Controversy over HIPC Disbursements
By Isabella Gyau Orhin
Many were the Ghanaians who did not agree with the current government when it decided rather surprisingly to adopt the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) in March 2001.
The beef of many Ghanaians was that Ghana was not poor, and that the economic hardships the nation faced at the time were out of years of economic mismanagement. This sentiment was indeed reflected in the speech of the president at his inauguration on January 7, 2001 when he said, “Ours is not a poor country and even though we are now a poor people, there should be no room for despondency that has settled on a large sections of the populations.”
While a section of the country believed the country was poor alright, they could not accept the description of ‘highly indebted and poor’ which they found insulting and degrading to their national pride. After much public debate as to whether the country fits into the description or not, and after encourage from some civil society groups including ISODEC, that debt relief was good, the emotions died down, and both government and opposition settled to discuss how the funds would be used to benefit all and sundry.
In February 2002 Ghana reached the decision point of HIPC followed by the completion point in July 2004.
Total relief from HIPC is about 3.7 billion US dollars spread over a 20 year period.
HIPC Funds which is not monies coming from donors outside but internally generated revenue which otherwise would have been used to service external debts is what is expected to be used to provide social amenities at home through the Ghana Poverty reduction Strategy (GPRS I) and currently Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS II).
It appears the implementation of GPRS I did not satisfy all with the government being accused of diverting part of the money for purposes not intended in the document and agreed upon by government civil society and donors.
Recently, SEND Foundation, a non-for profit advocacy organisation issued a report dubbed “Where did Ghana’s HIPC funds go,” under it s HIPC Watch project said the HIPC funds were allocated without clearly stated and transparent guidelines.
Disbursements the report said was at the discretion of the Ministry of Finance and economic planning while there was no specific budget for it either.
The report said as Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) became he channel for spending HIIPC funds District Assemblies within whose jurisdiction the issue of poverty and poverty alleviation measures falls are marginalized and their role subsumed under the local government ministry.
“Allocations to Ministries which are responsible for sectors such as education, health, water and sanitation as well as agriculture declined as more many more MDAs joined the scramble for HIPC funds.
The report also said there was no evidence of a well articulated and holistic policy to cater for the specific needs of the disabled while the three northern regions that are the poorest n the country received the least items of projects and programmes from HIPC Funds. For instance out of the 609 education projects under GPPRS I from 2002 to 2004, the Upper East Region got 22 projects, Northern Region 54 and Upper East Region 22 projects.
This is against 70 educational projects in the Volta Region, 84 in Ashanti Region, 84 in the Greater Accra Region and 83 in the Brong-Ahafo Region. The rests are 69 in the Central Region, 47 in the Western Region, and 59 in the Eastern Region.
Again on health, out of a total of about 194 projects, the Northern region had 27, Upper West Region11, Upper East Region 22, Western region 14, Brong-Ahafo Region 24, Central Region 25, Ashanti Region 17, Volta Region 20, Eastern Region 17, Greater Accra Region 17 projects.
The report further said the expenditure of HIPC Funds was not done with the approval of Parliament. “Nobody accounted for the expenditure of HIPC funds to Parliament; neither did parliament exercise its monitoring and oversight powers in general to hold any MDA accountable for HIPC funds or to ensure that those funds were spent with authority.”
The report said within the context of the GPRS, factors such as population ratio received more weight than the degree of poverty in the weighing system used in calculating the allocation of funds for poverty alleviation among other allegations.
Last Tuesday, the deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning Dr. Anthony Akoto-Osei called a Press Conference to provide more information on the disbursement of HIPC Funds. The Minster was quick to explain that the meeting was not to dispute the allegation made by SEND Foundation in its HIPC Watch report.
“Our job is to ensure that the right information is out there in the public gallery as to how HIPC resources have been spent,” he said.
He said allocation of HIPC Funds has been made according to “clearly laid down guidelines and procedures.” “The allocations are reflected in the annual budget and approved by Cabinet and Parliament. Modalities have been put in place for proper monitoring and auditing of the use of the funds.”
He said government is continually streamlining the procedures to ensure transparency and effective use of funds.
“The formula for disbursements consistently has 20 percent for the reduction of domestic debt, and the other 80 percent for Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and other projects.
“From year 2002 to date, release of HIPC funding comes to a total of 5,568.1 billion cedis out of which domestic payments amounted to 966.3 billion cedis. He said the remainder has been used on education, health, water and sanitation and on growth sectors especially areas where the poor participate most, such as agriculture, informal sector or areas from which the poor stand to benefit from such s micro finance.
Part of the HIPC money is also used to pay the Member of Parliament’s Common Fund which is 200 million cedis per each member.
Dr. Akoto-Osei also disclosed that part of the HIPC money has been used to pay for Ghana’s equity stake in the West African Gas Pipeline project.
He said most of the problems experienced with the disbursement of the HPC funds are as a result of the weaknesses in the decentralisation process in general. According to him, although the Ministry has responsibility to monitor the flow of the funds, t is difficult since they are not in the districts.
He said the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) is tasked t Monitor the flow of the HIPC funds in ht districts.
“There have been occasions where a DCE has used up an MPs Common Fund, while some people are being prosecuted for misapplying HIPC Funds.
He said an examination of some of audits books reveal that some assemblies have used
HIPC money as sitting allowance for their members. “If there are cases we re not aware of, you can let us know,” he said.
“Until we feel comfortable with the decentralisation process, we will continue to have problems with all monies disbursed at the district level,” he said adding,
“It is a general problem of governance which is not restricted to the HIPC money,” he said.
But Siapha Kamara of SEND Foundation says government can spend money building the capacity of district assembly staff to enable them handle the HIPC funds properly.
He said District assemblies are being sidelined in the disbursements of the funds.
“We do not have to wait for the money to be misapplied before sending people to court for prosecution,” he said.
He also said the government should be careful in its new growth agenda.
“We want to see growth that targets poverty reduction and not growth that aid the rich n society,” he said.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Donors complain of slow pace of decentralisation
Donors bemoan slow pace of decentralisation
By Isabella Gyau Orhin
Ghana’s donor partners are on warpath against the slow pace of decentralization in the country saying without it Ghana cannot reach a middle income status by the year 2015.
The donors say although a framework on decentralisaiton exists, to date there has not been much progress.
The donors were speaking at the recent 13th Consultative Group Meeting in Accra.
The head of the European Union in Ghana Ambassador Filiberto Ceriani Sebregondi said decentralization can be a powerful tool for drawing the Ghana growth agenda.
“We have to face the reality; decentralisaiton is really not working,” he said adding, “resources and power should be transferred to the District assemblies.”
He said the European Union will give Ghana all the support it needs to undertake complete fiscal decentralisation.
The EU was not the only donor partner that was unhappy with the process of decentralisaiton in Ghana. The United States Ambassador to Ghana, Pamela Bridgewater said at the conference that although Ghana is one of the Sub Saharan African Countries that is performing admirably, an enormous challenge remains – “and that is the need to decentralize authority from central to regional governments.”
According to her, devolving fiscal and administrative authority from the central government to local government is critical for quality service delivery and to reduce poverty in meaningful ways.
“Ghana is now at a critical turning point: I strongly encourage political leadership to take necessary steps to advance the agenda for greater fiscal decentralization,” Bridgewater said.
According to her, fiscal decentralization affords local government greater autonomy to work with communities to find and implement local solutions to problems.
