DAILY GRAPHIC
FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2008
PROGRAMME TO COMBAT DROUGHT IN THREE NORTHERN REGIONS
STORY BY: ABDUL AZIZ
The Government had drawn up a National Action Programme to combat drought and desertification in the three northern regions.
The five-year programme, which is being supported by the Canadian Government, was drawn up in close collaboration with the relevant government institutions.
The aim is to strengthen the capacity of rural institutions and communities affected by desertification to reverse land degradation and desertification trends in the three northern regions.
The project would also assist communities to adopt sustainable water and land management systems that improve food security and reduce poverty.
This came to light when the Canadian High Commissioner in Accra, Mr. Darren Schemmer, paid a courtesy call on the Auditor-General, Mr. Edward Dua-Agyeman, at his office yesterday.
Mr. Dua-Agyeman said the audit service was ready to collaborate with the implementing agency, the Ghana Environment Management Project (GEMP), by ensuring accountability through auditing of the projects
He said the Ghana Audit Service (GAS) had gained a lot by its association with Canadian-sponsored development programmes under which auditing services by GAS had been factored into the agreements reached between the Ghana Government.
The Auditor-General said these arrangements had helped to raise the profile of accountability at the District Assemblies and this was expected to be extended to the audits planned for the drought and desertification programme.
He said with the assistance of Canada, the government has established a liaison office at the Ringway Estates for the Public Accounts Committee and the Audit Service.
Mr. Dua-Agyeman assured the high commissioner that the seventh report of the Public Accounts Committee would be presented to Parliament in June, this year.
Mr. Schemmer said often people in the rural areas felt reluctant to pay their taxes with the excuse that taxes paid ended in wrong hands and pockets of revenue collectors.
He said the Canadian government’s aim was to assist the Ghanaian government to ensure accountability in the execution of projects in the rural areas by ensuring proper auditing of projects to reduce the incidence of corruption.
He explained that when the rural people began to see that their taxes were being put to good use, they would readily endeavor to meet their tax obligation promptly as studies had shown.
Mr. Schemmer said auditing, therefore, was not only to find out whether the funds had been used correctly but also to study the behavior of the people who paid the taxes so that measures could be put in place to ensure their maximum co-operation.
The Canadian High Commissioner expressed satisfaction that sanctions based on audit reports by GAS had made District Assemblies executing Canadian-founded projects to sit up.
Mr. Schemmer noted that the positive impact could be replicated in all the other sectors in the District Assemblies to ensure accountability in every sphere of district assembly operations.
