Politics

Ghana’s president, Akufo-Addo to cut over 20% of appointees’ salaries. Here’s why

Published

2 years ago

March 21, 2022

Report of a planned cut in the cost government in Ghana is gaining ground as a fresh report from the West Africa country says President Nana Akufo-Addo could reduce the salaries of appointees by between 20% and 30%, according to reports by local media citing “reliable sources”.

Earlier reports in January from the former Gold Coast hinted that President Akufo-Addo has plans to cut down by 20% the budget expenditure of all Ministries, Departments and Agencies for the year 2022.

The latest news on the issue came up after the President was engaged in an emergency meeting with his cabinet ministers and members of the Economic Management Team (EMT) over the weekend.

Salaries of ministers, heads of state enterprises as well as heads of municipal and district assemblies will all be affected.

According to reports, discussions are currently ongoing and a final decision would be out by the close of Monday (21 March).

According to the sources, critical among the matters under discussion is whether to maintain the 20% cut across the board or increase it.

Ransford Gyampo, an associate professor in the political science department of the University of Ghana, had earlier in a letter requested the government to reduce the size of his government and slash appointees’ salaries by 30%.

The professor also urged Akufo-Addo to reduce his salary by 30% and “reduce or completely suspend the payment of all the allowances and per diems that are given to people who already earn huge salaries (even when reduced by 30 per cent)”.

The government had announced earlier this year that the treasury will reduce the allocation to metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) for the first quarter of 2022 by roughly 20%.

“If you are exceeding your income, then you must accept to live below your income, which is the easy way, otherwise if you are earning GH¢3,000 and you are in debt of GH¢10,000 you cannot day to day spend GH¢3,000 for you to get out of the rag you will have to cut your expenditure to GH¢2,000 because you must service your debt…” Gyampo said further.

Related Topics:Featured Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo

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Politics

UN appoints Nigeria’s Ahonsi as its Türkiye resident coordinator

Published

2 days ago

December 3, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Babatunde Ahonsi of Nigeria has been appointed as the United Nations resident coordinator in Türkiye, pending the approval of his host government.

The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, announced the appointment of the decades-long experienced diplomat on Saturday.

Ahonsi has experience in international development acquired within and outside the UN, among which was his role as Resident Coordinator in Sierra Leone where he coordinated and facilitated the UN’s operational activities for development in the country.

“He has led the UN country team and ensured system-wide accountability on the ground for the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework.

“He has also coordinated UN support to Sierra Leone in its implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the UN Secretary General’s Prevention Agenda.

“Prior to this, he served UN Resident Coordinator a.i. in China from June-September 2020.

“In addition, he served as UNFPA Representative in China/Country Director for Mongolia from January 2017 to June 2020, and as UNFPA Representative in Ghana from 2014-2016.

“Between 1997 and 2014, he held senior management positions with the Ford Foundation (covering West Africa) and Population Council (covering Nigeria) overseeing reproductive health, women’s empowerment, and youth development programmes and initiatives. He had also lectured at federal universities in Ilorin, Calabar, and Lagos, Nigeria during the 1980s and 1990s”, the UN said.

Since joining the UN in October 1960, Nigeria and Nigerians have played key roles in the global body. In 2013, Nigeria contributed the fifth largest number of peacekeepers to the United Nations peacekeeping operations.

Nigeria most recently had a temporary seat on the UN Security Council for two years, from 2014 to 2015.

Politics

UN Security Council lifts 30-year-old arms ban on Somalia

Published

3 days ago

December 2, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

The UN Security Council (UNSC) has ended 31 years of armed restrictions on Somalia’s government forces, which prevented the country from upgrading its military.

The lifting of the arms embargo on Somalia allows the country to freely buy new weapons, as the council in New York voted 14-1 to do so, with France abstaining. Restrictions on the transfer of weapons or supplies to terrorists affiliated with Al Shabaab remain.

According to the council, the federal government may order and buy weapons from any legitimate retailer in the world. However, for the UN Sanctions Committee on Somalia to verify the weapons, it must provide a list of them.

A member of the council, China, faulted this conditional approval, telling the session that Somalia was being made to comply with a rule that many in the West were disobeying.

Somalia has been constrained by this UN decision amidst the country’s quest for lasting peace in the face of internal wranglings and terrorist activities. In September, Somalia asked the UN to pause a planned drawdown of 3,000 African Union peacekeepers for three months to allow its security forces time to regroup after a militant attack forced them to withdraw from several recently captured towns.

Somalia’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Abukar Osman, who addressed the Council, commended the move and noted that the lifting of the embargo would enable his government to equip the forces.

“It allows us to confront security threats, including those posed by Al Shabaab,” he said in a briefing to the Council, promising that his country would also reform the management of weapons to ensure they did not fall in the wrong hands.

In his official reaction, Somalia’s President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, stressed that “from now on, our country is free to purchase any sort of weapon we want from the world. Weapons in government hands will not pose a threat to our people and the world”.

“This decision comes at a very crucial time as a nation and people since we are in a war to eliminate Kharijites (Al Shabaab) from the country,” the National Intelligence and Security Agency said in a statement.

“It comes at a time when efforts are ongoing to form an army capable of taking on the general security responsibility of the country”, it added.

In January 1992, the UN Security Council imposed an arms embargo on Somalia. In February 2007, the embargo was amended to allow arms supplies to Somali Government Forces, but maintained a ban on sales to the country’s Islamist militants.