Page 3: Daily Graphic, September 3, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority has disputed claims by the Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG) that Ghana is losing an estimated $40 million annually due to smuggling of rice into the country.
According to the division, there seemed to be conjectures and a deliberate distortion of figures by the FABAG in a bid to portray the Customs division in a bad light and also to serve the interest of the association.
It, therefore, challenged the FABAG to substantiate its allegations.
Reacting to the Wednesday, September 1, 2010 publication of the Daily Graphic in which the FABAG raised alarm about the activities of rice smugglers and their effect on revenue generation and business in Ghana, the head of Client Service Unit of Customs, Chief Collector Robert Mensah, said "the so-called 350,000 metric tonne rice imports did not give a time frame for such imports nor did it indicate the basis for determining how 100,000 metric tonnes of it are smuggled".
He said the FABAG did not also give a clear indication of how the $40 million revenue loss was calculated in terms of duty rates over the period, considering the fact that at various times in the past few years tariffs had varied from zero-rated to 20 per cent import duty in accordance with the government’s trade policy.
With tables and figures to support the position of Customs, Mr Mensah said rice imports from 2007 to August 2010 amounted to 2,770,348.28 metric tonnes with GH¢378.71 million paid as tax revenue, adding that for the year 2009 only, 779,125.38 metric tonnes of rice was imported with GH¢112.79 million paid as tax.
"Comparing the 2009 figures to 2008 and August 2010 figures, it is discernible that despite lower volumes in metric tonnes, duty collected in the two years was higher and this is explained by the fact that the government removed duty on imported rice in May 2007 and re-introduced it in January 2010," he said.
Mr Mensah said a total of 781,847.73 metric tonnes of rice was admitted for consumption in 2009 with GH¢97.29 million taxes paid while 1,001,848.90 metric tonnes of rice was admitted for consumption in 2008 with GH¢106.06 million paid as taxes.
As of August 2010, he said, 207,526.27 metric tonnes of rice had been admitted for consumption with a total of GH¢62.59 million paid as taxes.
"Thus, whereas importers took advantage of the zero-rated incentive to import more rice in 2008-2009, with the introduction of the rice tariff of 20 per cent in 2010, the volumes imported have reduced, yet the government obtains higher revenue," he added.
Mr Mensah said a closer look at developments at the Elubo border indicated a similar trend as more rice was imported in 2009 due to the zero-rated tax with GH¢1.90 million paid as duty whereas in 2010 for the period up to August, almost the same volumes have been imported but this time with a higher revenue yield of GH¢3.69 million.
According to him, the facts on the ground prove beyond doubt that imports increased over the years in Elubo despite the so-called manipulations and lower duty rates that had been alleged by the FABAG.
Touching on the incidence of smuggling, he said it was undeniable that with the nature of Ghana's borders characterised by waterways, jungles, mountains and ranges, as well as numerous farms and pathways, certain levels of smuggling occurred.
"Despite the shortcomings and incidence of smuggling, it is inconceivable to assert that as much as 100,000 metric tonnes of rice could be smuggled in and how such quantities could be ferried whether by road, waterway or footpath," he said.
Mr Mensah reminded members of the FABAG that there was a glut on the market and that was compounded by good harvest of maize and yam, stressing that "the way forward is not to contrive figures and scenarios to run down state institutions".
He also reminded the FABAG that freight alone on their imports increased their cost as against those who used the western corridors with less expensive mode of transportation.
Earlier at a press conference, the FABAG had reiterated its earlier position with their spokesperson, Mr John Awuni, saying that the disparity in tariff structure between Ghana and its neighbours was a major contributory factor to the woes of importers using the Tema port.
He, therefore, called on the government to push for uniformity in the tariff structure in ECOWAS countries as the prevailing system created room for abuse.
Mr Awuni said failure on the part of the government to address the challenges would result in job losses for legitimate importers and revenue loss to the state.
He said the quest to promote local rice consumption would also suffer since consumers would prefer the cheap imported perfumed rice and cited the problem of tomato farmers to illustrate his point.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Massive rice smuggling: $40m DOWN THE DRAIN
Front Page: Daily Graphic, September 1, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
GHANA is said to be losing an estimated $40 million annually as a result of rice smuggled into the country.
Estimates compiled by the Food and Beverages Association of Ghana, for presentation to the Ministry of Trade, indicate that 100,000 metric tonnes out of the 350,000 metric tonnes of rice imported into the country are smuggled in, causing the country the millions of dollars in tax revenue.
