The Volta River Authority (VRA) will save over 500 million dollars a year when the Atuabo gas processing plant starts supplying lean gas to the authority for electricity generation, Dr George SipaYankey has said. Dr Sipa Yankey, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Gas Company (GGC), explained that the VRA was currently spending three million dollars per day using fuel to generate electricity. However, he said, when the Atuabo gas processing plant came on stream next year, the VRA would spend only $1.5 million a day using gas for power generation. He, therefore, said the VRA would save 45 million dollars a month and over 500 million dollars a year since it was much cheaper generating electricity with gas than fuel. Dr SipaYankey said this when the members of the Standing Committee of the Western Regional House of Chiefs visited the Atuabo gas project site to acquaint themselves with progress of work on Thursday. He estimated completion of work at 79 percent and assured the chiefs that the gas processing plant would start receiving raw gas from the Jubilee Oil Fields for test-run and eventual commissioning in April next year. Briefing the chiefs on progress of work, Mr Emmanuel Kobina Moses, Construction Manager of the GGC, said all the vital equipment and facilities had been successfully installed. He said both onshore and offshore pipelines from the Jubilee Oilfields through Atuabo to the metering station at Aboadze had been laid. He said the vital gas processing components had been installed including the Central Control Room, Water Treatment plant, Reception Facility Area, LPG Recovery Area, Flare KO drum, LPG tanks and generators. Mr Moses indicated that a gas distribution station had also been built at Essiama that would supply gas to Preatea, Bonyire and the northern sector of the country. Osagyefo Dr Kwamina Enimil VI, Paramount Chief of Wassa Fiase and President of the Western Regional House of Chiefs, commended the management of the GGC for judicious use of resources for execution of the project. He said there had been tremendous improvement since the Committee visited the project site last year and pledged the co-operation of the chiefs to ensure timely completion. Members of the Standing Committee that visited the gas project site included Awulae Attibrukusu III, Paramount Chief of Lower Axim, Nana Kwesi Agyemang IX, Paramount Chief of Lower Dixcove, Awulae Agyefi Kwame II, Paramount Chief of Nsein and Okoegyeaman Kwaku Gyamfra III, Paramount Chief of Chirano Traditional Area.  

  Mr Mark Owen Woyongo, Minister of Defence, has lauded the Ghana Navy for its meritorious work which has led to it being adjudged the Best Performing Navy in West Africa for 2013 by the Security Watch Africa Magazine. He said the Ghanaian coast had become an island of stability in the turbulent Gulf of Guinea maritime domain which had earned it the respect of all interested in maritime issues. Mr Woyongo said this on Friday during a sod-cutting ceremony for the construction of phase two of the Naval Headquarters. The project, when completed, would have a Command Block, Administration Block, Operations and Supply Block, a Library, a Technical Office, a Museum, Conference Rooms, Cafeteria and other ancillary facilities. He commended the Navy for the arrest of MV Mustard which was found to have been used to siphon fuel off MV Cotton, a ship that had been hijacked off the coast of Gabon, and another ship which was found to contain over 400 kilogrammes of cocaine. He added that due to diligent work by the Ghana Navy, the coast of Ghana had not witnessed a single pirate attack throughout the year making the country a safe haven for ships waiting to go to ports in neighbouring countries. Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Rear Admiral Geoffrey Mawuli Biekro, said a blue-print for the construction of a new office complex was produced in 1996. He expressed appreciation to private organisations and individuals for coming to the aid of the Ghana Navy by helping them with funds and building materials to now continue with the construction of the office complex. He said the Navy recognised the heavy responsibility upon its shoulders and the expectations of the country and pledged their readiness to ensure safety and security of all vital national assets at sea. He commended Government for its commitment to the Navy despite limited resources, citing the acquisition of ships in recent years, the upgrading of the Navy’s workshop at Sekondi and other planned acquisitions that had received the Government’s approval.  

  Works on the first of 200 two-bedroom housing units worth GH¢3 million, has started at Lahagu a suburb of Tamale Metropolis. The project, which is a social housing scheme under the Community-Led Infrastructure Financing Facility, seeks to assist active productive and low income earners in the public and private sector to acquire houses under flexible financing terms. It is being funded by Homeless International, a United Kingdom based organisation with support from Government, the chief of Nanton, Water and Sanitation for Africa (WSA) and Credit Union Association of Tamale. Ms Destina Samani, Resident Representative of WSA, speaking at a sod-cutting ceremony at Lahagu on Thursday said after the completion of the first 200 houses in the next six months an additional 1,000 units would be constructed annually for a period of four years. She explained that beneficiaries would be required to make an upfront interest-free payment of 20 per cent of the cost as commitment while the rest of the cost would be spread over a period of five years at an interest rate of 18 per cent. “By design, government is subsidising the project with the provision of land, roads and utilities to the site to cushion beneficiaries,” she said. Mr Hanan Gundadow Abudul Rahaman, Metropolitan Chief Executive of Tamale who cut the sod to start the project, expressed government’s readiness to partner non- governmental agencies and the private sector in the development of the country. He said the project was in responds to government’s call on the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to maximise available opportunities to address the acute housing deficit in the country. He appealed to residents in the area to own the project and ensure that it succeeds due to its potential of direct and indirect opportunities for women and children. About 400 women would be engaged to provide various services such the supply of water to facilitate the execution of the project.  

