHemwFZjLuWaSwxwy3QZxgInMRPGZj”]His comment was in reaction to the Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo’s recent claim that some road contractors intentionally inflate the cost of road projects in a way that negatively affects the country’s funding sources.

Mr. Agbodza in an interview on Eyewitness News on Monday, dared the Senior Minister to make public the list of contractors found to have inflated project cost.

“I believe that all this hullabaloo about inflated contract is simply because this government has failed to perform and is only looking for a loophole and anytime they are into the wall, they come out with this…Their actions are really reckless and will not lead us anywhere. I dare the minister and the government to come out and tell us which particular project has been inflated, the cost of inflation and which engineer is supervising,” he said.

“What is preventing this government from telling us which particular road contract has been inflated, who is the contractor and consultant. Why can’t they do this simple thing and spare this country the agony of every day waking up and telling us contracts have been inflated…If there is any evidence, lets deal with that, don’t bastardize all engineers and quantity surveyors…”

He said he was intrigued that the Senior Minister attributed such corrupt practice to contractors when in fact, contract documents and costs are produced by engineers at the Roads Ministry.

“Where I disagree with him is the penchant of this current government to make vague statements when the opportunity is there to look into these things… If you think contract A, there is evidence of inflation or overpricing of contract, you can take that contract… In any case, I’m not sure how a contractor can inflate a contract price, the contract document is never built by the road contractor,” he said.

Yaw Osafo Maafo, while speaking at an event to officially commence the upgrade of the Accra-Tema Motorway on Monday, said “If you go to the score card of the Ghana Institution of Engineers, they describe the sources of our poor performance in the road sector. They talk about lack of adequate funds, technical know-how, but they also talk about corruption. It’s something we should also pay attention to. We must have value for money in the road sector.”

Mr. Maafo at a different event in July said, politicians should not be held responsible for the sub-standard infrastructural projects littered across the country, noting that blame should be laid on the country’s engineers, whom he accused of not effectively supervising those projects.

His trail of comments on the subject has generated some discussions among Ghanaians with calls on the government to prosecute anyone found to have shortchanged or attempted to short-change the state.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to him, there will be no attempt to reinvent the wheel as towing services will be provided to those who need it by recognized and registered towing companies.

[contextly_sidebar id=”6NcWvNE0n0Qnz5xyJ8dh6Sro1BfjxHYZ”]This followed the public outcry which compelled the government to scrap the proposed mandatory towing policy and accompanying levy.

“Today, we will end up asking you to go and register the services you provide. Naturally, people will have some questions and we want to listen to your concerns if any, because this policy which was supposed to start on July 1 has been stopped,” Mr. Osafo Maafo said

“There is the need to provide that service so we are asking those who have the capacity to provide the service to register through the appropriate ministry and provide the service to those who need it, and those who receive the services to pay for it.”

The police service has indicated that it will be on the lookout for broken vehicles, and the Senior Minister, assured that government will support it in this regard.

“We will ask the police to continue and if they need additional support in the interim, we are going to put in some support for them to get beefed up in terms of material so that they minimize the carnage arising out of disabled vehicles,” he said.

Background

Statistics from the Road Safety Commission revealed that broken down vehicles account for a huge number of accidents on Ghanaian roads.

Following this revelation, the government of Ghana approved a nationwide towing programme in 2012, but it was to take effect on July 2017.

Commercial vehicles and taxes were to pay GH¢40, mini buses were to pay GH¢80, while heavy duty trucks were to pay between GH¢80 and GH¢200 annually, depending on their tonnage, and have the Road Safety Management Services Limited (RSMSL) tow their vehicles anytime it breaks down on the road.

Non-commercial vehicles were expected to pay GH¢20.

But most Ghanaians kicked against the levy claiming it was a total rip-off, and that individuals must be made to pay for broken down vehicles to be towed, rather than a mandatory levy across board. Others also questioned why the contract was given to one company for the next 20 years.

Following the massive public uproar, the Akufo-Addo government halted the implementation of the policy.

A statement signed by the Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, explained that government took the decision after “extensive consultations between the Minister of Transport and stakeholders in the transport sector.”

It however served notice there was going to be further consultations on the best way to deal with the challenge of broken down vehicles going forward.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Osafo Maafo puts mandatory tow levy to bed appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo disclosed during the 2017 Ghana Economic Forum on Monday, that the government doesn’t have the capacity to employ more public servants.

