Features
Cost-cutting: Government takes lead
One issue that keeps emerging in this country is the reference to the need for cost-cutting by the government at a time when the economic conditions facing the country and the world as a whole are highly unfavourable.
The call has come from political opponents, especially the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who appears to have no good alternative to this country.
EMPTY CRITICISM
Members of the NDC appear to be interested in criticising only but not to come out with suggestions that will go a long way to help the country.
Cost-cutting for the economy of Ghana has actually been done by the Akufo-Addo administration.
Any honest person in Ghana can attest to this fact. It is only those who are dishonest who cannot accept this as a matter of fact.
EXPENDITURE CUT DOWN
If the NDC and their cohorts will be honest with themselves, they will be the first to admit that, in the midst of economic difficulties, the government has tried hard to cut down on its expenditure.
Not only has this government been able to cut costs, but it has also been able to carry out economic development in various sectors.
The sectors include agriculture, industry, trade, transportation, health, education and many others. These would be discussed at another time, but for now, let us concentrate on cost cutting.
REDUCTION OF
MINISTERS
The NDC has pointed out that President Akufo-Addo should cut down on his ministers from 86 to 65.
Most of these ministers are also parliamentarians, so what it means is that the parliamentarian’s salary, if he or she is also a minister, will only bring in a difference of 2,000 to 3,000 Ghana cedis.
This means that even if 10 ministers are dropped, the government can only save about 20,000 Ghana cedis since the civil servants in the ministries cannot be sacked.
WEAK ARGUMENTS
For this reason, the NDC and its cohorts do not have any good points to stand on. Their arguments are not convincing enough, so they need to think of something better.
It is unfortunate that, as people in opposition, they are not able to come up with alternatives that will help the country.
SALARIES CUT DOWN
Last year, President Akufo-Addo directed all his officers to have their salaries cut by 30 per cent. This measure taken by the government saved the country over 19 billion Ghana cedis. Ministers’ and their deputies’ salaries were reduced to save money. Members of the Council of State also agreed to cut their salaries by 20 per cent. All these have saved the country substantial amounts.
In the case of the NDC parliamentarians, they have stated that they will not agree to cut their salaries by any amount.
This goes to show that the NDC faction is not patriotic enough to lead this country. For this reason, Ghanaians will have to make sure that they make the NDC stay in opposition for a long time.
DOUBLE SALARIES
What makes the matter annoying is that under former President Mahama, some of his ministers were paid double salaries. Ministers were paid in full under Mahama. At the same time, those of them who were MPs were also paid full salaries as such.
In all, the Mahama administration had 79 ministers, so the double salaries paid to them over that period amounted to more than 85 billion Ghana cedis. This is unbelievable!
So, which of the two parties, the NPP or the NDC, loves Ghana more than the other?
UNFAIR CRITICISM
Ghana’s First and Second Ladies are supposed to be paid some allowances, but because of some unfair criticism from the NDC, the current First Lady has declined to take those allowances. The same thing applies to Mrs. Bawumia, wife of the Vice President.
These are facts that show how dishonest and wasteful the NDC is.
Meanwhile, apart from the two ladies, Mahama’s wife and all the others are enjoying that allowance. What hypocrisy!!!
If all 275 MPs in Ghana agreed to cut their salaries by just 10 per cent, the country would be able to save over 60 million Ghana cedis every month. Are the MPs thinking about this?
We hope the NDC is thinking about this also.
Email address/ WhatsApp number of author:
Pradmat201@gmail.com (0553318911)
By Dr. Kofi Amponsah-Bediako
THE typical itinerant salesman in Sikaman is a herbalist. He is normally a slim macho with the capacity to perambulate the expanse of area covering the triangle of Accra-Tema-Ashiaman. In short, he can walk a total of 60 miles a day, marketing a product that cures every disease, including poverty. 
The door-to-door herbal pharmacist advertises his product by word of mouth. He has nothing to do with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB). After all, his concoctions do not feature on FM stations.
Those herbalists who cannot walk to propagate the herbal gospel, liaise with drivers of mass transportation and their mates. They are, therefore, given the chance to sell their products on Benz buses that ply the routes.
Normally, the herbalist starts his sales message with a prayer and Bible study. He asks the passengers to bow down their heads in supplication to God the father, the son, the Holy Spirit.