According to the US ambassador, local governments are currently powerless to improve service delivery because health, education and agricultural officers stationed in districts across the country report to central ministries.
“Moreover budget transfers from central government to local governments are heavily earmarked and severely limited in their possible applications,” she said.
Barbara Brown, who is the Director General for West and Central Africa, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), also added her voice to the call for real decentralization. She said the plan to raise common fund allocations has been delayed while the execution of Local Governance Service Bill is behind schedule. According to her, the role of the Local Government Service Council needs to be clarified.
Brown also said the legislative Instrument enabling decentralization of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs has not been implemented
“We fully understand that district capacity deficiencies represent a major challenge for the government of Ghana but donors are prepared to help,” Brown said.
According to her, Canada’s experience with district level budgetary support has demonstrated that districts are able to plan and administer funds transparently.
She said the Ghana Audit Service has noted year over year improvements, adding “capacity weakness is not the reason for slowing down decentralisaiton.”
Rather she said funds management is an opportunity to reinforce the application of Ghanaian regulations and build capacities for sound management of public funds at the district level.
However the Ministry for Public Sector Reform Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, partly blamed the donors for the slow pace of the decentralization process.
He explained that some of the difficulties stem from the different agendas of donor governments.
“There is the need to harmonise aid with consistency and the same agenda,” he said.
With this Nduom said “We can make some improvements.”
The Minister for Finance and Economic Planning Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu also explained to the donors that functional decentralisaiton is ongoing.
This is not the first time that government has battled donors on decentralization.
During the visit of the former World Bank President James D Wolfensohn in March 2004, the then Minister for Finance Yaw Osafo-Maafo and the then Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Kwadwo Adjei-Darko told the visiting World Bank President that decentralization has not taken off fully as a result of a number of problems at the grassroots.
Contributing to a forum discussion on the theme "Decentralising the GPRS: Deepening the involvement of poor people in problem definition," the two ministers complained about lack of effective planning and accountability in the district assemblies.
While Kwadwo Adjei-Darko blamed central planners for not factoring the district assemblies in the preparation of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy paper, Osafo- Maafo was unhappy with the inability of district Assemblies to make maximum use of resources available.
Budgets in the district are only a shopping list of what the district wants. Osafo-Maafo said.
Adjei-Darko told the audience that one of the greatest problems in the implementation of the GPRS is the failure to mainstream the document into the district’s medium term development plans. He said as at 2004, the ministry’s departments and agencies were budgeting separately instead of all of them having a composite budget. Also, the representatives of MDAs in the various districts all work up to the national level reporting at the headquarters in stead of the assemblies.
Another problem which threatens the smooth implementation of the GPRS was the lack of requisite professional and technical personnel at the district level. Accountants, engineers, planners and architects were in short supply in the districts.
Osafo-Maafo said the district assemblies were not doing well in the area of financial management. “I have had the chance of reading 68 reports of such assemblies and I believe one should be careful in sending money there.”
He said the ministry of finance is assisting with the employment of budget officers rely heavily on polytechnic trained accountants. He also complained that assembly resource mobilization in the country is nothing to write home about, it gets worse even in the municipalities and metropolitan areas.
The history of decentralisation in Ghana according Prof. Joseph Ayee of the University of Ghana is traced back to the introduction of indirect rule by the British colonial authorities in 1878.
Ghana’s current programme of decentralisation was initiated prior to the national democratic transition in the early 1990s. In 1988, the PNDC government introduced a major piece of legislative reform, the Local Government Law (PNDC Law 207). This created 110 designated districts within Ghana’s ten regions, with non-partisan District Assembly (DA) elections held initially in 1988/89 and subsequently every four years.
The 1992 constitution has endorsed the Local government system.
Now with 138 districts, Ghana is poised to hold local government elections next August amidst all these problems
By Isabella Gyau Orhin
Ghana’s donor partners are on warpath against the slow pace of decentralization in the country saying without it Ghana cannot reach a middle income status by the year 2015.
The donors say although a framework on decentralisaiton exists, to date there has not been much progress.
The donors were speaking at the recent 13th Consultative Group Meeting in Accra.
The head of the European Union in Ghana Ambassador Filiberto Ceriani Sebregondi said decentralization can be a powerful tool for drawing the Ghana growth agenda.
“We have to face the reality; decentralisaiton is really not working,” he said adding, “resources and power should be transferred to the District assemblies.”
He said the European Union will give Ghana all the support it needs to undertake complete fiscal decentralisation.
The EU was not the only donor partner that was unhappy with the process of decentralisaiton in Ghana. The United States Ambassador to Ghana, Pamela Bridgewater said at the conference that although Ghana is one of the Sub Saharan African Countries that is performing admirably, an enormous challenge remains – “and that is the need to decentralize authority from central to regional governments.”
According to her, devolving fiscal and administrative authority from the central government to local government is critical for quality service delivery and to reduce poverty in meaningful ways.
“Ghana is now at a critical turning point: I strongly encourage political leadership to take necessary steps to advance the agenda for greater fiscal decentralization,” Bridgewater said.
According to her, fiscal decentralization affords local government greater autonomy to work with communities to find and implement local solutions to problems.
According to the US ambassador, local governments are currently powerless to improve service delivery because health, education and agricultural officers stationed in districts across the country report to central ministries.
“Moreover budget transfers from central government to local governments are heavily earmarked and severely limited in their possible applications,” she said.
Barbara Brown, who is the Director General for West and Central Africa, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), also added her voice to the call for real decentralization. She said the plan to raise common fund allocations has been delayed while the execution of Local Governance Service Bill is behind schedule. According to her, the role of the Local Government Service Council needs to be clarified.
Brown also said the legislative Instrument enabling decentralization of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs has not been implemented
“We fully understand that district capacity deficiencies represent a major challenge for the government of Ghana but donors are prepared to help,” Brown said.
According to her, Canada’s experience with district level budgetary support has demonstrated that districts are able to plan and administer funds transparently.
She said the Ghana Audit Service has noted year over year improvements, adding “capacity weakness is not the reason for slowing down decentralisaiton.”
Rather she said funds management is an opportunity to reinforce the application of Ghanaian regulations and build capacities for sound management of public funds at the district level.
However the Ministry for Public Sector Reform Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, partly blamed the donors for the slow pace of the decentralization process.
He explained that some of the difficulties stem from the different agendas of donor governments.
“There is the need to harmonise aid with consistency and the same agenda,” he said.
With this Nduom said “We can make some improvements.”
The Minister for Finance and Economic Planning Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu also explained to the donors that functional decentralisaiton is ongoing.
This is not the first time that government has battled donors on decentralization.
During the visit of the former World Bank President James D Wolfensohn in March 2004, the then Minister for Finance Yaw Osafo-Maafo and the then Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Kwadwo Adjei-Darko told the visiting World Bank President that decentralization has not taken off fully as a result of a number of problems at the grassroots.
Contributing to a forum discussion on the theme "Decentralising the GPRS: Deepening the involvement of poor people in problem definition," the two ministers complained about lack of effective planning and accountability in the district assemblies.
While Kwadwo Adjei-Darko blamed central planners for not factoring the district assemblies in the preparation of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy paper, Osafo- Maafo was unhappy with the inability of district Assemblies to make maximum use of resources available.
Budgets in the district are only a shopping list of what the district wants. Osafo-Maafo said.
