GHANAIAN TIMES

The Price Waterhouse Report on a universal salary and wage structure for the Civil Service will be ready in October, reports the Times on its front page.. The story under the heading: "New salary structure, Report ready in October", says the Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Welfare said the report is being given serious attention by an expanded body made up of Messrs Price Waterhouse and Associates International and local consultants. Mr Gamey said the local consultants include the Public Services Commission, Office of the Head of the Civil Service, the Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). He said the group is studying all the recommendations made by various bodies and organisations to ensure that all distortions in the report are removed. The group, he said, will submit its report to Cabinet sub- committee for study and make the appropriate recommendations for final approval by goverenment. The government in 1995, invited Messrs Price Waterhouse and Associates to develop a medium and long-term salary and wage policy for the country. GRI

"Interim body to collate views on power tariffs", is the headline of another front page story of the Times. The story says the Ministry of mines and Energy has set up an interim regulatory secretariat to collect views and comments and receive memoranda from concerned institutions and the public on the suspended electricty tariffs. The Times says a statement issued in Accra yesterday by the Ministry of Communications said the secretariat will compile submissions received and set them out in an organised manner to facilitate the smooth operation of the Utilities Regulatory Commission. The statement said it will be the responsibility of the Regulatory Commission to take appropriate decisions and actions based on the submissions transferred by the secretariat.

The Times says Ghana's electric power stands the chance of reverting to the load-shedding days of the early 1980s, if the water level of the Akosombo dam does not rise in the next few weeks. Under the headline: "Load-shedding imminent", the Times says this is because the water level is below the minimum operating level. The paper reports that the low level of water in the dam now stands at 240.92 feet due to lack of rains in the catchment area. The maximum operating level of the lake is 278 feet of water. The Times says this grim situation came to light during a day's working tour of the dam site by newsmen on Tuesday. The tour, the paper says, took the press to the Tema diesel generating station and the Kpong Hydro-electric dam. The Times says Mr M.A.C. Addo, director of organisational services of the Volta River Authority (VRA), who conducted the newsmen round, said the falling level of water in the dam, in addition to the rising public demand for electricity, put severe strain on the capacity of the Akosombo damto supply adequate and uninterrupted electricity supply. GRI