The resort to the smuggling of rice is attributed to the high duty and other tariffs being implemented at Ghana’s ports as against the country’s West African neighbours.
In that smuggling adventure, Elubo, Debiso, Nkrankwanta, Dadieso and Enchi border areas are the most frequently used to bring in the 100,000 metric tonnes; 75,000 metric tonnes of which are described as high value perfumed rice.
The finding of the association, made up of about 20 local entrepreneurs, also revealed that rice sales for 2010 dropped by 25 per cent.
It also noted that duty on imported rice in Cote d’Ivoire was 12.5 per cent with no Valued Added Tax (VAT), while “On the contrary, importers in Ghana have to pay 20 per cent customs duty in addition to 12.5 per cent VAT and 2.5 per cent National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL) in addition to other levies totalling 40 per cent.
“So the inherent difference of 22.5 per cent in the landing cost of imported rice in the respective countries works to the advantage of the traders involved in the smuggling,” they added.
They explained that there was a difference to the tune of GH¢7 between a perfumed 25kg bag smuggled rice and the legally imported one.
According to them, the traders involved in the trade are able to manage the direct cost by manipulating the duty at the Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire border and hence the difference of GH¢7 per bag.
The players said there was also an under-declaration of customs duty to the tune of 50 per cent.
Citing high value perfumed rice as an example, they noted that the CIF price of Thai perfumed rice was $950 per metric tonne and customs duty of 20 per cent amounted to $190 per metric tonne, whereas duty paid at the Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire border was $95 per metric tonne.
They explained that the loss of revenue to the Ghana government on account of VAT on 75,000 metric tonnes was $6,412,500 annually while customs duty on the same quantum of imports was $7,125,000 annually, bringing the total loss of revenue on perfumed rice alone to $13.5 million.
They said the fear was that international prices of rice had started rising in the last four weeks, which was likely to promote more smuggling into the country, stressing that “rice prices have increased from an average of about $800 to $900 in the last four weeks”.
Story: Albert K. Salia
GHANA is said to be losing an estimated $40 million annually as a result of rice smuggled into the country.
Estimates compiled by the Food and Beverages Association of Ghana, for presentation to the Ministry of Trade, indicate that 100,000 metric tonnes out of the 350,000 metric tonnes of rice imported into the country are smuggled in, causing the country the millions of dollars in tax revenue.
The resort to the smuggling of rice is attributed to the high duty and other tariffs being implemented at Ghana’s ports as against the country’s West African neighbours.
In that smuggling adventure, Elubo, Debiso, Nkrankwanta, Dadieso and Enchi border areas are the most frequently used to bring in the 100,000 metric tonnes; 75,000 metric tonnes of which are described as high value perfumed rice.
The finding of the association, made up of about 20 local entrepreneurs, also revealed that rice sales for 2010 dropped by 25 per cent.
It also noted that duty on imported rice in Cote d’Ivoire was 12.5 per cent with no Valued Added Tax (VAT), while “On the contrary, importers in Ghana have to pay 20 per cent customs duty in addition to 12.5 per cent VAT and 2.5 per cent National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL) in addition to other levies totalling 40 per cent.
“So the inherent difference of 22.5 per cent in the landing cost of imported rice in the respective countries works to the advantage of the traders involved in the smuggling,” they added.
They explained that there was a difference to the tune of GH¢7 between a perfumed 25kg bag smuggled rice and the legally imported one.
According to them, the traders involved in the trade are able to manage the direct cost by manipulating the duty at the Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire border and hence the difference of GH¢7 per bag.
The players said there was also an under-declaration of customs duty to the tune of 50 per cent.
Citing high value perfumed rice as an example, they noted that the CIF price of Thai perfumed rice was $950 per metric tonne and customs duty of 20 per cent amounted to $190 per metric tonne, whereas duty paid at the Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire border was $95 per metric tonne.
They explained that the loss of revenue to the Ghana government on account of VAT on 75,000 metric tonnes was $6,412,500 annually while customs duty on the same quantum of imports was $7,125,000 annually, bringing the total loss of revenue on perfumed rice alone to $13.5 million.
They said the fear was that international prices of rice had started rising in the last four weeks, which was likely to promote more smuggling into the country, stressing that “rice prices have increased from an average of about $800 to $900 in the last four weeks”.