Adjei-Darko told the audience that one of the greatest problems in the implementation of the GPRS is the failure to mainstream the document into the district’s medium term development plans. He said as at 2004, the ministry’s departments and agencies were budgeting separately instead of all of them having a composite budget. Also, the representatives of MDAs in the various districts all work up to the national level reporting at the headquarters in stead of the assemblies.
Another problem which threatens the smooth implementation of the GPRS was the lack of requisite professional and technical personnel at the district level. Accountants, engineers, planners and architects were in short supply in the districts.
Osafo-Maafo said the district assemblies were not doing well in the area of financial management. “I have had the chance of reading 68 reports of such assemblies and I believe one should be careful in sending money there.”
He said the ministry of finance is assisting with the employment of budget officers rely heavily on polytechnic trained accountants. He also complained that assembly resource mobilization in the country is nothing to write home about, it gets worse even in the municipalities and metropolitan areas.
The history of decentralisation in Ghana according Prof. Joseph Ayee of the University of Ghana is traced back to the introduction of indirect rule by the British colonial authorities in 1878.
Ghana’s current programme of decentralisation was initiated prior to the national democratic transition in the early 1990s. In 1988, the PNDC government introduced a major piece of legislative reform, the Local Government Law (PNDC Law 207). This created 110 designated districts within Ghana’s ten regions, with non-partisan District Assembly (DA) elections held initially in 1988/89 and subsequently every four years.
The 1992 constitution has endorsed the Local government system.
Now with 138 districts, Ghana is poised to hold local government elections next August amidst all these problems
Donors call on Ghanaians to hold them accountable
Donors call on Ghanaians to hold them accountable
By Isabella Gyau Orhin
Ghana‘s development partners have asked the people of Ghana to hold them accountable if they fail to deliver on their services and obligations to the country.
Speaking at the 13th Consultative Group Meeting in Accra Last Wednesday, the representative of the Department for International Development (DFID) Mike Hammond said the government can also hold the donors accountable on their service delivery while civil society can also hold both and government and the donors accountable..
According to him, reducing poverty and promoting human development is the core of development assistance.
This year’s meeting had mutual accountability as one of the key areas of concern for both donors and government.
Indeed a communiqué issued at the end of the one day meeting stated that mutual accountability based on dialogue and focused on a partnership for shared growth is necessary to ensure effective resource flows.
This according to the communiqué will help the country reach a middle income status and also achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) within a decade.
But these statements are also at the background of Ghana’s castigation of donors that processing of assistance takes too long to mature.
The Minister of Finance Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu was the first to complain at the conference.
His beef was that processing of donor funds takes too long. “From identification to implementation, sometimes it takes about 38 months,” he bemoaned.
“All of us can benefit from the improved services, both on the donor side and on the recipients side,” he said adding, “We are not blaming anybody,”
Baah-Wiredu also explained further that the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) takes about two to three years to process aid.
When the President John Kufuor took his turn to speak at the conference, he also reechoed the same sentiment. “We all need to do something about the time,” he said. The President also poured out his heart to the donors as if assistance has not been adequate.
“We have implemented some very harsh programmes,” he said citing the petroleum deregulation as an example. The President did not mince words in putting the deregulation at the doorstep of the donors.
According to him, government was “forced” to deregulate with promptings from development partners.
The President who appeared desperate said ordinarily this should have caused a huge political upheaval but the people of Ghana understood even though they keep grumbling.
“We see the problem so keenly so that you need to help us,” the President pleaded.
He also lamented on the spate of agitation for salary increment which had led to strikes in the country. We are all are of what is happening in the country, he said.
According to him, paying medical consultants 4,000 dollars is not too much since their compatriots may be drawing thousands of dollars elsewhere.
The President also said the salaries of teachers, nurses, and the police are all on the low side and all these are threatening to spark off more agitations.
On further loans and their implications, the president said although the country will not borrow indiscriminately, it will borrow if it becomes necessary.
We will go in for self financing projects like tolled roads and not in areas that government would have to subsidise.”
Later in an interview some members of civil society said the presidents lamentations were part of holding donors accountable and asking them to deliver on their promises even though it is believed that laxity on the part of some public officials sometimes contribute to delays in disbursement of donor funds.
According to a representative of civil society at the conference, Dr. Emmanuel Akwetey, donors sometimes only promise but fail to deliver on their promises.
He said sometimes, the funds delay, whilst governments in desperate situations are forced to sign agreements before they get the chance to weigh the consequences.
He also said conditionalities are usually not announced openly since they will attract criticisms.
Dr. Akwetey said before the public can hold donors accountable there is the need for donors to be transparent. Accountability borders on moral suasion, and this is very powerful,” he said.
Dr. Akwetey who is also the Executive Director of the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG) said civil society wants to discuss what Mr. Hammond proposed with donors.
“We intend to engage them in a number of issues, including independent evaluation of their activities in our country.”
He explained that although the influence of donors such as the World Bank has toned down considerably, donors have repackaged their influences in more sophisticated forms.
“There have been influences and there are still influences but the issue is how to minimize those influences.” He said.
Supporting Dr. Akwetey, a Policy Analyst with the Centre for Budget Advocacy (CBA) of the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) Nicholas Adamtten said “If we know the amount that the donors are transferring or if we know the conditions attached to the facility, then we can assess the impact and hold donors accountable.
Adamttten also said it is a good thing that the donors themselves have realized that it is time to get Ghanaians on board the development ladder.
“If they have realized it and they are asking us, then it is a step forward,” he said.
The conference confirmed that Ghana will benefit from a five billion dollar aid in projected new disbursements, which is 800 million dollars more than projected six months ago.
A further 1.3 billion dollars in debt relief under HIPC and other initiatives all totaling 6.3 billion is identified as development partner support for the Growth and Poverty Reduction (GPRS II) for the period 2006 to 2009.
Government also noted that an additional two billion dollar would be needed to scale-up investment plan designed to meet the objectives of GPRS II.
An official of the World Bank Office in London Jacob Kopperud said there is the need to track what donors promise and hold them to it.
“Ghana must learn from the experiences of Austria and wean itself of donor influence. You cannot forever hope that Uncle Sam to bringing you a nice care package,” An Austrian Economic Journalist on tour of Ghana Oliver Grimm advised.
By Isabella Gyau Orhin
Ghana‘s development partners have asked the people of Ghana to hold them accountable if they fail to deliver on their services and obligations to the country.
Speaking at the 13th Consultative Group Meeting in Accra Last Wednesday, the representative of the Department for International Development (DFID) Mike Hammond said the government can also hold the donors accountable on their service delivery while civil society can also hold both and government and the donors accountable..
According to him, reducing poverty and promoting human development is the core of development assistance.
This year’s meeting had mutual accountability as one of the key areas of concern for both donors and government.
Indeed a communiqué issued at the end of the one day meeting stated that mutual accountability based on dialogue and focused on a partnership for shared growth is necessary to ensure effective resource flows.
This according to the communiqué will help the country reach a middle income status and also achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) within a decade.
But these statements are also at the background of Ghana’s castigation of donors that processing of assistance takes too long to mature.
The Minister of Finance Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu was the first to complain at the conference.
His beef was that processing of donor funds takes too long. “From identification to implementation, sometimes it takes about 38 months,” he bemoaned.
“All of us can benefit from the improved services, both on the donor side and on the recipients side,” he said adding, “We are not blaming anybody,”
Baah-Wiredu also explained further that the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) takes about two to three years to process aid.
When the President John Kufuor took his turn to speak at the conference, he also reechoed the same sentiment. “We all need to do something about the time,” he said. The President also poured out his heart to the donors as if assistance has not been adequate.