When a herbalist asks the passengers to close their eyes and bow their heads, Moslems on board naturally feel offended. They feel that the herbalist has no right to assume that every passenger is a Christian. They think such an assumption is an affront to Islam.
So a Moslem on board will raise the hand for a point of order. He’ll remind the herbalist that it would be in his own interest to mind his language.
“Be careful the way you address people in a public place. Not every person here is a Christian,” he’d state assertively.
Of course, the herbalist will promptly ignore him, but would all the same “watch” his tongue. Who knows whether or not the Moslem brother is inspired by Quoranic zeal to defend the tenets of Islam to the hilt?
When he starts saying, “Wallahi!” and “Inshallah!” it could be the beginning of proclaiming Islam as supreme, a point which must be driven home with talibanic precision.
So the herbalist must tread carefully lest he steps on fire.
The herbalist could even add a measure of mirth to it all, by announcing that Christians on board today have very interesting company on the journey, but that should not detract from the business of the day.
The Moslem brother will weigh the words carefully and offer a wry smile.
He must be careful the occasion does not degenerate into the use of semantics and proverbial oration to deride his conviction that public utterances must be mindful of religious sensibilities. He has made his point very clear and expects that it is taken in good faith in the interest of a peaceful journey.
The herbalist will now open the New Testament and preach salvation, stating clearly that salvation can come only through Jesus Christ and NOBODY else.
The Moslem brother will now start twitching his moustache. The visible and almost revolutionary reflexes of his upper lip can be an indication that sentiments have begun superseding reason, and the outcome could well be tragic now shift uneasily in his seat.
The time has come for him to also express his right to the religion of his fore-bears. He’ll put his hand into his pocket and rise to his feet. The time has indeed come!
This article was first published on Saturday, September 9, 2006
When the cause of a particular problem like sickness, disease, sudden illness, a social issue etc. are not known, it stands to reason that resolving it becomes a huge challenge.
Citizens would understand the government when public announcements are made to the effect that government is trying to find a solution to the issue, even though it is taking a while for it to be resolved because citizens are rational beings.
On the other hand, if the solution to a particular issue is known to everybody but the government for whatever reason, is dragging its feet in resolving it, citizens become frustrated and begin to lose trust in their leaders.
One such issue is the heavy traffic along a section of the Kasoa – Odokor road. A short stretch of bad road between the traffic light at the Weija Government Hospital and the entrance to the entrance of the overhead that leads to the N1, is the cause of the problem but nothing is being done about it, day after day, week after week, month after month. Thus is clearly unacceptable.
Another issue that requires urgent attention is the lack of pavements along a lot of streets in parts of the various Municipal Assemblies. Exercise is a prerequisite for long life and healthy living and for those of us who it has become a way of life, this issue of people putting up structures right to the edge of the drains beside the roads, are making life difficult for us.
We are compelled to walk along the roads, putting our lives at serious risk. Pedestrians should never be compelled to compete with vehicles on our streets and roads. Roads and streets are made for vehicles and pavements are made for pedestrians. That is the norm. Any attempt to normalise a situation where pedestrians are mingling with vehicles is insanity.
It is the road regulations that makes it so and therefore district or municipal assemblies are to take responsibility and ensure that spaces for pavements are not encroached upon. Citizens have rights that must be protected by their leaders and making pavements available to pedestrians, is one of them.
When we hear of teachers having sex with students, it appears it is something recent. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been there since Adam. Perhaps this issue is getting much attention due to the proliferation of social media. It was an open secret in times past when Teachers were in relationships with female students and some married them immediately after completion of school.
Some teachers were also known to be having unholy interactions with female pupils but due to the times that these acts occurred, human rights issues and the awareness around it, allowed such unscrupulous teachers to get away with their crimes.
Now we are in a different era and so a Headmaster is now in hot waters. He is alleged to have raped about 19 female students and as usual, some officials tried to cover it up and are also in hot waters and their actions or inactions in the matter are under investigation.
Why the man has been allowed to roam freely without being arrested is simply mind boggling. It appears that the law applies differently, depending on who you are. This issue came to public attention sometime in August this year, yet the police had not arrested or invited this man for question regarding the rape allegation.
It has come out that he is a Constituency Secretary of the ruling party and the question in the public domain is that, is it because he is a political figure that is why he is still walking around without questioning? I believe in the rule of law so let us hold our breadth and let the proper thing be done.
The police must however be seen to be active in this matter. God bless.
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