Friday, August 27, 2010
'Participate in environmental issues'
Page 19: Daily Graphic, August 27, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A DIRECTOR at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Mr Samuel D. Anku, says citizen participation in environmental issues will be greatly enhanced if there is access to information law to enhance accessibility to environmental information.
That way, he said, citizen’s participation in decision-making processes on the environment would not only be effective but also maintain trust and confidence between the government and the citizens.
“Confidentiality of information on grounds of national security provide a broad cloak while repressive measures for wrongful disclosure by government officials and the lack of sanctions for failure to provide access do not encourage access to information,” he noted.
Mr Anku, who is a Director of Intersectoral Networks Division at the EPA, was speaking at a round-table discussion on “Our environment, our economy, our democracy,” in Accra.
He said the passage of the Right to Information Bill would strengthen citizen access to environmental information.
It was organised by the Governance Africa Foundation, a non-governmental organisation.
He said for public participation to be effective, the local people must understand the concepts of environmental democracy in order to be able to contribute to the decision-making process.
He stressed the need for the government to firmly legalise statutory environmental committees at the decentralised levels and assure their effective and proactive functioning with a broad environmental scope.
“These decentralised structures should play a key role in planning, monitoring, early warning and information management,” he said.
Mr Anku said as Ghana strove to implement poverty reduction and environmental sustainability strategies, strong mechanisms for implementation of access rights could help create new economic opportunities for poor people and promote equity and social justice.
He said when citizens were conscious of their rights, they were able to demand accountability and responsibility on the part of their government.
In a welcoming address, the Executive Director of the Governance Africa Foundation, Mr Kwaku Baa Owusu, noted that Ghana, just like other countries, would have to exploit its resources to sustain itself and to ensure the well-being of its people.
He, however, said that exploitation must be done within a framework that did not compromise the sanctity of Article 36 (9) of the 1992 Constitution.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Kwabena Duffour, said the threat of climate change was real and had the potential of adversely affecting Ghana’s plans for sustainable economic growth, food security and the health of the citizenry.
He said the negative impacts of climate change could undermine the government’s plans and assumptions on economic growth, health, social protection, agriculture, fisheries and trade.
“With careful planning and commitment, however, some of the damaging effects of climate change can be reduced and positive changes can be turned to economic advantage,” he said.
Dr Duffour said the ministry would seek economic benefits from climate mitigation by adopting innovative approaches in collaboration with other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to trapping carbon through conservation of existing forests, rehabilitating former forest areas and developing new plantations.
Such measures, he said, should bring their own financial rewards by enabling investors to obtain carbon credits on the commercial market.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A DIRECTOR at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Mr Samuel D. Anku, says citizen participation in environmental issues will be greatly enhanced if there is access to information law to enhance accessibility to environmental information.
That way, he said, citizen’s participation in decision-making processes on the environment would not only be effective but also maintain trust and confidence between the government and the citizens.
“Confidentiality of information on grounds of national security provide a broad cloak while repressive measures for wrongful disclosure by government officials and the lack of sanctions for failure to provide access do not encourage access to information,” he noted.
Mr Anku, who is a Director of Intersectoral Networks Division at the EPA, was speaking at a round-table discussion on “Our environment, our economy, our democracy,” in Accra.
He said the passage of the Right to Information Bill would strengthen citizen access to environmental information.
It was organised by the Governance Africa Foundation, a non-governmental organisation.
He said for public participation to be effective, the local people must understand the concepts of environmental democracy in order to be able to contribute to the decision-making process.
He stressed the need for the government to firmly legalise statutory environmental committees at the decentralised levels and assure their effective and proactive functioning with a broad environmental scope.
“These decentralised structures should play a key role in planning, monitoring, early warning and information management,” he said.
Mr Anku said as Ghana strove to implement poverty reduction and environmental sustainability strategies, strong mechanisms for implementation of access rights could help create new economic opportunities for poor people and promote equity and social justice.
He said when citizens were conscious of their rights, they were able to demand accountability and responsibility on the part of their government.
In a welcoming address, the Executive Director of the Governance Africa Foundation, Mr Kwaku Baa Owusu, noted that Ghana, just like other countries, would have to exploit its resources to sustain itself and to ensure the well-being of its people.
He, however, said that exploitation must be done within a framework that did not compromise the sanctity of Article 36 (9) of the 1992 Constitution.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Kwabena Duffour, said the threat of climate change was real and had the potential of adversely affecting Ghana’s plans for sustainable economic growth, food security and the health of the citizenry.