“We have implemented some very harsh programmes,” he said citing the petroleum deregulation as an example. The President did not mince words in putting the deregulation at the doorstep of the donors.
According to him, government was “forced” to deregulate with promptings from development partners.
The President who appeared desperate said ordinarily this should have caused a huge political upheaval but the people of Ghana understood even though they keep grumbling.
“We see the problem so keenly so that you need to help us,” the President pleaded.
He also lamented on the spate of agitation for salary increment which had led to strikes in the country. We are all are of what is happening in the country, he said.
According to him, paying medical consultants 4,000 dollars is not too much since their compatriots may be drawing thousands of dollars elsewhere.
The President also said the salaries of teachers, nurses, and the police are all on the low side and all these are threatening to spark off more agitations.
On further loans and their implications, the president said although the country will not borrow indiscriminately, it will borrow if it becomes necessary.
We will go in for self financing projects like tolled roads and not in areas that government would have to subsidise.”
Later in an interview some members of civil society said the presidents lamentations were part of holding donors accountable and asking them to deliver on their promises even though it is believed that laxity on the part of some public officials sometimes contribute to delays in disbursement of donor funds.
According to a representative of civil society at the conference, Dr. Emmanuel Akwetey, donors sometimes only promise but fail to deliver on their promises.
He said sometimes, the funds delay, whilst governments in desperate situations are forced to sign agreements before they get the chance to weigh the consequences.
He also said conditionalities are usually not announced openly since they will attract criticisms.
Dr. Akwetey said before the public can hold donors accountable there is the need for donors to be transparent. Accountability borders on moral suasion, and this is very powerful,” he said.
Dr. Akwetey who is also the Executive Director of the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG) said civil society wants to discuss what Mr. Hammond proposed with donors.
“We intend to engage them in a number of issues, including independent evaluation of their activities in our country.”
He explained that although the influence of donors such as the World Bank has toned down considerably, donors have repackaged their influences in more sophisticated forms.
“There have been influences and there are still influences but the issue is how to minimize those influences.” He said.
Supporting Dr. Akwetey, a Policy Analyst with the Centre for Budget Advocacy (CBA) of the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) Nicholas Adamtten said “If we know the amount that the donors are transferring or if we know the conditions attached to the facility, then we can assess the impact and hold donors accountable.
Adamttten also said it is a good thing that the donors themselves have realized that it is time to get Ghanaians on board the development ladder.
“If they have realized it and they are asking us, then it is a step forward,” he said.
The conference confirmed that Ghana will benefit from a five billion dollar aid in projected new disbursements, which is 800 million dollars more than projected six months ago.
A further 1.3 billion dollars in debt relief under HIPC and other initiatives all totaling 6.3 billion is identified as development partner support for the Growth and Poverty Reduction (GPRS II) for the period 2006 to 2009.
Government also noted that an additional two billion dollar would be needed to scale-up investment plan designed to meet the objectives of GPRS II.
An official of the World Bank Office in London Jacob Kopperud said there is the need to track what donors promise and hold them to it.
“Ghana must learn from the experiences of Austria and wean itself of donor influence. You cannot forever hope that Uncle Sam to bringing you a nice care package,” An Austrian Economic Journalist on tour of Ghana Oliver Grimm advised.
Africa should move away from aid to trade
Let’s move from aid to trade-Databank
By Isabella Gyau Orhin
The Executive Director of the Databank Financial Services (DFS) Yoofi Grant has said Ghana should move away from aid dependence as the economy of the county has stabilized.
He said the focus should now be on trade and not aid adding that Ghana and Africa should re-engineer themselves to benefit from its share of the world trade.
Speaking at a meeting last Tuesday with a group of European journalists touring the country with sponsorship from the World Bank, Grant said the economy of Ghana should be free from donor ties especially the Bretton Woods Institutions.
“Commodity prices over the last three years have been favourable to Africa and Ghana,” he said.
Ghana’s two major exports cocoa and gold are doing well on the world market with gold selling at over 6oo dollars an ounce.
According to him, Ghana for instance is now an emerging market with many success stories and a stock exchange market that is improving drastically and making waves both home and abroad.
“We are as successful in the same scale as other markets in Europe.”
He said Africa could have attracted more investment but for negative media reports.
According to the World trade Organisation, Africa’s trade is about two percent of world trade.
According to him, in spite of the many success stories of Africa’s business environment, the western media had chosen to focus on warring countries painting Africa as an unsafe place to do business.
“Africa is actually a yield game, the yield in Africa is good,” he explained.
He said it is about time the western countries turn their attention to Africa to observe the reality on the ground as against what they see on their television screens.
Mr. Yoofi said organizations like the World Bank unfortunately have been drawn into the image issue. He said the World Bank patronises whatever is espoused by the western media creating the impression that corruption exists only in African countries.
Grant was of the opinion that until Africa addresses the issue of negative media reportage by the western media; the continent is not going to get its fair share of foreign Direct Investments.
Supporting, Grant, the Chief Executive Officer of the SOFTtribe an Information Communication technology Company Herman Chinery-Hesse said disenfranchising local businesses have been part of the agenda of donors who give aid to the country.
He said when there is an influx of foreign goods on the market, local competitors are affected.
He also complained that, indigenous entrepreneurs voices do not reach very far since government is arm twisted by donors in exchange for aid.
“Donors make governments make weird decisions that weaken local businesses,” he said.
Other private sector representatives who met with the European journalists were worried about the influx of cheap goods from China and cited the visit of the Chinese Premier
Mr. Wen Jiabao, and the aid of about US$66million to fund its developmental projects such as the construction of a 17.4 kilometre road which costs 28 million dollars
They said all were attempts to strengthen the dumping currently going on.
The Vice president of the Ghana Institution of Engineers also said a lot of contracts especially those sponsored by donors are awarded to foreign contractors and consultants.
According to him, such foreigners usually bring a lot of workers from their home countries denying Ghanaians the opportunity of gaining employment.
“Such projects should come with a lot of Ghanaian participation and until the Ghanaian component is increased, the problem will persist,” he said.
Ghana’s economy is said to have stabilized with inflation dropping from about 40 percent in 2002 to a single digit in April May 2006, rising slightly top about 10 percent in recent times.
Some 40 percent o f Ghana’s annual budget comes from donor sources and this according to experts have weakened the countries negotiation skills with donors on conditionalties such as privatization of State Owned Enterprises and other social services.
For instance, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has announced its intention to charge consumers for the full cost of electricity and water supplies.
These two have hitherto been subsidized by government.
The Pertoleum sector has also been deregulated and subsidies withdrawn as part of the promptings of the Bretton Woods institutions.
According to an Economist Nii Ampah Sowa, the Ghanaian economy continues to remain stable in spite upward trend of the crude oil prices.
Ghana’s relationship with donors such as the World Bank dates as far back as the first republic when the head of state contracted a loan to build the Akosombo dam.
Ghana is expected to gain about 4.2 billion dollars in debt relief from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
But this according to experts are not free but come with conditions.
By Isabella Gyau Orhin
The Executive Director of the Databank Financial Services (DFS) Yoofi Grant has said Ghana should move away from aid dependence as the economy of the county has stabilized.
He said the focus should now be on trade and not aid adding that Ghana and Africa should re-engineer themselves to benefit from its share of the world trade.
