January 25

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Inside Jan 25, 2018 .qxp_Layout 1 1/24/18 9:09 PM Page 7 24TH JANUARY 2018 WEDNESDAY CURRENCY PARIS CODE BUYING SELLING US Dollar USDGHS 4.4176 4.4220 RATES Pound Sterling GBPGHS 6.0371 6.0440 Euro GBPGHS 5.3639 5.3672 10 DAILY HERITAGE THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2018 WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH PPI increases to 8.9% in December 2017 BY BENJAMIN TANDOH THE PRODUCER Price Index (PPI) that measures the average change over time in the prices received by domestic producers for the production of their goods and services for December 2017 recorded 8.9%. The rate represents a 1.8 percentage point increase in producer inflation relative to the rate of 7.1% recorded in November 2017. Briefing the press in Accra yesterday, the Deputy Government Statistician, Mr Anthony Amuzu, explained that the month-onmonth change in producer price index between November and December 2017 was 0.9%. The Deputy Government Statistician said the mining and quarrying sub-sector recorded the highest year-on-year PPI rate of 19.1% followed by manufacturing sub-sector with 8.8% while the Utilities sub-sector recorded the lowest rate of 0.4% each. He explained that with respect to the monthly changes, the manufacturing sub-sector recorded the highest rate of 1.5%. Mr Amuzu, however, indicated that the utilities sub-sector recorded the lowest year-on-year producer inflation rate of 0.4%. “During the month of December 2017, five out of the 16 major groups in the manufacturing subsector recorded inflation rates higher than the sector average of 8.8%. “Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products recorded the highest inflation rate of 36.4% while manufacturing of food and beverages recorded the lowest produce price inflation rate of -2.2%,” he said. He added that the PPI in the petroleum sub-sector was -0.1% in December 2016. The rate declined •Dr Baah Wadieh (R), Acting Government Statistician, addressing the media to record -6.9% in April 2016 but declined to -1.2% in April 2017. “Subsequently, it decreased consistently to record 36.9% in October 2017 but declined to 27.7% in November 2017. The rate increased to 36.4% in December 2017,” he told the press. “Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products recorded the highest inflation rate of 36.4% while manufacturing of food and beverages recorded the lowest produce price inflation rate of - 2.2%,” he said. Unproductive government workers to go home – FWSG BY OSEI OWUSU AMANKWAAH THE FAIR Wages and Salaries Commission has given notice it soon. The Public Sector Performance Management System will be the yardstick during the exercise. “Anytime you carry out performance management, the ulti- will soon start a government sector job rationalisation will as part be of fair mate is to reward; and when transparent you amendment. We the ‘Linking Pay to Productivity’ are rewarding performance, you “At the end of the performance management process is the exercise. with employees – AirtelTigo CEO want to link the reward to the performance and that is what we sim- The aggressive programme by the government is not only to attract the best brains into the public sector but also remunerate workers properly. The move will lead to the government checking its wage bill which currently absorbs about 50 per cent of revenues collected. The Chief Executive Officer of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, Dr Edward Kwapong, told Starr Business’s Osei Owusu Amankwaah that the commission will embark on a sensitisation drive with all major stakeholders ply put ‘Linking Pay to Productivity’ because the whole purpose of performance management is to ensure that the employees give of their best in terms of performance. We give them the resources, we give the targets and they work towards those targets. Once they meet those targets, we have a legal and moral obligation to reward them,” Dr Kwapong said. He added that the commission wants the process to be more scientific. Therefore, there will be a fine-tuning of the public sector Performance Management System designed by the Public Services Commission. The system will be rolled out across the country after the level of performance and we want to find a scientific way of linking pay or the reward with the level of performance. So it is not like the socialist system where everybody gets the same amount regardless. “Now, if you are an excellent performer we will give you so much increment and if possible if we are able to introduce a concept of bonus or a thirteenth month pay, the quantum you will get will be dependent on your level of performance - being excellent, above average, average, below average, unacceptable. For each of •Dr Edward Kwapong,CEO of Fair Wages and Salaries Commission these there will be a corresponding reward figure,” Dr Kwapong explained He further urged government workers to upgrade their skills in order to be relevant to their institution or go into entrepreneurial venture if their services are not needed.