He said the negative impacts of climate change could undermine the government’s plans and assumptions on economic growth, health, social protection, agriculture, fisheries and trade.
“With careful planning and commitment, however, some of the damaging effects of climate change can be reduced and positive changes can be turned to economic advantage,” he said.
Dr Duffour said the ministry would seek economic benefits from climate mitigation by adopting innovative approaches in collaboration with other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to trapping carbon through conservation of existing forests, rehabilitating former forest areas and developing new plantations.
Such measures, he said, should bring their own financial rewards by enabling investors to obtain carbon credits on the commercial market.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
19 FACE PROBE. At CEPS for fraud, etc
Front Page: Daily Graphic, August 26, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
NINETEEN officials of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) are being investigated for alleged extortion, fraud, smuggling and abuse of office.
The officials are also being investigated for their alleged involvement in freight forwarding, collection of monies as duty without issuing receipts, illegal detention of vehicles and harassment of clients.
The investigations, being undertaken by the Internal Affairs/Intelligence Unit of the service, followed petitions submitted to the unit since 2009 by CEPS officials, who report their colleagues; informants, individuals, as well as clients of CEPS such as the Agbogbloshie Fadama Onion Sellers, Ghana National Livestock Breeders and the Ghana Traders Association.
Already investigations into 23 cases reported against CEPS officials have been concluded and appropriate sanctions instituted against the affected personnel.
The Internal Affairs/Intelligence Unit was established by CEPS with the assistance of the United States Customs and Border Protection Agency (USCBP) in 2009 to fight corruption, maintain integrity and minimise the risk of revenue leakage and security breaches in the service.
The Commissioner of CEPS, Mr E. Kumah Lanyon, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that in an environment of perceived or real corruption, the establishment of the unit was essential to instilling discipline and ensuring integrity.
He said the good thing so far was the consciousness the unit had created among staff of CEPS that “somebody is watching and, therefore, has to be careful”.
“I can tell you that the awareness alone it had created is significant, as it has brought sanity into the conduct of officers,” he said.
Mr Lanyon said majority of the cases reported had been dealt with, with some personnel facing various forms of punishment.
He said there had been two or three dismissals but majority of those found guilty had received the appropriate sanctions as enshrined in the code of conduct of CEPS including suspensions, warning or refund of money.
Mr Lanyon said the management of CEPS added intelligence functions to the unit so that the service could deal with any emerging issues to prevent them from escalating.
He cited for instance that the intelligence unit could pick up signals of some officers trying to form a syndicate to cheat and, therefore, alert management to take steps to deal with it before the syndicate succeeded.
“This is to say that the unit must always be ahead of the game and advise management appropriately,” he said.
Mr Lanyon said the team at the Internal Affairs/Intelligence Unit had so far not disappointed the management and the staff as even the witnesses or suspects had often applauded them for the impartial manner investigations or complaints were handled.
Story: Albert K. Salia
NINETEEN officials of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) are being investigated for alleged extortion, fraud, smuggling and abuse of office.
The officials are also being investigated for their alleged involvement in freight forwarding, collection of monies as duty without issuing receipts, illegal detention of vehicles and harassment of clients.
The investigations, being undertaken by the Internal Affairs/Intelligence Unit of the service, followed petitions submitted to the unit since 2009 by CEPS officials, who report their colleagues; informants, individuals, as well as clients of CEPS such as the Agbogbloshie Fadama Onion Sellers, Ghana National Livestock Breeders and the Ghana Traders Association.
Already investigations into 23 cases reported against CEPS officials have been concluded and appropriate sanctions instituted against the affected personnel.
The Internal Affairs/Intelligence Unit was established by CEPS with the assistance of the United States Customs and Border Protection Agency (USCBP) in 2009 to fight corruption, maintain integrity and minimise the risk of revenue leakage and security breaches in the service.
The Commissioner of CEPS, Mr E. Kumah Lanyon, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that in an environment of perceived or real corruption, the establishment of the unit was essential to instilling discipline and ensuring integrity.
He said the good thing so far was the consciousness the unit had created among staff of CEPS that “somebody is watching and, therefore, has to be careful”.
“I can tell you that the awareness alone it had created is significant, as it has brought sanity into the conduct of officers,” he said.
Mr Lanyon said majority of the cases reported had been dealt with, with some personnel facing various forms of punishment.