[contextly_sidebar id=”z6n4HjMp4t0aJK6vaG18jsKnh7mUlYAA”]He stated that “the public sector is full in terms of employment [and] we can’t employ anybody in the public sector.”

According to him, the sector is full and government might even be forced to lay off some workers if the need arises.

But Abraham Koomson, the Secretary General of the Ghana Federation of Labour, said on Eyewitness News that “they [NPP] never promised to come and lay off workers, they knew the challenges that faced the economy, so if they have come to lament, who should help them?”

He added that “it is the responsibility of the government to make sure that the private sector picks up.”

“They have promised to give out stimulus packages and all that, it is not for them to be lamenting and crying”

“Donald Trump is still not doing better but he has been able to create about 300, 000 jobs, how many jobs have we created?? 10, 20 or 40? They should stop talking, get to work and deliver,” he added.

Don’t touch health, teachers – NAGRAT warns

The Vice president of NAGRAT, Angel Carbonu had earlier cautioned government to ensure that the cut in public sector workers should not affect the health and education sectors.

“The Senior Minister should have segregated the public sector and indicated directly which part of the public sector he is referring to because I do know that the policy indicates that there are vacancies in the Ghana Health Service and the Ghana Education Service. So are we saying that there is a ban on employment in both the Ghana Health Service and the Ghana Education Service whilst we are aware a lot of school’s need teachers… if it is a general policy then I am afraid to say that a lot of classrooms will be empty and without teachers,” he added.

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By: Rita Mensah/citifmonline.com/ghana

The post Stop lamenting and create jobs – Labour federation to Gov’t  appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, the sector is full and government might even be forced to lay off some workers if the need arises.

Speaking at the 2017 Ghana Economic Forum on Monday Mr. Maafo said “the public sector is full in terms of employment [and] we can’t employ anybody in the public sector.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”Lr4IpZbDiLOrm7iTGBqDU4cJcBYyqJ7t”]Mr. Maafo’s remark seems to be in sharp contrast to declarations by the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) when they were in opposition.

The NPP heavily criticized the then Mahama government for freezing recruitment into the public sector and accusing them of covering up with the 3-year IMF agreement.

Mr. Maafo who conceded that Ghana’s economy is currently in a mess stressed that the public service was“full” and “perhaps we may have to even lay some [workers] off.”

The Senior Minister also said Ghana currently has 20 public and 75 private universities  and that it will be very difficult to employ students from the tertiary institutions saying this situation could be averted “if the private sector grows, if the private sector expands, if the private sector becomes prosperous.”

He further urged industry leaders, and the business community to partner government to establish furnish tertiary institutions with state of the art laboratories to enable them train more researches and engineers for the country adding that “if we do not get our minds set into this direction, we are heading for trouble as a country.”

The two day event which will end on Tuesday, August 8, 2017 is themed: “Building a Ghanaian owned economy, 60 years after independence.”

Mr. Maafo at the event highlighted four areas he said government was keen in developing to boost the Ghanaian economy.

These he said included improving Ghana’s micro economic stability, massive infrastructure development, accelerated industrial development and agriculture transformation.

“These four thematic areas should be able to change the complete face of our economy and I’m sure with your support – captains of industry, the banks, we should be able to accomplish this as a cooperative effort for the sake of Ghana. Let us think about future generations. This generation should lay forever a foundation that will make Ghana a centre of industry in West Africa,” he urged.

The two day event which will end on Tuesday, August 8, 2017 is themed: “Building a Ghanaian owned economy, 60 years after independence.”

Four strategies to boost Ghana’s economy

Mr. Maafo at the event also for the domestication of the Ghanaian economy.

“What are we doing to domesticate that production? Our location even in West Africa is even central; all these should speak to us. Let us resolve to get the economy resolved once and for all. Let us remove this tag of irreversibility on our head that Ghana will do well for some time and later we reverse to the bottom then we climb again to the top that cannot do. Once we set on motion and moving we should make it impossible for any government to reverse that motion. And that is why we are looking at the fiscal responsibility law, so you can’t come and run the deficit anyhow. There should be a law restricting you,” he added.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The post We can’t employ more public sector workers – Osafo Maafo appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

He indicated that enormous opportunities exist in the sub-regional market, which they need to fully exploit to substantially increase their product lines.

Addressing an annual conference of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) in Kumasi, he asked that the Society collaborate with the government to devise ways to “capture” the market.

He added that this should be made an urgent priority and be seen as “a must-do crusade”.

