Resource A-G’s Department to fight corruption
The Council of State has urged President John Dramani Mahama to resource and motivate the staff of the Attorney-General’s (A-G’s) Department through incentives and improved conditions of service to attract and retain more experienced legal personnel in the department.
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According to the council, the slow pace of justice delivery and the inadequacy of the number of legal officers at the A-G’s Department had, over the years, served as major drawback to the fight against corruption.
The Chairman of the council, Madam Cecilia Johnson, made the appeal at the council’s second meeting with the President at the Peduase Lodge yesterday.
She said the council believed that the current efforts by the President to fight corruption and the ills in society, as well as facilitate the dispensation of justice, would not be appreciated if that critical enforcing arm of the government remained weak.
“We are happy about your posture and frequent assurances of your commitment to fight corruption at every opportunity. Our concern, however, is with the responsiveness of our legal system, which is key to the success of your efforts to stem corruption,” she said.
Fiscal discipline
She expressed with satisfaction the government’s fiscal discipline and lauded its efforts because, according to her, “it is one of the logical means of checking the rampant waste of the government’s limited resources”.
“It is reassuring that the government has taken a bold decision to complete all projects before starting new ones. Similarly, the government’s strategy of targeted spending, particularly to support and expand the productive base of the country, is in the right direction,” Madam Johnson said.
She further noted with delight the Cabinet’s exemplary step to cut back the salaries of government appointees by 10 per cent, stressing that “this symbolises true leadership and a measure of selflessness in the national interest”.
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She called on the government to give practical meaning to that decision by ensuring its full implementation.
Government’s intervention on tariffs
The council praised the government’s sensitivity to public outcry over the recent tariff increases on utilities, particularly electricity, and also shared the view that high tariff increases, when possible, should be staggered over a period to lessen their impact on the consuming public.
The restoration of stability in the supply of power to end what was widely referred as “dum sor dum sor” was also commended.
Affordable housing
On affordable housing, Madam Johnson said in view of the political interest and debate that had characterised previous projects whose implementation had suffered setbacks, the government should facilitate the execution of the project through all means possible.
Dagbon
She commended the President for his personal commitment to resolve the Dagbon issue, saying, “A pointer to this effort is your recent interaction with a joint delegation of the Andani and the Abudu families.
“As a son of the soil yourself, we believe that you can use your personal qualities, particularly as a unifier, to achieve the long-desired peace and reconciliation in Dagbon.”
GYEEDA
Madam Johnson touched on the revelations at GYEEDA and noted with satisfaction the swift action by the government to get to the bottom of alleged corrupt practices and irregularities and further commended the steps taken to restructure GYEEDA.
She urged the government to ensure that competent and patriotic Ghanaians were entrusted with the responsibility of managing strategic national institutions at all levels.
World Cup
Madam Johnson acknowledged Ghana’s qualification to the World Cup for the third consecutive time and the convincing manner in which it was achieved.
That, she said, was because football seemed to have the magic to bring the people together, regardless of their ethnic, religious and political differences.
“Those of us who witnessed the days of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, our first President, and the personal role he played in putting Ghana on the world map, particularly in soccer, believe that your interest in the Black Stars is appropriate and commendable,” she said.
Nationalism
Madam Johnson expressed grave concern over the lack of nationalism and the need to passionately guard against unpatriotic tendencies among the current generation of Ghanaians.
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That unfortunate state of affairs, she observed, was gradually destroying the fibre of society and recommended that the government take a serious look at the issue.