Government to strengthen its watchdog role on public-private partnership

By Samuel Akapule, GNA
Bolgatanga, March 20, GNA - A Lecturer of the Miller Open University, Mr Nyeya Yen, has urged government to strengthen its watchdog on partners who would be implementing the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects in the country.

Mr Yen who is also the Director of the Centre for Skills Development and a Fund Raiser, made the call at a public lecture, organized by the Restorative Seed Society, an NGO in Bolgatanga.

The Lecturer noted that the failure on the part of government to put in place pragmatic mechanisms to supervise and monitor the implementation of the PPP projects may result in misappropriation of funds and corruption.

'Government, which represents the state, should be mindful not to repeat the mistakes of the previous administration that characterized the implementation of some PPP projects in the country. The nation cannot afford to be losing its resources to some group of selfish persons at the expense of the suffering masses. Therefore, government must look sharp on this to avoid siphoning of state resources by selfish individuals and groups', Mr Yen stressed.

The public lecture on the theme', Engendering a Sense of Nationalism and Civic Responsibility in a Politically Polarized Society: A Challenge to the Youth of Ghana', was aimed at instilling the values of nationalism and patriotism in the youth to make them responsible future leaders.

The Lecturer mentioned the lack of nationalism among citizens and political leaders as a bane of national development and told the youth that as future leaders they were major stakeholders of the nation's development.

He therefore stressed the need for them to take their destiny into their own hands by ensuring that they put the development of the nation above their partisan interest.

He admonished the youth not to rely solely on political parties for the development of themselves and the country and cited that successive governments led by political parties over the years had failed to develop the nation better all because of their selfish interest.

He said it was regrettable that governments over the years allowed foreign companies to exploit the natural resources of the country for their selfish interest and urged the youth to form a formidable front to advocate and promote development issues.

'It is true that as youth, you will have your own political interest but you must not allow yourselves to be engaged in negative activities that have the tendency to ruin the country. You must be seen fighting for social injustice and equality and also championing against acts such as corruption and violence'.

The Lecturer, said dedication, hard work, sacrifice and punctuality to work were among the cardinal principles of Nationalism, and urged the youth to mobilize themselves to undertake communal work in their respective communities.

Mr Hillary Adongo, the Executive Director of the Restorative Seed Society, said one of the objectives of the NGO was to roll out programmes in schools and community to help instil in the youth the sense of nationalism and patriotism.

This, he explained, would help them contribute meaningfully to national development devoid of corruption, nepotism, favouritism and laziness.

GNA