Modernisation of Capital Ministry Criticized

Mr. Kwabena Adjei Arhin, Head of Investigations at the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice office in Sunyani on Tuesday said the creation of the Ministry for the Modernisation of the Capital City would create more problems for rural dwellers.

He said the unequal distribution of the inadequate national resources already favoured urban dwellers.

"With the creation of the new Ministry the inequity and unfair distribution of the national resources, which creates all sorts of socio-economic problems for the rural people, is going to worsen", he said.

Mr. Arhin was speaking on "The 2003 Budget and the Plight of the Child" at a public forum on the 2003 national budget, organized by the Centre for Budget Advocacy of the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) and sponsored by Save the Children (Ghana), a non-governmental organization, for the promotion of the cause of children and ISODEC.

The one-day forum, under the theme: "2003 Budget and Citizen", was aimed at broadening participants' understanding of the 2003 national budget and promoting public debate on what constituted the appropriate policy directions and means by which the country's scarce public resources could best be managed.

Arhin said the budgetary consideration for children's issues in future might be adversely affected with the existence of the new Ministry.

He called on Ghanaians in the rural areas to oppose the lopsided development in favour of the cities, as it impoverished the rural dwellers and their children.

The CHRAJ official described the 9.7 billion cedis allocation for the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs in this year's national budget as woefully inadequate in relation to the Ministry's objectives for the year.

He said part of the Ministry's budget would be employed to train 1,000 women beneficiaries on micro-finance, undertake workshop for 100 women in iodised salt production and the granting of other credit facilities.

''These measures are indirectly aimed at improving the quality of life of children. Directly for children, the Ministry would distribute 1,500 leisure boxes to 500 communities and rehabilitate just 500 children.''

Mr. Arhin, however, expressed regret that no specific budgetary allocation was made for combating child trafficking, child-abuse, child-labour and child-neglect.

Mr. Arhin described as ridiculous and a big joke the rehabilitation of only 500 street children when there were several thousands of them in the country.

He said there was the need for substantial budgetary allocation for child welfare bodies or institutions like Ghana National Commission on Children (GNCC) and Department of Social Welfare.

Mr Arhin commended the Government for its laudable and well-intended budgetary support for education but noted that it fell short of expectation "because the focus of the budget is on quantitative improvement more than on the qualitative improvement of the child".

Mr Arhin said, "the present policy of learn, learn and learn does not seem to appreciate the fact that a sound mind is found in a sound body", adding that the provision of library facilities or children libraries at the basic level was not catered for in the 2003 budget.

He called on the Government and the Ministry of Education Youth and Sports to ensure that the gap between budgetary policies on paper and their implementation was bridged.

Nana Kwasi Gyau Gyan III, Akrofromhene and Atipimhene of Berekum Traditional Area, who presided, commended ISODEC for the organization of the forum and urged other NGOs to emulate it on other pertinent national issues.

He suggested the printing of copies of national budgets in an abridged form for the benefit of corporate organizations, students and the general public.