“Harnessing opportunities in pharmacy for national economic development” is the theme chosen for the six-day meeting.

Mr. Osafo Maafo pointed out that the pharmaceutical industry holds tremendous potential for the nation’s economy and underlined the government’s unswerving determination to provide the needed support for its optimal performance.

He said it was for this reason that it had introduced a number of stimulus packages for the sector.

Among these is the exception of customs duties on all raw materials imported for local manufacturing of drugs.

The government was also in talks with key stakeholders to exempt value added tax (VAT) on manufactured pharmaceutical products.

Additionally, it had been discussing with ECOWAS member states to harmonize free movement of pharmaceutical products in the sub-region.

The Senior Minister encouraged the companies to focus on building the capacity to penetrate the international market.

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Source: GNA

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This was disclosed by Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo on behalf of the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Sunday.

[contextly_sidebar id=”MY9P3ZXfMuSRHsPvIBnl7IEiaFgvMvRP”]He was speaking during the 2017 New Patriotic Party (NPP)Ashanti Regional Annual Delegates Conference in Kumasi.

The president indicated that the Ashanti Region with 47 constituencies with just 30 districts is highly unacceptable due to its dense population.

He disclosed that like the Ashanti Region, the current number of districts in the Eastern Region is also very minimal.

The first gentleman of the land was of the view that lack of districts was impeding the smooth development of the two regions.

He indicated that cabinet is discussing plans to create additional districts in the country to help spread development all over.

He assured that the free Senior High School (SHS) policy would definitely take off in September this year to boost education.

Nana Akufo-Addo added that the ‘one district one factory’ campaign promise and other promises, made by him, would be fulfilled.

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Source: Daily Guide

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The Mahama administration came under intense criticism for what was described as midnight decisions to contract and recruit for and on behalf of the country within the last two weeks of its lifespan.

Speaking at an Institute of Economic Affairs ( IEA) review of the 2017 Presidential Transition, the Senior Minister said the Attorney General’s Office was in the process of reviewing all last-minute contracts of the previous administration in a process he described as “a complete waste of effort and man hours.”

“We shouldn’t haven’t have done them in the first instance,” Mr. Osafo-Maafo stressed.

“One of the problems we are facing as a new government are the many contracts which were signed within the last 14 days and not only within the centre but in institutions like COCOBOD and if you don’t take care, you will run the country into all kinds of judgement debts because these agreements have also been signed and maybe are legally binding.”

“You can’t just come and say abrogate them. Some of the conditions are such that you cannot implement them because they are not in the interest of the state so what do we do? We are taking these contracts one by one and under the able leadership of our Attorney General, we are looking at them,” he said.

Concerns over last-minute contracts were raised by the Akufo-Addo administration’s side of the Transition team with the Mr. Osafo-Maafo, who was co-chair of the Transition team, serving notice the incoming government would review such contracts.

There were initially some indications that both sides of the transition team had reached a compromise regarding the signing of new contracts and other decisions with major financial implications as the Mahama administration was to take all such decisions in consultation with the Akufo-Addo administration.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The Senior minister, Minister Yaw Osafo Maafo, at a forum in Accra yesterday said the Heritage Fund which receives nine percent of the country’s annual petroleum revenue will be used to sustain the program.

[contextly_sidebar id=”TjHESodn8JPq0OTFnnxrBQAcTgrUbTlO”]He noted that doing so will guarantee the development of the country particularly the youth.

“We have to make an amendment to say that X percent of the heritage fund, or the petroleum fund will be used to support second cycle education. If we think that industry require a certain stimulus that will enable jobs to be created and you are creating a job to build Ghana. You can look at it and put in a certain amount. We are [also] looking at agriculture.”

“Whatever is important to support the future development of this country. Particularly when you talk about the youth. The youth is the future, heritage is the youth, we would make certain relevant amendments to make sure that the economy benefits from the petroleum act,” Osafo Maafo said.

President Akufo Addo over the weekend announced that government will fully implement the free Senior High School (SHS) policy from the  2017/2018 academic year which starts this September.

The policy has been his party’s long-time campaign promise to  Ghanaians to increase access to education in the country.

But following the announcement, some analysts are questioning the government on where it will source funding for the ambitious program is reported to cost the country GH¢3.6 billion every year.

Policy think-tank, IMANI Ghana recently stated that the policy is likely to face some setbacks due to the country’s current economic condition.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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