Accra:  In the wake of the launch of a compact outlining the government of Ghana's renewed commitment to the country's sanitation, water and hygiene sector, civil society is insisting that no resources meant for that sector must be diverted to others, no matter the pressures. "We know it is very easy…

Lagos:  Last week women aspirants from all the states of the federation gathered at the Ladi Kwali Conference Centre of the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, from August 27-28 2010. They were there at the invitation of the Abuja-based AdvocacyNigeria for Reduction of Maternal Mortality and its partners, Women…

Harare:  There have been a lot of comments regarding members of Parliament's conditions of service.  Some of these comments have labelled MPs as mercenaries for demanding better salaries and allowances.  I would like to weigh-in on that debate and clearly state that MPs are more than justified for…

Cape Town: South Africa's bishops have called on the government to withdraw a bill on state secrets, which they say violates the spirit of openness and accountability essential for a healthy democracy. The Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference "has serious concerns about the wisdom and the…

Terre Haute:  Indiana residents can now search state contracts, employee salaries, budget information, revenue and expense data, local government information and more online at a new state "transparency website."  "We brought together a lot of information that has been available that many taxpayers…

Kampala:  Uganda earned sh1.08b from its nascent oil and gas industry even before producing a barrel, unlocking the potential of petrodollar inflows. According to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development annual report 2008, the non-tax revenues were in payments for training fees and surface…

Kigali:  The Public Sector Capacity Building Secretariat has been moved to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning as part of government's effort to institutionalize and strengthen the linkage between capacity building and national planning to meet the national priority needs. The body has since…

Kampala:  In any country, the foundations for free and fair elections are laid well before election day by establishing freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, an independent media, and a transparent voter registry.  On August 25, two independent but related events reinforced these democratic…

Lusaka:  The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has said the proposed amendment to the ACC Act which will protect whistle blowers will go a long way in enhancing the fight against corruption. ACC chief legal and prosecutions officer, Dennes Simwiinga said the protection of whistle blowers was important…

London:  Christian Aid is launching a new phase of its Trace the Tax campaign for greater financial transparency by multinational companies. The charity is asking supporters to help persuade four firms to back its call for accounting reforms which will help poor countries collect more of the tax billions…

Accra:  Government has embarked on rigorous public financial management reforms to address weaknesses in the sector for better transparency and accountability regarding the use of public funds.

In addition, government is to set up a functioning unit within the Ministry of Finance and Economic…

Accra:  Standard & Poor's (S&P) downgrading of Ghana from ‘B+' to ‘B' in its latest sovereign rating of 2010 last Friday, has sparked condemnation from leading economists and analysts, who have exposed the fraud in the rating agency's grading of Ghana. Razia Khan, Head of Macroeconomics and…

Lusaka:  Zambia's road map to promoting transparency and accountability in the management of its oil, gas and mineral resources is to be implemented under the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). EITI is a global initiative launched in 2002 and endorsed by 27 nations across the world…

Lagos:  The National Assembly has failed to amend a law that will make the fight against corruption more effective because "you don't just get a bill and pass it overnight," the secretary of the Senate committee on drugs, narcotics, and anti-corruption, Emmanuel Osuji, said yesterday at a press conference…

Kampala:  Women Democracy Group, an NGO, has launched a campaign to train 3,000 women who are to contest for various seats in the forthcoming general elections. The coordinator of the organisation, Ms Rita Aciro, said the programme is aimed at equipping woman candidates in the 2011 general elections…

Dar es Salaam: A non-governmental organisation has introduced a simplified version of the government budget for the 2010/11 financial year. Called the ‘Citizens' budget', the version by the Policy Forum eliminates…

Nairobi:  Six million people - including children who ought to be in classrooms - are not in school, the 2009 census results show. Of these, 3.9 million are children of school-going age. The 2.1 million others are adults who have never stepped into a school. Though the Education ministry got the highest…

Johannesburg:  Gauteng's Kungwini municipality - one of 46 local authorities under investigation across the country - can't account for what it did with R147-million.  And, in a hard-hitting report, the auditor-general has also revealed that municipal officials in Bronkhorstpruit, northeast of Pretoria,…

Johannesburg: The North West provincial government has been unable to investigate cases of fraud and corruption referred by departments because the premier's office does not have a forensic unit, according to a report by the Public Service Commission. Despite the availability of posts in the forensic…

Luanda:  Angolan authorities cut gasoline and diesel subsidies on Wednesday as a prelude to liberalising the country's downstream oil sector, triggering a steep rise in pump prices and the threat of protests from irate motorists.