Speaking at a meeting last Tuesday with a group of European journalists touring the country with sponsorship from the World Bank, Grant said the economy of Ghana should be free from donor ties especially the Bretton Woods Institutions.
“Commodity prices over the last three years have been favourable to Africa and Ghana,” he said.
Ghana’s two major exports cocoa and gold are doing well on the world market with gold selling at over 6oo dollars an ounce.
According to him, Ghana for instance is now an emerging market with many success stories and a stock exchange market that is improving drastically and making waves both home and abroad.
“We are as successful in the same scale as other markets in Europe.”
He said Africa could have attracted more investment but for negative media reports.
According to the World trade Organisation, Africa’s trade is about two percent of world trade.
According to him, in spite of the many success stories of Africa’s business environment, the western media had chosen to focus on warring countries painting Africa as an unsafe place to do business.
“Africa is actually a yield game, the yield in Africa is good,” he explained.
He said it is about time the western countries turn their attention to Africa to observe the reality on the ground as against what they see on their television screens.
Mr. Yoofi said organizations like the World Bank unfortunately have been drawn into the image issue. He said the World Bank patronises whatever is espoused by the western media creating the impression that corruption exists only in African countries.
Grant was of the opinion that until Africa addresses the issue of negative media reportage by the western media; the continent is not going to get its fair share of foreign Direct Investments.
Supporting, Grant, the Chief Executive Officer of the SOFTtribe an Information Communication technology Company Herman Chinery-Hesse said disenfranchising local businesses have been part of the agenda of donors who give aid to the country.
He said when there is an influx of foreign goods on the market, local competitors are affected.
He also complained that, indigenous entrepreneurs voices do not reach very far since government is arm twisted by donors in exchange for aid.
“Donors make governments make weird decisions that weaken local businesses,” he said.
Other private sector representatives who met with the European journalists were worried about the influx of cheap goods from China and cited the visit of the Chinese Premier
Mr. Wen Jiabao, and the aid of about US$66million to fund its developmental projects such as the construction of a 17.4 kilometre road which costs 28 million dollars
They said all were attempts to strengthen the dumping currently going on.
The Vice president of the Ghana Institution of Engineers also said a lot of contracts especially those sponsored by donors are awarded to foreign contractors and consultants.
According to him, such foreigners usually bring a lot of workers from their home countries denying Ghanaians the opportunity of gaining employment.
“Such projects should come with a lot of Ghanaian participation and until the Ghanaian component is increased, the problem will persist,” he said.
Ghana’s economy is said to have stabilized with inflation dropping from about 40 percent in 2002 to a single digit in April May 2006, rising slightly top about 10 percent in recent times.
Some 40 percent o f Ghana’s annual budget comes from donor sources and this according to experts have weakened the countries negotiation skills with donors on conditionalties such as privatization of State Owned Enterprises and other social services.
For instance, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has announced its intention to charge consumers for the full cost of electricity and water supplies.
These two have hitherto been subsidized by government.
The Pertoleum sector has also been deregulated and subsidies withdrawn as part of the promptings of the Bretton Woods institutions.
According to an Economist Nii Ampah Sowa, the Ghanaian economy continues to remain stable in spite upward trend of the crude oil prices.
Ghana’s relationship with donors such as the World Bank dates as far back as the first republic when the head of state contracted a loan to build the Akosombo dam.
Ghana is expected to gain about 4.2 billion dollars in debt relief from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
But this according to experts are not free but come with conditions.
Monday, October 16, 2006
New treatment for cervical cancer: Hope for poor women
Hope for poor women? New treatment for Cervical CancerIn recent times, many eyebrows have been raised over the treatment of various cancers that affect women especially breast and cervical cancers.As Breast Cancer takes its toll on Ghanaian women, cervical cancer is also said to be the cause of 20 percent of all deaths caused by cancer in women.Although doctors say cervical cancer can be prevented if detected early poverty and lack of technological advancement in third world countries have prevented the early detection of the disease leading to the loss of many lives.Cervical cancer is defined as a malignant growth in the area of the cervix that spreads into surrounding organs as well as distant vital organs such as the liver, lungs and bones.Each year about 400,000 new cases of cervical cancer occur worldwide with 80 percent of these in women living in developing countries.It also accounts for 200,000 deaths among women each year.“Poor and economically deprived countries such as ours is thus at a great risk of the disease,” says Dr. Henrietta Odoi Agyarko, a deputy Director at the Ministry of Health. She said there is only limited or non-existent capacity to manage large pre-cancerous changes. Cervical cancer is an important women’s reproductive health issue and a public health problem in developing countries where diagnosis and treatment is usually unavailable.The World Health Organisation recommends that many African, Asian and Latin American countries need to boost their capacity to screen sexually active women to detect and treat what is termed “pre cancerous lesions.”“Patients practically report late with advanced inoperable and incurable disease when symptoms and signs occur and make it obvious to them that something is wrong such as irregular or heavy bleeding, offensive vaginal discharge, post menopausal bleeding among others,” said Prof. S.W.K Adadevoh a gynaecologist /obstetrician.“I have not been confronted with such high numbers of advanced stages of the disease overseas since screening every 3 to 5 years was done to detect and treat pre-cancerous lesions which otherwise will progress into destructive, debilitating and fatal stage,” Prof Adadevoh said adding “It was a great surprise and disappointment for me to note that screening methods were not available in the country, only the rich can go in for the traditional screening method which is the Pap Smear when they travel outside.”According to Prof. Adadevoh there was no treatment whatsoever to offer poor women apart from palliative measures, death was the ultimate result-he said.The Ministry of Health has over the past 10 years made serious attempts to change this situation by looking for development partners for funding and support to establish a suitable and appropriate screening program for the country.In 1999, a team of experts from the JHPIEGO Corporation, an affiliate of the John Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland in the USA visited Ghana and made contacts with the Ministry of Health to carry out a demonstration project to test the Safety, Accessibility and Feasibility (SAFE) of VIA as a screening method for low resourced countries like Ghana and an alternative to Pap smear.The VIA method is the Naked eye Visual Inspection of the Cervix using Acetic Acid (Vinegar). According to the Ministry of Health this procedure has been tested and proved to be safe and reliable.Again a second major finding is that it can easily be studied and performed competently by midwives.Countries like Malawi, Thailand and Peru also took party in the SAFE project.In November 2001, the Ministry of Health formed the multidisciplinary Cervical Cancer Care team. This comprised Gynaecologists, Pathologists, Surgeons and radiation Oncologist.Ridge Hospital was selected to start off with the urban phase of the study, which started off, with the training of clinical supervisors.A year later, the study was extended to the Amasaman Health Centre with the training of four Nurse-Midwives as service providers.Prof. Adadevoh said efforts are being made to improve women’s awareness about the disease.“The unfortunate characteristic of cervical cancer is that by the time clinical signs and symptoms become obvious and noticeable, the condition has advanced far beyond cure.However she said women are generally infected with the causative microorganism between the ages of 10 and 40 years“There is therefore along latent period which is characterised by slow insidious and gradual changes of cells in a haphazard manner which precedes the invasive stage of the disease.She said if these pre-cancerous changes or lesions are detected early, treatment can lead to complete cure adding “If we are able to take advantage of this phenomenon, cervical cancer may be almost always be preventable.”After detection of changes in the cervix with VIA, a system of treatment called Cryotherapy is applied.Dr. Odoi Agyarko said with the establishment of the VIA as an acceptable alternative to Pap Smear, it is now possible to combine VIA with an out patient treatment of pre-cancerous lesions or changes.She said the Amasaman Health Centre is the first rural centre to have this facility by the kind courtesy of Rotary club International.Since January 2002 when the nurses were trained, they have screened a total of 2,702 cases out of which 199 were positive. They were all treated instantly.Dr. Odoi Agyarko also said the new method is safe for screening women at a local community health centre, it is also acceptable to both clients and service providers, feasible for use under field conditions.While the traditional method of screening, the Pap Smear is expensive, inconvenient and not always available, Dr. Odoi Agyarko says the VIA is affordable, does not require electricity and requires no anaesthesia.