He said there had been two or three dismissals but majority of those found guilty had received the appropriate sanctions as enshrined in the code of conduct of CEPS including suspensions, warning or refund of money.
Mr Lanyon said the management of CEPS added intelligence functions to the unit so that the service could deal with any emerging issues to prevent them from escalating.
He cited for instance that the intelligence unit could pick up signals of some officers trying to form a syndicate to cheat and, therefore, alert management to take steps to deal with it before the syndicate succeeded.
“This is to say that the unit must always be ahead of the game and advise management appropriately,” he said.
Mr Lanyon said the team at the Internal Affairs/Intelligence Unit had so far not disappointed the management and the staff as even the witnesses or suspects had often applauded them for the impartial manner investigations or complaints were handled.
How far, Mr IGP?
PAGE 19: Daily Graphic, August 25, 2010.
Asks Albert K. Salia
IT IS a little over a year ago when Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye assumed the mantle of leadership of the Ghana Police Service.
At the time of his appointment, it was an incontrovertible fact as published in the May 19, 2009 issue of the Daily Graphic that patronage had become the gateway to progress in the Ghana Police Service. As a result, professional ethics, competence, efficiency and discipline seemed to have completely broken down. Morale was at its lowest ebb.
Besides those internal challenges, the Ghanaian society had to grapple with an increasing spate of armed robbery and other violent crimes which had created so much fear and panic in the system.
The challenges, which confronted Mr Quaye as the new IGP were, indeed, great and many feared that it was going to be business as usual for him. An article in the May 19, 2009 issue of the Daily Graphic had indicated that Mr Quaye could not afford to disappoint the President and the whole personnel of the service who saw him as someone to turn-around the fortunes of the service. Mr Quaye was also advised to guard against being pushed to the gutters by patronage.
The author argued that it was only a principled, disciplinarian, inspirer and fair-minded person who could command the service, particularly at this time when morale was so low and the image of the service had sunk to such disturbing depth.
At his first interaction with officers and men of the Service, Mr Quaye did not mince words as to what his mission was and what he expected from the personnel. He threw his first bombshell with the re-posting of senior personnel to other areas stressing that whatever appointment or changes he made, was in the best interest of the Service and also with the belief that the affected personnel were needed in those areas to enable them bring their strengths to bear on the Service.
Many doubted the effects of the changes but as a very proficient systems analyst with more than 18 years experience in conducting studies and recommending the re-organisation of various units and departments within the service, Mr Quaye’s key objective, as the IGP, was to work and attain the highest levels of efficiency in the Ghana Police Service.
Mr Quaye, who believes in team work, also possesses rich skills in policy formulation and planning for change with in-depth knowledge in research work and identification of organisational weaknesses and defects.
He has the ability to focus on strategic direction of an organisation, with a view to effecting and implementing realistic change management mechanisms which are aimed at meeting self-monitoring, analysis and reporting technology (SMART) objectives.
Despite having all these qualities, many doubted his ability to make any positive changes in the Service, believing that saboteurs within the system and the influence of politicians would not allow him to achieve anything.
But one year on, can one say that he had made any positive impact? Certainly yes. In fact, the IGP is said to be too ambitious and wanting to leave a very good legacy before leaving office. What else should one expect from him?
Indeed, the spate of armed robbery across the country at the time of his appointment was terrible with reported cases almost every day.
In fact, not only has his administration been able to stem the tide, but the way and manner suspects have been arrested even after the offence clearly indicate that he put the right people at the right places to deliver. Without any prejudice, apart from the reward system put in place, the Deputy Accra Regional Police Commander, ACP Christian Tetteh Yohuno would, forever, be engraved in the hearts and minds of many people who have encountered him and the way he dealt with robberies and other crimes.
The ability of the police to establish a trend in robbery cases and the use of particular brand of vehicles being used in robberies alone has been heartwarming and that is worthy of commendation.
It is important to note that some planned armed robberies were also foiled even before the robberies were committed.
The time response of the police to distress calls, particularly violent crime, also reduced and that often resulted in exchange of fire between the police and the robbers.
Another area where the IGP showed great leadership was his decision to suspend the enlistment of personnel until the improvement of residential accommodation for personnel. Before the suspension, there were announcements for recruitment of new personnel but the IGP had to intervene.
Certainly, the Police Administration under the leadership of Mr Quaye has also shown that welfare for personnel was not just limited to accommodation. In fact, cases of interdiction which seemed to have been forgotten, have all been addressed with some of them re-instated, while others have been dismissed.
