Exercise to determine true size of Civil Service
underway
Accra (Greater Accra)
18 December 2002- Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Minister of Information and
Presidential Affairs on Tuesday told Parliament that government would soon
establish a committee of experts to deliberate on the menace of Internet
pornography for appropriate action to be taken.
He said the
recommendations of the committee would inform government commitment to crack
down on such unwholesome practices.
The Minister, who was
answering parliamentary questions, said dealing in pornographic and indecent
materials was still a crime under the Criminal Code as well as against the
guidelines on Broadcasting of the National Media Commission.
Miss Akua Dansua,
NDC-North Dayi had asked the Minister what steps were being taken to check the
excessive thrust of offensive and pornographic material in the country via the
Internet.
Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey
said: "What is of great concern to us is the access to these undesirable
sites and materials by the under-aged. Such minors require supervision and
control by teachers, parents, public interest groups and Internet Cafe
proprietors."
He advised that the
minors should not be left alone to explore the Internet without adult
supervision, saying that all guardians should endeavour to improve their
understanding of the use of the Internet in order to give better guidance and
supervision. Later in the day a report on the Cartegena Protocol on Bio-Safety
was adopted.
The Protocol seeks to
ensure safe transfer, handling and use of living modified organisms resulting
from modern biotechnology that may have adverse effect on the conservation and
sustainable use of biological diversity, taking cognisance of the risk to human
health, while focusing on trans-boundary movement.
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Accra (Greater Accra)
18 December 2002- Dr Tawiah Modibo Ocran will on Wednesday appear before the
Appointments Committee of Parliament to consider his nomination as a Justice of
the Supreme Court.
A statement issued in
Accra on Tuesday by Mr Frederick Nutsugah, Clerk to The Committee, said the
sitting, which is open to the press and general public, would be held at the
Speaker' Conference Room 10am.
Dr Ocran is a Dean's
Club Research Professor of Law at the University Of Akron School Of Law in the
USA and a Fellow of the Intellectual Property Centre of the same University,
He was admitted to
the Ghana Bar in 1970 and obtained a Ph. D in Law and Development Studies from
the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1971. He has since worked in various
capacities as a lecturer, counsel and consultant in Ghana and abroad. He has
several publications and awards to his credit.
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Accra (Greater Accra)
18 December 2002- The Minister of Information and Presidential
Affairs, Mr Jake
Obetsebi-Lamptey, on Tuesday said there is an on-going exercise to determine
the true size of the Civil Service.
He said this would
enable the government to realise the needs of the Service within the process of
re-organisation to improve its conditions. Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey said this when
answering questions in Parliament.
Alhaji Muhammad
Mumuni, NDC-Kumbungu asked the Minister the number of Special Advisers and/or
Special Assistants (Personal Assistants) to the President, Ministers, Regional
Ministers and District Chief Executives so far recruited or employed.
The Minister said as
at now there are 27 Special Assistants and Advisers in the system. Eight of
them are presently at the Castle, while the rest are attached to the
Ministries, Departments and the Regions.
Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey
said the Civil Service would need about 37 Chief Directors as its full strength
at the national and regional levels to man it but as at now only eight of such
officers are at post, half of whom are on contract.
He said this means
that the top of the bureaucracy of the Service was woefully understaffed and
the situation has put much pressure on Ministers to wrestle with their mandate
to implement decision with despatch to usher in the "Golden Age of
Business".
Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey
noted that it was such a situation that has led the Government to accept the
need for Ministers to have Special Assistants in their offices to assist them
and to some extent to help Chief Directors in the speedy implementation of
policies and in the discharge of other ministerial duties and commitments.
He said for the Civil
Service to play its role more effectively, it must be staffed with persons with
integrity, knowledge and skills and they must also function under conditions of
service that are seen to be attractive.
Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey
noted that the Service of today is not as effective as it should be, adding
that its capacity for initiative and policy implementation has been weakened by
low morale, weak management and the failure of the system to ensure that the
skills of Civil Servants are upgraded through periodic courses in capacity
building.
"An equally
important factor which explains the weakness and lethargy in the Civil Service
derives from what we all recognise to be poor conditions within the service,
including poor salaries and wages," he added.
He said government
acted quickly to identify many of the problems and various initiatives are
being considered to address them.
He assured Civil
Servants of Government's support as long as they carry out their duties
impartially and with integrity, adding that the government has also given the
issue of remuneration some attention and "in the less than two years of
the NPP administration, Civil Service salaries have been raised by 60 per
cent."
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