“Reproductive health policy and standards documentation has now been reviewed with greater emphasis on cancers of both female and male reproductive system.She said the VIA and Cryotherapy have been incorporated into the policy as the first choice screening and treatment method respectively. Again Odoi Agyarko said strategies have been drawn up for the scaling up process to gradually cover the whole country through human resource development, resource mobilisation both financial and material as well as provide education, information and counselling to sexually active women including adolescents and the youth. The Minister for Women and Children’s Affairs Gladys Asmah has asked all women in The reproductive age to take advantage of the programme and have themselves screened. “A healthy family is a happy family,” she says.According to Asmah, Spousal support is needed in the prevention and treatment of disease that affect mainly women. “In this regard, all spouses should make it not only their duty and obligation but to realise that it is the right of all women to have their unflinching support in order to achieve optimal health to enable them perform their marital, professional and social duties effectively and efficiently,” she advised. Author: By Isabella Gyau Orhin
Cabinet reshufle and women's participation in politics
Cabinet reshuffle and women’s participation in politicsWomen’s participation in politics in Ghana has been on the low side since time immemorial.While some analysts have attributed this to lack of interest in politics by women themselves, others have said women have not received the required support from society to enable them participate fully in elections as well as governance.Obviously there is gross gender imbalance as far as representation and participation of women in politics is concerned.This may be due to unequal power relations between the sexes in both the traditional and formal modern structures.Studies conducted by the Centre for Development Studies of the University of Cape Coast identified general lack of self-confidence leading to apathy, socialisation process that creates awareness among men rather than women to be in the helm of public affairs, low level of education, inadequate exposure of women in public interaction as well as the reproductive role of women and their untold household chores. For example women form about nine percent in the present parliament.Before President Kufuor’s recent cabinet reshuffle, there were about 13 female ministers and deputy Minister in government.Prominent among them , Minister for Women and Children Affairs, and Ministry of Basic Secondary and Girl-child Education. Fortunately these two were not affected by the reshuffle. As at now out of the 34 deputy Ministers only six are women. The reshuffle resulted in the removal of the Member of Parliament and deputy Minister for Finance Grace Coleman. Apart from Coleman only one Minister also lost his job- Minister for Youth and Sports Edward Osei Kwaku.Thus the reshuffle has not gone down well with some women’s rights activists.In an interview with the media last Thursday, the Executive Director of the Gender and Human Rights Documentation Centre Dorcas Coker- Appiah said the President could have done better with the appointment of more women than he did.He said all the women already in his government should have been maintained with new appointments as well.She was supported by the Executive member of FIDA Nana Oye Lithur, Lithur said there are not many women in President Kufuor’s government and as such the few women who are there should be encouraged to be there instead of being dropped. For the past half-century, women’s basic human rights including the right to equal opportunities in life have been represented as a fiercely contested issue. In 1945, the UN declaration on Human Rights sought to reaffirm a broad equality between men and women; a portion of the convention was ratified in the following year to further enhance women’s position in society. Since, and globally speaking, the world has seen a fast burst in the growth of women’s emancipation, culminating with the “Decade for women” between 1975 to 1985. For Ghana, the convention was bolstered on January 2, 1986, with new laws to fight against all forms of discrimination towards women. Women have not participated much even in local government elections but for the last one. Before the last local government elections, only 7 District Chief Executives were women out of 110.Again out of 7,700 members of the 110 District Assemblies, only 385, about five percent were women.Again majority of the 30 percent of government nominees were all men.Over 300 women were elected to the various assemblies out of over 900 who contested the last local government elections.Also some gender activists have praised President Kufuor for increasing the number of women who go into the assemblies as government nominees.Women need to be pushed forward and encouraged to help them assert themselves in the political playing field and being appointed to public positions would go a long way to encourage most women, that the time has come for them to take part in the decision making process of issues that affect their lives.Author: By Isabella Gyau Orhin
Thursday, October 05, 2006
The Importance of ICT to Journalism in Ghana
By Isabella Gyau Orhin
"Gone are the days when Journalists used to pan the streets looking for stories" is the slogan of Journalists in the advanced countries where technological advancement in communication is part of every day life.
But for their colleagues in the south side of the globe, the story is not the same. it is very little or no advancement in modern communication technologies. In African countries like Ghana, it is a priviledged to have access to the internet in the office.
While some have placed the problem at the doorstep of journalists themselves who have failed to avail themselves to the Information Communication Technology (ICT) revolution currently going on globally, others have blamed newspaper publishers, media managers and owners as well as government for failing to develop the ICT potential of media personnel.
The problem however is bigger than a mere blame game.
The first failure stems from the educatiuon curricula or trianing package for fresh students.
For instance in Ghana, where several mushroom journalism training institutions are the order of the day, studnets finish school without any computers knowledge.
Whilst on internship at media houses,their supervisors have to take them through typing lessons and by the time they are abreast with the computer, their attatachment periods are over.
Even in accredited Media training institutions like the Prestigious Ghana Institute of Journlaism and the School of Communication Studies of the University of Ghana, there are not enough computers for every student to be abreast with ICT while such computers are not connected to the internet.
Journalists are moreover among the least paid people in Ghana and as such cannot afford good moblile phones with unique facilities to broaden their knowledge of ICT. They are also not supplied with Laptops and mobile phones bytheir employers.
In Ghana arguably, a large number of journalists still use the pen and paper just as farmaers use the cutlass and hoe.
Those who are fortunate to have computers in their newsrooms have to queue to process their stories while the news editors scream at them for being slow. Out of frustration some avoid the queue, going back to doing what they know best- Pen and paper.
The Internet remains the personal preserve of the News Editor, Editor or the Systems Manager.
When he is in a good mood, Journalists can go on the net for a few minutes, but when he or she is not feeling too well, then the network is down.
No one expects the journalist to use the internet to research and enrich his or her story.
"Some times I have to download my background from the Internet cafe at my own expense," says Ewuradwoa Ohene, a Journalists with a private Bi-weekly in Acrra.
"Since I want to write good stories, I have to spend my meagre income of about 200 dollars a month at a cafe which costs a dollar for an hour," she adds.
It is against this background that the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA)in collaboration with UNESCO is hodling a one week training workshop for about 15 Journalists in Accra.
Not only is the workshop dealing with the technical know-how of these Journlaists but also it intends to come out with a communique which will be routed through the National Media Commission aimed at changing policies and behaviours in newsrooms.
Most Ghanaian journalists are oblivious of what ICT journalism entails as against their Asian and South African counterparts who are far advanced in it.
As a result of this ignorance, ICT companies, trianing institutions and mobile phone operators are having a field day cheating unsuspecting Ghanaians.
"I wish we could continue for months so I can help my colleagues," a particpant at the GJA ICT seminar stated in a comment.
This comment demonstrates how serious the Journalists are to change the trend of affairs, but what about their bosses and society in general?
