Parliament approves Common Fund Formula
The courts are too lenient to drug barons
Parliament approves Common Fund Formula
Accra (Greater Accra) 30 May 2003 - Parliament on Thursday approved the formula for disbursement of 2003 District Assembly Common Fund. A total of ¢577.4bn had already been approved by the House to be disbursed to the 110 Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies throughout the country.
The "poverty factor" is the new indicator added to the existing four indicators used in formulating the formula. The old indicators are the need factor, responsive factor, equality factor and service pressure factor. Felix Owusu-Adjapong, Majority Leader, presenting the Report of the Committee of the Whole, said there was consensus among members that the data used in the proposed formula for the previous distribution were inaccurate because "they did not reflect the situation on the ground."
"Nadowli for instance captured, as having water coverage of 98.57 percent when same does not correlate with what is actually on the ground." The Committee on Local Government and Rural Development had been empowered as a special committee to consider the accuracy of the data in future.
The Committee of the Whole recommended that the Administrator be empowered to monitor and evaluate the use of the funds to avoid its misapplication.
It called on the Ministry of Finance to release the common fund on time since it is a Constitutional requirement that should be treated with a lot of importance and that its delay draws back development in the districts.
The committee recommended that although the Minister of Finance in 2003 Financial Statement to the House proposed to spread the common fund arrears over five years, government should endeavour to seek for funds to cover the arrears owed the districts.
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The courts are too lenient to drug barons
Accra (Greater Accra) 30 May 2003 - Hackman Owusu Agyeman on Thursday bemoaned the soft bail conditions and non-deterrent conviction given to drug barons by the Courts, adding, "it makes the drug problem more serious." The Minister said the Police and the Narcotic Control Board needed the support of the Courts to fight the menace.
Owusu-Agyeman, who was answering Parliamentary questions, said the large number of itinerant persons around the Tudu Lorry park and the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra serve as a magnet for drug dealers. "As a short term solution for getting rid of drug peddlers and prostitutes from the area, the Police had mounted a 24 hour surveillance and enhance information gathering."
He said the Accra Metropolitan Assembly was being talked into relocating the Tudu Lorry Park that serves as a breeding ground for drug peddlers. "In the long term... the Narcotic Control Board has developed educational and preventive programmes aimed at creating public awareness on the harmful effects of illicit drug use."
He said such programmes, which were being implemented in conjunction with some NGOs are targeted at the youth.
GRi…/
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