Parliament calls for proper equipping of agencies under Information Ministry

Accra, Mar. 10, GNA- Parliament On Wednesday approved 92 billon and 73 million cedis for the Ministry of Information for the 2004 fiscal year with a call for additional resources to assist agencies under the Ministry to achieve expected outputs for the year.

The Select Committee on Communications on the Annual Estimates of the Ministry of Information, said the Ministry needed an additional sum of a little over 11 billion cedis to acquire motor vehicles and cinema vans for the Information Services Department (ISD) and the Ghana News Agency (GNA) to enable them assist the Ministry in promoting development communication and the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) programme.

The Committee said the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP) should consider the request for additional resources for vehicles and equipment during the year, possibly from the HIPC fund. Mr. Akwasi Afrifa, Chairman of the Committee presented the Committee's report when seconding the motion for the approval of the Ministry's budget.

The Committee said "the provision for personnel emoluments generally fell short of the requirements of the various agencies. Even though officials of the MOFEP explained that the provision was based on the actual expenditure incurred in 2003, plus some top up."

It recommended that MOFEP should meet with the various agencies to resolve the discrepancies involved in personnel emoluments.

Breakdown of the budgetary allocation to some of the agencies include 9.8 billion cedis to the GNA, 20.2 billion cedis to the ISD, 4.1 billion cedis to the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) and 29.3 billion cedis to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC).

On the GNA, the Committee said the agency was still in the process of restructuring to gradually wean itself from government subvention.

"In this regard, some discussions are continuing under the Public Sector Reform Programme (PSRF) on how to proceed with its re-engineering programme. For the time being, however, it is important that the agency is provided with reasonable resources to enable it stay afloat."

The Committee also noted that both GNA and ISD rented some of or part of their properties to private organisations at rents that were below "prevailing market levels." The Committee advises that immediate steps should be taken to revise and collect appropriate rent so that the tax payer does not continue to subsidise the operations of private enterprise."

On the GBC, the Committee said the satellite transmission project has started with the arrival of equipment for installation and said the Information Ministry should ensure that adequate funds were made available for an uninterrupted execution of the project.

The Committee also recommended that the government should try to improve the general conditions of service and infrastructure at the GIJ and the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI).

Mr. Steven Asamoah-Boateng, Deputy Minister of Information, who moved the motion for approval of the Ministry's budget, said GIJ would benefit from the GET FUND following the imminent transfer of the Institute from the Ministry to the Ministry of Education.

ON programmes for this year, he said there would be public sensitisation on the GPRS programme the strengthening of ISD's operations in the regions, districts and communities among other development communication activities.

Captain Nkrabeah Effah Dartey, Deputy Minster of Local Government and Rural Development, contributing to the debate, said the GNA should do more to extend its coverage to every part of the country, adding that there was no GNA office in Berekum in the Brong Ahafo Region despite his personal efforts in convincing the GNA that accommodation would be provided for its staff.

Mr. Kofi Attor, NDC-Ho Central, called on the Ministry to pay greater attention to GIJ and NAFTI since products of these institutions feed media organisations.

MR. Joe Baidoe-Ansah, NPP-Effia-Kwesimintsim, touched on the high turnover of lecturers at GIJ and said a lot needed to be done to arrest the situation.

Some of the members of parliament also called on GBC to ensure equal airtime for all political parties.

Earlier, Mr. Peter Ala Adjetey, the Speaker, read a message from Her Majesty, the Queen and Head of the Commonwealth to commemorate the Commonwealth Day celebrations, which fell March 8.

The message called for the strengthening of democratic freedoms and the tackling of poverty and hunger as a means of promoting development and building strong civil societies.