"Gone are the days when Journalists used to pan the streets looking for stories" is the slogan of Journalists in the advanced countries where technological advancement in communication is part of every day life.
But for their colleagues in the south side of the globe, the story is not the same. it is very little or no advancement in modern communication technologies. In African countries like Ghana, it is a priviledged to have access to the internet in the office.
While some have placed the problem at the doorstep of journalists themselves who have failed to avail themselves to the Information Communication Technology (ICT) revolution currently going on globally, others have blamed newspaper publishers, media managers and owners as well as government for failing to develop the ICT potential of media personnel.
The problem however is bigger than a mere blame game.
The first failure stems from the educatiuon curricula or trianing package for fresh students.
For instance in Ghana, where several mushroom journalism training institutions are the order of the day, studnets finish school without any computers knowledge.
Whilst on internship at media houses,their supervisors have to take them through typing lessons and by the time they are abreast with the computer, their attatachment periods are over.
Even in accredited Media training institutions like the Prestigious Ghana Institute of Journlaism and the School of Communication Studies of the University of Ghana, there are not enough computers for every student to be abreast with ICT while such computers are not connected to the internet.
Journalists are moreover among the least paid people in Ghana and as such cannot afford good moblile phones with unique facilities to broaden their knowledge of ICT. They are also not supplied with Laptops and mobile phones bytheir employers.
In Ghana arguably, a large number of journalists still use the pen and paper just as farmaers use the cutlass and hoe.
Those who are fortunate to have computers in their newsrooms have to queue to process their stories while the news editors scream at them for being slow. Out of frustration some avoid the queue, going back to doing what they know best- Pen and paper.
The Internet remains the personal preserve of the News Editor, Editor or the Systems Manager.
When he is in a good mood, Journalists can go on the net for a few minutes, but when he or she is not feeling too well, then the network is down.
No one expects the journalist to use the internet to research and enrich his or her story.
"Some times I have to download my background from the Internet cafe at my own expense," says Ewuradwoa Ohene, a Journalists with a private Bi-weekly in Acrra.
"Since I want to write good stories, I have to spend my meagre income of about 200 dollars a month at a cafe which costs a dollar for an hour," she adds.
It is against this background that the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA)in collaboration with UNESCO is hodling a one week training workshop for about 15 Journalists in Accra.
Not only is the workshop dealing with the technical know-how of these Journlaists but also it intends to come out with a communique which will be routed through the National Media Commission aimed at changing policies and behaviours in newsrooms.
Most Ghanaian journalists are oblivious of what ICT journalism entails as against their Asian and South African counterparts who are far advanced in it.
As a result of this ignorance, ICT companies, trianing institutions and mobile phone operators are having a field day cheating unsuspecting Ghanaians.
"I wish we could continue for months so I can help my colleagues," a particpant at the GJA ICT seminar stated in a comment.
This comment demonstrates how serious the Journalists are to change the trend of affairs, but what about their bosses and society in general?
Impressions about GJA/UNESCO ICT Workshop
The Workshop is very interesting and very educative.
I have been greatly moved by the new ICT devices that make newsrooms an interesting place to work, instead of the stress it gives to journalists now.
I am also excited about having my own blog where I can post copies of my articles for future reference.
I am also thrilled bythe fact that journlists can communicate with our editors and also interact among ourselves via the Skype telephone and other programmes.
I am grateful to GJA for giving me the opportunity to participate in the workshop.
I have been greatly moved by the new ICT devices that make newsrooms an interesting place to work, instead of the stress it gives to journalists now.
I am also excited about having my own blog where I can post copies of my articles for future reference.
I am also thrilled bythe fact that journlists can communicate with our editors and also interact among ourselves via the Skype telephone and other programmes.
I am grateful to GJA for giving me the opportunity to participate in the workshop.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
African Poverty and the CDM
By Isabella Gyau Orhin
The Deputy Minister for Lands, Forestry and Mines, Andrews Adjei-Yeboah has said Climate change increases the vulnerability of poor people by adversely affecting their health and livelihoods and undermining growth opportunities, which are crucial for poverty reduction.
“For example in recent years in Ghana, there has been a noticeable increase in the frequency of drought conditions affecting the level of the Akosombo Dam which is the main source of electrical energy for the country and its industries,” he said.
Speaking at a meeting in Accra last Monday on the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), a project aimed at reafforestation to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions globally, Mr. Adjei Yeboah said based on available scientific information and the unusual weather patterns being experienced globally, there is no doubt that the planet earth is undergoing some change.
“Many African countries including Ghana are unable to cope with the current climate variability,” he said.
Currently in Ghana, there is a load shedding exercise with electricity being cut for 12 hours every three days.
According to the Minister in spite of all these there is still a section of the climate science community yet to be convinced that the climate of our planet is changing.
In my view, it will be reckless not to take steps now in line with the cautionary principle, he said.
Supporting the Minister, the Assistant Director General of the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) Mr. Olochie A. Edachie called on African governments to mitigate the impact of climate change by strengthening sustainable forest management.
Mr. Edachie said the project would help control the extreme weather conditions currently threatening the existence of the planet earth.
The Tsunamis and the hurricanes as well as heat waves occurring in recent times have all been placed at the doorstep of climate change.
“There is no doubt that mitigating the negative effects of climate will contribute greatly to the improvement in the living conditions of an important part of our population,” he said adding, “By making full use of the CDM, African countries will be benefiting from emerging markets related carbon trading.”
Mr. Edachie also said although Africa, like other continents is endowed with a wide range of climatic conditions and vegetations, a large portion of its population is living at the margin of fragile agro-ecosystems.
This situation he said is exacerbated by erratic weather conditions and extreme poverty that lead to unsustainable utilization of forest resources which in turn lead to land degradation, desertification and loss of biodiversity.
Others are famine, misery with incalculable long-term consequences on the environment.
“We are already experiencing some of these effects through rising temperatures, floods, intermittent droughts and crop failure,” he said.
Environmental experts say the CDM has been designed with the purpose of assisting developing countries to achieve sustainable development as they assist developed countries to cut down their emissions or comply with their quantified emission targets through flexible mechanisms.
It allows a company in the industrialised world to partner with a company in a developing country to put in place projects that have the tendency of controlling global warming or green house gas emissions. While the companies get money out of their investments, their countries also get credits for greenhouse gas emissions, which they can use to fulfill their emission reduction targets in the Kyoto Protocol.
This latest development is in contradiction with earlier stand by developing countries and Civil Society groups from Africa and other parts of the world.
At the Hague Global Warming Conference dubbed (COP 6) in 2000, some African Ministers particularly from the Sahelian countries such as Mali, Senegal, Tunisia, Uganda and Burundi favoured inclusion of ‘sinks’ comprising forests, wetlands etc. into the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
Others were strictly against it saying it would lead to cheap credits in Africa and allow the US to emit more greenhouse gases without making any effort to cut down emissions at home. “It is better not to have a deal than to have a bad deal,” said an environmental lawyer at the summit.
Ghana’s deputy minister for Environment at the time Lee Ocran said majority of African countries are insisting that developed countries cut down on their emissions. “ We should not confuse the issues here. Trees have been identified as temporary stores for carbon dioxide, forest fires and deforestation are on the increase these days and as such the trees may not be there all the time”, he said. However officials of Sahelian countries were convinced on their positions and would not be convinced.