Inside Jan 25, 2018 .qxp_Layout 1 1/24/18 9:09 PM Page 8 WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH DAILY HERITAGE THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2018 11 Politics “There are greater things to be achieved in every new year, and each and everyone must prepare themselves to be great, not by words of the mouth, but by a lot of sacrifices.” — Michael Bassey Johnson Polytechnic to be renamed after Dr Hilla Limann – Prez Akufo-Addo appropriate that, on this occasion of commemoration of the 20th anniversary of his death, I announce, “It is with pleasure, that the Governing Council of Wa Polytechnic, in the Upper West Region, at its meeting on Thursday, 18th January, 2018, unanimously proposed to the dynamic Minister for Education, Hon. Dr Matthew Opoku-Prempeh, Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, that the institution should be re-named after Dr Hilla Limann.” These were the words of the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, at an event to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the death of the late President of the 3rd Republic, Dr Hilla Limann, on Tuesday, 23rd January, 2018, at the Accra International Conference Centre. According to President Akufo- Addo, the Minister for Education has sought his view on this, and he (President Akufo-Addo) has indicated to the Minister his happy agreement to the proposal. “Once the parliamentary process has been completed, the Wa Polytechnic will, thenceforth, be called the Hilla Limann Polytechnic, a name which will remain with the conversion of the Polytechnic into a Technical University,” he said. Describing the late President as •President Nana Akufo-Addo exchanging pleasantries with some traditional rulers “one of the historic figures of modern Ghana”, and “an illustrious son of the Upper West Region”, President Akufo-Addo indicated that Dr Limann’s life reveals the story of young man who, regardless of the circumstances of his birth, strived for excellence, no matter where he found himself. “Beginning his studies at the Government Middle School, in Tamale, he pursued further education in world-famous institutions, such as the London School of Economics, the Sorbonne in Paris, the University of London, and, finally, obtained a Ph.D in Political Science and Constitutional Law from the University of Paris,” he said. The President continued, “as a diplomat, he served in various positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, becoming eventually Head of Chancery at the Ghana Embassy in Lomé, Togo, and Counsellor at Ghana's Permanent Mission in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1971. Such was the worth of the man that, though not then a political heavyweight in the country, he was elected leader of the People’s National Party, and, on the ticket of that party, ascended to the high office of President of the 3rd Republic, winning 62% of the vote, after a run-off against Victor Owusu, the Popular Front Party’s presidential candidate, a known political heavyweight of the time.” Dr Limann’s short-lived presidency, spanning a period of some two years, three months, President Akufo-Addo said, had the herculean task of restoring order and stability to the nation after the turbulence and tumult of the June 4th era. “Dr Limann led a full and varied life. Ill-fated as his presidency was, he died with the reputation and memory of a decent, honest, patriotic man, who did his best to overcome considerable odds,” he added. President Akufo-Addo noted that the late Dr Limann will be happy to know that the party he founded in 1992, on whose ticket he fought the 1992 presidential election, the People’s National Convention, is still an active participant in the political discourse of our nation. “Indeed, I have found it fitting to appoint the respected 2016 presidential candidate of the party, Dr Edward Mahama, Ambassadorat-large, a role he is playing with value to the Government and people of Ghana,” he added. President Akufo-Addo also used the opportunity to assure the family of the late President that “his widow, Mrs Fulera Limann, who continues to conduct herself with dignity, as befits a former First Lady of Ghana, will continue to benefit from the care and attention of Government.” Credit: Flagstaff House Communications. Decentralise Office of Special Prosecutor MR JAMES Gunu, a former District Chief Executive for Akatsi North has called for the decentralisation of the Office of the Special Prosecutor to take the fight against corruption to the doorstep of the citizenry. He said opening ‘coordinating or complaint’ offices of the Special Prosecutor in the districts would encourage people to get involved in the campaign against dishonest use of power other than travelling to the national capital “only” to lodge complaints on corrupt acts. Mr Gunu stated that the government’s flagship programmes such as ‘One District, One Factory’, ‘One Village, One Dam’, and “One Million Dollars per Constituency’ were possible “breeding grounds” for corrupt activities at the local levels of governance and said establishing “localised Special Prosecutor’s Office was necessary to safeguard the public purse. The former DCE said it was unfortunate that though the country was rated high in decentralisation, key institutions remained “heavily centralised” denying citizens the right to participate in national development. “The Local Governance (Act 936) Act 2016 which was an amendment of Act 462 of 1993 was to enhance the course of democracy and deepen local governance and decentralisation,” he stated. GNA •James Gunu, former District Chief Executive for Akatsi North The former DCE said it was unfortunate that though the country was rated high in decentralisation, key institutions remained “heavily centralised” denying citizens the right to participate in national development.
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January 25

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