  Mr Samuel Afari Dartey, Chief Executive Officer of Forestry Commission said the Commission has within the last three quarters generated a total amount of GHc14.2 million as against a budgeted revenue of GHc 9.1million. Mr Dartey attributed the increase to initiatives put in place by management for heads of the divisions and units to improve their revenue mobilization, and find alternative sources of revenue since it would be a factor in appraising them. He said this at the end of year encounter with staff of the Commission to brief them about the reports for the year 2013. Mr Dartey said the Commission recruited 487 forest guards to augment the existing number of forest guards and the appointment of Dr Ben Donkor as the new Executive Director of Timber Industry Development Division. He said the Commission had paid an amount of GHc 2,900,000 of educational grant to staff, and GHc 630,710.48 to 138 beneficiaries who retired from the Commission and established a credit union scheme to support staff financially to meet their various demands. Mr Dartey stressed that under the institutional capacity development, 48 staff are being sponsored by the Commission’s training programme at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and the University of Energy and Natural Resources to pursue BSC in Natural Resource Management. He added that two staff were sponsored under the Commission’s self-initiated training programme to pursue courses in other tertiary institutions and 28 staff trained in forest and wildlife laws to become Forestry Commission prosecutors. Mr Dartey said in the plantation development, the Commission had verified 2,835 HA as planted representing 95 per cent of the 2013 target and also contributed to the creation of 2,167 jobs. He said the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources on May 21, 2013 inaugurated a six-member Accra Eco-Park Strategy Development Committee to develop a road-map and modalities for the development of the Achimota Forest into a major Ecotourism destination.   Mr Dartey said the Rapid Response Team of the Commission were deployed in districts such as Sefwi-Wiaso, Bole, Kumawu, Buipe and Nkwanta for special operations and additional 100 forest guards trained to combat illegalities in forest reserves. He said the Commission will in 2014 focus on programmes such as human capital development training and refresher programmes, sustainable forest management and plantation development, and protection and sustainable utilization of wildlife resources. Mr Dartey said other areas include timber industry, trade development and technology transfer, planning and standards development and coordination and facilitation of forest and wildlife development and management.  

  The Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG), has drawn government’s attention to certain practices by those in authority that are disturbing to the structures within the Civil and Local Government Services. It said these repeated acts, which shake the foundation of central and local governance take the form of politicisation of services, intimidation of workers at the hands of politicians and outsourcing revenues to the private sector without adequate supervision. The rest are superimposing external private companies on certain establishments/departments within the services and low key attention being given to the Public Sector Reforms Programme. A statement signed by Isaac Bampoe Addo, CLOGSAG Executive Secretary and copied to the Ghana News Agency over the weekend observed that changes in Government had, in many instances, had a negative impact on some of their members as they were made to proceed on long leave without due regard to their conditions of service. It said in the worst case scenario, some newly appointed politicians openly declared that they could not work with certain competent officers and as a result called for their transfer. “In the process of these changes, some of our members were intimidated and had to endure extreme hardships. “These changes did not take account of the skills and competencies of the officers in contributing to the success of the establishment, neither the need for institutional memory considered. The least said about these actions due to political interference the better,” the statement noted. It said another area of serious concern is the outsourcing of revenue collection to private companies without proper supervision and accountability, adding that “we are aware that significant revenue losses have occurred”. It said furthermore, CLOGSAG has observed with dismay, the current practice of virtually allowing private companies to take over the legitimate functions of some state departments. The statement observed that this approach is really tantamount to giving “a dog a bad name and hanging it”. It said: “It is evident that these affected institutions have been regularly under resourced, rendering them incapable of achieving their set objectives.            Ironically, these private companies are rather heavily supported financially. These state institutions/establishments are consciously or inadvertently being destroyed.” “We believe in public-private partnership that enhances growth of public institutions and organisations but not the type that is collapsing public establishments, departments and agencies.” CLOGSAG urged government to take a sober reflection of the Public Sector Reform Programme and the benefits that would inure to the economy and the people. It said priority must be given to the sector and the reforms perused so that the Public Sector really becomes the fuel that it needs to engender growth and development and act as a catalyst in the Public Private Partnership being touted. “There have been trying moments in 2013, but due to the fortitude and support from our members, we sail, have sailed through. We have every hope that 2014 would be a better year,” it stated.