They claimed refusing the American option may mean an end or decline to funding of agriculture and aforestation projects in their countries which they need so badly to prevent drought. They also said aforestation projects in their countries funded by the US might bring in financial income and food security. “The American offer means billions of dollars for tree planting exercises”, said a delegate from Zambia who represented an environmental institution. It is still not clear whether developed countries will cut down on their emissions as they get credits from developing countries.
In 1990, the United Nations formed an inter governmental Negotiating Committee for the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) after climate change and adverse weather effects were attributed to the activities of man. At the Rio summit in Brazil in 1992, the UNFCCC was signed into an agreement. Later at a meeting dubbed Conference of the Parties (COP 1) in 1995, the weaknesses in the UNFCCC as a document were recognised, it was not binding on any country.
Therefore a Protocol was enacted as an additional legal binding document with consequences. At COP 3 in Kyoto in 1997, the Protocol which is now popularly known as the KYOTO PROTOCOL was adopted by consensus. It was the protocol that gave developed countries emission reduction targets. Scientists say the level of the heat trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is 30 percent higher than in the pre-industrial era and has reached its highest level in 420,000 years. They project that if governments do too little to cut emissions, atmospheric levels of global warming gases could rise to twice or thrice the pre-industrial levels. Emissions of carbon dioxide increased 12-fold during the last century as society consumed and wasted increasing amounts of coal, oil and natural gas. Africans and third world countries will also be adversely affected if nothing is done about the situation. Robert Watson, Chairman of the Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of 2000 scientists from various countries in the world has said direct health effects of global warming would include increase in heat-related diseases resulting from anticipated increase in heat waves, increase in seasons for vector organisms such as mosquitoes, water snails and tsetse flies. This situation according to Watson will increase the incidence of yellow fever, malaria and a host of tropical diseases. “Projected changes in climate could lead to an increase in the number of people at risk from Malaria. Tens of millions of people could be affected annually, primarily in tropical and sub tropical and less well protected temperate zones”, Watson said at the 2000 conference.
The Deputy Minister for Lands, Forestry and Mines, Andrews Adjei-Yeboah has said Climate change increases the vulnerability of poor people by adversely affecting their health and livelihoods and undermining growth opportunities, which are crucial for poverty reduction.
“For example in recent years in Ghana, there has been a noticeable increase in the frequency of drought conditions affecting the level of the Akosombo Dam which is the main source of electrical energy for the country and its industries,” he said.
Speaking at a meeting in Accra last Monday on the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), a project aimed at reafforestation to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions globally, Mr. Adjei Yeboah said based on available scientific information and the unusual weather patterns being experienced globally, there is no doubt that the planet earth is undergoing some change.
“Many African countries including Ghana are unable to cope with the current climate variability,” he said.
Currently in Ghana, there is a load shedding exercise with electricity being cut for 12 hours every three days.
According to the Minister in spite of all these there is still a section of the climate science community yet to be convinced that the climate of our planet is changing.
In my view, it will be reckless not to take steps now in line with the cautionary principle, he said.
Supporting the Minister, the Assistant Director General of the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) Mr. Olochie A. Edachie called on African governments to mitigate the impact of climate change by strengthening sustainable forest management.
Mr. Edachie said the project would help control the extreme weather conditions currently threatening the existence of the planet earth.
The Tsunamis and the hurricanes as well as heat waves occurring in recent times have all been placed at the doorstep of climate change.
“There is no doubt that mitigating the negative effects of climate will contribute greatly to the improvement in the living conditions of an important part of our population,” he said adding, “By making full use of the CDM, African countries will be benefiting from emerging markets related carbon trading.”
Mr. Edachie also said although Africa, like other continents is endowed with a wide range of climatic conditions and vegetations, a large portion of its population is living at the margin of fragile agro-ecosystems.
This situation he said is exacerbated by erratic weather conditions and extreme poverty that lead to unsustainable utilization of forest resources which in turn lead to land degradation, desertification and loss of biodiversity.
Others are famine, misery with incalculable long-term consequences on the environment.
“We are already experiencing some of these effects through rising temperatures, floods, intermittent droughts and crop failure,” he said.
Environmental experts say the CDM has been designed with the purpose of assisting developing countries to achieve sustainable development as they assist developed countries to cut down their emissions or comply with their quantified emission targets through flexible mechanisms.
It allows a company in the industrialised world to partner with a company in a developing country to put in place projects that have the tendency of controlling global warming or green house gas emissions. While the companies get money out of their investments, their countries also get credits for greenhouse gas emissions, which they can use to fulfill their emission reduction targets in the Kyoto Protocol.
This latest development is in contradiction with earlier stand by developing countries and Civil Society groups from Africa and other parts of the world.
At the Hague Global Warming Conference dubbed (COP 6) in 2000, some African Ministers particularly from the Sahelian countries such as Mali, Senegal, Tunisia, Uganda and Burundi favoured inclusion of ‘sinks’ comprising forests, wetlands etc. into the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
Others were strictly against it saying it would lead to cheap credits in Africa and allow the US to emit more greenhouse gases without making any effort to cut down emissions at home. “It is better not to have a deal than to have a bad deal,” said an environmental lawyer at the summit.
Ghana’s deputy minister for Environment at the time Lee Ocran said majority of African countries are insisting that developed countries cut down on their emissions. “ We should not confuse the issues here. Trees have been identified as temporary stores for carbon dioxide, forest fires and deforestation are on the increase these days and as such the trees may not be there all the time”, he said. However officials of Sahelian countries were convinced on their positions and would not be convinced.
They claimed refusing the American option may mean an end or decline to funding of agriculture and aforestation projects in their countries which they need so badly to prevent drought. They also said aforestation projects in their countries funded by the US might bring in financial income and food security. “The American offer means billions of dollars for tree planting exercises”, said a delegate from Zambia who represented an environmental institution. It is still not clear whether developed countries will cut down on their emissions as they get credits from developing countries.
In 1990, the United Nations formed an inter governmental Negotiating Committee for the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) after climate change and adverse weather effects were attributed to the activities of man. At the Rio summit in Brazil in 1992, the UNFCCC was signed into an agreement. Later at a meeting dubbed Conference of the Parties (COP 1) in 1995, the weaknesses in the UNFCCC as a document were recognised, it was not binding on any country.
Therefore a Protocol was enacted as an additional legal binding document with consequences. At COP 3 in Kyoto in 1997, the Protocol which is now popularly known as the KYOTO PROTOCOL was adopted by consensus. It was the protocol that gave developed countries emission reduction targets. Scientists say the level of the heat trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is 30 percent higher than in the pre-industrial era and has reached its highest level in 420,000 years. They project that if governments do too little to cut emissions, atmospheric levels of global warming gases could rise to twice or thrice the pre-industrial levels. Emissions of carbon dioxide increased 12-fold during the last century as society consumed and wasted increasing amounts of coal, oil and natural gas. Africans and third world countries will also be adversely affected if nothing is done about the situation. Robert Watson, Chairman of the Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of 2000 scientists from various countries in the world has said direct health effects of global warming would include increase in heat-related diseases resulting from anticipated increase in heat waves, increase in seasons for vector organisms such as mosquitoes, water snails and tsetse flies. This situation according to Watson will increase the incidence of yellow fever, malaria and a host of tropical diseases. “Projected changes in climate could lead to an increase in the number of people at risk from Malaria. Tens of millions of people could be affected annually, primarily in tropical and sub tropical and less well protected temperate zones”, Watson said at the 2000 conference.
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