Government abhors lame-committees - Chireh

Accra, June 24, GNA - Government on Wednesday expressed disquiet about the inactivity of some public committees appointed for specific national assignments and asked such appointees to pursue their duties with dynamism for the attainment of socio-economic development. Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development said public committees must play advocacy roles and adopt the militancy of the Trade Union Congress to put government on its toes. "The era of public committee members serving as boot-lickers of government is over.the government wants people who will demand their rights as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution."

Mr Chireh was speaking at the inauguration of the National Committee on the Informal Economy (NCIE) in Accra. Speaking on the Informal Sector, Mr Chireh described it as an integral part of Ghana's economic development and called for recognition and modernization of the sector to play its effective role for the transformation of the national economy.

He tasked district assemblies' to take control of the local economy and lauded the intervention of trade union groups in the operations of the sector.

Mr Chireh urged stakeholders in the informal sector to work closely with the district assemblies' saying "this is one of the ways by which these informal economies can expand through training and education and can acquire basic tools".

Mr Stephen Amoanor Kwao, Minister of Employment and Social Welfare commended International Labour Organisation (ILO) and its social partners for initiating NCIE as a policy dialogue platform for the development of the informal economy.

"The government views this initiative as a catalyst and a platform to harmonize policies and programmes aimed at stimulating the national economy for employment creation and poverty reduction," he said. He tasked the committee to fashion out targeted interventions in their policy framework to support small business, especially those from the informal economy, to enhance and improve their competitiveness. Mr Amoanor Kwao said the government would continue to create enabling regulatory environment and business support services for the growth of the informal economy.

The NCIE is to spearhead and co-ordinate all activities aimed at effectively nurturing, harnessing and directing the development of the informal economy towards high-income growth.

Dr Nii Moi Thompson, ILO International Expert said the mandate of the Committee was to review existing government policies and action plans relating to the informal economy and their implementation in practice, and develop a National Policy and Action Plan to guide all key stakeholders operating in the sector.

NCIE is to review the various projects initiated by government and other stakeholders and commission studies to assess their effectiveness and impact; liaise with relevant bodies and institutions to develop appropriate programmes to enhance the entrepreneurial and business management skills of operators in the informal economy.

The Committee is also to examine the current tax and business registration regime to ensure that it is equitable and does not work to the disadvantage of the informal sector; examine current legislation on social protection schemes for workers in the informal economy and make appropriate recommendations for consideration by government. The NCIE membership includes representative from the Ministries of Employment and Social Welfare; Youth and Sports; Finance and Economic Planning; Trade and Industry; Women and Children Affairs; Local Government and Rural Development; and Food and Agriculture. The rest are Association of Rural Banks; Congress of Indigenous Business Association; Institute of Social, Statistical and Economic Research; National Development and Planning Commission; Informal Sector Division of Social Security and National Insurance Trust; National Board for Small Scale Industry; Ghana Trade Union Congress; and Association of Small Scale Industry.

Others are the Ghana Employers Association; Association of Ghana Industries; Institute of Local Government Studies; Ghana Statistical Service; National Association of Local Authorities in Ghana; and Ghana Union of Traders Association. 24 June 09