Ministers' Lifestyle Questioned

The luxurious lifestyle of some ministers and government functionaries in the face of the current economic hardships in the country, on Thursday came up at the People’s Assembly held in Accra. The forum, organised by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), afforded the public the opportunity to question government officials on their work.

One participant could not fathom how some ministers kept changing their furniture every now and then while others were buying vehicles for their families at a time they had told Ghanaians that the country was going through difficulties.

Another participant asked why the government did not discuss the increases in utilities and taxes with the people before implementing the charges. To him, discussing it would be a form of education so that price hike would be accepted by all Ghanaians.

A participant also asked about how fishermen and women could benefit from pensions when they were old. She stated that it would be appropriate to have schemes to help them when they were old so that they could be paid some money to sustain themselves.

Others issues raised included the Health Insurance Scheme and provision of streetlights to some communities. Answering some of the questions, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Sheikh I.C. Quaye, denied that some ministers and government functionaries were leading ostentatious lifestyles. The government, he said was aware of the economic difficulties Ghanaians were facing and would therefore work hard to enhance their living conditions.

Mr Ishmael Ashitey, Minister in charge of Fisheries, stated that the Italian government would soon build a fishing complex with facilities for storage and processing to enhance the work of fishermen and fishmongers.

He said the government had contracted a loan of two million dollars to purchase fishing nets to distribute to fishermen at a cheap price. “By the end of the year, 1,000 outboard motors would also be given to fishermen to enhance their work,” he said. Captain Nkrabea Effah Darteh, (rtd) Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, said with the government’s desire to enhance education, about 187 new schools had been built in the districts with more to be expected.