I believe the team at the Finance Department, headed by DCOP Dr George Dampare, appreciates the essence of motivation and the concern of the IGP to the welfare of personnel. That is why it worked hard to make sure that the Ghana Police Service was the first public institution to be enrolled on the new Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS).
To address the issue of patronage, the Police Administration has instituted an examination programme for all prospective candidates to the Police College to ensure that selection was based on merit. It is a good move and many Chief Inspectors, who had been ignored previously, are happy while those who expected to benefit through patronage are disappointed.
The launch of the five-year strategic plan and the establishment of marine police unit to address the challenges of the Service and the oil and gas sector, shows the visionary leadership of the IGP who does not want to be overtaken by events. His pledge of organising training/re-training programmes for personnel is being implemented to the letter. Kudos.
So far, so good for the IGP but there are still other areas which he needs to address.
First, he himself has had cause to complain about the arm-chair investigations at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), which had made many operational personnel highly frustrated. The release of suspects on remand due to the inaction of both CID personnel and prosecutors due to the lackadaisical attitude to work, must be addressed.
This leads me to the issue of the need to strengthen the work force as the CID personnel often complain about overload of work.
The Police Administration must be reminded that the Service is losing some personnel to peacekeeping, retirement and death and, therefore, needs to be replaced.
Asks Albert K. Salia
IT IS a little over a year ago when Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye assumed the mantle of leadership of the Ghana Police Service.
At the time of his appointment, it was an incontrovertible fact as published in the May 19, 2009 issue of the Daily Graphic that patronage had become the gateway to progress in the Ghana Police Service. As a result, professional ethics, competence, efficiency and discipline seemed to have completely broken down. Morale was at its lowest ebb.
Besides those internal challenges, the Ghanaian society had to grapple with an increasing spate of armed robbery and other violent crimes which had created so much fear and panic in the system.
The challenges, which confronted Mr Quaye as the new IGP were, indeed, great and many feared that it was going to be business as usual for him. An article in the May 19, 2009 issue of the Daily Graphic had indicated that Mr Quaye could not afford to disappoint the President and the whole personnel of the service who saw him as someone to turn-around the fortunes of the service. Mr Quaye was also advised to guard against being pushed to the gutters by patronage.
The author argued that it was only a principled, disciplinarian, inspirer and fair-minded person who could command the service, particularly at this time when morale was so low and the image of the service had sunk to such disturbing depth.
At his first interaction with officers and men of the Service, Mr Quaye did not mince words as to what his mission was and what he expected from the personnel. He threw his first bombshell with the re-posting of senior personnel to other areas stressing that whatever appointment or changes he made, was in the best interest of the Service and also with the belief that the affected personnel were needed in those areas to enable them bring their strengths to bear on the Service.
Many doubted the effects of the changes but as a very proficient systems analyst with more than 18 years experience in conducting studies and recommending the re-organisation of various units and departments within the service, Mr Quaye’s key objective, as the IGP, was to work and attain the highest levels of efficiency in the Ghana Police Service.
Mr Quaye, who believes in team work, also possesses rich skills in policy formulation and planning for change with in-depth knowledge in research work and identification of organisational weaknesses and defects.
He has the ability to focus on strategic direction of an organisation, with a view to effecting and implementing realistic change management mechanisms which are aimed at meeting self-monitoring, analysis and reporting technology (SMART) objectives.
Despite having all these qualities, many doubted his ability to make any positive changes in the Service, believing that saboteurs within the system and the influence of politicians would not allow him to achieve anything.
But one year on, can one say that he had made any positive impact? Certainly yes. In fact, the IGP is said to be too ambitious and wanting to leave a very good legacy before leaving office. What else should one expect from him?
Indeed, the spate of armed robbery across the country at the time of his appointment was terrible with reported cases almost every day.
In fact, not only has his administration been able to stem the tide, but the way and manner suspects have been arrested even after the offence clearly indicate that he put the right people at the right places to deliver. Without any prejudice, apart from the reward system put in place, the Deputy Accra Regional Police Commander, ACP Christian Tetteh Yohuno would, forever, be engraved in the hearts and minds of many people who have encountered him and the way he dealt with robberies and other crimes.
The ability of the police to establish a trend in robbery cases and the use of particular brand of vehicles being used in robberies alone has been heartwarming and that is worthy of commendation.
It is important to note that some planned armed robberies were also foiled even before the robberies were committed.
