The Government Spokesperson on Social Services, Mr Kofi Amponsah-Bediako, says there is the need for people in the sub-region to take a cue from the current happenings in South Africa and to support all aspects of integration to enhance unity. He echoed concerns about the widespread xenophobia in South Africa and described the situation as a challenge to all African governments. He emphasized the need to reorient all nationals of the sub-region about the need for tolerance and peaceful co-existence. Mr Amponsah-Bediako made the call at the opening of a two-day workshop on “Accelerating Regional Integration through the Pillars of National Orientation”, at Elmina. It was organized by the ECOWAS Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Information and National Orientation. Attending are members of the Parliamentary Select Committees on Foreign Affairs and on Media and Information as well as representatives from CEPS, the Ghana Police Service, Immigration Services, the NCCE and some NGOs. Mr Amponsah-Bediako said what was happening in South Africa was not just to be condemned but that it was a clear indication that the sub-regional efforts at integration have become “more urgent than before”. The Member of Parliament (MP) for Adenta and a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Mr Kojo Opare-Hammond, stressed the need for the nation to set standards to ensure increased productivity as part of national orientation. He said there was the need to strictly ensure that salaries matched productivity and expressed regret that whereas Ghanaians in the Diaspora had to earn their living by working very hard, those at home, especially many public sector workers, did not put in much in terms of productivity. Mr Opare-Hammond therefore stressed the need for a “complete re-orientation” as to what constituted hard work and advocated that such orientation should begin from the kindergarten level to ensure that the youth are properly inculcated. A former MP for Odododiodio, Mr Reginald Nii Bi Ayibonte, called for the setting up of an ECOWAS television station to help portray the common identities of the people through programmes to foster integration as well as disseminate information such as on efforts being made to combat crimes like drug trafficking in the sub-region. Mr Frank Ofei, former Director of the ECOWAS Commission who spoke on “Regional Integration: A Practical Approach to Sub-Regional Development”, among others, mentioned low productivity, structural imbalance and inadequate resources as some of the mounting development challenges confronting the sub-region. He outlined the various levels of integration such as market, physical, production, monetary and political integration and said people in the sub-region needed to integrate in order to “survive and prosper”. Mr Ofei, observed that to help accelerate these processes, Ghana had a role to play in helping to eliminate the seeming wariness existing between Francophone and Anglophone nationals that was hindering integration in order step up all aspects of regional integration. Mr Ofei called on the relevant sector ministries to come out with national programmes aimed at maximizing to help facilitate this. The Deputy Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Frank Agyekum, who opened the workshop, stressed the need for all Ghanaians to adhere to all the five pillars of national orientation which include dedication and discipline and productivity and accountability. He said he was unhappy about the tendency whereby some Ghanaians fail to accord the national anthem the due respect when it is being played at functions and just chat or talk on their mobile phones, while some other Ghanaians love to fly foreign flags rather than the national one on their premises. He noted that all Ghanaians needed to place the nation above personal interests and that there was the need to train and encourage citizens to serve the nation and infuse in them a spirit of leadership and volunteerism. Mr Agyekum said it was evident that proper understanding and assimilation and thorough practice of the concept and pillars of national orientation might be extrapolated and modified to apply to regional integration and African unity. The Supervising Director of the Africa and Regional Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Clifford Kotey, said the workshop, among others, served as the ministry’s barometer for gauging public disposition on regional matters and for highlighting areas of concern. He said regional integration remained a domain of public concern and entailed public participation. “Our efforts as citizens of the sub-region must interweave and interconnect in the pursuit of our common goals and aspirations and the overall ECOWAS agenda. Mr Kotey expressed the hope that the workshop would make inputs that would reflect the need for a fundamental linkage between national policies and regional programmes for mutual benefit. Other topical issues being dilated on are “Assessment of the parameters of national orientation vis a vis regional integration,” and the “media as a champion of national orientation and regional integration”. Source: GNA