The time response of the police to distress calls, particularly violent crime, also reduced and that often resulted in exchange of fire between the police and the robbers.
Another area where the IGP showed great leadership was his decision to suspend the enlistment of personnel until the improvement of residential accommodation for personnel. Before the suspension, there were announcements for recruitment of new personnel but the IGP had to intervene.
Certainly, the Police Administration under the leadership of Mr Quaye has also shown that welfare for personnel was not just limited to accommodation. In fact, cases of interdiction which seemed to have been forgotten, have all been addressed with some of them re-instated, while others have been dismissed.
I believe the team at the Finance Department, headed by DCOP Dr George Dampare, appreciates the essence of motivation and the concern of the IGP to the welfare of personnel. That is why it worked hard to make sure that the Ghana Police Service was the first public institution to be enrolled on the new Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS).
To address the issue of patronage, the Police Administration has instituted an examination programme for all prospective candidates to the Police College to ensure that selection was based on merit. It is a good move and many Chief Inspectors, who had been ignored previously, are happy while those who expected to benefit through patronage are disappointed.
The launch of the five-year strategic plan and the establishment of marine police unit to address the challenges of the Service and the oil and gas sector, shows the visionary leadership of the IGP who does not want to be overtaken by events. His pledge of organising training/re-training programmes for personnel is being implemented to the letter. Kudos.
So far, so good for the IGP but there are still other areas which he needs to address.
First, he himself has had cause to complain about the arm-chair investigations at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), which had made many operational personnel highly frustrated. The release of suspects on remand due to the inaction of both CID personnel and prosecutors due to the lackadaisical attitude to work, must be addressed.
This leads me to the issue of the need to strengthen the work force as the CID personnel often complain about overload of work.
The Police Administration must be reminded that the Service is losing some personnel to peacekeeping, retirement and death and, therefore, needs to be replaced.
Education Service revises disciplinary regulations
Page 11: Daily Graphic, August 23, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Ghana Education Service (GES) is revising its disciplinary regulations to cover proprietors of private schools who misconduct themselves.
This is because the current regulations do not empower the GES to act against proprietors, heads, teaching and non-teaching staff of private schools.
The acting Deputy Director-General of the GES, Mr Stephen Adu who disclosed this said eventhough the Attorney-General’s Department for instance had asked the GES to sanction the proprietor of the Great Lamptey Mills Institute, Mr Enoch Nii Lamptey-Mills, who is facing rape charges, the service was unable to do so.
Mr Adu explained that under the current regulations, the GES could only depend on court decisions to sanction proprietors of schools who misconducted themselves.
He emphasised that the Attorney-General had asked the GES to take the necessary administrative measures to punish Nii Lamptey-Mills.
Unfortunately, he said, “the regulations in place did not cover proprietors and, therefore, the GES could not take any action against Lamptey-Mills.”
Mr Adu said the best the GES could do was to close down the school but explained that the welfare of the children had to be taken into consideration.
He said if the continuous presence of the proprietor was going to be a threat, “we would advise the parents and students appropriately.”
According to him, officials of the GES had been visiting the institute to inspect facilities and deal with other issues at the school.
Mr Adu said the case of Nii Lamptey-Mills was not straight forward and therefore required that the GES pursued it in a more professional manner.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Ghana Education Service (GES) is revising its disciplinary regulations to cover proprietors of private schools who misconduct themselves.
This is because the current regulations do not empower the GES to act against proprietors, heads, teaching and non-teaching staff of private schools.
The acting Deputy Director-General of the GES, Mr Stephen Adu who disclosed this said eventhough the Attorney-General’s Department for instance had asked the GES to sanction the proprietor of the Great Lamptey Mills Institute, Mr Enoch Nii Lamptey-Mills, who is facing rape charges, the service was unable to do so.
Mr Adu explained that under the current regulations, the GES could only depend on court decisions to sanction proprietors of schools who misconducted themselves.
He emphasised that the Attorney-General had asked the GES to take the necessary administrative measures to punish Nii Lamptey-Mills.
Unfortunately, he said, “the regulations in place did not cover proprietors and, therefore, the GES could not take any action against Lamptey-Mills.”
Mr Adu said the best the GES could do was to close down the school but explained that the welfare of the children had to be taken into consideration.
He said if the continuous presence of the proprietor was going to be a threat, “we would advise the parents and students appropriately.”
According to him, officials of the GES had been visiting the institute to inspect facilities and deal with other issues at the school.
Mr Adu said the case of Nii Lamptey-Mills was not straight forward and therefore required that the GES pursued it in a more professional manner.
Lamptey-Mills charged for rape
Front Page: Daily Graphic, August 21, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Proprietor of the Great Lamptey-Mills Institute, Enoch Nii Lamptey-Mills, has been rearrested on the orders of the Attorney-General’s Department and charged with rape.
Lamptey-Mills was arrested last Wednesday, August 18, 20100 and placed in police custody, pending the commencement of his trial after his release from the charge of impregnating and forcing a 16-year-old former student of his school to marry him.
A Circuit Court in Accra on October 22, last year, discharged Lamptey-Mills, who had been charged with compulsory marriage.
The Presiding judge, Mrs Georgina Mensah-Datsa, had ruled that the charge levelled against Lamptey-Mills was a misdemeanor, for which the law allowed an out-of-court settlement.
However, the Attorney-General last week said from the caution statement of Lamptey-Mills, the consent given by the girl was under duress and ordered his rearrest.
According to the Attorney-General, Lamptey-Mills stated that he found the girl in a sorry state with no one caring for her and, therefore, offered to assist her.
The Deputy Commander of the Accra Regional Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU), Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Eunice Odonkor, said the AG explained that the girl was influenced by the material support offered her by Lamptey-Mills to consent to have sex with him, resulting in the pregnancy.
She said the police, therefore, rearrested Lamptey-Mills last Wednesday and cautioned him, while awaiting the trial date.
She explained that the Attorney-General’s Department would be prosecuting when the trial start.
In September last year, Lamptey Mills was arrested by the police for impregnating and forcing to marry a 16-year-old former student of his and performed the marriage rites, making the victim his wife.
He was held on charges of compulsion marriage of a teenager.
Police sources said one year after the girl gave birth, Mills had failed to keep to his promise of building a house for her, provide for the upkeep of the mother and child, as well as restore the girl, who is now 17, to school.
The Great Lamptey-Mills Institute, formerly Lamptey-Mills Institute, was established on February 4, 1963 by the Late Rev. Abraham Samuel Lamptey-Mills after whom the school was named.
The Junior High School department was later established on September 31, 1994 by the current Director of the school, Enoch Lamptey-Mills.
The Senior High department was also founded in 2005 by the same director.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Proprietor of the Great Lamptey-Mills Institute, Enoch Nii Lamptey-Mills, has been rearrested on the orders of the Attorney-General’s Department and charged with rape.
Lamptey-Mills was arrested last Wednesday, August 18, 20100 and placed in police custody, pending the commencement of his trial after his release from the charge of impregnating and forcing a 16-year-old former student of his school to marry him.
A Circuit Court in Accra on October 22, last year, discharged Lamptey-Mills, who had been charged with compulsory marriage.
The Presiding judge, Mrs Georgina Mensah-Datsa, had ruled that the charge levelled against Lamptey-Mills was a misdemeanor, for which the law allowed an out-of-court settlement.
However, the Attorney-General last week said from the caution statement of Lamptey-Mills, the consent given by the girl was under duress and ordered his rearrest.
According to the Attorney-General, Lamptey-Mills stated that he found the girl in a sorry state with no one caring for her and, therefore, offered to assist her.
The Deputy Commander of the Accra Regional Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU), Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Eunice Odonkor, said the AG explained that the girl was influenced by the material support offered her by Lamptey-Mills to consent to have sex with him, resulting in the pregnancy.
She said the police, therefore, rearrested Lamptey-Mills last Wednesday and cautioned him, while awaiting the trial date.
She explained that the Attorney-General’s Department would be prosecuting when the trial start.
In September last year, Lamptey Mills was arrested by the police for impregnating and forcing to marry a 16-year-old former student of his and performed the marriage rites, making the victim his wife.
He was held on charges of compulsion marriage of a teenager.
Police sources said one year after the girl gave birth, Mills had failed to keep to his promise of building a house for her, provide for the upkeep of the mother and child, as well as restore the girl, who is now 17, to school.
The Great Lamptey-Mills Institute, formerly Lamptey-Mills Institute, was established on February 4, 1963 by the Late Rev. Abraham Samuel Lamptey-Mills after whom the school was named.
The Junior High School department was later established on September 31, 1994 by the current Director of the school, Enoch Lamptey-Mills.
The Senior High department was also founded in 2005 by the same director.
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